Lone Wolf Ch. 02

The alarm blared and I woke suddenly, my mind leaping from sleep to awareness in an instant as it always did. I smiled as I remembered the night before and realised neither of us had moved an inch all night. Oliver's head was on my chest and my arms wrapped around him. I carefully freed one of my arms to thump at the alarm until it stopped. I felt Oliver's foot rubbing against my leg and one hand stroking my hairy chest. His breathing and heart beat telling me he was also awake.

"I don't want to move," I said, "It is kind of time to kick you out though." I sat up, the sheets sticking to my back and falling away with a stinging sensation and the warm, metallic smell of blood filled my nose. I looked behind me to see red stains were my back had been. "The fuck?"

Oliver pushed me forward and looked at my back. "I, er, clawed your back up last night. You didn't notice?"

I rolled my shoulders and feeling the faint painful tug of the wounds. "Guess I was distracted. It'll be healed in a couple of days."

"Consider it revenge for my shoulder."

I looked down to see the bite mark in Oliver's shoulder, the dried blood where my teeth had cut through his flesh and the deep, purple bruising. "I'm sorry. I've never lost control like that before."

Oliver patted my thigh. "I'm not complaining. I almost came again when you did it to be honest."

I sighed. "I'll try to keep that in mind. Come on. Do you want to have a shower here or when I drop you off at your motel?"

"Here, if that's okay. Motel's hot water is a bit spotty,"

"Go for it," I said, point out the door and across the hall, "I'm going to put these sheets on to wash."

A short time later we were both showered, dressed and finishing our bowls of cereal, then we were out the door and in my car. Going through my morning routine had been so easy I could almost forget Oliver was there, just focussing on starting the day. Being in the car was different. In such a small space, his scent was everything, bringing with it memories of our night and making my cock twitch in my pants, desperate for another go.

When I parked outside his motel, Oliver paused. "Was your suggestion of a real date just a polite brush off or did you mean it because we didn't actually make plans?"

"Um, right," I said, "Sorry, I'm not very good at this. Yeah, I want an actual date. I can skip out early on work on Friday and we can get that pizza. I don't really watch movies but if you want to do that as well, you can pick anything."

"You offering to pay too?" Oliver asked with a cheeky grin, "I'm not some withering maiden in need of a chivalrous knight."

"I know but I've just never dated a man properly. I'm used to being the guy. I mean... You know what I mean."

"Well, I'll think about letting you pay if I get to top next time."

"We'll see." I liked the idea of there being a next time. "Friday, then?"

Oliver nodded. "Pick me up from work."

"I look forward to it."

I watched him walk away, appreciating his strong shoulders and round arse. It would have been a walk of shame except that I certainly was not ashamed and from his confident stride, I doubted Oliver was either.

Work was, as ever, work. It was something to focus on other than worry about this upcoming date. It was true what I said, that I had not dated a guy before. Sex was one thing but I had never found one who held my interest or wanted to stick around longer than breakfast. Maybe I had just looked in the wrong places. I did not think it would be too different from dating a girl, just more smellier and hairier, but I was hardly an expert when it came to women either.

As friday drew closer, I was filled with doubts. I did not get along well with others of my kind. Not that I was really that much more comfortable with humans. I prefered to be on my own and avoid all the complications that came with entanglements, especially with the pack.

But I considered the upside as well. I had spent so long suppressing that part of myself, rejecting the pack and only shifting when I had no other choice. I could feel that pull though, that need to run wild and free under the stars. It would be different to run with another and I wondered whether I was ready to share that part of my life with someone, especially someone who understood.

Although I managed to keep my brain on task enough to get through work, my cock had other ideas, I had the self control to keep the worst reactions at bay, even when I caught myself thinking back to my night with Oliver. I did, however, have a permanent semi that I might have been able to ignore if not for it leaking precum through my underwear.

When friday finally came around I was nervous, determined and cautiously optimistic. I was also a little desperate to inhale that wonderful scent once more. I gathered my things from the office, taking some work with me, and left office. At home I quickly changed out of my suit and threw on something I thought said smart casual.

When I got the gallery, Oliver was sitting on the grass outside, a notepad on his knee and a pencil in his right hand dancing across the page. He stopped when I pulled up and packed his things into his bag. I watched him walk over and he looked so calm and I wondered how he could be relaxed when I was a nervous wreck inside. He slid into the car, the tiny space filling with his scent, and he smiled. I breathed in deeply and I could hear him doing the same.

"I know that this is supposed to be a first date but it would be alright if I kissed you?" Oliver asked, "We have already skipped over most of the formalities but I thought you might want to start fresh."

I leaned toward him. "I think I'll risk a kiss."

We did kiss, for a long minute, his lips pressed hard against mine and his breath hot on my face. My cock hardened almost instantly, straining against my pants painfully. Eventually I had to pull away, making the choice to cool off and listen to my complaining stomach rather than give in to my lust and insistent erection.

I breathed heavily, my face just an inch from Oliver's. "I hope this date goes well because I could get used to that."

Oliver chuckled then he stuck out his tongue and licked up my jawline and nipped at my earlobe, sending a shiver down my spine. "There are a few things I could used to as well. You're snoring, for example."

I groaned. "Damn. Was I that bad?"

"It was kinda cute. It wasn't loud or anything, or I probably would have punched you til you stopped. Let's go have you buy me pizza. I could hear your stomach from outside."

The pizza place was on the main road next to an alley that led to the boardwalk that bordered that part of the bay. We ordered a pizza each, mine with extra meat and cheese and his with chilli. The restaurant was full so we ordered to go and took our boxes outside. We walked around the pizza place and sat on the edge of the boardwalk, our feet dangling over the water slapping against the shore below, and ate.

"I like this place," Oliver said, "The weather, I mean. Back home it's probably raining and miserable right now and we're sitting here, on a clear night in short sleeves."

"Well, when it rains here, it pours. We get some pretty wild storms."

"Don't tell me that. I was just starting to think this town was perfect. If I never see another cloud it will be too soon. So what's with the hair? Are you really a beach bum or are you just dressing the part?"

I laughed. "I thought it was more hipster than beach bum. I grew up inland, actually. Closer to the city. I only moved out here a couple of years ago, after uni. I've always had long hair though. I just like it. I always argued with my teachers that my hair was not going to affect my education. It gives me a bit of an advantage at work too. You don't look the part and people think they can take advantage. They get arrogant and make mistakes. When I explained that to my boss, he was more than happy to hire me, he just has to warn clients before they meet me. What about your hair? I noticed it all matches."

"Just a quirk," he said with a shrug, "I'm not albino just really, really blonde. And pale but, you know, english so that might just be from lack of opportunity."

"Why you move here then? Just the weather?"

Oliver put down his slice of pizza and looked away from me. "I got kicked out."

"How do you get kicked out of a whole country? You didn't hump a royal's leg, did you?"

He looked at me sideways with those dark blues eyes and gave me a small smile. "I got kicked out of the old pack; the London pack. Exiled. I could have moved a little closer but what's the point of living in England if you can never go to London. Could have gone to France but there's bad blood with the packs there. Some old feud no one can remember properly. They'd let me visit but they'd never take me in. Could have gone to America but they spell things wrong. So I wound up here."

"What did you do to get exiled? You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to. It must have been pretty bad if you felt you had to leave the country."

"It was moderately terrible." He looked my full in the face, his own face a mask, those impossibly blue eyes unreadable. "I'll tell you. You should know if we're going to get involved but you'll probably never want to see me again if I do."

I wiped a greasy hand on my pants before reaching out to stroke his hair. It was so soft. "Maybe," I said honestly, "I'd like to decide for myself though."

Oliver remained expressionless. "I killed someone. A human." Part of me wanted to flinch away at those words but I forced myself to keep stroking his hair and I held his unwavering gaze. When I did not react, he continued. "It was self defence. I was dating this human girl. She had a kid with someone else but it ended badly. He was stalking her and the kid. Had been for a few years. She didn't know but I noticed and I called him out on it. I didn't threaten him or anything, just a firm suggestion that he back off.

"The guy spiralled out of controlled pretty fast after that. Abusive phone calls, harassing friends, even a letter bomb. Girlfriend got the police involved but before they caught up with the guy he tried to take the kid. I... got in his way. He attacked me like a rabid animal and I had to protect the kid. That was all that mattered in that moment. When he wouldn't stop coming at me I just... Broken bones, internal bleeding and some brain damage later and he finally stopped. It was just too late."

He finally broke eye contact, looking down at his lap. A saw a tear roll down his cheek. "There was a little legal trouble but I was cleared eventually. Self defence. Still, I had lost control and killed a human, with human witnesses. The pack helped me sort it out, then they helped me leave. So I'm here, crying in front of you, a practical stranger, who's crazy enough to not be running away."

I seriously considered Oliver's story as I wiped the tears from Oliver's cheek. "In your place, I think I would have acted differently," I said. He looked up at me. "I would have ripped his head off."

He smiled a little smile up at me. "Great date I turned out to be."

I leant forward and kissed his cheek. "You just told me that you were willing to protect people you care about. You were willing to protect someone else's kid. You just told me that you're loyal and brave. What you did was an accident. I can't begin to understand but I can smell you. I'm not going to tell you what you should feel, whether or not that feeling is guilt. I don't know how I would feel in your place. Maybe I'd feel the same as you. I do know what I'm not running away."

"Well the option remains open to you at any time." He took my hand in his and held it tight, suggesting his words were just a front.

"Come home with me tonight," I said, "Not for sex. I mean we can, if you want. I just thought you might not want to be alone after bringing up all those memories. We can finish our pizza tomorrow."

Oliver wiped his face and nodded. "Thanks. I could use some big strong arms and chainsaw snoring."

"You said I was quiet."

Oliver grinned at me, tears still in the corners of his eyes. "I guess I'll just have to settle for that then. Can we go? I'm finished eating."

I drove us back to my place in silence, one hand on the wheel and other holding Oliver's hand. I noticed for the first time that his ahds were rough, dry and calloused. When we got back to my place, I saw a familiar, mud splattered ute sitting on the curb and I muttered an vicious oath.

"I don't think we'll get a quiet night. My friend decided to surprise me with a visit. Think we could just stay out here in the car? He's not one of us."

"I don't think you should ignore your friend. I'm fine. I can deal with one human."

"Are you sure? He is frightfully human."

"I can handle it as long as I have the promise of cuddling with you. And maybe a kiss before we go in. For courage, of course."

I chuckled as I leaned into him across the car. "I'm not sure if you're scared of anything."

"I'm scared of lots of things," He replied, "I might need a lot of courage."

I kissed him lightly on the lips. "My friend probably heard us pull up." I gave him another kiss, this time biting his lip and making him moan. "It'd be rude to keep him waiting." I kissed him one more time, opening my mouth to him and kissing him deeply then I pulled away, my breathing heavy and I could feel my cheeks flushing. "Come on."

When we went inside I saw a pair of shoes by the door that were not mine, there was a suitcase at the end of the lounge and there was a blanket and pillow already out and waiting. There was a shirt discarded on the back of the lounge. I heard him upstairs, smelled him with layers of soil, sawdust and cigarette smoke. I could also smell what he was doing.

"Chaz!" I called as I kicked off my shoes, "You here?"

"Taking a shit," he called back.

"I have company."

"Your friend has a problem," Oliver mutter to me, covering his nose with the hand I was not holding, "That is not natural."

"He doesn't have the best diet," I said, a little more accustomed to the smells that Chaz produced, "I try to fix that while he's here but he lives in Sydney and I can't supervise him all the time." I handed my box of pizza to him. "Can you put these in the fridge and I'll open the windows?"

We set about that as we heard Chaz finish up, wash his hands and come downstairs. He was built like a mountain. He was massive, solid and rugged but not all that pretty. His beak of a nose was crooked from being broken several times, there was a gap in one eyebrow from a scar and there was another scar on his jaw. He was dressed in nothing footy shorts.

When Chaz cleared the stairs he pulled me into a bear hug that would have been painfully crushing if I were human and I returned the hug, easily lifting Chaz off the ground. When we released each other, he grinned crookedly at Oliver.

"I'm Chaz," He said, sticking out a large, calloused hand. Oliver shook Chaz's offered hand and gave his name. Chaz looked us over. "Nice clothes. Was this a date? You didn't know I was coming?"

"If I had known, I would have told you to fuck off."

"I tried to call but I never got through," Chaz said with a shrug. He was one of those people that was never bothered by anything and just rolled with whatever came his way. "You know what the service is like around here. We had a storm back home and the site was flooded so I got the weekend off while it dried out. Anyone want a drink? I bought some beer on my way here."

Chaz got us drinks and we sat in the living room, chatting and sipping beer. We chatted for hours as Chaz caught me up on the trouble he had been up to, the antics of the apprentices he worked with and the big news of old friends. Everything was a joke to Chaz and the more beers he drank, the louder and dirtier those jokes got. I expected it but Oliver was in stitches, taken by Chaz's lurid descriptions and disarming smile. Eventually, Chaz was slurring his words and he had trouble sitting up straight.

"It's just not fair, Mase" he said, "How come I always end up drunk and you always end up out of focus?"

I stood up and pushed Chaz down until he was laying on the lounge, his feet sticking out over the end. "You've always been a light weight." I covered Chaz up with the blanket. "Get some sleep."

"You're good to me," Chaz mumbled as he wiggled around and made himself comfortable. "I get drunk e'ry time I come here and you never kick me out."

"That'd hurt your feelings, you'd be crying and it would be a whole mess. Easier to just tuck you in and make fun of your hangover in the morning. Shh, no more talking."

Chaz nodded and closed his eyes. I watched for a second then I held out my hand for Oliver. He took it and we went upstairs to my room. The second I closed the door, Oliver pushed me against the wall, grabbing my wrists and holding them above my head. The only place he touched me was where he held my arms in place but he was so close I could feel the heat coming from him, his breath like fire on my face. I closed my eyes and breathed him in, my cock starting to harden.

"We don't have to do this," I whispered, "If you're not up to it..."

He took one of my hands and moved it down to his crotch, rubbing my hand on his hard on. "I'm definitely up. This is all I could think about all night. When I was telling you about my past all I could think about was whether you wanted to touch me again after you knew. I need to know you're seeing me and not what I did."

I opened my eyes and looked at him, seeing a hunger in his eyes, seeing his defences but also seeing the vulnerability he chose to show me. "I see a man," I said, "I see a sexy, struggling artist and a powerful werewolf. I see what you did but that's not all I see. God, do I want you so much right now."

He pushed my hand back above my head and kissed me, pressing his body into mine so hard and hot I thought I would either go through the wall behind me or melt into him. I pushed back, turning us around and slamming Oliver into the wall. I ground my hips into Oliver's, my erection rubbing against his through our pants.

It did not last long as Oliver spun us around again. I began to growl as his lips roamed around my face, feeling his teeth tugging at my jaw, neck and ears. His hands slid down my arms, his fingers light in contrast to the rough treatment of his mouth and the feeling of his callouses on my softer skin giving me goosebumps. He traced the rises and groves of my biceps and I closed my eyes. His hands brushed across my chest and he unbuttoned my shirt, slipping it off. I returned the favour more hastily, desperate in my need to touch him.

Oliver's hands drifted across my chest down to my abs, sending and electric jolt through my stomach and down my legs, making my knees weak. The wolf part of me riled at my vulnerable underside being exposed but it went quiet as I chose to trust Oliver. His mouth moved down to my chest, teasing my nipples with tongue and teeth until the line between pleasure and pain blurred.

I realised that the world had fallen away. Even the wall on my back was barely real in my mind. There was only Oliver, his touch where it set my skin on fire, his scent filling my nose and his heartbeat pounding in my ears like it was my own.

Our hands made swift work of each other's belts and in a second were were stepping out of our pants. I felt Oliver tense then my underwear was gone, torn fabric falling to the ground. In a brief flicker of annoyance I pulled Oliver's hair, dragging him up until we were face to face and twisting his hair just a little.

"That's for destroying perfectly good undies," I whispered.

Oliver grinned viciously. "Was it supposed to be punishment or reward?" He flicked on of my nipples, making me shudder with sensation.