Page 55 of Bear With Me

Dennis

They managed to put away a respectable portion of the large quantity of food they’d ordered, even making headway into an entire mini chocolate cake. By the time the eating slowed to a stop, Dennis felt like he was nursing a full-term food baby and he might never move again.

Bjorn, on the other hand, seemed energized. “That was so good!” he exclaimed as he put down his fork, running a finger through the cake icing that had collected on his plate and then licking it off his finger. “What should we do now?” He cast Dennis a suggestive look, and Dennis could only groan.

“Oh god, don’t make me think about sex while I’m digesting. I need all the blood flow to go to my stomach, not my dick.” And he didn’t know whether Bjorn would want to top him or not if they had sex, but he didn’t think his digestive system was up to it at the moment, if so.

Bjorn flat-out cackled, the sound light and joyful and only slightly mocking. “Oh, am I diverting your blood flow with my hot body?”

Dennis rolled his eyes, but couldn’t resist flirting back just a little. “I dunno, I see your body so often anymore. I’d need to see something really…special to divert my blood flow for real.”

Apparently, Bjorn couldn’t turn down a challenge, because he leapt to his feet and started striking corny bodybuilder poses, naked arms and thighs flexing. And yeah, ok, he was a gorgeous, well-built man covered in muscle and hair. Not that Dennis was into that or anything.

Cough.

“You know you want meeeee,” Bjorn teased, holding his last pose and making a dramatic face. “Come sex your mate up.”

His use of mate right then caught Dennis’s attention, and suddenly the flirting didn’t seem so lighthearted. He cleared his throat nervously. “Uh, so about that.”

Bjorn blinked, relaxing his pose. “About what?”

“The, uh, mates thing.” He winced at the way Bjorn’s face dropped; the other man was obviously expecting another rejection. “I’m not saying ‘no’,” he added quickly. “Well, not exactly. I was just…I mean, is it possible to have sex without having to do the bond?”

Bjorn’s face fell farther, but he gamely tried to answer as he sank back into his chair. “Physically possible? Yes. Plenty of people have sex with people they’re not bonded with. But for me…I’m not sure I could do something that takes so much trust with you without knowing we’re secure in what we are.”

That was a lot of words to say he wasn’t quite sure what, and Dennis took a moment to sort through them. “Wait, are you saying you wouldn’t have sex with someone you’re not bonded to? You’re a virgin?”

Bjorn turned red and started sputtering. “Me? I…no! Haha, of course not!”

The man protesteth too much, Dennis thought. He raised an eyebrow and waited.

“I’ve had anal sex before,” Bjorn protested, though a bit weakly, “and blowjobs, and handjobs. I really have. It just…wasn’t really worth it, each time. It’s hard to trust my body to someone I don’t know, and I end up really self-conscious the whole time, which kind of takes the fun out of it.” He winced. “That makes me sound insane, I know.”

Dennis considered that with what he hoped was a calm expression. “And you don’t trust me?” That hurt a surprising amount to hear. Since when did he care so much about making his mate feel safe and happy? Wait, since when had he officially started thinking of Bjorn as his mate, dammit?

Bjorn shrugged one shoulder. “I trust you to not hurt me while we have sex. That’s not the issue. With you it’s more…what if we sleep together and then you change your mind about me, and you go home, and I never see you again? After that type of intense closeness? I’m…I’m not sure how I’d cope with that, even as a bear.”

God, how was this man so sweet and vulnerable, especially considering the house he’d grown up in? Dennis couldn’t resist the urge to reach out and smooth a hand over Bjorn’s hair, which had been sticking up in every direction since his uncontrolled shift earlier. Bjorn tilted his head into Dennis’s hand like an affectionate cat. “I suppose that’s fair. I haven’t exactly given you any indication I’m willing to commit.”

Bjorn swallowed and shook his head, looking down at his hands where they sat on the tabletop. “I understand, though. You didn’t sign up for this. For me.”

“Hey.” Dennis reached out and tipped Bjorn’s chin up so their eyes could meet. “I didn’t see it coming, no, but I also don’t hate it. I’ve had a hell of a good time with you, Bjorn. And…” He groped through his brain for the right thing to say. Unfortunately, knowing the right thing to say had never been one of his talents. “And you’re…growing on me.” That didn’t seem like quite enough. He tried again: “I’m developing feelings for you, kind of in spite of myself. At first, I just wanted to forget all about this and go back to my pub and my life and never have to worry about mates again. Then, I was curious. Now…you’ve sucked me in, dammit. I’m not ready to get bitten yet, and I’m really sorry about that if it hurts to hear, but on the other hand, if I left you now, I think I’d feel like I left part of me behind.”

Bjorn’s eyes grew wet as Dennis spoke, and he clasped his hands under his chin hopefully. “So…there’s a chance? We don’t need to bond tonight, we absolutely don’t, I promise you,” he babbled. “We can do whatever you want. Anything.” He had a look of desperation on his face by the time he finished.

Dennis felt a twinge of something in his chest. Remorse? Pain? Sympathy? Identifying the finer emotions was not something he was great at. So instead, he moved his hand from Bjorn’s chin to his cheek, cradling his face and meeting his eyes. “No, not ‘anything’,” he admonished gently. “You’ve already told me you have a limit about having penetrative sex without a bond. I’ll respect that. I’d like to hear a bit more about what you are and aren’t comfortable with, though. You seem to enjoy it when we kiss, for example.”

“Oh god, yes,” Bjorn exclaimed enthusiastically, eyes lighting up. “I love it when you kiss me. And I…” He blushed. “I’d like to, you know, touch you some. And have you touch me.”

“Above the beltline, or below?”

“Um, yes?”

That got a laugh out of Dennis. “Do you want me to make you come, Bjorn?”

His eyes dropped to half-mast and he shuddered lightly and bit his lip. “Yes,” he said so quietly that Dennis wouldn’t have heard it if he hadn’t been watching Bjorn’s lips as they moved. “I mean, if that’s something you want. No pressure.”

“Oh, no,” Dennis deadpanned, “I have a hot, naked man here who wants to let me run my hands all over him until he comes like a fountain. Oh, no, what shall I ever do?” He laid the back of his hand over his forehead like a fainting damsel.