Chapter 8
“So, what’s your deal with Morgan Peters?” Keith asked as he looked up at Brian from his lap, which he was using as a pillow.
“What do you mean?” Brian said while petting him, his fingers slowly combing through Keith’s hair and massaging his scalp. If he had been a cat, he would be purring.
“What do you mean what do I mean?”
“I don’t have a deal with Morgan Peters.”
“Uh-huh. Got it.” Keith nodded, causing his cheek to move up and down Brian’s thigh.
He enjoyed the sensation, so he did it again.
Maybe he had a cat’s soul. Nine lives would explain how he had survived the horrors the Ruperts had put him through and the even more dangerous things he had done to himself.
“So, what’s your non-deal with Morgan Peters? ”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Intrigued by his mate’s stubborn refusal to admit the obvious, Keith grinned. “You know how sometimes you meet someone and you realize from the first instant that you want to spend the rest of your life without them?” he asked.
Brian blinked down at him, brow furrowed. “What?”
“Why do you feel that way about Morgan Peters when everyone else loves him?”
Brian growled, which was hilarious, so Keith chuckled.
“Why are you laughing?” Brian asked.
“Because you’re funny and cute.”
The stubborn expression left Brian’s face and he sighed.
“One of the first things I did after coming to Purple Sky was visit Golden Valley. They’re the nearest pack to us by car and they’re powerful so I thought it’d serve us well to align with them.
At the time, Ricky Marx was helping me with pack business and I brought him.
Peters and his pack were rude to us, something happened between him and Ricky, and then Ricky ran off and hid from him.
Then, when Peters came here searching for Ricky, I beat him up. ”
Keith arched his eyebrows in surprise. “Morgan let you beat him up?”
“What do you mean let me?” Brian asked with a frown.
“Never mind.” His mate was a bit prideful about his strength and power, and the last thing Keith wanted to do was diminish him. “Now that you know Ricky is Morgan’s mate and you understand what happened between them back then, everything’s cleared up, right? You two can be friends.”
“It’s possible I misjudged him,” Brian grudgingly admitted. “And I appreciate that he wants to help you. That doesn’t mean we’ll be friends.”
“I see.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It’s an attempt to say something neutral so I don’t offend you by disagreeing with you,” Keith explained.
“How can you disagree with me about who I want as a friend?” Brian asked. “That’s a personal decision and I’m the person.”
“True, but I know Morgan and I know you, so I know you’ll be friends eventually. If it makes you feel better, I can pretend to agree with you now and then later, when you’re BFFs with Morgan Peters, we can commiserate together about how we were both wrong.”
“I will not be”—he shook his hand in the air—“that with Morgan Peters.”
“BFFs?”
“Yes.”
“Why can’t you say BFF?” Keith asked.
“Because I’m not a teenage girl.”
“Ah. Understood.” Keith nodded. “Too old and manly for acronyms. Makes sense.”
“That’s not—”
“How about a change of topic?”
“Please.” Brian looked relieved.
“Do you think I could have a cat soul even though I have human and wolf bodies?”
Brian opened his mouth, but no words came out.
“Brian?”
“Before I met you, I considered myself to be very intelligent, but now I’m genuinely concerned that the library will need to pack up all the big words if I walk in the door.”
“I love libraries!” Keith said gleefully. “They’re peaceful and cozy. The one in Green Field closed years ago. Once I get rid of the Ruperts, I can work on opening it back up.”
Brian blinked at him.
“Do you like to read?”
He opened his mouth but didn’t immediately speak.
“I can read out loud to you if you want. I’ll even do different voices for the characters.” He looked at Brian expectantly.
“I, uh, I’m not a child.”
“Oh, I know you’re fully grown.” Keith rolled onto his stomach, rested one palm on Brian’s thigh, and slid the other over his groin, caressing him through his jeans. “Hmm, not fully yet but I can make that happen.”
“Keith,” Brian croaked, his head lolling back and his eyes drooping. “Mate.”
“Let’s open these up and give you room.” He tugged Brian’s button free, slid his zipper down, and reached into the opening of his briefs. “Mmm, you’re so hot.” He slid Brian’s cock out of his underwear and pressed his nose to it. “And your scent is amazing.”
“I’m…” Brian gulped. “I’m glad you like it. I enjoy the way you smell too.”
Keith tilted his head and swiped his tongue up Brian’s shaft. “Taste great too.”
Hands trembling, Brian skated his fingertips across Keith’s forehead and down his cheek.
“Stunning.” Keith smoothed his spit-slick lips around Brian’s shaft. “Love this.” He made his way up to his crown. “Perfect.” He parted his lips and engulfed his mate’s erection.
“Keith!” Brian shouted, his legs trembling.
“Mmm hmm,” Keith sucked his way up before sliding back down.
“Oh lord.”
He increased his pace and raised his gaze, wanting to see his mate’s face as he lost himself to pleasure. Pleasure he was giving him.
“You’re so good.” Brian petted his hair again. “Thank you.”
Keith moaned and increased his pace, using tongue, lips, and suction to increase his mate’s pleasure and drive him to completion.
“I…Keith, I…Keith!” Brian’s breath stuttered as he thrust his hips up and pulsed his release into Keith’s mouth. “Lord. You’re…” He sucked in air. “Keith.” He grazed his palm over Keith’s hair and down his face. “Sit up, beautiful, let me take care of you.”
After inhaling his mate’s scent one more time, Keith rolled up to his knees. “Do you want me, mate?”
Eyes hazy, Brian caressed his cheek and gazed at him. “I have never and will never want anything more.”
Keith smiled and then turned his face into Brian’s palm and licked it. “The feeling is mutual.”
Their gazes held for long seconds, but eventually, Brian reached down, opened Keith’s pants, and slipped his hand inside. He wrapped it around Keith’s cock and whispered, “How do you want it?”
“Dealer’s choice.” Keith grinned and dipped his face forward for a quick kiss.
“You have the best smile.”
“It’s new.” He brushed his lips over Brian’s again. “Not sure I smiled about much before I met you.”
Brian tangled his free hand in Keith’s hair and pressed their mouths together, deepening the kiss from the start.
He stroked his hand over Keith’s shaft and licked his way into his mouth.
Eventually, he pulled back just far enough to speak.
“I promise to make sure you have endless reasons to smile from now on, mate. Your joy and your peace, are my purpose.” He snaked his hand around Keith’s hip and supported him as he lowered him down to his back.
“My turn to taste you.” With that declaration, he tugged Keith’s pants down and lowered his face.
As turned on as Keith was, it didn’t take more than a couple of minutes of attention from his mate’s talented mouth before he groaned and shot onto his waiting tongue. He covered his eyes with his forearm and sucked in air.
“Good?” Brian asked as he scooted up and lay on Keith’s heaving chest.
“Fantastic. Not sure how you’re so skilled at sucking dick when doing it to me was your first time.”
“That wasn’t—”
“Ahem.” Keith raised his forearm and stared at Brian, eyebrows raised. “What did we discuss?”
Brian furrowed his brow in confusion and then his eyes widened and he said, “Oh, right. Definitely my first time. It was, uh, beginner’s luck?”
“Good answer, mate.” Keith combed his fingers through Brian’s hair. “Good answer.”
“No. I mean it, Keith. You’re not going,” Brian said emphatically as he walked across the living room.
He had been pacing for the past twenty minutes.
It seemed to be his self-soothing process, or at least that was Keith’s assumption because every time he had raised the situation happening in Green Field and how he wanted to handle it, Brian paced.
“It’s really sweet that you’re worried about me,” Keith said. “This couch is super comfy.” He patted the spot next to him. “Are you sure you don't want to sit for this conversation? Maybe it’ll help you relax.”
“Relax? Relax?” Brian threw his arms in the air. “How am I supposed to relax when you insist on putting your life in danger?”
“That’s not what I’m doing this time. I swear.”
Brian stilled and frowned at him. “This time? What does this time mean?”
“It means other times I tried to put my life in danger on purpose but that’s not why I’m going to Green Field to unseat the Ruperts, so this time I’m not.
See? I know the difference.” He had thought his point was evident but maybe his mate was too worked up to think clearly. “Do you want a snack?” he offered.
“A snack?” Brian said incredulously.
“Yes. Chips? A cookie? Do you want sweet or salty? Oh, I know, trail mix. I saw trail mix in the pantry. That has sweet and salty combined. It’s perfect!”
“I do not want a snack, and as I’ve told you over and over for the last two days, I do not want you going to Green Field. I will handle Rupert Jackson and his son.”
“How about a drink? Are you the type that gets calmer when you consume alcohol or more irrational?”
“What are you talking about? And what do you mean by more irrational? I’m not irrational!”
“Right.” Keith sighed. “I know you think that’s true, but you’re kind of an unreliable narrator right now.”
“I’m not… What?” He furrowed his brow and raised his hands to shoulder height in a questioning motioning. “What do you mean ‘narrator’?”
“Well, I don’t mean like a literal narrator because, obviously, this isn’t a book or a play or whatever. But you get my point.”
His jaw dropped. “Keith?”
“Uh-huh?”
“I almost never get your point.”