by Marcy Jacks
“I asked him if he knew your pack. He said he did, and I sent him off to go and get them. Don’t know how fast he can run, but if they’re getting around on their own vehicles, and we take the four-wheelers outside, we can meet up about halfway with your pack, and then you’ll be safe.”
“I’m sure they were looking for me,” Cole said. “I wasn’t gone that long. Maybe the wolf will run into them sooner, and we’ll meet up with them today.”
Everett didn’t think that was too likely, but he wanted to keep Cole in a good mood. He’d been through more than enough. “Yeah, maybe.”
Cole looked down at himself. He lifted his hands and flexed his fingers, and Everett looked down just as he wiggled his toes. Then he sighed. “They didn’t cut anything off.”
Everett winced. Cole had seen all the slice marks and bruises on himself, the spots that he couldn’t cover with bandages because there hadn’t been enough, but he still took his condition to be a good sign, as though it was the best he could hope for.
The sick thing was, that it was true. The hunters had pumped him full of drugs, cut him up, and stuck things under his fingernails, but he was still grateful they hadn’t done more.
More than ever, Everett was ashamed he’d ever been affiliated with such people.
“Hey, come here.”
Everett hadn’t realized that Cole was reaching for him until his hands touched his face. Everett jumped a little at the contact but then relaxed as Cole brought his face down and kissed him softly.
Everett gripped his shoulders tightly. Cole’s skin was warm and his body was already starting to recover. He couldn’t have asked for more.
“Don’t think about it,” Cole said when he pulled away. “It’s not your fault.”
Everett put his fingers in that auburn hair of his. It was soft, just like always. “It kind of is,” he said. “You sure you want to do this?”
Cole frowned at him. It was part annoyance and part confusion. “If you think for one second that I blame you for those men cutting me, you’re out of your mind. You were trying to keep me away from them. I know that. I love you, nothing that happened was your fault, and I’m not leaving you because we had a close call.”
Everett’s throat closed right up. He’d worried that Cole wouldn’t realize what he’d been doing earlier when he offered to go back with the hunters, but he did know. Despite everything, the man still trusted him. It was scary for him to realize how much that meant to him.
Everett kissed him again, harder this time, and when Cole gripped his hair tight enough that it hurt, he half climbed on top of him.
His cock had steadily been swelling as he and Cole talked and kissed. Their close call hadn’t just been scary, but it brought out all sorts of protective instincts in Everett that made him want to lay a claim to the man beneath him.
He didn’t want to take it very far, though. Cole had just been tortured, and his body was healing. It was bad enough that Everett had failed to protect him, but now he was on top of him, putting his tongue into Cole’s hot, delicious mouth and loving the way Cole returned every embrace.
He groaned when Cole reached down and palmed the swell of his dick, and then he pulled away. His voice was hoarse again, but in the good way this time. “Fuck, we can’t do this. You just woke up.”
Cole looked at him like he might’ve lost his mind, and then his pupils got to be very small. “I am not made of glass, and I want to fuck you as much as you do. If anything, it’ll be therapeutic.”
Therapeutic? Well, so long as he was okay, Everett was more than willing. “Are you sure?”
“Get your pants off right now,” Cole demanded.
Everett got off him, keeping careful of the still-unbandaged injuries, and did just that. He was going to need a bath again, and they were going to have to do it together, too.
Cole actually moaned when Everett’s cock came into view. “You are so fucking beautiful.” He reached out and grabbed Everett by the base of his dick and stroked him hard.
Everett groaned. “Fuck, you really do heal quickly.”
Cole grinned wolfishly at him, which kind of made sense considering he did have a wolf inside of him, sort of.
Then he winced. “Still kind of stings in spots. We can still do this, if you don’t mind being in a different position.”
Everett understood exactly what Cole was getting at.
There was some unscented sun lotion in one of the packs in the tent. Working in the sun all the time meant the stuff was practically an essential item to have while out on a hunt. There was also the spare blanket that he hadn’t put over Cole’s body because he didn’t want the rough fibers picking or pulling at the many open lines on Cole’s skin.
He folded the blanket eight times over until it was a thick lump, and he gave it to Cole to use as an extra pillow so he could lean up.
“There isn’t anything wrong with my back, you know,” he said, still sticking the extra pillow under his head.
“Yeah, but I don’t think you should be moving around too much right now anyway.”
Cole shrugged, but his eyes stayed glued to him as Everett climbed on top of him.
Everett put his leg over Cole’s hip and settled down. He squirted a little of the sunscreen in his hands and rubbed them together to warm them, and then he took Cole’s stiff cock in his hands and proceeded to massage him.
Cole’s hands went up to cover his mouth as his eyes went wide. Everett was rubbing the lotion into his cock like he was actually trying to keep it from getting a sunburn or something and not using it for lube.
He kept his eyes firmly on the man beneath him. Cole’s chest was marred with lines that may or may not turn into scars, he wasn’t sure about that, but it rose and fell in rapid succession as Everett put every ounce of effort into making this the best damn hand job Cole had ever gotten in his life.
The throaty gasps that came from his mouth were pleasurable, and Everett wanted to erase all the pain Cole had felt from his body.
And the sight and sounds of his lover were starting to take their own effect on Everett’s cock as it stood at attention between his legs, his balls sitting nicely on Cole’s thigh.
“Fuck! Everett,” Cole gasped, then reached above him and gripped the thin metal frame of the cot.
He was ready for more, and Everett could no longer wait. He lifted himself up onto his knees and then positioned the head of Cole’s cock at his pucker.
Like a switch being turned off, Cole’s eyes went wide as he looked at him. “You haven’t—”
“I can handle it,” he said and then sank down, allowing Cole’s heavy cock to fill him up and touch everything inside of him.
He had to squeeze his eyes shut against both the burning pain and the pleasure. It had been so long since he’d been on the receiving end of this. The last time had been with Cole, actually. That was one thing he hadn’t shared with Luke. He was glad to be able to do this with Cole, but now he needed a minute to get his bearings.
Worth it. It was so worth it.
Cole gripped him by the hips so tightly his fingers were definitely going to leave bruises. “Ride me, Rhett. Ride me.”
How could he say no to that sort of desperate begging?
Everett sucked up the pain he felt and just started to move, focusing only on what he liked until the pain left him entirely, and he was left with just the burn and the pleasure as Cole’s cock touched his prostate.
“I missed this so fucking much,” Everett said, falling down onto his hands and humping against Cole in a wild rhythm. Cole took advantage of how close his lips were and pressed long, glorious, openmouthed kisses on him as Everett shifted his hips up and down.
This wasn’t going to be slow lovemaking. This was fast and passionate and desperate. Cole must’ve had a thing with hair pulling that Everett had never really noticed before because his fingers were in Everett’s hair again, pulling him closer as they moaned and groaned into each other’s mouths.
&nb
sp; The cot creaked and squeezed as it shifted wildly beneath them. It kind of reminded him of the lyrics from the song “Laid.”
He felt the end coming onto him soon. That pleasant tingle started in his balls, and they grew tight and heavy, and he picked up the pace, slamming himself back and forth against Cole’s perfect prick.
“I love you,” Everett said, and then he groaned before he reached down and grabbed his dick. His hands were still a little soft from the sun lotion, and his entire body jerked when he stroked himself. “Fuck!”
He came hard, spilling himself over Cole’s stomach and nearly reaching his chest.
“Don’t stop, don’t stop,” Cole panted.
They reached for each other and kissed again. Now that Everett only had Cole’s orgasm to see to, his punched his body up and down on Cole’s dick. Cole squeezed his eyes shut and moaned against Everett’s mouth, so he clearly wasn’t in any sort of pain from his injuries.
“Come in me. I want to feel it,” Everett said, pressing his lips back onto Cole’s mouth, jaw, and neck.
Cole pushed back against him as much as he was able to, and a sharp shout escaped his throat right as Everett felt that familiar swelling inside him before the warmth spurted into his body.
He didn’t slow down. He went fast, milking Cole’s cock for as long as he could before it was over and Cole’s body was released from the tight coil it had become.
Everett couldn’t help himself. He lay on top of the man for a little while, enjoying his body heat and just the feel of him. He wanted to go to sleep, but that was out of the question. He lifted himself up and was about to get off the cot when Cole gripped him by the arms. “Can you stay here?”
Everett wanted nothing better than to get back into bed with him, but as much as he wanted to, he didn’t think spooning against his lover was the best idea. He could already see that the cuts that had been on Cole’s hips and legs, some of them anyway, had started to gently bleed again from where Everett had been sitting and rubbing against him. That little pool of semen on his stomach wouldn’t be good if it got into any of the wounds either. He assumed.
Cole looked so hopeful that it was difficult for him to say now. He leaned down and pressed his mouth to those pink lips instead in a chaste kiss. “Give me a second to go and check things outside and I’ll be back.
Cole smiled, and Everett was able to leave the tent.
He could clean the wounds and maybe sneak a nap in with the man. He didn’t look like he was in pain, so the bleeding couldn’t be that severe, and most of his upper body was bandaged anyway. So long as he was gentle, Cole should be fine.
Everett only wanted to check on the one prisoner they still had to worry about outside of the tent.
Though Adam was incredibly injured, Everett had tied him down to the cot, just in case he did wake up or something and tried to sneak up on them. As unlikely as that was, Everett didn’t want to play with any odds right now.
Adam was right where Everett and Phillip had left him. The only difference was that now he was dead. He certainly looked dead, at any rate. Everett reached his hand down and put his fingers against the cold, white neck.
Nothing. He was dead all right.
Everett shook his head. He wondered if Adam would’ve picked becoming a werewolf if he’d known that letting Dan chop off his entire arm miles away from any people, or even a hospital, would kill him.
Better yet, how could he have not known it would kill him?
His eyes were already shut, so it wasn’t like Everett needed to do it for him, but even though the guy was his enemy, it felt weird to have the body exposed like this. Adam hadn’t known any better, just like Everett hadn’t. This could easily be him lying here instead of Adam, but he’d been lucky enough to find Cole again and really learn the truth for himself.
Everett adjusted Adam’s arm so it was lying peacefully on his chest and then pulled the blanket up over his face. The scent of death was already in the air. Maybe that was what was keeping the bears and other real wolves away from the scent of blood. Would they go after something if that other smell was in the air? He was going to have to ask to find out.
Everett was just about to get back into the tent and proceed with his nap with his lover before one other thing caught his eye.
The place where Luke’s body had been, Everett hadn’t even gone near it because he hadn’t wanted to see Luke’s mangled form, and because the man had also actively tortured Cole, he also didn’t want to give him any of the respect he’d given to Adam in death.
The spot where the body should’ve been was empty.
Chapter Eleven
Everett rushed back into the tent where Cole was. It seemed he had fallen asleep while Everett was outside, and though he knew the man needed to regain his energy, he had to get him up and moving.
So much for rest.
“Cole, baby, wake up.”
Cole jerked awake, some of that mild panic back in his eyes before he noticed it was Everett standing above him. “What is it?”
Everett was already moving away from the cot and gathering up his clothes. There might be some extra pants and a T-shirt belonging to the hunters that Cole could wear, and then there were the few supplies that were left over. At least there were still lots of guns and ammo. All of them would need to be taken.
“Luke is gone. We need to get out of here.”
Cole managed to sit up a little with a wince. With nothing else available to him, he wiped his stomach off with one of the spare sheets. “Do you think he’s a werewolf?”
Everett looked at the other man. Cole was a new werewolf, but he still knew more about this than Everett did. “If he was infected, would he have been able to survive that kind of attack? You didn’t see it, but that other wolf wasn’t exactly showing him any mercy.”
Cole managed to kick his legs over the side of the cot. “From what I understand, it happens. My alpha, James, he infected his mate when the guy got shot in the chest, and that allowed him to survive.”
“Perfect,” Everett muttered, because now it meant that they might have a wild werewolf out there stalking them. “I don’t like the idea of putting you on one of those four-wheelers right now, but—”
“I can handle it,” Cole said, and he stood up.
Everett had to look at him and realize that he really did look like he would be all right. His skin was hardly pale and covered with sweat like it had been when Everett first brought him into the tent, and he had a nice flushed color to him.
That could’ve been because of the sex, but it was still there. Werewolf healing was an amazing thing, but Everett was human, and he still had all the small wounds and cuts he’d accumulated over the last couple of hours.
“Okay, we should go then.”
“Maybe I should just get into my wolf form. I’ve never been very good at driving,” Cole said.
A long howl pierced the air outside from some unknown distance, and they both froze and looked at each other.
Everett was the one to snap out of it first. He grabbed a spare pair of pants and shirt from one of the luggage bags and tossed it at Cole to catch.
“We’re traveling too far, you’re going to need to keep your energy, and there’s a killer wolf out there. You can ride with me.”
Cole must’ve agreed with him because he quickly shoved his legs into the pants and followed him outside. The keys were still in the four-wheelers, and Everett checked the gas on both ones that were available to drive, and then he and Cole got onto the one that had the most fuel in it.
Another howl sounded. Everett looked behind him. Cole was staring into the trees.
“Cole! Get over here!”
Cole turned around and ran to him. He jumped onto the spot right behind Everett just as he let go of the lever and the wheels kicked up dirt.
“Jesus Christ!” Cole yelled.
Everett risked looking into the little side mirror and saw what Cole was cursing at. A huge white wolf had broken thr
ough the trees, and it was larger than even Cole was.
It was shaking dust out of its face that the four-wheeler had kicked up, which was probably the only reason why they hadn’t been jumped on and torn to shreds.
Cole was right to curse. They were getting out of here just in time.
The wolf didn’t just let them go. It started chasing them after that. This wasn’t going to be an easy escape. With the both of them so far away from the help of Cole’s pack, they might not even escape at all. The wolf was actually managing to keep up with the four-wheeler. There were no signs of slowing down because it was tired. That creature was loaded with adrenaline, and it wanted to kill the both of them.
Everett was torn between making the vehicle go as fast as it possibly could or going just a notch beneath that speed so he could avoid the coming trees and giant boulders and large shrubs, anything that would make them crash, really.
Cole’s hands were roaming around his stomach before moving lower to his crotch, and it took Everett a second to realize what the man was doing after Cole’s hands went lower than that and found the bag of guns.
That was why he loved the man behind him. He knew what to do in case of an emergency.
Cole unzipped the bag and pulled out a Glock, which was easier said than done considering the speed they were moving at, as well as the incredibly bumpy terrain.
“Is it loaded?” Cole shouted into his ear.
Everett certainly hoped it still was. He hadn’t actually had the time to check all the weapons before they’d packed them and ran for it.
He made his best guess instead. “Yes.”
Cole had his one arm wrapped around Everett’s shoulders for balance, and Everett felt the way he half turned to point the gun.
Looking in the mirror, Everett’s heart jumped with how close the wolf was to them.
Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. It was really fucking close in that case. Everett could see the yellow of its teeth and the rage in its eyes. “Shoot it!”
Cole pulled the trigger. The wolf stumbled back and released a whine of pain, but it shook itself off and kept right on going.