“What you want. Right now.”
Mac brushed his lips against Melvin’s ear. “I want to feel you come apart against this wall. I want to taste it.”
A shiver ran through Melvin. He braced one hand against the brick, breath catching. “Then do it.”
Mac’s mouth found his throat first. A hot kiss over the pulse. Melvin gasped as Mac rolled his hips slowly against him. Mac worked a hand between them, undoing Melvin’s jeans. His fingers wrapped around Melvin, stroking once, slow and firm. Melvin choked on a moan, his forehead dropping to Mac’s shoulder.
“Mac…”
“I’ve got you.” Mac’s hand sped, his breath rough as he watched Melvin unravel.
“Come for me,” he commanded.
Melvin’s climax hit hard and sudden. His body shuddered as he spilled over Mac’s hand. Mac held him up while he worked him through the last tremors. Then he lifted his wet hand and licked his fingers clean.
Melvin stared at him, breathless. “Your turn.”
Mac caught his wrist. “Not here.”
He kissed him anyway, deep and slow. “I have an idea,” he murmured. “And I want to take you apart slow enough that you forget your own name.”
He helped Melvin straighten his clothes, keeping an arm around him as they left the alley. They walked for a while without speaking.
Melvin didn’t ask where they were going. He let Mac lead, trusting the quiet certainty in the way he moved. Out of the alley. Into the city. Into the space that followed. Eventually, there was a car, the low hum of the engine filling the silence where words should have been.
Later, north of the city, the roads narrowed and the lights thinned.
The cabin was Mac’s idea. Two nights in a nature preserve north of the city. No neighbors. No interruptions. Not a hotel. A den.
Melvin stood in the main room, taking in the quiet space.
“You can cook here?” he asked.
“I brought food,” Mac said, setting grocery bags on the counter. “You cook. I’ll watch.”
Melvin smiled and unpacked the groceries. Mac leaned against the counter and watched him work.
Melvin glanced up. “You’re making me nervous, Lieutenant.”
“Good,” Mac said softly. “I like you a little off balance.”
He moved behind him, wrapping his arms around Melvin’s waist. “This is what I want,” Mac murmured against his ear. “Right now. This.”
Melvin leaned back into him. They stood like that for a long minute while butter melted quietly in the pan. Dinner was simple. Steak. Potatoes. Asparagus. Wine. They talked about nothing. The forest darkening outside. The quiet. When the plates were cleared, Mac offered his hand. Melvin took it.
Mac led him out onto the back deck overlooking the ravine. Moonlight washed the trees in silver.
“No one for miles,” Mac said quietly.
Melvin nodded.
He pulled his shirt over his head. Mac did the same. They finished undressing each other slowly until they stood bare in the cool night. Mac let the shift rise in him. Bones shifted. Muscles realigned. Fur spread across his skin. The wolf stood where the man had been.
Melvin followed. His change was fluid, a ripple of shadow.
Where a man had stood was now a panther. For a moment they simply looked at each other. Then the wolf leapt from the deck into the forest. The panther followed.
They ran together through the trees. Not in pursuit or flight. Just movement and muscle and breath.
