Unwilling Ch. 07

For now, all Darwin cared about was the smell of food coming from the big metal pot in the middle of the table. The food wasn't hot anymore, but still warm enough to savor, and Darwin hadn't eaten anything worth calling 'food' for nearly two days. "Smells good," he murmured more to himself than to Jared as he filled his plate, piling together spaghetti and meat sauce until it started spilling over the rim of the dish.

He felt Jared watching him as he dug in but didn't comment on it. He had been watched continuously for days now, and Jared was finally wearing him down. And since he had agreed to be his mate he had a whole life of being stared at by that hunk ahead of him. If they didn't get killed soon, of course.

Only when Darwin's plate finally showed through the mess of noodles Jared stopped staring and instead leaned back and slid down into a more comfortable sitting position. "I promised Rayne that you wouldn't attack him again," he commented, stretching his arms before he placed his hands behind his head. "And since I'm pretty sure that promise is worth shit, I also told him he'd be allowed to punish you next time. I won't like it, but you're responsible for your own actions and I seem to be the only one forgetting that."

"I can take care of myself," Darwin grumbled, but the words didn't hold their usual bite. In hindsight he'd been damn lucky, and he knew it. Had it been Carl and not Jared, he probably wouldn't be able to get out of bed right now. And seeing as how Rayne had lived his life up until now, he could have reacted worse and nobody would have held a grudge. A dominant who didn't hold his own quickly went down the social ladder, and the deep end was a place worse than anything Darwin had ever experienced, because it didn't let you go once you were there.

There was only one thing he could say in this moment, and it wasn't meant for Jared. Darwin looked across the room to the kitchen sink and watched Rayne's back twitch and tighten under the constant movements of his hands.

"I'm sorry. Shoving you was way out of line." He didn't bother promising not to do it again because he was with Jared on this one. It probably would happen again. Maybe not soon, but some day he'd get into it with Rayne again, and there was no use denying that.

For a few moments Rayne didn't react, but kept washing the dishes. The anger was still visible in his movements, but either Rayne was the most peaceful dominant Darwin had ever seen, or he had already found a solution with Jared because after a short silence he just shrugged. "Alright," he finally answered, and turned off the water.

When Rayne turned around he watched Jared's face for a few heartbeats, then his dark eyes jumped to Darwin. He still looked miffed, but Darwin got the feeling his bad mood wasn't about being shoved. "But you're gonna have to give me something. I'm not a saint and you piled up enough attitude for a day."

Darwin turned down his eyes and forked the last remnants of his dinner around on the plate. Rayne was talking about Harry, the one point Darwin didn't feel like giving in on.

"What do you want me to say?" he finally asked with a level voice, "I don't know you well enough to trust you with my best friend's heart. But I know him, and I won't let you hurt him." And hurt him he would, Darwin knew. There was no way around getting hurt in a relationship, but if there was a way to keep the hurt to a normal, healthy minimum, he was ready to take the heat. The problem was how to ensure Rayne understood what Darwin meant.

"I don't oppose a relationship between you and him, but Harry is not as resilient as me. He'll give in instantly and trust you completely, whether you've earned that trust or not. And as long as I don't know if you'll stay with him at least long enough to give this between you a chance, I will get in your way."

Rayne sighed irritated. "So what you're saying is, I have to play the good boy if I want to be with Harry?" He looked to Jared next, pointing at Darwin accusingly. "And you're just gonna sit there and let him dictate the rules?"

Jared, who had kept his mouth shut diplomatically for the whole discussion, tilted up one eyebrow. Darwin couldn't interpret the expression on his face, but it looked neutral enough.

"We're all new to this pack thing. The way I see it, the only two people really intimate with each other are Harry and Darwin, and I'm willing to trust his judgment for Harry's sake. He says it's best for Harry if you go slow, what's there to object to?" He turned just enough to look at Rayne more directly and added, "if you think Harry is the one for you, you've got all the time in the world. You'll never be happy with him as long as Darwin doesn't back you up, and you know it. So just prove your intentions to him, it's not asking too much."

He sounded very reasonable, and very Alpha-like. Darwin looked down at the plate to hide his own expression from both of them, mostly because it was a bad moment to fawn over Jared.

Rayne didn't look any happier than before, but he kept quiet. He wiped his hands and put away the dishes, then he turned around and grumbled, "I'll go have a look around," and left without another word. It was good enough for Darwin.

~*~

~*Jared*~

Rayne stayed away for nearly two hours. When he came back he looked calmer but not happier, and didn't seem to be in a talkative mood. Darwin had finally let himself be talked into a shower after helping Harry get Darla settled, and now Harry was in Darla's room reading a book as he watched over her.

It left Rayne with no real choice of what company to keep. When he sagged onto the couch next to Jared, he brought a breeze of frosty air with him, telling of the temperatures outside. Jared, a southerner by heart, dreaded the thought of walking outside without a real coat, but Rayne didn't seem troubled by the weather.

Jared was holding one of the nature magazines he had found in one of the drawers, but his mind didn't follow the stories. It was a place to put his eyes, but his thoughts were on other things altogether.

"I need your help to make this work," he said, not looking up.

Rayne shuffled around a bit as he took off his sneakers, then pulled up his legs. Maybe he did feel cold after all. "Good of you to realize that," he sniped, but the words lacked real anger.

Jared sighed and put down the magazine. It landed on his knees, then slid lower and folded together as it came to a halt between his thighs. "Me asking you for help is not a bargaining chip for going around Darwin, you do realize that?" he asked without expecting an answer, watching Rayne's face do the dance of a beaten man.

Rayne had hoped, that much was obvious, but he let go of that hope just as quickly. "Fine, I'll let it go for today, but only because it's been a long fucking day and I don't feel up to round three." He smiled at his own words, but the expression quickly disappeared. "What do you need?"

Jared was relieved Rayne didn't try his nerves a third time, but he hid it as best as he could. If Rayne knew how exhausted Jared felt he probably would ride him one last time just for the sake of winning.

"I don't trust the locals, and that Hector guy gives me the creeps. We need to set up guard shifts, and we're too few to leave out the two beauties. You and me can't stand guard all the time, but I'd like to have you organize the schedule and give Darwin and Harry the least dangerous shifts."

Rayne nodded, his face showing approval. "You'll be gone all day, every day, right? And we'll need to go shopping for groceries and clothing soon. Then there's Darla." He sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "She won't be a problem today, but tomorrow she will. If she survives the fever. We can't have her run away half-crazed and panicking, so someone will have to stay with her at all times."

Jared closed his eyes at the list Rayne recounted. He had known most of the things before Rayne brought them up, but they sounded so much worse put together like that. They were a half dozen hands short, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"So one of us sleeps in her room until she dies or until we are fairly sure we can trust her. One of us has to be awake and keep guard, I'll be gone most of the time, and one of us can actually sleep. Sweet!" he groaned, and Rayne chuckled in reply.

"Welcome to your very own pack. Fun, isn't it?"

It took a bit of compromising, but in the end they found a guard schedule that gave everyone enough time to actually sleep, eat and have a few minutes to themselves. Rayne would take the first watch, then Harry would relieve him, and at noon Darwin would relieve Harry. Jared would take the evening watch, as long as someone other than him cooked dinner. Surprisingly Rayne didn't argue when Jared carefully suggested Harry should sleep in Darla's room for the time being. Maybe he was just a better person than Jared because it gave him the opportunity to share a room with Darwin whereas Rayne would be alone against his will.

Judging by the knowing look Rayne shot at him when he got up and walked to the bathroom, Rayne knew exactly what Jared was thinking-- and what part of Jared was calling the shots.

Jared himself didn't spend another thought on Rayne as soon as Darwin's smell flooded his nostrils. He stopped at the door to the bathroom, listening close to the wood. He could hear the shower running, but there were no sounds of someone splashing around, and Darwin had been inside for a long time already.

Knocking softly Jared grabbed the door knob, asking, "can I come in?" But there was no answer. He waited for a good minute, then he knocked again and just opened the door.

The bathroom was filled with steam and Darwin's scent. The heat slapped Jared like a dizzying wave as he crept inside, and he had to lean against the door frame to keep his footing.

"Are you trying to cook yourself?" he grumbled and reached to the side to close the door. Maybe there was some purpose to the temperature, and in that case letting the room cool down by keeping the door open would not add any brownie points to his account.

Darwin was sitting in the shower cross-legged and motionless, his face turned upward into the hot stream. He still wore his sweater, which now was soaking wet, but the rest of his clothes was piled onto a chair next to the sink. The intense scent was coming from them, or to put it more bluntly, they stank to high heaven.

Jared was unsure what to do, so he stayed next to the door. "Darwin?" he asked again, shuffling his weight from one foot to the other. This new quietness was disconcerting to say the least.

When Darwin finally turned his head and opened his eyes Jared took a breath of relief. "What's wrong?" he asked more quietly and took a step closer.

Darwin replied with a soft laugh. "I can't get out of the damn sweater," he slurred with a strange note in his voice. He sounded drunk, numb maybe, or dizzy from the heat, it was hard to tell. But whatever the reason, it was enough to get Jared over his insecurity.

"Because of your shoulder?" he asked, pulling his own shirt over his head quietly. It felt stupid to try and not make a sound while undressing, but he didn't want to upset Darwin any further today.

Darwin didn't seem to notice, or he simply didn't care. "Yeah. I tried, but every time I lift my arm the pain starts. I thought I could tough it out but it just made me dizzy." His eyes followed Jared as he stepped out of his pants and underwear and for a moment there was a glint of fire in them, but he didn't move from where he was sitting.

The damp heat brushed against Jared's body as he walked closer. The fine blond hair on his body caught the minuscule droplets, making him tingle all over and his cock react. Darwin did look at him as he stepped into the hot stream and crouched down next to him, but all he did was laugh softly. "We always end up in the shower," he mumbled with a grin, then huffed as Jared grabbed his sweater and pulled it off his body.

The wet cloth made a slurping sound as it hit the floor outside. "There's no way that will get dry until tomorrow," Jared said, and turned back to Darwin. The shoulder wound was pale pink colored and uneven, but that actually meant it healed quite nicely. It probably still hurt like hell though, especially if Darwin tried to lift his arm above his shoulder.

As soon as he tore his eyes away from the wound and looked over the rest of Darwin's body, his pulse rose.

The black-haired man looked miserable and luscious at the same time, his wet hair sticking to the gaunt, fine-cut face and the eyes, oh the eyes... The icy blue iris had given way to his dark, dilated pupils, nearly jumping out of his pale face in startling contrast. A small smile tugged at the edges of his bloodless but still full lips, not fitting to his usual abrasive temper. His expression was that of a man thinking dark, lustful thoughts, fitting to his situation but surprising nonetheless.

The water was too hot though. Jared leaned over and turned the temperature down, accidently pressing his chest against Darwin's face in the process. The young man started shivering instantly, even though the water still was warm enough to make Jared sweat just kneeling near it.

"I hate you. You make me weak," Darwin slurred, then he pressed his face against Jared's chest and inhaled deeply. His too-hot hands stroked up his sides, then he embraced him mid-height and pulled him into the stream.

Jared came all too willingly, spreading his knees to pull Darwin between them and against his body, trying to stop his shivering through closeness.

"You make me weak too," he mumbled with a small grin, sounding disarming. "But you're also the reason I try to be strong."

Darwin's hard cock came to rest against Jared's crotch, animating his own length to twitch in synchronicity with it, and sending waves of prickling lust up his stomach. He wanted nothing more than to grab both of them and bring them to completion there and then, but there was something so open and helpless about Darwin sitting forlorn and wanton in that shower. Jared feared for his heart, afraid of hurting him by rushing things.

He could wait. And he would wait.

Instead of grabbing both their cocks and giving them what Darwin clearly wanted he grabbed for the bottle of shower lotion and maneuvered Darwin half out of the stream. Feeling his feverish hot skin beneath his kneading fingers was nearly as good as sex, especially because this time there was no resistance. A part of Jared's mind wanted to worry about that as his fingers reached the perky, peach-fuzzed behind, but Jared quickly shoved those thoughts away.

Darwin didn't have a lot of hair on his body, but he had it in all the right places, and it was incredibly soft beneath Jared's fingers. He didn't want to stop touching him, but the heat was too much for his beaten body.

"Why did you turn up the temperature so much?" Jared asked and tugged him back beneath the stream to wash off the soapy suds. Now only his hair needed washing and he could finally drag Darwin to bed.

Darwin laughed. "I was cold when I undressed and the water didn't get warm fast enough, so I turned it higher. Then I had that fight with my sweater and the pain made me dizzy in addition to cold, so I sat in the water to get at least warm. And it got hotter and hotter until I was too dizzy to turn it off or get out." He paused for a moment, then put his arms around Jared's chest and licked a trail of water off his skin. "But I'm not cold anymore," he then added, chuckling softly.

All Jared could do was shake his head and try not to blow his load at the feel of his tongue against his chest. How could someone so infuriating also be so damn sexy?

"I'll do my best to keep you warm for much longer, but first we need to wash your hair," he murmured and proceeded to rub shampoo into the black strands of hair until foam dripped from his hands. Darwin didn't move from his touches, but hummed contentedly as Jared doted on him.

After such a long time being unable to get anywhere close to Darwin without him getting worked up, angry or moody, it was still thrilling to be allowed to touch him to such an extent. At the same time Jared could feel how fragile their truce really was. One wrong move, one step too far, and Darwin would explode in his face and probably deny him for good. He would have loved to capitalize on Darwin's affectionate state, but it would have been a short-lived joy.

Instead he pulled his soapy head into the water stream, rinsed his hair carefully and tried not to lose his mind over the things Darwin did with his tongue. It was the hardest thing he had ever done.

~*~

~*Darwin*~

Maybe he should have told Jared what else he had been doing in the shower, seeing as how his initial story sounded ridiculous to any sane person. But Jared wasn't sane, at least not when it came to Darwin. He was obsessed to the point of forgetting any and every other matter as soon as Darwin shed his clothes.

Darwin liked that, he liked it a lot.

Of course, he himself suffered the same effect when Jared's naked, hunky body was concerned. He usually just hid it better. That evening was an exception to that rule.

His shoulder did actually hurt enough to make him dizzy, but the pain didn't come from trying to undress. It had grown with every minute he spent trying to get off, until there had been no strength left to get out of that sweater. And of course, all the work had been for nothing. He hadn't reached his peak, try as he might. At least the hot water had helped him wrestle his cock into submission before he poked out someone's eye.

Jared's obtrusive behavior was a ways out Darwin hadn't expected though. He should have seen it coming, after all Jared was pushy, hard-headed and hadn't accepted any of his rebuffs so far. And for some reason Darwin didn't want to think too much about why Jared wasn't drilling him for details. It was a more than welcome change of pace.

Getting washed by surprisingly careful hands was another nice surprise, although it ruined all the work Darwin had done to keep his libido in check. Those nimble fingers massaged his back and hair in a most exquisite way, exciting him enough to forget they were still in the bathroom with company in the adjoining room.

Would Jared have gone for the kill, Darwin would have let him take what was his right there and then. A week ago Jared also would have done that without hesitation, but not this time. He did react to Darwin's searching tongue and fingers, but every time he got close to the 'good parts', as he called it, Jared would catch his wrists and maneuver him somewhere less susceptible to lust, and carry on soaping him up and rinsing him down.

When Jared grabbed his wrists once again, Darwin had enough. "Don't you want me?"

The question made Jared go still and look down at Darwin's face with a confused expression. "Of course I want you," he finally answered, letting go of one of his arms to turn off the water, "but I'm not sure you're yourself right now. If you aren't, you'll rip me a new one tomorrow."

"And if I am? Myself, I mean."

Jared thought about that for a few moments, then he shrugged. "I'd miss an opportunity I've been waiting for, and I'll probably rip myself a new one."

He knelt there thinking for a few seconds, and his face showed the effort with deep wrinkles between his brows. His breath hitched when he attempted to say something, but then he hesitated, looked down at Darwin's face and murmured, "I'm missing an opportunity right now, aren't I?"

Darwin smiled and nodded.

Swearing softly, Jared grabbed him and pulled him into his arms, standing up easily with the added weight. Stepping out of the shower, he sat Darwin down onto the single stool the little bathroom offered, and got a towel. "You could have given me a hint," he mumbled with an amused lilt to his voice as he rubbed Darwin's body dry, but only got a broad grin.