Without Reservations

by J. L. Langley

  Chay tried to pull back, but Bit wouldn’t let him. He growled—actually growled—at Chay. Chay finally managed to grab Bit’s head and push him back. It wasn’t that he minded the mauling, but damn, he’d at least like to know Keaton was okay. “Geez, Bit.”

  Keaton gasped and clutched his head. Ears appeared on the top of his head and his face began to elongate.

  Chay stared, fixated.

  Bit pulled his hands up and watched as long talons pushed out the ends of his fingers. That was weird. They should have fused into paws.

  Chay’s jaw dropped open. Keaton had just, for the first time in front of Chay, changed into his third form, half-wolf/half-man. His face was wolf, as was the tail Chay could see waving behind him. He had a fine covering of platinum fur all over, and in some places, like on the head and back, the hair was longer. His torso was still clearly human, but his hands and legs were something in between. His cock…still very human and still very hard.

  “What happened?” Bit asked in a voice not his own. It was hoarse, low, growly, with a lisp to it.

  “You were poisoned. We gave you blood. Don’t you remember?”

  The pale wolf head shook back and forth. Keaton reached for him again, bringing Chay to his knees and tight against the furry body. “Need, Chay. Bad. Can’t control it. Take charge. Don’t want to hurt you. Too strong like this.”

  This was weird. It was still his Bit, his mate, but well, it was strange. He was human and Keaton wasn’t quite. Keaton was actually larger in this form, about Chay’s size.

  Keaton’s hips surged up against him and he whimpered. “Need.”

  Chay nodded. His mate needed him. He grabbed Bit’s cock. It felt the same. It looked exactly the same too. He could do this. He pulled on the solid shaft, jerking Bit off. Keaton’s head dropped to his shoulder, his muzzle nestled into Chay’s neck. Chay flinched as the cold, wet nose pressed against him, but didn’t stop stroking.

  Bit let out a low growl. It wasn’t fierce or angry, more of a rumbly, purring sound, the equivalent of a moan in this form. It wasn’t long before Bit’s hips snapped into his hand.

  Chay looked down, watching the slim hips rock forward and back, the thick cock slide in his palm. His own cock jerked, surprising him. He’d been too busy trying to please his mate to worry about himself. It hadn’t started out as sex, but it was certainly about sex now.

  He squeezed a little harder and let go. This time Bit’s growl sounded fierce. Chay smiled and enfolded his fist around his prick too. He wrapped both his hands around their cocks and stroked them together. It wasn’t long before both their hips were moving.

  Bit’s forearms rested on Chay’s shoulders and his cold nose tickled the side of Chay’s neck. Then his tongue snaked out, licking.

  Chay let his head lull back. His eyes closed and he concentrated on the feel of his hands sliding over his cock, mashing and rubbing Bit’s shaft against his. The heat of Bit’s throbbing dick felt good against him.

  Keaton’s breathing sped up in time with the thrust of his hips. He bit down on Chay’s shoulder, hard.

  Blood dripped down Chay’s chest and back and like that he came. He screamed, actually fucking screamed, and shot so hard he felt like he would pass out. Cum splashed up his arm, his belly, his thighs, everywhere. There was too much to be all his.

  Keaton let go of his neck and howled, his hips snapping against Chay’s. In mid-howl he changed back, and the sound became a hoarse yell before Keaton fell to the bed on his back.

  Chay followed him down, landing right beside him. They both lay panting, covered in semen.

  After several minutes Chay’s brain woke up. What the fuck was that? It had to be some sort of pheromone thing or something. He’d never come so hard in his life. He damned near forgot his own name. He wasn’t sure if that was something he wanted to try again or mark down on his list of stay-the-hell-away-from-permanently. Shit, he wasn’t even sure Bit survived it. He turned his head to check.

  The expression on Keaton’s face almost made Chay laugh. Poor Bit’s eyes were so wide they looked like they were about to pop out of his head. He stared at the ceiling, blinking periodically. His mouth opened then snapped right back shut, like he wanted to say something but just couldn’t form the words. He gasped like a fish trying to get air.

  Finally Chay decided to help him out. “You okay?”

  “I think so.” He grabbed Chay’s hand, entwining it with his. “Good lord.”

  Chay nodded. “You can say that again.”

  “Is your shoulder okay?”

  Chay glanced down at it. It was already healed, the wound closed, the blood starting to dry. “Yeah.”

  “What the hell was that?”

  “A side effect from giving you my blood?”

  “Yeah, probably. Don’t do that any more. I don’t like not having control of myself. I lost it. I freaking bit you. I can’t believe I did that. That’s scary.”

  He reached over with his other hand and caressed the smooth beloved cheek. “Not as scary as almost losing you.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Keaton glared down at his phone, then checked the clock behind him. This was getting ridiculous. Chay called him every fifteen minutes. He held up a finger to his class and pulled his phone off his belt. “Excuse me. I have to take this.” He punched the call button and put his back to the podium. “Chay, not now. I’m still alive. I’m right in the middle of a lecture. I’ll call you back,” he whispered into the phone.

  “Okay, just checking. Love you.”

  “Love you too,” he mumbled, and hit end. He turned back to his class and smiled. “Sorry about that. Are there any questions?”

  No one raised their hand.

  “Okay, class dismissed. See y’all next Tuesday. Have a good weekend.” They filed out as Keaton gathered his things. He didn’t pay too much attention until he smelled another wolf. He hadn’t had a wolf in his class before. He glanced up as the last student left the room and noticed a man standing beside the door.

  Tall with impossibly wide shoulders, he made Chay seem small. He was Native American, in his mid-thirties or thereabouts, and had short black hair. He wasn’t classically handsome, but he was appealing, in a rough, masculine sort of way. He looked dangerous and he was most definitely a wolf.

  Keaton cleared his throat. He wasn’t going to cower but he was a tad on the worried side. He was stronger than this wolf, but he hated to fight. The sudden urge to call Chay back overwhelmed him.

  “Dr. Reynolds?” The wolf stepped into the room.

  “Yes?” Keaton stood up straighter. He couldn’t sense any malice, but he figured if the guy was psycho enough to want to kill him, he wouldn’t.

  The man extended his hand and bared his throat. “I’m Jacob Romero. John Carter sent me.”

  John Carter? Chay’s—his new Alpha? Keaton looked at the man’s hand and stepped back. “I don’t understand.”

  Jacob gave him a sheepish grin and dropped his hand. “He asked me to keep an eye on you. His Beta, Joe Winston, was very concerned about you and asked that you be assigned a bodyguard.”

  Wow. Joe got him a bodyguard? “I see.” He pulled his phone off his belt. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment?”

  Jacob nodded. “Of course. Do you need the Alpha’s number or are you calling Joe?”

  “Joe.” Keaton backpedaled, keeping his eye on the other wolf. He felt like the man was telling the truth, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. He’d promised Chay he wouldn’t. He found the Winston’s home number and nearly pushed it. Then he thought better of it. Lena would probably be home. He quickly found Joe’s cell number and dialed.

  “Hey, Keaton, what’s up? Everything okay?”

  Keaton almost grinned. Chay hated it when Joe read the caller ID and immediately addressed whoever called. “Yeah, Joe, everything is fine. Listen, do you know a Jacob Romero?”

  “Dad,” Joe corrected.

  “What?” Keaton frowned.

&n
bsp; Jacob raised a brow.

  Joe chuckled. “You are supposed to be calling me Dad and yes I know Jake. I guess this means you didn’t get the message I left you on your voice mail?”

  He hadn’t checked his messages today because he assumed they were all Chay, fretting over him. Keaton smiled. “No, I didn’t. And sorry, I forgot…Dad. He says he’s here as my bodyguard.”

  “He is. John and I discussed it last night after we found out about you being poisoned.”

  Keaton nodded. “Okay, just checking.”

  “No problem, son. If you need anything else holler. I’d talk to you, but I have to run. Lena has me up on the roof fixing the antenna.”

  “Be careful. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Later, son.”

  Keaton pushed “end” and replaced the phone at his waist. “Well, Jacob—”

  “Jake please.”

  “All right, Jake. Have you eaten lunch?”

  Jake shook his head. “No, I’ve been trying to stay downwind of you all morning.”

  Keaton laughed. “You did a damn good job. I had no idea until right before you walked in here. What made you decide to introduce yourself?” He slung his backpack over his shoulder and motioned for Jake to precede him out the door.

  Jake stepped outside and turned to face him. “My curiosity got the better of me.”

  “Yeah, how so?”

  “My sister has been bragging about you for weeks. Well not you exactly…your dog. I had to meet the man that owns ‘the absolute epitome of puppyhood’.” Jake grinned. “My younger sister, Tina, works for Chay.”

  Keaton laughed quietly. He had to meet Tina. It would seem the woman had designs on his dog.

  They were sitting in the diner across from the campus when Keaton’s phone rang again. He smiled and shook his head.

  Jake chuckled. “Chay?”

  “Every fifteen minutes.” He hit the call button and put the phone to his ear. “Still alive.”

  Chay’s rich laughter echoed over the phone. “I’m glad to hear it. What are you doing?”

  “I’m eating lunch.”

  “You didn’t call me back.”

  “I got sidetracked. I sort of ran into my bodyguard.”

  “Your what?”

  Keaton flinched. Apparently Chay didn’t know either. “It appears that your Dad and John decided I needed another wolf to keep an eye out for me.”

  “Damn, that’s awesome. And a great idea. My dad freakin’ rocks. Who is your bodyguard?”

  Keaton looked up at Jake and grinned. “Let’s put it this way. You better tell your VA I’m on to her. And she’s not getting my dog.”

  “Huh?”

  Keaton winked at Jake, knowing he could hear everything Chay said. “Jake Romero.”

  “Oh hey, Tina’s brother. Good, you’re in fine hands. Jake’s a great guy, I’ve known him since I was a kid. Tell him I said hello. And don’t believe anything he tells you about me. I didn’t do any of that stuff, I swear.” He could hear the grin in Chay’s voice.

  Keaton shared a look with Jake and raised a brow.

  “I’ll fill you in after you hang up.”

  Keaton chuckled some more. “Good. I want all the gory details.”

  “Hey, I heard that,” Chay grumbled good-naturedly. “Behave yourself.”

  “Yes, dear.”

  Chay groaned. “Okay, I guess since you have a bodyguard, I’ll leave you alone and let you eat. I want details when you get home. I wanna know how often Jake is going to be with you. Tell Jake I’m going to pay him for whatever work he misses, no arguments. Tell him thank you.”

  “Anything else?” Keaton grinned. Chay was too cute when he worried.

  “Uh, not that I can think of. Don’t eat stuff someone leaves on your desk. Oh, and have Jake check your car before you drive it.”

  “Yes, dear.” Like he’d eat another apple left on his desk. What did Chay think? He couldn’t check his car himself? What was he helpless? Keaton rolled his eyes.

  Jake chuckled and held out his hand.

  Keaton handed him the phone.

  “Chay?” Jake’s eyes twinkled at him across the table.

  Keaton heard Chay’s voice, quieter but still easily discernable. “Hey, hi, Jake.”

  “I got it covered. I won’t let anything happen to him. I promise.”

  “Thanks, Jake.”

  “You’re welcome.” He handed the phone back to Keaton.

  “Okay, I’m back. Anything else?” Keaton waited for the barrage of “be careful” and “pay attention” and all that. It didn’t come. Chay seemed to have relaxed with Jake’s assurance.

  “No. It’s cool. I’ll see you around five.”

  “All right. See you at home. Love you.”

  A soft, happy sigh drifted over the phone. “Love you too, Bit.”

  Keaton smiled and hung up.

  After that, he and Jake ate their lunch and talked. Jake told him about Chay as a young wolf and all the trouble he got into. He talked about how friendly everyone in their pack was and his job as a private detective. Jake was down to earth, easy-going and very nonjudgmental. He was a hell of a nice guy and he brightened up Keaton’s day. His company was a welcome distraction. Keaton decided he had found himself a new friend.

  Jake spent the remainder of his guard duty with Keaton being fully aware of his presence. He even sat inside the lecture halls with Keaton. Keaton couldn’t see any reason for the man to sit around outside the door although Jake did go check the halls periodically.

  They left class together and Jake walked him to his car. After Jake looked it over, he handed Keaton a card. “Take this. It has my cell number, my office number and my house number. You can always reach me at one of these numbers. Call if you need me. I’m going to follow you home then I’m off duty until Monday. In fact, if you want, I can pick you up and bring you to work.” He offered his hand and Keaton shook it.

  “Thank you, Jake. I…can I pick you up? I got the new car and…”

  Jake chuckled. “And you’d like to drive it. Okay, I tell you what. I’ll meet you at your house Monday and you can drive us. Deal?”

  “Deal.” Suddenly, a thought occurred to Keaton. This man had no issue with his and Chay’s relationship. “Hey, Jake. What are you doing tomorrow evening? You wanna bring your sister and come have dinner at the house with Chay and I? I’ve been wanting to meet Tina.”

  Jake smiled, truly delighted. “I’d love to. Let me see what Tina is doing and I’ll give you a call. What time?”

  Keaton shrugged. He better make it kinda late, considering his and Chay’s culinary skills…or lack thereof. “Seven-thirty?”

  Jake nodded. “Okay, works for me. You need Tina or I to bring anything?”

  “Nah. Just yourselves. If Chay screws dinner up too bad, we’ll order pizza.”

  Pita ran around in circles barking. It was cute, but annoying as hell. Chay wasn’t a decent chef at the best of times and the pup wasn’t helping him concentrate on reading the recipe with all that yapping. Keaton had called earlier to inform him that he’d invited Jake and Tina to dinner tomorrow night. Chay was delighted Bit was making friends. He was relieved to find out Jake was acting as Bit’s bodyguard, that had made the tension he’d been feeling ease some. But no way in hell was he going to get stuck cooking for company. Fair was fair. He was going to play the but-I-cooked-last-night card and he was going to play it to the hilt.

  He’d run into the kitchen and pulled out the cookbook while still on the phone with Bit. Fifteen minutes later, he was off the phone and he’d made no progress. Every time he settled on a recipe and took out ingredients, he realized he lacked a key item that made up the dish. He shook his head, picked up all the ingredients from the last no-go, stepped over Pita and put them back. They needed to go shopping. They were, apparently, out of everything.

  Chay grabbed the cookbook and strolled to the pantry for one last check.

  Pita bit the leg of his scrubs and s
tarted tugging.

  Maybe he could order take out, toss the containers and pretend to have made it. It was a thought. Chay jerked his leg back up next to his other one. “Give it a rest, pup.” The question was, could he pull it off without actually lying to Bit? Nah, probably not. Chay sighed and flipped through the book again.

  It appeared as though he had everything for the recipe on the second to last page. He couldn’t pronounce it, but it looked edible. He reached for the flour when the sound of a car brought him up short. “Crap.” Out of time. Chay grinned, anxious to see his mate. He swooped the growling puppy up and went to the garage to open the door for Bit. He should buy an automatic garage-door opener. A trip to Sears was definitely in order.

  He lifted the door open with one hand and…no Bit. He could have sworn he heard a car. Glancing over in front of the house by the curb, he saw John and Mary Carter getting out of their car.

  “Hi, Chay.” Mary waved and rushed forward.

  John followed her carrying a big box. “Hey, Chayton.”

  “Hey, guys.” Chay motioned to them to come on through the garage. “I thought you were Keaton. What brings the two of you out this way?”

  Mary hugged him. “We brought you and Keaton some things,” she said, petting Pita’s head. Beating Chay to death with his tail, the mutt ate the attention up.

  Chay’s eyebrow shot up as he set Pita down then closed the garage door. “What kind of things?”

  They trailed behind him into the kitchen, almost tripping over the excited puppy.

  Mary smiled and patted his arm. “We wanted to do something nice. You being newly mated and all.”

  John set the box on the kitchen table.

  Chay grinned. Apparently, he wasn’t going to have to tell anyone about him and Bit. It would seem his dad had taken care of it.