Timothy (7 page)

He had the distinct impression Otto was doing it now, or trying to, considering how Otto was drilling him visually. But Tim didn’t hear anything other than his own thoughts.

Otto’s intense expression altered to something too close to disappointment. Tim didn’t like it at all.

“Maybe something’s wrong with me.”

Otto scowled. “The only thing wrong with you is this—you aren’t in my bed, naked with your ass spread open for me.”

“Oh,” Tim said weakly. His insides quivered at the image Otto’s words inspired, but he struggled to explain what he’d meant. “I thought maybe, since my family doesn’t know much about what we are, maybe I was screwed up as a shifter.”

Otto clamped a hand around Tim’s arm and began guiding him to the front of the hotel. “No, it’s different for everyone, it seems. I’d like to know more about your family. How you—they—ended up in the United States, how many are there in your clan, everything you can tell me. There’s nothing I don’t want to know about you. But it can wait, until I can listen to something other than my leopard’s demand that we mate. My need for you is very nearly all-consuming.”

Tim got it, he did. He probably should have been scared, but his cat was all for letting Otto fuck him stupid. In fact, Tim thought if he said no, there’d be an internal revolt between leopard and man. He didn’t even want to imagine how such a thing would turn out. Easier to give in to what man and beast both wanted. And if Otto and he could have a loving, committed relationship like Tim’s cousins Levi and Lyndon, or Oscar and Josiah? Why would Tim fight the need clawing at him?

“How far away is your place?” Tim asked. The breeze kicked up and he grunted, suddenly and acutely aware of the chilly mess he’d made when he came in his pants.

“Uncomfortable or eager?” Otto asked, smirking at him.

“Both,” Tim told him. Otto could smirk all he wanted. He’d made Tim go off like a bottle rocket with a too-short fuse, something Tim hadn’t had happen since he’d been a teenager.

“About two minutes away.”

Tim’s cock gave a happy twitch. “Good. Let’s go.” Then he thought of Dane and groaned.

“You need to tell your friend,” Otto said, and he didn’t sound thrilled about it. “Dane is just your friend, isn’t he?”

Tim saw the tightening of Otto’s jaw, felt the way Otto’s fingers clenched. “Yes, but we did try dating and having sex a while back. It didn’t work for us. We make much better friends than lovers.”

Otto took a deep breath, exhaled, did it again, and Tim watched, enchanted by everything about Otto. Jesus, Tim hadn’t known he’d be such a sappy dumbass! For someone who thought of himself as self-aware, he was a bit unnerved at the new discovery. What else was he mistaken about? Was it possible he wasn’t the bland, boring man he had thought he was? Someone like that wouldn’t hold Otto’s interest, wouldn’t be his mate. Tim was going to have to think about it.

“Okay.” Otto looked towards the hotel entrance. “You two are sharing a room though?”

Tim’s hackles went up in a heartbeat. He stopped and slapped a hand to Otto’s chest. “You don’t know me, so I’m trying not to get too pissed over where you were going with what you were saying. I don’t know much about mates, true enough, but I do know the mated couples I have been around would never lie or cheat on each other. Not from the moment they met.”

Otto closed his eyes and tipped his head down. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how to handle all the jealous and possessive emotions I’m experiencing. I’ve never had to deal with them before.” Otto jerked his chin up and opened his eyes, looking past Tim. “Here comes your friend and my dad now. Neither of them appear to be particularly happy.”

Tim turned and had to agree. He figured Steve probably wanted to strangle Dane, because, knowing Dane as Tim did, he could easily picture him nagging and bitching the entire time Steve and he were in the hotel room. Dane was as protective of him as Otto seemed to be, but it was a different sort of reasoning, a loyalty only the best of friends could share.

Dane stopped toe to toe with Tim. He sniffed and looked him up and down then stared pointedly at Tim’s groin. “Did you two have fun?” Dane snarked.

The rumbling sound Tim heard was coming from Otto. Tim kept his hand on Otto’s chest and added a bit of pressure, a warning to chill out or at least restrain himself. “I’m going home with Otto.” There was no sense beating around the bush with Dane.

Dane’s nostrils flared as he narrowed his eyes at Tim. “Like hell! You don’t do stuff like go home with possible weirdos! I’m the man-whore in this friendship!”

Tim couldn’t hold back a chuckle at Dane’s accurate description. Dane did like to have a cock up his ass or in his mouth as often as possible. It didn’t make him a bad person, and in fact, Tim had often envied him his ease when it came to sexual matters. Now he’d found the one man he felt just as comfortable with and he wasn’t going to let Dane interfere.

“I’m going with Otto. I’ll be at the centre in the morning.” Tim tried not to sound like he was begging when he touched Dane’s shoulder. “Please don’t make a big deal of this. It’s… I have to do this, Dane. I can’t explain it to you.” Not without telling him what he and Otto were. He hoped Dane would accept it as a case of instant lust, which wasn’t too far off.

Dane glared at Otto then held out his hand. “Fine, but I want an address, phone number, blood type, latest test results and a very detailed recounting of what goes on first thing tomorrow morning.”

Otto grunted. “So now you’re Tim’s mother?”

“Dick,” Dane snapped. Steve put his hand on Dane’s shoulder.

“Calm down. I can answer all of those except the test one, and I have absolutely no need to hear the details tomorrow.”

Dane harrumphed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Friends watch out for each other, which is what I’m doing. If you hurt Tim, I don’t care who your daddy is. I will stomp your ass into the cold, hard ground.”

Don’t you dare laugh!
Whether he meant it for himself or for Otto, Tim wasn’t sure. Dane’s intentions were good—Tim was actually quite touched by the threat—but the fact was, Otto could tear Dane apart limb from limb despite Dane’s muscular build.

Otto, showing more understanding than Tim could have hoped for, nodded and offered his hand to Dane. “Understood. I promise not to harm him. Dad can give you my cell phone number, too.”

“
I won’t ever hurt you, not any more than you want me to. Sometimes matings can get quite rough.”

Tim heard Otto’s unspoken words as clear as a bell in his head. He couldn’t mask the needy shiver when it rippled over him. Somehow he managed to get through the awkward goodbyes, then Otto took his elbow and was hustling them down the sidewalk.

Tim wanted to run, and he bumped Otto’s hip with his own. “Faster.”

Otto shot him a wicked grin. “You’ll be screaming ‘faster’ soon.” Before Tim could make a suitably slutty reply, Otto sped up.

Tim welcomed the exercise. It felt good to stretch his legs, and knowing they’d be in bed sooner was an impetus to step up to a run. This way he’d be warmed up and more flexible by the time they reached Otto’s place.

Otto pulled on his arm and dragged Tim into a sharp right turn. They ran up the steps and almost collided into each other trying to stop before they hit the door. Tim didn’t take the time to look around at anything. He watched Otto, only Otto, as he dug out a key and unlocked the door.

A shove and the door was swinging open. Tim reached for Otto at the same time Otto reached for him. They stumbled through the entryway and Otto kicked the door shut. He growled, a low rough sound that wrapped around Tim’s cock and caressed it like a soft velvet glove.

Otto gripped his shoulders and spun Tim around. Tim barely had time to slap his hands against the wall and keep himself from head butting it when Otto pinned him in place.

“I wanted to go slow, take my time and lick every centimetre of your skin.” He bit Tim’s neck, right in the centre of his nape. Pinpricks of bright white smattered his vision. Tim clenched his muscles, too close to coming again, especially when Otto bit then licked the same spot again. “But I don’t think I can. I didn’t want to fuck you in an alley like some cheap trick, but we’re in my home. You’re in my home. Can I have you?”

The question startled Tim. He supposed he’d thought Otto would just shove his pants down and fuck him without any concern for Tim’s preferences. And he’d have been okay with Otto doing so, because Tim’s preference was to get fucked, as soon as possible. Although he’d like some prep first.

“Yes,” Tim found himself, “just—go slow at first. Don’t ram it in there.” Gods, his entire face felt like it was on fire! Why did talking about sex have to be so difficult for him right then?

Otto trailed a hand down Tim’s spine then delved beneath the waistband of his pants and buried his fingers in Tim’s crack. The first brush of those fingers over his hole made Tim loose the most embarrassing whimper.

“Have you ever let someone fuck you, Tim?” Otto asked, his voice as gentle a caress as his digits massaging Tim’s pucker.

“N-no,” Tim stuttered, his mind melting as pleasure began to spread from his ass to his balls.

“Why not?” Otto pushed at Tim’s hole but didn’t breach him. “Never mind. If Dane’s anything like your usual sex partners, I’ve got my answer. Dane screams bossy bottom without ever saying a word.”

Tim snorted out a laugh despite the desire threatening to overwhelm him. “Yeah, he does. I—ahh!”

A sharp burn spiked around his opening as Otto pushed inside. “Too much? I won’t push in any further. Just had to feel your heat around some part of me.” Otto punctuated the statement with another bite to his neck, and Tim closed his eyes and tossed aside his inhibitions.

“Please fuck me, Otto,” he begged, arching his back so he could chase Otto’s receding finger. “I need it.”

“You need me,” Otto growled, then Tim gasped as, much like he’d thought moments ago, Otto unfastened Tim’s jeans and shoved them and his boxers down to his thighs. “Going to make you feel so good, baby.” He rutted against Tim’s ass. The rough denim of Otto’s jeans abraded Tim’s skin, adding to his rising stimulation. “Going to fill you up and take you over and over again. Come morning you won’t doubt who you belong to.”

Tim wasn’t exactly doubting it now. But he did wonder if they were on equal footing. “I won’t always bottom. I like a tight ass around my cock as much as you do.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Then Otto slid down, licking the length of Tim’s spine. When he pried Tim’s cheeks apart, Tim started to protest. A sharp slap to his ass had him grabbing the base of his dick to prevent himself from spurting all over the wall.

“Like that, do ya?” Otto slapped his butt again. Tim moaned in answer. “Oh yeah, we’re going to set the sheets on fire, or the wall, or wherever we fuck. I’m going to make you burn right now, baby.”

And he did, spanking Tim’s ass until it felt like his skin was about to combust. Tim’s balls were drawn up, his cock leaking pre-cum in just a few swats. He didn’t protest when Otto spread him open again, but as soon as Otto licked over his hole, Tim’s knees went weak and he started to slide down the wall. If Otto hadn’t grabbed his hips and helped steady him, Tim would have ended up in an undignified sprawl. As it was, Otto eased him to the floor.

“Kick off your shoes.”

As much as Tim would have liked to follow Otto’s orders, it wasn’t happening. “Can’t. Hiking boots.”

Otto groaned and pressed his forehead to Tim’s back. His skin felt slick and heated. “Okay. Okay. This shouldn’t be rushed after all, not since you’ve never allowed anyone in here”—he rubbed Tim’s pucker—“before. Even though I want to bury my dick so deep inside you, you can never imagine us not being joined, we should slow down. I should slow down.”

Tim rolled to his side, dislodging Otto’s hand from between his butt cheeks. He glared at Otto. “What about what I want?”

Otto glared right back and pushed himself to his knees. “You sure don’t want to end up being seriously injured.”

“Damn it.” Tim wanted to stomp his foot and pout but he wasn’t the sort of man to do either of those things. “No, I don’t.”

“It’s okay. This will be better for both of us.”

“If we ever get to it, it will!” Tim was ready to just roll Otto over and beg. “Do you have condoms? Lube? Stupid question.” Of course a sexy man like Otto would have a stash of supplies!

“Condoms can be hard to find around here in Dalanzadgad. I have most of a box I brought back from my last trip to the US. All but one, in fact,” he added when Tim glared despite his best attempt not to. Okay, so now he totally understood how Otto had felt about Dane.

“We don’t need condoms, though.” Otto stood and held his hand out to Tim, which was a good thing. Getting up with his jeans and underwear down like they were was tricky. Otto kept talking, not even grunting when he took the brunt of Tim’s weight to pull him to his feet. “We don’t catch human diseases.”

Tim’s arousal ebbed under the burgeoning questions about their species. Even though Joshua had said much the same things, it was always best to gather as much in the way of confirmation as possible. “What kills us then? Accidents? I was told we are whatever we die as, man or cat, and no one can tell any different. Is that true?”

“Tim,” Otto groaned, palming Tim’s semi-erect dick. “Is this really what you want to discuss now?” He didn’t give Tim the chance to answer, instead holding him by his cock and one arm. It was a sure way to make Tim keep up with him as they headed for what he guessed would be the bedroom. “Yes, usually accidents, murder, stupid belief we’re less mortal than we are. And yes, we are whatever we die as. My father has run so many tests. He started studying not only snow leopards but shifters because he wanted to make sure his family was safe. So if one of us dies a leopard, our corpse is in every way, a leopard. Same goes if we die in human form.”

Otto elbowed open a door, tugging on Tim’s cock when he did so. “Good enough for now, or do I need to recite all of our history as I know it before I can fuck you?”

The perfect squeeze, the perfect stroke—Otto had it down and he stripped Tim’s questions from his mind with a few pumps of his fist. Tim gasped as he stumbled backwards. Otto let go of his dick but held onto Tim’s arm. The bed he landed on was firm, the covers chilly. Tim didn’t care, not when Otto raked him with a heated gaze and it warmed him more than a blanket ever could have.