by Marcy Jacks
“I know. I believe you. You could easily be telling me something like that because you’re scared I’ll go and are willing to say anything to get me to stay, but hearing you say that…maybe it’s because I’m your mate or your wolf soul, whatever, but…I believe you. I don’t think you’ve ever been this…this…”
“Wait, are you saying that you thought I didn’t love you anymore?”
Davin pressed his lips together. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to admit that, for a while, he’d started to think Mark hadn’t loved him at all.
So he tried to break it to him a little more gently than he otherwise would have.
“I thought the mating had more to do with it than what you might have felt. Maybe.”
Mark dropped his hands, falling back a step with a horrified expression on his face.
He really hadn’t seen that one coming.
“Jesus Christ! You really thought…” The horror went away, replaced with a defeated sadness.
“I did this.”
Davin shook his head. This wasn’t the conclusion he wanted Mark to come to. “No, I swear it’s not that.”
“Don’t lie to me to preserve my feelings.” The strong, powerful Mark was back. The Mark who took no shit and who wasn’t going to let anyone bullshit him either.
Not even the mate he wanted to keep.
“It wasn’t just the hunters. It was because I wasn’t behaving as an adequate mate.”
Davin swallowed. He wanted to deny it because that wasn’t entirely it either, but it was it a little.
“That’s not the entire reason why, though. It really was a number of reasons. And those reasons don’t seem good enough now that you and I are finally talking again.”
Mark said nothing for a moment. He looked at Davin as though he were considering something.
Maybe a course of action? His next words?
“I won’t ask you anymore to stay. I won’t beg. It’s been bad enough that I’ve been doing even that, but we are definitely going to finish off the last couple of days we have.”
“Then what?”
“Then I’ll speak with Bodolf. I’ll open up the connection in my head for you to cut it and then make sure you’re taken care of when you go. You’re still a wolf soul. You smell like one. I’m not taking the risk that anything happens to you if you leave the pack.”
Davin frowned. “No. You don’t have to do anything by me. If I leave, then I won’t be your mate anymore. You shouldn’t have to feel a responsibility toward me.”
Now Mark was the one to shake his head, as though he was shocked Davin didn’t understand this. “I’ll always take care of you. You’re always going to be my mate, even if you don’t want to be. Even if you cut the cord that connects us, you are always going to be the love of my damned life. If there’s something I can do about it, I will always take care of you.”
Mark’s gaze was hard, challenging. “Don’t even think about asking me to not do that for you. That option is entirely off the table. I will never not take care of you.”
And as much as Davin didn’t want that for the other man, part of him heard those words and just reacted.
Davin went to Mark, his hands coming to wrap around his neck, bringing his mouth down and kissing him hard.
Davin didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to leave, and he was tired of being scared.
Maybe they could make this work.
Together.
Mark apparently liked where this was going well enough because, when he grabbed Davin, well, it was going to be another one of those mating heat times to say the least.
And Davin couldn’t wait.
Chapter Seven
The wolf inside him, growling and ready to pounce, sprang to life and wrapped itself around Davin the moment their mouths touched.
Mark licked at the crease of Davin’s lips, tasting him, growling as he did so because the wolf was involved.
“Baby, I love you.” Mark pulled Davin into his arms. His mate wrapped his legs around Mark’s waist, staring right at him, as though he were looking into Mark’s soul, before Mark set him down onto the kitchen counter.
“I love you,” he said again. Mark was never going to get tired of saying that, especially now that he knew Davin felt as though Mark hadn’t been saying it enough.
And he hadn’t. Mark could see that now. He hadn’t said it enough, not because Davin wasn’t worthy of hearing those words but because of other factors.
His job, his duties with the pack. The fact that Mark tended to think Davin would know he was loved regardless of whether or not Mark said anything at all…
He had so much more to work on than he thought, and he was just glad his mate wanted to give this a chance. The fact that Davin had stuck around this long, had defended him, was an excellent sign.
Mark’s fingers worked quickly to get Davin out of his jeans. No belt today, so that made things much easier.
“I love you.”
Mark slid his hand beneath the waist of Davin’s open jeans. He watched closely the look in Davin’s eyes, the way they widened and then darkened, with lust.
Davin bit down on his bottom lip. A move he knew drove Mark up the wall with desire.
“I love you, too.”
The wolf straightened up and howled at those words.
Mark grabbed Davin by the back of the neck, yanking him forward and kissing him again.
Davin shivered as Mark claimed him, licking deep in his mouth, swallowing the sweet sounds of his mewls.
It felt as though Davin was holding on to Mark’s shoulders for dear life as Mark kissed him. He felt the way Davin’s hands trembled on his shoulders even as he pulled Mark closer, as he turned his head to the side, encouraging the kiss to continue.
And Mark knew that, even as Davin said he loved him, that didn’t mean their issues were resolved.
There was still so much to do, but now, now Mark was finally able to kiss his mate with the assurance that Davin wasn’t going to leave.
He didn’t want to leave. He wouldn’t.
Mark pulled his mate’s thighs closer so that his ass hung right off the edge of the counter.
Mark couldn’t get enough. His hands needed to touch every inch of Davin’s skin. Even as he leaned down, freeing Davin’s cock, tasting the salty drop of pre-cum and pushing Davin’s shirt up so his fingers could reach and touch his nipples, it wasn’t close to being enough.
He needed more.
Davin ran his fingers through Mark’s hair, already thrusting into Mark’s mouth. Trying to. His hips did a little back and forth canting thing. It wasn’t as though he had much room to work being so close to the edge of the counter.
“God, Markus. Do it, please.”
He was always so shy. Mark pulled his lips back from Davin’s shaft.
“You want me to put your dick in my mouth?”
The color in Davin’s cheeks increased. Mark got an immense amount of pleasure from watching the way his Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Yeah. I want that.”
The wolf released a pleased rumbling noise from the depths of Mark’s head.
“Good, now say those words to my face. Tell me you want me to put your cock into my mouth.”
Another hard swallow. Mark could hear the heavy thumping of Davin’s heart. He could smell his lust, could feel the way his blood rushed through his veins about a thousand times faster than what should have been normal for a human.
He looked like prey. Like the sort of prey Mark’s inner wolf wanted to claim for his own.
“Say it.”
Davin cleared his throat, but it didn’t do anything to help with the color on his cheeks.
“I want you to put my dick in your mouth.” Getting a little braver, Davin seemed to steel himself. “Put my cock in your mouth and suck on it until I come.”
Mark snorted a laugh. He couldn’t believe his mate actually said it like that.
At the same time, it did the job, and he got to work
worshipping Davin’s cock.
First he loved the head, giving it all the attention and affection that it needed with his mouth and tongue.
With each lick around the underside of the head, Mark felt the shiver that it pulled from Davin’s body.
And with each shiver, each moan and sigh, Mark was emboldened.
Asking for this seven days was the best damned decision he’d ever made in his entire life.
Mark sank his mouth down around the length of Davin’s prick.
He wasn’t as wide as Mark was, but he was a fair length, almost the same as Mark.
Mark loved knowing his mate was well endowed. It made Mark feel proud knowing he could take the man all the way to the root.
And as he gave his mate pleasure, it gave him pleasure. Mark’s body hummed with every moan. His cock throbbed as Davin thrust as deep into Mark’s mouth as he could go.
And Mark was into it.
He let his hands slide up, down, and around the back of Davin’s ass, his thighs, anywhere he could touch.
It was as though his hands needed something to touch, needed to feel Davin’s skin in order to feel sane.
It almost felt as though he hadn’t touched his mate in months. Now he needed to take his fill before some other damned distraction caught him off guard.
He could feel the coming orgasm from within Davin. It was in the way his mate thrust his pelvis, the sudden speed, the sound of his voice as he moaned with pleasure, the way he grabbed at Mark’s hair and gripped just a little too tight.
Mark could read his mate like a damned large print book, and though things had been rough, he knew Davin was about to come.
He welcomed it. He wanted it. Needed it. And now he was going to get it.
Mark sank his mouth down as far as he could go on the length of Davin’s cock, feeling the head tickling the back of his throat. He lingered there, knowing what was coming when Davin shouted.
Mark swallowed down everything Davin gave to him, and the wolf inside his head rumbled with approval as Mark had his taste.
A taste he loved and adored. A taste he wanted so much more of.
Mark swirled his tongue around the length of Davin’s erection, milking him until there was nothing left.
But that wasn’t entirely true. In their condition now, his dick remained hard. Davin moaned softly as Mark continued to suck on the length of his cock, but that soft mewling noise quickly turned into something more urgent and needy as Mark continued on.
“Oh my God, fuck.”
Mark glanced up from his work just as Davin ran his fingers through his hair.
“Christ, it’s like the mating heat all over again.”
Mark pulled his mouth back. He couldn’t help but grin up at his mate. “Good thing though, right?”
Davin smiled back down at him, and there was a light in those gorgeous amber eyes that Mark hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Yeah, I like it.”
“Good.” Mark yanked his mate off the counter, spinning him around and making himself comfortable right behind the other man.
Davin was a bit shorter than Mark, but they made this position work.
They were sure as hell going to make it work now.
Mark pressed his mouth to Davin’s neck.
“I love the way you taste,” he said, rumbling against the side of Davin’s throat, breathing him in. “Christ, I’ll never get over this spicy, sweet smell you’ve got for as long as I live.”
Davin still smiled as he tilted his head back to look at him. “Your wolf is getting ready to come out right now, isn’t it?”
“Don’t worry. It knows the rules.”
And Mark was going to make sure it abided by them.
Years ago, before he’d had Davin in his life, there were times when the creature was damn near uncontrollable. He almost hadn’t been able to become an officer of the law because of it. Years of practice and meditation were the only reasons why he’d gone as far in his career as he had.
And then Davin came along, and it changed everything. There was suddenly less pressure for control because the wolf loved Davin so much that it wanted to be a good doggie for their mate.
So to feel Davin sighing with pleasure as he leaned back against Mark’s chest was one of the best feelings of his life.
Mark loosened his belt, getting his pants down while he kissed and sucked on Davin’s throat. He occasionally licked at it. That was a sign that the wolf was close to the surface.
Down, boy. You’re not going to pop out of here while I’m making love to my mate. This is all you get.
The wolf whined, but it obeyed.
Davin thrust his ass back against Mark’s fingers. He only teased Davin’s hole, frantically searching the countertops for anything they could use to ease the way…
There. Vegetable oil. Crude, but it would do the trick.
He reached for it. Davin laughed when he noted the bottle.
“Seriously?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve used it.”
Davin snorted.
“True though, right?” He opened the bottle.
“Yeah, but then I’ll have to throw it out and open a brand-new one.”
“You don’t have to throw it out. My fingers aren’t going into the bottle when I slick my fingers.”
“Yeah, but it’s still weird.” Davin stopped complaining and sighed when Mark pressed his fingers back to Davin’s hole.
“My fingers don’t touch the bottle after I’ve touched you either, you know?”
Davin shook his head, a shiver rippling through his body as Mark teased and tormented him. “D-don’t care. It’s still weird.”
“So picky.” Mark pressed his mouth to the tiny mole Davin had on the back of his neck. “I love that about you.”
He thrust his fingers deep, hooking them, and he also loved the way Davin pushed himself up higher onto his toes, moving with pleasure as his prostate was teased and tortured.
Davin actually slammed his hand down onto the counter. “Oh fuck!”
“That’s it.”
This was exactly the reaction Mark wanted from his mate. This was everything he and his wolf needed.
And though he had an excellent amount of control over the wolf, at the moment, it didn’t feel like it as the urge to be inside him was suddenly out of control.
Mark growled, pulling his fingers back, taking the base of his cock in hand and pressing the head against Davin’s tight hole.
He pressed forward. The initial pressure was there, but with the regular sex, it wasn’t anything they couldn’t handle. Davin’s body accepted him more easily than it had the first night.
And then he was engulfed. Mark groaned low and deep in his throat as Davin’s body gripped him tight and held on tight.
“That’s what I want,” Davin moaned. He half turned, looking back at Mark, reaching for him, his hand coming to the back of Mark’s neck.
Mark took the hint. He leaned in, pressing his mouth to Davin’s while he sank deeper into Davin’s body.
Inch by aching inch until he was as far as he could go.
Then he began to fuck into his mate. Swallowing the sounds of Davin’s moans, loving the taste of him as Davin shivered and mewled with pleasure.
“You like that?”
Davin bit down on his bottom lip. It was already swollen and pink from the kissing. God. Everything he did always seemed to make him look that much better in Mark’s eyes. He could never get over how fucking perfect this man was.
How had he let it come to this?
“I like it.” Davin gripped Mark’s neck a little tighter. “Now fuck me harder.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mark was nothing if not obedient whenever his mate wanted to be pleased. So he gave Davin just what he needed.
He hoped the neighbors didn’t hear them.
Chapter Eight
Davin loved this. He swam in pleasure, and he could feel the wolf behind him.
&nbs
p; Not in a literal sense, of course, but it seemed more spiritual. The eager desire he felt from the animal within his mate was primal in a way Davin loved.
Especially when his mate fucked into him as though it would be their last time.
His heart clenched.
No, he wasn’t going to think of it like that. Not now.
Not when he’d realized there was a chance they could take this work.
Davin could learn to live with the hard downs that came with the fabulous ups of being the mate of a wolf.
And he didn’t want to leave anyway, so why not let himself be convinced while in the middle of lovemaking?
Yeah? Why not?
“Kiss me.”
Mark did. His mouth was soft but also scratchy around his jaw and mouth where he needed a shave.
Davin moaned. God, that was his favorite feeling in the whole damned world.
Mark was always good about that. Good about doing what Davin told him when they were making love.
Not that he asked for much.
Just lots and lots of kissing and holding. Yeah, Davin was definitely the softer one in the relationship. Mark never held that against him like Davin heard some alphas did.
Because he was literally the best damned mate in the world.
And Davin wasn’t going anywhere.
Davin felt the growl before he heard it. It was in the way Mark’s body rumbled before the sound came, and then he knew what was about to happen next.
Davin already had his orgasm, so his body could go on a little while longer before anything else could happen.
That was fine. Davin wanted Mark to come inside him. He wanted to feel that warm rush, the way Mark’s arms always tightened around him when he reached that peak.
He always felt so much more alive when his mate finished off inside him, and he wasn’t selfish about it either.
Even as Mark fucked harder into him, to the point where Davin had to hold on tight to the kitchen counter just to keep a proper balance, he could feel the way Mark moved.
As though, even in the throes of orgasm, his priority was still to make sure Davin had the best time of his life.
God, he loved this man so damned much.
Then Davin felt it. The heat, the release. Deep inside him as Mark howled, his body tensing.