With Caution

by J. L. Langley

  Remi nodded, biting back a moan. He was positive. He had to know what it felt like to have sex with a man.

  Jake dug into the nightstand beside the bed and took out a bottle of lube. He coated his cock with the lube and stroked up and down. “Get in the middle of the bed. On your back.”

  Remi shivered at the deep commanding voice and moved to do Jake’s bidding. He was dying to feel his mate inside him. Jake’s fingers had felt so good stroking over his prostate.

  His ass actually clenched and unclenched, begging for Jake’s cock. He wanted this so bad, he couldn’t deny it any longer.

  Jake climbed onto the bed between his legs. He fumbled with the bottle, and lube slid down the crack of Remi’s ass. It was cold, but Jake’s finger followed the trail, circled Remi’s hole and warmed it up.

  “Please.” He quivered with anticipation. God, he was going to lose his mind if he didn’t come soon.

  Jake’s finger retreated then the head of his cock pressed against Remi’s hole.

  After hesitating for a second, Jake slowly pressed in.

  Oh, that was different. Really, really different. It burned. Remi bit his lip, his cock still hard as a fucking rock, but his teeth shrank and his eyes switched back to human vision for the first time in what felt like hours.

  “Shhh, relax.” Jake’s other hand rubbed his stomach, before gripping Remi’s cock and squeezing.

  Riiight. That was way bigger than any goddamned finger! Remi blinked, trying to get his eyes to focus. Making himself loosen up, he pushed out. If he could just relax it would be good.

  Jake pulled back a little, making the pain ease, and he continued to stroke Remi’s cock, distracting him from the foreign feeling.

  Oh fuck yeah, that’s it. Still damn big and not quite comfortable, but it didn’t hurt much now. Remi’s eyes shifted back, his teeth extended. Yeah, that was—

  Jake thrust all the way in until his balls rested against Remi’s ass. When he drew back the next time, Remi came unglued. Fuck, out felt good. His balls grew even tighter and his cock felt like it was going to burst. Then Jake nailed his prostate.

  “Oh my fucking God!”

  Gripping his hips with both hands, Jake shoved into him again, his balls slapping against Remi. Jake didn’t stop. He kept pounding into Remi. Sweat dripped down his temples and his chest and arm muscles flexed with each movement.

  Remi moaned, trying to push forward. The slap of skin was loud in the quiet room, or maybe it was his wolf hearing, he didn’t know but it sounded so fucking hot. His whole body quivered, threatening to explode.

  Dropping forward, Jake braced himself on one hand beside Remi and reached for Remi’s cock with the other. He nuzzled his face against Remi’s cheek and matched the rhythm of his hips to his hand pumping Remi’s prick.

  Oddly, the only thing Remi could think of was Jake’s face close to his neck. His skin tingled, almost itching. The hair on the back of his neck rose and he shivered. It was just like the night they kissed on the couch, but stronger. This time he was too far gone to hold back. “Bite me, oh fuck, please bite me.” He wanted Jake’s teeth on his neck, needed it.

  Jake gasped and stiffened. Raising up, he gripped Remi’s hips again and thrust into him over and over, harder and harder. Letting out a deep rumbling groan, Jake shoved forward and came in Remi’s ass.

  Every muscle in Remi’s body tensed. The prickle on the back of his neck raced down his spine. “Oh fuck.” Jake’s hand wrapped around his prick and tugged.

  Remi writhed, his whole body on fire. He arched off the bed and came with his eyes wide open, staring into his mate’s.

  “Mine.” Jake held Remi’s gaze.

  Remi nodded. “Yes.” Dropping his head back to the mattress, Remi felt like his whole world had tilted on its axis.

  * * *

  Jake hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but since the argument with Remi the other night he hadn’t been sleeping well. He’d only been awake now for a few minutes, but he couldn’t go back to sleep. It felt like his stomach was trying to chew its way out to look for food on its own.

  Damn, Jake really didn’t want to get up. Remi was pressed up against him, snoring softly into his neck. The faint breath was both comforting and oddly arousing, but his stomach was beginning to growl louder than Remi’s snore.

  Jake slid out of bed, being careful not to wake Remi, and grabbed his jeans. Tugging his pants on, Jake watched Remi roll over into the middle of the bed and get comfortable again. Apparently, Jake hadn’t been the only one not sleeping the last few nights if Remi’s state of unconsciousness was anything to go by.

  Remi lay on his side, his hands pressed under his face and his right leg hiked up just enough to expose part of his muscled belly and the tip of his cock. He looked sexy as hell with his hair half covering his face. It gave him a just-fucked look. Jake’s cock twitched, threatening to get hard. Holy shit, he couldn’t believe he’d actually fucked Remi. More to the point, Remi had pretty much initiated it by showing up here and announcing they were mates.

  Jake’s stomach rumbled again. He really didn’t want to leave the room. As ridiculous as it seemed, he was half afraid if he left, Remi might disappear. Jake groaned at himself, grasped the blanket at the foot of his bed and covered his mate with it.

  Remi would likely be hungry when he woke, so Jake got out the stuff to make spaghetti and started cooking. He wanted to know what had happened to change Remi’s mind.

  If he were honest with himself, he also felt a bit of apprehension. What if Remi woke up and freaked out again? Not like Jake could do much about it he supposed, but damn that would suck. After having Remi, it would be pure torture to go back to a platonic relationship and pretending they were only friends.

  Jake took a deep breath and let it out as he turned the burner on under the hamburger meat. Underneath the smell of cooking meat, boiling noodles and tomato, the scent of Remi clung to his skin. Mmmm, Remi and sex. Damned if Jake’s eyes didn’t shift. It made him wonder if having made love to Remi was also going to make his body harder to control. Jake sure as hell hoped not. Judging from the mates he knew, it should make the attraction wane a bit, or at least make it easier to control. But if this afternoon was any indication, he might be in trouble.

  He’d wanted so badly to bite into Remi’s neck and pin him in place with his teeth while he fucked him. He wanted to dominate Remi. It was overwhelming. Sheer willpower alone, which thankfully he had a ton of, let him pull away. The thought of how Remi would probably react to being bitten was sobering. It made his eyes shift back to normal.

  “Mmm… What are you making?”

  Oh, that was a good sign. Remi didn’t sound shaken up in the least, only a little sleepy. Jake smiled and glanced toward the kitchen door. “Spaghetti. You hungry?”

  Remi shrugged and stretched, showing off lean muscles. He had only put on his jeans and the enticing trail of dark hair below his bellybutton came into view with his action. “I could eat. I gotta leave at three though. I promised Sterling I’d take him to see the new Harry Potter movie and it starts at three thirty.”

  Jake grinned. “You’ve got time, it’s only two. This will be done in a minute. How do you feel? Are you sore?”

  Redness seeped into Remi’s cheeks and he looked away. The blush was refreshing and Jake had to bite back a laugh. Remi was going to have to get use to the bluntness in regards to sex. It wasn’t something Jake could turn off.

  “I’m fine. You need me to help with anything?”

  “It’s almost ready, but why don’t you get us something to drink. Glasses are in there”—he used the spatula to point at the cabinet to his left—“and there’s water, beer, tea and cokes in the fridge. I want water.” Jake grabbed a strainer from the cabinet, put it in the sink and dumped the noodles into it. Remi went to work behind him, getting them drinks while Jake took the skillet of meat off the fire. Neither of them said a thing for several minutes while Jake put their food on plates.

  “J
ake?” Remi’s voice was so soft Jake barely heard it over the clatter of dishes.

  He set the sauce aside and turned.

  Remi stood right behind him, close enough it would have been simple to reach out and bring their bodies together. Jake wanted to do so, but he waited. The look on Remi’s face was almost sad, but Jake didn’t smell grief, just a bit of nervousness. Oh please no. His stomach plummeted, wondering if this was when Remi told him it was all a mistake.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry about the other night, I was…scared. Still am actually.” He glanced up, making eye contact. “If Dirk found out, there would be trouble, but I want to try and make this work. We have a connecti—”

  Jake cupped his face and pulled him forward, slanting his mouth down over Remi’s.

  Arousal scented the air.

  Moaning into Jake’s mouth, Remi opened up. He let Jake take the lead for a few seconds then started kissing back. Hands wrapping around Jake’s waist, Remi pressed closer and rubbed himself against Jake’s bare chest.

  The amazing feel of bare skin reminded Jake of earlier. He trailed kisses down Remi’s jaw to his neck. His teeth exploded in his mouth, making him gasp. The tips of his canines itched. He could practically feel Remi’s smooth, warm flesh under his teeth, the blood rolling over his tongue. Fuck. Jake jerked back. He kept his eyes closed and took a breath, trying to ignore the scent of Remi’s arousal, and got himself under control.

  When Jake opened his eyes, Remi also appeared to be struggling for restraint. His eyes were screwed shut and he was inhaling deeply. He blinked his eyes open and rolled his shoulders, tilting his head side to side. His green irises had bled out to the edges of his eyes and his fangs peeked out from behind his top lip. “Sorry.”

  “What?” Jake shook his head to clear it. “No, I just don’t want you to be late for your movie.” Nor do I want you to pull away from me again ’cause I can’t keep my teeth to myself. “I want to make it work too. We won’t let Dirk find out. Okay?” He traced Remi’s cheek with the back of his fingers.

  Damned if Remi didn’t close his eyes and lean into the caress for a second, before his eyes shot wide and he stepped back. He groaned then chuckled, shaking his head and smiling up at Jake. “Okay.”

  Jake turned back to the food. Not only did he have to hide their relationship, but he had to suppress his darker side to keep from scaring Remi away. This may prove harder than he thought.

  Chapter Eight

  It was a little chilly out, but Remi enjoyed the long ride to the bar. Riding his bike always helped clear his head and give him a sense of freedom.

  After this afternoon, he felt great—better than he had in a long time. Jake had invited him to meet up with him tonight, and he’d jumped at the chance. He was still wary of someone finding out about them, but he wasn’t going to stop seeing Jake.

  Pulling into the parking lot of Hell’s Kitchen, Remi was surprised at all the motorcycles. It was without a doubt a biker bar. Weird. He wouldn’t have thought it Jake’s kind of hangout.

  Looking around, he saw Jake in the neon glow of the bar’s sign and all other thoughts fled.

  Jake was sitting on a Harley. A beautiful new Fat Boy with a red and white tank and fenders that made Remi’s fifteen-year-old Vulcan seemed pretty shabby in comparison.

  Remi’s cock hardened right up, and his sight went colorless and grew much more acute. Damn eyes. Instinctively he tried to fight it then remembered his resolve to let it go.

  He drove up next to Jake and cut the engine, unable to decide what was more drool worthy—the bike or the man on it. Jake had on a pair of faded black jeans, black motorcycle boots and a black leather motorcycle jacket. Sterling was right, the man was hot, and it was getting easier and easier to think so. “Whose bike?”

  Jake lifted his head and grinned as he caught Remi’s gaze. “Mine.”

  What? He’d had no idea Jake had a bike, much less a Hog. Apparently motorcycles were another thing they had in common. “Fucking sweet.”

  “Thanks.” Jake stood and came closer. His wide shoulders captured Remi’s attention and wouldn’t let go.

  Oh hell yeah, the man was more drool worthy than the machine. Damn, look at those tight jeans. They might as well have been painted on. Every little muscle was visible and even the not-so-little bulge in the front—

  “Remi?” Jake chuckled. The sound, low and husky, slid right down Remi’s spine.

  Remi shivered. His mouth watered. He’d turned into Pavlov’s dog, er wolf, whatever, except there was no bell, it was Jake’s laugh. “Huh?”

  “I asked if you had any problems finding the place.”

  “No.”

  “Are you cold?” Jake turned toward his bike, his boots crunching on the gravel.

  I’d be a lot warmer if you threw me over that bike seat and… Damn, it felt good to let go of the guilt and just appreciate his mate.

  Swiveling around, Jake held out something leather toward Remi. “Hey, Remi.”

  “Yeah?”

  “You okay? Here.” He handed Remi a black motorcycle jacket. “You need one, right? Yours got tore up in that fight at Chay and Keaton’s place.”

  Oh man, Jake was giving him a new biker jacket to replace the one he’d lost the night he’d become a werewolf. Well, no, not new, but it was in nice shape with thick leather, and the padded lining was still good. There was a patch on the back. Cool. Remi tried it on over his long-sleeved black shirt. He held his arms out, trying to look over his shoulder. Ah damn, it smelled like Jake. He inhaled deeply. Mmmm, Jake and leather. “Are you sure? I don’t want to take your jacket, Jake. It’s got your club patch on it. I mean if—”

  Jake touched his shoulder and squeezed. “Take it, I have a new one.” He presented his back to show Remi his coat. It had a patch identical to the one on the jacket Remi wore. It was square with a yellow moon and a black wolf. There were gray mountains and a starry midnight sky in the background.

  Remi blinked, not realizing his eyes had gone back to normal until right then. “Thanks.”

  Jake nodded. “Come on, let’s introduce you to the guys.”

  Guys? What guys? “Uh, okay.” He followed Jake into the seedy little wood-shack-looking bar with its colorful neon beer signs hanging in the windows. It was smoky as hell and loud. The smells almost knocked Remi on his ass. Shrugging it off, he tuned them out and took in the clientele. It was a good thing Jake was big, this crowd looked rougher than the ones at Remi’s normal hangouts. Remi had only been to a place like this one other time with Simon, Chay and Bobby and thanks to Simon they’d almost gotten their asses kicked. Not that that would be an issue tonight, Remi had no intention of hustling pool.

  Jake led him to the end of the bar close to the pool tables. “Men, this is Remi Lassiter.” Grabbing Remi’s shoulder, Jake pulled him forward.

  A giant unfolded himself from the barstool in front of the scarred wood bar and offered Remi a hand nearly the size of a damn dinner plate.

  Holy shit. Remi’s eyes widened.

  “Rhys Waya, we’ve met before.” The giant spoke deeply, like low rumbling thunder, without the slightest hint of a smile. Remi was sure he’d never have heard Rhys over the loud buzz of conversation and the jukebox if not for his wolf hearing.

  Rhys was huge. Well, no, he wasn’t much bigger than Jake, but something about Rhys instantly put Remi on alert. Rhys wasn’t a bad-looking man, in fact, he was rather handsome, but everything about him screamed danger. No one in their right mind would screw with this guy. He appeared to be Native American, with the typical dark coloring, but he had a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. Remi had never seen an Apache with facial hair. He was only half and couldn’t grow a mustache to save his life. Rhys had a faint vertical scar about an inch long at the outside corner of his right eyebrow. Remi had no clue why, but he immediately thought knife wound.

  Stepping back, Remi bumped right into Jake. Shit.

  Jake’s other hand landed on his shoulder, gripping a lit
tle, showing support.

  It was comforting in a weird way, but then so was having Jake at his back touching him. Not that Remi thought Rhys was going to beat the hell out of him or anything, but for some reason Remi understood meeting these men meant a lot to Jake. Rhys was important to Jake, his business partner, so Remi wanted to make a good impression. When Remi tried to step forward and offer his hand to Rhys, Jake held Remi in place, keeping them close together, so he had to extend his arm further than normal. “Nice to officially meet you. My friends call me Remi.”

  Giving Remi’s hand a quick squeeze, Rhys dipped his head.

  Jake turned him slightly to the right and pointed at another dark-skinned man. “This is Diego, but we all call him Dago.”

  Diego was about Remi’s size, with short dark hair. Taking Remi’s hand, he smiled brightly. He was a wolf. Remi wasn’t sure how he knew it, it damn sure wasn’t smell—who could smell anything over the smoke?—but he recognized Diego as pack.

  “Dago?” Wasn’t that a racial slur? “That doesn’t bother you?” Remi asked.

  Diego shook his head. “Nah, I’m part Italian. They’re just jealous because I got the best parts.”

  Remi liked the guy, he seemed good-natured and able to handle himself. Which was a good thing in this place.

  After that the introductions came pretty quickly. There were four other men, all Native American. Tank was a big guy, like Jake and Rhys, but not nearly as intimidating. He had very bright, almost sparkling eyes, complete with laugh lines at the corners. Gadget was a short, stout man who seemed preoccupied. According to Jake, Gadget was a hell of a mechanic and fixed all their bikes when the need arose. Nick had waist-length hair and was tall and lean. Zack was the loud, outgoing type. All the men welcomed Remi and he was fairly certain all of them were wolves. He’d have to ask Jake about it later.

  Jake’s friends dispersed, some getting pitchers of beer and others claiming a pool table. Jake was hailed, leaving Remi alone with Rhys. Unsure what to say to the man, Remi instead soaked in his surroundings.