The Calm Before the Storm

by Mandy Rosko

  “Wait,” Seth said. “Jackson and everyone, the whole pack, are going to come and live here?”

  “Not all,” Silus said. “There’s not enough room for so many servants. I thought I would build more housing across the lake, and that would allow the pack to stay close.”

  “But, they’re still going to be servants.”

  Seth didn’t like how everyone’s expressions melted into the adults who needed to have a hard conversation with a know-nothing kid look.

  “Seth,” Ben said. “Werewolves…I don’t like using the example, but they’re basically like dogs. Once they’ve served one person or family, they can’t really go back to not doing it. They need someone to watch out for them.”

  “I would never reduce them to the harm my father has caused them,” Silus said. “Though it will be a challenge keeping them occupied. ’Tis hardly as though Cedric and I will be making the same demands on them as my father had been, especially during one of my mother’s parties.”

  Meaning the werewolves who had been made into sex slaves. Seth sympathized with them the most, and, though he absolutely hated to admit it—

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  What did Seth really know about how werewolves’ minds worked? Time and again he’d asked Jackson why he and his pack put up with Wiktor’s bullshit, and every time Jackson explained it, Seth never understood.

  They were servants for so long, and with Silus, servants they would gladly stay.

  At least they would be treated better here.

  “Wiktor won’t try looking for them?” Seth asked.

  “He may,” Silus admitted, “but it will be difficult for him to track them as he no longer has his wolves to track with. Humans could do the job, surely, but he will have to hire them first as most of his guards he still has will be occupied with the demands of the property. Then he will go into damage control to keep the rest of the society he is used to socializing with from hearing of his inability to keep his servants in line, then—”

  “Okay.” Seth cut him off. “He won’t come looking for a while.”

  Silus nodded. “And by then he may have simply decided to let it go, if only to keep others from knowing of this.”

  That was a big maybe.

  “We’ll still have to be careful,” Cedric said, as though reading his thoughts. “We had a close call today. I don’t want Wiktor or my father figuring out we’re still alive.”

  “I shall command them to keep low profiles in the coming months,” Silus agreed. “Sampson, from what I understand, you and the alpha are close. Would you be so good as to aid him during his recovery? The rest of the pack may listen to you, temporarily, until a new alpha is chosen.”

  That kind of sounded like Silus Veturious was asking Seth to stay.

  “Uh, sure.”

  “Not for long,” Cedric said, eyes going to Ben. “Then you both can go home.”

  Seth’s entire body tensed. Cedric was under the impression that Seth had a place with Ben. Ben might have saved his sorry ass, but that didn’t mean the other man wanted Seth to move in with him.

  Of course, Seth didn’t so much as have two dollars to his name, and if Wiktor ever saw him again he was as good as dead. Whatever charity he could get from either Silus and Cedric, or Ben, he would be forced to take until he was well-off enough to go on his own.

  A knock sounded at the door, and everyone turned. “It’s us,” said the voice on the other side. Joey. “We’re all here, sire.”

  Seth’s sensitive hearing suddenly picked up more sounds of cars, quite a few of them, their tires crunching along the gravel drive just outside. Only a couple at first, which made it difficult to even notice them, until more and more began piling in. Then the barking of running wolves, big and small, their paws tramping against the rocks and grass toward the house.

  Seth suddenly had a mental image of a group of Brady Bunch-like werewolves all living under this same roof until Silus could get them settled into their own places.

  Cedric was already moving toward the door, but he turned back just as his fingers touched the handle. “You might want to get him out of here, Ben. It’s going to be hard to keep this area of the house entirely lighttight.”

  “Already ahead of you.” Ben started pulling him toward the stairs and the bedrooms that were at the top.

  “I can help,” Seth said, annoyance spiking at being carted off.

  “Later,” Ben replied. “I want you to myself.”

  Any other time, those words would usually have a more erotic sound to them. Ben’s face remained perfectly serious as they climbed the stairs and left the dangers of the sunlight that would be filling up the downstairs hall. There was no deep, lusty tone to his voice, and his eyes didn’t get half-lidded. Ben wanted to have a talk.

  Shit.

  He picked the bedroom next to the one Seth had stayed in that first night he was released from his basement prison. This must’ve been his usual room whenever he made his visits to Cedric. There wasn’t a whole lot inside it other than the regular furniture one could expect from a guest room, but it smelled like Ben, and the sheets smelled more so of him when Ben gingerly sat Seth on the bed, as though he would break.

  The act was appreciated, but not required.

  “I need a shower,” he said. He wanted to lean back on his hands, or even turn into a pile of boneless slop on the bed, but there was still blood on his hands that he didn’t want to spread on the sheets. He sat and observed the nothingness about the room instead of looking up at Ben, who hadn’t moved from where he stood between Seth’s knees.

  The awkward silence stretched. For a full sixty seconds Seth didn’t look at him, and Ben said nothing until Seth was finally forced to meet his eyes or go insane. “Can you make it fast? I’m filthy.”

  Ben clenched his jaw then licked his lips. Suddenly he was the one having trouble looking at Seth. “I just—”

  The silence came again.

  Seth couldn’t take it anymore. He got to his feet, his knee back down to a manageable ache, and he hobbled past Ben toward the bathroom.

  He needed to shower every last trace of Winchester off of him.

  The second he was done bathing he was going to burn that comforter they’d brought with them, too.

  He stopped in the doorway to the bathroom and turned back.

  There was definitely one good way to replace the feel of one man, and that was with another.

  “You coming?”

  Ben perked up and eyed Seth where he stood, leaning in the doorframe. Then his fingers moved to the straps of his vest, ripping away the Velcro. “Definitely.”

  It didn’t matter if Ben couldn’t give him what he wanted. Seth would take whatever the other man would offer him while he could.

  They stepped into the shower, sliding the glass doors shut and turning on the hot water. There was more than enough room in the stall for the both of them.

  He could feel the other man watching him as he turned his face into the spray, allowing the water to wash over his body, and scrubbing his hands, arms, and cheeks until the water at their feet leading to the drain stopped running pink with blood.

  The puncture marks from when Winchester had bitten him were already scabbing, as were the scratches and scrapes he received from Wiktor. They’d been healed soon enough.

  Ben gave him two minutes to do this before his hands touched his shoulders, the large fingers gripping the muscles there, his thumbs pressing into every knot and kneading them up and around his neck until Seth was moaning.

  Seth turned and grabbed Ben’s engorged cock in one hand. Using the other, he played along the tip, teasing it and stroking his thumb over the slit.

  Ben’s grip on his shoulders tightened as he grunted, biting down on his bottom lip and just enjoying the ride, his hips slowly thrusting into Seth’s hands. Their foreheads fell together as Ben had trouble keeping himself upright, the hot water sloshing over them, steam rising between them.

 
The scent of Ben’s blood, warm in his cheeks and dick, and the little sounds he made were enough to get Seth’s blood where it counted the most.

  “So fucking glad you’re all right,” Ben said.

  “I can see that.”

  They were so close. Practically nose to nose. Seth suddenly knew what he wanted more than anything. “Fuck me.”

  Ben’s eyes flew open. They were cloudy with lust, and a slow, easy smile spread over his mouth.

  Ben put his hand behind Seth’s neck and brought him forward for a long kiss. Seth’s entire body buzzed at the scratch against his mouth from Ben’s stubble, his blood humming and hot. He sucked Ben’s tongue into his mouth, one hand leaving Ben’s prick so he could cup his jaw and hold him closer.

  His heavy cock throbbed between his legs, and a sizzling pleasure shot straight through it and to his balls when Ben put their hips together. Seth moaned and gripped him tighter, pressing his mouth harder against Ben’s.

  Mine. Mine. Mine, sounded in his head on constant repeat.

  Mine for now, anyway.

  “Turn around,” Ben said.

  Gladly.

  Seth did as he was told, spreading his legs as much as his aching knee would allow without throbbing too hard on him. It protested only a little so that Seth was able to ignore it and better focus on what was going on behind him.

  “Don’t think water is going to be enough lube here.”

  Seth nearly laughed. He’d tried having sex once before in a pool with nothing but the water. It was doable but difficult to get into.

  “Probably not.”

  Ben grabbed a bottle of conditioner from the shelf built into the stall. Seth pressed his burning forehead into the cold tile and listened as Ben slathered the stuff into his hand.

  Was it okay to use hair products for this?

  He cared not at all when Ben’s slippery hand touched his ass, his finger probing between his crack and finding his hole.

  Seth reached his arm up and back, finding Ben’s head and gripping his hair, pulling him closer as Ben entered him with one finger, then two. Seth instinctively clenched up at the intrusion, and he gripped Ben’s hair tighter.

  The other man forced out a small laugh. “Unless you like your guys prematurely balding, you might want to ease off a little.”

  Seth’s fingers immediately went slack, but he didn’t take his hand away from Ben’s head. “Sorry.”

  Ben put his lips to Seth’s shoulder, and he went back to trying to relax himself for what was coming.

  Ben’s hair was between Seth’s fingers. He looked over his shoulder, and didn’t know why the detail came to him, but when wet, Ben’s hair was nearly as dark as Seth’s. It was soft to the touch, and not tough and gray.

  The hard expanse of his chest and peaking nipples pressing into Seth’s back was all Ben, and it was Ben’s fingers that probed and scissored inside of him. Ben. Ben. Ben. No one else.

  “Your leg will be okay?”

  If it started to hurt, Seth wasn’t going to halt the proceedings to make a complaint. “Yeah, fuck me. Please.”

  Man, oh man, did he ever. Ben’s cock surged forward, and Seth was filled in one hard stroke. He tensed and gritted his teeth at the first fast and heavy thrust, forcing himself to push out to make this part easier. Ben wasn’t even all the way inside him yet.

  Goddamn, he should’ve let the other man take him long before now.

  Ben’s fingers gripped Seth’s hips so tightly there would be marks left behind. It was an impressive feat considering Ben was only a human. Seth’s body finally released all the tension it had been holding and relaxed.

  Ben took the hint. He didn’t let up on his grip as he pulled back then surged forward again, this time sinking all the way until Seth could feel the rough hairs from Ben’s balls.

  Ben groaned in his ear as he moved in and out, his hips pistoning fast and hard now that he was finally inside. “Damn, babe, you’re so tight.”

  Seth had to put his hands on the blue-tiled shower wall to keep from being crushed against it as Ben moved. “You’re just as big as a horse.”

  Ben’s laugh felt like a raspberry was just blown in his ear. His hips stopped moving, and Seth could just picture the man’s wide grin in his mind. “How would you know what that feels like?”

  Jesus Christ. “Shut up and fuck me.”

  “As you wish.” Ben’s fingers left Seth’s hips, and one arm wrapped around Seth’s stomach, holding him close while the other palm went flat against the tile of the wall, holding them steady as he resumed his ins and outs.

  Seth closed his eyes and let the sensations—soft at first before becoming harder and heavier again—wash over him. He’d nearly forgotten the fun of just turning over and letting himself get fucked senseless, and he was pretty sure none of those other times had been this good.

  The slick sliding of skin, of Ben’s hard cock touching everything inside him as Ben’s hips surged and retracted like he had real horsepower working his dick.

  Seth’s knees buckled, and he moaned long and loud as Ben found that little spot inside him that scrambled every part of Seth’s brain.

  “OhmyGodrighttherefuckmeyeah.”

  He did that again and again until the words didn’t even make sense to his own ears. His knee throbbed, but that was nothing at all, and he pushed it into the back of his mind until the pain was a barely-there annoyance compared the ride he was getting.

  He was insane to have ever thought he could go without this.

  Ben’s breathing was a hard rasp in his ear. Seth thought he heard the other man asking him a question, but the only sounds he could make in reply were definitely not words.

  Seth reached down and fisted his cock. So good. So fucking good.

  Ben’s hand cupped his jaw, pulling back and turning his neck and face enough so that a pair of rough lips could take hold of Seth’s mouth. It consumed him, and the touch of Ben’s slick tongue made his blood sizzle. Seth gladly opened his mouth and moaned pleasurably again when that tongue slid inside. Nothing ever felt better, not even the sex.

  Only then did Seth notice that his hand was no longer gripping his cock, but Ben’s hand. Ben’s arm was still wrapped around Seth’s torso, and sometime during their fucking Seth must’ve grabbed his hand.

  He gripped it tight, not willing to part with it because it felt so nice there, and as Ben wasn’t pulling away from him, Seth didn’t want to give him the impression that he’d made a mistake.

  Suddenly Ben’s impossibly fast hips moved even faster, the speed of his breath catching so that they had to end the kiss.

  Ben’s thrusts became jerky, his groaning in Seth’s ear louder, and he gripped hold of Seth tightly as he came.

  “Se—thhhh.”

  Ben was still milking out his orgasm, but it was the sound of his name on the other man’s mouth that pushed Seth over the cliff. He grabbed his cock again and pumped it, unable to help himself as the pleasure consumed him.

  When he came down from his buzz, his still-sensitive cock softening in his hand and his leg noticeably throbbing, Ben was still inside him. He was obviously done at this point, Seth could feel it, but he made no effort to pull away. He continued to hold Seth in his arm, gripping his hand just as tightly now as he panted in Seth’s ear.

  Seth felt the touch of Ben’s lips on the back of his neck, and noticed the way the other man nuzzled his forehead there, his heavy breaths warming Seth’s back.

  What the— “Ben?”

  “Mmm?”

  “We should get out of the shower.”

  A long inhale of breath followed. Ben was yawning. “Sure.”

  He reached over and shut off the water, but the other man still didn’t move, even when the air of the stall grew cold.

  A tiny flare of…of… something ignited in Seth’s chest. These were not the actions of a man who wasn’t emotionally interested in the person he’d just fucked.

  “Was so fucking scared when Cyricus told me he
was having my apartment searched,” Ben said, his lips playing along the shell of Seth’s ear.

  He was freezing now except for where Ben held on to him, but that wasn’t the reason he was shivering.

  Seth swallowed hard. “Ben, I claimed you.”

  The mouth abruptly pulled away. Seth waited for him to say something, to apologize because although he liked Seth, he didn’t want forever with him. Ben just stepped back from Seth, separating them completely now.

  It was really cold without Ben’s body heat.

  Seth turned to look at him. No outrage, or even shock, but Ben’s dark brows were lifted halfway to his hairline. “That’s—that’s when you take a mate, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Huh.”

  Not what he was hoping to hear.

  Then Ben smiled at him. “I guess this makes my part a little easier.”

  “What?”

  Ben licked his lips, suddenly becoming short on words again.

  Then he opened the stall, letting more cold air in. Seth’s flesh pebbled.

  “Maybe we should have this talk when we’re dressed.”

  Ben stepped out and grabbed a couple of towels. He tossed one for Seth to catch, but despite how freezing he was, he couldn’t wait.

  “What do you want to do?”

  Ben was already rubbing the towel through his hair. He stopped and wrapped it around his middle. “I was wrong. This isn’t easy. I’m not really good with things like this.”

  Seth didn’t bother covering himself. He just stood there. “Fine, whatever, but just because I claimed you doesn’t mean you have to do anything about it. It doesn’t have to go both ways.”

  Seth wanted— needed—to get that part out of the way right now.

  “You don’t need to feel guilty if you don’t want to have anything with me.”

  He might be tied to the man in front of him for the rest of his life, but Seth wasn’t about to lose his mind over it. He wouldn’t go over the deep end like Winchester had and try to guilt, manipulate, or force Ben into anything he didn’t want.

  Ben was staring at the bathroom counter, his fingers playing with an electric razor. “Why wouldn’t I want anything with you?”