Chapter Ten
Dray
It was comforting to know that Tripp’s father would be less of a judgmental prick about their mating than he thought. And it was comforting to know it was their baby. A certain rightness had gone through him the first time Tripp ever touched his stomach.
They barely made it through the apartment front door before Dray was assaulted with millennial depression gray everything. “Fuck, dude. Your house looks like it was decorated by a set director in a documentary about student loan debt.”
“Oddly specific. I just ordered the recommended fittings for each room from Ikea…” Tripp glanced around nervously.
“Maybe we could spruce it up with some color if we moved in together.” Dray glanced around.
“If it would make you happy, I will throw every piece of furniture in here in the dumpster or give it away and buy all new.” Tripp gave Dray the biggest puppy dog eyes.
“Shut up and show me where your bedroom is.” Dray rolled his eyes and pulled his hoodie off, sliding his pants down as he followed. “We’re on a schedule.”
Tripp showed Dray down the hall and into a sparsely furnished room.
A quick glance around told him that, yes, Dray would be doing the decorating when they moved in together.
When, not if. Dray had memories of that fantastic cock that’d left its mark on him—and in a way, he’d longed for the male, too.
The bed didn’t get a second glance as they made their way to the bathroom, meeting at the shower with a kiss.
Tripp looked fantastic with or without clothes. And without, he was a treat for sore eyes.
“Glad you’re getting more comfortable with me.
” Tripp pressed in, their bellies touching, Dray’s soft, rounded shape to Tripp’s taut surface.
He had no hesitation in reaching for Dray’s hips, caressing the sides of his chest and over his bottom.
No hesitation at all when his hand curled around and cupped his belly.
A twitch within jarred Dray into a gasp and Tripp smiled. “Someone else is, too.”
“This isn’t about him.” Dray moved Tripp’s hand away.
“Him?” Tripp froze and stared at Dray with wide, puppy dog eyes.
Dray shook his head. “I do get regular prenatal care, you know?”
“Good. Good. I—sometime soon we need to sit down and hatch out financials. I owe you for the doctor’s visits. Stuff.” Tripp’s cheeks flushed.
Dray reached into the shower, fiddled with the knobs, and slapped Tripp’s ass. “We can be responsible adults later. We fuck now.”
“O-oh. Okay!” Tripp stumbled as Dray drew him in and smiled.
“We have to stop meeting like this.” Dray stuck his tongue out as the water cascaded over them. Hair plastered against his head, eyes bright and silvery as ever, those same ones that glittered at him in the club all those months ago.
Maybe it was suggestion, or the power of false memories. Who knew? But Dray would never forget that perfect cock that slid deep inside him. Dray hummed as Tripp made a slow start, leaning in for a tender kiss that dragged to his neck.
Teeth grazed sensitive skin, and Tripp nipped ever so gently. “Don’t worry. I can control my fangs.”
“I wasn’t worried. Indie, remember? Chomp away.” Dray tucked in, dropped his own fangs, and nipped at the nape of his neck to earn a hiss and groan of pleasure.
“But the baby.” Tripp shuddered but couldn’t escape Dray’s teeth. Their jaws were made to eat other snakes, the fangs serrated, curving backward. There was no escaping an indigo once they got their teeth in. Dray used it to his advantage and reached down to grasp Tripp’s cock.
A steady pump woke his half-hard cock into full mast, the foreskin prying back little by little as it plumped.
Precum drooled and dripped, the only distinction between it and the water being the slow, stringy drip.
“I knew from the beginning whoever I hooked up with was a reptile by the feel of it. That means my child inherited my immunity. Also, now that I know you’re the father, are rattlesnakes affected by their own venom? ”
Tripp’s eyes widened as if a thought dawned on him. “My dad’s never been able to claim my mom because…”
“That’s really sad,” Dray said, licking at the wound he caused.
In a flash, as quick as a snake’s strike, Tripp countered and opened his mouth, curved fangs sliding out, eyes slitting.
His jaw sank into Dray’s nape, pricking fangs seating themselves as if he were home.
And if the shudder, whimper, and hitched breath that emanated from Tripp was correct—he was crying.
Tripp held there for long moments, their bond swimming between one another for long moments until he withdrew.
Venom rushed through Dray’s veins, invigorating in a way nothing else had been.
It told his snake self that there was a fight, adrenaline spiking in his primal brain. This one curls tail well.
Snake was pleased, apparently. Dray made a note of that as Tripp went primal, pressing Dray against the wall, turning him into a comfortable position. Wandering fingers reached his entrance and toyed him open, impatient but not brutal. “Why didn’t you let me touch your cock that night?”
Tripp continued to loosen Dray, fingers undulating so dexterously. Dray welcomed the touch, sighing into it. “Because I have all those piercings, and noobs don’t know what t-to do with it.”
“I’ll learn. I promise.” Tripp reached around to stroke the length of Dray, keeping his touch gentle and considerate of the piercings.
He used the foreskin so gently, letting it do the work underneath his guiding hand.
His other hand slid from Dray’s ass and guided his cock home, easing into a spot he’d not been in so long.
“Tell me if I do anything you don’t—mff… Like.”
Dray could barely give an uh-huh for an answer, soaking in the pleasure.
Their first time had been messy, frantic, and quick, and this time would be no different.
They had places to be, after all. But he filled Dray so easily, rocking his hips while his other stroked him into complacency and bliss.
Dray could only moan so softly. “Flick the piercings gently. Please.”
Tripp didn’t wait. He listened, reacted immediately, made sure Dray had his pleasure in spades. It’d been so long, too long. Dray had denied himself as punishment, as if he’d rejected his own sexual urges as a betrayal. But there they were again, plentiful as ever.
They sighed with pleasure, hissed and writhed, Tripp’s hips moved so hypnotically that Dray lost himself in the evolution of their lust. Heat sex was great, but mating sex?
It filled a hole…no pun intended… Actually, yeah!
Pun intended! It filled a hole that Dray thought would never be complete again.
In a single penultimate moment, they shuddered, and Dray swore he could feel Tripp’s orgasm starting in his toes, rising to his spine, radiating through him and into Dray as his twin cockheads flared. “F-fuck.”
Tripp was silent as he came, no vocalizations, no moans. They halted in his chest, left only to breathy noises that punctuated with a grunt.
Hot cum flooded Dray’s insides at the same time he erupted against the shower wall to be washed away in the warm flow. Soft panting breaths slowed down to a breathy hum of pleasure. “You’re amazing.”
Dray smiled and relaxed as Tripp pulled out. “Okay, let’s get dressed and go meet your parents.”
A chime of the doorbell rang out, and Dray threw a towel on, the split in the back side barely closing over his ass. He walked ahead of Tripp to get the door and flung it open with a grin. “Rick!”
The cat shifter sat on the other side with a reusable grocery bag. “Brought you an overnight kit, too. Good luck.”
Dray sighed happily and gave Rick a quick hug.
“Knock ’em dead!” Rick waved goodbye and traipsed off as Tripp peered from around a doorframe with wide eyes.
“How did he—”
“I texted him. I needed some nice clothes.” Dray let the towel fall, ran a hand through his hair, and went to change.
“Good thinking.” Tripp cleared his throat and got ready, himself.
Dray swapped out a few of his piercings to less noticeable ones, tossed on a dark dress shirt and a coat that, while baggy, complemented his frame and hid the swell of his belly. “At least until we get there, you know?”
Tripp nodded with a silly smile plastered to his face and they left.
***
Walking into the country club felt…alien.
Blond hair, polos, cardigans, socks with patterns on them.
It all seemed so very plastic. And the looks Dray expected?
He caught a few sidelong glances, but nothing that lingered.
Of all the country clubs in town, Gilded Scales was not the one he imagined, almost exclusively shifter.
And of course, celebrities did often attend, and Dray slid under the radar with ease.
The front desk attendant gave them a smile and so did most of the employees, save for a few younger ones who, likely, didn’t recognize Tripp.
“Tripp Wells, it has been a minute!” An older beta came running around, her hair in a tight bun as she gave him a squeeze of a hug. “Who’s this? An investor in your company? Your father’s been bragging nonstop.”
Tripp puffed up a little at the remark. His father only so rarely gave him praise to his face and he sought it so often. “I’m sure he has, but no, this is my—” Tripp glanced over and pulled Dray into his side. “Mate.”
The woman lit up and dove in for an uninvited hug and likely felt what Dray’s coat hid, giving him a glance up and down before giving Tripp a lingering stare.
Tripp’s cheeks flushed. “Mom…doesn’t know yet. We’re going to tell her.”
“Hmmmmmm.” The judgmental tone in the woman’s throat made Tripp shrink.
Dray leaned into Tripp’s side and waved her off with a soft chuckle. “The fates are a little crazy at times, aren’t they?”
“Fates?” She glanced from Dray to Tripp again, still humming with judgment.
“Well, welcome to the family—” She hesitated.