Orgasm in a white-out of sensation.
Absolute, unending bliss.
BRUCE CAMEback to himself in darkness. He felt gentle adjustments as Laddin spooned against him, then covered them both with a heavy blanket. The warmth was welcome, but the gentle press of lips between his shoulder blades was sheer delight.
“I’ve never had sex like that before,” Bruce said into the darkness.
“Yeah, I know.” There was humor in the tone, but it was also kind.
“I don’t mean it like that,” Bruce said. “I told you I’ve never been with a man before. I mean….” What did he mean? “You’re good at that.”
A low chuckle vibrated from Laddin’s chest to Bruce’s spine. “Yeah,” he repeated. “I know.”
“Cocky bastard,” he said without heat.
“Yeah,” Laddin said again, “I know.” And this time he added a thrust from his hips. Laddin’s cock was thick and heavy against Bruce’s backside, but it wasn’t demanding anything—just hanging out—and that made Bruce smile.
Bruce exhaled, feeling a pleasant burn in his body, like exhaustion after a good workout. It felt good, but it wasn’t quieting his thoughts. If anything, they were ramping up. Words began to crowd his mind, and eventually the pressure had him speaking them aloud.
“He offered me an apple,” he said into the darkness. “I can’t not see it, even when I close my eyes. All I have to do is reach out and I can have it.”
He felt Laddin’s body tighten. His arm was stretched across Bruce’s middle, and the fingers stopped brushing gently against his chest hair. Bruce hadn’t even noticed the caress until it stopped. And then Laddin spoke, his voice quiet.
“Who’s making the offer?”
He didn’t want to say Bitterroot’s name aloud, so he found another way. “Same asshole who gave me the cherry.”
“That turned you into a werewolf?”
“Yes.”
“And now he wants to turn you into what?”
Bruce shrugged, the movement sparking sensations along his backside where they were pressed together. “He says I’ll be more.”
“More what?”
Might was well confess it all. “More than Josh.”
Laddin blew out a heavy breath. “Thank you, Mama, for keeping me an only child.”
Bruce shook his head. “It’s not like that. It’s not rivalry.”
“You sure about that?”
Yes. No. Maybe. “Josh doesn’t need me like I am. I need something to offer him.”
“How about friendship? Brotherly love? All that relationship stuff.”
“He’s already rejected that.”
“And you think becoming bigger and badder than him is going to change anything?”
Bruce shook his head. “It’ll give me a way to stick around. If he needs my protection, then I can work on all the other stuff. In time, he’ll see that I’ve changed. That I’m trying to help.”
Laddin dropped his head down onto the bedroll. He must have been keeping it raised, because the heat of his breath moved to the back of Bruce’s neck. The blast of air that parted his hair was a measure of Laddin’s frustration. He didn’t approve—that much was clear. So Bruce tried to explain.
“I was a dick to Josh when we were kids. A real asshole in so many ways. I’m trying to make up for that.”
