Taylor hummed, running his tongue over his teeth. “I did. Right up until that meeting. But then they said I’d have to move to a city division because firearms aren’t really appropriate for Dingly.”
“And?”
“And they were there, on the table. But I just looked at them and thought…” He shrugged, the tightness across his shoulders melting away. “No, thanks. That’s all I can say, JP.”
“But I thought—” Johnny shook his head. “So you want to stay in Dingly? Long term, I mean?”
Taylor’s mouth twitched into a smile as he thought about the funny little town and all the funny little people in it. “Hell yeah, I do.”
He was still smiling when Johnny kissed him, when the sounds of the kids’ cheers rang out from the back room, and he realised that he didn’t need guns, or a fancy job title or even a decent childhood to make him feel whole. All he needed was what he already had, right now, in his lap. And his heart.
And was that gushy asfuck? Hell yeah, it was.
Johnny’s eyebrows flicked up as Taylor shifted him onto his other knee, because Taylor’s dick was most definitely nudging Johnny’s arse through his trousers.
“I was thinking,” Johnny whispered, pressing his mouth to Taylor’s ear. “It’s been a long,hardday, and I’d really like to go to the woods and let off some steam tonight. Get a little rough.”
Taylor drove his face into Johnny’s neck, glancing over his shoulder towards the back room. “When are your parents getting back?”
Johnny smirked. “Late.”
“You gonna make me wait, JP?” he replied, sucking Johnny’s earlobe.
“I’ll make it worth your while.”
He shifted his hips, making Taylor’s cock rub along his thigh.
Taylor groaned. “Alright, boss.”
All was quiet on Bell Lane, but Taylor’s ears twitched as he kept his head low and stalked through the woods in the dark. His hackles were all the way up, scruff puffed out like an alley cat as anticipation rolled through him.
Johnny was close, his scent lingering between the trees after running off ahead.
There was a crack, then a snap, making Taylor’s head shoot up. The dull thud of paws thundered across the undergrowth, splitting the ferns and making Taylor’s back end drop. He pivoted, spraying up dirt, and just as his nose caught the direction of the scent, Johnny’s massive black body burst from between the trees.
Air exploded from Taylor’s chest as Johnny smashed into him, sending him skidding back and into a thick oak tree. Taylor twisted, righting himself just as Johnny circled back around. They crashed together, Johnny’s jaws on Taylor’s scruff, biting, growling, pulling him around like he was a rag doll.
Well, Taylor couldn’t have that.
Ramming his head into Johnny’s chest, he lifted the other alpha clean off his feet, flipping him, sending him sprawling onto his back and deep into the thickest part of the undergrowth. Taylor followed, damp gorse snagging at his fur, moss slippy beneath his paws. He could smell the evening rain curled in theferns, water spraying across his face as he followed Johnny into the night.
They were running again, zigzagging back and forth, daring each other to make the next move. They reached a clearing, circling again before excitement got the better of Taylor and he lurched forwards. Punching through heaps of wet leaves, they collided, both up on their hind legs, biting, snarling, breathing hard as their fangs flashed in the moonlight.
“Fight me, alpha,”Johnny said, his jaws clamping around Taylor’s shoulder. “Show me your strength.”
Taylor growled, thrashing his bigger body and driving his claws into Johnny’s soft belly. They gnashed at one another, rolling end over end until they landed on their backs in the dirt. They twisted, covered in mud, legs tangled as they flattened bushes and smacked into trees.
Taylor’s wolf was alive, sofuckingalive as all his pent-up alpha energy got channelled into something other than anger. It made his heart hammer against his barrel chest, blood pounding through his head and all the way to the tips of his ears. He wanted to be rough. Helikedbeing rough and testing his strength with an equal.
Johnny kicked him in the chest with his hind legs, sending him crashing back.
“Too slow,”Johnny said, saliva dripping into Taylor’s fur as he jumped on his back and bit him again.
Feral grunts and snarls echoed around the woods, making birds evacuate their nests and flee into the night sky. Taylor didn’t care. The forest was theirs andonlytheirs for the night.
Johnny dragged him by his scruff all the way to the treeline, and it was red raw by the time they reached the rocky outcrop overlooking West Newton. They stopped, panting and steaming into one another’s fur.
Dropping to his haunches, Taylor gazed over the network of lights, sighing with contentment as Johnny flopped next to him. They licked one another’s muzzles, cleaning away the sweat and dirt.
