Roommates

by Valerie Reyes

  "No. Not with the food," Lenox replied quietly.

  "Then the atmosphere? Too much light?"

  "No, not the atmosphere, either," Lenox replied.

  "Then your bed must have been too soft —"

  "Gavron, it's none of those things," Lenox interrupted. "I just don't understand this," he said.

  Gavron paused, wondering what "this" meant.

  "Why does a prince who set out to find a wife take interest in a slave boy? Explain that to me," Lenox said.

  "My dear, that question doesn't make much sense. Why does anyone take interest in anyone else? They feel an attraction, of course!" Gavron replied.

  "But, you are a prince. Shouldn't you marry someone noble, who has connections?" Lenox asked.

  "Do you mean to say love is a transaction? What an ugly sentiment, my dear," Gavron replied with a frown.

  "Isn't that just how royals work?" Lenox asked.

  "That would be like me asking you if you wanted to go to war with my people, because 'that's just how humans work,'" Gavron replied.

  Lenox paused, surprised at how poignant that answer was. "So, what will happen to me if I agree to be your husband?" Lenox asked, curious to know what exactly royal life would entail. Especially because he was coming from a slave background, he wouldn't get his hopes up too high.

  "Well, I suppose it's fair for me to lay out my expectations before I make you tell me your decision. I expect that you willingly share your bed with me, or come share my bed. I expect that you spend your time with me, and that you travel with me. In return, I will support you both mentally and physically to the best of my abilities," Gavron replied, laying it all out in the plainest terms he could.

  Lenox was surprised to hear that the expectations that would be placed on him were more or less the expectations for any marriage. He mulled it over for a moment before asking his next question: "So, there's no need for me to be involved in any diplomacy?"

  "As far as I know, no. But, if the need does arise, you will be properly instructed," Gavron replied.

  "And how will your father feel about you taking a slave boy as a groom?"

  "My people are much more open minded about these things than those from your home planet. He will not care that you were a slave, or that you are a boy. He would care only if you were unworthy. Just your beauty alone would be enough to satisfy him that such is not the case. But your wit and personality won't hurt, either," Gavron replied with an ease that made it seem as though he was talking about the weather. This certainly wasn't a conversation he really had to think too much about at this point. Gavron obviously had already done his thinking on the issue, and mulled over everything that needed mulling over.

  Lenox had to take some time to consider all of this, but he eventually reached the conclusion that he should agree to Gavron's request. If this was something mean spirited and awful, he could run away then. If it was genuine, then there was no way he would ever attain anything as wonderful as this opportunity again.

  "I've decided to accept this offer," Lenox said, and Gavron smiled and leaned over to kiss the boy, though he pushed him away. Gavron looked at him with his bright purple eyes, which practically screamed the question, "Why?!"

  "First, you have to propose to me. It's a human thing," Lenox replied, chuckling as he saw the confusion in Gavron's eyes. His laughter grew as he realized how quickly he had fallen into the traditional role of a bride-to-be. "Get down on one knee, offer me a ring, and ask me to be your husband. To prove you really care."

  "That is an odd way to prove anything," Gavron replied, pouting and stuffing his face. Still, once he was finished with his food, he stood and bowed. "If you'll excuse me, m’lord, I shall return at the earliest convenience. However, first," Gavron said, getting a piece of string by tearing off a loose thread in the linen garment that Lenox was still wearing from Plargue, "which finger is the ring supposed to go on?"

  Lenox pointed to his wedding ring finger, and Gavron proceeded to measure it with the string before leaving in a hurry.

  Less than an hour later, Gavron was back with a gorgeous ring made of a deep violet stone that was unlike anything Lenox had ever seen before, but he smiled when Gavron got down on his knee and proposed. Without hesitation, he said yes.

  Chapter Five

  The royal wedding was quite the success, though it took three months to plan. Still, the part Lenox was looking forward to was the honeymoon. After spending these months getting to know the prince better, a deep admiration and heated attraction had developed between them. When the celebration was over, Lenox excitedly followed Gavron back to their bedroom, jumping on the bed as he waited for his new husband to take his virginity.

  Gavron was no less excited by the prospect, and followed his young groom to their bed. The traditional royal garb was a pain in his eyes at this point, but he took his time to undo all the buttons, ribbons, zippers, and clasps so he didn't damage the clothing. After all, he knew how much his groom loved it, it being undoubtedly the most intricate and expensive thing he had ever owned.

  Once Gavron had everything undone, he helped Lenox out of the godforsaken clothes, and hastily began stripping off his own restrictive formalwear.

  "Hold on," Lenox said, gently taking Gavron’s hands before he could remove any clothing. He was so much bigger than Lenox that his hands were nearly twice the size of the boy’s little paws, but Gavron allowed him to pause, despite his haste. Then he followed Lenox’s lead as he gently pushed the prince down to the mattress. His big purple eyes stared at Lenox with a mix of curiosity and impatience, but Lenox merely responded with a giggle.

  "Be good. It's my first time," Lenox said, and Gavron responded with a huff. He wanted to get on with it. He'd waited three months for this, and that seemed to him to be patient enough, but he didn't voice those complaints.

  "Thank you, darling," Lenox said softly, running his fingers down his husband’s broad, lean chest and down to his waist, where he teasingly tantalized every spot down there besides the one he wanted most.

  At least Gavron wasn't denied for too long, as his groom straddled him, naked and beautiful. Lenox could feel Gavron shiver in anticipation under him, but he didn't rush himself as he began removing the prince’s clothing. First was the jacket, which he had unbuttoned already. Then he began removing his waistcoat, undoing the buttons with his teeth, and gently gyrating his hips while he did so.

  As he continued this, he felt Gavron start to get hard, but he didn't move on to the next part just yet. Instead he continued undoing every button on the waistcoat, then tossing that off to the side as well. When he paused to do this, he caught Gavron's eyes, which were glazed over with longing and lust, but love was there too.

  "Please, Len," he whispered.

  "We'll get there in good time, my love," Lenox replied with a smile, and continued to unbutton every button on his dress shirt, a total of about fifteen buttons, using nothing but his teeth, and tantalizing his shaft through the multiple layers of cloth all the while.

  Once Lenox got Gavron’s shirt off, they were both rock hard. A good way to start, for sure.

  "Len, now?" Gavron asked, almost breathless from the moans he'd been letting escape his lips, ever so softly.

  "Yes," Lenox replied, throwing the shirt off to the side and then undoing Gavron's pants and taking his boxers down. Gavron was rather large, which only made sense proportionately, but it did make Lenox worry how everything was going to fit.

  "Don't worry. I'll make sure you're ready before I do anything," Gavron promised, as if reading Lenox's mind. Lenox looked up at his new husband innocently, but he had faith in him. So, he let Gavron take the reins, becoming pliant in his arms as Gavron led him to lie down.

  From there, Gavron began to eagerly suck Lenox’s stiff rod, at the same time using his fingers to gently explore the boy’s hole. He felt like a kid in the candy store, so he kept going while Lenox began screaming in ecstasy at the feeling.

  "A-ah, Gr…Gavron! Gavro
n, I feel weird…my stomach…It feels…ah!" Lenox screamed out as he experienced his first orgasm, pumping a load into Gavron’s eager mouth. Still, Gavron didn't let that stop him. He pushed several of his fingers inside Lenox’s ass and began pumping them, Lenox moaning all the while. As soon as Gavron felt that he could, he pushed himself inside of the boy, just going a little bit at a time, stroking his lover’s cock, which was already becoming hard again, until they both came.

  Once Gavron finished inside of Lenox, he pulled out and flopped down on the bed, giving his groom a kiss and holding him close.

  "Wanna go again?"

  Lenox looked at him after he took a minute to catch his breath, scrutinizing whether or not Gavron was serious. Silly him. Gavron was always serious.

  "Five minutes. Give me five minutes," he replied, breathing heavily.

  Bear Hug

  Chapter 1

  James Vincent was adding apps on his tablet and phone. He had heard about a new one dedicated for gay shifters, of all things, but it fit the bill for what he was looking for, so he decided he wanted to try it out. Even though he was human, he was determined to find a shifter mate. The power, the animal magnetism, drew him in a way that a regular man could not. Where some ran screaming in the other direction when they found out their boyfriends or husbands were shifters, he ran right into their arms. He shivered at the thought. He hadn’t decided what breed of shifter he liked the most yet, but he ’d had some luck finding wolves in the area.

  He lived in California, working as a server at a cross dressing cocktail bar on Venice beach. He liked the job, the excitement of the nightlife, and the interesting people who came to the place. Sometimes they came to meet up, and sometimes they came to sober up before going home after a night of partying and drinking. James generally worked the overnight from 8 PM to 5 AM shift.

  Meeting lots of interesting people was fun. It’s how he’d learned about this new app he was trying to install. One of the shifters who’d come in the diner, had told him about it. He liked living here and didn’t really miss his family, a bunch of farmers in Montana back home a bunch of farmers in Montana. While he sometimes did miss country life, there were plenty of things in big cities to make up for it.

  Finally getting the app installed, he filled out his profile and added a picture. In it, His smiling face, blue eyes, and curly, blonde hair screamed country boy, especially with the cowboy hat and boots. He might live in California these days, but you couldn’t completely take the country out of a boy. Especially one who lived and breathed farms and ranches his whole life. He loved animals, always had. Maybe this was why he preferred shifters over humans. He wasn’t sure. Maybe he’d just been born to the wrong parents.

  Finishing his shift, he hung up his apron and took off his name tag, putting it in his pocket to go home with him. The servers shared aprons, but each had their own name tag. He was headed out to his little car to drive home when his phone started dinging. He took it out of his back pocket and checked the new app. He had a hit already. The man was good looking, he’d give him that. He was in his mid-thirties. He wondered why a man like him would be interested in a twenty-two-year-old cocktail server from Venice Beach. He hadn’t lied about his job in his profile. He wanted people to know what they were getting into with him. The other man didn’t disclose his profession, but he had a clean-cut appearance and could easily have passed for a model.

  Texting him back, James smiled. The profile didn’t say what kind of shifter he was, but since James was advertising himself as a human looking for a shifter mate, he already knew he wasn’t able to shift.

  They texted back and forth a few times, and the guy made it clear he wanted to meet. He wanted to meet him tonight. James wasn't comfortable meeting him that quickly and tried to play it off. He told him he had just gotten off work and was tired, but he had a day off in a week. asked if he could meet him then. When he texted back, the chill James got from his messages irritated him. This guy was demanding and egotistical, telling him that he was a tease and that he was intentionally leading him on. Getting frustrated, James blocked him. He put his phone back into his pocket and thought that would be the end of that.

  Until he messaged again. He'd 'd blocked him, and yet he'd been unblocked. James knew he hadn’t done it. Blocking him again, he put his phone back into his pocket. When the man continued to be able to message, he decided the app had some bugs and made the report. James didn’t respond to him, but couldn’t help but read his messages.

  He wasn't scary, exactly, but James did feel intimidated by his authority. He didn't apologize for being demanding, he was point blank about his intentions and his interest, and he kept pushing it. James tried to block him again.

  Over the next couple of weeks, he kept getting messages from him. They weren’t nonstop, just enough to get him upset that the app wasn't keeping blocked profiles blocked. But the thing was, every time he read another message from the man, he was more intrigued. He wasn't scary or rude. He just pestered James and gave him a hard time for trying to avoid him. Mostly he was impressed that he didn’t give up.

  After a couple of weeks of playing hard to get, the man finally said he was done. He had found the game amusing for a while, but now it was time to be honest. Did he find him as interesting as he found James? Would he be willing to meet, or was it time for him to walk away?

  James had to be honest with himself. The man had grown on him. James wasn't sure meeting him was the best idea, but he agreed.

  He offered a public place near the cocktail bar. He had suggested the boardwalk of the beach during broad daylight to get ice cream. It was a place where no one would notice them but it was still fairly safe.

  Agreeing, James arranged to meet him on his next day off and then put his phone down. He couldn't believe he went from trying to block him repeatedly to agreeing to meet him. He had no idea how he'd gotten under his skin like that, despite his arrogance. His attitude that James would love him if he'd give him a chance was oddly hard to resist.

  He snorted at his own thoughts. He wasn’t sure if he was walking into a lion's den or if he’d met a man who could actually thrill him, entice him, and keep him on his toes.

  One way or another, he would find out soon enough if this man was dangerous or had the potential to be his soul mate. Pausing in his thoughts as he ran a comb through his hair, he wondered if maybe this man could be both.

  Chapter 2

  James sat waiting on a bench. They had seen each other’s pictures on the app, so he assumed they would find each other easily. He was more nervous than he thought he’d be. He was watching joggers and bikers ride by, a guy walking his dog with a red leash, the normal stuff people did on a nice, sunny day.

  James knew his first name, and that was it. He wondered if it was stupid to not have more information about him before meeting. He’d gotten carried away with the excitement of it all once he’d gotten over trying to get rid of him.

  Cesar It was kind of a nerdy name in James's opinion, but his look told a different story. He was a six foot four hulking bear of a man. If he’d had to take a guess at what kind of shifter he was, he would definitely have said bigger than a wolf.

  He had amber-colored eyes and dark, curly hair, and he was dressed like a regular person who wasn't trying to draw any attention. Jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt. He strolled over to him with his hands in his pocket. He knew the color of his eyes from the picture on his app profile, but right now they were hiding behind his sunglasses.

  "James?" he asked as he walked over

  He nodded. "Cesar, I presume."

  "At your service," he said, and sat down next to James on the bench. They sat quietly for a few minutes before James decided to break the ice.

  "So, you never did tell me what kind of shifter you are. Should I be worried?" James raised a brow. He was the kind who just said what he was thinking. It chased a lot of people off sometimes, but those who could handle it loved him.

  "Bear. And I only
bite occasionally," he said, grinning. He took his sunglasses off and set them on his lap. When he turned his gaze towards him, James felt lost. Cesar was beautiful, in a ruggedly cowboy-handsome kind of way. He smiled again and James felt his heart start beating rapidly in his chest. Oh, yes. There was definitely chemistry between the two of them.

  "Would you like to get some ice cream and then we can walk around, talk, and get to know one another better." He said it as more of a statement than a question. When he stood, he put his hand out to help James off the bench. James looked at the hand in front of him for a moment before taking it. On this part of the beach, two men holding hands was not that odd of an occurrence. James gave him a shy smile as he stood. He was still unsure about this situation, but he'd somehow convinced him that they should meet. Why stop now?

  "So, who are you really?" James asked him finally, looking at him over the ice cream. "I mean, I know your first name, I know you're a bear shifter, but who are you, Cesar? What do you want in life, why are you looking for a mate, and why me?"

  "It's complicated. A bear shifter reaches a certain age when he realizes he needs to slow down in life a little and find a mate. Being gay has its own set of challenges within the shifter community. Don't get me wrong, It's not that it's a problem with anyone. We're a pretty open minded bunch, but most of them are looking for a mate to start a family. You know, cubs.”

  “I see,” James said. “It took me a while to get to a place in my life where I'm ready to slow down and focus on myself. It took me a while to accept that I'm not like the others in that way. Now that I'm there, I'm looking for a mate." He finished his ice cream cone and then wiped his hands on a napkin before walking down the beach. "As for you, well, you seem blunt, and I've always liked a challenge."

  "What happens if I don't stay a challenge?" James asked him curiously.

  "I have a hard time believing you'll be anything but interesting." Cesar smiled and winked. "You have the kind of personality that will always leave a man trying to figure out your next move."