Page 7

Ulkna pressed a second lubed finger into Trey’s channel, stretching the shifter swiftly. His erection throbbed, and his balls ached. He feared he would come before he even managed to get inside his lover.

Been so fucking long.

Even with the taste of Trey on his tongue, Ulkna’s mouth watered for more. Only realizing his mate had begun to feel uncomfortable had made him stop sucking the man’s delicious prick. He’d tasted so good, and he’d been the perfect mouthful.

Ulkna had always enjoyed giving head, and he had the sneaking suspicion that sucking Trey would quickly become a favorite pastime.

Won’t mind that a bit...bet he won’t either.

Sliding a third finger into Trey, Ulkna refocused his attention on readying his lover. The tight, wet heat called to him. His body felt primed, and he shivered with need. Ulkna burned to bury his erection as deeply inside his mate as humanly possible.

“I’m ready, damn it,”

Trey declared, using his grip on Ulkna’s upper arms to try to urge him up. “Take me.”

Only too happy to go along with that demand, Ulkna nodded as he eased his fingers out of Trey’s chute. He knee-walked forward while gripping his erection, spreading the remaining lube along his length. Ulkna paused between Trey’s spread thighs and rested his weight on his left hand as he used his right to guide his cock head to his mate’s stretched hole.

Ulkna pecked a light kiss to Trey’s lips before softly urging.

“Push out, my mate.”

Lowering his head, he nuzzled his temple against his lover’s.

“Let me in.”

His body practically vibrated with anticipation.

“Push,”

Trey encouraged, slinging his right leg around Ulkna’s upper thighs. Exerting pressure, he urged him forward as he huskily whispered.

“Get that hard dick in me.”

With a moan, Ulkna did as requested. He pushed. He hissed when Trey’s guardian muscle gave way, and his cock head slipped inside his mate’s passage. Zings of blissful fire shot down his cock, making his balls ache, and they threatened to tighten embarrassingly fast.

Gritting his teeth, Ulkna thrust, sinking deeper. He froze for a heartbeat, taking a shaky breath, hoping to center himself. Once Ulkna felt as if he had the slightest semblance of control, he eased backward a little before reversing. In one long, steady glide, he buried himself as deeply as possible.

When Ulkna’s balls pressed against Trey’s ass crack, he stilled and reveled in the exquisite heat encasing his erection. A shudder worked through him as he fought his body’s need for release. His breath came in raspy pants as he reached between them and gripped Trey’s hard cock.

“Tell me I can move,”

Ulkna grunted out. Sweat popped out on his brow as he fought for control. With his body shaking, he pleaded.

“Pleeeease.”

“Fucking move,”

Trey demanded, rocking up to grind his ass against Ulkna’s groin.

“Fuck me, damn it.”

Letting out a whine of relief, Ulkna eased his cock nearly all the way out. He immediately reversed direction and slammed back into his mate. Ulkna moaned Trey’s name as he began pounding into his lover, unable to stop now that he’d started.

“You feel soooo good,”

Ulkna moaned.

“So damn good.”

Ulkna’s gut clenched, and his body felt on fire as his control waned. He did his best to strip Trey’s prick in time with his thrusts, but with his brain fritzing out from the ecstasy coursing through his system, he wasn’t certain he succeeded. Just as Ulkna feared he would tumble over the edge before he’d satisfied his lover, he heard Trey’s bark of pleasure, felt his chute clench around him, and the way his body jolted beneath him.

The scent of Trey’s seed filled the confines of the tent, yanking Ulkna over the edge. Slamming deep, he groaned deeply as his balls squeezed up to his body in exquisite bliss. His senses soared, and spots danced across his vision. His cock pulsed as he poured burst after burst of seed into his lover.

“My mate,”

Trey murmured, his tone full of possessiveness that thrilled Ulkna to the bone.

Then Ulkna felt it, the touch of Trey’s teeth on the flesh where his neck met his shoulder. On instinct, he tipped his head to the side. His mate took that as the invitation it was, and he sank his canines into his flesh.

Ulkna cried out as bliss-inducing tingles swamped through him. When his second orgasm hit, he moaned with the ecstasy of it. His mouth watered, and his snake urged him to return the favor.

Mirroring Trey’s position, Ulkna did just that. He sank his teeth into his lover’s flesh. The sweet iron-rich flavor of Trey’s blood flowed across his tongue. As Ulkna swallowed one mouthful, then sucked for a second, his snake hissed in his mind, and he completely agreed.

Mine. My mate. He’s all mine.

Once his brain came back online, Ulkna eased his teeth free of Trey’s flesh. He licked over the bite mark, admiring the snake-like fang scar. A sense of possessive pride swelled through him, and Ulkna couldn’t help but smile.

“Feeling smug, my mate?”

Trey asked in a teasing tone.

Ulkna lifted his head and met Trey’s gaze. Seeing an answering look of satisfaction in his mate’s deep brown eyes, he grinned.

“As if you’re not.”

Craning his neck a little, Ulkna tried to see the claiming scar Trey had left on his neck, but he couldn’t seem to get the angle right.

“Wish I had a mirror.”

Trey chuckled. Lifting his head, he bussed a soft kiss to Ulkna’s flesh, to the scar, sending a wash of tingles up his neck. When he lowered his head, Trey winked at him.

“It’s there.”

“Hell, yeah, it is,”

Ulkna replied breathlessly. With a scoff, he muttered, “Wow.”

Ulkna dipped his head and pressed a languorous, sipping kiss to Trey’s mouth. Feeling the drying cum between them begin to itch, he brought it to an end. He couldn’t help but stare at his lover for a few more heartbeats, just admiring the handsome, larger male. Trey was just too damn good-looking—well-muscled and rugged, tanned and tone.

“You’re something else, Trey,”

Ulkna purred as he eased his softening prick from his mate’s chute.

“I’m so damn blessed.”

“I feel the same,”

Trey assured, teasing his fingertips along Ulkna’s spine, as if he couldn’t get enough of touching him.

Ulkna didn’t mind that one little bit. It’d been decades since he’d had anyone touch him in such a way, with kindness and affection. Ulkna figured he was the definition of touch-starved, and he knew the man Fate had brought him would help fix that.

“Let me get something to clean us up with,”

Ulkna stated, needing to care for his mate. With a wink, he added.

“Then we’ll cuddle and talk while regaining our strength so you can fuck me.”

Trey chuckled, just as Ulkna had hoped.

“Well, you certainly won’t have to twist my arm for that.”

Laughing too, his heart feeling light, Ulkna exited the tent to track down some cleaning supplies.

“I’ll be waiting at the paddocks when you get done this evening,”

Ulkna assured as he walked with Trey through the trees. The rising sun’s rays barely filtered through the trees, but his shifter vision made the going easy. With a chuckle, Ulkna admitted.

“It’ll be a hell of a wait.”

Now that Ulkna had found and bonded with his mate, he hated the idea of being separated from him for any length of time, let alone ten-plus hours.

It won’t always be like this.

Even as Ulkna gave himself that mental reminder, Trey squeezed his fingers where they held hands.

“I’ll be missing you, too, my mate,”

Trey told him with an understanding smile. After a second of hesitation, he added.

“But it won’t be for much longer.”

Ulkna wasn’t certain if Trey was referring to his job as a trail horse or not. Their future was the one thing they hadn’t discussed. By some unspoken agreement, they’d both steered clear of that subject.

We have time.

“We have time to figure all that out, Trey.”

Ulkna repeated his thought, doing his best to reassure his lover.

“Nothing has to be decided today.”

Spending the evening with Trey, listening to his stories, Ulkna had realized just how important family was to his mate. His parents were still alive, and he was in touch with most of his nieces and nephews. His great niece and nephew, on Trey’s nephew Colton’s side, had known him as their regular uncle, since Colton had chosen not to share shifters with his wife and children. As a human who fell in love with a human not in the know, Colton had seen no reason to introduce the world of the paranormals to them.

Trey had been saddened, but he understood. The human life span was so much shorter than a shifter’s.

Instead, Trey would watch Colton’s son and daughter grow up through pictures with the occasional chat with his great-nephew. With the rest of the family, he made a point of seeing them as regularly as his trail mount schedule allowed. Reagan helped a great deal, aiding him in keeping his secret and still being able to see family.

“What are you going to be doing today?”

Trey asked, changing the subject.

Yup. He’s not ready, either.

“I figure I’ll—”

Hearing raised voices as they approached the paddocks, he snapped his mouth shut and listened.

“Who the hell would do this? And why?”

“How the hell should I know?”

another man answered gruffly.

Ulkna didn’t recognize the voices, so he turned his attention to Trey and arched a brow in silent question.

“That’s Silas and Dwayne, two of the wranglers,”

Trey told him, pulling away and starting to strip.

“I don’t know why they’re here so early.”

Realizing their time was at an end, Ulkna placed the backpack on the ground and opened it. He took Trey’s clothes. As he shoved them into the pack, he listened to the guys’ continued conversation.

“I’ll call the cops,”

the first man stated, his voice heavy.

“Down four horses. Can we still accommodate our scheduled rides? Or do I need to run to the ranch?”

“Yeah, today’s scheduled rides are pretty light, but we probably won’t be able to accommodate any big walk-up groups,”

the other man replied, sounding resigned.

“Can’t believe this shit happened. I’ll pull the security footage.”

“Security footage?”

Ulkna whispered, alarmed.

What if they’d seen Trey shift the night before?

“I know where the blind spots are.”

Trey gave Ulkna’s hand a squeeze before lowering to a crouch.

“No one ever sees.”

Ulkna nodded once, then frowned.

“Someone stole some of your horses?”

Trey shrugged.

“Guess so.”

Then his mate began to shift. Fur sprouted on his skin as his body expanded. The sounds of muscles popping, bones snapping, and tendons cracking filled the air, and Ulkna winced, hoping the wranglers wouldn’t hear it. Trey’s head reshaped as his tail and mane sprouted, and Ulkna admired his horse form.

He really is a handsome animal.

“Hey, what’s that noise?”

one of the guys asked.

“Shit,”

Ulkna mumbled. Whipping off his belt, he wrapped it around Trey’s newly formed neck. He slipped the tab into one of the holes so it wouldn’t tighten, then he hung onto the tail end as if it was a make-shift lead rope. When Trey’s big brown eye focused on him, Ulkna told him.

“I think they’re coming this way. Let’s wing it.”

Trey gave him a horsey nod, then began following him docilly as Ulkna led him through the trees.

One way or another, Ulkna would see what was going on.

Exiting the trees, Ulkna began rounding the paddocks with Trey in tow. He spotted the pair of men. One of them was on the phone, and the other was frowning in his direction. His eyes widened when he saw them, and he smacked the other guy’s stomach before heading toward Ulkna and Trey.

“Morning, guys,”

Ulkna greeted, heading their way.

“Uh, I found this guy wandering the woods near where I was camping this morning.”

Doing his best to smile harmlessly, Ulkna shrugged.

“I remembered riding him yesterday. Must have an escape artist on your hands.”