by Fel Fern
He blushed, remembering Quentin was still there.
“One week,” Joe said.
“Really?” he blurted. Relief washed over him, and the tension disappeared from his shoulders.
Before Quentin distracted him with wild stories of their childhood, numerous scenarios kept popping in his head. If the higher-ups in Joe’s pack decided they wanted him gone, he had no idea where to go, what to do. On record, he was probably written off as dead by the Discipline Squad, his identity wiped out of the Humans Matter government databases.
Other paranormals probably would look at him with distrust if they knew he’d once been a captive of the Squad. Theo had nowhere to go, no one to run to.
Except he remembered Joe told him they’d figured things out. Joe wasn’t giving up on him yet and that gave him hope, prevented him from falling into despair. He was staying with Joe. Seven days was a big deal, too.
Sufficient time to do your job, said Voss’s voice in his head.
Wrong, he thought. Theo planned on using the next seven days to figure out what the hell Voss did to him and stamp it out. Fate had given him a second chance at life, and he didn’t intend on ruining it.
“Good for you, bro. That surprises me, though,” Quentin said, scratching his head. “No offense, Theo. I like you. I think you’re a good guy and my brother’s obviously into you, but when it comes to pack matters, the Alpha’s inner circle can be tough.”
“Why are you still here?” Joe demanded, and Theo’s pulse spiked, seeing Joe’s pupils turn from blue to yellow.
Quentin rolled his eyes but went to the door. “You kids have fun.”
“I appreciate you coming over,” Joe said.
The door shut, leaving him with his very sexy werewolf.
“I thought you wanted to wait,” he managed to say, looking up at Joe’s hard profile.
Ever since Joe entered the kitchen, the very air seemed to change. His skin began heating up, especially when Joe trailed his fingers up one arm, the other giving his dick a squeeze. He moaned, recalling how Joe held his prick captive the night before.
“Life’s too short to wait,” Joe said, bringing a smile to his lips.
“Yeah?” he asked, a little breathy. He stood from his seat, unsure of what to do next. Theo was no Romeo. Aside from random dates before the Squad locked down on his family, he had little experience when it came to dating.
Thank God, Joe made the first move, fisting his shirt and bringing Theo close for a mind-numbing kiss that made his toes curl and his head spin—but in a good way. The moment Joe’s mouth brushed over his, Theo clutched at Joe’s biceps, holding on as his insides melted. Need surged inside him like an electric circuit.
Theo grew painfully aware of his hardening dick and Joe’s pressing up against him. When Joe pulled away, he panted. Theo didn’t trust himself to speak, afraid that this situation would end the same way as it did last night, with Joe changing his mind. He began to doubt, wondered if Joe really wanted him to heal fully, or did the werewolf finally realize Theo wasn’t what he wanted?
Joe’s pupils took on an eerie shade of pure, molten gold and the look on the werewolf’s face could only be described as predatory. His heart nearly leapt out of his chest at that look, like Joe wanted to eat him up, but he wanted to be devoured.
Joe only said one word. “Bedroom.”
Chapter Nine
Joe didn’t think they could make it all the way to the bedroom. Hell, his wolf pushed him to take Theo right there on the kitchen counter, but it couldn’t happen this way. Theo deserved better. On the way to the room, he made a grab for Theo. It didn’t help Theo melted against him, rose on tip-toe to steal a kiss on his lips.
Fuck. Theo had dug his claws deep into his skin in such a short span of time, made him reckless, but he didn’t care. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other along the way. Theo hesitated. They now stood at the doorway of his room, with Joe’s hands bunched into the hem of Theo’s shirt.
“I’m not exactly,” Theo began, looking away from his gaze, and he didn’t like that.
Joe tipped Theo’s chin. “What?”
“You saw me last night. My body’s a mess. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I want this as badly as you do, and I’m no longer feeling dizzy or weak like yesterday but—” Theo bit on his bottom lip. “I don’t want to end up disappointing you.”
Joe suspected Theo felt a lot better thanks to his dormant shifter genes. A human didn’t heal this fast, and when he left that morning, he noticed some of Theo’s bruises had faded, looking days old. Theo looked perfect the way he was, Joe only had to show Theo there was no reason to harbor self-doubts.
He pressed a hand to Theo’s chest, heard the erratic heartbeat. Joe smiled. “Do you think I’m disappointed?” Grabbing Theo’s hand, he placed it over his dick. “See that?” Joe continued. “I’m so fucking hard for you I would’ve taken you on the kitchen counter.”
Theo blushed, this time not protesting as Joe peeled off his shirt.
“I don’t know what you see in me.” Theo whispered those words, but Joe’s supernatural hearing caught them. A snarl slipped his lips.
“I see a fucking survivor who never gave up on life.”
“That’s not true. When they left me on the roadside, I wanted to die. I thought you were going to end me, instead you gave me hope.”
“You sound scared,” Joe observed.
“Not of you, but of this happiness that can be easily taken away.” Theo rested his hand on his chest, a privilege Joe would allow to his mate.
The wolf in him didn't like seeing Theo sad. He pulled Theo to him, kissed him again, slowly, taking his time.
Joe pulled back, and Theo didn’t stop Joe from undoing his jeans.
Then Joe made his point clear. “Don’t you get it, baby? I intend to keep you, whether you like it or not.”
“Isn’t that for your pack to decide?” Theo asked, letting out a surprised yelp when Joe gave him a gentle push on the chest. Theo’s ass landed on the edge of his bed, and Joe realized he wanted Theo to be the first thing he saw in the morning and before he went to bed at night.
“I make my own decisions,” Joe said, tugging off his clothes. Theo widened his eyes at the sight of his dick. Joe knew he wasn’t exactly small, so he didn’t intend to rush this, as much as he wanted to bury his dick inside Theo’s tight little ass.
“Lie down,” Joe ordered. Theo did as he asked, groaning when Joe crawled on top of him, leaving a trail of kisses down his lips, neck, a bite on Theo’s left nipple. He gave Theo’s dick a squeeze before getting off him. “Wait here, I’m getting the lube.”
Joe made a quick trip to the bathroom, grabbed the lube under the bathroom sink and a few towels before returning between Theo’s legs. From the angle, he could see Theo’s prick, already at half mast, and Theo’s balls. He placed the towel under Theo, then traced Theo’s tip, flicked the pre-cum gathered there, slathering it down Theo’s length.
“God,” Theo murmured as Joe gave his balls a squeeze. Moving lower still, Joe brushed his fingers past Theo’s crease to find his prize, Theo’s pink and puckered entrance. “Are you going to fuck me or not?”
Joe grinned. “So crass.”
“Who wouldn’t be?”
Joe lifted Theo’s legs over his shoulders, then uncapped the lube, his gaze never leaving his mate’s. Mate, yes, Joe knew soon enough Theo would be his, in every sense of the word. “You ready for this, baby? Because there’s no backing away once we start.”
* * * *
Theo’s heart frantically beat at those words. Joe sounded dead serious, his pupils had bled to pure yellow by now, telling Theo it wasn’t just the man he spoke to, but also Joe’s massive and lethal animal. Gazing up at Joe’s clenched six-pack, to that heaving chest, made him aware of how incredibly exposed he was, his legs apart and balls and aching dick fully revealed to Joe.
“I’m ready,” he answered, because he wanted this since last night. For someone
who never thought he’d be capable of lusting after another man again, this attraction scared him a little, but he didn’t want to stop.
Theo wanted to see where this would lead. One week. He had seven days to convince Joe and his pack that he wasn’t the enemy.
Joe applied lube to his fingers, then worked plenty inside his ass.
“Tell me, how many men have you been with, Theo?” Joe asked.
Did the werewolf actually sound jealous?
Joe pushed a slick finger inside his ass, disabling his ability to think for a second. A squeeze to his dick reminded him Joe wanted an answer.
“I’ve only had sex with one guy in college. It was quick and uneventful,” he murmured. Hell, Jerry Smith finished in five minutes, leaving him to finish working his own prick. “Truth be told, sex never appealed to me. After Voss’s torture, I didn’t think I was capable of wanting another man, until you.”
There. He just bared his soul to Joe.
The cocky, gorgeous bastard actually grinned. “Good.”
“What?”
“After I fuck you senseless, you’ll realize there’s no one else for you but me.”
“So confident?” he asked, squirming when Joe added a second finger and began widening him for access.
“Of course.” Joe finally replaced his fingers with his prick, guiding the red tip to his entrance.
He groaned as Joe gripped his hips and began to push in. The werewolf didn’t ram all the way in, although going slow and steady seemed to strain his wolf. Joe growled softly under his breath. Theo gritted his teeth at the burn, but once Joe passed the stubborn ring of muscles, it went easier. Finally, Joe rested his balls against his ass. Breathing in and out, he clutched at Joe’s biceps.
“Good job, baby. Now I’m going to make you fly,” Joe told him, kissing him on the mouth.
Joe began to move, finding a rhythm that suited both of them. Each time Joe breached his ass, he went faster, deeper. Theo dug his nails into Joe’s shoulders, panting.
“More,” he managed to utter, the pressure inside him continuing to build.
Joe reached for his prick, beginning to stroke it back and forth. He lost all logical thought. Reduced to animal noises, Theo found himself meeting Joe for every entry. It felt like Joe began drawing something out of him, something small but fierce, with wings. That was impossible. He didn’t have an animal in him the way Tommy had, but right now, with Joe slowly pushing him off the edge, anything felt possible.
It felt amazing, connecting to Joe on the most intimate level. Sex with Jerry never felt anything like this. Theo didn’t know where he began and where Joe ended. He could get used to this, being under Joe, having Joe’s dick buried inside him, claiming him completely.
Yes, Theo thought, he didn’t mind being owned by this man. He’d never been that kind of guy who wanted a domineering man for a lover, but Joe had both a rough and protective side. Never in a million years would Joe hurt him, either, he knew that for certain, despite how crazy and unexplainable it sounded.
The werewolf shifted his hips, hitting his sweet spot. He gasped, nails drawing blood and arching his back as Joe went for his prostate again. Theo’s balls tightened against his body. So close. He must’ve uttered those words out loud.
“Come for me,” Joe said against his ear, a firm command.
Joe pinched his tip and that did the trick. His vision blurred, the room fell away from his line of sight, and he came, shooting his load into Joe’s hand. He sighed, mind flying as Joe pumped in and out of him several more times before letting out a growl and emptying his jizz inside his ass.
The werewolf collapsed next to him. Theo was vaguely aware of Joe coaxing him to scoot up the bed, and he understood why. Joe reached for him, pulling him next to his body. He happily snuggled against the werewolf, back against Joe’s chest.
“That was amazing,” he said when he recovered his breath.
“Told you.”
Joe rested his prick between his ass cheeks, and he blinked.
“So soon?” he blurted. Theo ached a little, but he sure didn’t mind if Joe pushed those nine inches inside him again and made his head soar.
“Let’s see.” Joe slid a hand over his hip, then gave his dick a tug. He groaned, becoming aroused yet again. “You’re hard for me, too. The thing about us shifters, we recover so quickly.”
Theo remembered that during sex, he felt like Joe had awoken something inside him. He didn’t know why he told Joe about it. “It’s silly, right? I’ve been thinking about what you said about my dormant shifter genes. Do you think it’s possible that my inner animal’s showing itself now?”
“It’s possible. Once the week over and Deacon and the others see you’re not a threat, I’ll take you to the hawks.”
“The hawks?” he asked, a little apprehensive.
“They’re the largest avian group in town. They might be able to help.”
“They’re predatory birds. Even if I have an animal in me, it’s a magpie.”
Joe laughed, ruffling his hair. “A ferocious magpie.”
“Ferocious? Me?” For most of his life, he’d hated having dormant shifter genes. Living in an environment where being classified as a non-human meant death, he’d wished so many times that his mom had been born a normal human. Now, though, he felt guilty for having those thoughts as a teenager. If his family lived elsewhere, in a community like Devil Hills, would things have turned out differently?
No use thinking about that now.
“You were certainly wild just now,” Joe remarked.
He recalled using his nails and apologized.
“Don’t say sorry. I liked it.”
“I thought dominant shifters don’t like stuff like that?” he asked.
“You’re an exception, my mate.”
Joe planted a kiss on the side of his neck. Then he felt the slight prick of sharpened fangs. Theo didn’t mind it if Joe left a bite there, but the werewolf abruptly pulled away.
“Go ahead, I don’t mind wearing your mark,” he said, blushing.
“You have no idea what you’re asking for.” Joe’s voice had turned rough, his breathing ragged. Theo could feel the rise and fall of Joe’s chest behind him, heard Joe grit his teeth. It was as if Joe was holding himself back for some reason.
Theo wanted to know, to understand werewolves better. He was way in deep with Joe now, not that he wanted out.
“Tell me.”
“Too much information for today. Tomorrow, baby.” Joe kissed the nape of his neck. That answer satisfied him. For now.
Chapter Ten
“Watch your step,” Joe said, gripping his arm.
Theo stumbled over a fallen branch he didn’t see, but Joe easily steadied him. He looked up at the concerned eyes of his wolf, then their surroundings. These were the woods that bordered Joe’s cabin, and it was just the two of them. Four days had passed since Joe announced he could stay for a week, and this morning, Joe decided he could use some fresh air.
Both the gorgeous werewolf and the surroundings looked perfect. Where did he fit in this picture? Joe dressed in a pair of hiking boots, comfy jeans, and a plain t-shirt, a backpack slung over one shoulder. He had a feeling Joe didn’t need supplies, since he knew these woods like the back of his hand and could turn into a wolf.
“Thanks,” he mumbled, remembering his manners. “This is my first time doing this. I mean, back before my capture, we went to the neighborhood park but seldom ventured outside the city. Sorry. I’m rambling again.”
“I don’t mind. I like hearing stories of you.” Joe tugged him close, planted a kiss on his mouth, which made him all hot and aware of the big werewolf.
As an enforcer for the pack, Joe must be busy, but the dominant werewolf claimed he was on a day off. Still, Theo didn’t mind the extra time. He tugged on the straps of his day pack.
“Is it still far? Am I even allowed in this part of the woods? I mean, we’ve walked a distance,” he said, changing topic. W
hat would Joe think of him if he learned Theo already wanted to jump his bones despite having sex in the shower before breakfast?
It was as if Joe was a drug he’d grown addicted to. Theo didn’t know whether that was a good or bad thing. He’d never formed any attachments to anyone before Joe, but what if his time was up? The possibility of not waking up next to Joe started to scare him more than the last mission Voss wanted him to do—whatever that was.
On the heels of that thought, a headache started to form on the back of his skull.
“Just past that ledge, and we’re by the river. We’ll have lunch there,” Joe replied. “Theo?”
He groaned, steadying himself by holding onto a nearby tree. Theo saw small dots, his vision getting blurry, and his stomach started to clench so hard, he could vomit out what he ate for breakfast.
“Hey.” Joe’s voice and Joe’s firm hand on his shoulder steadied him. “What’s going on?”
“I—please. Just don’t stop touching me. I feel better when you do.”
Joe seemed to take those words seriously, because he suddenly gathered Theo in his arms, pulling him for a hug. Damn, his backpack got in the way, but the pressure in his head lessened. Theo took deep breaths.
“A headache, that’s all,” he muttered when he could speak.
“A migraine, more like. I noticed you experienced this the other morning, too.”
He turned in Joe’s arms to look at the werewolf. “You’ve been watching me closely, huh?”
“In a stalker, in an obsessed way, yes.”
In another time and place, that confession would have rattled him, but this was Joe, who saved his life instead of killing him, who took a chance on him when Voss and the rest of humanity considered him a traitor to his own race. Well, Theo still wasn’t clear on what he was.
“Can you walk again?”
He nodded. Joe let him go but didn’t complain when he reached out for Joe’s big callused hand and held on, as if Joe was his talisman against the headaches and bad memories of his time in captivity. Theo focused on the breeze on his face, the smell of pine, the gorgeous greenery, and the man next to him.
