Page 9

Chapter Nine

Y ael took his time in the shower. That's why he didn't see the text right away. Two minutes hadn't gone by before he heard knocking on his front door.

Then he heard Eryn yell, "I got it."

Yael finished pulling up his pajama pants before racing down the hall to the living room.

Eryn stood in the doorway. "Whoa. Who are you?"

Simon grinned. "You must be Yael's little brother."

Eryn gave Simon the once over, scanning Simon from head to toe with his eyebrows raised. "You know my brother?"

"I plan on getting to know him a lot better." Simon met Yael's gaze over Eryn's head. "Hi, beautiful."

Eryn used his body to block the doorway, but he grinned. "Is that right?"

"Eryn Michael Joseph, let him inside." Yael met Simon's gaze with what he hoped was an apologetic smile. "I apologize."

"You didn't tell him about me yet?" When Simon smiled, it transformed his face, smoothing out all his rough edges. He could have been on the cover of a magazine modeling leather jackets advertising his biker gang. He would have fit the rugged biker type and model type all at the same time.

Eryn sucked in a breath. "Are you here to loosen up my uptight brother? Because he needs it."

Simon scowled. "Did you just call me a prostitute?"

"If I say no, will you refrain from killing me?" Eryn grinned.

If he knew what one of Simon's income streams was, he probably would have taken his question more seriously.

And Yael needed to intervene in a bigger way before Simon answered. Depending on what he said, Yael's protective instinct toward Eryn would kick in. Simon was his mate. He had a protective instinct toward him as well. They would make Yael certifiable if he didn't stop their banter.

"Let him in, Eryn." Yael rolled his eyes as he repeated himself.

Eryn stepped aside, making way for Simon. "Come into our home, stranger who I don't know. My brother says it's a good idea to let you in, so I guess I have to."

Simon grinned as he closed the distance between them. He cupped Yael’s cheek. "It feels like forever since I've seen you last. Every minute feels like a day."

"Wow. That’s an impressive line." Eryn said it as if he were taking notes. And then he plopped down on the sofa. Thankfully, he didn't upend the bowl of popcorn he'd set there before answering the door.

Simon growled. "It's the truth."

"I feel the same." Whenever someone had talked about the mating pull, Yael had always thought they exaggerated. Experiencing it for himself made him realize they had really downplayed it. Being away from Simon was agonizing.

Eryn grabbed the popcorn bowl and watched them as if they were his entertainment.

Yael met his gaze. "Good night, Yael. I'm going to bed now."

Eryn sighed and stood. "Fine. Before I actually do say good night, can I please know who your ‘friend’ is?" He made air quotes when he said the word friend.

Yael wasn't ready to introduce them. They just met. Gavin might have put in a good word for Simon, but he still had a few reservations. But Simon was here, and it would be weird not to acknowledge him as his mate.

"Eryn, this is Simon. My mate."

Eryn's mouth dropped open.

"Everyone calls me Skippy. Good to meet you, Eryn." Simon definitely turned on the charm.

"Why would people call you Skippy? You don't look like a Skippy. Simon sort of fits, though." Eryn held out his hand. When Simon took it, he pulled Simon forward and growled. "Hurt him and die."

Simon chuckled. "Cute."

Eryn scowled. "I'm the biggest dragon on my team. I can and will kick your ass if you do even one thing to make my brother cry, and he cries easily, so be careful."

Someone please dig a hole, so he can crawl into it. "I don't…do that all the time." Sheesh, Eryn.

"I won't make him cry again." Simon winked at him.

Eryn opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it almost as quickly. And then he looked at Yael. "Again? Seriously?"

"I'll need to know what happened before I beat the crap out of you." Eryn pointed at Simon as he left the room. "To be continued."

Yael wanted to die. He felt his face heat. "Eryn."

Eryn stopped in the hall, halfway to his bedroom. He turned. His expression pointed as he met Yael's gaze. And then he glared at Simon. "If he made you cry, and you just met him, then either he's a dickhead or there's something seriously wrong with you, Yael. So, which is it?"

"He has a point, beautiful." Simon smiled, but he lost his smile when he met Eryn's gaze. "I appreciate the way you're protecting your brother. He might need it, but not from me.”

Eryn nodded. “See that it stays that way."

Eryn headed into his bedroom. The door clicked shut.

"I'm sorry about that. He's…a lot like me in some ways."

Simon smiled. "That apple didn't fall too far from the tree, huh?"

"Not entirely. He's way more athletic than me. And he can't be on time to save his life. Other than that, we're similar." Yael hoped Simon understood what he was getting at. His protective instinct toward his brother was very strong.

"He's more like your kid, isn't he?"

Yael nodded. "There's twenty years separating us in age."

"Dragon shifters and their stretched out childbearing years." Simon cupped Yael’s cheek again and stepped into his orbit until he was all Yael saw. "I want to kiss you."

Yael was nodding before Simon finished the sentence.

"But we need to talk first." Simon led Yael to the couch before Yael invited Simon to his bedroom. It was probably a good thing since they sort of agreed to get to know each other first, but he knew his resolve not to get physical with Simon wouldn’t hold up for very long. Not when he was so close, and Yael pictured himself climbing into Simon’s lap and making a home there. His cock was hard just being so close to Simon.

"Do you want something to drink?" Yael started to stand, but Simon held him in place.

"Thank you, but I'm good." Yael tried to get closer, but he couldn't get close enough. "Ask for what you want, baby."

Yael scowled.

Simon knew what Yael wanted. His knowing gaze told Yael that much. He wasn't sure he liked how Simon just wouldn't give it to him.

“I want to sit on your lap," Yael scooted closer.

Simon sat back and opened his arms, giving Yael plenty of room to sit if he chose.

Yael moved onto Simon's lap, hugging him around his neck. Simon was warm despite just being outside minutes ago. When he wrapped his arms around Yael, the feeling of rightness came over him. He’d never been more content.

Yael sighed. It had been such a long day, he could fall asleep right where he was. He yawned.

"Are you too tired to talk, baby?" Simon rubbed his back in long, soothing strokes.

"I'm never too tired for you." Yael yawned again.

"I think you might be." Simon didn't take offense. Yael could hear the humor in his voice when he spoke.

"I thought you were going to call."

"I was, but then I got a job. It's out of town. I wanted to tell you in person. I'll be gone for a couple of days. I didn't want you to think I was rejecting you again."

Yael sat up to meet Simon's gaze. "Two days? Starting when?"

Simon winced. "I have to leave in the morning."

"Oh." Yael didn't like it. A few hours of being away from Simon felt like an eternity. "If you have to work, then you have to work."

"It's bad timing, but we can text and call each other the entire two days."

"I definitely want to talk to you while you're away." Yael didn't want radio silence. No doubt about that.

"Do you want to talk about me being your daddy, or would you rather wait?" The subject change, coupled with his tiredness, took his brain a second to catch up.

"My daddy, huh?" He wasn't sure how into that he would be, but there was no harm in talking about it.

"You like control, so it might be difficult for you to accept me."

"You can have all the control you want in the bedroom. Outside of it is where we'll have issues." Yael knew himself well. He would let no one come into his life and think they were going to take over. Especially not where Eryn was concerned. He had enough of people pushing him around during his childhood.

It came on the cusp of his older brother's letter telling him exactly what he was going to do. It didn't help him get behind trusting Simon enough to give him free rein.

"It's not necessarily about control, but I think you'll see it that way at first. It's more about me taking care of you."

"Like how?" Yael also didn't need anyone for that. But it might be nice to have someone who wanted to do nice things for him on occasion.

"Like making sure you're relaxed and flexible." Simon smiled.

Yael pictured what that would look like. Simon would take Yael’s cock in hand. Maybe he’d let Yael come.

Whoa. Let him come? Like he controlled it. Did Yael like the thought of Simon telling him when he could find pleasure?

Yael’s cock twitched.

"I take a yoga class twice a week at the gym over on Fillmore Street." It was the one luxury he afforded himself. With his budget, being a single-income household and a single parent, paying for those classes was, in fact, a luxury.

He wished he could say he could afford a gym membership with ease. At least Eryn got to use the gym too, since the facility gave a family discount.

Simon licked his lips. "Do you now? I'd like to watch you do yoga sometime."

Yael blushed. "It doesn't help me lose the fat here." Yael poked at his lower abdomen.

Simon scowled. "Can I lift your shirt?"

Yael nodded.

Simon exposed Yael's belly. He ran his hand over Yael's bare skin. "You're sexy."

Yael moaned, wanting Simon to go lower, underneath the waistband of his pajama pants. He'd have easy access. The waistband was stretchy.

"Do you really think so?"

"What if I told you I don't like guys with six packs?"

Yael shrugged. "It's what society deems attractive."

"Well, I'm not society. I'm me. And I like you." Simon ran his hand up Yael's abdomen until his fingers grazed Yael's nipples. "You're my type, baby."

Simon was his, too. Yael was even attracted to his less than reputable ways, although he didn’t want to be. That was part of the problem.

Yael had avoided dating, including guys like Simon. He had little time anyway, and he'd wanted to focus on raising Eryn. But everything about Simon attracted Yael to him, including his rugged appearance. His physicality made Yael hot all over.

Yael moved into the touch, panting. His cock ached for the same attention.

"I didn't intend to make the visit sexual." But Simon wasn't stopping. Instead, he worked his way down and then under the waistband of Yael's pants.

Yael whimpered when he didn't take his cock in hand right away. "Please."

"Please what, baby?"

"Please, will you touch my cock?"

Instead of doing what Yael had asked, he pulled his hand out and wrapped his arm around Yael's waist. "Where's your bedroom?"

He stood while holding Yael. Yael might be more on the lean side despite the little bit of meat around his middle, but he was tall and wasn't a lightweight. He was every bit the dragon shifter.

Simon put Yael on his feet and then kissed his temple. "We can't fuck in the living room. Your brother could see us."

Yael blushed. "Right. Yes. Okay."

He took Simon's hand and led him to his bedroom. "This is probably a bad idea, right?" Not that Yael was stopping, but it felt like the exact opposite thing they needed to be doing.

"It's a great idea." Simon grinned. "The best idea I have fucking had, as a matter of fact."

Okay, so it really was a bad idea, especially if Simon said otherwise. For one moment there, Yael forgot he was the sensible one. He forgot a lot of things when Simon touched him.

As soon as they were in his bedroom, Simon took charge. Yael was happy to let him.

"Take off your pants and underwear, baby."

Yael bit his lip as he complied. "Am I supposed to call you daddy?"

"Only if you're comfortable with it."

Yael nodded. He wasn't sure if he was, if he were being honest, but he was definitely comfortable letting Simon dominate.

Simon wore tight jeans that looked as though he painted them on. They should have been difficult to get off, but they slid down with ease.

"Take your shirt off and then get on the bed." Simon let his coat fall to the floor.

Yael got on the bed after he was naked. He couldn't help but watch Simon undress. He had the body of a god, complete with chiseled abs. His cock…yeah, that was fantastically big. Perfect–if a cock could be described in such a way.

Yael didn't like the idea of putting very many things in his mouth, but he wanted to suck on Simon's cock. He wanted to worship the rest of Simon with his mouth, too, including his lick-able pecs.

Simon chuckled. "Your face hides nothing. So expressive. Will you be so expressive when I touch you, beautiful?"

Simon crawled onto the bed. He laid on his side as if he didn't have a raging hard on. His expression softened as he ran his finger down Yael's side.

Yael ran his hand along Simon's abdomen. He was all muscle there. Thick in all the right places. "You're so big all over."

Simon was a lesson in perfection. The scar on his side didn't detract from his beauty. "You call me beautiful, but that's you, Simon."

“You are too.”

He traced a dark scar on Simon’s chest. It was several inches long. "How did you get this scar?"

"It's not a nice story." It wouldn't be. A dragon shifter with a scar meant his body couldn't heal itself properly. Dragon shifters didn't have scars if they could shift easily. He had to either have been very young or something very violent happened to him.

"I'd like to hear it."

"Even though it might kill the mood?"

"You just stay naked, and we'll get the mood back. No worries there."

Simon chuckled. "Alright then. I used to be a slave fighter."

Yael had heard about that through Gavin.

Knowing Simon had been through something like people the Dragon Skulls rescued made him feel as though he'd been prepping for Simon all along.

"They made you fight?"

"My size was a draw for them. And I'm good at it."

"But someone beat you regularly. It was too much for your body to handle."

Simon stiffened. "How do you know about what goes on in the underground?"

"I'm Gavin's assistant. I mostly help with clan stuff, like balancing the clan funds and contacting other alphas. But Gavin and Daruss talk…debrief is probably the right word for it. Either they forget, or don't care that I'm in the room. I've heard a lot since Gavin became a Dragon Skull."

Simon swore. "They shouldn't be talking about stuff like that in front of you."

"I'd never tell anyone. Those people who were hurt. They deserve better than what they got. They deserve a normal life. Whatever that looks like for them. They don’t deserve to get hurt any further by becoming gossip fodder." He’d never go into detail.

Simon kissed his forehead and then his cheek. "That's not why they shouldn't talk about it in front of you. All that shouldn't touch you. Even if you're only hearing what went down."

"I don't mind. I just feel terrible for the people you rescue. For what they've endured." Yael ran his finger along the scar. "For what you've endured."

Simon took Yael's hand and kissed his palm. "I know, baby. You're a good person. That's why you don't need to hear about the bad stuff in the world."

How would hearing those stories corrupt him? If anything, they made him a better person because he could empathize with the victims. Hell, he’d been through something similar.

Yael decided if he wanted Simon to touch him again, he'd have to let it go. He ran his hand along Simon's hip so he could feel the swell of his ass.

Simon seemed to like Yael's chest, but he didn’t linger. He settled on top of Yael. His weight felt amazing. If Yael wasn't a dragon shifter, Simon might have been too heavy, but he felt like a weighted blanket.

Yael wrapped his arms around Simon and let his body relax. "This is better than sex."

"If you think that, then I'm fucking it up." But Simon tightened his arms around Yael and pressed their cheeks together. When he spoke next, it was with a whisper. "I know what you mean. It feels like coming home."

"Exactly." Yale was scared to trust it. It seemed so fast.

"Do you have any lube, baby?" Simon sniffed Yael's hair and then his neck. He kissed the spot where his shoulder and neck met. "I'll put my mark on you. Right here. Not today, but soon."

Yael tightened his hold. He wanted to bond, even though it was reckless. They didn't know each other very well yet. They'd only met a few hours ago. He never thought he'd be one of those people who found their mate and fucked them before getting to know them. But there he was with his mate naked on top of him and talking about biting him. "Nightstand drawer."

Simon didn't have to move to reach the lube. He could grab it with ease. "This is brand new. You're not fucking anyone."

"I bought it this afternoon. After work." Not that Yael had never had sex before. It had been a while. Not since gaining custody of Eryn. It had been a long time since he let anyone touch him.

"I'm not fucking anyone else either. I've been waiting for you." Simon didn't seem like the jealous type. Especially since he could talk about fucking other people without being possessive.

But Yael was. He growled. His dragon came to the surface. He had half a mind to stake his claim so others knew he was taken.

Simon chuckled. "Calm down, little dragon. I only want you."

"From now on." Yael growled every word.

"That's right, mate." Simon kissed Yael's neck again. "That's exactly right."

Simon focused on getting the tube open. He put some on his hand, then sat up, bracing himself with his free hand as he reached between them. He grabbed both of their cocks with his lubed hand and held them together for several long seconds before he moved.

Yael lost all brain function. Every cell in his body knew one thing, and that was the feeling of Simon's warm, slick hand around his cock and Simon's hard length against his own.

Yael wanted to see them together, but the visual proved to be too much and not enough all at once. He put his hand over Simon's, helping their cause.

Simon was even more fierce than normal while in the throes of passion. He was beautiful and he made Yael feel as though he was the only person on earth.

Yael wouldn't last long. It had been too long since he let someone else touch him. Long enough for his excitement to go to his cock. It didn't get the memo about holding off and prolonging the pleasure.

His orgasm came on suddenly and hit him all at once. He cried out at the height of it. And then spilled all over their hands and his abdomen.

Simon flashed his fangs, growling as he came. Yael wasn't sure what went through his mind, but it was clear he needed the sex just as much as Yael did.

He fell onto Yael, snuggling close and kissing him wherever his lips landed. "My mate."

Yael felt boneless. All the tension and stress went out of his body. He didn't even know how stressed he was until it wasn't there anymore.

Simon moved to Yael's side, but pulled him close. "I'm spending the night."

Yael nodded. He was way too content to protest. He closed his eyes and told himself he'd start using his brain in the morning.