Fuck, he was staring at Alec’s neck. Snapping his gaze up, he smiled wryly. “I thought you said it would be better?”
“It is.” He thumbed at Mark’s nipple, grinning when Mark hissed. “Just not by much. Now tell me what happened.”
Knowing Alec wasn’t going to give up on this, Mark gave him a brief rundown of what happened without mentioning pack business, ending with, “Basically, I pissed him off and he decided to show me who was boss.”
Alec had gone back to leaning against the door frame, fists clenched. His fangs were still on show, distractingly so, especially the way he kept licking over them every few seconds.
“He’s a poor fucking excuse for a beta. You should report him to—”
“To my alpha?” Mark stared at him, and Alec stared back, neither of them saying the obvious. Newell wouldn’t give a shit, based on recent events. “Let’s try to forget about it. He’s an arsehole with a temper, but the council want to see me tomorrow, so he won’t do it again.”
Alec frowned but didn’t say anything even though Mark could tell he wanted to. “Come to bed. I won’t bite you, but I can make damn sure you smell enough like me that he won’tdaredo it again.”
Mark should’ve protested; he didn’t need Alec doing his big, bad beta routine. He wasn’t helpless. But having Alec’s growly protectiveness aimed at him was seriously hot, and Mark knew when to swallow his pride. Instead, he brushed past Alec into the bedroom and started to take off his trousers.
They hit the floor with a thunk, and Alec was behind him in an instant, mouthing at his neck with short sharp nips of fang. Still fully clothed, Alec’s jeans were rough against his thighs, the buckle of his belt digging into Mark’s lower back.
Mark smiled as Alec slid his hands over the front of his boxers, deft fingers tracing the outline of his erection. “Take your clothes off, works better that way.”
Alec’s huff of laughter tickled his neck. “I know how it works.”
“I’m not so sure.”
Alec’s heat disappeared from his back, and Mark’s smile widened at the sound of him undressing. As quick as he’d gone, he was back, this time naked, and a wall of warm skin pressed up behind Mark, making him itch to get his underwear off.
Obviously thinking along similar lines, Alec hooked his thumbs in Mark’s waistband and slowly slid his boxers down over his thighs, letting them pool on the ground. He fit his cock between Mark’s arsecheeks and nuzzled his neck. “You’re right. This is much better.”
“Told you.”
Alec trailed kisses along the top of Mark’s shoulder and up the side of his neck, paying particular attention to one spot.
Mark groaned, pushing his hips back and tilting his head to the side. He wanted Wes’s scent gone just as much as Alec did.
Bite me.
The words were on the tip of his tongue. They weren’t in a P-pack flat anymore, but neither were they in one of their homes. And there was still the investigation to think about. Mark kept his mouth shut, closed his eyes, and focused on the feel of Alec wrapped around him—all that power and protectiveness made for a heady combination.
Alec guided him towards the bed, and Mark went willingly, crawling on all fours to the middle, then flipping onto his back. He’d not told Alec everything before, some sense of pack duty holding him back, but as he watched Alec stalk towards him, eyes dark and hungry, he couldn’t hold the words in.
“Wes is going to tell Newell.”
Alec didn’t pause, climbing onto the bed until he settled himself between Mark’s legs. “Of course he is.”
Mark spread his thighs wider, and Alec dropped to his forearms, bringing them closer together. “Newell will order me not to see you again.”
“I know.” Alec dipped his head and placed his teeth at the base of Mark’s throat.
Do it.Fucking hell, he wanted it so much. Wanted Alec to bite down and claim him. Wanted to be his.
Mark moaned underneath him, pushing his hips up for some friction, and Alec obliged.
“Can he do that?”
“He shouldn’t. We might not have planned for it, but the bond process has already kicked in. I can feel it, and I know you can too. If we wanted to, all we’d need to do to complete it is to perform the bite. No alpha should come between that. It’s a cause for celebration.” The way Alec said it made Mark think he didn’t totally agree. Not in this case anyway.
But then Alec was back to nipping at his neck and rolling his hips in a slow easy grind, and Mark didn’t care anymore. He lost himself to the promise of Alec’s teeth and the press of his cock against Mark’s. Anything else could wait until morning.
Alec still wanted to talk, though. “When this is all over—”
