Chapter Seventeen
Caleb finished making the bed that he and Asher shared while they stayed at Brady's. They'd been there for a few days after Brady discovered the wolf's injuries were a little more serious than he had thought and would need surgery. The surgery went well and the five of them would be able to return to the homestead in a few days. They could have gone sooner, but neither of them wanted to leave the wolf and strapping her to the sled would have been too uncomfortable. If she even let herself be strapped in. Brady was having the hardest time getting her to leave her bandages alone. He'd threatened to use a cone and she'd stopped tearing her bandages off.
It had been awkward at first, staying with Asher's old fuck buddy. Not that anyone had used that term, except Caleb and only in his mind. Brady had been perfectly nice to him and Caleb would have really liked him as a person if it weren't for the fact that he'd been having sex regularly with Asher for around fifteen years.
With an armful of old linens, Caleb went through the kitchen where Asher and Brady were discussing the local coyote population, again.
"They don't make any trouble in this town," Brady said while petting a huge cat that looked half bobcat half house cat. There was generally some kind of animal in Brady's house at all times. "You'll be hard pressed to find anyone willing to start trouble with them. Believe me, I have tried. Folks around here just think they are some old hillbilly family. The idea isn't too far off."
"I am not starting the trouble, Brady. They've already attacked my mate, twice now. Whatever their habits were in the past, I'm telling you, they are changing, branching out and it will only be a matter of time before they do start causing trouble in town. I hope by then it isn't too late."
Brady mindlessly stroked the huge cat in front of him and looked between Asher and Caleb thoughtfully. "You really must be mated. I've never seen you quite so worked up." He spoke with a smile but Caleb still froze, unsure of what he should do with a statement like that.
"Have you ever been up to the cabin?" Caleb asked, trying to change the subject.
Brady looked at him like an additional nose had just begun sprouting from his face. "No, Caleb, I have never been there," he said finally, with a small smile. "No one has been there. I don't even know where it is."
"But I thought you two..." Caleb blushed profusely. Asher had never told him explicitly who Brady was, Caleb had just assumed. He could be wrong. One thing was for sure, he was doing a bad job of pretending not to know.
Oddly, Brady's cheeks twinged pink as well. "You told him?"
Asher grabbed the linens from Caleb and brought them to the washing machine where he had been heading. "No, I did not." He bent down to haul the linens in.
Caleb's stomach flipped. Way to mess up everything. "He didn't tell me, Brady. I knew that he had, er, someone that he came down here to...spend...time...with."
Brady's smile widened. "Spend time with? Is that what he called it?"
Caleb wasn't sure he liked this conversation. Even with has friendly as Brady was being, it still involved his mate with another man. He knew he didn't like it but at the same time, if it had to be with anyone, Brady would have been the best choice. He wasn't as large as Caleb had first thought. His beard was bushy and his hair wild. He wore many layers of clothing, which had contributed to his resemblance to a grizzly bear. He was tall and muscled, but despite his height and obvious strength, he was never imposing. When he wore his glasses, he had a habit of pushing them up his nose more frequently than was required. If Caleb had only one word to describe the man, he'd use gentle above all else. The one thing Brady wasn't, was anything like Caleb. They couldn't have been more different in appearance. Asher must not have a type, Caleb thought. "I forget his exact words," Caleb replied, returning Brady's smile.
"Don't let Asher fool you. He wasn't always so self-assured and domineering. You should have seen him in his awkward early twenties. I mean, most guys go through puberty in their early teens and he did have a full face of hair at sixteen, but those lanky limbs? Took him ages to grow into them and to stop banging up against everything."
Caleb laughed at the idea of an uncoordinated, clumsy Asher. "You should come with us to The Den one of these times, you might like it," Caleb said, thinking Brady would fit in just fine with his pack mates, despite his being a human.
Asher finished setting the machine to wash and stood, doing a double take between Caleb and Brady smiling. "I don't trust this," he said simply, grabbing Caleb's hand and pulling him out of the house.
Caleb grinned at Brady and Brady called out, "We'll talk more later."
"What is that about?" Asher murmured, taking Caleb to the barn. Brady had a handful of livestock there, some healing, others waiting for their owners to come and claim them. They had been restless the first day the other two wolves had been hanging around but once it was clear the wolves weren't going to try to eat them, they had calmed down.
"Don't want your new mate talking to your side piece?"
Asher blinked, seemingly at a loss for words. "That...feels...very disrespectful, somehow to both of you."
Caleb smirked.
"I didn't come right out and say it because Brady is in the closet. Tiny town like this, the minds are pretty narrow and it is easier for him to fly low."
"Oh no, I hope I didn't make him feel uncomfortable!"
Asher shrugged. "It didn't seem uncomfortable. What are you guys going to talk more about later?"
"Nothing," he said with a smile. Asher let out a low growl and stalked toward him until Caleb's back hit the barn wall.
"I can make you tell me," he said with a deep rumble in his words that would have been frightening if it hadn't given him an instant hard-on.
He let his head fall back against the wooden wall. It didn't take much to make him hard since the mating heat had begun. All Asher had to do was look at him and ask him how he slept and Caleb was on top of him writhing. Mating heat was so much more pleasant with the mate around. As long as Asher was there to satisfy his need, he was never in pain, the opposite.
"How will you make me?"
Asher looked around, making the turned-on butterflies in Caleb's stomach dance for joy. When he was sure they were alone, he set his hands on Caleb's shoulders and applied pressure. Caleb knew immediately what he wanted and was more than happy to oblige, though did not know how he was supposed to tell Asher anything with his mouth full.
Caleb settled on his knees and looked up at Asher who stroked his cheek lovingly. "Take me out," he ordered and Caleb bit his lip. He unzipped Asher's jeans and reached in, pulling his hard length out. "Suck me," he ordered, though he didn't need to. Caleb's mouth was already open. He slid his lips down Asher's length, his chin hitting the fabric of his pants while his nose buried in the short hairs peeking out. "Oh, Caleb, yes."
Caleb looked up. Asher's hands cupped his face and the look of love in his eyes was almost enough to make him come on his knees in his pants. He swallowed his mate deep, feeling him hit the back of his throat. When he didn't gag like he had the first time, he felt a tiny victory.
"Fuck," Asher hissed, thrusting his hips forward involuntarily.
Caleb cheered internally. His lips slid smoothly up and down Asher's shaft and soon Asher had his fingers in his hair, scratching and tugging. Then, Caleb felt Asher's hands at his arms, pulling him up. "I don't want to come in your mouth, mate," he said gutturally. He spun Caleb around and placed his hands on the wooden wall. Yanking his pants down, Asher lined his cock up and after rubbing the head of his cock against Caleb's hole, he thrust in.
Caleb pushed back, turning his head to look at Asher, loving the intense arousal that he saw in his face. As he thrust, Asher leaned over his body protectively, kissing his lips. "I love you like this," Asher whispered hotly against his ear. "I love feeling your body constrict around me. So warm and welcoming. Your body was made for me, Caleb, just for me."
Caleb didn't need the dirty talk to come. Asher's words, the hot sensation against his earlobe, being stuck between a hard wall and a hard body, it was all too much. Caleb's release splattered against the hay strewn floor.
Asher continued pumping in and out of him. Low rumbling growls emanating from his chest and throat. Then he bit Caleb's earlobe once, his lips pressing against the skin when he whispered again. "I'm going to fill you up, mate. Come with me." Caleb hardly needed the suggestion. He'd felt Asher begin to swell, knew a knot was forming that would not only lock Asher inside of him but would also press against Caleb's sensitive nerve endings, causing an avalanche of orgasms. He cried out. Asher swallowed his noises with a kiss.
When Asher pulled out, he picked Caleb up against his chest as if unable to be away from him for even that long. "I love you, Caleb," he said and Caleb replied with a kiss. "I never let myself imagine having a mate, I thought any possibility of that was gone when I chose to live off the grid. But you found me anyway."
Caleb was going to mention that it was Asher who found him, but then realized, he was on that mountain in the first place because he had wanted to go. Out of all the team building youth activities, he had felt most drawn to the mountain. Had his wolf known? The idea boggled his mind.
"Thank you, Caleb," Asher said again, holding him against his chest.