“You haven’t asked.”
“You’re not going to offer?” He’s just enough shorter that he has to look up at me, something he clearly dislikes.
“Which—to bite you, or allow you to bite me?” I ask.
“I thought I was strong enough, dominant enough, to lead the pack.” Nathan’s nostrils flare—I’m not sure what he catches, in my scent or the mix of Dan and Johanna, but some tension drains from his shoulders as he shrugs. “But I give in. The cats have it, as Dan said. You’re lead, if you want me.”
An offer and a challenge: he needs to know why I value him as much as why I value Dan.
“Of course we want you—I want you—in the pack we’re building,” I say. “You bring strengths we need.”
“Strengths? I wallowed for ages after my mates died.” Nathan runs a shaky hand over his smooth head. “Lost myself in rut when left alone with Johanna.”
“You had the determination to hold on when your world shattered. You stayed strong and pursued a new pack when chance offered”—I catch his gaze and hold it, willing him to hear and understand—“and would’ve succeeded if Max hadn’t collapsed. You held out against your alpha’s need to bond Johanna long enough for us to arrive. Do not undervalue yourself. We won’t.”
He’s speechless, eyes glittering with moisture.
“If you hadn’t pushed Johanna to consider making the bond with me permanent, I don’t think she would have, not yet.” I offer my hand. “Whatever happens, I’m grateful you put that on the table. It’s more than I’ve managed in all the time I’ve known her.”
“Your steadiness, Dan’s kindness, my persistence, and Johanna’s strength.” Nathan grabs my hand and moves in closer so the backs of each hand press against the other’s chest. Heat pours off his body. A thin layer of sweat covers his face and chest, dampening my hand. We’re so close we can feel each breath the other takes. “Bite me, too. Temporary bond only—I won’t bite you back until she’s ready, we’re all ready, for permanent bonds—but I want in on this in all ways.”
Equal heat fills his face as our gazes meet. Unexpected but welcome attraction flows between us, lust clear in his scent, not just Dan’s and Johanna’s.
“Where do you want the bite?” I ask.
He touches his neck, along the scars from his earlier mates. “For me, we’re one pack, even though I’m the only one lucky enough to know all of us.”
“Very well.” My finger follows his, tracing an arc overlapping the lower scar where his neck and shoulder meet. Then, I gesture at his hard cock pushing against soft fabric of his pants, brushing mine as we stand close. “In pain or pleasure?”
“By all means, pleasure, the more so if it’s mutual.” He mirrors my gesture.
Leaning in, I kiss him. Our hands are still clenched between us. There’s no grabbing or touching, just lips meeting lips, then tongue stroking tongue.
Before I know it, our hands part, and we each dive in hard. Fingers dig into shoulders, chests press together, and we’re in an embrace. Neither of us really leads; we just respond to eachother. That’s probably how we’ll always be. I may be prime alpha, but he’ll be right at my heels, pushing me to do more, be better.
Pulling back, I press a finger against his lips.
This is Johanna’s room, but she’s got a side table similar to the one next to my bed, complete with a drawer that probably contains some of her toy collection—and lube.
Things on the bed have changed mightily since I last looked that way. Dan sits with his back to the headboard, legs spread wide but pants still on. Johanna’s naked in front of him, leaning back as one of his hands strokes her breasts and the other fingers her clit. He’s kissing her neck, but they’re both watching me with Nathan. Us.
“You don’t mind providing a show, do you?” Johanna asks.
Nathan smiles, head tilting my way as if to deferring to me.
“As you like to say, turnabout is fair play,” I respond. “Got any lube?”
She nods.
Within moments, I’m back at Nathan’s side, bottle in hand.
Then, his cock’s in my lubed-up fist and vice-versa.
We kiss again, mouths and hands matching as we lurch from pleasure to pleasure. He hisses when I hold him too tight, so I relax my grip and speed up instead, earning a long moan and a heavy flare of his lust-filled scent as a reward. When he adjusts to get a firmer grip on my cock, I shiver, then pull back as I stroke him harder.
“Come first,” I urge, but do not command. “Let me take you all the way and bite before I lose myself.”
Brushing one more kiss on his lips, I move to his neck and trace his first mates’ teeth marks with my tongue. He wraps his free hand over mine, showing me the pace and hold that pushes him ever higher. His breath comes in gasps. We’re both sweaty,chests sliding against each other as we allow space for hands rubbing cocks.
