Chapter Seven
Tanner wiped his mouth with a napkin, then pushed his dish with the half-eaten contents aside. He’d save it for later. Right now, he needed a different type of hunger sated.
Ronen’s eyes darted to the plate. “That’s all you’re going to have?”
Tanner grabbed his cup of juice and took a swallow. “No. I had this too.”
Ronen sighed. “I’m worried about you. You need to build your strength back up.”
Ronen had insisted on Tanner staying propped up against the pillows while they ate, with Ronen perched on the edge of the bed next to him. Tanner poked a leg out from under the blankets and teased Ronen’s butt with his toes.
“What are you doing?” Ronen’s brow creased.
“Trying to get your attention.” Tanner chuckled. “You’re finished with your food, right?”
Ronen’s jaw went slack. “I wasn’t all that hungry, but I didn’t want you to eat alone.”
“That was really nice of you.” Tanner sat all the way up and leaned toward Ronen. “Especially since there are other things I don’t want to do alone, either.” He ran a finger up Ronen’s arm. “Do you think you could help me with those?”
Tanner had no idea what was driving him to be so blatant, but he didn’t care. Needs had to be met. Action needed to be taken. Results achieved.
Ronen cupped Tanner’s cheek with a large, calloused hand. The rough sensation of Ronen’s skin against his own sent a jolt of desire to his core. He was already about to burst as it was. As much as he wished that their first time could be slow and sensuous, he was more in the mood for quick and raw.
“I’ll take care of you, sweetheart.” Ronen brushed his thumb over the stubble on Tanner’s chin.
Tanner pressed his chest against Ronen’s muscular arm.
Fuck, but the man was built. He’d never been with a guy like him before, someone so solid and strong.
Someone who towered over him. He was looking forward to being railed by a man who could control him, take him hard, and use his body however he wished.
Sweat formed at Tanner’s hairline, his body flushing with a heat he’d never experienced before.
“I’m not sure why, but I’ve never wanted to be fucked so bad.
Sorry if I’m being pushy.” He wiggled the rest of the way out from under the covers onto Ronen’s lap.
“Actually, not sorry.” Tanner groaned. “Touch me. Kiss me.” He ground his ass on Ronen’s straining cock. “Fill me.”
A growl from deep within Ronen sounded. He wrapped his palm around Tanner’s nape, then flipped him onto his back.
Without another word, he ravaged Tanner’s mouth, his tongue delving deeper as he smashed their lips together.
The sting of the brutal kiss was almost too much.
Somehow, the pain made it better, spiked his need even higher.
Tanner gripped Ronen’s shoulders, his fingers digging into the rock-hard muscle as Ronen’s mouth moved from his lips to his neck, teeth scraping against his pulse point. The sensation sent shivers darting through him, his body arching upward, desperate for more contact.
“Ronen,” he gasped, his voice barely recognizable to his own ears. “More…”
Ronen pulled back just enough to gaze into Tanner’s eyes, those steel gray irises now dark with desire. “You’re in heat, so you’re not thinking straight. And you just recovered from—”
“Less talking, more fucking,” He tugged at the hem of Ronen’s shirt. “Take me, now.”
Ronen yanked his shirt over his head, revealing a torso covered in scars and ancient runic markings that seemed to shift and pulse in the dim light. Tanner’s breath caught at the sight—the three parallel scars that crossed Ronen’s left side, the powerful muscles that flexed as Ronen moved.
Tanner traced his fingers over one of the raised blemishes, the texture rough beneath his fingertips. The heat in his body intensified, his cock straining painfully against the thin fabric of the hospital gown. Every nerve ending seemed as if it were on fire, screaming for Ronen’s touch.
“These scars,” Tanner whispered, his voice hoarse. “They tell your story.”
Ronen captured Tanner’s wandering hand, pressing a kiss to his palm. “Later. Right now, you need—”
“I need you inside me,” Tanner growled, tugging at Ronen’s belt. His fingers fumbled with the buckle, frustration mounting as his body burned with need. “Please, Ronen. Help me get rid of this thing.”
Ronen’s eyes darkened further, the pupils dilating until only a thin ring of gray remained. “My pleasure.” His voice dropped to a register that sent a zing to the end of Tanner’s dick.
Ronen stripped off the rest of his clothes, his massive body now fully exposed.
Tanner’s mouth went dry as his gaze traveled down Ronen’s body, lingering on the impressive cock straining between his thighs.
Thick and veiny, the flushed tip was decorated with a drop of precum at the slit, and ready to spread him wide open.
“Fuck,” Tanner whispered. “You’re... huge.”
Ronen’s lips curved into a predatory smile as he lowered himself onto the bed, one hand splaying across Tanner’s chest. The solid touch only added to his agony, his heat searing through him.
“I’ll go slow,” Ronen promised. “I promise. I need to get you ready to receive my cock.”
Tanner nodded, his breathing ragged. His body felt as if it was burning from the inside out, desperate for the release only Ronen could provide. The need to be impaled by Ronen, to be stuffed with his monstrous cock was unlike any sensation he’d ever felt.
Tanner let his legs fall open in invitation, squirming as liquid formed between his ass cheeks. He gasped, panic building in his chest at the foreign sensation. Before he had the chance to say anything, Ronen reached between Tanner’s thighs.
“Mmm… Perfect.” He smiled. “Your hole is nice and slick, begging to be breached.”
Tanner clenched. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s all right, baby.” Ronen leaned down and pressed a kiss to Tanner’s forehead. “You’re at the height of your heat, so your body is producing its own lubrication. It’s inviting me to breed you.”
“Oh.” Tanner wasn’t sure how to respond. He added it to the ‘you can’t be serious’ list of weirdness he was learning about his new life with a gargoyle. “So that’s a good thing?”
Ronen grinned. “It’s a wonderful thing.”
“Okay.” I’ll roll with it. Being rammed by Ronen’s monster cock was much more important at the moment. He allowed his legs to fall open again, rolling his hips to reiterate the silent invitation.
Ronen’s eyes darkened. “Your intoxicating scent, it calls to me.” His voice was a low rumble as he traced a finger around Tanner’s rim. Ronen brought his finger to his mouth, sucking it clean, his eyes closing. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Your taste, even better.”
Tanner’s breath caught in his throat. The foreign sensations tearing through his body were overwhelming, but not unwelcome. The slickness between his cheeks was strange, yet somehow right, as if his body was preparing itself in ways he couldn’t understand.
“Please,” Tanner gasped, his hips bucking upward as Ronen teased his entrance with the rough pad of his finger. “I need you.”
Ronen positioned himself between Tanner’s legs, the steeled length of his cock brushing against Tanner’s inner thigh. The contact sent sparks shooting through Tanner’s body, and his muscles tightened in anticipation.
“I’ll be gentle,” Ronen promised, his voice strained.
“Don’t,” Tanner begged, reaching down to guide Ronen’s cock to his entrance. “I need to feel you. All of you.”
Ronen’s eyes flashed with something primal as he pressed forward, the blunt head of his cock stretching Tanner’s entrance as he spread his hole open. The burning stretch bordered on pain but quickly transformed into something exquisite.
“Fuck.” Tanner dug his nails into Ronen’s shoulders as he was filled inch by glorious inch, his body accommodating Ronen’s girth in ways that seemed impossible. “Don’t stop,” he groaned. “I need all of you.”
Ronen leaned down, capturing Tanner’s lips in a searing kiss as he thrust forward, burying himself to the hilt. A sound escaped Tanner’s throat, a desperate moan. Never had he been so imprisoned by such desperation, an ache in his core that only Ronen could satisfy.
When Ronen pulled back, Tanner was startled by the raw, almost monstrous gleam radiating from his eyes. He wasn’t frightened. Somewhere in the depths of his soul, he understood he was safe in Ronen’s arms.
“Move,” Tanner demanded, his voice stronger now. “Fuck me, Ronen.”
The command seemed to shatter whatever restraint Ronen had left. His guttural roar filled the room as he thrust, each powerful surge burying himself deeper into Tanner’s willing body. Tanner lifted his knees higher, pulling them back as far as he could.
The strain was almost too much to bear. Ronen slammed into him with such force that Tanner could barely catch his breath. It was as if his body had been created for Ronen, to be used by his mate however he wished.
Something shifted between them—a connection that went beyond physical.
A pressure built in Tanner’s chest, bringing him to the brink of tears, even as it seemed to set him free.
His vision blurred at the edges, his balls tightening.
With one final brutal thrust, Ronen buried himself into Tanner and froze.
Tanner gasped, certain he’d been split open.
Ronen’s cock pulsed inside him, the faint sensation tumbling him over the edge.
With a strangled cry, he came, his own cum splashing across his belly, the orgasm almost violent in its intensity.
Somewhere in his addled thoughts was the startling realization that Ronen hadn't once touched his cock. Instead, he’d been fucked into an explosive release.
Tanner reached up, sliding his palms up Ronen’s sweat-slicked back, tracing the ridges of his muscles.
“Mine,” Ronen whispered, his voice rough and raw as he pressed his forehead against Tanner’s. “You’re mine now.”
Tanner smiled, his heart swelling with a rush of joy and peace. “Yours.” His eyes widened as another strange sensation assailed him. “Umm, I thought you came.”
Ronen nuzzled his neck, peppering Tanner’s skin with feather-light kisses. “Don’t be afraid. It’s my knot. We’ll need to remain joined for a while.”
The fullness inside Tanner increased, becoming somewhat uncomfortable now that he wasn’t in the throes of mad lust. He fought the urge to hold his breath and tried to relax.
“Are gargoyles part wolf?”
Not that he knew much about wildlife, but he’d heard of the mating knot. Don’t cats have spiky ones? Tanner swallowed hard. He should be grateful that at least Ronen didn’t seem to possess any feline attributes.
“No, but the knot is how we breed our mates.”
He mulled Ronen’s comment over in his head, the word breed suddenly hitting him as meaning something more traditional than sexual.
“Uh, wait. It kind of sounds like you’re saying—”
He sucked in a sharp breath as Ronen poked the tip of his tongue in Tanner’s ear. His body flushed with heat again, the aching need grabbing hold as if he hadn’t come at all.
Knots, shmotz. He was ready for round two.