by Sean Michael
He could eat. Hell, he could eat an entire buffalo.
Naked, Barker led him into the little kitchen and pulled a package of steaks out of the fridge. He followed right behind, breath on Barker’s shoulder, nostrils flaring.
“You’re not wanting it uncooked, are you?” Barker didn’t sound like that would be a big problem for him.
“N…no…” He whined softly, his stomach snarling.
Barker smiled at him, eyes soft and warm. “You want to change and eat it as is?”
“I. I think I have to. I’m sorry, man. I…” His body convulsed.
“It’s okay. Go on. I would, too, if I could. Think of the beast, of the shape of him, the way he feels.”
“Like running.” Cody dropped to the floor, spine arching impossibly.
“That’s it. Let it have you.” Barker’s words encouraged him, helped him.
One warm hand stroked over his back, petting him gently. Mate. Mate. He panted, tail thumping on the floor.
“Beautiful.”
Bloody and fresh, meat was put on the floor in front of him. He snapped up the steak, the blood cool and sharp on his tongue.
“There you go.” His mate patted his head and then backed off, letting him finish in peace.
He bit off a piece, dropping it at his mate’s feet. Barker rumbled at him, the sound not quite right, but then his mate wasn’t a wolf at the moment. He lapped at Barker’s ankle, loving the man before turning back to his dinner. His mate’s chuckle felt good inside, almost as good as the meat as it filled his belly.
He licked the plate clean then hopped up, paws on the counter as he searched for more.
“More?” Barker pushed the other piece of meat toward him.
He barked happily. More. More, more, more.
“You’re a piggy wolf.”
His tongue lolled, tail lashing violently. Barker laughed, dancing out of the way. He hopped down, crouching, hindquarters up. Play.
“Oh-ho! I know what you want now!”
He yipped, bouncing a little. Barker suddenly tweaked his ear and leapt away. His paws scrambled on the tile as he ran to pounce, claws clicking. Barker went down under him, hitting the floor with a loud thump.
He licked his mate’s face, chuffing. Barker’s hands went to his muzzle, rubbing and scratching. Oh, good. Good. His eyes crossed, lip curling in pleasure.
“Ah, that’s the spot, huh?”
He settled down, tail thumping hard, encouraging more of those wonderful touches.
“This is the life,” murmured Barker as his mate settled next to him, hands and fingers busy.
Cody agreed, all of him. He hadn’t ever been so happy.
* * * * *
Barker finished his shift at the bar and headed home, trying not to grumble. He’d had his shifts changed from night to day so his schedule coincided, more or less, with Cody’s. Too bad he hated the hell out of it. Who’d have thought?
He let himself in, nose in the air, searching automatically for his mate’s scent. The house smelled like Cody, but the scent was fading. Someone wasn’t home. It made him growl. Oh, he wasn’t worried anymore that Cody had done a runner and disappeared, but damn it, he’d changed his entire schedule around so they could spend time together, and yet here he was, all by himself.
He heard the door open about ten minutes later, the scent of food sudden and strong.
“Mate.” He headed for the front door.
“Hey. I brought tacos.” Cody looked exhausted.
“What happened?” he demanded, taking the bag from Cody’s hands.
“Huh? Long day. Tacos.”
“You look worn out.”
“I am.” Suddenly he could scent blood. Fresh blood.
He growled and tossed the bag in the general direction of the kitchen before starting to tear at Cody’s clothes. “What happened?”
“Fight. Need a shower.” Cody jerked away, the shirt coming off in Barker’s hands.
“A fight with who? Damn it, this isn’t just a few punches, is it?”
“Stop it. I work with tough guys. Shit happens.”
There was a knife slash right across Cody’s ribs.
“This isn’t just shit happening.” He pushed Cody up against the wall next to the bathroom door. “Who did this to you?” He would kill them.
“Stop. Stop, Barker. I need a shower. A fucking nap.”
“You need to tell me what the fuck happened. You need to tell me who came at you with a knife.”
“Some asshole who wanted money. It happens. I’m a day laborer. I work for cash with gangsters, cons, and fucking druggies.”
Barker growled.
Cody growled back, teeth baring. “Go tell them you want your old job back, would you? You hate working days.”
“This has nothing to do with that! Someone hurt you!” Cody was his, to love, to protect.
“It happens. It happens a lot. Deal with it.”
“That’s exactly what I plan to do, just as soon as you tell me who did this to you.” He was going to rip the asshole who’d hurt his mate limb from limb.
Cody rolled his eyes and headed into the bathroom.
“Hey!” Barker growled some more and stalked after his mate. “It’s my job to protect you.”
“Since when?”
“Since you’re my fucking mate!”
“Bullshit.” Cody turned on him, eyes flashing gold. “Ten years. Ten years I was on the run. You watched them drive me out. Cut me. Shoot at me. Throw stones at me! Ten years I starved and hurt and ran! Just because I can change, you don’t have the right to protect me!”
“We’ve been over this! I was young and scared when that happened, and then you never gave me a chance after that!”
“And I’m not young, scared, or in need of protection. I’ll heal. It won’t scar. Leave it alone!”
“I can’t!” Cody was asking the impossible.
“You don’t have a choice!” The bathroom door slammed between them.
Growling, Barker slammed it open again. “What the fuck was that?”
“I said you don’t have a motherfucking choice!” Cody snapped at him.
“Why are you fucking mad at me? I didn’t do this to you!” He was going to deck Cody any second now. Or toss him up against the tile and fuck him through it.
“Because you’re miserable and I know it. You fucking hate this. You hate that I don’t just bow to the almighty Alpha in this relationship, but you don’t get that I can’t and I’m not going to be able to stay.”
“You’re fucking staying!” Barker pushed Cody up against the wall, mouth dropping to cover his mate’s. This was the thing that made sense—this here, their connection. He pushed his tongue into Cody’s mouth, the taste there necessary and right. His mate. His. He wasn’t ever letting Cody go. Ever.
Growling now, he humped against Cody as he devoured his mate’s mouth. Cody fought back, growling into their kiss, fingers like claws against him. It was a clash of heat and anger and passion and it was perfect. Sharp sounds pushed between his lips, Cody’s tongue slapping against his. He tore at Cody’s pants, not caring if he ripped them or not in the process.
“My only pair, asshole,” Cody growled.
“I’ll buy you a fucking new pair.” Or make Cody walk around naked. That worked, too. This whole working for cash with dangerous people was ridiculous. Ridiculous.
Barker got Cody’s jeans off with only a little rippage and then it was his own clothes that were in the way. His mate. He could smell blood, sweat. Growling again, he bent to lick at the knife wound. It was already starting to heal, to knit at the edges.
He felt the anger surging through him again anyway. Someone had hurt his mate. Cody’s fingers combed through his hair, petting him, stroking him. He was torn between growling over Cody being hurt and nuzzling into the sweet touches.
“Go back to the job you love, Barker. Make yourself happy again.”
“You make me happy.” It was true.
“Not happy enough.” There was that quiet loss, that shame in Cody’s eyes.
“What are you talking about?” He was unsettled and growly. Sure, he didn’t like the day shift, but he wanted to spend some time with Cody. Besides, someone had hurt his mate and it had his hackles all up.
“Take the night shift back.” Cody slid away from him, turned the water on.
“And have what? Five minutes a day to spend with you?” Cody had a fine fucking ass.
“Don’t exaggerate.”
“I’m not! You’re away all day, I’d be leaving as you came in.”
“It’s not like we’re friends, Barker. We fuck, a lot. We don’t hang out; we don’t talk. We can fuck in the mornings before I leave for work.”
“You’re my mate.” Why was Cody being like this? He growled, pushed the man into the shower.
“Stop pushing me!” Cody shoved back. “Why can’t you be happy?”
“I am fucking happy! I’m over-fucking-joyed!”
“Liar. You’re fucking grumpy all the time!”
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. I’m pissed right now because someone fucking cut you!”
“They did. Do you know how to keep from shifting when you get hurt?” Cody’s moods changed like the winds.
Barker’s eyes went wide. “You shifted?”
Cody blushed dark, head ducking.
“Oh, shit. Did they see?”
Shifters weren’t a secret, but they tended to keep to themselves under the full moon. And hell, Cody was the only one he knew who could shift outside of the full moon. “Was this a shifter-friendly job site?” If it was Clan, well, that would make it both easier and more complicated. He still wasn’t sure what the Elders were going to think of a shifter who wasn’t subject to the usual laws.
“Only one guy. He’s a drunk. I…I should go, huh? Before I cause more problems.”
“No. No, you should stay right here. If word gets out to the Elders, they’ll summon us.” Hell, he was surprised they hadn’t already. Someone had to have reported that Cody was back. Maybe they hadn’t recognized him without the yellow, glowing eyes.
“I’m not going to see them.”
“I’m not sure we’re going to have a choice.” The Elders were…well, the Elders.
“I won’t. Period. They’re not my pack.”
“They run the Clan, though.” They ran the city, the werewolf side, anyway.
“Not my problem.” Cody met his eyes, straight on. “I’m not Clan. I’m banished.”
“But you won’t be anymore.”
“I will never be Clan. Never again.”
Barker opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say. He was shocked.
“They turned on me, drove me out like a freak. I was a kid, Barker. I was so fucking scared.”
“I know.” Barker tugged Cody to him, held him close. “Don’t you just want to be home?”
“Don’t you understand? There is no home for me.”
“This is your home! Here, with me.”
Cody didn’t answer him.
“You don’t want to be here with me?” How could Cody want to leave him again? He didn’t understand.
“I want to be here with you. I always wanted to belong here.”
Relief swept through him at Cody’s words. “Good. Good. That’s what I want, too. What I’ve always wanted.” He growled a little for emphasis.
“They won’t let it happen. I think the world is conspiring against me.”
“We’ll stand together. It’s not just you anymore.” He had to remind himself that Cody had been on his own for ten years. That was a long time to be bitter, to hate people. To hate him.
He let his lips explore Cody’s face, touch gently. His fingers slid just as gently over the warm flesh, not tickling, seeking to arouse. The easy touches seemed to melt his mate, seduce him into stepping closer. He licked at the corner of Cody’s lips. A soft rumble sounded, and Cody’s hands wrapped around his waist.
“Want you.” He licked his way into Cody’s mouth.
“You have me. Bed?”
“Uh-huh.” He leaned into the shower to turn off the water and then took Cody’s hand, taking him to the big bed.
Barker forced himself to keep the touches, the kisses, quiet and easy. He forced himself to relax, to let go of the idea that this was the last time. He laid Cody out on the bed and stretched next to him, fingers exploring the tight abs.
“Mmm…” Cody groaned, arched for him. So fine. So sensual.
He licked at Cody’s lips and then began to slowly work his way down, lips and tongue exploring. He’d never really been able to take his time, relax. Enjoy this beautiful man. He found one of the little nipples and teased it with the tip of his tongue, encouraging it to tighten up.
“Oh. Oh. Mate.” Listen to that need.
He tugged Cody’s nipple between his lips, flicked across the tip again, and then simply breathed on it. Tremors started rocking Cody’s body, tiny little shivers that made Barker’s cock ache. He mouthed his way over to Cody’s other nipple, giving it the same gentle, sweet treatment.
“Barker. Barker, God…” Cody’s fingers danced over his skin.
“Yeah, that’s me, babe, your god,” he teased.
“Don’t stop. Please.”
No, Barker wasn’t going to stop. He was going to make Cody wild with need.
His mate wanted him—the scent filled the air. He reached for the nipple he’d abandoned, pinching lightly as he continued to tongue the other one. Cody’s little cries were like music, ringing out, filling the air. He moved down, tongue heading for those ripped abs. The scent of his mate was heady, matched only by the flavor of Cody on his tongue.
He circled Cody’s navel, tongue dancing over the peaks and valleys of Cody’s stomach. There were dozens of tiny faded scars, and he touched each one, licked each one. He breathed on them and memorized where they were. It had been a hard life for his mate. His mate. He was going to make the rest of Cody’s life right.
After licking and tracing and nosing the scars on Cody’s chest and belly, Barker moved to nuzzle into the dip between hip and cock, picking up the strong musk.
Cody groaned, fingers brushing through his hair. “Mate. Oh, mate.” The call was so clear, so happy.
“Mine,” he murmured, rubbing his cheek against Cody’s erection.
“Yes…” That cock dripped for him.
He lapped at the tip, drawing the flavor in. It made him rumble deep in his chest. His mate called softly, pleasure on his tongue. He wanted to swallow Cody’s prick whole and demand his mate’s orgasm, but he made himself go slowly, made himself lick and clean it first. Cody’s hips rose and fell, the hot cock sliding on his tongue.
He slowly added suction, mouth working as the hard flesh moved in and out of his mouth. Soft words filled the air, Cody’s voice husky and rough. The sounds went right to his balls, making him harder than ever.
Cody’s thighs parted, the offer clear. He slid his fingers between them, finding the soft-skinned, wrinkled little hole. The muscle shifted for him, moved for him.
“You want me.”
“Yes. God, yes.”
“Good. I want you, too.” Barker pushed his head between Cody’s thighs and began to lick that sweet little hole.
“Barker. Barker. Love.” That last single word slid down his spine like liquid heat.
Humming happily, he licked again, and pointed his tongue, pushing it right into Cody’s hole. The smell of Cody overwhelmed him, left him shaken and groaning, needing more of his mate. Barker fucked the sweet hole with his tongue, pushing as deep as he could.
“Need you. Need. Please. Mate. More. Fuck, hot.” Cody was babbling for him.
He got his mate good and wet with his tongue, and then rose up over Cody, cock pushing against Cody’s hole.
“Yes. Yes. Yes.” It was a chant, a prayer, and Cody arched, bore down and took him in.
So fucking good. Groani
ng, he pushed, meeting Cody’s movements and getting in deep. Blue eyes met his, human and solid and focused. He brought their mouths together, kissing Cody as he pushed into his mate’s body again and again.
Love.
The word echoed in his head. In. His. Head.
As their lips parted, it came out, the word whispering across Cody’s lips now. “Love.” Cody’s eyes were glowing, gold.
He watched, held the gaze while they came together.
Mate. Cody’s voice whispered in his mind. Oh, fuck.
He thrust harder, entering his mate. He smelled Cody’s seed, the scent all he could smell.
“Mate!” He cried out, his hips snapping. Then he was filling Cody with his spunk.
“Mate…” Cody’s hands wrapped around his shoulders, keeping him close.
“Yeah.” Barker nuzzled Cody’s neck, breathing his mate in.
Cody’s heartbeat echoed inside him, boom. Boom. Boom.
“I can feel your heart beating.”
Cody nodded, stared at him. “I hear you, inside.”
“That’s crazy.” It was crazy.
Cody frowned at him. I’m not crazy.
He reached back, staring. Fuck. Fuck, he’d heard that.
I’m not crazy.
Mate. He didn’t say it out loud, just…thought it at Cody.
Cody nodded. “Yes. Yes, Barker. Your mate.”
“How?” He could hear Cody inside him, could speak to Cody without speaking. How did that happen?
“How the hell should I know?”
“I don’t know…” He shrugged, pulling out and settling next to Cody. “I’ve never heard of it happening before.”
“We’re freaks.” Cody didn’t sound terribly upset.
“As long as you’re not running away again, I can live with that.”
Cody licked his bottom lip. “Go back to your night shift, Barker. I’m not running.”
“I don’t know, babe.” He shrugged again. The idea was very appealing, but honestly, he wanted to see Cody more than just a few minutes between shifts.
“If they had crappy day labor jobs at night, I’d take them, but that’s why they’re called day labor.”
“Maybe we can find you a crappy night job?”
Cody shrugged. “Whatever there is. I’m not picky. I have just enough to pay for a room and food.”