15. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
L ucas stared at the ceiling of his small one room cabin.
He could hear the water lapping at the shore and the frogs chirping outside the screen door.
And he had to admit that it felt wrong to be here.
His little cabin didn’t feel like home anymore, not the way Bennett’s house did.
He thought he had needed time to wrap his head around the fact he’d basically gotten married with one single bite.
No engagement. No yearlong planning session.
Not even a goddamned cake. One bite wasn’t exactly how humans did things.
He supposed the big ball of light leaving his body every few days established the fact that he wasn’t human, at least not as human as he thought he was.
Nor did the itching or being able to hear Bennett through his mind scream human in any way.
Lucas’ resolve had slipped every time Bennett smiled or touched him softly.
In the end, he held firm and went back home with Forrest. It had been difficult when Bennett had looked at Lucas as if he’d stolen the last cookie.
Bennett had stood in his driveway in those gray, blue coveralls, watching Lucas leave in Forrest’s car.
It broke his heart just thinking about it.
He had made a mistake. He should have stayed. He felt completely awful and wanted to be with Bennett in his bed.
It was clear Lucas wasn’t going to be able to sleep. He sighed and sat up. He missed Bennett already. It was the craziest thing and so incredibly ridiculous. How could he miss someone he barely knew, mated or not?
Lucas scratched his chest again. He sucked in a breath, pulling his hand away when he saw black scales on his own chest, as if he was turning into Bennett’s dragon.
He wasn’t sure why Bennett’s dragon was appearing on his body.
He knew instinct ruled the dragon. Maybe it was the dragon’s way of staking his claim on Lucas.
Or maybe by mating with Bennett he took on some of the dragon’s traits.
Whatever the reason, the scales itched like a bitch.
He took a deep breath and willed himself to calm down. Think through the problem.
Was it even that big of an issue? So he was turning into a dragon. If Bennett could handle it than so could Lucas. Right? Right!
Problem solved. Sort of. What would it be like to fly? And does shifting hurt?
Lucas slipped Bennett’s dragon T-shirt on over his head. He had stolen it from Bennett’s closet a few days ago. Bennett’s scent covered the shirt still. He held it up to his nose and took a big breath. God, it smelled like his own personal version of heaven and it made his dick hard.
He put the shirt back into place and walked over to the door.
He had remembered to lock it the second he got in, leaving the outer door open.
Somehow, that cinnamon smell was stronger the nearer he got to the screen and he thought it might be the breeze blowing the scent around on the shirt he wore.
Or maybe Bennett had checked on him at some point.
He smiled at the protective gesture.
Lucas’ attitude had changed since meeting Bennett. Knowing shifters made up more than half the town and Bennett was one of them, made him feel safe.
He figured his comfort had a lot to do with Bennett being his mate. He might have wanted to take things slowly, for several different reasons, but even he couldn’t deny the fact that he had wanted the man with every single fiber of his being the very first moment he saw him.
Lucas unlocked the door and started to open it, but movement to his left made him stop. He sucked in a breath and put a hand to his chest as if he had to hold in his heart, which was pounding away at the scare Bennett had given him.
“You scared the crap out of me, Bennett. God,” Lucas said and stepped out of his little house. He let the door close behind him. Bennett snaked an arm around his waist and drew him in, pulling him down into his lap.
“Sorry. I thought you knew I was out here.”
“I thought you came to check on me and then left again.”
“I like that you prefer my shirt. It tells me you missed me too. I’m not the only one,” Bennett said instead of answering.
“Of course you’re not,” Lucas whispered and rubbed his face against Bennett’s chest, trying to soak up as much of the man as he could while he was here. “Hey, how did you know which cabin was mine?”
“It smells like you,” Bennett said.
They were quiet for several minutes, comfortable being in each other’s presence .
“God, this is the most perfect spot in the entire world. Right here.” Lucas turned into Bennett’s chest, kissing him.
“You’re not mad that I’m here.”
“No. You’re right. It was stupid to leave you. All I really thought about was how much I missed you.” Lucas pulled away enough to meet Bennett’s gaze. “Want to come in?”
“Okay.”
Lucas picked at an imaginary speck on Bennett’s shirt as he contemplated how to say what he needed to without hurting Bennett’s feelings. He decided to say it straight out. “I don’t think I should work for you. It’s kinda weird, given the fact that I’m your mate.”
“You’re a big help around there, though.”
“I don’t know anything about boats.”
“Do you know the difference between a wrench and a screwdriver?”
Lucas gave him his best incredulous look. “Yes. I can fix my own car and shit like that. I just don’t know about boats.”
“You can fix a car?”
Lucas narrowed his eyes. “That is incredibly insulting. Yes, smart ass, I can fix a car.” Lucas reached over and pinched one of Bennett’s nipples through his T-shirt.
Bennett laughed and covered his chest with his hands. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that if you can fix a car engine than you can help with the boats more than you think. All engines are pretty similar.”
“Oh.”
Bennett smiled at him and even in the dark it was the sexiest thing Lucas had ever seen. “You gonna be my partner?”
“Aren’t I already?”
“In the business, baby. ”
He leaned forward and kissed Bennett, unable to help himself. Bennett seemed a little surprised that Lucas initiated the kiss, but the man certainly didn’t complain. Lucas broke the kiss long enough to take Bennett’s lower lip between his own, sucking on it a little before letting it go.
“You taste good.”
“So do you, baby.”
Lucas kissed Bennett’s chin and then again on his jaw line. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings.”
Bennett chuckled. “You’re making it better.” Lucas licked a path down his neck, sucking at the spot below his ear.
“We have to stop if you just want to sleep tonight.”
“Who said that? Maybe I want to make love and then sleep.” Lucas’ dick got hard thinking about Bennett’s hard length inside of him. He reached around for Bennett’s hand, picking it up and placing it on his cock, silently asking Bennett to touch him there.
Bennett didn’t disappoint. He wrapped his hand around Lucas’ cock through his sleep pants and underwear and jacked him off. The fabric of his clothing moved against him deliciously.
Lucas licked under Bennett’s jaw, making him moan and tilt his head to the side to give Lucas more room. When Bennett spoke next, his voice was husky and slightly breathless. “If we make love, I’ll want to bite you again. While I’m inside you. That’s the proper way.”
“Yes. I want that.”
“Are you sure?”
Lucas lifted, looking at Bennett. “I feel like I need to apologize to you again.”
Bennett ran a hand up his back and smiled at him. “That’s not necessary. I just want you to be comfortable with me. ”
Lucas grinned at him. “I’m very comfortable.” Lucas reached up and tilted Bennett’s head to the side. He licked a long path from his Adam’s apple to the side of his neck. “When I’m with you my mind is only on one thing.”
“It’ll always be like that.”
“I know bonding is part of the heat. All that Fate stuff. Blah, blah. But I’d be attracted to you without all that.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Lucas kissed below his ear. “I want to get to know you. I want to know how you take your coffee.” Lucas moved down to lick at his neck.
“Black.”
“And what your favorite color is.” Lucas’ hands came up, his fingers lacing through the man’s soft dark hair.
“Red.”
Lucas moaned and tried to get more of Bennett’s touch. “God, I really love it when you touch me. Mine is yellow, by the way.” Lucas bit him lightly and then soothed it with a lick. “I want to know what kind of movies you watch.”
“Action. And sometimes romance.” Lucas heard Bennett’s grin rather than saw it.
“Liar. You so do not watch romance.” Lucas bit him harder, soothing it with a kiss.
Bennett chuckled. “Take a look at my collection then.”
Lucas grinned. “I want to know what your favorite food is.”
“Grilled meat.”
“Any particular kind of grilled meat?”
“Nope. What about you?”
“Salad.” Lucas pulled back, standing up long enough to straddle Bennett’s lap .
Bennett’s hands gripped his waist lightly. “Liar. It’s something sweet. Like pie or candy.”
“Apple pie. I like Macaroni and cheese too, though.” Lucas’ smile died when Bennett scowled. “What?”
“You’re really thin, baby. I don’t know how I missed it yesterday.”
Lucas avoided eye contact. He kneaded Bennett’s shoulder nervously, barely aware of it until Bennett took a hand away from his waist and brought it up to cover his.
Lavender floated across Lucas’ senses, confusing him because he had never smelled that at his little cabin before and he didn’t remember seeing a plant in Forrest’s small garden.
Not that he paid a whole lot of attention.
Still, he remembered that smell the day Shawn died.
The memory made his stomach hurt and talking about food, even if it was in a roundabout way, didn’t help.
Bennet cupped Lucas’ cheek with his other and met his gaze. “I’m just worried about you.”