The convenient explanation allowed them to support Ethan without guilt and without splitting their loyalty. Although none of that group would have the slightest idea what loyalty really was. The whole mess was an eye-opener and a lesson to never share all your friends with your significant other.
He hadn’t bothered to make friends after that. The betrayal and the coldness just hit too hard to try again. At the time, Kyle figured he’d give it a few months and then try to cultivate a social life, but the months kept passing, and he found that he preferred his own company. The peace and simplicity ofbasic acquaintances served him better than putting any trust or expectations on someone.
It might change someday, but for now, he was on his own, and he liked it that way. The only wild card was the man in the woods. Normally, something like that would never happen. He wasn't that kind of guy, but if he was remembering things accurately, there was never a thought of stopping. He wanted that man so bad, he let him take him right there in the dark of the woods.
The memories were coming back strong now, and there was no doubt that it was what had happened. He wondered if he'd ever see the man again or if it was just a one-off in the woods.
Kyle smiled and went to the kitchen for another cup of coffee. He received a text from one of his former friends, casually asking if he was available to photograph a birthday party. He shot back a quick text declining, stating he was booked up for the next few months.
He wasn't lying; he was good at his job, and his business had been thriving, but even if he needed the work, he wouldn't have accepted. He wasn't disrespectful; he simply didn't engage.
If they were trying to reconnect, he wasn't interested, and if they were trying to check up on him, he wasn't interested. Ethan was now with someone from his gym, a relationship that started less than two days after their breakup, but no one bothered to do the math.
His camera was still in his bag, so he retrieved it and checked to see if maybe he'd captured anything from last night. Unfortunately, he hadn't taken a single shot, not of the woods or the moonlight, it was like he'd forgotten he had a camerawith him. Tossing it onto the couch, he walked over to the main window in his living room and stared out onto the street below.
The city was quiet for a Sunday a handful of people were in the park across the street, but there were few pedestrians, and traffic was light. Kyle kept trying to fill his mind with mundane activities and concerns to stop thinking about the man in the woods, but it was proving impossible.
He dropped into a chair and roughly ran his fingers through his hair. Every part of him was aching to return to the woods to find the man and to demand his attention. That would be an asinine thing to do, but he wanted it so badly.
Why would his mind and his body be doing this to him? He never craved anyone like this with such carnal need and a focused obsession. He thought he had loved Ethan, but Ethan never made him feel the way this man made him feel. He would thought about going for a walk but nixed the idea for fear he would take off in the direction of Aveline Forest. He was losing control, and Kyle never lost control.
Looking down at his hands, he noticed a slight tremor. Would he be able to resist getting in his car and driving back to the forest? The thought of going back brought a brief moment of calm, but the urgency returned. The pressure and the fear of this being something serious came down on him, and the panic started to build, and then there was a knock at his door.
The panic that had begun to envelop him gradually washed away, and his sense of calm and stability returned. The knock came again, and he quickly answered as something in his heart told him the answer to everything he was feeling was on the other side of that door.
****
Lev pulled into the parking lot next to the apartment building. He had followed his mate’s scent from the forest into town, and it led him to this building. Standing, looking up at the five-story apartment building, he knew he was in the right place. His mate's scent was powerful and concentrated here.
His apartment was on the fourth floor, and the moment Lev reached that floor, the physical presence of his mate was overwhelming. The bonding had opened a connection between them, pulling him toward this man, this human. He knocked on the door probably harder than necessary, but his urgency was getting the best of his control.
The moment Kyle opened the door, and his scent rushed over him, Lev's wild side took over. He stepped into the apartment, closed the door behind him, and swept Kyle up into his arms. The kiss was ruthless and intense. He devoured Kyle's lips and ravaged his mouth, taking everything he wanted, and he wanted it all. Kyle gasped but did not resist. He was hungry, and it showed.
Lev swung him around and pressed him to the door, trapping him there as he continued to feast on the taste, touch, and life force of his Fated mate. Kyle gripped Lev's shirt in his fists, holding on and grinding his body against Lev's. The desire that was so sharp and needy last night was once again thundering between them. The power of their connection was roaring through the room.
"It's you." Kyle gasped, his voice deep and raw.
"It's me, your mate, your destiny," Lev responded on a lustful growl. Lev trailed his kiss to the claiming scar, and helatched on, sending waves of sharp sensations through Kyle's system. The trembling and moaning were delicious.
"You are so beautiful," Lev whispered and then took Kyle’s lips in another wild, punishing embrace.
Kyle was pulling at Lev’s shirt, so Lev slipped it off and dropped it on the floor. "Is this real?" Kyle asked, still breathless from the kiss.
“It’s real, it’s all real.” Lev grabbed the neck of Kyle’s t-shirt and tore it off his body with a flick of his wrist and then dropped the shreds on the floor. Kyle smiled and then went in for another voracious kiss.
His enthusiasm was not surprising, since the bond had all night to grow and expand his acceptance and need for it. It was the same for Lev, though he understood that humans felt it particularly sharply because of their emotional depth and awareness. Humans, when they loved, they loved with their entire being. Lev was blessed to have a man like Kyle as his own.
Clothing quickly disappeared as the heat of the moment overtook them both. Lev grabbed Kyle around the waist and swung him around and bent him over the back of the couch. He still had one sock on, but other than that, his mate was gloriously naked, and the vision was breathtaking.
Last night had been quick and wild as need had taken them over. The bond had been the goal, and completing it had been paramount, but now they were connected, and although the need was still fierce, awe and enjoyment boomed.
Kyle rose up on his toes and thrust his hips back toward Lev in a blatant invitation. Lev held Kyle's hips and ran his thumbs over his soft, warm flesh. The sensation he elicited was immediately evident in several deep moans. "Don't tease me."Kyle panted out the words, and his begging, which was music to Lev's ears, just made him more likely to continue.
"Your body calls to me, my love." Lev bent and placed a wet kiss on the small of Kyle's back with a soft chuckle. The sight of his mate's lovely ass swamped him with a heady pleasure; nothing had looked so perfect and so inviting.
He gave the left cheek a swift slap and then did the same to the right. The gasp and moan from Kyle told him it was well received, so he did it again and again, reddening the flesh. Lev's arousal flared, and his cock became rock hard in an instant. The need to be inside his gorgeous mate was overwhelming.
****
