Page 25 of Wolf Reborn

At this point, he had taken advantage of Miles in every way possible. He’d lied to him for months, bitten him and turned him into a werewolf, and had sex with him, twice now, under false pretenses.

The first time, Gavin hadn’t admitted he was a werewolf. The second, he hadn’t admitted Miles was a werewolf.

He was becoming a consummate liar.

How the hell was he supposed to tell Miles he was a werewolf? “So about that talk we were supposed to have, I guess it’s even more important now.” Or maybe, “So werewolves are pretty cool, right? Congratulations!”

One thing was for sure: he could not sleep with him again without telling him. He was probably buzzing with newfound lycanthropic energy or something, and that was why he’d been so enthusiastic about the sex.

Well, that or the usual life-affirming need to fuck or be fucked after thinking you were going to die. Gods knew Gavin had done that. Hell, one time after a mission, he and Dez had almost made a mistake...

That time, though, he’d done the right thing and stopped, because as Dez’s commanding officer, it had been highly unethical. Plus adding sex to a relationship tended to take away basic common sense, and even then, he’d needed Dez for so much more than sex.

A little like he needed Miles now, only with Dez it was a few hundred percent less sexy, so easier to walk away from. No offense to Dez, but Gavin had never been into men taller than himself. Shallow, maybe, but something in him chafed at it.

It probably hadn’t helped that he and Dez were both unrelenting tops. They would have annoyed the fuck out of each other in a week, maximum, and never had sex that satisfied both of them.

Miles hummed in his sleep and reached out, patting around for Gavin. When he didn’t immediately find him, he roused. When his hand found a “yellow” flavored cream-filled sponge cake wrapper, he pulled back and his eyes snapped open.

He eyed the snack cakes and pastries littering the rug and quirked an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me this is the bounty from the kitchen?”

“Not all of it, but I figured it would be your favorite part.”

Miles rubbed his face as he sat up, unconsciously leaning toward the fire. Finally, he scanned the pile, brows raising. “This is your hell, isn’t it? No fish? Spinach? Artichoke hearts?”

“There’s a can of soup that looks like it might have spinach in it. I’m sure I’ll survive.” Gavin nudged one of the chocolate snack cakes in his direction. “I know I’ve seen you eating these.”

Miles picked it up and looked it over before a mournful expression took over his whole face. “Sure, but that was before Graham and his cookies. It’s not the same anymore. You spoiled me.”

Gavin winced and didn’t respond. What could he say?Sure, you think that now. Wait till you realize you’re a werewolf.

“Hey,” Miles said, dropping the cake and reaching out to take Gavin’s hand. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I’m sure they’ll be fine. I take it we’re not getting out of here?”

Gavin blinked. He hadn’t even considered leaving. He hopped up and went to the door, opening it to look out at the snow that had gathered since he’d brought Miles in.

“Whoa,” Miles whispered, coming up behind him, still naked and staring out at the soft, silent blanket of white.

“That would be a no,” Gavin confirmed, and the words echoed off the snow around them, seeming a dozen times louder than they’d been. He flinched and closed the door.

Miles gave an enormous shiver, took a deep breath, and nodded. Then he leaned against Gavin.

Dammit. Becoming a werewolf didn’t automatically fix all things. He knew that. And he’d still had rough sex with a man who’d almost died, and now he was standing him in front of an open door that led into thigh-high snow drifts. He swept Miles up into his arms and carried him back over to the rug in front of the fire.

Miles didn’t protest. He didn’t so much as twitch as Gavin set him down, sweeping the sugary snack junk out of the way and laying him parallel to the fire, just a few inches away from the bricks. All he did was watch.

“Need to keep you warm,” Gavin muttered, as though he needed to explain that, of all things. “You almost died.”

He fell onto his ass next to Miles, staring at the furry black rug right next to his chest. He couldn’t look him in the eye, because then he’d have to explain why Miles was not only alive but was in astonishingly good shape for someone who’d been dying a few hours earlier.

He had to answer the question. He just didn’t know how to say, “I couldn’t lose you,” without doing exactly that.

13

Can’t Fight This Feeling

Miles couldn’t keep himself from reaching for Gavin, and he didn’t even try. He took his hand and held it tight, pulled it over to his chest and pressed it to his heart.

For a moment, he closed his eyes and focused on that. Gavin’s hand on his heart. His heartbeat. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Gavin’s pulse in his own wrist, beating in perfect time with his.

---