A Wolf to Set Him Free

by A J Jarrett

  At that moment he’d give anything to kiss Holden’s lips.

  Chapter Six

  “Can we talk?” Holden glanced over his shoulder at all the staring eyes directed toward him and Ethan. “Alone?”

  “Sure, I’d like that.” Ethan followed Holden out of the kitchen, through the house to stand on the front porch.

  Holden bent at the waist to rest his elbows on the railing as he stared off into the darkened yard. He was trying to arrange his words so he didn’t come out sounding like a complete moron. Walking into the kitchen to see Ethan standing there had taken him by surprise. A good surprise. He had plans of tracking the man down, but finding him at the Carsten house just made his job easier.

  He had thought about Ethan all the previous night. The smell of his skin, the sounds Ethan made when he came. How he begged for Holden to keep sucking his cock. Holden had loved every single moment of it. Up until Ethan took off like the hounds of hell were chasing him down to make a meal out of him.

  Holden looked up at Ethan. He stood, resting his hip against the railing, arms crossed over his chest. Not a single hair looked out of place. The white button-down shirt he wore made his tanned skin stand out. Ethan looked like a dark angel sent down from heaven to ravage Holden and tempt him into sin. Holden found himself falling in love with the man the longer he stared at him.

  “So you’re Josh and Jensen’s friend.” Holden pushed himself up from the railing. He had to start talking or he was liable to do something stupid like kiss Ethan.

  “Yes.” Ethan nodded his head but didn’t elaborate anymore on the subject.

  “The same friend that drugged Jensen and beat the shit out of Josh?” Why did I just ask that? Holden wanted to smack himself for asking that question. It didn’t seem right to bring that up now. He had heard about their friend that lived in San Francisco and that he suffered from some emotional issues. Holden wanted to know if he still had them.

  “One in the same.” Ethan laughed.

  “I didn’t mean to just blurt that out like that.” Holden shut his eyes tight and silently counted to ten.

  “No really, it’s okay, Holden.” Ethan clasped a hand on his shoulder. “I had a hard time there for a while and did some things I’m not proud of, but I’m better now.”

  “Do you mind telling me what happened?” Holden asked.

  Ethan stared off in front of him. He looked lost in a memory. He was quiet for so long Holden didn’t think he would answer. “I lost someone I cared about and it caused me to do some pretty crazy things.”

  “How close was this person?” Holden wanted to yank those words back into his mouth but it was too late. It wasn’t any of his business but he couldn’t deny he was a little jealous.

  “Real close, but I’d rather not talk about it if you don’t mind.”

  “No, that’s cool.” Holden shoved his hands in his pockets. “For what it’s worth, it had to be fun beating the shit out of Josh.” Ethan lifted an eyebrow at him. “No seriously. The guy can be a total toolbox at times. I give you mad props for socking it to him,” he teased, wanting to see Ethan’s smile again. Plus it didn’t hurt that Josh was an arrogant ass who at times deserved a good punch in the face.

  “Yeah, he does have that effect on people.” Ethan chuckled. After a moment Ethan sobered and reached for Holden’s hand. “Holden, I want to apologize for last night. I shouldn’t have run out on you like that.”

  “It’s fine, Ethan.”

  “No, it’s not.” Ethan pulled his hand back and twisted them together. “It’s just been awhile since I’ve been with anyone and you did such a fabulous job, you know…” A slight flush colored Ethan’s cheeks. “You just caught me off guard, but I really enjoyed it.” Ethan looked shyly up at Holden through his long, dark lashes.

  “That’s good to know.” Holden saw his opening. If Ethan liked being with him then there was a chance it would happen again and soon.

  “It is?” Ethan met his gaze.

  “Yeah.” Holden made a show of looking over his shoulder then taking a step closer to Ethan. “Don’t tell anyone, but I kind of like you.” Holden winked at him.

  Ethan’s head fell back as he laughed out loud. The rich sound was like music to Holden’s ears and he found himself taking another step closer, invading Ethan’s personal space. He needed to feel the heat radiating off of Ethan’s hard body.

  “Your secret is safe with me but…” Ethan made a clicking sound with his tongue. “As you heard, Josh and Jensen know about our little encounter so I think it’s safe to say they know we like each other.”

  “So you do like me?” It seemed important for Holden to clarify that one little fact. He took the final step that brought him chest to chest with Ethan and stared into his deep brown eyes.

  “I guess I do.” Ethan sounded short of breath, his eyes lowered to Holden’s lips.

  Holden closed the distance between them and brushed his lips lightly over Ethan’s. The soft, moist skin pushed against his own and a moan escaped Holden’s mouth. Ethan edged closer and tilted his head, giving Holden a better angle to deepen their kiss. The tip of Ethan’s smooth tongue licked at his entrance and Holden opened wide, sucking Ethan inside. The taste of mint and coffee hit his taste buds and he applied more pressure to drink down more of Ethan’s intoxicating taste.

  “I hate to interrupt, but dinner’s ready,” Jensen announced from the open door. Holden glanced over to see a knowing smile on the other man’s face.

  “We’ll be there in a minute.” Holden looked back to Ethan. His eyes were heavy and his lips glistened in the moonlight and he appeared to be out of breath.

  Once they were left alone, Holden rubbed his hands up and down Ethan’s arms. “You hungry?”

  “I am actually.” Ethan seemed genuinely surprised by that. He turned and headed for the door.

  Holden wanted to tell Ethan they were mates but he didn’t want to ruin the moment. Announcing something like that could go either way, good or bad. Ethan had a past that Holden needed to find out more about before he went and declared his intentions toward the other man. The last thing he wanted to do was send Ethan running for the nearest plane back to California.

  “Hey, just so you know,” Holden said as he held a hand in the air. Ethan gave him a funny look. “There was nothing little about the other night.” He grinned at Ethan. “It was a very nice size.”

  It took a moment before it dawned on Ethan what Holden was getting at. He shook his head as he laughed. “I’ll take that compliment, thank you very much.”

  “And you should.” Holden held open the door for Ethan and waved him through.

  Back in the kitchen, everyone had taken their seats at the large, informal table. Only on nice occasions did they eat in the dining room. Large family affairs sometimes ended with food being tossed at someone. Aiden had passed a rule that unless it was a holiday, all meals were eaten in the kitchen where it would be easy to clean up.

  At the far end of the table between Josh and Viktor were two empty seats. Holden placed his hand on Ethan’s back and led him toward the open chairs.

  “So, Ethan,” Viktor said as he handed the salad bowl to him. “You liking it here so far?” Viktor cocked an eyebrow as he looked between Ethan and Holden.

  “It’s nice,” Ethan answered, missing Viktor’s implications. “Josh and Jensen have been wanting me to visit for a while so I thought now was as good a time as any.”

  “True.” Viktor took a big bite of his lasagna, cheese dripping from his chin. “You also got to meet the hot and very single Holden. Nice!” He gave a thumbs up.

  “I swear I don’t know why I let you out of the bedroom.” Viktor’s mate Shane shook his head from side to side. “Ethan, please ignore him. He’s like a kid in a man’s body.”

  “You weren’t saying that last night.”

  “Children!” Skyler and Caleb both shouted as the kids in question giggled.

  Holden choked on a noodle and started to cough. Sk
yler was Carson’s father and Caleb and his mate Seth had adopted two little boys, Kamden and Ryan. Skyler and Caleb were always the ones to make sure the others watched what they said in front of the kids. Which Holden often found funny, since Skyler had a mouth like a sailor, but he was getting better.

  After that little outburst, the conversation stayed on safe subjects, the weather and work. It was nice how everything seemed to fall into place. Ethan joined in and seemed to be enjoying himself. Holden listened with his ears but kept his eyes on Ethan. He wasn’t worried about him, no, he found himself captivated with every word Ethan said and the smile he gave. Holden was finding himself completely lost in this man and he had to hope the feeling was mutual.

  * * * *

  Ethan found dinner very interesting. He didn’t have any siblings, so family meals were typically pretty quiet, but not at the Carsten house. The Carsten brothers and their mates were very kind and treated Ethan like he belonged there. The others were just as nice. No one brought up the incident that brought him together with Josh and Jensen, which Ethan was grateful for. That had been a bad time in his life and he would rather not have to relive it.

  After the dishes were washed and put away, everyone went outside. Ethan looked at all the men as they made their way outside and was unsure if he was to follow.

  “Come on, Ethan.” Holden held out his hand for him.

  That one small kind gesture had Ethan’s heart melting. Holden always seemed to be there if he got too nervous or unsure of what to do next. The only reason he was relaxed at dinner was because he could feel Holden next to him. The comforting heat from his thigh kept him grounded and he was able to focus on what the others were saying.

  Ethan knew this was dangerous territory he was stepping into with Holden but he couldn’t stop it even if he tried. He wanted to be close to Holden and to touch him. A small part of Ethan felt guilty. His heart belonged to Jay and it didn’t feel right messing around with Holden when he’d already given his heart away a long time ago. Holden deserved a man who was whole and could give one hundred percent of his heart.

  I’m gone, Ethan. It’s time to move on. Jay’s words drifted through his brain.

  Ethan clenched his eyes tight, trying to hold back the flood of tears that wanted to gush out his eyes. That voice in his head was right. Jay was gone and never coming back, but could he really just move on?

  “Ethan, you okay?” Holden’s rough, warm fingers clasped his own. His thumbs moved in a circular pattern, soothing Ethan’s racing heart.

  “Yes.” He opened his eyes and looked deeply into Holden’s eyes. There was nothing but honesty and kindness in the inky blue pools. Holden was a good man that Ethan could see himself falling in love with, but he just didn’t know how, or if Holden wanted a man as badly broken as himself. “I’m better now.” He looked down at their latched hands.

  “Sweet.” Holden leaned forward and smacked a kiss on his lips. “Now let’s get out there. The last one to shift gets left behind in the dirt and I hate to lose.” Holden winked at him.

  “How come that doesn’t surprise me?” Ethan smiled as he followed the sound of Holden’s evil laugh.

  When Ethan and Holden stepped outside, the others were all standing around talking. A fire had been started in the fire pit off to the side and Aiden and his father Phillip were setting chairs up around it. Carson and Kamden ran around in circles, chasing one another while the other boy Ryan stood with arms crossed, looking quite bored. Ethan hadn’t been around a lot of kids in his life, but that one he could tell had a chip on his shoulder.

  Once everyone was outside the men who were able to shift started removing their clothes.

  “Uh, Holden.” Ethan’s eyes darted around at the men in different stages of undressed.

  “Here, come with me.” Holden pulled Ethan further away from the crowd to the seclusion of the trees. “You’ll get used to it after a while. We’re shifters.” He shrugged. “Nudity doesn’t bother us.” Holden took off his shirt and handed it to Ethan, then toed off his shoes.

  Ethan stood there with his mouth hanging open as he watched Holden take off his clothes. The man was gorgeous. All tight, hard muscles that ran along his body. Holden popped the snap on his jeans and Ethan damn near swallowed his tongue. Holden shoved the material down his legs, taking his boxers with them. Ethan looked down Holden’s body and the semi-erect cock hanging between his legs gave a little twitch and Ethan’s hand longed to reach out and touch him.

  Breathe, Ethan, just breathe, Ethan repeated like a mantra in his head. His own desire was hitting a fever pitch and he didn’t know how much longer he could stand there and not kiss Holden.

  “Be careful.” Holden swiped a finger over Ethan’s bottom lip. “You’re drooling.”

  “What?” That knocked Ethan out of his trance and he swiped a hand over his mouth.

  “Just kidding.” Holden spun around and headed toward the group of naked men standing by the edge of the forest. All of a sudden Holden stopped, turned around, and ran back toward Ethan. “Almost forgot.” He grabbed the sides of Ethan’s face and gave him a hard kiss. “See you soon, and do you mind holding my clothes for me? Thanks!” Holden kissed him again, then turned around to head off.

  Ethan smacked a hand down on Holden’s retreating ass. He laughed at Holden’s loud yelp.

  “Ethan!” He turned to see Aiden wave him in the direction of the fire. “Come sit over here with us.”

  Ethan looked in Holden’s direction one more time, ogling his thick, muscled ass, wishing he could massage the firm globes until Holden opened up, giving Ethan complete control over his body.

  Stop it! Ethan chastised himself. He needed to play it cool and keep all his thoughts platonic. Like that’s going to happen. I already want him. Ethan shook his head and did his best to knock those thoughts out of his brain.

  Ethan walked over and sat down next to Aiden and Jensen. A loud howl rang out and Ethan turned toward the group of men in the back of the yard. A light shimmered over the men and the sounds of popping bone filled the quiet night. Ethan found Holden in the group and watched as he went from man to wolf. Skin stretched tight, then hair filled in across his golden skin. Holden’s nose began to grow into a snout and his feet and hands melded into paws. Once the transformation was complete, Holden stood up and shook his head, his jaws flopping open. Ethan sat there in amazement. Through the distance, Holden’s eyes found him and Ethan could have sworn the wolf smiled at him. Another howl shot out, then all the shifters took off.

  “Did I just see a white tiger?” Ethan sat forward in his chair, dropping Holden’s clothes on the ground.

  “Oh yeah,” Aiden said as if it were no big deal. “Shane’s a tiger and Ryan and Kamden are cougar shifters.” Aiden held a hand up. “And please do not make a comment on how cats and dogs don’t get along. I’m so sick of that one I could spit nails.” Aiden grinned over at him.

  “Note taken.” Ethan laughed. He watched the gray and brown of Holden’s fur until he was out of sight. Even in wolf form, Ethan thought Holden was gorgeous.

  As the shifters were out running, Ethan sat and listened as their human mates talked. Jensen had told him before that some of the shifters had human mates that were hunters, which Ethan thought was a conflict of interest, but made for a great love story. He mentally took notes on how some of them met and fell in love. Of course he’d change names and genders before he put anything to paper, but these men had intriguing stories to tell.

  “Dominic and I are going to New York tomorrow,” the hunter by the name of Roderick said. “The council is having a meeting with a fraction of the shifters council on whether or not to build a prison for shifters who commit crimes against humans and their own kind.”

  “Makes sense.” Phillip shifted in his seat. “It’s not right to kill shifters accused of murder. Hell, we don’t do that to humans and most of the human prisons are filled with criminals who are guilty.”

  Ethan sat quietly as he listened
. He remembered bits and pieces of what Josh and Jensen had told him but it wasn’t stuff he thought about often. As long as his friends were safe, that’s all that mattered to him.

  “My dad helps runs the east coast council with Roderick.” Aiden pointed toward Phillip. “See, my dad and Brandon have been partners for years. And over the past few years there’s been changes made to the hunter’s council. They no longer kill indiscriminately.”

  “That’s a good thing.” Ethan nodded his head.

  “Yeah, there was time when this wouldn’t have been possible, hunters, shifters, and humans living together like this.” A smile lit up Aiden’s face.

  “It’s not perfect though.” Roderick sat up straighter in his chair. “We still have attacks on humans and shifters. It’s gotten better but we still have a long way to go.”

  The conversation continued and Ethan listened but soon found himself looking out toward the trees, wishing Holden would come back soon. His skin felt electric, as if he were going to jump out of it. He enjoyed talking with the others but his mind kept wandering back to the image of Holden’s naked ass walking away from him, swaying from side to side. A hunger like Ethan never felt before ignited in the depths of his stomach and all he could think about was getting Holden naked and underneath him.

  A lone howl met his ears, pulling Ethan out of his musings. He shook his head and stood up.

  “Everything all right, Ethan?” Jensen asked.

  “Yeah.” He thumbed over his shoulder. “I’m just going to go and get something to drink. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  As he walked away, he heard the others laugh then someone said “sure he will.” Ethan ignored them and headed back toward the house. He had no idea where the others thought he’d go to, because until Holden came back he wasn’t going anywhere.