Roan was scared, thrilled and more than a little horny. The scared part he was used to; thrilled was a pleasant feeling he could get used to; but the horny side of things wasn’t something that ever happened to him, and he guessed it had to be part of the mating pull. He could already smell Mace’s arousal, although his big mate had far more control than he had. Mace was wearing a dark grey suit, just like Dimitri and Shane did for work, but it was well cut and emphasized the broad chest Roan had only managed to nuzzle once. His fingers ached to touch; to stroke those big arms, slip his hands under that jacket and trace Mace’s pecs. But Roan forced himself to sit still. Mace said he wanted to have lunch and talk. If that’s all he was allowed, then he’d take it gratefully and accept whatever his mate decided for him.
Don’t be a pushover, Roan heard Kalel’s voice in his head. Not actually of course. But Kalel spent a lot of time letting Roan know that the way he’d been raised was wrong. That it didn’t matter if he was an omega wolf and subject to being sold at any Master’s or Mate’s whim. Kalel was adamant that Roan was a person in his own right, and if Mace came anywhere near him and showed a flicker of interest, then according to Kalel Roan should use his god-given assets and claim the man. Then spend the rest of his life showing Mace exactly who would be the boss in their relationship.
Fortunately for Mace, because he was an Omega, Roan didn’t have the urge to pin his mate down, fuck him hard and bite him. Being allowed to bite would be more than enough claiming for him. But to be held down by Mace, to have his spunk coating his insides…. Roan wriggled in his seat, knowing his face was bright red.
“Are you okay?” Mace asked as they pulled into a short driveway.
“Yes, of course,” Roan said, forcing a smile. He looked out of the windshield and saw a small, but well-maintained house sitting in a row of others. “Is this your place?” Then he flushed again. What a stupid question. “It looks nice.” Actually, it looked rather impersonal, but Roan didn’t have it in him to be rude. He followed Mace up the stairs, across a small porch and seconds later they were in Mace’s house. Roan held his breath, wondering what on earth was going to happen now.
/~/~/~/~/
Mace didn’t want to crowd Roan; the man looked skittish enough as it was. But fuck, the urge to pull him into his arms was overwhelming. To stop him doing exactly that, and possibly scaring the man even further, he moved past Roan, allowing his body to brush against the smaller man, on his way to the couch. “Come and have a seat,” he said, patting the space beside him. He didn’t want Roan sitting too far away from him and with his cock threatening the seams of his pants, he wasn’t thinking clearly. Mace had never felt like this with anyone before.
“Is there anything special you’d like on your pizza?” He asked, his eyes drinking in the way Roan moved, how he carefully sat on the couch, not close enough but within arm’s reach.
“I’ve never had pizza,” Roan said. “But there’s nothing I can’t eat except avocados, and I don’t suppose that’s a normal pizza topping.”
“You guys like meat though, right?” Mace said, taking in the slender lines of Roan’s face and mentally kicking himself for thinking with his dick instead of noticing the fact his mate was still too thin.
Roan nodded. “That applies to most shifters,” he said quietly. “Well, predatory ones anyway; I don’t know about bird shifters or maybe squirrels…” He trailed off and looked down at his hands. Mace didn’t want Roan to feel uncomfortable.
“I guess I didn’t think about other types of shifters, although the thought of a squirrel eating steak is funny,” he said reaching for his phone. A couple of meat lover pizzas were quickly ordered, the local shop already having his payment details on file. He swiped the screen, and put his phone on the table, half turning in his seat, so he could see Roan more clearly.
“Do I make you nervous?” Mace always found being blunt about things worked for the best. He wasn’t one for saying nice things or coddling someone, not even his female dates. And he hated trying to guess how another person might be feeling. He and Roan would get on famously if the man was prepared to tell him how he felt about anything; although Shane and Dimitri warned him Roan might not be capable of being more than a people pleaser because of the way he’d been raised.
“Not nervous no.” Roan’s fingers picking at his jeans told a different story. But then Roan surprised him by looking straight at him, his face almost a mask. “I don’t understand what’s going on. I thought you didn’t want me. Why did you ask me to lunch?”
Mace grinned and he could tell Roan was surprised by his reaction. “I owed you an apology, and in my book, treating someone to a meal and talking to them is a good way to go about it.” There, nice and simple.
“You consider pizza an apology?”
Actually, when Roan put it like that, it made Mace sound like a cheapskate and he wasn’t. “I didn’t want other people to look at you,” he said, flustered, because yep, one fucking pizza wasn’t going to make up for what Mace had put Roan through. But it seemed his mouth was running well ahead of his brain.
“You don’t like the way I look? What’s wrong with me?” Roan was looking at his clothes, his hand stroking over his hair as though it was a mess – and it really wasn’t, but all of a sudden Mace wanted it to be. A brilliant dark mess all over his pillows.
“You look perfect,” he said, closing the distance quickly, pulling Roan into his arms. “You are perfect. I’m just a big Neanderthal who doesn’t want other men looking at you, or women for that matter, and thinking they can have you.”
“That’s pretty possessive behavior. The sort of thing a mate would do. What made you change your mind?” Roan asked, although he didn’t pull away and instead his hands landed on Mace’s chest as though they belonged there. Mace felt the touch scorch through his clothing and wondered if his cock had ever been so hard in his life. But Roan was looking at his face, and Mace knew he had to answer.
“I can’t really tell you,” he said determined to be honest. “I just know that when I left you in those cells, I was worried about you. When you curled up in my arms I didn’t want to let you go, and although I know it was me that said you had to go to Dimitri’s place, I’ve been miserable since you went.”
“I’m sorry.” Mace wasn’t sure he liked Roan’s response. “It’s the mating pull,” Roan continued. “I’ve seen a few cases where humans have been a wolf shifter’s mate. You can resist it, even a shifter can if they want to. We don’t have to be mates if you’re not sure.”
“I’ve thought about it,” Mace admitted. Although the last thing he wanted was to be talking, he owed it to Roan to try to explain the way his errant head was feeling. The hurt look that flashed over Roan’s face before he could hide it didn’t help. But Roan’s hands never moved from their spot.
“I’ve never been attracted to men before. I’ve admired their bodies like on pack runs and things, but I’ve never got hard over a man or wanted to fuck one, like I do you.”
“If you fuck me,” damn, Roan’s face was such a fetching shade of pink, but Mace gave the guy credit, he kept on talking despite his obvious embarrassment. “Because I’m an Omega and we’re mates, then once you come inside of me, I’ll be claimed.”
“Won’t you want to bite me?” Mace had been curious about that part, because he knew how important a claiming mark was to shifters. “I thought Ben got upset with Sin because Sin wouldn’t let him claim him?”
“Ben wanted the whole fuck and bite thing,” Roan said dropping his head. “He’s a beta wolf, and that’s kinda usual for them. But I’m an Omega. If I was mated to a shifter then he would come inside of me, biting me at the same time to show I was claimed. As you’re human, you probably won’t want to bite, but your er…spunk,” Roan went on bravely although now he was muttering into Mace’s chest. “Once your spunk is inside of me my scent will change, warning other shifters I’ve been claimed.”
“What if I’d rather use a condom?” Mace was only teasing. The thought of being inside of anyone bareback thrilled him beyond belief. He’d been paranoid about condom usage, and hadn’t even had a blow job without one.
Roan twisted out of his arms and stood up, peeling his t-shirt off revealing pale but flawless skin. Mace’s mouth dropped open. Not that he wasn’t appreciating the show, because he was, but when Roan opened the button his jeans, he yelled out, “Stop.” Roan looked at him, his dark eyes filled with something that looked suspiciously like sadness, the rest of his face a mask.
“I’m appreciating the scenery, but what are you doing? The pizza will be here in a minute.”
“You clearly brought me here to fuck me. I understand you have no intention of claiming me, but I was raised to do my duty to my mate. You’ll be finished before your meal arrives and you’ll save the money you’d have spent in feeding me.” The flat voice threw Mace for a second, but even without being able to scent his mate, he could tell Roan was upset. The man stiffly removed the rest of his clothes, and then without a word, dropped to his hands and knees presenting the most perfect ass in the world to Mace. The sight made Mace moan and he made to move forward, just as Roan’s words forced their way through his addled brain. He immediately slumped back on the couch.
“Fuck,” Mace yelled, frustrated, horny and angry all at the same time. Roan hadn’t moved from his position, his body rigid. “Put your damn clothes on, I can’t think with you tempting me like that.” Roan looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed and his lips tight. Great. Now he’d pissed Roan off after insulting him and he didn’t mean to do either of those things. When would he learn to keep his big mouth shut?