After reaching under his pillow, Michael tossed a condom and a small bottle of lube onto the bed next to Aaron.
“What a boy scout.”
“I try.” He grinned back and pointed at them. “Well?”
Aaron pushed himself onto his knees and sat up, scooping the items off the bed, and raised an eyebrow. He wanted to ask if Michael was sure he was up to this but thought better of it. He couldn’t stop his gaze from darting to the five angry scars on Michael’s side, though.
“I’m fine.”
Aaron gestured between them. “What do you want?”
“I want you to fuck me.” Looking down at Aaron’s cock, he licked his lips. “We can switch it up later when I can perform at my best.” Aaron laughed but dutifully tore open the condom. “I reckon I’m going to need all my strength to fuck you.”
He said them with a smile but something about the words themselves made Aaron stop and really look at him. Only there for a moment, but the flash of uncertainty was clear to see. Careful not to put all his weight on Michael’s still-healing body, he stretched out on top of him, arms either side of his head. “Just because I’m a shifter, doesn’t mean you need to try harder. There’s nothing you need to live up to, no bar to reach.”
Michael frowned and looked away. “But you’ve fucked other shifters, right?” Aaron nodded. “And they can give you what you need, match your strength. You don’t need to goslow and gentlewith them.” He said the words like they were a bad thing, and Aaron immediately shook his head.
“It’s not about that.” He ran his thumb along the edge of Michael’s jaw. “It’s never about that for us.” Touching their foreheads together, he sighed, then inhaled deeply, letting their combined scents fill his lungs. “I don’t care how strong you can hold me or how hard you fuck me.”
“What then?” Michael’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
Aaron smiled and placed a soft kiss on his lips before pulling back a little to see him better. “I care about the way your scent appeals to my wolf as much as it does me. The way I want to protect you with my life, and the way you’re looking at me right now.” Kissing him again, Aaron sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. “But most of all, I care about the way I can’t even think about anyone else. Only you. You’re all I want.”
He kept his eyes shut, afraid he’d said too much too soon. Shifters fell quick and hard.Michael must know that. Even with a human partner, Aaron couldn’t control this side to his instincts, even if he wanted to.
“Look at me,” Michael murmured, hands sliding into Aaron’s hair once more.
Aaron complied and was met with a look so heated he felt it all the way to his bones.
Biting his lip, Michael rolled his hips in a slow, dirty grind. “You’re all I want too.”
“Yeah?” Aaron gasped, the press of Michael’s still-hard cock stealing his focus.
“Yeah.”
Michael kept on grinding against him, and Aaron tried to block out his own fears, but the words “But you’re human” were on the tip of his tongue.
As if he’d said them out loud, Michael added, “I know I’m not a shifter, and I can’t feel things to the extent you can, but this… whatever this is between us… it’s different.”
“How?” Aaron asked, desperate to know.
Michael half laughed, half moaned. “I don’t know… I justfeeldifferent. Feelmore.” He ran a hand through his hair and Aaron sensed his frustration. “I don’t know how to explain it.”
Aaron cupped his jaw and guided him to look at him. “You don’t need to.” Just hearing him say that this was different, thattheywere different, was more than enough. “I understand.”
“Thank fuck, because words are failing me right now with your cock pressed against me like that.” He grinned up at him, and Aaron was so done. “Can we just fuck now, talk later?”
Laughing, Aaron leaned down and kissed him hard, his tongue seeking out his mouth in a kiss he hoped conveyed everything. “Yeah.”
Grabbing the condom from the open packet, he sat up and rolled it on, enjoying the way Michael watched him. As a shifter, he didn’t need to use one for safety, but Michael had given it to him, so he’d respect that. He slicked his fingers with lube, slow and deliberate.
“I don’t need much prep,” Michael offered, eyes dark. “We might need to take it slow, but I like the burn.”
Aaron took him at his word, working one finger in, then another, but drawing back after a few moments to line up his cock. Their eyes met as he pushed inside.
“Fuck.” Aaron gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the way his body immediately responded. Michael felt so good he was in danger of coming far too soon. And his scent… Aaron couldn’t help himself; he ducked his head, burying his nose in the juncture of Michael’s neck and shoulder, and inhaled.
Michael gripped his shoulders, fingers digging into the muscle as Aaron thrust into him.
