Phoenix Reborn (Alpha Pack, #7.5)(8)

No matter how many miles his feet carried him, it would never be far enough.

He couldn’t shake the memory of Noah’s lips against his. So soft and yet with the right amount of firmness. Their mouths slowly devouring each other, Noah’s body responding so quickly to his attention. He’d enjoyed his mate’s hand in his hair, too, and wanted him to do that often.

And didn’t that just freak him the f*ck out?

He wasn’t supposed to love the hell out of touching another dude. Kissing him. Wasn’t supposed to want to bury his cock inside his sweet nurse so badly he thought he’d die from the anticipation if he made himself wait much longer.

Sure, he’d been with both boys and girls in high school. And men and women later, when he joined the Navy. But his hookups with men were furtive, secret. Women were a cover for his true self and he knew it. Not a single one of those experiences could compare to the explosive reaction when he’d kissed Noah. Not even close.

None of them were his mate.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” he growled in anguish, stopping to stare at the sky through the treetops. “Why him?”

That was as much self-honesty as he could handle for now.

Stripping off his shorts, he shifted into his wolf form and ran. As fast as he could, he raced through the forest along the familiar trails. Wildlife stirred, small game that he chased but didn’t bother to kill and eat. He was out for the air, to clear his head. Maybe if he ran his wolf into exhaustion, the damned beast would be too tired to bitch and whine at him about not taking his mate yet.

As if.

Still, he ran anyway. When he finally came to his favorite stream, he stopped and shifted back into human form. His run had been exhilarating, but he was frustrated and pissed to find that it had done nothing to lessen his arousal. As he knelt in the mossy earth by the stream, his cock stood hard and proud, jutting out from his body, red and aching.

With a curse, Nix took himself in hand, palming the rigid length. Instantly he pictured Noah, on his knees, taking Nix’s cock between those plump lips and down his throat. He imagined that sweet face looking up at him, blue eyes heavy with desire. With the knowledge that as soon as Nix got finished shooting, he’d lap up the offering and get ready, because they were going for round two.

What would Noah look like on his hands and knees, firm ass stuck up in the air, ready for his cock? Fucking great, he imagined. Especially when Nix began to slide inside—

“Oh, f*ck!”

That’s all the fantasizing it took, and he erupted over his fist, shooting ribbons of come into the stream in front of him. When the spasms faded, he sat back on his heels and heaved a deep breath, hands on his thighs.

“Man, you’re royally screwed,”

Yep. He had it bad. And he had no idea what the hell to do about it.

*

Melina was fond of comparing Noah to a squirrel on crack.

Nix couldn’t say he disagreed. When the man was forced to sit still for very long, it was not a good situation. Today he was being discharged from the hospital inside Sanctuary, which was great, but Noah didn’t seem to know the meaning of the word “rest.”

“You instruct your patients to take it easy all the time,” Nix pointed out. “Can’t you follow your own advice?”

His mate paused in the act of pulling on a pair of loose sweats and gave him the stink-eye. “Haven’t you heard that doctors and nurses make the absolute worst patients in the history of ever? I rarely follow my own advice.”

“That’s just stupid.”

“Oh no. You did not just call me stupid.” Blue eyes narrowed.

“No! Not you, just doctors and nurses in general. Christ, I don’t know why I thought having a man for a mate would be any different than having a woman! I still have to be super f*cking careful about everything I say.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Jeez. Never mind. Need some help?”

“I can manage, thanks.”

He was already worn out, though. He sat on the bed with a sigh, wearing nothing but the sweat pants, and looked as tired as if he’d gone three more rounds with the tiger.

“Here.” Grabbing the shirt he’d brought over this morning from his own quarters, he went to put it on over his mate’s head.

“I’m not completely helpless. I can put on a shirt.”

“Noah? Shut up.”

“Fine.”

Finally the man allowed himself to be dressed and assisted with his tennis shoes without further bitching. For his part, Nix was surprised to learn how much he enjoyed taking care of his mate.

This protectiveness was a strange new feeling. No one he’d ever been with, male or female, had inspired the need inside him to keep them close and safe. To rip apart any who might hurt them.

That feeling seemed to be reserved for one hot blond.

“Ready?” he asked Noah.

“As I’ll ever be.”

After getting the official discharge from Melina, Nix led them out of the room. Some of Noah’s coworkers said good-bye on the way out, advising him once again to take it easy before coming back. Nix led his mate to the corridor that connected Sanctuary with the main building at the compound where the Pack and the rest of the staff lived.

There were a couple of security doors to pass through along the way, and Nix keyed in the codes. Once they were in the main building, he took them down several turns until finally they stopped at his room. One more code and they were inside.