“This is fine, thank you. Graham.” It seemed the safest choice. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to provide this room for their mating. He didn’t want to appear unappreciative.
Graham seemed satisfied with his answer. “Good.” He stood. “We’re, ah, going to mate tonight. You know that, of course. And this isn’t your first time, so you know what’s coming.” The beta cleared his voice and he seemed…nervous?
Not possible. He’s a dominant.
Graham started to undress, sitting again to kick off his boots and strip off his socks. “The thing is, it’s going to be different. I think your first time being mated and all the times you’ve been mounted haven’t been the best experience. To say the least,” he added in a mutter before standing again.
He stripped off his shirt and all those dominant muscles gleamed in the lamplight. His arms were like sinewy rope and his broad chest narrowed to a V of rippling abs. Every inch of tight skin was a series of steep hills and sharp valleys. The sight gave Tripp mixed emotions. As a servient, he appreciated the raw power on display, but also feared it. That was even more so when Graham slid his pants down and off. A long, thick cock sprang forward, eager to claim him. The tip of it was a shiny red and the shaft had bulging veins on either side. Large balls hugged the man’s body. The beta’s dick was bigger than Victor’s had been, which seemed impossible. And terrifying.
All Tripp could think was that Graham was right—this time would be different; it would be worse. Naturally, a dominant wouldn’t think like that. They viewed achieving their own pleasure as something a servient should find pride and happiness in accomplishing. It was an honor to service a dominant no matter the price paid. Tripp knew better. It was impossible to find any satisfaction when in pain and feeling degraded. Mounting brought joy to dominants only and the best a servient could do was endure without complaint.
There was no way he could say any of that. He simply dropped his gaze and tried not to voice his fright.
Graham placed one knee on the bed. Tripp immediately turned onto his hands and knees, not needing to be told what to do. He was trained well enough. Instead of pushing between his legs, however, the beta took him gently by the shoulders and turned him around again. He settled him onto his back and lay on his side facing him.
Tripp didn’t understand what was happening and couldn’t help flinching when the beta cupped his face.
Graham stroked Tripp’s cheek. “Please don’t be afraid of me. I will never hurt you.”
Tripp could only gaze up at the ceiling and nod. The man sounded sincere and probably was. Something would happen, though, to test that intent. Tripp would make a mistake or bother him in some way and then the promise would be broken. This was the way of dominants. He could only hope that Blake was right that things wouldn’t be as bad, and maybe pretty good—most of the time.
The beta kept stroking his cheek with his thumb. “I’m going to show you that I can be trusted, Tripp. It starts with giving you the pleasure you should experience from being mounted. This isn’t only for me. You’ll enjoy it, too.”
Tripp doubted the man’s words until he leaned down and brushed his lips against Tripp’s. This was only the second time in his life being kissed and he was surprised to find that he really did like the contact. It had a soothing effect. At least it did until Graham claimed his mouth more firmly, his hand angling Tripp’s face for better access. He didn’t know what to do with his own hands or whether he should remain passive. That was the safest course of action, given his lowly status. Yet something stirred within him, not a frisson of fear, but of some unnamed excitement that caused his body to flush. The sensation intensified when Graham pressed his tongue against Tripp’s lips in a wordless demand to gain entrance. No, not a demand, more of a…plea?
He opened up on a half-sigh, half-whimper, not knowing what it would feel like for someone else’s tongue to invade his mouth. His eyes shut despite his wariness of what was to come. Graham’s firm grip ensured he kept his face right where he needed it to be and once that dominant’s tongue twined with his, he found he liked it. It was a gentle touch, one that coaxed him to join in instead of remaining still. Tripp shyly tested the invitation by stroking Graham’s tongue with his own.
A groan, deep and rumbling from the beta gave Tripp courage to participate more. While he didn’t dare touch this man in any other way, he used his lips to exchange short kisses once Graham pulled back to give them both an easier time to breathe. The beta slid his hands down from Tripp’s face to stroke his neck, then his chest. He plucked one of Tripp’s nipples, making him whimper and jump, although not from fright. Strange things were happening to his entire body. His skin became sensitive and his balls tightened. Something slick slid out, past the puckered ring of his hole. He clenched instinctively and shivered from the sensation. He remembered the same thing happening during his heat. Only then, he was mindless of what it meant and it didn’t stop his mate from hurting him during the mounting.
Graham let go of his mouth with a soft tug of his lower lip, then groaned and nuzzled Tripp’s neck. “Your scent is driving me mad. Gods, I want you so badly. Let’s see how ready you are.”
Although he had no idea what the beta meant by that last statement, he took some pride in hearing that he was somehow pleasing his mate-to-be. It was a first for him and was based purely on how the beta was giving instead of only taking. That alone might be enough to ensure a happier, kinder mating. He remained pliable as Graham rolled him onto his side facing away from him.
The beta ran his hand over Tripp’s rounded belly. “We’re going to be careful about this. It’s a bit of an obstacle. Still, I can have access to your neck for the bonding bite even in this position.”
Graham’s hand continued its journey past Tripp’s hip and across his ass. The man’s thumb slid down the crevice between the cheeks and circled his hole. Then it pressed inside, the slickness coming from Tripp easing the way.
“Oh!” Tripp couldn’t stop the exclamation even though he was used to keeping his expressions to himself. The shock of pleasure that ripped through him as Graham worked his thumb around Tripp’s channel was nothing like anything he’d ever felt before.
“That’s it, baby. Feels good, doesn’t it? You’re supposed to enjoy mounting as much as I do. I’m going to show you just how much.” He thrust his thumb in and out.
Tripp’s mind reeled from the intense sensations swamping him. He didn’t understand why they were happening or where they were leading. He cradled his belly with one arm while the hand of his other one clawed at the bedding. Something was building inside him. It was terrifying and thrilling.How can it be both?He clenched his hole as Graham removed his thumb entirely, in a futile effort to keep it in place.
Graham chuckled and peppered soft kisses along Tripp’s jaw. “I have something much better to replace it with.” He cupped Tripp’s balls and gave them a tiny squeeze before gripping his dick.
Tripp’s cock had fully hardened and risen as much as his belly permitted. It was impossible that the beta was lavishing it with attention, running his fingers up and down the shaft. Tension within him increased to a point where he started to shiver and moan. He wanted something, needed it, yet had no idea what to plead for even if he’d dared to speak of it.
“That’s it, baby. Almost there.” As Graham gave his words of encouragement, he positioned himself closer to Tripp’s back.
He knew what was coming but was too distracted by the pleasure to feel any fear. Graham’s cock slid past his hole, filling his ass, stretching the tender channel, yet there was no real pain. There was a fullness and a pressure that wasn’t strong enough to distract him from the wave crashing over him. Tripp arched against the man mounting him and cried out as his balls cramped and his dick jumped. Warmth splashed inside of him, and at that moment, Graham struck.
The bite at the back of his neck caused Tripp to cry out with a mixture of pain and pleasure. Then his mind went blank and his body collapsed into bonelessness. A deep howl reverberated inside his head. He knew that sound, understood he was once more connected to a dominant. And even though this mating had come with a dumbfounding experience of pleasure, his wolf didn’t dare make himself known. The animal part of him whimpered and curled deeper inside him. He wanted to reassure his wolf that this time seemed to be different. Exhausted as he was, all he could do was give into the blackness stealing over him.
Chapter Four
Graham joined his mate under the covers once he’d cleaned them both up and gently rolled Tripp onto his back. The mounting had been intense and Graham’s legs were still a little wobbly. He’d lost count of how many times he’d come, but he felt a little guilty that Tripp had passed out—as was often the case after being bitten—and likely unaware the mounting had continued. Except Graham had managed to wring another orgasm out of the omega as the boy had stirred into semi-consciousness. The obvious pleasure he’d brought to his mate caused his wolf to yip with pride. Sadly, there had been no response from Tripp’s, a disappointment because it was one of the aspects of mating that Graham had been looking forward to. The omega’s wolf was hiding too deeply to reach despite repeated efforts. The effect of the prior trauma to the omega was clear and it made Graham furious all over again about how the boy was treated. Things were different now because Graham was nothing like that fucker of a mate.
I was the first.
