by Jana Downs
“I want.”
He dipped his head forward and claimed Jude’s mouth in a kiss.
* * * *
Jude opened his mouth in surprise and found it filled with Logan’s tongue. He groaned at the taste of the shifter. He was spicy and instantly addicting. Jude had never been kissed like this before. Ever. There just seemed to be something more to this kiss than any other he’d had, something more potent. He clung to Logan’s waist as they moved together, grinding against one another like teenagers at their first dance party.
He had never taken a man home on a first date. It went against all the unwritten rules he’d erected in his dating life since he’d been a teenager. He’d been physically attracted to men before, but this went beyond simple lust. It was a bone-deep hunger. He thought he might physically suffer if he didn’t touch Logan more and soon. The depth of the hunger scared him a little bit.
He took a deep breath and stepped away, his entire body jonesing to get plastered against Logan in a naked way. “How about that coffee?”
Logan’s blue eyes shone with an almost inhuman light. “Coffee is good.” His voice was a guttural purr of sound that went straight to Jude’s already-hard dick.
Jude shuddered. “Or maybe just home?”
“Home is better.”
They exited the club quickly, brushing past the other people who were eagerly vying for an opportunity to get inside. There was a protester on the sidewalk just outside who pushed a piece of paper at Jude that he took rather than argue with the man. His mind was on the gorgeous shifter following closely on his heels and the scandal of what he was about to do.
Logan pressed against him tightly as they got to the parking lot, his hard dick grinding against the seat of his pants. “I’ll follow you,” he whispered, licking the shell of his ear with a tongue just a bit rougher than he was used to.
“Okay.”
They’d parked on opposite sides of the lot, and the more steps he took away from Logan, the more he questioned his decision to take him home after only knowing him for a few hours. Their connection was pretty undeniable and his cock would just not turn off when it came to the guy, but he couldn’t help but wonder if he was coming off as a trashy person to Logan. He fished in his pocket for his keys and his cell phone as he approached his silver Kia Optima. It was a practical car choice, but it was pimped out all to heck and back thanks to Evan.
He hit the unlock button and climbed inside, cranking the engine with a press of a button. Damn. He hadn’t asked what Logan was driving. He hit his Bluetooth and brought up the contact number sHarmony had given him.
“Yeah?” Logan asked by way of greeting.
“Hi, Logan. It’s me. What are you driving? I forgot to ask when we split.”
Logan’s low chuckle came over the line. “Ah well, that’s a good point. I’m in a black Dodge truck. How about you?”
“Silver Kia Optima. I’ll take a right as I come out of the parking lot and hop up on I77.”
“All right. I’ll follow you.”
They hung up, and he put his car in drive. He hit the Bluetooth button again. “Call Conference,” he commanded. He’d almost forgotten that he’d told his friends that he would call them.
Evan answered on the first ring. “Early night? He suck?”
“Or didn’t,” Collin piped up, sounding amused. They were at the office for a late-night Zelda tournament.
Jude rolled his eyes. “Logan is great. Better than great. He’s amazing. We’re going back to my place.” He paused, expecting some kind of reaction. Silence greeted his statement, and another twinge of uncertainty struck him.
“You sure about that, Jude?” Collin asked. “He’s not pressuring you, is he?”
“No. Not at all. He’s been…perfect.” He sighed, picturing the kiss they’d shared at the club. “It’s not trashy to invite him back to my house, is it?”
“Do you like him? Feel a connection?” Evan asked.
“We’ve got crazy chemistry,” Jude admitted. “I asked him to come home with me. Is it too soon?”
Evan laughed. “Hell, man, you can fall in love in a second. Nobody can tell if it’s too soon but you. Time is just a manmade measurement.”
“For once, I have to give Evan credit. He’s right,” Collin said. “Now get back to your date, lover boy. Enjoy yourself. It’s been too long since what’s-his-face.”
He hadn’t told them that Nick had called, and he wasn’t going to either. They would flip if they knew. This wasn’t the first time Nick had called to harass him since their breakup. He’d ignored him for the most part though. However, he wasn’t going to think of Nick right now. He had a gorgeous shifter following him home, and he didn’t need to think of anything else.
“Okay. Well, we’re almost to my house now. I’ll let you guys go.”
They hung up as Jude signaled to get into the parking lot of his apartment building. It was actually further into his city than the club had been. He pulled into his designated space, put the car in park, and cut the engine. Logan’s big dodge truck pulled into visitor parking as Jude opened the door and stepped out onto the concrete.
Logan joined him a split second later. He pulled Jude against his body, and Jude was nearly burned by his heat. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Jude,” he murmured, rubbing Jude’s back in slow circles. “I know you don’t know me very well.”
“I know I want you,” Jude said firmly. “I know you’re an awesome guy and I have a connection with you. Why waste time?”
Logan blinked like it was an answer he wasn’t expecting to hear. “Most humans require more convincing.”
“I’m not most humans.” He pulled from Logan’s arms and led the way to the front of the building. The brick-and-mortar structure wasn’t much from the outside, but the interior was all luxury condos. He only called it an apartment out of habit.
He keyed in the code on the metallic keyboard by the double glass doors. “You live in a nice place,” Logan commented, clearly trying to make small talk. He didn’t really need to fill the silence for Jude’s sake. Now that he’d made up his mind on the subject, Jude was completely comfortable with his decision. He was typically a very decisive person and didn’t bother looking back or second-guessing himself. It was one of the things that made him so good at website design. He couldn’t wonder over and over whether or not what he was doing was going to make the client happy. He just did a few different concepts based on their ideas and went from there. Looking back wasn’t an option.
“Thanks, Logan. I’m glad you like it. You should see it in the day. Much more lively.” He kept his voice soft so that it didn’t echo through the building. There weren’t any condos on this level, but the sheer quietness of the room made him want to keep his voice down.
“Cool.” He motioned to the individual complimentary coffee cart by the elevators. “That’s nifty.”
“I have coffee in my kitchen if you want me to make some,” he attempted to tease.
They crossed the shined wood floor of the lobby and passed the empty lounge that sat across from the vacant front desk. This time of night the front office was closed and dark, the workers long since packed up and gone to their respective homes.
Logan’s blue eyes flicked over to him. “I think you may be the only stimulant I need tonight.” Lust instantly doused his insides, swamping his mind with tangled images of them in multiple kinky embraces.
He slid his key card by the elevator’s up-or-down arrows and then pressed the up button. “Logan?”
“Yeah?”
“This is the best date I’ve ever had.” He meant the words. He knew it sounded cheesy and more than a little immature given their ages, but he hadn’t had this good of time with anyone. They just seemed to click.
“Me, too,” Logan admitted, smiling softly. He leaned in for another kiss just as the elevator doors slid open.
They stepped inside, and Jude pressed the button for his floor. He was hyperaware of the shifter besid
e him as the numbers lit up as they passed each floor at a snail’s pace. He wasn’t sure why he was reacting so strongly to Logan. It should’ve been frightening given the short time they’d known one another and the fairly limited knowledge he had about the man. However, there was something inside Jude that was settled by Logan’s proximity, like the primitive part of him was sure of Logan even if his logical mind wasn’t. It was a disorienting sensation, but Jude was slowly remembering to trust his instincts. He’d been fooled by Nick, but he typically had a good judge of character.
* * * *
Mine. The familiar animal voice in the back of Logan’s head was absolute. It figures. I joined sHarmony so I wouldn’t have the pressure of finding an instant connection, a mate. I go on one date and he ends up being the one I’ve been looking for this entire time. Mating didn’t guarantee love, but it certainly guaranteed instant attraction and a whole lot of lust.
The ping of arrival made his balls tighten further as the thought of sex and Jude made his desire ratchet that much higher. It was odd that Jude seemed to be reacting to the same pheromones that Logan was. Of course, humans were animals, too, though they liked to forget about it most of the time.
He couldn’t resist reaching out and groping Jude’s backside. The human smiled over his shoulder at him, the look coy and more than a little sexy. “Like what you’re grabbing?”
“I do. A lot.” Carpe freaking diem. Orion would be proud. He’d teased him that he wouldn’t make a move tonight.
“Good,” Jude all but purred. His new found naughtiness was another intriguing facet of his personality. It only made Logan want him more. Ours. His fox was more than happy to follow along with the getting-Jude-naked plan.
Jude took off down the hallway at a fast pace, clearly as eager as Logan to get this show on the road. The quick movement made Logan’s predatory nature perk up and take notice. His nostrils flared, and he started walking after him, stalking him a little bit as his urge to hunt and mate merged into one. The decor didn’t even register. It had paint on the walls, a runner on the floor, and neat gold numbers on every white door they passed. That was all Logan could’ve said about it as he zeroed in on Jude’s retreating form. The last door on the hall was where Jude skidded to a stop.
Logan crowded in behind him as Jude fumbled for a key, grinding his now-prominent erection on the small of Jude’s back. He had noted their height difference while they were dancing, but now, in this sort of frame of mind, it was even more obvious. He nuzzled the side of his neck, nipping at the pulse point as the urge to mark his mate hit him like a freight train. He resisted but barely. It wouldn’t be fair to mark him as mated without Jude’s permission.
Jude sighed, leaning back into his touch as a low moan issued from his throat. “Logan,” he whispered, his voice a thready hint of sound. If Logan didn’t start showing some impulse control, he was going to end up taking Jude against the door right here in the hallway.
He managed to force himself back so Jude could insert the key and force the door open. He stumbled inside, and Logan followed, whipping the boy around and kissing him before he could go more than a foot into the foyer. With a swift kick, he managed to shut the door behind them without breaking the kiss. Jude melted against his chest, yielding to him as easily as butter on a hot skillet. Their tongues danced, mimicking what they would be doing together in just a few minutes.
Jude ground his cock against Logan’s thigh, making eager noises into Logan’s mouth as he did so. “Bed,” he commanded, breaking their kiss for a second as they rolled along the wall, bumping into picture frames.
“Yeah,” Jude agreed, panting for breath. He jerked out of Logan’s grip and ducked under his arm. “This way.” He took off further into the darkened interior. Logan followed, nearly tripping over the coffee table for his trouble. Jude might’ve been able to navigate the condo blind, but he wasn’t familiar with the lay out. He cursed as his toe found the corner of the couch in the dark. It would’ve been funny had it not hurt so damn bad. He hopped on one foot, his lust momentarily forgotten. A light flicked on in the small kitchen that overlooked the living room.
Laughter filled the room. “You okay, stud?”
He winced. “Yeah. Damn couch attacked me.”
“Sorry about that,” Jude apologized. The little minx was still smiling though. “I forgot you didn’t know your way around.”
“Uh-huh. I outta spank your ass for laughing at me.” His tone was stern, but he was grinning just the same. He liked his little spitfire. “Don’t you know I’m a badass shifter?”
“Oh yeah. My badass shifter gets beat up by my couch. You are not what True Blood makes you out to be, sir.” He winked at him. “Come on. The bedroom is this way.”
“I’ll have to get back to my place before morning. I don’t want Orion waking up in an empty house,” Logan said, not wanting to leave any surprises. “I hope that’s okay. I didn’t want you to think I’m a love-’em-and-leave-’em kind of guy.”
Green eyes filled with warmth considered him. “I’d never think that. You wouldn’t do that.” He sounded so sure. The kid was obviously running on as much instinct as he was. Jude turned before walking around the island and out of the kitchen. He turned down another hallway, and Logan followed after him. His toe was throbbing. He probably would’ve broken it had he been barefoot. It was a good thing he healed fast.
Logan entered the room Jude ducked inside as the other man turned on the bedside light on the small table left of a massive king bed. His little mate clearly liked to sleep in comfort. Jude licked his bottom lip, looking nervous.
“You okay with this?” Logan asked. Everything in him screamed at him to shut up, to take his mate and make him comfortable by showing him the depth of their bond. Another, saner part of him acknowledged that a human could easily be overwhelmed by the feelings a mate bond aroused.
Jude smiled, looking at him beneath lowered lashes. “Protecting me?”
“Respecting you,” Logan corrected. “I will always do that.”
“You’re some kind of white knight, huh?” Jude pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Logan sucked in a breath at the sudden exposure of flesh. It wasn’t like he’d whipped his cock out, but he was aroused beyond comprehension nonetheless.
He swallowed. “I try to do what I can like everyone else.”
“Other people aren’t like that, Logan. You’re special,” Jude said, a stubborn note in his voice. He shifted from foot to foot. “Come over here. I’m getting self-conscious.” He rubbed a hand over his stomach, and Logan saw the slight tremor there. Jude may have been being cocky for the past few minutes, but his bravado was starting to fade.
Logan took three strides into the room, and he was standing in front of him. “You are the most beautiful man,” he rumbled. “The perfect blend of spicy and sweet. There is never a reason you should be self-conscious. You are a treat.”
Jude sighed like that was just what he wanted to hear and reached for Logan’s shirt. The smaller man helped him undress, the clothes falling to the floor in a careless heap as their eager hands stripped him. He toed off his shoes before popping the button on his jeans. Jude slowly unzipped his jeans, careful not to catch Logan’s waving erection as he did so.
“Commando?” Jude asked, chuckling softly. “I like.” Jude reached into his jeans and pulled Logan free. The soft feel of Jude’s hands on his cock made his balls draw up dangerously. If they didn’t get horizontal soon, Logan feared that he was going to come just to mark Jude’s beautiful skin with his scent. The animal part of him made an eager sound at the thought. Jude’s gaze came up to meet his. “Was that a happy noise?”
Logan nodded. “Shifters are a bit, erm, vocal in bed. If you don’t like it, I can try and stop.”
Jude stroked him again from base to tip. “I like it,” he said as Logan groaned his approval of the action. “You’re so hot, Logan.” The compliment sank into his marrow and warmed him exponentially. Jude leaned fo
rward and ran his tongue down the line of his right pectoral muscle, stopping at the nipple to nibble the peak. Logan’s cock leaked a pearly drop of pre-cum for the effort. Gently, he pushed his soon-to-be lover back before reaching between them and finding the hard evidence of the human’s desire between his legs.
“You’re a cock tease, Jude,” Logan rumbled, caressing him hard enough to make him arch into his touch.
Jude gasped. “I’m only a cock tease if I don’t deliver.” He squirmed as Logan kneaded him through the cloth. “I’m definitely delivering.”
Logan pushed him backward so that he fell gracefully onto the mattress behind them and with one tug, pulled his pants off, leaving Jude in nothing but a pair of tight black boxer briefs. His eyes zeroed in on the package that was trying to push itself out of Jude’s underwear. “Good enough to eat.”
“Grandma, what big eyes you have,” Jude panted, his green eyes sparkling with lust.
Logan chuckled and knelt on the bed between Jude’s legs. “Wrong species but kinky nonetheless. Do you like playing dress up, red?”
Color blossomed over Jude’s cheeks. “I don’t know. The idea suddenly appeals.”
He tucked that away for future play dates, and he didn’t doubt there would be more. There was something absolutely addicting about knowing the man he was taking was his potential mate. Logan slowly pulled the box briefs free of his body, reveling in the new expanse of flesh it revealed. Jude really was a beautiful man. He was smaller than Logan, almost delicate in places, however that just increased the feeling of protectiveness and want that circulated through Logan’s chest in a continual wash.
Somehow Logan managed to hold back his orgasm when he wrapped his hand around Jude’s surprisingly thick cock and the other man made a sound of pure animal want. I’m not the only one who is vocal in bed. He’d have to soundproof if his room if Jude ever came back to his place. The last thing he wanted was for Orion to hear his sex life. He pumped his wrist, loving the expression on Jude’s face as he pleasured him. He hadn’t expected the date to end here, but, God, he was glad it had.