Page 22 of Jared

Jared looked undecided for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.”

Jared came out of the shower feeling tired but refreshed. He went into the kitchen, getting a glass of water. As he drank it, he watched Steve go in for his own shower. Jared held the cool glass against his neck, thinking of Steve's powerful body naked under the spray, of his hands spreading the body wash across his skin, skimming those muscles. He swallowed, and feeling warm, hurriedly finished off the cold water in his glass. He placed it in the sink, and went to sit on the couch. He sat there quietly, going over the events of the day in his mind. He was interrupted minutes later when Steve came out of the shower.

“I'll take the couch,” Jared said.

Steve frowned. “Take the bed, please. I'd feel much better about it.”

“No, really, the couch is fine.”

Steve's jaw clenched. “Just please take the bed.”

Jared sighed. “This is ridiculous, isn't it? Two grown assed men arguing who is going to sleep where. How about we both share the bed? I mean, no sex or anything, just, we can both just sleep, right?”

Steve nodded. “Yes, but, could I at least hold you? My wolf and I would be much more comfortable with you that close if we were at least touching.”

“Yeah, okay. I trust you to not do any funny stuff.”

Funny stuff? Trust me, there's nothing funny about what I'd like to do.

Jared swallowed. “Okay, so, uh, I'm, uh, ready for bed.”

Steve turned and gestured towards his bedroom door. “After you.”

“Silly,” Jared said, rolling his eyes as he walked past. Steve gave his butt a light slap as he went past.

“I saw that, brat,” he growled teasingly.

“Hey!” Jarred protested, giggling. “No abusing the boyfriend!”

Tension broken, the pair entered the bedroom.

“Does it matter which side?”

“I sleep on the left,” Steve replied.

“Okay,” Jared said, turning the right side down and climbing in. Steve stood for a moment, enjoying the sight of his mate in his bed. Where he belongs. His wolf huffed in agreement before whining to urge him to hurry up. He stalked over to his side of the bed, aware of Jared's eyes following him.He lifted his duvet and slid under, moving towards the middle of the bed. He reached for Jared.

The two men turned about, at last settling on a spooning, with Jared as the little spoon. Steve frowned. He's so stiff. He lightly kissed the back of Jared's neck. “Good night,” he whispered. That's better, he thought as he felt Jared relax.

“'Night,” Jared replied sleepily.

Steve willed himself to be still and to match his breathing to his mate's. It was excruciating and he found himself feeling wakeful as he concentrated. His efforts paid off as he felt Jared's body loosen further, his breaths deepening as he slid into slumber. Only then did Steve's inner wolf quiet, allowing Steve to allow himself to drift in the comfort of having his mate asleep in his arms, safe.

Steve's eyes shot open. He became instantly alert, aware of three things at the same time. One was that it was now morning, though a glance at the clock gave testimony that it was not yet seven, when his alarm was set to go off. The second was that sometime during the night, they'd rolled about, Steve onto his back while Jared curled up against him into his side, his head resting on Steve's chest. Nice way to wake up, he decided. He growled. What was not so nice was the fact that someone was knocking on his door at five-thirty in the morning.

The knocking intensified, now rousing Jared. “Wha-?” he blinked sleepily.

“Shhh,” he soothed, sliding gently from beneath. “Just someone at the door. Go back to sleep. I'll be right back.”

“Mmm-kay,” Jared muttered sleepily before burrowing his face into Steve's pillow. Steve brushed a lock of hair off Jared's forehead.

This better be good. He stalked to wards the door, not bothering to glance through the peephole before flinging it open. His brother Dale stood there, holding cups of coffee in his hands.

“What the fuck do you want?” he snapped.

Dale gave his a toothy grin. “Now, now, aren't you a grouch before coffee?”

“Why are you bringing me coffee at this hour? In fact, why are you even bringing me coffee at all?”