Josh twisted enough to shoot him a startled look. “How’d you know that?”
“Because I’m not as stupid as I look,” he said. Then he adjusted on the couch, lifting a leg and slipping it between the back of the couch and Josh, effectively putting the man between his legs. “Now don’t freak out by this. You need it, and if you don’t get it, bad things will happen.”
He felt the man stiffen. “What bad things?”
“You never fully ground into your body. You start to sicken and die. This is your first shift, so it’s the most dangerous. We need to get you grounded back into your human form right away.”
Josh swallowed. “How?”
“I told you. Touch. Human touch.” He pulled Josh back against his chest, surrounded him with his arms, and pulled him into a big bear hug. He stroked the man’s bare arms, up and down, and though he could tell Josh didn’t trust him enough to accept this easily, he didn’t fight it either.
“The woman on my team was like you. We called her Mother. It was short for ‘I’m not your mother,’ but that’s a different story. She had to be touched after every shift. Not necessarily an orgasm, though that worked the best.” He swallowed, trying to talk impersonally about something so very personal. “It’s about taking care of a teammate, and it kept her healthy.”
He put his head next to Josh’s, smelling the scent of the man, sort of sweet and earthy—like cherry pie eaten in the jungle. It was a weird image, but Nero often categorized things by food. And he loved cherry pie.
“I’m going to touch you now. I’ll stop if you want someone else or if you want to do it yourself, but you need to climax. It’s the only way to keep you alive.” He slipped his hands under Josh’s T-shirt, stroking his right hand across the man’s belly. His skin was soft, the hair was minimal, and Josh exhaled as if he had been waiting for a very long time for this sensation.
“I could try eating something else,” Josh said quietly. “Go slow. Get a Gatorade or something.”
“We could, and it might have worked thirty minutes ago, but not now.” Nero stroked his hand up Josh’s chest. The hair was amazingly soft, and the guy was too thin. His ribs were noticeable bumps along his path. Damn it, he should have seen that earlier. No one this thin was into food. “Really think, Josh. Do you want something in your stomach now?”
The man shuddered in revulsion. “No.”
“Then trust that.” He slid his other hand under the shirt, pulling it up and gently maneuvering it off. And now that Josh was naked from the waist up, Nero could see—and feel—the attractive details of the man’s body. There was muscle definition here. Strong pecs, tight abs, maybe 6 percent body fat. He must work out some, or maybe he was naturally sculpted like a thin Michelangelo statue. Either way, he had the right body to send Nero’s libido into overdrive. There wasn’t any distance between Josh’s glutes and Nero’s dick. Nothing except Josh’s old jeans and Nero’s easily ripped khakis. Nero’s cock began to thicken and pulse with hunger.
Just another mission.
Meanwhile, he continued rubbing Josh’s chest. Up and down the silky, smooth skin while he felt the man breathe. Every inhale pushed into Nero’s hands, and every exhale dropped Josh closer, tighter against him.
“I should have realized this before. That woody you had when I tackled you, that was because of this. It was your body telling you you need this.”
“I didn’t…. I wasn’t attracted to you,” Josh muttered. “It happens sometimes.”
“Of course it does. Because this is what you need. It settles you.” And before Josh could object further, Nero pinched his right nipple.
Josh gasped, his body arching in surprise, but Nero didn’t let him escape. “This will ground you back in your body,” he argued. Then he pinched the other nipple. Josh’s reaction wasn’t startled this time, but his response was surprising. Instead of pulling away, he sank deeper into Nero’s embrace. He let Nero stroke him, pinch him, and arouse him. And Nero was all too willing to comply.
And didn’t that set off alarms everywhere? Nero reluctantly pulled his hands off of Josh’s body. He’d already proved to Josh that it was necessary. “I’ll stop now so you can finish it. The process has started, but you need to orgasm. You can do it yourself or—”
“You can.” The words came out husky and filled with need. Josh didn’t want to want this, but he obviously did.
“You want me to jerk you off? You need to say it out loud.” His lips quirked, though Josh couldn’t see it. “We do have ethics, though I’m sure they’re not obvious to you right now.”
“I…. Yes. Please… jerk me off.”
Yes.
Nero didn’t examine the surge of lust that rushed through him at Josh’s words. He simply returned to stroking the man. Josh’s earthy scent was growing stronger—muskier—as his body flushed with heat and arousal. He let his head drop back onto Nero’s shoulder, and Nero watched their reflection in the dark TV as Josh’s eyes drifted shut.
“That’s the way,” Nero encouraged. “Just go with it.”
Nero pressed his lips to Josh’s neck, tasting the salt of sweat and feeling the throb of the man’s pulse. And then he opened his mouth and ran his teeth along Josh’s skin. Josh moaned, and Nero’s own dick stiffened to painful. Anything he touched with his teeth and tongue was burned into his memory. Food and lovers, both held a cherished spot in his mind, never forgotten. Josh was there now, and Nero knew the taste of this man would haunt him. Even if this was the only time, whenever Nero smelled cherry pie, he would think of this moment.
So he did it again. And again. Letting his tongue and his teeth scrape across Josh’s skin, rubbing and tasting as if Josh were a fine meal to be savored, a delicate dessert to be enjoyed, or a special lover to be pleasured in a slow, sensuous exploration of taste and texture.
He slid his hands down to Josh’s jeans. He didn’t fumble with the button or the zipper, but he stilled when Josh gripped his wrist.
“You swear this isn’t some sick kind of game?”
