Page 77 of In This Iron Ground
Nasir smiled, and this time it was all wolf. He pulled Damien in for a kiss and Damien didn’t even think of not falling into the embrace.
Damien walked to Hakan’s, distracted. He thought about the essay he’d just written, wondering if the paragraphs were in the right place, if it flowed.
He reached the last step and was on the landing of Hakan’s floor when the werewolf’s door burst open. Damien yelped, almost tumbling down the stairs as he flinched away. Hakan grabbed him by the front of his hoodie, pulling him onto safer ground.
“Jesus, Hakan!” Damien said, trying to breathe through his racing heart. When he looked up at him, however, it only raced faster.
Hakan’s expression was a loop in time, a hole back to the day Damien had been told he was going to be fostered by the Salgados and he had reacted by hiding in the forest. Hakan’s wide eyes, his flaring nostrils, the wildness about him.
“What? Hakan, what is it?” Damien said, suddenly afraid. Hakan let go of him, stepping away.
“You…you smell like, like, other-wolf,” Hakan said. Damien blinked for a moment before comprehension dawned. The sudden embarrassment that stiffened his limbs was completely unwelcome.
“Yeah, well, I may or may not be sleeping with a werewolf,” Damien said, irritated.
Hakan stared, the expression leaching from his face until it was completely blank. Damien had never seen anything more terrifying.
“Hakan, what—Jesus!” Damien startled as Hakan half-moon shifted. Damien stared incredulously at the muzzle-like transformation, the hair and the yellow eyes and the fangs. “Hakan,” he hissed. “Are you crazy? Anybody could see you!” He pushed Hakan into the apartment, looking behind him to make sure they were alone. Thankfully, Hakan went without complaint.
By the time the door was shut behind them, Hakan had slipped out of the shift. He took a few steps away from Damien and started pacing in short, quick lines, pulling at his hair. Damien had never seen him so agitated.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Damien bit out, irritated now.
Damien was clearly being judged, which defied logic. Hakan had casual sex, so it couldn’t be that. Nadie had slept with other werewolves in the past, so it couldn’t be that either.
“Is this how you react every time you smell another wolf? ’Cause if that’s the case, it’s pretty fucked up.”
“No, Damien, just…give me a moment,” Hakan pleaded.
“Fine,” Damien said. A few seconds passed. “If this is you judging me for sleeping with him, I’m seriously going to—”
“I’m not judging you! Fuck, it’s not…just…” He pulled at his hair again, harder this time.
Damien’s anger transformed into worry. There was something happening that he wasn’t aware of. Damien took a few steps towards Hakan, who froze immediately, looking at him.
“You’re scaring me, Hakan,” Damien said softly.
Hakan drew in a sharp, quick breath. “I’m not—I would never hurt you,never.”
“I knowthat. Jesus, you really are a mess.” Damien slowly put a hand on Hakan’s arm. Hakan tensed further. He almost seemed to be holding his breath.
“I. You’re the only pack I have here. You smell…he…” Hakan struggled for words. Damien sighed. He had to acknowledge that Hakan had instincts Damien couldn’t judge with human parameters.
“Okay, I’ll go wash it off, but we’re having a talk afterwards. This can’t happen every time I smell like another shifter,” Damien said. He could almost hear Hakan’s jaw grind at that, but the werewolf nodded.
“Okay.” He was staring at Damien’s neck as if completely entranced. “Can I…can I?” Hakan almost mumbled.
Damien frowned for a moment in confusion before it clicked. If Hakan washing the scent off with his own calmed him down quicker, then Damien was willing to suffer the werewolf’s hand on his neck.
“Fine,” Damien said. Hakan looked startled at the permission. Which made sense a moment later.
Hakan’s hand on Damien’s nape was expected. The way he leaned down, pressing his face into the side of Damien’s neck, wasn’t.
Damien’s throat clogged. He could feel Hakan’s breath, the sudden heat of his body, his hair brushing his forehead and cheek. He was suddenlythere. Damien’s hands rose on instinct to clutch at the material on Hakan’s shoulders.
That close, there would be no mistaking the scent of arousal curling from Damien.
Hakan made a small noise and Damien would swear to God that his own toes curled inside his shoes as it puffed across sensitive skin. Damien closed his eyes and tried to contain himself, the tangle in his stomach and his racing heart, but then a hot, wet lick was pressed to the side of his neck.
