by Marcy Jacks
But both turned to look at Dex after he rushed into the bedroom to face off against them.
The woman had bright red hair. A blind man could see it. Her expression wasn’t so easy to make out with the distance, but he could hear the scorn in her voice as she tsked hard, her hands landing on her hips.
“Is this the mate?”
Bodolf growled a low noise deep in his chest. “He is.”
Dex shivered. Part of it was because that growl made Dex want to get onto the bed and present his belly to Bodolf.
Another part of it was how much that growl also made him want to turn around and run away before the attack could commence.
The red-haired woman snorted. “Good, fine. Let him deal with you. I’m done trying to keep you from bleeding all over yourself.”
“Never asked for your help in the first place,” Bodolf growled.
Dex blinked, looking at the way Bodolf and this woman spoke to each other.
She didn’t just look like some caretaker either. She was a knockout. The sort of chick that, had Dex been straight, would have been so far out of his league he wouldn’t have been able to see her.
Perfect hourglass shape. Her breasts were high and round. Did she know she was pushing them up when she folded her arms like that?
She walked up to him. Dex tensed when she pointed a long, manicured fingernail at his nose. Great, she was taller than he was, too, and with how close she stood, he could see exactly how beautiful she was on top of it.
“You better take good care of him, or there will be hell to pay.”
She winked at him, but the playfulness of that was lost on Dex when he noted the fangs in her mouth.
Then she walked by both him and Marklavitz, leaving everyone behind, like a princess leaving behind her servants.
Oh fuck. That was intense. Dex couldn’t stop his heart from beating. He clutched his hand to his heart.
“What the hell was that? Who was that?”
Dex looked at Bodolf. The man was clearly put up in bed, and now that Dex wasn’t so focused on the woman, he could see the claw marks down his face and the way his ear was bandaged up.
Bodolf didn’t seem to notice these things, however. He crossed his arms and grumbled. “Ignore her. That’s my sister.”
“Your sister?” Dex glanced behind him, half expecting her to still be standing there. “That was your sister? Seriously?”
Was everyone in Bodolf’s family a knockout? What the hell? Even when Bodolf was in bed he looked about a thousand times better than Dex did.
Then he finally snapped out of it and turned his attention back to Bodolf. “Holy shit, are you all right?”
Before the alpha could answer, Dex turned his attention back to Marklavitz. “You told me he was injured!”
“Look at him. He is.”
“That’s not what I thought you meant, and you know it! I thought he was in here dying or something!”
And now that Dex could see that was not the case, he went over to the bed and stood by Bodolf’s side. The urge to get into the bed with him was there. He wanted to hold him and touch him. Hell, he wanted to put his mouth all over the other man’s body and make sure for himself that he was all right.
Bodolf looked at him as though he were pleased with something. “Were you worried about me?”
“No!” Dex crossed his arms. He wasn’t sure why he was angry. He couldn’t entirely explain it, but the feeling was there. He was pissed off. All this time he’d been scared Bodolf was dead. Scared for a man he didn’t even know.
Then he found out Bodolf was injured, and not only was he wide awake, but aside from some bandages on his face and body, he looked right as rain.
Definitely not in the sort of rough shape that Dex should have been sweating with worry over.
But then Bodolf reached a hand out, his calloused fingers touching Dex’s wrist. Dex wanted to pull back, but that shocking feeling of pleasure hit him, and the need to be close wrapped him up in its embrace once more.
So he may have stepped a little closer to the man.
“Are you mad at me?”
“No. You saved my life, and now you’ve covered in bandages. For me. I’d be an asshole to be mad at you.”
“Then why are you making that face?”
Did he have to look so pleased with himself when he asked that question?
“I’m not mad at you. I’m just…” Dex glared one more time at Marklavitz.
Bodolf then seemed to understand what the problem was.
“You want to give us a few minutes?”
Marklavitz smiled, and Dex was sure the guy was a massive asshole. “I’ll give you a little longer than that, but I will be coming back up here if my coworkers happen to come sniffing around asking questions.”
“Right, right.” Bodolf waved the man off as though that were nothing.
Then they were finally alone.
Chapter Ten
His mate was embarrassed. Bodolf could feel it rushing through Dex's body. It was in the heat in his wrist, the bright pink in his cheeks, and the firm set of his mouth.
Bodolf wasn't entirely sure what Mark had told his mate, but Dex had clearly been scared for Bodolf.
He had gotten away from those three wolves hunting him, after showing them who was boss, of course. He'd left bloodied and hardly able to stand, but he'd also left those three who'd fucked with him and his mate not standing at all.
Assuming they'd survived, which he doubted, they were going to think twice before they ever considered coming after Bodolf and his mate ever again.
Still, by the time Sasha had found him, he was a mess. He'd leaned on his sister the entire way back here.
Marklavitz had seen him in rough shape before heading back to the police station. He might have tried to tone it down for Dex when telling him how Bodolf looked, but humans tended to overthink and overreact to things.
When Mark was finally out of there, Bodolf felt the way his mate seemed to deflate. "God, when he told me you were hurt…I was happy you were alive, but I thought…I thought you might be half dead when I got in here. I thought I would see you…"
"Shh, I'm all right." Bodolf pulled Dex into bed with him. He wrapped his arms around his mate, grunting only slightly when Dex leaned against a particularly tender spot.
But it was fine. Even with the pain of his bruising and still healing wounds, having his mate in bed with him was enough to make him feel rejuvenated and alive.
"I thought you were going to die before I got here."
The hitch in Dex's breath made part of Bodolf feel really damned good, but another part of him just wanted to protect the man from any harm. Even from hurt feelings.
"I promise I was all right." He wasn't going to get into how close it had been. "Part of you was still with me. I healed fast even when you weren't there."
And thank God for that. Otherwise, he might have been in some real trouble.
Some of those slashes across his belly had felt particularly deep, and even with a shifter's healing ability, he shouldn't have been able to walk away from those so easily.
But it was as though every bite, every scratch, every wound those bastards had given him had healed as quickly as they'd been given.
It would have been nice if he'd healed one hundred percent, but it was enough that he could get out of there.
It had only been the slashes down and across his face that had tripped him up for a moment, blood in his eyes nearly blinding him, but again, the fast healing had been a massive help.
"Are you sure you're all right?"
Dex looked up at him, his expression so fragile, his mouth so kissable.
"I'm all right." He could already feel the chunk in his ear knitting back together now that Dex was in bed with him. He wondered, would the whole thing would grow back?
Most likely not, but it was still something nice to think about.
Dex reached up, his fingers trembling a little as he touched the bandage covering B
odolf's ear. Dex's fingers slid down Bodolf's jaw, around to his cheek. He gently touched some of the slashes on Bodolf's face before his fingers stopped at Bodolf's mouth.
The touch of those sweet fingers on his lips made Bodolf's dick jump, and his inner wolf growled.
Not a dangerous noise, not a threat, but a sound of wanting. There was no getting out of the ache that grabbed Bodolf by the balls and held on tight.
He groaned. "Baby, I want you."
He felt the heat rising in Dex's body. "Can you do that? Right now, I mean? After everything that happened?"
"You'd better believe I can," he said, the growl that stemmed from his throat urgent and full of lust.
Then he pulled the wolf back and started to think properly. "Unless you can't. Do your eyes hurt?"
Dex still didn't have his glasses. It was weird to think that he needed them. Bodolf had never seen the man in them, so he figured it would take some getting used to when Dex finally donned a pair.
He did look like he would make for a sexy nerd, and that made Bodolf all too interested to see him wearing them.
He couldn’t wait for that day to come. He was excited to see what his mate looked like.
Dex rubbed at his eyes, but he seemed to be scratching them instead of warding off any pain. “They’re fine. It’s okay so long as I’m close to anything. My vision doesn’t get blurry, and it doesn’t make me feel so sick.”
And they were both sitting extremely close right now. Close enough that Bodolf could feel his mate’s lust for him burning through his clothes.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I need this.”
Bodolf took Dex by the back of his neck, pulling his head back, exposing his mouth and throat.
He went for Dex’s mouth first.
Dex moaned, opening for him just as Bodolf thrust his tongue deep inside.
He licked and tasted. Needing that spicy sweetness. Needing his mate.
Bodolf had been able to go on after his fight, to push himself forward long enough for his sister to sniff him out when he got close enough to the pack, but now that Dex was actually here, the smaller man trying to climb into his lap, every nerve inside of Bodolf’s body was coming alive. He was on fire. The only balm for that was Dex’s skin. His tongue, his throat, his everything.
Pulling off Dex’s clothes again was a sweet experience, because this time Bodolf didn’t have to worry about who might be lurking right around the corner. He could take his time if he wanted. He could really focus on the sex and the recovery that body desperately craved.
And Dex moaned so sweetly for him when Bodolf put his hand on the other man’s cock, squeezing him through his underwear.
“Are…are you sure…this is a good idea? I mean…what if I hurt you?”
Bodolf couldn’t help but laugh at that. “The fact that you think you could hurt me is funny. Trust me. I am more than capable of getting you off, sweetheart.”
“That’s not what I was worried about,” Dex muttered.
Bodolf knew that, but he didn’t want to give the man a chance to have second thoughts about this. If he even could have second thoughts. Bodolf slid his hand beneath the elastic waist of Dex’s underwear, his fingers finding his mate’s hard cock.
The organ jumped in his hand, all heat and raw lust, and the wolf inside of Bodolf’s head whined, wanting more. Wanting its mate.
Soon. So soon.
“I love you. I want you. I need you.”
Dex’s eyes popped open. “You…”
Bodolf could see it in Dex’s eyes that he might have said too much too soon. Even for a mating, humans tended to get a little touchy about the L word.
“You don’t have to say it. I mean I did technically kidnap you, so if you don’t want me talking about it or saying it to you, then I won’t.”
Dex stared at him for what seemed to be a long time. Then his eyes watered. His face twisted, and he scrubbed at his eyes with his arm.
“No, it’s okay.” Bodolf waited.
Dex inhaled a deep breath. “I…won’t say I love you, too. I won’t say I don’t either. I want to be here. I feel like I can follow you around even if you jump off the ends of the Earth, so if that’s me loving you, then even if it’s because of the mating or whatever, then okay. I love you.”
Bodolf was too pleased to hear those words to tease his mate by pointing out that he’d just said he would not say he loved him. This was a confession if he’d ever heard one.
“I’m more than happy to take that on if that’s what you want to give me.” Bodolf took his mate’s face with both of his hands. He leaned in. “You can say whatever you want to me, and I’ll be happy to hear it.”
He pressed his mouth back to Dex’s. Like before, that rush of cool energy surging through him made every wound on Bodolf’s body feel as though it was near finished with the healing.
He needed more. Dex was his fountain of youth. Touching the man was enough to make him feel better, but kissing him, tasting Dex’s tongue, and touching his cock was enough to make Bodolf feel as though he’d downed several energy drinks within minutes of each other.
Bodolf already knew what it would feel like when he was inside the other man. It would feel like being born again. As though there was no such thing as pain in the world, and the only person he knew who could give that to him was his mate.
But fuck, even with the euphoric sensation that came with kissing and touching the other man, he was stuck as he was. There was too much still wrong with him. Especially around his stomach.
Not all wounds could be knit together so fast, even with his mate right here, that he could just climb on top of the other man and take what he wanted.
“Fuck, baby, I need you to do me a favor.”
Dex blinked, his eyes glazed. “Yeah? What?”
Bodolf smiled. This was still going to be so much fun.
“I’ve got something we can use in my bathroom over there. Can you go and grab it. Top drawer.”
Dex blinked, and with a speed Bodolf didn’t know a human was capable of, he flew off the bed and went to the bathroom attached to his bedroom.
Bodolf smiled at that, listening as his mate went through the top drawer, finding what he needed.
“Do you mean this?” Dex came back with a bottle of sunscreen.
Bodolf nodded. “Exactly that. Come here, baby. I need you.”
If he didn’t have his mate soon, then he was going to implode.
Dex must have felt the exact same way. He returned to bed with the bottle in hand. Dex slowed down only when he made it to the mattress. Climbing on, he was able to settle himself next to Bodolf.
And Bodolf realized his mate was taking it easy with him now that they were in bed together.
“No you don’t. Get over here.”
Bodolf grabbed his mate by the waist, pulling the man up and into his lap. It strained his wounds somewhat beneath his bandages. He didn’t get stitches, but that was because he was a wolf, and he’d known his mate would be coming soon.
Still, Bodolf grunted as he quickly learned that even he needed to take it easy while his mate was in bed with him.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes,” Bodolf said through gritted teeth. “I’ll be better once I’m inside you. No more waiting.”
“No more waiting,” Dex agreed, nodding.
Bodolf took the bottle of sunscreen from Dex’s hand. He popped the cap and poured some of the lotion into his hand. He wished he had some lube in his bathroom, but he didn’t often bring lovers into his pack.
He saved that sort of thing for whenever he went for a night on the town.
Those days were over.
And Bodolf felt no sense of loss over them. He just felt happy and grateful that he would be able to enjoy this with his mate.
“You feeling good?” Bodolf asked. “If you’re too sore, you let me know.”
“You didn’t nail me that hard,” Dex said, and then his body tensed as he apparently realized wh
at had just come out of his mouth.
“I, uh, didn’t mean it like that.”
“Uh-huh.” Bodolf was still trying to decide whether or not he felt insulted by that. He settled for exacting some revenge on the other man instead. “How about I just show you how hard I can nail you?”
Dex smiled at him nervously, even as Bodolf reached around and pressed his fingers to the man’s hole.
“Uh, you really don’t need to put yourself through the trouble. I mean, what if you hurt yourself?”
“Yeah, right. I’m so sure you’re actively worried about me hurting myself right now.”
“I am!”
“Are you sure you’re not more worried about being unable to walk later on?”
Dex gave him something of a dirty look, but then his mouth dropped, and his eyes flew open as he let his head fall back.
“Oh God!”
Bodolf grinned, teasing the man’s hole again and again as he probed him with his fingers.
And it was good. It was perfect. Watching that look on Dex’s face, as he shuddered, as his eyes flew wide before they clenched shut.
That intensity on Dex’s face only increased when Bodolf pushed his fingers inside, and Bodolf groaned as the man’s hole clenched around his fingers.
“You should see yourself right now. Riding my fingers like that. You are perfect. You’re mine. I won’t ever let those other wolves come after you again. You understand me?”
Dex nodded. “Y-yeah.”
And when Bodolf was done recovering, and through with the mating heat, he was going to do everything he could to get back to those other wolf souls he’d been forced to leave behind.
Sasha would be giving Maxwell a call right now to let the other alpha know there was still a problem in the area.
He and his pack would be able to take over until Bodolf was able to get back into the game.
Until then, he would give whatever he could to this man right here. He would focus on getting Dex through the mating heat as easily as possible before Bodolf went out into the world to bust some heads open.
He pressed his mouth to Dex’s throat, kissing and licking at it.
He wanted to bite it so much, but not just yet. Soon.