by J. D. Light
They called him ugly and worthless and told him nobody would ever want him because he was weird and unattractive.
Bennet had finally told Bunny and then Ridley's mom when one of the meanest of the kids actually stripped Ridley down one day while he'd been waiting in the parking lot for Bennet to get out of early morning practice and duct tapped his naked form to the giant mascot right outside the front doors to the school. He'd written words like, ugly, disgusting and worthless in black magic marker across his chest.
The boy never ended up getting detention or any form of discipline, but he did end up in the hospital and Benny refused to talk to anyone about his broken right hand.
Now, sitting on the bed next to my very nervous looking mate, I couldn't help but think how strange bullies are. What about this beautiful, sweet, young man could ever make anyone want to verbally or physically assault him? He was absolutely perfect, and when I looked at him, I couldn't catch my breath with the adoration inside me.
"Flynn?" he whispered, probably seeing the angry bafflement on my face.
"Oh baby." I dropped to the floor in front of him, needing to look up into his beautiful whiskey eyes. "I wish I could take away all the pain you've ever been through."
His confused smile was really cute. "Why? It's over now. And it actually made me pretty tough. Sticks and stone, you know?"
"You really are amazing."
"Not really."
"Baby, what is it about yourself that you find unappealing? Your precious freckles? Your beautiful red hair? Because those things make you unique, but definitely not unappealing."
Frowning, he seemed to think about it for a while. "I don't know. It's not really either of those things. I mean sure, it took until I was older to really appreciate those things about myself, but I actually love my freckles and red hair. And I've seen many, many beautiful people with both."
"And it definitely can't be your features. Your straight, perfect nose? Your sexy smile and large pouty mouth? Your gorgeous whiskey colored eyes?"
Wrinkling his little elfin nose, he smiled sadly. "No, I look like both my mom and my dad. I wouldn't trade any of my features for anything in the world. I even love being tall like my dad and thin like my mom. This is her nose and her mouth and these are his eyes and his chin. I like being able to look in the mirror sometimes and see them. She was so beautiful and he was so handsome. I was always so proud to be there son."
"Then how could you possibly think you're unattractive?"
This time he thought a little longer, but in the end he just shrugged, looking lost. "I don't know, but I am."
Leaning up quickly, I cupped his face and kissed him, trying desperately to will away any hurt that might be lingering. He groaned, fisting my shirt at my chest and trying to tug me closer.
Was it selfish that I adored the way he responded to me? His need always took him from shy mouse to bold cat. It was absolutely intoxicating. His control would snap and he would manhandle me into the position he wanted me in, not holding back a damn thing.
Knowing I needed to explain a few things before I allowed this to get out of control, I pulled back, resting my forehead against his. He tried to pull me closer again, but I chuckled and grabbed his shoulders.
"We have to talk, Ridley."
His face pinched up in worry. "About what? Why do I feel like I did something wrong?"
"You didn't!" I rushed to assure him. "It's just important that I explain things to you before we go any further in this relationship."
At the word relationship, his pretty red eyebrows rose a mile above his whiskey eyes. "Okay," he whispered, sounding unsure.
"Do you know how long shifters live?"
"Forever if they don't do something fucking stupid and get themselves killed." At my surprised laugh, Ridley smiled shyly. "Well, that's how Bunny explained it one day when Benny went cliff diving."
"That sounds like Bunny," I mumbled, chuckling.
Grabbing his hands, I kissed the knuckles on each. "You seem to know what an Alpha-Mate is."
"Yeah. When Benny and I were like twelve, his alpha found his mate. It was such a big deal to his family. That's all they talked about for months."
"So you know what the word mate means to a shifter, right?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, I know that sometimes shifters are given soulmates, and sometimes they just mate when they fall in love. I think Benny's parents just fell in love, and mated. But his old alpha had actually found his soulmate."
I smiled, wondering how he could know all of this and still not see what was directly in front of him. "We don't go around calling them soulmates though. We just call them mates. Most of the time, it's pretty obvious what we're talking about."
I thought surely I'd see it then. The dawning realization that I always called him my mate, but the longer I sat there waiting, the more confused he seemed to get.
Wow. Life really had messed with his head. Did he really think so little of himself that it wasn't even in the realm of possibilities that he was my mate? My poor baby.
"Ridley Scott," I said, nearly in tears by now. "You are my mate."
"I still don't––"
There it was. Slowly, those eyes widened further and further. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound emerged. He blinked several times and then he was shaking his head.
"No? Are you telling me no?" My heart started to race as I frantically tried to figure out what to do to make him change his mind. "Do you not want to be my mate?"
Just saying the words out loud made my heart feel like it was ripping in two.
His body jerked. "What?! Are you kidding? It's a fucking dream come true, but it can't be real." And suddenly, he was crying. "It's not fair! You can't be stuck with me. That's not fair."
Falling back on the bed, Ridley curled into a ball, sobbing, "it's not fair," over and over. His body was shaking and I realized he was truly distraught.
"Ridley, baby, please stop crying. I promise I will do everything in my power to keep you protected and take care of you and make sure you have everything in life you could ever hope for and that you're happy. I'll make you so, so happy."
That just made him cry harder and I scooped him up into my arms and settled myself against the headboard as I held him.
"Baby, please stop crying. I'll do anything. If you aren't happy being my mate, I won't make you bond with me. It will rip my heart out, but no more than watching you so hurt."
"You don't understand," he sobbed into my shirt. "I don't feel sorry for myself anymore. I learned a long, long time ago, it doesn't do any good. If you want something to be different, you have to change it. If you can't change it, you have to accept it. But you…you deserve better than some ugly, awkward college dropout who works at a diner for his godmother. You shouldn't have to accept this!"
Pushing his beautiful, bright red hair away from his face, I made him look at me. Tears were still streaming down his cheeks and his sweet freckled skin was a bit blotchy, but he was in all honesty, the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
"There is nothing to accept. I could not be happier. You are absolutely perfect for me. You're beautiful and sweet and caring and so freaking selfless." He started shaking his head vehemently and I grabbed his chin to steady it. "Yes! You are. Why would I lie to you? If I wasn't happy with you as a mate, I just wouldn't have said anything and then I would have waited to fall in love and have mated them. But I am happy with you. So, so happy."
"But I'm human. I'll die in sixty to eighty years. And I'll get old and wrinkly."
"Not if we bond. If you accept this mating, we'll bond our souls and you'll take on my lifespan."
He looked shocked, but as he watched my eyes for a few moments, a smile started to creep back onto his delicious looking mouth. "Like, forever if I don't do something fucking stupid and get myself killed?"
Laughing, I pulled him into a kiss. After breaking away, I stared into his gorgeous eyes and then followed the play of freckles across his nose
and forehead. "Yes, baby, forever. Do you think you could handle spending forever with me?"
"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this with me? I'm not trying to beat a dead horse or anything, but I just can't seem to come to grips with the fact that you actually want me. Forever." He emphasized it like it was the end of the world completely. "What about your leap? Do you really think they'll accept me? You've already lost one member because of me."
Gawd, he was precious. "Thank you for worrying about my leap. But you should know, even if every member decided to leave today because they couldn't accept you, I would still chose to be with you, forever. That is how important you are to me."
"I…uh. Wow." Tears glistened along the rim of his amber-brown eyes.
Yeah, my boy wasn't all that articulate. I smiled. "And you've already been accepted anyway. Everyone is excited to meet the alpha-mate. Ronny's been running around telling everyone how beautiful and adorable you are, and Bennet's been walking around all puffed up because you're his best friend and he's the alpha-mate guard."
Ridley's giggle was one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard. "What Benny doesn't seem to realize is I have all the best stories from when we were younger."
"If I can hear just one of your laughs everyday, I'm going to have the best life ever."
Ridley tightened his arms around my neck, laughing again. "It's probably for the best that you're so easily pleased."
My baby. He'd learn to accept how special he was eventually. "Ridley, will you be my alpha-mate?"
"Absolutely. It was never a question of whether or not I would. I just wanted to make sure you were absolutely sure."
Rolling my eyes at my silly mate, I captured his mouth again, tasting the sweet nectar that was my perfect gingerbread mouse.
As always when we kissed, his response was burning. My mouse turned into a leopard, rising off my lap while never removing his lips from mine and then straddling my legs and lowering himself until he was grinding our dicks together.
Tugging on my shirt, he broke the kiss long enough to mumble, "skin" against my lips, and then he was again thrusting his tongue deep into my mouth and wrestling my shirt.
Already so hot I was about to blow inside my jeans, I was all too happy to get out of our clothes. I ripped his shirt over his head, getting a little whimper from my love when we had to break apart for just a second. Again he was on me and I just didn't have the ability to let him go yet.
Grabbing the neck of my shirt, I ripped it straight down the middle all the way down. As soon as I leaned forward to wiggle out of the rest of it, Ridley snaked an arm around my middle, pulling his body as close to mine as it could get without him climbing inside me.
We each had our own wet spots where our dicks were leaking into our pants and I was getting closer and closer to losing it. I wanted to be inside my mate when I blew, but I had never had such a hard time controlling myself before Ridley.
I was supposed to be an alpha, yet here I was, about to explode inside my pants because of this little redheaded human who claimed to have almost no sexual experience, but was constantly driving me to madness.
Deciding I needed to take control before I never got the chance to actually claim my mate, I flipped Ridley onto his back and jumped off the bed. When he narrowed his eyes and looked at me like he was ready to pounce, I held up a hand to ward him off.
"Hold on. We need lube and to take our pants off." I felt like I was negotiating with a terrorist…or a wild animal.
He watched my movements like a cat waiting for the opportunity to attack and for the first time in my life, I felt like prey. I seriously loved all sides of Ridley, but this was one of my favorites.
"Take your pants off Ridley," I said huskily, pulling the lube from the drawer before closing it and unbuttoning my own pants and sliding them down my legs.
He did as I asked, but he watched me the entire time, like he was waiting for me to try to escape so he could take me down like a wildebeest.
When my pants hit the floor and then his, I watched my baby, as he looked me over. His hand went to his long, thick dick, stroking from base to tip as the slit leaked a crystal drop down the head.
I needed that in my mouth. I couldn't ever seem to get enough of the taste of my mate. Dropping the lube to the bed, I crawled between his sprawled legs, still being tracked by his now dark brown eyes.
I splayed my hands on his thighs, loving the way my touch made him arch in the air, pushing his cock through his hand. The veins and tendons in his arm were standing out and I was a little worried he was going to squeeze his dick too hard, but he seemed to be in ecstasy.
When I ran my palms up his thighs and then batted his hand away with one of mine, he whined and then mewled when I grabbed him, running my thumb against the bottom of the head. I wasted no time in leaning down and capturing the drooling precum with my tongue, leaving a trail of my own against the hair around my belly button.
Again, his flavor was exquisite against my tongue and I was helpless not to suck him deep and swallow his entire dick. His long, lean body folded in half backwards off the bed, shoving him even deeper into my throat. I moaned, loving the feel and taste of him. The vibrations must have felt good because my mate was moaning and thrashing on the bed.
Grabbing the lube, I opened the bottle and coated the fingers of one hand before I grabbed his hips with the other, holding him still. I reached between his cheeks and swiped his hole a few times while slowly bobbing on his dick. Ridley didn’t even hesitate to spread his legs even further, telling me where he wanted me.
I knew he hadn't done this before and even as that ramped my need for him up a few notches, it also reminded me that I needed to be careful with my sweet baby. He may act like a crazed wildcat in the bed––which gawd, did I love––but he still needed to be handled with care.
Slowly, I eased one finger into his hole, proud of my baby when he pushed against me, making it easier to slip in. It wasn't long before he was ready for a second finger. I pressed against the front of his channel, hitting his prostate while sucking him all the way again.
He squeaked and bowed, and then grabbed a handful of my hair. "Stop! I'm never going to make it."
Pulling off, I smiled up his lovely body and slipped a third finger inside him. He moaned and his legs shook and the sight was literally almost too much. Reaching down quickly, I grabbed my dick hard, needing to stop my orgasm before I ruined our claiming. Resting my head against his thigh and breathing deep with three fingers in his ass and a hand wrapped tightly around my dick so I wouldn't blow, I couldn't help but chuckle a little.
"I swear, baby. You fucking turn me into a damn teenager every time I fucking touch you."
"Fucking. Yes," he whined, making me laugh.
"Are you ready, then?"
"I've fucking been ready." The disgruntled tone of his voice was so damn sexy.
Slipping free of his body, I rose and moved up the bed, kissing his hips, belly button and abs on the way up. I licked and sucked his nipples and then nibbled up his collarbones and neck. Finally, I took his mouth again while using the remainder of the lube on my hand to slick up my dick.
It was about to happen. I was really about to be inside my mate.
CHAPTER FIVE
I couldn't believe what was happening. Even with my body on fire and my control not even a thing that I had, I couldn't even fathom that this beautiful, sexy, amazing alpha was about to not only make love to me, but claim me for the rest of our lives. Which would apparently be a considerable amount of time.
I looked up in awe at the man I had been fantasizing about for the last three months as he pulled back to line his impressive cock up with my hole. I felt the head graze against my entrance, and then he was pushing in very slowly, his abs and chest flexing.
It burned, but all I could focus on was how this gorgeous, way out of my league man was looking at me like I was the most important thing in the whole world. And apparently, I was.
I was everything to him. That was the thought that brought a smile to my face as his pubes and balls came to rest against my ass cheeks. When he started the slow, gentle in and out stroke, the head of his dick brushed against my prostate over and over, bringing me higher and higher, even without a hand on my cock.
I needed more. I needed him to move faster, pump harder. Eventually, I just couldn't take the slow burn anymore. Wrapping my legs around his hips, I reached above my head, grabbing ahold of his headboard and used my arms to push my self down on his dick with all of my strength.
The feel of him pegging my gland that hard, sent me into a lustful frenzy. My back bowed and my grip tightened as I slammed myself against him again and again. My dick was untouched and drooling and my shoulders were starting to burn, but I needed more. I needed him to let go and fucking fuck me already.
Tired of waiting, I leaned forward and bit his pec, hard, while still forcing my ass onto his cock. I heard his growl and when I looked up, the cat was in his eyes.
I would have never thought the sight of his slitted eyes and his sharp fangs would have done it for me, but I mewled with desperation. With the need to be his.
Flynn reached beneath me and up my back, palming my shoulders. And then he was jerking me down on his dick so hard, I lost my grip on his hips with my legs. They flopped to the side, my body going practically limp as I took the exquisite abuse. As I arched up, allowing my nipples to brush the slight fur of his chest, my dick exploded and I shouted long and loud at the ceiling.
I barely even noticed him grab my wrists and pry them from the headboard as I rode out the full body tingle of my orgasm. Flynn yowled into my neck as his hot seed poured into my ass and I shuddered at the delicious feel.
Suddenly, he struck, sinking his canines into my neck and sending me into another, full body orgasm. The lights in the room winked on and off. Or maybe that was just my vision.
Hell, it might have been my brain.
As he extracted his teeth and started licking at the wound, he moaned and a fresh wave of his seed splattered against my insides.