Lone Wolf Pack 04.1 - Bonded to His Werewolf Lover (3 page)

When his orgasm came, it took Val completely by surprise. The pleasure simply built up, layer after layer of ecstasy drawn out of him by Nate's sinful mouth—and suddenly, it was all too much, too good, too overwhelming. Crying out his lover's name, Val buried his cock deep into Nate's mouth and fell over the edge.

By some miracle, he managed to stay conscious and was rewarded for this feat by the sight of Nate gulping down every single drop of his cum. If he hadn't just orgasmed, Val was pretty sure that view would have given him the extra push he needed for it. As it was, by the time Nate released his over-sensitive shaft with a wet pop, Val was already half-hard again.

Usually, after an orgasm, he wasn't particularly inclined to do anything more. He got off and that was it, nothing special, no fireworks. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy sex, but it had never made him feel like this. His body was lax with the slow burn of the afterglow, but at the same time, he still needed Nate, needed to feel the man inside him, fucking him, taking him, propelling that heat everywhere.

Nate must have been of a similar mind, because he licked his lips wickedly and spread Val's legs. Some of Val's brain cells started to work, and he managed to blurt out, "Condoms."

Nate froze and looked at Val like he didn't understand. The expression cleared Val's mind of some of the haze of lust. He hoped protection wouldn't be issue. Some gay men were really into bare-backing, even if it was dangerous—especially between people who'd just met. God, he should have known Nate was too perfect.

"Right," Nate said before Val could work himself into a real panic. "I... I think I have some."

Unlike Val, Nate hadn't taken off his jeans, so he rummaged through his pockets. Staring at Nate's trembling hands, Val felt guilty when he realized Nate was probably just as dazed as him. The condom thing had kind of broken the moment, and Val was again beginning to wonder at his own actions. After all, if Nate had forgotten this time around, maybe protection wasn't all that important to him.

Nate released a victorious sound as he finally retrieved a condom from his back pocket. He turned his attention on Val once more. Val wasn't ready for it, and his emotions must have shown on his face more than he'd have liked, because Nate's face fell. "Baby? What's wrong?"

Val wanted to explain. He opened his mouth to do just that, but the words didn't come out. He couldn't even pinpoint exactly why he was so unsettled, and that scared him even more.

As it turned out, silence was a reply in itself. "If... If you changed your mind, I understand," Nate whispered.

Val bit his lower lip. He didn't want to be a cock tease, and maybe he was making a mistake by not trusting Nate, but he hadn't had much luck with boyfriends in the past. They always used him, either for money, or for sex, and he'd already jumped into far more with Nate than he usually did.

He didn't have the courage to say all that, though, because he'd been the one to ask Nate here, and he was embarrassed by the fact that he was backing out at the last moment, when he'd already come. He was fairly certain there might be some sort of unwritten rule that said such behavior was simply not kosher.

Nate was still hard, so obviously the man's interest hadn't faded. An idea popped up in Val's head. He reached for Nate's jeans, deciding that he could at the very least give Nate a hand job after how good Nate had made him feel.

Before he could go through with his plan, though, Nate caught his wrists. "It's okay." Nate shook his head. "Don't."

Val's embarrassment increased even more. He remembered their conversation from the bar, thought about how well they'd clicked and mentally cursed. God, he'd really ruined this. Nate probably hated him now, as much as Val hated the awkwardness that had descended between them. And it was all because he couldn't get over his doubts. Fuck.

"Stop thinking so hard," Nate interrupted him from his mental rant. "There's no reason to rush into anything you're not ready for."

He didn't sound upset, not anymore. In fact, he was smiling gently. It made Val feel even worse, but it also burned a new decision inside him, one that shoved back his fear. He needed to show Nate how he felt. He'd already fucked this up so badly, but if he let things end this way, he would lose something that had the potential to become so much more. "I... I'm sorry. It's not sex I have a problem with. I told you my past romantic exploits haven't been brilliant. My last boyfriend simply wanted me to support his expense accounts." Before he could stop himself, he blurted out everything, all his insecurities, his pain and loneliness. It wasn't even something he intended, but it just came out naturally, like a flood. When he finished, he felt drained, but he finally dared to look at his lover. "I guess I don't trust easily."

He didn't know what reply he expected from Nate. After all, who would want someone with that much baggage? Instead of pushing him away, though, Nate gently cupped his cheek. "How about we try something different?"

"Something different?" Val repeated lamely.

"Yeah. Let me do this right." He brushed his lips over Val's forehead, then his cheek, his nose and his eyelids. "Let me take care of you. I want to wine and dine you, the whole thing. What do you say? Want to try?"

Val would have gaped if not for the way Nate's caresses were making him melt. "I'd like that. I don't live here, though," he mumbled. "It'll be hard."

"It's okay. Let me worry about that." Nate kissed his lips and pulled away. "I'm going to take that as a green light for my idea," he said as he reached for his shirt.

Val said nothing. This entire encounter had swept way past the point of his control and understanding, so he nodded. He didn't want Nate to go, he realized, but maybe it was better this way. Maybe Nate was right and they should try dating instead.

He managed to pull his jeans on too and led Nate to the door. "I'm sorry about this," he whispered as Nate stepped outside the house.

"You don't have to be." Nate's grin was honest and open. "Just make sure you're ready tomorrow at eight. I'm coming to pick you up. Got it?"

Nate's enthusiasm was infectious, so Val forgot to feel any sort of apprehension. "I'll be waiting," he said with a smile of his own.

He was still smiling when he returned to his bed and slid under the sheets that still smelled like Nate. So maybe this wasn't ideal. It would have been better to fall asleep in Nate's arms. But in the long run, this could be good for them. This could be a step forward for a real relationship, to finally have something Val had always craved for. Yes, it was worth it to wait. At the end of the day, it would pay off.

A month later

Nate passed a nervous hand through his hair and stole a glimpse at the clock for the nth time in the past minutes. Still half an hour to go until Val was supposed to arrive for their date. He took a sip of water and sighed.

He'd given a lot of thought on how to tell his mate about his nature. He hadn't tried to have sex with Val ever since that first night, and he knew his mate felt somehow apprehensive about that. Val had deep-rooted insecurities that went even beyond what he'd told Nate that first night. Val's position and upbringing had caused quite a number of assholes to approach him, and their lies and gold-digging ways predictably made Val wary of anyone new and sabotaged his self-esteem. Nate had been very tempted to track those bastards down, but his mate was more important than them.

And so, Nate had done his best to assure his mate of his genuine feelings, and it usually worked—when they were together. In between their dates, though, Val tended to over-think things, and often his doubts would rear their ugly head. He tried to hide it behind a mask of normalcy, but Nate saw past it.

Today was their one-month anniversary, and Nate knew he had to be honest with his mate if he wanted to keep their relationship. He picked up the bouquet of wildflowers from the seat next to him and stared at them, uncertain. Maybe something more traditional would have been better. Roses. Orchids. Moon be blessed, Nate wasn't used to getting flowers for anyone, but he'd followed his heart with the wildflowers. What if his mate didn't like them?

Oh, who was he kidding? The wildflowers weren't the issue here. He was going to tell Val he wasn't human, for crying out loud. If something was going to be a deal breaker, that would definitely be it.

Nate shook himself and focused on getting his heart and his breathing under control. This was stupid. They loved each other. Besides, he couldn't hide the truth from Val forever. He might not carry STDs or any human diseases for that matter, but that didn't mean their having sex couldn't bring consequences. The Simmons family was notorious for knocking up their very male and very human mates, and Nate didn't know if a condom could prevent it or not. He'd been an idiot to even consider intercourse that day, but he definitely would not make the same mistake twice.

He was still musing over how to approach the issue when he felt his mate's approach. His wolf perked up inside him and he had the urge to meet Val half-way but he didn't. He waited patiently—or at least, as patiently as he could.

He was rewarded for his efforts when Val finally appeared, led to their table by the maître d'. This time, Nate couldn't contain himself. He got up and brushed a kiss over Val's lips. "Hey, baby."

"Hi," Val replied, sounding somewhat breathless. "Those for me?"

At first, Nate didn't know what Val was referring to, but then he followed his mate's gaze and realized Val had spotted the wildflowers. "Yeah," he said as he retrieved the flowers from the seat. "Picked them myself."

And moon be blessed, that sounded ridiculous and awfully corny, but Val was used to him saying strange things. He laughed lightly and took the bouquet from his arms. "Thank you, Nate. They're beautiful."

Nate received his reward in the shape of another kiss—chaste, more of a peck really, but one that still reassured Nate tremendously. It was with a great deal of reluctance that Nate agreed to let his mate go, but he did it nonetheless, reminding himself that he had all this planned out. Wine and dine Val, just like he'd said, and then come clean. No problem.

Of course, things couldn't possibly go his way, not at all. Nate wasn't the only one who'd learned things during the past month. It went both ways. By now, Val knew him very well, and he saw straight through the facade of calm Nate was attempting to project.  "Nate? What's wrong? You look agitated."

The words 'I'm fine' were on Nate's lips, and he almost said them. At least until he got a good look at Val's face and realized meaningless reassurance would be futile. He reached for his mate's hand and squeezed it. "I know you've been worried about us, about our relationship. I just... There's something I've been planning to tell you, but I'm not quite sure how you'll take it."

"Oh my God, you're cheating on me." Val freed his hand from Nate and shot to his feet. "I knew this was too good to be true. Guys don't just wait for their boyfriends to be ready for sex. Fuck, I'm so stupid."

He was already walking away, muttering under his breath and not waiting for Nate to explain. By the time Nate snapped out of his pained trance, Val had passed the confused waiter who'd been coming to take their order. Thankfully, Nate was nothing if not very fast, and very convinced of the love he felt for Val.

He grabbed Val's arm before his mate could leave the restaurant. "Stop, Val, please. Just listen. It's nothing like that. I would never cheat on you."

Much to his surprise, Val did stop. He took a deep breath and faced Nate. "I... I'm sorry." He released a disgruntled huff. "That was childish. I don't know what the hell is wrong with me. Could we maybe talk about this someplace else? I have a feeling I already ruined our date."

His mate had obviously been more stressed about this than Nate had even realized. He mentally kicked himself for dealing with the issue so poorly. Already this was going far worse than he'd expected—and that was quite a performance indeed.

"Okay. Maybe we should talk first, and celebrate later. How does that sound?"

Val shot him a weak smile. "Better. Makes me think there will be something to celebrate."

Nate suppressed a wince, since he had no idea if that was the case or not. Truth be told, their relationship was in Val's hands, not his own. But he couldn't debate this here, and while he'd originally wanted to prepare Val for the conversation with gentle reassurances, that had obviously not worked.

"Give me a moment. I'll be right back."

He went to see the maître d' and made their apologies for having to cancel their dinner. Since this was a very fancy restaurant—nothing but the best for Val—it wasn't actually very nice of them to depart just like that, but Nate left a generous tip as compensation. Hopefully, they'd return a different time, in a different mood.

A few minutes later, they were on their way. Since they'd arrived in their respective cars, they had to go their separate ways, which was painful, especially under the circumstances. Nate wished he hadn't chickened out and just met with Val at his place from the very beginning.

Val was the one to drive off first. Thankfully, his mate headed to his house, which was good for two reasons—it would provide them with the privacy they needed for this conversation, and it meant his mate still wanted Nate close.

Nate parked in his now familiar spot, down the road from Val's own car. This wasn't the first time he'd visited Val's townhouse, and he'd always liked it. It was spacious, without being ostentatious, and it had a very distinctive lived-in feel. Everywhere he looked, there were signs of Val's presence, of his interests and life.

When Val guided him inside, Nate's wolf stopped pacing so restlessly, reassured by the comfort of their familiar surroundings. But then, Val turned toward him, fixing Nate with piercing, unrelenting eyes. "All right. You've been hiding something. I can tell. No more beating around the bush. Whatever you want to tell me, I can take it."

Despite his previous resolve, Nate didn't immediately leap into the conversation. "You know I love you, right?" he asked instead.