Chapter 9 #2
Axar's eyes remained too wide for Franklin's liking. "There is an alpha in Foolshope?"
"Outside. Their land borders the community."
"Oh. I didn't know we had shifters in Foolshope. None of my ghosts has ever wanted me to find anything there."
Fear grabbed hold of Franklin. He could picture Axar running off on pack land in the middle of the night, chasing some ghost, and not having a clue he was trespassing. Most shifters didn't take kindly to psychics wandering around in their territory.
He rinsed off the last of the lather and shut the water off. Then he stepped out on the tiled floor outside the shower stall, despite being dripping wet, and reached for a towel.
"From now on, please don't follow any ghosts without taking me with you.
Sometimes you have to call ahead to be allowed onto pack land.
" Though, how would he explain to other packs that his mate was following a ghost around and try to fix whatever was keeping them here.
Was it what he was doing? Solving the problem that kept them here?
"Okay."
Simple. No protest. Franklin smiled at him and patted him down with the towel, mindful of the cuts and bruises. "So...you're my mate."
Axar didn't reply. Franklin stopped his patting and met his gaze. Time stood still, then Axar's shoulders slumped. "What do I have to do?"
Franklin huffed at the question. "You don't have to do anything. I, on the other hand, will go mad if I don't get to be around you."
"Be around?"
"Smell you, hold you, touch you."
"You want to touch me?" The surprised tone had Franklin rolling his eyes.
"Yes, darling. I want to touch you. All the time. Pretty obvious, isn't it?"
Axar didn't speak for a long time, then he pursed his lips and shrugged. "I don't mind you touching me."
Franklin dropped the towel and pulled him into his arms. "I want to touch you all over."
Axar swallowed audibly but nodded.
* * * *
Franklin gently guided Axar out of the bathroom and into his bed. He'd put butterfly bandages on the deepest cuts, which hopefully would prevent them from breaking open again.
He wanted to jump Axar's bones right away, bury his cock and fangs in him and solidify the mating, but he forced himself to stretch out next to him on the mattress.
Axar turned to his side, facing Franklin. "What if they come while we sleep?"
It was not what Franklin wanted to be thinking about right now. He slid a hand over Axar's hip and tried to remember the locations of his injuries--bruises on the hip, but no cuts. He had to be careful not to grab him.
"Then you cover your ears, and I'll deal with them."
"What if Mother tells you to do something?"
Franklin leaned forward and kissed him. "She tried, back in the bar. Didn't work."
Axar pulled back a fraction and stared at him. "It didn't work?"
"No, I sensed the command and shook it off."
His mouth dropped open, and Franklin took advantage of it and kissed him again.
A small moan left Axar, and he slid a hand over Franklin's upper arm and up to his neck.
"Are you tired?" Franklin's whisper brushed his lips.
"Yes and no. Exhausted but too wired to be able to relax."
Franklin kissed him again. "Maybe I can do something to help you relax."
Axar snorted. "I'm sure you can."
"And you'd let me?"
Axar looked into his eyes. "What do you want to do?"
Talk things through beforehand? It wasn't normally how Franklin did things.
He found someone he wanted and tumbled into bed with them, then what happened happened.
"Most of all, I want to fuck you and bite your neck.
" He caressed the spot where he'd pierce the skin with his fangs.
"But we can save that for another day. A handjob?
Or I could suck you off." He kissed him again.
"I want to taste you." He moved his mouth down his throat to his collarbone, then placed light kisses over his chest, mindful of where it might hurt.
"You can."
"Taste you?" He licked at a spot where there were no cuts or bruises.
"Fuck me, and...eh...Why do you want to bite me?"
Franklin pushed up on his hands and hovered over Axar, searching his face for any hesitation. "If I bite you while inside you, we'll be mated for real."
Axar's eyes narrowed. "This isn't real?"
Franklin dropped a kiss on his lips. "It's real, but as it is now, you're free to go. If we mate, there will be a bond. We'll be forever linked."
Axar nodded. "Do it."
Franklin wanted to. He'd known Axar was his for months, but Axar had only found out today. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. Make me yours. I've never belonged to anyone other than Mother. I want to belong to someone other than her."
Franklin growled. It wasn't the love declaration he might have dreamed of when he'd fantasized about finding his mate, but it could come later.
He'd always assumed his mate, if he ever found them, would be another shifter.
A ghost-whispering psychic had never featured in his dreams. It meant things would play out a little differently than he'd imagined.
Reaching for the bedside table drawer, Franklin grabbed a bottle of lube. "If you change your mind, let me know."
Axar huffed a laugh, and some of the uncertainty left Franklin. They'd be fine. They'd figure things out.
He wet his fingers and nudged Axar to sling his leg over Franklin's hip.
At the first brush of his slick fingers over Axar's opening, he jumped, then pulled Franklin closer for a kiss.
Franklin obliged, kissing him while slowly pushing in.
Axar's fingers dug into his shoulder, and Franklin stilled. "Okay?"
"Yeah. It's been...eh...a long time."
Franklin grinned. "Good. You're mine, and I don't share."
Axar snorted, but the tension that had crept into him eased away. "You don't?"
"Never." He nipped at Axar's lower lip before swiping his tongue over it. He steadily thrust his finger into the tight heat, his body lighting up like fireworks. It had been a long time for him too, but this was more than being horny. He had his mate right here in his arms.
It was a miracle.
A growl vibrated deep in his chest without fully manifesting in the room. He pulled Axar closer and thrust his hard cock against his.
"Oh." Axar closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Franklin's before thrusting.
It was enough for tingles to wash over Franklin, and he lined up a second finger.
As he gently inserted it, Axar kept still, then he clenched around the digits, and Franklin nipped at his shoulder.
He couldn't wait to be inside him. The need was clawing, demanding, but he forced himself to go slow.
He kept working his fingers while gently thrusting against him. A delicious slide, more teasing than satisfying.
Axar was panting, rocking against Franklin, only to push back on his digits the next moment. Franklin hooked his fingers in search of the right spot and grinned when Axar jerked and clung to him.
He wanted to take him from behind to be able to bite him in the right spot, but he enjoyed this too much to change position right now.
When Axar made a meowing sound and clutched at his shoulder, Franklin pushed in with a third finger. It was tight. Almost too tight, but the way Axar shuddered had him pushing all the way in.
"Oh...Big fingers." Axar scrunched his face, only to then moan and roll his hips.
Franklin kissed him, slowly and lazily, which made Axar claw at him.
"Move."
He did, by sliding his cock against Axar's. He wished he could take them both in his hand.
"Mean. So mean." Then Axar kissed him hard while thrusting against him, and Franklin huffed a laugh which soon turned into a groan as Axar worked himself on Franklin's fingers.
"Want you. Now." Axar's words brushed over Franklin's kiss-swollen lips.
"From behind."
Axar searched his eyes, then gave a small nod. "Okay."
"Want to be on your side or on all fours? What's best for your injuries?"
Axar shrugged. "My ribs hurt a little."
Franklin tried to think, but his brain was too hazy with lust. "Turn over, back against my chest." He had no idea if it was the better option, but he reached behind him for the lube and slicked himself up. When Axar turned over and moved closer, he wrapped his arms around him, unable not to touch.
"I'll bite here." He slid his pinkie over the spot where he'd bite.
"Now?"
"When we come."
"What if I come before you?"
Franklin nuzzled his neck. "You won't. Not this time. When I bite you, everything will explode. Or it's what I've been told, at least. Time will tell."
He grabbed his cock and guided it to Axar's opening. He held still for a few seconds before slowly pushing in. Goosebumps spread over his arms, and white-hot lust blinded him for a second. The tight grip on him made it impossible to breathe. Then Axar moaned, and he focused on him instead.
"Okay?" He kissed a line across his shoulder and held still despite wanting to thrust.
Axar nodded and tentatively rolled his hips. Franklin grabbed him and pushed in as deep as he could. Then he remembered the bruises and let up on his hold. Fuck.
He slid his hand around him and fisted his cock instead. There were no bruises or cuts there.
"Ahhh." Axar pushed back against him, only to then thrust into his hand. "Franklin." He moved one hand to cup Franklin's neck and dug the fingers on the other into Franklin's forearm.
Franklin rocked into him over and over again.
Heated tingles took over his mind. The slick length in his hand throbbed and jerked, and Franklin tried to focus on what gave him the most reaction from Axar, but desire was interfering with his ability to focus.
All he could think about was to piston into Axar again and again. Chasing pleasure.
Sparks went off behind his eyes, but he held on. Kissed Axar wherever he could reach, squeezed him harder, and made sure to move in a way that had sweet sounds drop from Axar's lips.
"Now." Axar's cock swelled in his hand, and Franklin realized he was about to come. He pushed in so his hips were flush against Axar's buttocks, fastened his lips over the meaty part of where his shoulder met his neck, and allowed his teeth to shift.
The moment blood filled his mouth, he growled, and white light filled his mind.
He was aware of coming, but it wasn't where his focus was.
A fiery band wrapped around his heart. Shivers ran over his skin and along his bones deep within his body.
The pleasure was so intense, he didn't know how to handle it, but it wasn't the normal kind connected to his body. It was soul-driven, soul-deep.
His wolf snarled in satisfaction, and when the sound filled the room, he realized he'd raised his mouth off Axar.
He quickly licked away the blood trickling from the wound and took in his surroundings.
Axar was breathing hard, Franklin's hand was sticky with his release--good. He'd lost the plot there for a moment.
"Are you okay?" What if he'd been too rough? He pushed up on his elbow and inspected the bite. The blood was already slowing, but he licked it again and again to try to soothe away the sting.
He could sense satisfaction blooming in his awareness, satisfaction that wasn't his, and he blew out a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."
"It's...wild."
Wild? What the hell did wild mean? "How so?"
"It's like you're inside me."
Joy filled Franklin's chest.
"You like that?" Axar turned and grinned at him, a beautiful grin.
"I do. So you feel me?" He nuzzled Axar's ear.
"It's weird. I can feel you, but I think I could shut it out if I wanted to."
Franklin nodded. "It's the mate bond."
Axar twisted as much as he could without having Franklin slide out of him and kissed him. Franklin wrapped his arms around him, cum-slick hand and all. He didn't care. He only wanted to hold his mate.
They cuddled for a bit, but soon Franklin untangled himself to go get a washcloth. He cleaned them off as best he could, and Axar ran off to the bathroom.
When he walked back into the room, he was yawning. Franklin held the covers up. "Come on. Let's get some sleep."
Axar snuggled closer, and Franklin didn't think he'd ever been happier.
* * * *