Chapter 14
Joel
For a split second, when North turned back into his human shape, I was disappointed.
His ginormous cat was amazing. Certainly better than any pet I’d hoped to own one day.
Warm and soft, he was also strong enough to be the world’s best guard dog…
er, cat. As big and scary as he was, though, I hadn’t been even a little worried about having his razor-sharp teeth so close to my jugular, or his claws pricking through my ratty t-shirt into my skin beneath. I trusted him entirely.
So, yeah, when he changed back to a flesh-and-blood human, I almost felt like I’d lost something. But then I realized all that flesh was bare, and suddenly I’d gained something else, and it was very, very hot.
“Oh,” I gasped, finding his naked body pressed against me, where his jaguar had been just moments ago. My hands, which had been buried in his thick black fur, were now kneading at his bulky shoulders.
If I thought for one second he wanted me to let go, I would have, but then he leaned in and licked the same path his rough cat’s tongue had just a moment ago, starting from the base of my throat, as if his human half needed to confirm the taste of my skin.
It took no time at all for my dick to get with the program, and I carded my fingers into his short hair, hoping to keep him in place just a little longer.
“Does that mean I can stay?” he whispered in my ear.
“If you leave now, I might never forgive you,” I said, only half teasing.
His laugh was deep and rough, and I couldn’t wait to hear it again.
Then he nipped just once at my earlobe, before feathering a trail of light kisses along my jawline to my lips.
Before I had a chance to deepen it, though, he dragged himself off me and stood.
Lucky me, it put his thick hard-on right at eye level.
Mouth watering, I was leaning in for a taste before I even realized I was doing it.
“Ah-ah,” he scolded lightly, chuckling. “Not yet, sweetheart. Kedi tells me you haven’t been eating.”
“Mm, but I plan on eating something right now,” I said with all seriousness. Unfortunately, my traitorous stomach chose that exact moment to growl, and North swooped down and helped me to my feet. It turned out this whole mate business meant putting my needs first. Dammit.
I hated to admit it, but food was probably a good idea. My limbs were as shaky as a newborn fawn’s. I’d lost track of mealtimes while I was in full wallow mode—food just hadn’t been my top priority after I’d learned that shifters were real and the world as I knew it was a lie.
And besides, I suspected I might need to keep my energy up…
“Come on, I’ll make you some lunch,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me from the room.
My eyes were fixed squarely on North’s perfect, firm ass, when I suddenly realized he was going to leave the room like that. “Um, would you mind at least putting on some underwear?”
He turned to smirk at me. “Why? Worried you can’t keep your hands to yourself long enough to eat?”
“I mean, honestly, yeah, but I’m more worried about my roommate not being able to keep his hands to himself.”
North shook his head. “Shifters aren’t like that. By nature, we spend a lot of our time without clothes, and no matter whether we grow up in a pride or pack or flock, we get comfortable with nudity real quick. It’s no big deal. Kedi won’t care.”
My frown deepened. “But what if I care?”
He watched my face for a moment, clocking every emotion, every insecurity, before he bent down to retrieve his boxer briefs, sliding them up his legs and—tragically—covering up the goods. “I think I like you being jealous,” he admitted with a little smirk.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “So you would be totally fine if all my shifter friends got naked around me, huh? Or maybe I joined them?”
He scowled, now that the tables were turned. “Fair enough. I suppose I’m not immune to the emotion myself.”
When we left the room, we found that Kedi had made himself scarce. I could hear him playing loud music in his room, likely to drown out any noises we might make. I winced. “Shifters probably have great hearing, right?”
North stuck his head in the fridge to hide his satisfied smirk. “Sure do.”
I offered to help, but North pushed me down on a stool that sat at the narrow two-seater table in the corner.
“Let me feed you.” Not a request, but a demand.
It was the first time a guy had ever wanted to take care of me.
Usually, they thought an omega’s place was in the kitchen, so I wasn’t about to complain.
In fact, I was more than happy to take this front-row seat to the show. I propped my chin in my hand and watched his back muscles ripple as he went about making me an omelet. Damn, now I was drooling for two reasons.
While he cooked, he answered some of the questions I had about shifters.
Like, were there mosquito shifters? What about dragons?
In both cases, his answer was, “Not that I’ve ever met,” which wasn’t a no.
They had better senses even while in their human form, but what about ESP?
Could they talk to each other in their minds or move objects without touching them?
North arched an eyebrow at me as if I were being ridiculous, but seriously, how was I supposed to know?
HE TURNED INTO A FUCKING JAGUAR! As far as I knew, aliens could be real.
“Do you have to shift? Can you shift whenever you want? What happens if you stop shifting? Do you age?”
North laughed at my enthusiasm, setting my omelet down in front of me. “No. Yes, as long as no humans are around to see. I don’t know, I’ve never tried. And yes, I age. I’m not a vampire.” Although he flashed his sharpened canines at me all the same.
Damn, there went that theory.
I took a single bite of food and moaned, my eyes rolling into the back of my head. “Oh gods, you can cook too?” I asked, gushing a little. “Seriously, fate’s just showing off now. I have no idea what I’m bringing to this relationship.”
“So, we’re calling this a relationship…?” he drawled, shooting me a gooey smile across the table.
I was sure the smile I offered in return was just as sappy.
“Relationship might not be the right word for it, but… yes? I have to call you something to my human coworkers, so I thought boyfriend might do.” My smile dropped.
“Unless my coworkers are all shifters… Shit, now I’m going to wonder every time I meet someone. ”
North watched every single bite of food disappear into my mouth, with single-minded focus, licking his lips every time I withdrew the fork. He at least had the good grace to wait until I’d finished eating before he dragged me away from the table, but not a second longer.
“And now, a shower,” he announced, before he herded me into the bathroom. This macho alpha attitude might’ve gotten on my nerves, if his eyes didn’t hold so many promises while he devoured me with his hungry gaze.
It turned out, he didn’t intend for me to shower alone, either.
The door closed behind him with a click, and he shucked his boxers once more, freeing his leaking cock. I couldn’t stop staring at it. I knew logically that it should fit, but… “Are you coming in to wash my back?” I asked, my voice turning breathy.
North grunted in reply, already reaching to help me peel off my t-shirt. “Gods, your scent is so strong right now… it’s driving me crazy.” He took his time, letting his hands and eyes explore my body. He was more than a little pleased to find I was going commando under my flannel pajama pants.
I’d always been a little nervous getting naked around boyfriends in the past, but this time was different.
Maybe it was because North wasn’t a boyfriend—he was my mate.
There was something comforting in knowing we were made for each other, because that meant even my body would be perfect in his eyes.
But also… there was no denying he liked what he saw.
“I want to taste you, Joel,” he said, eyes focused on my cock, hard and aching, dripping precum. He took a single step closer, and my heart bucked in my chest, a prey instinct telling me to run.
Instead of fleeing, though, my mind recalled the way he’d licked up my throat, his tongue hot and searching, and I found myself nodding hard. “O-Okay.”
Gripping me around the waist, he showed off his shifter strength by lifting me into the tub, without even straining.
He followed me in, before he reached back and cranked on the shower.
The water was ice-cold at first, and I yelped, jumping out of the spray.
But the tiles were even colder when North pressed me back against the wall.
“Stay,” he demanded, before he dropped to his knees right there on the floor of the tub. He ran his nose along my length, groaning lewdly at my scent, then without so much as a tease, swallowed me whole.
“Holy shit!” I cried out, clambering to brace myself, and finally grabbing his shoulders to keep from falling over.
North took me as deep as he could, lingering with his nose buried in the curly hairs, and let out a long groan that sent vibrations all the way through me. He drew back slowly, his tongue laving the underside, before he sucked on the tip, teasing at the slit.
Oh gods, there was no chance I would be able to hold off from coming. What he lacked in skill, he absolutely made up for with fervor.
He found a rhythm that made me whine, and then got faster the louder I got. North’s hands started to roam, massaging my thighs, pinching my nipple, and when he reached up and put his fingers in my mouth, I sucked just as he did.
I was getting too close, and I wasn’t anywhere near ready for this to end.
“North, we should… slow down before I…” I panted, releasing his fingers from my mouth with a pop.
When I tried to pull myself from his mouth, though, he let out a feral yowl that reminded me of trying to take food from an alley cat.
He slapped my hands away and pinned me to the tiles so I couldn’t even writhe, adding even more suction.
“Oh fuck, N-North. I-I’m going to—” That was as far as I got before I threw back my head with a cry and shot my load down his throat.
He suckled, swallowing everything I gave him, as he murmured in utter satisfaction.
Then he cleaned me thoroughly with his tongue, as though he didn’t want to waste a single drop.
When he rose up to stand in front of me, his eyes were fully gold. “That was… everything,” he rasped. He reached between us and stroked my soft length tenderly, before cupping my balls and giving them a gentle squeeze. “I want to do it again.”
I laughed huskily, dropping my head back on the shower tiles, my eyes rolling back at his ministrations on my oversensitive cock. “You’re going to have to give me some time to recover.” Although with his fingertips teasing over my slick taint, I could already feel myself stirring.
North simply smiled a very feline grin of mischief and drew me under the spray. “Then it’s a good thing we have all the time in the world.” He grabbed a bar of soap and set about cleaning every single inch of my body, until I was begging for more.