Devotion

by Grace R. Duncan

  “You know… I never told you, but once I stopped panicking, once I was able to think again, it really sank in. That… what you did, that meant a lot. So, while maybe you shouldn’t have done it…. Well, first, I don’t think you could help it. And second, I don’t think it was ridiculous. I mean it, it meant a lot to me.”

  “Oh?” Finley asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yeah,” Tanner said, nodding. “Your wolf knew me as your mate. It showed me that even if I’d fucked up so badly… deep down, you still wanted me, still cared about me.”

  Finley crossed the small space, settled on Tanner’s lap, and straddled his mate. “I said it before and I’ll say it again. I’ll keep saying it until you believe it,” he murmured, cupping Tanner’s face. Tanner wrapped both arms around him, and Finley sighed into the hold. “You. It’s always been you.” He kissed Tanner’s forehead gently. “Do you know that before I even realized what was going on, before I knew you were my mate, I thought you were the hottest guy I’d ever seen?”

  Tanner’s eyebrows went up. “You did?”

  Finley nodded. “Oh yeah.”

  “What did you notice first?” Tanner asked, way too casually.

  Finley grinned. “Are you fishing, my mate?”

  Tanner tried to look innocent and failed. “Me?”

  “Mmm. Yes, you,” Finley replied, grin getting wider. He leaned in and brushed his lips over Tanner’s, slowly, teasingly.

  Tanner moaned and ran his hands down Finley’s back, then cupped both cheeks. Finley completely lost track of what he’d been saying, instead focusing on Tanner’s lips and the kiss that slowly deepened. He pushed his fingers up into Tanner’s hair, holding his head still as they kissed. He finally pulled himself away, struggling to remember what they’d been talking about.

  “So… what did you notice?”

  Finley laughed. “You’re too much.” He shook his head, then kissed Tanner lightly on the lips again. “Your eyes. These gorgeous blue eyes.”

  “Your smile,” Tanner said, softly.

  Finley raised his eyebrows. “My smile?”

  Tanner nodded. “Yeah. You were smiling at something your mom said, I think. I couldn’t look away.”

  Finley knew his face was red if the heat in his cheeks was anything to go by. “Well, I’m glad you like it,” he whispered, not sure what to say to that.

  “I love it. And you.” Tanner brushed a thumb over Finley’s still hot cheek.

  Finley looked up at him again. “I love you too.”

  He finally climbed off of Tanner’s lap and took the seat he’d been in before. “So,” he said, grinning. “Ever had sex on a train?”

  Tanner laughed. “Not yet. I’m kinda hoping I’ll get lucky tonight.”

  “I might be convinced.” Finley’s grin widened.

  “Oh, I have to convince you?”

  “Maybe. Maybe I—”

  “Excuse me, sirs,” a voice said. Finley turned to see the attendant—a small, thin man with a shiny pate—standing in the doorway. “Would you like me to set up the beds?”

  “Oh, yes, please,” Tanner said, standing. “We’ll go get a snack or something.” He held his hand out to Finley, who snatched up his coffee and took Tanner’s hand. “Um… we don’t need the upper bunk.”

  The attendant raised an eyebrow but had apparently seen plenty before. “Very good, sirs. If you’ll just give me a few minutes.”

  It took them a little while to make their way to the cafe car. When they got there, a line had already formed, and they had to wait. Finley wasn’t even all that hungry—Grammy had made big, thick steaks for dinner. But he was hoping he’d need plenty of energy that night, so he ordered a ham sandwich, chose a couple bags of chips, and even snatched up a brownie at the last moment.

  “Hungry?” Tanner asked.

  “Maybe,” Finley replied, smirking. “Or maybe I’m expecting to need fuel.”

  The heat in Tanner’s eyes went straight to Finley’s cock. “Oh, you will. There is no doubt about that.”

  Said cock twitched, hardening fast. Finley glanced down to see his pants tenting embarrassingly. He shoved his food at Tanner and turned around to face the wall as he adjusted himself. He threw a glare at Tanner that held no heat as he took his food back.

  Tanner laughed. “You said it first,” he said, leaning in to Finley’s ear. He nipped at the lobe, then murmured, “I’ve been hard since we left our compartment. I can’t wait to get you naked, suck your cock, then feel it fill my ass.”

  Finley whimpered. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  With a smirk, Tanner ignored the question and paid for their food.

  Chapter Sixteen

  THEY DID manage to eat first. But it wasn’t long after they finished that the door was locked, the curtain was drawn, their clothes were off, and they were on the bed, doing their damnedest to devour each other whole. Finley wasn’t sure what to make of the constant, nagging need he’d felt since he and Tanner had made love the first time. But the need to touch his mate was never far from his mind.

  Tanner leaned up as if to push Finley onto his back, but Finley shook his head.

  “Let me. We haven’t had a lot of time to spend just learning each other yet. Want to take my time with you since we have all night.” He smiled. “And can’t go anywhere.”

  With a nod and chuckle, Tanner lay back, and Finley dove in to learn Tanner’s body. He wanted to kiss, taste, feel every inch, and he decided Tanner’s earlobe was a good place to start. He worried it for long moments with his teeth, then traced the shell. He loved Tanner’s reaction: the moan, the hands moving over his body, the gasps of pure need.

  He glanced up, thrilled when he saw the extended canines and wolf eyes. Sure, he knew Tanner’s hard cock showed arousal, but the partial shift seemed even more, somehow. And it never failed to make his own wolf come out. His vision grayed, his teeth dropped, and he struggled to keep them away from Tanner’s skin.

  He finally decided to move on, working his way in a line down his mate’s neck next. “Soon,” he whispered, tracing the path with his tongue. “Soon, I’ll be biting here.” He nipped at the spot where shoulder meets neck with his human teeth, savoring the louder gasp. “Right here to claim you too. Mine.”

  Tanner flexed his hands on Finley’s ass, pulling Finley into him tighter, their hard cocks grinding. “Fuck, Fin,” he groaned.

  “Mmm. Yes, that’s what I’m going to do. Fuck you. I’m going to fill you with my cock and fuck you so hard you forget everything but me.”

  He was pretty sure Tanner whimpered. He nipped again, then dragged his lips over one pectoral, savoring the feel of Tanner’s hair tickling his face. He paused at the nipple and teased it with his tongue, flicking it until it hardened and he pulled another whimper from Tanner.

  “Did I just make the future alpha of my pack whimper?”

  “No….” Tanner started to speak, but stopped when Finley bit at his nipple and he whimpered again. “No idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Uh-huh,” Finley said, grinning as he kissed his way to the other nipple. “I can make my alpha whimper,” he said, chuckling darkly.

  Tanner groaned, then lifted his head and met Finley’s gaze. “Only you, baby. Always you. The alpha’s mate is the only one that can do that, and I’m proud you can do it for me.”

  Finley froze, staring at Tanner, his mate, his love. He swallowed around the lump that formed and struggled with emotion. “I love you,” he whispered, moving back up to catch Tanner’s lips in a kiss he couldn’t begin to explain. He was grateful he didn’t need to—Tanner felt what he did, understood when he couldn’t explain, and that only seemed to make the emotion stronger. Tanner gave it back, every bit, and when they broke apart, they simply stared at each other for a long moment.

  Then Tanner bucked into him again, and Finley remembered what he’d been doing. He slid back down Tanner’s body and sucked Tanner’s other nipple into his mouth. He worked this one over as th
oroughly as the other, pulling all manner of sounds from Tanner’s throat.

  Tanner bucked, grinding them together again, and Finley pulled off, lifting himself up. “Can’t keep that up, baby, or I’ll go off way too soon.”

  “Wouldn’t want that,” Tanner murmured.

  Finley chuckled, running his lips along Tanner’s treasure trail, then over his inner thigh. He continued to tease, kissing everything he could. Every new spot he found, he worked mercilessly until Tanner begged him to stop. He loved the idea he had this amazing, beautiful, strong wolf a begging mess.

  He finally gave in and turned his attention to Tanner’s cock. Slightly longer and thinner than his own, Finley loved that it was uncut. He slowly slid the foreskin down, lightly licking each tiny bit that was revealed.

  “Fuck, baby!” Tanner groaned, eyes glued to Finley’s mouth.

  Finley ran his lips up one side of Tanner’s dick, then down the other before tracing the vein and ridge. He left it alone all over again, focusing instead on the heavy, tight balls. He mouthed each, licking them thoroughly until he got another please from his mate. He wrestled his wolf back enough to retract his teeth so he didn’t accidentally hurt Tanner, then took one ball into his mouth and sucked lightly on it.

  He would have grinned at the sound Tanner let out over that—if his mouth wasn’t full of Tanner’s ball. Instead, he concentrated on simply giving pleasure and earning more of those amazing sounds. He switched to the other ball, then licked along Tanner’s cock again before finally taking the tip into his mouth.

  Tanner’s hands went to his head, but he didn’t push. Instead, he threaded his fingers through Finley’s hair and simply rested them there.

  Finley appreciated the connection, liked that Tanner seemed to need that touch. He continued working Tanner’s cock over, finally sliding his mouth down as far as he could go. He found his gag reflex, backed off, then worked to take a bit more, all the while listening to Tanner’s moans. He thought about some of the things he’d read, tried to relax his throat muscles, and a moment later, the head of Tanner’s dick popped into his throat.

  “Holy fuck!” Tanner shouted, and Finley’s cock twitched at the sound. Tanner’s fingers tightened in Finley’s hair, but Finley couldn’t care even a little bit. He was too busy enjoying the taste and feel of Tanner’s dick.

  It didn’t last long, though. What could only be a few minutes later, Tanner tugged on his hair. “Not yet, baby, please.”

  Finley pulled off Tanner’s cock and worked his way back up Tanner’s body. “Turn over for me,” he whispered, nipping at Tanner’s ear.

  Tanner didn’t hesitate, and seconds later, Finley was exploring Tanner’s back. He found spots there, too, that seemed to make Tanner crazy. They drew wonderful sounds, anyway. He traced every muscle, every dip, every line he could find with his lips. He kissed each individual vertebra, then covered Tanner’s ass with kisses too.

  When he parted Tanner’s cheeks and stared at the tight muscle, his cock jumped and the precum that had already been beading flowed much faster. His wolf surged forward again, and his canines dropped once more. He couldn’t seem to stop it, so he focused on keeping them out of his mate’s skin. He leaned in, his sensitive nose picking up easily on the stronger version of Tanner’s scent. He couldn’t hold in the chuckle when he realized what he was doing.

  “Is my ass funny?”

  “No.” Finley laughed. “I just realized… I was sniffing your butt.”

  Tanner paused for a heartbeat, then started laughing. “Gods, sometimes we really do act like dogs, don’t we?”

  Finley grinned, snickering with Tanner. “Yeah, we do.” He leaned back in, though, and inhaled again, then ran his tongue over the ring of muscle.

  Tanner’s laugh cut off in a strangled groan. “Oh fuck, do that again.”

  He obliged, tracing it over and over, then pushing his tongue in a little before running it around the rim again. Tanner’s moans got much louder, and Finley threw himself into giving his mate pleasure. He got so lost in it, he didn’t realize Tanner was actually calling his name. All he could seem to focus on was the rocking and moaning Tanner had been doing.

  Finley sat up. “What baby?” he asked, looking at Tanner.

  Tanner shoved the bottle of lube at him. “Need you inside me. Now, before I go off.”

  Finley took the bottle and sat back, fumbling with the cap. His own need was nearly overwhelming, and his hands shook a little. He took a deep breath, but the smell of his mate’s arousal was thick in the air and didn’t help.

  He could admit, too, he was nervous. He knew Tanner knew he’d never done anything like this. But he really didn’t want this to be awful for Tanner and maybe have Tanner not want it from him. He had no idea how many partners Tanner had before him, but he was sure they’d all been better than he would be.

  Finally he had the bottle open and poured too much over his first finger. His hands shook again, and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

  “Hey, baby, what’s wrong?”

  Finley opened his eyes to see Tanner sitting up and looking at him. He hadn’t even felt Tanner move. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it because he had no idea how to say what was worrying him. No matter what he came up with, it sounded stupid to him.

  “Baby?” Tanner asked, cupping Finley’s face. “Why are you worried? Do you want to do this?”

  Finley had completely forgotten Tanner’s ability to sense his feelings. He managed to nod.

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  Blowing out a breath, he forced out the words before he could change his mind. “I’m sorry. I’m just worried. I don’t know what I’m doing and I’ll be horrible and I just know you’ve had better and you’ll never want it from me again and—”

  He was cut off by a hard, thorough kiss. When Tanner pulled back, Finley stared with wide eyes. “I haven’t had better. I’ve never bottomed for anyone before. You’re all I’ll ever want, and I will want you, many times over.”

  Finley got stuck on that second sentence. “You’ve… never?”

  Tanner shook his head. “No. I was waiting, hoping I’d meet my mate.” He smiled. “And I did, and I’m glad I waited.”

  Finley swallowed, his heart slowing and the shaking in his hands settling. “I… you… thank you.”

  Tanner smiled and kissed him again. “Nothing to thank me for. Now, can we pick up where we left off?”

  Finley nodded a little numbly. He glanced down to see Tanner’s cock hadn’t even flagged a bit through that. He kissed Tanner one more time, then waited until he turned around again. Once more Tanner’s ass was spread in front of him, and Finley’s cock jumped, his wolf pushing him to take his mate. He wrestled for control, using the finger with too much lube and teasing Tanner’s hole with it, spreading it, and working the fingertip in.

  Holy fuck. Finley’s eyes nearly crossed when he felt how tight Tanner was.

  Just a fingertip and he already knew he was going to have trouble when he finally got in there. He tried to calm himself down, hoping by focusing on keeping his claws retracted—he seriously did not need to damage Tanner—he could do what he needed to.

  He worked the lube into Tanner carefully, spreading it the best he could. “Fuck, you’re tight, baby,” he muttered and was relieved when Tanner breathed out, relaxing himself. Finley’s finger slid the rest of the way in, and he let his own breath out in relief.

  It took every bit of patience he could muster to prepare Tanner. He needed, a little desperately, to be buried in that tight heat, but he could, and would, take care not to hurt his mate. His nerves spiked again as he tried to focus. He wanted so much for Tanner to enjoy this.

  He’d actually been a little surprised when Tanner had originally suggested they switch. He’d have thought being an alpha would have made that impossible. Tanner had assured him, however, that bottoming was something he really wanted to try, and being an alpha had nothing to do with it. If he didn’t like it,
that was different, but it had nothing to do with his position in the pack.

  Finley didn’t really mind either way. Sure, he wanted to try topping—who wouldn’t want to feel tight heat surrounding their cock?—but he already knew he loved bottoming, so even if Tanner didn’t like it, it wouldn’t mean they couldn’t have sex.

  That said, he still wanted to make it good for Tanner. To that end, he worked carefully on each finger, adding more lube as he went. He probably used way more than necessary, but he figured the first time was a good excuse to do that, if there ever was one.

  Finally, he thought he had Tanner as ready as possible. He slicked his cock and lined up, pausing as the head nudged his mate’s hole.

  “Baby?” Tanner asked, undoubtedly sensing his worry.

  “I’m okay. Just….” He cleared his throat. “Just nervous.”

  “It’s okay. You’re doing great, so far. My dick’s hard enough to pound nails, frankly. I need you inside me.”

  Finley swallowed, moaning at the words, and before he could stop himself, he’d pushed his cock against the ring of muscle. It squeezed the head and he groaned even louder. Tanner was so tight, though, Finley was starting to worry. “Baby?” he said, knowing he sounded strangled, but couldn’t help it.

  Tanner took a deep breath and let it out, his muscle relaxing at the same time, and the head of Finley’s cock slipped in. “Oh fuck, that feels good,” Tanner murmured.

  Finley couldn’t do anything more than whimper in reply. He’d never felt anything that good in his life. Even Tanner’s mouth didn’t feel that good, and he had to take a minute or he’d go off. While he technically still was a teenager, he refused to go off like one. With a few slow breaths, he worked his way farther into his mate’s body. He took his time, pushing forward an inch, then retreating, then doing the same again.

  When he was finally buried to the base, he paused to collect himself. He trailed light kisses over Tanner’s back and shoulder, struggling to remember how to simply take air in and let it back out again. He reached around and found Tanner’s cock, surprised it was as hard as ever. “Holy shit,” he whispered.