by BA Tortuga
“Yeah.” Stirling chewed on his lip. “I mean, I’d have to talk to Lonnie, but I bet it was, like, his wolf doing some primal surfacing.” Lonnie was their local vet and the pack shaman.
“He’s okay? He’s not hurt?” Lucy was a good mom, through and through.
“He’s freaked-out. He can’t control the shift.” That just had to suck too.
“You can’t bring him here. These assholes are vicious. They live on misery.”
“I know. I wanted you to know, though. He’ll stay at my place until we figure this out.” He patted Lucy’s leg, knowing it would be hard for her not to come see Tanner.
“Oh, good. Good. What do you want me to do?” Her voice dropped. “The insurance company called already. He has money.”
“Well, we might need it later. There’s no way he can go back to his old life.” Not like this, and really not at all, now that he could shift.
“It will be so good to have him back.”
“He might be grumpy to begin with.” Man, Stirling’d be grumpy all the time. Still, he thought it would be good too.
“He’ll be impossible.” Her laughter split the air. “He was settled, living as a human. He doesn’t know how to follow pack structure anymore.”
“I hear that. Right now he’s mostly scared.” Speaking of which…. Stirling checked his watch. “I have to check in at the office, then head back. He’s in the basement.”
She winced. “Do you need anything?”
“No. I mean, I’m sure I will, but if I leave with stuff, it will look odd.” He wanted to draw as little attention as possible right now.
“Makes sense. You take care of him. I’ll keep making a fuss.”
“There you go.” She would be good now that she knew. She wouldn’t fall apart.
Lucy nodded, offered him a relieved smile. “Tell him I’m fine and that I can’t wait to howl with him.”
“I will.” He stood and gave her a hug when she rose as well.
Her scent was so much better now, so much more relaxed, that her tears when she led him to the door made him fight a grin. He gave her another hug for the waiting media and tugged his hat down before heading out.
He needed to get back before Tanner woke up and tore the shit out of his basement.
HE CHEWED on the blanket when he woke, then headed up the stairs to get out.
Out.
Out.
He swacked the doorknob, his paws battering it. Out.
His body went into emergency flight mode when it wouldn’t move, and he started fighting the door. Out, out, out.
The sound was amazing, claws dragging on the wood. His bones were rattling.
He hit the door again.
It opened, spilling him back down the stairs.
“Shit! Tanner. Calm down, man.”
Out. Out out out out!
He barreled up the stairs and out, panicked, looking for a door, freedom. Rough hands caught his tail, Stirling pulling him around, his claws scrabbling on the hardwood. He skidded, banged into the wall.
Oh, ow. He shook his head, ruff rocking as he did, making his eyes cross.
Stirling caught him around the middle. “Stop. You’re okay. I promise.”
His feet kept going for a minute, and then he relaxed. It was better up here. Stirling smelled good, and his arms were strong and safe.
Tanner grunted softly, then dipped his head to groom one arm. Better. Hello.
“Hey. You hungry?” Those hot hands rubbed his ears, soothing him even more.
Yes. Yes. His tail thumped on the floor, and he gnawed Stirling’s arm a little.
“No biting, man!” Laughing, Stirling let him go and rose, headed toward the fridge. “I’m out of lasagna, but I know I have some meat and cheese. I didn’t have a chance to get to the store. Man, the press people are crazy.”
He head-butted Stirling. Mom? How was his mom?
The thought made him stop, think, and suddenly he was kneeling on the floor, naked again. Fuck.
“Well, hey. We need to get you a robe.” Stirling was staring. Hard.
“Hey. How’s Mom?” He stood, hand over his bare cock. “I won’t pounce you, okay? I’m not that bad.”
“Not that—oh. You don’t know? Not your mom. She’s fine. I mean me, gay.”
“What?” He tried to parse that series of sentences, but they didn’t make sense.
At all.
Stirling sighed. “Your mom is great now that she knows you’re alive. I’m not worried about you jumping me. Well, maybe, but only in the way that it would suck if you changed while we had sex.”
“It would suck if I changed while I was sucking.” Wait. Did he say that out loud?
“Hell yes. Toothy.” That got him a wide grin, and Stirling started rummaging for food again.
“So Mom’s okay? The press is leaving her alone?” He looked for a jacket, a pair of sweats, a big dishtowel.
“They’re like jackals. Still, now that she knows you’re okay, she has a mission to keep them away from you.” Stirling glanced over one shoulder. “Robe is on the back of my bedroom door on a hook.”
“Thank you.” He padded off, heading to the room he’d napped in before. The robe was there, well-worn, soft. He could imagine Stirling wearing it fresh out of the shower, which made his body tighten. He sort of stared down at his cock, amazed.
“Stop it. You behave.” God, he’d lost his fucking mind. He was talking to his prick.
“Did you say something?” Stirling called from the kitchen, making him jump.
“Uh. No. Nope. Not me.” He thumped himself and wrapped up in the robe.
“Oh. Well, come eat.”
When he came out, Stirling had put together lunch meat wrapped in swiss cheese, along with chips and glasses of milk.
His nose twitched and the color from the room started to fade. No. No.
“Hey!” A sharp smack landed on his hip. “Stay with me.”
“Sorry. Sorry.” He blinked at Stirling, colors flooding back in. “Smells good.”
“No problem. You just need to eat. That will help.” Stirling led him to the table. “We need to work on your focus.”
He sat, damn near vibrating with it.
“That’s it. Breathe. In and out. Conscious breathing is a human thing. It will help you hold on to the human traits.”
Hey, that was good to know. He closed his eyes, breathed slow. In. Out. In. Out. Oh. Oh, better. Better. “Thank you.”
“No problem, man. I was thinking of stuff they teach us as teenagers. You know, hormones.” He got an eyebrow waggle.
“Yeah.” He looked down. He hadn’t been allowed in those lessons. He hadn’t wanted to go, to be fair. Whatever. It was a long time ago.
“Anyway, I can teach you some now.” Stirling pushed a plate at him. “Eat first.”
“Thanks. I probably need to go see Mom, let people know it was just a mistake somehow.” He’d have to work on that.
“Dude. Reporters. What are you going to tell them?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet.”
“Well, they think you’re either abducted or dead. Until you’re in control of this, don’t come back to life.” Stirling laughed, blue eyes twinkling. “Besides, your mom will get more use out of your insurance than she will you.”
“Oh, fuck you.” He flipped Stirling off. “I had a job, a baseball team. Net sex.”
“Net sex?” Stirling raised a brow. “Not real sex? Didn’t you live among the gay people?”
“I did. I had a partner, but….” Tanner shrugged. “It didn’t work out, and I mean that in the typically queer, most clichéd way on earth. He wanted to sail around the world in a dinghy, and I had a brownstone that was actually getting paid off.”
“Wow.” That little blinky face was almost adorable. “I get the occasional blowjob in Denver.”
“The Bay Area’s probably easier, for a guy. Not a wolf.” That had been challenging.
“I guess, yeah.” Stir
ling put his plate in the sink, looking uncomfortable again.
“I’m sorry.” He stood up, not sure what to do, how to make things stop being weird. He didn’t have his clothes; he didn’t have his wallet. He didn’t know what to do, and he was in Stirling’s house, and….
The plate clattered on the floor, and he struggled to get his limbs free from the robe.
“Hey. Hey, come on, man.” Stirling helped him get naked, but before the wolf could take him, those strong arms wrapped around him, Stirling holding him tight. “Breathe.”
A low rumble left him, but he sucked in a breath, then another, the solid bands around him settling him in his skin.
“That’s it. That’s good.” Stirling’s breath fanned against his neck, and their lower bodies pressed together, and suddenly it wasn’t the wolf he was worried about. His cock filled in a rush, and his hips rocked back, then had to push forward.
Stirling went absolutely still for a moment, hardly breathing. Then the man rocked, hips slamming against his. The fabric of Stirling’s uniform rasped so good, burned all along his cock, Oh fuck, yes. Again. He grabbed Stirling’s ass, pulled. It worked, and Stirling rubbed against him, hips moving in a tight circle, giving him friction that verged on pain. Perfect.
He groaned, eyes rolling as the urge to snap the air hit him.
Stirling reached up behind him, hand sliding into his hair to pull him down for a kiss that pressed his lips back against his teeth. It burned, but it gave him something to concentrate on. Wild. No one had ever tasted so good; no one had ever tasted like Stirling. Ever.
He wanted to howl with how good it was. He couldn’t, not with Stirling biting his lower lip like that, that one big hand squeezing his ass hard.
Their tongues slapped together, Stirling slamming him into the floor. The man was strong, so strong, muscling him down and pressing one thigh between his, spreading him like butter. His body didn’t have any intention of resisting. Hell no. He wanted to feel.
Stirling pressed down against him, hips between his legs. One hand slid between them, and suddenly there was skin against his, hot and perfect. Stirling’s cock was glorious. A sharp bark left him, and he nodded, body taking over as he rocked and bucked, gave them both some friction.
“Fuck yes.” Rising up a bit, Stirling got a hand between them, bringing their cocks together, stroking nice and hard.
“Yeah. Don’t stop.” He whimpered, made sure his body added to the heat, the rub.
“No. Not going to stop. God, yeah.” Stirling was hot, so hot, and the uniform went fast, Stirling stripping down and getting back in his space to stroke them both again.
The wood floor slid under his back, his ass, almost cold compared to Stirling’s heat.
“Fuck.” He could hear the need in Stirling’s voice, feel it in the way that heavy body moved faster against him. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so alive.
“Yeah.” Better than the feeling was the scent—strong, male, rich. It was like a drug. It made his body shake, made him pant. Stirling touched him everywhere, strong and sure.
“Please. Please.” He grunted and arched, using all his strength to meet Stirling’s thrusts.
“Yeah. Oh fuck, Tanner.” Stirling ground against him so hard he thought they’d burn each other, and bent to bite at his throat.
That sharp bite sent him over the edge, spunk pulsing out of him in waves. He thrashed, which made it even better, because those sharp teeth held him in place while Stirling came all over his thighs.
The scent—God, nothing was like that. Nothing ever had been, and he whined softly.
“Shh. I got you.” Stirling sounded perfectly content with the world. Tanner understood.
He leaned in, stayed there, his body heavy, lazy.
For the first time in he couldn’t remember how long, his body didn’t feel torn. It knew just what to do.
WOW. TANNER was… intensely hot. Really damned sexual. It made Stirling incredibly happy, deep down in his wolf soul. That didn’t help their situation at all, but there it was.
He sat up, his back protesting their impromptu nap on the floor.
Tanner stretched, skin squeaking a little as it rubbed on the polished wood. “Whoa.”
“Yeah. Think you’re up to a shower?” They could get unsticky and he could heat up some soup.
“Yeah.” Although Tanner didn’t seem to be hysterical to get clean. In fact, the man looked pretty damn easy in his skin.
“You rather have a snack first?” His stomach rumbled.
Tanner’s nose wrinkled, a soft growl answering. “I’m always hungry now. Does that get better?”
“Yeah. It takes a lot of energy to change, and your body is in distress mode, you know?” Chicken noodle it was. Shower later.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m glad I figured out how to get here.”
“Lord, me too. I can’t imagine if someone had found you.”
It said something, that Tanner managed to chew his way out of somewhere as huge as San Francisco and not be caught or put in a zoo or something. Stirling shuddered, thinking about it. They could live a long time as wolves, but they all liked their human comforts too.
“Yeah. I don’t remember some of it. I remember being scared and running hard.”
“You did good.” He’d make grilled cheese too. Extra protein.
Tanner’s hand brushed his ass, the touch featherlight.
Stirling jumped a little. “Dude!” He laughed, shaking his head. “Been a long time since someone touched me like this. You know?”
“You cool with it?”
“Yeah. Yeah, it’s good.” It was too, making his body hum with pleasure.
“It is.” Tanner’s hand wrapped around his hip, thumb drawing a circle.
“You okay?” He could tell Tanner was pretty content, but he wanted to hear it out loud.
“I am. I feel… weirdly settled. It’s probably shock.”
Stirling chuckled. “No doubt. You’re safe here, though.”
“Thanks.” Tanner’s thumb kept moving, distracting him.
“You’re gonna get me going again, you’re not careful.”
“Do you want to again?”
He looked up, met Tanner’s eyes. The man was watching him, looking hungry, looking like he wanted Stirling to say yes.
“Hell yes.”
“Cool.” Tanner stepped even closer into his space, reminding him that Tanner knew men, knew how to touch.
Stirling might be the one who knew wolves, but this was new territory for him. New and hot and feeling pretty good.
Tanner’s leg pressed against his, solid and warm, that cock snuggled into him. That had him pushing a little, rocking, feeling everything in a leisurely sort of way. They fit together, hand in glove, none of that weird jockeying for position that he’d had before.
No, they knew where things went now, which was crazy. Who settled in that easy?
The answer whispered in the back of his mind, but he smothered it, focused on that lean body in front of him. There was no sense worrying on things that meant nothing until Tanner could not be dead or kidnapped.
He kissed Tanner’s throat, licking at the sweat there.
Tanner stiffened, then groaned and lifted his chin. Such good instincts. Such a good wolf. So ready to be Stirling’s… pack. Yeah. Part of the pack.
He latched on to that fine, smooth skin, sucking up a mark.
“Oh….” That deep moan vibrated his lips, Tanner’s fingers digging into his skin.
“Mmm-hmm. Touch me, babe.” He needed more, more pressure, more skin.
“Yeah.” Tanner’s fingers carded through the curls above his cock, at the base of his belly.
His toes curled, and he rose up on the balls of his feet. “I have a bed.”
“Good. Now?” Sweet, hungry pup.
“Hell yes.” The things they could do in a bed tantalized him. He tugged Tanner toward the back of the house.
Tanner followed, hands on his ass, on his shou
lder, on his prick.
He turned when they got to the bedroom, grabbing Tanner and muscling the man down onto the bed. Time to explore. Stirling leaned in, to touch and lick and bite at Tanner’s belly, first. It was flat, nicely muscled, and had a fine covering of hair that trailed on down. Nice. Tanner groaned, abs rippling.
“That tingles.”
“Yeah? In a good way?” He grinned and did it again before nibbling one hipbone.
“Yes.” Tanner twisted, curled around his head, hands reaching for him.
God, this was good. Tanner was amazingly responsive. Just…. Yum. He licked the head of Tanner’s cock, knowing that was what a man really needed. Hot and bright, the flavor of salt made his eyes cross, made his mouth water, and made him need more. Stirling licked, sucked, his cheeks hollowing with it.
His name sounded, the word more a bark than anything else. Tanner made the most amazing noises. He didn’t think Tanner had a clue, but those little growls were hot and adorable at the same time.
Tanner spun and suddenly his cock was engulfed in wet heat. Oh. Oh fuck. Yes. His toes curled and his fingers twisted into the sheets. Tanner’s cock was right there, still, so Stirling gave as good as he got. He sucked, loving the give and take.
They made a circle, devouring each other as they swallowed, growling and grunting. Stirling caught Tanner’s hips in his hands, not to slow things down, but to speed things up. He wanted everything Tanner had to give him.
Everything got a little hazy, a lot wild, and the suction around his cock became the biggest thing on earth. Stirling tried to remember to breathe, to suck, but Tanner was going to kill him with pleasure.
His cock sank deep into Tanner’s throat, each swallow making him yelp, grunt. He closed his eyes and sucked on Tanner too, trying to get the man just as crazy as he was. The response vibrated his whole cock, made his balls draw up.
All it took was another little push from Tanner, that mouth sealing around the base of his prick, and Stirling lost it, coming hard and fast. His hips rocked, and he had to pull back to breathe.
Tanner was still sucking when the aftershocks faded, hips rolling restlessly underneath him. One hand reached down, Tanner jacking himself.