3. Chapter 3 #2
I cleared my throat. “It’s for efficiency. Come on, the water’s warm.” I hooked my fingers under the waistband of his boxer briefs, and tugged, letting the elastic snap against his waist.
He giggled, then pushed the underwear down. He blushed as his cock sprang free, still hard. It was proportionate to his height and build, slender and elegant, curving slightly toward his stomach. His pubic hair was neatly trimmed, framing him perfectly, and he looked delectable. Edible.
Shaking off that weird thought, I pulled him into the shower, sending hot water sluicing over both our bodies, and reaching for the soap.
“Continuing where we left off would work in the shower, too,” he said.
I stared at him for a long moment as I soaped myself, barely holding onto control. “For the intimacy?”
He nodded. “Of course. We wouldn’t want any of them to think we’re awkward around each other in any situation.”
Instead of answering, I set the soap down and backed him against the closest wall and kissed him under the shower’s spray, swallowing his surprised gasp. His hands came up to grip my waist, tentative at first, then more confident as I deepened the kiss.
Ours , my panda growled. No one else touches him. Only us.
This was getting ridiculous. Fucking panda needed to chill out.
I pressed my body against his, our cocks sliding together under the spray. He moaned into my mouth, hips bucking. I reached between us, wrapping my hand around both our lengths, squeezing just tight enough to make him whimper.
I broke the kiss, panting against his neck.
“Fuck, Cody. I want to—” I squeezed our cocks together, the sensation making stars burst behind my eyes.
We were slick and a little soapy, and the silky slide of him against me was almost enough to make me come right there.
“I want to fuck you like the pretty little slut you are.”
He made a broken sound, half moan, half whimper, rutting wildly into my hand. “Please. Yep, I’m a slut. Oh wow, that’s nice.”
The string of words nearly destroyed what little control I had left. I glanced at my watch and groaned. Seven minutes until breakfast.
“We need to get dressed.” I reluctantly released him, stepping back under the spray. “We can’t fuck now.”
He blinked at me, looking dazed and desperately horny, his cock jutting out hard and flushed. Water beaded on his eyelashes, and made his skin shine, accenting his slim muscles. He was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, and the urge to protect and possess him was so strong it scared me.
It wasn’t any kind of fated mojo, though. Just attraction, pure and simple. It wasn’t as if my panda had honed in on Cody specifically among thousands of Halloween partiers.
Yeah. Not that.
“Can we, um. Continue later?” he asked. Then he blushed. “Also, I need to tell you that I’m kind of… No, not kind of. I’m a virgin.”
Fuckity fuck. My panda was fully on board with being the only person who had ever had Cody. He had never been more cheerful about anything in his life, and pandas were decidedly cheerful fuckers.
I stepped out of the shower before the panda made us late for breakfast by taking care of Cody’s virginity right there, and grabbed a towel, drying my chest and back.
“I forgot to soap!” he called after me, and I looked back to see him soaping his pretty cock, moaning softly.
“Stop jerking off and get dressed, or no panda pets.”
“Jian,” he whimpered, hips jerking as he met my eyes.
“Baby, we’ve got to go.” Why had I called him that? Why did I love the way it made his cheeks turn pink?
It was too late to stop him. He was too far gone.
I watched his hand speed up as he met my eyes.
His mouth fell open in a soft whimper as his body jerked and cum spurted over his soapy body like a fucking treat.
My panda was roaring, fighting with me to be back in there with him, burying myself in his open mouth or his tight little asshole, but I held off, salivating as I watched him milk every drop out, still holding eye contact.
He blushed and gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry. I couldn’t… Do I not get to pet you?”
I watched the last of his cum swirl down the drain, the vulnerability in his voice testing every ounce of my self-control. I wanted to tell him that his orgasm was the sexiest fucking thing I’d ever watched. “We’ll see. Towel off.”
I turned off the water then tossed him a towel, and stalked out of the bathroom and sorted through my closet, finding a t-shirt, small hoodie, and pair of sweats with a tie waistband.
“Sorry about that,” he whispered, as he followed me into the bedroom. I looked up to see him with a towel around his waist, cheeks pink.
“You don’t have to be sorry about doing something sexy in front of me,” I said, forcing my gaze away. I tossed him the clothes as I yanked on underwear and a pair of jeans, trying anything I could to tell my hard-on to stand down.
He looked adorably small and slim in my clothing. The sleeves of the hoodie hung past the tips of his fingers, and that sent a completely deranged wave of protectiveness surging through me as I quickly tugged on a t-shirt.
I did everything I could to stop myself from touching him as I led him to my parents’ house. But I still wanted to pick him up, especially when his sneaker caught on a rock and he stumbled. “Don’t fall. I have enhanced strength, so I can carry you.”
“Oh.” His eyes widened, then he tilted his head. “I thought we were pretending you were normal because of the bad, bad dangers.” He said that last part like he didn’t believe there were any dangers, which, okay, there weren’t as long as the secret of shifter abilities stayed a secret.
“Forget I said that. I do not want to carry you.”
“But you could. Noted.” He looked around, eyes wide with wonder. “This place is so cool! What’s over there?”
“It’s a tai chi and wushu school and retreat that my parents run. It’s all one big property. My brothers and I help out, which is why we live in cabins on the property. The other three cabins belong to Leo and Alex, and my uncle Guo.”
“That’s amazing! It’s really beautiful here.” He jogged up the stairs ahead of me, and I groaned, looking at how cute and grabbable his ass looked in my sweatpants. Fuck.
Maybe just one grab. I reached out and gave him a little squeeze, and he giggled, pressing into the touch.
“How are you possibly a virgin?”
He shrugged. “I really don’t want to be, but everything keeps getting in the way. Lots of random mishaps. Does it bother you that I am?”
“Of course not,” I said. “Does it bother you that I’m not?”
“No. I don’t think there’s anything magical about virginity. I just wanted you to know I lacked practical experience before we…”
Sighing, I reached out and straightened his hoodie, tugging on the strings at his throat, then cupped his chin and gave him a light, chaste kiss. “Prepare to be overwhelmed.”
The minute we got inside, my mom and brothers ambushed Cody, while my dad yanked me into his study. “I talked to my old friend, Li Zixuan! You found your fated mate!”
“I mean...” I hedged as my panda perked up and nudged me to agree with him.
“Why do you not look thrilled?”
“It’s a bit terrifying. I’m only 23.”
“We have not had a human mate bond in the family for four generations,” he said, digging around in a pile of old books and scrolls. “It is core to the growth of our community.”
“Dad, he’s a man,” I said.
“So? Mate bonds do not see gender. They come from something you crave deep in here.” He patted his chest.
I tried to ignore the strange squeeze in my chest as I imagined my panda craving someone with Cody’s sweetness and sass. “I meant that we won’t grow the community since we can’t make babies.”
He chuckled. “Ah. Well, your panda wants what it wants. But remember, your panda represents your heart, and your mind can—”
“I know, I know. My mind can overpower my heart if it is necessary or prudent.”
My father nodded. “If this boy does not want to commit himself to this life, you will need to let him go. You can only show love for someone who has made a choice to be yours. And you can only commit to someone you have chosen for yourself, no matter what your panda wants.”
I felt my panda’s energy as if he was pacing inside my chest, irritated. “Why are you saying this? Are you afraid you won’t like him?”
“Of course not. But you’re young. If this is not something you want, you will need to overpower your panda. It’s not easy, but it is possible. You are not bound to this boy, no matter how much your panda wants him.”
The snarl that slipped out in response to that definitely came from the panda.