by Lynn Hagen
Elijah was right behind Ben. “I like him already.”
With a roll of his eyes, Ben hurried to catch up with his fleeing mate.
Chapter Six
Ben didn’t stop until he had Trey in the bedroom. Once he set Trey on his feet, his mate’s gaze flickered to the bedroom door as if he had changed his mind. He no longer looked so sure now that Ben was in his apartment.
“We could just talk.” Ben wasn’t going to push his mate to do anything he didn’t want to, though Ben’s body was hard and needy. Even so, he took a deep breath and a few steps back so he could pull himself under control.
“Y’know, you’re still a complete stranger to me, and you blew my mind.” Trey turned and sat on the bed, almost making it impossible for Ben to think. “I have to be completely insane to bring you home.”
Ben sat next to Trey. “I’d never do anything to hurt you, Trey. You believe that, don’t you?”
Something moved behind Trey’s blue eyes, and Ben knew that the man was no longer thinking about the earlier revelation that Ben was a wolf shifter. His mate was staring at Ben’s broad chest. Ben could see the wheels turning in Trey’s head, the images that were playing out in his mind.
Up close, an inch away, face-to-face, Ben realized for the first time that Trey’s eyes looked a light blue but had a slight black cast to them, an inky iridescence only visible from kissing distance.
“I want to kiss you again.” Ben smoothed light brown hair away from the handsome face. Leaning forward, his lips brushed against Trey’s neck, feathery soft.
Trey was breathing faster, and he had an obvious erection he did nothing to cover. There were all these things they needed to talk about, but it all seemed pointless with Trey this close and warm and so damn willing.
“God, do you know how crazy this is?” Trey slid a leg over Ben’s lap, straddling him.
It seemed Trey wasn’t going to wait for him to make the first move. His mate was initiating things, and Ben was going along for the ride. He grabbed Trey’s hips, tasted the man’s tongue, and felt his cock growing harder by the second.
Ben wrapped his fingers in Trey’s silky hair, tugging it back so he could suck at the man’s neck. His wolf snarled in approval, trying to rush things along, but Ben planned on taking his time, seducing his mate, showing Trey just what he meant to him.
“Uggh,” Trey groaned. “I’m about to cuddle with a wolf.”
Ben smiled against the man’s skin. “I’m hoping we do more than cuddle, sunshine.”
The hair pulled under his hand as Trey nodded. “I hope so, too.”
Ben slid his hands down and started kneading Trey’s ass, running his thumbs just inside the waistband, dying to get the jeans from between them. Trey must have been thinking the same thing, because he slid from Ben’s lap, yanking his sneakers free before pulling his jeans off.
Ben didn’t hesitate to follow suit. They were both head-to-toe naked when Trey crawled back onto Ben’s lap, Ben’s cock wedged between the man’s cheeks. The feeling sent shivers through him, and Ben had to breathe slowly to calm himself.
He normally wasn’t this edgy when it came to sex, but fuck, this was his mate, his forever, and Ben wanted to do this right.
“I’m still not sure I’m doing the right thing,” Trey said as he kissed Ben’s neck. “But I don’t want to talk right now. All I want is to feel you inside me.”
“Anything you want, Treyvon.” Ben tilted his head to the side, groaning as Trey licked his neck from one ear to the other.
“Is it really that simple?”
Trey nipped Ben’s chin, and Ben’s cock slipped back and forth over Trey’s crease, tempting him, begging him to bury himself deep. Now Ben’s wolf was howling, desperate to get free and claim what was his.
“I hope you’re aware that I’m not paying any attention to this conversation.” Ben groaned. “Not when I have such a pretty ass sitting on my lap.”
Trey laughed. “I sure as hell hope not.” And then he grew serious. “I want you to make love to me, Ben.”
“Then stop talking. Okay, stop talking after you tell me where the lube is.”
Trey chuckled again, his blue eyes sparkling. “Top drawer of my nightstand.”
Ben leaned sideways and grabbed the bottle of lube, placing it next to him before he covered Trey’s mouth with his. He opened the lube, pouring some on his hand before sliding it down the crease of Trey’s ass. His fingers circled around the pink iris of muscles, adding pressure before slipping a finger inside.
God, the heat was so intense. He could just imagine what it was going to feel like when his cock finally entered. Trey gave a low noise, his fingers running over Ben’s short hair, pulling the dirty-blond strands as he rocked his hips, pushing his ass down on Ben’s finger.
This was what he wanted with Trey. Not just the sex but the closeness, the intimacy. The special bond mates shared. Ben had had his fair share of lovers, but at the end of the day, going to bed alone got stale after a while. Ben wanted more, not only a mate but someone who knew him inside and out.
A solace he could curl into when the world beat at him, when he just wanted to find peace, even for a moment.
Trey tweaked Ben’s nipples, making a bark of surprise leave Ben’s lips before he moaned in pleasure. Then he sucked on the left one, teeth and tongue, making Ben ground his teeth to stop himself from tossing Trey down and fucking him too quickly.
“You like that?” Trey asked as he pulled his mouth away and then lashed at the neglected nub.
Ben shoved his finger deep and then added another. Trey was driving him insane.
After a few seconds of having the man’s lips at his chest, Ben lay back, Trey sitting atop him. He was bent at the waist, sucking skin and grinding his ass on Ben’s beefy fingers.
Do you know how damn good you look up there?
But he didn’t ask. Ben’s mind wasn’t on board for conversation right now. He’d reverted back to grunting and making Cro-Magnon sounds as Trey’s hips gyrated, his actions turning hungrier, more desperate.
Ben’s cock pulsed, lying at Trey’s ass, waiting its turn. As Trey’s lips and tongue worked magic on his skin, Ben’s head began to spin, realizing that he was going to have Trey the way he’d fantasized since meeting the guy.
“Fuck me,” Trey begged before teasing Ben’s nipple between his teeth. “I can’t take the wait any longer.”
Ben pulled his fingers free, grabbed the base of his cock, and then said, “You’re in control. Take as much as you want.”
Pressing his hands into Ben’s chest, Trey lifted his ass, Ben pressing the blunt head of his cock against Trey’s hole.
“Whatever you want, however you want it. You’re the boss.”
Trey nodded, his hair sticking to his face in a matted mess, the man already sweating as he pushed back, his fingernails biting into Ben’s chest. He reached up and brushed the hair aside, wanting to see Trey with an unobstructed view, to watch every expression that crossed his mate’s face.
God, it would be so easy to fall in love with you.
As if he could hear Ben’s thoughts, his mate leaned forward, smashing their lips together, biting Ben’s. Trey’s fingernails broke skin as he inched his way down Ben’s erection, stopping every few seconds as he pulled in a deep breath before going on.
“Yeah, that’s it…ungh…take it, baby. Take me.”
“So big,” Trey muttered. “So damn full…stretching me wide.”
With his free hand, Ben slid his fingers into Trey’s hair, pulling, hearing the man groan. “Like your hair pulled?”
“I didn’t know,” Trey confessed, inching down just a little more. “But yeah, I like it.”
Ben brushed his lips over Trey’s and then sucked at his neck. He nipped the man hard just as Trey bottomed out, stilling, breathing hard, sweat glistening on his face.
“Go slow, go slow, go slow,” Trey muttered quietly. “So much”—he gasped for breath—“so big.”
“You’re unbelievably hot,” Ben said, his fingers holding Trey a little tighter. “Like a damn furnace. So tight.”
Trey smiled. “You make the strangest sounds.”
“That’s ’cause you feel…so good.” Ben licked his lips, staring into Trey’s pretty eyes, which were shinning so seductively. “Can I move?”
“I thought you were moving.”
“So much to learn,” Ben said under his breath as he increased his thrusts, keeping Trey anchored to him. “Hang on, baby. I want to make you fly, but not literally.”
Trey bit his bottom lip, and Ben nearly lost his load. He was buried so deep inside Trey that he was holding it together by a thin thread.
“Wait!”
Trey frowned as he stilled. “What’s wrong?”
“Fuck.” Ben wiped the sweat from his face. “You just brought me close too damn fast.”
A spark of mischief entered Trey’s eyes as he bounced once. “Really?”
Ben growled as he turned, making Trey shout and then laugh as he dropped to his back, dislodging Ben’s cock from his ass. “Wanna play, huh?” He grabbed one of Trey’s ankles and lifted it high in the air, back toward the headboard before slipping back into his tight sheath.
Trey’s laughter died as he hitched his other leg around Ben’s waist. “The most delicious kind of torture.”
Lowering the other leg, Trey wrapped it around Ben’s waist. He used both legs to pull Ben closer, to shove Ben’s cock deeper into his ass. “Don’t hold back.”
Ben gripped the headboard and began to rock Trey’s fucking world. He could hear the bed moving, inching just a little from the wall as he gave the man exactly what he asked for. His cock plunged deep. Trey shouted, his head thrashing from side to side. Ben contemplated putting a damn pillow over the man’s face—just in case his neighbors thought Trey was being murdered instead of thoroughly fucked—but was afraid he’d suffocate the man.
Ben growled as he punched his hips like a well-oiled piston. Trey raised his hips higher, clenching his cheeks together, creating a tighter grip. “Fuuuck!”
“Kiss me,” Trey panted. “Kiss me, Ben.”
He damn near bent Trey in half as he dipped his head, kissing Trey like it was the last kiss he’d ever be able to give the man. It was brutal, intense, and damn if Trey wasn’t giving just as good as he was getting.
Trey was proving he was just the kind of guy who could stand beside an alpha. At least in the bedroom. Ben also loved the fact that, at the moment, Trey didn’t have a look of fear in his eyes.
“I’m…oh…close, Ben…close.”
Circling his thick hand around Trey’s erection, he began to stroke it quickly, feeling the heated skin pulse under his fingers. “Come for me, baby.”
Trey’s hole clamped down on Ben’s dick as his cock spurted in Ben’s hand. Ben tried to thrust harder, but Trey’s ass was too damn tight right now, holding his shaft in place.
That was when Ben sank his canines into Trey’s shoulder. It felt as if fireworks had gone off inside him. Ben could actually feel their souls soldering together, feel their bond snap into place, feel that deep, unwavering connection that made it seem as if they’d known each other since the beginning of time.
Trey shouted as he writhed under Ben. When Trey flopped back, Ben lifted his hand and licked the man’s seed clean. Trey’s nostrils flared, his softening cock twitching.
Ben grabbed Trey’s hips and pounded into his mate, chasing his own release as Trey gripped his arms, holding on.
The knowledge that Trey was his and that he’d claimed his mate did it for him. He slid his canines free before driving his cock deep. Ben exploded, his seed filling his mate’s ass.
His movements slowed, his body aching. Using his bare shoulder, Ben wiped the sweat from his face. When he looked down, he saw that Trey’s eyes were closed. He smiled, and admittedly, his ego had been stroked, knowing he’d given them both a workout.
Chapter Seven
Trey lay there for a long moment, trying to fight against the need to get out of bed to use the bathroom. He had a hottie curled around him, and he was too dang comfortable.
But a twitch of his bladder made him slide from under Ben’s arm. Even though the guy was asleep, Trey still blushed as he thought of what they’d just done. Had Trey really been that vocal? Had he really said those things to Ben?
On second thought, had he actually invited Ben to his home and had down-and-dirty sex with him? The guy had just stalked him the night before. Then he thought about what Ben had said to him.
Mates. Handpicked by fate.
He wasn’t sure he believed that, but the sex had been off the hook. Trey winched when he stood. His body had been deliciously abused, and he couldn’t stop smiling to himself as he padded across the hall to the bathroom.
After taking care of his business and washing his hands, Trey stopped midstride in the hallway. It was dark in his apartment, which told him that it was still the middle of the night. Trey strained to look down the hallway when he heard… He strained to listen.
Admittedly, Trey hated living alone. He was a chicken at heart when it came to noises at night. Sue him. Yes, he was afraid of the dark. Big deal.
But this was more than just his fear. Trey could have sworn he heard a floorboard creak, but the sound didn’t repeat itself. He’d started to go back to his bedroom when he heard it again.
Was someone in his apartment? His heart thundered. He was trying to ease his way across the hall, to reach Ben and alert his mate about what he heard, when he was grabbed and yanked down the hallway by his throat.
The hand squeezed hard, cutting off Trey’s ability to scream as he was pushed into the living room wall. He gasped desperately for air, clawing at the hand that was cutting off his supply of oxygen.
His heartbeat thrashed in his ears as he tried to think of a way to get out of the hold. Trey couldn’t even focus on who had him, on the intruder’s face, or anything else as panic set in.
His legs buckled as dizziness swept over him.
A loud snarl ripped through the air. Whoever had him was jerked backward and slung across the room. Trey fell to his knees, grabbing at his throat, sucking down much-needed air as tears rolled down his cheeks.
“The job will be finished. Manny will have his revenge, and those who survived will die.”
That wasn’t Ben talking. Trey knew the guy’s deep, masculine, gravelly voice. The newcomer had more of a hiss to his words. Trey tried to concentrate, tried to push himself to his feet, but his legs shook like wet noodles, unable to support him.
When he could finally focus, he saw a very naked Ben had the stranger by his throat. Good. The bastard deserved to feel what it was like to be unable to breathe, as if his throat was being crushed.
“You come into my mate’s home and try to kill him?” Ben snarled, while long, sharp canines protruded from his mouth.
Trey gasped when he saw Ben’s fingernails were now thick, black claws, reminding him that Ben wasn’t human.
“Collateral damage,” the stranger said.
Trey’s arms shook as he drew the strength to stand. He swayed but managed not to fall back down.
“Collateral damage?” Trey stormed across the room but kept a good distance between them. He didn’t want the guy getting out of Ben’s grip and coming after him again. “What the fuck did I ever do to you?”
Now that Trey was close enough, he saw what his attacker looked like. Were those…fangs? Holy shit! Trey took a step back, his gaze bouncing from the stranger to Ben and then back to the stranger.
Trey forced himself not to grip his temples. A headache had started and was pounding at the back of his skull. Now was not the time to get a migraine.
The bastard had nerve when he smirked, his gaze falling on Tr
ey. “Once I’m done with you, I’ll make your mate a tasty snack.”
Bile rose to the back of Trey’s throat. Only in Ben’s psychotic world would someone threaten to eat another person. That should have made Trey want to walk away and never return, but right now he was more pissed than scared.
The intruder had choked him out, and the prick deserved to get his ass kicked. Just not by Trey since he didn’t know how to fight. He’d leave the brute force up to Ben.
Ben growled as he pulled the guy back and then slammed him against the wall, creating a huge hole as bits of plaster crumbled to the floor. Shit. His landlord was going to have a heart attack about the damage, and why on earth was he worried about that right now?
“How many more of you are in town?” Ben asked.
When the stranger didn’t answer him, Ben slammed him into the wall again. At this rate there wouldn’t be a wall by the time Ben got his answer.
“Tell him what he wants to know or…or…I’ll make him eat you!” Trey jabbed a finger at the guy, though he still kept a good distance from him. He wasn’t sure if he could really make Ben eat the guy, and Trey didn’t want to find out. It was an empty threat, but Trey was still pissed the bastard had tried to kill him.
The guy threw his head back and laughed. The sound sent chills down Trey’s spine. It was malicious and made the hair on Trey’s body stand on end.
His threat hadn’t been that laughable. Trey wasn’t sure if he should be offended.
“Trey, go to the bedroom,” Ben said without taking his eyes off the intruder. “You don’t need to see this.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Trey protested as he crossed his arms over his thin chest. “I’m not leaving you alone with this psychopath. What if you need my help? I can’t help you if I’m cowering down the hall.”
Trey couldn’t stop staring at the guy’s fangs. They were short, and looked deadly sharp, making him think of vampires. No, no, no. Vampires only existed in movies and books. Right? Then again, Ben was a wolf shifter, and Trey had seen hellhounds. Was it a stretch of the imagination that vampires were real?
