by Willa Okati
When he set his teeth ever so lightly to the nape of Jesse’s neck, hinting at a proper bite when he was ready for it, Jesse’s moan was the sweetest sound Daniel could imagine.
Fair was fair. Daniel threw himself into learning Jesse’s sweet spots. If he’d known it could be like this…but there was no point in regretting the past. Better to savor the here and now, the reward of Jesse’s reactions as he slowly lost his control—groans, hisses of breath and involuntary bucking of his hips, grinding his cock against Daniel’s own. Daniel could feel it as their bellies grew slick with pre-cum and sweat.
When Jesse was kissing Daniel as if he wanted to climb inside Daniel’s skin, Daniel closed his eyes with a breath of thanks. He drew back, smiling at Jesse’s grumbled disappointment, and laid a finger over Jesse’s lips. “Tell me if you want this.”
He let his other hand wander down to Jesse’s cock, giving it a squeeze, before traveling further and back to between the cleft of Jesse’s ass. He searched for the tightly puckered hole and pressed against it. His own cock throbbed with sympathetic eagerness as Jesse let out a cry and arched upwards. When his finger penetrated to the first knuckle, Jesse sobbed.
“Yes.” Jesse shuddered hard. Daniel thought he might come then and there, but he opened his eyes, wild and fever-bright. “More,” he whispered. “More, please, more. I thought…”
“Don’t think.” Daniel pushed him, as gently as he could. “On your back, love. I said I’d take care of you, didn’t I?”
Every so often, Jesse had wondered what Daniel would look like when they were in bed. He’d never been sure of the face, or the voice, knowing Daniel would have changed as he grew older and tougher. His favorites had been the images of Daniel stretched out on his belly or back, his legs raised to slide over Jesse’s bare shoulders. Or the ones where he opened Jesse with slick fingers, making Jesse ready for his cock.
Reality didn’t compare to the dreams. Reality beat hell and stuffing out of dreams.
“Hand lotion on the desk,” Jesse said. He thought he remembered seeing a tube there before. “Good enough?”
Daniel turned his head to look. Jesse watched the gleam of satisfaction fleet across his lips when he nodded. “There is. It’ll do. Can you reach? No, never mind—” He knelt up himself and stretched to snag the small tube from its place near the old landline phone. Half-empty, looked like, but it’d do. Daniel had a way of making a drop of hope stretch for years. He’d manage with a handful of lotion, no problem.
“What are you grinning at?” Daniel teased, braced above him.
“You.” Jesse’s smile twisted sideways. “Don’t leave again?”
“Never. Not ever.”
Jesse closed his eyes. “Okay then.” Aching tension lifted from his chest. He licked his lips. “Good.”
He felt the brush of Daniel’s lips on his forehead. “Ready?”
“Mmm.” He couldn’t speak, but nodded, praying Daniel understood him.
Daniel did, and he didn’t waste time.
Jesse arched with the shock of sensation from the cold touch of the slippery stuff and the feel of Daniel’s hot fingers rimming his tight skin. Blunt pressure nudged up against his opening, Daniel making a questioning sound.
Opening his eyes wasn’t easy, but Jesse wanted it enough to make it happen. He looked up at Daniel, positioned over him, strain so clear in the tendons that stood out in his neck and shoulders, but willing to wait.
“Do it,” Jesse said, raising one knee to plant his foot flat on the bed. He’d wound his arms around Daniel’s neck, and used them now to pull Daniel closer, tighter. “Do it, do it now.”
Daniel gave a strangled groan as he pushed inside—a tight, burning shove that went on forever before he bottomed out. It hurt, yes, but oh, so good. Jesse’s breath left him in a rattling shout as he clutched at Daniel with his legs.
Great drops of sweat stood out on Daniel’s forehead when he’d gone as far as he could go, and stopped to breathe. “More?”
“All of it,” Jesse said, or tried to. No sound came out, but that didn’t so much matter. Daniel understood what he meant. He took Jesse’s cock in hand, away from where it had rested hard and thick on his belly, and began to pump it in time with his thrusts.
Despite his desire to keep his eyes open, Jesse couldn’t help but roll them back and let his lids flutter shut, drowning himself in the dark and the sensation of Daniel’s cock shoving roughly in and out, the way his cock throbbed in Daniel’s grasp, and the way the bed moved with them, bumping in a steady rhythm against the wall.
Jesse bit his cheek when he couldn’t hold back the insistence of the ache in his groin, when his balls drew up tight and hard. “Daniel…Daniel,” he managed to say, fisting his hands in the blankets. “Going to…”
Daniel doubled the speed of his thrusts. “Good,” he grunted, moving faster. “God, yes, Jesse. Jesse!” His hand fumbled on Jesse’s cock thanks to its own slipperiness, making him first swear, then come back for a harder grip.
Jesse’s world went white, then dark. Slick heat spread between them, pooling on his stomach. He shuddered fit to wrench his ribs apart, and maybe he had done. Who knew? Worth it, if he had.
“Beautiful,” Daniel murmured, pressing his mouth to Jesse’s wrist. “Worth the wait, love. Worth every bit of the wait. I told you I’d take care of you.”
They lay still for a long moment, both shaking hard. Daniel didn’t move again until Jesse opened his eyes.
“Still all right?” Daniel asked.
Jesse knew his voice would be raw, but he put all his heart into it. “Better than. Your turn now.” Though shyness made him stumble, he pushed through, and tightened his hold on Daniel. “Let me take care of you, too.”
Jesse meant that. He thought Daniel could tell.
“I love you,” Daniel said, voice hoarse. “Don’t ever doubt that.” He lifted Jesse’s lean legs, one in each hand, and slid them over his shoulder. “Relax as much as you can. Relax, and fly with me.”
Jesse didn’t count the pushes of Daniel’s hips, or the bursts of sensation. They blurred for him, one following fast after the other, until Daniel cried out against Jesse’s mouth. He pulled out and took himself his hand, his mouth still open. Jesse held on tight, steadying Daniel and giving him someone to hold on to. Warm wetness burst from his cock, slicking their bellies pressed so tightly together.
Slowly, slowly, racing breaths calmed into a ragged rhythm. Daniel dropped first to rest his weight on one arm then fully down to lie on Jesse’s chest. Jesse stroked Daniel’s chest as high up and near the heart as he could. He drew a figure eight turned on its side, the eternity symbol, never-ending.
Daniel hummed, a smile curving his lips. “I like the idea of that.”
Jesse copied Daniel and touched the tip of his tongue to the bow of his upper lip. “Hope so. You make me think it could be that way.”
“And it will. If I have anything to say about it, it will.” Daniel kissed the sweat-dampened curls clinging to Jesse’s cheeks, and pressed his nose to the light impression of teeth he’d left on Jesse’s nape. “Sleep. I’ll still be here when you wake up.”
Jesse yawned. “Promise?” he asked, drowsy.
Daniel raised his hand and pressed it over Jesse’s, aligning their soulmarks. “I swear.”
Jesse turned his wrist, rubbing his mark against Daniel’s. “I believe you.”
“You should.” Daniel eased out of Jesse’s body, but didn’t go far. He dropped down to lie by Jesse’s side, one leg draped over both of Jesse’s, his breath already starting to settle into the slow deepness of sleep. Cleanup could wait for later. He’d earned a rest, Jesse thought. Years of running had meant years of chasing.
And he’d never lost faith, had he?
“Thank you,” he whispered into Daniel’s hair. For not giving up. For believing. For tough love from a true, gentle heart. “Thank you.”
Daniel murmured sleepily, a meaningless sound full of warmth and contentment
that somehow managed to mean the world. Jesse kissed him once again and held him close, soaking up his warmth too long denied.
Together, they settled down to sleep away the short hours left before the tavern came to life for the day.
* * * *
Maybe they’d go back to Daniel’s hometown, Jesse thought, toying with Daniel’s hand as Daniel dozed. Maybe they’d stay here. Maybe he’d talk Daniel into going back to school. Could even be that he’d go himself.
It didn’t seem impossible anymore. That was the thing. That was the everything.
They had time, now. They could catch their breath. And together—finally—they could make a proper start at living their lives side by side as they had been meant to, all along. Now, and always.
Thank God it hadn’t been too late.
Jesse tangled his fingers firmly with Daniel’s, tucked his head against the pillow, and closed his eyes.
And Jesse slept well that night. Better than he had since he was a boy.
His dreams? All good ones.
AS WE ARE
Book four in the Soulmarked series
Can the rebels with a cause change their ways, or will they miss their chance?
Wild, rebellious, and rakish, Cade’s been a bad boy since the day he was born. Don’t get him wrong—he’s as aware of his faults as he is his virtues, and he thinks he’d be better off without a mate of his own. He’d be a hell of a handful to keep up with.
Then a chance encounter brings Cade into Dennis’ path. Blind since birth, Dennis prides himself on being plainspoken and knowing how to have a good time. He isn’t looking for a soulmate either, but after meeting Cade he’s tempted to change his mind.
Can the rebels with a cause change their ways, or will they miss their chance?
Dedication
For Kimberly Starrett, with special thanks.
Trademark Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Mustang: Ford Motor Company
iPod: Apple, Inc.
Don’t Fear the Reaper : Buck Dharma
Guinness: Diageo plc
One Ring: J.R.R. Tolkien
Love Shack : The B-52’s, Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland & Cindy Wilson
Milk-Bone: Del Monte Foods
Twister: Milton Bradley Company
U-Haul: U-Haul International, Inc.
Chapter One
“Cade? Catch!”
A jingling ring of keys sailed in an arc over the hood of Cade’s old Mustang, well-loved, ridden hard, and looking like it. Cade caught the keys neatly in one hand and held them up, scowling. “Not again.”
“Afraid so. You’ve been walking around with your head in the clouds for days. I mean, if I didn’t know you, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, but…”
“Funny guy.”
Cade’s baby brother Nathaniel—not so much a baby these days as a twenty-one-year-old with disturbingly high levels of independence—took the slow way around the car. He juggled three bags of ice, slippery and already drippy in the muggy city evening heat. “I try. One of these days you really are going to lock yourself in—or out—and then what will you do?”
“Do I have a lifeline? Can I phone a friend?” Cade mussed Nathaniel’s hair good and proper, enjoying his mini scowl of patient disapproval. Such were the rights and privileges of an older brother.
Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “That depends. Did you remember to bring your phone with you?”
“In this hypothetical situation where I’ve locked myself out of my car? Let’s say yes. And in that case, I’d call you because you’re a sensible kind of guy, and mostly soft-hearted enough not to mock me for the mess I’ve gotten myself into. Here, give me one of those before you drop them all, would you?”
Cade snagged two of the bags. Heavy, but manageable. He’d scored a decent parking space, less than a block away from the Eclipse party Nathaniel’s friend from the library was hosting. Though Cade hadn’t been personally invited and didn’t mean to stay, Nathaniel had needed a ride and Cade had had nothing better to do than lend a hand and a wheel.
“Why are we bringing ice, again? Did they run out?”
“Questions, questions,” Nathaniel chided. He knocked shoulders with Cade gently, letting him know he didn’t mind. Nathaniel could be a sweetheart that way, and very different to their stoic, gruff elder brother Robbie.
Whereas Cade… Well, Cade was the middle child and everyone knew it. Cheeky, restless, and addicted to cracking wise. A handful and a half. God help the poor bastard who might be his soulmate one day. Cade wasn’t sure anyone deserved that fate.
He shot a narrow stare at Nathaniel’s upper arm, where he had—just once—spotted a soulmark coming through, a cocoa-brown design on his pale skin.
“You still don’t have X-ray vision,” Nathaniel said in his quiet, contented way. “You’ll see it when I’m ready for you to see it. And no one called me about the ice. It’s just a thing. Everyone runs out of ice at every party. I thought I’d bring some and save Dennis the trouble of sending out for more.”
Cade couldn’t say he was surprised. Very nearly too sweet to live, Nathaniel was. Cade saw it as his mission in life to find, corner, and instill the fear of God, man, and rifles into any man who dared to think himself good enough for Nathaniel.
He hadn’t had much luck so far, but Cade preferred to see that as a challenge, not a failure. He’d get there in the end. For Nathaniel’s own good. Nothing to do with curiosity at all, nope, no sir.
Though he was fairly certain at least half the reason Nathaniel wouldn’t ’fess up about the identity of his soulmate was because he knew suspense drove Cade insane.
Even so…
Cade slowed his usual long-legged lope to let Nathaniel keep pace at his side. “Why you haven’t told me to go play in traffic, I have no idea,” he said honestly. “I wouldn’t put up with someone as nosy as me.”
“Yes, you would.” Nathaniel chuckled. “I’m biding my time, big brother, that’s all. One of these days it’s going to be your turn. Some enchanted evening, you’ll look across a crowded room and lock eyes with a stranger, and you’ll know what it feels like to find your soulmate.”
“You watch too many chick flicks.” Cade wrinkled his nose. “And I’m not cut out for relationships.”
“You might be. Don’t sell yourself short. Also, they’re not ‘chick flicks’. They’re romantic comedies,” Nathaniel corrected him. “Which you’re well aware of, since you watch them with me. I know all your secrets.”
“Shouldn’t that call for a quid pro quo? No? Hmm.” Cade side-eyed him, then the street number posted above a high-rise with an awning and a doorman. “Just remember that with great power comes great responsibility. I’m in no rush to find a soulmate, little brother. That day can take its time and I’ll be fine, as long as I have friendly company in the meantime. I’d be equally happy—maybe happier—if I stayed single.”
“So you don’t mind not having gotten laid in weeks?” Nathaniel offered him a sunny smile.
Cade grumbled under his breath. So he’d had a bit of a dry spell. Nothing permanent. Only just enough to make him very aware of a need to get back into the groove. Come to think of it, maybe he should do something about that sooner rather than later. Maybe even tonight. Hmm. Could happen. “Is this the building we want?”
“Top floor. And you’ll change your mind when you do meet your soulmate. I know it.”
Cade elbowed the door open for Nathaniel. “This would be the sound of me doubting you.”
“So you say now. It’s nothing like you think it’ll be, finding your soulmate,” Nathaniel said. “I can’t describe how it feels. It’s different when it happens to you, that’s all. Like opening a door, or like coming home. One of these days, you’ll see.”
Cade rolled his eyes, but let that one pass without comment. Sex, that was
one thing. He could handle a relationship for the duration of a hormone burst without screwing up. One-night stands—those he could do. Get in, get everyone happy, and get out before they found his Achilles heel. But acquiring a soulmate of his own?
Not likely.
* * * *
“I’m not going to be able to make it after all. Sorry. If I’d known—”
“Then you’d have gone in for your shift at the precinct anyway, because you love your job and it’s generally considered a good thing to prep for it before you go to court. It’s fine, Ivan. Paperwork trumps party.” Dennis eased back into the comfortingly squashy depths of the circle chair he favored, wedged into a corner of his apartment’s front room. Someone had turned the music up louder than sensible and the bass line thrummed in his bones. He’d have had a hard time hearing Ivan if he hadn’t taught himself at an early age to be damned good at listening.
Ivan huffed. “That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t rather be there.”
“So come around later and help me eat up the leftovers.”
“You mean, help you clean up the mess.”
“You say potato, I say cheap labor.” Dennis grinned as Ivan snorted. “That’s better.”
He’d rather his friends were in a good humor, as a matter of course, and especially Ivan. He and Dennis had shared a room in college, all four years of undergrad, and in his estimation had likely saved each other from snapping under the weight of pressure and expectations. Ivan had been estranged from his soulmate—and understandably tense about it—and Dennis had been the blind student with chips on both shoulders, itching for someone to put roadblocks in his path so he could knock them all down.
“It’s not the first party, and it won’t be the last.” Dennis shrugged with one shoulder.
