by Anya Byrne
"I'm fine," he assured his lover. "Although I still have a couple of questions. Is this male pregnancy thing common for your… kind?"
Saul shook his head. "No, baby. I had no idea it was even possible. Everything I've ever been taught suggests that we need a male and a female to breed."
Gavin's eyes widened. Okay, so that was one thing he hadn't expected, although Saul had shown surprise when he'd first entered the apartment. "Then… How? Why?"
"I don't have a clue," Saul replied. "I just know this baby is ours, just like you are mine. Moon help me, I'd do anything to protect the two of you, but I feel so fucking helpless. Being away from you, trapped, experiencing your heartbreak, not knowing what made you so frightened, it was hell. And now that I'm finally here, I'm still useless."
Saul's phrasing immediately drew Gavin's attention. "What do you mean? How did you know I was frightened and heartbroken?"
Saul hesitated slightly. "Remember that time, when I bit you?" he finally asked. "Basically, werewolves claim our mates through our bite and it gives us a feel of whatever they're feeling at any moment in time."
Gavin didn't know whether to be excited at the potential of this particular tidbit or angry at the intrusiveness. "Wait… You can read my mind?"
"No, not quite," Saul hastened to assure him. "It's more like… an empathic bond, and it's not very specific. It depends a lot on the intensity of a particular emotion, and it's meant to strengthen the union between mates."
"Why doesn't it work both ways then?" Gavin asked, a little hurt by Saul's words. "Why can't I feel you?"
Saul cupped his cheek and caressed him with that very same gentleness that always managed to make Gavin's fears fade. "Well, baby, it's because the mating bond is also a pledge of loyalty and fidelity. It means that the person making that pledge will never be able to be with anyone else, even sexually. You're it for me, baby, for as long as I live. I couldn't ask that from you, though, not yet. I knew from the very first moment I saw you that you were my other half, but humans have different ways. We promised each other we would take it slow, remember?"
Yes, they had said that, but so many things had happened since then that Gavin's entire outlook on life had changed considerably. The night Gavin had given his virginity to Saul, it had seemed like the ultimate act of trust, but now, they had a child on the way, and were discussing family. That went far beyond anything Gavin had ever considered would happen.
"You know, Saul, there was always something that puzzled me," he whispered. "How does a person know when they're in love? How do werewolves know?"
As he spoke, Gavin trailed his fingers over Saul's naked chest. It was hard to focus on serious concepts when he had Saul completely bare in his bed, but that very same nudity gave Gavin a good starting point for the plan forming in his mind.
Saul's gray eyes were turning golden again and his voice sounded husky when he said, "When we look at a person, when we smell his scent… It's right there. We just know." His hands threaded through Gavin's hair and he murmured, "I don't know how humans love, baby, but if it's anything like werewolf emotion, it's a beautiful, magical thing, when you feel you can't breathe if you don't see that person. You're my mate, and our mate bond is forever."
Mate, huh? Saul had said the word before, but now Gavin understood it differently. And he might not be a werewolf, but he felt the same. "That sounds about right," he told Saul. "My mate."
As he spoke, he rubbed against Saul's body, not in the least bit ashamed to show Saul the results of their proximity. Saul released one of his trademark growls—really, Gavin should have guessed the man's werewolf nature solely from those sounds—and said, "I don't want to hurt you, Gavin. I—"
"You won't," Gavin interrupted him. "I want this, Saul. I want you. I missed you so much. It still feels like a dream. It's… too much. Show me it's real."
Saul's breath caught. "If… If you feel any discomfort, just…."
Gavin wrapped his arms around his lover's neck, bringing their lips so close they were almost kissing. "You'll know, won't you?" he whispered. "I want to do this, Saul. We can be careful."
Instead of replying, Saul separated the space between their mouths, brushing a light peck over Gavin's lips. Gavin let out a small moan, and Saul's tongue slipped into his mouth, coaxing and seducing. It wasn't like any of the kisses they'd shared before. In the past, Saul had taken his breath away through raw, visceral passion that followed a softer, gentler approach. In that way, Gavin had gotten accustomed to both sides of Saul. But this time, it was different, because the two sides were no longer separate. Saul stopped trying to keep his nature from Gavin, and as Gavin did his own exploring, he could now feel the way Saul's teeth sharpened and lengthened—a predator's canines. It wasn't the first time he came into contact with those wickedly sharp fangs, but now, it was different in that the touches were unrushed, a little uncertain, but open and trusting.
This was what Gavin wanted, to get to know Saul in every possible way. Saul claimed that he'd known Gavin was his other half from the very first moment they'd met. Maybe a part of Gavin had known too—but through the romantic beauty of a love at first sight and the clear chemistry between them, they could build something everlasting, a true family.
Gavin poured all of his need for Saul into the kiss, trying to tell the other man how much he wanted to trust what they had, and how afraid he was of losing it. Saul reciprocated by steadying Gavin's earnestness with lazy, comforting, yet sensual touches. Even as his tongue seduced Gavin's mouth, his hands were starting to work on Gavin's clothes.
Gavin would have liked to help, but he already knew Saul was so much better at anything that required coordination. He focused on touching Saul, mapping his strong shoulders with his fingers. Saul was exceedingly careful with him, keeping his weight off Gavin's body. Even so, he progressed steadily on his quest to disrobe Gavin. Somehow, he managed to keep their mouths fused even as he unbuttoned Gavin's shirt and reached for his zipper.
By now, Gavin's dick was throbbing painfully in his slacks. When his lover's—no, his mate's—fingers brushed against his still clothed cock, Gavin shuddered. Much to his dismay, he found himself already close to climax, and they had barely even started making out.
Saul broke the kiss and licked his lips, his now golden eyes glowing with sensual promise. "You're so hungry for me, aren't you, Gavin? It's okay. I'll take care of you. I'll always take care of you."
The honesty in Saul's voice, coupled with the lust growing ever stronger between them granted Gavin the ability to speak. "Make love to me, Saul. Please."
To point out his eagerness, Gavin wiggled out of his shirt and threw it aside. Now he was completely naked from the waist up, which essentially exposed the swell of his stomach to Saul's eyes. Saul sat back, and his hands briefly left Gavin's crotch to explore his chest. His fingers zeroed in on Gavin's nipples. The touch that followed was slight, barely there, really, and yet, it awoke each and every one of Gavin's nerve endings, making him cry out and reach for his mate.
"Your nipples are even more sensitive than before," Saul commented almost idly. "I wonder what else has changed."
For once, Saul's teasing words didn't foretell a session of sexual pleasure-pain. When Saul touched Gavin again, he did so in a nearly worshipful manner, sliding his hands over Gavin's stomach. This time, he stayed silent, but that was all right. Gavin heard everything that needed to be said anyway, or at least, saw it in Saul's eyes. When Saul pressed his lips to Gavin's belly, Gavin could feel that bond Saul had been talking about, so close, yet beyond his reach. He realized now that he wanted it—wanted everything Saul offered and more.
Finally, Saul pulled off his socks and pants, leaving Gavin completely naked on the bed. Now there was nothing separating them, and Gavin spread his legs, hoping Saul would take him up on his invitation.
Saul didn't, or at least, not in the way Gavin would have liked. He bypassed Gavin's dick and swept his hands over his legs, all the way to his feet. G
avin had to admit it felt amazing, especially when Saul started massaging Gavin's ankles. Up until this point, he hadn't realized how much they'd started to ache, but when Saul's fingers performed their magic, he could certainly appreciate the change.
The massage could have probably been considered platonic, if anyone else had performed it. As it was, Saul's touches built upon the pleasure and the need already burning inside Gavin. When Saul traced his fingers over the arch of Gavin's foot, Gavin dreamed of having those very same digits inside him, or around his aching cock. His prick responded to the imagery by twitching and leaking copious amounts of pre-cum. His anus clenched around empty air, and he was torn between moving his leg from Saul's grip to encourage more daring caresses, and just relaxing, surrendering to Saul's mastery of him.
In the end, it was Gavin who won the battle he hadn't even been aware they were fighting. Saul seemed to have no resilience at all to Gavin's arousal. His nostrils flared, and Gavin remembered Saul had said something about scenting him. It was really the only warning Gavin got before Saul dove in and took his cock in his mouth.
Volcanic heat engulfed Gavin's prick, and he gasped, burying his fingers in Saul's hair as he sought an anchor in a world that had stopped making sense. No, that wasn't it. All his life, Gavin had been struggling to find his path, and it was only now that he'd finally achieved it.
And maybe he'd have taken some time to be thankful for it, but his gratitude was overwhelmed by his lust. Lost in the sensual spell Saul was casting on him, Gavin thrust his dick into his lover's wet cavern, seeking more, needing more. Saul took his time, licking Gavin's cock from the base to the tip, suckling on the glans, then lowering his head over Gavin's prick in a corkscrew motion that made Gavin's vision lose focus. His fingers massaged Gavin's sac, and found their way to his taint. It was slow suction, reassurance and seduction all wrapped into one. There was so much emotion in this one act, in a sexual exchange that usually meant the epitome of raw carnality. In this moment, Gavin wanted to give himself to Saul more than he'd wanted anything in his life. And he'd never have thought he'd ever consider something like this, but as much as he enjoyed the blowjob, it simply wasn't enough to satisfy him.
Saul seemed to guess his desires. He released Gavin's cock from his mouth with a wet pop. Gavin's dick throbbed in protest, but Gavin mentally reminded himself he only wanted to come when Saul was inside him.
As if following Gavin's train of thought, his lover flipped him on all fours. Gavin's heart started to beat impossibly fast as Saul spread his ass cheeks. He tried to remember if he had lubricant somewhere in the room and finally directed Saul toward the nightstand. "Lube… There."
Saul didn't follow Gavin's urge, and Gavin almost thought that his lover hadn't heard him. After that, he didn't think anything anymore, because Saul speared his tongue into Gavin's anus. Gavin nearly came on the spot, the taboo caress making hot pleasure erupt over him. God, he was so close, so damn close he could taste it, almost feel the orgasm. And yet, he didn't fall over the edge. Even as Saul wiggled his slick muscle into Gavin's fluttering hole, using it like a little dick, Gavin pushed back against his lover, fucking Saul's face. He felt like he was hovering on the brink of something momentous, and the pleasure kept piling up. It seemed as if he was coming over and over, only he really hadn't, and probably wouldn't until Saul took him.
Saul finally lifted his head, ceasing his ministrations on Gavin's ass. He rummaged through the drawer Gavin had indicated earlier, retrieving the half-empty tube of lubricant Gavin had lately been using to masturbate.
A pop and a squirt signaled the fact that Saul had opened the tube. Just like Gavin had wanted a few minutes earlier, Saul's fingers slid into Gavin's hole, now slick with the lubricant. Even if the rimming would have likely worked just fine as preparation, Saul still finger-fucked Gavin, maddeningly thorough as he made sure Gavin was ready for him. And okay, a part of Gavin didn't really mind, especially not when Saul brushed his fingers over Gavin's prostate. But he was quickly reaching a tipping point, and he feared that he might lose his mind if Saul didn't claim him.
Fortunately, Saul's empathic link to him did its job this time around too. All of a sudden, Saul changed their positions, lying down and pulling Gavin on top of him. Gavin just blinked, and the next thing he knew, he'd ended up in Gavin's lap, with his ass hovering just above Saul's hard dick. "We'll take it slow," Saul said. "At your own pace. Don't strain yourself."
Gavin wondered if Saul was saying the words for his own benefit, or for Gavin's. The tightness in the werewolf's jaw reminded Gavin of their first time, when Saul had held back to give Gavin time to adjust. And maybe the situation wasn't that different, but this time, Gavin was absolutely and utterly certain of what he wanted and what he needed—and not just to surpass his former intimacy problems.
Smiling at Saul, Gavin slowly pushed down. Both of them gasped as Saul's dick popped past the ring of guardian muscle. Saul's hands landed on Gavin's hips, guiding Gavin's motions, keeping him from moving too quickly. In spite of his urgency, Gavin let Saul dictate the rhythm. It just felt so right to be like this with Saul, their bodies entwined, but their souls reaching for each other as well. He didn't want it to ever end.
The moment he took Saul's dick all the way inside him, everything seemed to fall into place. It wasn't even about the pleasure anymore, or at least, not only about that. He'd asked Gavin what love meant. This was it, the closeness, seeing his future in Saul's eyes, and knowing that they'd have a family together.
As he started to move up and down Saul's dick, he allowed that knowledge to combine with the physical sensations. He felt so full of Saul, in every possible way, that he no longer knew where he ended and Saul began. And even as he rode Saul's dick, he never looked away from Saul's face, taking in all the emotions flashing through his mate's eyes.
Alas, even something so beautiful couldn't last forever. Every time Saul thrust inside him, he struck Gavin's prostate, pushing him even higher on the peaks of rapture. Any moment now, he'd fall over the edge, into that beautiful abyss that had tempted him for too long. But before he could do so, something swelled inside Gavin, an ache that he couldn't fully comprehend or identify. "Saul," he whispered brokenly. "Please…"
As it turned out, Saul did know what that meant and what Gavin needed. His right hand briefly abandoned Gavin's hip and a strikingly sharp claw drew a bloody line over his own chest. Gavin would have been frightened, except he instinctively guessed Saul's reasons before Saul even explained. "Bite down, baby," the man—the werewolf—said. "Claim me. Be mine."
Gavin didn't hesitate for a single second. He lowered his mouth over the cut and bit onto Saul's flesh. His blunt teeth couldn't have pierced Saul's skin, but they didn't have to. Saul's blood flowed into Gavin's mouth. The coppery taste should have disgusted Gavin, but it didn't. Instead, it triggered an explosion inside Gavin, so powerful that it set to shame every single expectation Gavin might have had of this.
It was an experience that combined the carnal with the transcendental. Even as Gavin's dick spurted white streams of cum all over his lover's chest, a flood of emotions swamped him. It was sex and love, animalistic and human, a supernova of ecstasy that changed Gavin's entire world. Mental walls he hadn't even been aware of crumbled under the force of his orgasm. In his mind's eye, he could see it now, so clearly, a glowing thread of gold reaching out to him, lonely and abandoned, astray because Gavin hadn't known to reach back. He did so now, and as the thread tightened and wrapped around him, the feelings and sensations solidified into memories, images and thoughts—some his, others not his own.
He felt Saul's climax twofold, once through the sudden heat filling his channel, and again through this new incredible bond. It actually seemed like he'd come two times, and maybe he had, because his orgasm went on and on and on, never-ending, destroying him and building him anew. And just when Gavin thought it truly couldn't get any better, Saul's voice drifted into his mind. God, baby. I love you so much.
/> Before he'd met Saul, Gavin couldn't even have fathomed such a thing could be possible, but now, he accepted it. The beauty of the mate bond humbled him and he tentatively sent back, I love you too.
At last, the high of their pleasure began to fade and they collapsed together on the bed, their bodies still entwined. "I can't believe I can hear you in my head," Gavin murmured breathlessly when he could speak.
"It only happens when we're actually having sex," Saul replied. "The rest of the time, we just feel each other's emotions."
For the longest time, they just lay there, Saul's dick still inside Gavin. Distantly, Gavin wondered why in the world this kept happening after they had sex—and what exactly this was. William had mentioned it too, so it had to be a werewolf thing.
Saul must have sensed his curiosity or guessed his thought, because he proceeded to explain, "It's called knotting, baby. It only shows up between werewolves and their mates. Supposedly, it exists to assist with the impregnation of females."
"Looks like it works for men too," Gavin replied with a slight snicker.
When Saul finally slid out of him, Gavin turned in Saul's embrace and cuddled closer to his mate. "So now what? What's going to happen? Do you need to go back to your pack?"
Saul shook his head. "They pushed me into something I never wanted, and I don't want you or our son to be in the middle of that kind of poison."
Gavin faced his lover and fixed him with a serious look. "What exactly happened, Saul? Tell me everything, and don't ignore any detail."
With a sigh, his new mate agreed. As he took in everything Saul had gone through, Gavin couldn't help but gasp. "You could have been killed, Saul. I can't believe your father would go for something like that."
"The werewolf world is often cruel," Saul answered, kissing Gavin's forehead. "But don't worry, baby. We can build a pack of our own, for the three of us and all those lone wolves out there who don't fit it."
"A lone wolf pack?" Gavin beamed brightly, already loving the concept. It was kind of a paradox, just like Saul, and because of that, it was perfect. "That's a great idea."
