by KM Mahoney
“What now?” Alli ventured.
“I don’t know,” Michael admitted. “I just don’t know. I think…I think maybe I’m going to go home for a while. Think things over.”
Alli bit his lip. “The cabin isn’t really prepared for long-term use.”
Alli seemed to be leading up to something, but Michael cut him off. “Not the cabin. Home-home. As in, back to the city.”
“Oh.”
Michael had to fight instinct. Viciously. Alli looked so dejected and miserable. Michael wanted to go and wrap him up in a hug and… No, Michael couldn’t keep doing this. He couldn’t keep trying to make the man’s world rosy and perfect. Alli didn’t want him to.
“So you’re giving up on me.” Alli’s hurt vanished behind a scowl. “After you promised me you wouldn’t. You promised!”
“Yeah, well, guess I’m just a dumb-ass bear,” Michael said bitterly. “I thought you were just being prickly. It never occurred to me that you really weren’t interested in anything permanent with me. I thought you wanted me in your life but didn’t know how to let me inside. I guess I was just fooling myself.”
“No!”
Before Michael could blink, he found himself with an armful of fairy. Alli’s head shook violently back and forth, hands clinging hard enough to leave bruises.
“Alli, don’t do this,” Michael said harshly. Alli felt so right in his arms, like always. But Michael couldn’t do this anymore. He tried to peel Alli’s arms from around his neck.
Alli wouldn’t let go.
“I’m the one who’s a dumb-ass,” Alli said. “I could never quite get rid of the worry that I would be too much trouble, that you would take off. Now you want to do just that. Well, I won’t let you. Run, and I swear, Michael, I will hunt you down. I don’t care what it takes. I’ll camp out on your porch—”
“I live in an apartment.”
“—call you six times a day—”
“I’ll change my phone number.”
“—enlist your brothers to help me—”
“It would be a good excuse to avoid them.”
“—and become Maryanne’s best friend!” Alli finished triumphantly.
Michael couldn’t think of a sarcastic comeback for that one. It would probably work. Maryanne and Alli had clicked over the weekend. He could picture them teaming up and…yeah, that one would probably work.
“Alli.” Michael finally succeeded in tugging Alli off him. He held Alli’s hands in his, out to the side, so Alli couldn’t distract him with touching. “You really can’t—”
“I love you, you big stupid bear!” Alli bellowed.
Michael gaped. “You…say what?”
“I love you.” Alli glared, looking very much like Bryce in that moment. Stubborn and annoyed. Michael wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised if there was pouting and foot-stamping.
“You want to go and bring that up now?”
“It seems like as good a time as any,” Alli retorted.
“Don’t say it if you don’t mean it,” Michael growled. “Don’t say it just to keep me here.”
“I have never lied to you.” Alli stated the words somberly. “Not once. I might have hedged an issue, pushed you away. I may have lied to myself. But I never lied to you, and I’m not starting now. I wouldn’t hurt you like that.”
No. No, Alli wouldn’t. Michael’s fairy might have a crusty, grumpy shell, but a caring, sensitive person lay beneath. It might take some work to find that person, but he was there.
Alli changed his grip so he could squeeze Michael’s hands. His expression was sympathetic, a hint of sorrow in the dark gray eyes.
“I really am sorry,” Alli said. “For everything. I think, deep down, I was still viewing this world as a temporary stop. I couldn’t let anyone close because I didn’t want the pain when I left. But I realized something tonight while talking to Marandon. This is home. I could go back now, but I don’t want to.”
“What made you change your mind?” Michael asked quietly. His heart ached, waiting for the answer. He wanted to know—and yet, he didn’t.
“You,” Alli said. “You changed everything. Before, every day was a struggle. The magic made things so hard. But then…then I met you. And you made the work of living on Earth worthwhile. Having you, suddenly Fridays didn’t seem like such a cataclysmic event.”
“Alli…” Michael trailed off, not sure what he wanted to say. Alli was giving him all the right words, telling Michael what he had longed to hear. Yet, he was afraid to trust in it.
It suddenly occurred to Michael that he was doing exactly what Alli had been. He was pushing Alli away before Alli could hurt him again.
“You’re sure about this?” Michael demanded. “No more pushing me away? No more running off to handle problems by yourself?”
“I’m sure,” Alli assured him. “You’re stuck with me. Just don’t go complaining in a couple of months when you’ve handled more problems than you thought possible.”
“It will be worth it,” Michael murmured. “Love you, babe.”
“I love you, too.”
Michael finally let his wall crumble, pulling Alli in close and crushing their mouths together. He took the kiss forcefully, tasting his lover.
“Need you,” Alli gasped. “Please, Michael.”
“You’ve got me.”
Alli tried to climb Michael, arms supporting his weight, legs wrapping around Michael’s thighs. Michael grunted and staggered.
Alli slipped and they fell off-balance. Michael dropped, landing on his ass on the floor, Alli still in his lap.
Michael started to chuckle. He pressed his forehead to Alli’s, waiting for the laughter to pass. “Guess I should get used to it, huh?”
“Yep,” Alli said. “Sex is probably always going to be dangerous.”
“I can live with that,” Michael said, tilting his head and brushing their lips together.
“I still need you,” Alli whispered.
Michael grunted again, adjusted Alli, and stood with the skinny man in his arms. A few steps had them across the room. He set Alli on the front counter, pressing his body between Alli’s legs.
The kiss went on and on, hot and intimate. Michael’s cock throbbed in his pants, his balls tight, stomach aching. He could probably get off from their lips alone.
He had other plans, though.
Michael’s hands slipped to Alli’s waist, undid the fastenings of his jeans.
“Lift up, babe,” Michael ordered. He yanked Alli’s pants down over his hips, freeing Alli’s hard shaft from the prison of his briefs.
Michael hummed in happiness, fingers tracing the vein along the side of Alli’s cock.
The counter was tall. It became a simple matter of bending at the waist a bit, and Michael enveloped Alli’s hot flesh in his mouth.
“Michael!” Alli’s shout was accompanied by a sharp tug at Michael’s hair.
Michael responded by sucking lightly on the engorged head, swirling with his tongue. He slid forward, taking as much of Alli’s cock as he could. He played with the swollen balls, tracing random shapes and patterns on the skin.
Michael bobbed his head, tugged lightly with his hand. Alli’s shout filled the room. Michael looked up and drank in the sight of his lover.
Alli’s head dropped back, eyes closed, body arched in the throes of passion. Stunning. The man was absolutely stunning.
Michael pulled back. “Come for me, babe. Let me taste you.”
Alli’s whole body convulsed under Michael’s touch. The first drops of hot seed splashed onto his tongue. Michael kept sucking, drinking down the salty offering of Alli’s cum.
With a loud groan, a whispered curse, Alli slumped. His hands still clutched Michael’s hair as his whole body went limp.
“Damn, love,” he said in a hoarse voice. “You’re good at that.”
Michael groaned and shot upright. The kiss was harsh and needy. Michael couldn’t stop himself from humping against Alli’s
leg. The sight of his lover’s passion had distracted him momentarily, but now Michael’s own need was making itself known.
“I’ve got you,” Alli reassured.
A hot hand, fingers lightly callused, slipped inside his clothing. Alli stroked Michael with a light touch, up and down, thumb pressing lightly against the slit.
It took only seconds for his beloved’s touch to send Michael over the edge. With a low, guttural sound, he spilled into Alli’s hands.
They rested there for a minute, breathing hard, leaning against each other. Michael bit back a protest when Alli moved his hand.
Then his eyes nearly crossed when Alli’s fingers went to his mouth and the fairy began to lick the cum from his skin. Alli’s eyes went heavy-lidded. Michael’s cock tried to stir again.
“Babe, why don’t we take this somewhere more private?” Michael forced himself to pull back. He wanted Alli again, always. But this round, he wanted to take his time.
“All right,” Alli said. “My bed, lots of lube. Sounds good to me.”
“Me, too.”
Michael helped Alli off the counter, stealing another kiss. “Oh, and Alli? I want the wings, too.”
Alli’s smile was brilliant and warmed Michael clear down to his toes. He hustled Alli from the store, waiting impatiently as Alli turned off the lights and locked up. The events of earlier were long forgotten with Alli’s hand in his. Michael dragged his lover to the truck and practically tossed him in.
They had a lot of making up to do. And Michael intended to enjoy every sex-filled moment.
Epilogue
Michael was hot and sweaty and so happy he could have purred. He wiggled, sinking deeper into the couch cushions. Alli made a nice weight on top of him.
Wild, passionate sex was really the only way to say hello.
Michael wound his fingers in Alli’s hair, too sated to move. He’d pounced on Alli the instant the man had come through the door. They’d never even made it to the bedroom, but that was okay. Alli had a pretty comfy couch.
“Lucas came into the shop today,” Alli admitted quietly.
Well, that just shattered the afterglow.
Michael shot upright, glaring at his boyfriend. Alli looked suspiciously guilty.
“He isn’t due for another week,” Michael snarled.
“Well, thanks to you, he forgot his aconite and had to come back for it. And believe me, I think it was as awkward for him as it was for me.”
“His what?”
“Wolfsbane, monkshood, whatever you want to call it.”
“Oh, his plant.”
“Don’t look so grumpy,” Alli chided. “Tristan was with him.”
“What was Tristan doing with Lucas?”
“Making the poor guy apologize. Apparently, Lucas had a crush on me. We kept thinking Lucas was around because it was true. He watched me sometimes. Tristan made him promise to stop.”
“What about the claw marks at the store? How did he explain those?”
“That was Marandon. He was big on misdirection. Tristan explained everything to me this morning.”
“Then why the hell didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“Because you have this unreasonable dislike for Lucas,” Alli argued. “It’s ridiculous and unfounded.”
“The man kissed you!”
“It was only a kiss.”
“Only a… I should have ripped off his arms instead of just hitting him. Next time, you call me. I mean it.”
“He’s harmless,” Alli snapped. “He just gets a little amorous during the full moon.”
“Damn fucking werewolf,” Michael muttered.
Alli started laughing.
“Now what’s so funny?” Michael couldn’t stop the scowl. They’d been having such a nice evening, too. Michael reached out and snagged Alli before he went sliding off the couch.
“Werewolf,” Alli snorted.
Okay, Alli had officially cracked.
“I just never thought about it before,” Alli finally said when he could breathe again. “But if he’s a werewolf that makes you a…a…werebear!”
Alli cracked up again. Michael rolled his eyes.
“I’m a shifter,” he snapped. “Weres are a different species entirely.”
“Man and beast. What’s the difference?” Alli had gotten his laughter under control, but it had been replaced by bouncing. The whole couch jiggled as Alli stared at Michael, that fanatical light in his eyes, the one Michael had come to associate with the man’s voracious curiosity.
“Shifters change from human to animal. Weres have that half-man, half-animal form. And as far as I know, there are no…werebears.” Damn. He cringed just saying the word. Especially as it sent Alli off into another fit of laughter.
Michael pinned Alli to his side, grumbling under his breath about faeries with rotten senses of humor.
“Sorry,” Alli said. Since he was still laughing, Michael didn’t really buy the apology.
Michael tugged on Alli’s braid, wrapping the hair around his fist and bringing Alli in for a kiss. It was, after all, the most effective way to stop the annoying laugh.
It worked. Alli moaned, tongue sliding out to tangle with Michael’s. The kiss stayed light, sensual.
Michael’s stomach growled. His cheeks flushed.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“We should get something to eat,” Alli said.
“Emmaline’s?”
“Why not?”
“Tristan can’t join us.”
“He can’t?”
“Nope,” Michael said. “I want to ask you something and it’s best done without an audience.”
“What do you want to ask?” Alli propped his arms on Michael’s chest and his chin on his hands, staring with burning curiosity.
“Dinner.”
“Now.”
Michael smiled. “Fine. I want you to move in with me.”
“But then I can’t walk to work,” Alli pointed out.
“So I’ll drive you. I’ve turned your storeroom into an office already.”
“I don’t know, Michael…”
Michael wrapped his hands around Alli’s back and went for the kill. “You wouldn’t have to hide your wings.”
“You really have a thing for my wings, don’t you?”
Michael nodded. “They’re you. I don’t want you to have to hide any part of yourself.”
His hand kept wandering, halting between Alli’s shoulder blades. Michael scratched and Alli hummed in pleasure, moving back into the touch.
“I don’t know. I think your cabin might be outside the shield.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Why do you think there are so many paranormals here? When the coven first moved in, they hired someone to put a protective spell around their sacred circle. Something went wrong and it surrounded the whole town. I think it’s why I’ve been able to live here for so long without self-destructing. The magic around the town is enough to take the edge off. If the cabin is outside the boundary…”
“Then we’ll deal with it. I want you close, Alli,” Michael urged. “I want us to be somewhere Bruce can roam and you can wander around being yourself.”
“I could do that here.” Alli didn’t sound so certain, though.
“Maybe, if you kept the windows closed up. Putman might be accepting, but I don’t think they’re quite ready for a winged man. And you know how Bruce feels about enclosed spaces.”
Michael kept his hands moving idly, stroking and petting.
“I’ll think about it,” Alli finally promised.
It wasn’t the answer Michael wanted, but it would do. He brushed a quick kiss across Alli’s lips and moved Alli off him.
“I’ll take it. For now. Come on, babe. Let’s get some food. Then we can come back and go to bed.”
“What, no movie?” Alli teased.
“Sure. The couch works just as well as the bed,” Michael teased back. “And nothing says we actually have to watc
h the movie.”
Alli laughed, light and happy. Michael clasped their hands.
Life wasn’t perfect and never would be, but it was good. Very good. And to Michael’s mind, good worked better than perfect.
Bruce rumbled happily, in full agreement.
Michael looked at Alli, the sharp features and bright hair so familiar now.
Yeah, he was a very lucky bear.
Coming Soon from Pride Publishing:
Right Place, Right Time
K.M. Mahoney
Excerpt
Chapter One
The Galactic University
August 3352
Jens Pakkala, former Galactic general and current top agent for The Oracle Group, was utterly and completely lost. He read the paper again, looked up at the buildings, down at the paper.
Good Lord. He had traveled through history more times than he could count. Had fought in three wars across two different galaxies. Had navigated the murky and occasionally deadly politics of military and civilian organizations.
And now he was being stymied by a damn college campus.
Really, what did those idiots in Recruitment do all day? It certainly wasn’t paperwork. They had given him a name and a room number. Not nearly enough information when one considered the damn-near planet-sized maze that was the Intergalactic University.
The shuttle had dropped him off at the Liberal Arts campus, which Jens had now been wandering for two hours. He would ask at the Information Desk, but he couldn’t find the Information Desk. And good luck flagging down a student—they moved too damn fast.
Oh. Oh, look there. Like a beacon in a storm, someone wearing a uniform.
Jens jogged over to the security guard and gave his best smile. The guard dropped his hand to the weapon strapped to his side. Jens stopped smiling.
“Hi. Sorry. I seem to be lost. I’m looking for—”
“Do I look like a map?” the guard asked irritably. “Try the Information Desk.”
“And where the bloody hell would that be?” Jens said, equally irritably.
The guard froze, blinked. Then a reluctant smile crossed his face. “Follow the main path. It’s about a block that way.” He pointed to the left. “There’s a blue line down the middle, follow it when it turns off, it will take you straight to Information.”