Chapter 9
“When’s your roommate coming back? Should we get dressed?”
Zev’s voice suddenly sounded strained. Jonah ran his hand against his friend’s stubbly cheek. It felt warm and rough and perfect.
“He’s staying at his girlfriend’s place all weekend. We have the room to ourselves.”
Although there was something arousing about having his naked body covered by Zev’s denim-covered form, Jonah wanted to feel skin against skin. So he moved his hands to the waistband of Zev’s jeans, tucked his thumbs under the heavy fabric and the soft briefs beneath, and pushed the barriers down over his friend’s hips and midway to his thighs.
“Kick off your shoes, Hassick.”
Zev complied and wiggled until his jeans were at his ankles, at which point he toed off his shoes, pushed off his jeans, and then settled his naked warmth on top of Jonah. Instinctively, Jonah’s legs spread, making room for Zev between them. He rubbed his calves against the sides of Zev’s legs, bent his knees and draped his ankles over the back of Zev’s thighs, and then moved them up and down the back of Zev’s legs in a gentle caress. And the entire time, Jonah looked up into Zev’s eyes, enjoying the warmth and affection that so clearly poured out.
But there was something else in those eyes too. Something Jonah had rarely seen in his friend. There was a glimpse of uncertainty and anxiety. The last time Jonah had seen those emotions in Zev was when he’d confronted his friend with their attraction, and Zev had responded by running out of Jonah’s childhood bedroom. Jonah suddenly worried that they were back in that place, that Zev was overwhelmed by what they’d shared and that he’d changed his mind.
“Zev?”
He couldn’t do anything more than say the name. Jonah wanted to beg Zev to stay, but his throat constricted and his entire body tensed. He strengthened the grip of his legs around Zev in an attempt to prevent the other man from escaping.
“You showing off those strong gams, Blondie?” Zev asked with a chuckle as he caressed one thigh with his firm fingers, massaging the muscle and relaxing Jonah’s hold on his body.
“Sorry, you just got me worried there for a minute,” Jonah replied quietly. He bit his lower lip and looked up at Zev through his eyelashes. “Thought you might make a run for it or something.”
“Nah. I’m not gonna run from you, Blondie. I was just a little freaked out. I don’t have my bearings with this whole, um, this whole being-with-another-guy thing.”
Jonah wondered, and not for the first time, exactly what went on at Zev’s church, or whatever it was they called it in their religion. Come to think of it, Jonah had never heard Zev, Lori, or Toby call it a religion. He’d never heard them give it a title at all. People at school called it a cult, but Jonah knew that wasn’t true. It just seemed like Zev and the kids he referred to as family friends all knew each other. They all went to some private elementary school that nobody else knew a thing about, and they all seemed to distrust anybody who wasn’t part of their little community. Well, not all of them. Zev had always been open to Jonah and the other kids at their school. And Lori and Toby weren’t bad, either. They were nice to everyone, though they definitely didn’t have Zev’s charm and open, friendly demeanor.
“Are you worried about your family finding out? About what they’ll think of you? Or if your dad will fire you or something? I’m not a huge expert, Hassick, but my guess is that I’ve had an easier time of, um, coming out to my dad. Talk to me. Maybe I can help. Or are you worried about, uh, going to hell or whatever?”
Wow. That was eloquent. Well, at least he was trying. This wasn’t an easy conversation for Jonah to have, either. Jonah felt Zev shaking above him and a hint of liquid dripped onto his cheek. His heart fell, and he snapped his gaze up to look into Zev’s eyes, expecting to see sadness. Instead, Zev was laughing at him so hard that he was crying.
“Hey!” Jonah smacked his friend’s shoulder. “Cut that out! I’m trying to be all sensitive and shit here, and you’re totally spoiling my mojo.”
“Sorry,” Zev gasped out, pausing to catch his breath. He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. “That was deep, man, seriously. Going to hell or whatever… Ow!” Zev shouted when Jonah smacked the side of his head, hard.
“Shut up, asshole. How am I supposed to know what had you all worked up? They were legitimate questions. Now stop laughing at me.”
A few more chuckles, and then Zev slid off Jonah and settled on his side, his head propped up on one hand, the other hand petting Jonah’s chest.
“Okay, okay. You’re right. Sorry. No, I wasn’t worried about my family or being fired or any of that crap. I just don’t know what to do with you, Jonah. I never know if my, uh, urges are weird, you know?”
“Your urges?” Jonah pushed himself up so his cheek was also resting on his propped-up hand, mirroring Zev’s pose. Then he pushed his knee between both of Zev’s.
“Yeah, you know, like what I just did to you,” Zev responded, looking pointedly at Jonah’s crotch while he licked his lips. “Is that okay or is it weird?”
Zev knew his question wasn’t coming out right, but he didn’t know how else to ask. He didn’t know how humans had sex. Frankly, he didn’t know all that much about how shifters had sex, just what his father had told him when he was twelve.
His closest friends were Jonah and Toby, and sex wasn’t something they’d ever discussed. With Toby it was because the other shifter had always had a thing for Zev’s sister and she’d been his only girlfriend. No way did Zev want to hear about Lori’s sex life, and Toby probably wasn’t particularly eager to share that information with him, either. And with Jonah, well, in hindsight Zev guessed they’d both avoided the topic for the same reason—how do you talk about sex with the guy you want when you don’t know if he wants you back?
Jonah gave Zev an odd look.
“I don’t understand what you’re asking me, Zev.”
The conversation should have been uncomfortable, but it really wasn’t. Jonah was Zev’s friend first and foremost. He felt safe and comfortable with Jonah, like they could talk about anything and Jonah wouldn’t judge him. Well, almost anything. Zev wasn’t quite ready to spill the beans about the whole “I’m a wolf” thing quite yet.
“I’m asking whether huma—uh, whether people use their mouths on each other like that.”
“Well, uh, yeah. I think so. Blow jobs are pretty common, Zev.”
Zev’s tension eased. He flopped onto his back, folded his arms beneath his head, and looked up at the ceiling. “Okay. Cool. ’Cause I liked doing it.”
Jonah rolled on top of him and straightened his arms, raising himself above Zev in a push-up position and looking down into Zev’s impossibly handsome face. “Think you might like feeling it too? ’Cause I wanna get my turn.” The hardness that suddenly poked into his hip answered Jonah’s question. “I’ll take that as a yes, Hassick.”
“Oh, it’s definitely a yes, Blondie. Show me what you got,” Zev responded with a smirk and raised his eyebrows up and down comically.
Jonah chuckled. “Quit making me laugh, Zev. You’re spoiling the romance. And I went through great efforts to seduce you here. I put away the dirty socks, threw out the pizza boxes, and I even changed the sheets on this bed.”
“Oh, wow. How could I possibly resist when you bring out the big guns of seduction like that? Nothing turns me on like basic housekeeping.”
A grumble was Jonah’s only response, and then he started kissing and licking his way down Zev’s neck, taking breaks to suck on sensitive spots. When he got to Zev’s nipple, Jonah traced it with his tongue before taking it into his mouth and sucking until it hardened. Zev shuddered and moaned beneath him.
“Not such a big talker now, are you, Hassick?” Jonah asked as he switched his attentions to the other nipple and ran his fingers over Zev’s hard cock and down to his heavy balls. “Turns out I know the Kryptonite to curb your super-sarcasm power.”
“Uh-huh. Less talking more licking, Blondie,” gasped Zev.
“Pushy asshole,” Jonah replied, but there was no animosity behind the words, just affectionate amusement.
By the time Jonah had made his way down to Zev’s cock, both men were done talking, done thinking, and operating on pure instinct. A few strokes of Zev’s erection had Jonah moaning, and the first swipe of his tongue across the glistening glans took Jonah’s breath away. Before he knew it, his lips were stretched around a hard cock. He felt a tender caress over his forehead and warm fingers pushing his hair back. He looked up to see Zev watching him.
Jonah didn’t move his mouth, just darted his tongue out and licked the salty skin. Zev’s fingers made their way through his hair to the back of his neck, where they massaged and nudged Jonah downward. He whimpered in agreement and sucked more of that hard cock into his mouth. He loved feeling Zev’s need, loved it when the other man gave into it and asked for what he wanted, loved that what Zev wanted was him.
He cupped Zev’s balls, squeezing and rolling them as he enjoyed their weight and texture. Without stopping that caress, Jonah popped his mouth off Zev’s dick, licked his lips, then gathered saliva in his mouth and plunged back down, letting the wetness seep out and over Zev, easing Jonah’s descent. His free hand went to the base of Zev’s dick and met his mouth on its downward approach.
Both of Zev’s hands touched Jonah, petting his cheeks and combing through his hair. “Feels so good, Jonah. Never thought anything could feel so good.”
Zev’s breathless voice praising him added another layer to the sensual maelstrom Jonah was experiencing. He rocked his hips against Zev’s leg, wanting to feel the friction against his own need.
“Mmm, hmm. Mmm, hmm.” Jonah moaned as he increased the speed of his up and down motions and tightened his mouth even further around Zev’s cock.
He pushed his hips harder against Zev’s leg, pumped faster, and it wasn’t long before Jonah was wailing around Zev’s dick as he released his seed onto Zev’s skin and the mattress. Zev’s answering howl came just as his large body shuddered, his thick fingers tightened in Jonah’s hair, and his hard cock exploded in Jonah’s mouth.
After he finished swallowing his friend’s offering, Jonah rested his cheek against Zev’s thigh and tried to catch his breath.
“So.” Zev’s husky voice broke the silence once their gasps died down. “What do you think? Did you enjoy your turn?”
Jonah rubbed his hand up and down Zev’s leg, kissed the man’s softening dick, and then crawled back up his muscular body.
“I think that’s definitely a keeper. Let’s add it to the rotation.”
Zev laughed, wrapped his arms around Jonah, and held him tightly.
“Whatever you say, Blondie. After all, you are the brains of this operation. Or at least that’s what you keep telling me.”
“Ha ha.” Jonah’s sarcastic tone was muffled because he couldn’t seem to move his mouth from Zev’s skin. He kissed a stubbly cheek and sighed contentedly as he wiggled around, getting comfortable against the warm body beneath him.
“Missed you, Blondie.”
“Me too. It’s not too late to change your mind about school, you know. I’m sure you can still get in here.”
Zev stroked Jonah’s hair and kissed his forehead.
“I can’t leave Etzgadol, Jonah.”
Jonah didn’t want to push, but he truly didn’t understand. It wasn’t just his own desire to be near his friend that caused him to bring up college once again. He also thought it’d be good for Zev. Jonah’s father had always raised him to know he’d go on to college and then graduate school. It was a given. He couldn’t understand why Zev’s parents wouldn’t want the same thing for their son.
“Explain it to me, Zev. Because from where I’m sitting, you’re living in a tent in the woods working for your dad’s business. Isn’t that same life going to be there for you after graduation? Why not study first? Maybe you’ll be able to add more to the company that way. Toby’s going to school. Can’t his parents talk to yours? They’re friends, aren’t they?”
There was no answer from his friend for several long minutes, but Jonah knew Zev wasn’t angry at his question, because that large hand continued its caress and several more kisses landed on Jonah’s head.
“It’s different for Toby. He wants to learn a trade that requires school. What I’m going to do isn’t something I can learn in college. And even if I could, it couldn’t be here.” Zev paused, trying to think of how he could explain that even shifters who went to college did so in towns that had packs. They’d get accepted into the pack as a hosted student, live among them while they learned, then return to their home pack with a new trade. There were no packs in the middle of the city because there wasn’t room to run and hunt. Besides, urban areas were occupied by vampires. And shifters didn’t mix with bloodsuckers.
“I know. You need to be in the forest. You already told me that.” Though he clearly wasn’t pleased about the situation, instead of arguing, Jonah changed the topic. “All right, what do you want to do while you’re here? Anything you want to see?”
Zev moved his hands down Jonah’s neck and over his back to land on his ass. He massaged the firm globes as he answered.
“I’m up for anything. I just have to stop at a couple of stores to see if they’re interested in carrying Etzgadol Ceramics.”
“Sounds good. We can do that tomorrow and then have lunch in Old Town.”
“’Kay. What else do you wanna do, Blondie?”
Jonah laid his head on Zev’s chest and snuggled against him.
“I just wanna be with you. So catch me up on things. Tell me how Lori and Toby are doing. Tell me about work. Oh, and tell me why you’re living in a tent.”