by Shea Balik
Chapter 6
Kai’s body tensed the moment he heard someone else claiming Bodhi for themselves through his earpiece. His coyote was so enraged he couldn’t keep the howl his animal gave from erupting into the sky. Thankfully he’d just managed to get his pants on when Paytah had opened his earpiece to Kai. As it was, he was barreling through the crowd shirtless and shoeless.
Hunter’s voice also came into his earpiece to give him directions to his mate. He wasn’t sure why their resident assassin was there, but Kai had to admit to being glad he was. He had no doubt Paytah could handle anyone daring to put their hands on Bodhi, but sometimes the man only made things worse with his quirky sense of humor.
He heard a snarl through the earpiece that must have come from the man claiming Bodhi was his. “I don’t care who that was. Just tell him to stay away from Bodhi. I saw him first, and I’m not about to let someone try to steal him from me.”
“How many times do I have to tell you? I broke up with you months ago, Grissom. Get over it.” The sweet sound of his mate’s voice came through the earpiece, calming Kai like nothing else could. “Now get your meaty hands off me. You’re hurting me.”
Just like that Kai was enraged once more. Hunter’s directions weren’t necessary any longer. His coyote had taken over, zeroing in on their mate. The crowd parted, showing him his mate yanking on his arm, trying to get a big brute of a man to release him.
Paytah moved to force the man named Grissom to do as Bodhi had demanded when his friend saw Kai coming. With a smirk on his face, Paytah gave a bow of his head as if telling Kai he would leave the bully to Kai’s animal, who wanted nothing more than to tear the man’s hand off his mate and beat Grissom with it.
“This might be your last chance to save yourself,” Paytah told the man intent on holding Bodhi. When Grissom didn’t move, Paytah shrugged. “Your funeral.”
Two steps later Kai strode up to Bodhi and Grissom. He didn’t even pause as his hand cocked back and slammed into Grissom’s face, knocking the man out with one punch. His other hand went around his mate’s body, helping Bodhi stay upright when he started to stumble as Grissom fell.
“Well, that was effective if a bit anticlimactic,” Paytah quipped. “Come on, Hunter. We need to get rid of the trash.” With a put-upon sigh at having to do such menial work, Paytah bent down with Hunter and picked up the heavy bull shifter. “We really need to work on getting more guards so they can clean up after us,” the Fire Mystic complained as he and Hunter dragged the still-unconscious Grissom away.
A sweet moan of desire came from his mate, whose head was tucked against Kai’s bare chest. “It’s just not fair that you’re so fucking hot.” A tongue darted out, licking across Kai’s nipple, sending a jolt of need through his body. “Damn, you taste so good. How am I supposed to resist licking every damn inch?”
Kai wasn’t sure why his mate would want to resist. It sounded good to him. “Who said you had to resist?”
“Bodhi, is that you hugging that half-naked man?” A woman, who looked remarkably like Bodhi, said from a few feet away. “Are you going to introduce us?”
“Please let this be some sort of weird hallucination,” Bodhi whispered against Kai’s skin.
The way those soft lips brushed along Kai’s body sent bolts of electricity through him. Considering they now had an audience, Kai shouldn’t be so fucking turned on, but he just couldn’t help it. Bodhi was his mate, and apparently no matter what was going on, his body was going to respond like an untried teenager.
“Bodhi?” The woman, who Kai was assuming was his mate’s mother, stepped closer.
Kai had to bite his lips from laughing when his mate’s shoulders dropped with a sigh. “What the fuck did I do to deserve making a fool of myself in front of my mate the first time I met him?”
He was pretty sure Bodhi didn’t mean to say that out loud, and Kai wasn’t about to point out he did. Too bad his mother had no such issue. “This is your mate? Oh, Bodhi, I’m so happy for you.”
Kai knew the moment Bodhi realized he’d spoken his question out loud. The man’s body tensed, and his cheeks flamed bright red. He hated that his mate felt uncomfortable, but there wasn’t anything Kai could do about it except to gloss over what he’d said.
Sticking his hand out to the woman in front of him, while allowing his mate to continue to hide his face against his chest, Kai said, “Kai Ortega, nice to meet you.”
“Sunshine Love, Bodhi’s mom.” The woman didn’t even blink an eye at Bodhi continuing to hide his face as she talked. “So did I hear Bodhi correctly? Are you mates?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered politely, a huge smile on his face. His own mother would kill him if he didn’t extend every courtesy to his mate’s parents.
Sunshine waved her hand in front of her face as if dismissing his words. “There’s no need to be so formal. We’re family after all.” In the next instant, his arms were full of both mother and son as she wrapped her arms around both Bodhi and Kai. “You can call me ‘Mom.’”
He wasn’t sure how his own mother would feel about that, but Kai wasn’t about to insult his mate’s mom. “I would be honored, Mom.” It sounded strange to his ears to call anyone but his own mother that. He hoped he’d get used to it.
“At least this explains why Bodhi was taking so long getting us popcorn.” Sunshine chuckled. “Oh well, the kids can wait a little longer for the treat.” She took Kai’s hand in hers. “Come on, I want you to meet the rest of the family. Well, Bodhi’s sister, Amity, isn’t here, but you’ll meet everyone else.”
Whether they were ready or not, the surprisingly strong woman pulled Kai, who still held Bodhi close, toward an area where blankets were set up and families were watching the movie.
This seemed to finally wake Bodhi up. “Wait, Mom.”
Thankfully his mom listened, for Bodhi had stopped walking, and Kai didn’t want to have let him go, and Sunshine’s grip on his hand ensured he wouldn’t be letting her go.
“What is it, Bodhi?”
Those brilliant lavender eyes glanced up at him through the longest lashes Kai had ever seen. He couldn’t move while his mate’s gaze was on him as Bodhi seemed to making a decision about something.
“Kai and I need a few minutes to talk. We had a misunderstanding about something, and I want to straighten it out before he meets everyone.”
Sunshine’s shrewd gaze looked first at Bodhi and then at Kai before she nodded. “Fine, but you better not be long, and if you value your life, you might want to bring popcorn. The kiddies are getting restless.” With that, she continued walking around the various families until Kai lost sight of her.
Kai stood there waiting for Bodhi to say something, but those lavender eyes seemed fixed to one of the many screens showing the movie. Having watched his friends find their mates and have to work through their differences, one thing Kai knew to be true: they had to face their issues head-on if they wanted to get past them.
He placed a hand along the side of Bodhi’s face, tilting his mate’s head toward him until those beautiful eyes were looking into his. “Whatever it is, we’re mates. Nothing else matters.”
“Can we go somewhere more private? I think I’ve humiliated myself enough today to have everyone listen to my apology.” His mate’s words broke Kai’s heart.
As far as he was concerned, Bodhi hadn’t done anything that warranted an apology or feeling embarrassed. “Sure.” He would do anything to make his mate more comfortable.
* * * *
Bodhi didn’t breathe easy until they were back in that small storage closet where he’d come apart with little more than a couple of strokes from Kai’s hand. At least now that he knew they were mates, his reaction to his mate’s touch was more understandable. His parents had always told him, when he met his mate, his body would respond instantly.
Boy, they hadn’t been kidding. He had nearly come without even having to be touched. That would have just added to his ultimate humiliati
on. The scent of sex still permeated the air when they walked into the small space. His dick instantly hardened, pushing against the zipper of his jeans.
Kai moaned. “Oh fuck, little butterfly. Your need smells so sexy.” The man stepped up to Bodhi. His large hands went around his body, gripping the cheeks of his ass, lifting Bodhi until their groins pressed together.
Lips came down to capture his in a passionate kiss full of tongue and teeth. Bodhi’s hips bucked as his prick desperately tried to find friction. This wasn’t what he’d wanted when he asked for privacy, but he couldn’t deny he was glad it was happening.
Being in Kai’s arms was what heaven must be like. Normally Bodhi hated the way his larger boyfriends tried to manhandle him, picking him up like he was some sort of child to be maneuvered. Yet when Kai did it, it felt…right.
He actually liked the way Kai took complete control. It allowed Bodhi to not worry about anything but feeling the pleasure his mate was giving him, yet still let him touch the man’s hard, sculpted body.
Kai ripped his firm lips from Bodhi’s, causing him to cry out until he felt the man blaze a trail down his throat. Sharp teeth scraped over the spot his neck met his shoulder. He tilted his head to give his mate better access to the spot.
His antelope wanted to roll over and show its belly to the more dominant shifter. If it wouldn’t mean leaving the man’s embrace, Bodhi would be tempted to follow his animal’s wishes, but nothing and no one was going to make him leave his mate’s arms.
The wall was suddenly against his back as he was lifted higher into the air. When Kai’s mouth ran out of skin at the edge of Bodhi’s shirt, his deep voice rumbled inside his chest. “Take off your shirt.
Bodhi was helpless to do anything but obey the demand. Yanking the shirt over his head, he ignored the sound of the material tearing. Wet heat surrounded one nipple as the little nub was sucked on like it was Kai’s favorite treat.
His body bucked, the sensation too much to even try to keep still. The move pushed his dick against rock-hard abs, but the material of his jeans stopped him from being able to enjoy the feel of his mate’s six-pack. He kept rutting against his mate, hoping the jeans would just melt away magically.
Teeth clamped down on his hard nipple, the sharp bit of pain going straight to his balls, forcing them to tighten with the need to release. “Please, Kai, I need you to fuck me.” His hole clenched in anticipation at the plea.
Suddenly Bodhi was flipped around so he was facing the wall. A hand at his back held him there, while Kai’s other hand yanked his pants down his slim hips. It was a good thing he hadn’t worn his skinny jeans, or Kai would have had to rip them off his body.
“Oh fuck,” he screamed the moment he felt his mate’s tongue lick a path from his lower back straight down to his hole. He thrust his hips back the moment the man’s appendage lapped Bodhi’s pucker, loosening the muscles guarding his entrance.
White-hot bolts of electricity shot through his body. He desperately wanted to yank on his balls to stop his impending orgasm, but he was too busy holding on to the wall for dear life.
Pleasure unlike anything he’d ever known swamped through him. His head spun, only his grip on the wall grounding him. He wasn’t sure it was going to be enough to keep him on this earth, not when Kai was sending him into the stratosphere.
Then that talented tongue thrust into his channel, and Bodhi flew, tumbling over the abyss as his orgasm blasted through him, exploding out of his cock.
Chapter 7
If Kai lived forever, he didn’t think he’d ever see anything more beautiful than his little butterfly falling apart in his arms. Bodhi exuded sensuality in every movement, every expression, and every sweet cry that fell from his soft lips.
The moment he felt his mate coming, Kai slid his hand around to the man’s prick. Not having expected to meet his mate, Kai hadn’t brought lube with him. Between eating Bodhi’s ass and the man’s cum, he’d make do.
With fingers coated in his mate’s seed, Kai slid one finger into his mate’s channel, opening him up. Even with his own need pushing at him to sink his dick as deep into Bodhi’s body as soon as possible, Kai wasn’t about to rush a moment of this.
He loved the way Bodhi’s body seemed to suck his finger right in. “Damn, little butterfly. My finger looks so good in your ass. I can’t wait to see what it looks like to have my cock splitting you open.”
Kai felt his mate shiver at his words. That pert, tight ass pushed back on his finger as if looking for more. Kai was more than happy to give it to his mate as he thrust a second finger inside the hottest hole he’d ever felt. His prick pulsed at the thought of all that heat wrapped around him.
The sweetest of sounds, something between a whine and a whimper, filled the air around them. It was better than any music he’d ever heard Gibson play. Kai would love to record it to listen to later, but that would have to be another time. Right now he needed to feel his mate surround him.
His cock was straining to punch through his pants to get inside his mate’s ass, but Kai wanted his mate well prepared. Kai wasn’t small, and he wasn’t about to let their first time be associated with pain. It was bad enough they were mating in a closet.
Sliding a third finger in with the other two, Kai continued to open his mate. Maybe he was going a little faster than he should, but who could blame him. The groans and moans coming from Bodhi were enough to put anyone on edge. Add to it the way his little butterfly was bucking his hips, trying to drive Kai’s fingers deeper, and Kai was doing everything possible not to just drive his cock in as far as it would go.
“Oh, Kai. Please fuck me. Please, I need your dick inside me, pounding me into the wall.”
Kai nearly swallowed his tongue at his mate’s dirty words. He hoped he’d done enough to prepare his mate, because Kai couldn’t wait any longer. Spinning his mate to face him once more, Kai looped the man’s arms around his shoulders. “Hold on to me.” He loved that his mate automatically followed whatever order he gave.
Kai was a dominant man in bed and liked it when his bed partners let him control them during sex. So far, Bodhi didn’t seem to have issues following his orders. He hoped that boded well for their future.
With one hand wrapped around his mate to hold him up, Kai unzipped his own pants with the other hand. Pushing the material down just enough to release his engorged cock, Kai wrapped his hand around the length, coating it with Bodhi’s remaining seed.
He placed the tip at his mate’s entrance. His gaze met lavender eyes drunk with passion. A whimper from Bodhi was all it took for Kai to plunge forward, sinking all the way to the root in one thrust.
Bodhi cried out. The muscles surrounding Kai’s dick clamped down, holding him tight. Kai’s jaw clenched as he fought to stop the orgasm threatening to barrel right through him. He wanted to enjoy every second, and he wasn’t about to let it end so quickly.
The thread that had stopped him from tumbling over the cliff broke when the muscles wrapped around his cock started to rhythmically massage his shaft, pulling him impossibly deeper. “Fuck,” he swore even as his hips pulled back only to slam into his mate once more.
“Yes, fuck my ass with that big cock,” Bodhi screamed.
Kai gripped the cheeks of Bodhi’s ass, spreading them apart to allow him even deeper as he set up a hard rhythm. Bodhi’s hands dug into Kai’s shoulders as if trying to hold on. Kai understood the need. He felt his world spiraling, coming apart at the seams as if nothing but the two of them existed.
Bodhi screamed. His ass clamped down hard on Kai’s shaft, and pearly white seed coated the space between them. Kai’s balls pulled up tight as his cock thickened further. His canines ached to taste his mate.
Leaning down, Kai licked the spot on Bodhi’s neck he planned to mark and let his canines sink deep. The dual sensations of his dick and his teeth inside his mate threw him headlong into bliss as his orgasm was yanked from his body.
Sucking hard, he drank several mouthfuls o
f his mate’s blood, loving the sweet, coppery taste. Pinpricks of pain at his neck morphed quickly into ecstasy. Cum he didn’t know he still had left spurted into his mate’s channel at the feel of Bodhi mating with him.
Gently as possible, he pulled his teeth free, licking the small wound closed. He knew he wore a self-satisfied smile when he saw the scar that marked Bodhi as his. Needing to touch, he nuzzled close, licking along the edges.
He groaned when his mate’s muscles pulsed around his cock once more. “Damn, little butterfly, I could spend all day every day inside your sweet body and never get tired.”
The rasp of Bodhi’s tongue over the mating mark on his own neck sent sparks of pleasure zinging through him. “That might make it hard to do our jobs,” his mate teased.
He leaned his head back enough to look into his mate’s eyes. The very breath from his body was stolen at the debauched picture Bodhi made with his messy hair that created a bit of a halo around his head. But it was the look of satisfaction in those lavender eyes that captured his heart. His mate had been well pleased, and Kai was the one to have put that expression on his mate’s face.
The sweetest laughter, like bells tinkling, rang out. “You look very pleased with yourself.”
Kai wasn’t going to deny it. He was. How could he not be? He’d satisfied his mate. There was no greater feat in his opinion. “Yes, I am. I mated the sexiest man in the world. I gave you pleasure and lots of it from the look on your face.”
His words did what they intended. Bodhi laughed once more. That was something he planned to make happen as often as possible. The sound settled something deep within Kai.
“You really are sure of yourself, aren’t you?” Bodhi fluttered those long lashes at him. He opened his mouth to say something else, when a fist pounded on the door.
