Paws for Change (7 page)

“Oh, my God,” Derek breathed. His pupils were dilated as he straightened, lifted his coffee to his lips, and downed nearly half of it. Still panting, he licked his lips, met Dillan’s gaze, and whispered, “No matter how much I try to tell myself it was just because I was hard up last night, I can’t get it out of my head. I loved how it felt to be touched by you, to touch you, and I get hard every time I think about doing it again.”

“You
can
do it again,” Dillan crooned. “Any time you want, I will give you what you need.”

“I don’t—” Derek paused his brows furrowed. “I don’t live here.
You
don’t live here. I—”

“Ah, but we could, right?” Dillan pushed. “We both have family here. We’d have each other. We wouldn’t be alone,” he pointed out. “What do you really feel is the trouble?”

“My parents. My dad says I’m engaged,” Derek blurted out. While that shocked Dillan, Derek continued with, “My mom will be devastated if I don’t go through with it. Ever since my dad disowned Deke, she’s been driving me to marry and have kids. I-I hate the woman. Jennifer Davidson. I never dated her, but I’ve always allowed my dad to control my decisions. I wanted to be a good son, to please him.”

Derek lifted his head and focused on Dillan, his expression bleak. “I made a mistake when I was in college. At least, that’s what he tells me. He has a police file that he bought off an officer to keep me from being charged with drunk driving and grand theft auto.” His face colored as he once again focused on his coffee. “I don’t really remember. There was a party.” Derek licked his lips, then admitted, “I don’t drink much anymore. A beer or two, like last night, is about it.” He scoffed and stared out the window into the woods and muttered, “I don’t even drink on the golf course anymore. You wouldn’t believe the shit that my clients and coworkers say after they’ve had a few drinks.”

“You don’t remember stealing a car?” Dillan ignored the rest of what he man said. That could all be dealt with. His mate had said he was a lawyer. If he ended up being charged with a felony, he’d lose his license. “What do you remember?”

Derek shrugged and shook his head before downing the last of his coffee.

Dillan quickly refilled his mate’s mug.

“Nothing,” Derek mumbled. He lifted his gaze to stare at Dillan. “Just like hundreds of dumb college students every year, I went to a kegger and drank. I was under age, only twenty at the time.” He sighed and glared into his coffee. “I woke up in the backseat of a car, halfway across campus. I don’t know how I got there, but when I woke up, my dad was already there with a cop and he ushered me home. I never went to jail, but any time I got close to fucking up, my dad was damn quick to remind me of the police file in his safe.”

Narrowing his gaze, Dillan tried not to show just how fishy that whole thing sounded. “Uh, how do you know there’s a file? Did you read it?” he ventured.

“No,” Derek muttered, sounding wary.

Dillan couldn’t help it. He had to ask. “Then how do you know there actually
is
a police file?”

“My father showed it to me once,” Derek replied instantly. He frowned at Dillan. “I’m not an idiot,” he snapped. Sighing, Derek stared at his mug as Dillan refilled it. “It’s too early for this conversation. Can’t we just talk about the elephant?”

Dillan snorted. “You’d prefer we talk about sex as opposed to why you think you can’t have sex with me?”

“It’s better than talking about my youthful stupidity that my dad still uses to blackmail me,” Derek grumbled. He closed his eyes and inhaled the coffee’s bitter aroma. Head bowed, Derek figured a man like the one across from him—a man with his life obviously together, who’d raised a child, from the sounds of it—probably thought he was being stupid. “You probably think I’m so young and foolish.”

“Young, yes,” Dillan responded softly. “Foolish, no.”

Derek felt Dillan’s hands wrap around his own where he gripped his mug. “Handsome and sexy, hell yes.” His voice lowered even more, taking on a husky tone. “So, we remove this file from your father’s possession and see what it truly says. Then, you can decide to do whatever the hell you want without his interference. How’s that sound?”

Jerking up his head, Derek opened his eyes to find Dillan’s face inches from his own. His green eyes appeared to glitter with the intensity of his stare. Dillan was close enough that with each breath he took, Derek felt the warm puff of air against his lips.

Derek wanted to lean forward and taste those lips, that mouth. Would it taste of the coffee they were drinking? Would his lips be rougher than a woman’s? Dillan had a thin goatee...how would that feel?

Wait, what were we talking about?

“Remove the file? H-How?” Derek whispered. “How would we do that? Why would you even want to get involved in my mess?”

A smile curved Dillan’s lips. “My family has a few odd quirks of our own,” he told him. “When we meet someone we like, we want to solve all their problems and to take care of them.” He leaned forward, closing the distance just a bit.

Upon hearing Dillan’s words, Derek scowled. “I’m a man. I’m supposed to take care of my own problems.”

Dillan’s brows shot up, then down again as his eyes narrowed. “Is that something your father says, too?”

Derek opened his mouth to deny it, except... “Uh, yeah.” Damn, why hadn’t he thought of that?

“Getting help from friends does not make you any less a man, Derek,” Dillan stated firmly. “It just means you have a good support system. Friends. People who care about you.” He grinned. “Hell, to do this, I plan to ask for help from an old army buddy of mine.”

“You were in the army?” That would certainly explain this man’s fit form and confidence.

“I was,” Dillan confirmed. “I’ll tell you all about it another time. Right now—”

Dillan didn’t finish his thought. He lifted his hand from where it still rested around Derek’s own. Before Derek had a chance to miss Dillan’s touch, the older man cupped his jaw. Dillan closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to Derek’s.

While Derek had wanted just that, he still gasped in surprise. He felt Dillan lap lightly at his bottom lip, playfully almost. Part of Derek, the part freaked out by finally giving in to his buried desires, wanted to pull away. The rest of him, the part desperate to feel close to someone, to soothe the loneliness he’d battle for so very long, urged him to grab Dillan and deepen the kiss.

The second voice won.

Derek lifted his left hand and mirrored Dillan’s move, cupping his jaw. Tilting his head, he opened wider and slipped his tongue out to touch against Dillan’s own. He lapped at the other man’s appendage, then thrust his own tongue into Dillan’s mouth.

Dillan’s masculine taste burst across Derek’s taste buds. He moaned at the deep flavor and swept his tongue around his new lover’s mouth, wanting more. He felt Dillan slide his own tongue against Derek’s, tangling them together.

Moaning into the other man’s mouth, Derek pushed harder. He pulled the other man’s tongue into his mouth and sucked the appendage, reveling in the combined flavors of man and coffee. The taste enflamed his blood, sending it roaring south to his prick. Hard as nails in seconds, Derek’s engorged cock throbbed almost painfully, soaking the front of his borrowed sweats with pre-cum as he battled aggressively for control of the kiss.

Derek nipped at Dillan’s bottom lip. He sucked Dillan’s tongue. He released the appendage as he slid his hand from Dillan’s jaw into his hair. He tightened his grip on the short strands and tugged.

Dillan grunted.

Jerking back, ending the kiss, Derek stared at the man. He’d worried he’d hurt him, but seeing the passionate glaze over Dillan’s eyes eased his concern. Dillan was enjoying this just as much as Derek was.

“Holy shit,” Derek whispered. “Never kissed anyone like that.”

Dillan grinned, seeming to ignore how his head was kept at an odd angle by Derek’s hold. “You can kiss me like that anytime, handsome.”

“Hell, yeah,” Derek growled.

Derek began to lower his head to renew their passionate lip lock. Upon hearing the sound of a vehicle approaching, he paused and frowned. “Who?”

“I made a few calls after we separated last night,” Dillan explained. “My godson and his husband stopped by around six this morning and picked up your keys. That’s probably them, bringing your vehicle here.” He cleared his throat and gave him a sheepish expression. “I was going to tell you, but we got a bit distracted.”

“I liked the distraction,” Derek blurted out. Feeling his face heat, he released his hold on Dillan’s hair and straightened. “Uh, sorry.”

Dillan released Derek’s jaw and straightened as well. “Don’t apologize for something we both enjoyed,” he chided softly. “Come on. Let’s get food cooking.”

“Uh, I don’t suppose you have larger sweats or a shirt?” Derek asked, looking down at his erection tenting the fabric. He adjusted himself and cleared his throat. “Um, so they don’t, uh—” His face felt like it was on fire and he couldn’t finish his thought.

Dillan nodded. “I washed your jeans and shirt. They’re in the back room there, if you want to change,” he said, pointing toward a room behind the kitchen.

Derek nodded. “Thanks,” he said.

He quickly strode through the kitchen and into what appeared to be a mud room. Seeing his clothes folded on the dryer, he picked up his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. He tucked his thumbs into his waistband and prepared to pull it over his erection and off, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

Looking to the right, Derek saw Dillan leaning against the counter. He had his arms crossed over his chest and he blatantly stared at Derek. Upon seeing Derek looking at him, Dillan grinned and lifted one brow.

Derek recognized a challenge when he saw one. Dillan wanted to know if he’d strip in front of him. Narrowing his eyes, Derek held his gaze as he pushed the sweats down, kicking them off his feet.

Dillan licked his lips, his gaze focused on Derek’s erection. Derek’s body responded instinctively to that look. He felt his cock twitch as a bead of pre-cum oozed from him. Derek ached to grab his erection and stroke himself to completion.

“Oh, that is such a pretty, pretty sight,” Dillan rumbled just loud enough for Derek to hear. “I want to suck you like a lollipop, Derek. I bet your cum tastes better than your kisses.”

Derek shuddered at Dillan’s words. He gripped his cock and jacked himself once, twice, unable to help himself. Need surged through him. Need to experience exactly what Dillan offered.

Growling, Dillan pushed away from the counter and stalked toward him. His green eyes glowed and his own erection tented his sweats. “Tell me
no
now, Derek,” he stated gruffly. “Because once I get my hands on you, my mouth on you, I won’t stop until I drink you down.”

Unable to find his tongue, his mouth dry with anticipation, Derek just stared at the man.

Dillan kicked the door closed, enclosing them in the small room. He hummed softly as he closed the last couple of feet between them. With impressive fluidity, Dillan lowered to his knees at Derek’s feet.

Holding up his hands, Dillan reached toward him. He paused, his fingers an inch from Derek. “Last chance,” Dillan whispered harshly. “Once I taste you, I won’t let you go so easily.” His green eyes were heavily dilated with his own want. “I will give you so much pleasure, fulfill your desires, you won’t ever want to leave.”

Swallowing hard at Dillan’s possessive words, Derek finally found his voice. “Wh-What about your guests?”

“They will wait outside until I invite them in,” Dillan responded confidently. He placed his palms on Derek’s hips, using his thumbs to trace the muscular vee at the base of his abs. Dillan lifted his gaze and met Derek’s eyes. “Tell me you want to be mine.”

Derek’s heart thudded in his chest. Want unlike anything he’d ever experienced filled him. Something in the man’s sure touch, the strong cut of his jaw, and his steady gaze told Derek that Dillan would fulfill his word.

“Yes,” he whispered, unable help himself. He wanted what this man offered more than he needed air to breathe. “I want to be yours.”

“Soon,” Dillan vowed. “You will be.”

Derek groaned when Dillan opened his mouth, stuck out his tongue, and swiped it over the crown of his cock. The warm, mobile appendage moved across his sensitive flesh, sending tingles down his stalk and through his groin. He moaned as goose bumps spread over his skin.

Lifting his gaze, Dillan peered at Derek through his lashes. A smile curved his lips around his tongue. Then, he leaned forward and swallowed Derek to the root.

Derek shouted as Dillan’s mouth encased his throbbing dick in warm, wet, sucking heat. When Dillan drew partway off him, Derek instinctively bucked. He sank his prick back into the man’s pleasure-giving heat.

Dillan hummed, and Derek moaned upon feeling the older man vibrate his cock. Tightening his grip on Derek’s hips, Dillan’s fingertips dug into his skin. When Dillan slowly drew off Derek’s cock, this time, he held him steady.

Panting hard, Derek stared down at where his prick stretched Dillan’s mouth. His shaft gleamed with the man’s spit while his head remained lodged in Dillan’s mouth. His lips curving obscenely around just Derek’s flared head, Dillan smiled up at him. Then, he sucked...hard.

Derek shuddered at the feel of the power behind Dillan’s suckling. He felt as if the man were trying to pull his cum from his balls and his dick was the straw. When Dillan pressed his tongue to the wrinkled flesh beneath his cap.

Pleasure-pain erupted through his cap, causing Derek to grunt. The base of his spine tingled, sending a zing of pleasure up his spine. Derek reached behind him and grabbed the dryer for want of something to hold onto.

Dillan released his hips and opened his mouth, allowing Derek’s cock to slip from between his lips. A line of spit stretched from his mouth to the tip of Derek’s cock as it bounced up. When it slapped against his abs, the strand broke.

Derek found his tongue. “Wh-Why?” He thought his voice sounded whiney, but he couldn’t help it. He’d been so close. Dillan’s mouth felt far better, looked far more amazing, than any woman’s...ever. “Wh-Why’d you stop?”