Wolf at the Door (5 page)

Raylan nods in acceptance, and Darin turns and flees to the bathroom, not even embarrassed by the way he stumbles over the sheet that he’s still clutching.

Chapter Eight

Darin scrubs himself clean and then lets the water beat down on his back, the heat from the shower relaxing muscles he doesn’t even remember tensing.  The conversation with Raylan had been long and informative, although he’d had to work hard at suspending his disbelief for a while in order to really pay attention.  If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, watched Raylan shift from wolf to man, Darin’s not sure he’d be as calm as he currently is.  Raylan, to his credit, had been open and seemingly honest, willing to answer Darin’s numerous questions with a strange sort of eagerness. 

It had been fascinating; the entire conversation was kind of surreal but still captivating.  Then Raylan had gone into detail about the things Hollywood and folklore got wrong, and Darin had been even more riveted and almost touched.  Raylan had launched into weaknesses and strengths like he fully trusted Darin not to use them against him in any way, as if it was a foregone conclusion that Darin wouldn’t try to hurt him.

Darin knows that he won’t, that no matter what else happens around them or between them he’ll never lash out at Raylan in that way.  He’ll never take what he’s just been taught and use it against the werewolf.  The very thought is distasteful.

He knows he can’t hide in the shower forever, that Raylan is hopefully still waiting on him outside, so he needs to pull his shit together and get out there.  Darin takes a deep fortifying breath and moves.  He’s dressed in sweat pants and a raggedy t-shirt, ruffling his still damp hair with a towel when he wanders into the kitchen and freezes.  Raylan’s there, two cups of coffee sitting on the island and a bouquet of raggedy wildflowers in the vase Darin had dug out when this had all started.

What really catches his attention is the fact that Raylan is still naked.  Darin tries his hardest to keep his eyes above the waist, to not get caught staring again, but he can tell from Raylan’s amused smirk that he’s already been found out.  He moves farther into the kitchen and scoops one of the coffee cups up, desperately happy to have something to hide behind if only for a minute.  He turns his attention to the wildflowers, reaches out to tuck a stray bloom farther down into the vase so that it doesn’t topple over.

“It’s the second step in the courtship, in case you were wondering.”

The unexpected announcement causes Darin to suck in a harsh breath and a few seconds later he’s doubled over, cup abandoned on the counter as he hacks out the coffee he’s inhaled in surprise.  He’s teary eyed and Raylan is at his side, a warm hand stroking down the center of his back, when he manages to get himself under control.

“The second step?”  That seems to be the most important question Darin can think of because he’s not opposed to courtships in general, but he tends to like knowing when one he’s involved in starts.

Raylan hums low in his throat and the hand that’s been rubbing gently up and down Darin’s spine moves up to grip the back of his neck.  Darin tenses and straightens up, his body going stiff at the unexpected warmth and the firmness of the hold.  All at once he’s reminded of just how strong Raylan is.  Even without the additional strength that comes from being a werewolf it’s obvious that Raylan’s powerful. The way his muscles flex when he moves is proof of that.

“Oh yes.  I knew from the moment I met you that you were the one, and when I met you again, it all fell into place perfectly.  You see the first step is the introduction, where we meet our chosen as both man and wolf.  If they accept us instead of cowering away in fright, we move on to the second stage, to the gifting.”  Raylan moves closer to him, until Darin can feel Raylan’s breath in his ear and feel the heat from his body.  It seems to radiate off of Raylan enough to seep through Darin’s clothes and heat him up from the inside.

“We’re ruled by our most basic of instincts in those moments, driven to prove we can provide, that we’ll be suitable and worthy mates.  When you asked for flowers instead of meat … well, I was compelled to comply.”

“You were?”  It comes out shaky and low. Darin’s blood is hot, and his heart is beating wildly in his chest.

“Yes.  You see, you didn’t reject the gifts, you never told me to stop, and you never tried to have me stopped; you simply changed the parameters.  You knew it was me, but you never told me to stop.”

“No, I mean yes, I mean I uh knew it was the wolf, the one I’d met in the woods, but I didn’t know it was
you
.”  Raylan chuckles at the way he flounders and then Darin’s knees go weak when a tongue dips into the shell of his ear for a split second and teeth nip sharply at the lobe.

“That was more than enough, Darin.  You could’ve been frightened, could’ve tried to set traps or tried to find a way to stop me from getting near the house, anything to show your rejection.  Instead you made a request.”  Raylan moves then, lets his hand trail its way down Darin’s neck, across his shoulder and then down his arm to tangle their fingers together as he slides over and fits his front seamlessly against Darin’s back.

Raylan presses their joined hands to Darin’s stomach, and his other arm comes up to wrap around his chest so that his hand is hooked around the curve of Darin’s opposite shoulder.  They fit together like puzzle pieces, and Darin isn’t ashamed of the way his stomach clenches and his cock goes hard and long in his loose fitting pants.  Not when he can feel every inch of Raylan against him and he knows that the werewolf is just as affected.  Raylan dips his head and nudges Darin’s to the side so that he can run his nose along the length of his throat.

“You have no idea what it did to me to have you
ask
for something.  What it did to the wolf to have you participate, even unknowingly, in the gifting.  It took all the control I had left not to come for you then.  Not to push my way into your life and take and take until there was no part of you I hadn’t touched, no part I hadn’t tasted.  No part of you that wasn’t completely mixed with a part of me.”  Raylan’s teeth close over the tender flesh of Darin’s neck, and he whimpers, hips bucking up and fingers tightening around Raylan’s hand.

  Raylan doesn’t stop. He just tightens his hold on Darin’s shoulder, squeezes his hand in return, and grinds the long arch of his cock against Darin’s ass.  When he finally pulls away, Darin is breathless and knows that he’s going to have one hell of a mark.  It makes something inside of him sit up and whine, makes him want to beg Raylan to do it over and over again, to mark him from head to toe.

“It got worse when I had to leave, when the Huntsman was so hard on my trail I had to disappear for a while to try to make it seem like I’d moved on.  I was two states away and the wolf would take over, would drag me almost halfway here before I could take control back enough to turn around.”  Raylan whispers the words into Darin’s ear.

“I-I don’t understand.  Why would the wolf drag you back here when there’s danger?”  Darin does his best to keep his voice even, but he knows he’s failing, can feel the tremors that are wracking his body and the way his heart’s beating fast enough to burst.

“Because it wants you, too, just as bad as I do, and it didn’t like being away from you, being unable to protect you.  And then last night when you helped me, when you treated the wound, put me in your bed and then slipped in beside me like a true mate would, I couldn’t help but move things forward to the next step.”

Darin remembers the hot press and glide of bodies and hands, the thick heat of Raylan pressed against him and the tight ring of his fingers as he wrung Darin’s orgasm out of him.  He has a fairly good idea of what the third step is.  He can vaguely remember Raylan rubbing his back, the warm dampness of his hand and the way his skin had been sticky and itchy this morning.  His dawning awareness must show somehow because Raylan’s laughing again, a dark husky chuckle that sends puffs of warm air across the mark on Darin’s neck.

“Hmm, I enjoyed it, too, enjoyed rubbing my scent onto you and yours onto me, enjoyed the thought of you lying there asleep, so trusting and smelling of our sex.  It’s a sign that you’re mine, that you belong to me and that I’m going to mate you.  If another wolf got anywhere near you they’d know right away that you were taken.  It’s still a struggle not to bend you over this counter and take you, to hold back and not fuck you right here in this kitchen until you can’t move, can’t think, without feeling me inside of you.  The scenting helps, even though the fact that it’s faded a bit because of your shower is slowly driving me crazy.  I want to be so deep inside your skin that you’ll never wash me off.”

Raylan untangles their fingers, and his now free hand skims its way beneath Darin’s too large shirt, and he hooks a thumb in the waistband of his pants.  His fingers caress the arch of Darin’s cock, finding the little wet spot on the fabric that’s proof of just how affected Darin is and worrying it with a nail.

“As a matter of fact, I think I’ll fix that problem right now.”

Chapter Nine

Darin shudders, Raylan’s words hitting him hard.  He can already imagine it, can picture Raylan dragging him to the floor or back to bed, or bending him over the side of the island.  Can imagine his hands running all over him, the feel of Raylan’s mouth as he tongues and nips at whatever skin he can reach, leaving strings of red marks in his wake.  He wants it, wants it even more wildly and viciously than he had hours ago when sleep had clouded his mind and his judgment.

Darin bucks and twists until Raylan finally lets him go, and when he turns around to face Raylan, his expression is drawn with confusion and his almost glowing amber eyes are darkened with hurt and rejection.  That isn’t what Darin meant to do, isn’t the message he was trying to send.  He wants to have Raylan’s scent back on his skin and all the other things that Raylan had talked about, but he also wants it a certain way.  He’s no shrinking violet, and he’s definitely not a character in some bodice ripper romance novel, so he wants things between them to be as even as possible.  He wants to go into this under his own steam, not propelled forward by Raylan’s passion.

So he leans back against the island, eyes locked with Raylan’s, and wraps his fingers in the folds of his shirt and slowly draws it up and over his head.  He tosses it carelessly to the side and then he tugs at the drawstring holding his pants up, pulling them down and kicking them off as well.  He’s standing naked in front of Raylan, whose eyes have brightened again in understanding even as he’s busy raking his gaze over all of the skin Darin has just exposed.  Darin props his elbows on the island and angles his hips teasingly towards Raylan in blatant invitation.

He barely has time to blink before Raylan is on him, a hand wrapped around the back of his neck as Raylan licks his way into Darin’s mouth.  He crowds Darin farther up against the island, their bodies pressing against each other.  Raylan’s cock teases the flesh of Darin’s stomach and smears pre-cum across his skin every time Raylan so much as twitches.  Darin is struggling to focus on anything besides the aggressive press of Raylan’s tongue that seems determined to learn and claim every inch of his mouth.

Raylan pulls away and Darin leans forward after him, chasing that tongue and that mouth, loath to give it up.  Raylan leans forward and gives him another shorter, sweeter kiss before he pulls back again and dips down to latch his mouth onto the side of his neck.  He sucks hard and then bites down, sending a jolt of heat and want straight through Darin before he pulls away and hums in satisfaction.  Darin knows that he’s going to have another mark, can already feel the bruise blooming to match the one on the opposite side of his neck, and that knowledge has him bucking up against Raylan hard.

Raylan chuckles and bends his knees so he can lap at Darin’s nipples, his free hand coming down to wrap firmly around Darin’s weeping cock.  He strokes him once, twice, and Darin whimpers out a plea, but it’s too late and Raylan lets him go before the pleasure can build any further.  Darin reaches out and plants both of his hands on the sides of Raylan’s face and tugs until he’s once again standing straight and staring Darin directly in the eyes.

“Fuck me, Raylan.  Now.”

Raylan’s eyes go wide and his nostrils flare as the hand on the back of Darin’s neck tightens.  Unexpectedly, Raylan rips himself away from Darin, backs up a few steps as he clenches his eyes closed and his chest rises and falls rapidly.  Darin stares in confusion and then awe when he notices the way Raylan’s flexing his hands, fingers suddenly tipped in deadly looking claws that begin to shorten as Darin watches.  When Raylan slowly opens his eyes, Darin sucks in a quick breath.  The eyes that are staring back at him belong to the wolf.  They’re the same bright amber that Darin remembers seeing that day in the woods, brighter than anything Darin has seen on Raylan so far and almost totally wild.

“You can’t say things like that if you don’t mean them, Darin.  Not to me.”  Raylan’s voice is low and harsh with a slight lisp, and Darin can see the glint of too long teeth before Raylan clamps his mouth shut again.

Darin straightens his spine and throws his shoulders back, drawing himself up to his full height.  He moves across the space between them until he’s standing once more directly in front of Raylan.  He reaches up and cups Raylan’s jaw in his hand, something inside of him softening at the way Raylan nuzzles his face into his palm.

“I mean it, Raylan.  There’re things we need to talk about, stuff I need to know, but I want you.  I want this.  And I’m pretty sure nothing is going to change my mind.”

Raylan huffs out a harsh breath and opens his mouth to swipe his tongue across Darin’s wrist.  When he speaks his voice is still low and harsh, but the lisp is gone and he seems more controlled than before.

“I won’t mate you, not until you know everything, until you know exactly what it entails.  I won’t take that choice from you.”  A muscled arm reaches out and wraps around Darin’s waist, pulling him closer to Raylan’s heat.  “But I will have this; have you, here and now, for as long as you’ll let me.”  Raylan’s mouth is on his then, and he’s opening willingly to the press of his tongue, and Darin can’t help the way he moans low in his throat as the taste and feel of Raylan washes back across his senses.