Bitten By Mistake (16 page)

“Hey.” Jared stood in the kitchen, cooking some sort of stir-fry. He tensed when Nathan took a step towards him, the wooden spoon suspended in mid-air above the pan.

The delicious smells finally registered through the cloud of steam coming from the bathroom, and Nathan’s belly rumbled. “God, I’m starving.”

“Good.” Jared smiled, relaxing instantly when Nathan didn’t make any attempt to ravish him or drag him back into the bedroom. Clearly as freaked out about this whole thing as Nathan was. “I made loads.”

When dinner was ready, they took their plates to the sofa and attempted to watch TV while they ate.

They both ignored the elephant in the room.

A couple of hours later, Jared yawned for the third time in ten minutes, and Nathan groaned inwardly. They couldn’t put it off any longer.

“Come on, let’s go to bed.”

“What?” Jared startled as though Nathan just suggested he go and jump out the window.

“Bed. You’re knackered, and I have to get up early for work tomorrow.”

Jared glanced at the open bedroom door and then back again. “Do you think…?”

“I don’t know. But we can’t sleep out here.”

The sofa was comfy, but not comfy enough to spend a whole night on. Besides, Nathan didn’t know how thin the walls were. What if they made noise in the night and someone heard? Explaining why one of them slept on the sofa was an added complication they didn’t need.

“Come on.” Nathan held his hand out and hoped Jared would take it. “Jared?”

Not looking entirely convinced, Jared grasped Nathan’s fingers and allowed himself to be pulled up.

They walked in silence, and it felt more like heading towards the gallows than Nathan’s bedroom. Once inside, Nathan pushed the door closed and leaned back against it.

Jared stood in front of him, eyeing the bed. He glanced back at Nathan. “Anything?”

Nathan smiled, despite the nerves setting him on edge, because he felt fine. “I think I can manage to resist you.”

Jared smiled back at him, and started to undress. “Just as well. I’d hate to have to ruin that pretty face of yours if you tried anything.”

“Uh-huh. Like you could if you tried.” The easy banter settled Nathan’s nerves and he shucked off his T-shirt and pyjama bottoms, leaving only his briefs on. Maybe it had been a freaky one-off occurrence. He settled under the quilt, holding his breath as Jared did the same.

“Okay?” Jared shuffled closer in small increments, obviously testing to see if anything happened. When his thigh brushed up against Nathan’s, he froze.

“Relax. I’m not going to jump you.” Not that the feel of Jared’s warm skin didn’t elicit a spark of heat deep in his belly, but nothing that Nathan couldn’t contain. He’d found Jared attractive before any of this mess started; he still did now. But he didn’t have to act on it. “Good night.”

“Night.”

They went to sleep barely touching, but they woke up wrapped around each other like snakes. Nathan breathed in as he woke. The scent that filled his senses was a warm, spicy blend, and he tightened his arms around the—

“
Shit
.”

Jared clung to his chest like a limpet, one thigh wedged between Nathan’s and his hip resting snug against Nathan’s hard dick. While it was a great way to wake up, Nathan wasn’t sure if Jared would be so keen.

On the plus side, he felt like himself, no pressing need to sink his teeth anywhere they weren’t wanted; he was just horny. He debated giving Jared a nudge to see if he was interested, but before he could even do that, Jared’s eyes snapped open. It took him about two seconds to realise where he was, another couple to register Nathan’s erection, and one more to leap out of bed and fall over.

“Bollocks.”

Nathan shuffled to the edge of the bed and peered over. Jared sat in a heap on the floor, with a telltale bulge in his boxers, Nathan noted. “Are you okay?”

Jared stared at up him, frowned, and then glanced down at his lap. “Yeah, fine. I felt your—” He made some rude gesture that Nathan figured meant his cock. “—and I was hard.” Nathan’s gaze dropped to Jared’s lap again. “And I thought maybe we were going to go all weird again.” He absently palmed his morning wood, and Nathan watched him, his own feeling neglected.

“While I wouldn’t say no to some messing around this morning, I’m not out of control or anything. You?”

Jared shook his head. “No.”

Nathan propped himself up on one elbow and used the other to adjust his dick into a more comfortable position. “Fancy it?”

They didn’t need to. Strictly speaking, they’d done enough last night to carry each other’s scent for a few days.

But Nathan wanted to.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, do you?”

“I think it’s an excellent idea.” Nathan rolled onto his back and shoved a hand inside his boxers. He closed his eyes and started to rub himself, rolling his hips a little and fully expecting Jared to come join him any second.

Instead he heard Jared get up, walk past the bed, and head out of the door.

Damn it.

Nathan didn’t stop, though. His cock strained against the material and his fist stretched the fabric with each pass up and down his length. Thoughts of Jared filled his head. Bleached blond hair spilling through his fingers as he grabbed a handful and held Jared’s head in place as he fed his cock into his mouth. The image burned into his brain: soft, pink lips, slick with spit, sliding down his shaft.

Fuuuck.

Nathan came with a low groan, not caring that the bedroom door was open. Let Jared hear what he was missing out on.

When Nathan stumbled out of the bedroom a few minutes later, Jared sat on the sofa, still in just his underwear with his laptop on his knee. Not the slightest flicker of emotion on his face as he stared at the screen, he was hardly the picture of longing Nathan had been hoping to see.

“Feel better now?”

Jared’s sarcastic tone made Nathan stop and take a closer look at him. Maybe Jared wasn’t as unaffected as Nathan first thought. He grinned. “Yep. You should have stayed and joined me.”

“Look how well that turned out last time,” Jared muttered, but his gaze flicked to Nathan and did a sweep of his body before looking away again. “I thought you had to work early, anyway.”

“I do.” He glanced at the clock and cursed. If he wasn’t downstairs in twenty minutes, Luke would be knocking on his door.

After speed showering and throwing on the first clothes he came across, Nathan was dressed and ready to go.

He grabbed an apple from the worktop. “I’ll be back about four. There’s plenty of food in the fridge. Please don’t go out or answer the door.”

“Your friends know I’m here now. What if they get curious and knock?”

“Shit.” Nathan didn’t have time to think about that now. “Fine, but wear something that covers up that bite, for fuck’s sake. They shouldn’t bother you, but just in case.”

Jared hummed in what Nathan hoped was agreement and waved a hand in the air. “Bye, then.”

“Bye.” Nathan closed the front door with a slam and marched down the stairs, grumpy but not sure why.

Luke waited for him, leant against the side of his van. “What’s up with your face? I thought you’d be smug as fuck with lover boy stopping the night.” He poked Nathan in the kidney as he passed by. “Wouldn’t he put out?”

Luke hurried round to the passenger side, got in, and slammed the door. “Oh, my mistake.” He immediately opened the side window. “What’s wrong, then? Certainly smells like you had a good time.”

Nathan started the engine and turned to face him. “Humans are… strange.”

Luke laughed at him. “In what way?”

“I don’t know.” He might not have felt weird when he woke up, but the farther he got from Jared, the more unsettled he felt. Maybe Jared wasn’t the one behaving strangely… “Maybe it’s me.”

Roads were busy even at that early hour, and Nathan grumbled his way through the morning traffic, cursing every now and then when someone cut in front of him. He later blamed his focus on the road for not filtering what came out of his mouth. “What do you know about bites?”

Shit.
Too late to take that back. Luke had already turned to look at him.

“What do you mean? Biting a human? You’re not thinking of biting J—”

“No.”

Luke raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing it.

God, he was so fucking stupid sometimes. Of course Luke’s mind would immediately go there. Nathan scrambled for some sort of half-truth to pacify him with. “Well, not really. But if I ever considered it, do you know what’s involved?”

“You have to apply for permission and get a pack to—”

“I know all the legal requirements. I meant the actual biting and the change. Do you know much about that?” Nathan tried to school his features and not appear too eager.

Luke shrugged and stared back out the window at the pedestrians hurrying past on the pavement. “I know some. You should too. Did you not listen to your parents?” Nathan shook his head. “Figures. Well, as I recall, it can be done two ways—privately and in front of the pack.”

Nathan thought about biting Jared in front of his whole pack, and a wave of possessiveness swept through him. He growled low and threatening, unable to hold it back.

“Jesus, calm down.” Luke gaped at him. “Wow, it really is serious, then?”

“What do you mean?”

“To be honest, I thought you’d picked up a guy a little too close to the territory lines and this was all for show. You know… bring him here, make it look like more than a weekend fuck, just until this mess gets sorted out and the alphas aren’t so paranoid.”

That was so close to the truth, Nathan fought the urge to squirm in his seat. But that didn’t explain the way his hackles rose—were still raised—at the thought of the rest of the pack witnessing something as intimate as Jared’s bite. “Hmm,” he hedged.

Luke carried on, oblivious. “But the way you’re behaving, I guess maybe it’s more than that. I’d give it a while yet until you bite him, though. You don’t want to get saddled with him forever if you’re not sure.” Luke laughed.

Nathan had the feeling he wouldn’t like the joke.

Did he play dumb and laugh along, or throw caution to the wind and ask? He’d never last the day not knowing what Luke meant, and at that point, Luke was already convinced Nathan was considering biting Jared. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying.”

“Oh, come on, really?”

Nathan rolled his eyes. “Yes, really. I told you I didn’t listen to most of what my parents told me. What can I say? I was a bad son. Now assume I know nothing and spill.”

Luke pulled his leg up onto the seat and got comfortable. “Humans and shifters rarely bond, right? That’s why we fuck them.”

“A bit harsh.”

Luke waved his protests away. “I know. It’s not the only reason, and sorry if I’ve offended you. I’m sure Jared’s great. But admit it; fucking a human involves far less chance of bonding than fucking a shifter does.”

“All right, I guess you have a point.” Nathan didn’t believe in the whole fated-mates crap, but it was possible for two shifters to fall in love and form a connection that went beyond emotion. It happened often enough for shifters to be wary of whom they slept with if they weren’t looking to settle down. Not that the bonds could never be broken, but in Nathan’s experience, it was a rare occurrence.

“Anyway, if you bite a human you’re already having sex with, then…
bam
!”

Luke clapped his hands together and Nathan jumped because the sound was so loud inside the van. “Christ, don’t do that.” He scowled at Luke as he sat there and laughed. “And what do you mean by
bam
?”

“Instant bond. Those are the bites that usually take place in private because it’s for personal reasons, not the good of the pack.” He grinned and laughed again at whatever expression was on Nathan’s face. “That bite not looking so appealing after all, eh?” He clapped Nathan on the shoulder, still laughing, and turned to stare out of the window. “Good job you asked.”

Nathan hummed in agreement, hoping Luke wasn’t expecting more than that because he wasn’t capable of forming words.

Oh my God!
Does it work the other way around too? Is that why things are so overwhelming when we have sex?

He wanted to ask if it had to be penetrative sex—maybe they’d skirted the edges but hadn’t actually made anything permanent. If he asked that, then Luke was bound to put two and two together.

Nathan’s heart raced as the thoughts repeated in his head. Jared wasn’t a shifter yet, but he wasn’t entirely human either. The period before the full moon was unchartered territory compared to other shifter lore, because the timescales varied and no two changes were the same.

Would anyone know even if I could ask them?

Fuck, he was in over his head, with no one to turn to. Not to mention the fact that Jared would be so pissed off when Nathan told him about this possible new development.

“Hey, you missed the turning.” Luke smacked him on the arm. Nathan watched the entrance to the warehouse sail pass them.

“Shit, sorry.” He took the next right turn and made a circle around the block.

Luke leaned over to nudge Nathan’s shoulder as he eventually turned into the car park and found a space. “Not that I’m especially looking forward to work today, but I don’t think we can just skip. Look, he must really be some guy to have you all over the place like this. When do I get to meet him properly?”

Nathan’s head snapped up so quickly his neck cracked. “What? You’ve already met him.”

“For, like, two seconds, where he managed to scar me for life with comments about your arse.”

“Oh yeah.” Nathan grinned despite the panic gripping his insides. “You’ll have to come round one night after work.”

“Awesome. Friday’s good for me. I’ll bring something suitably strong to drink.” He was out of the van before Nathan mustered up any words of protest.

Not even eight o’clock and the day’s already gone to shit.

It didn’t get much better from there on. Everyone at the warehouse was on edge with the recent attack. Apparently, Alec had dropped in yesterday being his usual pleasant self, harassing all the staff to see if anyone knew anything. A lot of the warehouse and office staff were human, and while Alec wouldn’t hurt any of them, he could scare them. And by the many pissed-off faces walking around, that was exactly what he’d done.