by Neena Jaydon
"What happened?"
Max's mouth twitched. "Did it jump out the window."
"What?" Theo stared.
Max sighed heavily, leaning back into the couch. He reached out to rub Theo's lower back, smiling faintly. "It's been kind of a night. You know, I pretty much hate your cousin, but he saved my butt."
"What was he even doing here?"
"I think it was an attempt at an apology?" Max smiled faintly. "I'm glad you came."
"Any time." Theo gazed at him a little longer, seeing weariness in the faint lines under his eyes. Theo leaned close to kiss Max, caressing his neck gently. Max's lips parted in invitation and Theo shifted closer, deepening the kiss. Yet it remained quiet and slow, without Max placing any demands on him. Theo faltered, withdrew enough to look into Max's eyes.
"Is it...ch-cheesy to say I missed you?"
Max blinked. Then his face spread into one of those slow smiles. "I seem to have made an impression on you."
"J-Jesus." Theo looked down, blushing. "You think?" Max's hand continued to stroke the small of his back. Just that gentle point of contact was enough to make his cock twitch. Max chuckled as he turned and leaned back, putting one leg behind Theo and laying the other across his thighs. Theo touched Max's knee, then ran his fingers down to just above the bandages.
"I'm okay." Max was still looking amused, his narrowed eyes gleaming. He nudged Theo's hip with his knee. "Especially now that you're here."
Theo's heart stumbled violently. Emotion made him move decisively, setting a knee between Max's legs for balance as he rose over him. He kissed Max once, twice, then moved his mouth to Max's neck. He tasted his skin, traced the rim of his ear with his lips. But he paused, because it felt right to say what he'd been thinking for some time.
"Friends is...isn't enough, Max." He again looked into Max's face. Max appeared to be searching his in return.
"Okay." His hazel eyes were hard to read.
"Okay?" What does that mean? Before he could speak further, Max took his face in both hands and drew him down again.
"Okay," he repeated, then caught up Theo's lips with his own. His hands slid up under Theo's shirt, exploring his skin. Theo stripped off the shirt. He watched Max's gaze move down his chest. His face grew warm even as he felt himself tighten with excitement. He closed his own eyes when Max's fingertips reached his nipples. Twin pinches shot electric heat straight to his cock and chased an uneven breath from his lips.
Theo's eyes flew open when he heard footsteps outside. He hastily grabbed for his T-shirt and fumbled into it as the front door opened.
"Max? I saw your light was on."
"Ana." Max groaned. "Knock."
"Lock your door if you don't want visitors. Hi, Theo."
"Hi." Theo couldn't immediately look at Anastasia as she came right in and sat in the armchair.
"What's up? You shouldn't be leaving the house right now." Max sat up with a reluctant grunt.
"Mom gave me one of these. It's a charm that should ward off the shadows. She's got one for you too." She pulled a necklace from her pocket. It was a small leather pouch hanging from a waxed cord. It wafted a stingingly bitter scent at Theo, who had to blink away sudden tears.
"That couldn't have waited until morning?"
"She's worried, Max. So am I. You should stay in the house."
Theo looked at Max, puzzled.
"The house's protected from spirits — they can't get in." Max grimaced. "It's mostly just for privacy reasons."
Theo realized Anastasia was looking rather closely at him. "You're taking all this awfully well."
"Really? I mean, I guess." Theo quickly looked away.
"Anyways..." Max intervened, to Theo's relief. "I'll be fine. Theo's here."
"We don't know for sure that they care if you're alone or not. No offence, Theo, but just having a random person around isn't any kind of a guarantee."
"I'm not offended," Theo said quickly. "But I think it'll be okay."
She frowned at him, tilting her head slightly. "Why?"
"I—"
"Ana, don't be rude."
"Don't you try to tell me what's rude."
Theo could see the deep worry in the crease between her brows, hear it in the uncharacteristic edge in her voice.
"Don't worry," he mumbled.
"But I am worried. Max, this isn't the right time for one of your independence things. It came really close to getting you. Who knows where it would have taken you? And you're not telling me everything about what happened. I can tell."
"Ana," Max snapped.
"What, Max? There's the thing with your mysterious 'friend' and his clothes on the ground, and why you even got away from the shadow. Now isn't the time to be hiding secrets."
Anastasia's sharp tone reminded Theo of how angry Ma had gotten, and even more so how angry Grandmother had gotten, when he did something that made them worry. The tension in her voice put tension in his own muscles, made him rub the palm of one hand with the thumb of another as if he could press away the thud of blood in his veins.
"There's not much to tell; that's why I'm not telling you." Max's tone was heated, and it bothered Theo in a different way. This was a different kind of anger than he'd brought to Theo's house. It seemed to lack self- awareness. "I'm fine, and now that Theo's here, I don't have to worry about the shadows. He's—" Max gave Theo a speculative look before continuing in a calmer tone. The back of Theo's neck burned as he stared at his hands. His thumb came to a stop in his palm. "The truth is that Theo's run into spirits before. He's not a medium, but he's—"
"A werewolf." The words came out with surreal normality. Even with his head lowered, Theo saw Max's abrupt turn in his direction. He glanced up through his hair to see that Anastasia was paused with her mouth open, her eyes tracking the movements of her thoughts. She ended with a blink and a frown, one of those expressions that increased her resemblance to Max.
"What did you say?"
"Theo, what the hell are you doing?" Max said it in his throat, his lips barely moving.
Generations of ancestors seemed to yell at him in Greek as Theo drew a deep breath. But it was out; he'd said it. The thing he must never say, he said again. "I'm a werewolf."
After staring a few moments more, Anastasia fell back in the armchair. Her hands flew up, then came down on the arms. "Is that why you have that vibe?"
"What?" Max demanded. "You believe him, just like that?"
"He's got a distinctive aura. Strong. Protective, almost. You never noticed that about him?" After Max's sharp-edged silence, Anastasia gave a little shrug. "Well, you never were very sensitive."
Theo sat there, ears full of his pulse, and struggled with misery. He could feel Max, prickly with anger.
"Uh, I can walk you back to the house." Theo started to get up.
"Wait, I have so many questions to ask you. I mean, can you do something to the shadows? Are they really scared of you?"
"I don't know. They seem to be."
"They were scared of the dogs too." Anastasia seemed to be reanimating as she went, her eyes taking on a gleam. "I'm pretty sure in some cultures they used to use wolf teeth as charms to ward off evil. Maybe they were right."
"I'm not a d-dog or a wolf." Theo instinctively pressed his lips together to hide his own teeth.
Max abruptly stood. "I need some fresh air."
"But you shouldn't—" Theo shifted, alarmed.
"I'll yell for help if I have to," Max snapped. "I'm just going to be outside." Theo felt the slam of the door like a slap. Anastasia gave him an apologetic smile.
*~*~*
Leaning his hips against the concrete foundation of the trailer, Max clenched a cigarette between his fingers and glared at the moon. He heard occasional barks from the kennels and snorting from the paddock; he heard Anastasia's excited voice inside the trailer. He took the cigarette from his mouth and forcefully expelled smoke into the night.
"I don't even know where to start getting mad fr
om," he said to nobody. He heard the door open as he inhaled, then held in his breath as Anastasia thumped lightly down the stairs. Once her shoes had crunched out of earshot and he heard the house door, Max coughed out the smoke. He wandered away from the trailer a few steps as next he heard Theo's greater weight on the stairs.
Theo came up next to him and put his hands in his pockets as he looked through the trees. "I'm sorry."
"What the hell, Theo?" Max snapped. "I mean, seriously. I thought this was your deepest, darkest secret."
Theo shook his head, digging with the toe of his shoe into the gravel.
"Something I had to find out by chasing you around your house," Max ignored how much he was exaggerating, "you just spew out to my sister."
"I'm sorry," Theo repeated.
"So now what? Huh? You going to tell my whole family? Or just call up the newspaper next?"
Still looking at the ground, Theo lifted the cigarette from Max's hand and threw it aside. He stepped on it as he shifted closer. Cupping Max's face in both hands, he kissed him. When Theo drew back, he rested his forehead against Max's and closed his eyes.
"I just did what I was taught never, ever to do. I don't know how to be sorrier than I already am," he whispered.
"Jesus, Theo," Max said, sighing heavily. Theo's hand caressed his neck. Max could feel Theo's body radiating warmth. "Why is it easier for you to talk to other people than to me?" His anger had faded enough for him to hear exactly how childish that sounded. Theo's heavy eyelashes parted to reveal startled eyes.
"Th-that's not true." He stood back and buried his hands back into his pockets.
"I mean, we've seen each other in some pretty embarrassing and some really fucking scary moments. I just want..." Max gestured in frustration. I don't even know. "One sentence from you, saying something important, with no hesitation or stuttering." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the dark. He heard Theo draw a breath and make a false start.
"That's—not fair."
"Is it? Do you try to hide every smile and laugh and bit of emotion you've got from your friends?"
"Max, I don't even get what you're mad about now."
"It's just so much goddamned work with you, Theo." Max sighed again, rubbing at his lower lip. When he looked up, Theo's eyes were wide open, and he was completely still. "How much more do I have to do to even get you to just talk to me? Why do you have to go out of your way to make it harder for me to get to know you?"
"I'm trying." Theo's voice was barely audible.
"So am I, but how far's it actually getting me?" Max demanded. Theo said nothing for a while, and Max let him stew, wishing for his cigarette back. Finally, the silence irritated him too much. "Seriously, Theo, I ask questions so I can get answers."
Theo drew a breath, hesitated. Then he shook his head.
"Screw you." Shoulders hunched, Theo turned away.
"Theo, I need you to—"
"I'll sleep on the couch. That's—d-don't talk to me." Theo's footsteps punctuated the end of the argument as he hurried back into the trailer.
Max stayed where he was, angry with Theo, angry with Theo's jerk cousin, angry with his own sister, but most of all angry with himself. Branches near him started to shift without wind, and his skin prickled, warning him that his anger was drawing unwelcome interest from the spirit world. Poltergeists in particular found anger intriguing.
Max gave up and went inside. To do that, he had to avoid looking at Theo stretched out fully dressed on the couch.
"Blankets are in the cupboard by the bathroom," he said, and went into his bedroom before Theo could respond.
CHAPTER NINE
Theo wasn't sleeping very deeply when something drew him back to awareness. He didn't sleep well in unfamiliar places to begin with, and the couch didn't offer much room. When his eyes opened, he felt no disorientation—it was as though he hadn't slept at all. He waited, senses on edge, to see what had woken him.
A voice, although he couldn't make out what it was saying. Max's voice, sounding distressed. Theo leapt to his feet and ran for the bedroom.
Max was alone. He lay on his side, his hand curled by his head. His fingers twitched frenetically as his eyebrows flexed and jerked. He made tight noises that weren't quite words, full of strain and urgency.
"Max." Theo couldn't sense anything unusual in the room. A nightmare? It made him nervous that Max's breathing grew quicker and his body shifted restlessly under the blankets. "Max, wake up. It's okay. It's just a dream. Max—"
Max gasped loudly and flung himself back against the headboard. He stared at Theo, panting raggedly, his wide eyes gleaming in the dark. The terror in his expression held Theo in place. Max moved first, stretching out an arm and clicking on his lamp. Yellow light splashed across Max's face, turning his hair and eyes dark gold, picking up the droplets of sweat tracing lines down his neck.
"Shit." Max wiped at his face with a visibly trembling hand. That single word broke Theo loose and he went to sit gingerly on the bed.
"You okay?"
"Yeah." Max cleared his throat. "Yeah. It was just a dream." He glanced sidelong at Theo. "Did I wake you up?"
"D-don't worry about it." In spite of himself, Theo reached out to sweep away the sweat with his fingertips. Max closed his eyes briefly. "You seem like maybe you're used to that kind of dream."
"Comes with the territory." Max shifted his hips, sitting up. He looked at Theo, then away, and for a while it was awkwardly quiet in the room. Then Max turned to him, leaning an elbow on the top of the headboard. "You know, Theo, there's still a few things I don't know about you."
"What do..." Theo saw that the smile on Max's face wasn't as relaxed as it pretended; there were tight lines around the corners of his mouth. Even so, it was such a pretty mouth. Just a hint wide for Max's face, it was gracefully shaped, lips just full enough to suggest lushness without excess. "You already know...a lot."
"Do I?" Max's eyebrows quirked mischievously. "I've been wondering." He ran his fingers along a fold of Theo's rumpled T-shirt. "Are you versatile?"
Theo watched that finger caress fabric, not getting anywhere near his skin. "Wh-why?"
"I'm curious." Max looked at him through chestnut eyelashes, that lovely mouth curving up higher on one side than the other. "I'm not a very versatile top, but how can I not think about it when you can go forever?"
Theo pressed his lips tightly together. He could smell Max's skin all too clearly, his masculinity coming through in his sweat. I'm still pissed off at him. He needs a distraction, but that doesn't mean I have to play along.
"I was actually thinking about it. I mean," Max's tone turned wry, "it'd have to be some time I wouldn't have to move around much the next day, obviously. But still."
"I d-don't usually. I have, but I don't—I don't usually." Language grew more difficult for him as he tried desperately not to imagine what Max was suggesting.
"Would you for me?" Max shifted closer. Theo looked at the far wall, swallowing hard. "I don't mean tonight, but let me run the idea past you." He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "I'd start by opening your fly, of course."
That half-whisper scratched across Theo's skin. His cock twitched in reaction.
"Push down those goofy boxers you wear." Max's hair lightly brushed Theo's temple. Gooseflesh sprang up on Theo's skin. "Just start touching you, nice and slow. Nice and slow."
"Max—" Theo felt imagined fingers on his cock, and it stirred for real.
"Shhh. I'm going to be letting this big cock fuck me, I should be allowed to get to know it." Max made an amused noise in his throat. "Wait, I already do, don't I? I've had you in my mouth. In my throat." His voice deepened. "I want to do that again."
"Oh, god." Theo's heart rate tripled.
"I'm too impatient, though, to go slow. I take you in for a suck, no games. As deep as I can, as quick as I can."
"S-slow down," Theo whispered. Every word was hardening him.
"Nuh-uh. You taste too
good. But I'm getting too excited. I'd better get the show on the road. I have to let that hard cock slide out of my mouth."
The word drew Theo's gaze back to Max's mouth. The world narrowed down to it. Before he could touch it with his own lips, Max casually moved his head.
"I'm not very used to being on the bottom. You're going to have to be gentle with me."
"Of course." Theo breathed the words out.
"I take some of my clothes off. Or maybe all of them? Hm?"
"All." Theo's own clothes caged him painfully. He didn't dare move, afraid of how much he'd feel every fibre of his boxers.
"You too, then. We're both naked, on the bed. I lie down on my stomach and wait. You're going to have to use your fingers first. You'd do that, right?"
"Mm." Even speaking seemed too dangerous. Theo was sure even his hair was starting to stand up on his head.
"Get some lube on those bony, manly fingers, and work it all the way in. Until you find the gland, and I just about come right there." Still Max's whisper was ruthlessly calm.
"Before, you said I made you lose it." Theo put a desperate hand on the blankets, finding Max's knee beneath.
"That was the first time, Theo. I lost control." The tips of Max's teeth showed between his lips. "I got it back." As Theo felt his way along Max's thigh, Max reached out in return to cup his crotch. Even that gentle pressure made Theo groan. "You're too turned on to wait."
"Yes," Theo said fervently.
"In the fantasy, Theo." Max's voice went throaty with amusement. He quickly unbuttoned Theo's jeans, then held up his hand. It took a moment for Theo to understand. He caught Max's wrist and touched his tongue to his palm, tasting salt. Glancing between Max's fingers, he saw Max's lips purse around his lightly clenched teeth. The arousal hidden in that expression increased Theo's need to please. He took a firmer hold of Max's hand and started licking his fingers from base to tip. But when he tried to take one of those fingers between his teeth, Max pulled his hand away. He then shoved down the waistband of Theo's boxers and took hold of him. That damp, warm touch caught all of Theo's attention. Unlike in his description, Max didn't take it slow at all. Each stroke was quick and aggressive.
