***
Troy went red so fast he flopped onto the bed and drew the covers up to his neck. “I’m not hungry.” He croaked.
“I’m not buying that.” Philip chuckled as he went to draw the blinds.
“It’s already past noon?” Troy muttered as he looked up at the clock on the wall. It was already past four p. m.
“Well…” Philip drawled. “It’s past noon alright but… Not on the day you think.”
“What do you mean?”
“You actually slept through an entire day,” Philip explained as he folded his arms across his massive chest and stared at his mate.
“What?”
“Since you remember I bit you, I’m going to assume you remember everything,” Philip said. “You were totally out by the time we left the Jungle Room. That was around eight a. m. And that was yesterday.”
“Last I remembered, I was a wolf,” Troy mumbled.
“No shit.” Philip grinned, ignoring Troy’s annoyed scowl. “Anyway, you did shift back before we left.”
“How could I turn back into human and not remember?”
“Oh, you could barely keep your eyes open,” Philip revealed. “I asked you to shift before you passed out. Then I cleaned you up and brought you here?”
Troy went quiet for a moment, surprised he’d even done as Philip had asked. “And why did you decide to bring me to your room?”
“You did come here to hide out, remember?” Philip drawled. “Care to tell me why?”
But that question was all it took to change Troy’s demeanor. He suddenly fell back on the bed with a groan. “Oh god, shit, shit, shit… What did I do?” He moaned pitifully, confusing Philip. “I need to see Ryan.” He got off the bed, not minding at all that he was exposing his full nakedness to Philip, and reached for the t-shirt Philip had brought.
“Why?”
“What do you mean why?” Troy groaned. “I nearly killed the guy. I don’t know how he managed not to get hurt but… I need to go and apologize. Oh god…” He looked so upset. “I don’t even remember conjuring that fireball. I would never want to hurt him.” He muttered as he pulled on the t-shirt. “You, I wouldn’t think twice about hurting…because you deserve to be roasted alive on an open fire…but Ryan, oh god.” He grabbed the sweatpants but Philip took it from him and drew him close.
“Hey…” Philip said softly. It didn’t feel good to know his mate wanted him roasted alive but he could tell that Troy didn’t really mean that so he wasn’t too bothered. “Why don’t you take a shower first just to calm yourself down?” Philip murmured. “Then you can go and apologize.”
“I need to apologize to him before I do anything.” Ryan insisted. “My mother says he’s pregnant. What if…”
“Hey, relax,” Philip whispered as he leaned his forehead against Troy’s. Troy’s distress was affecting him and he hated the feeling. Unfortunately, that was one of the effects of marking one’s mate. You got to feel whatever your mate was feeling. “Please relax. Nothing happened.”
“That’s not the point.” Troy groaned. “What if it had?”
“And that’s why you are going to apologize,” Philip said calmly. “But I just need you to calm down first.” Philip raised his head and looked into Troy’s captivating blue eyes. “Please.”
“I can’t.” Troy whimpered. “The guilt inside is…”
“I know.” Philip started rubbing his fingers along the back of Troy’s neck. The guy was clearly overwhelmed by the intensity of what he was feeling.
Shifting had predictably heightened Troy’s senses and emotions. It was, therefore, only natural for him to feel intense guilt at what he’d done. It would take a while for him to be able to learn how to control his emotions.
Troy leaned into Philip’s touch. He knew he had to move away from Philip and do what was necessary…go and find Ryan. But those fingers felt so good he couldn’t bring himself to push Philip away. “I really need to go…”
“Shhh…” Philip simply wanted to calm his mate down. One couldn’t tell what Troy would do if his emotions got the best of him. “I’ll let you go.” He whispered as his rubbing fingers moved to the sides of Troy’s neck. “Just relax…”
“Ahh…” Troy moaned suddenly as a delicious shudder flashed through him. Philip was rubbing that mark with his fingers. Troy pressed himself against Philip. “What did you do to me?” He asked shakily as his eyes fluttered close. “That mark…”
“What about it?”
“When you touch… holy hell…” Troy moaned frenziedly and pressed even harder against Philip, his erection rubbing against Philip’s denim-covered thigh. He was so hard. “Why am I feeling like this…” He whispered, rubbing himself against Philip. “Feels so good.” His face was pressed against Philip’s neck. “No, don’t stop.” He breathed when Philip stopped rubbing the mark. “Keep going, please.” He pleaded. He was almost…
“Troy…” Philip groaned but he did as his mate had asked. “I shouldn’t be doing…” He trailed off when Troy began to writhe against him in orgasmic bliss.
“Oh god…” Troy cried shakily as a shattering release swept through him, stealing his breath.
Perspiration broke out on Philip as he watched his mate. With his head thrown back, lips parted and eyes closed, Troy was a picture of male ecstasy. Through lowered lids, Philip’s eyes lingered on Troy’s face, utterly enthralled by him. And the luscious scent of his cum…
“Fuck…” Philip swore when his eyes turned amber. That didn’t surprise the alpha at all. It was only natural for his wolf to pop up at such a time. It clearly wanted a piece of Troy.
Philip’s hold on control was virtually nonexistent at that point. He was a breath away from giving in to the mad desire to take his mate right there and then. The only thing holding him back was that burning issue of total disclosure. He knew that he had to first tell Troy all about that mark and why he’d given it to him before he attempted anything intimate with the boy. He squeezed his eyes closed and tried to push his sexy mate from his mind. It was either that or lose control and fuck the living daylights out of him.
“Fuck, this is killing me.” Philip groaned and stepped back from a still moaning Troy.
“I’m so…sorry…” Troy stuttered as his eyes fell on not only the evidence of his orgasm on Philip’s jeans but the bulge of Philip’s blatant arousal. “Sorry…”
“An apology?” Philip rasped. “I must be dreaming.”
“I…’
“Go and take a shower, Troy.” Philip pointed at the en-suite bathroom. “We will talk when you’re done.”
“How about Ryan…”
“You will shower, eat, listen to what I have to say, and then…”
“You can’t force me to do what I don’t want to do.” Troy snapped.
“I can and I will,” Philip growled.