The Wolf Who Hatched an Egg (9 page)

As Shiloh watched the wolf head to talk to his family, he couldn’t help an overwhelming feeling of relief. “We really can do this, can’t we?”

Liam nodded and grinned at him. “Yeah, Shiloh. We can and we will.”

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As they stood together, chatting, another car pulled in. Shiloh tensed when a tall, handsome wolf exited it and headed their way. A groan escaped Liam, and Shiloh didn’t find that very promising.

He frowned, but didn’t say anything, having learned his lesson with Carlie. The wolf reached them and immediately bowed his head in front of the elder wolf. “Elder Wade, apologies for interrupting the meeting, but I didn’t want Liam to leave without me seeing him first.”

The elder released a sigh of discontent. “Fine, Anson. We’ll talk about this later.”

The words seemed threatening, but Anson didn’t look deterred. In fact, he grinned and turned toward Liam. Before Shiloh knew it, the wolf wrapped strong arms around Liam, squeezing him tight. To Shiloh, it didn’t look like a friendly hug.

Liam laughed awkwardly and extracted himself from the embrace.

“Hello, Sonny. It’s nice to see you again. This is my mate, Shiloh Holden. Shiloh, this is a good friend of mine, Sonny Wright.”

“A pleasure,” Anson said, “and congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Shiloh smiled tightly as he squeezed the other man’s hand. “It’s always great to meet my mate’s friends.”

He detected a flash of jealousy pass through Anson’s eyes. It was gone so fast that Shiloh might have thought he’d imagined it if not for Liam’s visible discomfort.

“Liam,”
he said through their bond,
“anything you’d like to
share?”

“It’s nothing, baby. Sonny and I were an item a while back, but it
was nothing serious. I swear.”

“Does he know that?”

Liam didn’t answer, and it occurred to Shiloh that they still had many things to sort through. Their pasts would not let go of them so easily.

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“Hey, baby,” Liam shouted. “Where do you want the couch?”

Shiloh considered the question, wondered why Liam was shouting in the first place, then remembered they also had guests helping them with the move. “Just dump it in the living room,” he yelled back, and returned to sorting all the boxes. Who knew he had so much junk gathered? It almost seemed that he was a magpie or a ferret, not a swan. Sheesh.

Over three-dozen boxes filled their new apartment. To be fair, it wasn’t all Shiloh’s stuff. Liam had brought quite a lot with him as well. Most of the bigger furniture was brand new, since Shiloh had never bothered buying too much for his rented apartment. However, there were all sorts of adornments, things Shiloh had picked up from various antique markets, gifts from their friends, old mementos of Liam’s, books, DVDs, quilts, pictures, Liam’s guitar, and everything the wolf used for the maintenance of his bike. Their new place wasn’t huge, since, unlike Brody, Liam didn’t have huge-ass accounts. But it was theirs, and once they managed to set everything up, it would look great.
If
they managed.

Shiloh opened a box labeled “miscellaneous shit,” snorting. He must’ve been drunk when he’d packed them up. Then again, lately, he couldn’t focus on much else except his mate.

One would think that after several months of being together, Shiloh would start getting bored. He’d never once had a relationship that lasted so long. Hell, he’d never had a relationship, period. Even with their occasional disagreement, mostly rotating around their jealous natures, he and Liam fit together. Thankfully, Anson hadn’t
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tried to contact Liam again, so Shiloh now felt reassured of the solidity of his relationship with his mate.

At first, they’d decided against moving together, going on the premise that they’d already rushed quite a lot in mating and they needed to take their time. Shiloh had resumed his job at Nicolas’s store, while Liam searched for employment. With his physique and looks, he could easily become a bouncer at any club, but the hours would keep them from being together. In the end, Liam had taken a position of guard at a museum until something better popped up.

Even if neither of their jobs would make them rich anytime soon, both of them had some savings set aside. After a few weeks of dancing around the topic, Shiloh decided it was truly pointless to struggle with their hours when they could easily live in the same place and save money.

And so, with a little help from their friends, Shiloh and Liam had managed to buy a little place of their own. Shiloh hated borrowing money, but he swore to himself that once Nicolas’s shop began bringing better income, he’d pay every cent back. Liam would also get a better job. In time, things would fall into place. He was sure of it.

For the moment, such concerns couldn’t shroud his day. He already missed Liam, even if the man was just one room over.

Surrendering to his guilty desire, Shiloh tiptoed out of the bedroom and snuck a peak into living room. His gaze zeroed in on his mate, taking in Liam’s naked back, all the delicious muscles. Shiloh wanted to lick the man head to toe. He wanted to throw all caution to the wind, jump Liam, and christen their apartment, in the best way possible.

“Baby, don’t test me,”
Liam’s voice came through their bond.
“I
only have so much resistance, and we need to finish with the move
today.”

Shiloh took a deep breath and struggled to quench his arousal. It was true. They did need to wrap up things today. Brody had come to
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help them out, and the man needed to get back to Carson and his kids.

Shiloh’s friend, Daniel, was also lending a hand, and even Nicolas had briefly dropped by before having to go man the shop. Each of them had jobs and lives to get back to, and they couldn’t stay with Liam and Shiloh forever.

“Okay, okay, I’m going,”
he told his mate.
“But I don’t like it.”

“
I promise you that I’ll more than make it up to you after our
friends are gone
.”

Shiloh gulped, the slideshow of images that came through his mind from Liam’s making his body even hotter. His nipples perked up and his cock went rock hard in his jeans. He tried to think about something else, anything except Liam’s prick pounding inside of him, Liam’s hands on him, their mouths together. Right. This wasn’t helping.

“God, baby…We’ll finish this, and after that, I’ll fuck you until
you can’t walk.”

Shiloh clung to that promise and retreated to the reasonable safety of his bedroom. There, he found Daniel grinning at him knowingly.

Damn. Shiloh had completely forgotten his squirrel friend was around. Now he’d never hear the end of it.

“It would seem you are having difficulties with focusing on productive endeavors with your handsome beau in your immediate presence,” Daniel said.

“Can you blame me?” Shiloh stuck out his tongue. “And stop checking him out, Dani. I’m the only one who’s allowed to do that.”

For once, Daniel didn’t reply. He just laughed and returned to his task. Shiloh might have had serious doubts about letting a squirrel handle his belongings, but it was different with Daniel. Not only was the man his good friend, but he also handled things with much more focus than other squirrels. It was quite paradoxical, given his foot-in-mouth personality.

For whatever reason, Daniel seemed to realize that Shiloh needed distraction to work, and continued to be a chatterbox all throughout
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the day. The squirrel’s relentless talking drowned out Shiloh’s need for his mate, to a certain extent at least. Slowly but surely, they made progress through the boxes, while Brody and Liam continued their own work and added the remaining furniture items.

By the end of the day, most of the stuff had been safely put away.

There were still a couple of things Shiloh wasn’t sure what to do with, but he felt too exhausted to give a damn. Still, they’d moved with the typical efficiency of shape-shifters. Their home was, if not complete, livable. Most importantly, they had a bed, and Shiloh intended to put it to good use as soon as possible.

At last, they said their good-byes to their friends, with promises of visiting and returning favors. When they were finally alone, Shiloh headed straight into the bedroom and collapsed on the mattress. As much as he wanted to touch Liam, he was completely beat.

Liam’s mental chuckle filled their connection.
“I know how you
feel, baby. Let’s just take a quick bath and get some sleep. Tomorrow
is another day.”

“Sure,”
Shiloh replied.
“You go right ahead. I’ll be right here.”

He didn’t think he could move a muscle.

He heard Liam go into the bathroom and start the water into the tub. A few moments later, Liam returned to their sleeping quarters.

The bed dipped as the wolf joined Shiloh on it. “Come on, baby,”

Liam coaxed him. “I’ll wash your back.”

Shiloh admitted the offer was very tempting. Liam had the hands of a god, and the mere thought of having the wolf touch him made Shiloh hard in spite of the fatigue. He rolled onto his back and narrowed his gaze at Liam. “You sure know how to make a man question his decisions.”

Liam snickered, took Shiloh in his arms, and left the bed. “How about I carry you into the bath and you wash my back? How does that sound?”

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Better and better. Shiloh cuddled in Liam’s embrace as his mate crossed the distance between the bedroom and the bathroom. Once there, Liam placed Shiloh down and began to take off his clothes.

Even if the touches began as platonic, Shiloh would have needed to be made out of stone to remain unresponsive. As each garment fell, his exhaustion melted into renewed arousal. He reached for his mate, and before he knew it, both of them were naked, bodies grinding against each other, hard cocks sliding together. Their lips met, and Shiloh fell into the kiss he’d yearned for all day. Liam’s tongue invaded his mouth, claiming him, devouring him. Shiloh gave as good as he got, loving Liam’s taste, needing more.

They only broke apart when the need to breathe forced them to do so. Shiloh realized the tub was pretty much filled now. Liam must have noticed the same thing, as he stopped the water, then took Shiloh in his arms once again.

With more patience than Shiloh himself could muster, Liam gently placed him in the tub. The water felt hot, but soothing, just right for Shiloh’s sore muscles. It would’ve had the potential to make him sleepy, but how could he possibly think about slumber when he had Liam’s prick just inches from his mouth?

He imagined his lips around Liam’s cock, taking him deep, feeling its weight on his tongue. Liam groaned, notifying him that he’d caught on to the thought. “My little incubus. You’re going to get burned if you’re not careful.”

But Shiloh couldn’t think of anything better than burning up in the heat of Liam’s passion. He imagined he would be like the mysterious firebirds of old and fly, fly together with Liam, united by a connection that would never fade.

And indeed, when Liam joined him in the tub, the wolf’s eyes were enflamed with the fire of desire. He pulled Shiloh close, and Shiloh climbed into his mate’s lap. They both groaned when the change in position made Liam’s prick slide across Shiloh’s crease.

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Liam pulled him in for another kiss, and this time, they didn’t rush. Shiloh drank in his mate’s taste almost lazily, wanting to enjoy the moment and the joy of being in Liam’s presence. He allowed his hands to roam over all the skin he could reach, wrapping his legs around Liam’s waist in the water.

In turn, Liam’s palms explored his body, tracing his spine until he reached Shiloh’s buttocks. He kneaded Shiloh’s ass cheeks, his fingers rubbing at the hole hidden between them. Shiloh gasped into their kiss, already aching for the penetration. At this point, their couplings had gone beyond the mere carnal pleasure. It was a reassurance of their bond, of the fact that against all odds, they were managing to build a life together.

Liam broke their kiss and pulled him even closer, his mouth traveling on Shiloh’s neck, biting down slightly without breaking the skin. Shiloh threw his head back, half because of the pleasure, half to give his mate better access. In reply, Liam shifted their position in the tub, leaning Shiloh over its edge. He went lower and lower down on Shiloh’s chest, until he reached Shiloh’s nipples.

Being a bird, Shiloh didn’t have nipples in shifted form. Perhaps it was for this reason that they were extra sensitive when he took human shape. Shiloh cried out as his mate’s hot mouth wrapped around the tight buds. As if of their own accord, his hands threaded into Liam’s hair as he tried to force his mate even closer. Liam went with it, never once ceasing his caresses on Shiloh’s body.

He bit down and tortured Shiloh’s nipples, occasionally even applying a hint of fang. Shiloh’s prick throbbed, and he felt his orgasm approach more and more. But no, he didn’t want to come so soon, not before he fulfilled his previous daydream.

Through a strength he didn’t know he had, he pushed Liam away.

He felt his mate’s surprise, but didn’t give Liam time to inquire or protest. He dove deep into the water and zeroed in on Liam’s prick.

As an aquatic bird, he could hold his breath much longer than most people, and he planned to take full advantage of it.

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The moment Liam’s cock filled his mouth was even more amazing than he’d imagined. Shiloh actually felt Liam’s pleasure through their bond. “
Yeah, baby
,” Liam said. “
Suck me
.”

Enthralled with the ecstasy he was delivering to Liam, Shiloh bobbed his head up and down his mate’s cock, taking him deep into his throat and swallowing. Soon, his lungs started to burn, but oddly, it added to the sensation, and the extreme need to have Liam mark him.