It wasn’t until he was back in his room, reluctantly washing away the scent of Levi’s cum, that it occurred to Lyndon he might have over-reacted to Craig’s come-on. The clerk had been cute in a pixie-ish sort of way, but Lyndon’s stomach had fairly turned inside out just from Craig’s touch. Weird, considering he’d fucked much less attractive men before, but the truth of his reaction was even stranger, and more than a little scary.
Craig had touched him, and Lyndon’s mind and body had rebelled, even his cat had rebelled. He didn’t want to be touched by anyone other than Levi. It was the truth, and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do about it.
Chapter Five
Levi spent a good hour or more lying on the ground trying to make sense of what had happened. Eventually, he forced himself to get up and debated shifting again, but he didn’t have the energy. Giving in to the urge pushing at him, he followed the cougar shifter’s trail, able to pick out broken branches and crushed leaves, the pawed clumps of dirt where the other cat had high-tailed it off the property. His senses weren’t quite as sharp as when he was in snow leopard form, but they were good enough that Levi found the place where the man’s scent, still somewhat fresh, headed back towards Holton. Levi was tempted to keep following him, but what would be the point? He’d been left behind, after all, and Levi did have his pride.
The trip back to his cabin left Levi a confused mess. Part of him still wanted to chase down the cougar shifter, but another part, the more insistent part, wanted to go home and revel in the memory of what had happened between them even while Levi cursed the man for running away. That was what he’d done, tucked his tail and hauled kitty ass like Levi had turned into a lion or whatever it was that could eat a cougar. And what had he said?
Like Levi even had to think about it.
Cougars aren’t known for sharing.
Levi snorted as he opened the door to his cabin, forgetting the place was a disaster until he went inside and it wasn’t. “What—”
Oscar came out of the bathroom, wearing long rubber gloves and holding a toilet brush. He looked at Levi and wrinkled his nose. “My book was beyond boring. You smell like semen.” He sniffed and his eyes bugged as he pointed the wet brush at Levi. “And not
your
semen, not just, anyway! What the heck happened?” He came closer, waving that nasty brush.
Levi stepped back and pressed himself against the door. “Why are you here so late? It has to be after midnight. And could you not splatter me with whatever’s dripping off of that? I’d rather not add eau de crapper to my already noxious—to you at least—odour.”
Oscar blinked then looked at the toilet brush like he hadn’t a clue how it’d ended up in his hand. He scrunched his nose up again and muttered something about ‘nasty uncouth heathens’ and ‘their freakish bowels and sorry aim pissing’ as he strode to the bathroom, his usual grace missing. Levi heard a thud of plastic on porcelain and the
phthpt
of the glove being pulled off, then Oscar marched back in, a determined glint in his eye.
“I told you I was bored, that’s why I came over here. Sit and spill.” Oscar pointed to the couch, which was now recognisable as something other than a pile of empty food wrappers and cans.
Levi braced a hand on the back of the couch and leapt over it, landing on his butt and jostling the springs under the cushions. He craned his neck and grinned at Oscar, who merely rolled his eyes before doing the exact same thing and landing beside Levi, except Oscar moved like grace personified as he did it. Oscar nibbled his bottom lip while he faced Levi expectantly.
Levi sighed and leaned his head back against the top of the couch. The bite at the nape of his neck stung and he hissed. Next thing he knew, Oscar was practically climbing on him, pushing at him plucking at the back of Levi’s shirt.
“Holy crap!” Oscar tugged some more until Levi finally gave in and slumped forward. He prodded at the bite, eliciting a grunt from Levi. “Geez, what did you do—or, what
did
you?”
Oscar’s eyes were so huge Levi didn’t know why they weren’t shooting right out of the sockets.
“Oh my God,” Oscar gasped, slapping a hand to his chest. “Did you, you know, in leopard form? Did you have sex with a wild cat?”
He couldn’t decide whether Oscar was horrified or titillated at the idea and he didn’t have the energy to try. The truth was, Levi had come down hard after his fantasy man had run off.
More proof the whole thing really happened, in case I ever doubted. The ending sucked!
Levi gave himself a mental shake and nudged Oscar’s arm until his brother sat down beside him without poking or prodding at Levi.
Oscar listened in rapt attention to Levi’s recounting of his run, although the sexual encounter was abbreviated to a ‘and he rubbed off on me after I came’, in an attempt by Levi to mute the strength of the experience in his mind. Besides, that was more than he had ever wanted to share about his sex life while talking to his baby brother.
“What did he look like?”
Levi was stumped by Oscar’s question, because there just weren’t enough words, not the right ones that Levi could find, at least. He settled for giving what he figured would be a corny answer to Oscar. “He was golden, Oz. Gorgeous, big, and golden, even under the silver moonlight.”
“Wow.”
Yeah, that almost covers it.
Levi watched Oscar rolling something around in his mind. He almost dreaded finding out what it was, but knew he had little choice in the matter. Levi always listened to Oscar even if sometimes he didn’t like what his brother said. This time it wasn’t too bad, though, and was something Levi had been thinking about, too.
“So there are other shifters,” Oscar mused. “That makes sense, though. But how much of their animal’s nature do they retain?”
Levi was wondering the same thing. “He said cougars aren’t big on sharing.”
Oscar tapped his lips, muffling his voice lightly when he spoke. “Was he talking about you, I wonder?”
“Right, that’s why he took off like a cat whose tail got stomped on.” Admitting it was almost as humiliating as the actual occurrence.
“Ouch.” Oscar grimaced, moving his hand down to rub at his backside. “Don’t remind me. But think about it. We aren’t solitary creatures like snow leopards are. We kind of have our own pack, even if it is all family. Are we that way because of what we are, or despite it?”
Sometimes Oscar could tie even himself up with words, but Levi thought he caught the gist of what his brother was saying. “Grandma Marybeth said that unlike the full-blooded snow leopards, she was part of a family of shifters, kind of a village or clan somewhere around the Himalayas. Makes me think we are more human, and we just have something extra, maybe, instead of a wild beast tempered by a little humanity.” Levi shrugged.
“I wish we knew more about what we are,” Oscar grumbled. “All we know is what Grandma Marybeth tells us.”
Levi did, too, but since Grandma Marybeth was the only link they had to their history, and she hadn’t been more than a young child when her shifter clan had been hunted and killed for their fur and parts, she didn’t know very much about their shifter history either. They did know the ability to shift came from the maternal line, passed from mother to children. Even male shifters couldn’t help populate their species. It tended to make him feel superfluous, but the fact was it certainly made being gay easier for his family to accept. Which was good, considering there seemed to be quite a few of his cousins who were also gay. And there was Uncle Victor and his partner Clement—
“Go shower already,” Oscar ordered, snapping Levi out of his thoughts. “Don’t forget to check your website for new orders before you go to bed, either!”
Levi heaved himself up off the couch, Oscar shoving on his butt to help him out, or more likely, just to irritate him by implying Levi needed help in the first place. If so, it didn’t work. Levi wasn’t up to being snarky. “Thanks for cleaning up the place. I appreciate it.” He reached out and ruffled Oscar’s hair, something his little brother only tolerated from him, although usually not for long.
Oscar swatted at Levi’s hand and ducked away. “I told you, I was bored. See you in the morning.”
Levi stopped at the bathroom door and turned to look at Oscar, who was watching him with an odd expression on his face. “Can you—will you not tell anyone else about this? I don’t care to share my sex life with the family. It’s just weird.” And he wanted to keep the memory of tonight for himself. He hadn’t had any choice but to explain to Oscar since he’d been here and Levi had smelt like cum.
Oscar nodded after several seconds but it seemed a reluctant gesture. “I won’t say anything—for now. If the cougar shows back up or hurts you, though, I’m going to make sure everyone in this family goes after him.”
Levi figured that was all he could really ask for. “Thank you.” He winked at Oscar then turned around and entered the bathroom.
Since his bathroom was no longer trashed and the toilet clean enough that the porcelain bowl sparkled, Levi almost felt like he was going to soil the tidy room. Almost, but not entirely. Sure, he was covered in dirt and twigs and probably a few ticks even, but he also carried his mystery shifter’s scent and seed.
Stripped, Levi stood in front of the mirror above the sink and twisted around until he could see the bite mark like he’d been itching to do. It wasn’t deep, had barely broken the skin in a couple of places, but it was a deep purple-red that reminded Levi of the other man’s thick cock as he’d pumped it, emptying his load onto Levi’s skin.
Levi’s cock sprung back to full staff, heat pooling low in his gut, spearing through his groin and tightening everything from his belly to his calves. He did his best to ignore his arousal until he started the shower running. His cock bobbed against his stomach, leaving sticky spots in the dark hair that was smattered over the front of his torso. He wished he had more willpower, at least enough to wash the cum off him first, but Levi just didn’t.
He rested his ass on the countertop and spread his legs, wiggling until his cheeks were parted as well. Levi closed his eyes and ran his hand down his jaw, regretting having already scraped the cum from his skin there. He traced the places where the stranger’s creamy essence had all but singed his skin.
Those spots felt warmer, more sensitive, and if that was only his imagination, Levi didn’t care. He thought he could come just from brushing over them again and again.
Not that he was going to.
Levi gasped as he fisted his dick in a strangling grasp. The bite of pain pushed him closer to the edge. Reaching behind himself, Levi used his other hand and pulled at his ass. He traced the path rubbed by a thick cock earlier. His skin there was tender, almost raw, and patches of dried, flaky pre-cum gave way under his touch. Levi moaned, softly at first then louder as he jerked his cock without mercy.
Already his balls were tight, high in their sac. His thighs quivered and waves of stinging heat rolled from his groin to his ass, from his belly to his nipples. Each stroke of his cock reverberated to pleasure points he hadn’t even known he had, setting his body into a frenzy of chaotic need. Levi let the images come—golden hair, golden eyes, golden skin, the snarl and sound he’d heard as he’d been mounted.
Fuck, but I wish—
Levi got no further than that before he keened as ecstasy exploded up from his balls, bathing his entire being in a sensation so intense it rivalled the earlier encounter in the forest. Levi pumped his cock, kept stripping it even after the last spit of cum had drained.
It wasn’t enough, despite his dick being raw and sore from his rough handling along with being ground against the forest floor a few hours ago. Even though he doubted he’d get hard again for hours, Levi still wasn’t sated. He didn’t understand it and he sure as hell didn’t like it, feeling that he was controlled by something outside of
his
control. The more Levi thought about it, the angrier he got.
At least that’s better than mooning over some freaky-hot dry hump session. I can rail at fate, or whatever. Or, I can act like a man and get my shit together before I become a simpering metrosexual or, God forbid, a
sensitive
soul.
That was disturbing enough to knock Levi out of his weird funk. He scrubbed his body clean, refusing to regret the loss of another man’s scent, and told himself he wouldn’t think of the cougar shifter again.
It wasn’t a resolution he could keep, not even for a few minutes after he made it. Levi dreamt of his mysterious lover and woke up so aroused he wanted to scream. Masturbating wasn’t cutting it. He craved a touch that wasn’t his own, a specific touch from a specific man.
Levi hoped the need would lessen as time passed, but he had a bad feeling it wouldn’t. No one had ever got to him so intensely, and he was afraid he’d have a difficult time shaking thoughts of his sexy trespasser. It wouldn’t surprise him if he ended up thinking of the golden man every day and continued dreaming of him at night no matter how much he tried to forget.