CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER10

LUCAS

It was around three in the morning by the time I got back to Noah's. I could have slept at the pack and come back later but it was difficult being away from him.

His keeping me at a distance meant that my wolf felt confused and hurt, he didn't understand why our mate did not want to be together constantly until his first shift.

"Morning Alpha, how'd things go?" Drew asked.

"Not the best. There are rumors that Marcus might know about me finding my mate which is making my wolf incredibly anxious. I need to convince Noah to come stay with the pack until his first shift."

"Yeah, that won't be easy. He's strong willed that mate of yours."

I couldn't help but smile. Even though it was hard right now, I still loved that about him.

"I know. He'll take some convincing."

Drew chuckled. "I'm sure you'll find a way. I'm guessing it'll have something to do with your cock too," he added cheekily.

I loved that Drew treated me like a friend regardless of the fact that I'm his alpha. He was the only wolf in the pack who did. Even though there was an age gap between us with him being eight years younger, we connected closely as wolves and men, which made our friendship and his position as my second, a seamless one.

I chuckled as his remark. "You know me too well."

"Have fun with that. I'm going to go back to the pack unless you need anything else from me?"

"No, that's fine. Go back and sleep in, you've earned it."

I watched Drew leave and began removing my clothing. I let my wolf come forward and shifted, curling up on the deck to await my mate rousing from his sleep.

I contemplated how to best convince Noah to move to the pack with me. He was still resisting our connection so I need to get that through to him first, to make him understand that we're mated for life. I need to show him that our connection will never dim and our love will never fade, though I doubt he's fallen in love with me yet. That part will take time for him.

After I've convinced him of that, then I can try to convince him to relocate.

I can't have been asleep long before I heard him sliding the door open. He looked gorgeous, all freshly showered with damp hair. I smelled soap and coffee. My wolf was disappointed that Noah had washed our scent off and he wanted to fix that but, I didn't think Noah would appreciate it.

"Want a coffee?" he offered.

"I'd love one, thank you."

"You look different yesterday and today, more like an actual wolf."

"This is how I usually look in wolf form. The night you met me I was in hybrid form."

I shifted into my naked, human body. "Only some wolves can do that and it takes a lot of self-control to hold that form."

I saw his eyes widen, then glaze over, as they roamed across my naked human body. It made my cock twitch and I couldn't contain my smirk. He was unable to hide his desire for me and it would always make my chest puff with cocky pride. It's an alpha thing.

"I'd ask if you like what you see, but I can sense through the bond, that you do," I murmured, unable to hide the smugness from my voice. My wolf and I were loving his stare of desire.

His eyes snapped up to my face as he blushed and turned to walk back inside to his kitchen. "Ugh, stupid one-way connection," he muttered under his breath, as I quickly got dressed and followed him in.

"Hey, I have to use any advantage I have since you're making me work so hard for it."

"Right, because licking my neck is such hard work," he muttered sarcastically.

"No, but getting you to let me close enough to lick your neck, is ," I corrected.

He nodded. "You're right," he agreed as he placed a mug of coffee in front of me and sat opposite me at the table. "I'm sorry this is so hard on you. I don't want to hurt you, it's just… this is all extremely overwhelming."

That was unexpected. I watched him run a frustrated hand through his silky hair that I itched to reach out and touch.

"I understand and I won't force you to do anything, ever. You just need to remember that this connection between us is there for a good purpose. It was there before I claimed you in the woods and will remain between us forever."

"I'm beginning to realize that. I just never thought about how my resistance was affecting you, until Drew said some things that got me thinking."

"I'll have to thank him since it's convinced you to give me a chance. Out of curiosity, what did he say?"

"He said a few things but the most helpful one was that I get to choose you, if I claim you back. I feel like all of this is out of my control and I have no say in it so, that made me realise that I do get a choice. I'm willing to let you in, I just need this to go at my pace, okay?"

"Whatever you need," I reassured as my heart did a flip of excitement at hearing his words. "So, does that mean I get to sleep inside now?"

"Sure, you can have the couch."

We both looked at the couch. It was a small two-seater with nowhere near enough room for my enormous size. I turned to look at him and arched a questioning brow.

He sighed. "Okay fine, you can sleep in my room but on top of the covers. Knowing you, I'll be naked and underneath you in five seconds otherwise."

I groaned at hearing that. "I agreed to go at your pace but you're making it really fucking hard when you put those images in my head… in more ways than one," I muttered, reaching down to adjust my growing erection.

His jaw dropped. "Sorry," he said with a sheepish expression and blushed. He finished his coffee and looked at his watch. "Shoot, I'll have to get breakfast at the café. I'll just go brush my teeth then I've got to go."

"Do you have a spare toothbrush by any chance?"

He nodded and tipped his head in the direction of the bathroom. We brushed our teeth side by side in front of the mirror. I couldn't stop staring at him, even when brushing his teeth, he was utterly beautiful.

He rinsed then looked at me with a quizzical expression. "What?"

I rinsed and placed my toothbrush beside his in the holder, thinking how good they look side by side, just like us.

"This is nice."

He laughed. "Really, brushing your teeth with someone gets your motor going?"

I chuckled. "No, just spending time close to you in your home and doing something so domestically simple is nice. It feels right."

He just smiled and walked out of the bathroom. Maybe that was too much. It was so hard to know with him. When I touch him, he melts into me but then bristles afterward and pushes me away. He said he wants to let me in, but when I say being near him feels right, he went all shy. Adorably so.

I followed him to the front door.

"Wait. You said you want to let me in, right?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"And we're taking things slow?"

"Mm hm," he nodded.

"So, in the interest of taking it slow, can I kiss you? We've done so much together already but we've skipped the first step."

He gave me that same shy smile and nodded.

Fuck me, he's so cute.

I felt my wolf want to push to the front, but I held him back as I stepped forward, sliding my arms around Noah's waist. His hands found my shoulders, holding onto me as I leant down.

I pressed my nose into his neck and inhaled, shuddering at the bliss his scent gave me.

"Scent me," I murmured.

Noah pressed his nose against my neck and breathed deeply and let out a small whimper.

"What is that?" he whispered.

I lifted my head to look into his eyes. "We recognize our mates by their scent. Your body recognizes that I'm your mate," I murmured softly.

I leaned forward, closing the distance. Our eyes closed as our lips met for the first time and it was like fireworks released within me.

I took my time to kiss him sweetly, capturing his soft lips with my own as I memorized the feeling. He kissed me back and his hands gripped me tighter, sliding up around my neck. My need for him bubbled to the surface and I licked his lip, seeking entrance. He parted them for me and welcomed me in and our tongues became acquainted.

I poured everything into the kiss. My want, my need and my love for him, hoping he could sense it. He groaned and I felt his hardness pressing into my own. He slid a hand up, tangling it into my hair and the other gripping the back of my neck, holding on like I was a life raft.

I wanted to grab at him, to touch every part and hold his glorious round ass so I could grind our cocks together, but I didn't. I let him control the pace, so instead, I just lightly skimmed my fingers over his back as I held him close.

We enjoyed the kiss a little longer, then Noah slowly pulled his lips away and rested his forehead on my shoulder, trying to catch his breath. I kissed his temple and just enjoyed holding him close as we caught our breath and waited for our erections to deflate.

"That was a really good start," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry that wasn't how things began. That's what should have happened first."

He leaned back and looked up at me with a smirk. "I suppose it did start with a kiss of sorts… just a really, really unconventional one," he joked.

I couldn't help but laugh as I released my grip on his waist. He was right, licking him with my wolf tongue was about as unconventional as it gets.

He picked up his keys and put them in his pocket as we left the house, but before he walked to his car, I got an idea.

"Why don't I give you a ride on my bike? I have a spare helmet you can use."

His eyes lit up. "I've never been on a motorbike before."

"You'll love it!"

I pulled the helmet out of the caddy and helped him strap it on, then put on my own. I hopped on the bike and waited for him to saddle up behind me, then I showed him where to place his feet. I gave him a quick instruction about gently leaning into corners then grabbed his arms and wrapped them around my waist.

Feeling his body pressed to my back felt so right.

"Hold on tight, baby," I called out. The bike roared to life and we took off.