Chapter Twenty-Seven

Taylin

Taylin dragged himself into Hollis's immaculate kitchen and headed straight for the coffeemaker. It took two attempts to get the thing working with how sluggish his brain was. He scratched at his naked chest, which remained warm and smelling of Hollis. Taylin woke to find his mate sleeping in his animal form on top of him.

God, he didn't think waking up like that would ever grow old.

He opened cupboards in search of mugs, a smile curling the corner of his lips despite the raging hangover that gave him a set of tap dancers working at his temples. Once he'd placed two cups on the counter next to the bubbling coffee machine, Taylin went to retrieve the milk and see what there was to eat. He was in dire need of something to help get rid of the draggy feeling that came with drinking way too much.

The evening before, at least what Taylin could remember of it, was a success. It had to have been, otherwise there wouldn't be tubs of leftovers—enough for two—in the refrigerator this morning, would there? Unaware of what Hollis's parents would or wouldn't do, Taylin had to figure the fact Hubert hadn't torn him a new asshole had to mean something.

His chuckle was the only sound in the quiet house. Hubert brandishing the broom had definitely given off some ass kicking vibes. Tangling with him would not be on Taylin's to do list, for sure.

It was not the reason Taylin had drunk too much red wine. The shocker that had driven him to drink excessively was a reality check. One comment about grandchildren had railroaded itself into Taylin's head, ensuring he could think about nothing else except the full box of condoms he'd unpacked from his travel bags.

Was it a good thing he remembered little of the drive back to Hollis's home? He had a vague recollection of having a shower before collapsing into Hollis's bed. He slept right through, only waking up minutes ago with a banging head and all the questions he'd blocked out last night, which decided this morning to play the bongo drums in his brain in time to the tap dancers.

It drove him out of the warm bed once he had carefully moved the pygmy loris onto the spot he'd vacated in the hopes of not disturbing Hollis. The dark circles under Hollis's eyes the day before ensured Taylin had kept quiet, with it being the weekend. A heat was harder on the omega, in that they remained governed by their biological needs until it eased. Sleep and food were not their primary need during it. Hollis had to be tired.

Coward!

It was too early and not being caffeinated didn't prepare him to argue with himself.

He placed a carton of milk under his arm to grab a bowl full of fresh fruit, then collect a tub of yogurt, before knocking the refrigerator door shut with his shoulder. Back at the counter, he laid everything down and breathed in the fresh aroma of coffee like a dying man. Preparing a cup, he inhaled the rich scent before leaning back against the counter, sipping at the mug, waiting for the caffeine to hit his brain.

He stared out the kitchen window overlooking a tidy yard and small patch of grass that held two garden chairs and nothing else.

Why didn't I think to use protection?

You weren't thinking! His animal side stated gleefully.

Gods, I'm not in the mood for you. I blame you for this whole mess. His hand shook as he brought the cup back to his lips, drinking the hot liquid to avoid what was playing on his mind. What if I've impregnated Hollis?

And the issue with that is?

The snappy comment came with a dose of excitement that Taylin wasn't sure was the right response. He was afraid to join in when Hollis might hate the idea and blame him. He should have taken care of Hollis. It was the alpha's responsibility to protect their omega.

You want this!

"Stop telling me what I want," he fired back snappily.

"I don't believe I did," Hollis said from the doorway, in a formal tone Taylin had always hated.

His gaze darted to the man, who wore only sleep pants, looking gloriously rumpled and not wearing his glasses. "I was talking to my animal side," he explained hurriedly. "Do you want a coffee… some breakfast?" he offered lamely, waving in the direction of the stuff on the counter when Hollis squinted at him.

"Can your animal side… talk to you?"

Taylin nodded, then got the impression when Hollis squinted again he hadn't seen it, so replied, "Yep. Although some days I wish he couldn't."

Nice!

Bare feet moved soundlessly over the wooden floor, coming close enough to challenge the scent of coffee with Hollis's own sweetness. "I'll take a coffee, please."

Hollis moved past him to head to the tiny table tucked in the room's corner and pulled out the seat closest to the window. He plonked himself down, reaching for the glasses case sat in the center of the table Taylin hadn't noticed before.

Taylin watched in fascination as Hollis flicked open the box and pulled out a pair of bright red, square framed glasses and slipped them on. Such a simple act, yet somehow it gave Taylin's heart a jolt .

When Hollis found him watching, his brows arched up above the frame. "What?"

"You usually wear clear plastic, blue or black frames. I've never seen those before," he replied, for something to say when he couldn't explain how or why watching him felt so intimate.

Hollis shrugged, his gaze moving to the coffee pot expectantly. "These,"—he tapped the side of the frame—"I wear in the house or when I'm off. I like color, just not for work."

Taylin placed his mug down to prepare a coffee for Hollis. Taking it to him, he quirked up a brow. "Why no bright colors for work?"

Hollis took the mug and sniffed it before taking a sip. His eyelids flickered closed before he groaned. "Wonderful coffee." A teasing smile appeared. "You can stay."

Coming forward, Taylin bent down and moved the hand holding the cup aside to kiss the cheeky scamp. First came the taste of coffee, then mint, suggesting he'd brushed his teeth before coming down.

A moan reverberated through Taylin when Hollis wrapped both tongues around his, sliding, touching, and tracing over his tastebuds.

Careful of the cup Hollis still held, Taylin moved, sliding his hands up Hollis's throat and around the back of his neck, to tilt his head to get a better angle, deepening the kiss. Their groans matched as Taylin lost himself in the act of worshiping Hollis's mouth with his.

Whatever worries he had, they couldn't compete with the fluttery feelings that came with the simple act of kissing Hollis. Years of wanting left him greedy. One breathless kiss led to another until their scent mingled with arousal, making Taylin tremble with the desire.

Talking first.

Talking needs to happen.

On repeat, because it was the last thing Taylin wanted to do, but eventually it had him ease back. Hollis's glasses were lopsided and the eyes behind the lenses appeared unfocused. He gave him one quick kiss and stepped back, his cock tenting the front of his boxer shorts.

"Breakfast," he said, more to himself, thinking that it would be too easy to avoid what he knew they needed to do… talk! "You need breakfast."

Hollis moved the mug closer to his kissable lips, looking over the rim, and gave him a look that was all challenge. "I thought I was having breakfast?"

Taylin shook his head, spinning back to the counter where he'd placed the yogurt and fruit. "I need to feed you and we should…" he looked back, wearing a serious expression which was hard with how delectable his mate was, "talk about…"

Nothing about Hollis changed as he took a sip of coffee, holding Taylin's stare as he swallowed. "About?"

Adam's apple bobbing madly, Taylin took a steadying breath. Here goes nothing. "The lack of care I took of you during your heat."

There was still no change to Hollis's expression and Taylin started to sweat, so he moved once more to face the man who was his everything .

"You took excellent care of me."

Was he being obtuse on purpose, or didn't he realize they'd not used any protection? "Condoms. I… didn't think to use them. I had them in my bag… not that I thought I was going to need them… I became distracted when packing and picked them out of my bedside cabinet…"

The more he talked the more amused Hollis got and Taylin couldn't seem to stop digging a hole he wasn't sure he could get out of. "Then I dropped them into my bag because Popi was there and I was holding the box, you see?"

"See what?" Hollis asked sweetly, causing the sweating to increase.

Taylin felt sweat gather under the hairline at the back of his neck, then trickle down the center of his spine. "That I wasn't bringing them because I thought I'd get to use them… it was reflex, is all."

"Reflex… I see."

Nothing suggested he did, and Taylin bit his lip to stop himself from saying more, instead he twisted back around to prepare a bowl of fruit for something to do with his trembling hands. "Do you want yogurt on your fruit?"

It was Hollis's scent increasing that sent up a warning flare before a chest pressed to Taylin's back. Silky skin slid against his flesh as hands crept around his waist, his pulse dancing with excitement when one slipped inside his boxers and fingers wrapped around the base of his cock. "Fruit and yogurt…" a nose touched his spine and sniffed. "Is that all that's on offer for… breakfast? "

Taylin's head hung between his shoulders as he fought the temptation to give in.

Hollis stroked his fist up his hard length and at the top squeezed, getting pre-cum to gather on the head. Another hand slipped inside the elastic, and he groaned low and needy at the fingertip sliding through the pre-cum and smearing it over the head.

"Hollis," he snarled, fighting himself.

A shiver ran through the man, who pressed his shaft against the top of Taylin's thigh, rocking. "I'm hungry…" teeth nibbled over his shoulder blade. "For you."

It was too much, and Taylin moaned in complaint even as he gave in and encouraged Hollis to continue. He clasped his fingers over Hollis's and helped to guide his hand up and down his shaft firmly. "What do you want?" he panted, his attention focused on the hands inside his boxers.

Sharp teeth grazed the top of his tricep while Hollis removed the fingertips teasing the head of his cock. There were sounds of material rustling as Hollis's lower body lost contact with Taylin. Hollis didn't lose focus on what his other hand was doing.

Taylin saw Hollis's sleep pants pool on the floor as they got kicked off. Before he could guess Hollis's intention, his mate's cock slid between his legs, nudging at his balls. "Have you ever let anyone…"

Taylin felt the tip of Hollis's cock graze his asshole, leaving a sticky trace, giving Taylin a wordless question.

He shuddered at how loud his wolf was yipping inside him. "No. "

Hollis made a noise that sent a thrill through Taylin. Then two tongues moved over his skin, enticing a moan as they roamed over the top of his shoulders. Each flick sent curls of lust straight to Taylin's cock. The pressure around his shaft increased with each stroke, derailing any thoughts Taylin might be concerned with what Hollis wanted.

"Would you let me…" a tongue flicked down his spine, "fuck you? I want to be inside you when you bite me."

The animalistic sound that came out of Taylin was a raw need. His gums ached with the force of his imagination and the demand from his little omega. He was ready to bust a nut. His knot started to form, and Hollis shifted his attention. Tentative fingers roamed over the swelling and Hollis mewled, his pre-cum smearing Taylin's balls.

Way too much, the wet caress and Hollis's obvious enjoyment at touching his knot, Taylin lost his mind. He barely had the wherewithal to stop himself wrenching Hollis's arm from its socket with how fast he spun around. His cock slapping against his stomach as he picked up Hollis and without grace, threw him over his shoulder.

Giggles floated over his skin as Hollis wriggled and made his cock paint his upper chest, where it became trapped with his excitement. In the bedroom, Taylin dropped Hollis onto the unmade bed, tearing off his boxers, breathless with enthusiasm. The seam splitting didn't register as he flung them away, moving to reach for Hollis's leg as he rolled and crawled up the bed. "Where are you going?" he rasped.

"To get a bottle of slick. "

If there was ever a time Taylin could come without anything touching his cock, it was then. Anticipation. It blazed there in Hollis's hungry gaze as it traveled over Taylin. His ass clenched at what was coming. "Where do you want me?"

Were they really doing this?

The bump his heart gave against his ribs answered for him when Hollis pointed to the covers. "On your back, there."

On his back, Taylin had no time to second guess what was about to happen when Hollis dumped a liberal amount of slick over his cock so that it dripped over his knot, down his balls, and dribbled down his taint to his asshole. The feeling was strange but not unpleasant, not when his mate chased it with nimble fingers, slicking everything he touched.

Cool slipperiness became warm with Hollis's teasing strokes as he watched with an avid interest his own hands making Taylin gasp and whimper in arousal. The ache of his knot pulsing hard made nothing else matter right until a slick fingertip touched the rim of muscle guarding his ass.

For a moment, the temptation to tell Hollis to stop despite how aroused he was, warred its own battle inside him. Then Hollis shifted his gaze to Taylin, who got lost under the spell of desperation etched in the tight lines of Hollis's wild expression. Taylin would never deny him.

Their gazes never moved away from each other as Hollis gently caressed, teased and worked to ease the tip of one finger into his ass.

His moan matched Hollis's as he breached him. The burning didn't last more than a couple of breaths and eased the rampant desire to come.

"Okay?" Hollis questioned through clenched teeth, skin glistening in the morning light with sweat, holding perfectly still.

His lips wouldn't unclasp, so Taylin nodded, doing his best to relax when the finger slid a little deeper. The burning sensation became much less and morphed into something that Taylin found unexpected. Need.

He wanted… more.

Whether it was how Hollis was staring at him or from his earlier arousal at the touch to his knot, Taylin didn't analyze. He wanted this. Desired to feel his mate inside him.

When one finger became two, Taylin couldn't tell anyone what his own name was. He bore down instinctively, his desperation to come making his body quake. Wanting Hollis to have what he craved, Taylin panted to hold off the inevitable.

"You need to hurry the fuck up," he demanded huskily when Hollis didn't seem to have the same level of urgency. The hands Taylin had interlaced and hooked under his head to stop himself from touching Hollis or his cock were cramping badly.

"You think you can take me?" Hollis's voice was hardly audible over the pounding of Taylin's heart. His whole body had become sheened with sweat. Right along with Hollis's. His cock looked red and angry, leaving strings of pre-cum on his thigh as he carefully removed his fingers.

The cock wasn't overly long but had some girth that would mean Taylin would feel every inch. "Won't know till you're inside me. "

Hollis groaned, his head dropping between his shoulders for a moment, his body shuddering. "I'll go slow…"

An irrational spurt of jealousy came at the thought of his mate doing this with someone else. "Have you done this before?"

The head shake was immediate. "Never… never wanted to…" his gaze dropped to Taylin's splayed thighs, hard shaft and pulsing knot.

He licked at rosy lips and whispered, "Wanna see… and touch your knot when I'm inside you," like it was a dirty secret.

It triggered a vicious tug to Taylin's balls, and he grabbed for them, frightened he'd come, squeezing them painfully while he demanded, "Get inside me now!"

Between his thighs, Hollis came forward at the sharp command, his cock jerking as he moved to position himself. Taylin was forced to move his hands and sucked in a gusty breath when a second later, the crown of Hollis's cock nudged at his already sensitive hole, causing whorls of pleasure.

Screwing his eyes shut, he panted like an omega in labor and relaxed his asshole at the continuing pressure against the rim. Hollis's breath hit him in short bursts as he sank in slowly past the tight ring of muscle.

Expecting the burn didn't mean he was prepared for just how much more intense it would be. The wide stretch all but knocked the air from him. His lungs ceased as the pressure built in his ass, then Hollis changed the angle and the air exploded from him in a heady burst. Pleasure, the kind he didn't expect, came in a myriad of nerve endings dancing in sync. It blew his fucking mind.

"Do that again," he gasped desperately.

Taylin couldn't say if it was him or Hollis who growled with just how overloaded his brain was with all the competing sensations happening all at once. His cramping fingers flexed and caught some of his curls, adding a bite of pain while he kept his hips from jerking at the invasion. Unsure, despite how good he was feeling, he was ready to slam up onto the thick dick, burning a path of fiery pleasure to his knot. It increased in size and held all of Hollis's rapt attention.

A drip of sweat hit Taylin's nipple, then another as Hollis whimpered. "Your knot is huge." His arms shook on either side of Taylin's body. "Wanna touch it so bad."

Not thinking, Taylin parted his thighs further to grab Hollis's legs and lift them over his. Placing his feet on the mattress, he came up, thrusting the cock deep into his ass unintentionally. It stole his breath, while Hollis wailed, and wiggled to get closer.

It was wholly awkward with how Hollis's ass was on the bed to keep his cock inside Taylin. "Fuck, hang on," he gasped, his brain not functioning at the strain of doing shit that would end this far too quickly.

Hollis didn't listen and one hand grabbed Taylin's left shoulder to hold on while the other dropped between them, moving over his knot.

Taylin shuddered violently when those same fingers squeezed, and his vision turned white. Blindly, gums aching, he opened his mouth, and a second later blood filled his mouth as he bit Hollis's throat. The coppery taste didn't combat the sweetness of his mate when he swallowed, moaned, and sucked on the salty skin, eager for more. The small taste he'd had before didn't prepare Taylin for the explosion of whirling emotions setting light to every cell in his body. He quaked hard enough that Hollis rocked on him. The cock in his ass expanded further, forcing Taylin to shake.

Hollis's groans grew louder as his slicked fingers slid and teased Taylin's knotted flesh, and it was game over. His head arched back at the splendor of the moment, his blood zinging with the new life and he cried out when hot ribbons of cum burst from the tip of his dick, spraying them both and drenching the air with his scent.

"Yes… yes… cover me… mark me…" Hollis cried, panting as he pinned his body against Taylin, who rocked his hips hard enough the bed groaned under them.

"Want to feel your seed inside me," Taylin demanded mindlessly, lost in the throes of his passion. Lost to the need to please his mate.

"Anything for you, love… anything…"