Nicky’s cock began to fill out just thinking about the spanking he’d given him at that point. The spanking still had his ass so sore he couldn’t sit down. Well, that and the sex afterward. Several rounds of it. Marco had been insatiable—Nicky had never seen him so wild and out of control.

Nicky had been fucked on just about every surface in the apartment, and even up against the wall once. Not that he hadn’t loved every second of it. Except for the spanking—he could have done without the spanking, even though he’d come twice during the proceedings. He’d come once when his cock, tucked between Marco’s hot thighs, had absorbed just about all of the friction it could take as he struggled to get up and Nicky shot off with a loud, embarrassing moan. Then again, before he could even recover from the first orgasm, Marco had splashed his hole with lube and used his fingers to fuck him as he lay face down on his lap until Nicky begged for mercy and came even harder than before. That was the last orgasm Marco had allowed him to have for hours, putting him in a cock ring and sucking on his nipples and his cock until Nicky apologized abjectly and pled for release. Instead, he’d kept him naked and needy, teasing him unmercifully, yet not allowing him to come until almost dawn.

Just before he finally allowed him to go to sleep, he’d taken him to the bathroom and into a warm shower. Marco bathed him tenderly and kissed him under the warm spray of the shower until his knees were weak. Afterward, he’d dried him and carried him to bed, spooning him and fondling his dick for what was left of the night.

Marco still hadn’t told him he loved him, but Nicky was hoping he might be getting close to saying it. His need to hear the words again was an almost physical ache. Nicky had said it over and over, but each time Marco had only kissed him in reply.

Nicky switched on the radio by the window. The Bruno Mars song, “It Will Rain,” the same one that was playing his last night with Marco before his collapse was on the radio, and Nicky swayed back and forth as he sang along. The irony of the song wasn’t lost on Nicky. It was all about pain and sacrifice and loss.

From his place by the window, Nicky saw Logan come out on the lawn, followed by his young trainees. He was training the younger pets in self-defense techniques, and Nicky longed to go out and watch them. Because of Marco’s orders to stay naked until further notice, though, he couldn’t even go outside. Of course, the wolves went around partially clothed all the time, as they shifted to train or run in the woods and nobody paid much attention. He wondered what Marco would do if he went outside without wearing any clothes. After all, Marco had ordered him to stay naked, so technically, he wasn’t disobeying him. Not totally.

The little devil who lived on Nicky’s shoulder urged him to go ahead and do it. What was the worst thing Marco could do? Spank him again? That had been pretty hot. Besides, it was such sweet payback. Marco would hate him showing his body off to anyone else. The thought of all the attention Marco would give him for this had his dick getting stiffer. Actually, the idea of being naked in front of everyone was a little daunting, but Nicky knew he could do it. It just took some big balls and Nicky looked down at himself and smiled. Big balls he had. Maybe it was time to show them off.

He turned from the window with a sigh. Might as well face it, no way did he have big enough balls for that. Marco would seriously kill him. He wandered over to a new canvas he had set up next to the window and smiled. At least he could paint standing up and spare his sore ass. He had started an oil of a silver gray wolf howling at a full moon, just before Marco’s collapse. Since Marco had confined him to his rooms, maybe this would be a good time to work on it.

He went over to the small cabinet where he kept his paints and supplies and took out his palette of paints and a small can of paint thinner. He opened his paints, but had trouble with his paint thinner’s cap. Using a paint rag to help him grip the top, he applied pressure and twisted as hard as he could. The cap came off all at once, soaking the rag and spilling onto the table by the window. The small candle he’d lit earlier was on the table and the flame leaped up and caught the rag on fire. Panicked, Nicky tossed the rag toward the window, but it fell against the lacy curtain, which went up in a sudden burst of flames.

“Oh my God!” Nicky yelled, backing away. He ran over to the sink and filled a pan of water, returning to hurl it against the flaming curtain, but the flames were by then licking at the ceiling. Nicky turned and ran to the door, flinging it open and shouting for help. A door opened down the hallway and Jeremy Tate and his sister appeared framed in the doorway.

“Hurry! Come quick! Fire!” Nicky yelled, and then things started happening very quickly. Jeremy yelled for his sister to go get help, while he ran down the hall to Nicky’s apartment. Pushing past him, he ran inside the apartment and took in the scene with a quick glance. “Is there a fire extinguisher, Nicky?”

“Oh, yes!” Nicky nodded, pointing to the kitchen wall near the stove. “I forgot all about it!”

Jeremy grabbed it from the wall and expertly put it into operation, extinguishing the flames in only a few minutes. He put down the fire extinguisher and turned to Nicky, who was still shaking with reaction. “You’re burned, Nicky. Sit down so I can look at it,” he said urgently, grabbing his arm to examine it.

“I-I…” For the first time Nicky noticed the rag had burned his arm just above his wrist. He stared down at it in confusion, allowing Jeremy to draw him over to the sink to run cold water over it. When the water touched his arm, the pain rushed in with a vengeance, and his knees went weak. He sagged down a little and tried to pull away. Jeremy moved behind him to push him against the counter and keep him from moving his wrist away. At the same time, he slid his arm around Nicky’s waist to hold him up.

A loud roar behind them had them turning together in surprise. Marco was moving toward them with blood in his eyes. He reached them in only a second and ripped Nicky out of Jeremy’s arms, flinging him halfway across the room in his rage. Nicky landed on his ass in the floor, but he was more concerned about Jeremy, who was on his back with a partially shifted Marco on top of him. They were surrounded by other wolves who pulled Marco off and held onto him while Jeremy was hustled away. Other hands were helping Nicky to his feet and someone wrapped a blanket around him.

Marco pulled himself from the grip of the men around him and came over to Nicky, taking him into his arms. He picked him up and carried him into the bedroom, laying him on the bed. “Are you all right?” he asked urgently, his voice sounding hoarse and ragged. When the wolves shifted, even partially, it sometimes took a short while for their voices to sound normal again.

Nicky held out his arm. “Just my arm…it got burned some. That’s what Dr. Tate was doing at the sink. He was trying to help me.”

Marco’s lips were thin and tight. “I know…I…overreacted when I saw him—you were naked and…” He ran a hand over his face. “Shit. I overreacted, baby.”

Ian stepped up behind him with the first aid kit. “Here, Marco. There’s some burn salve inside unless you think he needs to go to the hospital.”

“No, I don’t think it looks all that serious,” he said, opening the kit. “I can give him some blood later if he needs it.” He took out the cream and spread it gently over the burn. The healing salve began to cool it right away, though Nicky was still trembling with reaction. Marco patted his shoulder and looked up at Ian. “Tate? Did I hurt him?”

“No, he was just shaken up a little. He said he understands how it must have looked with Nicky, uh, naked and all. He said he’s been around wolves long enough to know they think mostly with their little heads,” Ian said ruefully.

“Son-of-a-bitch,” Marco muttered under his breath. “I thought he was told not to come back here.”

“He was visiting his sister, who’s a little under the weather, and he did put out the fire, Marco. He was only trying to help,” Ian said quietly.

Marco gave him a sharp look, but didn’t say anything else. He stood up abruptly and strode out of the room, leaving Ian standing by Nicky’s bed, looking down at him.

“Is your arm feeling better, Nicky?”

“Yes, a little. Is there much damage from the fire?”

“No, not too bad. Nothing for you to worry about. Lie back and get some rest. I’m sure Marco will be back in after he checks things out a bit. He was just concerned about you, Nicky, that’s all. He’s been through a lot lately, and he’s still trying to adjust.”

“Yeah, aren’t we all?’

Ian shook his head sadly and left him alone. Nicky rolled over on his back to stare at the ceiling and think about what had happened. Jeremy’s body felt so alien and strange against his, smaller than Marco’s yet hard and firm. Very firm in one area in particular. Jeremy Tate had a huge hard on as he pressed up against Nicky’s naked body. He had to admit that despite the pain in his arm, it had been—not at all unpleasant. At least someone wanted him just for himself. He wondered if Marco noticed Jeremy’s erection. He wondered too if Marco noticed the way Nicky’s cock had begun to fill out as Jeremy held him against his body.

Chapter Six

Marco sat across from Nicky in the room that had been freshly painted and repaired. Two weeks had passed since the fire. Two weeks of almost constant arguments and recriminations and tears. The sex between them was still amazing, and neither one of them could get enough of each other in bed. Each time it seemed as if they both knew it was mostly over between them, yet they clung to each other almost desperately, unwilling to break this last bond keeping them together.

The day before, Marco had finally asked Nicky to release him from their vows. Nicky had been shocked and disbelieving at first, telling Marco he hated him and would never forgive him for what he was doing. Marco had hoped he would settle down after a while, but he guessed it wasn’t meant to be. Nicky was still furious and refused to even look at him.

He’d asked Nicky to dissolve their union, not because he didn’t have feelings for Nicky, but because he was making Nicky more and more miserable with each day that passed, and if this kept up, he knew Nicky would wind up despising him. To tell the truth, he hadn’t really expected Nicky to agree. He thought he might just scare him a little and make him try harder to do as Marco said. When he’d said yes to the dissolution, Marco had felt betrayed, even though he’d asked Nicky for it.