by Neena Jaydon
"How's your ankle?"
"Fine. I must have just twisted it. It was good after a couple of days."
Theo nodded. Neither spoke for a stretch.
"So did your grandmother make good Greek food?" Max asked.
"Really good," Theo said, grateful that Max had broken the silence. "She was always complaining about ingredients she couldn't get here, though."
"So she came from Greece originally?"
"When she was a kid, so Ma sometimes called her out on acting like, like she was so authentic." Theo found himself losing focus on his own words. "Ma was an awesome cook too. So's your mom."
"Yeah," Max said, smiling. "She really is. A real feeder, though."
"Uh... Eh?" His entire body flushed with heat and the world went too bright. Theo closed his eyes.
"Just can't stop feeding people. There's six of us, you'd think that'd be enough, but she's always baking and making extra stuff to put in my fridge. If I didn't go running every morning, I'd be in serious trouble."
"Mm." Max's words were flowing over him, almost tickling his skin. He had no real interest in their meaning. It was hard to think of anything at all as his cock pushed vigorously against the confines of his underwear. His hand crept over to Max's side of the car.
"Wait, are you even listening?" Max turned his head, frowning.
Theo leaned across and put his hand on Max's shoulder. He drew close to Max's neck and inhaled slowly. Max's skin smelled so warm, so deeply masculine and at the same time slightly sweet, that Theo moaned deep in his throat. He watched Max's lips curve.
"What's gotten into you?" Max murmured.
"I'm sorry." Theo's skin tingled, a delicate counterpoint to the intense pressure in his cock. "Could you pull over?"
"Right here? Why?" Max had to look away, putting his gaze back on the road. Theo nuzzled his shoulder, squeezing.
"I really need you. Right now."
"And you want me to do you in my car in the middle of the afternoon?" Max laughed. "You naughty, naughty—" All at once Max went quiet and stiff. "You've got to be kidding me."
"What?" Theo fought the urge to bite, to sink his fingertips in deeper. "What's wrong?"
"Your fucking cousin," Max snapped. "But all right, let's do this at my place."
"Hurry," Theo groaned.
*~*~*
As soon as they were through the door, Theo caught his jaw in both hands and pressed up against him, gaze locked on his mouth. Max tossed his keys blindly at the basket, pulling back before Theo could kiss him.
"I need to get some stuff," he said. "Be on my couch with your clothes off when I get back."
"Okay," Theo mumbled. Max jogged down the hall to his bedroom and dove into a box at the bottom of his closet.
That complete bastard. He was shaking his head as he stomped back to the living room. Theo coming on to me in my car should have been so much fun. Now I've got to deal with him being so horny he can't see straight because of his asshole cousin. Not because of me.
He paused, hands full, as he came into the kitchen. Theo was sitting uncertainly on the couch; nude, his hands fisted on his knees, he looked sidelong at Max. That was incredibly endearing, enough to begin melting away Max's anger. Kicking off his shoes, Max moved to stand in front of Theo, and his eyebrows lifted. He crouched down and set aside his collection of items.
"You really are good to go."
"You're telling me?" Theo replied faintly. He blinked when Max fastened the collar around his neck but didn't protest.
"This isn't a dog collar," Max said, giving the leash a tug. "So don't worry about that. I got it from an adult place online long before I ever met you."
"O-okay." Theo licked his lips, his face tightening with desire, as he watched Max hastily strip down. "You seem kind of mad."
"I'm not mad," Max snapped. He paused, lube in hand, and sighed. "I'm not mad at you."
"Then who are you mad at? Ngh..." Theo's back arched as Max reached between his legs.
Max looked up into Theo's face as he worked lubricant into his body. He should have taken it more slowly, but Theo's quickened breathing urged him not to. "We're going to use a safe word, okay? I don't think we'll need it, but just in case."
"Yeah," Theo said breathlessly, a hand going to his own mouth.
"The safe word will be, uh..." Max glanced around. "Grapefruit." There was a bag of them on his kitchen counter. He hadn't put them there, so obviously his mother had been at it again.
"I hate grapefruit," Theo whispered, and Max laughed.
"Then that's perfect." Finally, anticipation overtook the last of his anger. He had Theo collared and naked on his couch, and no matter how it had come to be this way, that was a wonderful thing.
"Max, hurry up."
"Hey, now," Max said, getting to his feet. He put his thumb on Theo's lower lip. "I'm the one in charge here." Picking up the loop at the end of the leash, he held it up in front of Theo's mouth. "Kiss it." Theo leaned forward to touch his lips to the leather, and Max flushed with darkly sweet excitement. He drew the loop down Theo's chest, tracing the lines of his muscles, then slid it under each nipple. Groaning, Theo clutched at the back of the couch with both hands. "You naughty boy, now you're getting me all turned on."
"I want you to be. I want you."
"Shhh." He pressed the leash to Theo's mouth. "No talking." Simply getting the condom on was enough to get him fully erect. Licking his lips, Max gradually took up the slack in the leash. "Come on over here." Of course he didn't need the leash; Theo eagerly followed him off the couch. Pausing in a clear space on the carpet, Max took a moment to look at Theo in his entirety: tall, strong, and beautiful. Then he kissed Theo very lightly.
"Down you go. On your back." Sinking down, Max followed Theo most of the way down, so he didn't catch him up short with the leash. Then, putting the end of it between his teeth, he caught Theo's hips in both hands and raised them. Theo willingly pushed up to meet him as Max began to penetrate him. Each thrust going downward, Max felt like he was diving right into Theo. Right into the intense pleasure that Theo gave him every time.
Every time. How is it always good with him? Max looked into Theo's face, seeking answers.
Theo gazed back up at him through half-closed eyes, his breath quivering from him with every beat of their quick rhythm. His calves pressed against Max's shoulders as if trying to fuse to him. His moans grew so blissful Max felt almost ashamed of himself for making him wait this long.
"Max, ah—" Theo pressed his lips together tightly. He turned his head to the side, his brows knitting fiercely.
"Good boy," Max breathed. He clenched his teeth into the leather, which made it too awkward to talk. Already this felt so good he wanted to talk, but it wouldn't fit with the collar to start telling Theo how wonderful he was. Instead, he hissed out each breath around the strap in his mouth, his hips moving in short, quick thrusts into the supportive spring of Theo's curled body. One of Theo's hands lifted unsteadily into the air. He brought it down on the leash, running the undersides of his fingers very carefully down along the thin leather. Max watched that exquisite little caress, his blood throbbing harder at the sight. When Theo whimpered, the sound excited Max further. He spat out the end of the leash.
"Who's making you feel good, Theo?"
"You are," came the instant reply. "Only you could."
"Don't lie to me. I know this isn't because of me."
"What?"
"Look at me," Max commanded. Theo did so narrowly, his gaze unfocussed. "I know that this is a werewolf thing. I didn't do this to you."
"Max, I—" Theo gasped, bracing himself as Max drove himself home with extra vigour. "All I can see is you. All I can feel is you. All I want—"
"Stop talking," Max said, the words lacking authority because his own body was tightening up. Theo was an overheated mass of muscle; inside, he was tight and hot. He pushed back into each of Max's thrusts, working his muscles around Max's cock. Max couldn't keep up the ga
me; his body arched, and he nearly staggered as a yell tore from him. Breathless, he looked down at Theo's cock, which was clearly nowhere near done. Max withdrew and let Theo drop his legs and pelvis back onto the floor.
"I planned for this, you dirty little nerd." He plucked a toy from the pile on the table and then retrieved the leash, giving it a jaunty tug. Theo curved up from the floor, his gaze still bright with arousal. Guiding Theo around the coffee table, Max shoved him back onto the couch. Theo bit his lip, burying one hand into his own hair. Max slung one of Theo's legs over the back of the couch and pulled the other onto his own lap. Then he held up the dildo, seeing Theo's eyes widen. Despite that first startled reaction, Theo rolled his shoulders back into the couch, and lifted his hips in encouragement. Max eased the dildo in, watching Theo's face intently. Theo's gaze was distant. His cheekbones lifted, and he tilted his head back as Max begin the work the dildo in and out.
"It's cold."
"Haven't you used one of these before?"
Theo gave a quick shake of his head, his attention plainly elsewhere. Max took a moment to strip off the used condom. He pulled out a fresh one, but the sight of Theo distracted him. Gazing up at the ceiling, Theo looked beautifully lost. Max felt a wicked smile shape his lips. He leaned over Theo to pinch his nipple between the folds of the loop at the end of the leash, allowing the rough inner surface to slide across that hardened nub. Theo's chest jerked toward him; Max shoved his shoulders flat again.
"I'm doing this. I don't need your help." He got a plaintive moan in reply and gave the other nipple the same treatment. Theo's powerful thigh trembled restlessly against Max's hip. "That not enough for you? Hm?"
"Max," Theo whispered, barely audible.
"You better not tell me what to do. I'm calling the shots here."
"Mm." Theo's chin dipped in a nod.
"I don't need your permission." Max slid the loop of the leash over the head of Theo's arousal. Theo's pelvis bucked as the raw side of the leather brushed his skin. His hands went to his own chest, caressing blindly. Max twisted the leather tight, and he cried out.
"Bad boy! I should have handcuffed you to something. One day I'm going to do that to you, Theo."
"Anything," Theo groaned. "I love you. Do anything you want to me."
For Max, everything went still. Unaware, Theo was writhing, his hands clutching at his hair. Max could hear his own pulse, his own breathing, very clearly, while all other sounds came from a distance. When he reached out to lay his palm on Theo's knee, it was like a new, unfamiliar skin he touched. He plucked out the dildo, slung Theo's legs over his shoulders, and worked himself inside. He'd jumped from half-recovered to full attention so quickly it dizzied him, and his need rivalled Theo's.
"How does this feel, Theo? Talk to me."
"So good I think I might die." Theo closed his eyes.
"Have you ever felt like this before?"
"No, never. Never, Max, only you—"
"Shut up." Max pounded into Theo wildly. "There's a reason for that. There's a reason." He shifted, trying to get closer when he already had Theo's body flexed and himself as deeply in as he could go; he had to catch his balance on one hand on the couch. "It's because you're mine, Theo. Mine!"
"Yes," Theo groaned. "Oh, yes."
"I'm going to make you come harder than you've ever come before, because you belong to me!" He was completely out of control, in a place physically and emotionally new to him. Feeling how close he was to completion, he ran the palm of his free hand up the full length of Theo's arousal. Encircling that sturdy cock with his hand, he stroked down every time he brought his hips forward; this rapid pace had both of them beyond words. There was no breath, no coherent thought left to him, and to judge by Theo's inarticulate cries he was in the same state. Max couldn't even tell if this white-hot world wrapping around him felt good, because it was too intense for judgment.
When the break came, he dug his feet into the couch and threw himself into the last thrust; he felt Theo's body stiffening and shoving back; he heard both of their voices but was only distantly aware of his own yell. While the echoes in his ears revealed that Theo had called his name, the word that had left his mouth was, "Mine!"
And then, after all the urgency, they were both still. Unfortunately, the incandescent desire and the blind ecstasy slipped away moment by moment, letting coherent thought back in. They looked at each other, both out of breath. Theo's cheeks were dark pink, and Max felt his own face burn.
Don't panic. Everybody says stupid things during sex. We both did just now, only because it was incredibly hot. Unbelievably hot. It did not hurt Max's ego in the slightest that Theo seemed convinced Max had a special ability to make him feel good, but it unnerved him that Theo had already come to represent some of his own best sexual experiences. That Theo could make him feel fantastically good, and that there was a big, obvious reason for that. I've never claimed ownership of anyone. Oh, god. Slipping away from Theo, he sat up on the couch and put a hand to his forehead.
After a pause, Theo got up and sat next to Max. He slid in close and kissed him on the mouth, then the temple.
"Thank you," he said. "That was incredible."
"Yeah," Max mumbled. "Any time."
"I really liked that we, uh, finished at the same time."
"Did I hurt you?" Max didn't make eye contact.
"No." Pressing his forehead against Max's cheek, Theo tickled him with his breath as he chuckled. "In some ways I'm tough."
"Sure you are," Max said, softening. Then his eye fell on the unopened condom packet. "Oh, crap!"
"Don't worry about it," Theo said quietly. "I don't think I can get the same diseases. And I trust you."
"Jesus. I appreciate your trust, but I don't forget stuff like that. I just don't. I'm careful." Max rubbed his face. "I never lose it that bad."
"Do you want to tell me what had you so...so ticked off?"
"You didn't figure it out?" He shook his head just a little, hindered by Theo's proximity. "That dickwad cousin of yours put his pheromones on me. That's what got you so hot for me."
"Ade? Why would he do that?" Sitting back, Theo frowned at him. Max threw up his hands.
"Because he wanted to prove that I could never turn you on as much as he—" Too late he stopped, internally cursing himself.
Theo abruptly withdrew. He sat with his hands pressing down into the couch as he gazed at the floor. His eyelashes fluttered, and his Adam's apple bobbed. "S-so he did tell you."
"Yeah, he told me. Bragged about being your first and how I'd never satisfy you."
"That's not true," Theo whispered.
"Which part?"
"Th-the last one. He really did, y'know, my virginity. I know it's really lame for that to be your cousin, but I wanted to lose it so bad that... Max, could you look at me?"
"It's hard to look at you right now," Max said flatly.
That was either the best fuck I've ever had or a complete train wreck. Or both. I go bareback without asking first, he throws out the l-word, and now we're talking about his first time with his goddamn redneck werewolf cousin.
"It was only the one time, I swear. Everybody after him was, was just normal, and there weren't exactly a lot of those—"
Relenting, Max turned and took hold of one of Theo's hands. The desperation growing in Theo's voice got to him. "That's not why, you dork."
"Then what?" Theo gazed at their joined hands.
"Don't you remember what you said?"
"Not really. I was kind of out of it. I remember something you said, though." Lips curving just a little, Theo looked at him through a screen of messy curls.
"And how do you feel about that?" It was Max's turn for his voice to falter. In response, Theo cupped his cheek and leaned in to kiss him.
"First thing, Ade's a moron. They're plain old hormones, not pheromones, we just smell them better. Second, they can get us, y'know, going, but..." Shifting, he whispered into Max's ear. "We still have to want you f
irst." He sat back and stroked Max's shoulder. "They couldn't make me do something I didn't want to do."
"Could I?" Max gazed into his eyes.
"You wanting me to do it would make me want to do it."
"Remember you said that," Max said, laughing quietly. Shaking his head, Theo buried his face in his shoulder. Max pulled him close and tried not to over-think things. "Oh, crap."
"What?" Theo's voice turned alert.
"I completely forgot. I actually did have something I wanted to talk to you about." He looked into Theo's surprised expression. "I thought of a way to test those charms out. Want to help?"
CHAPTER ELEVEN
New Moon
Max exhaled a visible breath into the night air as he looked around. The mall had closed three hours ago, and there wasn't a car in the parking lot besides Max's. They'd chosen the mall because two different people had collapsed there for unexplained reasons; Max was betting that meant a shadow spirit was lurking in the area.
"Okay," Max said. "The coast is clear."
"Are you sure?" Theo asked from inside the car; leaning on the door, Max peered inside.
"I don't see anybody," he said in exasperation. Grimacing, Theo nodded and slipped out next to Max. Then he slapped a hand down on the front of his robe, sucking in a shocked breath as a cool wind struck.
"Oh, shit."
"You sure you're not going to freeze to death?" Max said, wrapping his arms around Theo's shoulders. Theo pressed close with a shiver.
"It's all I've g-g-got that I c-c-can get out of f-fast." This time it wasn't nerves that made Theo stutter, but his chattering teeth. He wore nothing under his robe.
"You sure you don't want to change now?"
"D-do you th-think they'll, y'know..."
"No," Max sighed. "Sorry. I don't think they'll show if there's a werewolf here. Come on, let's get out of the light just in case somebody does drive by." He closed the car door and drew Theo over to the wall. They leaned their backs against it and looked around. Theo toyed with the belt of his robe; the attached charm dangled against his hip, too cute for his ragged robe.