by Treva Harte
Why he knew he could protect and help this man—well, he’d think about that later, along with the kick he was getting from doing it.
Dunne followed him, just like a well-trained puppy, right up to the room Arlin had for the evening. He stood, frowning at the carpet, as Arlin shut the door behind them.
“So?” Arlin asked.
“She’s all right. She’s fine.”
“Sometime you’ll have to give her a name, you know. And that’s not what I meant.”
“You wanted to know.” He seemed to be clinging to that like a lifeline.
“I did. Now I know she’s fine and I want to know about you. Go sit down.”
Dunne did, sitting down heavily on the bed. Arlin watched the bed sag under the muscled weight and wondered what the hell he’d gotten into and just what damage he’d do to this strange were if he fucked up.
Dunne jerked upright when Arlin got on his knees, relaxed again when Arlin began to loosen the laces of his shoes.
“You don’t have to.” His voice was slurred.
“No problem, man. You look like you could use the help.”
YEAH, HE COULD use…something. Help probably covered whatever the something was. If he didn’t think too hard, though, he should be able to get through whatever happened after the numbness eased up.
He watched the kid with the chestnut hair who was crouched down in front of him. Arlin. He couldn’t remember when someone had done something like that for him last.
He wanted to brush the kid off but he wasn’t quite ready. Having someone around helped.
“You want…espresso?”
“I want some Scotch. I’m off duty.” Drinking might help too.
“How about a shower, instead? You don’t smell all that fresh.”
Dunne thought about just what he smelled like and realized his neck was hot from what had to be a blush. “Maybe that would work.”
“You need to get to the shower then.”
Dunne wasn’t entirely sure he could stand up again. Arlin made a click of displeasure with his tongue and then stood up and put Dunne’s arm around his shoulder.
“C’mon. I’ll help you there.”
He didn’t want to go, but the kid’s tone of command mixed with his aid made Dunne rethink his position. He pulled himself upright and found the kid was stronger than he looked. They staggered a little but got to the shower.
“I need to get undressed.” Dunne stared down at his clothes.
“That’s how showering usually happens. Unless you want me to throw you in right now?” Arlin made the tsk noise again and said, “Can you stand up on your own? If you can’t manage more, I guess I can undress you too.”
The kid went to work unbuttoning his shirt as Dunne leaned against the wall and listened to the water of the shower hit the tiles. Dunne decided not to be insulted about being taken care of like a baby. Arlin’s hands felt too good. They weren’t doing anything but competently finishing a task Dunne wasn’t able to even start but—well, he liked the feel of those hands. Dunne relaxed into the comfort of having dirty clothes stripped from him and, just maybe, the briefest caress against his skin.
Any idiot could dream, right?
“Ready?”
“Not yet but—oh hell, sure, go ahead.” Dunne didn’t want to go into how almost ready he was for something other than a shower. He stepped forward, gripped the shower stall and shut his eyes as hot water cascaded down. He grunted, grateful that he didn’t whimper with joy.
He thought about the kid in the next room instead. He’d left the bathroom door open, probably to make sure Dunne didn’t pitch forward under the water’s spray and kill himself.
No such luck. He was in for years and years of being the third in his pack. A not entirely welcome third. Tala might reject him, which was his own stupid fault, but it would kill him for Hunt to freeze him out as well.
Even worse, he’d always known he wanted one member of their newly formed threesome and now he wasn’t so sure that he didn’t want the other. How was he going to live craving more from not one but two of them?
The words were a little muffled through the sound of the water but clear. “Listen. I’m ordering some food. What do you want?”
Dunne bit off an automatic negative. Although his stomach lurched at the idea of putting anything in it, maybe that was what he needed. Shower, food, something to drink. He should keep everything simple.
He glanced at the skinny kid through the clear shower door.
Maybe some uncomplicated sex later. When was the last time he’d had that?
His cock stirred at the idea. Dunne thought about a quick jerk off in the shower and decided it was a little too early for a public viewing.
“Eggs over easy. Nothing too fancy.”
He’d start with food and work his way up. Maybe he could get his life back on track.
* * * *
Sitting in the hotel’s bathrobe, he gulped down the espresso and eggs and took a fresh look at his unlikely benefactor. Dunne stared at the kid’s shaggy hair, the start of stubble on his chin. He wondered how long it had been since Arlin first needed to shave. The steady, clear eyes that looked him over was reassuring, but the kid was unmarked. Untried.
Dunne knew he shouldn’t like the idea of that so much. Had Arlin ever been fucked by a man? If the kid hadn’t, Dunne wasn’t exactly the right person to give a newbie a good experience at…well, at anything. But definitely not at sex. No matter how much Dunne was thinking about sinking into virgin territory right now.
No baggage. No expectations. That sounded damn fine. Dunne glanced down. It was lucky he had a robe and not his jeans on. Things could have gotten a little uncomfortable.
“So.” Arlin looked him over with that slightly unnerving gaze and Dunne shifted. “How are you now?”
Nice guy. The kid was definitely nice. He’d come to protect a girl and ended up with a grizzled male stranger to take care of, but the boy was doing a good job of it.
“Better. Thanks. Where’s the Scotch?”
“You can have it later. You look out of it enough right now without.”
Dunne stared down at the now empty plate and stood to put it outside. “Where are my clothes?”
“Sent them to be washed. They should be back by this evening. I figured you could send for more—or you could just stay here.”
The two of them looked at each other.
“You sure about that? Not worried about what I’d do with you?”
“I’m sure.” Arlin stood up as well. “I’m more worried about you. Are you sure?”
Dunne took the plate from Arlin’s hand and tossed it on the desk. It thudded to a halt as Dunne took a step forward.
“No worries here.” He gave an almost light tap on his new partner’s chest and sent Arlin skittering backward on the bed. The thud of his ass hitting the mattress echoed the plate’s.
Arlin’s eyes lit up. “Bring it on, then.”
Dunne straddled him and Arlin reached up to grab his arms. Damn, the kid was stronger than he thought and he obviously thought he should be on top. For a moment they grappled.
Dunne knew he could overpower his partner but—hell, topping was work. Let the kid try out his moves. Dunne relaxed and let himself be reversed, with his back pressed hard against the mattress.
Arlin climbed on top and grinned down at him.
“This is going to be fun. I’ve been wanting to ride you cowboy style since I first saw you.”
Dunne realized his erection just inched up another notch at the words, too hard to ignore another minute more. Looked like he was going to get inside some young ass after all and his cock was more than happy about the idea.
“This isn’t a rodeo, kid.”
“I dunno about that. You look kinda like a bull to me.” Arlin reached into his back pocket and held out protection and lubricant with one hand. “Wanna put that on for me, pardner? Yeehaw.”
Dunne began to laugh, the sound bursting out wit
hout him able to stop, as he dropped his robe on the ground. It didn’t take much longer for Arlin to get his clothes off.
Shit, why should he stop? When had it become a crime to laugh?
Dunne smoothed out the latex and Astro-Glide, enjoying Arlin watching the view almost as much as he enjoyed pumping his cock.
“Ready?” Arlin winked.
He could fuck the smug attitude out of the kid. He would—in a minute. He’d let the other guy do the preliminary work and take over when it got too much for the kid.
Dunne had to quickly revise his opinion as Arlin moved. The kid wasn’t too young to know his way around cock. With some swivels and satisfied grunts, Arlin managed to wiggle his ass in the right spot and edge Dunne’s cock up inside him.
Damn. That was good.
Dunne shut his eyes at the tight, gripping passage. He breathed out through his nose, getting the sex rhythm of this partner in his head as well as his body.
Arlin grinned down at him once he opened his eyes again. “You like it?”
“Fuck, yeah.”
“You’ll love this then.”
Without warning, Arlin changed from quiet to frenetic motion. Dunne watched, fascinated, at the rise of the kid’s hips and then the slam of his whole body down onto Dunne’s fully roused cock.
Oh, Jesus! He forgot to watch, forgot to be fascinated, forgot everything but enjoying a master at work on his suddenly desperate cock. Dunne reached to grab the kid’s hips and slam him down harder, only to realize Arlin was backing off every time he tried.
Jesus, the kid was playing him. If he tried for rough, Arlin teased and kept a light touch on his cockhead, making Dunne bite his lips to keep from whimpering. If he backed off, Arlin came in, full throttle, and damn near squeezed the cum out of him like a tube of toothpaste. Dunne found himself digging his nails into the sheets and, as they tangled around his wrists, he just fought not to spatter all over within seconds, like the virgin he’d thought Arlin to be.
Slick with sweat, Arlin slid over him. Tighter, closer, faster by the second.
“Come on, Dunne. Give it up. Now, damn it.”
Dunne finally got a grip on Arlin’s thighs and hung onto them. It felt like everything in his body was closing up as he got closer to coming—it hurt to move, to breathe, to do anything but race toward the finish.
“Agggh. Oh, Jesus. Oh God. Oh God.”
Release split through him, spilled out and up into Arlin’s tight ass.
Arlin fell and they both panted. Dunne found himself gripping Arlin’s shoulders this time, in what was almost a lover’s embrace. He never did that. What was worse, he couldn’t let go. He just didn’t have the willpower.
He just lay there, listening to Arlin breathe, absorbing the contact as the kid plastered himself against his sweaty skin like a living blanket. Arlin was stripling light despite his strength. Dunne wasn’t used to that after all these years. It was kind of nice.
In fact, Dunne had the feeling he would be perfectly okay with never moving, never going beyond that lazy satisfaction you got after a really good fuck.
At last the kid sat up on his own.
“There you go. Finished up, safe and sound.” Arlin sounded annoyingly self-possessed. Dunne vowed to smack him if the kid gave him a pat.
“That’s what she said before I left. She wanted me safe and sound.”
“Yeah? Well, she and I grew up together. We tend to think alike. And we both want you healthy.” Arlin smiled at him angelically.
“Bullshit. Why would either of you care?”
“Damned if I know. But you’ll probably come to love her.”
Dunne wasn’t going to admit that, for just a split second back with that damned almost-threesome, he might have felt a twinge for her. That had been a hell of a lot of the problem. Of course now he was feeling remarkably soft toward this boy. That could be a whole new problem.
It didn’t have to mean anything. Sex could temporarily do that to you. He was more than old enough to know that.
“Anything is possible. But why would I?” Dunne wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the kid’s answer.
“Because she’s very loveable. Gutsy, smart, kind. God knows, I love her, even when she drives me frickin’ nuts. And she’s damned sexy.”
Dunne looked at him. “So you love her? Jesus, this is a clusterfuck.”
Despite Arlin’s words, the kid didn’t look too heartbroken about the idea that Hunt had claimed her. Not nearly as bad as Dunne was feeling about the whole thing.
“Could be shaping up that way,” Arlin agreed. “But is having a clusterfuck such a bad thing?”
“What are you doing with me if you’re so in love with her—with Tala?”
“Fucking you. Is that a bad thing? You seemed to like it a few minutes ago. And I’m glad you finally allowed Tala a name. It could get awkward otherwise.”
“Jesus. Kid weres nowadays and their snotty attitudes.”
Arlin laughed and did pat him—well, smacked more like it—on his still quivering ass. Dunne realized he was getting hard again with just that contact.
“You’ll learn to love my snotty attitude, too, once you get to know me.”
“When will I have time for that? Aren’t you headed back home?”
“Sometime. Right now I’m kind of interested in the Vegas lifestyle. Want to see a bit more of it before I leave for Texas.”
That was when Dunne realized that the kid was almost as enigmatic as Hunt and just as calculating. Good God. Arlin was less than half his Alpha’s age and already a mystery.
And he was already able to get Dunne off almost as well as Hunt did.
Jesus. What had he gotten into—or who?
Arlin gave Dunne that sweet, lazy smile that was starting to both terrify and turn him on.
* * * *
“Call them.”
“Who?”
“Your family. You know you want to.”
“Well, sure. Of course I do. I didn’t know I had to ask permission, though.”
“Not from me. Not from anyone. You’re the Alpha now, Tala. I just thought I’d let you know that I’d let you have some privacy to talk. To—to gather yourself together.”
And with that, Hunt had bent and kissed her, sweetly. She blinked, stunned at the unexpected gesture as he strolled out, still naked.
Then she called. She pulled on a robe first because, talking, even cellularly, to her family while naked didn’t seem right.
“Daddy?” Tala didn’t want her voice to catch when she heard her father’s voice on the phone, but there it was. It couldn’t be helped. She was getting choked up at a call home. No. Not home anymore. A call to her old family.
“What the hell have you been up to, girl?” Daddy Rome snapped at her. “We’ve all been wondering.”
Ah, the joys of having three parents. Tala grinned and stopped tearing.
“Just what you’ve been expecting from me ever since I was born. I have a mate now. The exact one you picked out for me.”
“We thought—we weren’t sure—” He cleared his throat. “Your mother wants to talk to you. Are you all right?”
“Absolutely.” Saying anything else would have them all there by the fastest means possible, ready for blood.
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely. Arlin is here, too, you know. To give the bride away. Sort of.”
“You’re married? Talk to your mother.”
That little wedding joke would mean at least a half hour of fast talking. Tala wanted to resent it but when she heard her mother, she fought more tears instead.
She missed her old family. Her old pack. What the hell had she done?
“Mom, really I’m fine, just the way you all figured. I know you would have tried to haul me back long before this if you hadn’t thought it would work out.”
Arlin announced his arrival by kissing the top of her head and then pulling on her hair.
“Hello, girlie.” He broke into the already haltin
g conversation Tala was having.
“Arlin is here to visit. Gotta go, Mom. I love you all. I’m really fine. “She clicked the cell phone off and then Tala rested her forehead against Arlin’s. For the moment, she just shut her eyes and relaxed. She hadn’t realized how much she had wanted to hold on to comfort.
“Hello, big guy.”
He hugged her with one arm before he let her go. That felt wrong. Wrong and different. But of course things were different now. She didn’t want to believe they were different and wrong, despite the niggling worry.
“Arlin, what happened?” Tala began to pace. “I mean, maybe I wasn’t ever a nice girl, exactly, but I never— This has been crazy. And I may be nasty but I’ve never been this stupid.”
He didn’t blink at how she jumped right in.
“Weres get crazy and stupid sometimes.” Arlin shrugged. “There was a full moon last night.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake! I hate living up to stereotypes. And if it wasn’t impossible, I’d swear Hunt arranged the moon as well.” Tala shook her head. “I knew he was setting me up and I did it anyhow. Why? I hate shit like that. I’ve always wanted to be my own boss. Then I finally get the chance and I become his.”
“He’s Alpha, he’s older, he’s very smart…and you wanted to.” Arlin stared at the coffee cup in his hand. “You know, I could get to like the taste of espresso.”
“What do you mean?”
“Espresso is better than you’d think. It’s obviously an acquired taste.” Arlin took another sip. “I ordered up some late breakfast. I’ve worked up an appetite already.”
“Jerk. Don’t even try. You know what I’m asking.”
“Tala, don’t you try. You never do anything you don’t want to do. You wanted sex, you wanted him and you wanted to become an Alpha bitch while fulfilling the promise your family made…hey, underneath it all, you’re a good were. You do what the pack needs.” Arlin’s eyes were too knowing as he glanced over at her, still drinking.
“You can’t tell my parents everything. You know, they can’t be told I don’t know what I’m doing. Never show fear or confusion. That’s the rule. All right?”
Arlin looked at her. “Did you really fuck your brains out, cousin? You make a sort of cute brunette bimbo.”