Chapter Nine
Nedrick figured he was sort of taking advantage, but he would take every opportunity to touch his mate and build their bond that he could get. Even recognizing that Brett was probably suffering from a mix of shock and being a little woozy from the meds in his system didn’t make him exit the shower. Hell, Nedrick rationalized that the fact that his mate was on meds was part of the reason he insisted on showering with him.
Can’t have Brett falling and hurting himself in the shower, now can I?
With that thought in mind, Nedrick rested his hands on Brett’s waist where he’d positioned him partly under the spray. “There ya go,” he rumbled over the sound of the rushing water. “Relax there a sec.”
Reaching out, Nedrick moved the body wash bottle off the upper corner shelf. “Rest your elbow here,” he urged, gripping Brett’s arm and easing it upward. “That’ll help keep your bag and cast out of the spray and elevated.” Nedrick knew that keeping it out of the way would help with the pain.
Once Brett rested his arm where Nedrick instructed, he grabbed the bottle of shampoo. He poured a healthy dollop into the palm of his right hand before returning the bottle to the lower shelf. Rubbing his palms together to work up suds, Nedrick eyed Brett’s beautiful, wet mane of auburn hair.
He could still see bits of dirt and debris in it from Brett’s fall.
Damn Karissa for shoving him through those bushes.
It didn’t matter to Nedrick that Karissa had no way of knowing what was on the other side of them. She never should have put her hands on Brett like that in the first place. Hell, in Nedrick’s opinion, she shouldn’t be putting her hands on his mate at all.
Shoving his anger way down deep, Nedrick focused his energy on taking care of his injured mate. “Let’s get this all cleaned up,” he stated, lifting his sudsy hands. “Tip your head out of the spray for me.”
It took a second, but Brett did it.
Smiling, Nedrick settled his palms on Brett’s head. Sliding his fingers through his mate’s wet hair, he ignored the way his human tensed. Nedrick focused on massaging Brett’s scalp and working the shampoo through the man’s full head of hair.
Damn, his hair’s amazing.
After a moment, Brett relaxed, his head lolling back even more. He had his right hand wrapped around the base of the shower nozzle, perhaps for support or orientation. Nedrick could see that his human’s eyes were closed, and his lips were parted. It only took another minute or two of working on Brett for his mate to let out a soft moan of pleasure.
The noise went straight to Nedrick’s cock, and he adjusted his stance to make certain his lengthening dick didn’t brush up against his mate’s ass. He certainly didn’t want to freak the guy out. Nedrick knew he’d have to have a conversation with his mate about man-love, but now sure as hell wasn’t the time.
“That’s the way, Brett,” Nedrick encouraged huskily. “Just relax and enjoy.” Once Nedrick felt certain he’d worked through Brett’s hair enough, he murmured, “Tip your head forward.”
To help, Nedrick cradled Brett’s nape with one hand and urged his mate’s lolling head forward. With a sigh, Brett obeyed. Nedrick began threading his fingers through Brett’s hair, rinsing the suds. When they were mostly out, he grabbed the spray handle and lifted it down. Moving it around his mate’s head, Nedrick made certain he got the rest of the soap out.
Nedrick returned the nozzle to the cradle, grabbed the conditioner, and gave Brett the same treatment with that.
Once finished with that, Nedrick grabbed the body wash. He debated using a loofah but then decided to skip it. Nedrick wanted to massage the soap into every inch of Brett’s skin with his hands.
Squirting a massive dollop onto his right palm, Nedrick again worked up a lather. He hesitated only a second before resting his hands on Brett’s shoulders. Easing his palms up Brett’s neck, Nedrick began working behind his ears gently with his fingertips while massaging his spine with his thumbs. Slowly, he began working his way down.
When Nedrick reached between his shoulder blades, Brett let out a deep groan. His mate pressed into his fingers, and he realized he’d found a tense spot. Focusing there, Nedrick took a few minutes to work out the knots.
“H-Holy fuck,” Brett mumbled before grunting softly. He softly slurred his words as he murmured, “S’good.”
Nedrick grinned broadly even as he ignored his twitching shaft. He loved that he’d pleased his mate and couldn’t wait to do even more. Once Nedrick felt the tension leave Brett’s body and he let out a deep sigh, he moved on to finish his back, pausing when he reached the top of his mate’s ass.
No need to freak him out.
Reapplying soap as needed, Nedrick moved on to Brett’s arms. After that, he massaged under his pits, grinning when Brett chuckled and twitched, revealing that he was ticklish. Then Nedrick reached around Brett’s front and worked his way down his mate’s chest. He took note of any reactions indicating hot spots—like when he hissed while Nedrick swiped his thumbs over his nipples or how Brett shivered when Nedrick skimmed his fingers along the grooves of his hip.
Bypassing Brett’s groin for the moment, Nedrick knelt on one knee and began working down his right leg. He even went so far as to urge his mate to lift his foot so he could massage the arch and ball of his foot and work between his toes. Then he started up the other side.
Brett chuckled softly before muttering, “You’re thorough.”
“Mmm-hmmm,” Nedrick confirmed, grinning. “You wanted clean, and I’m happy to help with that.”
Finally, Nedrick once again reached Brett’s ass, and he didn’t bypass it that time. He gripped the globes and massaged them. When Nedrick skimmed his soapy thumbs down his human’s trench, he heard Brett hiss. He felt him tense, so he didn’t linger. Instead, he reached between his mate’s legs to cradle his balls and fondle them gently, earning him a bark of surprise, the sound full of pleasure from the man.
Grinning, Nedrick reached around and gripped Brett’s dick. Smug satisfaction filled him when he found it standing proudly, thick and swollen. His mouth watered as he gave it another slow tug.
“Can I suck you, Brett?” Nedrick asked huskily, licking his lips. His body thrummed with his need, and he knew his mate would taste divine. “Can I bury your cock in my throat and taste you?”
Brett groaned, a tremble working through him. “Yesss,” he hissed. “Yes, please.”
Eager to do just that, Nedrick helped Brett pivot. “Sit,” he encouraged.
Seeing the tremble in his mate’s legs, Nedrick gripped his lover’s hips to help him ease onto the bench seat. Brett’s erection stood proudly before him—a red swollen shaft of maybe seven inches or so with a girth that would make the perfect mouthful. Nedrick skimmed the backs of his forefingers up Brett’s shaft, making it twitch before him as he licked his lips. Meeting Brett’s heavy-lidded gaze, taking in his wide chest as he heaved each breath, Nedrick pinned him with a feral smile.
“Beautiful.”
“Me or my dick?” Brett asked huskily.
Chuckling deeply, Nedrick replied, “Both.”
Nedrick didn’t wait for a response. Pushing between his mate’s knees, he bent forward and swallowed his human’s cock to the root. He buried his nose in Brett’s wet pubes and inhaled his mate’s clean, fresh, masculine aroma.
The bark of pleasure that erupted from Brett’s throat was music to Nedrick’s ears. The way his mate threaded the fingers of his good hand in his hair and tugged sent a burst of tingles to his groin. When Nedrick swallowed around Brett’s crown where it was lodged in his throat, his mate let out a guttural growl, and his own balls began to pull tight.
He knew neither of them were going to last long, and he didn’t have one problem with that. Not one problem at all.
Moving his free hand to Brett’s balls, recalling how he liked them squeezed, Nedrick did just that. At the same time, he sucked partway up his shaft and tickled his frenulum with the tip of his tongue. Then he swiped over Brett’s circumcised cock head, pushing into his slit.
“Ned, fuck!”
Brett’s hips bucked up, and Nedrick went with it. He allowed his mate to bury his cock in the back of his throat, and he swallowed around it. When Brett’s butt returned to the bench, Nedrick followed him down.
His body shuddering, Brett roared Nedrick’s name again as his cock pulsed in his mouth.
Nedrick swallowed quickly and eased off a little, allowing the next burst to land on his tongue. He enjoyed the salty flavor, especially when it was added to it by another spurt of seed. Gulping that, Nedrick gently rolled Brett’s balls, helping to extend his mate’s orgasm.
When the next burst of cream hit his taste buds, Nedrick felt his own balls draw up. He grabbed for the base of his cock, but it was too late. Moaning around his mouthful, he jolted as his own release shot through him with the force of a sledgehammer, causing him to shudder and shake.
Popping off Brett’s prick, Nedrick pressed his forehead against his mate’s thigh as he moaned and floated on the endorphins of the best damn release of his life. “Shit,” he hissed, gasping and trembling. “Oh, holy fuck.”
Nedrick didn’t know how long later, but he felt fingers tentatively run through his hair. Peeling open eyelids he didn’t remember closing, he tried to get his breathing under control. He stayed still under Brett’s ministrations, enjoying his lover’s first foray into reaching out to him.
“D-Did you just, um—” Brett began roughly, then paused. He cleared his voice and tried again. “Did you just come from blowing me?”
Lifting his head, Nedrick smiled up at Brett. “Yes, I did.” He took in his mate’s shocked expression and chuckled huskily. “You taste amazing, my mate.”
Brett’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve called me that since you met me. Mate.” He tilted his head to the side. “Does it mean something other than friend? Because you don’t sound Australian.”
“It does,” Nedrick confirmed, but he knew this was not the time to get into shifters and mates. Instead, he went with, “It’s a term of endearment,” which was true, even if it only scratched the surface. Fortunately, feeling the cooling water hitting his back saved him, and Nedrick winced. Rising to his feet, he reached behind him and turned off the water. “Time to get out.” With a smile, Nedrick quipped, “Hot water’s running out.”
Opening the door, Nedrick appreciated the warm summer afternoon. He grabbed one of the towels he’d set aside and held it out to Brett. His mate took it and slowly pushed to his feet, holding it against his chest to hang down his front.
Turning away, Nedrick grabbed the second one and began wiping himself down. He did a cursory swipe of his legs and torso before lifting it to his hair. Turning back as he rubbed, Nedrick found Brett’s attention focused on his left side.
Nedrick glanced down and figured it was the scar on his left upper thigh, just where it met his hip, that had caught Brett’s attention. “Gunshot wound,” he supplied.
Brett snapped his attention to Nedrick’s face, his eyes wide in obvious shock. “Shit, really?”
Choosing his words carefully, Nedrick rested his towel over his shoulders. “Was out running with friends, and we ran into some poachers.” He closed the distance between them and took the towel from Brett. As Nedrick explained, he wrapped it around his mate’s hips, figuring he would be more comfortable like that. “They didn’t take too kindly to us, and I ended up taking a bullet before the cops and rangers arrived to catch and take custody of them.” With a shrug, Nedrick beckoned with a crooked finger before heading toward his back door. “A few weeks of healing and a few weeks of physical therapy, and I was fine.”
“There’s gotta be more to it than that,” Brett countered, shaking his head.
Nedrick chuckled. “Sure, there is.” With a wink, he opened his home’s back door. “When we get to know each other better, I’ll tell you all about it. Come on. I’ll get us some clean clothes.”
Following Nedrick inside, Brett closed the door behind him. “You’re not shy, are you?”
“Around you?” Nedrick peered over his shoulder at his mate and smirked. “Nope.”