Page 24

Chapter 24

M orning assaulted the world with bright colors, and Gordon would have missed that—would have been happy to miss it—except there was movement around him. He was dragged into consciousness by hands all over him, by a warm body pressing close to him under the sheets.

“Mmmh-hng,” Gordon said. Light flooded the room, and Gordon wasn’t sure whether he’d forgotten to close the curtains or whether his werewolf alarm clock had opened them.

Adler was warm and entirely too awake.

“Sweetheart, wake up for me.”

Adler kissed him on the shoulder. That felt nice. Moving was less appealing to Gordon.

“Hmm-mmn,” Gordon said and attempted to turn on his side, hoping that Adler would maybe snuggle and doze off for a few more hours.

“You’re a real Sleeping Beauty, you know that? A regular princess.” Adler banded an arm around Gordon and shifted him back onto his back. “Here. Let me try kissing you awake.”

Gordon had to admit that the kissing was very nice, even before noon. He was sluggish, but Adler was hungry, eager. He left bruising marks on Gordon’s lips, and Gordon could feel soft stubble teasing his skin. It should have been the kind of thing that made Gordon pull his head away, but he couldn’t, didn’t want to. Instead, he allowed himself a small stretch and found that Adler used that to reel him closer, close enough that Gordon could tell exactly how hard Adler was.

“Last night… Sweetheart, was last night all right for you?” Adler’s voice was a whisper.

He’s cute. So uncertain. “Yeah. Was nice.”

Adler kissed Gordon’s temple. “I’m glad. I…had no idea I was going to want it that much, but…look, we don’t have to do it like that ever again if you don’t want to. Shifted sex isn’t everyone’s thing.”

Gordon ventured another little stretch and blinked up at his wolf. “I liked it. I thought you were going to break skin again, getting all toothy like you did. Thought you were going to try to mate me all over again.”

Adler didn’t quite smile, but it was close. “Once is the maximum amount of mate bites we get. I would’ve bitten you regardless, but I didn’t want to scare you. If you’re serious about liking it, we need to talk about what’s okay before the next full moon.”

“Hmm. Okay. Nap now?”

Adler ground against Gordon and growled when his erection brushed over Gordon. All Gordon could do was moan, which allowed Adler to fit his mouth over Gordon’s, kiss him deeply.

Gordon let himself be held, close. He gave himself over to Adler’s feverish kisses, and when he could no longer quite say whether he was dreaming or not, he blinked his eyes open once more. Adler’s attention seemed immediately drawn to Gordon’s eyes, and he made a sort of rumbling sound before he pulled out of the kiss.

“You are very soft for me, aren’t you?” One hand held Gordon close, the other traced heat over the vampire’s face. “Tell me you want me right now. Tell me.”

Gordon licked his swollen lips, enjoying that he was the center of Adler’s attention. “I want you, Adler. Make love to me. Cum inside me. Tell me I’m yours.”

“Gordon.”

With his light brown eyes, so unlike his wolf’s, Adler looked at Gordon. His entire expression was overfull with desire, the kind that burns long and hot like a volcano under ice. The fire was there, and Gordon could feel it in every fiber of his being.

“Take me,” he told Adler. “Love me.”

Adler let his hands wander over Gordon’s body. His touch was gentle, almost as if Gordon were fragile, breakable, too precious to be handled.

But there was pressure to Adler’s touch as well, turning this into a slow massage. While Gordon’s body came awake, Adler watched his face, searching for either discomfort or desire, adjusting his touch according to what he saw.

At least that’s what it felt like to Gordon, being cherished like this.

“I can never decide,” Adler said.

“Hmm?”

Adler shook his head. “Just when I fantasize about this. I can never decide how I want to take you. I want you under me, yes, but how exactly, I just can’t decide. I want it all.”

“Well. We have done a few things, and there’s always tomorrow.”

Adler growled. “Tonight.”

Gordon moaned when Adler ran a hand down the center of his chest. “Detective.”

“That’s not what I meant though. Things’re always more intense after the full moon.” A pause. “And during. Last night…”

“It was good.”

“Yeah. I’ll fantasize about that too.”

“Or you could figure out what we should do next full moon.”

Adler leaned in close. “Sweetheart.” He kissed the tip of Gordon’s nose. “You spoil me, but I’ll let you.”

Adler reached for the lube on the bedside table and looked down at Gordon. Then, he put the lube aside and turned Gordon on his belly.

“Let’s start like this.”

Gordon’s face was partially buried in the pillows, but he didn’t mind. This way, the light didn’t bother him as much, and he was able to concentrate on feeling.

He relaxed into the hands that began kneading his buttocks, slow and steady before the pressure increased and Adler spread him open. Gordon heard Adler reach for the lube again, and soon, slick fingers grazed Gordon’s hole, getting ready to prepare him in earnest.

“You’re going slow,” Gordon said.

Adler was behind him, leaning over him, stretching Gordon’s ring on his fingers.

“I want to be rough and soft, and I can’t decide, so I’ll err on the side of soft. But fuck, sweetheart, you being here for me after the full moon—”

There was a gasp, more rattling than Adler’s touch, more effective at shaking Gordon awake. This isn’t just sex. This is more. We were together during the full moon, and I’m still here. Maybe he has to confirm that, make sure everything is still good between us.

Gordon knew there wasn’t anything he could do in terms of confirming this for his werewolf except lying there and enjoying Adler’s single-minded attention.

All in all, there were worse things to wake up to.

“Lots of words for after a full moon.”

Adler pushed deeper, unerringly stimulating Gordon’s prostate.

“Soft can take hours, sweetheart. I can make sure you remain just where you are with my silkiest ropes, and then I’ll tell you how good you’re doing. I’ll tell you over and over and over again, and my touch will be too soft to make you cum.”

Gordon shivered. “Detective. You can’t do that.”

A low chuckle. “But I can.”

He rubbed Gordon’s prostate again, making Gordon buck or at least attempt to. Adler was there, on top of him, in control, pushing him back down.

Huh. Maybe I shouldn’t talk back to him. Adler did it again, getting the same reaction from Gordon. Or maybe I should talk back to him more.

Gordon moaned into the pillows. “Remind me to take a nap before the next full moon, okay?”

After a moment during which Gordon could tell he was stretched even further, Adler laughed. It was human enough, but Gordon couldn’t help but be reminded of Adler’s wolf howl.

Gordon’s response was a long, low moan when Adler stretched him little by little, ever so softly.