Sailing Deep (14 page)

              Blake was immensely relieved that Dylan had allowed him to stay on the bed. Something about him right now stirred up a protective instinct in Blake. It didn’t matter that their relationship was fake, to his instincts and to his heart, Dylan was his mate. And his mate was in pain. It made him feel anxious. There was nothing he could do, but it made him feel better to be close in case Dylan needed him. As ridiculous as it seemed.

              They relaxed in silence for the rest of the night. It was a comfortable silence for the most part, but the later it got, the more anxious Blake felt. He was determined to let Dylan speak first, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to stick to it. When they turned off the lights and the TV and settled into bed to sleep, Dylan still lay on his side with his back to Blake. Blake turned to face him, eyeing the distance between them with some distaste. He hated it.

              “Are you okay?” He finally asked into the darkness. There wasn’t a response for a long time. Long enough that Blake was starting to think that he had fallen asleep. But then there was a shifting of the covers and Dylan spoke.

              “Yeah,” He whispered, his voice hoarse with disuse.

              Blake waited for more, but Dylan said nothing else. So he continued. “Is it … bad?”

              “Yes,” Dylan said without hesitation.

              Blake cringed. “I’m sorry.” He said though the apology seemed hollow like it wasn’t enough. He reached out hesitantly and put a hand lightly on Dylan’s shoulder. He stiffened at first, but instantly relaxed, much to Blake’s relief. “I really am.” He continued softly.

              “I know,” Dylan muttered. To Blake’s surprise, he put a hand on Blake’s and tugged it forward, forcing him to scoot forward until he was close. He wrapped Blake’s arm around his waist, holding his hand to his chest. “Be careful.” He warned grumpily as Blake got into a comfortable spooning position.

              “Yessir.” He said. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling. This acceptance was exactly what he needed to calm his nerves. He was careful not to touch or jostle Dylan too much.

              “That goes for next time, too,” Dylan said sternly. Blake could hear the grimace in his voice though it sounded like he was pouting more than anything. “Be more careful.”

              Blake lifted his head off the pillow, trying to see Dylan’s face, but the man had his face hidden. Blake blinked in surprise, a slow grin spreading across his face. “Next time?”

              “Don’t get cocky,” Dylan grumbled.

              Blake chuckled, settling back down to the pillow and settling down for sleep. He squeezed Dylan’s hand and was happy when he squeezed his hand back.

              Everything might just go as planned.

              Everything did not go as planned.

              A week passed with surprising bliss. Dylan healed quickly, both physically and emotionally. Blake wasn’t sure what he had done, but Dylan was even more receptive to his advances. He no longer shied away from his touch, and he no longer tensed when Blake surprised him with a kiss. It encouraged Blake to push the limits further. His touches became less innocent and playful, and more insistent and explicit, silently asking for permission to go further. Dylan rarely stopped him.

              Even when they were in public or with friends, Blake would test Dylan’s limits by touching him sensually beneath the table or behind their friends’ backs. Dylan responded in kind, willingly, leaning into the touch. It was encouraging enough that Blake was starting to think the line he had been so afraid to cross no longer existed.

              Still, Blake moved forward cautiously. He didn’t want to ruin this opportunity to finally make Dylan his. Even when Dylan encouraged him to touch him, Blake took it slow. He didn’t even consider penetrating him until he had fully recovered. As such, he took as many opportunities as he could to pleasure the man in other ways. They made out in the back stairwell. He pulled Dylan into his lap in the surveillance room and teased him until Reggie came back from his break. They showered again together, and Blake got on his knees and pleasured him with his mouth until Dylan was whimpering and begging for release. He found any and every opportunity to please Dylan, pleasuring him two to three times a day. Dylan often complained that he was sucked dry and couldn’t possibly get hard again. Blake saw this as a challenge and often proved him wrong.

              But it wasn’t just Blake who was making advances. After a few days of hesitant acceptance, Dylan stepped up his own game. He turned several situations back around on Blake, much to his surprise. Dylan sucked him off in the elevator, despite the very real possibility of getting caught. One night when they sat around a table playing games with Lucy and Marcus, Dylan rubbed him beneath the table with his foot until he was uncomfortably hard, and he had kept a straight, innocent face the entire time.

              And it wasn’t just physical pleasure that had changed. Dylan had relaxed enough to actually seek out Blake’s touch. It no longer seemed like a strained, purposeful movement. It was something unconscious. Something he did because he craved Blake’s touch, not because he wanted to keep up the charade. He wasn’t even sure if Dylan noticed the change. He didn’t seem to. He would lean toward Blake, casually run his fingers along his hand or arm, shift so they were closer, and accept Blake’s touches whenever he reached for him. Blake didn’t call attention to it, but he saw the moments when Dylan seemed to realize what he was doing. He had never been very good at hiding his thoughts. They showed on his face clear as day. He seemed confused with himself like he was surprised he was acting like this toward Blake. Like it surprised him that it was so natural. But the moment always passed, and he would once again lean into Blake’s touch.

              It was in moments like that when Blake caught a glimpse of the mischievous boy Dylan had once been. Blake had always dreamed those glinting hazel eyes would turn on him. He had been so jealous that they had always looked at his brother. He wanted them to look at him with amused mischief as he planned to pull him aside to steal a moment of privacy. He wanted them to look at him with desire as they had looked at his brother. And now that they did, Blake could hardly believe it. When Dylan turned his gaze on him, his eyes open and trusting and loving, Blake felt his knees go weak, and his stomach flip as his blood pounded straight to his groin.

              His brother hadn’t appreciated Dylan the way he should have. Blake wouldn’t make the same mistake.

              When Dylan had recovered from Blake’s first ravaging, Blake made love to him again. This time, he was slow and methodical. He treasured each touch, each sound. Dylan made the sweetest sounds. Just like he had trouble hiding his thoughts from his face, he had a hard time keeping the expression from his voice. It had a mind of its own as he moaned and gasped under Blake’s pleasure. He had always loved those sounds. He had heard them through his walls when they were younger, and he had fantasized of the day those sounds would be because of him. They were as sweet and sexy as he imagined they’d be.

              He spent more time than necessary getting Dylan prepared. He stretched him slowly, teasing him at every step. He didn’t stop until Dylan was begging and pleading and he was so wet that he was practically leaking. Blake then flipped their positions, laying on his back and placing Dylan above him. Dylan had looked uncertain and confused as he straddled Blake’s hips. Blake just smiled serenely up at him, stroking his thighs with his hands. He told Dylan to go at his pace. And then, because he couldn’t resist, he had said, “Ride me, seadog.”

              And he had. Dylan took control of the situation with more certainty and eagerness than Blake had expected. He lowered himself onto Blake, his head tilting back as he let out a long moan. When Blake was fully in, Dylan stopped, letting his body adjust to the size. He had planted his hands on Blake’s chest, fingers slightly curved into his flesh as he started to lift and lower himself. He went slowly at first. So slowly that Blake found it hard to resist taking control of the situation and simply fucking the man good and hard. But he did resist because he was giving this moment to Dylan. He owed him that much.

              Once he was adjusted, Dylan wasted no time picking up the pace. He rode Blake long and hard, repeatedly thrusting himself down onto Blake’s eager erection. His movements became erratic like he wasn’t able to keep up the pace, and his breathing was labored. He leaned forward, hovering over Blake’s chest. He was slowing, tiring, and Blake would have none of it. His fingers curled into Dylan’s hips, and he used the leverage to repeatedly pull him up and down again in time with his wildly thrusting hips.

              Dylan came with a shout, spilling onto Blake’s stomach. In his orgasm, he tightened around his shaft, and Blake came seconds later, letting out a choked moan as sparks danced behind his eyelids. He put a hand on the back of Dylan’s head, pulling him down into a rough kiss as his hips rocked with the aftershocks of his orgasm. When they were done, Dylan lifted himself off of Blake, and they both collapsed onto the bed, content to merely catch their breath. When their heart rates had returned to normal, Blake carried Dylan to the bathroom and set him in the shower. They washed each other thoroughly enough that they came again. They stayed up late that night waiting in the laundry room for their sheets to finish washing.

              Unfortunately, a week of bliss was all Blake got before work interrupted his happy fantasy.

              It came in the form of an offhanded comment from Reggie.

              Blake blinked in surprise, looking up from his game of Tetris. Reggie was sitting back in his chair, his laptop on his lap and his feet up on the deck console. “The what now?”

              Something about what Reggie had said had set off alarms in his head, but he hadn’t been paying attention enough to remember what the man had said. He was too busy thinking about Dylan. They were out running the new patrol routes today, and he wouldn’t be back until late. Blake was proud of him for having proved himself enough and gained enough trust to have been at the meeting where they drafted the new routes. He had carefully maneuvered everything, so the routes stayed away from his SEAL team’s base. Then he had prepared copies for Blake to send to his team via an encrypted file.

              “The blood moon? It’s this next full moon. Didn’t you know?”

              “I guess, but I’ve never really thought about it. Why? Is it special?”

              Reggie stared at him blankly for a moment, then he blinked and snapped his fingers. “That’s right; you haven’t been with us for that long. And last blood moon Arulean went to her pack.”

              Blake raised an eyebrow. “Her?”

              “Yeah, her. Arulean’s mate
,
Lyphnia Scarlet.”

              Blake nearly choked. He sat up straight and gasped at Reggie. “Arulean has a mate?!”

              “Well, yeah.” Reggie was unsurprised.

              “Why haven’t I heard anything about this?”

              He shrugged. “No one likes to talk about it.”

              “Tell me,” Blake demanded.

              “There’s not much to tell. You know how we have longer lifespans than humans? Yeah, well dragon shifters have even longer than that. They live for centuries.”

              Blake nodded. “I know that much.”

              “Well, turns out they also mate for life.” He put out a hand, stopping Blake’s comment. “Now I know, a lot of us say that. And usually, when we call someone a mate, we mean a serious long term commitment. But when a dragon shifter calls someone a mate, it means they’ve gone through this bonding ritual. I don’t know much about it, but I’ve heard it’s super serious. Like, once in a lifetime. Arulean can’t get rid of her, even if he wanted to. And no one really knows if he wants to.” Reggie shrugged again. “It’s all super-secret and mysterious dragon shifter business.”

              “So …” Blake started, still trying to digest this new information. He didn’t know much about dragon shifters. Few did. They were the oldest and rarest of the shifters. And they liked to keep mostly to themselves. Few people ever actually met one. Blake wouldn’t have if he hadn’t joined the Shadow Pack. “Arulean’s mate is coming here?”

              Reggie nodded, he had already turned back to his computer. “Yeah, every blood moon they get together. Not really sure why. I’ve heard it’s something about dragon shifters needing to mate during a blood moon. Kinda like, how we need to shift during a full moon. But that could just be a rumor. Either way, they trade off who goes to who every blood moon. This time, it’s her turn to come here.”

              “You say ‘her’ like you don’t like her,” Blake observed, sitting back in his chair. He watched Reggie intently.

              “Most of us don’t. She’s … different, from Arulean.”

              “How so?”

              “Arulean does the whole dark, brooding, mysterious sorta thing, you know? But he really does mean well. I mean, he set up the Shadow Pack to give shifters of all breeds and all ages a place to live with one another.”

              Blake nodded. He remembered the few times he’d spoken with the man. Arulean made an intimidating picture, and he gave off an aura that commanded respect and obedience. He found it hard to keep his charming and teasing persona when around the dragon shifter. But Arulean had surprised him by being amused by Blake’s words. When he cracked a smile, he lit the room with a warm and comforting presence. Blake was there to keep an eye on him and to determine whether or not he had a hidden agenda. One thing Blake knew for sure was that Arulean did care. He made a point of meeting all the members of his pack, and he tried to learn about all of them. He was scary to approach, but he knew how to put people at ease if he wanted to. Blake admired his skills and aspired to be that good. He had yet to make an attempt to see Dylan, but they had also been avoiding him. When Blake had arrived, he made a point of meeting Arulean as soon as possible, but it still had taken weeks to get the time.

              “His mate is … well, she’s … a bitch. For lack of a better word. She has her own pack holed up in Russia somewhere and from what I can tell, she runs it like a dictator. She once brought a bunch of ‘em here to mingle with us, and let me tell ya, I hope she never does that again. They were all rude, abrasive, and mean. All their snide remarks and sneers. Their alphas looking at our omegas like they were nothing but their next meal, and their omegas looking at our alphas like they wanted to rip us apart.” He visibly shivered. “I actually ran that night with my tail between my legs. Three omegas chased me, and I wanted nothing to do with them. But they wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

              “So what you’re saying …” Blake said slowly. “Is that she’s trouble?”

              Reggie snorted and nodded. “Oh yeah, she tries to stir up trouble whenever she’s here. I swear, she looks at us like we’re pigs lined up for the slaughter, and she’s just waiting until we’re fat enough to eat. She always looks disappointed in us.”

              “Is she dangerous?”

              “Probably, but Arulean keeps her in check. She wouldn’t dare do anything too nasty as long as he’s here.”

              “Why don’t they live together?”

              Reggie laughed bitterly. “Hell, if I were Arulean, I wouldn’t want to live with her either. I have no idea why he mated with that woman. She must’ve been some kind of looker centuries ago. No, but seriously, I think it has something to do with their personalities. They can’t stand each other long enough to actually live together. So they started up their own packs and mostly keep out of each other’s business. Except for when the blood moon calls.”

              Blake leaned back in his chair, head tilted back as he looked up at the wall of screens. He didn’t really see them, though. He was too busy thinking. “Is there anything I should know before she gets here?”

              “Stay out of her way. The more you can avoid her, the better.”