Chapter Fifteen
“Hold still.”
“It tickles.”
Joe tried to do as Axel asked but the cold sensation of the paint on his skin made him want to wriggle and squirm.
“I’m almost finished the first part,” Axel promised him. “We can take a break while we let it dry.”
He tried to settle, his head pillowed on his hands as he lay face down on Axel’s bed. The alpha was kneeling above him, shirtless, which Joe liked. He’d have liked it better if he could see him but he had to settle for the feeling of the alpha’s hands steadying him and the paintbrush Axel so skillfully wielded.
“How does it feel?” Axel asked him, drawing a long line across his back with the paintbrush. Joe tried to muffle a moan at the sensation. The paint felt cool across his skin, the brush soft. And Axel’s hands, even though they were barely touching him, were strong. Joe ached to have those hands all over him.
So far, he’d done his best to keep some distance between them, wanting Axel to have some time to think over the choice he’d made. If he got cold feet and decided to head home, Joe didn’t want to know what he’d lost. But it had been almost a month. Axel wasn’t going anywhere and Joe was getting frustrated.
“There,” Axel said with satisfaction. “Don’t move, it’s still wet.”
Joe wriggled in place, stilling when Axel’s hands settled around his waist.
“I want to see you.”
“You can sit up, just don’t turn over.”
Axel helped him up onto his knees, sitting on the bed next to Joe.
“You are my favorite canvas,” the alpha said. “A little tricky to work with but so worth it.”
Axel had spread his equipment on the bedside locker; paints, brushes, clothes. There was a bottle of oil there too.
“What’s that for?” he asked, pointing.
“This?” Axel asked, picking it up. “You put in on after, once everything has dried. It stops the paint flaking off.” He tipped the bottle back and forth, the thick amber liquid gliding across the glass. “It has other uses which we could explore later.”
His eyes darkened and Joe couldn’t stop the needy whimper that escaped his lips.
“Please. I want… I need…”
“Need what?” Axel asked, tilting his head to the side.
“Need more.”
More than kisses, more than holding hands, more than stolen touches.
A slow smile spread across Axel’s face and he pulled the stopper from the bottle of oil, pouring a tiny amount onto his palm.
“The most important thing is to let the oil heat up, which it does when in contact with skin.”
Axel dipped a finger into the oil and reached out. Joe closed his eyes, gasping when the alpha’s finger traced across his lips. The oil felt heavy and a little cool. There was a pause and then Axel’s was back, tracing his oil slick fingers over Joe’s cheekbones and across his brows.
“How does it feel?” Axel whispered.
“Feels good.”
“How about this?”
Joe opened his eyes to see Axel’s fingers, shiny with oil, and only an inch from his chest. The alpha was looking to him, waiting for an answer. He nodded and gasped again as Axel’s fingers found his nipple, circling slowly. Joe arched into the touch, wanting more. The oil warmed quickly on his skin as the alpha’s fingers teased him. His other nipple got the same treatment, Axel rolling it between oil covered fingertips. The sensation had Joe squirming and panting, pleasure shooting right to his groin.
“Axel, please,” he begged, not even certain what he was asking for. The alpha’s mouth was on his shoulder, kissing the smooth skin there reverently.
He pulled back and Joe whined low in his throat, opening his eyes and lifting his head. Axel couldn’t leave, Joe needed him.
The alpha grinned at him, his hand reaching for the drawstring of Joe’s sweatpants and slowly tugging until the knot fell apart.
“I know what you want, what you need,” the alpha promised. “All you have to do is let me give it to you.”
In that moment, Joe would have given him anything. He nodded rapidly, swallowing hard as the alpha inched his sweatpants and boxers down. He was already half-hard, the cool air making him shiver from the sensation.
He watched with lidded eyes as Axel poured more oil onto his palm spreading it all across his hand before reaching for him. Joe moaned long and loud when Axel’s hand found his shaft, stroking gently. His hips thrust toward the alpha and Axel gave a lazy chuckle.
“Like that, huh?”
He nodded. “Like it a lot. Love your hands on me.”
Axel stroked him again, firmer this time and Joe felt his cock grow hard, pressing upward against his belly.
“That’s it,” Axel coaxed. “Let me give you what you need.”
He pushed closer and Joe reached out, wrapping his arms around the alpha and hiding his face against his shoulder. Between them, Axel’s hand pumped him slowly, drawing moans, hitched breaths, and little thrusts of Joe’s hips. Joe thought he should be returning the favor, should be doing something, but all he could do was cling to Axel and feel everything.
“Feels so good,” he murmured as Axel quickened the pace. Each stroke brought Joe closer to that amazing rush of pleasure he longed for. Burying his nose into the crook of Axel’s neck, he breathed the alpha’s scent in deep as he thrust his hips in time with the movement of Axel’s hands. He came with a choked gasp, his hands tightening around the alpha, his mouth pressed against Axel’s collarbone. Axel’s hands kept stroking, milking him until there was nothing left and he sank bonelessly into Axel’s arms. He was blissfully unaware of anything but the sensation of being sated at last and safe in his mate’s arms.
He awoke lying on his front again, feeling the stroke of the brush across his back.
“Welcome back,” Axel murmured. “Don’t worry, I’m almost done.”
“I’ll get oil on the sheets,” Joe said, then blushed, remembering that he’d gotten more than oil on them.
“Don’t worry, I cleaned you up while you were napping. The orgasm took more out of you than I was expecting. I guess the build-up made for a spectacular finale.”
Joe snorted but couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “It was good. You’ve got talented hands.”
“Other parts of me are also talented,” Axel said, tapping one finger low on Joe’s back, just above his ass. “I’d be happy to demonstrate those too.”
Joe arched his back, tilting his hips upward in agreement.
“Ah-ah. Stay still. We’re at a delicate stage.”
Muffling a groan against the sheets, Joe settled back down, letting himself feel every stroke and dab of Axel’s brush.
“There, done.” Axel stepped off the bed, dropping his paintbrush into a cup of water. His hand found the bottle of oil and Joe held his breath, giving a murmur of discontent when Axel let it go. The alpha chuckled at his response.
“We need to wait until your back dries.”
“Ugh. Fine.” Joe closed his eyes, reconciling himself to another nap. The low whirring sound had him jumping and glancing at Axel over his shoulder. He started to laugh.
“Is… is that a hair dryer?”
“Uh-huh. All the best artists use them.”
“Where did you even find one?”
“Henry’s room.”
And then warm air was playing across Joe’s back.
“Someone’s impatient,” he groused, though he liked the sensation.
“Okay, I think it’s ready for the oil.”
Axel set the hair dryer down, lifting the bottle of oil. The bed creaked and then Axel was straddling his hips. There was a pop as the bottle was opened and then the sound of Axel’s oil slick palms sliding together. And then his hands were on Joe’s back, stroking lightly across his skin.
It took effort not to arch into the alpha’s touch, to just lie still and take what Axel was giving him. But Joe didn’t want to ruin all the alpha’s hard word, not before he’d even had a chance to see it.
Axel leaned over, pressing a kiss to Joe’s shoulder and the beta moaned. The alpha’s hands trailed slowly down his sides, coming to rest on his hips.
“Joe, I can’t wait anymore. Can we…”
His hands urged Joe up onto his knees. Joe went willingly, bracing himself on his hands. An oil slick finger traced along the small of his back before dipping between his cheeks.
“We’re gonna take this slow, okay?”
Joe nodded, panting as Axel’s finger pressed inside him. He lowered his head, letting it rest against the sheets, keeping his focus on his breathing.
“That’s it,” Axel murmured. “So tight. So hot. You can take more, can’t you?”
“Need it, need you, Axel. Please.” Joe wasn’t ashamed to beg for it. Years of watching Axel, years of wanting him, and now the alpha was in his bed.
Two fingers inside him now, stretching him in a way that was all pleasure. Panting, he pushed back against the alpha.
“Not so fast,” Axel chided. “You’re tight. Have to stretch you, make it feel good.”
Bracing himself on his hands, Joe fisting the sheets beneath him as Axel worked three fingers inside him.
And then the alpha’s hand was gone, leaving Joe feeling empty. “Axel?”
“Right here, just getting myself ready for you.”
And then the alpha was urging Joe up to sit back on his heels while Axel knelt in front of him.
There was a pop as Axel slid the stopper back into the bottle of oil, followed by a tight groan. Joe watched Axel’s hand press between his own legs, stroking himself to hardness, coating himself with the thick oil. He couldn’t take his eyes away from what the alpha had, Axel’s cock thick and hard.
“Ready?” Axel asked, his voice tight with need and heat.
Joe managed a nod and went to turn and put his back to Axel.
“No, like this,” Axel urged, his hands deftly maneuvering Joe around until the beta’s legs were bent in front of him, his ass pressed against the bed. He couldn’t see how they’d have sex like that and went to roll over onto his knees.
Axel stopped him. “I want to see your eyes as I push inside of you.”
Joe gave up trying to anticipate the alpha’s next move and let Axel have his way. The alpha’s hand encircled his right ankle, lifting his leg up and onto his shoulder. It was only as he did the same to Joe’s left leg that it became clear and he let out an ‘oh’ of understanding. The ‘oh’ became a long moan as Axel gripped his hips and sank into him. The alpha was big and Joe felt so tight as inch after inch slid inside him.
He panted through the stretch, knowing how good it could feel. He just had to relax and let Axel take care of him.
“That’s it, so good for me, taking everything I give you.”
Once Axel was buried inside him, impossibly deep or so it felt, the alpha stopped and waited. His hands found Joe’s, his thumb stroking across the pulse points on his wrists, the oil on his fingers making them glide across Joe’s skin.
“You look beautiful,” Axel whispered. “All shiny, with those wide, gorgeous eyes and those red lips.”
He bent his head closer and Joe lifted his head, straining to reach the alpha, desperate for their lips to meet. The kiss was hot and heavy, all lips and teeth and tongue. He pulled back for air, panting.
“Gonna make you sing,” Axel promised, his hands on Joe’s hips again as he pulled out. He pushed back in with one sharp thrust, knocking all the air from Joe’s lungs. Joe panted breathlessly, hands fisting tightly as the alpha kept up a steady pace of thrusts. Joe looked down at where their bodies met, watching in fascination as Axel’s length disappeared inside of him with each push of their bodies together.
Axel shifted his body a little and the next thrust sent sparks across Joe’s vision, and he made a surprised sound. What was that?
The alpha noticed too, grinning. His hands found Joe’s legs, gently slipping them off his shoulder and around his waist. Joe wasn’t in any position to think clearly and just clung tightly to the alpha, not wanting to let him go. Axel’s hands urged his upper body up off the bed and Joe braced himself against Axel’s chest as the alpha kept thrusting, the new angle meaning Axel’s every thrust hit that sweet spot inside him that made him sing. Just like he’d promised.
They were getting close to something, Joe could tell. Axel’s thrusts came faster, the alpha’s control slipping. He brought his head close to Joe’s and whispered into his ear, turning his face to the side. “Look, look how beautiful you are.”
The mirror showed Joe exactly what Axel wanted him to see. Their bodies pressed close together, bathed in light from the window, Axel’s hips snapping as he thrust into Joe, and the long line of Joe’s back, where a dark-haired wolf howled at the full moon. Mesmerized, Joe couldn’t take his eyes from the scene, crying out as Axel’s next thrust showered him in ecstasy. His body tightened around the alpha as if trying to draw him closer and Axel jerked, his mouth biting down gently on Joe’s neck as he came.
“My alpha,” Joe murmured, tucking his face into the crook of Axel’s neck, determined to never let go.
“My mate and my muse,” Axel whispered back, pressing gentle kisses across Joe’s bitten skin.