Garrett's Choice (12 page)

Lachlan pulled back, and Garrett stared up at him with such wonder that Lachlan felt guilty for fighting in this manner with the man he so desperately loved and wanted to be with.

Garrett’s usual smiling blue eyes were nearly black with desire.

Lachlan could see the yearning raging like a forest fire in his mate’s eyes, and Lachlan snapped. He sat back on his haunches and flipped Garrett over. Garrett hit the floor with a thud and a sharp inhale of breath. Lachlan quickly covered Garrett’s back with his front and shuddered as the heat radiating off his mate sank through his clothes and into Lachlan’s skin.

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Lachlan licked at the back of Garrett’s neck, humming as he tasted the sweat covering the tender skin. As he feasted on Garrett’s flesh, Lachlan took in his mate’s smell, dried leaves and fire. It was rustic and wild like just like the man beneath him.

Between the smells and sounds his mate made, Lachlan lost his grip on his control. Blood pumped directly to his cock, making the member flex and jerk in his pants. Garrett wiggled his hips just a fraction, but it was enough to have Lachlan grinding his hardened shaft into the crease of Garrett’s jean-covered ass.

Lachlan was still angry, but his lion wanted to claim its mate until all the rage drained from his body. Without getting Garrett’s consent, Lachlan let his claws descend and sheared the clothes from Garrett’s body. Garrett wasn’t fighting him, but his body began to tremble.

Lachlan ran his claws lightly down his mate’s back, watching as the muscles jumped from the gentle touch. Lachlan reached down with his hands and grabbed Garrett’s ass, hard enough to puncture the thick tissue with his nails. Garrett gave a small yelp, and Lachlan couldn’t help but smile. He liked seeing his mark on his mate. Garrett was always the one sitting in the driver’s seat, but now, it was Lachlan’s turn.

Lachlan leaned back down to cover his mate’s naked body, letting the rough textures of his clothes scrape across Garrett exposed skin.

He blew hot breaths against Garrett’s ear and licked along the shell. A small tremor raked through Garrett’s body.

“Don’t move a muscle,” Lachlan said in a raspy whisper, his throat thick with arousal. His mind and body were on overload with his out-of-sync feelings. He started off wanting to hurt his mate, to make him feel little and weak the way Garrett had done to him that night. But now, all he could think about was sinking into Garrett’s tight, hot channel and fucking him until they both screamed out their pleasure.

Lachlan popped up and rushed over to his nightstand. He pulled out the lube he’d left in the drawer. As he walked back over to where
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Garrett lay facedown, he toed off his shoes and shucked off his shirt.

He unfastened the snap on his jeans but kept them on.

Peering down at his mate, Lachlan took in Garrett’s broad shoulders that tapered down to a trim waist. Garrett’s backside was perfect as if carved from marble to form the roundest ass Lachlan had ever seen. And Garrett’s legs were so thick and corded with muscle the man could probably snap someone’s neck with those lethal weapons.

Dark, coarse hair covered Garrett’s legs and ran up to shade the crease of his mate’s ass. Lachlan wanted to dive between those firm mounds and tease the tiny pucker the thick hair tried to conceal.

Reaching down, Lachlan pulled up on Garrett’s hips, bringing the man up onto his knees. Lachlan smiled as he kneaded Garrett’s flesh, letting his fingers fan out. He started to work apart Garrett’s ass cheeks.

When Garrett started to push into his touch, Lachlan bent down and ran his tongue from the cleft of Garrett’s crease down to the dusty-colored star of his entrance. Lachlan teased the small opening with his tongue. He’d circle then dart his tongue inside, stretching ever so lightly.

“Fuck,” Garrett grated out between clenched teeth as he rubbed his face into the carpet.

Lachlan smiled. He kept up his assault on his mate’s ass until the hole fluttered open, almost winking at him. Sitting back, Lachlan pulled his pants halfway down his hips and coated his cock with the lube, using the excess gel to probe his mate’s entrance with his fingers. Garrett gasped as his muscles clinched tight against invasion.

“I’m going to fuck you until you beg me to stop,” Lachlan said as he pulled his fingers free.

He’d only finger fucked his mate for a few minutes. Lachlan wanted to take Garrett while he was still nice and tight and could feel the pinch of pain. The pain would only last a second before it blended with pleasure. Lachlan wanted Garrett to be shocked by his bold
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actions. He wanted his mate to know that Garrett wasn’t the only alpha in the bedroom.

With one hand on Garrett’s shoulder, Lachlan used the other to guide his aching cock to his mate’s hole. He swiped the bulbous head over the muscle and grinned as he watched Garrett’s muscles tense.

Using his other hand, Lachlan pushed forward until the crown sunk inside.

Lachlan released a loud moan and pulled back out. On his next breath he pushed in farther and Garrett arched his back, jutting his ass out further. Lachlan brought his other hand up to grab Garrett’s other shoulder and gave one quick thrust forward until his thighs met the back of Garrett’s ass. He held still for just a moment before he started pounding into his mate.

Garrett grunted with each inward stroke but never protested Lachlan’s handling of his body. In and out, harder and harder, Lachlan was getting lost in his mate’s body. On the next thrust, Lachlan knocked Garrett forward. Lachlan took that moment to push Garrett’s head into the carpet and held him there. He leaned farther over Garrett’s body as he slammed home with every stroke. Keeping one hand on Garrett’s head, Lachlan used his other one to reach around and pump Garrett’s cock. Lachlan’s orgasm stirred just beneath the surface, but he wanted to feel Garrett come on his shaft while he thrust into his tight heat.

Lachlan fisted Garrett’s cock in time with his hips. Cum collected in his balls, and he was moments away from shooting his load deep in Garrett’s velvet channel.

Garrett had claimed Lachlan in the blood, sex, magic ritual. It was only fair Lachlan do the same for his mate. Lachlan pulled out of Garrett and sliced a thin line from tip to base down his length. Blood instantly beaded up from the shallow cut. He then collected a drop of blood that dribbled from the claw marks he gifted onto Garrett’s body and wiped the contents over his angry red tip, then thrust back into Garrett.

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“What are you doing?” Garrett rasped as he tried to push onto his elbows.

“Claiming my mate.” Lachlan locked his arm in place, not allowing Garrett to get up. He was in control, and Garrett had to follow
his
orders.

Lachlan’s body felt strung tight as he rammed into Garrett. He was just about to come when he felt Garrett’s erection swell in his hand. Garrett’s seed shot out the tip, bathing Lachlan’s hand in warmth. The dual sensations of feeling Garrett clamp around his cock and the smell of his mate’s pleasure shoved Lachlan over the edge into the most delightful free fall of his life. He came long and hard inside Garrett’s smoldering depths. Their bonding connection had already been cemented into place, but Lachlan could have sworn he felt their souls strengthen in power.

Garrett collapsed to the floor, and Lachlan followed him down, not ready to pull out of Garrett’s welcoming body. He half lay on the floor and on his mate. Garrett didn’t seem to mind. He just lay there trying to catch his breath.

After a few minutes Lachlan pulled out and climbed to his feet.

He went into the bathroom and rinsed off his cock then grabbed a wet cloth. Garrett was still lying motionless on the floor when Lachlan returned. He knelt down and wiped away the cum leaking out of Garrett’s stretched hole. When he was done Lachlan tossed the soiled cloth in the direction of the bathroom, not caring if it actually made it to its destination.

Looking down at his mate on the floor, Lachlan had no desire to lounge on the hard surface, even with the carpet, when he had a nice cozy bed to share with his mate. They needed to talk, and Lachlan would be damned if they did it on the cold floor.

“Come on, Garrett. Get up.” Lachlan tapped Garrett on the shoulder when he didn’t move.

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Garrett turned his head and looked up at him. “No. If I get up you’re just going to kick me out. I prefer to lie here on the floor so I can be near you.”

Lachlan wanted to laugh at the needless determination on his mate’s face. Kicking Garrett out was the last thing Lachlan wanted to do. “I meant for you to join me in my bed, not leave the room.”

“Oh.” A look of shock crossed Garrett’s face before he could mask it.

Lachlan extended a hand to his mate, and Garrett accepted it. He pulled Garrett to his feet then walked hand in hand back to the bed.

Lachlan pulled back the comforter and motioned for Garrett to climb in first. Once Garrett was situated, Lachlan curled in next to Garrett, wrapping his arm around Garrett’s waist.

Lachlan combed his fingers through Garrett’s dark hair, relishing in its thickness. Garrett was always so eager to take care of everyone else, but Lachlan could sense his mate needed some pampering of his own.

Neither one made the move to speak, and Lachlan had thought Garrett had fallen asleep until he turned to face him.

“I’m sorry about tonight. I just got scared,” Garrett admitted in a small voice. One that Lachlan couldn’t believe came from his strong, confident mate. “I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m trying to work on not ordering you around, but it’s just so hard when you constantly want to step right in the path of a moving car.” Garrett darted his eyes up to Lachlan’s. “So to speak.”

“I know you are, but you have to realize I’m not weak and I’m not stupid. I wouldn’t jump into a fight without having some sort of strategy in place.” Lachlan took a deep breath. He wasn’t about to let his emotions get the better of him. “You need to start seeing me as your equal and not one of the many people you need to take care of.”

Garrett’s eyes dropped to stare at Lachlan’s chest. He started to twirl his fingers in the fine hair covering Lachlan’s torso, and Lachlan found the action sweet and innocent, so unlike the man himself. His
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mate needed someone to step up and take care of him for once. Too much pressure sat on Garrett’s shoulders. If only he’d see that Lachlan was here with no intentions of going anywhere. They could share the responsibility of running and caring for their pack.

“Part of me knows that, but I can’t chance losing the one thing that makes all this worth living for.” Garrett gestured around the room. “I’ve been groomed from an early age to be the alpha of this pack, so my dad could one day retire after eight hundred years of service. The stress and anxiety has eaten away at me. I’m afraid to make any wrong decisions. My father was an amazing alpha. I cannot not live up to the expectations he set forth.” Garrett looked at Lachlan with sad eyes.

Lachlan’s heart broke for Garrett. His mate didn’t try to always have the upper hand out of some sense of entitlement but out of training.

“My dad taught me that family came first and above all else to keep them safe, that includes the pack. He said to let them down would be failure and that someone might challenge me for my seat as alpha.” Garrett’s hand stilled where it moved on Lachlan’s body.

Lachlan wanted him to keep touching him but knew better than to interrupt his mate. “I might have grown up here, but knowing that one day these people’s fate would rest solely in my hands had me keeping my distance. If I didn’t know them on personal level, maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much if I did happen to let them down. After a while one face bled into another and all that meant was another person I had to keep safe. I never told my parents, but it was hard knowing my whole life had been planned out for me before I ever got the chance to really live it, you know?”

Lachlan didn’t know what to say. This was the first time Garrett had opened up to him. If Lachlan thought too hard on it, he’d be riddled with guilt. Every time they were together Lachlan only thought about himself and his feelings and what he wanted. Never once did he consider Garrett’s needs or even inquire about his mate’s
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past. Lachlan felt like a downright jerk. He’d guarded his heart for so many years, he immediately went on the defensive when Garrett didn’t live up to the expectations Lachlan had built up in his mind for what he wanted his mate to be like. In doing so he wedged a ten-foot gap between them to keep Garrett from hurting him. But in the end Lachlan had only hurt himself and made his mate suffer.

Maybe Garrett had every right to punch me in the face.
Lachlan twitched his nose at the memory of the hard right hook Garrett planted on him.

“Well, you’re not alone anymore. You have me to help with the burden of leading the pack,” Lachlan said, wishing they could rewind time to have avoided all the misunderstandings that kept them apart.

“I wish we could have talked about all this before now.” It wasn’t all Garrett’s fault for the lack of communication between them, but Lachlan wanted to right that wrong. Get on a more even ground with his mate. It wasn’t an issue of lack of love because the love was plentiful. It was Lachlan’s fear of being let down by his mate and Garrett’s fear of letting his mate down. It was a cluster fuck to the tenth degree, all from each of them being too stubborn to talk about their own fears.

“There’re a lot of things I wished we would have done before now.” Garrett released a nervous chuckle. “But what is done is done.

The question is can we move forward from here?”

Lachlan leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly across Garrett’s. They still had so many things to sort out and work on, but this was a beginning, and it looked promising.