Beta Bully (M/M) - Chapter 25 (Early Access) (Patreon)

Recharging

Outside of the store, sporting matching carrier bags, they smiled at each other. Darcy was exhausted, but he didn’t want to show it. His legs and fingers were still shaking. He hid his curled hands in his sweatshirt sleeves.

“Are you okay?” Of course Luca noticed.

“Yeah, just…” Darcy shrugged. He didn’t know how to put into polite words that he’d just experienced an orgasm that literally stole all of his energy. And even if he did know how to say it in a way that wasn’t crude, he still wouldn’t. Luca’s ego was big enough already. “Tired,” he finished lamely.

“Was it too much?” Luca murmured. His voice was husky.

Darcy blushed, nothing new for the day he’d had. It was just touching, he reminded himself, lots of couples did it. Especially soul-mates. Luca’s touch was always more intense than anyone else’s, though. It lit fire under his skin.

“Did you not like it?”

His second question almost tripped Darcy into the road.

“I did,” he whispered, but refused to meet his eyes. “Did you like it?” he asked awkwardly.

Luca chuckled into the top of his head. “Of course. I was this close-” He pinched Darcy’s cheek between two fingers. “-to licking you clean.”

The memory of Luca leaning over him, licking his lips, flashed into his mind.

“Luca!” he scolded, although he kept his voice down. Luca laughed again and released his cheek. He nodded down the street and lead them along it, following the bustling crowds. Darcy kept tucked in close next to him as they joined the flow of foot traffic.

“Let’s get something to eat and then I’ll drop you home,” he suggested with a gentle tone.

“Oh, thank you.” Darcy did his best not to sound disappointed. They were supposed to find him an outfit for the party as well. Darcy was very grateful for his swimsuits, though. They were both more expensive than any single item in his wardrobe at home.

“And then next weekend, we can come back for round two!”

“Round two?” he repeated.

“Your party outfit, something to wear over your shorts when you’re not tearing up the pool.”

“Tearing up the pool?” Darcy laughed into his sweatshirt cuff a bit too hard. “Luca, I can barely swim!”

Luca gave him a concerned look. “You can’t swim?”

“I can, as long as I don’t need to get anywhere quickly.”

Luca grinned wildly. “I’ll be your personal lifeguard,” he promised. One hand wound around his waist and pulled him closer against him.

Darcy raised his plastic bag to his chest like a shield. “I won’t drown!” he argued. “Maybe just embarrass myself trying to get from one end to the other without pausing for breaks.”

“Who said anything about drowning? I just want an excuse to give you mouth-to-mouth.”

Darcy huffed and rolled his eyes. “When have you ever needed an excuse?”

“True.” Luca dipped his head and stole a kiss right from his lips before he had time to stop walking. His feet fumbled on the paving stones, but Luca’s arm around him refused to let him fall. Darcy dropped his eyes to the ground, embarrassed.

He felt light-headed again. The afterglow, the weariness of traipsing around stores, the sudden kiss melting his mind. It was all too much for a little omega to handle in one day.

They reached an open courtyard area filled with restaurants. Luca lead them to a wooden bench and stopped abruptly. Darcy watched him curiously, he had thought they were going into one of the eateries.

“Why don’t I grab you a sugary drink while you work out where you want to go for some real food?” Luca said quietly. His eyes were filled with concern for him, it made his insides feel gooey. “You look like you need a hit of sugar faster than a waiter will bring it.”

“Please,” Darcy whispered and dropped onto the bench with an ‘oof’ sound.

Luca nodded and propped up the matching bags at his feet.

“Any flavour request?”

Darcy shook his head.

“Okay, wait here and don’t go wandering off.” Luca winked but turned away too fast for Darcy to react. Not that his reaction was anything more than a flushed face and a few dumb blinks.

Luca jogged to the food van with the smallest queue. Darcy watched him intently. He was just standing in wait, then ordering, then paying, but everything about him drew his eyes. His powerful stance, his gorgeous body that had been wrapped around him in the changing room, his easy expressions as he made small talk with the man in the van. Luca thanked him and took the bottled drink from the counter.

Luca had taken only a step away from the van when a pair of familiar girls skittered towards him with their arms looped together. Darcy’s eye twitched at the sight of Jessica. They began chattering to him, even as he was inching his way back towards Darcy. Apparently humans were just as bad at reading wolf body language as Darcy was.

If he strained, and the pigeons kept it down, he could just about hear them.

“-was wondering if you wanted to go out for a coffee?”

“No, thanks,” Luca answered without a beat of hesitation. “I already have a boyfriend.”

Darcy’s cheeks burned. Girlfriends or boyfriends or any partner outside of soul-mates weren’t something wolves typically indulged in, but he enjoyed the momentary possessiveness he felt when he called him by the title.

Jessica tittered and rolled her eyes seductively. “I don’t see him,” she said.

Luca raised a sharp brow. “You need contacts or something?” he snapped. “He’s right there.” Their eyes followed the length of his finger, pointed straight at Darcy’s face. Darcy pretended to be oblivious to the conversation and let his eyes glaze over as he looked over the crowds. Darcy did his best to appear sophisticated with his pretty posture and tucked ankles.

“Don’t you think you could do a bit better than that?” Jessica sneered. “I’ve eaten chicken nuggets bigger than him.”

Darcy felt his face twitch.

“First of all, you have no idea how many times he’s rejected me,” Luca announced, almost proudly. Darcy wanted to roll his eyes at him, but he continued to stare out imperviously. “Secondly, he’s so beautiful that sometimes it hurts me in my soul to look at him, and we’ve already established that you’re blind as a bat, so why would I take your advice on appearances?” Darcy fought a wave of childish giggles. “Thirdly, I don’t think that was chicken in those nuggets.” A snort finally burst free and he hurriedly covered the bottom half of his face with his hand. There was no point pretending any more, so he let his eyes roam back to the trio.

Jessica was squinting up at him angrily. “I bet your boyfriend tells you you’re funny, but-”

“No, he tells me I’m a deeply disturbed individual that should stop carrying chloroform rags in my pockets.”

“Wha-”

“Hey.” Luca began digging in one of his pockets with his free hand. “Wanna smell something fun real quick?”

The girls scarpered, shoes skidding on the pavement as they tore into an enormous department store. Darcy watched Luca laugh to himself, then send a wink his way.

Darcy shook his head in a silent scolding once he was close enough to hand over the cool drink.

After a long, refreshing sip, he asked, “What would you have done if she took you up on your offer to ‘smell something fun’?”

“Shoved my fingers under her nose, probably,” Luca answered, far too readily. “Not that her human nose would be able to pick up your scent on them.” His eyes pointed not-so-subtly to Darcy’s crotch and he squeezed his thighs instinctively.

“Even more reason to find somewhere to eat - you need to wash your hands,” Darcy grumbled. His reflex to Luca’s flirtatious behaviour seemed to always be behaving grumpily or reproachfully. It was almost unintentional.

“It’s your choice, babe.”

Darcy chose completely at random, flustered with the sudden decision. He should have been perusing the restaurant signs while Luca was buying the drink, but he just couldn’t drag his eyes from him. Luca doing anything was more interesting to watch.

They ended up in a small Japanese restaurant where they shared a plethora of small plates. A relief to Darcy who could never match Luca’s bottomless stomach. It was a lovely meal, and Luca managed to last an entire hour without any innuendos. They talked about normal things like school, and their friends, and Luca even told him a little bit about his role as a beta within his pack. It would all be changing for both of them come the summer. As soon as they were finished with high school, they would both be starting their pre-determined careers, known from birth.

For Luca, a leadership role, just one step down from his newly-appointed alpha.

For Darcy, an assistant position, working alongside his alpha. Who his alpha would be come the summer was something he didn’t want to think about, though. If things kept racing forward the way they were, it could be Luca’s alpha instead of Marshall’s father.

The car ride home was quiet. Darcy had been left with a lot to think about. Plus, his weariness paired with a full stomach was making him doubly sleepy. Luca didn’t seem to mind, he traced soothing circles onto his thigh with one hand as he drove and checked in on how he was feeling every so often. Darcy always said he was fine.

For now, he was. It was the future Darcy he was worrying for.