Werewolves and Fireworks Read online

  Zedace didn’t see what was so great about being normal. People had been telling him to be normal for so long when he was human he’d grown to hate the word. “I care about you, just as you are, with your issues and all.” He didn’t really see PTSD as being an issue, since it was something Simon couldn’t control, but since that was how Simon talked about it, that was what he was going to say too.

  Simon leaned forward and gently kissed him. The fireworks grew louder, as if people were giving it everything they had, and Simon began to shake against him, but Zedace just held onto him, keeping him still. He loved kissing him, the soft feel of Simon’s mouth under his, the gentle pressure of his weight against his thighs.

  Zedace reached his hands under Simon’s shirt. Like most of the wolves, he had plenty of hard muscles, but Zedace also remembered Simon’s most ticklish spots, and hearing him laugh was a lot better than having him freaking out and being close to crying all night.

  “Stop—mercy!” Simon squealed, pulling away from him. He flopped onto the bed beside him, and Zedace couldn’t help but laugh too as he wrapped his arms around him. Simon took his hand and brought it back to his stomach, right against his skin. Zedace thought he wanted to be tickled more, despite what he’d said, but then Simon undid the drawstring on his pants, pushing them down a bit. “You can, if you want to.”

  Zedace did, absolutely. “Would it help?”

  “As a distraction? Or would it help us?” Simon asked him.

  Zedace softly kissed him and laid his head on the pillow beside Simon’s. “Both, I guess. But mostly, would it help you get through tonight?”

  “It did last time. That’s why I came to you back then, because I thought, well at least I’d hoped anyway, that maybe you could handle me at my worst. At my most frightened, weakest, craziest times when crying under a blanket is the absolute most I’m capable of.”

  Zedace wanted those times with him. He absolutely did. And he could handle Simon like that. He knew he could. “I want all of that with you. I want all of you. Not just the happy you that I got to know before, but I want the miserable you too. The frightened little wolf who can’t shake his past. I can be here for you, and I want to be, if you’ll let me.”

  Simon smiled at him and wiped his eyes. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

  “Of course. Just don’t run off again.”

  Snorting, Simon shook his head. “No chance in hell of that happening again. Thanks for not being mad at me. I know what I did probably didn’t make a whole lot of sense to you. I wasn’t trying to hurt you, even though I know now that I did. I’ll try to be better in the future, if you want one with me. I’ll talk to you more and tell you where my head’s at and everything else that I can do. I’m pretty good at knowing myself, but I’m not that easy to be in a relationship with. I know that, but I can’t help it. Somedays I’ll feel like crap, and I won’t be able to do very much. Puck gives me a lot of leeway, but he’s my alpha and a werewolf. You’re a vampire, and you didn’t sign on for this. I wouldn’t blame you if this was just too much for you.”

  “It won’t be,” Zedace promised him. He’d seen a lot, and he’d been through a lot in both his human and vampire lives. There was nothing he could think of that would make him not want to be around Simon any more. “I want to be your friend, and whatever else you’ll let me be, too. If you let me be here for you, then I’d like to do that. Whatever you’re comfortable with is what I want to give you.”

  “Thank you,” Simon said with a watery smile.

  Zedace kissed him again, then moved his hand down Simon’s stomach to the base of his cock. He stroked him gently, easing his pleasure out of him, and stopping anytime things became too much for Simon. The fireworks continued way off to the south, but they faded into the background for Zedace while Simon was there. He hoped the fireworks seemed less important for Simon now too. His breathing was certainly better, no longer rapid because of his fear so much, but far closer to the pleasure-filled pants Zedace remembered from their night together when Simon had been under him. They had time for that later, and all the other ways Zedace wanted to enjoy him. For right now though Zedace wanted to take thing slow with him, especially when Simon was hurting as much as he was right then, when every so often a tremor would wrack through his body, or the fireworks seemed to get to him especially hard and he would freeze for a second.

  When that happened, Zedace simply kept stroking him, never losing his rhythm as he spoke softly to Simon. “Everything will be okay here, you’re safe,” he whispered.

  Simon whimpered as he came, spilling his come over Zedace’s hand and onto his stomach. Zedace licked his fingers clean without a word, then cleaned Simon off as well as he lay trembling and trying to catch his breath.

  “I think I might actually be able to sleep here tonight,” Simon said as Zedace pulled the blanket over them both. The zombie movie continued on, all but forgotten.

  “I want you to. But you have to say bye to me in the morning before you leave. I’m not doing that with you again.” Zedace’s tone was firm.

  Simon smiled. “I will. Absolutely. Thank you for letting me come back here tonight.”

  “Of course.” Zedace was glad that he had, and that Simon had trusted him enough to come to him when he needed help. Simon gave him his back, and Zedace wrapped himself around him. “Goodnight, my little wolf.” He kissed the back of Simon’s head and stayed up with him through the rest of the night as Simon slept the best he could with the fireworks droning on in the background.

  About the Author

  Caitlin was fortunate growing up to be surrounded by family and teachers that encouraged her love of reading. She has always been a voracious reader and that love of the written word easily morphed into a passion for writing. She comes from a military family and the people of the armed forces are close to her heart. She also enjoys gardening and horseback riding in the Colorado Rockies where she calls home with her wonderful husband and their two dogs. Her belief that there is no one true path to happily ever after runs deeply through all of her stories.

  www.caitlinricci.com

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