by K P Maxwell
He thinks of that first night with Damien, of signing the contract with Melanie. The figure he named then was obviously too high. Even Melanie was surprised at it. But he would have given more. He would have given everything. So why not try?
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Another week passes, and Damien doesn’t hear from Ty or Eli. His routine at the café is nearly the same as it used to be. He brings Melanie her coffee and croissant in the morning. He closes up the café in the evening, shooing Daniel out after everything else is finished unless Sebastian comes to get him. He does scheduling and inventory on the weekends. He’s started searching for another pastry chef to help Sebastian.
Summer has reached its peak in Portland, and it stays bright until well past 8pm.
Today is a day like any other. Sebastian comes to get Daniel before Damien has a chance to shoo him out. Some nights Sebastian makes staff meals for them, just like he does lunches, but usually they just fend for themselves. Kaz is actually pretty handy in the kitchen, though, and Damien will often join him and Liam and Jake on the second floor to make something once the café’s closed. Melanie joins them, sometimes, for staff dinners, but she lives a life separate from them, for the most part.
Tonight looks to be one of those fend for themselves type of nights since Sebastian and Daniel are heading out of the café. Damien doesn’t actually know what they do together in their free time, but he waves goodbye to them, and heads up to his studio to get changed.
It’s a Thursday, he realizes in the elevator, frowning down at his phone, and he suddenly feels tired, thinking of everything that’s happened over the past few months. He types out a quick text to Kaz.
Staying in tonight. Have a good dinner with Liam and Jake ;)
He tries to make it sound upbeat, and when he gets to his studio apartment on the third floor, he immediately kicks off his shoes, and falls onto the bed. He can eat later. Right now, he just wants to sleep.
He wakes up sometime later, disoriented. He heard something, hadn’t he? He sits up in bed, trying to figure out what woke him up.
There’s a door. On one of the walls of his studio. A door that hadn’t been there before. Damien frowns. He rubs his eyes. Is he dreaming?
The handle of the door turns, and the door opens.
Ty walks through it. He looks embarrassed, and Damien’s still half-convinced that he’s dreaming.
“How – ?” Damien starts, and Ty shrugs.
“I didn’t know if it would work,” Ty says. “But I had hoped.” The door’s still open behind him, but it’s impossible to see what lies beyond it.
“What are you doing here?” Damien asks, stunned.
Ty shrugs. “It opened for me,” he explains. “Maybe because it’s a Thursday, and you’re here at the café.”
Damien thinks that doesn’t really make sense, but the doors are magic after all.
“Why would you walk through it?” Damien asks, voice barely a whisper.
“I just wanted to see you again,” Ty says, his voice breaking. “I’ve missed you. I was awful to you.”
And Damien wants to reach out to him, to touch him, but he holds himself back. “I told you before, I don’t want to be something you keep on a shelf,” he says. “I don’t want to sit at home and wait for you.”
Ty shakes his head vigorously. “You aren’t,” he says. “It’s never been like that, Damien. I’ve always just wanted you near me. But you can do whatever you need to in life. I’d just like it if you could come back to me in the end.”
Damien nods, sniffling, and starting to understand a little bit. “You were always gone, though,” Damien says, and Ty nods, looking away.
“I’m sorry,” Ty begins. “I’ve recently realized that maybe I need to learn to delegate better,” he says, chagrined.
Damien’s arms are still folded across his chest in a protective gesture, and Ty’s still standing in front of the open doorway.
“There’s more,” Ty says. “I –”
He laughs, but it’s a broken sound. “Eli’s told me that I went about this all wrong again,” he says, and Damien has to smile a little at that.
“I didn’t tell you something I should have,” Ty admits. “I didn’t want to pressure you somehow, or make you feel like you didn’t have a choice.”
Damien feels the words washing over him, realization settling over him like a cloak.
Ty rubs his head. His hair is getting long, Damien thinks, focusing on the small details.
“Damien, you’re –” Ty’s face turns red in a way that Damien’s never seen before. “Ah, I hate this shit,” Ty mutters. “But you’re my mate.”
There are no words. The pieces click into place. It’s real, Damien thinks. He feels it, in his bones. Even as a human, he thinks he can feel what Ty’s talking about.
“It’s not an excuse,” Ty adds hurriedly. “But I shouldn’t have kept it from you. It’s been making me crazy. To not have it acknowledged. Or reciprocated.”
Damien just stares at Ty. He had wondered about it. If it was a real thing, but surely, he thought someone would have told him about it. Shouldn’t someone have told him about it? He thinks of the suspicious way Eli looked at Ty, of Melanie’s warnings, of Kaz’s half question. Has he…
Has he, what? Has he told you that you’re his mate?
Damien takes a step towards Ty, and the other man looks uncertain.
“I’m always apologizing to you,” Ty says, softly. “But I truly mean it. I’m sorry for keeping it from you, for treating you like that. For not being there. For everything.”
Damien presses his eyes shut. He shakes his head. “I’m not very good at this either,” he admits. “I should have just told you I was feeling unhappy before leaving like that.”
Ty watches him silently, cautiously. Damien takes another step forward. “I can feel it, too, you know?” he says, voice soft. “I had wondered what it was. What these feelings were. I thought about asking,” he says. “But I never did.”
Ty looks at him in wonder. “You can feel it?” he asks.
Damien nods. “I think I could always feel it,” he says. “You were always my favorite client.” He smiles, thinking fondly of the memories. “We’ll figure something out. We’ll make this work.”
It’s all Ty needed to hear apparently. Ty stalks over to him, grabbing him and pulling him against his body fiercely. Ty breathes into his neck again, and the motion is so familiar that Damien instantly feels calmer, centered.
Ty’s hands press into the muscle of his back, and Damien finds himself grabbing onto Ty’s arms, fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt. He’s immediately turned on, and he can’t help but gasp at the urgency of the feeling.
“You –” Ty says, when he feels it, and Damien huffs a laugh. “Sorry,” he says, but Ty shakes his head, kissing along Damien’s jaw.
“Let me help you with that,” Ty says, and Damien moans out loud as Ty gets to his knees, nuzzling at the front of Damien’s pants.
“Ty, I –” Damien says, and Ty unbuttons the top button, unzipping the zipper. Ty looks up at him with those dark grey eyes.
“Tell me you want this,” Ty says, and Damien nods.
“I do,” he says frantically. “I do, so much.” He runs his hands across Ty’s scalp, and there’s not enough hair to grab onto, but Ty hums in pleasure at the feeling as he mouths Damien’s cock through his boxers.
His fingers slide under the elastic waistband, pulling the boxers down along with Damien’s pants. His mouth is wet and hot as he licks and sucks on Damien, and Damien finds himself whining already, wanting more. One of Ty’s hands slips back to rub a finger across his hole. He’s totally unprepared, but the friction of Ty’s fingertip sends a thrill through him.
“Please,” he whispers.
Ty lets his cock slip from his mouth with a pop. “Do you have something?” Ty asks, and Damien nods.
Ty helps him step out of his pants, and then he lifts Damien up bodily, tossin
g him onto the bed in a playful manner. He stares down at Damien, running his eyes all over Damien’s body, and Damien feels a thrill at it. He’s always loved the way Ty looks at him.
Ty leans down, running his hands across Damien’s chest, flicking at his nipples which are already hard. Damien moans at the sensation, and Ty bends his head down to lick at one.
“Ty,” Damien whines, his hands in Ty’s hair again. He’s not sure if he wants to push the other man away or hold him there. Ty chuckles lowly at that, and stretches an arm over to rummage in the bedside drawer, pulling out a bottle. He uncaps it with a click.
The first touch of the lube is cold, and Damien gasps at the sensation, but it quickly warms up as Ty slips his first finger into Damien’s tight hole. It feels like it’s been so long, even though it’s only been a matter of weeks.
Damien’s cock’s so hard, he’s already leaking, and he pushes himself back against Ty’s finger, enjoying the stretch. “More,” he says, breathless already, and Ty obliges, carefully sliding his finger out and adding a second.
“You’re so tight,” Ty whispers in Damien’s ear, and Damien nods. He can feel it, too, but he tries to relax as best as he can. Pleasure shoots through him as Ty finds that particular spot, and he moans openly, shamelessly as Ty rubs it over and over.
“Ty,” he gasps, feeling nearly like he could come from that, his cock bobbing against his stomach, the wet head begging to be touched. “Please.”
Ty groans. “You’re killing me, Damien.” He slides his fingers out, not bothering to stretch Damien any further. Damien nods frantically, wanting it, wanting Ty’s cock more than he thinks he’s ever wanted it before.
Ty lifts Damien’s legs over his shoulders, rubbing Damien’s calf briefly in an affectionate gesture. And then he pushes the thick head of his cock against Damien’s hole and presses forward. All other thought leaves Damien’s mind. Damien’s not stretched quite enough. He tries to relax to allow the intrusion. His head falls to the side, and he feels the sudden pressure as Ty slides past the initial ring of muscle. He moans, partially in pleasure, and partially at the burn of it. He tries to push against it shallowly, but it’s so much, he can barely adjust.
Ty slides both of his hands under Damien’s ass, lifting him up slightly off of the bed. He pushes into Damien slowly, and Damien can feel every inch of him, stretching his walls. When Ty finally bottoms out, his balls pressed against Damien, he stops, holding Damien closely, letting Damien adjust.
Damien feels completely split open, raw. Ty strokes over his legs and then over his abs.
“So beautiful like this,” Ty says, and Damien turns his head back to meet Ty’s eyes. The affection there is overwhelming. Damien tries to move, tries to get Ty to move, but Ty just holds him there, and Damien whines.
“Please, Ty,” he says. “More.”
Ty grins down at him, fondly. “Alright,” he says, sliding out and pushing back in again, starting a slow rhythm that’s almost too slow for Damien, but Ty’s cock is brushing against that spot every time now, and Damien’s seeing stars behind his eyes.
Ty leans down, bending Damien’s body almost too much, pressing a kiss into Damien’s mouth.
“Can’t hold out much longer,” he admits, breathless, and Damien’s beyond caring. He nods frantically, wanting it, wanting to come so badly, and when Ty touches his cock, it’s nearly immediately that he feels his release shattering him into so many little pieces.
Ty groans, his hips stuttering with a jerky rhythm as Damien clenches around him. He grips Damien’s hips tightly, holding him still as he comes deep inside him. The wet heat sends sparks along Damien’s already sensitive nerves.
Damien’s eyes feel wet when Ty finally slides out of him, and Ty pulls him close, disregarding the messy state of the bed, pressing Damien’s head against his chest and running his hand through Damien’s hair.
“I’ve got you,” Ty says softly. “I’m here.”
Damien nods, enjoying the warmth of the other man’s body as his breathing settles. There’s still so much to say, but perhaps not now. He slides into sleep before he realizes what’s happened.
Chapter Thirty
Daylight filtering in through the shaded windows wakes Damien up the next morning. He reaches over to find that Ty’s gone, but before he has time to think too much about it, the other man is padding back into the room from the bathroom, holding a washcloth with an amused look on his face.
Damien immediately realizes that he’s a terrible, unfortunate mess, and he accepts the cloth gratefully. After they’ve cleaned up as much as they can, Ty crawls back into bed with Damien, and pulls the other man close. Damien rolls over to face him. His handsome client. No longer his client, he thinks, but he still has a hard time calling him anything else.
Ty’s eyes are dancing with happiness, and Damien finds that’s ready to talk about this. All of it. There has to be a way for this to work between them. Wolf and human.
“So how do we fix this?” Damien asks, trailing his fingers over Ty’s chest.
“What part?” Ty asks, and his tone is self-deprecating.
Damien slides his hand over Ty’s pecs, onto his neck, and then his strong jaw. He rubs his thumb along the stubble there. Ty turns his head to the side, giving Damien’s thumb a playful nip. Damien laughs, “How do we make it so you aren’t constantly feeling this – whatever it is that’s going on in your head right now?”
Ty sits up, and the look he’s giving Damien is a serious one now. “I don’t think you’re going to like it,” he admits.
Damien gives him a steady glance. “Try me,” he says.
Ty stares at him for a moment longer, and then seems to come to his decision. “Okay,” he says. He takes Damien’s hand, then, and it’s such a strange intimacy. Damien thinks that in all their time together so far, they’ve never actually held hands, and he feels the warmth of the other man’s palm seeping into his own. Ty turns Damien’s hand over and runs a finger along Damien’s wrist, and Damien watches the movement.
“We have to trade blood,” Ty says, his finger pressing at Damien’s pulse point.
Damien’s head snaps up, his eyes meet Ty’s own. He’s half-expecting to see laughter there, like it’s some sort of joke, but Ty’s gaze is steady. “We – we what?!” Damien asks. “Blood?”
Ty nods, completely serious.
“I thought you said this wasn’t like in the movies?” Damien asks then, and Ty huffs a laugh.
“Well, maybe in some ways it is,” he admits ruefully. His hand is still warm on Damien’s skin, but he gives Damien’s arm a gentle squeeze, and then releases it. “It’s like a contract. A bond.”
“And then what?” Damien asks, but Ty shakes his head.
“I honestly don’t know,” Ty admits. “It’s different for every couple. With a human and a wolf...” he pauses. “Well, maybe you’ll be able to understand me when I’m in wolf form. I know the wolf will settle down once he’s recognized the bond.”
Damien considers this. Blood, he thinks, and a little bell rings in his memory. When he signed the contract with Melanie, so long ago, she took his blood as well. Just a pinprick. He thinks it’s probably how she ties the doors to them. So it’s not necessarily the rooms that the doors are connected with but the people.
“Okay,” Damien says, and Ty looks over at him, surprised.
“Damien,” Ty says, looking uncertain. “You don’t have to do this. It’s why I didn’t tell you about it in the first place. I didn’t want to pressure you.”
Damien shrugs. “I want to,” he admits. “Maybe I just needed the choice.”
Ty frowns at him. “Whatever the side effects of the bond are,” he says, pausing. “They’re permanent, I think. They can only be stopped through death.”
“That’s fine,” Damien says, and he smiles softly at Ty. “Honestly, it’s fine. I want this. I want you.”
Ty wraps his arms around Damien, pressing him close. “Thank you,” Ty says, and his v
oice sounds wet, which sends a little shiver of shock down Damien’s spine. He wraps his arms around Ty as well, pressing his head against the other man’s own.
“Do we have anything sharp?” Damien asks, and it’s half of a joke, and Ty pulls back, laughing. He shakes his head.
“I don’t know,” Ty says, and his eyes really are wet with unshed tears. Damien reaches up his hand to run his finger along the other man’s cheekbone. Ty’s own hand comes up to hold Damien’s again. “But we should wait. Give you time to think about it.”
Damien shakes his head. “I’ve had plenty of time,” he says. “I don’t care what the side effects are. Can’t you just bite me or something?”
Ty nearly chokes on a laugh. “Damien,” he says. “It’s really not like that.”
Damien pushes himself up onto his knees and then straddles Ty’s lap. He grins down at the other man. “Are you sure it isn’t?” he asks. “You’ve left an awful lot of this out.”
Ty’s blushing now, which is curious. Damien bends down to kiss along the other man’s neck.
“I could try biting you first,” he says against Ty’s skin. Ty’s head tilts to the side, and Damien feels the man shiver beneath him. Ty’s cock is hard between them, and Damien pushes his own against it. Ty gasps at the sensation.
“Human teeth,” Ty grits out. “Won’t work very well.”
Ty obviously likes it when Damien pretends like he’s going to bite him though. Damien smiles, pulling back. “Well you better think of something else, then,” he says.
“Such a brat,” Ty says, but it’s fond, and his face is so red now. Damien reaches down to brush along his cheekbone. “My teeth,” Ty says, and Damien isn’t sure that he heard the other man right.