Page 12 of Destined Prey
Ben took his time studying that thickening bulge before slowly bringing his gaze back up to Jack’s—just in time for Rhett to step in front of Jack and glare at Ben.
“Why don’t you just strip him here in the produce section, bub?” Rhett all but growled. “Jesus Christ. Mrs. Elgiers would have keeled over if she’d seen you looking at my little brother that way.”
Ben had been prepared for the possibility that he’d have to deal with Rhett in some manner. He just hadn’t really thought ofwhathe’d do in case of a confrontation with him.
Jack reached around and grabbed hold of Rhett’s arm, then tugged, hard, sending Rhett stumbling backward as Jack moved past him. “I can take care of myself, Rhett, but thanks. Why don’t you get the cereal and cookies?”
Rhett touched Jack’s cheek, and Jack looked at him. “You sure?” Rhett asked. Then he touched Jack’s side, and Ben remembered the way Jack had been hurting the night before.
Jack’s cheeks darkened with a blush. “It’s fine.I’mfine.”
The look Rhett gave him said otherwise, but Rhett merely nodded, then took the basket and headed to the cereal aisle.
Ben told himself it was now or never, which likely wasn’t true. Still, it gave him the balls to close the distance between himself and Jack, although he kept out of Jack’s personal space.
“I’m Benjamin Akers.” Ben held out his hand. “I live about half an hour outside of town. You’re Jackson Tucker.”
Jack blinked at the sound of his full name, something about the way Ben said it making his stomach flip. It didn’t feel like gossip anymore. It felt personal, weighted, like Ben was rolling the syllables around in his mouth to taste them. Jack swallowed hard, unsettled by how much that tiny thing affected him.
He grimaced. “So you must have heard the gossip.” He glanced around, then moved farther down the produce aisle. “Thank God this place is dead tonight.”
Ben followed him, wondering what was going to happen next.
Jack stopped in a nook by the swinging doors leading to the back of the store, where stock was probably stored. “Are you just out to tease the local queer boy?”
Ben almost snarled at that, but he could see why Jack would be wary. There was a strong attraction between them, and Ben could smell Jack’s arousal now. And his fear.
“I haven’t heard any gossip. I’m not exactly popular in town, either. We’ve only been around here for a year or so. And what’s happening is this.” Ben moved a little closer, then slowly reached out to put a hand on Jack’s hip.
The moment his palm brushed Jack’s body, Ben felt the man shiver. Jack’s breath hitched, shallow and uneven, and a flush crept up his neck, bright even in the dim light. His pulse leapt, beating fast under delicate skin, and the scent of nervous want thickened in the air. Jack didn’t step back. If anything, his body angled closer, subtle but undeniable, and Ben’s chest tightened with the instinct to haul him in and never let go.
He bent and whispered against Jack’s ear. “I want you. You want me. Everything else, we can figure out as we need to.” He wanted to linger, to press closer and lick the shell of Jack’s ear.
If they hadn’t been in a public place, Ben would have done that and more.And if Jack wasn’t hurt. Something’s wrong with his side.He brushed his hand over Jack’s left side, then lowered his hand. He felt Jack shiver, heard the swift inhalation of his breath, smelled the even stronger aroma of need. Moving away from Jack, even if it was only a foot or two, almost physically hurt Ben.
What the hell is happening?Before he could panic over it, a calmness washed away everything but the lust swelling between them. “I’ve never felt like this before. Never wanted anyone so bad.”
Jack gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He tipped his head down, as if he were studying the floor or the tips of his shoes.
Ben ached to caress his nape, to say or do something to reassure Jack that he was safe, though what from, Ben didn’t know. The instinct was riding along Ben’s nerves, and he didn’t understand it at all.
“Me neither,” Jack whispered after a long moment of silence. “I…I don’t know what to do. This feels so intense. Why?” He looked up at Ben.
Ben didn’t have an answer, but he knew one thing. He needed to kiss Jack, to soothe his trembling lips more than he needed his next breath.
“Come outside with me?” Ben asked. “Let me kiss you.”
Jack’s chest hitched, and for a second, then two, Ben thought he’d say no.
Jack surprised him with a quick nod. “Okay. I know just the place.”
Instead of heading outside, though, Jack slipped past the swinging doors.
Ben followed him like a dog on a leash. He’d been right about the back being used for storage, but Ben didn’t care. He dropped his gaze to Jack’s lean, pert ass, and followed that sweet bit until Jack opened another door, then they were outside, in a dark alley, with only a weak light over the exit door to illuminate anything.
Ben didn’t need that light. He could see just fine in pitch-black darkness—thanks to the shifter in him.
“I have to know if it’s real,” Jack was saying, reaching back for him.
