*****
I burst out laughing, basically doubling over. It was the most I had laughed in a while. My stomach almost hurt as I clutched it while not even trying to control my amused response. Eventually, my eyes moved to the man in front of me when my laughter had finally died down a little, although looking at him immediately made me laugh again.
"Why are you laughing?" Karabo asked looking unimpressed at my reaction to his question.
"Oh sorry about that, I just – I thought I heard you ask if I would let them join my pack," I said leaning back against my desk and letting out a hearty sigh. That was a great laugh.
"You know that's what I asked." He frowned at me.
"Right, and you know my answer," I replied seriously.
"Eli –"
"Some wolf that created a pack to side with a crazy human tells you a sop story and you want me to risk my pack for them? No, Babe." I had called him that specifically to point out that I would not agree to what he had asked me, even though he was my mate.
"Seth created the pack before they sided with Craig. He needed the boost in power to protect what was left of his original pack; no one would take them in after most of them got killed in an attack. Their pack is built with rogues in the same situation as they are. They were mad at wolves for rejecting them when they had done nothing wrong; they were hurt and needed the power to protect themselves and gain territory. Eli, I can't move them across the world when most of them still haven't even gotten over losing their homes and so many of their friends and family. Please? Please take them in."
I watched him, his eyes practically pleading with me. In his eyes, I could tell that he already cared so much about wolves he had literally just met. He felt things so easily it made me wish he would stop being so emotional, but at the same time, I liked that about him...
He had already convinced me to help 'Alpha' Seth and his 'pack' but he didn't need to know that. I crossed my arms nodding slowly.
"What's in it for me?" Karabo stared at me dumbfounded before he gave a sigh of disbelief and turned to leave but I grabbed his wrist. He looked back at me and I frowned at him before I rolled my eyes as he grinned.
"Thank you," he said before he tried to leave again but I didn't let his wrist go.
"What?" he asked.
"Don't I get a hug for this?" He scoffed and I raised my brows. "Where are you going anyway?" I was almost annoyed. If he says Seth...
"I have to tell Seth you agreed and then we have to help them get settled in before I leave –" He was saying as he tried to pull his wrist from my hand but I tugged in it to pull him back to me, his back bumping into my chest before I secured him to the spot by locking my arms around his waist.
"Seth can wait," I mumbled kissing the base of his neck.
He chuckled lifting his hands to my arms to move them. "Eli -"
"No," I muttered against his skin, my voice edging and mixing with a slight growl from my wolf at the thought that he was leaving me to meet with Seth. Should have marked him when we met... I felt him shiver and smirked as I hugged him against me. "Aren't you going to tell me not to tell you what to do, Alpha?" I asked.
"No..." He mumbled and I felt his fingers trace against the skin of my forearms lightly, "I'm curious about what would happen if I stay..."
"I'm not promising that you'll be able to leave if you stay," I whispered into his ear as I straightened so I was against him and he could feel what I meant. I felt myself smile as he swallowed nervously.
"I'm... uh... leaving," he said nervously but he didn't make a move to leave.
I grabbed the sides of his waist turning him to me and pushed my lips to his quickly. I then slid my arms around his tense, surprised body to pull him closer to me and felt him relax against me as I licked his lip gently. Much more gently than I liked, I really just wanted to smash him into the wall and mark him. Would he mind? Would I mind? I didn't know... I just knew he was so hot earlier and wanting him so much when I was watching him out there made me realise how much more I wanted to be near him. Or have him. Mark him so assholes like that wanna-be Alpha could keep their hands off what was mine.
"Eli –" Karabo chuckled as I bit his lip a little too roughly. I held back an annoyed growl as he pulled back from me. "We should talk before... this." He said looking like he only half wanted to talk. There was no way that was going to happen at the moment when he was already leaning in to what I'd started.
"Talk?" I asked pecking his lips before placing another kiss beside his mouth and then on his jaw. Talking was the last thing I wanted to do, and I had a feeling what he wanted to talk about was going to be a complete turn-off, his tone of voice gave off that it was about me as well. "You wanna talk?" I smirked hearing him sigh in contentment as I kissed the front of his neck softly, gently brushing my teeth against his skin. His head tilted up giving me more access to his neck. "Fine... Talk, Babe." I whispered teasingly between kissing and sucking his skin lightly while my hands ran under his shirt to linger on his warm chest until they reached his pecks before trailing back down.
"Eli... Really, you need..." His words drowned into a moan as I grabbed his hips to pull him against me so I could grind against him slightly. "Okay... uh..." Why did he suddenly sound nervous? I pulled back to look at him and he looked down to hide his face. My face broke into a smile I couldn't help. Why was he so damn adorable?
"Am I making you nervous?" I asked with a chuckle.
"Please," he muttered rolling his eyes as he looked at me confidently. "Isn't this supposed to be done in a room or something?"
"We are in a room." he frowned at me.
"On a bed."
"Not necessarily," I said. He mumbled an 'oh' looking embarrassed and I laughed before I stopped, my eyes widening. "Have you never –?" I began.
"Of course I have!" He cut me off defensively while he glared at me and I laughed at his lying. His eyes shifted from mine for a second, upset. "Whatever, I was busy with work and I knew I had a mate." He said.
"So was I, but I made time for sex. Also, how else was I supposed to practice?" He grimaced in response.
"Oh wow. How nice for you to be an Alpha and somehow have enough time on your hands to be a whore too. You want a medal? Please, tell me how to be like yo -" I cut his sarcasm drenched tone off by kissing him again. It almost pained me to break away from him so I could frown at him.
"Too late to be a whore. You're mine now. Only mine."
"Damn it." he muttered faking disappointment as his hands pat my thighs, "Guess you're hot though." We chuckled before I smiled as I looked at him but my smile fell seeing him staring at me.
"What are you doing?" I asked awkwardly. Why is he staring at me?
"I missed this." he poked my lips.
"I missed yours too," I smirked.
"I meant your smile, Idiot." He rolled his eyes. "Obviously I'm going to have to be the smarter Alpha in this relationship," he said with an exasperated exhale. I began laughing and he chuckled. "It's so charming when you actually do it." he poked my face again and I immediately straightened my face but it only lasted for a second before I grinned again and suddenly felt self-conscious as he stared at me like he had before.
"What? Karabo, stop doing –" I felt my heart skip as his lips met mine. I blinked at him once he pulled back but my surprise only increased when he grabbed the hem of his shirt and tugged it off to toss it to the floor beside him. My eyes immediately trailed down his chest following the tattoos that lined his defined pecks and abdomen. He raised his brows questioningly with a slight smirk on his face. I chuckled as I leaned back into him grabbing his bare waist to tug him along as I moved from the desk.
We stumbled across the room, him giving muffled chuckles and me trying to make sure he didn't ruin the flow of the moment by full-out crashing to the floor and laughing. He seemed both excited and a little nervous which I found adorable and when finally reached the couch, I laughed breaking the kiss to push him onto it. He fell back and I climbed onto the couch above him resting one of my knees between his legs while my other leg held my balance on the floor. His giddiness was making him seem quite aloof so I decided to tease him.
"Did you take something before coming in here?" I asked amused but instead of replying to my question, he glanced down between us before looking back up into my eyes with a smirk.
"Nice to know how attractive I am –" I flicked his forehead with my middle finger causing him to give a dramatic cry. He wasn't wrong, I was straining against my pants at the thought of finally having him.
"Shut up." I chuckled leaning down to kiss him deeply as I ran my tongue into his mouth to find his.
I somewhat felt the need to guide him given that I was more experienced and growled his name lowly as he tried to take control of the kiss but felt him smirk against my lips at the sound. How could he be so playful and yet so passionate and intense at the same time? It was so overwhelming feeling the need to rip the remaining clothing between us away so I could just get into him or punish him for his subtle teasing while also wanting to stop and cuddle or tickle him so I could keep hearing his playful, giddy laughing. I felt his hands tug at the hem of my shirt as he tried to pull it off but I grabbed it breaking away for a split second to toss it wherever before bringing my lips back against his while his hands roamed my bare chest and back. When we both really needed to breathe, he broke the kiss with an adorable soft, breathless chuckle and I kept planting kisses on his neck. I stopped for a moment to suck at the base of his neck and felt my core tighten hearing him give a moan as his fingers dug into my shoulders. I decided not to mark him with my teeth just yet though, and after leaving a light bruise on his neck, I continued to trail kisses down his chest while drawing in as much breath as I could between them. Breathing was so annoying at the moment, I did not want to break away from his body for a second. I just wanted to taste him without any interruptions and his tugging on my hair told me he wanted the same.
My lips moved further down beneath his belly button until I reached the rim of his underwear that peaked out of the waist of his jeans. I smirked up at him and lifted my hands to his to begin to undo it. He already looked like he really wanted release and I planned to take my time just to tease him even though I desperately wanted to please him. I got his pants off before reaching for his briefs but froze hearing a sudden click and simultaneously felt Karabo tense beneath me as his eyes shot wide.
"Eli, would you pick your brother up from –?" Oh God no. Anyone but them. Why?
I felt my face burn furiously as my mate bit his lip beneath me looking both embarrassed and like he was desperately trying not to laugh as he covered his mouth.
"Oh... you're... Never mind." Paps left without closing the door, "Jay, we'll have to get Danté. Eli's a little... preoccupied." his voice was amused and hinted exactly towards what he meant.
I groaned in complete embarrassment dropping my forehead against Karabo's chest as I heard Dad's soft laughing somewhere in the house. I so badly wanted to sink into Karabo or just disappear as my face flamed furiously.
The warm chest beneath my head shook as my mate chuckled when we heard the front door close and lock and I let out another helplessly embarrassed groan into him as he just began laughing.
Why didn't I lock the door?
"Hey, Babe..." I felt Karabo's fingers run through my hair gently. My response was another agonised groan as I refused to look up at him and it earned a breathless chuckle from above me. "We're alone now." he finished. I looked up at him and felt my smile return. We were... "So..." The smile was gone from his lips and his eyes burned into mine intensely, his irises laced with black like his wolf had only partially taken over or they both just felt the same very strong emotion.
"Right. Where were we?" I smirked.
*****