With Caution

and get comfortable again. Apparently, Jake hadn’t been the only one not sleeping the last few nights if Remi’s state of unconsciousness was anything to go by.
    Remi lay on his side, his hands pressed under his face and his right leg hiked up just enough to expose part of his muscled belly and the tip of his cock. He looked sexy as hell with his hair half covering his face. It gave him a just-fucked look. Jake’s cock twitched, www.samhainpublishing.com 73
    J.L. Langley
    threatening to get hard. Holy shit, he couldn’t believe he’d actually fucked Remi. More to the point, Remi had pretty much initiated it by showing up here and announcing they were mates.
    Jake’s stomach rumbled again. He really didn’t want to leave the room. As ridiculous as it seemed, he was half afraid if he left, Remi might disappear. Jake groaned at himself, grasped the blanket at the foot of his bed and covered his mate with it.
    Remi would likely be hungry when he woke, so Jake got out the stuff to make spaghetti and started cooking. He wanted to know what had happened to change Remi’s mind.
    If he were honest with himself, he also felt a bit of apprehension. What if Remi woke up and freaked out again? Not like Jake could do much about it he supposed, but damn that would suck. After having Remi, it would be pure torture to go back to a platonic relationship and pretending they were only friends.
    Jake took a deep breath and let it out as he turned the burner on under the hamburger meat. Underneath the smell of cooking meat, boiling noodles and tomato, the scent of Remi clung to his skin. Mmmm, Remi and sex. Damned if Jake’s eyes didn’t shift. It made him wonder if having made love to Remi was also going to make his body harder to control. Jake sure as hell hoped not. Judging from the mates he knew, it should make the attraction wane a bit, or at least make it easier to control. But if this afternoon was any indication, he might be in trouble.
    He’d wanted so badly to bite into Remi’s neck and pin him in place with his teeth while he fucked him. He wanted to dominate Remi. It was overwhelming. Sheer willpower alone, which thankfully he had a ton of, let him pull away. The thought of how Remi would probably react to being bitten was sobering. It made his eyes shift back to normal.
    “Mmm… What are you making?”
    Oh, that was a good sign. Remi didn’t sound shaken up in the least, only a little sleepy. Jake smiled and glanced toward the kitchen door. “Spaghetti. You hungry?”
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    www.samhainpublishing.com

    With Caution
    Remi shrugged and stretched, showing off lean muscles. He had only put on his jeans and the enticing trail of dark hair below his bellybutton came into view with his action. “I could eat. I gotta leave at three though. I promised Sterling I’d take him to see the new Harry Potter movie and it starts at three thirty.”
    Jake grinned. “You’ve got time, it’s only two. This will be done in a minute. How do you feel? Are you sore?”
    Redness seeped into Remi’s cheeks and he looked away. The blush was refreshing and Jake had to bite back a laugh. Remi was going to have to get use to the bluntness in regards to sex. It wasn’t something Jake could turn off.
    “I’m fine. You need me to help with anything?”
    “It’s almost ready, but why don’t you get us something to drink. Glasses are in there”—he used the spatula to point at the cabinet to his left—“and there’s water, beer, tea and cokes in the fridge. I want water.” Jake grabbed a strainer from the cabinet, put it in the sink and dumped the noodles into it. Remi went to work behind him, getting them drinks while Jake took the skillet of meat off the fire. Neither of them said a thing for several minutes while Jake put their food on plates.
    “Jake?” Remi’s voice was so soft Jake barely heard it over the clatter of dishes.
    He set the sauce aside and turned.
    Remi stood right behind him, close enough it would have been simple to reach out and bring their bodies together. Jake wanted to do so, but he waited. The look on Remi’s face was almost sad, but Jake didn’t smell grief, just a bit of nervousness. Oh please no.
    His stomach plummeted, wondering if this was when Remi told him it was all a mistake.
    “I’m sorry. I’m sorry about the other night, I was…scared. Still am actually.” He glanced up, making eye contact. “If Dirk found out, there would be trouble, but I want to try and make this work. We have