Jaysan wanted to kiss Morris more than almost anything in that moment—not only to thank Morris for accepting and forgiving his actions, but because he wanted to. He loved having the power to decide what happened to his body, and every cell in him knew Morris would respect his wishes, his body, and his heart.

My bondmate. My future mate.

He slanted his lips across Morris’s in a tender touch, and for a while, they shared the softest of kisses. Lips whispering, pressing, doing nothing more noteworthy that touching. Until the first lick of Morris’s tongue against his lips. The explosion of his sweet scent in Jaysan’s mouth sent blood to his dick, and he opened. Opened for his alpha’s questing lips and tongue. Relaxed into the hands rubbing his back and ribs, exploring Jaysan in more detail.

They kissed and kissed, until Jaysan was drunk with it, and his hard-on rubbed painfully against his slightly twisted sweatpants. His thigh told him Morris had the same issue, and Jaysan was not surprised to find himself flipped onto his back. Morris half-draped himself over Jaysan, one leg between his, a thigh pressing into his boner. The kissing resumed, and Jaysan melted into Morris’s very capable hands and mouth, no fear Morris would become aggressive and take something Jaysan wasn’t ready to give.

And in that precious, joyful moment, he wanted to give Morris everything.

He rutted against that firm thigh, needing more pressure against his dick, not surprised when Morris began humping Jaysan’s hip. Warm hands smoothed over Jaysan’s chest and belly but never ventured beneath his shirt. Jaysan gave silent permission by tugging the sweatshirt up and showing off an expanse of bare, slightly chubby belly.

Morris broke the kiss to look down. His hand covered that slice of bare skin, and Jaysan shivered. His touch was different than any other man Jaysan had been with, and something as simple as a hand on his belly made Jaysan ache with need. Desire.

Love.

Curious, Jaysan put his hand over Morris’s and slid it lower, to the point where Morris’s thigh prevented further exploration. He looked up and nodded; Morris’s nostrils flared. Morris turned his hand so he could clasp Jaysan’s, then dragged them both up to rest atop his chest.

“How far do you want this to go today?” Morris asked.

“Honestly?” Jaysan thrust against Morris’s thigh. “I’m all for going upstairs and bonking each other’s brains out.”

Morris’s face flushed bright red. “I’m, uh, not sure if I am.”

“No?” A startling thought hit him. “Are you a virgin?”

Red skin turned scarlet, but Morris never tried to hide his embarrassment. “I fooled around a bit in university, but only hand jobs and blow jobs. I’ve never, you know, penetrated anyone.”

Jaysan kissed his lips, then both cheeks. “Does it offend you that I’m not?”

“Of course not. Clean slate, remember? It’s just…after what happened to Marlon, the idea of sex scares me. I never want to accidentally hurt someone.” He cupped Jaysan’s cheeks in his warm, wide palms. “I’m scared of hurting you.”

“You won’t. Trust me, if something hurts or scares me, I will be very vocal about it. And I know you’ll hear me. Even in the deepest throws of passion, in the most exquisite burn of heat, you’ll hear me.”

Morris’s eyes widened a fraction. “Heat.”

“I mean, we definitely need to have a conversation about that, because it’s going to happen in two weeks or so, but not right now. We’ve both shared so much grief and pain today. Let’s focus on sharing pleasure. Please?”

“We can do that. Um, we’ll have more space upstairs.”

They also had the whole night alone. Jaysan made a mental note to call Orrin later, so his guardian didn’t worry when he didn’t come home. Morris helped him up, and they held hands on the walk to the second floor. He hesitated over which room, so Jaysan tugged him toward Morris’s.

“No.” Morris held firm. “This is us making a commitment, right? That we each accept the other as our future mate?”

“Yes.” A flutter of trepidation behind his breastbone did nothing to destroy Jaysan’s confidence in this decision. “We’re going to be mates.”

“Then let’s start fresh in our new room. Not my room, but ours. And maybe I haven’t made the decision on selling the house or not, but the master is our room.”

Jaysan wrapped his arms around Morris’s waist. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

“Yes. I need to do this.”

“Okay.” He allowed Morris to lead him into the unused master, its bedding untouched, except for that long ago day with Aeron. And then, suddenly faced with an inexperienced virgin, Jaysan froze. His sexual experiences in the past were all either forced or hurried. Rape or quickies. He didn’t know how to seduce another man.

And Morris seemed equally stumped by the same problem, as they stared awkwardly at each other from the foot of the bed. Jaysan helped matters along the only surefire way he knew—he whipped his sweatshirt off and dropped it to the carpet. Morris watched it fall before raising his gaze to Jaysan’s bare torso. He stared.

And stared.

“You can touch me,” Jaysan said.

As if waiting for that consent, Morris placed both hands on Jaysan’s shoulders. The skin-on-skin touch buzzed through his blood and lit up his nerve endings. No one’s touch had ever affected him like this, and Jaysan wanted more. But he also wanted Morris to go at his pace, so he waited impatiently for Morris to slide his hands down Jaysan’s arms to his wrists. He lightly caressed the inside of both wrists before sliding back up.

At his shoulders, Morris paused, then moved lower. Over his pecs, those nimble fingers barely brushed his nipples and kept going. Tickling across his ribs, skating past his navel, to a belly now soft from too much pizza. Morris surprised him by walking around, hands never leaving Jaysan’s body, so he could explore Jaysan’s back in the same way. Stroking and learning, lighting Jaysan’s skin on fire with each new caress.

Jaysan’s cock pulsed with need, but that could wait a little while. He wanted—no, he needed Morris’s first time to be about Morris.

“You’re so beautiful,” Morris whispered reverently as he circled to Jaysan’s front. “Perfect in your imperfection.”

Those magical words made Jaysan’s soul soar, imprinting what he already knew directly onto his heart: this man was his future. He blinked back hot tears of joy. “I’m yours, Morris. Make love to me any way you want.” Jaysan leaned in so his words went directly into Morris’s ear. “Take me, my alpha.”

The sexiest growl in the world ripped from Morris’s throat, and he tugged Jaysan into a fierce kiss that promised so many things: love, passion, dominance, playfulness, joy. So. Many. Things. Jaysan returned the kiss with a growl of his own, excited to see Morris coming out of his shell. So unlike most other alphas, he didn’t posture or order or look down at you. He existed and allowed others to exist, and Jaysan loved him for it.

But he really loved him for this new in-charge side. In bed with the right man it was hella sexy.

Morris yanked Jaysan’s sweatpants down and off, then stared some more, taking in his now nude body. Jaysan’s cock stood hard and red, the tip leaking fluid, but Morris didn’t touch him. Instead, he began taking his own clothes off. Jaysan thought it was kind of sexy to be naked while Morris stayed dressed, but it occurred to him why Morris was doing this: he wanted to keep the playing field even. To leave them both vulnerable at the same time.

His heart ached for the kindness in Morris’s soul, so grateful to have this man for himself.

Once he was naked, his clothes carefully—and adorably—folded on the dresser, Morris presented himself to Jaysan. Jaysan nearly started drooling. Morris was tall and broad, as most alphas were, but he didn’t have the same body-builder muscles as other alphas. His abs were flat, with no real definition, his legs toned but not defined. An office-worker’s body, and Jaysan loved it.

He especially loved the orange-red hair that covered Morris’s pecs and abdomen. The wiry pelt descended all the way down to nest around Morris’s cock and spread from his lower thighs to his calves. Jaysan had never been with such a hairy alpha. He wanted to drag his fingers through every inch of that hair, and, curious, he circled Morris. More hair scattered across his back and pert butt, and oh my goddess, he was perfect!

Perfect and mine.

Jaysan hadn’t realized he had a thing for hairy guys until right now. Until faced with his own hairy beast, and he silently thanked the goddess again for delivering him to this man’s doorstep less than three weeks ago.

“I can’t decide which part of you I want to lick first,” Morris said.

“You could always start here?” Jaysan tapped his own cock.

Morris shocked the crap out of him by dropping to his knees and pressing his nose into the crease between Jaysan’s hip and groin. He inhaled deeply, then licked the skin. Jaysan shivered as Morris continued to inhale and lick all around his groin and pubic hair, chin occasionally bouncing against Jaysan’s erection. Jaysan let him play, in no real hurry, despite his raging boner. He wasn’t used to slow or gentle, and he adored Morris for taking his time.

“I’m crazy about your scent,” Morris said. “So sweet and addictive. I can’t imagine what it will be like during heat.”

“It’s intense. All your body craves is fucking and knotting. Mine craves the same. I love that we can go at our own pace tonight and keep clear heads, without the craziness of heat. This is perfect for our first time, Morris.”

“Agreed.” He poked out his tongue and licked a bit of fluid from Jaysan’s slit. “Mmm.” The single taste seemed to unlock Morris’s hesitation, because he took Jaysan’s entire length into his mouth.

Jaysan shouted at the unexpected wet heat surrounding him, and it took everything he had not to buck his hips. But Morris had experience giving head, because he took Jaysan in over and over, the glans bumping into the back of his throat, while his free hand rolled Jaysan’s sac. Used saliva to rub his taint. Didn’t venture farther yet, but they had all night to play. All night to learn what the other loved, or didn’t love. What seriously turned the other on.

The deep-throating definitely had Jaysan turned the fuck on, as Morris worked him, dragging him toward climax. Jaysan wasn’t sure if he wanted to come yet. Then Morris’s finger pressed against his asshole, and Jaysan saw stars.

“Gonna come,” he said. “Morris?”

Morris tapped his hip; he heard Jaysan.

“Oh, goddess.” Jaysan grabbed Morris’s shoulders for balance as his orgasm shot down his spine and out his dick. His back spasmed and his legs trembled, and Morris swallowed every drop. Licked and sucked him clean, then did that sniff-lick thing until Jaysan was giddy and half-hard again.

Morris licked his way up Jaysan’s body, then spent a few minutes suckling his neck in various places, driving Jaysan completely bonkers. No one had ever spent so much time exploring and playing and making him totally nuts on lust. He raked his fingers through Morris’s plentiful body hair, pleased it was softer than it looked.

“Kiss me,” Jaysan said.

He did, maybe waiting for the verbal cue that Jaysan didn’t mind tasting himself on Morris’s lips. No other man had been so attentive to Jaysan’s needs or desires, and it was time to show Morris he could do the same. Jaysan thrust his tongue into Morris’s mouth as if he could scoop out the essence of his own release. It was there, faint, overpowered by the delectable taste of Morris himself. Basil and musk and alpha, and he adored it all.

Jaysan kissed his way down Morris’s neck to his collarbone, where he played until those dusky, hairy nipples demanded his attention. Morris groaned the moment Jaysan sucked on one, nipping, licking, creating a firm peak. Then he moved to the other, while loosely jacking Morris’s cock, just enough to feel, and nowhere near enough to get the bigger man off. He loved the way those crisp, red chest hairs tickled his chin.

More than anything else, though, Jaysan wanted to know what Morris’s cock felt like in his mouth.

I want to taste my alpha.

Jaysan left a trail of hot, wet kisses along Morris’s torso, playing in his navel, licking across his flat belly. Seeking his ultimate target. He nosed in that nest of auburn hair, inhaling the scents of basil and musk, so strong his mouth watered. It. Watered. He fell head-long into these new, amazing sensations, and kissed his way from the root of Morris’s cock to the head.

Morris tangled his fingers in Jaysan’s hair in a loose grip, holding without directing, probably so Morris didn’t fall over. Jaysan didn’t know Morris’s exact sexual experience, but an alpha in his prime had to have received at least a handful of blow jobs. Today, Jaysan wanted to make him forget about all of those; they’d been given by amateurs.

Time for Morris’s mate to please him.

Jaysan pushed Morris’s dick out of the way so he could lick his sac, earning a surprised shout from Morris. “Never had your balls sucked on before?” Jaysan asked with an impish grin.

“No.” Morris stared down at him with wide, shocked eyes. “Do it again?”

“For sure. Sit down and spread ‘em.”

Morris blushed, but did as directed. He propped up on his elbows to see what Jaysan was up to. Kneeling between Morris’s spread legs, Jaysan again pushed his erection out of the way and licked the tightening, wrinkled skin of Morris’s sac. Took one nut into his mouth and sucked, licked, rolled it with his tongue. The bed bounced, and a quick glance showed Morris flat on his back, hands fisted in the coverlet.

Nice.

Jaysan continued torturing his future mate by giving his other nut the same treatment. He loved watching bad-ass alphas fall apart, but more than anything, he loved watching his big, beautiful, ginger bondmate fall apart under his mouth and fingers. When Morris’s balls were properly wet and tight, Jaysan licked the underside of his cock from root to tip. Morris gasped; his thighs quivered.

Pleased with that reaction, Jaysan sucked on just the head, enjoying the salty bit of precome that splashed on his tongue. Giving head wasn’t his favorite thing, because alphas tended to hold and choke and take, but Morris simply lay there, muscles spasming with pleasure, and allowed Morris to give him as much attention as possible. He went down halfway, testing the girth and weight on his tongue, adapting to his mate’s cock. A beautiful, blood-flushed cock that wasn’t too big, not too small. Absolutely perfect, and he was all Jaysan’s.

He worked Morris deeper into his throat, taking his time, until his nose brushed Morris’s pubic hair.

“Fuck!” Morris sat up and nudged Jaysan away. “So close, angel.”

“Don’t you want to come in my mouth?”

He held Jaysan’s gaze. “Do you want me to come in your mouth?”

“Yes.” Jaysan wanted his bondmate’s spend more than anything, and he respected the hell out of the man for seeing to Jaysan’s needs first, when he was teetering on the edge of orgasm.

“Okay.” Morris’s eyes burned with affection and trust. “Suck me.”

Jaysan winked at the hoarse order and went back down on his bondmate. After only a few bobs of his head, Morris shouted a warning. Jaysan went as deep as he dared and swallowed everything Morris gave him, pleased all over the place to have helped the man fall apart. Morris hauled him up into a fierce kiss, and Jaysan tackled him flat to the bed. Kissed him back with everything he had, their spent dicks rubbing together, more content to be naked in bed with a man than he’d ever been in his life.

And they hadn’t even had anal sex yet.

Morris scooted deeper into the bed so Jaysan could curl up with half his body draped over his furry alpha. He played in the whorls of red hair on Morris’s damp chest, amused by the patterns he could create with his head pillowed on Morris’s shoulder.

“That was amazing,” Morris said. “Fuck, but I feel great.”

“Same.” He kissed Morris’s chin. “Best I’ve ever felt. Alpha.”

“Nah, don’t do that. Maybe we’re different genders, but we’re equals, Jaysan. In everything, from here on out. Partners.”

Partners. He loved the sound of that. For most of his adult life, Jaysan had felt like a possession to be passed from one person to the next. And maybe provincial law said that as his mate, Morris now had possession of him and could control certain aspects of his behavior, but Jaysan knew Morris wouldn’t. He would absolutely treat Jaysan as an equal in the decisions they made about their shared life.

“Can I ask you something very personal?” Morris said, hesitation clear in his voice.

“You had my dick in your mouth,” Jaysan replied with a grin. “Get as personal as you want.” Please don’t ask about the fight ring, please don’t ask about the fight ring, please don’t—

“Do you want to have more kids?”

Jaysan blinked, fingers pausing in their explorations. “I’m not sure. I mean, I grew up reasonably expecting to mate and have a few. Aeron’s creation definitely threw a wrinkle in those expectations, and it wasn’t exactly a fun pregnancy.”

“I understand.”

“Hey.” He sat up a bit more so he could meet Morris’s disappointed eyes. “I didn’t say no, I don’t want more kids. I’ve never really thought about it, because I decided ages ago I would never mate. And then I found you. I think a little Morris Danvers in the world would be amazing. I’m not sure I’m ready just yet, but some day.”

“Not ready to mate or have kids?”

“Kids. I mean, if I happen to get pregnant when we mate, then so be it, but I’d rather put off purposely trying for a little while. We’re still feeling things out, getting to know each other. Plus, you’re undecided on the house.”

“How do you feel about staying here?”

“Ambivalent, I guess. I mean, I love this house, and it’s a familiar place to Aeron, but it’s also tangled up in your grief over Morgan and Brody. If you decide you want to sell and start over, I’ll support you. But I truly think that selling the house has to be your choice.”

“Okay.” Morris stroked Jaysan’s cheek. “Is it caveman of me to say I loved watching you go down on me?”

“Nah. I loved doing it for you, because you didn’t try to control me. You didn’t choke me or force me down.”

Morris’s eyes went briefly thunderous. “I hate that others did.”

“I know, but there’s no changing the past. Besides, clean slate, right? I’ll definitely need your help to remember that as we explore this.”

“I’ll be here whenever you need me.” Morris pulled him down for another kiss. “I do love you, Jaysan.”

Jaysan blushed. “I think I love you, too, but I’ve never been in love before.”

“You don’t have to be sure right now. The mating bond isn’t the same as romantic love, so you can feel the bond without feeling love.” A wicked grin twisted his pretty mouth. “And as your alpha, it’s my job to seduce you into being certain you love me.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes. Go on a date with me?”

“A date?”

Morris sat up and held Jaysan’s hands between them. “Yes. A real date, where I pick you up, and we go do something. Dinner, and then who knows? A movie, or we can walk around the botanical gardens, or anything you want.” His excitement rose into near giddiness.

Jaysan was helpless to say no. “Okay, let’s go on a date. When?”

“I’d say tonight, but it’s past dinnertime and I like you naked in my bed too much to let you get up.”

He kind of liked himself naked in Morris’s bed, too. “Then how about tomorrow night for the formal date? Tonight, let’s cook dinner, eat naked, and then fool around some more. If it’s okay, I can call Orrin and tell him I’m, uh, spending the night?”

Morris’s cheeks pinked. “Yeah? You want to stay the night?”

“I do. With Aeron at Kell’s tonight, it might be the only night for the near future that we get to spend together uninterrupted.”

“True. Okay, let’s do all that. While you call Orrin, I’m going to call Kell just to check in and let them know things between us are settled.”

Jaysan grinned, his chest puffing with pride. He’d called Morris from those bushes not expecting things to go this well. He had expected reprimands at best, a furious dismissal at worst. Instead, he’d gotten a gift he never expected: a promise. A promise of love, joy, and a future full of possibilities.

With his family.