Colin nodded, bumping his chin. “That’s fair. So now, I can touch you?”
“Please.”
“All over?”
“Anywhere you like. You should know the goods before we start sticking them into each other. If we’re gonna go all in, don’t you wanna know what you’re getting as your part of the deal? We wouldn’t want you disappointed.”
“Judd, sweetie, that is so completely not possible.” His voice was amused.
“Don’t lose that.”
“What?”
“The sweetie.”
Colin gasped. “Really? Even in public, in front of the rest of the pack? I could call you that? You don’t mind them knowing?”
“Of course not.” Of course Judd wanted to be publicly owned by Colin! Who wouldn’t want that? “I expect Alec and Isaac will rake me over the coals for taking advantage of you, but I’m not afraid to be seen as yours. Temporary or not. Can’t keep a secret as smelly as sex in a pack. And you’re mine while we do this, okay? No one else for either of us.”
Colin bumped him with another nod. “No one else, promise. As if I could look at anyone else while sharing your bed. Ridiculous man. Remember, you take up all the oxygen in the room.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know, but I like it. We established that. Back to touching?”
“I’ve no idea what you’re waiting for. Talk talk talk. Who knew you were so chatty?” Judd allowed frustration to enter his teasing.
Colin, amazingly, laughed.
Judd felt like he was king of some very small ginger castle. He lay still.
Colin went to work torturing him.
Torture it certainly was. Those pristine graceful hands fluttering over him – long tapered fingers tentative at first. Colin started with what he could reach while still lying on top of Judd. A stroke down Judd’s dangling arm with one hand. Fingers started by wrapping around Judd’s bicep. Colin was unable to get them all the way around. Judd was secretly proud of that. Colin then stroked down over the crease in Judd’s arm. Around the coarseness of his elbow. He licked his lips, eyes sparking with orange.
Frowning, frustrated, limited by his position, Colin leaned up and scooted back. He straddled Judd’s upper thighs. Judd forced himself not to move. He wanted everything all at once, so fiercely and so much.
“Would you take your shirt off?” Colin asked.
Judd swallowed, nodded. Tried to think only about the importance of the kid asking for what he wanted, voicing a desire. When really Judd was so proud to be asked. Delighted by the opportunity to show off. To this boy. His Gingersnap.
Judd’s answer was to sit up, strip out of his t-shirt, easy and quick.
Colin stared down. A pink tongue-tip poked out between his full lips. His eyes went almost completely orange. Judd was flattered. He preened under the arousal he’d caused.
“Oh, wow. I mean. I’ve seen you bare before, but never for me to touch.”
“All for you,” rumbled Judd. Wondering if his own eyes had gone yellow.
Judd knew what he looked like. He knew it was pretty darn spectacular. His body was most of what he had to offer a potential lover, since his brain wasn’t anything to write home about. Certainly not for someone as brilliant as Colin.
But his body was great. Of course it wasn’t to Judd’s own personal taste. Brawny brute was not what Judd yearned for in a lover. Judd was built for fighting. He’d put muscle on easy and kept it on after becoming a werewolf.
He’d been very fit and very strong when he took the bite. Back then, it was thought a man had to be as physically powerful as possible to survive metamorphosis. They didn’t know about the triple helix or recessive genes or shifter sequencing. Judd had trained for years, ran the highlands for hours, helped local farmers with their harvest, lugged boulders for stonemasons. He wasn’t sure if that helped him to look the way he did now, or if it was mostly genetics. Either way, he was enforcer enough to be smug about his body.
He was aging, very slowly, but it was there. After Saturation he’d had to shave – once a year or so and these days he occasionally caught some silver. Still, he stayed as fit as the supernatural lifestyle permitted. So he didn’t look that different from when he’d been bitten, decades ago.
Colin seemed to appreciate it. Those beautiful hands, stroking over Judd’s body, felt reverent. They worshiped the coarseness of the tightly curled hair on Judd’s chest. The fine fingers brushing over his nipples were full of