The Altered (19 page)

“Jesus.”
Jordan groaned.

“You don’t
need to be careful with me.” Daniel kept hold of Jordan’s hand, and
walked back toward the bed. “If you want me to be yours, I need to
know what that means.”

Jordan shook
his head in confusion. “But before, you said—”

“I said I
didn’t want to be claimed, or owned.”

“I still
don’t—”

Daniel put his
fingers on Jordan’s lips. “This is different. It isn’t you marking
your territory. This is me asking you to let go, to let me see what
you want to do to me.
With me
.”

There were
some things Jordan had wanted to do since being infected with the
pathogen, things even he could recognize as a bit weird. “You might
not like them.”

“Then I’ll ask
you to stop.” Daniel met Jordan’s gaze. “Will you be able to?”

Jordan nodded
straightaway. “Yes.”

It might be
incredibly difficult to pull back once they started, but he
would.

“Good. That’s
all I need to know.” Daniel undid the first two buttons on his
shirt, then pulled it over his head and dropped it on the
floor.

The bruising
along Daniel’s ribs had almost disappeared. Only a faint yellow now
marred the skin. Jordan reached out to trace over the edges of the
faded bruises.

“You heal
faster than I expected,” he said, relief evident in his tone.

Daniel smiled.
“Told you.”

Jordan trailed
his fingers lower, sliding the tips underneath Daniel’s waistband.
His stomach was flat, firm against Jordan’s touch, and the muscles
contracted when he moved to undo Daniel’s belt.

“Tickles,”
Daniel said, laughing and trying to back away, but Jordan used his
grip on Daniel’s trousers to pull him closer.

“Sorry.” He
bent his head to kiss along Daniel’s collarbone, breathing deep.
Daniel’s scent mixed with his own made him almost dizzy with need,
and Jordan fumbled at Daniel’s belt with unsteady hands.

“Hey.” Daniel
gently placed his hands over Jordan’s. “Let me do that.”

Jordan nodded
and watched as Daniel made quick work of his trousers, letting them
fall to the floor. Daniel paused before removing his boxers.

Jordan licked
the edges of his fangs in anticipation.

Daniel looked
up, meeting Jordan’s gaze and holding it as he hooked his thumbs
into the edges of the boxers and slowly slid them down his
thighs.

“Fuck.” Jordan
let his gaze wander slowly down Daniel’s body, drinking in his
nakedness. His skin was pale, virtually unmarked now most of the
bruises had healed, and Jordan was ashamed to say he wanted to put
his own marks in their place. Daniel had asked him not to hold
back, and the words slipped out as he thought them. “I want to bite
you so bad.”

“Yeah?” Daniel
sat down on the bed and shuffled back into the middle.

“
Yeah
.”
Jordan followed him, shedding his clothes as he went. Something
tore, either his T-shirt or his jeans, but Jordan didn’t care.

Daniel laughed
from where he sat watching. “Careful with those things.” He pointed
at Jordan’s claws, now covered in bits of dark blue material. His
jeans, then.

“These?”
Jordan flexed his fingers, flicking the strips of denim onto the
floor, and crawled onto the bed. “I can be careful, if that’s what
you want.” He placed one hand on Daniel’s inner thigh and skimmed
his claws ever so lightly all the way down to his knee.

Daniel sucked
in a sharp breath.

Jordan
couldn’t speak. A choked-off moan was the only sound that came out
as Daniel lay back on his elbows and whispered, “Harder.”

So he pressed
down a little more, not enough to break the skin, but enough to
leave five red lines in his wake. The sight made something clench
tight, deep in Jordan’s belly, and he leaned down to follow the
marks with his tongue. He kept his fangs out of the way this time,
laving at the lines until Daniel moaned and reached down to tug on
Jordan’s hair.

“Jordan…
please
.”

Daniel’s cock
lay heavy against his stomach, and Jordan wanted nothing more than
to have it in his mouth or his hands, but he doubted Daniel would
appreciate anything sharp going near that part of him. Jordan
nipped at the soft skin of Daniel’s hip, then licked a path
downward and nuzzled against the soft skin of Daniel’s balls. He
smelled amazing there, and Jordan couldn’t resist flicking his
tongue out for a taste. Daniel fisted his hands tighter in Jordan’s
hair, the sharp pull sending a jolt of pleasure straight to his
groin. He growled, low and rough, and caught Daniel’s hand when he
went to pull away.

“I like it,”
he breathed, trying to enunciate the words as clearly as possible.
He lifted his head and licked his fangs, purposefully flicking the
tip of his tongue over each point as Daniel watched him.

“Can I?”
Daniel had let go of Jordan’s hair and had his hand poised in front
of Jordan’s mouth, waiting.

Instead of
answering, Jordan closed his eyes and bared his teeth, giving
Daniel all the access he wanted. It seemed to take forever before
he felt the soft pressure of Daniel’s fingertips, ghosting over
first one fang and then the other.

Jordan
shivered, the delicate touch almost too much. Daniel’s hand curled
around the back of his neck, and Jordan went willingly as Daniel
pulled him forward. He opened his eyes again as Daniel spread his
legs wide and urged Jordan to lie between them.

Daniel wasn’t
slight by any means, but Jordan was broad and carried more bulk—the
pathogen had altered more of his body than Jordan fully understood,
and he easily packed on muscle when it took others months to
achieve the same. “I’m too heavy,” he said, locking his arms either
side of Daniel’s head and moaning when the movement brought their
hips together.

“No…you’re
not,” Daniel protested, but Jordan stayed where he was.

Daniel’s dick
rubbed against his, and Jordan let his head drop, staring between
them where they touched. A faint dark trail led down from Daniel’s
belly, and it made Jordan smile.

“The pathogen
didn’t change it everywhere, then?”

“What?”

Jordan glanced
up at the confused expression on Daniel’s face and gestured to the
trimmed dark hair surrounding his cock and balls.

“No, thank…
fuck
.” Daniel’s breath hitched as Jordan rolled his hips in
a slow grind. “I’ve nothing against blonds, but… that colour down
there would have… would have looked… weird.” Daniel tried to pull
Jordan closer again, but Jordan refused to budge.

“I’ll crush
you.”

Daniel bit his
lip and pushed up to meet Jordan, soft grunts escaping each time
they touched. “Need to do something.”

Jordan’s brain
wasn’t working that well right then, and before he could respond,
Daniel sat up, placed his hands on Jordan’s shoulders, and gave him
a shove.

“Sit back
against the headboard.”

Jordan hurried
to comply, scrambling back until he hit the pillows at the top of
the bed.

Daniel waited
for him to settle and as he crawled into Jordan’s lap, he grinned.
He leaned forward slowly, letting his dick press against Jordan’s,
and whispered in Jordan’s ear. “There, that’s better.”

It was so much
better.

Now that
Jordan wasn’t in danger of crushing Daniel, he grabbed Daniel’s
hips, the tips of his claws pushing into the taut skin and making
Daniel hiss. His blue eyes looked almost black—Jordan wondered if
it was a trick of the light or something else the pathogen had left
him with. Either way, it gave him an other-worldly look, a
dangerous edge that Jordan wanted to explore.

Daniel kissed
across Jordan’s throat, biting hard at the top of his shoulder, and
Jordan bucked his hips at the sting. “Fuck.”

Daniel sat
back to admire his handiwork and trailed his fingers down Jordan’s
chest to wrap around his cock, and
thank God
because Jordan
was aching to be touched. “You like my teeth on you?”

“Y-yes,”
Jordan choked out as Daniel tightened his grip. His hands were too
dry for it to be easy, and Jordan needed him to stroke his dick
right then. “Lube,” he managed, and nodded over to the chest of
drawers next to the bed. “Top drawer.”

Daniel leaned
over to get it, and Jordan whined, soft and needy, at the loss of
his hand. He’d never made that noise before, and his shock must
have been written all over his face because Daniel chuckled,
looking at Jordan with a raised eyebrow as he repositioned himself
in Jordan’s lap.

“Oh, fuck
off.” Jordan dug his claws in just a little, earning a yelp from
Daniel and making him rub up against Jordan’s balls.

“I didn’t say
anything.” Daniel snapped the lube open and squirted some onto his
palm.

“Yeah, bu—”
The rest of that sentence caught in Jordan’s throat as Daniel
reached between them and wrapped his slippery hand around Jordan’s
dick. His hand slid up and down with minimal effort now. The slow,
almost lazy strokes, pulled Jordan ever closer to the edge. He
wanted to get his hands on Daniel, but that would mean keeping his
shift in check.

He’d promised
not to hold back, though.

“Daniel,” he
said, retracting his fangs so he could talk more clearly. “I want
to touch you, but….” He squeezed Daniel’s hips, hoping he
understood. Jordan wasn’t feeling particularly articulate with
Daniel’s hand around him. “I can stop—”

“No. I like
them on me.” Daniel placed his free hand on top of Jordan’s and
pressed down firmly, forcing some of the tips to break through his
skin. He bit his lip, his grip on Jordan’s cock tightening, and
Jordan was lost between the pressure of Daniel’s hand and the tiny
spots of blood appearing under his claws.

Jordan’s gaze
snapped up to meet Daniel’s.

“It’s okay,”
Daniel said, answering whatever he saw on Jordan’s face. “I’ll
heal, remember.”

Without
breaking their gaze, Daniel reached back behind him, and Jordan’s
fangs dropped as he realised what Daniel was doing. “Daniel….” He
slid his hands up Daniel’s back, not bothering to sheathe his
claws, and the low moan Daniel uttered made his toes curl.

Jordan closed
his eyes. If he watched Daniel finger himself open, he’d come as
soon as he got inside him. Their combined scent filled the room,
and Jordan felt drunk with it. He bit down into his bottom lip, the
sharp spike of pain enough to bring him back into the moment.

“Hey,
Jordan.”

Jordan opened
his eyes to find Daniel watching him, a slight frown on his face.
“You all right?” He cupped Jordan’s face with one hand, while using
the other to stroke Jordan’s cock.

“Never
better,” Jordan muttered, pushing his hips up to get more
friction.

Daniel leaned
in to kiss the corner of Jordan’s mouth, ever careful of his fangs.
“I want you to fuck me,” he whispered between kisses, “with teeth
and claws and whatever else you feel like doing.”

Jordan
couldn’t resist an opening like that. “I think it’d be better if I
used this….” He thrust his hips a little harder, pushing his cock
up into Daniel’s fist and forcing a laugh out of him.

“Oh God,
seriously having second thoughts right now.”

Despite his
words, Daniel rose up on his knees and looked down at Jordan, and
Jordan stared back at him. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Jordan let go.
He followed his instincts as Daniel took control, and almost slower
than Jordan could bear, sank down onto him. It felt…
fuck
…
Jordan gripped Daniel’s shoulders, trusting Daniel to tell him if
it was too much. The sharp tips of his claws slid into Daniel’s
skin, spots of blood pooling around the puncture marks, as Daniel
lifted up and then sank back down.

He did it
again and again, the pale column of his neck right there in front
of Jordan’s face. It didn’t take much for Jordan to lean closer as
Daniel let his head fall back, and he set his teeth against the
base of Daniel’s throat. He waited for Daniel to push him away if
he wanted, but Daniel grabbed the back of his head and tugged him
closer.

“Do it.”

Jordan pulled
Daniel down onto him, thrusting up hard at the same time, and
Daniel cried out as Jordan’s teeth sank in. He didn’t bite deep—it
wasn’t about that or the blood that trickled into his mouth, it was
the connection.

Jordan had
never shown so much of himself before. Never allowed anyone to see
beneath his carefully controlled façade. He trusted Daniel, though,
trusted him enough to lay everything bare for Daniel to see and not
judge.

“Fuck…
fuck
.” Daniel clung on, his hands tight around Jordan’s
neck. “I can’t… Jordan, you need to….”

Jordan
withdrew his teeth carefully and licked at the puncture marks a
little. “Yeah, I got you.” He flipped them over, careful to keep
his weight off Daniel, and then fucked into him.

Daniel’s hand
immediately went to his dick, jacking himself hard and fast, and
oh Jesus
, Jordan felt Daniel tense around him. Daniel came
first, over his stomach and his hand, with just a little landing on
Jordan.

Jordan had
never put much faith in the stories about full shifters, but this
part was disturbingly true. He wanted to rub it into his skin, mark
himself with Daniel’s scent so deep everyone would know they were
together.

His ran his
fingers through the mess on Daniel’s belly and smeared it onto his
own. It sent a spike of heat to his groin, pushing him over the
edge and it was all he could do not to collapse on Daniel as he
came too.

“I think you
got it all.”

Jordan glanced
up to see Daniel looking between them, at where Jordan was still
playing with the come on his stomach. His skin was tacky where he’d
rubbed it around, but Jordan felt a bone-deep completeness that had
him grinning. “Yeah, I think I did.”