Chapter 12
“Damn but you’re beautiful, Blondie. How do you manage to get better-looking every time I see you?”
Jonah was naked, standing in the doorway to his small off-campus apartment. His blond hair was disheveled, his cheeks were rosy, and his eyes were blinking in a just-woke-up way. Zev stepped inside, dropped his bag next to the door, and pulled that tight body against his chest, holding Jonah close and rocking them from side to side.
“What’re you doing here, Zev?” The chill in Jonah’s voice and the tension in his body felt like a punch to Zev’s stomach.
“I’m here for your graduation, Blondie.”
The four years apart hadn’t been easy. Hell, they’d been downright miserable, but the two of them had survived. Zev had managed to find reasons to make trips to see Jonah several times a year, and they both had unlimited minutes on their cell phone plans. It wasn’t enough—not nearly enough—but there hadn’t been another choice. Not if Jonah was going to get the education that was clearly so important to him.
“Is that right? Guess I’m surprised you’re here given the way you’ve been acting every time we’ve talked over the past few months.”
Zev sighed and rubbed his hands up and down Jonah’s bare arms. They felt thinner, and Zev wondered if his friend had been studying so much that he’d forgotten to eat.
“I’m sorry, Jonah. I was being an ass. I’m really proud of you for getting into medical school. I should have said that when you first told me the good news. I guess I was being selfish. I was hoping you’d be coming home now, not starting another long period away. But I understand.”
The previous few months had been pure hell. Ever since Jonah had told Zev that he wanted to continue his education, their calls had been strained. And this was the first visit Zev had made since Jonah had given him what he had considered exciting news. Given the way Zev had been acting, Jonah had honestly thought his friend would skip his graduation, but that hadn’t been his biggest worry. He’d actually been wondering whether Zev was angry enough to break things off between them.
That fear had felt like a cut to Jonah’s heart, paralyzing him. So much so that Jonah had been thinking about walking away from medical school and moving back to Etzgadol. Just the fact that he’d had those worries, that he’d considered giving up a career he really wanted while Zev refused to even consider the possibility of making a life with him away from their home town, made Jonah feel resentful.
“You understand, huh? Well, I don’t. What do you expect from me, Zev? You say you want me to move back to Etzgadol, but what’s your master plan when I do? You gonna hide me somewhere? Are we gonna go back to being buddies? I don’t want to live my life in the closet, Zev.”
Jonah tried not to sound angry, but it was hard to keep at least a tinge of bitterness out of his voice. Given Zev’s ever increasing role in his family business, it seemed virtually impossible to tear the man away from Etzgadol. So a future with Zev meant a future living under the scrutiny of his strange and overbearing family. Jonah was mostly upset with Zev’s parents for making their son feel like he had to hide, but he’d be lying if he said some of that resentment hadn’t bled over toward Zev. Being kept a secret made Jonah feel like Zev was ashamed of him, of what they shared.
“Please don’t be mad, Blondie. It’s hard to explain, but my parents just wouldn’t understand.”
Jonah snorted.
“Let me guess, you told your dad this was some kind of a business trip, right? Does he even know we keep in touch? Did you tell your parents you were coming to town for my graduation?”
Jonah rested his forehead against Zev’s chest and slipped his hand under Zev’s shirt, stroking the dark hair that covered rippling muscles. He wasn’t sure why he was picking this fight when all he’d been wanting for months was to see Zev again. The situation with Zev’s family had been the same for years; nothing had changed. Okay, that wasn’t true. He knew exactly why he was picking the fight. He was frustrated. And not just with his friend’s family situation or the tension between them since he’d told Zev about medical school.
“I promise you, Jonah, I will never hide you from them once you come home. I just can’t tell them about you until then. I need them to see us together, and then I know they’ll understand. Please trust me on this. It’s the only way it’ll work.”
The sincerity in Zev’s voice and the feel of the man he’d missed beyond reason in his arms took all the fight out of Jonah. He still wasn’t happy about being hidden from Zev’s family, but he trusted his best friend, his boyfriend, his lover, his everything. He believed Zev would tell the Hassicks about their relationship when Jonah moved back to Etzgadol.
They’d walked farther into the apartment as they’d talked, and they now stood in the small kitchen space. Without conscious realization, Jonah had turned his body so that he was leaning on the counter with his back pressed against Zev’s chest and his naked ass pressed against Zev’s cloth-covered groin. The feeling of Zev’s large erection against that part of his body caused the usual reaction: Jonah’s insides tingled and clenched, his skin broke out in goose bumps, and his cock stood at attention. He wanted Zev so badly that he sometimes thought he’d lose his mind from it.
“I missed you so much, Blondie.” Zev’s husky voice ghosted over his ear.
“Missed you too.”
Jonah wiggled and pressed farther back as he replied, hoping to encourage Zev to do what he’d so far refused. Reaching behind him, he found the button on Zev’s pants and popped it open. Then he pushed the zipper down and moaned when Zev’s hard dick broke free and thumped against his lower back.
“Oh, yes, going commando. I like that.” Jonah moaned, continuing the wiggle. He bent over, resting his forehead against the counter and lifting his ass up and out in a silent invitation. Zev groaned and pressed against him, peppering his shoulders with kisses.
“Blondie, you’re killing me here. You can’t imagine how much I want you.”
“Then take me, Zev. I want you. You want me. Nothing’s holding us back.”
Zev sighed and hugged him tightly.
“Medical school is holding us back, Jonah. We have to wait until we’re done with this long-distance thing.”
Having Zev constantly refuse to take that next step was increasingly difficult for Jonah to understand. They’d been together for four years. Why did they have to live in the same city before they could have sex? Wasn’t their relationship solid enough, even for someone as old-fashioned as Zev? Jonah’s need to have his lover fill him had become so intense that he thought he might break into tears or punch a hole in the damn wall if Zev kept denying him.
“Shhh, Jonah. I’ll make you feel good even without that. I promise.”
Jonah hadn’t realized he was shaking until Zev whispered those words into his ear. He wanted to argue, demand, cajole, hell, do anything to change Zev’s mind, but then he became distracted by the loss of Zev’s body heat against his back. One protesting moan was all he could get out before he felt Zev lick down his spine to the top of his ass. After landing a few light kisses on his lower back, Zev parted Jonah’s cheeks and continued the path his tongue had been taking, moving down Jonah’s cleft and then back up again.
“Zev,” Jonah whimpered as his body went completely limp, resting on the counter. Damn, that felt good. Zev caressed him with his tongue, making broad swipes over that hidden area. And then, when Jonah thought he’d die from the pleasure, Zev took it a step further and began sucking on his pucker.
“Oh, dear God,” Jonah cried out while pushing his ass farther back, hoping to encourage Zev to continue. And continue he did, with licks and sucks, and eventually a thick, talented tongue pressed its way into Jonah’s body. Just the feeling of being penetrated was all it took for Jonah to cry out Zev’s name and climax, coating the front of the cabinet with his release. He thrust back and forth against Zev’s face, riding out the pleasure until his body could take no more. And then he crumpled onto the floor, where Zev caught him and cradled him in strong arms.
“So good, Zev. So good,” Jonah sighed, just before his eyes shut and he fell into a deep sleep.
Zev held Jonah against his chest and stood up, carrying his mate to the bedroom. He’d known that Jonah wanted them to tie—or, as Jonah described it, have sex—but until he’d seen the desperation on that beloved face, he hadn’t realized that the mating instinct was at least partially responsible for that desire.
With Jonah being human, Zev hadn’t known whether the man would have the same connections and needs that accompanied shifters with a true mate. Well, if the past thirty minutes were anything to go by, those needs and connections were just as strong in Zev’s human mate as they could ever be in a shifter. In fact, Zev sometimes wondered if the mating bond between him and Jonah was stronger than what he’d heard could be possible. What else could account for Jonah’s ability to sense his presence and sometimes even hear his thoughts? They’d long ago moved past any chance that those occasions were coincidences.
Take that morning, for example. Jonah hadn’t been expecting Zev. The man had clearly been asleep in bed. Yet the blond had the front door open before Zev had put his key in the lock. There was no way Jonah could have heard him, and he was sure his mate wasn’t in the habit of yanking the front door open for no reason without wearing any clothes. Thankfully Jonah had been too groggy from sleep to question his own actions, but Zev had certainly noticed.
For true mates to have that depth of connection even after decades together would be unusual and a sign of a deep bond. But to have it before they’d tied, before they’d been able to live together, and while both of them were in human form? Well, that was unheard of.
There was no doubt in Zev’s mind that he’d been truly blessed. Even if he did have to suffer through eight more years before he could tie with his mate, his bond with Jonah was a blessing. But would he be able to survive that long?
After laying Jonah down on the bed, Zev stripped off his own clothes and crawled under the covers. His mate immediately rolled toward him and snuggled into his embrace, moving one leg in between both of Zev’s and draping one arm across Zev’s waist. The way Jonah liked to sleep tangled together with Zev was another characteristic that Zev adored. It reminded him of being a cub and sleeping in a pile with other shifters his age.
His kind were very tactile. They bonded through touch and smell. Zev hadn’t expected a human to have the same need for physical contact. But Jonah did. He seemed to revel in Zev’s touch, always standing close to him, kissing him, holding his hand.
So, yeah, Jonah was a human, but he was still the perfect mate, Zev thought with a smile as he fell asleep.