by Anya Byrne
Of course, the platonic touches, no matter how pleasurable, weren't enough. How could they be? After everything TJ and Bobby had been through, it would take far more to satisfy them both.
When Bobby kissed him, it didn't come as any real surprise, but it still unleashed the beast within him. His need for his mate flared too bright to contain, and he took over, licking over the seam of Bobby's lips, demanding entrance. Bobby eagerly complied, and TJ thrust his tongue into his mate's mouth, tasting Bobby with a greed and lust that had built over several torturous years.
He wanted to take his time, to savor this, to reassure Bobby and worship him like he deserved. He wanted to explore every inch of Bobby, over and over again, to reacquaint himself with his mate's body and make sure this wasn't a dream.
Unfortunately, gentleness wasn't on the menu today. The kiss quickly grew wild, almost ferocious. Bobby bit on TJ's lips, clawing at his shoulders even as he tried to grind against TJ's cock. TJ's own fangs tore into Bobby's tender flesh, and he tasted blood, but he didn't mind, and neither did Bobby. It frenzied them, inflamed them, made them even more maddened with need than they'd already been.
Throughout the past years, TJ had tried to convince himself that his memories of his time spent with Bobby were biased, influenced by yearning and melancholy, not an accurate description of what really happened between them. Of course, he'd only been fooling himself. As they surrendered to the unavoidable, something inside TJ slid into place. It seemed as if a part of him had been missing, and now that he had it back, he felt free, wild and ecstatic. He bit, teased, caressed, licked, did everything he'd craved for far too long.
When the need to breathe forced him and Bobby apart, he started kissing down Bobby's neck. His mate threw his head back, exposing the white column of his throat. Seeing him like that, so beautiful in his submission, almost made TJ come on the spot—or would have if he hadn't already planned far more for him and Bobby.
To be fair, he didn't actually have a real plan. He was simply following his instincts, and they told him exactly what both he and Bobby needed. He didn't even have to think about it. Being with Bobby was like second nature, returning home after an eternity of being denied what he most craved. No—more than that, it was like breathing, finally taking in oxygen after years of choking on his own pain.
And because he knew for a fact that his mate had suffered just as much, he held on for as long as he could. He swirled his tongue in the hollow of Bobby's throat, and then focused on his nipples. When he bit the tender nubs with far more harshness than he'd have liked, Bobby actually screamed. "Jay... Please, please, please. Fuck me."
It was the first time either of them had spoken since they'd reunited here, in the forest. Predictably, it did things to TJ. With a growl, he moved down Bobby's slender body, biting and nipping as he went along. Bruises bloomed over Bobby's fair skin, and although TJ knew they'd fade in less than an hour, he still felt a fierce pang of satisfaction at the sight. That only increased when he zeroed in on Bobby's hard dick.
The slender pink shaft was just as beautiful as its owner, and that was saying something. TJ didn't bother with teasing. He simply took what he wanted, reveling in the taste of his mate's pleasure, in the way Bobby came undone with every flick of his tongue. It was addicting, the flavor of Bobby's precum, the scent of his sweat, the rising sound of his cries.
The way Bobby moved also drew TJ's attention to his beautiful ass. Always quite willing to multitask when it came to Bobby, TJ rubbed his fingers over his mate's opening while continuing to suck Bobby's cock.
By now, Bobby was completely incoherent, even the earlier begging too much for him. His trembling thighs and the tension in his demeanor revealed Bobby was just about to come.
And TJ would have loved to push his mate over the edge, but at the end of the day, his patience had its limits. As it turned out, his mate's feelings echoed his own. He gripped TJ's hair in a painful hold, and TJ realized Bobby was actually attempting to guide him away.
Bobby was much stronger than he looked, but naturally, he didn't have the energy—or rather the drive and the incentive to go through with what he had in mind. It didn't matter, since TJ could do everything for him. He released Bobby's cock with a wet pop, then flipped Bobby on all fours. His mate eagerly went along with it, pushing his ass back, his entire stance screaming for Bobby's touch. And oh, he was so beautiful like this, his legs spread, his dark hair sweaty, curling over his nape. TJ fell in love with him all over again, just like he did every second he spent in Bobby's company.
He realized then that part of the urgency was because he hadn't actually told Bobby anything. He hadn't explained that he'd lied when he'd said he'd found someone else. He hadn't confessed that he wanted to try again too, that he always wanted to try, because Bobby was his soul mate, his beloved, his other half.
Placing his hands on Bobby's hips, he steadied his mate in an attempt to control Bobby's frantic motions. "It's okay, my little robin. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. We can start over."
Bobby turned his head, his green eyes filled with a mix of passion, pain and disbelief. "Truly? But you said..."
TJ hated shattering the moment, but he couldn't let this hang between them. "I know what I said, but I lied. There's never been anyone but you. I love you too."
Bobby's breath caught, and a single tear slid down his cheek. The last thing TJ had wanted was to make his beloved little robin cry, but he supposed it was unavoidable. There were too many emotions bubbling between them, a burden that weighed on both their souls.
He leaned over Bobby's back and stole another kiss from his mate's sweet lips. He didn't prolong the lip-lock, not like before. Instead, he licked away the fallen tear, wordlessly soothing his mate, assuring him everything would be all right now.
Bobby melted against him, and the sorrow in his gaze was once more pushed away by passion and renewed hope.
After that, TJ was no longer willing to look away from Bobby's face even for a moment. Instead, he set Bobby down on the grass on his back, just like before. They didn't have lube, but TJ could fix that—especially since Bobby was quite flexible.
His mind swirling with memories of their previous times together and his body buzzing with excitement, TJ spread Bobby's legs wide. His mate anticipated his actions and bent himself practically in half. He maintained the position with no apparent effort and parted his ass cheeks, exposing his pink opening to TJ's greedy gaze.
A starving man faced with a delicious feast, TJ dived in to devour his mate. He thrust his tongue into Bobby's ass, using it as a tiny cock to stretch his lover. Bobby moaned and let out a noise that sounded like a cross between a howl and a whimper. TJ's dick throbbed fiercely, but he didn't even try to calm his libido. At this point, it was a futile endeavor, since Bobby would undoubtedly sabotage anything he did. He embraced it, embraced everything Bobby gave him, everything he could take and give back.
By the time he pulled away, both he and Bobby were just as breathless and aroused, just as close to climax. TJ suspected he would come embarrassingly fast, more so since he hadn't taken anyone to his bed since he and Bobby had broken up.
It didn't matter. They had time now, time to make up for everything, for all the hurt, the mistakes and the regret. TJ would gladly spend the rest of his life enjoying what they had now, mending what had been shattered—not because of him and Bobby, but due to an outside force he couldn't control. And he'd start today, at this very moment, by finally making love to his mate.
Mindful of Bobby's comfort, TJ steadied the werewolf's legs on his shoulders, then positioned his cock at his mate's hole. Bobby tried to impale himself on TJ's dick, but he didn't have enough leverage. He didn't need to put much of an effort into it, though, because TJ took over. In one, single hard thrust, he slid home.
It was a little rough, the rim job not enough to smooth the way in like lubricant would have. Neither of them minded. TJ hissed as agonizing pleasure assaulted him, the squeeze of Bobby's muscl
es around him so tight it almost hurt. Bobby clutched his shoulders, his claws digging into TJ's flesh, his face scrunched up in a grimace that at a different time, TJ might have interpreted as one of pain.
But he knew Bobby too well to think that, knew Bobby's desires as well as he did his own. He gave Bobby a few seconds to adjust, and then pulled out, leaving only the head in. An instant later, he thrust back inside, so hard he would have shoved Bobby forward if he hadn't been holding onto his mate so tightly.
As it was, he aimed for his mate's prostate, and when he hit it, Bobby's eyes rolled in his head. His lover impaled himself on TJ's cock, and together, they sought out their pleasure, moving together in perfect synch like they'd never been apart.
From that point on, TJ lost track of everything except the beautiful man beneath him. The world dimmed around them, and his very sense of self dimmed in favor of his focus on getting deeper inside Bobby. It was wild, carnal, intense, and yet so beautiful and deep, a fire untamed, fed by their blazing passion and their uncontrollable emotion. The light of the flame chased away the lingering shadows in their minds, cauterizing the wounds in their heart.
The memory of their separation would never truly fade, but it just made TJ ache more for Bobby. He thrust harder, moved faster, held on tighter. His beast snarled inside him, almost rabid with the desire to be one with his mate.
And then, Bobby snarled, a noise that only TJ had ever managed to draw out of him. "Claim. Me."
TJ's heart almost stopped. They'd talked about claiming one another, about what it meant to have a permanent bond and what it could lead them to. From the very beginning, TJ had been tempted to take what he already knew was his. But Bobby had been reluctant, too worried about what could happen to TJ if his pack found out about their bond. And so, TJ had held back, respecting Bobby's wishes. No longer.
The moment Bobby gave him the green light, TJ struck. He buried his fangs in Bobby's throat, groaning in satisfaction and awed delight as his mate's blood filled his mouth. Bobby followed his example, biting down on TJ's pectoral—and TJ fell over the edge, in an abyss of ecstasy unlike anything he'd experienced before.
He'd thought he'd been ready for what it meant to have a mate bond, but that wasn't the case. When the bond tightened between them, he could feel everything Bobby did, experience all the sensations, but also the emotions that coursed through Bobby. And it went both ways, a perfect circle with their two souls acting as its axis. Their respective orgasms fed on each other, as TJ's body and heart responded to the pleasure Bobby felt, and Bobby reacted to that response, and so on.
It seemed to take forever, and yet, it ended far too soon. Still, when TJ released his hold on his mate's neck, he found in pleased surprise that he was still bound to his mate.
The barbs on his dick kept him inside Bobby, and TJ grinned to himself, rocking his hips the tiniest bit. In the beginning of their relationship, TJ had been worried about how Bobby would take this difference between their bodies, but his mate had reacted beautifully. He'd always gotten a kick out of TJ using his barbs to stimulate the sensitive walls of his channel.
It worked this time around too, and Bobby whimpered as he came again, his spent cock somehow managing to spurt more semen between their bodies. Of course, TJ's teasing backfired, since he experienced that pleasure too, and he couldn't resist a second climax either.
In the end, by the time TJ finally slid out of his mate's body, they were completely exhausted. TJ collapsed next to Bobby on the grass, panting.
He didn't speak, and instead, threaded his fingers through Bobby's, hoping their bond and their bodies had already taken care of revealing everything. In his heart, he wanted to apologize for lying to Bobby about having someone else, but he knew Bobby had sensed it, and didn't blame him.
For that reason, he surprised himself when he finally managed to make his vocal cords work. "Never again, my little robin. I don't want to lose you—ever."
Bobby curled close to him and set his head on TJ's chest. His fingers traced the lines of TJ's abdomen when he replied, "Whatever happens from now on, we'll handle it together."
TJ smiled up at the sky, the relief that curled inside him at the answer drawing a small purr out of him. Mountain cat shifters didn't really purr, but they came pretty close, and TJ knew his mate liked it.
As such, he was somewhat shocked when Bobby suddenly tensed and got up. Reminded they were still on Adler pack lands—even if the Adler family didn't exist anymore—TJ shot to his feet and looked around. He didn't feel anyone nearby, only the few animals that they hadn't managed to scare with their loud love making.
TJ gently set his hands on Bobby's shoulders. "What is it, Bobby?"
"I'm... not really sure," Bobby answered. "Something's different."
"The bond?" TJ suggested, although he knew better than to think their connection could make Bobby so tense.
Predictably, Bobby shook his head. "That's not it." He grabbed TJ's hand and set it on his stomach. "It might be nothing. You know my magic isn't always reliable."
"But you think it's something."
When Bobby turned in TJ's embrace, he was smiling, his eyes shining with enthusiasm. "Yes, I think it's something. I think we're going to be parents."
Epilogue
"So let me get this straight." Nathan arched a brow, staring from Bobby to TJ, then back at Bobby. "The whole reason you approached me is not because you were against my ideas, but because you had a male feline mate all this time, and no one knew about it?"
TJ nodded. "Pretty much, although we broke up a few years back because of Mario."
Bobby winced, hating the reminder of his earlier fuck up. Obviously sensing his dismay, TJ wrapped an arm around his shoulder and squeezed. Bobby immediately felt better. He couldn't even be embarrassed by his clinginess, because his Alpha was just as affectionate with Val—as Nathan's mate now insisted to be called.
Nathan hummed thoughtfully. "Well, then. I suppose congratulations are in order. Is that why you wanted to meet your father here? Are you worried about how he might react?"
"Yes and no." TJ shot Bobby a look, and Bobby shrugged. It wasn't like it was going to be a secret for too long. He'd already started to show, faster than he would have if he'd been just a werewolf.
"The thing is, I'm pregnant."
"That's unexpected. Congratulations again." Nathan paused, eyeing the two of them speculatively. "I must admit I'm surprised."
"Surprised?" TJ repeated. "Why? Your own mate is carrying a child, and he's human."
"That's just it." Nathan sounded frustrated and a little sheepish. "I love my and Val's child, but we were planning to wait, and I have no idea what we're going to do in the future. You two were together before, right? How come you didn't fall pregnant then?"
The last thing Bobby had expected when he'd planned on this visit was to end up talking about contraceptives with his Alpha. He could empathize with the man's plight, but sadly, he couldn't help. "Unfortunately, Alpha, that's just because of my ancestry—my Sidhe ancestry. As you know, Sidhe are naturally long-lived, among the most long-lived creatures on Earth. Perhaps for that reason, their rate of conception is very low. It seems to have affected me as well."
To this day, they hadn't figured out if their mate bond had changed that, or if it had been pure chance that had led to the conception of their baby. They'd decided to worry about one thing at a time, and focused on the immediate problems first. "To be honest," he admitted, "we were just as surprised when I realized I was pregnant."
A noise came for the doorway even as he said the words, and Bobby realized that he'd somehow missed the moment when Val had led his father into the room. "W-What?"
The older werewolf had paled, all the color draining from his face. "What did you say just now?"
Bobby mentally sighed. "Come in, Father. Don't just stand there. I want you to meet someone. This is Thomas Jefferson St. Claire—TJ for short. He belongs to a pride of mountain cats in the Rockies, but he's curren
tly a lone shifter. He's my mate, and the father of my unborn child. Jay, this is my father, Zachary Cox."
"It's an honor to meet you, Sir," TJ said politely. "I've heard a lot about you."
Both he and Bobby got up from the couch and crossed the room to stand in front of Bobby's father. TJ extended his hand in greeting, but Bobby didn't really expect the older werewolf to take it.
He was proven correct when his father punched TJ straight in the face. He didn't hold back in the slightest, and for all his long years, he still had his full werewolf strength. TJ narrowly avoided falling because of his natural feline grace, but Bobby wasn't too happy about the ugly bruise already forming on his mate's cheek.
His father was still fuming. "What the hell? Where did you come from? Do you have any idea how hard it's been for Bobby to be safe in the pack? How could you simply—"
"Father, stop," Bobby interrupted him. He didn't shout, or even raise his voice in the slightest. In fact, he spoke calmly, and maybe that was what made the older werewolf pay attention to him. "Think for a little, and you can figure out why he couldn't help."
"It wasn't that I didn't want to," TJ said sedately. "I would have given my life for Bobby. But he begged me not to get involved, and I couldn't go against his wishes."
"Definitely not with the way Alpha Adler and Mario were behaving." Bobby sighed. "And you thought they were helping me so..."
"I thought he kept you from being teased," his father croaked out. "I never wanted you to feel different."
"But I am different, Father, and that's not a bad thing."
To prove his point, he went to his mate's side and pressed his fingers to the bruise. Under his touch, the minor injury disappeared like it had never been. TJ kissed his palm in thanks, although he also gave Bobby a sharp look. They'd already had a conversation about Bobby taxing his powers while pregnant.