Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Evan had been scrolling on his phone with the TV on in the background. Too awake to sleep and too bone tired to go out and do something because that meant talking to people. And after a long day at the hospital, he wanted to anesthetize everyone for a bit of quiet. Except now he was home, it was too quiet.
He’d showered and dressed to hookup and now his body wanted more than sitting. He started scrolling with purpose and a need to do something. He refused to give in to the demands of the wolf that wanted to run. It was a shitty night to be out—too dark, too cold, and too wet. His father would tell him to get out there and stop being soft.
Maybe he was soft, but he wasn’t a fucking real wolf, so he didn’t care. Most of the time, he didn’t want to be a wolf at all. It was a pain in the ass, and not only when he grew a tail. Which he also hated. He didn’t like having four feet, either. They weren’t his feet.
His feet weren’t clawed and furry.
Shifting was an inconvenience and another secret he needed to keep. Keep the humans from finding out he was a part-time wolf. Keep the wolves from finding out he was full-time gay.
His dick hardened as he replied to the man offering to bite and fuck him, hoping that getting laid would be enough to tip him over the edge into crashing out.
He gave the man his address, then pulled himself off the sofa and tugged off his hoody. For a heartbeat, he considered taking off his pants as well, but that was a little too desperate.
Not only that, but if the man didn’t show, Evan didn’t want to be standing around in his jockstrap.
If he didn’t show, that would mean starting the process all over again, which was rather too much effort. No, if the guy didn’t show, he could entertain himself. Which seemed like rather a lot of effort and wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying. He wanted to feel teeth in his skin and fingers gripping his hips.
The intercom buzzed.
“Come up, doors open,” Evan said.
A frisson of excitement raced through him, and any doubts he’d been harboring melted away. A part of him wanted to wait by the door and let the man in. Another part of him wondered if he should shed his pants and be waiting with his ass in the air. They hadn’t discussed any of that, though. Those who were interested in a quick and very anonymous fuck generally said something. And while sometimes that scratched the itch, it wasn’t what he wanted today.
He wasn’t sure what he wanted.
To shift.
It had only been four weeks. Not that long for him.
He tilted his head, listening as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Footsteps made their way closer, and his heartbeat quickened in anticipation. He backed away from the door and dropped onto the sofa, wanting to appear chill even though he was hard and wanting the bite that had been promised. He liked it bitey and rough, which was probably something to do with being a shifter.
The man knocked twice.
“Come in.” He drew in a breath and froze, sure he smelled wolf at his door.
Fuck, was this going to be a problem?
His heartbeat quickened for the wrong reason. He didn’t live near his family pack’s territory. He didn’t need to say which pack he ran with. The wolf was there for sex. Nothing more.
But the fear that whispers would reach his father’s ear had him looking over his shoulder if he went to a gay bar. He’d spent too long in denial, but he was still careful about who he told and what he did.
The door opened, and Evan sensed the man’s hesitation. No doubt as he also smelled wolf.
It wasn’t only wolf. The scent was almost familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Any pretense of relaxation vanished as he sat forward.
A man with dark auburn hair stepped into the apartment. “Hey,” he said with a nod, his gaze never leaving Evan. A frown formed, then deepened. “You.”
Evan was still processing what he was seeing and smelling. The man’s face he didn’t recognize, but his scent made the hair on his arm stand on end.
He needed a moment that he wasn’t going to get.
“What the fuck?” The man stepped in and shut the door, watching Evan as though he expected him to attack. “You don’t know who the fuck I am, do you?”
Annoyance and desire roiled off the man, and Evan realized who he was because he had smelt that combination so many times. “George?”
His younger brother’s ex-best friend.
The one who’d barely hidden his panting once Evan started shifting. It had been embarrassing and dangerous, and he hadn’t wanted anyone to notice he enjoyed the way George looked at him. So he’d ignored him and eventually done worse.
“Yeah.” The heat of his gaze raked over Evan’s skin as if he were unable to hide his hunger.
Some things hadn’t changed…and Evan still liked that look. That smell. He wanted to feel George’s teeth.
After so many years.
Evan stood, aware of the way his black track pants rode low on his hips and hid nothing. George was in a similar situation. His dark gray track pants hugged the length of his erection.
George’s lip curled, baring his teeth as if he was here to fight, not fuck.
Evan growled. Lust and aggression warred within him. “I should’ve known it wasn’t a human turning up when you offered to bite.”
He didn’t know if he wanted to toss George out or drag him close.
“You’re the reason Ryan stopped talking to me.”
“I was protecting him.” I was protecting myself.
“Is that right?” George said as though he saw through the lie. “How is your pack? Do they know you like to put your ass in the air like a bitch in heat?”
The snarl should not be turning him on, yet George’s harsh words gripped Evan’s balls.
“I didn’t invite you round to talk about my pack.” He hadn’t run with them in years and avoided his family most of the time, too. But he wanted to ask why he hadn’t crossed paths with George over the last five years.
“You still expect me to fuck you after what you did?” He stalked closer.
Evan could admit to being a complete prick or claim that he was following pack orders. He’d been told to sort Ryan out and make sure he wasn’t hanging out with unsuitable wolves, meaning those from George’s much more liberal pack, and the leader didn’t want young wolves getting ideas. He’d been twenty-one, old enough to know better, old enough to understand what he was doing and that it was wrong.
He’d moved out to live in a shared house with other university students soon after, unable to fall into line…and it was only then he’d realized the size of the lie he’d been living. Honestly, destroying Ryan and George’s friendship had been the moment where he’d seen his future and hated it. And himself. It had pulled the blindfold off and revealed more than he wanted to see. For that reason alone, he couldn’t completely regret what he’d done.
No, he was grateful.
“That’s the only reason you’re here. I don’t give a fuck about the rest. But if it bothers you, please fuck off.” Evan waved at the door.
“You can’t order me around.” George took another step closer.
Evan took two. Shoving distance. Scratching distance. “Have you fucked anyone since your last shift?”
“No.” George’s hazel eyes gleamed in the light. His wolf was close to the surface and dragged Evan’s up as well.
“Then either fuck off or take your pants off.” His fingers curled as he resisted the urge to grab George’s shirt. His dick throbbed.
George lifted his chin, nostrils flaring.
Evan took another step forward. Kissing distance…or getting his throat ripped out distance. A fight or a fuck, he didn’t care. His blood was hot, and he needed to feel George’s hands on him. “You’ve wanted me for years. This is your only chance.”
He was not fucking around and finding someone else. He wanted teeth and claws.
George’s hand snapped out, and his fingers wrapped around the back of Evan’s neck. He dragged him closer and kissed him. Rough and hard. His teeth raked over Evan’s lip.
“I hate how much I wanted you.”
“And I hate that I like it.” He’d been too scared to acknowledge what that meant back then.
George lifted one eyebrow. “You noticed.”
“It was hard not to.” Evan palmed the length of George’s cock. He’d feared himself, his parents, and his pack. Which was no way to live. And now the man who’d made him wake up was here. There were so many reasons this was a bad idea.
And no good reasons, beyond the need to have him that was raw and hot, like acid in his veins. He couldn’t think of anything but getting George naked. He needed to feel his teeth, his nails, and his cock leaving their mark on his body.
He was glad it wasn’t a human at his door. That would’ve been dull.
“Do you want to fuck me or talk about the past?”
“Get your pants off and find out.” George pulled his sweatshirt off and dropped it on the floor.
In the years since Evan had last seen him, George had put on a lot of muscle. While wolf shifters were naturally lean and muscled, he had taken the time and effort to add some bulk. If it came to a fight in human form, Evan’s two extra inches in height would mean nothing. George would win. He’d pin Evan down the way he’d imagined too many times.
And now it was a possibility.
Evan hooked his thumbs into his track pants and shoved them down. He stepped back as he stepped out of them.
George’s gaze dropped to Evan’s jockstrap. It was made of the thinnest material and left nothing to the imagination. “Nice.”
He allowed himself a smug smile. He thought so too. He took another step back.
He had been planning on keeping the encounter in the living room, but now he wanted George to stalk him up the corridor to the bedroom.
“You should take it off.”
Evan considered him for a heartbeat. He bared his teeth in a way that, if he’d been a wolf, would’ve been a challenge. A human man would miss the signal, but another wolf shifter wouldn’t. “Make me.”
George lifted an eyebrow. “You want to play rough?”
“You said you wanted to leave a mark.” What was the point of hooking up with another shifter if they behaved politely human?
That was fine sometimes. But not tonight.
The wildness and lust in George’s eyes, coupled with the edge of anger—well-deserved anger—was a knife he wanted to play with.
George cupped Evan’s jaw, his nails pressed hard enough that they would leave an impression, though it would be gone by morning. He kissed him again, hard and demanding. His free hand gripped Evan’s cock and squeezed.
“And I intend to.” He nipped Evan’s lip. “The only question is where?”