Chapter Forty

Couple-like Territory

Rafe

I woke up at some point in the night desperate to pee, so with a tired groan I climbed out of bed and dragged my feet to the bathroom, my eyes still mostly closed.

As I was getting back into bed, Dan roused and sleepily reattached his head to shift onto his back as he mumbled, "You okay, baby?"

"Yeah," I croaked, curling into his side and resting my head on his chest with a sigh.

He slid his arm underneath me to rest his hand on the swell of my ass, thumb sweeping slowly over my skin, making me wriggle closer and sling my leg over his. He lifted his head off the pillow to kiss the top of mine, and I heard him inhale with his nose buried in my hair.

When his hand drifted lower and he began trailing his fingertips lightly along the cleft of my ass, I moaned sleepily and felt my cock twitch with interest against his hip.

"Are you still awake, kitten?" Dan whispered.

"Mmm." I turned my cheek to press a kiss to his chest, breathing him in. He was warm and solid and smelled so good.

Dan's hand splayed over my ass cheek and squeezed gently, making a tendril of lazy pleasure curl through my belly. I moaned again and shifted my hips, my breath catching as my stiffening cock rubbed against him.

As I began to slowly grow more awake, I raised my head and shifted a little higher so I could find his lips in the dark. He kissed me back instantly, lifting his free hand to cup the back of my head. I sank my tongue into his mouth, my dick jerking eagerly when he groaned and trailed his fingers between my cheeks again.

Teasing pleasure shot through me when a fingertip brushed over my hole. Deepening the kiss, I slid my hand down his front to grasp his cock, moaning when I felt how stiff it was. Dan groaned and circled my hole with his fingertip, making my breaths start to shallow.

In the next instant, he'd rolled me onto my back and nestled his hips between my thighs, still kissing me. My legs automatically wrapped around his waist, and I was breathing faster when he eventually broke the kiss to reach for the lube and coat his fingers. He lifted his hips slightly and burrowed his hand down to reach between my legs and circle my hole with his slick fingertips, making me gasp.

It wasn't long before we were writhing together feverishly as he pounded his cock inside me, groaning hoarsely into my neck. I was clutching his back tight, moaning with every breath and desperately clinging to his snapping hips with trembling legs.

The friction of his stomach sliding over my cock was making it leak, and he kept his thrusts tilted at an angle that meant he was grinding against my prostate, making me weak with pleasure. My orgasm rushed up on me, fast and sudden, and I shuddered with a desperate moan as I clenched around his cock and felt my cum spurting onto my stomach.

Dan groaned at the feel of it, his hips speeding up until he was pounding into me frantically, then he stiffened and plunged his cock deep. A strained groan vibrated against my neck as he came, cock bucking inside me. When it ended, he sagged and lifted his head to find my lips with a slow, sated kiss.

After carefully sliding his cock free, he collapsed on his back beside me and immediately tugged me into his side, getting us back into the position we'd been in before. Once more, he kissed the top of my head and inhaled deeply, tightening his arm around me as we both dozed back off.

It felt like only seconds later that I was jolting awake to the sound of my alarm. Groaning tiredly, I rolled over to turn it off and stayed where I was for a few moments, my face smushed into the mattress and my arm dangling off the edge. I knew if I let myself drop back off, I could sleep for several more hours, so I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed.

"Hold on, kitten." Dan's sleep-rough voice made me look back as I rubbed my face. Some of the tiredness fled at the sight of him, and I smiled as he reattached his head and propped himself up on his elbows.

"Morning," I croaked. "Want to come shower with me? You probably should, seeing as you're gonna be wrestling all day."

He huffed in amusement and nodded at my morning wood. "Why don't you let me take care of that first?"

The morning wood in question twitched eagerly in response. I should've been done by now. I was tired, and we'd had frantic, intense sex twice in the night.

But I wasn't done yet. Definitely not. Especially not when Dan pushed down the comforter with his foot to display his own hard cock, curving up over his belly.

That was how I found myself, ten minutes later, on my hands and knees on the bed as Dan fucked me furiously from behind. I was moaning so loud that I was legitimately worried the neighbours—the other neighbours—would hear us. When my elbows gave out, I rested my head on my forearms and pushed back into every thrust, making him groan through clenched teeth and grip my hips tighter. He leaned over me and reached underneath to fist my cock, stroking it at a fast pace to match his pounding hips.

I seized up and came so hard I couldn't make a sound, pinpricks of colour bursting against my eyelids and my body trembling wildly. Dan grunted, fucking into me even faster before he followed me over the edge, leaning over my back and resting his hot forehead against my spine.

I moaned hoarsely when he pressed a soft kiss there before straightening and easing his cock out. I couldn't move, still ass up as I panted weakly.

"I don't wanna go to work," I croaked, which made him snort as he smoothed his hands over my backside.

"I bet you've never missed a day of work in your life," he said, helping me turn over and chuckling when my limbs flopped carelessly onto the bed.

I huffed, but couldn't actually think of a single time when I'd faked being sick or having an emergency. "Nothing wrong with being a hard worker."

"No, definitely not," Dan agreed, grinning at me as he leaned over to kiss me. "I, for one, very much appreciate that mindset and dedication when I've got you in bed."

I snorted, reaching up to rub my face as I yawned. "Shit, definitely need to start getting ready now."

"Sure, kitten." He climbed off the bed and held out a hand to help me up. Once I was standing, he pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. "Thanks for letting me stay over again."

"Sure. Yeah. Anytime." I blushed, wondering if the answer would freak him out. If he'd think I was starting to develop deeper feelings for him or something.

But he just smiled and kissed me again before turning for the door. "I'll start the shower. You're right, I can't go into work smelling like sex."

My gaze drifted over to the bed once he was out of sight, chest tightening with longing to just climb right back in with him for the rest of the day. Not even for more sex—I was pretty sure I was done for now—but just… to be with him. Just the two of us.

Shit. I was developing deeper feelings for him.

That probably wasn't good.

—

No one seemed to notice that I was walking slightly bow-legged at work all day.

I wasn't in pain—I was supernatural and could handle a lot more than a human probably could—I was just… strangely aware of my butthole. It felt tender and still slightly sensitive, reminding me of Dan every time I sat down at my desk.

He snuck into my office after lunch to ask if he could come over again tonight. Obviously I said yes, letting him know that I had to go grocery shopping after work but he could come over as soon as I was home. Then he rounded my desk to crouch beside me, smoothing his hand up my thigh as he asked if I was feeling okay.

"You mean my asshole, right?" I said dryly, which made him snort.

"Yeah." He leaned up to kiss me. "I just want to make sure I wasn't too rough."

"You weren't." I grinned and reached over to lightly pinch his chin. "I'll be ready to go again by tonight."

Dan chuckled and straightened. "I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with you, kitten. I turn thirty-three next year. What if I start slowing down?"

I paused, not entirely sure how to answer that. Was he imagining us still fucking in a year?

God, I hoped so. I didn't want to stop.

Maybe after a year of practically acting like we were dating, he'd be open to the idea of actually dating.

I could wait a year.

—

After work, I drove into town to go to Fauntastic Foods. It was a little annoying having to find parking on the street, but it was the best grocery store for supernaturals in the city. Plus, it was the only one that sold Carolina Reapers, which I used for my hot sauce.

I'd promised my friends I'd make a new batch soon, so after grabbing a basket, I headed straight for the fresh produce aisle to start loading up on chillis. After putting a big bag of Carolina Reapers in my basket, I hesitated, then grabbed a second paper bag to fill with jalapenos.

Dan had liked the taste before it had made him almost start to cry. I'd make him a mild version.

As I wandered down the next aisle, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it out, I felt a big smile spread over my face when I saw the name on the screen.

"Hey," I answered.

"Hi, kitten." His low, drawling voice made my belly tighten. "Are you still at the store?"

"Uh-huh." I stopped to peruse the baked goods, wondering if I should buy myself a Danish pastry to eat on the way home.

No. Too messy. I didn't want crumbs in my car.

"Would you mind getting me a pack of chicken breasts?" Dan asked. "You know, one of the really big ones."

"Sure." I turned and started heading for the meat aisle. "Don't you ever get bored of eating plain chicken and rice all the time?" Dan was, for the most part, strict about his diet because of his job.

"Nah, doesn't bother me. Thanks, kitten. I'll pay you back, obviously."

"Don't worry about it."

"What time are you home?"

My insides swooped. Did he seriously not notice that we were veering away from casual fucking and into couple-like territory? I mean, this was what couples did, right? We were only sleeping with each other. We spent all our free time together. He was spending the night and calling me at the grocery store to ask me to pick something up for him.

Maybe I was being delusional and this was still all firmly casual. It wasn't like I'd been in this situation before. Maybe Dan had been like this with all the other people he'd casually slept with in the past.

It didn't feel like it though. Not anymore.

And I was pretty sure I didn't want to just be casual with him anymore, either.

Which was probably going to end up being a problem at some point.

Stop overthinking it, I told myself. Just enjoy what it is now.

"I won't be too long," I told him. "Just got to grab a few more things and then I'll be on my way."

"Okay. I'll see you soon, kitten."

"See you soon." I hung up, pocketed my phone and grabbed the big multipack of chicken breasts for Dan.

When I turned, I froze at the sight of a familiar figure further down the aisle. He was, once again, grabbing every package of duck legs off the shelf and loading them into his cart. The billy goat beard was longer than the last time, and he'd braided it, tying it off with a little green bow.

Oh hell no. He hadn't spotted me yet, so I slowly backed out of the aisle and hurried away, pulling my phone out of my pocket to text Nev and tell him I'd seen the billy goat guy again.

His presence—seriously, was he always here?—prompted me to grab the rest of my groceries twice as fast and head for the register to check out. There was no line, so within five minutes I was leaving the store clutching two paper bags.

Even though it wasn't late, the street was pretty quiet. Fauntastic Foods was located in a part of town that had a heavy concentration of supernatural stores, and there were far fewer of us than there were humans, so it was never all that busy around here on a weekday. At the weekends though, it was usually heaving, with folks flocking to the bars and restaurants that catered to supernaturals.

I'd had to park a little ways down the street, because the spots in front of the store were for the residents of the apartments above it. I fumbled with my bags to reach for the keys in my pocket when I finally got to my car, parked in front of an alley between a shoe store catering to hoofed creatures and a bakery run by shadowpeople that specialised in nightmarish cakes. Both were already closed, so it was dark and quiet as I pressed the button on my key and my car chirped.

Before I could open the door, I suddenly heard light, pattering footsteps rushing up behind me. My blood ran cold when something hard, like the barrel of a gun, jammed into my lower back.

"Put 'em up, nerd," a sinister voice said.