Chapter Ten
Asher needed to feel Caleb to know for sure that he was okay. It hadn't been the first time that he had dreamed of having sex with Caleb. Those had started the first moment he'd sensed him on the mountain, even before he had a face or a name. So, when he'd nestled his hard cock between Caleb's supple globes, it hadn't felt unusual.
Until his dream boy started struggling and saying no. He hadn't woken up right away and those few seconds of being asleep while forcing himself on his boy would haunt him.
He needed to see Caleb's blue eyes, to make sure they were clear of tears and fear. He should have known his little mate would bounce back from something like that and come out swinging. He was feisty. He would need to be to go up against Asher.
Asher dropped his face down, brushing his lips against Caleb's in the gentlest kiss. It was more of a reassurance for Asher, but Caleb launched himself into the kiss, pushing his lips hard against Asher's mouth as his arms tried to reach around his chest. He let Caleb hitch his leg up and around Asher's ass, swallowing his soft moan. When Caleb's hands reached down between them, Asher groaned but pulled back.
His mate was wounded and probably still a little frightened. When they took things further he wanted his head to be completely clear. It wasn't that there wasn't a desire to be more physical. He wanted Caleb. On his knees. On his back. In a million different ways, but his boy needed to want him just as much.
Caleb pouted as Asher held him back. "One second you are all over me, the next you're pushing me away."
"I told you, I thought I was dreaming earlier. I want you, but it is too soon. You've been through a lot and are still processing. I won't sully what we have by taking things too quickly. You could grow to resent it, resent me." And how could Asher survive if his little mate rejected him? He'd spent so long without affection or acceptance from another person and in the span of a second, he found that he would die without it.
"I won't resent you. Please, let me kiss you again. My skin feels itchy and tight, but when you touch me, it makes it better."
How was he supposed to deny something like that? Asher grabbed Caleb's hand and held it tightly. "How about this? Does it help?"
Caleb pouted. On anyone else, Asher would have been annoyed to see the expression, but on Caleb, it looked adorable.
"Yes," he said begrudgingly. "It helps."
"I've got a lot of work to do today anyway. In the woods, you've got to spend every moment you can preparing for winter and I have lost too many days." He didn't want to say, "taking care of you," because he thought it would make Caleb feel bad. Judging from the worried blue eyes he got anyway, he had been right.
"I'm sorry. You should have just left me."
Asher growled. "Not an option." What he didn't say was that he would have been behind in his preparations anyway because he'd been preparing for winter for one shifter and three wolves. That number had grown to one more shifter since then. He knew if he brought that up, Caleb would have some bullshit thing to say about how he needed to get back to his old pack. Caleb would understand soon that he was Asher's to take care of and to protect and that he would be expected to be by Asher's side.
"What do you have planned for today? I could help?"
Asher didn't want Caleb to exert himself but he looked so damn hopeful at the idea of helping. "Today, I was going to go fishing. That is a pretty frequent task up here."
Caleb's lips parted and pulled upward in the most beautiful smile. "I know how to fish! Where are your poles?"
"No poles, just a string, a hook, a worm and skill."
Caleb's eyebrows drew together in confusion. But then his expression cleared into one of determination. "Show me."
Two hours later Asher stood beside Caleb, ready to catch him if he slipped forward. Caleb rested on his belly on a large rock that hung over a part of the lake that was deep and half in shadow. The perfect spot for catching the fish that had been there for as long as Asher had fished the lake. He imagined if the lake were any easier to get to the fish would have been hunted into extinction long ago, but Asher took only what he and his wolves could use and that was never so much that the remaining population wasn't able to repopulate the following year.
Fishing with a line by hand took good reflexes but most of all, it took patience. Asher had shown Caleb how he caught the fish, allowing the hook and worm to dangle in the water until a fish came along and took a bite. Then, it was all about setting the hook and pulling the fish out of the water. After Asher had caught four, Caleb had demanded a turn and that had been the last thing Caleb had said to him. He'd taken the hook and line, crawled up the rock like Asher had and had silently waited.
Asher was beginning to worry that Caleb was pushing himself too far. Occasionally, Caleb's arm muscles would give a tremble and he would bite his lip. Which was why Asher stood directly behind him, ready to catch his mate, should he slip or start to slide into the lake. It was a warm day, but that lake would be quite a shock.
"This isn't the only day we have to fish," Asher murmured quietly as a bead of sweat gathered at the tip of Caleb's nose and plopped down into the water. "We can come back tomorrow or even later tonight. They bite more often at that time of day anyway."
"I want to catch one," Caleb replied through his clenched jaw. "I want to contribute."
"You are contributing," Asher replied at a louder volume. They were done fishing, he wouldn't allow his mate to hurt himself over pride.
"Shhh, you are going to scare them away."
Asher grabbed Caleb around the middle, avoiding any of his cuts and bites and hauled him off the rock and against his body.
"Let me go!" Caleb demanded as Asher held him tight.
"Never," Asher said, holding Caleb's smaller, flailing body. His body responded to Caleb's nearness in the usual ways. Asher would never get over his body's sexual response to having Caleb in his arms. "I won't let you hurt yourself."
"Why?" Caleb's question came out ragged as if he was near tears. He'd obviously spent the time on the rock doing more than fishing. "It doesn't make sense, Asher. None of this makes sense. It is too fast. And I feel too much. I don't even know you but I want you more than I have wanted anything. That isn't normal and I don't like the feeling. My body is so aware of you, it's maddening. I can't even stand it for two days, how am I supposed to endure it for longer?"
Asher let Caleb down, sensing he needed space. The small shifter sat down on the rock he'd been leaning over, pulled his knee up to his chest and hugged it tightly. Asher understood. Where Caleb came from, things were different, people had time to think over every decision—a little too much--but here in the forest, when you were given a gift, you took it. Like an extra warm day at the end of autumn, you didn't sit in the cabin wondering why it was so nice outside, you went out there and took advantage of it. So, when the forest had given him Caleb he hadn't questioned what it meant. "Would it make you feel more comfortable if I acted indecisive?"
"No," Caleb said, his voice muffled against his knee.
"Does it bother you that I am older?"
Caleb lifted his head indignantly. "Of course not. What kind of person do you think I am?"
"This may seem fast from your perspective but I have been waiting my whole life for you, Caleb."
Caleb made a noise that sounded equal parts shocked and turned on. He unfolded his body and launched up on one leg with a quickness that reminded Asher that he was indeed a powerful shifter, despite his smaller size. Asher caught him easily. Caleb's movements were jerky and frantic like he couldn't help what he was doing. He tried so hard to catch Asher's lips that when he did, Asher didn't have the will to stop him. He bent down, scooping up the fish they had caught and carried Caleb with one hand under his ass back to the cabin. Asher hung the fish up on a high branch before bringing his mate into the cabin and setting him on the straw bed.
"Please," Caleb begged, thinking that Asher was again rejecting his advances. "I need it."