Chapter 11
Asher had never thought he'd find peace in silence.
Years ago, silence meant danger. Meant keeping his head down on street corners, listening for footsteps that might mean trouble.
Meant the hollow echo of empty apartments where he counted minutes until the next client, the next fix, the next escape.
Silence was something to fill, to run from, to survive.
Now, with snow falling thick outside the cabin windows and Gabriel's steady breathing in the bed beside him, silence felt like home.
The storm had been building for days. Gabriel had spent yesterday afternoon splitting wood with that methodical focus that made Asher want to climb him like a tree—muscles flexing under his flannel, sweat making his skin gleam despite the cold.
Asher had pretended to organize the supplies while really just watching his mate work, still amazed that this was his life now.
Ray's cabin. The place his father had built with his own hands, where Asher had spent summers before everything went to shit. Before he'd run.
Now it was theirs. Really theirs.
Gabriel stirred, rolling over to press his face against Asher's neck with a sleepy rumble that went straight to Asher's cock. Even half-asleep, Gabriel's arm tightened around his waist, pulling him back against his chest.
Wolves, as it turned out, were possessive bastards.
Asher loved it.
"Storm's getting worse," Gabriel murmured, lips brushing the permanent bite mark on Asher's shoulder.
Wind howled through the trees outside, snow pelting the windows. The power had cut out an hour ago, but they'd expected that. Generator would handle the essentials. They had the fireplace. They had each other.
They'd weathered worse.
"We're not going anywhere for days," Asher said, threading his fingers through Gabriel's where they rested on his stomach. "Hope you're not sick of me yet."
Gabriel's laugh vibrated through Asher's back. "Never."
The word hit Asher the way it always did—like a fist to the chest, but good. He still wasn't used to being wanted. Being kept.
"Fire's probably getting low," Asher said, though he made no move to leave the warm cocoon of blankets and Gabriel's body.
"In a minute." Gabriel's teeth scraped over the bite mark, making Asher shiver. "Let me wake up properly first."
His hand was already moving, sliding down Asher's stomach with clear intent. Asher's breath caught as Gabriel's fingers found his cock, already half-hard from proximity alone.
"Thought you were waking up," Asher managed, hips pushing into Gabriel's touch. "This seems more like you're trying to put me back to sleep."
"Complaining?" Gabriel's voice had gone rough, that particular growl that meant his wolf was interested.
"Did I say stop? No? Then shut up and keep going."
Gabriel laughed against his neck. "Bossy."
"You love it when I tell you what to do," Asher shot back. "Makes you all growly and possessive."
"Everything makes me possessive about you."
"Sap," Asher accused, but he was already grinding back against Gabriel's cock. "Absolute fucking sap. What would your pack think if they knew their big bad wolf goes all gooey over—fuck!"
Gabriel had twisted his wrist just right, cutting off Asher's teasing. "You were saying?"
Gabriel loved everything about him—his smart mouth, his damaged past, the way he still sometimes woke up in a foul mood, wracked with nightmares. Loved him completely, without reservation.
It should have gotten old by now, the intensity of it. Should have settled into something comfortable and routine. Instead, Asher still felt like he was drowning in it, in the best way. Like he'd never get enough of Gabriel's hands on him, Gabriel's cock in him, Gabriel's teeth in his skin.
"Turn over," Gabriel said, and fuck, there was that commanding tone that made Asher's whole body light up.
Asher turned in his arms, finally getting to see Gabriel's face. Sleep-rumpled, hair sticking up at odd angles, that soft look in his eyes that was just for Asher. Beautiful bastard.
"Hi," Asher said, suddenly feeling weirdly shy.
It happened sometimes, even now. These moments where he couldn't believe this was real, that he got to have this.
"Hi yourself." Gabriel's hand came up to cup his jaw, thumb brushing over his cheekbone. "You okay?"
Because of course Gabriel noticed. Werewolf senses, but also just... Gabriel. Who'd spent years learning every tell, every mood, every defense mechanism Asher had.
"Yeah." Asher turned his head to kiss Gabriel's palm. "Just... happy."
The word still felt strange in his mouth. Happy. Like home, it was something he'd never expected to have.
Gabriel's smile was soft and private, the one that made Asher's chest ache. Then he was kissing Asher properly, slow and deep, morning breath and all. It should have been gross. Instead, it was perfect. Real in a way Asher's old life never had been.
When they finally pulled apart, both breathing harder, Gabriel's eyes had gone sharp around the edges. His wolf peeking through.
"Want you," Gabriel said, like it was that simple.
Maybe it was.
"Yeah," Asher breathed. "Yes."
By the time they made it out of bed, it was nearly noon. Asher was sore in all the best ways, sporting a fresh bite mark over the old one, and Gabriel looked extremely pleased with himself.
"You're going to be impossible all day, aren't you?" Asher asked, pulling on one of Gabriel's hoodies. It hung huge on him, but it smelled like Gabriel—pine and smoke and something just him that made Asher's nervous system always settle.
"Probably," Gabriel admitted, completely unrepentant.
He was only wearing sweatpants, and Asher took a moment to appreciate the view. Broad shoulders, trim waist, those hip bones that Asher loved to bite.
"You're staring," Gabriel said without looking up from where he was rebuilding the fire.
"You're worth staring at. All that lumberjack porn energy you've got going on."
Gabriel glanced back at him, eyebrow raised. "Lumberjack porn?"
"Flannel. Chopping wood. Muscles." Asher gestured vaguely. "It's honestly unfair."
"You're ridiculous."
"You love it," Asher said, hopping off the stool to wrap his arms around Gabriel from behind. "Admit it, you'd be bored as fuck with someone normal."
"Good thing you're about as far from normal as it gets," Gabriel said, but Asher could hear the smile in his voice.
"Rude. Accurate, but rude."
The kitchen was warm and cozy, herbs growing in pots on the windowsill that Asher pretended not to care about but secretly loved. Gabriel had taken over most of the cooking—he was better at it, and he liked taking care of Asher in these small ways.
Asher perched on his usual stool, watching Gabriel crack eggs with practiced efficiency. Domestic as fuck. If his old clients could see him now—the boy they'd paid to fuck, sitting in a cabin in the mountains, watching his mate make him breakfast…
"What're you thinking about?" Gabriel asked, glancing at him.
"How different everything is." Asher traced patterns on the counter. "Good different."
Later, they ended up in front of the fire with a bottle of whiskey Gabriel had been saving. The storm still raged outside, but inside was warm and golden, blankets piled around them like a nest.
Asher was pleasantly drunk, that loose-limbed feeling where everything felt soft around the edges. Gabriel's arm was around him, fingers playing idly with his hair, and Asher couldn't remember ever feeling this safe.
"Remember that first morning?" Gabriel asked, voice low and thoughtful. "After the full moon. When you kissed me on the mountain."
"You were so sure you'd hurt me," Asher reminded him, taking another sip of whiskey. "Looking at me like I might break if you touched me wrong."
"I thought I'd taken something that wasn't mine to take." Gabriel's hand tightened slightly in his hair. "Couldn't believe you actually wanted me back."
"I'd wanted you for years," Asher said, turning to look at him. "You could have had me as soon as I stopped being jailbait,” he said with a wicked grin. “I spent that whole summer hoping you'd bend me over Ray's truck."
Gabriel groaned. "You can't say shit like that."
"Why not? It's true. I had a whole elaborate fantasy about it. Very detailed. Want to hear it?"
"Asher—"
"You'd be all sweaty from working on the deck," Asher continued, grinning at Gabriel's pained expression. "And I’d tease you until you'd finally snap, pin me against the truck?—“
"You're doing this on purpose," Gabriel accused.
"Obviously. Is it working?"
Asher shifted to straddle Gabriel's lap, the blanket falling away. The whiskey made him bold, made him want.
"I mean, you're already hard, so I'd say yes."
"Brat," Gabriel growled, hands finding his hips.
"Your brat," Asher corrected, rolling his hips just to be an asshole about it. "You had your chance to run. Now you're stuck with me and my mouth."
"I happen to like your mouth," Gabriel said, eyes dark with that particular hunger that meant his wolf was very interested.
"Yeah? Which part? The talking back, or the sucking your?—"
Gabriel pulled him down for a kiss that was definitely meant to shut him up.
It worked. Mostly.
They made love there in front of the fire, slow and deep, the kind of sex that was as much about connection as pleasure. Gabriel's hands mapped every inch of him like he was trying to memorize it, even though he already knew Asher's body better than Asher did himself.
Later, the fire crackled, casting dancing shadows on the walls. Gabriel's knot pulsed inside him, keeping them connected, and Asher had never felt more complete.
"You know what's fucked up?" Asher said, tracing lazy patterns on Gabriel's chest.
"What?"
"Three years ago I was getting railed by strangers for rent money." He felt Gabriel tense and continued before he could get all protective and growly. "And now I'm getting railed by you for free. Terrible business model, really."
"Asher—"
"I should at least charge you in pancakes. Or those fancy coffee beans you hide in the back of the pantry."
"You know about those?" Gabriel sounded genuinely surprised.
"Please. You're not subtle." Asher shifted slightly, making them both groan as his movement tugged at where they were still connected. "But my point is, you've completely ruined my entrepreneurial spirit. Now I just lie here and let you fuck me for free like some kind of kept boy."
"You are a kept boy," Gabriel pointed out, amused despite himself. "My boy."
"See? Disgusting. We're disgusting." Asher pressed a kiss to Gabriel's chest. "I love you," he said, the words coming easier now after years of practice.
Gabriel's arms tightened around him. "Love you too. Always."
Sappy bastard. Asher loved him so fucking much it hurt.