Hey, thanks for all the great reviews! This chapter is a little more mature than the others and I'm not sure if it flows right so let me know!
Derek stared. He had just explained to Jackson that werewolves were real, and that they were literally made to be with each other, and all he could think to ask him was what his favourite colour was?
"Wait, what?" Derek asked, confusion written on his face. "I… I feel like I'm missing something."
"No," Jackson replied, a small smile on his face. "You told me that you would explain everything and when you were done I could ask you whatever I wanted. Well, I want to know what your favourite colour is."
"Uh, okay," Derek said, his forehead still wrinkled in confusion. "Green, my favourite colour is forest green."
"Alright then, let's see … um… what else do I want to ask you?" Jackson murmured, mostly to himself. "I know," he said, sitting up, "what was your sister like?"
Derek started. He wasn't expecting to be asked about his sister. Sure he had told Jackson that his family had been murdered by the Argents, but he was still confused as to why Jackson wasn't asking about them being mates. Maybe I shocked the kid so bad he's lost it.
Jackson watched as Derek tried to figure out what to say. The older man looked so confused Jackson couldn't help but want to clear things up for him. No matter how adorable he thought Derek looked right now. It was so different from the usual Derek – the one who was so sure about everything.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to talk about it," Jackson told Derek, watching as the other man lifted his gaze from the floor to look him directly in the eye. "I know you're probably wondering why I'm not asking about the mate thing. It's because I figure that that much is said and done – there's no changing it even if I wanted to – and I'm not saying that I'd want to. If you and me are going to be, you know … mated, then I want to know about you."
Jackson was so earnest in his explanation that Derek couldn't help but wonder what it was that he had done that earned him Jackson as a mate. There was something about the kid that made Derek want to pull him close and never let him go. Something inside him wanted to protect Jackson from anything and everything that could hurt him. And a part of him, a large part of him, wanted to jump the kid's bones on the spot. His mind wandering, Derek could only see images of Jackson on his back looking up at him with lust filled eyes, biting his lip, his back arching, screaming his name as Derek thrust into him harder and harder, his mind chanting one word over and over: Mine.
Derek shook his head, trying to get back on track. It wouldn't do them any good if the wolf pushed its way to the surface and decided that now was the time to claim his mate. Jackson would be terrified, and Derek wanted to make sure that when they did mate, Jackson was completely ready and on board for it.
"That's a very … mature way of looking at it," Derek said. "I honestly didn't think it was going to be so easy to convince you. I was expecting a huge fight."
"Well if you want me to throw a hissy fit, I'm sure I could find it in me to pull one out," Jackson teased, the smile on his face widening.
Thoughts of how gorgeous Jackson would look all riled up and angry quickly turned to how unbelievably sexy Jackson would look if he was all riled up for another reason, and just like that Derek's mind was back in the gutter. Trying his best to pull himself out of it, Derek focused on the conversation at hand.
"No, no, I'm good with how things are going. No hissy fit necessary," Derek said, surprised he had managed to reign his thoughts back in. "Okay so you said that you wanted to know about my sister, right? It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that I don't really know where to start. She was all that was left for me, and losing her, I … well I wasn't expecting it." Derek's mind quickly shifted to Laura and how much he missed her, the evidence of his new line of thinking written clearly on his face.
"Just tell me about her," Jackson said softly, trying to show Derek that it was okay for him to talk about his sister. That it didn't make him weak to miss her. "What did she like to eat? Did you two get along? I'm an only child so I've never had the chance to know what having a sibling is like. Is it nice?"
"She sang along with the radio," Derek said, a sad smile on his face. He looked up at Jackson, unsure if this is what he meant. Seeing the encouraging smile on his face, and the small nod Jackson gave him, he took a deep breath and continued on. "Even if she didn't know the words, she would make up her own. It used to bug the hell out of me." Derek laughed gently as he allowed himself to think of Laura, something he hadn't done since she died, terrified of how much it would hurt, and not wanting anyone to see the weakness.
"And she popped her gum. God I hated that," Derek continued. "Let's see, she loved to draw and she drove like a maniac – seriously once I thought we were going to flip off a cliff. Laura was smart, really smart. She read everything she could find. She could have been anything; a doctor or a scientist, but what she really loved was kids. All she ever wanted to be was a mom." Derek stopped then, his eyes watering and a lump rising in his throat. Jackson leaned forward and hesitantly placed his hand on Derek's shoulder. Derek looked up at him and gave a watery smile before shaking his head and pulling himself together.
He looked so vulnerable that Jackson did what came naturally: he shuffled closer and wrapped his arms around Derek's shoulders. He could feel Derek tense up and after a taut moment where he honestly thought Derek might freak out and push him off, he could feel the bigger man begin to relax. Derek slowly wrapped his arms around Jackson's waist and turned his head into the teen's neck.
God he smells amazing, Derek thought. I wonder if he tastes as delicious.
Slowly Derek lifted his head up from Jackson's neck, running his nose first along his throat and then farther up to his face, gently nudging Jackson's cheek. Jackson's breath began to speed up and he tried to focus his eyes on Derek's eyes, but they kept flashing down to his full lips and his strong jaw.
Derek pulled back slightly, locking eyes with Jackson before leaning forward and pressing their lips together. Jackson's eyes closed automatically and his hands came to rest on Derek's shoulders, his body melting into the older man's. Derek sighed happily into the kiss, one hand travelling up from Jackson's waist to pull at the boy's neck, bringing him in closer. Derek's tongue pressed against the seam of Jackson's lips and Jackson readily opened his mouth, his tongue quickly swirling around Derek's.
As he felt Derek begin to pull back, Jackson couldn't help but think that that kiss was way too short. If this is what it's going to feel like being mated to a werewolf, I'm going to die a happy man.
Please Review!
