by Oliver, Lisa
Need you? What the fuck? Of all the things Phillip expected to hear from Kellen’s mouth, those didn’t factor in anywhere. “I need to talk to you,” maybe. “I’m sorry things had to end this way,” definitely. But Kellen’s words were quite clear – “don’t leave; I need you.” The shock was enough to root his feet to the ground and he half-turned to see the man in question striding across the parking lot, his long legs making mincemeat of the distance between them.
“I don’t need your, ‘I’m sorry it’s me not you’ speech, or your ‘I’m sorry but I’ve got a significant other’ spiel either.” Phillip censored his words, well aware he was yelling them across the dimly lit parking lot on the side of the club. There was no one around, but years of hiding his shifter identity had made Phillip understandably cautious. He knew Kellen would understand.
“Tristan’s on his way back to New York, where he belongs. I’ve told him it’s over, not that there was anything there between us beyond convenience. He understands about us, and he should no longer concern you,” Kellen said, his voice softer as he got closer.
Phillip took a step back, he couldn’t afford to let Kellen touch him, or he knew he’d break. But damn he was tempted. Kellen was everything he’d ever wanted in a mate. Bigger, stronger, intelligent, hell the man killed people for a living, so he’d never have a problem with Phillip’s life in the service. His firm lips, green eyes, long wavy black hair, not to mention a body built for sin. Everything about Kellen called to Phillip like a moth to a flame. His mate was perfect. Too perfect, and Phillip couldn’t let the man get close to him. No one deserved to be tainted with his brand of evil, especially not a man like Kellen. He drew on the anger that festered while he’d been bound to the cross.
“What ‘us’?” Phillip threw up his hands, as if to ward Kellen off. “There is no ‘us’. You couldn’t even acknowledge me; you left with that…that person clinging to you like a fucking limpet. I don’t blame you. I totally understand, but don’t think there’s a chance of an ‘us’!”
By the Fates, his words would have sounded so much more convincing if his cock wasn’t threatening the seams of his pants. He knew the instant Kellen smelled his arousal. The man’s bright green eyes flared like emeralds in the sun and he took another long step closer.
“We can’t do this,” Phillip said, softer this time, his resolve breaking along with his voice. Kellen reached for him, and he knew, he fucking knew with every cell in his body that if the man touched him he would fall. “I’m not good for anyone,” he said urgently. “I let people down. I’m a traitor to the very people who care about me. Don’t you get it? A dirty traitor. You deserve so much better than me.”
And then there were arms around his waist, a solid chest under his cheekbones, and a hand firmly gripping his hair. “Oh precious,” Kellen said, his voice intimate, confident and tinged with sadness all at the same time. “You’ve had a really bad run of things, haven’t you?”
Phillip couldn’t get his mouth to work. Every breath he took was infused with Kellen’s scent. If his mate said one more thing he’d be crying and he would not, could not, cry in front of a man who in every physical sense was so much stronger than he was. He tried to resist the body around him, but even he knew it was a half-hearted attempt. His wolf howled in his head for the first time in months. His stressed body soaked up Kellen’s heat like a sponge. His cock ached against the leather, already dripping and begging for touch. He tried to resist and failed, and yet somehow, as he leaned into the strength offered for the first time, he felt like he’d won.
/~/~/~/~/
Kellen slowly released a sigh of relief. He could sense it, the instant Phillip surrendered and his heart soared. His wolf, already on edge from the scene in the club at seeing their mate half naked and surrounded by others instantly calmed; although there was a residue of concern. Was their mate hurt? Who did they need to kill? No wolf could understand that the biggest danger to Phillip came from his own thoughts. Kellen was determined to give the man something else to think about, frequently, if Phillip would let him.
For now, it was enough that he could offer comfort. In an alternate world, where his mate wasn’t plagued with depression, Kellen would have claimed him in the parking lot and to hell with anyone who happened to walk by. His wolf thought it was a good idea, his cock did too. But Kellen was a strategist and had more compassion than his animal nature. Only a bit, but it was enough for him to take things slowly.
The two men stood, clasped in each other’s arms for what could have been hours; was probably only a matter of minutes. Phillip moved first, and Kellen tightened his arms, unwilling to let his man go.
“I should probably head home,” Phillip said against Kellen’s chest.
“Am I invited?” Kellen didn’t care if he got an invite or not. He already had the address courtesy of Pearson. But he didn’t deny that his inner self was poised, waiting, hoping that Phillip wanted him, too.
The man in his arms was tense again, but the time before surrender was a lot shorter this time. “I…fuck, I want you. I want you so bad,” Phillip whispered, still into Kellen’s shirt. “I just…”
“There’s no just anything. We’re mates,” Kellen said, determined not to let Phillip talk himself out of their mating. In Kellen’s head it was already a done deal. He’d never had anyone in his life that was there solely for him and he wasn’t going to throw away his one chance of making it happen.
To reinforce his words, Kellen tilted Phillip’s head up, searching the strong face with the troubled blue eyes. There wasn’t anything in that shadowed look that would stop him taking a kiss, although as he bent his head he moved slowly, oh so slowly, giving Phillip every chance to say no. When his lips finally brushed against a full pink mouth, Phillip tilted his face further, and that was all the encouragement Kellen needed.
For once in his life Kellen didn’t hold back, he poured everything he was into their first kiss. He’d always played a part, always hid behind a mask of confidence, arrogance and a devil-may-care attitude. He’d always believed letting people get close to him was a weakness that allowed others to exploit him; a cynical attitude to be sure, but one that’d kept him from having his heart broken, or his life taken. But with his mate there was no need for a façade, he could be himself. In fact, in light of what Pearson had shared, Kellen knew that if he wasn’t honest from the very start, he’d never get a chance to claim the man in his arms.
And by the Fates he wanted to be mated, part of a couple. With Phillip in his arms, that thought became his top priority. So Kellen threw his longing, his hopes, a splash of insecurity and his intense desire all in the meeting of lips. But it was more than just lips involved. It was a clash of their very souls.
Phillip kissed like a starving man; clinging onto Kellen’s shoulders with strong fingers, while his body wriggled and rubbed, as though the clothes separating them were an affront. Kellen focused on his mate’s taste, the feel of his tongue tangling with his own, the infrequent clink of teeth against teeth, and the heat and hardness that branded his thigh. With his cock throbbing with increasing rhythm in his pants, Kellen pulled Phillip closer, until the man damn near climbed his body like a tree.
A flare of light blindsided Kellen for a moment as a car swept past, probably looking for parking. But it was enough for Kellen to realize that there was no way he was going to take his mate like a common slut in a parking lot. His mate deserved better. Phillip whimpered as he pulled back, savoring the touch of the man’s lips until the very last second. Both men were panting hard, and Kellen couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. Lust had replaced the lost aspect in Phillip’s eyes and the sight of those swollen lips inflamed every cell in Kellen’s body.
“We’ll take my car,” he whispered firmly, unwilling to give Phillip any chance to back out, to think things over or anything else that could happen on the drive home.
“But my truck…”
“My men will pick it up and take it to the club tomo
rrow.” Phillip looked as though he was going to argue, and Kellen deliberately licked his lips and a firm hand moved with purpose until it splayed across Phillip’s leather-clad butt. A hitch of breath was his only answer, but it told Kellen everything he needed to know. He pulled Phillip towards his rental, and didn’t say another word until the engine started.
“This isn’t your car,” Phillip said, running his hand over the dashboard.
“The limo was a bit ostentatious for a club, don’t you think?”
Phillip’s laughter gave Kellen high hopes as he sped towards his mate’s address.
Chapter Eight
Phillip refused to think. He deliberately shut down his brain and blocked everything out except Kellen. On the seemingly long drive from Arlington he used Kellen’s scent and the heavy hand that lay close to his balls to distract him from the negative voice that was screaming at him What the fuck do you think you’re doing? He didn’t need to know what he was doing. For the next hour or so Kellen could do the thinking for him. He was tired of thinking, tired of worrying and tired of feeling so freaking awful about himself. It seemed that Kellen felt the same way, about being in control at least, because as soon as the car stopped in the driveway of his modest three-bedroom home, the big man turned to him and mapped out a plan of action that Phillip was happy to be a part of.
“Next time,” Kellen promised, “next time I will kiss every inch of your stunning body. I’ll find every one of your hot spots, I’ll drive you so wild with lust you’ll be begging me to fill you. You have my solemn word on that. But right now, this time, you have two minutes to find me a flat surface, because you’re going to be riding my cock in five. I can’t wait to be inside you any longer.”
He didn’t need to reply. Kellen’s intensity was tugging at something deep inside of him and without a word he got out of the car, led Kellen into his house, up the stairs and straight into his room. He wondered if he should strip off, his cock was hurting thanks to the tight confines of his pants. But Kellen was giving the orders at this moment in time, and Phillip wanted nothing more than for someone to take the decision-making process away from him.
Kellen didn’t even take two seconds to look around the room. His focus was all on Phillip, and despite the room being comfortably warm, Phillip shivered. There was no hesitance in Kellen’s movements. One minute Phillip was standing fully clothed. In the next, he was naked, face up on the bed.
“I fucking knew you’d be perfect,” Kellen growled and before Phillip had a chance to be self-conscious; the big man stripped off his clothes, and Phillip felt himself surrounded by hard male heat. He might have moaned, he wasn’t sure, but even when unerring hands found their way to his untouched ass, he didn’t flinch. He wanted this, wanted Kellen, and didn’t want to think about anything else.
“You’re normally a top?” Kellen’s words breathed across his lips.
Phillip nodded.
“Then I’ll be careful.”
Phillip didn’t see the need to respond to that either. He was too busy exploring Kellen’s back with his fingers, his whole body strung out tight as he pushed to get as close as he could get. His skin was flushed as though fevered, and his heart was pounding so damn hard in his chest, he was sure that Kellen could hear it. Although the man seemed to have just one focus in mind and that was getting inside his ass.
Kellen rolled, taking Phillip with him and now Kellen was on his back; and Phillip was on top of him, his legs falling apart naturally. He could feel the head of Kellen’s cock bounce against his butt, and he reached over to the bedside table, praying he still had lube. It had been a good six months since he’d even had an erection and he breathed a sigh of relief when his fingers found a battered tube. There wasn’t much in there, but it would be enough.
Kellen’s eyes gleamed even hotter if that was possible; he grabbed the tube from Phillip’s fingers, clicked the cap open and quickly coated three beefy fingers. Phillip distracted himself by bending his head; running his tongue along the tribal tattoo that ran from the man’s right wrist, up the arm to form a breast plate over a broad pectoral muscle. Almost hidden by the design, the tight nub of Kellen’s nipple cried out for attention and Phillip was happy to give it. His tongue followed the geometric shapes swirling and curling around the ink under the nipple; nipping gently at the raised skin as he went past. The nipple seemed to appreciate the attention.
So intent on his task, Phillip barely registered the invasion of Kellen’s first finger, but the second one made him tighten for just one second, before he released his breath, relaxed his muscles and went back to focusing on the ink work beneath him. Kellen was heading towards a common goal; he knew what he was doing. Phillip could afford to distract himself. The ink work was intricate, beautifully precise and the hottest thing Phillip had seen in a long time. His tongue followed the tattoo as it ran under Kellen’s arm and Phillip was surprised to see his mate had hairy armpits. Most wolf shifters were hairless all over their bodies, possibly because they were so hairy in their animal form, but Phillip found the hair enticing, and he rubbed his nose in it, seeking a concentration of Kellen’s scent.
A hint of musk from Kellen’s wolf side, fresh sweat, the deep throb of chocolate overlaying the crisp sting of peppermint. It was a heady combination and Phillip leaned over further, well aware that his ass was on full display. Kellen seemed to approve if the rumbling in the man’s chest was any indication, and Phillip realized with a start that not only was his cock still throbbing with a heavy beat, but there had to be at least four fingers stretching his hole with single-minded persistence. When he risked a quick look down Kellen’s body; the head of his mate’s cock was glaring up at him making him think that four fingers wouldn’t be enough.
“Sit up,” Kellen said gruffly.
“Wouldn’t hands and knees be easier for my first time?” Phillip welcomed the feeling of pain across his back at times, but he wasn’t sure he wanted it in his ass. Even the need in his own cock wasn’t enough to ease his hesitation. There was a wealth of difference between the sting of torn skin, and the thud of a whip.
Kellen glared at him – his look so feral it was impossible to read. Then in a flurry of movement Phillip found himself head down and ass up, his head resting between his elbows. Seconds later Kellen’s heavy body blanketed him, his cock nudging his asshole. Phillip forced himself to breathe out as he felt his hole stretch to accommodate Kellen’s width. For a moment his body tensed; Kellen was going to be too big, but a deep rumble of satisfaction in his ear had him relaxing and slowly, but oh so surely, he pushed out allowing his mate, the first man ever, inside of his body.
“Oh yeah.” Kellen’s breathy moan tickled Phillip’s ear and he arched his back, tilting his ass up further as Kellen pushed inside. Although Kellen stopped once he was fully encased; the tremor Phillip could feel against his back indicated the man was in danger of losing control. Kellen’s scent was stronger as his wolf came to the fore, and Phillip took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, willing his body to relax. His hole felt stretched beyond repair and he wasn’t so much full as almost choking, he could barely breathe.
“I gotta move.”
Phillip nodded his head, not sure if it was a good idea; but the power of Kellen’s wolf had completely overshadowed his and if his wolf could belly up, then he could suck it up. At least coming too soon was hardly an issue any more. His erection had lost about half of its substance thanks to the unfamiliar slab of meat up his ass. But Kellen’s growl, so close to his head sent a ripple of awareness through his body; and Phillip grabbed hold of his covers, knowing he was in for a hell of a pounding.
He was right. Kellen had him mounted and impaled like the wolf he was and as he set up a furious pace; Phillip found himself rocking back against the slap of skin on skin. Guttural grunts filled his ears, his butt cheeks stung with the intensity of Kellen’s thrust, but Phillip was wolf shifter too. He was built to handle his mate’s strength and he widened his knees slightly, r
ested his forehead on the covers and gave his body over to the onslaught.
Moments, minutes, hours, days. Phillip had no concept of time. His world was reduced to the feel of the other man possessing his body with a master’s touch, the sheer passion of Kellen – both man and wolf, bound and determined to keep Phillip on his knees. Pain passed, pleasure bloomed and it wasn’t long before Phillip felt his cock harder than it’d ever been before, begging for release.
It wasn’t a one-way street. Kellen’s thrusts became erratic, his grunts garbled. If anything, his thrusts got harder, and just when Phillip felt he couldn’t take anymore, that he absolutely had to come before he burst a blood vessel, Kellen roared – the sound raw and loud, filling the room. Phillip felt a pulse of liquid warmth bathe his insides as razor-sharp teeth fastened on his neck. The initial bite of pain segued into bliss; total bliss zinging through his body setting off an orgasm of epic proportions. It was as though his spunk had been saving itself up for the months that Phillip just couldn’t be interested and decided to come out in one long, drawn out, amazingly sticky mess. Phillip noticed his vision blurring and seconds later, that was his last coherent thought before he blacked out; his body relaxed for the first time in months.
Chapter Nine
Kellen allowed himself a smug grin as he felt his mate slump in his arms. To have a man pass out after sex, a total high five, although if Kellen insisted on being honest with himself, his poor worn-down Phillip was more likely overcome with the claiming bite, than the sex itself. But a win was a win no matter how it was achieved. He carefully eased himself out of that snug body, and looked around for a bathroom or somewhere he could clean up. The closet door was half open, revealing a sparse array of clothes.
Slipping off the bed, Kellen padded over to the other door, opened it and peeked around the frame. Yep. A bathroom; a very clean and well-ordered bathroom – military neat. Kellen eyed the large tub and smirked at the thought of the fun the two of them could have in there. Large towels and washcloths were tidily arranged on a shelf that ran between the tub and shower and Kellen quickly scanned his body and eyed the shower thoughtfully. A quick scrub down wouldn’t hurt.