True: Ethan Read online

  Never in his life had Ethan been in the embrace of someone so well built.

  Cold air whipped around them as they left the building, and he snuggled closer.

  Something sunny and tender suffused his body.

  A smile. He could feel Brendan’s smile inside of him, and they’d only been in contact a few minutes. It had never happened so quickly before. Not even with Jeff.

  Brendan loosened his hold and slid Ethan down to his feet. One strong arm locked around him as Brendan raised the other to hail a cab. It zipped by them, and he tightened the protective embrace. “Stay close to me, Ethan,” he said, resting his chin on top of Ethan’s head. “I don’t want you to catch any more of this cold than necessary.”

  Ethan didn’t argue. Never mind that he’d spent hours on the roof before this.

  By the time a taxi pulled to the curb, he had enough strength to climb in on his own. Brendan slid in beside him and rattled off the address to the cabbie. Then he pressed Ethan to his lap.

  “Lie down for a bit. Get some rest.”

  Ethan frowned, knowing there was something wrong with a younger man treating him this way. The frown eased when Brendan threaded a hand through his hair.

  He’d forgotten what it was like to receive such attention, to have his needs tended to.

  The door inside him slid open, just a little bit more.

  Their cab ride lasted almost forty minutes. His internal clock told him he had eleven hours and fifty-five minutes left to take a new mate.

  Love or die.

  Like any Novahn, he wanted to love. He’d put himself on the roof because he believed he’d lost the ability. But Brendan had taken him down, given him the strength to stand.

  Could he risk the pain of trying again?

  Brendan helped him out of the taxi, but Ethan stepped away when Brendan tried to pick him up. “I-I can walk.”

  Unfazed, Brendan took his hand and led him into the hotel.

  People cast them curious, pointed looks as they walked through the lobby.

  “You don’t have to hold my hand,” whispered Ethan.

  Brendan winked at him as they entered an elevator. “But I want to hold your hand.”

  One of the things that had hurt him most in his relationship with Jeff had been his coldness in public. Jeff wouldn’t let him stand closer than an arm’s length when outside their home.

  “We’re taking the elevator this time?”

  Brendan tugged him against his body. “Do you think your legs are strong enough to climb twenty flights of stairs?”

  He fingered the black overcoat Brendan wore. “No.”

  “Maybe tomorrow?”

  He lifted his gaze. “If there is a tomorrow.”

  Smiling, Brendan leaned down and bumped their noses together, tipping Ethan’s head back. Their lips touched, just barely.

  Ethan felt the warm caress of his breath and pushed himself to his toes, craving more. He was rewarded with a light brush over his lips. When he groaned, Brendan’s mouth firmed, tasting and teasing, nipping and soothing.

  Ethan’s hands slid up Brendan’s chest, linked behind his neck. He parted his lips.

  Accepting the invitation, Brendan slipped his tongue forward and explored Ethan’s mouth.

  This kiss… It was…

  So right.

  His sorrows slipped away. His yearning was born anew.

  The elevator doors opened.

  “Damn,” murmured Brendan, his chest heaving. “I didn’t even hear the bell.”

  Ethan tightened his embrace. “This is why you don’t like quick elevator rides.”

  The doors began to slide shut, and Brendan threw out his arm to stop them. “That’s right.”

  Making no move to leave, Ethan nuzzled his chest, fingers trailing over the nape of his neck.

  Brendan groaned, lifting him off his feet just enough to walk out of the elevator. They lost themselves in fevered kisses in the hallway, tore at each other’s clothing as Brendan fumbled for his keycard. The door flew open, and they nearly hit the floor, but Brendan’s strength held them upright.

  They made it to the bedroom in a blur of tasting and biting. Brendan straightened and tilted Ethan’s head back. “Got enough energy for this?”

  His entire body vibrated with desire. Ethan had never felt a need so intense, and he could only respond by dragging Brendan’s coat off his body.

  Brendan grinned, unbuttoning his shirt and letting it drop to the floor. “Good, because the way I figure it, I’ve got just over eleven hours to convince you to take me as a mate.”

  Ethan fell back a step.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Brendan, the smile fading.

  Ethan’s gaze traveled over Brendan’s body. Thick, broad shoulders tapered down to a tightly packed waist. Smooth, taut skin covered powerful, cut muscles that swelled and contracted with every breath he took.

  “Wow,” whispered Ethan.

  The tension visibly flowed out of Brendan’s body, although those muscles looked no less rigid when he relaxed. “I’ve been working pretty hard these last few years. At everything: my body, my job, my whole life.” His face was open, vulnerable. “I wanted to be in my best condition, so I’d have a better chance at…a better chance at stealing you away.”

  Trying to follow his reasoning made Ethan frown. “Steal me away?”

  “That’s so wrong, I know.” Brendan dropped his gaze. “But shit. You have no idea how much I want you. Need you. When I saw you lying on that roof, I knew you were really dying. I knew I was out of time.” He dragged his fingers through his hair as his voice went rough. “If I’d just sucked it up and asked my brother where you could be, I would have found you days ago. And now you’re… I might lose…”

  All this time, there had been a man aching for him, and Ethan had been unaware. He couldn’t understand how such a thing was possible, and he ducked his head to look into those bright eyes. “We only met once.”

  “Yeah.” Brendan slipped a hand into Ethan’s hair. “It was just one afternoon, one touch to my face, and you were inside me. I hated that you were with Jeff and not me.”

  Reaching up, Ethan trailed light fingers down his face. “Even if I hadn’t been with Jeff, I couldn’t have mated with you.” Humans had strange cycles. Some came of age early, while for others it happened quite late in life. A Novahn body could only react with one who was ready, and the kid he’d met those years ago had been far from ready. “You weren’t sexually mature.”

  “I’m mature now.” Brendan drew him closer. “You want me this time around?”

  His breathing shallowed as his gaze slid over Brendan’s body. “You look terrific. I never would have thought… I mean… Jeff never looked so—”

  Brendan winced. “Do me a favor? Don’t mention my brother again tonight?”

  Of course comparing brothers was inappropriate. Something about this one made the truth flow freely and made Ethan feel unusually awkward. “O-okay.” All his talk about maturity must seem so silly to Brendan now.

  That easy smile returned to Brendan’s seductive mouth.

  Ethan rubbed at his own chest—trying to calm his racing heart, trying to contain the raw hunger burning through him.

  Control yourself. He’s only human. He can’t take your passion.

  Brendan swept him up and dropped him onto the bed.

  Maybe that warning should be said aloud.

  He opened his mouth to do just that, and Brendan took it as a cue to kiss him. The words turned to gibberish as he sampled those lips again, as Brendan whipped off his T-shirt.

  Ethan pulled back, trying to gauge his reaction. Jeff liked his men on the lean side, and his body had changed accordingly.

  Brendan kissed his chest, pressed him down into the mattress. Gentle teeth grazed his nipple; a hot mouth sucked one and then the other.

  Moaning, Ethan grabbed his shoulders and tried to drag him upward.

  But his would-be mate had other ideas.

  I
nstead, Brendan went lower, licking a wet trail down the center line of his stomach. He unfastened Ethan’s jeans and worked them down his legs, taking the time to taste the sensitive skin of his inner thighs before removing his briefs.

  Of their own volition, his knees bent and his legs spread apart, offering Brendan his ass.

  Sunshine lazed through Ethan’s body again.

  Another smile.

  Brendan’s tongue pressed against the cleft of his ass, slipped in just enough to tease his pucker.

  Ethan gasped, cut short when that masterful tongue swept over his balls. His dick ached by the time Brendan reached its base, dusting its length with gossamer kisses and bathing him with long, hard licks.

  His cock throbbed under Brendan’s mouth. Ethan moaned, rocking his hips upward to encourage deeper caresses.

  Brendan straightened away from him, and Ethan stared, his eyes wide.

  Was it over? Had he done something wrong? He rubbed his face with his hand—the first time with a new man was always so nerve-racking! He much preferred it when the bond was strong, when his instincts could tell him what his partner wanted as emotions ran high.

  “Hey, are you all right? Am I pushing too hard?”

  He glanced up, saw that Brendan had removed his slacks. A formidable cock stood rigid and ready between his legs.

  Ethan softened, a relieved smile touching his lips. “You want me.”

  “Haven’t we covered that already?” Brendan crawled forward, pressing him back again. “I’ve wanted you for five years.”

  Stretched out beneath that big body, he reached down between them and caressed Brendan’s dick with the tips of his fingers. “Condom?”

  Brendan paused. “Myra said you guys don’t catch human diseases. Can’t give them, either.”

  Bewilderment stilled Ethan’s hand. “Exactly how long did you two talk?”

  Soft lips kissed the bridge of his nose, moved on to his cheek. “Long enough for her to give me the basics.” Brendan whispered hot words onto the curve of Ethan’s neck. “Don’t stop now. Your hand feels good on my cock.”

  Blinking up at him, Ethan tightened his grip.

  Brendan hissed. “Damned good.”

  The encouragement eased the strain on Ethan’s nerves, and he stroked the column in his hand. It was thick and eager, spilling drops of precum from its head as it twitched and begged. He slicked the small amount of moisture over the throbbing flesh, tugged and squeezed as his own body begged for the joining. “I want you inside of me.”

  Brendan nodded against him, licking a finger and sliding it to Ethan’s hole.

  “No.” Ethan grabbed his wrist. “I want a true joining. Now.”

  Brendan’s eyebrows lifted.

  All temerity evaporated under that gaze. “Please?”

  Shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, Brendan reached out and opened a drawer in the nightstand. He frowned when he looked inside, then left the bed. “Excuse me a sec.”

  Ethan bolted upright. “Where are you going?”

  “Don’t panic,” Brendan said, casting him a brief, wicked grin as he flipped open a bag on the floor. “I did come here planning to have sex with you, you know.”

  An hour ago Ethan was dying of a broken heart. Now he was dying for Brendan—who was rummaging around in a suitcase. “What are you looking for?”

  “Ah.” He tossed a bottle into the air with one hand and caught it with the other. “Got it,” he said, crawling back into bed.

  Lube. Jesus. Brendan didn’t want to hurt him. He didn’t know Ethan’s body could take much rougher love than a human’s.

  “Now?” asked Ethan, trying not to sound ungrateful.

  Brendan flipped open the top. “Now,” he said, his voice husky as he took Ethan’s mouth.

  Ethan hissed when the cool liquid touched his ass, but it warmed quickly as skilled fingers rubbed it against his pucker. Brendan pulled back, just enough to let Ethan watch him slick more lube over his cock, and Ethan licked his lips.

  Waiting wasn’t such a high price to pay for a sight like that.

  Brendan grabbed Ethan’s hips, angling them upward. His smooth, hot pole separated Brendan’s ass cheeks, found his pucker. “Ready?”

  “I told you I was,” he snapped, his patience burning off again. “Stop teasing and pound me.” Surprise flickered over Brendan’s face, and Ethan clenched his fists, trying to rein in his passion. What was wrong with him? He’d never been so desperate for Jeff.

  Stop it. No comparing brothers.

  “S-sorry,” said Ethan, uncurling his fingers. “I… I don’t know why…”

  Bright eyes met his, considering. Then those powerful hands tightened on his hips, and Brendan shoved into him with one stroke.

  Ethan closed his eyes in bliss. His body welcomed the penetration, the stretching of his hole, even the pain that came from a dick of such exquisite size. Blindly, he reached out, wanting to touch Brendan’s strength, wanting to get as close as he could.

  Rough hands dragged him upward, and his eyes snapped open when he found himself sitting in Brendan’s lap.

  “I knew you could take all of me.” Brendan tangled his fingers into Ethan’s hair, tilted his head back as he rained desperate kisses over his face. “I knew it.”

  Still trying to gather his bearings, Ethan clutched at Brendan’s shoulders. He felt stuffed, charged with heat and sexual energy. The sensations coursed through him—enthralling, dazzling, all-consuming. The first steps of the mating dance.

  “Ride me, Ethan.”

  Ethan shifted his legs for better leverage, found a more secure hold on Brendan’s shoulders, and rode him.

  His body slid up and down the cock that impaled him, his own prick grinding against the rugged terrain of Brendan’s carved abs. Waves of pleasure built inside of him, a tide about to crash upon the rocks.

  He moved harder, faster. Push and pull. Ebb and flow. Moon and tide.

  Crash.

  Join.

  Mate.

  True.

  His body shattered, was reborn. His passion poured out of him in surges of white. It drenched Brendan’s chest, sluiced down the deep crevices of his torso.

  Brendan stiffened, locking strong arms around Ethan’s body and squeezing him tight. His muscles writhed with the force of his own orgasm, and the explosion rocked Ethan from within and without. Clinging to him, long fingers digging into his skin, Brendan came over and over. The pleasure racked Ethan’s own body, and it was almost too much to contain.

  Brendan shook, loosening his hold as he straightened. His wide emerald eyes were filled with a stunned sort of awe.

  Ethan pushed him back onto the mattress and took his mouth in a hard, demanding kiss. “Again. From the beginning. Please.”

  Already hard again, Brendan rolled them over and nuzzled the curve of his neck. “Okay.”

  Surprised, grateful, Ethan nipped at his salty skin.

  Brendan summoned the tide again.

  And again.

  And still Ethan wanted more.

  He lay on his back after their fifth joining, drawing Brendan close, already hard and needing to join again.

  Brendan braced his hands on the mattress, staring down at him, sweat-drenched body trembling with exhaustion. “I c-can’t.”

  Realizing what he’d done, Ethan let his arms fall away. “I’m sorry.” He took a breath and cooled his passion. “Sometimes I forget that I’m too much.” He started to leave the bed.

  “You’re not too much.” Eyes half-closed, Brendan lowered his body and pinned Ethan in place. “I’m not enough. But if you give me a while, I’ll be able to give you more.”

  Tentatively, Ethan reached up, stroked Brendan’s slick back. “How long a while?”

  A tired smile shaped his lips as he glanced at a clock on the nightstand. “Looks like you’ll have to live in order to get it. Can you do that? Live for me?”

  Ethan nodded, knowing he had taken this man as his mate hours ago.
r />   “Good.” Brendan shifted his weight and dropped his head on a pillow. “Good.”

  Wanting to give him space, Ethan moved to the other side of the bed.

  “Hey,” said Brendan, reaching out. “Where are you going?”

  “You need to be alone so you can recharge.”

  “I can recharge just fine with you next to me.” He intertwined his fingers with Ethan’s. “Come here.”

  Jeff had never wanted to be close after sex, saying he needed space to cool off. It was another of the things in their relationship that had hurt.

  Nothing about Brendan hurt.

  Ethan slid close and settled in along his body. Brendan looped an arm around him, murmuring nonsensical words as he drifted off to sleep.

  Shutting his eyes, Ethan embraced life over death.

  * * * *

  When morning came, Ethan stood in front of the bathroom mirror, his head tilted to the side as he studied his reflection.

  Brown hair. Brown eyes. Clean but unremarkable features.

  Brendan was still asleep in the next room, but the changes he’d wrought on Ethan were clear.

  This was the type of man he wanted?

  He wasn’t sure, and it made him nervous. Usually his body chemistry tricked a mate’s mind into thinking no substantial change had taken place. But its influence was only a suggestion, and it wouldn’t affect Brendan, because he’d known the truth from the beginning. It was the key reason Novahn weren’t allowed to share their secrets. Brendan would instantly realize that Ethan was not the man he had been last night.

  Ethan leaned forward. The reflection was familiar somehow. No one famous, thankfully. He knew from experience he didn’t want that kind of trouble. But still…

  What if something had gone wrong? What if this wasn’t what Brendan wanted?

  “Ethan? Ethan!” Something crashed in the bedroom. “Oh Jesus! Where are you!”

  He spun away from the mirror. “I’m here.”

  Hard footsteps hit the floor, and a gloriously naked Brendan stood in the doorway. The panic vanished from his face when his gaze found Ethan. “Thank God,” he said, his chest heaving as he dragged in deep breaths. “I saw you gone, and I thought…” He closed the distance between them and cupped Ethan’s face in both hands. “But you’re here, and it’s an hour past deadline. That means you’ve taken me as your mate, right? Right?”