The Love He Squirreled Away (6 page)

“No,” Daniel replied. It wasn’t a lie, even if indirectly Soren had caused his stress. “It’s my own fault. I’m dealing with this all wrong.”

“Tell me, baby,” Soren answered. “Just tell me. Problems are always easier when you share them with someone.”

So Daniel told him. He spoke about his conflicting feelings, his fears over not being accepted by the pups and the pack, his inadequacies and the apprehension gripping him at the mere thought of their two families meeting. He poured his heart out until both his heart and his throat felt raw. But when he finally finished, he felt light and relieved.

Soren cupped his cheek and pressed a kiss to his temple. “Thank you for trusting me with this. I wish I could assure you it’s going to be okay. The truth is I don’t know what my pack will do. I talked to my father and I mentioned you. He seems receptive to the idea, and I don’t think he’ll be a problem. I’m convinced the pups are going to love you, though. After all, their father does.”

Daniel froze. He didn’t think that in all their time together, Soren had ever confessed his love. “You love me?” he squeaked in an embarrassingly high voice.

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“Oh, baby… I love you more than I ever thought possible.” Soren laughed lightly. “You know, if someone had told me how crazy and unpredictable love is, I might have even tried to avoid it. But you, Dani…You taught me anything is possible. We were made for each other. I’m sure of it.”

Dani had to bite the inside of his cheek again, but this time to stop the tears that threatened to fall. “I…I love you, too.”

It was hard to figure out when it happened. At first, it had been chemistry, physical attraction. But seeing Soren make sacrifices in order to ensure the safety of his pack, watching him help Shiloh and Liam, hearing him speak of the things he liked, listening to his laugh and simply reading the e-mails Soren sent—all of it conspired to make Dani fall hard. As squirrels said, he was nuts about the wolf.

And if half an hour or so back, the idea of a love hotel repulsed him, now Dani would have done anything for absolute privacy and a flat surface. He wanted his man so much it hurt.

Soren must have guessed his thoughts or perhaps smelled his arousal, as his eyes glazed with pure lust. He grabbed Dani’s hand and got up. This time, it was Soren’s turn to drag Dani along, and they headed out of the park and to Soren’s car. They climbed into the vehicle, and Dani barely had time to buckle himself in before Soren drove off. The wolf made an illegal U-turn, and the speed with which he drove caused drivers to honk angrily. It was only by some sort of miracle that no police car stopped them.

At last, Soren parked next to the first luxury hotel they could find.

Daniel undid his seat belt and readied himself to leave the car. Soren’s hand gripped his wrist before he could do so.

“I’m sorry about this, baby,” he whispered. “You deserve better.

But I promise you, we won’t have to hide any longer. After this meeting with Brody, I’ll take you to see the pack. We’ll be together at last.”

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Hearing his mate acknowledge his discontent should have broken the sexual mood. It didn’t. Instead, it soothed a part of Daniel that, even after two months, felt reluctant to trust.

“I know,” he answered with a smile. “Now come on. I want you.”

This time, Soren didn’t even try to stop him. They stumbled out of the car together and into the hotel. Daniel didn’t know how he managed to contain his eagerness while he waited for Soren to grab their room key. Thankfully, the wolf didn’t take long to wrap up the formalities. He pulled Daniel into the elevator and pressed the button for the third floor.

There were other people inside the lift, so Daniel couldn’t jump Soren like he wanted to. However, he did hold Soren’s hand, the mere warmth of the wolf’s palm both anchoring him and fueling his need.

Distantly, he acknowledged some of the humans giving them ugly looks, but he ignored them.

The elevator seemed to take forever until it reached their floor. At last, it stopped, the doors opening with a whoosh. Daniel and Soren immediately ran out. They found their room and, after some effort, burst inside.

From then on, Daniel surrendered to the heat and the passion and forgot all else. Soren’s hands traveled over his skin, getting rid of his clothing. Daniel didn’t delay in doing the same for Soren’s own clothes. Pants, shoes, jackets, and shirts landed on the floor, creating a trail of garments from the doorway to their king-size bed. At last, Soren pushed him down, and as Daniel landed on the soft mattress, he looked up at the wolf who was his mate. In the dim light filtering through the heavy curtains, Soren looked like an ancient god, strong, unfathomably fearless, pure lust carved into his chiseled, aristocratic features. His green eyes sparkled like emeralds, that needy gaze an almost palpable caress on Daniel’s skin.

Then Soren climbed onto the bed, bringing their bodies together, his scent engulfing Daniel’s in its unique, manly aroma. Unable to resist, Daniel reached for his mate. Soren complied to his silent
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request and crushed their lips together. The kiss Daniel had yearned for from the very moment he’d seen Soren that day was even better than he’d expected. Soren took and gave, his tongue thrusting inside Daniel’s mouth, exploring, tasting, driving Daniel wild. Daniel couldn’t help a moan as he surrendered to his mate’s onslaught. God, when Soren kissed him, it seemed every time got better. His weight on top of Daniel made him feel safe, protected, loved.

Much to his dismay, Soren broke away from him. His mate moved off the bed, and before Daniel could even ask what was wrong, disappeared into the bathroom. Fortunately, Daniel didn’t have time to surrender to any feelings of confusion or abandonment, as his mate reemerged, carrying the small tube of complimentary shampoo.

Anticipation coursed through Daniel as he watched his mate approach once more.

“Baby, I need you,” Soren murmured huskily. “I need you so bad.”

Soren jumped on the bed again and crawled over Daniel. For once, Daniel couldn’t speak. He just nodded and allowed his mate to maneuver him over the pillows. His body seemed to turn to putty as Soren lifted his legs over his shoulders.

Soren opened the tube and poured the liquid on his fingers. His slick digits explored Daniel’s nether region. Daniel whimpered as his mate rubbed his digits across his taint, sending shocks of pleasure over his spine. His entire body trembled with need, and his anus clenched around empty air, aching with the need for penetration.

“Soren…”

The wolf lowered his mouth over Daniel’s hard cock, and Daniel’s breath stuttered as wet heat engulfed his erection. The feel of the moist cavern around him and the delicious way Soren’s tongue trailed over his prick distracted him, so much so that he didn’t realize his mate had continued his explorations until two fingers penetrated his back passage. Soren crooked the wicked digits inside Daniel’s ass, and stars burst in Daniel’s vision when his mate hit his prostate. Oh,
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God… He was close, so very close. With Soren bobbing his head up and down Daniel’s cock and thrusting his fingers inside Daniel’s hole, he didn’t think he could take it much longer.

Daniel reached down for his mate, torn between the need to feel his mate inside him and the immediate desire to come. Thankfully, Soren didn’t torture him any longer. His mouth left Daniel’s prick, and he reached for the tube once again. The remaining liquid went over Soren’s cock, and then Soren positioned his prick at Daniel’s hole. In one single thrust, Soren slid inside.

The sudden invasion should have hurt, and to a certain extent, it did. The shampoo wasn’t exactly the best lubricant possible. Even so, Daniel’s body took it as a natural reaction, opening itself to both the pleasure and the pain. They molded together into a single sensation, no longer separable from each other.

As Soren began to push in and out of him, Daniel closed his eyes, allowing all his other senses to take over. He could hear his own pulse throb in the rhythm of Soren’s heartbeat. He could taste the lingering flavor of Soren’s kiss in his mouth. His mate’s cock stretched him so perfectly, and both his body and his soul felt full, overwhelmed with the onslaught of Soren’s passion. Perpetual warmth sizzled over his skin and he didn’t think he’d ever felt so connected to anyone in his life.

Soren’s hands clutched his hips as the werewolf increased the pace. His cock hit Daniel’s prostate, over and over, and Daniel’s world melted. Distantly, he heard himself muttering profanities, but he couldn’t have controlled himself if he wanted to. All his emotions, desires, and needs spilled over as the pleasure increased more and more.

Daniel didn’t know why he opened his eyes. A sudden feel that he needed to do so urged him in action, and he looked up at his mate.

Soren studied him, his green gaze gone almost black with sexual heat.

And out of the blue, Daniel knew what his mate wanted. He knew
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what was left to complete the bond, and he couldn’t think of any better idea.

On instinct, he tilted his head, offering Soren his neck. Soren’s lips traced over his collarbone, placing featherlight kisses that almost humbled Daniel. And then, sharp pain coursed through Daniel as Soren bit down. His mate’s fangs pierced his skin, and for one brief moment, Daniel didn’t know why he’d even wanted this. It hurt, and not in a pleasant way like when Soren fucked him.

But that thought evaporated in a flash when a wave of desire swept over him, so intense Daniel could barely hang on to his consciousness. He felt their connection snap into place, and it brought with it the most perfect and mind-numbing orgasm of his life. Daniel could practically experience Soren’s pleasure, feel his own body squeeze Soren’s prick and taste the flavor of his own blood in Soren’s mouth. It was, for the lack of a better word, divine, and Daniel came and came, his climax engulfing him in a wild whirlpool, with no end in sight. Heat filled him as Soren found his peak as well, and Daniel choked as renewed pleasure assaulted him. This time, he couldn’t remain conscious. His mind short-circuited and he floated over the clouds of nirvana, blown away by the sensations.

It was a familiar voice that brought him back to reality, a voice that, strikingly, seemed to sound in his head.
“Baby, are you all
right?”

“Yes,”
Daniel replied tentatively, thinking it rather than saying it.

“Soren?”

He opened his eyes to see his mate smile down at him. “We’re bonded now, baby,” the werewolf whispered. “Forever.”

Forever sounded like a good plan to Daniel. He beamed at his mate, reveling in their newfound connection. He’d have liked to come up with an articulate reply, but he found his eyes drifting closed.

“Love you,” he managed to say before he succumbed to exhaustion.

Through his sleep, he thought he felt the warmth of a light kiss on his
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lips and heard a murmured answer. “Love you, too, Dani. Love you, too.”

* * * *

A good distance away from the building, a man stood, waiting and watching. He’d seen the wolf manhandle his smaller companion into the hotel. When the couple didn’t come out, the onlooker gritted his teeth in anger and annoyance. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on in there. He wondered if he could get away with bursting in on them but decided against it. Now that he had the answer to all the riddles, his man, who should have been by his side for years now, would not delay in seeing the truth. He’d make sure of it.

After giving one final look to the hotel, the man turned away. He couldn’t linger here for much longer. He would be tempted to burst inside the building and separate the two. That would simply not do. If he wanted his plan to succeed, he needed to prove beyond any shadow of a doubt how wrong a wolf and a squirrel were for each other.

Nodding to himself, he headed back to his car, already figuring out the details of his idea. It wouldn’t be easy, but he’d get his man yet.

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“Don’t worry so much, Soren. It will be all right.” There was a smile in Carlie’s voice as she spoke. “Besides, Brody and his kids will be there. I thought you wanted to see them.”

Soren snorted and kept his eyes on the road. He did want to go see his brother, but things weren’t as easy as Carlie thought. Several factors complicated the situation. The first was the car trailing behind them. It held his father and elder, Kevin Wade. For the first time since an attack of a crazed she-werewolf almost claimed Brody’s life, the man would meet up Brody’s lamb mate, Carson. And then, there were the kids, the two shape-shifter children Brody and Carson had adopted and who were the main reason they were going there in the first place.

The second issue that weighed heavily on Soren’s mind was a certain squirrel shape-shifter he could not stop thinking about. He hadn’t been able to meet up with Daniel again since claiming him, and he still felt anxious at the knowledge that he’d meet up with the other man’s family.

“They’re not as bad as you think,”
Daniel’s voice came through their bond
. “They just love me. Once they see you care for me as well,
they will love you, too.”

“I hope so, baby.”
Soren mentally sighed.
“I hope so.”

He didn’t know how he’d handle his mate’s family, and he was even more unsure with Carlie there. Soren stole a look through the rearview mirror at his beta. Her belly was swollen with his children.

His children. Christ, one could go crazy thinking about that.

Sometimes it didn’t feel real, especially since he hadn’t slept with her.

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“We’ll be fine, Soren,”
Daniel whispered in his mind.
“We’ll
make it work.”