“Jake McAlester.”
Daniel leaned back, pressing himself against the wall when Brom leaned forward and sniffed his neck. There was no way for him to describe the feeling he got at having Brom that close to him, sniffing him. It went straight to his cock.
“You don’t smell like him,” Brom said, his voice low.
Daniel rolled his eyes. “Duh! I’m not mated to him.”
“Are you sleeping with him?”
Daniel stared at Brom in shock. “You don’t have the right to ask me that.”
“You’re my mate,” Brom snarled.
“Not any more I’m not. You gave up that right when you sent me away and married that bitch.”
Brom’s head dropped forward until Daniel couldn’t see his eyes anymore. The silence in the room was punctured only by their heavy breathing. Daniel’s heart pounded as he waited for Brom to say something, do something, anything.
“Damn it, Daniel, you—” Brom suddenly stopped speaking, pushing himself away from Daniel to cross the room to the window. He crossed his arms over his chest and just stared out the window.
“You don’t understand how things were, Daniel,” Brom said softly.
“I understand exactly how things were,” Daniel snapped. “You made it more than clear to me that last time I saw you.” Daniel stormed across the room to grab Brom’s arm and spin him around. “You remember that, don’t you? That’s when you told me that you never loved me and that you would never mate me. It was all just fun, remember?”
“Daniel, I—”
“What?” Daniel asked when Brom stopped mid-sentence again. He felt overwhelmed at the stricken look on Brom’s face. He dropped his hold on the man’s arm and stepped back several paces.
He needed to get control of himself before he said something he would regret. Daniel rubbed his hand over his face and took several deep breaths. He was so close to begging Brom to take him back when it was Brom that had kicked him to the curb in the first place. He needed to remember that.
“Go,” Daniel ordered without looking at Brom. “Just go.”
“Daniel, I don’t want things to be like this between us.”
Daniel scoffed, turning to glare at Brom as his anger at the man flared back to life. “How in the fuck did you want it then? Am I just supposed to sit by while you have your little life, then make nice when you lower yourself to speak to me?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what in the hell did you mean because I have to tell you, from where I sit, this whole thing sucks. You have the family you wanted. I have nothing. I’ve spent every night for the last five years alone.” Daniel waved his hand towards the door. “So you go back to your perfect little wife and your two little kids and live a long and happy life. Just stay the fuck out of my life because I never want to see you again.”
Even as he said the words, Daniel wished that he could take them back. As much as he needed Brom to go away and keep out of his life, he also needed him to stay. The agony produced by his indecision sat like a weight in his stomach.
Brom stepped towards him. Daniel leaned into the hand that gently cupped his cheek. It had been so very long since he felt Brom’s tender touch, years. And he missed it so much. That one simple moment of contact almost undid him.
“Is that what you want, Daniel?” Brom murmured quietly. “Is that what you really want?”
Daniel closed his eyes and bit his lip to keep from telling Brom what he really wanted. It wouldn’t do him any good. Brom made his wishes clear years ago. Daniel couldn’t force the man to mate him, no matter how much he wanted it.
“It’s the way it has to be, Brom,” Daniel replied just as softly. He opened his eyes, curious when he heard a small catch in Brom’s breathing. The emotions flashing through the man’s blue eyes made Daniel’s heart pound rapidly in his chest.
Brom ignored him, his hand stroking the hard contours of Daniel’s face, his thumb tracing over Daniel’s lips. “I haven’t heard my name on your lips for over five years, but I never forgot the way it sounds.”
Daniel shook his head in denial. He knew what was coming, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist. “Please don’t do this, Brom.”
“I have to, Daniel.”
Chapter 3
Brom groaned as he leaned in and captured lips that hadn’t touched his in over five years. No matter how many years it had been, he still remembered and hungered for the taste and feel of Daniel.
He closed his eyes and pulled Daniel into the circle of his arms. His heart hammered in his chest when he felt Daniel’s arms wrap around him, one arm around his waist, one around his neck. A brief shiver of remembered moments rippled through him.
“Brom,” Daniel whispered breathlessly.
Brom could hear the want, the need in the man’s voice. It was answered in the silent thundering of his heart. He grabbed the hem of Daniel’s shirt and pulled it up over the man’s head.
His breath caught in his throat at what he found underneath. Daniel had filled out in the years they had been apart. Before, the man had been handsome, stunning. Now, he looked absolutely breathtaking.
Hard, contoured muscles and dark brown nipples graced his smooth chest. A rippled abdomen moved into a concave below the man’s pant line. A small trail of reddish gold hair trailed down under Daniel’s belt.
Brom’s hand trembled as he traced the lean muscles of Daniel’s chest. He moved down past Daniel’s belt buckle to the large bulge still wrapped in black slacks. Brom quickly glanced up at Daniel when the man hissed. He squeezed the hardness beneath his hands again, watching in awe as Daniel’s head fell back on his shoulders. A look of pure ecstasy played across Daniel’s face.
Brom couldn’t stand it. He quickly unbuckled Daniel’s belt and slacks, pushing everything down Daniel’s legs until his full cock bounced free. Brom dropped to his knees before Daniel.
His hand trembled as he reached out to touch the engorged flesh. It was hot to the touch, silky, jerking in his hand. A small drop of liquid pooled at the tip. Brom was unable to stop himself from leaning forward and licking the drop away, the distinct taste of his mate exploding across his tongue.
The groan that fell from his lips sounded agonized and needy even to Brom’s ears. He felt his face flush at how needy he appeared. But he couldn’t keep the desperate look off his face as he tilted his head back and gazed up at Daniel.
“Do it,” Daniel demanded fiercely. “Suck my cock, Brom.”
Elation flowed through Brom. It was quickly overshadowed by a desire so turbulent that Brom’s eyes almost crossed. He looked back at Daniel’s cock, anticipation flooding him as he leaned forward and wrapped his lips around the thick shaft.
He ran his tongue around Daniel’s cock, over the small slit in the hood, then under the edges of the mushroomed head. Daniel’s hands gripped Brom’s hair. His hips bucked against him.
It was all the permission Brom needed to continue. He sucked the hard flesh into his mouth until the head butted against the back of his throat. The agonized groan that came from Daniel when he swallowed made Brom suck harder.
He could feel Daniel’s legs tremble under his hands where he gripped them. The man’s moans turned to continuous whimpers and cries of delight. Brom reached down and pushed Daniel’s shoes off his feet, then pushed his slacks the rest of the way down until Daniel stood before him naked.
He knew Daniel wanted the same thing he did when the man spread his legs. Brom stuck two fingers in his mouth along side of Daniel’s cock and got them as wet as he could then moved them back around to the crease of the man’s ass and stroked them over the small, puckered hole waiting for him.
Daniel felt so tight when Brom pushed his fingers in that he almost came in his pants right there and then. No one could be this tight if they were having regular sex. Daniel hadn’t been lying when he said he slept alone every night.
Brom wasn’t sure if that made him happy or sad. Both emotions seemed to war
inside of him. He was glad that Daniel had denied this intimate act to anyone but him. He was saddened that Daniel had been alone all of these years. And he was happy that Daniel had been alone.
Brom tried his hardest over the years to not imagine where or who Daniel was with. The pain each imagined image brought him almost tore his soul apart. Despite what he said to Daniel, the man was his mate and always would be, even if they couldn’t be together.
“Oh, God, Brom, harder,” Daniel cried out. His hands pulled at Brom’s hair. “I need you to fuck me.”
Brom pushed his fingers deeper into Daniel. He added a third one and curved them just a bit until he found Daniel’s sweet spot. He knew he grazed it when Daniel’s cries suddenly increased, and his body stiffened.
Hot cream filled Brom’s mouth. The taste, sweet and tangy at the same time, overwhelmed Brom. He was aroused to a fever pitch. Brom licked the last drop of seed from Daniel and then climbed to his feet. Daniel’s eyes were dazed, his expression passion-filled.
Brom picked him up and quickly carried him into the bedroom, laying him down on the bed. It took just moments for Brom to pull his own clothes off and dig around in the nightstand for a bottle of lube that he knew was there. Daniel always kept a bottle of lube in his nightstand.
Brom climbed up on the bed and knelt between Daniel’s spread legs. He squirted some lube between Daniel’s ass cheeks before lathering his own cock. Dropping the lube on the bed, he grabbed Daniel’s legs and hooked them over his shoulders.
He paused long enough to look down into Daniel’s eyes, silently asking for permission. As much as he wanted Daniel, he wouldn’t take the man without his consent. He never forced Daniel in the past, and he wouldn’t do it now.
Daniel’s slow nod was all Brom needed to push deep inside of his tight grip. A moan of ecstasy slipped through Brom’s lips as hot, silky flesh enveloped him. He felt passion rising in him like the hottest fire, clouding his brain.
Sensation took over as Brom began to move, slowly thrusting into Daniel. He felt Daniel’s hands grip his arms. His face seemed rigid, his jaw clenched tight, but his beautiful green eyes sparkled with desire. Brom didn’t think he ever looked more beautiful.
An overpowering need to claim Daniel, to bite him and sink his teeth into his soft flesh, rolled over Brom. He glanced down at Daniel’s throat. He could see the small pulse moving, thumping. Just one small taste, that’s all he wanted.
“Do it,” Daniel whispered.
Brom raised his eyes to find Daniel watching him. His dark eyes smoldered with fire. “Daniel.”
“Do it, Brom. Claim me,” Daniel said before tilting his head back and baring his throat to Brom’s gaze. Hunger unlike anything he ever felt in his life ripped through Brom. He leaned down and swiped his tongue over the rapid pulse there.
Sweet, hot, masculine flavor crashed into Brom. He let his canines extend, scraped them over the soft skin of Daniel’s throat. Desperate need filled him. Brom started to sink his teeth in when reality reared its ugly head.
Brom closed his mouth tight and buried his face in Daniel’s neck. Extreme sadness filled him. Even as heard Daniel cry out, hot wetness filled the space between them. A hot tide of passion raged through Brom. He gasped nearly silently as Daniel took him over the edge.
His body shuddered, a flash of desire blinding him as he came, filling Daniel with his release. Brom panted, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He lifted his head to look at Daniel, his heart breaking at the silent tears falling from the man’s eyes.
He reached up to touch Daniel’s face, pausing before his hand made contact with the man. “Daniel, I—”
Brom moaned as Daniel pushed him away, rolling over onto his back. He watched him move to the side of the bed. Daniel’s shoulders seemed to shake for a moment when the man stood up.
His face was clear of tears as he glanced over his shoulder at Brom but it seemed covered in misery. “I want you gone when I get back,” Daniel said quietly, then turned and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
Brom stared at the closed door for several moments. His mind couldn’t get past the agony that filled Daniel’s features. He knew he was responsible for Daniel’s pain, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
He and Daniel could never be together, not the way mates were supposed to be. And Brom could never fully explain to Daniel why. It was better to just let Daniel think the worst. Even if it sent unimaginable pain through his heart, Brom hoped that Daniel would find someone to love as much as Brom loved Daniel.
Chapter 4
Daniel poured himself another shot of whiskey and slammed it back, grimacing as it burned down his throat. A terrible sense of bitterness assailed him. He poured another shot and drank it down. He was bound and determined to get drunk and burn the memory of Brom fucking him out of his mind, even if it was just long enough for him to sleep.
Because, God knew, every damn time Daniel closed his eyes all he could see was Brom’s handsome, rugged body moving over his, loving him. The image would instantly harden his cock every time.
And then Daniel would remember Brom’s refusal to claim him yet again. Daniel had no idea what made him beg Brom to claim him. He obviously had lost his mind. He knew Brom wouldn’t do it. Brom made that perfectly clear numerous times. Still, he hoped for a brief moment when he felt Brom’s teeth scrape over his skin.
Daniel shook his head and poured himself another shot. He just needed to get really drunk and find someone to burn Brom’s memory from his mind. Daniel doubted it would work, though. He’d been trying to do that very thing for the last five years.
“Hey, man, got another glass?”
Daniel glanced over to see Jake sitting down across from him. He frowned and handed the bottle of whiskey over. Jake poured a glass for himself, then one for Daniel. He held his up and looked over at Daniel.
“What are we celebrating?”
“My utter stupidity.”
Jake raised an eyebrow and then clinked his glass against Daniel’s. “Well, then, to you, Daniel. May your utter stupidity reign supreme.” Jake chuckled and tossed the drink down.
Daniel swallowed his own and set the glass down on the table. He knew Jake had questions, and he’d probably want answers. Daniel had avoided any contact with Brom or his pack for several days. Jake would want to know why, and Daniel wasn’t in the mind to tell him.
“I need to go home, Jake.”
Jake nodded. “Yeah, you seem a little unsteady on your feet. Just how much have you had to drink anyway?”
“No, Jake,” Daniel said. “I need to go home, back to the ranch. I can’t be here anymore. I can’t—”
“Daniel,” Jake said, reaching over to place his hand over Daniel’s. “It’s okay. If you need to go home, go home. I understand. Do you want Lucas to go with you?”
Relief filled Daniel. He shook his head. “No, I probably won’t be very good company anyway. You might as well keep him here with you and Leyland.”
“Well then, what do you say we get you back to your room and get you packed? You can get some rest, and then leave on the morning ferry.”
“Jake, I haven’t slept in days.”
“And you look like it, my friend.”
Daniel stared down at the glass in his hands. “I can’t stop thinking about him. Every time I close my eyes I see his face.” He picked up his glass and waved it at Jake. “This isn’t even helping.”
“Then why are you drinking it?”
“‘Cause,” Daniel cried out desperately, slamming his glass back down on the table, “I need just one damn night without seeing him in my head.”
“Daniel, are you sure there’s no chance for you and Brom?”
He wished!
“No.” Daniel shook his head. “Besides, he’s married now with a couple of kids. I’d never break up his little family.” Daniel turned to look out the window at the darkness. “It’s what he’s always wanted.”
Daniel
was grateful when Jake didn’t say anything. Any sympathetic platitudes the man could have given him would have seemed lame considering the circumstances. Jake had the family he’d always wanted, too.
“Come on, let’s go.”
Daniel nodded and got to his feet, swaying just a bit as all of the alcohol he’d consumed seemed to reach his head at the same time. He reached up and put his hand to his head as he swayed.
“Whoa.”
“Hey, man, are you okay?” Jake asked, grabbing Daniel’s arm.
“I’m just a little dizzy.” Daniel laughed. “Guess I had one too many shots.”
“Come on, you lush,” Jake said as he wrapped an arm around Daniel’s waist. “Let’s get you home before you hurt yourself. I know you have a hard head, but it would still dent pretty easily if you fell down.”
Daniel chuckled and let Jake lead him out of the bar. Daniel’s steps were slow and rocky as they walked down the street, heading back towards the alpha compound. The air around them felt cool but not cold. The streetlamps lit the way, but the moon shining overhead outshone everything. Daniel started to think it might be a beautiful night.
Daniel leaned his head against Jake’s shoulder. “Did I ever tell you how much I admire you?”
“Oh Lord, you’re so drunk.” Jake laughed.
“No, I’m serious,” Daniel said, pulling Jake to a stop to look at him. “You’re always looking out for us, taking care of us. You’ve made our pack a family and not just a club of fur balls.”
“You are so going to hate yourself in the morning.”
Daniel chuckled. He wagged his finger at Jake. “Yeah, but I love you right now.”
“You son-of-a-bitch!”
Daniel swung around at the sound of someone’s angry shout to see Brom standing behind him. His face was so filled with rage it looked red. His hands were balled into fists at his side. He looked ready to rip someone apart.
“Brom, what—”
“It’s been two days, Daniel, two fucking days,” Brom shouted. “You couldn’t wait longer than that?”
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
Unspoken Desires Page 3
