Chapter Nine
Awareness crept in slowly, like light filtering through drawn curtains.
Ash blinked, the familiar contours of his bedroom gradually coming into focus.
The softness of sheets against his bare skin, the antique dresser, the ceiling fan spinning lazy circles above.
For a heartbeat, he simply breathed, letting the quiet familiarity settle in.
Then memory trickled back. The bike. The pickup. Danny’s scream.
Panic tried to set in, until he noticed a warm weight tucked into his side like a heat-seeking missile.
Glancing down, he saw Danny curled into a tight ball, squirming as if he couldn’t get deep enough under Ash.
In sleep, his face was relaxed, dark lashes fanning across pale cheeks.
His breath puffed out slow and even, stirring the hair that had fallen across his forehead.
He brushed dark strands back from Danny's face with a featherlight touch. In the dim light, his mate's features were softened, the lines of strain smoothed away. His lips parted slightly with each slow, even breath, and Ash’s heart squeezed at the vulnerability of it. The trust.
He knew why fate had brought them together.
Not to heal Danny, because his mate wasn’t broken.
To create a safe harbor so Danny could reconcile who he’d been before and who he was becoming.
The timing of the attack cut deep. Just when Danny had started to lower his defenses, to share pieces of himself, someone had shattered that fragile moment of trust. Now Ash feared those carefully constructed walls would rise again, higher and more fortified than before.
As if sensing his gaze, Danny stirred, nose scrunching adorably before his eyes fluttered open. Storm-blue eyes, still hazy with sleep, gazed unguardedly at him.
“Hey, beautiful,” Ash murmured, voice still rough from sleep. Or maybe from emotion. It was hard to tell.
“Ash.” Tears welled up and clung to Danny’s lashes. His bottom lip trembled, like he was fighting not to fall apart.
“C’mere, honey bear.” He pulled his mate fully into his arms. Danny buried his face in Ash’s neck, inhaling deeply.
Lying still, Ash tilted his head, giving Danny the space to anchor his nervous system through scent. Danny exhaled, shivers working through his slender frame. His hand cradled soft hair, holding Danny close as another trembling wave shook his body.
“Keep breathing me in,” Ash encouraged. If Danny needed to sniff him all night to anchor himself, Ash wouldn’t move a muscle.
Not as long as his mate was wrapped in his arms, the rapid thump of his heart reassuring him that Danny was safe.
“Not the thrill I was looking forward to.” His lips brushed over strands of silky hair, his hand rubbing soft circles between shoulder blades.
“I want to kill the son of bitch for terrifying you. I’m just relieved Zeppelin could get there so quickly and you’re lying safely in my arms.”
Danny lifted his head, the scowl on his face worrying Ash. “You’re a bear.”
“I’m fully aware of what I am, sweetheart.”
“Don’t try to charm me.” Danny pushed up then rested his forearms on Ash’s bare chest. “Your bear puns, those throaty growls you make, hoping the Bears win…whatever they play. It was right there in my face the whole time.”
Ash made one of those “throaty growls,” running his hand down Danny’s slender back. “How did you react when my bear took over so I could heal?” He honestly wanted to know, because Ash couldn’t tell if Danny was putting on a brave act or if he’d already come to terms with the discovery.
His mate stared at him as if Ash had sprouted another head. “How do you think I reacted when my boyf—when you turned into a ten-ton furry lump?”
The quick correction hadn’t gone unnoticed. “You fainted.”
Ash grunted when Danny smacked his chest. It hadn’t hurt, but he let his mate have the power over the moment. “I did not put the back of my hand against my forehead.”
“Sorry I assumed you did.” Ash held up his free hand in surrender. This hadn’t been the mood he’d expected, and as wonderful as it was, he was still watching for any sign of internal spiraling. “Please, tell me how you reacted, honey bear.”
A groan almost escaped when Danny’s palm absently brushed over Ash’s chest. He was naked under the sheet, but if Danny kept petting him, a tent would pop up.
“I was scared and confused,” Danny admitted. “I thought maybe I’d died and it was some weird afterlife.”
That was the worst possible way to introduce his bear to his mate.
He could only imagine how frightened Danny had been.
“I’m sorry you found out in the middle of a crisis.
I planned on telling you then eventually show you in a controlled environment where I could help you through any fears you had. ”
Danny rested his chin on his hand, and his mind seemed to drift.
Ash waited for his mate to collect his thoughts.
“It sounds backwards, but I think this was better. Kind of like ripping off a bandage. If you’d waited on me to be ready, it probably never would’ve happened. By the way, you have very soft fur.”
Ash never ceased to be amazed by Danny’s courage. He was stronger than he gave himself credit for. If he could only see himself through Ash’s eyes.
“Hon.” Ash stilled his mate’s hand. “You keep rubbing my chest and things are going to start rising.”
He saw the moment need sparked in his mate’s eyes, a longing that only fed into Ash’s.
“Oh?” Danny’s gaze darted toward the slightly elevated sheet. Ash skimmed his fingers down the curve of his mate’s spine, breath stalling when he arched into the touch with a soft sigh. His mate looked at him, gazes locked together for an eternity, as if daring the other to make the first move.
“Star Wars,” he said, voice already half wrecked.
Danny’s breaths were short and shallow, his brows drawn tight. “Huh?”
“Kill switch.” His fingers curled against the cotton of Danny’s shirt, warmth soaking through the fabric. “Utter those words if you need a moment to catch your breath.”
He wanted complete surrender, but his mate needed to know he could shut everything down if he became too overwhelmed.
Wariness, or maybe skepticism, tightened Danny’s eyes.
“I won’t get upset, honey bear. Your pleasure is just as important as mine. Got that?”
A glint of disbelief then a nod. “Star Wars. You’re such a nerd.”
Ash laughed as his mate scrambled toward him, mouths crashing together in desperate need.
Growling, Ash fisted dark hair, tugging his mate’s head back enough to bare that slender throat.
Lips trailed hungrily over soft skin, nipping his way to Danny’s jaw, biting gently.
A small gasp then a guttural moan punched the air.
The sound was sparked through his own body, igniting a wildfire through his veins.
God, he was going to wreck his mate the right way, shatter every ounce of that fucked-up wiring left behind by someone who never deserved to touch Danny in the first place.
Pressure built, tight and hot, lips dragging across skin, Danny’s body arching into his touch.
Then Ash flipped them, because wreckage required repositioning. He lifted his head, nose brushing Danny’s, heavy breaths mixing.
“Fuck, I want you,” he growled, pressing his hard cock against Danny's hip. He braced himself on an elbow, using his free hand to trace the line of that delicate throat. Danny’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, his eyes blown dark and reckless.
A defiant smirk flashed, gorgeous and unrepentant. “Show me,” he said with a single breath.
That did it.
Ash claimed his mouth in what barely qualified as kissing. All tongue and teeth and demand. Heat pulsed through them, mounting as Danny's arms locked behind his neck and yanked him closer.
A breathless curse fell from Ash’s lips. His mate tasted like his salvation and his destruction. He bit at his mate’s lip, dragging a hiss out of him then licked over the sting in apology. Or maybe just marking territory.