Josh howled, arching backward not to get away but to impale himself deeper. And then he flashed his own teeth before he bit down on the thick part of Nero’s deltoid. No matter what happened, Nero would bear the mark of Josh’s bite. He wouldn’t forget even if Josh was erased.
“Mine,” Josh echoed as his body began to pulse around Nero.
“Yours,” Nero agreed, and together they rode the whirlwind to bliss. And even when it was done and they’d collapsed boneless on the bed, they still didn’t stop. Nero reached for Josh, and Josh reached back. They caressed wherever they touched. They kissed what they could reach. And their groins ended up rubbing against each other while they both hissed in pleasure.
There were no words. Just the sounds of sex—harsh and raw. Then sex—gentle and slow. Then sex without sex—just holding one another in silence.
Eventually they cleaned up and settled in to sleep. But even then, when languor made his whole body heavy, Josh didn’t sleep. He knew Nero was awake too, and he refused to miss a moment of their time together.
Eventually Nero spoke.
“I’ll tell them. Before I go with the fairies. I’ll tell them to recruit you.”
“It won’t be the same.”
“No. But maybe it’ll be okay.”
It didn’t feel like anything would ever be okay again, but Josh nodded because Nero seemed to need him to. And then, in the darkest part of the night, Nero kept talking about something that seemed completely irrelevant. But nothing about Nero was irrelevant, so Josh listened as if he was being told state secrets.
“I liked a couple of my mother’s boyfriends, back when I was a kid. They were good guys who watched out for us. I still remember their names: Dan Ellis and then, a few months later, Junior Merrill.”
“What happened to them?”
Nero shook his head. “One day they were there, the next they were gone. There was usually a fight, but there were so many fights in those days, they all melded together.”
“You were a kid. How were you to know what was going on?”
“I did know, and it was really simple. Everybody leaves eventually. It could be quick, could be slow, but one day they’re gone. It’s the nature of life. People appear….” He caressed Josh’s shoulder. “And then something happens, and they go.” His hand flopped down to the mattress.
Josh blew out a breath. “It’s not always like that. Some people stick around for the long haul.” He would have.
“So I’m told.” Nero pushed up on his elbow and looked down at Josh. “That’s what I swore when I took over as leader of my combat pack. That I would stick with it for the long haul. That I would do whatever it took to stay with them, no matter what.”
So this was where Nero was going. “You don’t have to justify your choice. I get it. How many times have you talked about the importance of your pack? That loyalty goes to the pack. That love is held within the pack.”
“I can’t let them die. Not when I can stop it.”
Josh looked away from Nero’s fierce expression. He stared at the ceiling and spoke from his heart. “I get it,” he said. And he did. “I even love you for it.” Nero was someone who was faithful. He wouldn’t abandon someone he loved if they screwed up, and he sure as hell would cover that someone’s ass when the shit hit the fan. Josh understood that. He just hadn’t realized that Nero wasn’t making a new pack. He was going back to his old one.
“I didn’t know I’d fall in love,” Nero whispered, and Josh’s gaze snapped back to him.
“What?”
“Yeah,” Nero rasped as he dropped back onto the bed. “It’s love. Fucking thing hurts enough. It’s gotta be love.”
“Yeah,” Josh echoed, feeling the pain in his whole soul.
“But I can’t—”
“I know,” Josh interrupted. No point in belaboring it. Nero couldn’t abandon his first pack, so he had to abandon Josh. “You need to get some rest. You need to be fresh in the morning.” He started to get off the bed—Nero was a big guy and he liked to spread out in his sleep—but Nero grabbed his arm before he could go far.
“Stay,” he said. “Stay with me now. Just until—”
“However long you need,” Josh said. “I’m here for you. I promise.”
“Thanks.” They snuggled together, bodies entwined, breath intermingling as they pressed forehead to forehead. And then, right when Josh started to relax, Nero whispered again. “I’m so sorry I was such a dick. I didn’t want this to hurt so much.”
“How’d that work out for you?”
