Chapter 2
After two days had passed—long enough for Adam’s scent to have faded from Jake’s skin—Jake suspected that a next time wasn’t going to happen, and he was more upset about that than he had any right to be.
It had been a one time thing, and he’d known that going into it, but the way Adam had looked at him had made him hopeful that there might be more.
Maybe Adam had woken up the next day and wondered what the fuck he’d done.
It was one thing to dream about something, but another to actually get it.
In the light of day, when the lust had worn off, maybe sucking a werewolf’s cock hadn’t been so appealing.
And the thought of getting mounted by one less so.
He should be glad he’d gotten laid. The whole encounter had been infinitely less trouble than hooking up with a werewolf, or any other mytho for that matter.
Adam’s mention of a forum for people who fancied werewolves and other mythos had made him curious.
He’d read about furries, and the multitude of other kinks that humans liked to dabble in, and that most of them had existed on Tariko because satyrs liked to talk about sex and the older elves and vampires remembered how it had been.
However, finding the werewolf forum was beyond his technical capabilities.
In the end, he’d discovered a lot of other stuff, which was now, unfortunately, burned into his eyeballs.
As he mopped the hallway, where someone had made a mess during what he hoped was a medical emergency, he glared at the hair on the back of his hands.
The thick knuckles and black claws. He remembered what it was like to have hands.
Proper hands. Or, at least, he thought he did.
It had been so long he couldn’t be sure if it was a memory or wishful thinking.
He wasn’t even sure he’d recognise himself in a mirror if he did shift back to his human-looking form.
Most of the time, he tried not to be bitter about what he’d lost in the collapse. It was more difficult at that moment, because he’d tasted something that he wanted. And not just sex.
It was the way Adam had looked at him.
Touched him.
Spoken to him as if he was someone who mattered, and someone who he’d like to get to know better.
But it had all been a lie because Adam had wanted to try something weird and stamp his werewolf fucking card. Tick that box. What was next? Vampire? Or maybe he’d try to suck off a satyr. Jake doubted Adam could stretch his mouth around a satyr cock.
All Jake wanted was to have a mouth capable of sucking someone off.
To have hands with soft skin instead of the rough pads on his fingers and palms. Trying to fight off the resentment of what the collapse had stolen from him made him depressed.
He’d been too young to have sex before the collapse, barely old enough to shift.
He almost envied the kids who’d been born after the collapse as they didn’t know anything else. They had nothing to miss.
He hated feeling like this.
He mopped faster and more aggressively, as if scrubbing every drop of blood and vomit from the floor would erase his own loss and pain. It wouldn’t—couldn’t—so he started reminding himself of what he did have… Why his life wasn’t a complete shit hole with no redeeming features.
As bad as it sounded, sometimes working at the hospital helped him with perspective. Sure, he was stuck in his half shifted form, but he wasn’t dying of cancer, his body wasn’t smashed and twisted after a car accident. So yeah, things could be worse.
He had a job. He had an apartment, no matter how tiny, and he had friends. He had community. By the time he finished his shift, the hurt of Adam’s clear dismissal had shifted into a softer disappointment, and a reminder not to trust humans.
Perhaps he should look into that online thing where people paid money to see other people jack off, or clip their toenails, or paint themselves in various foodstuffs. The Internet, that was something he should be grateful for…
He showered and changed and checked his phone before heading home.
There was a message from Adam.
His heart jumped, but he was bloody tempted to ignore it.
His dick thought otherwise.
It had only been two days, and Adam had a job and a father who needed care. Lucky him, he still had a father and a mother. Jake had lost his in the collapse, but that scar no longer hurt. He didn’t think his dad would’ve dealt with being half-shifted particularly well.
He tapped the message to read it.
I really enjoyed the other night. I’m working the next three nights and then I have a couple of days off. I’m not sure what your roster is like, but if they align, I’d like to see you again.
Jake read it twice as annoyance bubbled back up, along with lust. Logically, he understood Adam had spent the other day looking after his dad and then he would’ve adjusted his sleep schedule to work nights. But it would’ve taken him five seconds to send a text.
He could’ve also sent a text. But he hadn’t wanted to sound needy? Desperate? Feared Adam might reject him outright? That was more like it. He hadn’t wanted rejection to sour the memory. That clearly wasn’t the case.
He put his phone in his pocket, contemplating his answer while he walked to the bus stop, not wanting to seem too keen.
Fuck. What was the smart thing to do? Adam had approached him in public. That was ballsy. They both wanted to get laid. So what was the problem?
While he waited for the bus, he pulled out his phone. He needed to respond.
I work days and would like to see you again. We can meet at the bar or my place?
Was that too much?
His ear twitched as the bus drew closer, he hit send before he felt the urge to delete it and spend the next hours worrying about what to say. If Adam was interested, it wouldn’t be too much. That didn’t stop him from checking his phone every other minute as he waited for a reply.
The reply came as he got off the bus.
I’ll see you the first night I’m off. If you’re free.
He had basketball training tomorrow, and he’d meet up with a few other werewolves the day after. He’d be available to meet up with Adam when he came off nights.
I’m free.
I’ll see you at yours. Around 6?
Perfect.
Now all he needed to do was stop his hopes from getting too high in case it all fell apart. He wasn’t used to being hopeful and excited. Jake was used to things being okay, to muddling along, and being satisfied if not fulfilled. He had enough… and now he wanted more.
He wasn’t sure which was worse, though: living a mediocre life while craving something unknown or knowing what he was missing and not being able to have it.
Jake wanted to pretend that he wasn’t nervous.
He’d gotten home, showered, clipped and filed his claws—making two of them extra short—made sure that all of his laundry was put away, and that there were clean sheets on the bed.
He didn’t want Adam to see fur on the sheets.
Jake had even checked to make sure he had enough lube, that was, of course, assuming he’d need it for more than stroking himself.
He didn’t care if they didn’t use it. If all they did was lick and grind against each other, he’d be happy.
He just wanted to smell Adam again, taste him, and feel his breath on his skin.
He thought he shouldn’t feel that way about someone he’d met once, even though the sex had been amazing—and not just because it was the only blow job he’d ever gotten.
He’d never felt this way about anyone.
And he was sure it wasn’t because he was horny.
A car pulled up out the front, and Jake cocked his head, listening, expecting it to drive off. It didn’t. Footsteps came toward the apartment block, then the main door opened—it was too early for it to be locked. Adam’s scent reached Jake before he knocked on the door.
Jake let him knock, not wanting to seem too eager. He waited a couple of seconds and then opened the door. “Hi.”
He hadn’t been nervous last time. Why was this time so different?
“Hi… I brought some beer and snacks,” Adam said, lifting a full bag into Jake’s view.
Beer and snacks… Meanwhile, Jake had been worried about clean sheets and lube. Had he planned for the wrong activities?
“Great.” He stepped aside to let Adam in.
Adam took a step but didn’t walk past. He paused, put his hand on Jake’s chest and kissed the corner of his lips as if that was a normal thing they did. Maybe it was.
His tongue flicked over Adam’s neck, loving the way his skin tasted of soap and desire, with a hint of nerves. At least it wasn’t just him. He slipped a hand around Adam’s waist and for a heartbeat, neither of them moved.
So, they were doing this again. Once was an experiment, for both of them. Twice was… continuing the experiment? Or did they get together for beers and sex now?
“You okay?” Adam asked, breaking the moment.
Jake shut the door and locked it. “Yeah…” He should be honest. That was how they had started. “I didn’t expect you to call.”
Adam put the beer and chips on the kitchen counter. “I gave myself a twenty-four-hour cooling-off period to think it through, but all I did was think of you.” He twisted the cap off a bottle and offered it to Jake.
Jake took it. “Same.”
“I guess you can already tell that being here has me a little excited.” Adam blushed.
Jake laughed. “I’d be worried if you weren’t.”
“But I also don’t want you to feel like…”
“Like an experiment?”
Adam shook his head. “That I’m using you.”
“I’d never had a blow job until the other night, so we can call it equal.”
“No one ever sucked your dick?”
Jake stared at him, mouth open, tongue lolling as if the reason should be obvious.
“Not from other mythos?”
Jake shook his head. “They remember what werewolves were like, and not many like this.” He indicated his furred chest.
“It’s an acquired taste.” Adam took a sip, his gaze lingering on Jake’s body in a way that made Jake’s cock push out of the sheath a little too eagerly.
“Plenty would have something to say about your taste.”
Adam put his beer down. “I know. I don’t want either of us to get into trouble.”
“No one here cares. It’s your people—”
“I’m aware. And I’m also aware that I don’t want to wait to be given permission to enjoy myself.
I waited until I was twenty to even date men.
My parents were going to travel when Dad retired, and now they can’t.
They never got that. I see people’s lives end all the time.
I don’t want that regret.” He glanced away.
“Sorry. That was heavy. Not what I was hoping for tonight.”
“Been a rough week?” Jake closed the distance between them in two quick steps and put an arm around Adam.
Adam leaned against him. “Very. Someone died in front of me. Dad’s back in hospital. I want to drink beer and fuck and pretend that none of it exists.”
“We can do that.” Jake smelled death—no amount of antiseptic and cleaning fluid removed it—every day. But he was never face to face with it, not the way he was during the collapse and just after. It had been chaos. He was lucky to have survived.
Lucky that Adam was even in his arms. He nuzzled at the human’s neck. “We can just order pizza and hang out if you’d rather.”
“No. I’ve showered and cleaned everything for this.”
“Everything?”
Adam lifted his head. “Inside.”
“Oh.”
“It’s a me thing. And I know that means planning ahead, and that it’s not spontaneous—”
Someone had clearly given Adam an earful in the past. “You need to be comfortable. It’s your ass.”
Adam blinked as if Jake had spoken in another language. Jake was sure he hadn’t spoken in Tarikian.
“No one has ever said that,” Adam said.
“You’re letting me fuck you, right? So you get to lead the hunt.”
“Call the shots?”
Jake shrugged. “Same thing, I guess.”
Adam’s hand moved lower, his finger tracing along the waistband of Jake’s track pants. “I have a question…two, actually.”
“Only two?” Jake was sure he had a dozen.
“Can you get a condom on it?”
“Never tried, but the last time a vampire bit me, I was fine.” His claw scratched at the label on the bottle.
Adam lifted his eyebrows. “Blood test?”
“That’s right.” He took a drink of beer, which was more pouring it into his mouth than sipping. “I don’t get that much company.”
Adam nodded. “And after your comment about last time being your first blow job, just how much experience have you got?”
“I’ve been with other werewolves, male and female. With the guys, it was only licking and hand jobs. Is that going to be a problem?”