“Patience, man,” Jake admonished, but his pace quickened, undermining his words.
Kelan growled and grabbed hold of Jake’s hips from behind. He thrust his hard cock against Jake’s ass and hissed when Jake pushed back into him. He licked a trail down Jake’s neck before biting down sharply, causing Jake to cry out and tilt his head to the side in an unconsciously submissive gesture. Kelan nearly came unglued. It was all he could do to keep from coming in his pants. Jake was driving him insane.
“Damn it, Jake, get us home, now,” Kelan said through gritted teeth.
Despite his words, Kelan wrapped his arms around Jake and continued to lick and suck at his neck. He just couldn’t get enough of the taste of the man. Jake bore faint traces of aftershave. Kelan was sure he detected rosewood and sandalwood. But the underlying scent was something that was all man. Kelan couldn’t wait to get Jake naked so he could taste every inch of him.
“What’s wrong?” Kelan asked when he suddenly felt Jake tense in his arms.
Now the man wouldn’t even look him in the eye.
“Jake, did I hurt you?”
“This isn’t going to work,” Jake said. His voice was suddenly as cold as ice.
Kelan frowned. He couldn’t understand why Jake had gone so cold on him all of a sudden. A moment ago Jake had been all systems go, and now Kelan could feel him pulling away. Had he done something wrong?
“What isn’t going to work?”
Jake looked up at him at last, but Kelan couldn’t read anything in his eyes. Nothing. He was like a closed book now.
“Jake?” Kelan prompted when Jake didn’t answer him.
“This…us,” Jake said, sweeping a hand between them. “Look, I’m sorry to lead you on, but this isn’t going to happen. I think it’s best you go back to the bar and find someone else to go home with tonight.”
The hell he would. There would be no other man for him ever now that he had found his mate. Wolves mated for life. But there was no way he could explain that to Jake just yet. A wave of sadness washed over Kelan. His mate didn’t want him. Had he misread the signals? He thought he had smelt Jake’s arousal earlier, but maybe he’d been mistaken. Kelan could feel a lump rise in his throat and tears begin to form in his eyes.
Wolves searched for many years to find their mates and some never found them at all. When a wolf did meet his mate, the event was almost sacred and the only thing that could separate them from then on was death. But Jake wasn’t a wolf. Maybe humans were different. He knew that some members of his pack were mated to humans, but they all seemed blissfully happy together. Kelan had always longed for the same thing.
The sensation of Kelan’s tongue teasing Jake had been almost too much for him to bear. But he didn’t want to move any further away. The feeling of Kelan’s strong arms wrapped around him had felt divine. It was almost as though he belonged in the bigger man’s arms. He wished he could stay like that for a very long time.
As soon as that thought had hit, Jake had tensed and pulled away from Kelan. Jake didn’t do commitment in any shape or form, and he was sure that was the last thing Kelan wanted, too. The guy just wanted to fuck him, right? For all Jake knew, in the morning, Kelan would be on his merry way back to Texas or wherever the hell he was from, and Jake would never see him again. He should have been happy about that. After all, he never wanted to see any of his conquests again after he’d finished with them. But the thought of never seeing Kelan again caused a pain in his chest so sharp, he thought he was going to pass out from it.
Jake turned to leave and with each step he took away from Kelan, the pain in his chest grew more and more intense. He couldn’t understand it but when he had told Kelan to go and find someone else, he could almost feel Kelan’s sadness as though it were a physical thing. But that was insane. No one could experience other people’s emotions—but that was exactly what it had felt like.
Jake was shocked when he felt a tear slide down his cheek. What the fuck? What the hell was wrong with him? He was sure he hadn’t had that much to drink, and drinking never made him sad—it usually just made him angry. Angry with his parents for getting themselves killed in a wreck when he was only eight. Angry with his grandparents for not being there for him when he’d needed them. Angry with Matt, his first and only love, for screwing his roommate and leaving him. In the end, everyone left.
Now, Jake didn’t let anyone close enough to hurt him. He had learnt a long time ago how to put up a barrier to keep people at a distance, and it had served him well for the last ten years. Kelan was the first person Jake had met that he actually wanted to get past his barriers…and that was as scary as hell. Jake had to walk away before he did something he would later regret.
Kelan watched the man he had waited his whole life for walk away from him. It was all he could do to not to throw himself at Jake’s feet and beg him not to go. Kelan’s heart ached at the loss. He was sure without Jake in his life he would never be happy again. How could he? If his own mate—the person that was destined to be with him—didn’t want him, who would? Not that he wanted anyone else anyway. Kelan couldn’t imagine ever being turned on by another man now that he knew Jake existed.
He just couldn’t figure it out. What the hell was wrong with him? Why didn’t Jake want him? He couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. One minute they’d been getting on like a house on fire, and the next there wasn’t so much as a burning ember. Kelan was confused, upset—worse, he was angry. Jake had offered him no explanation and Kelan damn well deserved one. With each moment that passed, Kelan’s anger grew more pronounced. He would not let it end like this. He was an alpha wolf, damn it, not some timid little cub. Mind made up, Kelan stormed down the street in search of his mate.
He caught sight of Jake a few hundred yards down. He watched as Jake crossed the road and let himself into a large brownstone apartment. Crap. What the hell was he going to do now? He couldn’t just stand there in the damn street. He felt like a freaking stalker. He thought about going home to Cody’s, giving up, but he couldn’t let things end like this, could he?
Kelan would never forgive himself if he left without even trying to talk to his mate to find out what was wrong. He’d seen Cody nearly throw away his relationship with Stefan when he’d discovered Stefan had a wife and son. Kelan couldn’t blame Cody, of course—the discovery had been a harsh one. Kelan might have done the same thing. But the fact of the matter was, the drama might have been avoided if Cody had only talked to his mate first, found out his side of the story.
If Cody were here now, Kelan knew what he would say. He’d tell him to stop over-thinking things. He’d tell him to swallow his pride and knock on Jake’s door, tell him everything. Honesty was always the best policy. But then, Cody had always been the brave one. His brother had never been anything but honest. And then there was Luke. His youngest brother wasn’t even gay, and yet when he’d found out he had a man for a mate, the thought of hiding that fact or denying it hadn’t even occurred to him.
Kelan was an alpha wolf. He was supposed to be strong, the strongest of his brothers—hell the strongest in his pack. And yet here he was, lurking on a street corner, afraid to knock on a man’s door for fear of getting hurt. Kelan shook his head. Time to grow a pair. He pulled in a deep, calming breath and crossed the street to talk to his mate.
Jake let himself into his apartment and, after pouring himself a scotch, he flopped down onto his custom-made, black leather sofa. He had never felt like this before—so alone. He felt like he could never be happy again. Christ, he hadn’t even known Kelan for an hour but already the loss felt like a physical blow. Jake felt exhausted. Maybe he was coming down with something. Yeah, that had to be it. It was the only way he could explain his bizarre behaviour. Maybe a hot shower and an early night would help. He had been partying a little hard lately.
He had stood up and was headed for the shower when he heard someone banging on his apartment door. Hell, the whole neighbourhood must have heard it, it was so
loud. Wearily, Jake crossed the room and opened the door, only to be pushed out of the way as Kelan stormed into the room.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Jake asked, closing the door and staring at Kelan in disbelief. “I told you nothing was going to happen between us. I’d like you to leave.”
Kelan watched Jake’s face closely, then his eyes travelled the length of Jake’s body. Jake squirmed under the scrutiny. He might have told Kelan to leave but his body was saying something else entirely. He couldn’t hide the erection that tented the front of his trousers, and he knew the moment Kelan noticed it, too. Kelan’s eyes widened and he licked his lips.
“Now, see, I think you’re lying to me, Jake. You don’t want me to leave at all, do you? In fact, I think you want me here as much as I want to be here. So why don’t you cut the crap and tell me what you really feel?”
Jake had no words to answer Kelan. He obviously couldn’t tell the man the truth. That deep down he was afraid one night wouldn’t be enough. Jake wanted more, and even if Kelan wanted the same thing, he certainly wouldn’t stick around forever. Where would Jake be then? In the same damn situation he’d been in at twenty. He’d come too far to open himself up to that kind of heartache again.
Kelan crossed the room in three long paces. He grabbed Jake around the waist and pulled him up against his long, hard body. Jake opened his mouth to object but before he could get the words out, Kelan covered his mouth with his own, shoving his tongue inside forcefully. The instant Kelan’s mouth touched his, Jake felt the last of his resistance to the man crumble. He eagerly opened his mouth, groaning loudly when Kelan’s tongue pushed inside and began to duel with his own. Jake usually didn’t kiss the men he brought home—it was too personal—but Kelan’s mouth felt so good against his own, he could quite happily kiss the man for an eternity.
Kelan grabbed hold of Jake’s ass and lifted him until his feet were dangling off the floor and he had no choice but to wrap his legs around Kelan’s waist. Kelan ground their hard cocks together and walked forward until he had Jake’s body pressed up against the apartment door. He continued to devour Jake’s mouth, spurred on by his mate’s wordless cries and moans. Jake tasted incredible. Kelan couldn’t believe this insanely sexy man was all his. When the need to take a deep breath overrode his desire, Kelan reluctantly parted from Jake’s mouth.
When Kelan pulled away from him, Jake whimpered at the loss. He looked searchingly at Kelan, begging him with his eyes to take his mouth once more. Kelan shook his head.
“Take me to your bed, baby,” he commanded.
Jake nodded. The desperate look in his mate’s eyes told Kelan that Jake would have agreed to anything he asked of him in that moment.
Kelan set Jake on his feet and grabbed hold of his hand. He followed his mate into the bedroom and gasped in shock when he was pushed up against the wall and his mouth taken almost desperately. He felt Jake’s hand reach down and squeeze his cock firmly, and he very nearly lost it right then.
Jake gasped and pulled back from Kelan, staring open-mouthed down at the bulge in his jeans.
“Fuck, you’re huge,” Jake said, shaking his head. “I can’t, I don’t think I…”
“Shhh, don’t worry, baby,” Kelan soothed. “I won’t hurt you, I promise. You will enjoy feeling every inch of my cock inside you.”
Jake looked at Kelan dubiously, but he allowed Kelan to push him backwards towards his bed. Kelan lifted off his shirt and tossed it to the floor. Jake couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Kelan’s torso while he stripped. Kelan was happy the sight of him turned Jake on. He could tell there was still something bothering his mate but now was not the time to discuss it. He’d have to have a long conversation with Jake later when they were both sated and not out of their minds with lust.
Jake leant forward and ran his tongue around Kelan’s erect nipple before taking it into his mouth and nipping it with his teeth. Kelan sucked in a breath and groaned.
“Jake, you’re killing me. Get naked, now.”
Jake ignored Kelan and moved to his other nipple, giving it the same treatment as the first. Kelan growled, grabbed hold of Jake’s shirt and pulled. Jake’s mouth fell open and he looked down in shock at his shirt, which had been torn clean in two.
“If you don’t hurry, your pants will get the same treatment,” Kelan said, already removing his tight-fitting denims.
Jake didn’t move. His eyes were fixed on Kelan’s hands while he removed his jeans. Kelan stopped what he was doing.
“I wasn’t joking about the pants,” Kelan said. “Get them off.”
Jake made quick work of removing the rest of his clothing. Kelan was naked and waiting when Jake next looked up. His mate stepped back and stared, seemingly in shock. His eyes fell upon Kelan’s erection and widened.
“Oh God,” he whispered sotto voce.
Kelan knew his mate was nervous and he desperately wanted to make it clear to him that he had nothing to worry about. They were made for one another. Not only would Jake be able to take him, he was going to fucking love it. Kelan thought about stopping and explaining everything to Jake but decided to show him instead. By the time he had finished with him, Jake was going to be begging Kelan to fuck him.
Kelan took the few steps towards Jake that put them nose to nose.
He pushed Jake’s shoulders so that he was lying down on the bed then came down slowly on top of him. He grabbed Jake’s hands and lifted them over his head.
“Keep them there and don’t move them,” Kelan instructed.
Kelan licked a path down Jake’s neck until he reached the large vein pulsing with Jake’s life-blood. He desperately wanted to bite Jake, to claim him and mark him as his own, but he knew it wasn’t time for that yet. He would have to wait until Jake knew him a little better and was truly comfortable with him before he dropped the wolf-and-mate bombshell on him. Instead, Kelan scraped his teeth over the vein, which made Jake shiver beneath him.
He moved down Jake’s body, sweeping his tongue as he went and placing soft kisses on every inch of flesh he encountered. When he got to Jake’s nipple, he took it in his mouth and bit down gently. Jake cried out, arching his body towards Kelan’s mouth.
He continued licking down Jake’s muscled stomach until he reached the head of Jake’s cock. A small drop of pre-cum had beaded on the slit, so Kelan snaked his tongue out to capture it. It was Kelan who shivered this time. Jake tasted divine, just as Kelan had known he would.
“Oh God,” Jake groaned. “Please?”
“Please what, Jake? What do you want from me? Do you want me to take this beautiful cock of yours in my mouth? Do you want me to suck you until you can’t take it any more, until you’re shooting your load down my throat? Is that what you want?”
Jake nodded frantically. “Yes,” he said at last. “Please. That. I want that.”
Without further preamble, Kelan engulfed the whole of Jake’s cock in his mouth, swallowing him down to the base. He sucked his way back up and paused at the head to lave it with his tongue. When he looked up he saw that Jake had grabbed hold of the headboard, his knuckles white from the pressure with which he was holding on to it. His head moved from side to side on the pillow and his bottom lip was caught between his teeth.
Kelan had never seen such a sensual sight. His gorgeous mate all spread out beneath him, practically out of his mind with lust. Kelan growled—he couldn’t help himself. He was grinding his cock into the bed as he sucked on Jake’s dick in an effort to relieve some of the pressure. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to shoot his load before he even got inside Jake.
Jake looked as though he was barely holding on. Kelan slid a finger into his mouth alongside Jake’s cock to wet it before pressing it against his entrance. Jake squirmed and opened his legs wider to give Kelan better access. Another loud growl ripped from Kelan’s chest. When he looked up, he could see that Jake had been surprised by the sound, but he didn’t appear to be afraid. In fact, the growl seemed to make hi
m even more excited.
After teasing around his outer muscles, Kelan finally pushed his finger inside. He waited until Jake had become accustomed to the sensation then began sliding it in and out, in time with his mouth on Jake’s cock.
Jake was back to making wordless moans and grunts. When Kelan looked up, Jake was pleading with his eyes.
He released Jake’s dick with a loud pop. From the desperate look in the man’s eyes he knew Jake needed more and he knew just what to do to blow Jake’s mind.
“What is it, baby? Huh? Something you want?”
Kelan grinned and slipped Jake’s cock into his mouth once more. He sucked a couple of times, then curved his finger upwards until he found Jake’s sweet spot, then sucked Jake’s cock once more, hard.
Jake screamed, quite literally screamed, his back arching off the bed. He began to convulse as his orgasm hit him full-force. Immense jerks and shudders rolled through his body as he filled Kelan’s mouth with his seed. Kelan continued to suck on Jake, swallowing every drop he was offered.
The taste of his mate’s essence sent Kelan into a frenzy and, before he could stop himself, his eyes shifted into their wolf form and he felt his canine teeth protrude over his bottom lip. Crap. He lowered his head and tried to get his breathing back to normal so he could concentrate on shifting his eyes back. The last thing he wanted to do was scare the hell out of Jake before their relationship had even begun.
“Oh God,” Jake groaned, looking down at Kelan, “that was the best—” His words cut off abruptly.
Kelan turned his head away from Jake but he knew he wasn’t fast enough. Jake’s loud gasp told Kelan his mate had caught a glimpse of two long, pointy teeth poking over his bottom lip. Kelan lifted himself off the bed and edged away, lifting his hands in front of himself in an effort to calm Jake.
Kelan's Pursuit Page 2
