wonder what it would be like to go to bed with Eli, and had been thinking of doing something about it but hadn’t, was no reason to feel guilty.
He still wanted to cheer the man up a little. “Well, I’m supposed to be good luck, right?”
Andrew grinned. “Sure.”
Chris felt like an idiot, but said, “I gift you with enough luck to
find a male mate.”
Andrew laughed.
Chris did, too. “Yeah, that was pretty dumb.”
“But funny. Thanks.”
Chris nodded. At least he got the man smiling. “No problem.”
Andrew pushed away from the wall they were leaning against andstretched his hands over his head. “Think I might go for a run. You should head inside soon, before the mosquitoes come out looking for a snack or something.”
Chris nodded, looking up at the sky now, as though he would be able to see them coming. “Yeah. Don’t like them too much.”
“Little vampires, they are. You take care.”
“You, too,” Chris said, watching as Andrew headed for the tree line. He was an alpha. He would be all right.
He stayed where he was for another minute before he put the lid back over the cooler.
Chris took one step toward the cabin where he was supposed to be staying then stopped.
Biting his lower lip, he turned around and headed back to Eli’s
78 Marcy Jacks
house.
* * * *
Eli had known what the full moon would do to him, being so close to his mate but still having not claimed him yet. The problem was that he’d forgotten that the full moon was tonight.
It was bad enough that he sometimes heard James and Corey going at it since his cabin wasn’t all that far away from theirs. Every mated wolf in the pack would be rutting like rabbits tonight.
Eli stopped pacing like a caged animal in his kitchen. He needed to prepare himself an ice bath before the fiery temperatures his body was producing made him pass out.
He doubted that would be enough to make his dick go down though. He’d already had it in hand twice after Chris left, and it was still rock solid and pulsing.
He was just about to get into the bathroom again, and this time get naked, when he heard the click of the door. Eli had forgotten to lock it, and he expected to see…He wasn’t sure what he expected, but it definitely wasn’t Chris.
“What are you doing here? You should go.” Go before I do something we’ll both regret.
Chris still had his hand on the door handle. He was looking down at it, as though contemplating his own actions, before he looked up and met Eli’s eyes.
What he saw there made Eli so hopeful it was scary. Then Chris lifted his T-shirt over his head, revealing that beautiful chest Eli had wanted to see so badly since that time in the motel.
Eli’s whole body went stiff. His cock, already erect for what seemed like hours now, just made a little longing twitch. “If you don’t leave right now,” Eli said, “I can’t be responsible for what I’ll do.”
Chris wet his lips―was he purposely trying to tease him?―then nodded. “I know. It’s okay.”
Eli’s Reluctant Mate 79
Eli didn’t wait for any more permission than that. Hell, he didn’t want to give Chris the chance to change his mind.
His mind and body went into instinct mode. He ran to Chris. The other man opened his mouth in surprise, but Eli got to him before he could say anything, and he pressed his mouth over Chris’s, stifling any shocked sound he would have made.
He held the smaller man tightly to his chest, pressing them
together. His inner wolf wanted to howl in delight. Finally! Yes, finally!
He fought to maintain some sense of control. He wanted to make sure that if Chris sent him any signal, any sign that he’d changed his mind, that Eli would be able to stop.
But Chris wasn’t fighting him off. His arms didn’t wrap around Eli’s shoulders like he would have preferred, but neither did they try to push Eli away either.
There was the most tentative push back, however, with Chris’s mouth.
Too fast. Eli was moving too fast, giving Chris no chance to participate, but he couldn’t stop himself. This was going to be rough, filled with all the wanting and yearning that Eli had suffered with for nearly a week now.
Still, at least he wasn’t telling Eli to stop.
Eli pressed his tongue into Chris’s mouth, delighting in the taste. His blood sang when Chris widened his mouth to make for an easier entrance, and Eli felt the distinct feeling of Chris’s slick tongue pressing back against his.
Try to slow down. Try to slow down. But he failed miserably when Chris gripped his shoulders.
He wanted this. His mate wanted this, and Eli would be denied no
longer.
He was vaguely aware of the noise of shock Chris made when Eli
grabbed him around the waist and lifted him off of his feet.
He carried Chris down the hall to his bedroom, and in his haste, he
80 Marcy Jacks
kicked open his bedroom door.
Did it just fall off the hinges? It didn’t matter.
They both fell onto the bed, and Eli ground his still-clothed cock against Chris’s groin. He moaned, pressing his face into Chris’s neck, kissing his flesh, feeling the other man’s skin as their chests rubbed together.
“Slow down. Slow down, Eli.”
He thought he was talking to himself again, but those were Chris’s words in his ear, and this time, when he gripped Eli’s shoulders, itwas to push him off just enough for them to look at each other.
“Christ, your skin is hot,” Chris said then looked into Eli’s eyes. “Your eyes are like a wolf’s.”
Were they? Eli couldn’t tell, even as he looked at his reflection in Chris’s mismatched eyes , admiring the different colours.
Okay, control, get control. This was getting serious now. Chris had agreed to be here, and he was going to let Eli finish the claiming,
