Mace hurried down the hall of the pack house, heading for the room Roan had been using. He’d been at the station for four long hours. Originally Roan had been there too, giving his statement about the kidnapping and Martin’s death. Afterwards the little wolf collapsed in one of the chairs in the interview rooms, looking close to a breakdown. His body was shaking, his face was red with tears and Mace held him as long as he could but work kept pulling him away. Finally, Mace called Ben who’d come down to the station with Gabriel and Sin, and they’d taken Roan home. If two bears and a wolf couldn’t keep him safe, then no one could.
Mace wanted nothing more than to go home too, but he had a job to do, as Shane and Dimitri kept reminding him. Trent still wasn’t saying anything beyond professional exchanges and Mace expected that; but he didn’t have time to apologize and make things right with his friend. The evidence they’d found at the house had to be viewed and logged. Charges were made against Aaron for murder as he featured prominently in the videos Gabriel found. Mace spent almost an hour with the police prosecutor’s office, explaining why they’d let Roan go. As if the laws on kidnapping and self-defense weren’t clear enough.
By the time Mace left the office he felt the familiar tension he’d had while Roan had been gone. His agitation had gotten to the point when he decided his job wasn’t worth it, and he was going to head home anyway, Trent found him and let him know a woman’s body had been found. As Shane and Dimitri were busy coping with the mounds of evidence and trying to ensure that nothing could go wrong in their case against Aaron, Mace and Trent attended the scene. From Roan’s earlier description, Mace knew the woman was Patty and he prayed there wouldn’t be any further deaths. At least not before he’d had a chance to reconnect with his mate.
He carefully opened Roan’s bedroom door, not wanting to wake him if he was asleep. The bed was empty; however there was a sliver of light coming from the partially open bathroom door. “Roan,” Mace called softly. “Are you okay?”
“You can come through,” Roan called back. “I’m in the tub.”
Any feelings of tiredness Mace had completely disappeared, and he embraced a different type of tension as he hurried across the room, peering around the side of the door. Sure enough, Roan was in the bath, although Mace couldn’t see much of his mate’s bubble covered body. He stepped into the room.
“Hey there sweetness, did you manage to get any sleep?”
Roan nodded. His face was still pale and there were smudges under his eyes, but to Mace he’d never looked more beautiful. Although his fingers itched to take out the band Roan had holding his hair out of the bathwater. Mace’d never been a fan of man buns. But the rest of what Mace could see was more enticing than anyone he’d seen before and he felt his body responding. He carefully sat on the edge of the bath, taking Roan’s hand in his, needing the contact.
“I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be able to do my job, precious.” Mace wasn’t sure why he’d even mentioned the turmoil his brain was going through. He just knew he needed to be with Roan more than he needed anything else.
“Is it because of something I’ve done?”
“No, not at all.” Mace wanted to reassure his mate, but in part it was because of Roan that he was thinking of quitting. His job was hardly nine to five and while that never bothered him before, now Mace had someone to come home to, he thought it might be time to do something different. The problem was what. He smiled at Roan who was still looking at him with worried eyes. No one had ever been concerned about him before and it was a heady feeling.
“I’ve never felt so helpless than when you were missing,” he confided in a low voice. “It’s like my whole world vanished in an instant and I panicked. I know it’s only been a small amount of time, but all I want is to be with you, take care of you. Have you take care of me,” he added when he saw Roan’s frown. Roan’s face cleared.
“It’s part of being mates,” Roan explained. “We don’t like to be apart. Most mates try to find a way of working together, but…I…there’s not a lot of things I can do.”
Mace stroked up Roan’s arm and across the side of his pale neck. He felt Roan’s body tremble under his fingers. “Sweetness, all I want is for you to be you. Maybe I could go into security or something, open my own firm, and then you could be my PA. You’re good with people.”
Roan snorted. “I don’t know that many people,” he scoffed, but then his voice went quiet. “You do a really important job, I understand that.”
Mace sighed. “I never had anything in my life except my job before now,” he said. “Okay, I had Trent, he’s an amazing friend, or at least he will be when I get off my ass and apologize to him, but with you…I don’t want to be working all my waking hours when I can be home with you.”
“We have to eat,” Roan said, using his toes to add more hot water to the bath. Then he looked up at Mace, his face flushed. “Not that I was thinking you couldn’t support me or anything,” he said. “It’s just, I know how important your job is to you, and while I’d love for us to work together; I just don’t have any skills that will help with our finances.”
“I don’t want you worrying about that,” Mace said firmly, disappointed when Roan’s shapely foot disappeared under the water again. He’d never considered feet to be a sexy part of the body before, but there wasn’t an inch of Roan that didn’t appeal to his senses. “I have money put away, I own the house, or rather we do. We’re not rich, but we could get by for quite a while even if I wasn’t working.”
“You’d be bored within a month,” Roan said, playfully splashing him. “You’re a go-get-em sort of guy.” Mace had to concede his little mate was right, although he was looking forward to his holiday. The captain pulled him aside just before he left the office and said that once Patty’s body had been processed, and the case was in the pipeline, he could have the time off Roan was promised.
In the meantime, he wasn’t sure why they were still talking. Roan was wet and naked and the bath was big enough for two. “Do you mind if I hop in with you?”
Roan’s eyes widened and a big smile came over his face. “I’d thought you’d never ask.”
/~/~/~/~/
Roan thought his eyes were going to bug out of his head when Mace casually dropped his clothes all over the floor and stood for a moment, before clambering into the bath. Mace was built like an all-in-wrestler. His shoulders were huge, his pectoral muscles two solid slabs and his six pack abs were clearly defined. As Mace flexed his arms, getting into the tub, Roan thought, my stars, those biceps are bigger than my thighs.
He’d never felt so small and yet so cherished than when Mace pulled him into his arms. And the feel of Mace’s skin against his…Roan quickly grabbed a washcloth and squirted some soap on it, hoping to distract himself. He knew Mace wanted him, the cock prodding his thigh told him that much. But he’d never initiated anything with anyone before, and he wasn’t sure how to go about it. But washing someone, taking care of the man he was quickly coming to love, that was well within Roan’s comfort zone.
Mace grunted as Roan skimmed the washcloth over chest and shoulder muscles. Then he groaned when Roan used his fingers to work the tight knots at the base of Mace’s neck. “Yeah, I could get used to this,” he said in his quiet rumble. “You, me and a bathtub, we don’t need anything else.”
Roan chuckled as his fingers moved around Mace’s neck, kneading the tightness he could feel there. He let out a small gasp when he felt Mace’s hands slide up his thighs and back down again. Up again, this time a little higher, Roan wanted to do some moaning of his own, but the bathroom was so quiet, and everything was so soothing, he didn’t want to make a sound. It was like they were in their own private bubble.
“You have such soft skin,” Mace noted, his hands still exploring, nothing heavy, just a firm presence on Roan’s body. Roan blushed, but let his hands do some wandering of their own. There was nothing soft about Mace. Every muscle bulged, it was as though every part of Mace had been professionally crafted and then fitted together with absolute precision. Above water skin was fun, but Roan wanted more, and his hands dropped lower.
“Hmm, you’re heading in the right direction sweetness.”
Roan dropped his head, letting his fingers see for him. The dip where Mace’s hips met his torso, that tantalizing trail of hair leading to a delicious bulge which slapped against his fingers as they curled in the hair around Mace’s cock. Roan felt Mace’s finger in between his ass cheeks and he spread his legs wider. He may never have the confidence to instigate, but he could show encouragement when needed.
As thick fingers brushed against his opening, Roan leaned forward, his face soaked up the dampness of Mace’s skin. His scent, always so strong, was slightly covered by soap, but it was still there, and one strong sniff was all Roan needed for his body to prepare itself for his mate. As he felt Mace’s fingers push inside him, Roan muffled his groan against Mace’s neck. He gave up the pretense of washing his mate, and instead clung to Mace’s shoulders as he felt first two and then three fingers deep inside of him. Mace’s breath quickened the more he explored, and Roan found himself matching breath for breath.
“You going to ride me sweetness?”
Hell yes. Roan managed one flickering thought about water on the floor and then promptly forgot about it. He could clean up. He was good at that. Carefully he maneuvered his body, only to find Mace was gripping the base of his cock, holding it upright from his body. Such a helpful mate, but then Roan could tell how much Mace wanted this, maybe even needed it. Despite Roan’s efforts, Mace’s whole body was tense and Roan could hear Mace’s rapid heartbeat over the splash of the water. He fumbled for just a moment, but Mace’s strong arm was there to hold him.
It didn’t take long before Roan felt what was becoming a welcoming and familiar sense of fullness. Mace truly was built for him in every way and as soon as Roan was seated he moved, wanting to feel those pounding thrusts that Mace had used before. But Mace’s hands on his hips stopped him.
“I want to go slow, sweetness. Can you do that?”
Roan looked up. Mace’s eyes burned with the intensity of his lust, but his scent was true. Roan held Mace’s eyes as he moved slowly, he’d like to think sensually, but he wasn’t sure what that even meant. Mace touched every part of his insides and while Roan’s wolf wanted to be free, wanted for Mace to hold them down and pound into his body, Roan kept control. Using just the lightest touch on Mace’s shoulders for balance, Roan writhed and swayed, clenching his muscles every now and then, loving the way Mace’s body arched when he did it.
“Sweetness…so good….” Roan felt empowered by Mace’s ragged encouragement and he experimented a bit more, flexing his body, imagining he was dancing, moving to a sultry beat only he could hear.
“Fuck, that’s amazing…keep going, right there…” Roan groaned as Mace’s hand landed on his cock, gripping it tight enough so every time Roan moved his hips he could feel the friction of Mace’s work-hardened hands. He wanted to speed up, to feel more of that sensation, but Mace hadn’t said he could…the ache in his lower belly deepened, and he struggled to maintain his pace. Mace’s breath was coming quickly, and the tension in his legs was solid. Roan could feel Mace get slightly larger inside of him and knew he was close.
“Oh fuck…oh fuck…babe…bite me.”
Twisting his face around, Roan’s teeth found Mace’s mating mark easily. As they broke through Mace’s skin, Mace cried out, one hand holding his hip hostage as the other stripped the come that pulsed from Roan’s cock. Roan sucked, once and then again, taking in more of Mace’s life force, feeling their bond deepen with every mouthful of blood. He didn’t stop until Mace shuddered beneath him, a whispered, “enough,” making him pull back quickly, licking the wound clean. He rested his head on Mace’s chest, loving how the man’s arms wound around him, holding him firm.
“I can feel you, you know.” Mace’s softly spoken words didn’t make sense to Roan. He could feel Mace too, from the hardness of his chest muscles to the softening cock in his ass. “Inside, I mean. When you bite me, it’s as though I can feel your every emotion.”
Raising his head, Roan searched Mace’s face. “And now?” He asked, wondering if he’d done something wrong.
“I can still feel you now,” Mace said slowly, a small smile gracing his hard lips. He dropped his eyes for a moment but quickly looked up again. “I’m the first to admit I’m not the right guy when it comes to saying romantic stuff. I don’t know what love is, let alone if that’s what I feel for you. But I can feel the love you have for me, and I want you to know it’s okay.”
“Okay?” Roan wasn’t sure what his mate was fumbling to say.
“I’m not going to shy away from the feelings I have for you, I want to embrace them with both arms. Trent told me, hell, Dimitri and Shane told me, I see it in Ben and his mates, and Peter and Kalel. Mates love each other – I’d be blind if I didn’t notice that.”
“So you don’t mind if my feelings for you are stronger than the way you think you feel about me?” Roan said slowly not sure how he felt about that.
“My feelings are just as strong,” Mace said. “Believe me. What I felt in you, I know that feeling’s in me. Couldn’t you feel it?”
Roan nodded. He knew exactly what Mace was talking about, but like his sturdy mate, he didn’t have experience in love either. He guessed that was how he felt about Mace, and knowing his feelings were returned was more than enough for him, even if those special words weren’t ever spoken.
“We’ll just share this wonderful feeling and to hell with the labels, does that work for you?”
It was Mace’s turn to smile. “Let’s go to bed little mate,” he said softly. “Holding you in my arms while we sleep is one of my favorite times of the day.”