Bitten By Mistake (14 page)

“We can’t pretend to be together. The Primrose Hill pack is suspicious. They think I’m using you to spy on them. Trust between packs is strained because of the attacks, and their alpha wanted assurances that we were together.”

“Can’t you just say we are? It’s worked so far.”

He didn’t want to spell it out, but Jared had to see. “They can smell whether we’re actually fucking or not, whether we’re intimate. The scent lingers, like a constant undertone to our natural scent. They’d know.”

“Oh. So we’d have to actually….”

“Yes.”

Jared sat back on the sofa, bowed his head and clasped his hands in front of him.

Nathan’s stomach swooped as realisation set in. Fuck, he was really doing this, turning himself in. Worst-case scenario: death. Best case: banishment. His legs gave out and he collapsed on the sofa next to Jared.

“I thought you found me attractive?”

“What?” Nathan turned at Jared’s quiet voice to see him still staring down at his hands.

“I said I thought you found me attractive.”

“I do.”

Jared looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “Then what’s the problem? If it’s going to keep me alive, then fine. I guess we can do that.”

“What? No!”

“Do you not want to?” Jared sounded pissed off, and he looked it too. “Is the idea of having sex with me so off-putting that you’d rather hand yourself over to the authorities?”

Nathan’s head spun. “No. And of course I want to. I’d have you naked in my bed in a heartbeat.”

“Then why don’t you? Everyone would be happy—job done.”

“Except you. You wouldn’t be happy.” Nathan reached out and took Jared’s face in his hands before he thought better of it, forcing him to meet his gaze. “I know you’ve had a bad experience with a shifter. Jesus, you were frightened of me not five minutes ago.” Jared opened his mouth, but Nathan shushed him with a shake of his head. “I brought you here and forced you to stay with me. I won’t force you to do anything else. I’m not…. I don’t want to be like the other shifters you’ve known.”

Jared closed his eyes and sighed. “Shit.”

Yep. That about covered it.

CHAPTER NINE

Jared’s heart pounded so loud, he was positive Nathan could hear it. How had they ended up here? After the kiss, and the conversation they had in the van, he’d assumed everything was sorted. They had a plan, a flaky-as-fuck plan, but a plan nonetheless. And now this—a complete one-eighty.
Fuck.

As much as he hated to admit it, a lot of this was probably down to him and his constant I-hate-shifters vibe. Not the biting and the kidnapping, though. That was definitely on Nathan. But strangely enough, Jared had accepted that. People panicked and made stupid decisions, and that was what Nathan had done.

The last thing he wanted to do was explain about his past, but that was what he needed to do. He put his hands on Nathan’s and lowered them. “I feel like I’m repeating myself here, but you insist on bringing it up again. I’m not staying with you because you’re forcing me to. It’s the best and safest way for us both to get through this mess.”

“But—”

Jared stood and pointed at the bedroom, fed up of having to talk in harsh whispers when what he wanted to do was yell. Nathan stalked off as directed; for once he didn’t make a dirty remark when the opportunity was there for the taking. Jared found he missed it. Which only pissed him off more.

With the door safely shut, he turned and pointed at Nathan where he sat stiffly on the edge of the bed. “Right. I’m going to say this once, and then it’s done, because I am so over talking about this. Okay?”

Nathan nodded, looking taken aback at Jared’s raised voice. Good. Nathan was somehow under the impression that Jared was frightened of him, and Jared needed to change that.

“You bit me and took me hostage, fact. You then kept me against my will, fact. That all sucked. Not gonna lie.” Jared want to grin at the thoroughly confused look on Nathan’s face, but he held it in. “Then we had a discussion where I agreed that despite going about everything the wrong way, your plan was the only way to proceed. Also fact. The key point there being that
I agreed
. I don’t want to go to the police, and I don’t want your pack or any other pack to find out.” He glared at Nathan as a thought occurred to him. “I’m assuming the bite mark will disappear if the change doesn’t take. I mean, I guess I could take up wearing scarves until then, but I don’t want to do it forever.”

“I’m pretty sure that if the change doesn’t take, it will go with the rest of the changes you’re experiencing.”

Jared stopped his pacing—when had he started?—and glared. “What changes?”

“Short temper—”

“Fuck off, I am not short-tempered!”

Nathan raised an eyebrow, forcing Jared to growl and take a deep breath.

Wait, what?

“And that too.”

“Oh God.” Jared’s hand flew to his throat, as if he could feel some change under the skin. “I just growled at you.”

“Yes, you did.”

For fuck’s sake.

“Does that mean…?”

“I don’t think so.” Nathan didn’t sound convincing.

“Whatever.” Jared waved a hand at him. “There’s not much I can do about that now. Where were we? Oh yes.” He stood with his hands on his hips and met Nathan’s gaze. “The reason I have such a dislike for shifters is partly because the lot of you are arrogant arseholes, I don’t care what you say to the contrary, and partly because I was involved with one, and obviously that didn’t end well.”

“What happened?”

Jared sighed. Reliving that night brought back feelings he’d rather not examine. “Let’s just say he was the jealous type, and I was stupid enough to think he was all bark and no bite.”

Nathan’s gaze immediately dropped to Jared’s neck.

Jared clenched his fists. “He didn’t actually bite me, that was an unfortunate turn of phrase. But he did put me in hospital with a dislocated shoulder, cracked ribs, and a broken wrist. As well as various cuts and bruises. I think at one point he actually forgot I was human.”

The memory still filled him with rage, even now. Waking up in that hospital bed, so angry at himself for ignoring the signs. “I knew he was unstable, but he was hot and dangerous, and I liked the idea that he wanted me, out of everyone. I was a fool.”

Nathan growled, a low sound building in volume as it rumbled through his chest. “Not your fault.” The words came out through gritted teeth.

Jared stared as he realised Nathan was struggling not to shift. Fuck, he did not need to see that. Once in his lifetime was more than enough. Well, twice if he counted the van incident, but that had only lasted seconds and didn’t go all the way. Thank God.

“Hey,” Jared said to the still-growling Nathan. “Calm down. I know it wasn’t my fault. The guy was a crazy wanker, but I was vain enough to believe his attention was worth the risk. I was young and stupid, but it kinda put me off shifters for life. That’s why I don’t get involved with your kind anymore. I don’t trust my own judgement sometimes, which is fine most of the time, and I can handle myself in a fight. But not with someone who isn’t human.”

“Which is exactly why this is a bad idea.”

Jared wanted to scream in frustration. “But I just explained! He didn’t force me to do anything. He was just a jealous arsehole who was stronger than me.”

“I’m stronger than you, and I get jealous.” Nathan looked at him, his expression pained. “And I scared you.”

“When?” Jared was pretty sure that after the initial shock of being bitten wore off, he hadn’t been frightened of him.

“On the sofa, a few minutes ago. I yelled and you were scared.”

Jared cast his thoughts back, struggling to remember.
Oh
, that was what this was all about. His stupid heart stuttered as the enormity of what Nathan had done sank in. “You thought I was scared of you. You thought I’d only agreed to everything because I was frightened?”

“Yes.”

“And you were willing to risk imprisonment or even death to let me go?”

“Yes.” Nathan looked away, his gaze drawn to the closed door. “I kept you locked in here—”

“You kept me safe here.”

“Why are you defending me?” Nathan yelled.

“Why are you so intent on getting me to leave when until now you’ve been doing the opposite?” Jared yelled back just as loudly.

“Because I didn’t realise just how wrong it was until I saw you cowering from me as though you expected a blow any second!” He looked back at Jared, regret and hurt all over his face. “I’m arrogant, jealous, and dangerous. All the things you think shifters are. But I would never intentionally hurt you.”

“I know that.”

“Do you? Because I thought you believed me when I told you, but then I yelled, and you—”

“You startled me. You are a scary guy when you get mad, and yes, for a second there I was frightened. It’s a natural reaction to getting yelled at by someone your size. But I wasn’t scared of you.”

Nathan studied him long and hard, while Jared stood there and let him. He didn’t know how he could prove he was telling the truth. But no way was he going back to his flat alone, and the police station was out of the question. He bit the inside of his cheek, hating that he had to admit this. “You’re right when you say I’m attracted to you.” Nathan’s gaze snapped to his, but Jared refused to look away. “It pisses me off, because I don’t want to be. I hate the way you all expect everyone to fall over themselves for you and the way you look surprised when someone says no—that’s why I say I don’t like you.”

“Are we talking about me or shifters in general?” Nathan still had a tense set to his shoulders, but his features had softened considerably.

God, he was going to be so unbearably smug. For a second Jared contemplated taking him up on his offer of the police station. “You. I still think the rest of your kind are utter arseholes, but you….” He sighed and looked to the ceiling as his cheeks heated. “You’re kind of growing on me.”

“So soon?”

Nathan smiled and Jared’s belly fluttered.

“You’re a fast worker.” His lips twitched despite his best efforts.

“It was the kiss, wasn’t it?”

Jared groaned. He knew this would happen. “Maybe.”

Nathan’s eyes sparkled as he stood and took two steps forward, bringing them within touching distance. “So, does this mean you aren’t opposed to the idea of not-so-pretend boyfriends?”

With another put-upon sigh, Jared let his gaze roam down Nathan’s body and back up again. Broad shoulders, lean muscles, solid-looking thighs. Jared bet Nathan was solid all over. “You’re not my first choice, but I guess it won’t exactly be a hardship.”

“Such a sweet-talker. It’s hard to resist you when you flatter me like that.” Nathan reached out, hooked a finger in Jared’s belt loop, and tugged him closer. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Because if you’re not, we don’t have to do this.”

That close, Jared felt the heat of Nathan’s body. A solid wall of muscle and warm skin, begging to be undressed. Jared licked his lips, anticipation getting him hard. “I’m sure. Don’t make it any weirder than it already is.”

Nathan barked out a laugh. “Mm-hmm. Like I’m the one making it weird.”

“You keep talking when there’s nothing left to say.”

Jared had been a ball of tension since he woke up on Nathan’s bathroom floor two nights ago. The constant swing between anger, irritation, and attraction had left him almost bursting with pent-up energy. His wank had barely taken the edge off, and the promise of release lay within easy reach if Nathan would only shut up.

Nathan opened his mouth again, but Jared had had enough. Grabbing hold of Nathan’s T-shirt, he pulled him forward and kissed him. A startled noise was the only sound to escape Nathan’s lips, which quickly turned into a moan as Jared slipped his arms around Nathan’s neck and plastered himself to his front.

God, Nathan might have looked solid and inviting, but it was nothing in comparison to the way he felt up close. Nathan put his hands on the backs of Jared’s thighs and hoisted him up, then backed them towards the closed bedroom door. Jared’s shoulders hit it first. Not hard, but enough to force a soft grunt from his lips; he quickly wrapped his legs around Nathan’s waist.

“Sorry,” Nathan muttered, his lips curving into a smile. He kissed his way along Jared’s jaw.

It might be Jared’s imagination, but Nathan’s teeth felt sharper than normal,
pointier
. He let his head tip back and wasn’t surprised when Nathan honed in on the bite mark. Jared couldn’t see it, but he knew exactly where it was. Nathan worried the skin with his lips and gentle nips, and every touch sent a spark of heat to Jared’s groin. His last encounter with a shifter might not have ended well, but the sex had been great, Jared had forgotten how it felt to be surrounded by all that raw strength, but it was all coming back to him now.

Nathan held him up as though he weighed nothing, caging him in against the bedroom door, with his cock pressed into Jared’s belly. With a hand in Jared’s hair, Nathan tugged his head farther to the side and set his teeth against the base of his throat.

A delicious shiver ran down Jared’s spine, and words spilled out without his permission. “Yes, do it.” His voice emerged as barely a whisper, a breathy moan urging Nathan to sink his teeth in and bite him. Hard.

“I want to.” Nathan sounded pained, the roughness of his voice making Jared arch into him, he wanted it so bad. “Can’t.”

Jared sucked in a breath as Nathan bit down more but not enough to break the skin. The subtle smell of shower gel mixed with the musky scent of sweat and arousal surrounded them. Jared’s senses were clearer, stronger than they’d ever been, and he stifled a whimper as everything threatened to overwhelm him. He wanted to bury his face in the crook of Nathan’s neck, breathe him in until his lungs filled with nothing but that smell; he wanted to lick him, taste the sweat on his skin, and bite back… “
Oh God
….”

Nathan rolled his hips, the friction enough to tease Jared and send him close to the edge. He gasped as Nathan did it again and again, a desperate whine on his lips.