Oliver

by Catherine Lievens

  “He’s fine. He got better at an amazing rate after he took the serum.”

  “I’m glad.” Sebastian knew Oliver and Ani had somehow become friends, even if Oliver was big, at least by Ani’s standards. He supposed he hadn’t seemed threatening while he had been sick and bedridden, and Ani had got to know him better, so he knew that even now that Oliver was better he wouldn’t hurt him.

  “Hey. Did you find my note?”

  They both turned to face Dominic, and the blush on Ani’s face was so fierce Sebastian could swear he could feel the heat of it on his own skin.

  “Yes. Thank you.” Ani seemed to hesitate, but he moved to Dominic, standing on his tiptoes to place a kiss on the Alpha’s cheek. Even standing like that, he had to grab Dominic’s shirt and pull him down, because Dominic seemed too stunned to move before he actually gave him the kiss. Ani was quick to leave the kitchen after that, and Sebastian couldn’t help but smile at the face Dominic was making. It was midway between stunned and dazed, and as he raised his hand to his cheek, he looked at Sebastian. “I didn’t dream it, right? He really kissed me.”

  “That he did. I’m happy the two of you seem to be working on your issues.”

  Once Dominic had his cup of coffee he became all business once again. “Have you completely recovered from the wound?”

  “Yeah. Finn healed me, so I’m fine.”

  “Okay then. I gave you a few days to get better, but now I need you. Denver and Soren are taking care of interrogating the guards, but I want Jared to try to talk to the scientists. I want you to be in there with him, just in case. We made sure they don’t have any weapons, and they are not fighters, but I’d rather have you just sit there than have one of them hurt Jared in any way.”

  “Sure.” It was something Sebastian would be happy to do. Not only was he happy to help the pride, since they all were his family, but he also wanted to know more about the experiments those guys were doing on humans, and he hoped those scientists might know something about Adrian and Gabriel. He hadn’t forgotten his promise to the geneticist who had helped Oliver to get better. “How are the people we rescued?”

  Dominic frowned. “The bobcat is still catatonic. He sleeps, he eats, but he won’t talk to anyone or even acknowledge it when someone talks to him. Benjamin, the fox, is doing well. I don’t know if he wants to go back to his skulk yet, but I’ll wait a little bit longer to ask him about it. The human is trickier. The two women already went back home since Jared said they were fine. They hadn’t been in the lab for long, but the man is another story. We think they might have done the same thing to him that they did to Oliver, but if we manage to interrogate the scientists we could have more clues about what they did and what he might need to be okay.”

  “The wolf?” Sebastian had seen how Keenan reacted to the man, but he hoped his friend didn’t fall for him as he had done with Bryce. He wasn’t a racist, far from it, but nothing good could come from a shifter-human paring if they were not mates. Keenan and Bryce had been enough proof of that. Besides, the man seemed to have enough problems right now, and Sebastian wasn’t sure a relationship would do any good, for either of them.

  “He’s...hard to deal with. He doesn’t want anyone to touch him. Jared wasn’t even able to examine him to check whether he was fine, and from what several people told me, he has nightmares.”

  Sebastian frowned. “Keenan was able to touch him,” he pointed out.

  “I know, but I’m not sure I want the two of them to be together more than necessary. I’ll have to talk to Keenan if the situation with Jonah doesn’t get better, though. Maybe he’ll be able to crack the wolf’s shell. I’d send him back to his pack, but Kameron told me Jonah was one of the four shifters sold by the former Alpha of the Gillham pack, and he doesn’t seem to like either wolves or humans.”

  “As long as he’s not a danger for the pride, I guess it’s not a problem if he stays here.”

  Dominic nodded. “I don’t have any problems with that.” The lion washed his mug, dried it and put it back on the shelf. “I think Jared is in the infirmary for now, so go do whatever you want. Just be there in...” Dominic looked at his watch. “About two hours. You’ll go with him to interrogate the scientists. By then, Isaiah should be able to tell us at least their names.”

  Sebastian knew exactly what he wanted to do during those two hours, so as soon as he said goodbye to Dominic he went in search of his mate. They could spend the time together, maybe talk over coffee or something.

  He found Oliver in the library with Keenan and Nolan, and he knew right away that something was up by the looks on the three men’s faces. Nolan and Keenan were laughing like loons, stopping for a moment, then starting all over again after looking at Oliver. Oliver...he looked uncomfortable, but Sebastian could also smell the scent of arousal in the room, and from his lion’s reaction, he knew it had to come from their mate.

  “What’s going on here?” he growled, keeping his lion at bay with difficulties. It wanted nothing more than to jump on Oliver and finally claim him as their own, not caring about the fact that there were another two people in the room.

  Oliver’s face reddened and Sebastian knew the guys had been planning something, especially with the guilty look on Oliver’s face. Nolan and Keenan just looked at him, then at each other before falling apart again and laughing until they were both red and breathless. Sebastian shook his head. He didn’t even want to try to understand those guys, but he was happy to see that Keenan was fine. Not saying anything to the two laughing loons, he grabbed Oliver’s hand and hauled him up from the couch before trailing him behind him to their rooms.

  “So? Want to tell me what’s going on? Don’t think I didn’t notice you’re walking funny. Are you hurt again?”

  Sebastian wouldn’t have believed his mate’s face could become even redder, but it did. “No, no, I’m fine! I just...I was talking with Keenan, and he had this idea that seemed good at the time but now I’m not so sure...”

  Sebastian stepped to Oliver and pulled him until their bodies were flush, touching from thighs to chest, their mouths close enough that Sebastian could feel Oliver’s hot breath on his lips. His arm never left Oliver’s waist as he leaned to his ear and murmured, “And what was that idea?” Sebastian wasn’t sure what had possessed him, but he liked the way Oliver shivered in his arms as his hands gripped Sebastian’s shoulders. He wasn’t usually so...seductive, but he liked playing this little game with his mate, he liked that this side of him was exclusively for Oliver. He didn’t think he could be so sensual with anyone else.

  “I, well, I wanted to seduce you, because, you know, you haven’t do-done anything yet.”

  Sebastian caught the fleshy lobe of Oliver’s ear between his teeth and tugged lightly before answering. “You’re right. I’ve been keeping myself in check for months because I wanted you to get better, but now...you’re fine, right?” Please, say yes. Sebastian would back away if Oliver said no, but he had been longing for his mate for months now, and he wasn’t sure he could stay away much longer.

  “Ye-yeah. I’m perfectly fine.”

  Sebastian smiled against the fast pulse in Oliver’s neck on which he had been sucking a hickey for everyone to see. “What do you think we should do, then?”

  * * * *

  Sebastian was trying to kill him. Yeah, he was trying to kill him from an overload of pleasure, and they hadn’t even kissed yet. Oliver didn’t know what had possessed his man, but he had never been so seductive and sensual, and it made Oliver want to jump him even more than usual. Why had they waited to do this again? “I—uh—we—”

  It was so hard to concentrate on what he wanted to say. Sebastian’s mouth on his neck was wreaking havoc on Oliver’s capacity to say anything that actually made sense, and his hands...Oliver could fell them inching toward the edge of his pants as they made their way to his ass while keeping him plastered to Sebastian’s body. If the man went a little bit lower, he would encounter the reason why Oliver had
been walking funny.

  When he had agreed to follow Keenan’s plan, he hadn’t thought keeping a butt plug inserted and going looking for his mate, while the damn thing pegged his prostate with every step he took would be what Keenan had been thinking about. Oliver wasn’t a virgin, and he wasn’t a prude, but his sex life until now had been pretty much vanilla, and he had never bought a sex toy. He had flat out refused to buy it pink like Keenan had insisted, choosing a dark gray instead, but then, who cared? It wasn’t something anyone would see. In fact, Oliver was feeling self-conscious about the whole thing, and he had a half idea to just run to the bathroom and take it out.

  Yeah, Sebastian would still notice he was already stretched and lubed, but he could pass that for the surprise, right?

  “Oliver?”

  Crap. “Wha-what was the question again?”

  Sebastian bit down on Oliver’s neck, and his cock jerked in response, as if it already knew what was coming. Shit, after naming his inner bear, there was no way Oliver was going to name his dick, even if right now it did seem to have a mind of its own! “Tell me you’re ready for this, babe.”

  Sebastian’s hot mouth moved down, his tongue licking along Oliver’s collarbones. It couldn’t go lower, though, because they were both still dressed. “I’m ready.” Finally, finally. Oliver had been ready for days, even weeks, and he would finally have what he so much wanted.

  Sebastian didn’t waste time. He grabbed the bottom of Oliver’s t-shirt and pulled it off him before taking his own off too. Oliver was a little self-conscious about his body. After a year and a half of experiments, sickness and starvation, he knew that it would take him much longer than the handful of days that had passed since he had taken the serum to get back to his old self. He knew he was still too thin and that his body was scarred, the most impressive scar the one that ran from one side to the other of his abdomen, right above his pants.

  Of course, Sebastian had seen him naked plenty of times when he used to help Oliver wash, but he was sick at the time, and it was only a caring gesture. What they were about to do was different, and Oliver couldn’t help but wonder if his mate liked what he saw. He hoped so, because it wasn’t like he could do anything to erase the scars on his body. They were too old and too deep for his new shifter DNA to make them fade.

  He sure liked what he was seeing. Sebastian was too gorgeous to put it in words. Golden skin covered taut muscles that stretched and bunched with every movement he made. His blue eyes were sparkling as he looked at Oliver, making him shiver from the promise he could see in their depths. Wanting to touch, to taste, Oliver reached out to one dark copper colored nipple, tracing it with the tip of his finger until it beaded.

  Sebastian wasn’t one to be passive, and Oliver really didn’t mind it when he felt his lover’s mouth on his neck, his tongue playing on the skin over his heart until he reached Oliver’s nipple and sucked on it. Pleasure coursed through Oliver, his heart out of control at finally being in Sebastian’s arms. He let his hands move on the hard muscles covered by soft skin on Sebastian’s back, feeling them move as Sebastian opened Oliver’s pants and skimmed his fingers on the sensitive skin right above Oliver’s groin.

  He shuddered as Sebastian kissed him, stroking and coaxing Oliver’s tongue in his mouth, his hands caressing Oliver’s naked back before moving to his front. Sebastian rolled one hard nipple between two fingers and a jolt of pleasure shot straight to Oliver’s cock. The thing was so hard that he was relieved that Sebastian had opened his pants, but even the thin cotton still covering it was nearly too much. Oliver could feel the wet spot of pre-cum growing as his shaft continued to leak in reaction to the touch of Sebastian’s hands. That touch was addictive, and Oliver knew he would never get enough of it. Sebastian brought sunshine in his life, and he couldn’t live without it.

  So lost into the pleasure he was getting from the mere presence of his lover and from the feeling of Sebastian’s lips on his, Oliver nearly didn’t notice that the lion’s hands had lowered until they had slid into his pants to cup his bare ass. It was only when Sebastian froze and the plug jolted in his passage that Oliver realized Sebastian’s fingers had found the damn thing.

  He could feel his face becoming red from embarrassment as he pushed away from his mate’s arms and tried to get into the bathroom. Sebastian didn’t let him escape, though. Oliver was wrenched backward, his wrist secured into Sebastian’s big hand as the lion grabbed his waist with the other and pulled Oliver into him until his back was against Sebastian’s chest, his warmth seeping into Oliver’s body.

  Oliver waited. He knew he couldn’t escape from the hard arms keeping him in place, and he knew it was ridiculous, really. When had he become so, so...prudish? He might have never tried something like this, but he did like to try new things. It was just that what he had with Sebastian was so important, he was afraid to fuck it up, and he didn’t know what his mate would think of the toy in his butt.

  He didn’t seem to dislike it, since Oliver felt Sebastian’s hand slide along his spine and burrow into his pants, one finger moving along his crack until it reached the hard plug again. Sebastian pushed against the plug and a moan escaped Oliver’s throat as the thing moved inside of him, going deep. He wanted to feel his mate there, not the toy, but he would let Sebastian explore first.

  The lion’s finger moved again, this time jostling the plug from side to side, and Oliver felt his legs buckle. He might have fallen if Sebastian hadn’t chosen that moment to haul him up like a damsel in distress, one arm under Oliver’s knees and the other around his back. “That’s a very interesting...toy you have there, babe. When did you buy it?”

  “I, uh, Keenan. He told me it was a good idea, so he helped me pick it up on the internet.” The low growl that resounded from his mate’s chest surprised Oliver.

  “You’ll never choose this type of thing with another man again, understood? If you need anything sex related, you ask me.”

  Aaah, that was the pushy, overbearing caveman speaking, and Oliver was surprised he actually liked seeing Sebastian so possessive. He knew he would have never asked Keenan to help him choose something like this if the man hadn’t volunteered—well, more like taken over and done everything by himself—but he didn’t admit it. It might be interesting to keep Sebastian on his toes for a little while.

  Sebastian knelt on the bed and laid Oliver down in the middle of it, his hands flying to his pants. It didn’t take the man more than a handful of seconds to tear the jeans and the briefs away from Oliver’s body, and then he was naked, shivering under his mate’s heavy stare. Sebastian’s eyes were hooded, shinning with lust and a passion Oliver couldn’t wait to taste.

  He raised his arms, beckoning Sebastian to come closer, to let Oliver hold him. They would have the time to explore each other when the urgency and the raw passion was tamed.

  He watched as Sebastian’s pants disappeared, the man kneeling back on the bed and prowling toward Oliver until his hands were next to Oliver’s head and his raised legs bracketed Sebastian’s hips. Their eyes locked and Oliver watched as Sebastian leaned in, taking his lips in a scorching kiss and leaving his mark on Oliver’s heart.

  * * * *

  Sebastian wanted the kiss to never end, but he wanted to mate with Oliver even more, and to do that he had to reach into his nightstand and grab the lube. He tried to move, but Oliver stopped him, grabbing his shoulders to keep him in place then sliding a hand under his pillow. His hand came out with a tube of lube, and Oliver’s wicked smile told Sebastian that the man had really thought about everything.

  “You don’t have to lube me, but I thought that you might want some of this anyway.”

  “Mmm, I think I’m going to have to check the situation myself before I can say you don’t need more lube.” Sebastian smiled a toothy smile before moving down his mate’s body.

  He stopped at Oliver’s chest to take care of the twin dark pink nipples. He wanted to enjoy and explore, not to rush things, even if he had on
ly two hours. A lot could be done in two hours.

  Scraping his teeth along muscles that were improving every day, Sebastian basked into his mate’s scent, into the erotic noises he made as Sebastian latched onto one of the tight buds and sucked it before nipping at it. Oliver’s skin was fair and contrasted with the fine, dark hair that was sprinkled on his pectorals and thinned down to reach his bellybutton. Sebastian followed it, running his tongue around the indent a few times before tracing the dark trail down to Oliver’s cock.

  The shaft jutted proudly from a nest of dark, curly pubic hair, and as much as Sebastian wanted to lick and suck it, he was more interested in looking down and seeing how the plug looked in his mate’s body.

  Putting both his hands on the inside of Oliver’s knees, he pulled his mate’s legs up and apart as much as he could and looked at his surprise. A dark gray plastic base was nestled between the twin rounded buttocks, and Sebastian couldn’t resist touching it. The noise that escaped Oliver’s mouth when he did was between a whimper and a groan, and he wanted to hear more of those.

  He looked up, taking in the beautiful sight that was finally his to take. Oliver’s pale skin was beautiful on the green comforter, his face flushed in passion, his eyes gleaming with lust and so many emotions that Sebastian desperately wanted to name. He wanted them to be love, but as much as he knew Oliver cared, he didn’t know if it was love, and he wouldn’t ask. It was enough for him to know that Oliver cared, and the man would tell him when he was ready.

  Oliver’s dark hair was long enough to surround his head like a halo on the white pillow, and his lips were red and swollen after they had kissed as if their lives depended on it. Oliver looked good enough to eat, to devour, and Sebastian planned to do just that.

  He went back down, going on all fours between his mate’s legs and swallowing his mate’s erection as his fingers played with the plug. Oliver’s hips jacked up as the head of his shaft touched the back of Sebastian’s throat and he sucked hard. He felt Oliver’s hands sink into his hair, holding him in place but not hurting him as he pulled the plug out a fraction before letting it get sucked in again.