Witches and Wolves (Print)

Witches and Wolves
Saloni Quinby
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2017 Saloni Quinby
Excerpt from He Needs to Feed

It wasn't coincidence that Caleb sat playing with his black pug on the front steps of his townhouse when Devin biked toward their building. Devin generally returned home from his dance studio between seven and ten every night.

They'd met three weeks ago when Caleb had moved in. Devin owned the center unit in their row of three, so he and Caleb shared a wall, but since setting eyes on the adorable dancer, Caleb had wanted to share much more than that.

Unfortunately Devin was reserved. Not unfriendly, just private. If Caleb wanted to pursue his interest, he knew it would take time. The past few weeks he'd been too busy concentrating on moving in and renovating while running his business, but he'd also been observing Devin's habits.

Sometimes when Caleb went for his morning run, Devin would be biking to work at the same time. The sight of his sinewy body with his long legs clad in black spandex bicycle pants was enough to send Caleb's libido into overdrive. Devin had been the subject of more than a few sexual fantasies and it was about time he let the guy know exactly how interested he was.

Caleb's heartbeat quickened as Devin coasted down the road. Though after dark, between the moonlight and streets lights Caleb could see the object of his interest clearly. Tonight Devin wore jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt a shade lighter than his dark brown eyes. A multicolored bandana covered his dark hair, except for the wavy ends that clung damply to the back of his neck despite the chilly autumn breeze. Devin slowed as he neared the driveway and Caleb rose from the steps.

"Hey," Caleb called and waved. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans, he approached Devin, who had dismounted from the bike. His dog, Pickles, trotted alongside him, barking at Devin.

"Hi," Devin said and bent to rub his fingers over Pickles' head. "Caleb, right? How do you like your place so far?"

"It's great."

"You've been doing a lot of work in there. I can hear it."

"Oh, sorry. If I'm bothering you just bang on the wall."

"It's no bother. I wasn't complaining or anything."

"I can understand if you were. When I'm working I can get a little noisy and I know I've gone on late a few nights. Haven't had much time during the day with work --"

"What do you do?"

"I own a furniture store. I'm a woodworker."

A smile tugged at Devin's full lips. All Caleb could think about was kissing him. He hoped he didn't look quite as hungry as he felt. Interested was good, but desperate was pathetic.

"Really? You do custom work?"

"I just replaced the cabinets in my place. If you want to take a look sometime..."

"Yeah. That would be great."

"How about tonight? I was about to eat dinner. I made pizza." Caleb jerked his thumb toward his unit. "Would you like to join me?"

Devin's smile faded and he appeared slightly uncomfortable. Great. He'd looked too eager after all. Caleb just wasn't good at playing games. He liked things on the table. Being discreet wasn't his strong point. "Pizza. I... uh... probably shouldn't."

"Sorry. It wasn't a come-on or anything."

"No." Devin's large, dark eyes locked with Caleb's and widened a bit. "I didn't mean that. Actually, yeah, I'd like to have dinner with you. Just give me a few minutes to shower and change. I had rehearsal right before I left the studio and didn't take time to hit the shower, then I biked home so I'm pretty gross."

"Definitely pretty, but not gross." Caleb smiled, then bit his tongue. Too late.

Thank goodness Devin returned his smile. The gleam in his eyes proved the compliment wasn't unwelcome.

"I suppose that wasn't a come-on either?" Devin said.

"We'll see." Caleb's gaze melted over Devin, who moistened his lips with the tip of his enticing pink tongue.

"I'll be over in a few," Devin said, his voice husky and just above a whisper. He walked his bike toward his porch. Before he stepped inside, he glanced over his shoulder at Caleb who stood, his arms folded across his chest, hopefully looking far more nonchalant than he felt.

No sooner had Devin disappeared inside than Caleb swept Pickles up and said, "We've got a date, bud."

* * *

Devin leaned his bike against the stairs leading to the second floor of his townhouse. He paused for a moment, closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. Releasing it slowly, he tried to still his pounding heart. To his surprise, his hands were shaking.

From the moment handsome Caleb had moved in next door, he'd fantasized about the man. Not that Devin had a shortage of admirers, but it had been a long time since he'd thought about having a boyfriend. In his younger days he'd had some short-term relationships mostly because he was so obsessed with dance that he had time for little else. Then he'd dealt with the illness that had threatened to end his career, not to mention his life. For a long time he'd been alone, in self-imposed banishment from the world.

Caleb didn't know anything about him or his past. Maybe that was a good thing.

It was strange how after coming so far Devin still had to remind himself not to fall into old habits. Eating pizza with a friend wasn't a crime. For too many years he'd tried to be perfect. The perfect dancer, a perfect specimen of health and fitness. All the while he'd bashed himself for his imperfections, which seemed to overshadow everything else in his life.

"Just don't think about it," he said. "Go over there tonight and have fun." Caleb seemed nice. He was cute.

Correction. He was gorgeous. Absolutely adorable.

The man's big blue eyes swallowed Devin whole. When Caleb looked at him he felt like the only man on Earth.

He was a couple of inches shorter than Devin's five feet eleven, but more powerfully built with broad shoulders, well-developed arms and sturdy legs. He had big hands too. On the first day they'd met, they'd shaken hands and Devin still thought about the roughness of Caleb's palms. Calluses were sexy. Butch.

Smiling, Devin hurried up the stairs, taking two at a time.

In the shower, he continued thinking about Caleb's hands, imagining how good they'd feel on his body. Curling his fist around his cock, he stroked it, pretending it was Caleb touching him.

He released his cock abruptly. What if he got a chance for the real thing tonight? Maybe he should allow the buildup.

But even if things got that far, could he do it?

No one had seen him naked since...

As a dancer he exposed his body all the time.

Yet fucking was different.

Devin turned off the water and reached for a towel. He was getting way ahead of himself. No one had said anything about fucking. All Caleb had offered was pizza.

After drying off, Devin dabbed on cologne and dressed in black pants and a clingy gray sweater. He left on his diamond earrings, blow-dried his hair and combed it back. Glancing at himself in the mirror he ran his hand over the dark waves. He really needed a trim. Though he never wore his hair ultra-short, it was starting to touch his shoulders and that annoyed him, especially when he was dancing.

He touched his chin and his brow furrowed. Maybe he should shave. What if Caleb didn't like five o'clock shadow? No, he probably wouldn't mind considering every time Devin had seen him, he'd looked scruffy. He didn't exactly have a full beard, but just about. Devin thought a few days of growth looked rather sexy, especially on sable-haired guys like Caleb.

A little shiver of desire tore through Devin when he thought about the gorgeous contrast between Caleb's dark hair and blue eyes.

The sooner he left, the sooner those sexy eyes would be staring at him, making him feel eighteen again.

That's what Caleb did to him. Made him feel young and horny, like anything and everything could happen. All he had to do was relax and let things flow. Tonight he would do just that. No more nerves. No games or pretense. Just be himself and everything would be fine...