Page 49 of Mytho Investigations: Side Stories

Adam ran his fingers through the wet fur on Jake’s shoulders. The knot was still firmly inside of him, so they weren't pulling apart yet, but he wasn’t ready for the morning to be over or to return to his regular life. He wanted what they had to exist outside of Jake’s apartment. “So… Is there a place to get coffee around here?”

“You don’t want my instant?”

“I do not. I’ll buy us both breakfast.”

Jake glanced away. “You don’t have to keep buying me things.”

“I want to because… because when I’m with you, I… I can just be…” What? Myself? In love? Adam wasn’t sure. “Like you care about me, and you laugh at my bad jokes, and you’re interested in my forums, and you ask me how Dad is, and you don’t seem to resent that I have family commitments.”

That was a mess of word vomit that hinted at far too many of his insecurities.

Jake cupped Adam’s face with one rough paw. “Why would I resent your family? Or not be interested in your things? I am interested in you. And all your idiosyncrasies. But sometimes I’m embarrassed that I don’t have much money. That’s why I have instant coffee. Plus, if we go out, people will talk.”

“I want to have breakfast with you.” They had both admitted this was more than sex. And while they couldn’t go out in human areas, they could go out in mytho areas. “And I want to buy you things. I care about you, and it’s an obstacle I can remove.”

Especially when there were so many that he couldn’t.

Jake nodded. “There is a place nearby where we can grab coffee and breakfast.”

Adam smiled, glad he’d won the argument before it began.

Jake gave him a toothy grin. “People will ask who my boyfriend is.”

“Then you can tell them your boyfriend is a hot firefighter who picked you up in a bar.”

When Jake didn’t make any effort to deny that, Adam guessed it meant they were dating.

CHAPTER 6

“Isaw you with your human man. How long before he wants more than hiding in Creature Hollow?” Reyman leaned against the outside of Jake’s building.

Jake had just finished a double shift and all he wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep the entire eight hours until his next shift. That was something both he and Adam complained about in their many text messages, as well as trying to schedule their next get together. If they managed twice a week, it was a good week.

They were onto their second jigsaw puzzle now. It had taken them a few goes to finish the first one, especially since Adam took delight in bending over the table and wiggling his ass every time he placed a piece.

He wanted to tell Reyman to fuck off but couldn’t—he was Jake’s pack leader after all.

“We’d been up all night fucking and needed coffee and food to keep going.” He put his key in the lock, then stopped. He didn’t want to be forced to invite Reyman in or to appear rude by locking him out. “What is it you want?”

Aside from feeding my own fears?

“I’ve made some friends, and they’ve given me magic that will allow us to shift again.”

Jake’s heart lurched. He could barely remember what it was like to shift between wolf and human. He didn’t remember his face from before… He’d only been a teenager when the collapse happened.

What would he look like now?

His stomach dropped. If he regained the ability to shift between forms, he wouldn’t look like this, and Adam wouldn’t want him. Adam liked the furry beast.

He jerked his chin up, trying to look interested. Was he? Having normal human hands would be great. With human lips, he’d be able to kiss Adam properly, not just lick him. He’d be able to give him a blow job. They felt so damn good it wasn’t fair that he couldn’t return the pleasure.

Not that Adam seemed bothered, but he might be bothered if Jake looked more human. His stomach squirmed even though he knew Adam had only wanted him to try werewolf sex to start with, and Jake hadn’t been about to turn down sex. “What’s the cost of this magic?”

Because magic was never free. And the ability to shift wasn’t a small magic, otherwise, they’d be able to do it. Even lesser dragons were more magical than werewolves, as lesser dragons could still shift.

“We leave San Fran and move to LA.”

Jake frowned, not sure what Rayman was up to, only that he was up to something. “That’s not our territory.”