Chapter 21
Twenty-One
Neil
After a quick shower, I plop down on the single queen bed in only my boxers and rest my forehead in my hands.
Whether it’s the quiet—Raquel can fill a silence like no one else—or the idea that Blake and I are finally alone, appeasing the bond enough for it to shut up, everything that’s happened over the past few days is finally catching up to me.
In less than a week, my life has gone from boring and mostly routine to whatever the hell this mess is.
I’ve been thrust back into the shifter world, basically forced out of the only city I’ve ever known, nearly died I’m not sure how many times, and met my fated mate, who may or may not be a little more feral than is safe.
That’s… a lot.
And I still haven’t had the time to process most of it and my mind is spinning.
I drag a hand over my face and blow out a breath. This is fine. I can—
“Are you okay?” asks Blake in a soft, careful voice.
I look up from my hands, offering up a strained smile to the large man standing a couple feet away. “Yeah. I’m just…” I flap my arms a little. “I don’t know. Exhausted? Overwhelmed? About to vibrate out of my skin? Take your pick.”
“In desperate need of a break? Or maybe… a release?”
“Huh?”
“That’s what I’m picking,” he explains, the corners of his mouth curling upward as he edges closer to the bed.
I blink at him in confusion, lack of sleep and stress shorting my brain out. “But those things weren’t on the list?”
He lets out a low laugh that sends a shiver of awareness through me, the sound vibrating down my spine, tingling with a pleasant heat. “May I join you?”
“Join me?”
“On the bed, Neil,” he says, voice laced with amusement.
My eyes widen as his meaning finally clicks.
“Oh. Yes. Of course.” I nod eagerly, scooting up until my back rests against the headboard, and watch Blake as he prowls closer, heated gaze intent on my face. He pauses with one knee on the comforter as if checking in to be sure I’m still on board with what’s happening.
I am so on board.
He continues forward, drawing up his other leg and crawling toward me. He positions himself so he’s hovering over me, then leans down to rub his nose against mine.
“Hi,” I say a little breathlessly.
“Hi,” he repeats. He closes his eyes and runs his nose up the side of my neck. “You smell amazing.”
The sensation of his breath brushing across my skin tickles, and I let out a breathy laugh. “I think you might be a bit biased.”
“True,” he says. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t smell like the best thing ever: mine.”
He wraps one of those large hands around the back of my neck, gently running his thumb up and down against my skin as he stares at me, eyes dark with hunger and desire.
I meet his gaze as arousal flares low in my stomach.
His nose twitches, and a self-satisfied smile curls at the corners of his mouth before he leans closer, pausing a breath away from my lips as if asking permission.
At the barest nod from me, he presses his lips to mine, gently, carefully, the kiss barely more than a brush of his mouth. But it’s everything.
It’s comfort, safety, and affection.
Hunger, lust, and desire.
This might not be my first kiss, but it feels like this is the first time a kiss has really mattered, the first time I’ve really mattered.
I gasp and Blake lets out a pleased hum, cupping my cheek and tilting my head to give himself better access to my mouth before deepening the kiss, pressing his tongue past my lips and into my mouth to twist with mine.
The bond thrums happily in my chest as I lose myself in the press of his lips, the weight and heat of his body on top of me, pushing me down into the bed and anchoring me to the present as every anxious worry about what comes next becomes blurry and indistinct.
He shifts closer, lowering himself on top of me, my legs opening almost by instinct as he settles between them and braces himself on one arm so his full weight isn’t on me.
But what’s there is more than enough. Thanks to Raquel, Blake’s current wardrobe consists entirely of sweatpants, and the thin cotton does absolutely nothing to conceal his erection; I can feel it hot and heavy between my thighs.
He rolls his hips, rubbing his cock against my answering hardness, the flimsy layers of fabric the only barriers between us.
A low growl rumbles in his chest as he continues to rock against me, one hand holding my chin in place so he can control the angle of the kiss and the other stroking down my side to my hip, then sliding higher and pinching my nipple.
A delightful pleasure-pain radiates from that point of contact, drawing a soft whine from somewhere deep in my throat as my wolf preens under my mate’s closeness, touch, and attention.
Blake’s growl grows deeper, becoming something closer to a snarl, as he releases my lips and moves to mouth down the side of my neck, the slight prick of more-than-human sharp teeth nipping at my skin.
My wolf pushes me to tilt my head to the side, and he takes that as the invitation it is, biting down and sucking at my skin.
His teeth don’t break skin, but the potential is there, the connection between us thrumming with excitement and anticipation.
He thrusts his hips, rubbing his hard cock against mine, the thin barrier of fabric between us nothing more than a source of pleasant friction at this point. I groan, pushing my own hips up to meet him as he continues the steady rocking movement.
This isn’t exactly what I had in mind for the evening but…
Oh…
I groan again as sparks of pleasure explode from every point of contact. The sensation is stronger than it should be considering we’re both marginally clothed, but there’s no part of me that wants it to stop.
“If you keep doing that…” I pant out, biting my lip and throwing my head back onto the pillow. “I’m going to—”
He slams his lips down on mine, thrusting his tongue into my mouth as he presses me down into the bed and grinds his hips.
And that’s all it takes.
Between a sudden flare of heat from the bond and the just right pressure and friction, the pleasure spikes, an orgasm shuddering through me and filling my boxers.
Blake makes a sound I can’t interpret and pulls back to run his nose down my neck, making his way down, nose twitching against my skin.
He pauses when he reaches my waist and takes a deep breath, face hovering less than an inch away from the sticky mess in my boxers.
He lets out a satisfied humming noise and nuzzles his cheek against the sliver of skin right above my waistband for a second before his eyes dart up to meet mine, nothing but wolf in his gaze.
That’s… not good. I’ve haven’t had sex with many shifters, but none of them ever lost control of their wolf.
Instinctively my muscles tense and my breath stutters a bit as my brain registers a few other things my body was too wrapped up in getting off to notice.
Blake’s teeth have extended, the fangs too big for his mouth and, at the moment, uncomfortably close to a very vulnerable area.
Claws tip his fingers, the points digging slightly into the skin of my hips.
I swallow. “Blake?” My voice wavers as I reach down to touch his cheek, the tip of my thumb brushing across the points of his teeth. “You’re, um, kind of wolfing out on me here.”
He simply blinks at me, cocking his head to the side, the motion so dog-like that it makes me chuckle.
Blake’s wolf might be in control, but it’s not being aggressive—except maybe a bit sexually—so I don’t move away, don’t pull back or try to escape his hold, and he returns his attention to snuffling at my stomach, the soft brushes of air tickling across my skin.
He licks a stripe across my hipbone, startling a high-pitched squeak from me.
He lets out a pleased rumble and does it again, eyes darting up to my face as if waiting for me to make the noise again.
Grabbing the edge of the waistband of my boxers with his teeth, he gives it a playful tug, pausing for a moment with his gaze still locked on me, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“Blake? What are you—oh fuck.” A shudder runs through me as he slowly pulls my boxers down my legs enough that he can lap at the cum pooled near the juncture of my thigh. “That’s, uh—wow… I…” Softly panting, I halfheartedly push at his head. “You don’t have to…”
He ignores my words and continues licking up my mess, seemingly reveling in the scent and taste of my pleasure.
Making a sound somewhere between a growl and a hum, he noses at my balls and then his clever tongue travels below and behind them to run between my ass cheeks and lap at the stickiness he finds there.
“Oh shit,” I breathe, closing my eyes and throwing my head back on the pillow. My dick twitches with interest, but doesn’t harden again.
Once Blake is satisfied with his clean up job—five stars, would submit to again—he strips my boxers the rest of the way off, then moves back up my body, pulling me into his arms and curling around my back with his nose buried against the skin of my neck.
I relax into his hold, my body spent and a contented warmth in my chest. He rubs his face against my skin, snuffling at my neck and letting out a low contented rumble. That almost sounds like…
“Are you purring?” I huff out a quiet laugh.
The rumble deepens into an affronted grunt and stops.
I pat the back of his hand, then run my fingers up and down his arm.
“Sorry,” I say, voice tinged with amusement.
“Didn’t mean to insult you.” I pause, a hint of tension returning to my body.
“Are you, um, still wolfing out? I mean, I’m definitely not complaining about what just happened.
That was super hot, but… I think we still need to talk about things.
Like how this whole fated mate thing is going to work. ”
He lets out an inquisitive noise, face still pressed into the back of my neck.
“You realize if we complete the bond… that’s it, right? You’ll be stuck with me.”
“Stuck with you…?” His voice is a deep rumble, the words slightly slurred as if spoken through still not quite human teeth. There’s a long pause as he takes a few deep breaths before continuing, his words clearer now. “Is that how you really see it?”
I clear my throat and turn over to face him, relieved to find his more lupine aspects have receded. “No. Well… maybe?” I glance up to meet his eyes. “If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m not exactly a catch.”
“Not a…” He stares at me, stunned, shaking his head. “Of course you’re a catch.”
I let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Yeah, not really. I’m a broke—and currently pretty much homeless—diner cook who moonlights as a part-time con man.”
“And I was a full-time pit fighter and murderer,” he replies, brows raised. “Does that mean I’m not a catch?”
“But you didn’t have a choice,” I say, twining my fingers with his and pressing our joined hands together.
“And life left you so many choices?”
I open my mouth to argue, but then pause. Because he’s kind of right. My life might be a product of my choices, but there weren’t exactly a whole lot to choose form. The only choices I had were limited by circumstance.
Blake presses a soft kiss to my forehead. “I’ve only ever seen one set of fated mates before—my parents—but I don’t think fate gets something like this wrong.”
“Your parents were fated mates?” I don’t bother to hide my surprise. Sure, I knew fated mates were a thing, but the idea has always seemed closer to myth than anything, and I’ve never known anyone who had a fated mate before I met Blake.
He nods. “My mom always said Dad wasn’t perfect, but he was perfect for her because fate knew all their broken edges would fit together. That’s how I like to think of it.”
“That’s… beautiful,” I say softly.
He pulls me closer, tucking my head under his chin and running his hand up and down my back.
“I know you’re not ready to complete the bond.
I’m not either, but I don’t have any doubts about what I want when the time is right.
” He goes quiet for a moment. “You should know… even if we complete the bond, you can still change your mind.”
“What do you mean?”
“Most shifters are taught that mate bonds are unbreakable, but that’s not the case for omegas. If we… if you…” He shakes his head. “I don’t think I’m explaining this right.”
“Your explanation is fine in that the words make sense, but I don’t understand how that’s possible.”
“I don’t know how it all works either,” he says. “Rockcastle has been… blessed with a higher-than-normal number of omegas—my brother being one of them—so the pack’s knowledge of them is more extensive.”
“Okay… so I have options I didn’t know about.” I lean back to study his face. “Why does it seem like there’s more you aren’t telling me?”
A hint of pink fills his cheeks. “Fated mate pairings can be rather, um, fertile, and one of the reasons I’m not ready to complete the bond is because I’d like things to be a little more settled before bringing a child into it.”
I stare at him, uncomprehending. No, not wanting to comprehend because he couldn’t possibly mean…
Whatever my face is doing makes him frown and he reaches up to cup my cheek. “You understand what I’m saying, right?”
“I think so?” I squeak out, one hand unconsciously moving down to touch my stomach.
Blake doesn’t want to complete the bond yet—doesn’t want to have sex yet—because it seems, despite my assertions to the contrary, the fanfics were right and male omegas can get pregnant.
Raquel will never let me live this down.