Three Wild Werewolf Tales (18 page)

“You’re bleeding!” Daniel stood up. “I’ll get Richard and some bandages, don’t move.”

His eyes were glued to Daniel’s pert ass until the other man went into the hallway, then Stephen closed his eyes, grunting with frustration. Daniel had other things on his mind, they both did, and his libido should be way down on his list of priorities. He looked down at his wound, willing it to stop bleeding. As he looked at it, the anger returned, as did the feeling of embarrassment. He remembered how Daniel had called him a big strong wolf only yesterday morning. So much for that.

He carefully stood up, relieved his leg was able to hold the weight. Walking was more difficult, and he limped over to Richard’s cupboard to get his backpack and clothes. By the time he had his boxers on, Richard walked in, already clothed. “Daniel said you were bleeding?”

Stephen sighed when he saw Richard was holding his first-aid kit. “Yeah, thanks. Where is he, anyway?”

“Bathroom,” Richard said, and opened the kit. “You know he’ll be going back home soon, right?”

“Of course,” Stephen replied, hearing a toilet being flushed down the hall. “Just give me the bandages.”

Richard also handed him a wet washcloth, and leaned against the wall. “He seems like a nice guy.”

“I noticed, yeah,” Stephen muttered, glad he could look down as he washed away the blood.

“So you should probably do something about it while you can.”

“What?” Stephen’s head snapped back up to look at Richard.

Richard looked back calmly. “I’m surprised you didn’t make a move yesterday.”

“He was wounded,” Stephen hissed, glancing down the hallway. The tap was still running, but Daniel would be back with them soon enough. “And now I am.”

Richard smiled. “So you’re saying you need to take it easy, maybe spend some time in bed?”

His libido perked up at that, and Stephen did his best to ignore it. “He has more important things to think about, like McClanahan, Richard. Remember him?”

“I do,” Richard told him. “I especially remember you fighting one of them last night. I haven’t seen you that aggressive before. Wonder why?”

He felt his cheeks flush and he was very tempted to punch Richard right now. “Why do you even care?”

“Hey, maybe I just wanna see you happy,” Richard said, and shrugged. “You’re my friend.”

“Sorry,” Stephen muttered. He went back to taking care of his wound, wrapping the bandage securely around his thigh just below his boxers. “It’s been a long night.”

“How’re you feeling?” Daniel asked, stepping into the living room, wearing the same clothes he had borrowed from Richard yesterday. “Better?”

Stephen nodded, and ran his fingers over the bandage. It seemed to stay in place. “I’m fine,” he replied, smiling at Daniel. “Thanks.” He noticed how Daniel’s eyes were lingering on the bandage before slowly moving up to meet Stephen’s gaze. Was it his imagination, or was Daniel’s smile a little too wide? He turned to Richard. “Look, I’m exhausted, mind if I head home rather than stay and talk to the others about what happened?” What Richard had said about taking it easy sounded like a good idea - just not in the way Richard had suggested it.

“No, of course not,” Richard immediately told him, nodding in understanding. “I’ll let you know if anything important comes up. We’ll call you once we have any ideas on how to deal with McClanahan.”

“I’ll come with you,” Daniel said, as Stephen carefully put his trousers on. “I mean, you helped me yesterday, it’s the least I can do for you.”

“Good idea,” Richard replied. “Make sure he gets some rest.”

“I will.” Daniel smiled at Stephen. “You don’t mind?”

He definitely didn’t mind Daniel wanting to look after him, although he’d rather he didn’t need looking after all. “Of course not. Come on.”

~*~

He was able to drive even with the wound, although he had to grit his teeth a few times when the pain flared up. He was definitely going to need a painkiller when he got back home. They stopped for breakfast again, Daniel asking him if it wasn’t better to do that at his place. “I haven’t had the chance to do groceries properly,” Stephen replied as they were back in his old pick-up truck. “What with everything that’s been going on.”

“I should’ve realised,” Daniel muttered, looking guilty. “After the dinner I made.”

“Hey, there was nothing wrong with that casserole,” Stephen told him. “It’ll be fine; it’s not like I don’t have any food in the house.”

Daniel remained quiet, looking thoughtful when they arrived at Stephen’s home.

Stephen was a little worried when Daniel didn’t say much, but was too tired to want to ask him about it. “If you don’t mind, I really want to get some sleep right now,” he said apologetically. “You still know where the guest room is, right?”

Daniel laughed. “Of course! No, you go and sleep, you earned it.” He patted Stephen on his arm and smiled. “I’ll be quiet.” He gave Stephen’s arm a light squeeze, then walked down the hallway towards the guest room.

It was so tempting to follow Daniel and share the bed with him, not even for sex – although he wouldn’t object to that – but to wrap his arms around the other man and hold him securely. Even with Richard’s scent all over him, Daniel remained way too attractive. Stephen shook his head, gave himself a firm scolding and headed into his bathroom for a painkiller, then sauntered into his bedroom. He toed off his shoes and sat down on the bed to remove his trousers. Right now, even taking off his sweater was too much effort. The bandage was still clean, which was reassuring; the last thing Stephen wanted was his wound re-opening. He crawled into his bed and pulled up his blankets, getting comfortable. It wasn’t long before he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

~*~

He woke up feeling groggy, and blinked when he saw his clock. It was a little after twelve already. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept this late. He sat up, rubbing his hands across his face in order to feel more awake. As he swung his legs out of the bed, he was relieved to feel better than he had this morning. Standing up and walking didn’t hurt as much either, and it was easier to put his trousers back on. He was still resolved to see his doctor on Monday, though, like Nathan had advised him. He wouldn’t be surprised if McClanahan carried some sort of disease.

Was that bacon he smelled coming from the kitchen? His stomach rumbled as he smoothed out the wrinkles in his sweater from having slept in it. “Daniel?” he asked, although he didn’t need to. Who else would be here, making lunch?

“Stephen, you’re awake,” Daniel greeted him happily, bacon sizzling in the frying pan on the stove. “I hope you don’t mind, but I went out and did some groceries. Don’t worry, I didn’t take your car, but, er, I did take your wallet.”

“Right,” Stephen replied. He needed a few seconds to process this, his brain was still stuck on the bacon. “But there’s food?”

Daniel smiled with relief. “Yes, there’s food. I’ve also bought waffles and muffins; I didn’t know what you’d like, and you were nearly out of milk. Oh, and there’s toast, if you’d rather have that.” He gestured at the toaster on the counter. “And I didn’t really know how your coffeemaker worked, so I left that one alone.” He gave Stephen a worried glance. “Stephen? Do you need to get some more rest?”

Stephen was staring at Daniel. He had gone through all this trouble to get him lunch. Well, it was for both of them, but still… Had Daniel bought enough groceries to cook them another dinner? Tonight was the last full moon this month, if they dealt with McClanahan, would Daniel come back or prefer to be on his own? The thought of that hurt, which was ridiculous, he had only known Daniel for a few days. He shouldn’t be this attached to the man already. But his inner wolf was already urging him to do something, anything to keep Daniel around, even if Stephen couldn’t entirely be sure Daniel wanted him as well. He still smelled like Richard far too much.

Daniel turned down the gas and put a hand on Stephen’s arm. “You okay?”

It was the concern in Daniel’s eyes that made Stephen grab the front of the hoodie and pull him closer. “Yes.” Yes, he wanted this man and yes, there was a big bad wolf after him but Stephen didn’t want to fight his attraction anymore. He lowered his head to kiss Daniel, his lips as soft as Stephen had thought they were.

Daniel made a soft noise of surprise as he pressed closer, his arms wrapping around Stephen’s neck.

The only thing Stephen could think was that he should’ve done this last night. Heat spread through his body as Daniel kissed him back eagerly, lips parting and letting Stephen deepen the kiss. His hands slid down Daniel’s chest and slipped underneath the hoodie to find naked skin. Daniel moaned while Stephen stroked his stomach, trying to get even closer, then suddenly pulling back.

Stephen was breathing fast and his eyes were wide, wondering why Daniel had stopped. “What?”

“Fucking finally,” he said, but he smiled. “Took you long enough to get a clue.”

“I -” So he hadn’t imagined the flirting, then. That was good. “We had other things on our mind. Like McClanahan, and you being hurt.”

“And now you’re hurt, and McClanahan is still coming back tonight,” Daniel reminded him. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. Just wondering.”

“I didn’t want you to leave,” he blurted out, then felt his cheeks turn red when Daniel’s grin widened.

Instead of saying anything, Daniel pulled him into a tight hug. “I don’t want to leave,” he said quietly.

Stephen wrapped his arms around Daniel’s waist, nuzzling his hair. Now that he was this close, it was easier to distinguish between Richard’s and Daniel’s scent, and Stephen could smell the arousal of the latter. “Good,” he replied. “You smell delicious.” He couldn’t resist the urge to lick Daniel’s neck, loving the way he whimpered.

“Mmm, you only realised that now?” Daniel asked, tilting his head to give Stephen more room.

While he didn’t want to stop doing this to give Daniel an explanation, he probably should. “Actually, yes,” he replied, raising his head to look Daniel in the eyes. “Richard’s scent is all over his clothes; it mixes with yours and masks some of it. I couldn’t smell your… interest.” That was one way of putting it.

“And as a wolf you didn’t exactly interest me like that.” Daniel nodded in understanding, then glanced up at Stephen mischievously. “So this would’ve been a lot easier if I had walked around naked?”

Stephen both loved and hated that idea. “In a way.”

Daniel grinned at him. “Getting jealous already?”

“Maybe,” Stephen replied, brushing his lips against Daniel’s before kissing him again. His hands slid down Daniel’s back, briefly running across his ass before moving up to caress his naked back.

Daniel moaned happily into the kiss, squirming slightly as Stephen brushed against a spot that had to be ticklish.

He turned them slowly so Daniel’s back was against the kitchen counter as they kept kissing, tongues sliding against each other. The slight stubble of Daniel’s cheek was scraping against Stephen’s skin and as wonderful as this was, there was one question nagging away at him. With some reluctance, he pulled back. “Fucking finally, right?” he said. “Why didn’t you do anything? You must’ve smelled me.” And now he wondered how often Daniel had noticed.

Daniel looked flustered, his soft lips swollen and slick. “Well, I didn’t realise what it was at first. I thought it was just your scent.”

Right, Daniel was only used to McClanahan. “And once you knew?”

“I was worried it might be because of the wolves in your pack,” Daniel muttered, his cheeks turning redder and he glanced out the window briefly. “I was worried you’d turn me down, and with me sleeping here I didn’t want things to get awkward.”

“That makes sense.”

Daniel gave him a relieved smile. “So now that we’re on the same page,” he said, his voice low and meaningful, “maybe we should do something about it.” He raised one eyebrow significantly, his smile growing.

Stephen definitely agreed, and he was about to suggest they head to his bedroom when his phone rang. He had left it on the kitchen table when coming home that morning, and he reluctantly let go of Daniel to pick it up. It was Richard, which meant he couldn’t ignore it. “Yeah?” he asked, while Daniel grumbled behind him.

“Ah, you’re awake. Good. Can you get hold of an excavator so we can use it this afternoon?”

“What?” Stephen spluttered, his mind still on kissing and touching and licking Daniel. “Why?”

“You know how trapping pits work, right?”

~*~

One of the small excavators they used for clearing tree stumps had been left at the site near the cabins, and the ranger at the entrance hadn’t batted an eye when Stephen explained he had left a few things behind yesterday. He’d waved Stephen and Daniel through, reminding them to be careful and not stay too long.

It was already two in the afternoon by the time Stephen was able to get started and he was pretty sure that if it hadn’t been for Richard’s and Peter’s attempts at helping out, he would’ve been done a lot faster.

“Eight feet is deep enough,” Stephen declared from the excavator, once he had dug a pit of five feet by five.

“Keep going!” Peter shouted.