“Why… didn’t you?” The whispered words hurt Brad due to the sadness attached to them.
“First, I forgot about it.” He stroked a hand down the buttons of Lionel’s shirt, grinning and winking at him saucily. “Being claimed can do that to you.”
A shiver ran through Lionel, his scent thickened the air as Brad flicked open the buttons with nibble fingers, touching skin as he went. “Dad’s reminder call came while I was mid-crisis, and as I wanted to tell them in person about you, I didn’t think to clarify with you if you wanted to come to what was essentially a boring work meeting. Not when in my head I had ideas of a more mate-focused conversation about you—us with them. I won’t do that again.” And Brad wouldn’t now that he knew it hurt his mate.
Lionel’s mom giving him independence was a double-edged sword as far as Brad could tell. Being independent and self-reliant was one thing. Lionel believed he should be strong all the time because he’d had no one to share in carrying the burden that could be life at times. He’d been made to think that was weakness, and he was wrong, and Brad was going to show him that.
He got up on his tiptoes and pushed the shirt over Lionel’s shoulders with some difficulty because of the height difference. His protruding cock brushed against Lionel, smearing pre-cum on the fabric of his slacks.
Lionel gave him a helping hand, wriggling his shoulders, so the shirt slid down his arms. His thoughts scattered, this time for a whole different reason when Brad got down on his knees and went for the belt buckle.
Lionel’s arousal became more obvious as Brad let his fingers linger on the warm skin above the belt. He came closer and kissed his quivering belly. “I didn’t tell anyone we had mated for two reasons. If I had mentioned it to my work colleagues, one of them would have told Dad before I could. And I wasn’t sure if you wanted to tell your mom before anyone else told her. I know how upset my parents would be to hear something secondhand.”
Lionel groaned at the belt sliding free and Brad dropping it to the floor, leaving his mouth close to the warm scented skin.Again, I should have clarified with you. This mating business is tricky, but we’ll figure it out.He nuzzled into the musky scent of his mate enjoying how Lionel’s breathing became labored and how he shuddered and leaned into Brad’s touch.
Pushing down the slacks and underwear, Lionel’s monster cock sprang free, nearly poking Brad in the eye when he was slow to pull back. It jabbed at his cheek and smeared it. They both groaned in unison.
Brad fisted the long length in both hands. The hot, hard shaft pulsed as he brought it to his lips and sucked the glistening head into his mouth. He felt how close to the edge Lionel was and licked around the head, tickling the slit before sucking hard enough his cheeks hollowed. The unique flavor of his mate enticed him. Made his heart rate a frantic beat inside his chest.
His spit ran out the sides of his mouth and over his hands as he tried to take more. He held the root and, using his spit, pumped his other hand up the shaft. With three sticky pumps and one long, hard suck, Brad had a mouthful of cum leaking out right along with his spit. He swallowed repeatedly as the length barely softened with each hot spurt hitting his tastebuds.
Argh… Yeah… Wow… Don’t stop…
The litany filled his head making his cock jerk and leak, only Brad wasn’t interested in satisfying his needs. This was about reconnecting with Lionel. Proving how much Brad wanted him—in every way.
Lionel’s thighs tensed, but his knees buckled, forcing Brad to ease off and lean away or get his tonsils stabbed. He giggled uncontrollably when Lionel staggered backward, his legs hit the bed, and he tumbled onto the mattress looking like a starfish. His cock pointed skyward, his feet still on the floor as his arms lay flat on the bed above his head. His chest heaved as he dragged in air like he’d been holding his breath for endless minutes.
Brad got up, his grin widening, and crawled on top of Lionel, pressing their cocks together as he laid his cheek against Lionel’s fast-beating heart. Content just to be close, his eyes drifted shut.
I could spend my eternity right here, never moving.
What about food?
Brad released a tired chuckle.I don’t need food ‘cause your cock is enough to feed a nation.
Brad fell asleep to the rumbles shaking Lionel’s body, it was a blissful sound.
Chapter Fifteen
Lionel
“I know sexy times don’t solve problems, but being physically close is always a good thing between mates.” Brad’s voice shocked Lionel from his thoughts.
He was in the kitchen, mulling over the night before. Lionel had barely gotten any sleep, and as the bedroom had slowly lightened, he’d gotten up, hoping to make amends for his shocking breakdown the day before. He’d made the coffee and was in the process of frying bacon, so his mate would at leasthave something to eat as he walked out the door when Brad wandered in unnoticed.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. Just having random thoughts about the mess I was last night,” he said quickly, moving the bacon off the heat. “I wasn’t aware I was projecting. I thought you were still asleep. There’s coffee there for you in a travel mug, and if you just give me a minute, I’ll have this ready for you to take with you. I’m sure you have an early start again this morning.”
“My work can wait ten minutes.” Brad sat on one of the barstools at the kitchen counter. “I feel we haven’t had the chance to get to know each other outside of the bedroom yet. I know part of that is my fault with what happened last night. If there’re issues bothering you, then you need to tell me. They became my issues the moment we claimed each other. We have to communicate, otherwise, this awkward stage of a new mating is going to last far longer than necessary.”
“You’re right again. I know you’re right. I just don’t know what you want me to say, though.” In truth, Lionel was hellishly embarrassed about how he had broken down the day before. That was not the way he wanted to present himself to his mate. He needed to be independent and prove he wasn’t going to be a clingy lion that couldn’t bear to have Brad out of his sight.
“I appreciate you’re a very busy man,” he said, quickly plating up the bacon onto some thick slices of toast and tomatoes he had already sorted, cutting the sandwiches in half and popping them into a paper bag, ready for Brad to take with him. “I just… I just… I had a rough day, and when I couldn’t get in touch with you, it was very easy to feel neglected. But that’s on me, not on you,” he added quickly.
Brad was a grown man. He could live his life as he pleased. He had built a business, and he was in a position of responsibility. Lionel knew all that, he accepted all that.
“Lionel, I need you to talk to me. If I don’t know what’s bothering you, then I can’t help,” Brad murmured patiently.
“It’s nothing. Really. Okay, no, I’m sorry. It’s never right for one mate to lie to another.” Lionel turned, walked over, pushing the coffee and the sandwiches in Brad’s direction. “You’ve got lots to do. You’re in a position of authority and have a lot of responsibilities. Last night was entirely on me. We hadn’t made plans, you hadn’t said you’d come over and then didn’t show up. It wasn’t like that. That was all on me. I had a rough day, and you were the first person I thought to go to because you’re my person. That’s… I totally understand. You’re busy.”
