by Riley Rivers
Josh shrugged. “It’s suppressants that can be the most harmful, especially if you’re on them long-term. Inhibitors can have some side effects, but as long as you don’t take them constantly year-round, you’re usually fine.”
“What do you do for the times you don’t take them?” Raymond asked, sounding hesitant.
Josh blinked, taken aback. “You want to know about my sex life?”
Raymond immediately dropped his gaze to the floor and pressed himself further back against the couch. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Sorry. I’m… you know I speak before I think, sometimes.”
He looked so uncomfortable that Josh softened. “It’s okay. I know you’ve got that thirst for knowledge thing going on. I don’t mind answering some questions, as long as you’re not looking for, like, specific details.”
“Sorry,” Raymond said again, still not looking up. “I haven’t really, you know, known a unicorn shifter, aside from you. Most of what I know is from articles and documentaries. I’ve read a lot, but there’s so much conflicting information out there, and it’s like… so much of it is garbage. So I just…”
“Yeah, I getcha,” Josh said. “It’s okay. I’m not uncomfortable.”
“I’m sorry,” Raymond all but whimpered.
“It’s okay,” Josh said again, wanting to soothe him. He figured he didn’t mind offering up some information. “And I do the usual thing.”
“The usual thing?”
“For when I go off the inhibitors,” Josh clarified. “I’m lucky. My virile period only lasts about three days, and I usually only get really desperate once or twice a day. So I use toys, or find someone each night or for the three-day block, and it’s all taken care of.”
“Oh,” Raymond said. “Yeah, I—that makes sense. Of course.” Almost to himself, he mumbled, “Of course you find someone.”
“Yeah,” Josh said, trying desperately not to read into that. That’s not what Raymond wants. “It saves me from most of the hassle that comes with having the stupid periods in the first place.
“Hassle?”
Josh snorted. “Doctors aren’t always the best at listening to their patients. I know one guy who had to go to three different people before he got a script for the suppressant implant. They were all, ‘well, are you sure?’ and, ‘what if you change your mind?’ and, ‘you know this will affect your periods for a whole year, right?’ And I didn’t feel like dealing with shit like that when I didn’t have to. I already have enough trouble with my normal scripts.”
“Trouble?” Raymond asked, expression clouding.
Josh sighed. “Yay American capitalism, right? Or prejudice. Whatever. There’s a lot of shit that comes with being a unicorn, and that includes being at the mercy of decision-makers at insurance companies. It’s the same reason why I’ve got to shell out money for my absorption pads, but people give out condoms for free.”
Raymond’s face darkened, and he actually rumbled out a growl. “That’s bullshit.”
“You’re telling me,” Josh said just as his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, Raymond doing the same with his phone—
“Oh,” Josh said as he read the flash-flood warning alert cautioning people to stay off the roads that both his and Raymond’s phone was blaring. “Shit, that’s bad.”
“Fuck,” Raymond muttered. He raked a hand through his hair. “Guess I’ll cancel my evening clients. Not if the roads are washing out.”
“Probably a good idea,” Josh said. As Raymond started tapping away on his phone, Josh’s immediate thoughts went to what Raymond would do. Sure his studio was only a few blocks from Josh’s house, but Raymond’s apartment was farther away. If it was bad out now and only getting worse, Josh didn’t want Raymond driving. Especially as night fell.
“Okay,” Raymond said, turning his phone over in his hands. “Sent the message out to everyone. If I don’t get confirmations within the next half hour, I’ll call too.”
“Sounds good,” Josh said before hesitating. Raymond hadn’t even been too keen on spending a couple minutes in Josh’s apartment before. How was Josh going to convince him to spend the night?
Then again, after Josh had reapplied his scent blocker, Raymond had gotten a lot calmer. Maybe he wouldn’t have an issue, now.
“About the drive being bad,” Josh said. “I don’t know if you should go out and brave this.”
Raymond looked at him, obviously startled. “Oh, that’s okay. I should be fine. I’ve already imposed enough.”
“You’re not imposing. It’s been nice having you around.”
Raymond chuckled. “Thanks. But it’s okay, really.”
“Raymond, if it’s too dangerous for your clients to be out, it’s too dangerous for you to be out.”
“But—”
“Please,” Josh tried. “Please, I’ll feel safer if you wait it out.”
“You’d feel safer?” Raymond asked hesitantly.
Josh nodded, adamant. “A million percent safer. You can spend a few hours here and wait it out, okay? I’ll make dinner and everything.” He chanced a smile. “Treat you right. Okay?”
Raymond still looked slightly off, but he smiled back. “Yeah, okay.”
Chapter Six
They finished the documentary about alligators, and then Josh set about making dinner as promised. Raymond didn’t have much to do in the way of help, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel bad about it. In fact, he had the opposite problem; Josh making him food, in his apartment, after insisting that Raymond stay…
The human and wolf in him both recognized Josh to be a strong—and strong-minded—individual, who knew what he was worth and, so help him, he was going to make sure you knew it too. Josh was sure about who he was, spoke his mind, and he wasn’t ashamed of any part of himself.
So having Josh—fierce, smart, amazing Josh—want to take care of Raymond and make sure he was okay… Having Josh tell him that he felt safer knowing Raymond wasn’t out risking himself to the storm—
It was all just… getting to him, a little bit.
And dinner itself was so much fun. There was just more of their regular, back-and-forth banter, but sitting down at a meal instead of doing exercises. Especially with the rain continuing to pour down outside, it felt homey and cozy and very much like a date. Not even like a first date, but a date with someone you’d been with for a while. Who you really like, and you have all these inside jokes with, and—
Dinner was fun.
“God, it’s really coming down still,” Josh said peering out his window once everything was put away. “I see why we got that alert.”
Raymond came up behind him to look over his shoulder, and did his fucking best to concentrate on trying to see past the thick sheets of rain, instead of focusing on how warm Josh was, so close. “Yeah, that, uh. That really looks bad.”
“You’re not going out again tonight,” Josh said firmly, twisting around to meet Raymond’s eyes. “I will literally not let you.”
Raymond swallowed. He very, very much didn’t want to leave either. But it felt like he was walking a thin line, by staying in Josh’s space. It was one thing to nurse a crush on a client and maintain professionalism during workouts. It was another be in Josh’s home, surrounded by his scent and personality, with Josh right there—
But maybe Raymond could let himself have at least this. “I mean, if you’re sure you want to put me up.”
Josh’s eyes widened. “Really? You’re not gonna fight me on it?”
Raymond made himself laugh. “Well, I’m not exactly bummed about not having to go back out in this. And by tomorrow it should be better.”
“Right,” Josh said quickly. “Yeah, exactly.”
Raymond nodded. “I’ll text my morning boot camp group that they’ve got the day off.”
“Good! Yeah, okay.”
Raymond went ahead and sent out the message, but once that was done, he was a bit at a loss of what to do next. He was a physical guy, and his job was inc
redibly high energy. He didn’t usually have a lot of downtime where he had nothing to do.
Josh seemed to understand. “Want to watch a movie? It’s kind of perfect weather for it.”
“It is?”
“Yeah,” Josh said easily. “You know. Cocooning weather. Where you want to just curl up in a bunch of blankets and nap.” He gave Raymond a once-over. “You do know how to nap, don’t you?”
Raymond’s next laugh was a lot more real. “Yes, thanks, I know how. I’m usually up early to run boot camp or a session with a client. I live my life by naps.”
Josh nodded seriously. “Good to know.”
Raymond grinned and checked his phone. “Not usually at seven thirty, though. That’s a bit of a weird time for napping, even for me.”
“Fair. Which is why I suggested a movie. It’ll be fun, it’ll kill two hours, and by then it’ll be a perfectly reasonable time for us to get ready for bed, what with you being an early riser and me liking my sleep.”
“You’ve convinced me. What do you want to watch?”
Josh grinned. “You ever heard of The Gods Must Be Crazy?”
Raymond shook his head.
The grin grew as Josh snagged his remote. “Perfect. Then I get to introduce it to you.”
Raymond settled back on the couch as Josh pulled up the movie. Several minutes in, it was easy to see why Josh had selected it. It was kind of hysterical; exactly Raymond’s humor.
But…
But even with how fun the film was, Raymond’s mind started to wander. Josh was sprawled next to him on the couch, the picture of easy relaxation, and Raymond kept getting distracted by the pale column of his throat when he laughed.
He also found himself trying to chase Josh’s scent. Raymond always thought Josh smelled nice, but the scent was faint enough that he never really had the chance to concentrate on it much, even when Josh was working up a sweat.
But now Raymond was realizing that that wasn’t because Josh’s natural scent was so faint—it was because Josh wore a scent blocker specifically to mask it.
Which was a discovery currently making his head spin.
Because Raymond could admit, at least to himself, that he had been pulled in by Josh’s scent from the get go, even with how faint it was. But now he knew just how fucking amazing Josh’s scent really was, without it being dulled by a scent-blocker. And even though Josh had reapplied his, that didn’t stop the memory of the scent, or the whiffs Raymond kept getting from the apartment itself. Josh lived here. He was comfortable here. So his couch was soaked with his scent. Frankly, it was driving Raymond a little nuts to be sitting on it, especially with Josh so close to him.
But Josh wasn’t interested, and Raymond cared about him and his comfort above anything else. So the best Raymond could do was try to act normal.
Normal.
Which he could do. He could. Josh was providing him with hospitality and even entertainment, and Raymond could be normal.
The only problem was that Josh seemed determined to do everything to bypass Raymond’s brain, past actually crawling into his lap. He was drifting off again, showing Raymond that he felt safe in Raymond’s presence. Which was already something that struck Raymond to his core, but now he also knew that Josh was in the middle of his virile period. Something that Raymond knew could be super personal and vulnerable, for all that Josh said he didn’t care about it.
On top of that, Josh was willing to have—had basically demanded—Raymond stay the night at his place.
During Josh’s virile period.
The wolf part of Raymond’s brain kept circling back to that—that Josh wanted him around while he was virile, and they were so close right now. Even if Raymond couldn’t pick up as much of Josh’s scent as he wished he could because of the damned blocker, that didn’t stop him from wanting.
Fuck, no, he could do this. He had self-control. He was being trusted.
He tried to focus on the screen instead. The movie was fun and funny. He liked it a lot.
Just not as much as he liked Josh.
Josh who shifted next to him, letting out a soft sigh, which also disturbed the air just enough for another whiff of scent to—
Concentrate on the screen.
“You okay?”
Raymond startled, jerking up to look at Josh, who was watching him, concerned. “Yes. What? Fine. I’m fine.”
“Right. The last time you said that, you were about to pass out in my hallway.”
Not about to pass out, Raymond thought unhappily, reigning myself the fuck in. He didn’t plan on saying or doing anything that might make Josh uncomfortable. Never. And especially not now. “I’m fine. Just thinking.”
Josh sighed. “I’m bothering you again, aren’t I?”
“Of course not. I’m fine. I’m not…” Raymond swallowed. “I can control myself. I promise.”
“For fuck’s sake, Raymond, I’m not worried about that, I’m worried about you. I didn’t realize that…” Josh raked a hand through his hair, irritated. “If I bother you this much, you probably would have been better off just driving home earlier when it wasn’t as bad. But with the roads flooding, now you’re sort of trapped here with me. I’m sorry.”
Raymond’s stomach twisted. Josh looked so upset, and that wasn’t fair. “Don’t worry about it.” He tried to smile. “I’d rather be here than in a ditch or something, which was where I was headed until you knocked some sense into me. I appreciate being put up, I really do. I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m making you feel uncomfortable in your own place. I don’t mean to. Just pretend I’m fine, okay? There’s nothing you can do, and nothing I can do. I’ll just deal with it.”
Josh bit his lip. “I… I thought my scent blocker was working.”
“It is,” Raymond assured him. “It’s fine.”
Josh let out a grumble of frustration. “It’s not fine. It sucks, and I want to fix it.”
Raymond couldn’t help but laugh. Typical Josh. “I appreciate the thought. But it might be better if I just turned in, if that’s okay?”
“Oh! Yeah, no, of course. Do you want to take a shower or something?”
“That’d be nice, yeah.” And a good idea besides, as long as he kept quiet.
“Okay, sure, let me grab a towel for you. And uh—” Josh stopped and looked Raymond up and down.
“What?”
“I’m trying to think of what I own that you could borrow. Since you’re actually sleeping here.”
Raymond swallowed. Stupid wolf. Stupid instincts. Stupid wanting to leap at the chance to wrap himself in something soaked in Josh’s scent.
Shower. Shower was a good idea. “Well, you’ll have some time to look.”
“Yeah.” Josh nodded. “I’ll figure it out by the time you’re done.”
“Sounds good.”
The first thing Raymond did once he was alone in the bathroom was bend himself over the sink and take the time to breathe deep for a moment, trying to clear his head. Fuck, how did Josh not know how edible he was?
He shed his clothes quickly and, after getting under the spray, braced against the wall with one hand and fisted himself with the other. He got himself off hard and fast, choking down on a grunt as he came, and then washed away the evidence. It took the edge off some, and he was able to continue on with soaping himself up without thinking too much about the fact that he was using Josh’s chosen scents.
He didn’t want to linger though, feeling antsy and out of his depth with Josh so close and yet so far. So Raymond rinsed down and turned off the water. Remembering that Josh said he wanted to provide clothes, he left the bathroom with his towel slung around his hips.
“All done,” Raymond said, catching Josh’s attention.
“Oh.” Josh’s eyes widened as he turned. He coughed. “Um, yeah, great. Okay! Feeling any better?”
Raymond wanted to kiss him—pull down the collar of his shirt to mouth at his neck. He took a deep breath. Control. Control. “Yeah, a little.”
Josh cleared his throat, cheeks red. “Okay, good. Great. And I’ve got something for you.”
“Okay?”
Josh held out an eye-searing pajama shirt covered in rainbows and unicorns, along with a matching pair of drawstring pants. Both were oversized enough that they’d probably fit but...
Raymond stared at the set, torn between amusement and horror. “What the hell is this?”
“About the only thing I own that’ll fit you,” Josh said, starting to grin. “It was a gag gift from my sister last Christmas. We try to get each other the most hideous things we can find. She tends to make hers unicorn themed.”
“Wow,” Raymond said, still staring at the clothes. “What’d you get her?”
“A nutcracker that looked like a snowman, but with murder in its eyes. I’ve got a picture of it somewhere. I’ll show it to you.”
“Thanks, I think,” Raymond said as he took the pajamas. He was a little put out by the fact that Josh had clearly never worn them. They smelled clean and fresh at least, but they definitely didn’t have any signs of being used. “I’ll just—” He hiked a thumb over his shoulder.
“Yeah—yeah.” Josh nodded quickly. “You go ahead. I’ll just finish setting up the couch.”
“Sounds good,” Raymond said, trying to sound normal before he turned and headed right back into the bathroom. He was usually fine with stripping down around people, but right now he was glad for the extra degree of separation. What kind of stupid idea had it even been to walk about in a towel anyway? Probably his hind brain wanting to posture. Idiot.
“I’m going to be up doing a little more work, I think,” Josh said after Raymond had come back into the living room, “but I’ll be in my bedroom, and I’ll keep it as quiet as I can. Couch is all set up for you, and feel free to watch TV or something or help yourself to the kitchen.”
Raymond tried to smile at him. “Thanks.”
Josh nodded. “Good night. And let me know if you need anything, okay?’
“Okay. Thanks,” Raymond said again. “I mean it.”
Josh smiled and ducked into what was presumably his bedroom, and left Raymond alone in the living room on a couch covered in blankets.