Chapter 33
Dorian
“I’m not sure I should ask what you’ve been up to.” They were wearing nearly identical grins as I’d walked into the bedroom and it was unnerving. “Do you need to confess to some kind of problem or am I just going to expect the pack version of a call from the teacher?”
“You are the teacher.” Emeric thought that was hilarious and nearly tipped over into Braun he was laughing so hard. “I’m not gonna tell.”
Was that a threat or some kind of reward?
“You look so suspicious.” Braun shook his head and did his best to look disappointed in me. “Don’t you trust your mate?”
Why that was so funny I’d never figure out, but Emeric was nearly peeing himself he was laughing so hard.
“I’m smart enough not to answer that question.” It was dangerous. “Instead, I’m going to ask what our plans are for tonight because all you’ve said was to keep the evening open.”
It’d sounded like they’d wanted Friday night to be for some kind of family movie night or pack thing, but every time I tried to get more details they’d disappear. One time it was needing to go do the dishes and another time Emeric said he had to go tell Sylvia something.
Grandma Sylvia…which had pleased her to no end.
But it’d been complete ridiculousness.
More giggles worried me, especially when Braun had to clear his throat a few times.
“Well, Emeric has got a sleepover at my mother’s because that new movie just came out and they’re all dying to get nightmares.” He paused when Emeric’s giggles came back. “I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.”
Dying to get nightmares.
Yes.
I could see why that was funny.
“A sleepover?” I was missing something and it wasn’t the shower blow job that I’d missed out on after work. “Okay, that sounds good but what else is going along with this?”
Whatever it was, it was really funny.
It took Emeric a solid thirty seconds to stop laughing and Braun even longer to finish clearing his throat.
He was managing not to giggle but he had the sense of humor of a teenager sometimes.
His overly serious expression as he finally managed to get the frog out of his throat that had taken up residence wasn’t believable in any way. “I thought we’d go on a walk?”
A walk?
This was either the weirdest laid-out plan ever or I was going to end up walking into some kind of surprise party.
Did werewolves do that?
Was that why he’d ushered me into the shower earlier?
I’d been hoping it was a signal for fun, but Emeric needing help with history had derailed that plan.
I was going to need another shower later if I got sweaty because the fun I thought we were going to have later required cleanliness.
Were we just going to walk Emeric over and then come back?
I couldn’t get too sweaty doing that, right?
“That sounds fun.” Giving Braun a quick kiss and trying not to look confused or suspicious, I glanced between them. “Are you ready to go?”
No.
We had shoes to find that had somehow wandered off and a duffel bag to find so Emeric could bring over clothes and a book he might want to read later.
Not our book…that was just for the family…his words, not mine.
“Now are we ready to go?” It was still early evening but it was late enough that if we didn’t get moving it’d be late before they finished the movie.
“Ready.” Emeric was nearly bouncing with excitement, making me wonder what Sylvia had bribed him with.
“Ready.” Braun had clearly been bribed too, but I was just going to have to wait to figure out what he was up to.
“Great.” The walk over to Sylvia’s was suspiciously uneventful considering Emeric was barely containing his laughter and his excitement. I was fairly certain I was supposed to ignore it, though, so I just gave him a hug as he ran into the house.
“Have fun, Uncle Dorian.”
For whatever reason, that made Braun sigh.
They were terrible at keeping secrets…but I was fairly certain I’d appreciate that as we got older.
“He’s been good for her.” Braun kissed my head as he pulled me closer. “When Dad died, she took it hard. Wolves have long healthy lives but even magic can’t stop car accidents. Emeric’s made her lighter again.”
“He seems to do that with everyone he meets…do you think it’s an Alpha thing? Were you like that as a kid?” We’d been so focused on helping Emeric and merging our lives, some of those kinds of details had been pushed to the back of my mind. “I can see you being a handful.”
His smirk said I was right.
“No, Wolfchen, I was sweet and shy and unassuming.” He needed to work on his delivery if he wanted that to be believable. “I just came out of my shell as an adult.”
After learning about fighting and magic and all the things Alphas were supposed to know.
All the things Emeric would need to know.
No…I wasn’t going to think about that.
“I think you left your shell very far behind.” My dry delivery earned me a teasing spank that had me trying not to moan. “Not that kind of behind.”
That time his laughter had a wicked sound to it and sent a shiver through me. Unfortunately, while it was getting dark, most shifters had much better sight than humans and it just made Braun’s smile even more devilish. “My naughty mate.”
Mostly.
The bond was right there but it felt just out of reach. I wasn’t sure how I knew it but it was waiting for us.
I just didn’t know what it was waiting for.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. If naughty describes either of us, it’s not me.” I was still kind of boring even if I’d somehow become an Alpha werewolf’s mate…which had honestly not turned out like romance novels had said it would.
Making a low moan, Braun pulled me into his arms and stopped us in the dark. The trees getting thicker had made it even harder to see, but it didn’t bother me. A character in a book might’ve said it made them feel helpless. “You’re just a naughty mate who hasn’t had nearly enough adult fun lately.”
Possibly…about the adult fun part at the very least.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about with that either. We spend a lot of time together and you even scaled back how many hours you worked this week.” Mostly because I told him he had a few screws loose if he thought twelve-hour plus days were reasonable.
“I think we need to have a discussion about lying to your mate, Wolfchen.” The way his voice dropped low sent another shiver through me, but even without super-human vision, he’d have felt every jolt of pleasure racing through me.
As one hand slowly caressed down my back, the other held me tight. Just the wonderful trapped feeling he was giving me would’ve made me hard, but him leaning down to nibble on my ear had me moaning. “What happens to a naughty sub who doesn’t tell the truth?”
Oh.
Really?
Here?
“I didn’t lie.” Not technically. “You’ve been very good to me even though this has been a big adjustment for you.”
I’d kind of moved in and taken over his life…it’d have been an adjustment to anyone.
“But what kind of fun have you been missing, Wolfchen?” Something about the way his voice went deeper had my heart racing, but his hand finally palming my ass had it skipping a beat. “Tell me the truth and your punishment won’t be as severe. I’ll even let you come after it, naughty boy.”
Come?
“I…”
What was the smart way to answer?
No.
What was the best question to ask?
No.
He wouldn’t let me get away with that without the answer being crazy.
What would the human in a romance novel do?
Something stupid.
Try again.
“If…if you wanted to take care of me even more than you have been already, we could do more adult things together.” We’d tried. Life had just kept interfering, but based on the parenting forums I’d found online, that was par for the course.
“Like what, Wolfchen?” Making a low, curious hum, he traced around my ear with his tongue. “Give me an example.”
Ugh.
“Like…like you could…” This had come much easier to the characters in my books. Real life was much harder and I didn’t appreciate it at all. “You could…”
His hand came down on my ass sending sparks and relief through me.
Just that one smack dialed my ability to think down and the world went almost fuzzy. “That…you could do that, Sir.”
Yes.
That would’ve been good.
“And?” Sounding almost hungry as he made a curious sound, he spanked my other cheek so I matched. “What else?”
“You could…you could’ve let me suck your cock again…like…like we did in the shower the other day.” The almost face-fucking scene had been amazing. He’d even remembered to put down a towel for me so it wouldn’t hurt my knees. “We could’ve done that a lot.”
Every morning if we got up early enough.
But that would’ve meant getting to bed earlier and that wasn’t easy.
Okay, so maybe every night?
“You’re a good cocksucker. We’ll have to do that more, Wolfchen.” The mixed praise of dirty and sweet scrambled more of my brains and I had to work at keeping my legs steady. “You look so sweet but you’ve got a slutty side I haven’t let come out and play often enough this week.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that.
“You haven’t…you haven’t gotten to play enough either.” His default state was to overwork himself to death, but I couldn’t complain about feeling unimportant. There just weren’t enough hours in the day for everything and it was going to take us a while to learn to balance.
“Then we’re going to have to fix that before I punish you.” The tender kiss he brushed over my cheek made it harder to sort through what he’d said.
Punish?
Hadn’t I gotten out of that?
Before I could figure out how to ask that, he reached in his pocket and pulled out…a locket?
Huh?
Had I missed some kind of mating thing?
“I had to be polite to the biggest asshole I know to get this for you, Wolfchen, but it was worth it.” Eyes sparkling with mischief, he looked serious but like he was up to something wicked. “Let’s see how it looks.”
There was a bit of a pulse as he slipped the thin gold chain over my head, but it wasn’t until he pressed on the locket that the brightness of the world turned up a notch.
“Wow.” Looking around, I marveled as the trees came into focus and I could see everything that the darkness had hidden from me. “Is this how you see at night?”
“From what the mage told me, yes, it should be as close to our vision as a human can get.” A pleased-with-himself grin flashed over his face before the seriously wicked one came back. “It also contains a spell that will keep you from falling and make you more coordinated.”
That.
Wait.
He.
Was this about what I thought it was about?
“Good vision…good vision and coordination would make running through the park safer…especially in the dark.” Swallowing hard, I tried to sound casual but his obvious desire was making it hard. “It could be dangerous to run when there’s no one around, but this would make it much safer.”
Was anyone around?
The park was closed to the public after dark but the wolves were an outdoorsy people for a variety of reasons.
“No, no one is out tonight and it could be dangerous to run if you’re not careful.” Squeezing one ass cheek, he barely brushed his lips against mine sending more mixed signals through me. “You’re going to be careful, aren’t you?”
While I run?
From him?
“Yes, Sir.” I could be careful. “But…but you said I needed to be punished?”
I wasn’t sure what I was trying to ask because the hot and cold that was flashing through me made it hard to process and the otherworldly way of seeing the forest wasn’t helping to ground me. “I…I think…”
Shaking his head, Braun gave me another faint kiss. “No more thinking for you.”
That was probably a good idea.
“But to show you how nice I am, if you’re good little prey, I’ll reward you after your punishment.” That seemed mixed up because he’d already promised to let me come, but every time I tried to figure out the catch my brain let it go and could only hold on to one thing.
I was his prey…and it was time to run.