by Bru Baker
“I’m fine,” Drew said, cutting him off. He was relieved beyond measure that Nick wasn’t panicking about being in bed with him. He’d hoped Nick showing up last night had meant they were turning a corner. “I just have to pee, and I can’t get there without help.”
Nick sprang up and reached for him, but Drew held him off. “You can’t pull me up, it’ll rip my stitches. I need you to stand there and brace me so I can pull myself up.”
He held steady as Drew painfully maneuvered himself up and out of bed. He was winded by the time he reached the bathroom, which sucked, but Nick seemed sympathetic.
“Do you need pain medication?” Nick asked as Drew shuffled back out of the bathroom a few minutes later.
“No. Jordan brought me some a bit ago,” he said.
He opted for a recliner near the window instead of bed, tired of being prone. Nick helped ease him into it, and then seemed to realize he was standing there naked. He scrambled for a pair of sweatpants, going to exactly the right drawer in Drew’s dresser to grab them. Interesting.
“So when you said you stayed here while I was gone, you meant here here, right? In my bed?”
Nick’s cheeks flushed. “Yeah. I wanted to be close to your scent. It helped keep me calm.”
“And you know what that means, right?”
A brilliant smile crept across Nick’s face. “That I’ve chosen you as my mate. Fuck, I think I might have done it the first day we met. Things just feel right with you, even when I was fighting it.”
The reminder of Nick’s struggle to reconcile dating a human gave Drew pause. “Are you still fighting it? Is that why you didn’t come to the hospital?”
Nick crossed the room and sat on the edge of the recliner, taking one of Drew’s hands in his own and curling their fingers together. “No. I saw Jordan kiss you, and I assumed you’d decided to get back together with him. I didn’t handle it well. I should have known you wouldn’t act on a whim like that.”
“What, like I jumped into bed with a strange werewolf on a whim? I don’t exactly have a track record of well-thought-out decision making,” Drew said wryly.
“Okay, so maybe you make impulsive decisions once in a blue moon,” Nick teased.
Drew grinned. “Oh my God. It was a blue moon. I forgot! Jesus, what was I thinking, going to bed with a werewolf on a full moon?”
“I’d never hurt you,” Nick said, bringing their joined hands up to his mouth and pressing a kiss to Drew’s knuckles. “Besides, a coupling under a blue moon is supposed to bring good luck.”
“Are you making that up?”
Nick’s earnest expression was adorable. “My nana had a bunch of sayings about the moon, but that was her favorite. She said back when she was young, Packs used to have mixers on blue moons to pair people off.”
Throwing a bunch of young Weres amped up on the moon together seemed like a bad idea, but Drew supposed on paper, so did Camp H.O.W.L.
“Well, I don’t think there are any other blue moon hookups on my list, so you can say you took my blue-moon virginity,” Drew teased.
Nick’s expression turned serious. “I’m ready to have the list talk. If you’re still ready.”
“You’ve already said you’ve chosen me as a mate. That’s a little past the list,” Drew said. He squeezed their joined hands. “I’m still ready. I know we can’t go through a promise ceremony like two wolves would, but I’m all in.”
“We can’t have the promise ceremony or a mating ceremony, but it doesn’t matter. My wolf accepts you as my mate, and when the time comes, if you want to take it to the next step, we can get married.”
Most Weres stopped at the traditional mating ceremony, which was the wolf equivalent of a big church wedding. Humans couldn’t participate in Pack rituals, even if they were members of the Pack. So they’d never be able to have a mating ceremony, but they could go the traditional human route.
“My mom and stepdad got married at the county courthouse and had a big barbecue with the Pack to celebrate. I think when the time comes, that’s what I’d like to do too.” Drew caught himself and shook his head. “If the time comes. We’ve known each other for a month. We’re not exactly shopping for rings right this second. But I do want to be with you in whatever way we can be.”
Nick leaned in and kissed him, slow and sweet. “Same. I’ll take you any way I can get you.”
“Well, the only way you’re getting me is human,” Drew said. “And I think we ought to make an appointment to see Tate before he leaves to make sure we’re on the same page about what that means.”
Nick’s smile dimmed, but he nodded. “It’s a good idea. But I get it now. You don’t have to be a wolf to be able to understand and respect my needs, just like I don’t have to be human to understand and respect yours.”
“It really turns me on when you’re all logical and adultlike,” Drew said, leaning into Nick’s side, rubbing his cheek against the smooth, warm skin.
Nick hummed thoughtfully. “What if I told you I was heading downstairs to make you breakfast and possibly wash dishes?”
Drew pretended to swoon. “Don’t talk dirty to me, baby, I can’t do anything about it in my condition.”
Nick slithered off the edge of the chair and settled on his knees between Drew’s legs. “If you think you’re up for it, you won’t have to do anything at all.”
He met Drew’s gaze, and Drew nodded slightly, giving him permission. Frankly, he wasn’t sure what he was up for, but he’d sure as hell like to find out.
A thrill ran up his spine when Nick leaned in and nuzzled against his groin, his breath hot even through the fabric of Drew’s sweatpants. His dick filled, rising to the occasion a little slower than it normally would, but still making a valiant effort.
Nick groaned and palmed himself, and Drew wished he was feeling more flexible so he could watch. It was all he could do to remain upright while Nick mouthed at him, the fabric of his sweatpants darkening with a mixture of saliva and precome.
When Nick brought his hands up to the waistband of Drew’s sweats, Drew nodded frantically, desperate to feel his mouth on him without any barriers. He didn’t have the core strength yet to raise himself up, but Nick didn’t need him to. He slid his hands under Drew’s ass and lifted him, pressing kisses to his hip as he rolled the sweats down to his thighs. Nick’s raw strength was undeniably hot, and when Drew recovered, he was going to put it to the test. Sex up against a wall had always been on his bucket list.
The thought of Nick pounding into him while holding him up made his cock twitch and burble precome, and Nick’s eyes flashed in response. He lowered Drew back onto the chair and met his gaze while lowering his head and taking the tip of Drew’s cock into his mouth, his tongue lapping up the wetness.
“Oh Jesus,” Drew gasped, his muscles clenching. His chest twinged in complaint, but it wasn’t enough to throw him out of the moment. Not with the sight of Nick’s lips around his cock and the overwhelming sensation of being engulfed in his mouth.
Drew brought a hand up to brace against his ribs, his other hand clawing at the chair as he tried to stay still. Nick’s eyes flashed again as he redoubled his efforts, knocking the breath out of Drew. Nick covered Drew’s hand with his own, loosening Drew’s grip on the chair so he could squeeze Nick’s hand instead of the fabric. Somehow that made things so much more intimate, and Drew found himself tumbling into an orgasm much faster than he would have thought possible given his current condition.
There was a flash of pain when his muscles contracted, but the endorphins flooding through him eased that almost immediately. Nick rested a hand against his hip, keeping him from moving and hurting himself as he came.
Once the spasms stopped, Nick let him slide out of his mouth and sat back on his heels, looking ridiculously pleased with himself. Drew let his eyes drift shut and kept his hand on his chest, feeling his heart hammer away under his palm.
“You doing okay?” Nick asked, concern coloring his tone.
/> Drew was wrung out and exhausted but more like himself than he had since the shooting. His eyelids were heavy, but he forced them open and grinned. “Never better.”
Nick laughed, his face slackening in relief. “Good. You don’t smell like pain, but I was worried I hurt you.”
Drew’s eyes roved over him, taking in the sight of his spit-slick, swollen lips and following the flush of his arousal from his neck down his chest to the very prominent bulge in his sweatpants.
God, the things he wanted to do to this man. He whined softly, aware he wasn’t in any shape to act on any of it.
Nick’s smile sharpened, probably sensing Drew’s spike of arousal, and he palmed himself, letting out a low, sultry groan that made Drew’s pulse jump.
“Want me to put on a show?”
Drew took in a sharp breath that had his ribs aching when Nick slid his cock out of his sweatpants, wrapping his hand around himself and arching his spine as he stroked.
“Tell me how to touch myself.”
Drew had no doubt he’d be hard again if it was possible just from hearing Nick’s breathy request, but his injured body had reached its limit.
“Faster. I want you to make yourself come.”
Nick gasped, speeding his strokes until his hand was nearly a blur. “Oh fuck. Fuck, Drew, please.”
Drew couldn’t reach Nick, but he held his arm out, knowing exactly what Nick needed. Nick didn’t stop working himself over as he leaned forward, cutting off Drew’s view as he pushed into Drew’s open hand, dragging his nose along Drew’s wrist.
Two gasping breaths later Nick curled in on himself with a moan, his nose pressed against Drew’s pulse point as he came. He shuddered through his orgasm, going lax against Drew’s legs when he was spent.
“God, I’m not sure how, but that was even hotter than the night we spent together in Chicago,” Nick said after a long moment. He pushed back gently, dislodging himself from Drew and sitting on his heels.
“Because this time you didn’t have to deny part of yourself. Not that you did a good job of it in Chicago. Did you know you flashed your eyes at me?”
“Just now? Yeah, between mates its—”
“No,” Drew interrupted. “In Chicago. Between that and the scenting, you were terrible at hiding you were a wolf.”
Nick wrinkled his nose. “It was a full moon. I was doing my best.”
Drew smirked. “You’re lucky I was already in the know.”
Nick stood up and grabbed a shirt from a pile of dirty clothes, wiping down his torso and his hand before pulling his sweatpants back up. “I told you, blue moons are supposed to bring luck. So yeah, I was.”
Drew went through the painfully slow process of getting out of the chair with Nick’s help.
“Do you want to go back to bed, or do you think you’d like to spend some time downstairs?”
Drew hummed in amusement. “You just want to flaunt our scents so you can mark your territory.”
Nick had the grace to look chagrined. “Only if you’re up for it.”
Drew let him stew for a moment.
“You’ll have to carry me downstairs, or it’ll be lunchtime before we get there.” He wrapped an arm around Nick’s neck, cuddling closer to him after he obeyed. “Be nice to Jordan. He’s leaving this afternoon.”
“Oh, is he?”
Drew saw right through Nick’s disinterested tone. “Like your instincts won’t be going nuts as long as he’s here, this early in the mating. Yes. He’s going back to Lexington, and the next time we see him—and we will see him, he’s an important part of my life—you’re going to make an effort to get to know him. You two share a sense of humor. You’ll like him when you’re settled enough to see it.”
Nick pressed a kiss to Drew’s neck. “I don’t know why I fought this so long. You know my wolf better than I do.”
“Your wolf is you,” Drew reminded him. “It’s not a separate entity.”
Drew squirmed when Nick kissed his neck again, his teeth nipping lightly at the skin. “I’m so fucking lucky I met you,” he murmured.
“And under a blue moon,” Drew said, adding jazz hands to lighten the mood.
Nick laughed.
“Dork.” He started down the stairs. “Let’s get you fed so we can get rid of Jordan.”
Epilogue
“IF it makes you feel better, pretend we’re here for my birthday instead of the holiday. Less pressure.”
Nick scowled at Drew. “That doesn’t make it better.”
Especially because the birthday present he’d gotten Drew was half of what he was stressing over. He and Drew couldn’t go through the mating-bite ceremony because Drew was human, so Nick was planning to propose. He’d found an artist in Bloomington who made delicately tooled leather cuffs, and Nick had commissioned one with his dental impressions in it. It would sit right over Drew’s pulse point, the traditional spot a man wore his mating bite.
It was as close to a traditional werewolf mating as they could get. And since no one in Were culture wore wedding rings, it would stand out less. He’d already prepaid for one to be made for himself, assuming Drew said yes.
God, he hoped he said yes.
Spending Thanksgiving with Drew’s family was a big step for them, and they had plans to fly to Utah to see Nick’s parents for Christmas. His sister had promised she’d fly in from Denver, too, so everyone could meet Drew together.
If things went according to plan on this visit, Nick would be introducing Drew as his fiancé. It was bound to make some waves because his family was pretty traditional, but Drew was worth it.
About thirty miles outside of St. Louis, Drew pulled off the interstate and followed a winding road to an even more secluded dirt turnoff.
“We might be sleeping at Mom and Kenny’s, which is in the city, but everyone is gathering at the Pack compound for Thanksgiving,” Drew told him. “There will be—”
“About forty people here, between the Pack and visiting family. Yes, I know. You’ve given me ample preparation.”
Drew snickered. “You know preparation is my favorite part,” he joked.
Nick bit back a smile. “Nice. Don’t tell any sex jokes at Thanksgiving, please. I want your Pack to like me.”
“They’d probably like you more if I did. Then they’d bond with you commiserating over how terrible my sense of humor is.”
“I like your sense of humor, but I want to make a good impression.”
Drew looked over, and his grin made Nick’s heart skip. “I love you, and that’s all the impression they need. Trust me. It’s going to be fine.”
They pulled up to a sprawling house with cars scattered across the circular drive and up onto the lawn. People spilled off the porch before Drew had even turned the car off, and he was engulfed in hugs the moment he climbed out of the car.
Nick eased out of his seat and stood by the side of the car, hanging back because he was unsure of his welcome. He breathed a sigh of relief when Jordan skidded across the hood and tackled him in a bear hug.
“I lost five bucks to Jackson because I bet him you’d chicken out, but I’m glad to see you anyway,” he said when he released him.
Much to Nick’s surprise, Drew had been right when he’d predicted Nick and Jordan would be fast friends once Nick got over himself. It hadn’t been instantaneous, but the more he and Drew hung out with Jordan the less possessive Nick felt. It was obvious Jordan wasn’t a threat to their relationship, and once Nick accepted that, he could see Jordan for the sarcastic asshole he was—a kindred spirit.
They spent a lot of their off weekends over in Lexington, and Nick was enjoying getting to know Jackson and Jordan and seeing Drew in a different light as he interacted with his Pack. He was in for a heaping dose of that this week, since they were staying with Drew’s Pack over the holiday.
“Hey, come meet my mom and stepdad,” Drew said after he’d emerged from the throng. He pulled Nick over to a woman who had Drew’s eyes and a man who radiat
ed authority. Just being near him made Nick want to bare his neck. There was no doubt he was the Pack second.
“Mom, Kenny, this is Nick,” Drew said, slinging an arm around Nick’s neck and pulling him close.
“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” Nick said, inclining his head and tilting his neck in respect. “You too, ma’am.”
Drew’s mother smiled and stepped forward, taking Nick’s face between both her palms, scent marking him like a family member would.
“Welcome, Nick. We’ve heard great things about you,” she said, laughing when Jackson shouted something bordering on obscene from the porch. “Granted, most of it wasn’t from him.”
Jackson made kissy noises. “I would hope not, Christa! I’m not the one who’s—”
He cut off with an oomph when Jordan jumped on his back and wrapped his hands around Jackson’s mouth. “He’s a lovely young man,” Jordan yelled.
Nick grinned at their display. The rest of the Pack ignored it, apparently used to the roughhousing and teasing.
“May the moon guide your path and guard your step while you are in the Garrison territory,” Kenny said, giving Nick the traditional greeting from a second to a visiting wolf.
“May its light bring blessings for the hospitality you show,” Nick answered.
The laugh lines around Kenny’s eyes deepened when he smiled. He offered Nick his arm, and Nick let him rub his wrist along his neck.
“It’s about time you found a nice boy to bring home,” Kenny said, taking Drew’s face in his hands and then wrapping him in a bear hug. “You definitely traded up with this one.”
“I can hear you!” Jordan called from the porch, still riding on Jackson’s back.
“I meant for you to,” Kenny responded in the same playful tone.
“Come on, you two, we’re just about ready to sit down for dinner. Food’s out back because there wasn’t room for it all inside.” He rested his hand lightly in the center of Nick’s back, guiding him. “We’re just waiting on my son Troy. He was driving in too. Richard—that’s Drew’s other brother—and his wife, Jenny, are celebrating with his wife’s Pack. He’ll probably Skype with us later, so you can meet him then.”