Kelan's Pursuit (2 page)

“Home,” he said, offering
Kelan
his most seductive smile.

Jake apparently only lived a couple of blocks from the bar.
Kelan
was sure if they didn’t get back soon, he would shove the smaller man up against the nearest wall and fuck him right there in the street. His control was diminishing with every step he took.

Kelan
had realised Jake was his mate the minute he’d laid eyes on him. He had felt an unusual tingle throughout his entire body at the mere sight of the man, and it had been all he could do to keep his eyes from shifting and his canines from protruding right there in the bar.

As soon as he had got near the man, there had been no doubt in his mind. His scent was the sweetest thing he had ever smelt, and he’d been rock hard ever since. Now all he could think about was claiming Jake. It was driving him insane.
Nothing else mattered but sinking his cock into Jake’s tight channel while sinking his teeth into the man’s neck.

Kelan
slowed his pace a little so he could stroll behind Jake and watch that fine ass of his sway while he walked. The man was
a wet dream come
true. While shorter than
Kelan
, he was not a small man by any means. He had a tight, lean body that
Kelan
was sure
came
from hours working out in the gym. He liked a man who looked after himself, and Jake was groomed to perfection. Jake was a stark contrast to
Kelan’s
blond, blue-eyed all-American look, with his wavy, dark brown hair and the richest chocolate-brown eyes imaginable.

There was something in the way Jake carried himself—confidence seemed to ooze out of his every pore, and he looked like he could take care of himself. That was a good thing.
Kelan
was the alpha of his pack in Texas, and when Jake came to live with him, there would initially be those unhappy with his arrival.

The most difficult part was going to be explaining to Jake that
Kelan
was a wolf. The mating aspect was less consequential as far as
Kelan
was concerned. Jake would be feeling the pull as much as he was. Although,
Kelan
had to admit, it was easier when your mate was another wolf. Usually both parties had already been on the lookout for their mate. Still, they were destined to be together. For whatever reason, fate had given him a human mate…so things would work themselves out, right?

Jake paused and looked over his shoulder.

“Are you checking out my ass?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Hell, yes, and that’s not all I’m
gonna
be doing to it when I get you alone, so just hurry the fuck up, will you?”

Kelan
saw the shiver that ran through Jake’s body. He could smell that Jake’s arousal had turned up a notch, too.
Kelan
was relieved Jake appeared to be feeling the same things he was. Even better was the fact that Jake seemed to be aroused by his dominance. As alpha, he was used to people doing as he said. It would not do to have a mate that wanted control, especially in the bedroom.
Kelan
would not be able to relinquish it. He just wasn’t wired that way.

“Patience, man,” Jake admonished, but his pace quickened, undermining his words.

Kelan
growled and grabbed hold of Jake’s hips from behind. He thrust his hard cock against Jake’s ass and hissed when Jake pushed back into him. He licked a trail down Jake’s neck before biting down sharply, causing Jake to cry out and tilt his head to the side in an unconsciously submissive gesture.
Kelan
nearly came unglued. It was all he could do to keep from coming in his pants. Jake was driving him insane.

“Damn it, Jake, get us home, now,”
Kelan
said through gritted teeth.

Despite his words,
Kelan
wrapped his arms around Jake and continued to lick and suck at his neck. He just couldn’t get enough of the taste of the man. Jake bore faint traces of aftershave.
Kelan
was sure he detected rosewood and sandalwood. But the underlying scent was something that was all man.
Kelan
couldn’t wait to get Jake naked so he could taste every inch of him.

“What’s wrong?”
Kelan
asked when he suddenly felt Jake tense in his arms.

Now the man wouldn’t even look him in the eye.

“Jake, did I hurt you?”

“This isn’t going to work,” Jake said. His voice was suddenly as cold as ice.

Kelan
frowned. He couldn’t understand why Jake had gone so cold on him all of a sudden. A moment ago Jake had been all systems go, and now
Kelan
could feel him pulling away. Had he done something wrong?

“What isn’t going to work?”

Jake looked up at him at last, but
Kelan
couldn’t read anything in his eyes.
Nothing.
He was like a closed book now.

“Jake?”
Kelan
prompted when Jake didn’t answer him.

“
This…us,”
Jake said, sweeping a hand between them. “Look, I’m sorry to lead you on, but this isn’t going to happen. I think
it’s
best you go back to the bar and find someone else to go home with tonight.”

The hell he would. There would be no other man for him
ever
now that he had found his mate. Wolves mated for life. But there was no way he could explain that to Jake just yet. A wave of sadness washed over
Kelan
. His mate didn’t want him. Had he misread the signals? He thought he had smelt Jake’s arousal earlier, but maybe he’d been mistaken.
Kelan
could feel a lump rise in his throat and tears begin to form in his eyes.

Wolves searched for many years to find their mates and some never found them at all. When a wolf did meet his mate, the event was almost sacred and the only thing that could separate them from then on was death. But Jake wasn’t a wolf. Maybe humans were different. He knew that some members of his pack were mated to humans, but they all seemed blissfully happy together.
Kelan
had always longed for the same thing.

The sensation of
Kelan’s
tongue teasing Jake had been almost too much for him to bear. But he didn’t want to move any further away. The feeling of
Kelan’s
strong arms wrapped around him had felt divine. It was almost as though he belonged in the bigger man’s arms. He wished he could stay like that for a very long time.

As soon as that thought had hit, Jake had tensed and pulled away from
Kelan
. Jake didn’t do commitment in any shape or form, and he was sure that was the last thing
Kelan
wanted, too. The guy just wanted to fuck him, right? For all Jake knew, in the morning,
Kelan
would be on his merry way back to Texas or wherever the hell he was from, and Jake would never see him again. He should have been happy about that. After all, he never wanted to see any of his conquests again after he’d finished with them. But the thought of never seeing
Kelan
again caused a pain in his chest so
sharp,
he thought he was going to pass out from it.

Jake turned to leave and with each step he took away from
Kelan
, the pain in his chest grew more and more intense. He couldn’t understand it but when he had told
Kelan
to go and find someone else, he could almost feel
Kelan’s
sadness as though it were a physical thing. But that was insane. No one could experience other people’s emotions—but that was exactly what it had felt like.

Jake was shocked when he felt a tear slide down his cheek.
What the fuck?
What the hell was wrong with him? He was sure he hadn’t had
that
much to drink, and drinking never made him sad—it usually just made him angry. Angry with his parents for getting themselves killed in a wreck when he was only eight. Angry with his grandparents for not being there for him when he’d needed them.
Angry with Matt, his first and only love, for screwing his roommate and leaving him.
In the end, everyone left.

Now, Jake didn’t let anyone close enough to hurt him. He had learnt a long time ago how to put up a barrier to keep people at a distance, and it had served him well for the last ten years.
Kelan
was the first person Jake had met that he actually
wanted
to get past his barriers…and that was as scary as hell. Jake had to walk away before he did something he would later regret.

Kelan
watched the man he had waited his whole life for walk away from him. It was all he could do to not to throw himself at Jake’s feet and beg him not to go.
Kelan’s
heart ached at the loss. He was sure without Jake in his life he would never be happy again. How could he? If his own mate—the person that was destined to be with him—didn’t want him, who would? Not that he wanted anyone else anyway.
Kelan
couldn’t imagine ever being turned on by another man now that he knew Jake existed.

He just couldn’t figure it out. What the hell was wrong with him?
Why
didn’t Jake want him? He couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. One minute they’d been getting on like a house on fire, and the next there wasn’t so much as a burning ember.
Kelan
was confused, upset—worse, he was angry. Jake had offered him no explanation and
Kelan
damn well deserved one. With each moment that passed,
Kelan’s
anger grew more pronounced. He would not let it end like this. He was an alpha wolf, damn it, not some timid little cub. Mind made up,
Kelan
stormed down the street in search of his mate.

He caught sight of Jake a few hundred yards down. He watched as Jake crossed the road and let himself into a large brownstone apartment.
Crap
. What the hell was he going to do now? He couldn’t just stand there in the damn street. He felt like a freaking stalker. He thought about going home to Cody’s, giving up, but he couldn’t let things end like this, could he?

Kelan
would never forgive himself if he left without even trying to talk to his mate to find out what was wrong. He’d seen Cody nearly throw away his relationship with Stefan when he’d discovered Stefan had a wife and son.
Kelan
couldn’t blame Cody, of course—the discovery had been a harsh one.
Kelan
might have done the same thing. But the fact of the matter was, the drama might have been avoided if Cody had only talked to his mate first, found out his side of the story.

If Cody were here now,
Kelan
knew what he would say. He’d tell him to stop over-thinking things. He’d tell him to swallow his pride and knock on Jake’s door, tell him everything. Honesty was always the best policy. But then, Cody had always been the brave one. His brother had never been anything but honest. And then there was Luke. His youngest brother wasn’t even gay, and yet when he’d found out he had a man for a mate, the thought of hiding that fact or denying it hadn’t even occurred to him.

Kelan
was an alpha wolf. He was supposed to be strong, the strongest of his brothers—hell the strongest in his pack. And yet here he was, lurking on a street corner, afraid to knock on a man’s door for fear of getting hurt.
Kelan
shook his head.
Time to grow a pair.
He pulled in a deep, calming breath and crossed the street to talk to his mate.

Jake let himself into his apartment and, after pouring himself a scotch, he flopped down onto his custom-made, black leather sofa. He had never felt like this before—so
alone
. He felt like he could never be happy again. Christ, he hadn’t even known
Kelan
for an hour but already the loss felt like a physical blow. Jake felt exhausted. Maybe he was coming down with something. Yeah, that had to be it. It was the only way he could explain his bizarre behaviour. Maybe a hot shower and an early night would help. He had been partying a little hard lately.

He had stood up and was headed for the shower when he heard someone banging on his apartment door. Hell, the whole neighbourhood must have heard it, it was so loud. Wearily, Jake crossed the room and opened the door, only to be pushed out of the way as
Kelan
stormed into the room.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jake asked, closing the door and staring at
Kelan
in disbelief. “I told you nothing was going to happen between us. I’d like you to leave.”

Kelan
watched Jake’s face closely,
then
his eyes travelled the length of Jake’s body. Jake squirmed under the scrutiny. He might have told
Kelan
to leave but his body was saying something else entirely. He couldn’t hide the erection that tented the front of his trousers, and he knew the moment
Kelan
noticed it, too.
Kelan’s
eyes widened and he licked his lips.

“Now, see, I think you’re lying to me, Jake. You don’t want me to leave at all, do you? In fact, I think you want me here as much as I want to be here. So why don’t you cut the crap and tell me what you really feel?”

Jake had no words to answer
Kelan
. He obviously couldn’t tell the man the truth. That deep down he was afraid one night wouldn’t be enough. Jake wanted more, and even if
Kelan
wanted the same thing, he certainly wouldn’t stick around forever. Where would Jake be then? In the same damn situation he’d been in at twenty. He’d come too far to open himself up to that kind of heartache again.