Derek rolled over in his bed restlessly, kicking the covers off him with a flick of his legs. His time staying in the city had eased his sleep schedule into one that was beginning to resemble Stephan’s. It meant he no longer woke up with the sun. Years of going to bed early and rising even earlier was a hard habit to break however, and Derek should have known better than to try to go to bed so soon. He had been laying in the darkness of his room for almost an hour and sleep still eluded him.

Grunting, he sat up and fumbled for the bedside lamp to cast the room with its dim light. Stephan had been busy for most of the evening, and Derek had left him alone so he could putter about with whatever business he was doing. Ever since the afternoon on the rooftop, they’d been spending even more time together. It was nicer than Derek would have thought, spending so much intimate time with Stephan.

The man was by far, the warmest and kindest partner Derek had ever had in his life. They had done little more than share moments of shared physical affection, curling against one another as they quietly read, twining their fingers together whenever they walked side by side, and of course shared a great deal more kisses. It was definitely the most gentle and soothing time Derek could ever remember experiencing.

A frown crossed his face as he looked down at his lap, wondering if the feeling of dissatisfaction in his chest was ungracious of him. He readily admitted the past few days with Stephan had been some of the happiest, most relaxing days he’d spent. They had left Derek with a sense of warmth and happiness that he found nearly unshakable. The only problem he had was that gentle kisses and holding hands was as far as things had gone.

It wasn’t for a lack of emotion on his part, he was sure of that. Yes, they shared an intimacy that kept Derek feeling steady and calm. There were moments however, when he felt the warmth in his body dip down and stir in his loins. The more time he spent with Stephan, the more he began to wonder how the werewolf’s hands would feel on his waist, holding him down. There were times when he pondered what it would be like to have him hold onto his shoulders, shuddering breaths against his neck as one of them thrust into the other.

It probably wasn’t fair of him to expect Stephan to unleash his sexual nature when they had only just started to become intimate physically. Stephan seemed unlike most werewolves in many ways, and Derek wasn’t sure if he was also different in preferring to be slower to introduce the more sexual aspects into a courtship. Derek wasn’t even sure if what was happening between them could be called a courtship, since he still hadn’t talked to Stephan about making anything official. Still, it hadn’t changed his desire for something considerably more earthy than chaste kisses and cuddling. His frustration at wanting to know the man’s body more intimately had been filling his mind, and it was all he’d been thinking about as he lay in the dark.

“Oh, just go talk to him and stop being foolish,” he chided himself, bending over to find his shoes.

He didn’t know if he had the courage to bring up what was bothering him yet, but just being around Stephan lately had been enough to calm Derek. Shuffling out into the hallway, he walked quietly so as not to risk waking up those who were asleep. He found the door to Stephan and Rico’s joint room closed and he knocked on it softly.

There was an extended pause before Stephan’s face, looking sleepy and it had to be said grumpy, appeared in the crack of the swiftly opened door. When he saw it was Derek, the annoyed expression left his face. Without a word, he let Derek in closing the door behind him.

Those with children were given more than just the single room that Derek was currently using. The rooms that Stephan and Rico used were split into three. There was the main entry, which was a small room that led into the separate bedrooms for the two occupants to use. The room Derek stood in wasn’t very large, a big closet at best. Most of the living space for the pack was considered public, and so things like TVs and computers were kept in the communal area. The little room was decorated with little pieces of art Rico had drawn, and a few pictures Derek couldn’t make out in the dim light.

“I apologize, I didn’t know you were sleeping or I wouldn’t have bothered you,” Derek told him with a wince.

Stephan leaned forward, kissing Derek’s temple. “Don’t worry about it, you can bother me whenever you like. I missed you today.”

“Didn’t want to distract you. I hope I didn’t wake Rico as well,” Derek said with a faint smile.

Stephan glanced at the left-hand door. “Ah, he’s down sleeping with Annie tonight, so no worries there.”

The thought that they were genuinely alone improved Derek’s mood. “Well, I guess I only have to apologize to one person tonight then.”

“I already said you don’t have to apologize,” Stephan chuckled, reaching out to pull Derek against him gently.

Derek accepted the tug, nestling against Stephan’s chest and breathing in the scent of him. “Old habits die hard. Why were you in bed so early, have you not been sleeping well?”

Stephan nuzzled the top of his head as he spoke. “Just have a lot on my mind, and I try to keep myself busy instead of laying around thinking all the time.”

“Maybe I should consider taking that advice,” Derek said with a low chuckle.

“I noticed you haven’t been getting up as early lately, been taking a page out of my late shift book?” Stephan asked.

Derek craned his head up enough that his lips brushed Stephan’s. “I guess you could say that.”

Stephan took the hint and pressed his lips to Derek’s. The familiar warmth rushed through Derek’s body as he pressed himself even closer so their bodies were flush. The thoughts that had been filling his head before he’d come to Stephan’s room rose up once more to the forefront of his mind. He lost track of the kiss as he tried to shove the thoughts back down, trying to keep himself calm.

Stephan broke the kiss. “You okay?”

Derek blinked, wondering what he’d done to give himself away. “I’m fine, why do you ask?”

“You went all…stiff,” Stephan said, glancing down at Derek’s body.

“Did I?” Derek asked, wondering if he was going to have to learn to stifle his body as well as his mind.

Stephan frowned. “What’s wrong? I know something’s wrong now because you’re stalling for time to think of something to say.”

Derek sighed, realizing he had no way to argue with that. “I’m just…a little frustrated. Don’t worry yourself over it, the problem is with me, not with you.”

Stephan’s brow rose. “Well, if there was ever a way to make me not worry, that definitely wasn’t it.”

Derek let his hand slip down, resting on Stephan’s hip. “I’ve just been…well, I want to preface this by saying that I understand that it isn’t fair to you, but I suppose I might as well be honest all the same.”

Stephan shook his head. “Just say it Derek. You don’t have to make everything sound nice because you’re worried about my feelings. Say what you need to say, then we can deal with the clean up afterward, okay?”

Derek took a deep breath, nodding. “I’ve been frustrated a little because I feel as if something isn’t quite…clicking? Is that the word?”

Stephan took a step back, leaning against the wall as if giving Derek space. “This isn’t working for you?”

Derek shook his head vehemently. “I’ve been loving the time we’ve spent together so far. Every moment with you has made me feel more at peace with the world than…well, anything. I love spending all this time with you, and doing anything with you, even if it’s something separate without us touching.”

Stephan nodded slowly. “I’m guessing that there’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”

Derek cringed. “But, I’ve been craving more.”

“More?” Stephan asked.

Derek motioned, trying to get his point across without being totally blunt. “More.”

Stephan’s eyes widened in realization and he laughed softly. “You’re horny.”

“Does it have to be said so…shallowly?” Derek asked with a wince.

Stephan pushed away from the wall to take hold of Derek once more. “It doesn’t make you shallow to want to have sex Derek, that’s pretty normal. If I’d known that was the problem, I would have helped you out a lot sooner. I thought you were still trying to figure things out, and I didn’t want to push you.”

Derek stared up at him in surprise. “You mean, you haven’t been simply taking your time?”

Stephan raised a single brow. “You really thought I was behaving myself because I thought we should wait or something? I was being good because I thought you were still trying to decide if you wanted to keep this up or not.”

“You’re serious?” Derek asked, suddenly embarrassed and annoyed with himself.

“Derek, I made a whole comment about having thoughts that weren’t quite as innocent as just kissing you when we talked. Do you really think that magically stopped now that I’m actually getting to kiss and touch you?” Stephan asked.

“Well, when you put it like that,” Derek grumbled.

Stephan’s hands shifted so that his fingertips rested against the top of Derek’s ass. “It’s been hard sometimes, behaving myself when we’ve been alone and you’re kissing me, pressed against me. I’ve wanted to be with you for awhile now, in every way possible.”

Derek shivered at the sudden drop in pitch of Stephan’s voice. “And it doesn’t bother you that I was with Sean?”

Stephan paused, eyeing Derek carefully. “No, that doesn’t bother me at all. You’re a full-grown man, and you can sleep with who you want to, but uh, are you still planning on sleeping with him again?”

Derek coughed back a laugh. “I hadn’t planned on doing so.”

“Guess that’s a stupid question to ask, since we haven’t even had sex yet huh?” Stephan asked.

He reached up to run a finger along Stephan’s defined jaw. “I would much rather be having sex with you. Over the past few days, even at my most frustrated, it was you I thought about, not anyone else.”

“Thought about how?” Stephan asked, the low pitch returning.

Derek smirked playfully. “The kind of thinking that involves my needing a moment or two of privacy.”

Stephan stepped forward, nudging Derek back until he was pressed against the wall. “Is that what you were doing before you came to see me?”

Derek settled against the wall, peering at Stephan with obvious desire. “I was thinking about it before I came here, but I had yet to do anything about it.”

“Maybe we should do something about it now then,” Stephan suggested as he ran his hands up and down Derek’s sides.

The comforting heat in his body that came with being near Stephan burrowed deep and lit a fire within Derek’s groin. It was almost fascinating to see the change come over Stephan as he slowly began to grope Derek. Stephan was still being gentle and patient as he ran his hands over Derek’s body, as if discovering parts of Derek he’d never noticed before. There was a hunger to the other werewolf though, and an intense desire spawned from a passion that he had never seen on Stephan outside of a fight. That passion was aimed solely at Derek, and he could feel his breath hitch as he caught sight of the needful glint in Stephan’s eyes.

“We’re wearing too much clothing,” Derek told him, wanting to see as much of Stephan as the other man seemed to want to see of him.

“Agreed,” Stephan grunted as he pushed back, pulling Derek with him into his private room.

Without a word, Stephan continued to pull Derek in until they both tumbled onto his bed. Derek hadn’t been in his room before, but he didn’t have time to take in the scenery as Stephan pulled him down to crush their mouths together. Derek’s body stiffened, his legs spreading apart so he could mount Stephan’s hips as their tongues swiped against one another playfully at first but quickly becoming urgent. His breath came out in a sharp hiss as Stephan’s fingers brushed the bare skin of his sides as they worked to grip onto his shirt and pull it free from his body.

Derek shoved his hands beneath the hem of Stephan’s shirt even as he felt the other man stroking his naked torso. He gave a happy grunt as his fingers followed the lines of muscle on Stephan’s stomach and chest. They were about the same height and build, and Derek had always been more fond of partners that were about his size. Stephan’s body was perfect in Derek’s mind, and he reveled in the feel of his strength beneath his fingertips.

“Help me get this off?” Stephan asked, nodding his chin toward his shirt.

Derek’s grin was his answer, grabbing hold of the shirt and pulling it up as Stephan lifted himself to help remove it. As soon as the shirt was free, he reached out to pull Derek in for another heated kiss. Their skin pressed against one another, their muscles pushing and rolling together. Derek gave a pleased sigh, his tongue dancing over Stephan’s tasting him as he scooted forward into his lap.

The comfort that came from conversation between them was translating into the physical act of sex. Neither of them had to say anything for the other to know what was wanted. When Stephan’s hips shifted to one side, Derek instinctively rolled with him. His back pressed against the bed and he gazed up at Stephan when their kiss broke and they stopped moving. Derek’s gaze roamed the expanse of Stephan’s well-developed chest and shoulders, repeatedly running his finger over his stomach.

Derek’s hands drifted further down, sliding over the buttons of Stephan’s jeans, to cup the growing bulge in his pants. Stephan’s breath shortened, and Derek smiled as his fingers ran over the denim covered length of Stephan’s arousal. Both men gazed at one another as Derek took his time exploring, feeling out every inch of Stephan’s cock through his jeans as best he could.

Without a word, Derek slid his fingers up, unsnapping the buttons to Stephan’s jeans. There was a pause when he found there was no underwear, chuckling as he realized that his friend and partner preferred the natural approach. Carefully, he shifted his grip beneath the waistband, finding the shaft of Stephan’s cock and wrapping his fingers around it. Stephan leaned back with a soft groan, allowing Derek enough access that he could pull him free of the confines of his pants. With an eager gaze, he stroked Stephan’s length, running his thumb playfully over the head.

Stephan bowed forward, catching Derek’s mouth with his own bringing a newfound hunger to their kisses. Derek returned the kiss with equal vigor, refusing to break his hold on Stephan’s cock. He could feel Stephan searching for his own pants, grunting into the kiss when he felt some of the pressure around his cock released as Stephan pushed his shorts down. Together, the two of them gripped and stroked one another’s cocks, their breathing sharp against each other’s skin.

The other man eased back and Derek watched him intently, eager to see what he would do next. At the sight of him tugging at his pants, Derek did the same, kicking his shorts off completely. He stretched out, completely naked and on display, before Stephan. The other werewolf didn’t waste the opportunity to ogle Derek, running his hands from ankle to neck in one slow, steady motion. Derek shivered under the gentle, needy touch, craving more.

When he saw Stephan beginning to ease his head toward his groin, Derek silently stopped him. At Stephan’s puzzled expression, Derek shifted so that their heads lay in opposite directions from one another. Stephan’s understanding chuckle puffed warm air against Derek’s sensitive cock, and he reached out in response to grip hold of Stephan’s arousal once more.

Just as he opened his mouth to take the thick length between his lips, he felt Stephan’s mouth close around his own cock. Sighing with pleasure, Derek leaned forward and let the head slide over his tongue. Both men were careful, slow at first, trying to settle into a rhythm as they tasted the other in their mouth. To Derek, it was an unbelievably sweet moment, two men trying to pleasure the other while trying to enjoy their own. Derek didn’t restrain himself, letting the pleasure roll through him and out of his mouth to rumble around the length of Stephan’s cock in in a low moan. He loved the feel of Stephan against him, the way his fingers never stopped moving over his skin, the eager grip of Stephan’s lips on his cock.

Derek desperately wanted to enjoy the moment, to let it stretch out so he could relish every sensation. The only problem was he wanted so much more. Whether it was him inside Stephan or Stephan inside him, he didn’t care. For all the erotic pleasure that he was receiving from Stephan’s hand and mouth at the moment, it didn’t compare to his deep desire to connect with Stephan in the most direct and intimate way possible.

Stephan seemed to sense it, pulling off Derek’s cock and looking at him questioningly. “You good?”

Derek broke contact with Stephan’s cock, shivering as he gazed up the man’s body. “I need…more. I’m loving this, but Gaia help me, I need more.”

Stephan smiled, and Derek realized it was naturally slightly crooked. “Got a preference for who does what?”

Derek shook his head, kissing Stephan’s exposed inner thighs. “So long as we’re both enjoying it, I don’t really care.”

Stephan blinked, looking surprised but recovered swiftly with a nod. He rolled partly away, groping for the nearby bedside table. When he managed to open it, he plucked out a bottle of what Derek recognized as some form of lubricant. The kind he had used in the sept was an oil that came in glass containers, made by werewolves who had the right knowledge. He knew enough about the human world to know most lubricants were synthetic however, and apparently worked just as well and with less need for clean-up afterward.

The other werewolf shifted, twisting about so he was the one crouched over Derek. Derek glanced up, a little surprised as he watched Stephan open the bottle, applying it to his fingers. When he reached behind him to apply it to himself, Derek felt a thrill of anticipation run through him. Privately, he had thought Stephan might the type who preferred fucking someone, but as the man’s fingers lubricated Derek’s cock with the slick liquid, he was thrilled to see he was wrong.

Stephan bent forward, kissing Derek gently as he whispered against his lips. “Next time will be my turn, deal?”

Derek nodded, careful to not headbutt Stephan in the process. “Absolutely.”

“Good,” Stephan huffed with a slight laugh as he began to ease his hips down.

There was a moment of resistance, as Stephan’s tight body fought the intrusion. For Derek, it was always a moment of anticipation, waiting to see how much force it would take for someone to enter him or for him to enter another. When Stephan’s muscles gave, heat wrapped around the head of Derek’s cock with a sudden intensity that had him gasping. He reached out, gripping onto Stephan’s thighs as the werewolf rocked, easing himself back and forth on Derek’s cock.

Derek didn’t know how long it took for Stephan to ease himself down completely, time had ceased to matter, but it felt as if it had taken forever. It took more willpower than he believed to keep his hips still as Stephan eased Derek’s cock inside him. The heat of the werewolf’s ass around his cock was intense, and the grip threatened to bring him to a premature end. Derek fought to remain absolutely still until he felt Stephan sitting completely in his lap. Only then did he open his eyes, and gaze up at him.

Stephan gave another crooked grin. “You wanna do it like this, or roll over so you do the work?”

“Roll,” Derek managed to croak out, needing to control the pace.

Stephan waited until Derek began to move before rolling with him so he was the one on his back. There was enough movement between them in that one act that both of them moaned as Derek inevitably thrust inside Stephan. Derek shifted, pulling himself to his knees and placing his hands on each side of Stephan’s shoulders. He wanted to go as deep as he could, but he needed to keep his pace steady and under control. Derek wanted this to be twice as good for Stephan as it was already feeling for him.

“Are you okay?” Derek finally asked once he had positioned himself.

“More than okay, but if you don’t start moving soon, I think I might go crazy,” Stephan admitted with a faint moan.

Derek was more than happy to fulfill that particular desire. His movements were slow at first, carefully pulling his hips back before pushing gently into Stephan. It was frustrating to move so slowly, but he wanted to be careful, to assess just what would work for Stephan and what wouldn’t. His eyes never left the other man’s face as he pushed into him, gauging to see what would draw a line of pleasure on his face and what wouldn’t.

Stephan reached out, cupping his face and gazing into his eyes intently. “Stop thinking so much.”

“I want to make this good,” Derek admitted sheepishly.

“Then just do it, you feel amazing,” Stephan said, his voice thick and heavy.

Derek had to take Stephan at his word, trusting in the man as he had done many times before. With a groan, he allowed himself to thrust into Stephan once more this time with less careful precision. Stephan still felt tight, but he had loosened up enough that it didn’t feel like Derek was going to lose it immediately.

Stephan’s hips jerked at the thrust, pushing himself upward with a low groan. His hands, which had rested gently on Derek’s hips, dug in with a renewed grip. Together, they began to find a rhythm, allowing Derek to thrust down into Stephan until his hips pressed against Stephan’s ass, and pull out again without slipping free. His movements were enough that the soft sound of flesh meeting flesh mingled with their mutual groans.

“I don’t think I’ll last much longer,” Derek managed to tell him, his tone filled with regret.

Stephan’s response was to tighten his grip around Derek’s waist with his legs, pulling him closer so they were face to face. The man’s breath gusted against Derek’s skin, and Stephan took the opportunity to kiss and nip at Derek’s exposed shoulders and neck. Derek shuddered as he felt himself nearing the edge of his orgasm, with Stephan eager to push him past the point of no return. The werewolf felt too good against his body, and around his cock, for Derek to be able to hold himself back very much longer.

When his orgasm hit, it came with a cry from his lips that could have been Stephan’s name. His lungs didn’t have enough air so it was a wordless cry as he snapped his hips forward, burying himself one last time in that perfect heat. Dimly, he was aware of a newfound grip around his cock as he unloaded into Stephan, a sticky warmth spurting between them heralding Stephan’s own orgasm. Derek’s body shuddered with a pleasure he had no words to describe, but he found expression in the form of kissing Stephan with more passion and need than he thought he’d ever expressed before.

When the kiss broke, it broke with the crest of their orgasms, leaving Derek almost breathless. He tried to form words, sagging against Stephan’s shoulder and holding on to him with an almost desperate grip. It felt like the room was spinning, but there was no nausea, only a sense of belonging and peace.

“Told you not to think so much about it,” Stephan said with a chuckle.

“You, as always, were correct,” Derek told him with a smile, easing himself carefully from Stephan.

Stephan wasted no time in pulling Derek back down so they were wrapped around one another once more. If the sex had been intense, pleasurable, and far more erotic for the sense of closeness, then the presence of the other man’s body against his afterward was ten times that, and both were more than Derek ever dreamed of. A sense of calm filled him as he listened to Stephan’s breathing, felt the thump of his heart against his forehead, and took in their mingling scents.

“You were amazing,” Stephan told him, sounding faint and breathy.

Derek felt as if he should say something, anything to let Stephan know just how much it had been due to him and not Derek. A wave of lethargy passed over him, mingling with a deep-seated contentment that began to drag him toward sleep. He burrowed as close as he could to Stephan, content to let the moment settle between them. Stephan wrapped his arms tighter around him, holding him close as the both of them drifted into a restful sleep.