22. Blaine
BLAINE
Who knew I’d find drama so adorable?
His groans and sighs were cute, but my favorite part was the way he was mumbling and whining to himself even though he didn’t realize it.
My chatterbox never stopped talking and it was wonderfully helpful.
In our current situation it was not only entertaining but it let me know he really didn’t understand why he was feeling so much anxiety.
“I don’t want to talk.” He was hiding still, but I knew he’d be pouting. “I’m going to take a nap.”
No, that wasn’t going to work.
Ignoring it, I kissed his head again and tried to get more information. I was starting to think I knew what was going on, but he was human, so I needed to double-check a few things first. “How would you feel if I said I was going to go run some errands for a while?”
The way he froze told me everything I needed to know, but he didn’t understand it yet. “What if I said I’d be back in an hour because I was going to walk up to that small store down the street to bring you back a surprise?”
Henley’s entire body tensed and his fingers dug into my shirt. “No. I…I don’t like that.”
Were we making progress?
“You like surprises. Hmm?” Pushing him even that much had him taking deliberate, deep breaths. Time to ease back a bit. “I’m not going anywhere without you. That was purely hypothetical, remember?”
Barely nodding, he was trying to look calm but doing a terrible job of faking it. “I remember.”
“I don’t think this much stress is just random.” Tightening my arms in a firm hug, I pinned him against me until he could barely move. Even taking in a deep breath couldn’t be easy, but he slowly relaxed against me until he was almost boneless.
A human couldn’t have kept up the pressure for very long, but luckily for my mate, I wasn’t human and I’d spent the last seventy years doing nothing but building strength.
And I was pretty sure chasing squirrels…but I wasn’t going to talk about that.
When his heart rate slowed and sweeter scents were coming from him, I tried again. “Be my good boy and tell me what you’re thinking.”
He whined but didn’t fight against the order. “We can’t leave. We’re safe here and happy. It’s stressful outside.”
Ah.
“That’s my good boy. Thank you.” Nuzzling against him, I marveled at how well that phrase worked. Henley kept saying not to believe everything I read online, but some of the information was invaluable. “I’m very proud of you. I know that was hard.”
His frustration-filled sigh came with less anxiety that time. “It shouldn’t be. What’s going on?”
And now he was ready.
“Well first, I’m going to remind you that hiding things from me isn’t helpful. As your Dom and mate and partner, it’s going to generally make any problem worse.” It sounded simple in theory but with his background that was going to be a work in progress.
His family hadn’t taught him good communication skills between partners…they’d taught him how to track nearly anything and how to shoot incredibly accurately based on what he’d said.
“I’ll try to remember that.” Yeah, he knew it wasn’t going to be easy. “I’m…I’m usually a lot better at masking stuff like that, though.”
Being better at hiding things from me wasn’t a skill we needed to strengthen.
“Part of you didn’t want to hide it from me.” The rest of him would learn that I wasn’t like his insane family. “I think a big part knew you needed to talk to me.”
“Next time I’ll try that.” His honest admission that we’d do this again made me fight back a smile. “Is this mating stuff? I feel much better now, almost floaty like subspace, but I was a basket of crazy before.”
“I think so.” And if keeping him bound to me like this made it better, that said I was probably right. “I honestly didn’t think it would affect you since you’re human. I’m sorry about that.”
His deep exhale had him relaxing even more. “I’m really glad this isn’t just me being nuts.”
“You wouldn’t be crazy even if it was human anxiety about something.” I should’ve realized sooner it wasn’t typical. “With a new mating, sometimes one party feels more anxiety at the idea of separating.”
I knew I wasn’t going anywhere and having his scent with me all the time would’ve made it easier for me as well.
His grumbling huff made me smile. “The sub party. Fucking hell. This is ridiculous.”
He was so cute.
“Your…nature might have made it feel stronger to you but I have no way of knowing.” And the human internet wouldn’t be helpful about that information.
The parts of the internet where my people talked openly would be more helpful on the mating human aspects, but I wasn’t sure about the submission part.
For our conversation, though, I focused on what I did know.
“It should ease up as we continue to bond, but I’m also going to stop asking you to leave the trailer.
We’ll get groceries delivered and watch movies and plan our trip until you feel better. ”
Henley’s body sent out waves of wonderful scents, but even though he had to be feeling a thousand times better, I could almost feel him processing faster. “I think I know the answer to this, but what do we do to move the bonding along faster?”
He probably did know the answer.
“I will answer that question, but do I want us to bond faster than you’re comfortable with?” So much drama in one sigh. “That’s not an answer.”
It was cute, though.
“No, but I don’t like this feeling and I’m not sure there’s a rational reason to go slow.” His grumbling tone made him sound frustrated but the way he was nuzzling against my neck was sending conflicting signals. “You smell really good.”
“Thank you, my mate.” Focus. Focus. Focus. “We were going slow to give us time to get to know one another.”
I just hadn’t thought us living together would make it so difficult for him.
“I don’t know how things are done now, but when I was younger and new matings happened, the couple would spend a few weeks getting to know each other.
They’d hang out in public and do the traditional human dating stuff.
Then they’d just end up with a very short engagement.
” Had we done that to blend in or was it the best way not to jump right into bed together?
I’d never questioned it because it’d never affected me.
“If they weren’t alone together much, it might’ve made a difference.
” Pressing kisses up my neck, Henley let out a happy sigh as I shivered.
“I’ve seen…I’ve seen a lot of stories online and mated couples talking about moving fast. Then…
then they realized they needed to get to know one another better. ”
Chuckling softly, I tilted my head so he had more to kiss. With him being human, it didn’t feel submissive at all, and I just enjoyed his touch. “I can see that, but for us, we might’ve been taking it a bit too slow considering how much we’re around each other.”
“I like being around you.” Licking around my ear, Henley moaned softly as he rocked his hips and ground his dick against mine again. “I…I wanted to give you time to think and to…to process.”
“I appreciate that and I’ve loved getting to know you in this form too, but what do you want, my sexy mate?” Thinking about what I’d have done if my mate wasn’t human, I focused on my panther and let his low rumble fill my chest.
I wasn’t the same as the pure creature who was strictly nature designed, so it was like a purr on steroids, as my mate would’ve said.
It was designed to soothe and show our connection since it was something we only did with cubs or mates, and it seemed to work with humans as well.
Henley let out a pleased, relaxed sigh and nuzzled against me before going back to kissing my ear.
However it came across to him, my mate seemed to connect with me and I could smell the gentle pleasure radiating from him. “I…I think I want to kiss you more and…and be with you…and then…and then we can take a nap. Yes. With you wrapped around me.”
That sounded perfect.
“I’m going to shift and stretch out over you, pinning you to the bed so you can’t move.” It was my turn to start nuzzling him even though I could only reach his neck at the moment. “I love holding you tight and knowing you’re mine. My shifter side wants to wrap you up and never let you go.”
His soft chuckle made me smile. “I like that idea.”
“It’s one of my favorite parts of BDSM.” I’d spent quite a lot of time over the past couple of days trying to understand as much as I could. “I can be as possessive over you as I want and it’s considered a good thing.”
“You…” Sounding like he wanted to laugh again, Henley went back to barely rocking against me as he kissed my neck again. “You were like that before too. You’d…you’d stretch out on me and you’d stay right there with me. I…I loved that part even if it was confusing.”
“Because you knew I was your mate.” Nibbling on the slim column that seemed wonderfully sensitive, I smiled as he whined and tried to buck against me. “The physical side is important, but when I was stuck, just being with you like that was enough to make my shifter side incredibly happy.”
Probably because Henley just hadn’t been in the right form for my shifted side to see him as truly sexually compatible.
Moaning, Henley nodded against me as he kissed the base of my neck. “I…I was happy too. You were right there with me and…and it felt right.”
Knowing he’d felt that bond even when he had no idea if we’d ever get me free had emotions prickling at the back of my eyes, but I pushed it back and focused on the needy man in my arms. “It was perfect, and this is just going to make it even more amazing.”
He’d feel steadier and happier to start…and because I was going to make him feel so good he’d never forget it.
Starting with kisses and skin-to-skin contact that would ease more of the stress he’d been carrying.
But he immediately started whining when I relaxed my hold. “No…tighter…”
My needy boy shook his head but calmed when I purred against him again. “That’s…cheating…I…”