Patience Page 9

  “Yeah, that’s it. We’re doomed.”

  Jamie’s smile broke free, and for good measure, he started laughing.

  Chad’s grin spread then. “Because it’s not like we can’t keep two flavors of ice cream in the freezer, right?”

  Jamie snorted, nodding. “Right.” He managed to get ahold of himself.

  A few moments later, they took their cones out to the street. Jamie licked at his cinnamon toast—Chad did have a point—and Chad had forgone his yucky raisins for Reese’s Cup sundae. They strolled toward the parking lot, both occupied with ice cream for the moment.

  Jamie looked over at just the right time to see Chad’s tongue catch a few drops running down the side of the cone. Jamie’s cock responded to the visual, thickening, and he found himself walking rather uncomfortably. He focused on his own ice cream and, when Chad glanced over, made sure he was as sensual as possible while he ate. He was rewarded with the unmistakable scent of arousal from his mate.

  They stopped next to the Challenger as they finished eating. When Jamie looked up, it was to see Chad staring at him. “What?” he asked, blinking.

  “It’s totally cliché, but you’re hot eating that.”

  Jamie grinned. “Oh yeah?” He slowly licked his way around the edge of the cone, not taking his eyes off Chad for a second. Another spike in the scent of arousal hit Jamie’s nose as Chad groaned.

  “You know, I’d planned to, like, go over to Schenley for a bit, take a walk, but if you keep that up, we may be strengthening our bond in the car….”

  Jamie laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t want to spoil plans,” he said, then took a big, hard bite out of the cone.

  Chad paled a little but chuckled. “Yeah, there we go. Just, uh, don’t do that to anything else soft and round, ’k?”

  He couldn’t resist laughing again. “I promise. I rather prefer your balls healthy, thanks.”

  With a grin, Chad popped the last bit of his own cone into his mouth and pulled out his keys. Jamie hurried to finish the last of his and slid into the car after Chad opened the door for him. He even kept his mouth shut about the door-opening thing.

  Chad found a parking spot near the visitor’s center to Schenley Park, and they went around the building, walking down beyond the gravel and into the trees. They didn’t speak, simply held hands and took in the quiet of the evening park. Twilight was approaching, but there was still plenty of light.

  “Didn’t realize it was so close to sunset,” Chad mused, looking up through the trees.

  “I can see well enough to get us out,” Jamie said, grinning at him. “If you trust the big bad wolf to lead you out of the woods.”

  Chad laughed. “I don’t know. He can be kind of a brat….”

  Jamie sniffed. “Murray is so not a brat.”

  “Stealing bacon isn’t being a brat?” Chad countered.

  “Well….” Jamie pouted. “He had a good reason.”

  Chad stopped and turned to Jamie, tugging him close. “You think so?” Chad asked softly, wrapping both arms around him.

  Jamie nodded. “Yeah, I do. He was a little worried about his mate wanting him. I think that’s fair….”

  “Hmm… I’ll have to give you that one,” Chad murmured, then closed the last of the tiny distance, catching Jamie’s lips with his own.

  Jamie opened to him immediately, getting lost in the taste of his mate. Under the fries and ice cream, he found something so good, he didn’t think he’d find anything as wonderful anywhere else. He guessed it was part of the mate thing, but didn’t care. Chad smelled, tasted, felt so good, and Jamie sent a thanks up to the gods for at least giving him the chance to spend any time with Chad.

  Their tongues slid, teasing each other, Chad taking over the kiss, then yielding it to Jamie. It was playful in a way that reminded Jamie of their wrestling the other night, and he found he liked that they could be light with each other. He slid his hands over Chad’s shoulders and up into the deep brown hair, savoring the silky feel of it in his fingers.

  Jamie moaned—or maybe it was Chad; he didn’t know and couldn’t really care. He leaned closer, thrilling when he felt the hard cock against his own. He rocked into Chad, loving the gasp, the way Chad deepened the kiss in reaction.

  Chad ran his hands down Jamie’s back to cup his ass, pulling him in even tighter. This time the moans came from both of them, and Jamie broke the kiss, diving in to nip at Chad’s neck.

  When he opened his eyes, he realized his vision had gone gray and his teeth had dropped. He pulled back, intending to go for another kiss, but Chad’s eyes widened.

  “Holy shit.” It came out almost a growl. “That’s hot.”

  Jamie raised his eyebrows. “What is?”

  “Your teeth and eyes. It’d be creepy if it wasn’t you, because you’re turned on. That’s what it is, isn’t it? Arousal?”

  Jamie nodded. “Yeah. When we get really turned on, we do a partial shift. I’ve only ever done it a couple of times before.”

  “Oh?” Chad asked.

  “Yeah,” Jamie said, grinning at the jealousy coming through their link. “But it was nothing compared to now. I’ve always gone right back before.”

  Chad’s eyes widened and the jealousy faded. “Oh. I like knowing that.”

  “Mate,” Jamie reminded him. “You’re the only one I want.” He dove back in, nipping at Chad’s neck with the human portion of his teeth. “Mine,” he growled softly.

  “Yours, baby.” Chad’s head fell back as he sighed.

  “Mmm, I like that.” Jamie couldn’t resist leaving a mark on Chad’s neck.

  Chad’s “Hmm?” was more moan than anything.

  “Baby,” Jamie replied. “I like that name.”

  “I’ll have to remember that,” Chad whispered, opening his eyes. “My turn.” He tilted Jamie’s head back and fixed his mouth to the spot where neck meets shoulder. He bit down, sucking the skin in and bringing a loud groan from Jamie.

  “It… oh fuck, that’s good….” Jamie moaned. “It won’t… last.”

  “Don’t care. Still want to.”

  “Don’t care either.” Jamie rocked into him, grinding their cocks together. “Fuck, Chad, keep this up and we’ll be doing it right here.”

  “I think that’s illegal,” Chad muttered, moving to a new spot on Jamie’s neck.

  “Probably,” Jamie said. “Uh, maybe we should take this—ohfuck!” Chad had bitten down again, a little harder, and Jamie thought he was going to go nuts.

  “Mmm,” Chad mumbled, mouth full. A moment later, he let go, his gaze focused on Jamie’s neck. “Yeah, we should take this home. Don’t have the lube with me.”

  Jamie refused to admit the sound he released was a whimper. “Let’s go,” he said, forcing himself to step back.

  Chad grinned and took his hand.

  Chapter 8

  IT TOOK entirely too much time to get back to the car and make the drive to the apartment. They nearly ran into the building and up the stairs. Before the door even shut completely, Chad had Jamie pinned to the wall just inside, mouth fixed once more to Jamie’s neck.

  Jamie’s eyes hadn’t returned to normal on the way back. He was so aroused, he was still seeing in gray, his teeth were still down. He had to be very careful when he returned Chad’s kisses.

  Jamie pulled at Chad’s T-shirt, yanking it up. Chad reared back long enough to tug it off. Jamie heard a rip, but was already too focused on Chad’s chest to care. Chad had a light dusting of hair over his muscular chest that arrowed to his navel, then made a very tempting treasure trail that disappeared into his jeans. Jamie wanted nothing more than to follow it with his mouth and was already dropping to his knees before he gave it any real thought.

  Buttons and zippers were no obstacle, though he was careful not to actually tear the jeans. He had to stop long enough for Chad to take care of his weapon, but a moment later, Jamie had his mate’s cock out and in front of him, rock hard, dark, and dripping precum. He moaned at the s
ight. His mouth watered, and he had to fight hard to retract his teeth, lest he hurt Chad. With major effort, he managed, glancing up long enough to see Chad staring at him, mouth open, pupils blown wide in arousal, chest rising and falling rapidly.

  With their gazes locked, Jamie opened his mouth and moved it down over Chad’s cock, taking most of it in one move.

  “Oh fuck,” Chad moaned, hands going to Jamie’s head.

  Jamie groaned, the taste of his mate’s precum filling his senses, the musky scent so close it nearly overwhelmed him. He eased off, then moved back down, taking a little more this time. Repeating that, a short while later, his nose touched coarse hair, earning him a shout.

  “Holy fuck, baby!”

  Jamie would have grinned if his mouth hadn’t been full. Instead, he swallowed around the tip of Chad’s cock, getting a strangled sound that time. He looked up, doing it again, and Chad’s hands fisted in his hair.

  “If you keep that up, I’ll go off way too soon,” Chad warned. He tugged lightly on Jamie’s hair. “Want more than that.”

  Jamie pulled off and stood, and Chad took his turn tugging Jamie’s shirt over his head. He attacked Jamie’s jeans next as Jamie wiggled around to kick off his shoes. As soon as they were off, Chad grabbed his hand and nearly dragged him into the bedroom. They stopped next to the bed, and Chad turned back, pulling him in again. This time the kiss was soft, slow, but still so very full, it left Jamie breathless.

  When they broke apart, Chad brushed his thumb over Jamie’s lips. “You are so gorgeous,” he whispered, and Jamie’s heart skipped a beat.

  “You are. I… got so lucky.”

  Chad flashed a grin. “I’m glad you think so. We both did, I guess. Or maybe the gods really know what they’re doing?”

  Jamie raised his eyebrows. “You believe that?”

  Chad shrugged a shoulder. “I was never a solid believer in anything before. But when I have evidence in front of me of something, it’s kind of hard not to, don’t you think?”

  Jamie tilted his head. “Never thought about it like that.”

  “How about we have the philosophical religious discussion later, hmm?” He rocked into Jamie, rubbing their hard cocks together. “I have something else I’d rather do right now.”

  Jamie’s groan cut off his laugh and he nodded. “Yeah, that might be better.”

  Chad kissed him again, their tongues meeting and teasing, but he pulled back only a moment later. “I do have a question, though.”

  “Oh?” Jamie had to struggle to find his brain and use it.

  “Do you have to top to strengthen our bond? Not that I’m against you topping—I most definitely want to feel you at some point. But I really want to be inside you right now.”

  Jamie blinked as he realized what Chad was asking, and shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. You… you really want to go out of your way to strengthen it?”

  Chad nodded. “Yeah, I do. I already know I want this. I’m pretty damned sure that’s not going to change. So yes.”

  Jamie sucked in a breath, smile spreading wide. “I’m… I’m so glad,” he whispered, then dove in for another kiss, this one as heated, as deep, maybe even more so, than any before it.

  He wasn’t sure how they actually ended up on the bed. Somewhere in their attempts to swallow each other whole, in the need to touch and feel every bit of each other, they managed to get horizontal. Jamie rolled them until Chad was on his back, determined to taste every bit of his mate he could.

  But before he could get too far, Chad was tugging on him. In a move so fast and powerful that Jamie would have sworn Chad was a wolf, he flipped them and had Jamie on his back, pinned to the bed. He slid down Jamie’s body and, in one swift move, swallowed Jamie’s cock to the root.

  “Holy fuck, Chad!” Jamie shouted, scrambling to hold on to something to ground himself. One hand went to Chad’s head, while the other fisted in the comforter.

  Chad was merciless, sucking hard, then sliding off, teasing the length with his tongue. He traced crown and ridge, tormented the sensitive spot just under the head, and collected the precum with his tongue. Just when Jamie thought he was completely crazy, Chad swallowed Jamie’s cock again, hollowing his cheeks, making it so good, Jamie was sure he was going to go off in about two seconds flat.

  “Chad, oh gods, Chad, I’m going to… too close… fuck!” he babbled.

  After pulling off, Chad grinned up at him. “Don’t want that yet,” he said, chuckling.

  Jamie groaned. He really didn’t want to go off yet. He wanted Chad inside him, wanted them to come at the same time to give the most he could to their mating, but he was so aroused, he thought he was going nuts. He couldn’t remember being this turned on ever before.

  “Chad,” he whined, not caring how it sounded. He needed, that was all he could think.

  Chad moved up along his body again, settling in on top of him. Jamie lifted his legs, wrapping them around Chad, rocking to grind his cock into the equally hard one against his. This earned him a moan, and Chad nipped at his neck again.

  “Please, need you,” he murmured, sliding his hands over Chad’s back to cup his amazing ass.

  Diving for the bedside table, Chad fumbled with the drawer. A moment later, he returned with a brand-new bottle of lube. He sat up, fought with it for a few seconds, then finally had it open. He poured some over his finger and turned back to Jamie. Sliding the tip over Jamie’s hole, Chad pulled a new moan from him.

  “Don’t… play,” Jamie managed, voice strained.

  Chad immediately pushed the first finger through the ring of muscle, spreading the lube around. “Tight,” he whispered.

  “Been… a long time.”

  Chad worked the finger in, and Jamie did his best to relax. He wanted his mate inside him—now. His wolf paced just under the surface, anxious to bond, needing their mate. Chad worked a second finger into him, stretching him, and Jamie grunted.

  “Don’t worry about it, please, want you.”

  “Shush, I’m not going to hurt you,” Chad replied. His voice was rough with arousal, and Jamie realized Chad was struggling as much as he was. And still holding back for his comfort.

  He focused on relaxing as much as possible, hoping to encourage Chad to take it further. Finally, it seemed Chad was satisfied, and he sat back once more. He coated his cock thoroughly, then lined up.

  Here, he paused, gaze catching Jamie’s. They held there in a suspended moment, both absorbing the import.

  Jamie’s heart pounded at what was about to happen, and a tiny nugget of fear poked him.

  How could I handle it if he didn’t want me, anyway?

  Then, however, another thought crowded that one out. He didn’t know where it came from or what spawned it, but he knew, deep down, it was the one to listen to more.

  How could I live with myself if I didn’t take this chance?

  He rocked his hips just a little, giving Chad encouragement.

  It was, apparently, all Chad needed. He pushed slowly, working the tip through the ring of muscle.

  Jamie relaxed, thrilling when the head of Chad’s cock popped inside him. “You feel so good,” Jamie whispered.

  Chad nodded. “So do you.” He worked his way slowly, pushing in an inch or two, then pulling back again. He took his time, almost driving Jamie crazy, but Jamie understood, too, the want to savor this first time.

  When he was all the way in, he stopped, then caught Jamie’s lips. The kiss was soft, slow, and said so much. Jamie let his worries and fears out, his budding feelings and fledgling dreams, putting all of it into the kiss and the care of his mate. The emotions he got back from Chad took his breath away.

  When they broke apart, their eyes met, Chad’s wide. “Mate,” he whispered in awe.

  Jamie swallowed and nodded, reaching up and cupping Chad’s face. “Mate.”

  Chad closed his eyes and tilted his head, resting his cheek in Jamie’s palm. He opened his eyes again, then pulled out, and Jami
e felt every inch, swore he felt every vein, as Chad moved. He stopped with the tip still inside, hovering there before pushing back in again, not going any faster than before. The thrusts started slow, almost lazy, as they found a rhythm, learned each other.

  Jamie couldn’t tear his eyes away from Chad’s, the look of wonder too compelling. He gripped Chad’s shoulders, rocking his hips to meet his mate’s thrusts, thrilling when Chad moaned as the pleasure got to be too much.

  Jamie understood. Despite not even touching his dick yet, his climax built, pleasure he’d never experienced before taking over. He tightened his hands on Chad’s arms to keep himself from reaching for his cock. He wanted, needed, to make sure Chad was right there because he knew it would take very little to push him over the edge.

  Their movements sped up, their thrusts turning almost frantic as the need—need to feel, need to bond—drowned out everything else. Then Chad shifted and hit Jamie’s prostate.

  “Chad!” came out on a shout, and Jamie’s back arched in reaction.

  “Yes. That’s it, baby….” Chad’s sounds turned wordless briefly, and then he grunted, “Close.”

  Jamie’s hand flew to his dick of its own accord. He stroked himself swiftly, forcing his gaze to meet Chad’s. He nodded, unable to form coherent words, trying to make Chad understand he was right there.

  Apparently, his mate got the message. Chad threw his head back, shouted Jamie’s name, and his thrusts turned erratic. His cock swelled slightly, and Jamie felt the jerks as he came, filling Jamie with his cum.

  Jamie’s balls drew up at that, and a few seconds behind Chad’s shout, Jamie’s orgasm hit. At the same moment, he felt that pull—the same one he’d felt when they’d kissed the first time—and the connection between him and Chad got stronger. Something invisible wrapped around him, and his gaze met Chad’s as that something drew them together. The pull intensified, and Jamie felt new strands of their link snapping into place. As they did, emotion stronger than anything he’d felt yet from Chad slammed into him. Awe, want, and something else—something Jamie was a little afraid to name—filled him.