The Woods ✔

Foggy Doubts

It was awkward to wake up with a boner of his own however it was even more awkward to wake up and feel someone else's boner poking him in the backside, a fact Caden found out about when he came to his senses in the early afternoon.

Furthermore he wasn't on the sofa anymore but instead on a bed which was heavenly soft and warm. Ajax likely brought him here and it was also Ajax who was poking him not so subtly.

He tried to wiggle his way out of the other man's arms but they tightened even further upon his attempts, suffocating him slightly. Apparently Ajax wanted him to play little spoon a bit longer. Defeatedly he settled back down and relaxed in the lion's protective hold. It had to be his bed because the pillow smelled of him and there was no other scent Caden could make out. He was truly in the lion's den.

An involuntary grin sneaked it's way onto his face and he buried his head in the pillow to hide it. Fuck, he felt like some high school girl with all the fluttering going on in his stomach. Although Ajax would make a great sexy quarterback. Just picturing him in those tight pants made Caden groan.

Ajax sighed - Caden shivered when the hot breath tickled his neck - and absentmindedly rubbed Caden's stomach with his right hand which was wrapped around the cougar's waist.

"Stop squirming," he muttered, his voice still rough from sleep. It made Caden shiver all over again.

"You're excited," he managed to point out and was glad that Ajax couldn't see his face.

"Am I?" Ajax languorously rolled his hips and Caden tried to flee out of his grasp with an indignant squeak but he was held back. "I guess you're right."

He huffed and thought intensely about a legion of ants to stop the heat in his stomach from wandering south. Damn, what was happening to him?

Ajax chose this moment to mouth at his neck and Caden became lax in his arms with a low moan. His whole body was tingling like crazy and the hand gently stroking his stomach was making things even worse. He was losing control rapidly and it frightened and thrilled him at the same time.

"You have no clue what you're doing to me," Ajax whispered and stopped his teasing caresses whereupon Caden whined. The lion pushed himself up so he was hovering above the smaller cougar and watched him intently. Caden didn't dare to move an inch and tried to read the emotions in those green eyes.

Damn, Ajax was really a sight to behold. His muscles were strong and lean, his skin tanned and there was this delicious happy trail leading from his bellybutton down to his manhood. Caden wanted to feel the blond hair but he resisted the temptation.

Finally Ajax bent down and softly kissed Caden's temple.

"I can lend you some clothes," he offered nonchalantly and went out of the bed. Caden stared at him bewildered, a hint of heat already settling in his groin.

"Thanks," he replied reflexively and Ajax strutted to his wardrobe to retrieve the clothes. Caden unashamedly stared at his firm ass and was pretty sure that he was by now one of those special bees.

It got kind of awkward then. Neither of them seemed to know what to do and Caden felt frustrated. Maybe this was the famous 'after' the people in his books always dreaded so much. He wanted to touch Ajax at every opportunity however he didn't dare breaking down the wall that seemingly had been built up between them by an unknown force when they had been distracted during the past hour. It was like trying not to eat the last piece of chocolate to avoid having to throw the wrapping into the trashcan. It was just his luck that Ajax was more tempting than any chocolate.

Caden sat on the sofa snuggled up in a soft blanket, a cup of steaming hot tea in his hands. Ajax was on the porch - his back visible through the window - with the phone pressed to his ear. Apparently this call was important so he had excused himself and now Caden was counting the seconds impatiently. There was a quite foreign feeling in his chest, bitter and unpleasant, and he identified it as jealousy.

He was jealous.

Though it was probably only his mother or Robin on the phone, asking why the hell he had kidnapped the trouble making cougar.

On the other hand, it could be that lioness, too. Why not? She was in his pride and their parents tried to set them up so it was normal for her to have Ajax' number.

Caden set the mug down, the taste of strawberries and vanilla suddenly too much. Unfortunately Ajax had his back turned to the house so Caden couldn't see if he was smiling or even laughing. It annoyed him greatly and he wanted to go out there and claim what was rightfully his.

A sense of satisfaction washed over him when he remembered that there hadn't been any other scents in the bedroom aside from Ajax'. There hadn't been a female - or male, who knew? - in the room recently. The realisation calmed him down a bit and he tried to focus back on the TV. The box with the moving pictures was another thing he had seen for the first time today. There hadn't been one in Kaliska and Robin's living room so now he stared at this weird thing and wondered if he had to enjoy it as much as the characters in his books. Yes, it was killing some time but he'd rather be outside and chase Ajax through the too high grass.

Sixty seconds later Ajax still hadn't finished the phone call and Caden grew restless. He needed the reassurance that there was everything okay between them and he needed it now.

He gripped the blanket tightly to keep himself from running out there. It almost hurt physically to be separated from the lion for so long and he ached for his touch. Those instincts were really taking a toll on him, his mind even felt kind of foggy because of them, like he was drunk or drugged - an experience he had made by now, thanks to Kaliska - and it kept him from thinking clearly.

What the hell was he doing here anyway? Was he even meant to be here? Maybe it was some funny mix-up and he just happened to have experienced all this by accident. Fate originally wanted the lioness to be on Ajax' sofa but then Caden stumbled into Willow Creek and caused chaos.

The back door was closed with a quiet click, bringing him back to reality. Ajax' cheeks were slightly flushed from the cold outside and there was a crease between his brows that hadn't been there when he had gotten the call. He dropped his phone on the kitchen table and stalked over to Caden who watched his approach with bated breath. Ajax stopped in front of him and he had to tilt his head back to see the lion's face.

This certain calming rumble emitted from Ajax' chest and Caden noticed that his worry subsided. Furthermore he fully relaxed when Ajax ran his hand through Caden's unruly mop of hair he seemed to be quite fond of.

"How did that happen?" Caden asked quietly, running his fingertips over the fresh injury on the man's upper body.

Ajax sighed but kept massaging Caden's scalp. "Normally there is one male lion in a pride along with a varying amount of females. In my pride are seven grown males and four boys who will hit adulthood soon. There's bound to be some tension."

"The part with the females sounds like a harem," Caden commented and wanted to slap himself. He really needed to filter what was coming out of his mouth.

"I don't know of any shifters who are doing it like that," Ajax replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

Privily Caden was glad about it since he wasn't fond of the idea of sharing the lion with anybody; he didn't care whether they were female or male. Ajax was solely his.

He wondered how things could have changed so fast from having a panic attack just thinking about the alpha male to claiming him as his possession. Damn instincts.