Chapter Six

Cyrus had always been an equal opportunity player. There had been times in his life when there had only been males around, and he had what he considered a healthy sex drive. At other times, a woman caught his eye for a while, and his time with them was equally enjoyable. But Ness was a first in a lot of ways.

For one thing, his mate was a shifter, and most shifters didn’t see Cyrus as a viable fuck buddy. Shifters were either scared of his power levels or distrustful of him because he was a shark. Then there was the point about Ness being untouched in every way. Cyrus commended himself on not fist bumping the air and shouting “hell yes” when he heard that little tidbit.

But that meant that Cyrus had some nerves to deal with, on Ness’s part of course, but it wasn’t something Cyrus had ever dealt with before. His shark was incredibly sensitive to vibrations, and the minute tremors coming through his mate’s hand spoke volumes. He kept pace with Ness as they made their way through a lovely house, upstairs to a room that was slightly smaller but more comfortable than others he’d seen.

“I’ve used this room since the house was built.” Ness was looking around. “I know it’s probably not what you’re used to…”

“Hey, hey, hey, there have been times when I’ve slept under hedges, darlin’.” After kicking off his shoes, Cyrus spun around so he was facing his mate, hands resting on a broad chest. He could feel a solid heart beating slightly faster than normal and the smell of Ness’s arousal was sweet and hung in the air.

“Have you ever dreamed of what making love to another person might look like?” Keeping his voice low, Cyrus leaned in a bit closer, making small stroking motions with his hands, getting Ness used to his touch.

“They always make it seem easy in books and movies.” Ness was watching Cyrus’s hands although his own were by his side. “One minute they’re kissing on the couch and the next minute they’re naked in bed together.”

“Did you want to go downstairs? We can make out on a couch first, if you like.”

“Seems a bit pointless when we’re already where the bed is.”

“You’re not wrong.” Cyrus chuckled. “It is said that shifters are well used to nudity even around other people. But I’m guessing you’re like me and probably shifted alone for the most part.”

Ness nodded and then he frowned. “You’ve never shifted with anyone else either? That’s so sad.”

“No one seems to want to shift with another creature that could eat them, especially if they don’t know that person very well,” Cyrus said simply, his hands moving down the sides of Ness’s torso, reaching for the bottom of Ness’s t-shirt. “You and I both know it would never happen, but instincts in animals are the core part of their survival and you can’t discount that either. Let’s make this easier on ourselves for a start and get naked. That way, there’s no messing around with clothes getting stuck where they shouldn’t in the heat of the moment.”

He lifted the edge of Ness’s shirt up, and after a split second of hesitation, Ness lifted his arms and Cyrus stretched to get the shirt over Ness’s head. “That’s one bit. Now the pants.” Cyrus’s hands were back on Ness’s hips. “Just keep watching my eyes,” he added as he heard Ness’s heartrate increase. “All we’re doing is removing clothes.”

“You’re the one removing my clothes.”

“You can do mine in a second.” Cyrus shoved at the elasticated waistband of Ness’s shorts, but of course the damn material got hooked up on Ness’s dick, which was a healthy size. “See what I mean about clothing getting snagged,” he said with a laugh as he unhooked the material without any fuss or unnecessary touching because he was hoping Ness would feel more comfortable that way. The shorts fell to the floor. Cyrus held out his arms. “Now you can remove mine and we’ll head to bed.” Please, let’s get to bed soon.

/~/~/~/~/

Cyrus made it all seem so easy. Clearly he had experience when it came to intimacy, but rather than be upset about it, Ness took confidence from it. Cyrus was a man who knew what he liked, had the certainty to go for what he wanted, and had no problem expressing himself. Ness wasn’t going to think about the fact that he already knew his mate’s son and his family – how was that for coincidence? But family thoughts had no place in his bedroom. Not when his mate still had that grin playing around his sexy lips.

I can do this. Ness kept a close watch on Cyrus’s face, hoping his animal would let him know if he was doing anything that made his mate uncomfortable. He just couldn’t let Cyrus’s designer labeled jacket fall on the floor, but he did manage to throw it onto a nearby chair. Unbuttoning Cyrus’s shirt, Ness’s breath hitched as the back of his fingers brushed over the skin on Cyrus’s chest.

“Keep going darlin’, you’re doing great.” It seemed like Cyrus knew just the right time to say something.

Seeing Cyrus shirtless made Ness want to suck his belly in. The man was sleek, like his animal side no doubt, and yet there was a raw harshness of his muscles that had Ness conscious of the softness of his own body. “If we all looked the same, we’d be a boring bunch,” Cyrus said softly. “I certainly love looking at you in all your naked glory.”

Pants come next. That meant Ness had to look down, finding the button at Cyrus’s waistband. But as he fumbled, it was like it hit him what he was actually doing. I’m stripping the clothes off my mate. I’m going to be naked with someone who wants to fuck me.

That was a huge deal – life changing for Ness. Tugging at the zipper, maybe some of the material ripped. It definitely sounded like it. But Cyrus’s chuckle was like a warm caress, stoking Ness’s need. The pants slid down powerful legs and Cyrus’s cock was suddenly bobbing near Ness’s face. I have to touch.

Looking up, Cyrus’s grin had widened although his eyelids were half closed – watching him, studying him, Ness realized. “You can touch, darlin’, I’m as much yours as you’re mine.”

Ness knew how he liked to touch himself. He ran his palm up Cyrus’s length, and the man groaned. Precome left a smear on Ness’s fingers, and he did it again.

“We need that bed now, darlin’.” Cyrus’s hands were gripping his shoulders. “I want to feel your skin all over mine.”

They landed on the bed with a thud. Cyrus’s body was blanketing his and Ness barely had time to gasp at the sensation of having someone else’s skin against his own before strong hands cupped his face and Cyrus’s lips were on his. My first kiss.

Cyrus’s lips teased his as his strong fingers turned Ness’s head one way and then the other. Ness let himself be moved that way, his brain had switched off and was now in firm vacation mode. Or maybe he had a newly found sexy mode, because while Ness’s brain was glitching, his body was running on instincts.

Ness’s arms were around Cyrus’s back, holding the man close with a desperation Ness had never felt. One of Cyrus’s legs was hooked around his, their cocks were smushed together and as they rocked and moved together, Ness couldn’t even take a breath – and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Kissing Cyrus was the best thing his lips had ever tasted.

But Cyrus broke off, gasping heavily as he bent his head, nipping down Ness’s neck. “You’ve got me so worked up.” His hips thrust against Ness’s. “I’m not going to be able to get inside you our first time. On three, bite me.”

Bite? But Cyrus was already counting. “One…two…three.” Sharp teeth sliced the side of his neck, and while Ness’s brain was still trying to catch up, Ness’s animal was right there with the shark it wanted forever with. His teeth sunk into Cyrus’s neck on the opposite side and groaned around his mouthful as everything hit him at once. His orgasm, the feel of Cyrus’s spunk mixing with his between them. The pain of the bite and the bliss that followed so quickly the pain was barely a blip. But more than the physical connection, it was the snap he felt in his soul. How, in that instant, Ness felt his mate in his head – smug, satisfied, and so damn happy.

Withdrawing his teeth, and licking over the wound, much like Cyrus had done for him, Ness was like “How…how? We’ve claimed each other? I thought you had to be inside of me for our bond to take.”

“Or you inside of me,” Cyrus reminded him, his voice quiet and firm. “I want to do that, believe me I do. I was just going with my instincts and I’m thinking the Fates are looking out for us. It did cross my mind that we need to have a bit of a chat before we go sticking our dicks in each other.”

“I do know it requires prep and lube before that can happen.” Ness was stroking Cyrus’s hair, and his shark didn’t seem to mind.

“Ah ha, and there’s also a little matter that neither of us are furry shifters.”

Yawning, because apparently stroking a man’s hair after having an enormous orgasm could be very relaxing, Ness said, “How is that a problem? We’re not having sex in our shifted form. That wouldn’t work. I’ve got legs in my animal form – you don’t.”

“Did you forget? Both of us are capable of getting pregnant, darlin’. Probably not the sort of thing we want to do on our first day? I’d say that’s why our bond took, even though we haven’t done that side of things yet.”

Cyrus’s words were like someone had thrown a cup of cold water on Ness’s face. “Does that mean we can’t ever have anal sex?” Admittedly, it wasn’t something he’d ever considered doing, but somehow not being able to even explore the idea seemed unfair.

“It means we should probably talk to your doctor about birth control the next time we’re back in Arrowtown,” Cyrus suggested. “I don’t know how you feel, but personally I’d like to get to know the wonderfully unique man I’m with before we start thinking about raising a family together. Unless you’re in a hurry to get pregnant? In which case, where’s your lube? I don’t know about you, but I’m raring to go again.”

For the first time since Cyrus knocked on the door, Ness laughed. In that one speech, Cyrus showed himself as the mate he would be – caring, considerate, practical, and yet ready to change his plans on a dime if it made Ness happy. “No kids. Not yet. We’ve got so many other things we have to work out between us first.”

“The practical stuff like where we would live, shift, work, and things like that we’ll sort out later,” Cyrus promised. “Right now, can you point me to the bathroom. We’ve made a hell of a mess between us, and I want to clean you up so I can dirty you up all over again. What do you think about oral sex?”

“That I want to give it a try?” Ness suggested. “You’ll have to show me how it’s done.”

Somehow he didn’t think Cyrus would mind.