“Not just my career, Walter. I lost control of my body and my freedom.” He looked directly at Walter. “And my best friend.”
“Except I was right here. You were the one who disappeared.”
“I know.” How did he explain this? “But all the wolves—we all lost everything. We all disappeared from our lives and had to relearn the basics. I think that’s on purpose so we’ll bond with a new pack.”
Walter’s stance softened as he began to understand. “A new werewolf pack. They wanted you to depend on each other.”
“Yes, except there was a hitch.”
Walter’s brows rose in interest, but he didn’t interrupt… which forced Bing to continue.
“Two of the men—well, four now—they coupled up. Sex happens in werewolf packs. Not all the time, but wolves are more casual about that.”
“You’re banging each other randomly? As the mood strikes?”
“Absolutely not!” he exclaimed, a little insulted, even though that was close to what he’d suggested. “But the jokes are sexual, the bodily function stuff is no big deal. The talk is about everything, and nobody gets weird about it.”
“You were trying that with me?”
He exhaled. “Nobody got weird about it except me. Those who coupled up were….” He shifted uncomfortably. “You know, doing it every chance they got.”
Walter leaned casually against a wall hanging of the Monkey King. “You can’t even say the word ‘banging.’”
“Banging.” Bing’s ears went hot. “The point is, I never fit in with them. We can fight together, but when it comes time to relax—” He shrugged. “It’s not like how you and I were.”
Walter snorted. “You mean with you being all sexy and me wanting you from afar?”
Was that how he’d seen it? “No. When you relaxed—when we both relaxed—we were fine together. You let me be me, and—”
“You let me pine for you in silent yearning.”
Bing sighed. “I didn’t know what to do about that, but you’re not that way anymore. I was trying to, you know, joke together.”
“Like your pack does?”
“Yes. Maybe. If it worked.” He smiled hopefully. “Does it?”
Walter got a soft expression on his face. It was tender and so free of anxiety that his true beauty shone through. Gone was the pinched knot to his brows and the subtle hunch to his shoulders. His gaze was steady as it held Bing’s. Then he stepped close and pressed his palm to the curve of Bing’s chin before joining their mouths together in a slow, tender kiss. It was a touching of lips, of skin, and of hearts. Bing had showed his insecurity, and Walter had held it in gentle hands and returned it with a kiss.
This was something new to Bing. Never had he opened himself up so awkwardly and been handled so sweetly. Never. It made his defenses crumble. More, it made his blood surge and his cock pulse with hunger. But the moment he started to deepen the kiss, Walter broke away. He turned his head, and though his breath came out quick and short, his body withdrew.
“Walter?”
“Are we demon-hunting? Or are we doing something else? Because honestly, I’m happy to do something else.”
Bing held his breath. How he wanted to forget everything and just lose himself with Walter. And here was another first—never before had he wanted sex so much. Enough that he forgot his responsibilities. He was so close to saying yes but couldn’t quite do it. Not without a condition.
“Will you kick Monkey out first? I want to be with you, not him.”
He watched closely as Walter absorbed his words. And then he abruptly straightened. “This is me!” he snapped, loud enough that Bing knew he was lying. Especially since Walter’s gaze canted away before he ran a hand over his face. “Look, you said we needed to find Auntie Sand, so let’s go find her.” He pushed past Bing with an angry shove. “We can deal with the rest later.”
Normally Bing would argue. He tried to deal with issues as they arose. Except he had no more interest in addressing this than Walter did. He was surging with lust for a man who was possessed by the Monkey King. That confused him. A lot.
He pushed the feelings aside and focused on finding Walter’s aunt. He picked up the map and studied it. Not much stood out except for the big circle and the wordsKangaroo King. He frowned as he stepped out of the trailer. “You think she’s gone here? Who is the Kangaroo King? I’ve never heard of him.”
“Me neither.” Walter shrugged. “You got any better ideas?” There was a challenge in his tone. It wasn’t just about following this clue—it was about their other option. The one that involved them going back to Walter’s tent.
“No,” Bing said miserably.
“Yeah. Thought not.”
