by M. A. Church
Hunter hissed, and the sheet ripped. Mark stilled, giving Hunter a chance to get used to what he was feeling. He let Hunter’s cock fall from his mouth, but he didn’t ignore it.
Instead, he licked it like an ice cream cone. When Hunter stopped the death grip he had on Mark’s finger, he pushed farther inside. Hunter huffed, but he gently rocked his hips.
“I can smell your desire, unease, want… and need.” He slowly moved his finger in and out while he tongued Hunter’s cock.
When Hunter loosened up, Mark eased another finger inside and started the routine all over again. He sat back, giving Hunter’s dick a rest. Smiling, he watched his two fingers move in and out of Hunter’s hole.
“Ready for more?”
“Fuck yes.”
Mark pushed in a third finger, spread them open, and immediately sucked Hunter’s cock down. But this time he made sure to peg Hunter’s hot spot.
Hunter grabbed Mark by the hair, his back arching. “Mark! Fuck, Mark!”
Mark twisted his hand, forcing his three fingers in as far as he could, and started sucking hard on Hunter’s dick.
“Too much!” Hunter gasped. “Mark. Fuck. Do it, Mark. Claim me before I fucking come down your throat!”
Mark pulled off Hunter’s dick. Rolling to his knees, he grabbed Hunter’s legs and placed them on his shoulders. Snatching the lube up, he drenched his shaft and lined it up with Hunter’s twitching hole.
“Push out when I push in.” Mark rocked his hips, inching his way inside. Hot. Hunter was so hot inside. And tight. And holy fuck, never had anything ever felt so damn right. The guardian muscle refused to give way. Hunter shuddered when Mark pushed a bit harder. “Push out, Hunter.”
Hunter did, and suddenly Mark was sliding home. Every muscle in his body locked up as he fought not to rut mindlessly. Hunter needed time to get used to this, needed for Mark to take care of him and make this good. But fuck, Hunter squeezed him so damn tightly.
“Fuck my ass like you mean it, mate. I’m not made of glass. We heal crazy fast, so fucking claim me.”
Mark’s control snapped, the sound literally echoing in his head. He dropped down over Hunter, bracing his hands on either side of Hunter’s head. Hunter wrapped his legs around Mark’s waist.
He stared down at Hunter. Hunter’s lips drew back, showing his fangs. Shivers ran over his body at the dominant display. It was hot, animalistic. He knew then that while Hunter might be flat on his back, it was only because he wanted to be.
Mark slammed into Hunter, angling his hips so that he hit Hunter’s hot spot over and over. “Gonna fuck you so good. Gonna make you feel it.”
Chapter Twelve – Hunter
“MAKE ME feel you. I want to know you were there.” Hunter locked his arms and legs around Mark. He wasn’t going anywhere until Hunter let him, until he got what he wanted. Mark thrust hard, slamming in and out of him, and his stomach rubbed against Hunter’s dick.
Shit, Mark damn sure knew what he was doing. He rotated his hips, using short strokes for several minutes before switching over to long-dicking him. Other times he pulled completely out, only to sink back in without stopping.
Hunter moaned when a particularly hard thrust of Mark’s hit just right. Fangs flashed and yellow eyes glowed. Sweat slicked their skin, and need blossomed between them.
Hunter’s wolf was totally on board too. Whatever worry he’d had was gone—Mark’s making love to him wasn’t about dominance or even power. It was about… love. Maybe the idea of love was a bit soon to be bandying about, but there was definitely acceptance between them. Respect, also. Plus, he truly liked Mark.
This… this was sharing his body and his heart.
“Gonna come. Now? Do I bite you now?” Mark gasped. “Oh my fuck, how did you know to do that? And do it again!”
“What? This?” Hunter tightened his ass.
“Holy fuck yes. That! Hunter, I’m going to come. Come with me!” Mark lunged forward, sinking his fangs into Hunter.
Hunter came, his body confused as pain and pleasure blended. Mark moaned as he sucked, his lips pressed against Hunter’s skin. Hunter could actually hear Mark drinking his blood.
The mating bond strengthened, becoming stronger with every gulp Mark took. The pain faded. No one had told him how intense it would be having his mate’s fangs in him. Heat filled his ass as Mark came, and Hunter’s toes actually curled it felt so good. So right.
Mark whimpered as his fangs withdrew. “Hunter.”
Hunter shivered. He reached up and hooked his hand around the back of Mark’s neck. “I know. Lick the bite mark. It helps with healing.”
Mark hastily did and then collapsed on top of Hunter. “I’ve never felt anything like that. I mean, I’ve always enjoyed sex, but what we just did? Nothing compares,” Mark mumbled into Hunter’s neck. “I feel so connected to you. I don’t know your favorite color or what things you like to do, but Jesus, there’s something here. I can feel it.”
“Fate. Like I said, we’re fated, but we still have to work at it.”
“I’ve never been one to believe in love at first sight.” Mark lifted his head. “But I think I could fall in love with you. I’m already in lust.” Mark waggled his eyebrows.
“It a good start, and I feel the same connection to you. We have a long time to make this work, mate. We can do this.”
Mark bit his lip. “So…? This being your first time and all, help me out here. Was it as good for you as it was for me?”
Hunter sighed, contented. “It was beautiful. We were joined, and I swear, I felt your wolf. This is going to sound sappy, but I felt like our souls touched. I’ve never been interested in bottoming, but I like it a lot. But that’s because it was you. My mate.”
“You’ll let me make love to you again?”
“Absolutely.”
Mark gently pulled out and rolled off Hunter. He touched his mouth. “They’re gone now.”
“Your eyes are no longer yellow, either.” Hunter turned on his side. “I’m glad you were my first.”
“Me too. I will always cherish that.”
Hunter moved uncomfortably. “I, ah, I need to make a trip to the bathroom.”
“Going without condoms is fun, until it isn’t.” Mark leered at Hunter but ruined it when he yawned.
“I see that. Or rather, I feel that. I think I’ll take a shower while I’m in there too. I won’t be long.”
Mark grabbed a pillow, plumped it up, and buried his head in it.
Hunter flipped on the bathroom light and started the shower. While he waited on the water to warm, he checked his neck. He was now the proud owner of a mating mark.
He cleaned up and returned to the bedroom. Mark had already fallen asleep. For a moment he just stood there, admiring the man. If he had ever harbored doubts about fate, the proof was now sleeping in his bed.
If those werewolves hadn’t trespassed, if he and Brax hadn’t followed them to Vegas, if they hadn’t been in that particular alley at that particular time—at any time during this if he had made just one misstep, he could have lost his mate before he ever got a chance to know him.
What else could it be but fate?
And speaking of Brax. Hunter grabbed his jeans and slipped them on. Digging his cell phone out of the front pocket, he left out of the bedroom. When he was in the kitchen, he dialed Brax’s number.
“About time you called me. I’ve been waiting on you guys. Seriously, I was getting worried. What happened?”
“My mate happened. He suddenly had the urge to mark me. As in a claiming bite kind of mark me. Needless to say, I didn’t have time to call and let you know we’d be delayed. Sorry about that.”
“Oh boy. He bit you? An Alpha? Wow. How did your wolf respond to that?”
“Surprisingly well. Not gonna lie, I was a little worried, but it was all good.”
“Congratulations, Alpha. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. Also, I have some information. While Mark and I were t
alking about what happened to him and his parents, he remembered something—a name. Need you to research one Alpha Bennett. I need everything you can find on him and his pack.”
“Hot damn. I’m writing it down now. I’ll get started on that tonight.”
“Thanks. I’m going to bed, but Mark and I will be by tomorrow. I need to get him some clothes and go buy groceries. After that, we’ll head over. I’ll call you before we come.”
“That works. By then I should have something.”
“Good. Sorry I messed up your plans.”
“It’s okay. Since you’re going into town, you should know word has gotten out that you found your mate. I haven’t heard any gossip about Mark being an Alpha though, so I guess that hasn’t gotten out yet. Then again, maybe it has, and pack members don’t believe it.”
“They will soon enough.”
“There’s going to be questions.”
“I know, but I don’t have answers.” Hunter ran his hand through his hair. “Hell, I don’t even know what to tell Mark. Bitten humans are never Alphas, but yet, here he is.”
“Sometimes there are no answers. Lame, I know.”
Hunter grunted. That wasn’t satisfying at all.
“Tell you what, why don’t you and Mark plan on having dinner with me? That’ll give me some more time to research and you for running errands. I’d like to meet him when he isn’t bleeding to death or going through a hair-raising transformation.”
“Sounds good. I’ll bring beer.”
“Bring a lot.” Brax cackled. “Seriously though, I have a feeling it’s going to be a stressful night. Let’s make it about six.”
“Will do. See you then.”
Hanging up, Hunter returned to the guest room, stripped, and got into bed. Pulling Mark into his arms, he drifted off.
THE NEXT morning, the scent of coffee teased his senses, along with…. He inhaled. Soap. Huh. He opened his eyes and glanced at Mark’s side of the bed. Mark must’ve already gotten up and showered.
He rolled out of bed and stretched. An odd little ache he’d never felt before caught his attention. Well now, that was interesting—his ass was a bit tender. His wolf chuffed. So was where Mark had bitten him last night.
He rotated his shoulder. As an Alpha he never dreamed he’d have a bite mark, and he wanted to see what it looked like. Grabbing his phone and jeans he wore yesterday, he headed to his bedroom, tossing the jeans into the dirty clothes hamper.
After he took care of business and washed his hands, he checked out the bite mark. That was definitely a mating mark. He ran his fingers over it, and a shiver ran up his back. It was tender, but not in a bad way.
He was claimed.
His wolf was pleased, though. He never thought he’d be the one wearing a mating mark, but he was proud of it. After brushing his teeth, he dressed, pocketed his cell, and hurried to the kitchen.
Mark leaned against the counter, sipping his coffee. “Morning.”
“Good morning.” Hunter pressed a kiss to Mark’s cheek, picked up the mug Mark had left out for him, and fixed his morning cup of joe. “Thanks for this.”
“No problem. Just glad to see you had it. Got to have my caffeine in the morning, you know.” Mark returned the kiss. “Sorry I passed out on you.”
Hunter turned his head and caught Mark’s lips. “Not a problem. I called Brax last night and told him we’d be by later today. That’ll give him some time to research. He invited us to dinner.”
“Speaking of calling someone, I saw my cell phone in your nightstand last night.”
“That was why you suddenly felt—stunned, maybe? I guess that’s a good description. Shit, I forgot it was in there. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. Just wasn’t expecting to see the shape it was in. It’s really done for, isn’t it?”
“Unfortunately. I did try turning it on, but nothing happened. It’s dead. I know you probably had a lot of stuff on it, and I hate you lost all that, but I’ll replace it for you.”
“Thanks, but I can get my own.”
“Actually, no, you can’t. Not without drawing a lot of attention. You’re missing from a scene of an accident, so for right now, you need to lay low. When you have more control over your wolf, we’ll deal with the human police problem.”
“Shit. I don’t like it, but I guess that makes sense.” Mark rubbed his chin. “So, this Brax? He was the one with you when—”
“Yes, he was with me in Vegas. He’s a Beta, but he mainly works with me. He’s also my best friend. I think you’ll like him.”
“I look forward to meeting him.” Mark’s stomach rumbled.
Hunter poked Mark in the belly. “Sounds like it’s time to eat. Let’s go raid my closet.”
Mark swatted at Hunter’s hand. “Oh man, this should be fun.”
Hunter held his coffee in one hand and Mark’s in the other. Once again, they were standing in Hunter’s closet, only this time Mark had on more than a towel. He eyeballed Mark as he set the mugs down then dug through the clothes, looking for the things toward the back.
“I have some stuff that may fit. Older things.” He finally found what he was looking for and pulled out the jeans. “These may work.”
Mark checked the tan colored patch on the waistband. “Still a little big, but they’re close enough. And a shirt?”
Hunter dove back into his clothes. There was a plain brown one he thought would look good on Mark. “T-shirt okay?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Sure. Beggars really can’t be choosers right now.”
“It won’t be for long.” Hunter stuck his arm out. “How’s this?”
Mark took the hanger from Hunter. “Perfect, actually. I, ah, guess I’m going commando?”
“We’re not much on underwear. Less things to get tangled in if we have to change suddenly.”
“Going commando. Got it. Any chance my tennis shoes survived?”
“Those were salvageable. I think they’re in the living area.” Hunter slipped out of the walk-in closet and went to his chest of drawers. He heard the jeans being pulled up. Damn, he wished he’d stayed just a few more minutes. “Got socks too.” He held them up as Mark walked out, shrugging on the T-shirt.
Mark took them and followed Hunter out of the room. “Would you mind if we eat first? It’s never a good idea to go grocery shopping when hungry, and I’m starving.”
“That’s the plan.” Hunter handed Mark his shoes.
Mark sat on the couch and pulled on his tennis shoes. “All right, let’s do this.”
Hunter snickered. “You sound like you’re ready to go off to war. It’ll be okay.”
“I know, I’m just nervous.” Mark’s hands fluttered around him. “I mean, what if I—”
“Hey, really, it’ll be okay.” Hunter grabbed Mark’s hands and stepped up to him, pulling him into a hug. “What has you so worried?”
“What if I say something wrong? Or do something wrong? Or do something or say something that gives away what I am? What if I have an urge to sniff somebody’s butt?”
“You’re kidding on the butt sniffing part, right?”
“You tell me! I have no idea how to act around other werewolves. What about any humans I run across? How do I act toward them?”
“Humans can’t tell what we are. As far as werewolves go, remember this is our pack. You smell like pack,” Hunter stressed. “They’ll treat you with respect, as they would any newly turned mate. And since you’re an Alpha, don’t be surprised if none of them will maintain eye contact with you. And before you ask why, lesser dominant wolves find it hard to do that, so it’s normal.”
“Which is completely opposite from humans.”
“Again, you’re not human. The only one who will maintain eye contact with you is another Alpha. Look, since it’s summer we don’t have a lot of humans at the ski resort. We do have summer activities, but it’s not packed like it is during the winter. So the chances are better than not that only werewolves will be
at Sissy’s. That’s where we’re going.”
“Just don’t let me do anything stupid.”
“Listen to your wolf. He’ll help, as will I.”
“Any chance of me suddenly losing control and shifting into a wolf?”
“Highly doubtful, but if you feel the urge let me know, and I will get you out of there. It’ll be okay. I promise.”
“I hate feeling this unsure.”
“But it’s understandable. I’ll help you.”
“I have so much to learn.”
“As far as the rules go, yes, but some of this will also be instinct. I will never leave you floundering, though.”
Mark blew out a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
Hunter hugged Mark then let him go. After he locked the front door, he rested his hand on the small of Mark’s back and escorted him to the truck. He started it and backed out of his driveway.
“This is a nice truck, by the way.”
“Thank you.” As he drove, Hunter pointed out landmarks.
“This is really beautiful country.”
“Wait until it snows.”
This was the first time Mark had been out anywhere since the shooting, so of course he was jumpy. He should have factored that in. Maybe dragging him out into public wasn’t the best idea, but Hunter didn’t know what else to do.
Leaving him home alone wasn’t happening—the very thought turned Hunter’s stomach. He needed Mark near him. They were newly mated after all. He was pretty sure Mark felt the same, if the feelings he was picking up were anything to go by.
Chapter Thirteen – Mark
MARK’S MIND flitted from subject to subject—there was just so much stuff.
Hunter reached across the console and wiggled his fingers. Grinning, Mark intertwined their hands. His first impression of the restaurant was that it’d been an authentic log cabin which had been expanded. A huge stone fireplace faced the parking lot which, thankfully, seemed to be pretty bare.
Hunter found a spot and parked, shutting off the truck. “Looks like the breakfast crowd has already come and gone, so it shouldn’t be too packed.”