by Joyee Flynn
“Oh, Randall,” I whispered, heartbroken that the only person who had loved him and been there for him died in front of his eyes.
“After that, I decided to take a job as a Deputy in a smaller town, and Wenatchee was hiring. Then I worked hard and got elected Sheriff after the old one retired.”
“Pull over, my mate,” I said gently. He glanced down at me as I nodded for him to please listen to me. Randall didn’t say anything as he put on his signal and pulled off on the side of the highway. The second he had the truck in park, I unfastened his seatbelt and straddled his lap, taking his face into my hands. “I hope you know that Officer Stanaszek loved you even if he might not have ever said it. It sounds like he adopted you as his little brother, Randall.”
“I failed him,” Randall whispered as he leaned his forehead against mine. “The one time he needed me, and I let him down.”
“I don’t see it like that at all,” I said, peppering his face with kisses. “You would have been there to help him if you’d known sooner. Instead, you got called in at the end of it and couldn’t get to him in time. That’s not your fault, my mate.”
“Thank you, baby,” he replied, wrapping his big arms around me tightly. “Thank you for saying that and wanting to comfort me. Thank you for listening and not thinking less of me after what I’ve told you.”
“If anything, I love you even more now, Randall,” I said gently as I leaned back and stared into his eyes. “You’re a wonderful, caring man even after everything you’ve been through. It takes a strong person to not crumble under tragedy, and you’ve had a lot of it. Thank you for having the courage to open up to me and trusting me.”
“I–I need to feel you, Toby,” Randall stuttered, looking lost and confused as his wide eyes searched my face. His cheeks heated with embarrassment, and I guessed he was either thinking it was the wrong time to touch me or he’d never admitted to needing anyone before. Either way, I knew exactly how to take care of my mate.
“I always need you, Randall,” I said against his lips as I opened the buttons of his shirt. He kissed me passionately, thrusting his tongue deep in my mouth as he held my head to his. I gasped at the feelings of need rolling off of him and hitting me in waves. That was a new trick that we’d have to discuss later. I wasn’t sure what the hell it meant, but I went with it.
“Toby, oh, god, Toby,” he moaned as I licked his collarbone as I pulled off his shirt. Leaning back for just a second, I yanked off my own shirt before latching my mouth on his neck and sucking hard. “So good, baby. I need my mate.”
“I’ve got you, Randall,” I said firmly as I went to work on pulling off his shorts that looked like pants on me. His hands immediately grabbed my naked ass as I unzipped his fly and pulled out his hard cock. “I love you, Randall. I’ll always love you, my mate.”
“You cannot ever leave me, baby, promise me,” Randall ordered before kissing me fiercely. “I’d die if I lost you now that I’ve found you.”
“I promise,” I replied gently as he turned us in the truck so I was spread out on the large bench seat under him. “I won’t ever leave you, Randall. Mating is for life with shifters, and there’s no one else I’d rather be with than you.”
“Thank god,” he whispered into my neck, his whole body shivering under my hands as I felt his tears falling onto my shoulder. “You’re mine now, baby. You can’t ever be with anyone else. I belong to you, and you’re all mine.”
“Only you, Randall,” I said again, trying desperately to comfort him. Glancing to the floor, I reached over and pulled the bottle of lube out of the laptop case where I’d snuck it when Randall had been busy. I slipped it into his hand, and he lifted his head enough to look down at me. “Make love to me, my mate. Take the comfort you need from me.”
“I–I, you know…I, you, Toby,” he replied, his voice shaking, and I knew it was his way of trying to say he loved me.
“I know, Randall. I love you, too,” I said, smiling up at him as I spread my legs wider for him. “Show me. Show me how much you love me and need me.”
“I do, so much,” he replied as he went to open the bottle of slick as I wiped away his tears. I moaned as his lubed fingers rubbed and pushed against my hole, begging him with my eyes to hurry. He pushed one finger into me as he stared into my eyes. “I want to be everything you need, Toby. I just don’t know how to, okay? Please don’t ever leave me because I fuck up, like not believing you when you said you loved me.”
“I won’t, Randall. I promise,” I said before kissing him. There was so much emotion in that kiss that I felt as if I was in heaven instead of Randall’s truck pulled off on the side of the highway. He pushed in a second finger, rushing as fast as he could to get me ready.
“I–I need to see you come, baby. I need to know I please you,” Randall demanded, stumbling over his words as he rubbed over my sweet spot. I nodded, unable to form words as I panted and stared at him with the lust I was feeling. It happened when he slid in a third finger and focused on my prostate.
“I love you,” I cried out as my cock erupted between us. I grabbed his head and kept my eyes on him as I rode out my orgasm. Right in front of my eyes, I saw the shadows of his past leave him as he focused on the present instead.
“That’s it, baby,” he said softly, not letting up his efforts even as my orgasm started to ebb. “I want all of you, Toby. I need to see you happy and filled with desire for me.”
“I love you, Randall,” I panted, knowing he needed to keep hearing it right then. “I need you inside me, my mate.”
“Thank you,” Randall replied, moving so his cock was pushing against my hole. He looked up at me as he grabbed my hips, and I nodded that I was ready. Thrusting forward as he pulled me toward him, his cock was seated all the way inside me in one shot. I gasped at the instant sensations and feelings I was getting from him.
“Do you feel that?” I asked, not wanting to break the spell of our coupling but needing to know if he did, too.
“It’s like I feel your love for me as if it was a tangible thing I could grasp.” He panted, staring at me with wide eyes. “I can almost see into your heart, Toby. You want to take care of me and give me all the love I never had.”
“I do, Randall.”
“Are you feeling my emotions?” he asked, staring down at me.
“Yes,” I hissed as his cock twitched inside of me. “I feel your desire to please me and love me even through your fears. You want to mark me as yours so no one will ever take me from you.”
“Exactly,” Randall groaned as he started to move his hips. “I need you so bad, Toby. This isn’t going to be slow.”
“Take what you need from me, my mate,” I said, and he did it. He started thrusting into me hard, growling as he stared down at me with desire. And then suddenly, his hands and lips were everywhere. His need and desire for me to be his slammed into me the harder he pounded into my ass. I saw images of Randall wanting his name tattooed on my body so if anyone caught a glimpse of me naked, they’d know I was claimed.
“Mine, you’re all mine, and you can’t leave me,” Randall said over and over again in between grunts as he slammed into me hard and fast. I arched my back and moved one foot over the steering wheel so he could push deeper into me. My mate growled his approval as he thrust harder into me, almost trying to mark me from the inside.
“Randall,” I gasped as I saw what he needed, moving my arms over my head. His eyes flew up from my face to my hands as he moved his own to cover them. I met each of his thrusts as they became erratic when he got close as he pinned me down. It was almost as if he wanted my submission to him as a form of admittance that I was his. I gave it willingly, knowing in my heart that that there would never be anyone but Randall for me.
“So close, I’m so close, baby,” Randall moaned before kissing me. That was all I needed to hear. I let go, letting my climax hit me hard as his mouth swallowed my scream. Randall didn’t stop or slow down his hips as he kept pushing in and out of me
. It took my orgasm to new heights, feeling his pleasure wrap around mine that we were joined together as one.
“Come inside of me, Randall,” I whimpered in between waves of my climax. “Fill me up with your seed.”
“Oh, fuck,” he cried out, his cock twitching before erupting in my hole. “Toby!”
I moaned loudly, moving my hips against his as I felt his cum shoot inside of me. His eyes never left mine as we cried out together, intertwining his fingers in mine as he thrust with each pulse of his orgasm. I felt his relief that I still wanted him after what he’d told me and the burden starting to lift off his shoulders from keeping it inside all these years.
“I’ve got you, Randall. I’m not going anywhere,” I said softly as he collapsed on me, completely spent. He gasped for breath as he realized his own feelings I’d felt moments before. And then he surprised me like never before. Randall wrapped his body around mine, still hard inside of me, and cried. Not just a few tears falling from his cheeks, but actually crying as we held each other. “I’m here, Randall. I love you so much, and I’ll never leave you.”
“I love you, too, Toby,” he whispered when he started to calm back down. I felt a thrill go through me and him at his declaration. Mine because he’d been able to really tell me how he felt and his because he never thought he’d ever feel this way for anyone, much less be able to say it. “Don’t ever leave me, baby.”
“I won’t. I swear it to you,” I said firmly, kissing the side of his neck.
And then right there on the side of the road, my mate took me again. This time, it was gentle as he told me he loved me over and over again. After my third climax in the space of less than half an hour, I passed out partially from the pleasure but mostly from the intensity of the emotions I’d felt from my mate. Randall really did need me more than he needed air, and I knew I would do anything not to fail him.
Chapter 8
I woke with a groan when I felt Randall squeeze my ass. I’d been lying down on the seat with my head in his lap. Glancing up, I saw him smile as he groped me again. I pushed my ass back in his hands as I reached over to stroke his cock through his jeans.
“Behave, pup.” Randall snickered as he pushed my hand away. “It’s time to feed my mate.”
“How much longer until we get to Spokane?” I asked, sitting up and stretching my back.
“Been there and on the way home already,” Randall said with a wink. “We should be back in Wenatchee in a half an hour.”
“I slept through all of it?” I replied, looking at him with wide eyes. He glanced at me with a smile and nodded. “Randall, I’m so sorry! Why didn’t you wake me up so I could help?”
“Toby, you need to rest,” he answered gently, taking my hand. “You have to remember how sick you were just a few days ago, baby. Your body is still healing and needs to recuperate. It wasn’t a big deal. I picked up the meds with no problem after I showed them my badge and they confirmed Cameron sent me. The coolers are in the back seat. I verified the information you wrote down for me with the wholesale food people, and they helped me load it up.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly, squeezing his hand as my heart warmed at how sweet he was being. “I guess I was kind of tired.”
“Well, I’ve been a bastard, really.” Randall chuckled as I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “You were so sick that you were throwing up blood, Toby. And here I am shoving my cock in you every chance I get.”
“But I like your cock in my ass,” I whimpered as I leaned over to lick his chin. “You can’t stop that, Randall. It has healing effects of its own.”
“Oh, it does, does it?” He snickered as he took an exit off the highway. “My cum is magical?”
“No, I doubt that.” I giggled as he pointed to some burger joint, and I nodded. “Sex releases endorphins and other chemicals that help an immune system. Plus, a happy pup is a healthy pup, and sex with you makes me very, very happy.”
“Okay, then,” Randall replied before laughing loudly. He pulled into the drive-thru, and we both ordered lunch. We drove around, Randall paying as he passed me the food, and a few minutes later, we were back on the highway.
“I think we should get tattoos,” I said after a few minutes of silence as we ate. I saw Randall go stiff as he swallowed loudly. “Yes, I saw it in your head, but I like the idea. I really do, Randall.”
“You’d do that for me, baby?”
“I’d do anything for you, my mate,” I answered firmly as I popped some fries in my mouth. “Plus, I really think it’s hot. I mean, you’d get one, too, saying that you were mine.”
“What would you want to get?” he asked me slowly, giving me a sideways look.
“Honestly? I’ve got some ideas, but I’d rather surprise you,” I answered with a shrug. “I think we should go to the tattoo parlor and each get one, not letting the other see until later.”
“I like it,” Randall said a few moments later with a wide smile. “It’s like the bride and groom not seeing what the other is wearing until they see each other at the altar. I think it’s a great idea, baby.”
“Well then, it’s settled,” I replied, feeling excited that he liked my idea. We drove the rest of the way, chatting about my work, mostly, as he asked a few questions about the pack here and there. The next thing I knew, we were pulling into the parking lot of the pound. We hopped out of the truck and went inside looking for Cameron.
“The doctor had an emergency brought in,” the lady at the front desk said, eyeing me over. “Dog hit by a car. He said if you came by, Sheriff, to tell you that he’ll be done in about an hour, and then you can leave. He also said to tell you that he got someone to cover for the week. Not that I know what that means.”
“Thanks,” Randall replied, and I hadn’t missed the way the woman sounded annoyed that she didn’t know what was going on. As we walked back out of the building and to the truck, Randall leaned in to whisper in my ear. “That woman is the town’s biggest gossip. Everyone here probably knows that Cameron took off the week and is going somewhere with me. She probably thinks it’s some couples cruise or something juicy she’ll blab about.”
“Well that’s better than her knowing the truth.” I giggled as we got back in the truck. I held Randall’s hand as we left, smiling at our next stop. How did I know my mate would go directly to a tattoo parlor now that we had some time to kill? “Guess you really did like the idea.”
“Very much, baby,” he replied, leaning over to kiss me quickly. “And I already know what I’m going to get.”
“Good,” I said as we walked into the place, feeling confident we would work out just fine together as mates. I mean, if he was willing to permanently mark his body for me, Randall wasn’t going to get scared and run away from our relationship.
* * * *
Randall had finished getting his tattoo done first. He was dying to sneak over and see what his little mate was getting done but knew Toby wouldn’t like that. Instead, he sat on a chair in front of the shop, impatiently tapping his foot.
“All done.” Toby giggled as he walked out from the back. Randall jumped up and hugged him, feeling relaxed again now that he could see his baby. “Did yours hurt?”
“Nope, how about yours?” Randall asked, smiling down at his gorgeous mate.
“A little.” Toby shrugged as they went to the counter and paid. Randall was surprised when Toby’s was so much more than his. What had he gotten? “Tonight. We’ll show each other tonight after we handle what we need to.”
“You’re killing me.” Randall groaned desperately as they walked out of the shop. He was jumping at the bit to know what Toby had picked. But even more, he wanted to show his little mate the beagle pup he’d had tattooed over his heart with Toby’s name above it. Randall knew from the moment they’d agreed to get them that that was what he wanted to show Toby he was his. And since Toby was in his heart, loving him as Randall loved him, it seemed fitting.
“I promise you’ll live,” Toby repl
ied as they drove over to the pound. Cameron was leaning against his truck in the parking lot, waving when he saw them. They got out to greet Randall’s longtime friend, and it hit him again—how had he missed that Cameron had ever liked him?
“Hey, I left the message saying I’d be ready an hour ago. What took you guys so long?” Cameron asked, eyeing them over.
“We got tattoos,” Toby answered excitedly, just about wagging his tail even in human form.
“Oh? Of what?” Cameron asked with a chuckle as he glanced between the two of them.
“We can’t tell you yet.” Randall snickered as he pulled out the coolers. “We’re going to unveil them to each other tonight. You can see them tomorrow.”
“How mysterious.” Cameron chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows at them. They all had a good laugh before heading out. The doc was going to follow them in his own truck that he’d loaded with extra medical supplies just in case. Toby had warned them that they’d need the four-wheel drive of a large pickup truck to make it up there.
After an hour drive, the road Toby had them turn off on was more of a trail than anything. Toby hadn’t been kidding. They wouldn’t ever have made it if Randall and Cameron hadn’t had big engine trucks to handle it. Randall glanced at Toby, who’d gone quiet next to him as he threw the truck into four-wheel drive as the trail turned into an even smaller dirt path that was inclining rapidly.
“It’s going to be fine, baby,” Randall said, wanting to hold his mate’s hand to comfort him but knowing he should keep both hands on the wheel for this kind of terrain.
“I hope so. We’re not supposed to bring outsiders on pack land,” Toby whispered. Randall could feel the fear coming off of his mate’s emotions. But he just didn’t know if Toby was scared about how sick everyone could have gotten in a couple of days or something else.