Bitten By Mistake (9 page)

After that, it was anyone’s guess.

Nathan left to use the bathroom when Jared returned, and Jared stood for a moment looking at the bed. Thank God it was a king-size. Anything smaller and they’d be sleeping on top of each other—which would probably suit Nathan. Jared fingered the edge of the quilt, the material soft and inviting. If Nathan was a normal guy—human—Jared would be thanking his lucky stars right about then. He’d be in that bed naked, waiting for Nathan, with a hard-on and a smile.

Three years ago he’d probably have done the same for any shifter.

“What’s wrong?” Nathan put a hand on Jared’s arm, making him jump.

“Nothing.” Force of habit had him stepping to the side and shrugging Nathan’s hand off him. “I’m fine.”

“Really? Because I’ve been standing behind you for a while, and you never noticed.”

Jared glanced back at him and frowned. He needed to be more aware of his surroundings. “I was thinking.”

“About?”

“Nothing.”

Nathan sighed but left it at that. He walked around the bed and got in. “Are you joining me any time soon?”

“Yeah.” Jared attempted to shake off whatever weird mood he’d fallen into, and he climbed into bed next to Nathan. The minute he lay down on his side, Nathan reached for him; one warm hand settled on his hip. Jared tensed.

When Nathan spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper, but the defeated tone was hard to miss. “I have to. I’m sorry.” He shuffled closer until the length of his body pressed along Jared’s. Nathan’s groin fit snugly against Jared’s arse cheeks, but where Jared expected to feel a hard cock pushing into his lower back, there wasn’t one. A surprised “oh!” escaped him.

Warm breath tickled the back of his neck from Nathan’s sharp exhalation. “Seriously? You spend all night giving me fuck-off vibes and then act surprised when I’m not hard.”

Jared felt a flare of irritation. “Well, it hasn’t stopped you before.”

What a fucking nerve!

“Maybe I’ve finally got the message.”

Nathan’s body was as tense as Jared’s was now—the two of them as stiff as boards. Jared had the sudden urge to laugh, and he had no idea why. The situation was anything but funny.

Nathan continued, sounding as if he was gritting his teeth. “I get it, okay. I don’t understand it. Sometimes you clearly find me attractive, and others you act as though you’re repulsed. But you keep saying no, so… I won’t mention it again. Sex is off the table.”

“Good.” Jared hated the flare of disappointment the words brought with them.

“Fine.”

An uncomfortable silence settled between them.

Jared was far too worked up for sleep. The questions from earlier slipped into his mind and he bit his lip, wondering if now was the time. Fuck it, Nathan had put him in this mood, so he could bloody well answer anything Jared wanted to know. “Why do I need to smell of you?”

“You know why.”

“Yes, but if I’m not leaving your flat for the duration, why does it matter how I smell?”

Nathan relaxed behind him, and Jared fought not to lean into his warmth. “My pack are used to me smelling of humans. We’re around them all the time. Any one of the pack could drop by here unannounced, and if they come in and detect a human scent they don’t recognise—one that’s not on me, my clothes, or my van, but only in my home? They’re going to get suspicious really fast.”

Jared mulled that over, realisation dawning slowly. “I don’t need to smell like you. You need to smell like me.”

“Yes.” Whether unconsciously or not, Nathan tightened his grip and pressed his nose into the back of Jared’s neck. “More specifically, our smells need to mix, blend together, so that yours doesn’t stand out like a fucking beacon.”

Shit. Was Jared being unreasonable? Was he acting like an arse and making a difficult situation even worse? Two days wasn’t nearly long enough to know whether or not Nathan could be trusted. But maybe he could cut him some slack. Their lives were on the line, after all. “Okay.”

“Okay, what?”

Jared reached down and grabbed Nathan’s hand where it rested high on his waist. Linking their fingers, he tugged it farther around him and finally relaxed into Nathan’s embrace. “I’m not gonna fight you on this anymore. If we need to be close to survive this month, then that’s what we’ll do. We’re adults, after all. So… goodnight.”

“Night.”

Jared closed his eyes and tried not to picture black hair and a vicious smile, focusing instead on the soft sounds of Nathan’s breathing until he finally fell asleep.

CHAPTER SIX

Nathan moaned, still half-asleep. The firm arse rubbed back against his cock again and again, and he tightened his grip without thinking, holding onto the hip bone under his hand. “Fuck,” he whispered, and licked at the warm skin under his lips, grazing his teeth over it afterwards. He’d been dreaming about Jared. Dreamt about fucking him in the shower and then pressing him face-first into his sheets. “Hmm.”

“Nathan.” Jared’s whole body tensed.

To Nathan’s sleep-hazy mind and aroused body, it felt like Jared had just come. That coupled with his name on Jared’s lips was enough to push him over the edge. He dug his fingers into Jared’s hip, shoved up against him one last time, and spilled into his underwear. What had been an awesome way to wake up took a decidedly bad turn seconds after.

“Get your fucking hands off me!” Jared spat the words, his body still lying rigid in Nathan’s arms. “
Now
.”

It took Nathan a couple of seconds to get his brain back online, but when he did, realisation dawned far too quickly.

Shit.

He snatched his hand away and wisely moved back to his side of the bed.

Jared took the opportunity to turn over and glare at him. “What the hell was that?”

“Um….” To be fair, it hadn’t been just him to start with. Maybe he should have realised what was going on, but he’d been half-asleep and horny—neither conducive to clear thinking. “You were rubbing back on my cock like your life depended on it. What the fuck did you expect?”

“I was asleep!”

“Well, so was I!”

Jared raised his eyebrows and glanced down at the wet patch on the front of Nathan’s grey boxer briefs. “Pretty sure you were awake at the end there.”

“What? No, I was dreaming, and I—” God, he’d not even woken up properly, and they were already arguing. “I was still waking up, and when you tensed up and said my name, I thought you’d just shot your load. I wasn’t exactly with it.”

“After everything I said last night?”

“Jesus Christ!” Nathan pushed back the covers and stood, putting some space between them. If he stayed within touching distance, he might strangle him. “Will you listen for one second? I already told you I was dreaming about you, and then the next thing I know my dick is wedged between your arse cheeks with you grinding back on me. Forgive me if I got confused.”

Jared collapsed onto his back and covered his face with his hands. He muttered something, the words getting lost between his fingers, but Nathan thought he got the gist of it.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“I
said
—” Jared dropped his hands and met Nathan’s gaze, his cheeks flushed with colour. “—I was dreaming about you too. But don’t get any ideas,” he added quickly when Nathan started to smile. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Of course not.” Apart from the fact it was going to be a long month if this was any indication. On the plus side, at least Nathan didn’t have blue balls anymore. He reached down and adjusted himself, noting the way Jared’s gaze followed his movements. “If you’ve finished blaming me for everything, then I’m going to go and take a shower.” He waited and was surprised when Jared managed a small smile.

Pushing himself up onto his elbows, Jared sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It’s just… I had a few dreams last night, some of them not so pleasant, and when I woke up and realised what was happening, I may have freaked out a little. So I’m sorry, okay?”

“Okay.” The need to ask what those other dreams were about was almost overwhelming, but he wouldn’t get answers with Jared still on edge. “Let’s forget about it.”

“Thanks.”

Under the hot, streaming water of the shower, Nathan’s mind attempted to put the pieces together.

Jared hated all shifters. He’d been attracted to Nathan in the club but refused to entertain the idea of them together when he found out what Nathan was. Sometimes he got the feeling Jared was warming to him, and then other times Jared shut him out completely. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Jared had had a bad experience with a shifter in his past. Exactly how bad, Nathan didn’t know, and he didn’t fancy his chances of finding out either.

After finishing his shower, Nathan was leaving the bathroom when a knock on the front door stopped him. Jared was still in the bedroom, but the door was open. Nathan quickly put a finger to his lips.

Jared nodded in understanding, his expression a mixture of fear and confusion, which Nathan totally understood.

Who would be knocking on his door at nine o’clock on a Sunday morning?

After pulling the door to his bedroom closed, he secured the towel around his waist and went to answer the front door. His visitor became apparent as Nathan got closer. The familiar scent eased his nerves somewhat.

“Gareth.” Nathan opened the door wide and ushered his beta inside. “What’s up?”

Gareth shook his head. “Can’t stop, I’ve got Kara waiting for me downstairs.”

Nathan had forgotten that pair were working today. “Everything okay?”

“Not really.” Gareth put his hand on Nathan’s arm and ran his palm over his bicep and up to his neck, scent-marking him. The gesture was both comforting and worry inducing. Gareth had scented them to instil calm, but Nathan wasn’t sure who out of the two of them needed calming down. “The pack meeting was a little…
tense
yesterday.”

Nathan bristled. That didn’t sound good. “Should I be worried?”

“Alec was his usual self, and you are not his favourite person at the best of times.” Gareth smiled at Nathan’s huff of laughter. That was putting it mildly. “If you’ve got somewhere else to be today, then I suggest you go be there. Soon.”

Fuck.
“Should I expect more visitors?” The last thing he wanted was Alec in his flat.

“It’s a strong possibility.” Gareth gave Nathan’s neck a squeeze before letting go. “He needs a couple of days to calm down so we can talk some sense into him.”

“Good luck with that.”

Gareth smiled as he stepped away from the door. “He’s not all bad when he listens to reason.” Nathan would beg to differ, but he kept his mouth shut. “Apart from Kara and me, I believe you’re the only one awake.” Nathan couldn’t decipher the look Gareth gave him, but it made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. “I’d hurry if I were you.”

With that, he turned and jogged down the hallway to the stairs.

Nathan watched him go, frozen in place until the slamming of the stairwell door startled him into action. “Shit.”

He quickly shut the front door and raced back into the bedroom, slinging the towel on the floor as soon as he got inside. “We need to get dressed and go. Really fucking fast.”

Jared jumped out of bed and started to pull on his clothes from yesterday. “What’s happened?”

Those jogging bottoms had been clean when Jared put them on yesterday, and that wouldn’t do. “No, put these on.”

Nathan threw his own jeans from yesterday at him, and Jared put them on without complaint. They were far too big around the waist, but that was what belts were for. He gave Jared his worn T-shirt as well. The more Jared smelled like him the better. “Alec is out for my blood, apparently, so we need to be elsewhere today.”

Jared paused, one shoe on and the other in his hand. “He’s coming here?”

“Yes.”

“Shit.”

“My sentiments exactly.” Nathan grabbed one of his jackets for Jared to wear and gestured at the door. “Ready?”

Jared pulled his other shoe on and hurriedly tied the laces. “Do I have time to at least clean my teeth?” Nathan glared at him. “Fine, fine. I’ll do them when we get to my place.”

The halls were empty, but Nathan dragged Jared out of the building at a jog just in case. The street outside didn’t cause them any problems either, but Nathan didn’t relax until they were safely inside his van and on their way.

“Was that really necessary?” Jared turned to face him, looking a little flushed. “There was no one around. Why did we have to sprint out of there?”

Nathan snorted. “Yes, it was necessary. And we jogged. It’s not my fault you’re so unfit.”

“You have supernatural genes, hardly a fair comparison.”

“True, but you shouldn’t be out of breath after jogging down some stairs and along the street.” Nathan’s gaze travelled the length of Jared’s body, then back up again. Jared had no fat on him, so Nathan had expected him to be athletic, but apparently not.

Jared pointed at the street ahead. “Eyes on the road.”

Nathan pulled up at the traffic lights and turned on his satnav. “What’s your postcode?”

Jared rattled it off, followed by his house number, and Nathan quickly typed it in. The route displayed on the screen as the lights changed to green. “Christ, why didn’t you tell me you lived so bloody close?”

Jared shrugged. “You never asked.”

According to the satnav, Jared lived fifteen minutes away, in Camden. Fifteen fucking minutes! “There are three shifter packs within spitting distance of your house and yet you still thought it would be a good idea to go home?” He hit the steering wheel with his palm. He’d be lucky to get in and out without someone recognising him. Camden, for fuck’s sake. And on a Sunday. “We’re going to have to make this quick.”

A huff and a muttered “fine” was all the response Nathan got to that. The van had the pack logo on the side. Granted it was small and discreet, but any shifter would recognise it for what it was. He’d expected to be going to Clapham or maybe Battersea, not right next door. Camden was neutral ground because of the market, but they’d be skirting the edges of Primrose Hill territory, and that put Nathan’s nerves on edge.