He needed to go with his mate. He owed it to both of them.
Then he tilted his head. “You want me to, right?” Oh, fuck, what if Trey was all closure man now and he wanted to leave everything behind.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Trey’s words were sharp, almost hurt. “I’ve been— I’ve wanted this— I mean, for fuck’s sake! I didn’t let myself believe you’d come for a second.”
“Oh, thank the moon. I mean, I was going to anyway, but this way I feel like Stephen will be so much safer.” He took Trey by the shoulders to pull him close, then kissed him hard.
This time—maybe for the first time since they reconnected—Trey met his kiss, fucking his lips like a starving man.
His whole body went on high alert, and Cory bent Trey back over his arm, just desperate for more. Trey’s hands tangled in his hair, holding him close. The sudden passion made him shake, Trey fucking singing inside him.
The water was flowing in the shower, steam pouring out, so Cory pushed Trey in there, then pressed him up against the wall, rubbing. Trey grabbed their cocks, stroking them together, Trey’s thumb working his slit on each upstroke.
He wanted to howl, but there was no air there to do it with. All Cory could do was saw back and forth, his balls up tight against his body.
Mine. Mine. Mine. Goddess, Trey made him want to howl.
Trey nodded, water flying, those eyes on him and never wavering. He drove into Trey’s touch, giving them both friction. There was no waiting now. The acrobatics could wait for round two.
“I love round two.” Trey’s laughter pushed into his mouth. I love you.
I love you, baby. So much. He was so close, his release right on the edge.
Trey nodded and squeezed, jerking them hard enough that his eyes rolled back in his head. Fighting for purchase on the wet tile, he sawed back and forth, his orgasm bursting out in great jets. “Fuck! Trey.”
“R-round two.” Trey groaned, and Cory barely felt his mate’s wet seed against his cock with the water pounding on them.
“In bed,” Cory agreed. He still had to check Trey over, though he couldn’t be hurt too bad and do that.
“Yeah. Yes, bed.” Together, together is important.
The most important part. Cory turned off the water, leaving them both gasping a little. He grabbed towels, rubbing them dry after they stepped out on the rug.
“Does it seem like this day has gone on for years or is it just me?”
“It does. I mean, how long can we wait for the wedding?” At least the clothes, people and houses were safe. They could recover from almost anything with all that intact. “Bed?”
“Mmm. Your mom wants to come.”
“What?” To bed? That was not cool.
“To the pack. She wants to move out there and cook. She told me today.”
“Oh.” Well, that was better than her coming to bed, which hadn’t made any sense at all. “Is that okay? She told me the other day she’d always wanted to travel but she worried about me.”
“There’s room for her. We’ll have to build her a house, but there’s a little trio of Airstreams, she can stay there until it’s built.” Just like that. Here. Come. Join my pack.
“Thanks, baby. She really wants to go while she’s still young.” He knew Trey’s folks would never visit, but maybe Stephen and Laurel could now, since George wasn’t here to cause trouble.
“I’d do anything for you.” Please don’t ask me to stay here.
I would never ask that. Even if he still had all the other shit to figure out, he would be the one to move. He knew that.
He loved Trey, not the canyon.
“I never want you to leave without me again.”
“Good.” Trey touched his scars. “You never said anything about them.”
“I didn’t? I would swear I told you they were a badge of survival.” Cory traced them, too. “They’re part of you. They make me proud of you.”
“In the pack, there’s a lot of scars like mine. Not everyone, but a lot. There are even pups now.”
That was nice, but he didn’t want to talk about puppies or everyone else or Mom. He wanted to get naked and horizontal in his bed with his mate.
Trey smiled for him. “You’ll meet them all. Come to bed.”
“I think you read my mind,” he quipped.
“Shut up, mate.” Trey rolled his eyes, stuck out his tongue. “Butthead.”
“It’s still new enough to be cool, huh? And a little weird.”
“I thought it was a lie.”
“Your parents didn’t—”
Trey shrugged. “Did your parents talk to you about it? We never discussed it.”
“No. No, they barely talked to each other.” Cory snorted. “But maybe they were all communing in their minds. Can we not take anyone else to bed?” He’d started it once, he guessed, but still. “What’s your favorite ice cream now?” He tugged Trey to the bed, making sure he could reach the drawer with the slick.
“Peanut butter cup. I love peanut butter. Caramel is good too, but peanut butter. Uhn. You?” Trey snuggled right into his arms.
“Um. I think cherry nut.” He loved rocky road too, but it didn’t love him.
“Mmm…cherry nut. Pistachio s good. Coconut. I love ice cream.” Damn, Trey was almost…cheery.
“Yeah? Do you have a favorite place to get it?”
“I love to just get a bunch of pints and take them home. We all sit around and gorge on them.”
Goddess, he’d been alone so much of his life. Would he freak out having a tight-knit pack all around him?
“I can’t wait to take you home, show you our bedroom, our hot tub, our land. I can’t wait for you to see…everything.” Trey kissed him; the touch soft, careful. “I’ve waited so long to be able to show you.”
“I want to see.” Trey was the bravest man he knew. The least he could do was try to live up to that.
“We can leave whenever you’re ready. After the wedding. I’m making sure that dress makes it down the aisle.”
“We’ll come back here so I can take some stuff, then I’ll make a run up for Mom and all.” In a U-Haul if need be.
“Sounds good. I’ll come check on Stephen and Laurel when we do.”
We. Oh, his lover was a generous soul. “Thank you.”
“This is your hometown, mate. You get to come visit. Me too.”
“It just means a lot for you to say that.” It really did.
“Good.” Trey kissed him, slow and easy. “Come love on me now, nice and slow.”
“Yes.” That he could do. With great pleasure.
In fact, he intended to make it his life’s work.
16
Trey hadn’t been able to sleep and finally he just slipped from the bed and went to raid Cory’s fridge for milk. He checked to make sure it wasn’t over, poured himself a glass, and went to sit with his phone.
Shit, he couldn’t believe all this. Seriously. He’d come to provide a fucking wedding dress. He wasn’t in the wedding party; he wasn’t even necessary once Laurel was dressed tomorrow.
How that had turned into vandalism, shooting, a dead man, a kidnapping, and a mate? He had no idea. None.
He grabbed the blanket off the back of the sofa, curled it around him, and he was suddenly surrounded in Cory’s scent, and he found himself sobbing softly, utterly and completely overwhelmed.
Idiot. He was an idiot. He had nothing to cry about. He was fine. Homesick maybe, but fine, dammit, and if he wasn’t careful, he’d wake Cory up.
He slapped the tears off his cheeks and unlocked his phone, hunting through his contacts, searching for someone to talk to. Anyone.
Quinn would still be awake. He knew it. So, he texted.
He was, r
ight? Right. Of course he was. He was proud.
Yes. That was what he needed, was someone to just be all shocked, too. Cory was all sheriff-like about this.
The tears threatened again, and he growled at himself. Stop it. Stop it right now.
Trey? Baby? He thought maybe Cory was talking to him in his sleep.
Shh. I’m okay. He wasn’t okay. He was stressed out and overwhelmed and he had a headache and he couldn’t breathe and—
I’m coming, baby. Cory staggered into the front room, looking like he was about to go into battle.
“I’m okay…” His head was killing him.
“No.” Cory came to peer at him. “You’re kinda freaking out.”
“I was— I had a glass of milk.”
“Mmm. You ever had anesthesia before?”
“No. No, my arm healed up without it.” What did that have to do with anything?
“I had to have my appendix out when I was fourteen. I didn’t sleep for a week and I kept hallucinating.” Cory sat on the couch, then pulled him down.
He pushed into Cory’s arms, soaking up the heat and strength. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I know. But this reaction stuff can be freaky.”
“I—” Was that all this was? A shitty reaction?
“Some of it. Some of it is extreme stress and the let down from that.” No fair, listening to his brain. “Oh baby. I love hearing you, knowing you are inside me.” Cory squeezed him. “When you disappeared, I wanted to die. It hurt, not having you.”
“I was just being an ass.” He leaned on Cory, trying to breathe. “I just can’t stop shaking.”
“So, you shake. I’ll hold you. You want to watch something?”
“What’s your favorite thing late at night?” How did he not know this?
“Uh, besides porn?” Cory teased with a wicked grin. “I love police procedurals.”
“Like CSI or Joe Kenda?” So adorably penal. Trey thought he might keep Cory.
“Yep. Criminal Minds, First 48… What do you watch?”
“Reality shows. Project Runway, Top Chef, The Voice. I love some of the Japanese ones, but you have to pay closer attention.”
“That might not be late-night material today. How about a Top Chef-athon? I can go there.” Cory picked up the remote.
“Yeah?” He pulled his legs up and rested hard against Cory. “I like the season in Vegas best, but Denver was fun.”
“I like Denver. How about that one? I went there once for a police convention.” Cory sounded so pleased. How many times had Cory left the canyon in his whole life?
“We should go up. I love their zoo. Maybe we should have a vacation—Denver, Estes, Glenwood, Moab, Durango. Just go for a few weeks.”
“That would be amazing. I got to go to the aquarium because it was right by my hotel, but that was it.” Cory petted him, which helped with the constant shocks running through him.
“We’ll get settled for a couple of weeks, then take our trip, and come back here for your things. Sound good?” It sounded like heaven. It sounded— “Oh!”
“What?”
“The moon.” He sat up, blinked at Cory. “We get the moon together!”
“We do. It’s been a really long time, baby.” Cory gave him a happy, deeply content look and vibe. Like he heard it.
“It has been.” Goddess. Goddess, please. Let this be real. He was terrified he’d wake up and be waiting to head up to come to Stephen’s wedding.
“Breathe. Just watch with me and breathe.” Cory always knew when to calm him, and how.
“Right. I’m not sad. I’m not. I’m so excited, love.” He needed Cory to know.
“I am too.” Cory chuckled. “Nervous.”
“I bet. You’re so brave. I swear I will help your life be full and good.”
“I trust you.” Cory did, deep down, but there was worry there. What would he do? Would Trey’s pack like him? What if he was just as hidebound as some of the canyon old timers?
“You’ve met Miguel. Quinn is younger—he’s a tripod, but you’d never know it to meet him in his man-skin. Janey’s just a kid. Her alpha raped her, got her pregnant, and banished her. She has twins. Therese is an older lady, one hell of a seamstress who loves to play cards.”
“Oh wow. That’s some hard luck.”
“We’re all outcasts,” Trey said matter-of-factly. “Josh is a total nutball, a painter who does these huge triptychs for restaurants and hotels. And Levi is our elder. He and his daughter Marnie are both older than Dave was.”
“I want them to like me.” Cory met his eyes. “What have you told them about me, babe? Do they think I’m an asshole? A coward?”
“I’ve told Miguel. Miguel is my best friend, and he was rooting for you from the beginning.” Trey swatted him—not hard, but enough to feel. “You did what you did. You did what you were supposed to. I ran away.”
“I wanted to come with you. I was going to, but George— what he did to you stunned me. It was so damned savage.”
“It was.” And he didn’t know what else to say about that. It had been savage. What had happened to so many of them had been savage. It was the place of packs like his to fix this, right?
“I guess now we move forward, though.” Cory snorted. “And I will have my mom.”
“Yes. And we’ll have each other. You’ll make friends.” Everyone would love Cory, and there were so many people and shifters out there. “Have you ever met a werebear?”
Cory leaned to one side to stare at him. “No. For real?”
“Yeah. I know three. They live on the land butting up to us.” They were lovely brothers, joyous and energetic, except for the winters or when faced with too many Goldilocks jokes.
“Wow. How do you—you know—explain wolves? If someone sees?” Cory was so curious, the wonder pushing at Trey’s mind.
“Animal sanctuary.” That had been Therese’s idea. They had everything taken care of through the state, so they were legal and all. “That way, we don’t have to explain wolves, bears, mountain lions, anyone.”
“Oh.” Cory shook his head, but it was like an admiration thing. “So damn smart. I would never have thought of that. Like Stephen putting the canyon area up for the Mexican gray wolf release program.”
“We’ve got acres and acres, all paid for. I’m— I do well for myself. I love my job, my pack is solid and growing, and we…well, now we have each other.”
“That’s all I really need.” Cory settled, his worry calming, which let him take it down a notch, too.
“I really need you. I’d forgotten how badly.”
“I thought I hadn’t, but seeing you made me realize how empty I felt.” Cory stroked the back of his neck, fingers drawing tiny circles. “Now I’m full.”
That touch made his eyes cross, and he melted, sinking into Cory.
“Oh, there, hmm? I’ll remember that when you’re stressing.”
He grinned. If he was in wolf form, his tongue would be hanging out. “That’s good.”
“Are you wagging for me, mate?” Cory was laughing at him, but it was worth it, for that touch.
“I think so. I mean, you’ve never touched me there before.” Not like that, anyway. It lit him all up.
“My grandmother called it the mating spot. She says that, when you find your mate, that was how you’d know.”
Cory had this like, arcane pack lore. They would make a great mix of old and new, and the elders of his pack would approve of someone more grounded being around.
“I love you.” He’d said it before. He’d say it again, but he was sleepy and warm, happy and settled, and Cory kept touching him. The stuff George had used was wearing off, he guessed, or it was pure
contentment settling in.
“I love you too, baby. I’ll make you proud.”
“You already do, mate.” He sighed softly, eyes falling closed.
He was going to dream about Denver.
17
“Do you, Stephen, take Laurel…”
The words all sort of faded into one another. Cory didn’t have a lot to do. He wasn’t the best man or anything, so his attention wandered while he stood up there across from Laurel’s best childhood friend.
Trey sat in the farthest back of the room with Miguel, both men dressed head to toe in gray.
I hate that you weren’t his best man.
As far as the pack is concerned, I’m not even his brother.
The pack is changing.
He believed that now, too. George had been the last impediment to the pack working its way into the world.
Maybe. It’s a moot point. Tell me the bride’s dress is the most glorious thing you’ve ever seen.
It was amazing—a rich cream color dotted with what looked like thousands of sparkly beads. Her shoulders were bare, her white-blonde hair cascading down her back.
It’s amazing, and she looks like a goddess.
He could feel the pride, the joy. Trey loved this. Loved helping women feel beautiful.
Pride filled him, because that was his lover, and the wearer was his best friend, really. Stephen was also his friend, but there would always be a little weirdness between them.
He wasn’t sure why. Maybe because he was leaving?
One way or the other, he wasn’t leaving Stephen unprotected. Wendy was ready to fill his shoes, and Miles and the boys had really stepped up to do their jobs.
His job was…well, he wasn’t sure what it was, but it wasn’t here. Not anymore.
You’re going to be very busy. Trust me. Something about the tone made him glance at Trey again, netting him a waggle of eyebrows.
Stop it now. I was paying attention.
Liar. Trey was laughing at him. Butthead.
“You may kiss the bride.”
Stephen grabbed Laurel for a dramatic kiss, and they all broke into applause, even him. See? Paying attention.
In Wulf’s Clothing Page 16