Noah

by Catherine Lievens

  Noah stopped only once Kameron’s house was in sight. “Do you think we can be alone in there?”

  “Sure. Let’s go to my room. No one will bother us.”

  “Perfect.”

  * * * *

  Noah was torn between anticipation and fear. He wanted to know what Duncan had to tell him, but he was scared about how the man would react to Noah’s coming out to his mother.

  He let Duncan lead him to his room and sat on the bed while Duncan went to shower. He swore it wouldn’t take him long, but Noah was still jittery. He bounced his leg up and down and played with the edge of the sheet on the bed, too nervous to keep still. His mind was working a mile a minute, full of projects and fear for his future.

  Could he really make a living out of his painting? Would he have to find himself another job? Would his father kick him out as soon as he went back home?

  “Noah?”

  Noah’s head snapped up. He hadn’t heard Duncan coming in again. “Oh, you’re done already?”

  “I’ve been away for ten minutes.”

  “Oh.”

  Duncan sat next to Noah and took his hand in both of his. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

  “Tell me first?”

  Duncan sighed and turned to the side so that he could look at Noah as he talked. He folded his legs and crossed them, his hands never leaving Noah’s. “It’s nothing, really. I just wasn’t expecting you to come around at the house before it was finished, or at least nearly all the way there. It made me think of all the things you’d have to renounce if you choose to mate with me, and it scared me because I’m not sure I can compete.”

  Noah chuckled, but it wasn’t a happy sound. “Well, we’ll find soon enough if I can renounce all those things.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I talked to my mother today, right before I left the house. She caught me while I was coming here and tried to push me into choosing a woman to marry, and I told her I was gay.”

  “How did she react?”

  “Oh, she doesn’t care that I prefer cock to pussy, as long as I get married and produce an heir. She told me to hide that part of me well enough that no one will ever find out and to forget about it. She makes it sound so easy.”

  “But it’s not.”

  “Of course it’s not!” Noah raked his free hand in his unbound hair, spilling it to the side. “How can I forget I like men? How does she think sex is going to work if I marry a woman? I can already see my wedding night. Oh, sorry I can’t get it up, but you don’t have the right plumbing for me to get hard for you.”

  “Did she... kick you out or something?”

  “No, I think I stormed out before she could, but then she’d never do something like that. She’s probably spilling everything to my father right now.” Noah groaned. “I even told her I had a boyfriend. They’re going to want to know you, if by some miracle they don’t kick me out as soon as I get back.”

  “You told her about me?”

  “Not exactly. She was still going on and on about how I would eventually fall in love with my wife, so I told her I’d talk to her after the date I had with my boyfriend was over and walked out.”

  “Are you sorry you told her?”

  Noah finally looked at his mate. Duncan was still holding his hand, but he was looking down and his back was hunched. He looked vulnerable, which wasn’t something Noah usually associated with Duncan, and he clearly was waiting for Noah to reject him. “No, I’m not.”

  Duncan looked up, his eyes shining with hope, and Noah continued, “I didn’t do it for us as a couple, at least not entirely. I did it for me, because I’ve had enough of doing what they expect me to do. I don’t want to be my father’s vice-president in the company. I don’t want to work for him, period. I don’t want to marry a woman I’ll never love like I should, and I don’t want to have kids with her. I don’t want to go to those stupid parties anymore, and I want to stop studying all that boring accounting stuff my father expects me to learn. I want to paint and draw, and I want to be with you. If you’ll have me.”

  “You don’t even have to ask, Noah. You know I want you.”

  “Even if I’m penniless and homeless?”

  “You’ll never be penniless and homeless, hon. If your parents really disown you and kick you out—” Noah opened his mouth to tell Duncan that yes, they were going to do it, but Duncan raised a hand to stop him. “If they do it, you can come live in the alpha house until you find a job and your own house.”

  A twinge of disappointment pinched Noah’s heart. He knew they’d met only weeks ago, but he’d hoped Duncan would want them to live together.

  “If you want to try to make a living out of your art, I’ll do what I can to help you. If you want your own house, I’ll help you find one in pack territory so you don’t have to hide yourself.”

  “What if I don’t want my own house?”

  “I’m sure Kameron will let you stay here as long as you want.”

  “What if I don’t want to stay in Kameron’s house?”

  “You mean you want to leave the pack?”

  Noah flicked a finger at Duncan’s forehead. “No, dumbass. I was trying to tell you that I want to live with you, but you don’t understand subtlety, obviously.”

  “You want to live with me?”

  “If you want me to, yes.”

  Duncan threw himself at Noah, nearly knocking him off the bed. He twisted at the last moment and pushed Noah onto the bed instead, but it was still a rather uncomfortable position. Not that Noah was protesting. He couldn’t even if he’d wanted to, since his mouth was pressed against Duncan’s and their tongues were stroking each other’s.

  When Duncan finally leaned away, Noah laughed. “Does that mean you want us to live together?”

  “Of course I do!”

  Noah pushed his mate away just enough that he could lie completely on the bed. He toed his shoes off and lay on his back, then opened his arms to Duncan. He didn’t have to ask twice. Duncan dove on him and pressed their lips together again. It felt frantic, as if Duncan was afraid Noah was going to disappear from under him if he stopped, but Noah didn’t mind, not even when Duncan’s hand wandered down his chest and pressed into the button of his pants.

  Duncan moved away and looked at Noah, a question in his eyes, and Noah nodded. He felt the hand on his pants move, the fabric tugging at his hips, then opening. He waited for Duncan to try to pull them off, but his hand went higher instead, joined by the other one when Duncan sat on his heels.

  He took his time unbuttoning Noah’s shirt. He pressed kisses over every inch of skin he uncovered, scraped his teeth along the line of Noah’s collarbones, traced all the swirls Noah had on his front, and licked a path to his navel. Noah was getting impatient, but Duncan wasn’t making any moves that said he was soon going to go faster.

  Noah took it on himself to do it. He grasped Duncan’s shirt with both hands and tugged hard. Buttons popped off the fabric and flew around the bed, pinging on the wooden floor.

  Duncan looked up from where he was teasing Noah’s neck and arched a brow. “Impatient much?” He shrugged out of his loosened shirt, baring his chest to Noah’s gaze.

  They’d never come this far before, and Noah let his gaze wander, especially when Duncan opened his own jeans and pushed them away, exposing a cock that stood up hard and ruddy from dark curls. Noah licked his kiss-swollen lips. He sat up and reached for his mate’s erection, but Duncan moved away.

  “Your turn.” He pushed the shirt off Noah’s shoulders, then pushed Noah down again. Duncan slid down the edge of the bed, pulling Noah forward by his hips. It didn’t take him long to tug on Noah’s open pants and pull them off along with his underwear, exposing Noah’s body to his burning gaze, but as Noah felt his pants falling off, he saw Duncan freeze.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Is that a tail?”

  Noah blushed. He’d forg
otten that Duncan had never seen his tail, not yet. He nodded. “Yes.”

  “That’s fucking hot!”

  Noah unfolded it from where it was rolled around his thigh and let it flop to his side. “It is?”

  “Yeah, but I’ll explore that later. Right now, I have something much better to do.” He bent his head into Noah’s lap. “You sure you want this?”

  Noah nodded. He didn’t know what he wanted more—Duncan’s mouth on his dick or the man’s cock in his ass. He arched his back, the head of his dick bumping against Duncan’s cheek, and hoped it would be enough to make the man guess what he wanted.

  Duncan gave him a predatory smile. “Don’t think this means that I’m not going to fuck you,” he said, then ran his tongue over the leaking slit.

  “Fuck.” Noah arched his back toward Duncan’s mouth again, and it opened and sucked him inside. He wouldn’t last two minutes like this, he couldn’t last more than that, not with Duncan’s skilled mouth so hot around him, sucking him down.

  Just when Noah thought he was about to come, Duncan relinquished the suction and began a leisurely exploration instead, slipping his tongue along Noah’s hard length and down to his balls, using his teeth to tug at them gently. It hurt and felt so very good at the same time, and Noah clenched at the sheet under him and moaned. “Oh, please. Don’t!”

  “Don’t?” With a final, rather sharp bite on the inside of Noah’s thigh, Duncan moved away. He stood over Noah and stared down at him. “How do you want to do this?”

  “How?” Noah’s brain felt like mush and he wasn’t able to concentrate on what Duncan was asking.

  “Do you want to bottom or top?”

  “Ah, bottom, bottom. Definitely.”

  Duncan chuckled. “Okay. Turn around then, hands and knees.”

  Noah’s knees were shaking slightly, but he quickly scrambled onto all fours. He felt Duncan’s fingers stroke over his ass, then slide down the middle and hold him open as his tongue picked up where it had left off from his cock, coming up behind his balls and right across his hole.

  Having Duncan’s tongue licking at him, pressing inside of him, was almost too much for Noah, but he could hardly protest. He only hoped he wouldn’t come from this alone, because it didn’t feel like something that would be impossible right now. He moved his knees further apart and let his head hang down, quivering as Duncan sucked and licked at him.

  With a final, delicious lick, Duncan’s tongue left him, only to be replaced by what Noah decided had to be two fingers. He felt full, but it didn’t hurt. He hadn’t even realized Duncan had grabbed lube from somewhere, but the man’s fingers were sliding into him without problems. Noah moaned as he pressed back against his mate’s fingers. “M-more,” he whispered, almost ashamed of how his voice shook but unable to worry too much about it. He wanted Duncan inside of him, both his cock and his teeth.

  But Duncan wasn’t going to make it easy on Noah. He leaned over Noah’s back until his chin brushed against Noah’s shoulder and hissed in his ear, “Do you want me to fuck you, Noah? Do you want me to claim you, make you mine?”

  Noah nodded and said softly, with a sense of relief and finality, “Please, fuck me, Duncan. Claim me.” It felt good to say it aloud, to admit he wanted nothing more than that.

  He tried not to tense up, anticipating. Duncan didn’t keep him waiting long after his admission. He buried his mouth in Noah’s long hair and moaned.

  After a moment Duncan moved back slightly, and Noah could hear him sliding slick fingers on his cock, preparing it before he pressed it against Noah’s stretched entrance and pushed. “No—no condom?” Noah asked, his voice trembling.

  “No need to.”

  Noah nodded. He knew that, of course. He just wasn’t used to it. There was a moment of sharp pain before the thickest part of the head slid inside and Noah couldn’t help grunting in discomfort. He felt Duncan still.

  “Are you all right?” The words were spoken breathlessly.

  “Give me a second,” he replied, doing his best to relax. Duncan’s breath was warm against his back, and Noah inhaled deeply and let the tightness drain away as he exhaled. He felt lips feather kisses on his skin, and that more than anything else reassured him, made him feel better. “All right.”

  Slowly, he felt Duncan slide further in, pausing often to make sure he was fine, but the ache was less than the satisfaction, and the noises Noah made now were moans of pleasure rather than pain as he was stretched to his limit. “Please,” he begged again, now unashamed by his need. “Fuck me.”

  Duncan’s fingers closed around his hips as he began to thrust steadily, shifting upright, changing the angle. Pleasure so acute it was almost unbearable shot through Noah. He cried out, clutching the sheet and twisting it. Duncan groaned as well, thighs slapping against the backs of Noah’s as he moved. Noah wanted desperately to touch himself, but he was afraid he would lose his balance and fall face-first onto the mattress if he lifted either of his hands.

  Just when he thought he couldn’t bear it, Duncan unclenched his fingers from one of Noah’s hips and reached for his cock. He was half-bent over again, his face against Noah’s neck, and he grunted, “Noah!”

  His name on Duncan’s lips while he was in the throes of passion was the sexiest thing Noah had ever heard. It made every nerve in his body quiver, and he answered breathlessly, “Duncan,” as his mate started to fist his cock in a rapid rhythm. He heard Duncan grunt again and begin to pound even harder. Noah was writhing, teetering on the edge between torment and ecstasy as Duncan slammed into him, but not able to fall yet.

  Then teeth grazed his neck and Noah tilted his head to the side. Duncan kissed his neck and whispered, “Forever?” in his ear and Noah nodded.

  “Forever.”

  Sharp fangs sunk into his neck. Noah exploded with a wail, thick splatters of come falling through Duncan’s fingers on the sheet beneath him. Through the haze of pleasure he felt Duncan drink from him, then his fangs retreating. Duncan groaned his name again, loudly, unrestrained like the frenzied movements that drove his cock deep inside Noah.

  Noah felt Duncan’s open mouth on the back of his shoulder and neck, tasting him, sucking still. The hand on his cock left a wet smear over his hip as Duncan pulled it away, and Noah could hear him sucking the fingers.

  “Oh fuck, Duncan,” he choked, and felt Duncan stiffen, pressed deep inside him, no longer thrusting. Then Duncan let out a roar and flattened Noah with one final push, crushing his hips as he pumped himself into his ass.

  They sprawled forward together. Duncan’s weight on top of him was somehow less than what Noah had expected, and he didn’t mind having him there until he recovered. With a sigh Duncan rolled off to Noah’s left and Noah twisted around to look at his face. “That was...”

  Duncan chuckled. “Yeah.”

  “So now we’re mated?”

  “Not completely. You still have to drink my blood to finish the bond.”

  “Oh.” Noah looked down.

  Duncan rolled on his side and slid an arm around Noah’s waist. “Don’t be sad. I was kind of... occupied before, but we can do it right now if you want to. Come on, roll to your side. I need to close your wound.”

  Noah did as Duncan had asked. He tilted his head and let his mate lick his bite closed, then waited to see what Duncan was going to do.

  * * * *

  Duncan licked Noah’s mating bite closed and leaned away. “Where do you want to do it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you want to drink on my neck or my wrist? Or, well, anywhere else, really.”

  Noah tilted his head to the side. “Mmm, does it make a difference?”

  “Nope.”

  “Neck, then.”

  Duncan smiled and pressed the side of his head into the pillow. He shifted only one fingernail to a claw and quickly slashed his neck where it met the shoulder. “Drink until you can feel me inside you.”

&nbs
p; Noah didn’t hesitate. His expression serious, he grabbed Duncan’s hip with one hand and leaned forward. Duncan felt his tongue skim on his skin and lap at his blood, then Noah’s lips closed on the wound and he started sucking.

  A jolt of pleasure shot through Duncan and he felt his cock take interest again. He didn’t move, though, at least not until Noah’s lips left his skin.

  “It’s weird. I feel... I know it’s you, because they don’t feel like my emotions, but it feels like you’re a part of me.”

  “I am now.” Duncan pressed a finger over the wound and felt it was still wet with blood and saliva. Noah gave him one frowning look and rolled to the edge of the mattress. He grabbed a towel Duncan had left on the chair next to the bed and moved again. He gently pressed the towel against Duncan’s wound.

  “Does it hurt?”

  “No, don’t worry. It’ll be gone before you realize it.”

  Noah didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. He lay down next to Duncan again, his long, dark-blue hair fanning over the white sheets, the small horns barely visible in the rumpled mass.

  “Hey, show me your tail.”

  Noah blushed. Duncan had nearly forgotten about the tail while they’d made love, even if it had been right in front of his eyes, but now he was curious. “Come on. I won’t make fun of you. I just want to see it. I’ve never met anyone with a tail while in human form.”

  “I’m not in human form. This is my only form.”

  “Awww, please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

  Noah huffed, but he was smiling, so Duncan knew he hadn’t angered his mate. He could also feel the contented warmth flowing through their bond, tinged with only a hint of sadness and worry.

  Noah’s tail rose from behind his back and slid over his hip, then over Duncan’s. Duncan shivered, all kinds of kinky images flashing in his mind at the contact. He pushed them away, at least until he could put them to practice. “Can I touch it?”

  “Yes.”

  Noah gently took the tail in his hand and brushed his thumb over the skin. It wasn’t smooth like the rest of Noah’s skin but leathery. It was dark blue, just like his hair, horns, and the swirls. Duncan moved his hand up and down the length of the tail, smiling when Noah shuddered. “You feel this’”