“How?”
“I can show you, if you want.”
Noah stared at Blue, unable to believe this stroke of uncharacteristic good fortune. “Hey, if you can lift me anywhere above the level of magic school reject? That would be totally awesome.”
“Great! Kalen can help us.”
Kalen Black was the team’s Sorcerer/Necromancer/black panther shifter. He was also Blue’s half-brother. Kalen and Blue were badass, and together they could probably rule the world if they wanted. Fortunately for mankind, they were nothing like their evil sire, Malik, the deceased Unseelie king.
“That’ll be cool—if you’re sure he won’t mind.”
“The only thing he would mind is if he found out I helped you and he didn’t get to be a part of it. It won’t be a problem, it’ll be fun.”
“All right,” Noah said, excitement growing. “Blue, this could be it. This could be the thing that shows Nix I’m worthy of him.”
“Oh, no. You have that all wrong.” The prince’s lips turned up. “Your mate is going to finally see whether he is worthy of you.”
* * *
That kiss.
Nix had no real clue where he was going as he left Sanctuary. In a daze, he walked down the front steps, bypassed the hangar, and kept right on going until he reached the edge of the forest. Once there, he picked a trail at random and plunged forward, not really caring how far he went.
No matter how many miles his feet carried him, it would never be far enough.
He couldn’t shake the memory of Noah’s lips against his. So soft and yet with the right amount of firmness. Their mouths slowly devouring each other, Noah’s body responding so quickly to his attention. He’d enjoyed his mate’s hand in his hair, too, and wanted him to do that often.
And didn’t that just freak him the fuck out?
He wasn’t supposed to love the hell out of touching another dude. Kissing him. Wasn’t supposed to want to bury his cock inside his sweet nurse so badly he thought he’d die from the anticipation if he made himself wait much longer.
Sure, he’d been with both boys and girls in high school. And men and women later, when he joined the Navy. But his hookups with men were furtive, secret. Women were a cover for his true self and he knew it. Not a single one of those experiences could compare to the explosive reaction when he’d kissed Noah. Not even close.
None of them were his mate.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” he growled in anguish, stopping to stare at the sky through the treetops. “Why him?”
That was as much self-honesty as he could handle for now.
Stripping off his shorts, he shifted into his wolf form and ran. As fast as he could, he raced through the forest along the familiar trails. Wildlife stirred, small game that he chased but didn’t bother to kill and eat. He was out for the air, to clear his head. Maybe if he ran his wolf into exhaustion, the damned beast would be too tired to bitch and whine at him about not taking his mate yet.
As if.
Still, he ran anyway. When he finally came to his favorite stream, he stopped and shifted back into human form. His run had been exhilarating, but he was frustrated and pissed to find that it had done nothing to lessen his arousal. As he knelt in the mossy earth by the stream, his cock stood hard and proud, jutting out from his body, red and aching.
With a curse, Nix took himself in hand, palming the rigid length. Instantly he pictured Noah, on his knees, taking Nix’s cock between those plump lips and down his throat. He imagined that sweet face looking up at him, blue eyes heavy with desire. With the knowledge that as soon as Nix got finished shooting, he’d lap up the offering and get ready, because they were going for round two.
What would Noah look like on his hands and knees, firm ass stuck up in the air, ready for his cock? Fucking great, he imagined. Especially when Nix began to slide inside—
“Oh, fuck!”
That’s all the fantasizing it took, and he erupted over his fist, shooting ribbons of come into the stream in front of him. When the spasms faded, he sat back on his heels and heaved a deep breath, hands on his thighs.
“Man, you’re royally screwed,”
Yep. He had it bad. And he had no idea what the hell to do about it.
* * *