Dale lifted his hips, digging his heels into the mattress as his orgasm grew imminent. It didn’t take long either. Only a few more thrusts and he was on the edge. He considered warning his lover in case Gavin didn’t want to swallow him, but that didn’t seem to be a concern, so he grunted deep and stiffened as he emptied his semen into his sub’s throat.
Gavin swallowed, keeping Dale deep in his mouth as his throat worked hard to collect every drop. He waited until Dale’s cock stopped pulsing to slowly lift his face and release the still-stiff erection. “Mmm.”
Dale took several deep breaths, staring at the ceiling to find his brain cells before he lowered his gaze to find Gavin grinning, his hands still clasped tight around his Dom’s wrists. “What exactly was that little act? Testing me?” He couldn’t keep the corners of his mouth from lifting.
Gavin’s face was dancing with humor. He shrugged. “Wanted to see what it felt like. Or maybe I wanted you to get a taste of restraint.”
“You think you had me restrained?”
Gavin shrugged. “No. But you know better than me that the nonverbal demand has its own power over you.”
“Mmm.” He was still deciding how to play this out. What would his next move be?
Gavin released his Dom’s wrists and lifted to drag himself up Dale’s body until his own rock-hard erection pressed into Dale’s belly. When he tentatively lowered his face to take Dale’s lips in a kiss, Dale nearly groaned. Gavin was full of surprises this morning. He was also in for an awakening he had no way of imagining.
Dale grabbed Gavin’s biceps and flipped him onto his back without breaking the kiss. He also climbed over Gavin’s body to press him into the mattress with far more force than Gavin had accomplished. Dale was significantly bulkier and weighed a shit-ton more. He kissed him with total abandon, wishing they could stay in this bed for days on end. The kind of thoughts mates had after binding.
Except Dale would never be binding Gavin to him.
He shook the depressing realization from his mind and broke the kiss, lifting his face a few inches. “You done topping me, little sub?”
“Mmm. Not sure.”
“Oh, I think you are.”
Gavin’s cock jerked against Dale’s torso.
“Was it fun?”
“Yes.”
Dale lifted a brow.
Gavin licked his lips. “Yes, Sir.”
“Bet you’d like to come now, huh?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Guess you should have thought of that before you topped me.”
Gavin swallowed, his face flushing. He tucked both lips into his mouth and held them between his teeth.
Dale reached with one finger to tap them. “That’s not helping your cause.”
Gavin released them and gasped. “Sorry, Sir.”
“I think I should leave you like this for a while. Maybe even restrain you and go for a run.”
Gavin’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
“Not so cocky now, are you?”
Oh, damn, this was hot. Gavin was so aroused it was crazy. Sweat built up on his brow.
Suddenly he had a plan. “I’m starving. Let’s eat.” He set his fingers over Gavin’s lips before the kid could respond. “And how about you don’t speak again until I tell you.”
Gavin nodded slightly, his lips pursing under Dale’s hand.
“Good boy. Now let’s go into the kitchen and see if you can behave yourself for a while.” Dale pushed off the bed. He grabbed a pair of boxers from a drawer and pulled them over his cock as he faced Gavin again. The sub was reaching for his underwear. “Leave them. I think you need to spend some time naked.” He snapped his fingers. “Let’s go.”
Dale could feel Gavin following him, but he didn’t turn around until they were in the great room. He grabbed a pillow off the couch and tossed it on the floor in the kitchen area. “Kneel there, sub.”
Gavin did as he was told, even clasping his hands behind his back and squaring his shoulders. A glance at his cock told Dale he was going to regret his actions soon.
Having Gavin top him had been hot. No denying the fact, but that didn’t mean he wanted Gavin to think he could do such a thing at his whim. They could possibly negotiate scenes like that, but Dale was in charge in the bedroom. His submissive was assuredly not.
Dale moved around the kitchen, grabbing eggs and sausage from the fridge and lighting the stove. His stomach grumbled as the scent of breakfast filled the room. It was nearly noon, so he was starving, and he knew Gavin would be too.
He grabbed the toaster while the other food cooked and set four slices in. Every once in a while he glanced at Gavin to find him in the same spot, gaze lowered, cock so hard it had to hurt.
When he had the food ready, he filled two plates and took them to the table. “Come eat, baby.” He ruffled his sub’s hair as he walked by to fill juice glasses and mugs of coffee.
Gavin stood and headed for the table. He pulled out a chair and sat without a word.
When Dale sat across from him, he smiled. “You can relax. Eat. Talk to me.”
Gavin’s shoulders lowered.
“I’d like to go for a run. That part hasn’t changed. My bear is crawling to get out, especially now that the rain has stopped.”
“That must feel strange.”
Dale shrugged. “Not to me.” Then he had an idea. “It’s a little bit like when you need to come so badly, but you don’t have permission.” He pointed toward Gavin’s crotch. “Your skin is crawling with need.”
“That I can relate to.”
“I know.” He smirked. “When I’m stressed or restless my grizzly side itches for release. It’s a similar sensation.”
Gavin played with his food, pushing it around with his fork. “It drives me crazy that I’ll never fully grasp that side of you.”
Dale reached over and wrapped his fingers around Gavin’s wrist. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine.”
He lifted his gaze. “I never would have expected to feel this way, but since I’ve come to Silvertip, my life has totally changed. In days. I feel more at home here in this town than I ever have in my life. I have better relationships with several of your people than I have with my own parents. Even people I’ve only met a few times make me feel welcome and important. Equal. Like I matter.”
Dale watched his lover’s face as he struggled. It killed him that he could never fully be immersed in this society. Especially if Gavin wanted to be. Damn the Arcadian Council and their rules. “If you could become a shifter, would you?”
“In a heartbeat.” He sighed as he lifted his fork and took a bite of eggs. He swallowed before speaking again. “Who wouldn’t? I mean there are only benefits. No drawbacks.”
Dale released his wrist to take a sip of coffee. “There are probably some drawbacks.”
“Name one.”
“Well, we live in secret. We have a hard time with human relationships.”
Gavin chuckled. “That’s all you’ve got? Not very convincing. And besides, you’re having a relationship with me, aren’t you?” He lifted a brow.
“Yes, but it hurts to watch you yearn for something you can never have. If we stayed together, that pain and sorrow would eat away at me.”
Gavin’s voice was even and soft when he spoke again. “Did you feel that way about Ethan?”
For the first time in five years, hearing that name didn’t make him want to break down and crawl into a hole. The entire community knew better than to bring up Ethan’s name. But Gavin had dug his way under Dale’s defenses, somehow managing to assume permission to openly discuss the tragedy that paved Dale’s destruction. He found himself shockingly still sitting upright and alive and able to speak. “No.” The weight of that one word was heavy on his heart.
Ethan had meant the world to him. He’d never thought he would get over the loss. He certainly never expected to feel anything close to the same level of connection with another living being. And y
et, here he was, head over heels for another man. A human. Someone who had burrowed his way so deep under Dale’s skin that he could destroy him far more thoroughly than Ethan ever had.
He cleared his throat. “Something is different about you. It might be because you know. It might have something to do with the fact that I’m older. Wiser,” he teased, shocked by his ability to smile while discussing Ethan.
Gavin rolled his eyes, swallowing another bite. “Older and wiser huh.”
“Than I was when I was with Ethan.” Dale finished the last of his sausage and pushed his plate back.
Gavin lifted his plate to set it on top of Dale’s. “I have a request.”
“Okay.” Anything. Dale would give him anything he was capable of.
“Let me go with you. On your run I mean. Is that permitted?”
Dale was stunned for a moment, and then he nodded. “Of course. I mean there are no rules that say you can’t see us shifted. You know. You’ve seen people shift.”
Gavin shook his head. “No. I haven’t. The only experience I have is the one event ten years ago when I fell on my fourteen-year-old ass watching the unimaginable happen before my eyes. It’s more like a dream than anything else. Meanwhile, Paige was crying in the background. My heart was racing. I wasn’t sure I even saw what happened. I wasn’t that close. I was hiding behind a tree. Or so I thought.”
Dale frowned. “You’ve never seen Paige shift?”
He shook his head. “I’ve never even seen anyone in their bear form.”
“Shit. Well, yes. Let’s rectify that.” He pushed to standing and held out a hand toward Gavin. As he lured him away from the table, he glanced at his cock and smirked. “Still got that erection, I see.”
“Don’t suppose you intend to fix that problem?” Gavin asked.
“Nope. I like the idea of you suffering a bit for your attempt to top me this morning. Seems like the best punishment to keep you from doing something like that again.” He pulled his naked sub down the hall. Gavin needed clothes if they were going to go up into the mountains.
“You enjoyed it,” he nearly whined.
Dale stopped, spun around, and pressed Gavin against the hallway wall with his hands at his shoulders. He carefully avoided touching Gavin’s cock. “Not the point. If you want to top me in the future, we can discuss it. You can ask permission.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good boy. Now put your clothes on. It’s a little chilly out. You’ll need your jacket. I hope you’re up for a hike.”
“Can’t wait.”
Dale released his shoulders but cupped the back of his neck and kissed him soundly before letting him go entirely. “I’d like that dick of yours to stay hard for me. Think you can do that?”
Gavin nodded. “I’m not sure I could stop it from happening if you ordered me too.”
Dale chuckled. “If I ordered your cock to stand down, it would get stiffer and stay that way for hours.”
“Probably.”
Dale spun him around, swatted his ass, and pointed toward the bedroom. “Clothes.”
Chapter Sixteen
Gavin followed his Dom out the back door, both excited and uneasy about what he was about to witness. His heart raced with the exhilaration. His cock was indeed still stiff. There was little chance it would subside as long as he was forced to hold back his need to come. There wasn’t a chance in hell he would ever top Dale again without permission and no denying this form of punishment was effective.
Dale grabbed Gavin’s hand, and the two of them walked toward the tree line and the base of the mountain that rose up at the back of Dale’s property. As they grew closer, he could smell the evergreens. A rich scent that filled the clean air. The view was amazing. Even though Dale hadn’t built his own deck yet, when it was finished, Gavin had no doubt hours would be spent sitting outside staring at the mountain.
Would he be there next to his lover when that day came?
He shivered, picturing the two of them sitting in a pair of Adirondack chairs, sipping coffee or enjoying a beer while they watched the sunset. There were so many obstacles blocking their path to that future, however.
Gavin was holding Dale back. The man needed to resume his job with the Arcadian Council. That fact was as apparent as the deep green of the surrounding trees. And Dale would never take that job or even be able to breathe easy as long as he was dating anyone, let alone a human. That made Gavin sad for the loneliness that was Dale’s future.
Gavin already knew it would eat him alive living in this community and always standing on the fringe of society, not able to be a full member. As a human, he would feel that strain every day until it drove him crazy.
He also knew he would never be enough for Dale. No matter how much Dale insisted he didn’t care, his stress over living with a human would always lurk at the edge of his consciousness.
There was another undeniable obstacle. As much as Dale tried to reassure Gavin he wasn’t bothered by Gavin’s innocence, Gavin knew better. Or perhaps it wasn’t his naiveté that was the problem. It was his lack of experience. He was far less knowledgeable of the lifestyle Dale was suited for. How long would it be before Dale grew tired of always having to be the teacher as if Gavin truly were the kid Dale called him? It had to be exasperating living with someone so green.
Gavin shook his fears to the side as he entered the shelter of the trees and turned to face Dale. “How does this work? You don’t have to take your clothes off or something?”
Dale cupped his face and gave him a brief kiss. “Nope. Whatever we’re wearing or holding goes with us. It’s a grizzly trait. Not all shifters are as evolved.”
Gavin’s eyebrows rose. “Not all shifters? You mentioned wolves once. Were you serious?”
“Yep. And those poor souls can’t take their clothes. They’re destroyed in the transition. My people are more evolved. We’ve mastered the ability to imagine our belongings in the shift.”
“This is the most insane conversation I’ve ever had.”
Dale smiled. “I’m sure.”
“So, you’re just going to magically switch forms right in front of me?”
“It’s not considered magic. It’s just an ability we have like how some humans are double jointed, and others have the skill to communicate with the dead.”
Gavin shuddered. “Don’t even attempt to compare people touching their wrist with their thumb to changing into an animal, and I’m not even close to convinced people who say they talk to the dead aren’t full of shit.”
Dale shrugged. “You never know though. Open your mind. There is more on this planet than either of us are probably aware of.”
“Now that I don’t doubt.” Not after the past week.
Dale held Gavin away from him with his hands on his shoulders. “I want you to know that although I can’t communicate with you in my grizzly form, I’m still me. I might look ominous, but I would never hurt you. I’m not a wild animal. I’m still Dale inside, Dale with the ability to run through the trees on four paws.”
Gavin nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind if my mind is still intact.” He stepped back. “Go ahead then.”
Dale took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and leaned forward onto his hands and knees.
Gavin tried not to blink and miss a moment of this unbelievable event. From his one and only experience, he knew it wouldn’t take long.
Sure enough, if he hadn’t paid close attention, he wouldn’t believe what he witnessed as Dale’s body elongated in some places and shortened in others. The sound of bones popping into place as if they’d been dislocated filled the air. A sort of shimmer clouded the view as fur emerged to replace clothing. Dale’s head elongated, his snout growing and his ears and nose changing shape. It was over in about fifteen seconds. Fifteen of the longest seconds of Gavin’s life.
“Jesus,” he whispered, taking several steps back, unable to admit he was a little scared. After all, there was an enormous bear standing two feet away from him. N
o sane human being wouldn’t turn around and run screaming.
But this was Dale. When he cocked his head to one side, Gavin could swear he saw the man in the bear’s eyes. The grizzly was breathing heavily. He inched closer, paws hitting the ground near Gavin. He even dipped his head and brushed it under Gavin’s hand as if he were a cat looking for a rub.
Gavin’s heart was racing, but he lifted his hand and ran it over the bear’s fur. Soft. Thick. Almost black. And his actions were submissive, though the bear outweighed Gavin by so much he could snap him in half in less than a second if he wanted.
Gavin slowly relaxed, growing bolder as he let his hand run along Dale’s back. “Incredible,” he murmured. A miracle. It occurred to him that few humans were capable of being a threat to the grizzly shifters because no one would believe Gavin if he tried to explain what he’d seen. In fact, they would lock him in a loony bin and throw away the key. That was a powerful enough reason to keep humans silent.
Finally, as if Dale had enough of submitting his alpha body to the scrutiny of his human sub, he lifted his head and shook Gavin’s hand free. He cocked his snout to the side next, indicating he was going to head up the side of the mountain.
Gavin smiled. “Okay, big guy. Let’s go.”
If bears had the ability to silently chastise humans, the look on Dale’s Ursidae face did the trick.
Gavin lifted both hands as if in surrender. “You don’t like being called big guy? Okay then. Man-eating mammal. You lead. I’ll follow.” Though he wasn’t sure how well that would be accomplished. The mountain was steep. There were no actual paths. He would have to climb over natural foliage—brush, tree trunks, poisonous plants. Other critters too. He ignored the possibilities running through his mind and trudged between the trees right behind Dale’s rump.
They didn’t make it very far, and Gavin knew he was holding his partner back. It was difficult making his way through the unchartered territory. Perhaps grizzly shifters clambered around in this area every day, but it was obvious no humans had done the same.
Grizzly Survival Page 18