Chapter Thirteen
Late the next morning, Caleb waited for Asher to return. While he was away, Caleb was in the garden, picking the ripened vegetables and pruning leaves as Asher had shown him. He'd explained that every ounce of the plant's energy should go towards producing and growing more and that the leaves and branches that bore no flowers or fruit, were sucking precious energy from the plant.
Caleb found a therapeutic calm in snipping away at the plants. At first, he'd found the whole thing unsettling, a metaphor for himself in life. Was he a fruitless vine?
His skin trembled, an aftershock from the orgasms he'd had the day and night before.
He didn't feel fruitless. Not anymore.
He didn't want to think too much on how good he felt in the middle of the woods with his strange, brooding, sexy shifter. So much about his circumstance should have had him worried, but it felt so right being here, with Asher. He missed his pack mates, Oscar, Glenn, Stella and the rest. He wondered how Farley was enjoying their newborn and if everything was alright at The Den. Since the first moment he'd woken up, bruised and beaten, he'd planned on going back when he was able.
But, more and more the thought of leaving Asher and returning to it all alone, filled him with dread. Caleb knew he was young, and some might say he was too young to know what he wanted. But the people who would say that didn't know him and weren't shifters. When a shifter met his match, his alpha, his mate, he knew. Eventually, I mean it did take you a few days.
Really, those times he'd talked about going home, he'd been denying the pull inside of himself to be near Asher, to surround him and please him.
Caleb tried to listen to the wolves as they circled around the garden, protecting him. Asher hadn't explicitly told them to, not in front of Caleb anyway, but the moment he left to bury the coyote's body, they had circled around the garden.
The wolves were curious animals. Not quite pets, but they didn't seem entirely wild either. Caleb would have thought they were shifters that refused to shift if it weren't for how small they were. They seemed to understand Asher perfectly, though he didn't ask them directly for much. Perhaps they'd developed a symbiotic relationship and understood each other on a basic level.
"You should rest," Asher said, suddenly behind him.
Caleb jumped, tripping over a large chunk of dirt. Asher caught him, wrapping his warm, safe arms around Caleb. Caleb inhaled the scent that was distinctly Asher, earthy and masculine.
"I was trying to contribute."
Asher smiled and set him down. "You already do contribute," he winked.
Caleb frowned. "Like a prostitute. Sex for lodging? I saw that in a musical once. It ends poorly."
Asher scowled.
"I'm joking. Mostly. You're filthy." Caleb looked into Asher's face, only now noticing the haunted expression in his black eyes. That morning's task had taken its toll. Despite the fact that he was wearing pants and no shirt, he was nearly all one color. Mud covered him. Most of it dried and flaking. "You need a bath. How...do you bathe?" Up until that point all of Caleb's baths had been performed by Asher with a bowl of water and a square of cloth. Asher was much too dirty for that.
"I'll have to jump into the lake."
"You said it is freezing."
"It will be." Asher held his hand back to the small cabin where he grabbed one of the homemade bars of soap. Asher explained to him the day before that up until a few years ago, he would venture down once or twice a year to a small village that didn't ask many questions. He'd said that there he would trade for the things he couldn't make. He also learned how to make the things there that he hadn't known how to in the beginning.
The things he couldn't make, he bought in bulk and kept buried in boxes underground. Secretly, Caleb hoped he would buy soap on his next run into town. Asher's homemade bars got the job done, but they also left Caleb's skin pink. Right now, they were better than nothing. Caleb reached for the soap in Asher's hand when they stood at the lake shore.
"I want to wash you," he said shyly.
"You'll need to look at me to do that," Asher murmured, bringing Caleb's hand up and kissing his knuckles.
This wonderful man did so much for Caleb. Cared for him, taught him, was patient in and out of the bedroom. They'd yet to have intercourse and Caleb knew Asher was waiting for him to be ready. Perhaps for him to initiate it. The man could have taken whatever he wanted from Caleb's body and didn't, proving he wasn't there only to get his own needs met. He was cultivating a relationship together, one built on a foundation of trust and understanding.
Caleb wanted to take care of Asher for once. He slipped his shoes off. "You're leaving your pants on?" Caleb asked.
"Might as well, they are filthy."
They took their first step into the lake water together. "Holy fucking shit that is cold." Caleb nearly leapt into Asher's arms.
Asher laughed, throwing his head back, his shoulders shaking. "My sweet mate, you don't have to come with me. I'll wash up quickly, hang my pants to dry and then we can start on an early dinner."
Caleb grit his teeth and took another step. "No, I want to do this. Let me. Please."
Asher put his arm around his waist, holding him up off the ground and close by his side. Asher's body heat helped fight the horrible frigid water. It did not escape Caleb's notice that again, Asher was taking care of him, doing what he could to make life easier. Once they were waist deep, Asher stopped. His face was as serene as if they were in warm bath water, while Caleb fought to keep his teeth from chattering.
"Come here," Asher demanded, pulling Caleb against his chest. He kissed him slowly, like they had all the time in the world, exploring Caleb's mouth with his tongue. When he pulled back, Caleb felt warmer.
"So that's the trick." He stretched his neck up to kiss Asher again. This time, his hands roamed over Asher's body, down his arms to his hips where he slid his hands to Asher's pants, undoing the button and zipper. "You can't take a bath with your pants on," Caleb said to Asher's look. "It will be easier for me to wash them separately."
He slipped Asher's pants down and flopped them over his shoulder. He'd wash them later. He grabbed the bar of soap and began working it into a lather in his hands. Asher had explained that the soap was natural and completely safe to use in the lake. Great for the fishes but bad for a good lather. He managed as well as he could and got to work scrubbing Asher's body. He started with the innocent bits, washing his arms and shoulders clean of the mud that was caked on his body. He slid his fingers through Asher's patch of chest hair, scrubbing the mud out of the light dusting of salt and pepper hairs gently. The whole time, Asher stared at him, allowing Caleb to move his body as he needed.
But he was not passive, not at all. Caleb noticed the way Asher's muscles would twitch when he would slide his fingers over them. Holding back took restraint and Caleb appreciated him more for it.
When his upper half was clean, Caleb moved lower. He slid the bar of soap down Asher's tummy and the shifter growled low. He was likely to be on edge. Despite the numerous times Caleb had found pleasure, Asher had refrained. Caleb's guilt over that was building with every moment. "Careful, mate," Asher hissed, his voice husky with need.
"I want to take care of you," Caleb whispered, dipping lower into the water. He was down to his shoulders but if the water was still cold, he didn't notice. All he saw was Asher's large, swollen dick, bobbing tantalizingly at the water line in front of his face. How had he waited so long before wrapping his lips around it?
Another first.
He licked at the head first, recalling the things Asher had done to him that had felt the best. Asher's powerful flavor exploded on his tongue. He clamped his lips over the head, not wanting a single drop of it to get free. He needed more of that flavor. It was more than just a taste, it energized his whole body. His skin began to buzz and hum with a power that had previously been locked away.
"Caleb," Asher grunted his name, his hands going to Caleb's head as if he had little control over it.
Caleb operated from instinct and memory. Recreating the moves he thought Asher had used, while also listening to the voice inside of him that knew how to please his mate. If he'd never thought of Asher as that before, it was obvious now. Asher was his mate and Caleb felt damn lucky about that. He slipped his mouth down deep, choking when Asher hit the back of his throat.
Asher hissed. "Don't hurt yourse--"
Caleb repeated the motion and Asher responded the same way, this time, he gripped Caleb's hair and for a moment, kept him there. His lips brushed Asher's groin while his throat was full of cock. Asher released a second later and Caleb pulled back, breathing in a gulp of air while unwilling to pull away completely. "You taste so good," he tried to say with a mouthful of dick. Asher chuckled either at his attempt to speak or because he understood Caleb's words.
He bobbed his head, setting a smooth rhythm. Asher muttered sexy, fevered words under his breath for only Caleb to hear. He gripped Caleb's hair as he discovered the easiest ways to take his mate deep in his throat. Caleb worked on relaxing his throat muscles. Each time, he could take him a little deeper without gagging. Caleb straightened and slipped his pants off, impressed by his own dexterity. He slid a cold hand around his cock that was still rock hard despite the water.
Asher grabbed his shoulders and pushed him off, pulling Caleb up to a standing position.
"That is enough, baby."
Caleb pouted. "I wanted you to come," he whined.
Asher made that noise between a purr and a growl. "I wouldn't expect so much from you right away."
Caleb had been given a taste and found he needed more. He felt possessed with lust. A need burned inside him that would not be ignored. "Fuck me, Asher. Please. Come inside of me." As he spoke, he crawled up Asher's body like he was a tree, wrapping his legs around Asher's waist he locked them at the ankles, naked skin against naked skin.
"Caleb." His name had never sounded so beautiful. When Asher said it, it was as if he was speaking to something wonderful.
Caleb used his heels in Asher's ass as leverage and ground his cock against Asher's lower stomach. "Please."
Every man, even a sexy loner alpha shifter man, had a limit and Caleb had just bounded across Asher's. His strong hands clamped down on the globes of Caleb's ass, kneading and squeezing while pulling the younger man more tightly against his body.
Caleb would have hollered in triumph if he'd had any air to spare. As it was, Asher attacked his mouth, claiming it in a kiss that was passionate and without end. When Asher released his mouth so they could both take a much-needed lungful of air, they were back in the cabin. Asher set Caleb down on the bed, moving with him so that their bodies never separated.
"It won't hurt," he said gruffly.
"I know. I'm a shifter too, you know." Caleb laid back, ready and waiting.
There was no desire for foreplay. Asher let the precum leaking from his cock coat Caleb's hole. Shifter precum acted as a lubricant, nerve sensitizer and muscle relaxant.
Even with his magic cum, Caleb felt a wave of nervousness the first time Asher's enormous cock pressed into his tight ring. He felt impossibly large, like there was no way he would fit and if he did, Caleb wasn't sure he would be alive to talk about it.
"Look at me, baby. Watch my face."
Caleb's eyelids fluttered as he gazed into Asher's adoring expression. There was a great deal of lust and desire, but there was an emotion deeper than that as well, hidden in Asher's dark depths. Was it too soon to throw around words like love?
The fur blanket at his back felt warm and soft. Asher pulled back and replaced his cock with a finger, the tip probed inside of Caleb's hole. He worked the digit in deeper until Caleb could take his whole finger. "Fuck, you are tight," Asher murmurer. He lifted a second finger up to his mouth and sucked on it before letting it also slide inside of Caleb.
Caleb was beyond words. Asher's fingers hurt, but that pain was transitory and by enduring it he was rewarded by a burst of pleasure. Asher added a third finger and Caleb wanted to explode up off the bed. He stopped himself, remembering the lesson from the night before.
Asher bent his body up and kissed Caleb on the nose. "What a good boy. But there are no rules right now. Do what you need to find your pleasure, Caleb."
With Asher's permission, Caleb's hips began pumping the air. Despite the fact that nothing was actually touching his cock, the air itself seemed to wrap around his member, bringing him pleasure. Asher kissed him repeatedly, thrusting his tongue in much the same way his fingers were moving. Caleb's hole stretched to accept his fingers and with a final kiss, Asher returned to the spot between Caleb's legs. "Are you sure that you want to give me this gift, baby?" he asked with tight restraint.
"Yes, I need your cock inside me."
"You realize this cements you as mine? I'll own your virginity, your body. No other man will ever touch you."
If he meant for his words to frighten Caleb, he would be disappointed. They simply fueled his lust further. He wanted it so badly, he ached. "Please, Asher. Please, my mate."
Asher's snarl filled the cabin as he began pressing his hard cock through the tight ring of muscles. Caleb bit his bottom lip, but it wasn't enough to stop his scream of pleasure. Inch by inch, Asher filled him for the first time.
How had Caleb gone so long without knowing he could feel like this? Drunk on the pleasure, breath heavy. His limbs felt like they were floating on feathers. Asher's dark gaze penetrated straight through him, past every defense he'd ever built and into his very soul. That place where his inner animal lived in harmony with Caleb the man. Asher found that place and carved out his own seat. And through it all, the relentless stretching as his body was stuffed to capacity.
Asher jerked his hips, shoving the last inch in as their bodies touched, joined together in the most intimate way. "Mine," he said, staring into Caleb's eyes.
Caleb blinked slowly, he wanted to smile, to respond with an affirmative. Yes, he was Asher's. But he couldn't speak.
It was as if Asher's dick was a drug that now pumped through his system. He flew high above the world.
Asher began thrusting, slowly at first, the pace increased. Caleb became aware of his hands, sliding over Asher's back, scratching and rubbing his skin. He would leave marks on the older shifter, but found he liked that idea. He wanted to leave his mark on this powerful man.
Asher's pumps grew rapidly. Each time, he bottomed out, nudging against a part of Caleb that he knew had never been touched, not even when he was alone and exploring his own body. Yet, Asher brushed against it easily.
Caleb's orgasm came without warning. It shot up his dick like a lightning strike. "Asher!" He called out his mate's name and his mate kissed him, swallowing the rest of his cries. Despite the orgasm, his dick remained hard, ready for an immediate second round.
Asher continued his thrusts until Caleb felt a pressure building from inside. Asher slammed forward, lodging himself deep. He roared and then finding the soft spot at the base of Caleb's neck, he bit down.
Caleb thought it should hurt, but all he felt was his mate swelling larger inside of his body. His dick was knotting, allowing all his sexual fluids to fill Caleb's body. Caleb knew the biology of knotting, the purpose and the mechanics. The knowledge was nothing compared to actually experiencing the phenomenon first hand. Asher's cock swelled against that special sensitive spot inside of Caleb and he came again instantly. As Asher continued to empty himself in his mate, he reached between their bodies, stroking Caleb's still hard cock. He lost count of the number of times he came with his mate's dick locked inside of him.
At some point, Asher guided them to their sides. His dick was no longer locked, but he hadn't pulled out either. He reached a blind hand down, found the blanket and pulled it over their sweaty bodies, falling asleep with his dick deep inside his mate and a mumbled affirmation on his lips, "Mine."