Bound by Nature: Forces of Nature, Book 1

by Cooper Davis

  Jake sauntered up to the table with a lazy grin on his face, acting as if he’d never seen the handholding—or the fast “drop and part” cover up job they’d done. Jake plonked down two beer coasters and a set of full menus. “Hello, boys. Big lunch today?” Jake’s eyes held Hayden’s for a moment, an oddly knowing gleam in those clear blue depths. So much for attributing the gift of subtlety to their bartender friend.

  Shit. Hayden hadn’t really considered that calling ahead for reservations might look like a date, and thereby out Josh.

  “It’s a celebration, actually,” Josh explained smoothly. “Jake, it’s a very big day.”

  Hayden stared at his mate and did his level best to keep his chin from dropping. What exactly was Josh about to reveal to their old high school acquaintance?

  Josh leaned back in the booth with a big, satisfied grin plastered on his face, and continued, “Yeah, I spent the past five years pursuing this pair of thugs, and just found out they’re going to trial next month.”

  Hayden’s eyes grew wide and disbelieving as he stared at the other wolf; he felt his throat go dry. “Is…is it?” he sputtered.

  Josh leaned forward then, and boldly took Hayden’s hand in his own, drawing it to his lips. With a brushing kiss he replied, “Yeah, baby, hadn’t had the chance to tell you yet.”

  For one long, endless moment they simply stared at each other, and then still holding Hayden’s hand, Josh looked up at Jake Orson. To Jake’s credit, the bartender never so much as blinked at the public display of very gay affection. Josh smiled up at him. “Your brother’s the one who gave me the great news.”

  “Ben? He’s actually good for something down at the station? I figured he just slept and ate all the time like he does at home.” Jake laughed at his own joke.

  “He’s been remarkably helpful lately.”

  “Yeah, my brother’s good that way.” Jake nodded and gave Josh a serious look. “He’s always got your back. Don’t forget that.”

  Hayden would have sworn that some mystical understanding passed between his lover and Jake Orson right then, some kind of private message, but before he could wonder what it meant, Jake had bounded away, leaving them alone.

  Hayden began playing with his coaster, staring down at the table. “I can’t believe you kissed my hand in front of him,” he admitted quietly, not looking up.

  Josh leaned forward and this time he took hold of both Hayden’s hands, squeezing them for emphasis. “The whole town’s gonna know we’re together by week’s end anyway. You know what Jackson’s like. I spent the night at your place last night; you’ll be at mine later on tonight. Now we’ve been seen at lunch together. Hell, the news about us being a couple will spread faster than I can bother blushing over the fact.”

  “Will I?” Hayden asked, daring to lift his gaze. Josh studied him, not understanding, so Hayden clarified. “Will I spend the night at your place tonight?”

  Joshua didn’t answer at first, obviously giving the question serious consideration. After a moment, he leaned much closer. “It’s like this, Garrett. We’re gonna date a while, right? Because I want to know everything about you and because I want to woo you. Just like I promised I would a couple of months ago. We were robbed of that, and I’m gonna give you every damned thing that was stolen from you.”

  Hayden swallowed hard, deeply moved. “I…I want that, Joshua. I’d love that.”

  “But just so you know, Hayden—just so we are totally clear—you are already mine. That means every night we sleep in each other’s arms. Every morning we wake still tangled together. I can’t spend one night without you, without feeling your body and knowing your scent’s on me, even if I am courting you.”

  “Courting me, huh?” Hayden really did blush then as his mate’s sensual, claiming words sank in. “I never knew how old fashioned you could be.”

  “Much as I love you, much as you love me—we’ve got a lot to learn about each other,” Josh said gently, and for a moment—with his hair rumpled from his wool cap, and the flush high in his cheeks—he looked a lot like he had on that long ago day out on the tarmac. Hayden felt a rush of love for the man that was almost more intense than any he’d ever known. It was so strong, his eyes watered at the intensity of it and he had to glance away. They’d been so young, so innocent, and Josh was right—they’d been robbed of far too much.

  And then he recalled the night they’d first made love, how surprisingly shy Joshua had turned out to be, so inexperienced at being with another man. Hayden had only begun to show him how it would be between them physically before everything was stolen from them. Before Josh had been brutally violated—after Hayden had been so careful and gentle with him. God, he’d wanted to spare Josh any pain during their lovemaking, and then…

  He shook his head, clearing the dark memories. They would start over now, as if it was the very first time all over again, as if none of the nightmarishly bad shit had ever happened. For some reason, that thought didn’t sadden him now as it might It awakened him.

  “Yeah, we’ve got a whole lot to learn. And I’ve got a lot to teach you,” Hayden whispered, meeting his mate’s gaze with suggestive, highly sexual intensity. His heart slammed hard inside his chest, and his pulse skittered in arousal as he imagined long, slow moments of instruction while holding Josh in his arms. “I’d only begun tutoring you that night five years ago.”

  Hayden caught a strong aroma right then, wafting from the other side of the booth: Joshua’s very distinctive mating scent. Josh glanced at his watch, then back at Hayden. He released a rumbling growl of possession. “Maybe I could manage an afternoon off just this once. You know, for the sake of, uh, higher learning.”

  Hayden smiled, sniffing at the air, loving that his mate was marking him all over again, right here in the bar. “Of course every teacher must also be willing to be a student himself,” he said with a husky promise all his own. “And keep up with the latest field research, of course.”

  Josh slipped a leg up against Hayden’s right then, rubbing it back and forth sensually, as if he were in wolf form and hoping to be petted. Hayden flashed on an image of his mate transformed, that glorious, gleaming coat shining beneath the full moon as they ran together. Breathless, inspired. In love.

  Swallowing hard, he tamped down the overwhelming urge to howl his emotions to the entire saloon. Instead, he leaned forward and whispered, “Full moon in two nights, mate. I have plans for you.” With that husky, arousing promise, Hayden intentionally released a potent mating scent, but it wasn’t like he could’ve prevented himself from doing so anyway. Not with Josh sitting across from him, all gorgeous and flush-faced, that sexed-up expression in his light eyes.

  No, Hayden couldn’t have kept his mating and arousal scents corked if he’d tried. He was hopelessly aroused, and any other wolf in the bar would know it now because those scents were flowing off his skin like rich cologne. And Josh clearly got the message—because he jerked his head back, pegging Hayden with a wild stare. His hands tensed against the tabletop, and his eyes changed to a much darker hue. They stared at each other, breathing heavily from arousal and then Josh slowly tilted his chin upward, sniffing at the air without ever taking his gaze off Hayden. After several moments, Josh’s eyes slid shut and he swallowed hard.

  “You’d better get me out of here, Garrett. Fast. At least if you’re going to keep that up.”

  “I love it when you call me Garrett,” Hayden purred back, laughing low. “It’s hot as hell, baby.”

  Josh’s hands clenched against the edge of the table and his jaw began ticking. “I should have claimed you last night. Not waited…why did we choose to wait?” he asked, shaking his head and swallowing several times. “That mating scent you’re putting off is about to make me do dangerous things—right here, right now. In public. You’ve gotta stop, Hayden. Please.”

  “You don’t like my mating scent?” Hayden asked languidly.

  Josh’s eyes slowly drifted open. “That,” he said in a h
usky, deep voice, “is most definitely not the problem.”

  Hayden leaned forward and slowly stroked the back of Josh’s hand. “Well, Officer Peterson, I suggest you call the chief and request the afternoon off, like you said. Because my tutoring? All that I want to teach you? It’s already begun. That’s what you’re scenting right now.”

  Josh pegged him with an almost hopeless expression, there was that much desire awash in his gaze—as if the simple act of getting the check and leaving the bar was more than he could bear. Hayden grinned, recalling that long ago night when they’d pounced on each other in the front seat of Josh’s truck, unable to even make the drive home in their desperation to touch each other.

  Quickly deciding to make things easier for his mate, Hayden gave a gallant half bow and rose to his feet. “Let’s forget about lunch,” he said quietly. “You make that call.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “This feels familiar,” Hayden said softly, turning to face Josh in the front seat of his mate’s Tahoe. “The two of us together, here in the front seat of your truck. Me dying to make love to you. You looking flushed and gorgeous.”

  Josh lifted an eyebrow. “We’re both wearing clothes this time.”

  “And you’re not climbing on top of me, ready to go to town. Of course, that could be arranged,” Hayden added in a sultry voice, patting his lap in invitation. “My wolf want to come over and be petted?”

  Josh said nothing, just grinned, running his hands along the steering wheel in a sweeping motion. Totally shy, all over again, Hayden thought. And totally charming because of it.

  “You’re nervous again,” Hayden observed.

  “A little bit,” Josh confessed, staring at the house and still sliding both palms along the steering wheel in a back-and-forth motion. “I mean, it’s like it was that night, the first time. I want you so bad it’s killing me, Hayden, but it’s getting down to it that’s kind of hard to tangle my way through.”

  Hayden lifted a hand to his mate’s cheek, stroking it slowly with his knuckles. “You don’t need to be anxious. Not with me.”

  Josh seemed to catch his edgy gesture with the steering wheel. Stopping himself, he let his hands fall loose against his thighs. Josh cut his eyes sideways. “I still am, though, and not just because I’ve spent so long aching for you. I mean, five years is an eternity, but it’s more than how long it’s been.” Josh blew out a sigh, staring straight ahead at his house—at the door that their attackers had broken down.

  Hayden reached for his mate’s hand, and drew it against his own thigh. “Baby, we don’t have to make love yet. We can go as slow as you need. I know what happened to you.”

  Josh’s eyes slid shut, his jaw tensing visibly. “I hate that you know. I despise that you…that you think of that dirty, horrid shit when you even consider touching me.”

  Hayden grabbed Josh’s arm, forcing the wolf to turn in his seat. “Joshua,” he commanded firmly, but Josh kept staring away. “Joshua, look at me. Now.”

  With a staggered inhalation, Josh slowly turned his gaze on Hayden. Tears shone in his eyes and he swallowed hard. Such vulnerability was a striking contrast to his crisp police uniform, an outward image of his strong Alpha strength. “I hate that you know I was touched by anyone other than you,” he admitted, “but especially that you know it was them.”

  “Them?” Hayden blinked. “It was both?”

  Josh flinched and then nodded. “I guess…yeah, you were unconscious. How could you have known?”

  “I remember all that they threatened,” Hayden said tightly. “I just didn’t know it was both of them.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Josh said dully. “What does matter, though, Hayden, is you associating that with me. With loving me…with touching me.”

  “My feelings for you have absolutely nothing to do with those men. Don’t you understand that I have to be gentle with you? I would be no matter what. Which has got absolutely nothing to do with what happened to you. It’s about how much I love you. How I want to make you feel when we’re together like that.”

  Josh scowled, a disgusted look coming over his features. “But why else would you keep talking about…well, being so careful with me?” Josh asked quietly, still staring up at the door to his house.

  Hayden reached for Josh’s hand, taking it into his own. “Because you only ever had me one time, and that was a long while ago. It hurt you enough then. Of course I’m going to take my time with you, going to make it sweet for you, baby. So sweet.”

  Josh nodded, staring into his lap. “Okay, I’ll admit it straight up. I am totally terrified.” He burst out laughing, meeting Hayden’s gaze. “It’s like…like I’m twenty-two all over again, and you’re gonna get me drunk, but this time I already know you’re going to make me see fucking constellations and exploding stars just by touching me. I already know you’re going to start slow, and then work me into an absolute frenzy. It’s all the same awkward terror, you see, but this time I realize exactly how it’s going to be. Which just makes it even more…overwhelming.”

  Hayden slid as close to Josh as he could and pulled him into a tender embrace. Josh folded into it, burying his face in the crook of Hayden’s neck. Hayden felt the warmth of his mate’s breath, the slight scraping of his beard growth. Suddenly he missed that soft tickling goatee that Josh had worn five years earlier. “Would you grow your beard again for me?” he murmured against the top of Josh’s head. “I loved the goatee.”

  “I’ll give you anything you want, Garrett. Anything. You know that.”

  Hayden stroked his fingertips across Josh’s cheek and whispered, “Then trust me. Trust me and don’t be afraid. But are you really ready for this step? To become lovers again?”

  Josh pulled back so that he could stare up into Hayden’s eyes. “I want you, Alpha. I’ve spent five years waiting for this moment. So, yes, I’m willing and ready.”

  Hayden suddenly remembered Josh’s promise that night at the bar two months earlier. He couldn’t help flushing in anticipation as he recalled that pledge.

  “Eager and gentle, too?” he asked, loosening Josh’s belt. As he did so, the man’s fly jutted out from the erection that obviously thickened at the promise of being touched. “That’s what you offered me, as I recall.”

  Josh gave him a sideways smile. The very same one Hayden had once wrongly assumed was cocky and smug. “Well, you were very gentle with me when we got together…and extremely eager. Least I could do was grant the same in return.”

  “Actually,” Hayden said, pulling Josh’s shirt loose from inside his pants and unfastening the last button so that the uniform fell open, “I think I’d prefer you flushed and desperate like you got with me as the night went on.”

  Josh brushed at his hair, glancing away. “I couldn’t stop myself, Hayden. You’re too damn hot and gorgeous.” Slowly he slid his gaze back to Hayden’s face, lowering his lashes. “In fact, I’m not convinced of how gentle either of us is going to be in a few minutes.”

  Hayden tilted his head sideways. “Kiss me, cowboy. Kiss me and take me any way you want me. I love you. That’s all that matters…we’ll figure out the rest along the way.”

  Josh pressed his lips against Hayden’s then, just the softest brush of their mouths together. In that hesitant, tender stroke, Hayden felt the earth begin to quake. Knew that their years of pent-up longing were about to come pouring out. Very softly, Josh kissed him, murmuring, “I think this time we should have white wine.”

  Josh opened his fridge, desperately hoping that Kira hadn’t helped herself to the bottle of Chardonnay he’d bought at Albertson’s the other day. If she had, he was going to skin the fur off her little body when she got home. He bent down so he could look for the bottle, and wanted to shout in relief when he spotted it in the lower section of the door. As he reached down for it, Hayden’s left arm came around him from behind. “Here,” his mate said, taking the bottle of wine, “allow me.”

  Then Hayden moved right up behind
him, sliding his other arm about Josh’s belly. Josh stood perfectly still as Hayden splayed his palm across Josh’s uniform-clad waist. His belt remained unfastened, his fly was now unsnapped, and for one tempting moment Hayden worked at his zipper, lowering it partway.

  “Not yet,” Hayden whispered, leaving Josh’s pants half-open, and moved to kiss his nape. Hayden’s mouth lingered there against the tender flesh, and he trailed hot kisses up into Josh’s curling hair and then nuzzled him. “Sorry,” Hayden murmured with a satisfied sigh. “Just couldn’t help myself. Seeing you lean over into the fridge, uh…it was a stunning visual, to say the least.”

  Josh laughed low. “Well, who said I wasn’t trying to give you ideas, huh, Garrett?”

  “A totally hard-body cop showing me his ass—while leaning over with his legs slightly spread— would give even a straight man ideas, baby. But since you’re my totally built, ripped cop, I’d have to knock those ideas right out of straight boy’s head if he ever tried to act on them.”

  Josh laughed even harder, slowly turning in Hayden’s embrace. As Josh looked up his lover’s eyes, so intensely blue they were like the color of a Wyoming winter sky, he blurted, “I love you so damned much.”

  And, God, but it was true. He loved Hayden Garrett so deeply that at times he couldn’t breathe from the emotion. Hayden’s response was to tilt his head sideways and capture Josh’s mouth, much harder than he had at any other time in the past day. With teeth and tongue and a soft groan, Hayden kissed him roughly, his free hand working at Josh’s nape, stroking his curls. Then just as swiftly, Hayden broke the kiss, stepping backward. He held up the unopened bottle of wine. “Let’s get this stuff flowing.”

  “I was liking the kiss,” Josh offered, walking toward the utensil drawer.