Love, Always, Promise [Wolf Creek Pack 5] (12 page)

Oh!

Ethan’s hand dropped and he stepped back from Jace. Now he understood. This would be their first full moon together. Ethan could no longer shift. He knew he would never be an equal mate in this area, always lacking. He wouldn’t run with the rest of the pack or hunt down prey. He would always sit on the sidelines of that life.

The thought that he would never run free with Jace felt like a knife through Ethan’s heart. He felt it like a physical pain. His chest ached. His eyes burned with unshed tears. Ethan turned back to his tea to hide his grief from Jace. There would be no point in letting his mate know how miserable he felt. Jace would just feel guilty.

“I think you should go run with the rest of the pack,” Ethan said. He took a deep breath and plastered a smile on his face, turning back to Jace. “You’d enjoy it. I’ll be here when you get home.”

“I can’t leave you here all alone, not on the full moon,” Jace insisted. “We’re mates and—”

“Well, I certainly won’t be running through the woods with you.”

“What did you expect, Jace?” Ethan asked, realizing that he couldn’t hide the bitterness in his voice. “I can’t shift. I can’t run.” He waved his hands toward the side of the room. “I can barely make it up the stairs on my own.”

Jace’s nostrils flared. “You could come and… and…”

“And what, Jace? Watch? Sit on the sidelines while you run and hunt and play with the others?” Ethan snorted. “I don’t think so.”

“Ethan!” Jace snapped.

This wasn’t what Ethan wanted. He tried to hide his sorrow from Jace, but it came out as anger. It wasn’t what was supposed to happen. Jace was getting angry. He probably felt resentful as well. Who wanted a mate that they couldn’t run with? Ethan needed to end this conversation before either of them said something they didn’t really mean.

“Just go, Jace,” Ethan finally said. “I’ll be fine. I’ll probably make some popcorn and just curl up on the couch and watch a movie or something.”

“I’m not going to leave you here all alone, Ethan,” Jace said again. “It’s the full moon and—”

“You already said that, and I told you I’ll be fine. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself for a few hours. I’m not a child, Jace.”

Jace glared. His nostrils flared again. His lips thinned into a tight little line. “Fine,” he growled. “Stay here by yourself, then. If you don’t want to spend the full moon with me, I’ll spend it with people who do.”

“Oh, no, that’s not what—shit!” Ethan dropped the hand he reached out to Jace and frowned. That certainly went well.
Not!
Now Jace was pissed at him. He saw it in the stiff posture of the man’s shoulders as he stormed out of the kitchen.

Ethan would like nothing more than to spend the full moon with Jace, but he knew the pull that glorious white globe had on a shifter. Jace wouldn’t be able to resist the chance to run free in the moonlight. He would need to hunt, to play with the others in the pack. He wouldn’t be able to stay home with his less than perfect mate.

No, it was better this way. Jace would join up with the others in their pack and run free under the moon’s shining light. Ethan would be waiting for the man when he came home. They could make up then.

Ethan spent the next two hours watching some comedy on the television that he really wasn’t interested in. It looked stupid. Besides, he couldn’t stop thinking about Jace. He handled things all wrong between them. He knew that now.

He went over their conversation a hundred times in his head. Ethan knew Jace thought he blamed him for not being able to join the pack. That wasn’t the case at all. Ethan just didn’t want Jace to be deprived of all that being a shifter meant because of him.

Ethan gave up any resentment he felt toward Jace for his injuries long ago. After getting to know the man, Ethan realized he would never intentionally hurt anyone. It just wasn’t in him. What happened with Ethan had been an accident.

The more Ethan thought about it, the more he knew he should have gone with Jace. His mate didn’t like being separated from Ethan for long periods of time. Ethan didn’t like it, either. He should have just gotten a blanket and gone along, even if he could have only watched from the sidelines.

Maybe it wasn’t too late, Ethan thought as he got to his feet.

The moon still hung full in the night sky. He could go join Jace and spend the evening with his mate, even if he couldn’t join in all the little wolfy games.

Ethan walked to the bedroom and went to his dresser to grab some outdoor wear. His pajama bottoms wouldn’t keep the cool night air at bay. He needed something warm and preferably comfortable.

He tossed a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt on the chair in the corner then searched around for his shoes. Maybe he’d take a blanket and pillow with him just in case he got tired waiting for Jace.

Smiling at what he envisioned Jace’s reaction to his arrival would be, Ethan pulled his pajama shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor. He started to reach for his pajama bottoms when a loud crash from the front room froze him in his spot.

Ethan listened for a moment, but he didn’t hear anything more. He sniffed the air. At least he hadn’t lost that. He could smell him and Jace, a whole lot of Jace. It was one scent Ethan would never get tired of smelling.

With no other sound ringing out and just the smell of the two of them in the house, Ethan felt safe in continuing his plans for the evening. He’d have smelled an intruder. Still, he’d be a lot happier when they finally got a dog.

Ethan froze again, his pajama bottoms half way down his legs. He knew that voice, but he didn’t. It sounded like Jace, but the tone went deeper, more intense, almost raspy in nature. And it sent chills up Ethan’s spine.

“Jace?” Ethan asked. He quickly pulled his pajama bottoms up then looked toward the doorway.

He saw a shadow pass in front of the doorway but the form was bigger than Jace, taller and thicker. Jace was a big man, much bigger than Ethan. The shadow moving toward the bedroom door looked even bigger than Jace.

Fear gripped Ethan. He sniffed the air but smelled nothing except him and Jace and a slight
cold
scent as if the very air changed. As the shadow moved closer to the door, Ethan tried to move back but his crutches wouldn’t cooperate. They kept slipping on the hardwood floor.

“Jace?” Ethan asked. He quickly pulled his pajama bottoms up then looked toward the doorway.

He saw a shadow pass in front of the doorway, but the form was bigger than Jace, taller and thicker. Jace was a big man, much bigger than Ethan. The shadow moving toward the bedroom door looked even bigger than Jace.

Fear gripped Ethan. He sniffed the air but smelled nothing except him and Jace and a slight
cold
scent as if the very air changed. As the shadow moved closer to the door, Ethan tried to move back, but his crutches wouldn’t cooperate. They kept slipping on the hardwood floor. Panicked, Ethan dropped the crutches and grabbed for the edge of the bed.

“Sweetness.” The voice that sounded like Jace but wasn’t. “I can smell you, sweetness. I know you’re in here.”

“I can’t stay away from you, Ethan,” the voice said, getting closer. “Not tonight. It’s the full moon, sweetness, the time for us to be together and renew our mating, to claim each other again.”

Ethan’s heart pounded. He climbed onto the bed and scooted toward the headboard, trying to make himself as small as possible. He grabbed a pillow and held it in front of his body, maybe as a shield against the huge form that suddenly filled the doorway.

“It’s the full moon mating, sweetness, and I’ve come to claim my mate.”

“Jace?” Ethan squeaked, holding the pillow tighter against his body. There was no way that the creature standing in the doorway could be his mate. His Jace wasn’t nearly that big. He also didn’t have dark brown hair over most of his body, pointed ears, a lightly elongated nose, and long canine teeth.

Ethan’s mouth dropped open as his eyes roamed over the…the…whatever stood in the doorway. He felt absolutely positive his Jace didn’t have a dick that big, either. This creature looked like he sported a two-by-four between his legs.

“Hello, sweetness,” it said, looking right at Ethan.

Ethan inhaled swiftly as shock filled him. The eyes, the deep, grass green eyes, those belonged to Jace. The creature standing before him, walking slowly toward him was none other than Ethan’s mate.

“I tried to stay away, Ethan,” Jace said as he climbed onto the end of the bed and crawled toward Ethan. “I swear I did. I tried to do as you asked. I joined with the pack. I ran and hunted. None of it felt the same without you. I have to be with you tonight.”

Ethan’s hand trembled as he dropped the pillow and reached out to touch Jace’s furry face. The fine hairs on Jace tickled his skin. Ethan could suddenly smell a strong, musky scent in the air. It overwhelmed every other smell in the room, shooting straight toward his cock.

It made him want, made him ache. It made him need his mate more than he ever did before.

“Jace?” Ethan asked again.

Jace turned his head and licked at Ethan’s hand, his extremely long tongue wrapping nearly all the way around his palm. Jace groaned. “Oh, you taste so good, sweetness. I could lick you up.”

Ethan yelped as Jace grabbed his legs and pulled him down on the bed. He grabbed Ethan’s pajama bottoms and ripped them right down the middle, tossing the tattered material to the floor.

“I think I will,” Jace said.

Ethan lifted a hand to stop Jace only to drop it down to the bed when Jace’s long tongue licked him from abdomen to collar bone.

Oh, sweet hell
.

Jace licked him again. Ethan never felt anything like it in his life. Ethan just became Jace’s lollipop.

“Oh God, Jace,” Ethan panted.

“Mmm, sweetness fits you, Ethan,” Jace said as he licked down Ethan’s body. “You taste sweet, like milk chocolate with just a hint of cinnamon.”

Ethan buried his hands in Jace’s hair as his world narrowed to the tongue moving toward his groin. His cock stood up and waved hello. Much to Ethan’s dismay, Jace bypassed his cock and moved lower to lick at his puckered hole.

“There’s that cinnamon taste,” Jace said. “It’s so strong here.”

Ethan nearly lost his mind when Ethan nuzzled his balls. The small hairs on Jace’s face rubbed again him.

“I want more, sweetness.”

Okay.

Ethan dropped his legs open and offered himself up to his mate. If Jace wanted him, Jace could have him. Ethan didn’t care if it came as part of the full moon mating ritual. He just didn’t want the pleasure to end.

And it didn’t. Jace bathed Ethan’s body with his tongue. He circled Ethan’s nipples, moved down over his chest and abdomen, then around his cock and over his balls, pressing it against his eager entrance until he could push in. Jace didn’t miss an inch.

Ethan’s body quivered with each swipe of Jace’s tongue. His body felt over sensitized, every nerve ending screaming for more of Jace’s touch. Ethan knew he whimpered, babbled, pleaded for Jace. It just seemed to spur the man on.

Ethan cried out his objection when Jace suddenly pulled away. It turned to a small yelp when he suddenly got flipped over, several pillows shoved under his hips to elevate them. He glanced over his shoulder to question Jace, but any protest he would have made died on his lips when Jace gripped his ass cheeks and pulled them apart, licking along the crease.

The pleasure felt too intense. Ethan couldn’t hold back anymore. The heat smoldering in his body was about to combust and take him with it. He started moving his hips, pressing back against the man tormenting him.

“Jace, Jace, Jace,” he pleaded. “I need, Jace, please.”

“Then you shall have, sweetness.”

Ethan cried out when Jace pulled away from him. He knew they argued, that Jace had been upset with him when he left the house. But he didn’t think he would survive it if Jace left him now.

The feeling of Jace’s cock pressing against his hole should have warned Ethan what was about to happen. He saw the man when he walked into the room. As Jace’s massive dick slowly impaled him, Ethan could do nothing but shake and whimper.

The further Jace pushed in, the more convinced Ethan became that his mate wanted to kill him. He just didn’t think the man would fit. It didn’t hurt exactly. There was just a whole hell of a lot of pressure and fullness.

Finally, Ethan felt Jace stop, giving him a few brief moments to breathe and adjust to the feel of Jace’s massive cock in his ass. When Jace started moving, every thought of Jace torturing him flew right out of his head to be replaced by a red haze of desire so intense, Ethan saw sparks explode in front of his eyes.

Every movement Jace made, thrusting in or pulling out, stroked against his sweet spot. There wasn’t a single second that direct contact between Jace’s cock and Ethan’s prostate didn’t happen. Ethan never felt anything quite like it, and he wasn’t sure he could handle it if he ever did again.

Everything seemed too intense, the feel of Jace’s clawed hands digging into his hips, the soft brush of Jace’s furry body against his, the way Jace filled him to the brim, even the strong scent of his mate. Ethan’s senses overloaded, exploded. So did his body.

Ethan’s fingers dug into the blankets below him as he cried out his release, ropes of pearly seed covering the bed. He heard the soft growls behind him become one loud, continuous roar before long canines sank into the soft flesh of his neck as Jace claimed him again.

Ethan’s cries turned to screams of delight as Jace’s seed filled him. The knot extending into his body was the last straw. Ethan’s body melted right into the mattress. He saw lights sparkled before his eyes until his vision turned black. He smiled, feeling happy and satisfied, then slipped into unconsciousness.

Chapter 8

Ethan groaned and rolled over. He didn’t want any nagging voices invading the pleasant dreams he experienced. He felt melted, relaxed. He wanted to stay in the pleasant little dreamland he floated in.

Ethan blinked, his eyes opening up without his permission. He rolled over to see Nate sitting on the side of his bed. The cool air that prickled his skin suddenly reminded Ethan that he lay naked on the bed, and why. He felt his face flush even as he grabbed the blankets and pulled them up over his body.