Ooh, in the name of love

The bar was dead. It was early, early Sunday morning, and even in a drinking town, people had to get home to bed for church in the morning. Josh was still there, the lights on, jukebox blaring, sliding his bar rag side-to-side along the polished bar.

Pour some sugar on me

He was in heat. Maybe Hank had smelled it, maybe that was why he’d been such an ass. Maybe that was why Tristan had come back. Josh hadn’t known until that evening, but it was keeping him up. Not only was he dying to be fucked, but it made him think about things he’d almost given up on. A real family. Kids of his own. Tristan.

C’mon fire me up

Josh grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the shelf and a shot glass for himself and perched at his own bar, drinking thoughtfully. It was never supposed to have ended up like this. He was nearing his mid-thirties. How much longer would he even go into heat? Maybe this would be his last one. Everyone’s breeding age ended at a different time.

Pour your sugar on me

“Can I get one of those?” a familiar voice asked him, as the doors to the saloon swung open.

“Tristan,” Josh said in surprise. He looked up at the man, who he’d really thought he wouldn’t see again, maybe ever. He looked him over, and then frowned in horror. “Tristan, fuck, are you bleeding?” He dropped his shotglass to the bar and ran over to the alpha.

Tristan shrugged it off.

“It’s just the arm,” he said, but he stripped off his coat to show Josh.

“Is it silver?” Josh asked with concern.

Tristan shook his head with a wince. “Doesn’t feel like it. I made it all the way back here, after all.”

Josh nodded. “Good point.”

If they’d been dealing with silver, Tristan would have been poisoned, but a regular bullet wasn’t a huge concern to a shifter. Josh just had to unbury it from Tristan’s skin, and the alpha would heal in his own fast enough.

He went to grab the medical kit from under the bar.

“Help yourself to the whiskey. Do I even wanna know who shot you?”

“Probably not.”

I can’t get enough

Josh brought the kit over to Tristan.

“Sit,” he ordered.

Tristan growled softly in protest, but he did as he was told, knowing that he was too tall for Josh to properly attend to his shoulder unless he perched.

Josh helped Tristan peel his blood-soaked shirt off, and he couldn’t help but admire his broad, muscular shoulders and gorgeous body. It wasn’t just the heat, but that didn’t help. Josh washed the area more out of habit than anything—he’d never heard of a shifter getting an infection—and then used a pair of pliers to tug the bullet loose, intact, from the muscle of Tristan’s poor shoulder.

Tristan grit his teeth, but barely winced, gazing down at Josh with something other than pain his eyes.

Josh looked up at him, and their eyes met, sending shivers down the omega’s spine.

“It’s out,” he said softly.

Tristan nodded, gazing down at him with those bright blue eyes.

“Thanks.”

Josh pulled away from Tristan, his hand shaking a bit as he put the bullet aside.

“Do you wanna keep it?”

“Sure,” Tristan agreed. “It’ll be a good souvenir.”

Josh cleared his throat awkwardly, not sure how to deal with the tension that was thick between them. Once upon a time, he would have just pulled his mate closed, kissed him hard, and all would have been forgotten, at least for a little while. But he’d given Tristan up, permanently. The man would always break his heart.

Out of the corner of his eye, Josh watched Tristan’s skin patch itself over and quickly begin to heal the bullet wound.

“Is that all you came for?” he asked, his voice sad and quiet. For a moment there, he’d almost forgotten that Tristan wasn’t supposed to be a welcome sight in his life.

Tristan cleared his throat. “Oh, uh. No. I actually came for a drink,” he said with a light laugh, and Josh knew the man was trying to lighten the mood, clear the air between them. Again.

Josh sighed and grabbed another glass for Tristan, pouring them each a shot of whiskey. He downed his own quickly.

“So...I’m not supposed to ask any questions, right?” If he sounded annoyed about it, he was.

Tristan shrugged. “Depends on the question.”

Josh looked him over thoughtfully. Tristan seemed...different. When he’d come into town, there had been a wall between them, but Tristan seemed more open, ready to talk. Or was that just wishful thinking on Josh’s part?

“Fine. Why are you here?”

“Where? In Texas, or the bar?”

Josh shrugged. “Let’s start with the bar. It wasn’t just to have a drink.”

He did keep the whiskey flowing, though, for both of them, drinking heavily and counting on his strong, shifter liver.

Tristan sighed and sat back, playing with the edge of his glass. He got up and went over to the jukebox to find a new song.

“I guess...I missed you. Wanted to talk. That’s why I’m in Texas, too, honestly.”

Josh shook his head. “You said you were leaving. Maybe forever.”

Tristan nodded. “And that’s what I should have done. I should be far away from here by now. I’m gonna end up leading them here, to you. I didn’t want that.”

Josh frowned. “Wait...you aren’t on leave,” he realized. Usually, when he saw Tristan, that was the case, but this was different. Tristan was honestly scared. “Tristan, what happened?”

Tristan wandered back over as Led Zeppelin began to play on the jukebox, and settled on the stool, tapping the bar. Josh poured him another, and Tristan downed it before he answered.

“I left. I can’t say why, or how, I just...couldn’t take it anymore.”

The look in Tristan’s eyes told Josh that wasn’t the whole story, but he knew better than to press. There was no point in it. Tristan was being fairly forthcoming, but if he pushed the alpha, he would close right up. He’d experienced it many times before.

Josh considered the situation as he sat with another drink in his hand, the whiskey starting to really hit him. He could tell Tristan was the same, but he kept pounding back the shots, anyway. If Tristan was gone without leave, that meant that he could go to jail. The idea of his alpha locked up was somehow much, much worse than the idea that he might be off in the world, having adventures, nearly getting himself killed.

Tristan was a free spirit. Too much for his own good, really. Josh himself was a rebel, but he’d never been drawn to explore the world like Tristan was. So to picture his roaming alpha in a cage?

“Tristan… I don’t know what to say,” Josh admitted.

Tristan nodded, gazing into his eyes. “I know, Josh. It’s okay. I’ll move on soon, you and your family shouldn’t be in any danger.”

“Danger?”

Tristan’s jaw shifted.

“Maybe I should go.”

Josh winced. That would never stop hurting. Just once, couldn’t Tristan choose to stay?

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Josh said softly. “No one’s coming around here this time of night. Have a few more.”

Tristan gave him a sideways little grin.

“You tryin’ to get me drunk?”

Josh shrugged. “Only to match myself.”

Tristan leaned in close across the bar, and Josh could smell the whiskey on his alpha’s breath.

“Good. Wouldn’t wanna take advantage.”

Josh smirked, trying to ignore the pulsing need deep inside his body.

“Hey, Josh,” Tristan murmured, still leaning just a little too close. “How long have you been in heat?”

The words made Josh’s whole body clench with excitement.

“You noticed,” he said breathlessly.

Tristan nodded, smirking slowly back at him.

“Of course I noticed. I smelled it the moment I got into town. This bar is soaked in it.”

Josh groaned. He didn’t like that, that he was a beacon to every alpha around, letting them know he was open for business when he definitely wasn’t. But he did like Tristan knowing. He liked his alpha looking at him like that, reaching for him, grabbing him by the shirt and forcing a hard, possessive kiss onto his lips.

Josh felt his whole body flush with the heat, and he opened his mouth to Tristan’s probing, dominant tongue, kissing him back passionately.

He pressed his palms to the bar and swung himself up onto it, sitting on the polished top with his jean-clad legs spread, Tristan standing between them. The alpha wrapped around him and seemed to surround him, like he always did, his large, muscular body trapping Josh’s against his own. Josh didn’t even want to resist.

“Do you remember?” he panted softly against Tristan’s lips. “Our first time? We were both drunk then, too.”

“My eighteenth birthday party,” Tristan said with a smile. “Yeah. You wouldn’t stop talking. You kept saying you loved me.”

Josh groaned and bit hard on Tristan’s lower lip.

“Because I did, you son of a bitch.”

* * *

Tristan’s parents had to have known, when they’d put Josh in charge of Tristan’s eighteenth birthday party, that it wasn’t going to be a dry event. Maybe they’d thought that with Josh’s father right next door, things couldn’t get too crazy, but he was at the bar. And maybe they’d just trusted Josh to keep Tristan safe, which he would. Tristan would be very safe, and very drunk.

The boys had the house to themselves, and Josh had gotten two kegs and half a liquor cabinet to celebrate. Tristan’s entire senior class had been invited, and Tristan was popular enough that Josh thought they’d have a few uninvited guests, too. Besides, in their town, it was hard not to get teenagers to show up for a kegger.

Josh greeted everyone at the door, letting people in, handing them beer. There was no doubt he could get into trouble for that, but Josh liked trouble, and even more than that, Tristan deserved a real party for his eighteenth.

Josh was still hoping that if he showed Tristan how much he was loved and wanted at home, the young man would change his mind and decide not to leave, after all.

Tristan came over to him, a beer already in hand, his eyes wide.

“Josh, this is a crazy party,” he said. “How many people did you even invite?”

Josh laughed, giving him an adoring grin. “Uh, I guess, let’s see...pretty much...everyone?”

Tristan shook his head. “If I get in shit over this...actually, I don’t really care.”

Josh nodded. “Right? What are they gonna do, kick you out?” He laughed, and grabbed a girl that was hovering by the door, anyway. “You waiting for somebody?” he asked, raising his voice over the music.

“Yeah,” she said, “My friends.”

“Great,” he said. “You’re the new greeter.” He tugged her into his spot, and then wrapped his arm around Tristan and dragged him further into the house, over to the kitchen where all the snacks were laid out.

“You should consider being a party planner,” Tristan told Josh.

“Isn’t that sort of what a bartender already is?” Josh asked, laughing as he pushed a pretzel into his mouth. “Seriously, though. Tristan…I’m just glad you’re having fun.”

He wanted his best friend to have the best birthday party he could imagine, and he knew that his parents felt the same, which was why they’d given him full control.

Tristan nodded, and he gave Josh a smile as he finished his beer. “I’m gonna get another. You want one?”

“Hell yeah. It’s nice having someone else pour the drinks for a change,” he laughed.

Josh glanced around. The house was filling up with their friends, someone had turned the lights off in the living room and put up a disco ball instead, and he already saw a couple making their way, hand in hand, up the stairwell. He’d done it. A perfect teenage house party, the likes of which their town hadn’t seen in a while.

“SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS!” came a cry from the dining room. “No, let’s play BEER PONG!” someone else cried in response.

Tristan made his way back with beer for both of them, and Josh grinned at him.

“You’re officially the most popular kid in school now. Congratulations.”

Tristan laughed. “I guess that’s my reward for sticking it through. Three girls just tried to grope me on my way over here.”

Josh felt something deep in his stomach twist up. Jealousy. He was pretty sure it was jealousy.

“They did?”

Tristan seemed to see the concern on his face, because he squeezed Josh’s strong shoulder in a large, warm hand.

“Dude, don’t worry. I’m not even into chicks.”

Josh nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I know.” But he finished his beer all at once. “Look, I think I’m gonna go do some shots, actually, get this party going, you know? You wanna come with?”

Tristan chuckled. “Sure. We can do battleshots.”

Minutes later, the boys were facing off, a row of differently colored shots lined up in front of each of them. The rules were simple. They had to drink every shot, in a row, as fast as possible, and the person who finished first without throwing up won. Everyone loved seeing a pair of shifters play this game, where most humans would get through half the row before tapping, shifters could often play multiple rounds.

Of course, they’d still get hammered.

Josh and Tristan only went one round, but it was a close one. Josh downed shot after shot, some of them filled with vile, sticky sweet liqueurs. Blue curacao was followed with spicy cinnamon whiskey, and he shuddered, reaching for the next and hoping it was vodka, but it was none other than peppermint schnapps.

“Oh, fuck,” he groaned, wiping his mouth with disgust and trying not to gag, when he saw that Tristan was a shot behind. He could do this. He kept going, ignoring the flavor and shoving the alcohol straight down his throat, and he won, with only a few seconds to spare, as Tristan took the very last of his shots, too.

“That’s not even fair!” Tristan protested with a laugh, obviously not actually upset. “He works in a bar, man.”

Josh shook his head, his eyes watering.

“Fair’s fair,” he groaned. “You knew what you were getting into.”

They both stood on two feet on the end, which was the really impressive part. Tristan pulled Josh close, and murmured low in his ear.

“I guess now you need your prize,” he purred.

“My prize?”

Josh was so close to Tristan. He rested himself against the younger man’s tall, strong body, his head on Tristan’s chest. The scent of his alpha, of Tristan’s obvious arousal, was intoxicating all on its own. He looked up into those bright blue eyes, his imagination whirling with what Tristan might want to give him.

Tristan took his hand and led him toward the stairs, and Josh followed him up, feeling himself start to ache in his jeans. The anticipation was killing him, but Tristan hadn’t answered him with words, instead, he seemed keen to show him what he was talking about.

The young alpha swung open his bedroom door and growled when he saw a couple on the bed, half undressed.

“Get out,” he ordered, and they scrambled off the bed, grabbing their clothes. They slipped past Tristan and Josh in the doorway.

Tristan wrapped his arm around Josh and tugged him into the room, and Josh had the thought that he was way too smooth for his own good.

The moment Tristan sat on the bed, Josh fell into his lap, straddling him, and boldly, the alcohol in his system and in Tristan’s giving him courage, he leaned in to kiss his gorgeous alpha.

“Tristan,” he whispered. “It’s finally happening. You’re gonna graduate, and we’re gonna leave all this high school bullshit behind us.”

They could finally really be together. Josh had always been good about not touching Tristan until he was eighteen, but it had been difficult. His wolf instincts didn’t understand why he had resisted his alpha for so long.

Tristan groaned beneath him.

“Shhh,” he whispered, and Josh was inclined to obey. “Just kiss me again.”

Josh pushed his hot lips against Tristan’s, moaning softly in excitement when his tongue touched Tristan’s tongue. He shifted, rubbing his ass against Tristan through his jeans, and he knew Tristan must feel how desperate he was, how badly he needed to be filled.

He might’ve been a few years older than Tristan, but Josh didn’t have as much experience as he liked to pretend he did. He acted cocky, flirty, down at the bar, as if he got laid every night, but he’d spent his whole life waiting for one person alone, and as he desperately kissed Tristan, he realized that this was his first time for...everything. Even kissing. For Tristan, too, he knew it must be. His alpha had never expressed interest in anyone else.

The revelation only made Josh more eager to no longer be a virgin.

He stripped Tristan’s shirt off of him, tugging the buttons open and shoving it down his strong shoulders. Tristan’s strong hands pushed up under his t-shirt, brushing over Josh’s nipples, and the young man cried out softly, squirming against that bulge he felt, pressed hot and hard against his ass. He climbed out of Tristan’s lap just to frantically tug off his clothes, nearly tripping himself out of his jeans and boxers. One hand on the bed to catch himself, he looked up at Tristan, and was surprised to find the other man’s bright blue eyes were fixed right on him, wide with...that looked like awe.

Josh flushed a bit, but he stood back and let Tristan look at his densely muscular form, his hard, thick cock.

Those blue eyes seemed to devour him, piece by piece, until Josh fully understood that he belonged to Tristan. He shuddered under his gaze, and then gave the alpha a small smirk, trying to seem more confident than he really was.

“Your turn.”

When it came to confidence, it turned out Tristan outclassed him. He chuckled, beckoning Josh closer.

“I’ve been looking forward to this,” he said with a soft growl, and grabbed Josh’s bare ass, pulling him close.

Tristan’s soft lips slid over Josh’s chest, and he made a trail of little kisses along his ribs and abs, down to his hip.

“Holy…” Josh groaned, gripping the young man’s shoulder-length hair tight in his fingers.

Tristan kissed closer and closer to Josh’s cock, and Josh suddenly knew why he’d waited so long, why he’d turned down every one that had ever hit on him over the years. He gasped in delight when Tristan’s hot, sweet mouth wrapped around him, and he sank deep into that heat, pressing his hips forward as far as Tristan would take him.

“I love you,” Josh whispered, unable to contain himself.

Tristan groaned, his mouth full, but Josh felt the low rumble of that groan through his entire dick, and it rolled back as tight heat in his belly, his hips twitching forward, toward his mate.

“Tristan, I mean it,” he moaned. “I love you, I don’t wanna wait.”

Tristan looked up at him, and then slowly slid his mouth off of Josh’s aching cock, making the omega gasp in relief.

“Take my clothes off,” Tristan told Josh, his voice deep and the word sounding like a command more than a request.

Josh smirked. “I thought I taught you please when you were five,” he said, leaning down to kiss his alpha roughly, tasting himself on his lips.

Tristan grinned and with a soft growl, he tugged Josh onto the bed with both arms. “Please take my clothes off, my sweet, beautiful omega?”

Never had Tristan spoken to Josh like that before. His heart skipped a beat, and he stared up at Tristan, amazed. He hadn’t even known the young man had those words in him.

He touched Tristan’s face, and then nodded, sliding his hands down to the man’s belt. He opened it and tugged off his pants, and then hooked his fingers into Tristan’s boxers and tugged them down curiously. He wasn’t disappointed. Tristan was long, and very hard, and Josh groaned as he wrapped his hand around his alpha’s cock, squeezing it firmly.

“I need you inside me,” he whispered in Tristan’s ear, and felt him pulse in his hand. He smirked, shifting under him, spreading his legs.

He’d known for a while now that they were mates, that they belonged to each other, and he knew that as an omega, he would fit his alpha perfectly. He let Tristan settle on top of him and push that hot cock between his cheeks, and then moaned desperately, pushing his hips up to meet him.

“Please,” he groaned, and then Tristan slid into him, and Josh gasped as his alpha’s cock began to fill him, deeper and deeper with every little thrust Tristan gave.

Josh moaned, surprised by just how good it really felt to be filled, and as he relaxed, Tristan moved, rocking into him, thrusting harder, deeper. Josh cried out, wrapping his arms around the strong, tall man, clinging to his alpha. He felt Tristan’s breath against his ear, heard him growl softly as he thrust, and he dug his fingertips into the strong muscles of Tristan’s shoulders.

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” he repeated over and over, like a chant, with every thrust.

“Shh,” Tristan whispered as he claimed his lips in a kiss, shutting Josh up.

Tristan began to thrust harder, faster into Josh, and all the omega could do was moan into his mouth, his body worked rapidly toward climax. All at once, Tristan filled him and Josh came, and their bodies trembled for minutes afterward as Josh slowly realized what had happened. He smiled, overjoyed, suddenly, and kissed all over Tristan’s cheeks.

“My alpha, I love you…”

“Josh,” Tristan said softly. “Baby…” His voice was tight, and Josh frowned.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered, and Tristan shook his head, burying it against Josh’s collarbone. Josh tangled his fingers into Tristan’s hair. “Baby, what’s wrong?” he demanded.

Tristan’s chest tightened against Josh, his whole body froze for just a minute, like the man had forgotten to breathe, and then he gasped softly, clutching Josh against himself.

“You’re going to make it so hard to leave,” he admitted, the words spilling from his mouth all at once.

Josh felt his own heart stop, and knew suddenly what had happened. Tristan had imagined being without him. He knew, because the moment Josh had done the same, he found himself also seized, unable to breathe.

“You can’t. You can’t leave me. I’m yours now, you claimed me,” Josh said, and his tone started plaintive, but became panicked, and then angry. His voice deepened to a growl. “You can’t.”

Tristan sighed, pulling away from Josh.

“I’ve said too much,” he whispered, running his long fingers through his golden brown hair. “I’m sorry. We talked about this before, Josh, I…”

Josh felt his face twist with angry and betrayal, and then he locked his jaw, refusing to let Tristan see how hurt he really was.

“No. Not tonight. Let’s just…” Josh cleared his throat, and maybe because he was older, or maybe because he was an omega, or maybe just because he was used to it, he managed to break out a little smile. He did it to make Tristan feel better, for no other reason than to reassure him. “Let’s get another beer,” Josh suggested.