Bitten By Mistake (24 page)

Whatever changes were happening to Jared’s body as the full moon approached, enhanced strength seemed to be one of them. He pinned Nathan’s arms with ease, then held his hands above his head and fucked him hard and fast until Nathan was desperate to get a hand on his cock and come.

Jared’s taut stomach brushed over Nathan’s length with each thrust, a teasing hint at the friction he craved. The room swam with the heady smell of sex and sweat. Their own scents mixed in to form a cocktail that drove Nathan wild. He sucked in great lungfuls of air, greedy for it, and his heart thundered in his chest at the sensory overload.

“So close…,” he breathed, and tried to tug his hands free from Jared’s grip. “Touch me.
Please
.”

Jared moved quicker than Nathan was expecting and the sudden pressure on his cock took him by surprise. Two strokes of Jared’s hand had Nathan crying out and coming, pulsing over his belly and his chest. Still riding the high of his orgasm, Nathan tilted his head to the side, hooked his fingers in the top of the collar, and tugged it down as far as it would go. “Do it.”

Jared surged forward, his body tensed, and he buried his face in Nathan’s neck biting down hard as he came.

It hurt—
fuck
—but the pain came on the edge of the pleasure still coursing through him, and Nathan moaned as the two combined and made his toes curl.

His heart raced, but a solid warmth filled his chest as Jared lay sprawled on top of him, licking over the bite mark he’d just made. Nathan felt connected to him on a level they hadn’t reached before, and for that one moment, he got a glimpse of what a true bond would be like for them. And fuck, he wanted it so bad. Then Jared moved onto his side, and whatever held them together began to slip away despite Nathan’s desperate attempts to hold onto it.

Jared frowned at whatever look was on Nathan’s face. “Hey, you okay?” His gaze dropped to the collar. “Want me to take it o—”

“No.” Nathan’s hand shot up to cover it. His fingers caught on the tender skin above it and he winced. “I like it.”

God, he was blushing now. He didn’t know how to explain it, but for now he needed that collar to stay right where it was.

Jared smiled at him, and Nathan noted with interest that he was also blushing. “I like it too.”

Nathan woke up to an empty bed. His hand immediately went to his throat, and then he remembered they’d taken the collar off before settling down to sleep. He was glad. Last night been… intense. Both of them needed some sort of reassurance that they were in this together and that for now, at least, no one could come between them. This morning a lot of that urgency, that need, had faded. God, Nathan was so sick of the constant up and down. It left him feeling empty in places, and he rubbed at his chest to ease the ache. He’d noticed he did that a lot these days.

Noises and smells coming from the kitchen had him up and out of bed, because that was Jared talking, and Nathan doubted it was to himself. His brain was foggy after so many late nights and too little sleep; that must be why he hadn’t sensed a stranger entering the flat. That sort of behaviour led to mistakes and inevitably trouble. Nathan needed to be better, more alert. He needed more sleep and less sex.

He reached up to touch the spot where Jared had bitten him. The skin had healed over now, but Nathan still felt the throb of where Jared’s teeth sank in. He shivered at the memory and breathed in, sighing at the combined scents that surrounded him—nowhere near as concentrated as his flat, but enough to make him smile.

Theirs wasn’t the only scent he picked up on, and his smile disappeared with the realisation: human male.

Nathan barely resisted storming in there to see who it was. Jared was laughing and talking, so clearly this someone was a friend. That had better be all he was.

A few slow measured breaths and calm thoughts later, Nathan was fairly certain he could go into the kitchen without killing anyone. He’d even put on a pair of boxer briefs. Granted that was as far as he’d got in getting dressed, and he cast an appreciative glance at himself in Jared’s full-length mirror. Thank God for shifter genes. With a smug smile—maybe Jared had a point about the arrogance—Nathan opened the bedroom door and headed towards the kitchen.

Let’s see how you measure up to this.

“Morning.” Nathan waltzed in through the open door and leaned against the frame with a confidence he didn’t entirely feel, because Jared’s visitor measured up extremely well. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”

If he emphasised the
friend
part, then so what.

Jared rolled his eyes, but his gaze travelled the length of Nathan’s body and the slightest increase in his breathing made Nathan smile and his dick stir under the attention. He made no attempt to hide it. “This is Seb.”

Seb smiled at him, and also gave Nathan a thorough once-over. “Nice to finally meet you.”

Something in his voice told Nathan that wasn’t strictly true, but Seb leaned forward to shake his hand, so Nathan acquiesced. He stepped back and then moved closer to Jared, who until then had made no move towards him.

For Nathan, the urge to touch had increased with Seb being there, the presence of a rival male triggered all his possessiveness and then some. Maybe their connection wasn’t all that strong for Jared this morning? As soon as he touched Jared’s cheek, and drew him in for a good morning kiss, Jared melted against him with a low moan that bordered on a growl.

Christ, I hope Seb didn’t hear that.

Nathan had only meant it to be a quick kiss, something to ease the wolf under his skin, but Jared surged forward and pushed him up against the kitchen counter, holding on to Nathan’s hips.

Nathan was hard, his cock pressed into Jared’s belly as they slowly ground against each other. This was the welcome he’d been after. Maybe he could coax Jared back into the bedroom for—

Seb pointedly cleared his throat and Jared startled as though he’d forgotten Seb was there.

Nathan grinned and glanced over Jared’s shoulder at him. “Sorry. He’s kind of hard to resist in the morning. Or at any time, really.”

Seb smiled back at him. “Yeah, I remember.” He radiated satisfaction, his grin only widening as Nathan glared at him.

“Careful.” Nathan’s voice dropped to the deep menacing rumble of his half-shift. Letting go of his control for just a second, his jaw began to slowly lengthen, the excruciating pain worth it for the way Seb’s eyes widened in fear and he took a stumbling step back.

Jared tweaked one of Nathan’s nipples, hard. “Stop it.” With a shake of his head, Nathan was back to normal, and he kissed Jared, soft and lingering. “Now go and get ready. I thought you were meeting Luke soon?”

Nathan cursed as he noticed the time, glanced at Seb, and palmed Jared’s cock through his jeans. “We’ll come back to this later.”

He winked and then turned and headed back towards the bedroom, shouting “Nice to meet you too, Seb” over his shoulder as he went.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Jared watched Nathan’s boxer brief–clad arse as he left the kitchen, sorely tempted to leave Seb and follow him to the bedroom.

“Seriously?” Seb grumbled and kicked Jared in the shin.

When Jared turned to look at him, he found Seb glaring at him with an incredulous expression. “What?”

“
What
?” Seb jabbed a finger in the direction Nathan had just gone. “Am I the only one who thought that was not only a little fucking weird and creepy, but so far out of character for you that I’m starting to think you’re a pod person.”

Jared opened his mouth, then closed it, not sure that anything he could say would help matters. The bite and subsequent bond had taken over his life, to the point of shutting everything else out. He was so used to his whole world revolving around Nathan that he’d forgotten how that might look to outsiders. Especially his best friend.

Shit.

He tried for nonchalance and shrugged. “I like him.”

Seb’s eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. “
Like him
? I’d say it’s more like you’re infatuated with him.
Jesus
, J, last time I saw you, you fucking hated shifters with a passion even I thought was over the top… and now look at you! For a second there, I thought you were going to go at it right in front of me.” Jared blushed, because he thought so too. “And then he almost
shifted
—in your fucking kitchen! And what do you do? You pat him on the chest and tell him to stop it as though he was teasing and not threatening to change into a fucking violent animal.”

Seb was breathing hard by the time he finished, and Jared clung to the counter in an attempt to calm the instant surge of anger the rant had evoked.

As it was, the words came out through gritted teeth. “He’s a man, not a fucking
animal
. He wouldn’t have hurt you, for fuck’s sake. I really like him.” Something else threatened to slip out, but Jared swallowed down the words. No way was he saying that when there was every possibility his feelings might be the result of some weird shifter magic. “And he can also hear every word you’re saying. So while you’re in my house, please try and be civil, even if you can’t be nice.”

Seb stared at him as though he was looking at a stranger. “What the hell has he done to you?”

Nathan chose that moment to walk out of the bedroom. The door shut with an ominous slam. He appeared a couple of seconds later, towel in hand, and fixed Seb with a serious expression. “Nothing he didn’t want me to.” Then he was gone.

Jared had the sudden urge to shout “What about the bite, I never wanted that!” but he bit his lip to stop the words coming out. That would have made everything a hundred times worse. Thank God his neck had healed and Seb couldn’t see the evidence.

Seb sighed. “Look, I just came by on the off-chance you were here and to check you were actually okay and not being held captive somewhere.”

Jared couldn’t help it; he laughed.

“Yeah.” Seb narrowed his eyes. “I can see how you might find that funny.” Sarcasm dripped from his mouth. Jared shook his head; he could hardly explain that at the beginning it was
exactly
like that. “Anyway, you seem fine—physically. Your personality change is a little hard to wrap my head around.”

“I am fine, and Nathan is different. I wish I could explain that.”

“Me too.” Seb scrubbed a hand through his hair and closed his eyes for a second. “I’d really like to catch up properly, but I can’t talk to you while he’s here.” He glanced in the direction of the bathroom and narrowed his eyes.

Jared wanted to defend Nathan again, even though two weeks ago he would have felt the same as Seb.

Stupid fucking bond.

“He’s going out soon, we can talk—”

“No. I think I need some time to get used to all this.” Seb waved his hand around as though encompassing Jared’s everything. “Will you be here tomorrow afternoon? Alone?” he added before Jared could answer.

Nathan wouldn’t like it, but tough shit. Seb was his best friend, and he needed to make sure they were okay. “Yeah. I’ll get Nathan to go out for coffee or something.”

Seb snorted. “I can just picture that.”

“I’ll think of something.” Jared smiled and walked over to wrap Seb into a hug. “I’ve missed you. It’ll be good to catch up.”

Seb hugged him back, not letting go for several seconds. “Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Jared walked him to the door. “I’ll text you when the coast is clear.”

“You do that.”

He locked up after Seb left, and he slumped against the wall with his eyes closed.
Fuck.
Until now, he’d managed to keep this
thing
with Nathan sort of separate from his real life, but Seb’s visit had served to remind him that soon it might not be an option. The twelve days until the full moon seemed both a lifetime away and far too fucking close. “Ugh.”

Jared sensed Nathan’s approach rather than heard it, and wasn’t that weird. Another item to add to his ever-growing list. So the hands that cupped his jaw came as no surprise, just a welcome warmth that calmed his nerves and soothed his growing anxiety.

“You okay?” Nathan rested their foreheads together and his scent surrounded them—delicious and familiar.

“Hmm… you smell like me.” Jared slipped his hands around Nathan’s waist and pulled him closer. “And you’re already dressed. That was quick.”

“All that chit-chatting with your friend made me late. I had to rush.”

Jared barked out a laugh and opened his eyes to find Nathan grinning at him. “He’s my best friend, please try and play nice next time.”

Nathan groaned. “There’s going to be a next time?”

Jared opened his mouth to say that if Nathan intended to stick around then of course there was going to be a next time. But come May 21st that might not be true at all. His heart did its all-too-familiar swoop at the thought of not having this anymore, and Jared prayed that if the bond did go with the full moon, that he wouldn’t remember any of these feelings. He settled on “Possibly.” Nathan grimaced as he tugged his jacket on, and Jared sighed. “Look, we can discuss Seb later. You need to go persuade Luke not to report you… us… the whole sorry mess.”

“Yeah. Not looking forward to that.”

Jared spoke before he could change his mind. “Why don’t you bring him back here? It’s more private than anywhere else you could go, and I can answer any questions he might have for me.”

Nathan looked sceptical. “Are you sure?”

No. Jared didn’t relish the idea of having two shifters in his home, especially when one was liable to be extremely pissed off, but maybe Luke would be less likely to get angry with a human present. And as much as Jared tried to ignore it, he was worried about Nathan meeting Luke on his own. Not that Jared would be much help in that department, but he would feel better with Nathan close. “Yeah.”

The grateful smile Nathan sent made him believe he wasn’t alone in thinking that.

“I’ll be back in half an hour.”