Ghoulish

by Kat Bellamy

  Stan smiled, patting Colt’s shoulder. “We’re as good as we choose to be, son. Love always makes us better. Keep that in mind and you’ll be alright.”

  “Thanks,” Colt said, clearing his throat. “I’d better go. Thanks for the uh...this,” he said, taking the plastic bins.

  “Anytime. Oh, and a word of advice about the Jason situation,” Stan said awkwardly. “I haven’t been with anyone since I married Susan, but I experimented a bit with humans in my day. Sex is tricky, but pain helps.”

  “Pain?” Colt asked warily. This was definitely not the turn he’d thought this conversation would take, and he found it nearly as awkward as “the talk” with his own father had been.

  “Make of that what you will,” Stan said with a laugh, opening the kitchen door. “You’d better leave this way, assuming you don’t want to get roped into another conversation with my brother.”

  That he certainly didn’t. “Thanks. And uh, thanks for the tip,” Colt said, saying goodnight before he made it out into the fresh air. He glanced down the road, wondering where Ronnie had gone. He thought briefly of going to look for him but told himself the kid was just fine. After all, he was a ghoul and that was a hell of a lot worse than anything else that might be lurking in the night.

  Chapter 8

  “You’re sure about this?” Colt asked as he stood next to Jason on his parents’ front porch. The ranch style house stood out in their suburban neighborhood like a sore thumb thanks to Renee’s penchant for bright green shutters and sacred geometry worked into the landscaping. There had been a Homeowners’ Association meeting held specifically to discuss her spiral shrubbery, but while Renee Jager was on the short list for sainthood, she could be a pill when she wanted to be.

  “I’m sure. Besides, telling your parents we’re together is a good pilot run,” Jason said, straightening his collar. Colt had talked him out of wearing a tie. Usually Jason was the one giving him fashion advice, but the Jagers were as laid back as they came.

  The door opened and Colt smiled down at the plump woman standing in the doorway. Renee was barely five feet tall and the top of her head barely hit Colt’s chest as she squealed and threw her arms around him, but her hugs could damn near crush the air out of your lungs. “My baby boy!” she cooed, clapping her hands together giddily, the brightly colored silks she was draped in swishing around her. “Oh my goodness, look at you. You’ve gotten so much color since the last time I saw you!” she exclaimed, reaching up to squish his face in her hands.

  “I’m in construction, ma. I spend most of the day outside,” he said with a laugh.

  “I hope you’re wearing sunscreen,” she said with a scowl. “Your Bubbe always thought you had some Irish in you and you know what happened to Chuck Donnely with that spot on his arm. Lost the whole damn thing,” she said aside to Jason.

  Jason pursed his lips and his eyes widened. “That’s um, terrible, Mrs. Jager.”

  “Now, let’s have a look at you, Mr. Italian stallion,” she teased, swatting Jason’s arm playfully. “I don’t think I’ve seen you since you started that school. God knows your mother never stops going on about it.”

  Jason’s lips quivered and Colt could tell he was desperately trying not to laugh. “You know how she is. Brown’s just another sticker she can put on the bumper of her Mercedes.”

  Renee gave him a sympathetic eye roll, linking her arm in his to lead him into the house, leaving Colt on the porch in the process. “You poor thing. The woman drives me batty enough at Rotary meetings, I’d put a bullet in my head if she was my mother.

  “Ma,” Colt groaned.

  “What?” she asked defensively. “You know I can’t lie.”

  “She’s not wrong,” Jason said with a laugh.

  “Gerald!” Renee called down the hall. “Colt and Jason are here!”

  A few seconds later, Gerald emerged from his home office wearing his favorite RIC sweatshirt and a grin a mile wide. “So they are! Welcome home, son,” he said, leaning in to hug Colt and shake Jason’s hand. “Good to see you, Jason.”

  “Likewise, Mr. Jager,” Jason said with a calm smile. Colt was the only one who could tell just how nervous Jason was underneath his cool exterior. Ever since learning the truth about his parents, Colt had known that dating Jason was courting disaster, but he’d waited too long for the chance to throw it away without at least trying to make it work.

  Besides, if Stan could spend all day filleting humans without losing control, surely Colt could manage to date one he’d loved for as long as he could remember.

  “So, what’s the special occasion?” Gerald asked, settling down next to his wife once the drinks had been passed out. Jason turned down Renee’s offer of food, but Colt decided to take a page from Ronnie’s book and stuff himself with crackers to stave off the cravings before they could start.

  Jason looked to Colt, drumming his fingertips on his knee. “We, uh, had something we wanted to tell you.”

  Renee was all ears by then. “‘We?’” she echoed.

  Gerald was watching them every bit as closely. Colt had never been able to get anything past them as a teenager and he found himself relieved that at least now they had something else to focus on, because his worst fear was letting them find out his other secret. At least this was one he didn’t mind coming out.

  Colt reached for Jason’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Even before he could get the words out of his mouth, he saw his mother’s eyes widen in realization. “I would have told you sooner, but I didn’t want to do this over the phone. Jason and I are --”

  “Oh my God!” Renee squealed, clamping a hand over her mouth. “You’re dating!” It was more of an exclamation than a question.

  Colt laughed, turning to Jason. “Yeah, we are.”

  Renee nearly leaped over the coffee table and threw her arms around them both. “I knew it,” she said, squeezing in between them on the couch with her arms draped around their necks. “Gerald, what did I tell you when Colt was sixteen?”

  Gerald chuckled, always the reserved one. “When you’re right, you’re right. When did this happen?”

  “It’s pretty recent,” Jason said sheepishly. “We still haven’t told my parents yet.”

  “Mum’s the word,” Gerald said with a twinkle in his eye. “Congratulations, you two. Can’t say I’m surprised, but I’m happy for you.”

  “Irene is gonna piss herself,” Renee mused with a look on her face like she’d just unwrapped a gift.

  “Play nice, Renee,” Gerald said dryly. “You might be talking about your in-laws.”

  Renee’s face fell. “Oh God, I didn’t even think of that…”

  “Getting way ahead of yourselves,” Colt mumbled for Jason’s sake. He would have married Jason right there in the living room if it was an option, but the last thing he wanted was Jason getting spooked with talk of any long-term commitment. They’d barely managed to make the transition from friends with benefits to boyfriends.

  “Oh, well,” said Renee. “It’s worth it to see you two together after all these years.” She paused, studying Colt. “Is this why you’ve been so distant lately, sweetheart? Don’t tell me you thought we wouldn’t approve?”

  “It’s not that,” Colt said quickly. “I know you guys aren’t like that. I’ve just been busy with work.”

  “How are things down at the site, anyway?” Gerald asked. “Every time I pass by that building, it seems like there’s another layer. When’s it gonna be done?”

  “The project’s going pretty well,” Colt said, glancing over at Jason. “But I’m not gonna be there when it’s finished.”

  Jason frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “I was gonna wait to tell you at dinner, but what the hell? I put in my letter of resignation yesterday,” Colt admitted. “I got offered a job as foreman at Bracher Construction, and I’ve decided to take it.”

  Jason’s eyes widened, but he wasn’t as thrilled as Colt would have assumed.
/>   “Foreman?” Renee echoed, looking at Gerald. “That sounds important.”

  “It does,” Gerald agreed, smiling. “Our son’s getting serious about life.”

  “It would seem so,” Renee said with a mischievous, “I hear wedding bells” grin.

  Gerald stood and poured another round of drinks. “To the future,” he said, raising his glass, “and all the possibility it holds for both of you.”

  “I’ll drink to that,” Jason said with a smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes. Colt watched him worriedly as he took a sip of his drink, but decided to wait until they were alone to bring it up. After an hour of well-wishing, catching up on the neighborhood drama, and multiple rounds of hugs, Colt and Jason went out to the truck to head home.

  “You feeling okay?” Colt finally asked once they were on the road.

  Jason didn’t answer immediately, which was never a good sign. “I’m okay.”

  “You’ve just been kind of quiet since my parent’s house,” he ventured. “Did I say something that upset you? Or was all of this too much too soon?”

  “It’s not about your parents, it’s about the job,” Jason murmured. “Be honest with me. Did you take the promotion because of what I said?”

  “No. Of course not.”

  Jason gave him a look.

  “Okay, so it factored in,” Colt admitted. “But you were right. I was just making excuses. Chuck is a good guy, but he’s looking out for himself and he’d be the first one to tell me to do the same.”

  “Are you sure?” Jason asked, frowning. “I don’t want to push you.”

  “I’m kind of a brickhead, Jason. Having someone who cares about me pushing me to do better for myself isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

  Jason sighed, slumping against the seat as Colt pulled into the parking lot. “I just don’t want to be like my mother.”

  Colt held his tongue.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  Jason groaned. “I know I have similar...tendencies, okay? It’s not like it’s a surprise.”

  “Hey, your mom has good qualities. From a certain perspective,” Colt teased, reaching to brush a strand of hair away from Jason’s eyes. “One of them being how fiercely protective she is of you. I could never fault her for that, and just because I’m batting out of my league doesn’t mean I shouldn’t at least try to play the game.”

  “But you’re not, Colt. You’re not like me or my family. You’re not like anyone else, that’s one of the reasons I fell in love with you,” Jason said in a way that made it clear he hadn’t even processed the words that had just come out of his mouth. “I don’t want you to think you have to be anyone else to be with me. If anyone’s out of his league here, it’s me.”

  Colt stared at him, too shocked to respond for a moment. “You...love me?”

  Jason blinked. “Did I say that?”

  “Yeah, I think you did.”

  “Oh.” Jason let out a slow breath. “Well. There’s that.”

  “Yeah,” Colt murmured, his gaze falling to Jason’s lips. He suddenly had an insatiable urge to kiss them, and to his relief, this time it had nothing to do with his other appetites. “There’s that.” He leaned in to close the distance between them, brushing his lips against Jason’s. Jason returned the kiss and the spark of whatever it was between them whenever they touched ignited into a flame.

  Colt forced himself to pull away before they gave campus security a display worthy of a citation. “I admittedly thought I’d be the first one to say this, but I love you, too.”

  “Yeah,” Jason said with a sultry little smirk that undid the flimsy thread of Colt’s resolve. “I kind of figured. Wanna come up to my room?”

  “Hell, yeah,” Colt muttered. He was already on the other side of the car by the time Jason got out, too transfixed on Jason to give a shit how obvious their intent was to the other students lounging in the dorm lobby. The second Jason’s door fell shut, Colt had him up against it, his hands buried in Jason’s hair and their bodies pressed close.

  “God, I missed this,” Jason breathed, fumbling with Colt’s belt. His own shirt was already on the floor and Colt’s was soon to follow.

  “You sure as hell ain’t been waitin’ on me, baby,” Colt growled, nipping gently at Jason’s bottom lip.

  “You’re very toothy lately,” Jason purred, running his hands down Colt’s chest. “I like it.”

  “Good, ‘cause I don’t think it’s gonna change anytime soon,” Colt admitted, tugging Jason’s jeans open. He popped the button in the process and watched as it rolled across the hardwood floor. “Uh...sorry.”

  “You’re a brute,” Jason teased, pulling him in for another kiss. Colt guided him back toward the bed and scowled up at the upper bunk he just knew he was going to whack his head on while they were fucking. “For a place where casual sexual encounters are supposedly a dime a dozen, the layout leaves something to be desired in terms of love pad convenience.”

  “I’ll be sure to slip a note into the Dean’s comment box,” Jason snarked, pulling Colt down onto the rug. “In the meantime, we’ll have to find a way to make it work because you’re not running out on me again.”

  Colt made an approving sound that was way too close to an actual growl as he settled on top of Jason. “I like a man who knows what he wants.”

  They kissed until their breathing turned shallow and Colt could hear the enticing flutter of Jason’s heart louder than his own. He slipped all the way out of his jeans before the friction of grinding against Jason in them could light a fire.

  “Top dresser drawer,” Jason panted, propping himself up on his elbows. By the time Colt turned back around, he was already on his hands and knees.

  So it was damn near a one-hundred percent chance he was getting lucky that night, unless Jason happened to be inspecting the floorboards. Colt came up behind him, kissing his way down Jason’s spine before he slipped a newly slick finger into the other man’s cleft. Jason tensed up a little but he relaxed as Colt started stroking his entrance. Once he felt like Jason was ready, he slipped a digit inside of him, relishing the feel of Jason clenched tight around one finger, then two.

  “Fuck,” Jason mumbled, squirming. Usually, he needed a bit more prep, but that sounded like a plea more than an exclamation. When he pushed back against Colt’s hand, there wasn’t a doubt about it.

  Colt pulled his fingers out and positioned himself at Jason’s entrance, settling one hand on his hip and stroking his thigh with the other. “Goddamn it, Colt, I’m not a horse you need to stroke before you ride. Fuck me already.”

  Well, there was no ambiguity about that. Colt obliged, gripping both of Jason’s hips as he dove into his passage, holding his breath as a surge of pleasure engulfed him. Sex with Jason, as few and far between as those moments were, was always Colt’s idea of a good time, but this time, it was different. The need he always felt for the man beneath him was magnified a hundredfold and it was all he could do to keep his thoughts straight--to keep thinking, for that matter, when all he wanted to do was claim him.

  What that meant, he wasn’t sure. All Colt knew was that he wanted to sate himself with the man he loved in ways he didn’t even dare to put too much thought into. Hunger and bloodlust and good old fashioned lust merged and concealed until he could scarcely tell the difference between them. His fangs itched, threatening to break through, and he was about to put an end to it altogether when he recalled his friend’s advice.

  Pain helps. Worth a fucking shot. Colt bit down on his own hand hard enough that he felt the very tips of his second set of teeth breaking through his flesh. The piercing pain cut through the fog in his mind, making it easier to focus on the pleasure and not the mental image of ripping out Jason’s tender throat.

  “Fuck,” Jason moaned. “You’re aggressive tonight.”

  It was only then that Colt realized how hard he’d been thrusting, his nails digging into Jason’s hips. “Sorry,” he panted.

 
“It wasn’t a complaint. Oh, God, yeah, right th --” Jason’s instructions petered out into a sound that was somewhere between a whimper and a gasp, and if he hadn’t already been on his knees, Colt could tell they would have buckled. Jason arched into Colt, reaching back to dig his hands into the other man’s hair. “Fuck.”

  A husky laugh escaped Colt’s throat. It wasn’t often that Jason was reduced to profanity. He took it as high praise.

  Colt ventured a glance down at his own palm only to realize that the wounds his fangs had torn were already closed. He licked off the blood and he decided that there was another reason ghouls didn’t become Alphas lightly. Ghoul blood was nasty as hell.

  Reaching around Jason’s waist, Colt gripped the other man’s shaft tightly and started to stroke him off just the way he always liked it. Fast then slow, hard then easy. Contrast was always the fastest route to orgasm for Jason and as much as Colt usually liked to savor their odd encounters, he didn’t feel safe drawing this one out. Not with every whimper that escaped Jason’s lips making him sound like prey.

  “Colt,” Jason breathed, shuddering. His hips started bucking in time to the rhythm of Colt’s thrusts and Colt gave the underside of Jason’s shaft one final, languid stroke to push him over the edge. His own climax was soon to follow, but he didn’t do as good of a job muffling the growl that tore from his throat as he wanted to. Luckily, Jason was distracted enough by his own rapture that he didn’t seem to notice.

  Once Colt pulled out and wiped off on a clean towel, he wrapped himself around Jason, who was still recovering from his own orgasm. “Damn,” he mumbled, his fingers toying with the fibers of the rug they’d just desecrated. “If that’s makeup sex, we should fight more often.”

  Colt snorted, burying his face in Jason’s neck. He smelled even better than usual, bathed in a thin sheen of sweat and sex, and fucking had taken the edge off the aggression that had plagued Colt ever since the night of his First Hunt. “I’d rather just skip to this part,” he admitted, stroking Jason’s hair.