Rise & Fall (THIRDS 4)

“I… didn’t know.”

“Well, now you do. I won’t sit here waiting for Ash or Calvin to tell me you’ve been fucking mauled to death. Maybe I am being selfish, but you know what? Fuck it. I’m going to be selfish. You wanted a future for us. Well, this is it. Us. You and me. No lone-cowboy shit. Every time you think of doing something stupid out there, you think about us.” He took hold of Dex’s face and looked into his pale blue eyes, hoping his words would get past his partner’s thick skull.

“I know you’re a capable agent, Dex. You’re a great agent. You’re smart and sharp. You adapt quicker than any other rookie I’ve seen. You’re determined, loyal, resilient…. But you’re Human. I’m not saying you’re weak, because you’re one of the strongest men I know. You need to accept there are forces out there stronger than you. It’s okay to walk away. I spend all day worrying about you, about what you’re getting yourself into. Do you know what it feels like to watch you walk out the door, wondering if it’s going to be the last time?”

“I’m sorry, Sloane.”

“From the moment I met you, you’ve been driving me out of my fucking mind. I’ve never known anyone who makes me want to laugh and scream at the same time. When you asked me to stay with you, I thought it would expose the faults in our relationship. And now? When you’re not here, I wish you were. God, I even miss your stupid music. I want the Dex that drives me crazy. The one who laughs at his own jokes and eats snacks at inappropriate times. And I want to wake up with him every day. I want his beautiful eyes and breathtaking smile to be the first things I see when I wake up and the last things before bed.”

Dex’s eyes widened. “Are you… are saying what I think you’re saying?”

“I think I should move in. Someone needs to save you from yourself, and I’m the only one qualified.”

“Is that the only reason?” Dex asked quietly, a small smile on his face.

“What? That and my wanting to because I love you isn’t enough of a reason?”

“That’s all the reason I need.” Dex brought Sloane in and kissed him, sending a shiver through him. Maybe he was losing it, but nothing in a long time had felt so damn good or made him this happy. He held Dex to him, savoring every passionate kiss, every gentle touch, and lingering smile. As Dex’s tongue sought his, Sloane gave himself over to his partner. How could one man, one Human, have so much power over him? Sloane’s Human side wanted to relinquish everything to the man in his arms, while his feral side wanted to possess him.

Sloane’s fingers brushed over the four thin claw marks on Dex’s arm, and a fierce heat threatened to consume him. He deepened his kiss, and pushed Dex onto his back, his heavier weight pinning Dex to the couch cushions beneath him. He slipped his hand over Dex’s forearm and pulled back, his partner’s kiss-swollen lips and flushed face drawing his feral side closer to the surface. What the hell was happening to him? Lately the beast inside him seemed to stir at the slightest provocation, especially when it concerned Dex. Sloane couldn’t explain the sudden ferocity. When had his need for Dex become so great that the thought of him with someone else had Sloane growling with anger from deep in his chest? He wasn’t one to be possessive, and he’d always maintained a firm grip. But now….

Dex arched his back, and he placed his free hand to Sloane’s heart. “What’s he telling you?”

“You don’t want to know,” Sloane replied roughly.

“Yes, I do.”

Sloane shook his head. His partner didn’t know what he was asking. Dex might have grown up with a Therian brother, but the dynamics of that relationship compared to the one with a Therian lover were completely different, outside of the obvious. “You won’t like what you hear. He’s not… civil. I think he knew how I felt before I did. Everything I feel, he feels ten times stronger. It can be a little… disturbing.”

“Try me.” There was no mistaking the sincerity in Dex’s voice.

Sloane pressed his hard body down against Dex’s, his voice low as he tried to keep his grip on his feral half. “He wants me to mark you so that every Therian will know you belong to us.” His finger circled one of the faint lines on Dex’s arm.

Dex swallowed hard, his blue eyes moving to his arm in Sloane’s grip. They widened slightly as Sloane’s nails slowly elongated. Sloane hissed at the pain, but he held his feral side at bay. Dex moved his eyes back to Sloane, the lust in them taking Sloane’s breath away.

“Do it.”

“Dex, you don’t know what you’re saying.” Even as he whispered the words, he could feel his feral side demanding he go through with it. Sloane’s blood felt hot inside his skin, his eyesight remained sharp, and his fangs began to grow. “Please, Dex. I don’t want to hurt you. I can’t.” The thought alone frightened Sloane. He’d never done anything like this before. His Human side desired Dex. His Therian side wanted to claim him.

“I love you. Please. I want you to. I need you to.” Dex cupped Sloane through his pajama bottoms and Sloane hissed. He was so hard it was painful. Dex didn’t know what he was doing.

“Dex,” Sloane pleaded. He gritted his teeth against the pain of his claws growing in.

“Do it,” Dex urged, slipping his hand inside Sloane’s pants and stroking him. “Make me yours. I want to be yours in every way possible.”

Sloane’s hold on his feral side was tremulous at best, and Dex kept pushing. How could he make his partner understand? “This is serious, Dex. You’ll have this mark for the rest of your life.”

“Good. Because that’s how long I want you with me.”

Sloane inhaled sharply, and he relinquished control to his Therian side without any further thought. His claws came out, and his painful cry drowned out Dex’s as the tips of Sloane’s claws pierced his lover’s skin. Dex clutched at Sloane, his finger’s digging into his bicep and his jaw clenched as he tried desperately to keep himself quiet. His eyes grew glassy and red, but Sloane could see Dex fighting to keep himself from screaming. Darkness encroached Sloane’s vision, his senses sharpening. Slowly and deliberately he sliced at Dex’s arm, making sure to go deep enough to leave his mark permanently but not enough where Dex would need stitches.

Sloane’s heart pounded, the scent of Dex’s blood filling his nostrils. He ground his hips against Dex as he finished leaving his mark around Dex’s forearm. As soon as he was finished, he pulled off his T-shirt and wrapped it around his partner’s bleeding arm, tying it firmly in place. His eyes landed on Dex, and he was taken aback by the heat in those amazing eyes. They clawed at each other’s clothes the best they could with Dex’s arm and Sloane’s leg. Desire and love turned into desperation, sending them both into a frenzy of need and lust. Sloane spit into his hand, making it good and wet, then wrapped it around his cock, stroking himself before he pushed a finger against Dex’s entrance.

“Yes,” Dex hissed, his fingers slipping into Sloane’s hair and grabbing fistfuls of it. “Please, fuck me.”

Sloane quickly prepped Dex, his dick soon replacing his fingers inside his lover. The feral beast inside him rejoiced. Dex was his. Would always be his. Any Therian who laid eyes on Dex’s arm would know what the deliberate claw marks meant. Would know the pain they’d both endured for their bond. Dex gasped and moaned, his back arched up, and his fingers

pulled at Sloane’s hair. Those amazing lips were plump, pink, and slightly parted. They kissed with a hunger and fervor that left them gasping for air. Sloane’s movements were awkward at first because of his leg, but he used his arms to steady himself, to give him the momentum he needed to drive himself deep into Dex over and over. Dex cried out beneath him as he came, and Sloane wasn’t far behind, his teeth gritted as he thrust into Dex several more times before collapsing on him.