Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
“So, there’s no one up there?” Niall asked, eyebrows rising.
“No.” Liam exchanged a glance with Loyal.
They had run up to the dragon compound on the four-wheeler, well as far as they could go, and then on foot.
“But the house is totally still right where it always was. So it’s back.
We explored, and it’s empty of all the furniture and the hoards and all, but the generator is still functional, and the solar panels are there. ”
Liam took the drink Theo handed him, wanting to give his mate a kiss, but a little worried Theo might not want that in front of everyone. “Yeah. The outbuildings are all pristine, too, and you know they’ve still been there all winter…”
Liam thought that someone needed to be up there, to stay there and assure no one… unsavory came to stay.
“All is well, mate?” Theo asked. He’d been worried ever since Rory and Fen had gone back down to their part of the pack, wanting him and Loyal to run up to the dragon home.
“Yeah. It looks okay. But I think Kee and Jameson need to put guards up there, at least.”
Where is your home?
Near the human town. My brothers and I share a huge place with different family members.
Oh.
Liam could feel Theo’s fear.
We can live with the pack, honey. I promise. I won’t make you go down there.
That got him a hopeful glance. Really?
Of course. I can always go down on day visits to get supplies and see them.
They’ll let another alpha in?
What? He wasn’t… was he? An alpha in that way? Surely not. Fen wasn’t.
I’m not like them, love. I mean, I’m not even sure I’m like you.
Can we stay here? I’ll work for our food, our space…
Here with Loyal and Niall? He blinked at Theo. I can ask. He had to admit, it was a good place. A fine one.
Would you? I—I want to stay here, not somewhere else new.
He supposed that made sense. He could spend the summer figuring things out, and Niall seemed to calm everyone down.
That’s what we’ll do then.
Loyal cleared his throat. “What do you want me to tell Jay and Kee about the dragon house?”
“That I’ll fix it up, keep an eye on it.” Had he just said that?
Out loud? On purpose?
Theo’s eyes widened. “Just us?”
“No. No, I’ll ask one of my brothers to come up. I have at least one who will be glad to.” He smiled at Loyal. “If, of course, you would let us stay here for a bit.”
“Of course. You’re welcome here. Everyone needs some rest, don’t they?” Niall sounded absolutely sure about this.
“Yes.” He glanced at Theo, who looked so happy. “I think so. We need to recharge some batteries.”
“And this way the baby can relax.” Theo smiled at Niall. “Thank you. I’ll work hard to help, I swear.”
“You’ll be fine. We all manage to find our place.” That was Niall, who got up to pull something out of the oven just before the timer went off.
Loyal seemed utterly confused. “What is going on?”
“They’re staying here while Liam and his brother renovate, mate.”
“Renovate the dragon house?”
“Yes.” Niall set the baking pan down, then patted Loyal’s cheek. “Try to keep up.”
“But… why?”
“For Liam’s new pack, of course.”
Liam blinked at Niall, and so did Loyal.
Niall just picked his pan up again, then moved to dump bread out of it onto a towel, humming.
Does he do that all the time? Theo asked.
Liam shrugged, his eyes wide. I have no idea. Not around me?
Oh. Well, he is a shaman, right?
He is. And he has Loyal wrapped around his little finger. Liam loved that. He could see Theo being that way with him.
Hopefully, that wasn’t just a pipe dream.
Theo hummed softly, and he smelled a warm, rich scent that made him shudder. He sniffed hard, drawing more of it in, unable to be unobtrusive.
Would you like to… go to our rooms, mate? The touch to his mind was so fucking arousing.
I would. Very much. He never had sat down, so he drifted toward the door, tugging Theo with him. “We’ll be back when that bread is ready to eat…”
“Of course.” Niall’s chuckle chased them down the hall.
Little Gael was sound asleep in his crib in the secondary room, so it was easy to slip into the bedroom and close the door.
I want you. Will you… do you find me pleasing? Theo sounded so hungry.
He actually made a little sound, very much like a duck quacking. “Are you serious?”
Liam stared at his mate— Could he have a mate? Was this really his mate? —the blue eyes, shaggy mane of pale hair becoming thick already. It blew his mind that it had been only a few days, and Theo and Gael were healing so damn fast. “You’re beautiful. I don’t wanna hurt you.”
Theo chuckled softly, pushing into his arms as if he belonged there. “You’re not going to hurt me. How could you? I was made to be yours.”
He needed to take a kiss; he needed to know what Theo tasted like, to cup his lover’s head in his hand and lean him back, to see what gave him the most pleasure.
So he did.
He trusted in that solid, lean body against him. He leaned in close, their eyes locked as he brought their lips together.
He was expecting a buzz of heat, a shiver, but instead, it was as if a key fit into a lock. He could literally hear it in his mind—the click of their lips as they came together. “Did you feel that?”
“I did. I knew I would. Mate.” Theo wrapped around him, hands on his back, holding on for dear life. “Do it again.”
So Liam did just that, instinct taking over. He wanted to claim Theo. To make him his in all ways. He rubbed them together, putting his scent all over Theo, that warm, earthy smell he’d breathed in earlier intensifying.
They kissed for a long moment, tongues tangling, breath coming in pants. Then he lifted Theo, surprised at how easy it was, laying him out gently on the bed. He crawled in beside Theo, settling on his side so he could smooth a hand over Theo’s body, the clothes just in the way.
Theo seemed to agree, hands pushing at his clothes, stripping him down. “I need you, mate. Skin on skin.”
He laughed and nodded. “Yes, I need you too.”
He tugged the tunic that Theo wore up and off, baring all that skin to him. Oh, he was beautiful. He leaned in and placed one hand on Theo’s flat belly, his skin so dark compared to the almost luminescent paleness of his mate.
They moved closer together once they were both naked, searching for the feeling of skin on skin. Theo wrapped a leg up over his hip, and he grabbed that tight little ass, squeezing with one hand while he held Theo close with the other.
“I love the way you smell.”
Theo’s skin pinked, and he ducked his head. “I’m so glad. I want you. I want to learn everything about you.”
Theo cupped his jaw, and then those sweet fingers slid down his throat to trace one of his collarbones, sending lightning buzzing through him. It was a sweet, slow seduction.
He kissed those fingers, but he was busy too, using his fingers to trace the bumps of Theo’s spine, much less pronounced today, and the plane of his hip. Liam could feel Theo, hard against him, and he grunted, shifting about so their cocks could rub together.
Theo’s eyes flew open and he gasped, humping up in a couple of short, sharp jerks. “Oh! I’m sorry. Oh my— I—”
That was gratifying. So he pushed up, rubbing them together again in a slow, languid motion.
His eyes crossed, and those sweet fingers clenched, grabbing him and pulling him closer.
Liam chuckled, the sound breathless even to him, and he slid one hand back down to Theo’s ass. He pressed a finger along the crease, then to Theo’s tight little hole, which he found soaking wet. “Oh, God.”
“I want you.”
All he could do was nod back in response. Literally, he had no words. His brain was offline. All he could do was feel and touch.
He slid two fingers in, stroking Theo deep inside. “Oh, you’re perfect.” There. He’d found words. Go him. Because he was really struggling there. Liam wasn’t inexperienced, but he’d never had a lover-lover, let alone a mate. Just encounters. He was working it, but he was damn overheated.
“I’m not a virgin. I need you. We’ll play later. This is important.”
How come Theo could say so many words in a row that made sense? He obviously wasn’t doing something right.
He stroked deeper and took Theo’s lips in a hard kiss. He would not hurt his lover, his mate, his own dear Theo.
“Yes!” Theo rocked back against his hand, begging with his body, so he stroked in with two fingers, wanting to make it perfect, to open Theo up. Because he was feeling hugely hard.
In fact, his entire groin area ached, like it was throbbing, desperate to sink into Theo’s body and bury himself. He’d never felt need like this. It made him want to growl.
Theo’s eyes went wide. “Oh, my alpha.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. You’re beautiful. Fill me up. I want your knot.”
“My…” He knew what that was. He’d heard things hanging out with the wolves. But surely—
“No thinking too hard. Inside me.” Theo tugged at him, hands all over him, not letting him catch his breath until he was poised at the entrance to that tight hole.
Then he was surrounded by pure fire, and he just stopped thinking.
This was heaven. And the expression on Theo’s face proved that he wasn’t alone. He was meant to do this. His body knew it, and it moved without him even considering anything. He just loved on Theo, giving him everything he was.
In response, Theo held on, legs wrapping around him, taking him down to the root, surrounding him in wet, slick heat.
He grunted, closing his eyes, but then forcing them open again. Liam didn’t want to miss a moment of this. He began to thrust, pulling out, then shoving deep.
Theo was smiling, arching underneath him, taking every inch without any hint of discomfort or worry.
A low growl built inside of him, rumbling in his chest, and he tried to swallow it down. He didn’t want to frighten Theo, but somehow oddly, an answering sound seemed to be coming from his lover. An agreement.
My wolf. My alpha!