Rick's Reluctant Mate (3 page)

Chapter Three

Still in wolf form—it just seemed easier to
stay furry these days—Jordan paced his small living room and wondered how best
to handle the idea of Ricky dropping out of college. It had seemed pretty clear
to Jordan that his mate often knew more than the people teaching him, but as he
understood it, an education was necessary for a person to make their way
successfully in the human world. It made sense for Ricky to at least finish the
course and have the formal qualifications.

Yet he could also understand his mate's
frustration. It was clear that he knew more than enough to be working for
Alateeka Protection Services right now.

But if Ricky left college and moved to
wherever APS stationed him, where did that leave Jordan? He doubted the good
folks at APS would be impressed to have a werewolf hanging in the shadows
protecting a man they were more than capable of keeping safe.

Hell, in many ways it was the best option
for Ricky.

Jordan was willing to die to protect his
mate, but when he was gone who would take his place?

He was so immersed in his own swirling
thoughts he nearly missed the approach of his human. Ricky was running fast,
his heartbeat racing double time as he climbed the stairs to Jordan's
apartment. Fuck, something was wrong.

Frantically he scented the air, unable to
identify if Cali was with Ricky or not.

He changed into human form, threw the door
opened, raced into the hallway naked, and quickly dropped to all fours. He'd
disabled the surveillance camera on this floor a long time ago, but it was
still a stupid move to change shape in a public area.

It seemed especially stupid when he came
face-to-face with his mate only to have the man point for him to go back into
his apartment. Confused by the lack of panic, and even more confused by Ricky's
scent, Jordan followed his mate into the apartment and then turned back into
his human form.

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Jordan asked in a
voice rusty from disuse.

"That you tried to kill Noah?"

Jordan dropped his gaze to his feet,
swallowed the lie that wanted to leap from his lips, and nodded his answer.

"Why?"

He shook his head, not wanting to explain.
He'd had reasons at the time, but none of them excused the fact that he'd been
wrong.

"Jordan?" Ricky asked.

He was standing less than a foot away, looking
at Jordan from his taller-than-last-time height. The soft touch of warm fingers
against Jordan's jaw made him ache for all the things he couldn't have.

"Please explain it to me, Jordan."

"I made the wrong choice," he
said, wanting this conversation over and done with. He'd always known he wasn't
good enough to claim this man as his mate, but he'd also not wanted Ricky to
know how horrible a person he really was.

"Noah has forgiven you."

Jordan winced. "I don't know why. Any
other alpha would have killed me for what I did."

"And yet, Noah saw enough to not only
forgive but to trust you as well."

Jordan had no explanation for that either,
so he decided it was time to take control of this situation. The last thing he
needed was to be so distracted that he left his mate in danger.

"Where's Cali? Is she okay?"

"Cali is outside," Ricky said,
gently touching Jordan's chin until he was looking directly into his mate's
eyes. "She knows why I'm here, and she will keep us both safe while we
sort this out."

"Sort what out?" Jordan asked,
trying not to shudder when Ricky ran his long, slender fingers down the side of
his face and then curled them around the back of his neck.

He gasped at the first gentle touch of
Ricky's lips to his, and had no chance of smothering the soft moan when
instinct had him pushing his tongue into his mate's mouth and caressed him
intimately.

Jordan hadn't even realized they were moving
backward until he felt the solid wood of the front door press against his ass.
Fuck he'd dreamed of this man for a couple years now, but his wild imagination
was nothing compared to the reality of having Ricky in his arms.

Fuck, he wanted to tear the man's clothes
away and kiss every inch of him, worshipping his body the way Ricky deserved,
but the never-ending onslaught of sensations left Jordan breathless and
hopelessly aroused.

When warm fingers wrapped around his hips,
holding on as Jordan ground their groins together, Jordan was sure he'd go mad
with need.

But it was when his mate dropped to his
knees in front of him and immediately took Jordan's cock to the back of his
throat that Jordan knew he had to be dreaming. He dropped a hand to Ricky's
head, running his fingers through his mate's hair over and over, trying to
distract himself from the fact that this wasn't going to last long. He wanted
more, he wanted longer, he needed his mate, but more than all of that, he
needed the memory of being with this man.

Fuck, he wasn't worthy, he never would be,
but he'd take what Ricky so freely offered, build memories to last for a
lifetime, and then he'd somehow find the strength to walk away.

~*~

Rick could barely believe he was doing this.
He'd planned a slow, deliberate seduction. Despite his worry that Jordan would
try to push him away, he'd been confident of success, but the feel of Jordan's
cock in his mouth was beyond anything he'd ever imagined. He licked over the
soft flesh, savoring every single sound of pleasure that escaped his mate's
lips.

He started moving faster, increasing the
suction as his own need swelled through him, his cock pressing hard against the
zipper of his jeans. He moaned when he felt Jordan's fingers in his hair, but
it was the sharp tug when he tried to pull Rick away from him that made him
growl in frustration.

He dug his fingers into Jordan's ass cheeks,
stubbornly increasing the suction of his mouth, doing everything he could to
dissuade Jordan from using his werewolf strength to move him away.

"Ricky, I can't… I'm…I'm going to
come," Jordan said breathlessly, but he'd already stopped trying to move
away. The hands in Rick's hair were no longer pulling, but caressing,
exploring, urging him ever closer.

Rick moved a hand to Jordan's balls,
carefully rolling them in his palm as he increased his frantic sucking. He
moved his other hand to the base of Jordan's cock, and then caressed his
fingers over the thick vein on the underside and back up to the head, wriggling
his tongue against the slit, gathering the pre-cum, savoring Jordan's flavor.

He yelped as their positions suddenly
reversed. He barely got Jordan's name off his lips before he was groaning in
pure need. Holy fuck, his mate had a seriously warm mouth.

Gasping for air, Rick's hips moved
convulsively as pure passion and instinct took over. He was thrusting hard into
his mate's mouth, moaning continuously as Jordan encouraged him to move faster,
harder, to press deeper into his mouth.

Rick shuddered as his orgasm exploded, his
cock pumping cum into Jordan's mouth as he swallowed convulsively. He caressed
his tongue over Rick's sensitive flesh, moaning in delight when Rick
sighed
his name and they slowly slid down the door.

Careful not to hurt him, Jordan released
Rick's cock from his mouth and then pressed kisses to each inch of flesh he
could reach as Rick collapsed into his arms in slow motion.

"Fuck," Jordan whispered on a deep
exhale of air.

"That's the plan," Rick said with
a soft laugh.

~*~

Despite what Jordan might have wanted from
his mate, he'd never actually entertained the thought that Ricky might be the
one to push him beyond endurance. His entire body shook with excitement just at
the idea of sliding his cock deep into Ricky's ass. He nearly hyperventilated
when Ricky produced a small tube of lubrication, smeared some onto Jordan's
cock, and dropped to his hands and knees, his jeans and underwear pooling at
his calves as he presented that beautiful ass for Jordan's taking. Violently
shaking all over, Jordan spread lube over his fingers, and then reached for
Ricky's ass.

Grinding his teeth to maintain at least a
tiny bit of control, Jordan also dropped to his knees and then moved closer to
his mate. Ricky jolted at the first gentle touch against his hole, but Jordan wrapped
an arm around his waist and held him tight, unable now to bear the thought that
his mate might pull away. He knew he was much stronger, that despite Ricky's
slightly taller frame and gym-enhanced physique he was no match for a werewolf,
so he was even more pleased when Ricky moaned and pushed his ass onto Jordan's
fingers instead.

"That's it, Jordan," Rick
whispered encouragingly. "I've wanted you for so long."

Jordan was panting hard, but he nodded his
understanding even as he gently pushed his fingers inside, Ricky's anal muscles
opening to allow a deeper penetration.

He had a moment of worry when Ricky pulled
away, but when his mate pushed his ass higher into the air for him, all the
breath escaped Jordan's lungs. He hurriedly spread more lube over his cock, and
then draped himself over his mate's lean form.

He wanted to slow down. Fuck, he wanted to roll
his mate over and see his face, but Ricky was ready for him and Jordan was at
the end of his control. He barely managed to push his cock into Ricky's heat
before instinct threatened to take over. Dragging in a ragged breath, Jordan
pulled his cock out a little, and then gently slid back in, thrusting carefully
again and again as imagination and reality finally merged. But Ricky started
pushing back onto his cock at the same time he rammed forward, fucking him
harder and harder with every stroke. Every sensation magnified, every touch
burned, every need he'd ever had clambered to be slaked. Again and again he
drove into his mate's ass, taking him, claiming him, marking the man as his as
he finally gave in to his own needs and pumped his cum deep inside Ricky's ass.

Ricky cried out, his muscles squeezing
around Jordan's cock as he too gave into his body's needs and moaned out his
second orgasm.

~*~

Jordan closed his eyes and tried not to
regret everything they'd just done, but now that his ardor was cooling and his
physical need was satisfied, he could see his actions for the selfish behavior
they truly were.

Even now he wanted to bite his mate, to
claim him for all eternity, to ignore every mistake he'd ever made and hold on to
a man he didn't deserve.

But Ricky was young, and human, and he had
no idea how the world worked. Even if Jordan could find a way through his own
guilt and have some sort of peace, no one in Lupinville would approve of their
mating. Hell, the way Cody had reacted to the news that Jordan was protecting
his son was only the beginning of the censure Ricky would face. Even Aiden,
Jordan's closest friend for over a century and a half and a werewolf who knew
better than anyone else the type of failure Jordan truly was, would be appalled
by his behavior now.

Jordan tried not to flinch away at the soft
kiss on his upper arm where it was still wrapped around his mate.

"Did I hurt you?" Jordan asked in
a concerned tone when he moved slightly and Ricky flinched.

"No," Ricky said slowly,
"well nothing beyond what I was expecting for a first time."

The reminder that his mate had been a virgin
sure as fuck didn't help with the guilt he was feeling. "We shouldn't have
done this."

"Too late," Ricky said, sounding
quite happy.

Jordan tightened his hold on Ricky before
easing them both onto their sides on the floor, his softening cock still inside
his mate as he held him close. Yet the longer he held on, the more his guilt
grew.

"You should probably go get cleaned
up," Jordan said as his cock finally slipped from Ricky's ass and he
carefully moved away from his mate. Fuck, just separating this far made his
heart ache with need, but he had to be strong. He had to do the right thing.

~*~

Rick could barely contain his joy. It felt
incredible to finally be with Jordan. Yeah, in many ways the only thing they
had between them right now were casual conversations and some hot sex, but Rick
planned to change that. He knew what mates were in werewolf terms, and as
unfair an advantage as that gave him as a human who didn't feel the same
instinctive pull, he fully intended to use every chance nature granted him to
make sure he and Jordan had a happy future together.

But when he walked back into the main area
of the apartment and found Jordan fully dressed and waiting for him with a sad
smile on his face, he knew something had gone horribly wrong.

"I'm sorry," Jordan said as Rick
self-consciously dragged his clothes back on. "I should have been
stronger. I shouldn't have let things go this far."