Chapter 6

SIX

I was really gettingtired of reliving the day, but once again, I explained about the photo and my apartment getting trashed and ending up at the house with Nero, adding that Julius and I were working on getting my computer back up and running. Still, I didn't explain much about the case I'd been working on or what I thought might have tipped off the wrong people that I was looking into them.

Cal sat back in his seat. "All that techie stuff is out of my wheelhouse, but I was serious about the gun. If you need firepower, I'm your guy."

Nero, Julius, and Quin rolled their eyes.

"What is it you do exactly?" I asked. Some things I'd noticed weren't adding up. Like Nero's explanation about his parents that felt like he was leaving out a major detail and the Degas over the bar downstairs that I was pretty sure had been stolen from a private collection in the eighties. I had a feeling things here weren't exactly as they seemed.

My fingers were itching for a keyboard so I could dig up everything I could find about Nero's family. Maybe it was an invasion of my mate's privacy, but if I was going to be with him forever, I deserved to know what I was getting into.

And the same would be true for Nero and his brothers. Sooner rather than later, I was going to need to tell them about the case, especially if Julius was going to help me dig deeper.

Cal's smile dimmed a fraction, and Quin eyed him from across the table. "Former navy SEAL. But I've been working, uh… side jobs recently. My schedule just freed up, though." It was another vague response that further piqued my curiosity.

"Your schedule just freed up? What does that mean?" Julius asked.

Nero gave Cal a shrewd look and pointed at him with his fork. "Does this have anything to do with why you were covered in mud when you got home?"

Cal was staring at his plate and mumbled, "I got fired."

Quin slammed a hand on the table. "You got fired from covert black-ops work? How? Why?"

Around the table, eyes went wide, then all swung to me. I was starting to get the picture that maybe Nero and his brothers were all skirting the edge of the law. I pointed to my chest. "Hacker, remember?"

The four other men relaxed, and Cal pushed his plate away with a sigh. "Today was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. I've been on borrowed time for a while. They probably should have canned me after that fuckup in Moscow." All three of his brothers pulled a face and groaned, and Cal nodded. "Anyway, today I might have kinda disobeyed a direct order to hold my position while we were doing recon on a target, and possibly that might have led to me triggering a minor landslide that might have alerted the target to our presence and location and might have led to me buried in mud."

"Cal…" Nero gave his brother a look that reminded me of a disappointed parent more than an older brother.

"I'm not saying that's what happened exactly because that information is obviously classified, but it's a solid working theory." Cal picked up his beer and took a long swig. "I wasn't cut out to follow orders."

"That's bullshit. You were a SEAL." Julius set his fork down with a clatter.

"Yeah. And?"

"You wouldn't have made it through BUD/S if you couldn't follow orders." Quin glared at his twin.

"Maybe I just can't stand following orders from the asshole I was working for." Cal wouldn't meet Quin's gaze.

A long beat of silence passed, then Quin gasped. "No. Tell me you didn't."

"What?" Nero looked frustrated as he looked back and forth between Quin and Cal. "You're doing the twin thing. What are we missing?"

Quin pointed an accusing finger at Cal. "He slept with his boss."

"Cal!" Julius and Nero both said at the same time.

Cal shrugged. "Hey, it got me out of trouble after Moscow. Pros and cons, right?" He put on a fake smile. "Besides, I'll find another gig. Alex isn't the only former military guy running his own ops."

All three of Cal's brothers shook their heads, and the table fell into silence. Cal was right, though. There were plenty of guys running their own op shops, offering services to the highest bidder. Some were even exclusively on the right side of the law. Technically. I guessed as much as guns for hire could be.

An idea was niggling at the back of my mind, but it would require more research. A yawn cracked my jaw, and Nero's attention moved quickly from his brother to me, his hand sliding over mine on the table. "You okay, Lucky?"

I nodded. "Just tired. It's been a long day." Now that I was full, all I wanted was to clean up and spend some time alone with Nero.

"I know." He squeezed my hand again, and one of his brothers made a gagging noise. I didn't turn to see which one it was, but my money was on Cal. Without missing a beat or taking his eyes off me, Nero flipped the offending brother off and stood, holding his hand out to me. "Let's go upstairs so you can get settled in."

"Okay. I'd love to shower."

Nero pulled me from the kitchen, leaving his brothers sitting around the table and grabbing the bags from Target and Otto from where they'd been dropped right inside the door. Watching him pick up my stupid stuffed animal made my heart flutter.

"Should we help clean up?" I asked when we hit the landing halfway up the wide staircase.

"Nope. House rules. I cooked, so they clean."

"Oh, okay."

Upstairs, a wide hallway with a gallery that looked over the foyer stretched the length of the house. Doors were set far apart, and several smaller hallways led deeper into the second—or was it the third—floor. I followed Nero down a hallway to the far right.

"Cal and Quin are on the other side, and Julius's room is down the same hall but at the back of the house." Nero stopped in front of a warm wooden door that matched the trim throughout the rest of the house. "I figured you'd be more comfortable over here. I'm just across the hall."

He'd pushed open the door, and I caught a glimpse of a large guest room with a window that looked out over the backyard, but I didn't step inside. "What do you mean you're across the hall?"

Nero ran a hand over the back of his neck. "I didn't know if you wanted to be alone."

"I don't. I want to be with you."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

He pulled the door closed. "This room is made up for you, so if you change your mind…"

"I won't."

Nero grabbed my hand again and entwined our fingers, and we walked side by side down the hall.

His bedroom was huge with a sitting area that had a comfy-looking gray couch and a king-size bed that was probably the same size as a normal king-size bed, but the thick, dark wood bed frame made it look massive. A soft dove gray comforter was straightened over it, but one side hung lower than the other. Two large windows looked out over the side of the house where the sun had set over the water, behind the mountains, leaving behind the last splashes of indigo twilight.

The walls were deep blue, the color close to navy, and several canvases featuring more Haida art prints in black, white, and red broke up the color. A wall-mounted TV faced the bed, and there was a pile of loose change and receipts on the top of the low dresser underneath. A towel hung on the closet doorknob, and a pair of sweats was discarded over the back of the sofa.

The whole space smelled like Nero, like pine and kelp and sea salt, and I'd never felt as comfortable anywhere as I did in that room.

I'd stopped right inside the door, and Nero turned to look at me. "You don't have to stay here."

Marching across the room, I plucked Otto from his hands and took him to the bed, nestling the stuffed otter among the pillows like I was claiming the spot for myself. "Shut up. I'm staying."

Nero smiled and brought the bags over. He dumped the contents onto the bed, then went to the dresser under the TV and removed an armful of clothes from a drawer and dropped it into another. He freed up two drawers for me, then returned to my side and helped me remove the tags from what we'd bought.

In the en suite bathroom that was almost as big as half my apartment, he did the same thing, making room for the toiletry items I'd picked out in his drawers. The whole thing felt oddly intimate considering we'd just met, but it also felt incredibly right like I was always meant to be part of Nero's life and like he wanted me there, no questions asked.

"Do you want me to wait while you shower?" he asked, reaching in to turn on the water and drop a clean washcloth on one of the shelves. His cheeks went ruddy, and he clarified, "I meant on the couch. Out there. Not in here."

"I'm a shifter too. I'm not shy about you seeing me naked. You can stay in here if you want." If he was open to staying, I had plans to make it worth his while. Now that we were alone, the exhaustion I'd felt downstairs had been replaced by a different feeling.

"Are you sure?"

A coy smile curved my lips. "You're supposed to be guarding my body, right?"

He swallowed hard and nodded, and I pushed him down so he was sitting on the closed toilet.

Then I started stripping. Slowly. Making a show of every inch of skin I revealed, even if it was just my arms as I shed my hoodie. He'd already gotten me off earlier, but I was almost desperate to return the favor, and this was all part of my plan.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his sexy rumble of a voice bouncing off the bathroom walls.

"Getting ready to shower."

He nodded and licked his lips as I tugged my shirt over my head and let it fall to the floor, my nipples going hard under the heat of his gaze. I flipped open the button on my jeans and slid the zipper down centimeter by centimeter, Nero's eyes focused on tracking the movement.

I was suddenly glad I'd remembered to put on decent underwear when McMahon dragged me out of bed this morning after a late night in front of my computer, and I was rewarded for my good choice, a pair of tight white boxer briefs that stood out against my dark skin, when Nero sucked in a ragged breath.

The hand job earlier had barely been enough to dull the ache in my core that only Nero could soothe with his body, and I was already hard and ready even though I hadn't touched myself. Just having Nero's eyes on me was enough to make my blood hum hot and ready through my veins. My underwear left little to the imagination, and I felt myself leaking. Nero would be able to see the wet spot on the fabric. He could probably already smell my arousal.

"Felix, you're so fucking beautiful," my mate whispered, awe, reverence, and need in every syllable.

I warmed under his admiration and slipped out of my socks before tucking my fingers under the waistband of my underwear and turning around. The fabric slid over my ass and down my legs, and I knew even though I had my back to him that Nero's eyes were on my body.

"So beautiful," he whispered again as I stepped into the shower and under the spray, letting the hot water and my mate's attention wash away some of the stresses of the day. If this went the way I wanted it to, Nero's huge cock inside me would push away the rest, and despite everything, maybe I'd actually be able to sleep tonight.

The shower was glass on two sides, so Nero could still see every move I made, even with the steam from the hot water fogging the glass a little.

"I left my bodywash out there." I watched as Nero turned to grab it from the counter. He stood and opened the door so he could hand it to me, but he didn't look in beyond what he could see through the glass. He was enjoying the tease as much as I was.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure."

With any good luck, it would be mine. Soon.

I took my time getting wet, letting the water run down my body, followed by my hands, which stopped at strategic points like my nipples and the curve of my ass.

When I saw Nero was sitting forward at the edge of the toilet, watching, his hand rubbing over his dick behind his pants, I decided to up the ante. Grabbing the washcloth, I added a generous amount of bodywash and worked it into a lather, then slowly slid the soapy towel over my torso. Nero's gaze traveled over my body, tracing the lines of bubbles as they ran over my skin. I turned my back to him again and squeezed the washcloth over my shoulder, sending bubbles down my back and along the crack of my ass.

Nero's moan was audible even over the running water.

When I turned back around, the only part of my body that hadn't been covered in soap was my cock, and I took it in hand, stroking up and down, squeezing just enough that the sensation made me throw my head back and close my eyes.

A cool breeze washed over my skin, and then Nero's gruff rumble surrounded me. "Rinse off and get out here. I need you so damn bad."

I didn't need to be told twice.

When I finished rinsing off and opened the door, Nero was standing there with a large black towel that he threw around my shoulders before he picked me up and carried me to the bed, tossing me down, then brushing the empty bags from Target and Otto to the floor.

"Fuck." Myriad emotions swirled in the single word, and I propped up on my elbows and watched as he whipped his black T-shirt off over his head. My gaze traced over his saddle patch, but I'd never seen the whole thing, only what was visible above his collar, so I couldn't tell what it was that he'd shown his brother that had proven we were mates, but I appreciated the view all the same. In the soft light of his bedroom, I could make out more of the dips and planes that made up his chest, and he was stunning. The handful of black tattoos that decorated his skin looked like they belonged there, like he'd been born with them, and I wanted to trace every line and whorl.

Nero lowered his pants and underwear, and his dick sprang up, almost touching his stomach. There was power in knowing I was responsible for that reaction, and heat flushed through my body.

"Nero," I started, but before another word could pass through my lips, his mouth was on me, his body bracketing mine, our cocks hard between us.

There was emotion in the kiss that felt different than before. Earlier, it had been all about me, about what I needed, but this was about us, about feeling whole now that we'd found each other.

And that was exactly how I felt surrounded by Nero's body and the deep growls and moans that vibrated his chest as we kissed and found pleasure in the touch of our bodies and mutually wandering hands.

But soon, the skin-on-skin contact wasn't enough, and I circled Nero's hips with my legs, pulling him down on top of me, making it clear what I wanted. "Nero, I need you. Please."

He swore and bit at my earlobe, then pulled away just enough that he could reach into the nightstand drawer for lube and a condom.

When he held up the small foil square, his question obvious, I shook my head. There really wasn't a reason for two shifters to use one since we were susceptible to very few STIs, and even if there was a risk, I trusted Nero to keep me safe. He flicked the packet over the side of the bed and popped the cap on the lube, warming some on his fingers before sliding them between my ass cheeks and finding my hole.

Nero applied pressure with one thick finger, and I rocked toward him, seeking penetration. But he pulled back, circling the spot until I was writhing under him.

He leaned down, nuzzling into my scent gland, which just made me moan and move against him with more urgency, and whispering, "I can be a tease too."

"Nooo," I whined. "Please. Need you to fill me. Need you to feel whole."

Nero changed positions so he could look down at me, his eyes wide for a second, then going soft like he'd been surprised by what I said. "Me too."

"Then please. Make me yours."

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me up so he could breathe in my scent again, then flipped us so I was on top and straddling his hips. He'd picked up the lube as we flipped and dripped more onto his fingers, then held one of my hips as he reached around to massage my hole, this time letting the tip of his finger slip in.

"God yesss." The words were hissed out through my teeth as I adjusted to the feel of him inside me and rocked back to take more.

His other hand skated over my chest, teasing my nipples but ignoring everything else. I had possibly been beaten at my own game. He kept up the slow torture but at least added a second finger despite my wanting to speed things up.

"Easy, Lucky. We'll get there, but I want to remember everything about this first time with you, the first time I take my mate."

A whine escaped my lips, and I felt my cock jump. That was so hot, and I wanted it so badly. "I'm ready. I swear. Please."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't. I promise. Please."

"Mmm. I like it when you beg."

"Nero, I need you." I pushed back, impaling myself as far as I could on his fingers and moaning when they hit the spot inside me that made my vision white out around the edges. He kept them there for a minute before slowly pulling out. The sudden emptiness had me on the verge of tears.

"Shhh, baby. I've got you." His strong hands lifted me off his body, and he positioned himself at my entrance, then let go, giving me all the control to take what I needed as fast as I wanted. Part of me wanted to sink down and take it all immediately, but I forced myself to go slow, to draw it out so Nero could catalogue every moment.

He was big, but the stretch and burn felt amazing, like he was splitting me in two so he could put me back together in a new configuration that was only his, and by the time I was fully seated, I'd lost my heart to Nero.

I stayed still for a second, unsure what to do with the feeling of fullness in my body and my chest. I'd had good sex before, but we'd barely gotten started, and this was already so far beyond anything I'd experienced in the past. This was transcendent. This was life-changing. This was a claiming.

Nero was murmuring words in another language, the same one he'd spoken before when he'd been comforting me this afternoon, and he grabbed one of my hands and brought it up to rest over his saddle patch, my thumb on his Adam's apple, so I felt it when he swallowed and shuddered as I gently scraped my nails over the sensitive skin.

"Fuck, Felix. Come down here." He pulled me down onto his chest, his mouth finding my scent gland behind my ear and nipping at it.

I wanted his claiming bite, but this didn't feel like the right moment. This was something that was just for us, something we needed before we'd be ready for that step. I didn't know how orca shifters claimed their mates, fated or otherwise, but I had a feeling it had to do with his saddle patch. We'd need to talk about it so I did it right when it was time. For now, I rocked my hips, and he lifted his to match my rhythm.

What had started as hurried and desperate had slowed in pace but not in urgency. I wanted to feel Nero's cum inside me. Slowly, we increased the pace until we were both panting and sweaty and I was riding the edge.

"Nero, God, I need to come."

He gripped my hips and thrust up into me hard and fast, hitting where I needed him to just right. He wrapped a hand around my cock, and he'd barely stroked twice before I came on a scream, my ass pulsing around him, and painted his chest with my release.

"Felix." He pulled me down sharply and bit into my shoulder—enough to leave a mark but not enough to draw blood—and came, the heat of his cum flooding me. For one flash of a second, I wished I'd let him bite me and claim me for real.

But this was just the beginning of our story. There would be time.

Plenty of time.