Chapter Thirty-seven
LEON
Karl was watching him with that steady wolf’s gaze, but Leon knew the balance had shifted, could hear it in the way Karl’s breathing roughened when he stepped closer.
He wanted him—had wanted him for too long. And now that they had privacy and time, Leon had no intention of holding back.
He closed the last few inches of distance, slow but deliberate, until the heat of Karl’s body pressed against his own. He reached up, hooked his fingers into the hem of Karl’s sweater, and tugged it up and off. Finally, nothing between his hands and all that solid muscle and warm skin.
The rise and fall of Karl’s chest was fast and uneven, and he knew that Karl was allowing this, holding himself still, giving Leon the power.
Leon had slept with a lot of guys, and he was always in charge, even when the other guy didn’t realize it.
This was the first time he’d been with someone and it felt as if they were equals.
He couldn’t tell whether it was because Karl matched him in every way, or because Leon didn’t feel the need to keep in control, to keep his defenses up in the same way.
Both of those things were true and he supposed, when it came down to it, it didn’t really matter why.
Still, it did something to him, the knowledge that Karl could turn this on its head quicker than thought, if he chose.
Instead, he was waiting, seeing what Leon would do.
Seeing what Leon wanted, and just for an instant, his heart ached even more than the urgency coiling at the base of his spine, the heat pooling low in his belly.
He moved in and captured Karl’s mouth, hot and demanding, tongue sliding deep.
Karl opened to him without hesitation, groaning into the kiss, and Leon’s hands were already at his waist, knuckles grazing the skin of his stomach as he opened the warm leather of his belt, greedy for more skin.
The rasp of the zipper between them was obscenely loud.
When Leon palmed the hard line of Karl’s cock through the cotton of his briefs, Karl whined into his mouth, a sound so raw it made Leon’s knees weak. And then Karl finally moved, one large hand wound in Leon’s hair as he kissed him like he was air that Karl needed in order to live.
Leon broke the kiss only long enough to tear his shirt off, breath ragged. He wanted to make this last, to draw out the anticipation the way he’d imagined a hundred times, but he couldn’t hold back. Not now.
Seemed Karl was of a like mind, because there was no teasing, drawn-out, sexy removing of one another’s clothes, but more a mad scramble to get out of their own, even if Leon did have to bite back a smirk at the way Karl’s breath drew in sharply as Leon wriggled to get out of his jeans.
He’d always said tight jeans were an investment.
And then Karl moved, like a storm front or a hurricane or something else that rolled over Leon, irresistible, because Leon was somehow flat on the bed, Karl’s heavy, solid weight pressing him into the mattress.
He welcomed it, God, did he welcome it, arching up against him, Karl’s cock hot and insistent against his own.
When their eyes met, Karl’s were dark and fierce—and beneath it, a tenderness that shook Leon to the core.
“God,” Leon whispered, rolling his hips up against Karl again, “you feel so fucking good.”
Karl kissed him then, maddeningly slow, tongue flicking and retreating until Leon was panting and chasing after it.
When they’d first met, he’d thought Karl was all blunt force, bossy wolf, but here he was teasing him to pieces, dismantling him kiss by kiss.
Leon had never been so hard, never wanted anyone so badly.
Karl eventually allowed Leon to kiss him back, and Leon took his chance. He twisted up from underneath Karl, with some very sexy writhing, he might add, and put Karl on his back before he knew what was happening. Cats were sneakier than wolves. Karl would have to get used to it.
And then he took a moment, pushing up just to look. God, he was beautiful. Broad and powerful, muscles shifting under scarred skin, eyes dark as Leon bent to worship Karl’s chest, sucking his nipples until Karl’s gasps turned to hoarse pleas, his fingers tight in Leon’s hair.
And while Leon would be happy to torture Karl all night at any other time, right now, it wasn’t what he wanted.
He slid down Karl’s body, pressing little kisses and licks as he went, letting his hair trail in his wake, until he got to Karl’s cock and swallowed him deep, savoring the taste, the weight, the heat.
Karl’s curses and pleas tangled together, but he wasn’t going to let Karl finish like this—not this time. He pulled off with a wet sound, ignoring Karl’s broken protest. He wanted more, needed more.
He moved back up the bed, Karl grabbing at him and their mouths crashing together. This time, it was Karl’s turn to flip them. His hand combed through Leon’s hair, then down over his hip to cup his ass, teasing over the cleft until Leon nearly sobbed.
“Lube,” he demanded, when he could find his voice.
Karl lunged for the nightstand, his eagerness sharp enough to taste. But he’d waited for Leon to ask, and that almost unbearable fondness filled Leon again.
Leon barely had time to get his breath before slick fingers slid over him, warm and sure, circling with deliberate care. Karl’s gaze didn’t leave his face, tracking every flicker of sensation, every tell.
“If you keep staring like that, we’re going to have a problem,” he said, voice annoyingly uneven. He wasn’t used to being watched like this, seen like this.
Karl only smiled, eyes dark. “Just admiring the view.”
And then he pressed in. The first finger breached him with careful pressure, hot and slippery and so damn intimate Leon swore softly under his breath.
“Still okay?” Karl murmured.
Leon glared at him through a haze of heat. He wasn’t used to being treated like something precious, and it made him feel exposed. “More.”
Karl kissed him then, one hand braced beside his head, the other moving in a slow rhythm between his legs, and Leon felt like he was being taken apart, touch by careful touch.
A second finger joined the first, stretching him wider, and Leon groaned aloud.
His muscles resisted, then gave way, and the pressure flared into heat.
Karl’s mouth was on his jaw, his neck, whispering things Leon didn’t catch, didn’t need to.
Everything in him narrowed to the drag of fingers, the feel of Karl’s body pressed against his own, the way he didn’t just touch—he listened. Responded. Matched him perfectly.
Then Karl crooked his fingers just right, and holy hell—Leon yowled. A sharp, unguarded sound that left him blinking in surprise. He didn’t even know he could make that sound.
Karl stilled for one breathless second. “Jesus.”
His gaze locked on Leon’s, his pupils blown wide. “Do that again.”
Leon flushed hot. “I will end you.”
Karl chuckled, low and wrecked. “Swear to God, that was the best thing I’ve ever heard.” He pressed a kiss to Leon’s open mouth. “I want to hear that every time.”
Leon was panting now, his body shaking with need. “Then do something about it.”
He did it again. And again. And Leon made that same sharp, helpless noise each time, his body arching, hips chasing the sensation.
He was gone—shaking, sweating, needing—and Karl was still taking his time, stroking him from the inside with maddening precision.
Leon clutched at his shoulders. “Another,” he begged.
Karl didn’t speak—just added a third finger, slower this time, gentler. Leon bit his lip, panting hard as his body stretched around the intrusion. The sting made his eyes water, but God, the fullness. The way Karl held him through it, kissed his throat like a benediction.
“Okay?” Karl asked, voice rough.
Leon nodded, not trusting his voice. Karl pulled his fingers free, only long enough to slick himself, then nudged the blunt head of his cock against Leon’s entrance.
“Karl—”
“Breathe,” Karl murmured, kissing his collarbone. And then he pushed in, slow and steady, filling him inch by inch.
Leon’s fingers fisted in the sheets, his whole body trembling as Karl seated himself fully, deep and hot and there, his breath ragged against Leon’s cheek.
Leon’s head fell back, eyes wide at the unbelievable rightness of it. He was full in a way that left no room for doubt. No room for anything but this.
Karl braced above him, searching his face, still and focused, like Leon was the most important thing in the world.
Leon let out a shaky breath. “Fuck.”
Karl stroked a hand down his side. “Still good?”
Leon met his gaze, panting with how good this felt, how good Karl felt, deep inside him. “Think you could stop talking long enough to actually fuck me?”
Karl moved then—slow, deliberate thrusts, only the growing wildness in his eyes giving away how his control was fraying. Each stroke had Leon shaking, biting down on another sound that threatened to tear loose.
“Come on,” Karl gasped, voice rough. “Give me that sound again.”
Leon glared at him, but it was weak, already dissolving as Karl hit that spot again and again. He yowled before he could stop himself.
Karl growled, deep and visceral. “There you are.”
His pace stayed steady, maddening, every thrust winding Leon tighter. He was used to being in control, used to calling the shots, but now he was held open, filled, wrecked, and he didn’t want it to stop.
“Faster,” Leon begged, voice breaking. “Please—”
“Not yet,” Karl growled, eyes blazing. “Want to feel you come apart first.”
And Leon did—shaking, gasping, shattering under Karl’s hands. The orgasm hit hard and bright, tearing through him as he cried out, his body clenching around Karl in rhythmic, helpless waves.
Karl cursed, faltered, then moved with sudden urgency and came deep inside him, a wrecked moan muffled against Leon’s shoulder.
They collapsed together, Karl’s weight warm and grounding on top of him, their hearts pounding in sync.
Leon let himself be held. Didn’t even think about slipping away.
After a while, Karl’s hand slid up his spine, then threaded gently through his hair, fingertips soft against his scalp.
“You okay?” he asked, voice low and rough.
Leon attempted a sexy smirk but was fairly sure it landed closer to dazed. “More than.”
Karl kissed him, slow and sweet this time. Then tucked them close, skin to skin, heart to heart. Leon sighed into it, letting the silence settle over them. Letting himself settle, too.
Trust a wolf to be good at holding on. He hadn’t thought he needed that. Turned out, maybe he did.