Chapter 2
The first thing Rory became aware of—and it snuck up on him gradually—was the pleasant smell. It was earthy, male, warm, safe. Then there was sound. Someone was snoring. Did he snore? But if he were asleep then…Someone was knocking. Rory tried to rouse himself to tell them to come in, but he felt too comfortable, too safe to bother. Feeling was the next sense to come online. This wasn’t his regular pillow, not that it was uncomfortable or anything. Said pillow then shifted under him and Rory became aware the pillow was a shoulder. Reluctantly opening his eyes, Rory’s confusion didn’t lessen at the lack of daylight. But instead of disturbing him, the darkness felt oddly comforting. He closed his eyes again and rubbed his face on the pillowcase. So soft and warm and…Rory snuggled closer into the warm body that was wrapped around him. He lazily ran his free hand up the soft, hairy belly.
The bedroom door opened. “Guys.” There was the sound of bootheels on the wooden floor. “Time to get up. Barry will have breakfast on the table in a quarter of an hour.”
“Go way,” Rory mumbled. It wasn’t breakfast time. He never slept late.
“Rory. Wake up.” His shoulder was shaken.
He opened his eyes. Liam’s face, illuminated by flickering candlelight, was leaning over him.
“It’s time to get up.”
Rory tried to punch his pillow, but it felt hard and un-pillow-like. He lifted his head and looked down at a wide shoulder. He blinked and shifted his gaze upward. “Zane?” Then the events of the previous evening all came back to him.
Liam’s expression softened. “Be careful. He’s straight.”
Rory yawned then rubbed his face. He felt rested. He’d had one of the best night’s sleep he could ever remember.
Liam touched the wick of his candle to the one on the nightstand nearest Rory. “Remember, breakfast in fifteen minutes,” he said before leaving the bedroom and closing the door softly behind him.
Rory tried to extricate himself from Zane’s embrace without waking the man but when he twisted around, Zane’s grip tightened. Rory felt something huge and hard press into his thigh. His eyes widened. It couldn’t be that big! It took every ounce of Rory’s self-control not to reach down and check. Rory was also sporting wood and his bladder was starting to send signals that it needed to be emptied.
“Zane,” Rory said softly. “Time to get up.” But the man snored on. He attempted to pry Zane’s arm off his waist, but it was like trying to lift an iron bar. “Zane!” he said more loudly and more urgently.
Zane grunted and pressed his face against the side of Rory’s head, causing Rory to shiver at the brush of the man’s beard. It was surprisingly soft.
“Need the bathroom!” Rory squirmed and Zane relaxed his grip enough that Rory could escape. However, Rory immediately felt the loss of Zane’s body heat and began to shiver. As he tiptoed across the wooden floor to the door, Rory spared a quick look back at the bed. Zane was blinking his eyes. Zane’s T-shirt had ridden up and he was scratching at the exposed skin. Rory held in a moan as he dimly remembered stroking that belly with its soft pelt of fur.
“Breakfast in ten minutes,” Rory said before opening the door. He interpreted Zane’s grunt as confirmation the man had heard and understood.