Authors: Annabelle Jacobs
Nathan licked at the skin and heat pooled in Jared’s belly. Nathan flicked out his tongue, and the warm wet stroke of it had Jared squirming underneath him. When Nathan fastened his mouth around the spot and sucked, Jared cried out, arched his back, and curled his hands into fists, grabbing onto the quilt as though he might fall if he didn’t. “Oh fuck.”
Nathan hummed, and the vibrations sent spikes of pleasure through Jared’s body all the way to his toes. Nathan slipped his hands underneath Jared’s shoulders, holding him so tight he couldn’t move if he wanted to.
Jared needed this, needed Nathan to pin him to the bed and make him feel wanted, desired, and safe in the knowledge that Nathan would never let him go. “Bite me,” he whispered, and twined his fingers in Nathan’s hair, urging him on. “I want to feel it, want to wear your mark for everyone to see.”
Nathan sucked harder, the soft glide of his tongue followed by the sharp sting of his teeth. Jared thrust his hips up, moaning loudly as his cock pressed against Nathan’s belly. He opened his legs wide and wrapped them around Nathan’s back. They were still fully clothed but Jared was so close to coming there was no time to get naked. Each roll of their hips brought him closer to the edge, and when Nathan sank his teeth in and clamped down hard, Jared came with his head thrown back and a low whimper-moan filling the room.
He lost himself in the waves of pleasure coursing through his body, and when the last of it faded, opened his eyes to find Nathan peering down at him. “Did you…?” He thought he’d felt Nathan come, but after Nathan bit into him, everything became a blur.
“Oh yeah.” Nathan ducked his head and laughed; his warm breath against the tender bite mark sent a delicious shiver through Jared. Nathan stilled and reached up to push a lock of hair off Jared’s forehead. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but we need to be prepared. The changes are getting more pronounced the closer we get to the full moon.”
Nathan was right on both counts. Jared shut his eyes again, wishing he could block everything out. “I’m aware.”
“It’s going to get worse.”
“How much worse?” He knew what the answer would be before he even finished asking.
Nathan stroked his cheek, the gesture calming and intimate in a way that Nathan seemed to crave when the bond was at its strongest. Like it was now. “I don’t know. Maybe we could check that blog again. I don’t think the period before the full moon is supposed to be this intense. The bond is amplifying everything, and I don’t know what to do to help. I could ask Gareth—”
“No.” Jared looked at him, saw the flash of relief even though he tried to hide it. “We’ll get through it. It’s only thirteen more days, right?” It sounded like a lifetime.
“Yeah.”
“You know what I think would help?”
Nathan perked up at that. “What?”
“If we got out of this flat. I’ve been here so long it’s starting to feel like a prison.” The walls weren’t closing in on him quite yet, but Jared figured it was only a matter of time. “Let’s go to my flat for the weekend. You’re working with the Primrose Hill pack”—the name still made him smile—“so it’s not like they’ll care that you’re near their territory.”
Nathan frowned and checked the clock on the bedside table: 1.35 a.m. “I have to work tonight and tomorrow night. You’re safe here, but—”
“Who’s going to come after me? No one outside of the two packs knows I’m with you.”
And Seb.
“And no one knows the full extent of our relationship, so I’m as safe as I was before.”
Nathan looked less than convinced by Jared’s reasoning, so Jared brought out the big guns. Tilting his head to the side a little, he ran a finger around the edge of the bite mark. “You fuck me in your bed all the time.” He ran his other hand down Nathan’s spine and slid it into the back of his jeans to grab his arse. “I want to fuck you in mine.”
He knew he’d won when Nathan growled and kissed him, the barest hint of fang pressing against his lip. “We’ll leave after breakfast.”
Seventeen hours later, Jared sat on the edge of his bed and watched Nathan get dressed for work. They’d only arrived a little over an hour ago because first Gareth had called a unit meeting, and then Nathan had had to put in a couple of hours at the warehouse. Jared had been pissed off at the time, but being back in his own space had calmed him considerably. Being home, surrounded by his own things soothed him enough that he could almost forget what was happening to his body.
That was until Nathan pulled out his clothes for work that evening.
Jared scowled at the slim-fit black shirt hanging up on the bedroom door. “I don’t see why you need to dress up.”
Nathan snorted, which added fuel to Jared’s already smouldering temper.
It’s just the change, just the motherfucking change.
He repeated the words in his head until the moment passed and he no longer wanted to nail the door shut so Nathan couldn’t leave. For some reason his control seemed to be better today. He still got angry, but it was easier to stave it off and not give in to it.
“I’m working at a nightclub. Therefore I need to look smart.” Nathan stopped halfway through buttoning his shirt and smiled, obviously sensing Jared’s mood lifting. “You’re getting better at that.”
“Yeah, seems that way.” He still didn’t like the idea of Nathan going out looking that hot, but maybe that had nothing to do with the bond or the change. Maybe that was plain old jealousy. He’d had Nathan to himself for the past fourteen days and didn’t want to share him.
Jared shook his head and gave up trying to make sense of his stupid fucking feelings. “So, who are you working with tonight?”
Nathan smoothed down the bottom of his shirt, his big strong hands catching Jared’s eye. “Luke and the shifters from P-Pack.” He waited for Jared to look up again. “The same ones I’ve been working with all week.”
Jared couldn’t stop the snarl as he thought of them. The only one of his senses that seemed to have been vastly altered was his sense of smell. His hearing wasn’t much better and he couldn’t see in the dark, but he could smell everything so much more than before. And that included other shifters’ scent on Nathan. The one thing guaranteed to raise his hackles. “Can they not keep their hands to themselves?”
Nathan walked over to where Jared sat and climbed onto his lap, straddled him. His black jeans pulled tight across his groin and Jared smoothed his thumb over the bulge.
Nathan grinned down at him. “I like this possessive side to you.” He leaned in for a kiss, and Jared wrapped his arms around him to keep him there. “But for the record, you have nothing to worry about.” He kissed his way down to Jared’s bite mark and teased it with his tongue. “I only want you.”
Nathan’s words sent a thrill through Jared, as they always did. He pressed down with his palm and sighed in satisfaction as Nathan’s cock hardened in response. “Good.”
They kissed for a few minutes longer until Nathan got up, albeit reluctantly. “I have to go. Luke’ll be here any minute, and I’d rather meet him downstairs.”
Nathan didn’t bother with a jacket. Jared walked him to the door with one hand resting on the small of his back, his skin warm through the thin material of the shirt. “Be careful.”
He said it every time Nathan left for work, almost like a superstition now.
And Nathan always smiled and replied with “I promise.”
Jared enjoyed the peace and quiet of his apartment, going from room to room and talking as loudly as he wanted, because he could. He looked out of all the windows, tidied round, texted his mum and Seb, then sat on the sofa with a beer and turned on the TV. By eleven thirty, he was bored but not tired enough to want to go to bed. His body thrummed with energy—no doubt another shifter trait, because he didn’t ever remember feeling so restless.
Pacing in front of the living room window, his mind inevitably went to Nathan. The club would no doubt be packed by now. From what he’d told Jared, it was owned by the Primrose pack and run by a mixture of shifters and humans. Jared and Luke were working security with the other two P-Pack shifters. Jared rolled his eyes at the nickname—it made them sound like a gang of five-year-old girls with pigtails.
Is anyone giving Nathan the eye? Offering him drinks and wondering if they can get in his pants?
Of course they weren’t; he was being ridiculous, but that didn’t stop the thoughts from going round and round in his head. He stopped pacing and ran his hands through his hair.
God, this stupid fucking jealousy had better stop after the full moon.
He hated feeling like this.
Everything might stop after the full moon.
That thought brought him up short, and Jared dug his fingernails into his palm to stop the panic from escalating. He’d cross that bridge if and when they came to it. If it happened, and all the feelings went away, then odds were he wouldn’t care anyway. But the last entry on the blog they’d read was etched into his brain no matter how hard he tried to block it out.
What if it only disappears for one of us? What if the other is left with these emotions that are all of a sudden unrequited.
Jesus, he had to get out of the house and stop thinking such depressing fucking thoughts.
It’s eleven thirty on a Friday night. I should be out having fun, not pacing around my living room feeling bitter and jealous.
He wanted to go to the club where Nathan was working. They didn’t have to talk or even acknowledge each other, being close enough to see him and scent him would do. With his mind made up, he dashed into his bedroom, tearing off his T-shirt as he went. One glance in the mirror reminded him why this was such a monumentally bad idea.
After Nathan had bitten him again, even he could see the faded outline of the mark with his shitty human eyesight. No way would a shifter miss it.
“Fucking hell!” Jared closed his eyes and counted to ten, struggling to push back the anger that threatened to take over.
Just breathe.
He wanted to go out more than ever now that he knew he couldn’t.
Maybe he could wear a scarf? No, he’d look like a right tool. None of his shirts would cover the bite either.
Think.
A small white box caught his eye. It sat nestled in his open sock drawer, only visible because he’d pulled out half the contents while searching for a belt. A slow smile stretched across his face as he remembered what was in it.
Seb had bought it as a joke before Jared started hating shifters. He’d laughed when he’d opened it. Then after his hospital visit, he’d shoved it to the back of his drawer out of sight.
He got it out of the box and carefully put it on. With one last check in the mirror to make sure his bite was covered, Jared grinned at his reflection.
Perfect.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Nathan kept an eye on the queue forming outside the club as Luke let people inside a few at a time after searching their bags or pockets. His vantage point also gave him a clear view of the street and the surrounding area. If anyone was thinking about coming here, Nathan would know. Of course the club had escape exits and another door out the back, but two of the P-Pack shifters were inside and the club had CCTV. No one was getting in without them knowing about it.
He glanced down at his phone to check the time, then froze as a familiar smell drifted in on the night air.
Jared. What the fuck?
Nathan had almost got used to the constant ache in his chest that appeared whenever they were separated, and he’d managed to ignore it for the most part. It flared up hotly now as he searched up and down the street for any sign of Jared, but he couldn’t see him. Was his body playing tricks on him? He didn’t think so, but at that point, Nathan wouldn’t write anything off.
He rubbed at his chest with the heel of his hand, trying to soothe the ache. Luke glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow, so Nathan quickly dropped his hand and shook his head. Christ, he needed to not be so obvious. Luke had a lot more knowledge on the subject of bonds than Nathan had.
The wind changed and Jared’s scent faded. With a sigh and a tinge of disappointment, Nathan went back to scanning the street for rogue shifters.
Obviously he was imagining things.
Less than five minutes later, Nathan’s head snapped up as Jared’s scent came back with a vengeance. It was all he could smell, and he stared down the street, 100 percent certain that Jared would walk around the corner at any second. His hands clenched into fists as he cast a nervous glance at Luke. One look at Jared’s neck, and Luke would know for sure. For fuck’s sake, what was Jared thinking?
He typed out a quick text, hoping to stave off disaster.
Dont come to club. Luke on door with me and others inside
He stared at his phone, willing Jared to answer and tell him he’d changed his mind. But his phone buzzed with an incoming message as Jared rounded the corner. Nathan was tempted to run down the street and head him off, but how weird would that look? Luke had seen him now and was already grinning and beckoning him to the front of the line.
Nathan’s phone buzzed again and he quickly scrolled through to his messages. There were two, both from Jared.
Not the warm welcome I was expecting. Relax I’ve got it covered.
Trust me.
The last one made Nathan feel guilty. He should trust Jared; they were bonded, after all. Shouldn’t that mean automatic trust? Yet another way their bond was messing with them.
He pocketed his phone, not bothering to reply since Jared was now walking past the people queueing and towards Nathan. Jared smirked as he caught Nathan watching. His walk was confident, sexy, not that of someone expecting to run into trouble. Nathan narrowed his eyes and focused in on Jared’s neck. “Fucking hell.”
Luke whistled and muttered under his breath. “I can see why you like him. He’s perfect for you.”
The collar on Jared’s dark purple shirt covered the bottom half of the bite mark, but the rest of it was concealed behind a different collar altogether. A black band of—Nathan scented the air—suede and leather fitted snugly around Jared’s neck. The writing on it was small but easy enough for Nathan’s shifter-enhanced vision to pick out. Spelled out in elaborate white lettering was the word “Claimed.”