The rest of the day passed in a haze of minor tasks Mrs. Carter absolutely needed him to accomplish, so many it started to feel like punishment instead of his job. Still by now he was well able to recognize when it was wisest to simply keep his head down and his mouth shut.
Taking a brief moment in between errands to sit down and rest Spud yelped when a hand fell heavily on his shoulder. Jumping up from the couch and spinning around he sagged in relief at the sight of Ethan, feeling a fraction of his weariness disappear in the bigger man's presence, "sorry Sir, I thought you were your Aunt with another errand for me to run."
"Yeah, I've noticed she's got you on a short leash today," grinning at the unimpressed glare Spud shot him Ethan felt a flicker of anger at the air of exhaustion hanging off his bonded. It was only last night he'd taken a great deal of the smaller man's blood and even with the bond busy replacing it Spud should have been resting. "I left the book in your room tiger, you can read it if you ever get a moment free."
"Of course Sir," groaning as his pocket buzzed Spud wearily pulled out his phone to look at his latest text. "It'll have to be later unfortunately, I'm off again on another errand." Waving absently he hurried away before Ethan could persuade him to ignore the order and go rest.
Quickly deciding Spud would not appreciate it if he stopped him and forced him to go to bed Ethan reluctantly let the other man go, choosing instead to turn his attention to the root of the problem. Locating his Aunt wasn't difficult, she and Serg were enjoying coffee with the last of the day's dying warmth out on the verandah. Taking a seat he nodded his thanks as the older man poured him a cup from the steaming pot on the table, sipping slowly he let their idle chatter wash over him before cutting straight to the heart of the matter. "You're angry at Spud," his gaze narrowed as his Aunt immediately flushed and looked away, bewildered by her reaction his ire started to rise, "he saved my life Aunt D."
"I know that Ethan," setting her cup down Dixie leaned forward, forcing a smile she caught and held her nephew's hand, squeezing firmly. "Believe me I'm grateful Spud was there when you needed him darling, I don't even want to think what would have happened if he hadn't been."
Brows drawing together in a frown Ethan looked over at Serg who only shrugged, "why are you angry then? And don't tell me you aren't Aunt D." He pulled his hand free when she would have protested, "I've never seen you deliberately send Spud on so many pointless tasks before. Especially considering his body is still dealing with the effects of blood loss and forming a bond." The flash of guilt that appeared in his Aunts eyes was enough to let him know he'd been right.
"I'm sorry darling, I don't mean to make things difficult for you," patting Ethan's tense knee Dixie sighed and pushed a sweaty strand of hair out of her face, even with the sun kissing the horizon the air was still sticky and uncomfortable. "I just can't help but remember how that woman took advantage of you in order to trick you into a bond." Biting her lip at Ethan's deepening scowl she continued as matter-of-factly as she could, "you were shot and injured last night darling, what if Spud took advantage of the situation."
"I think you're underestimating Spud honey," Serg hastened to interject, by the vein throbbing on Ethan's temple he knew his nephew was set to explode. Newly formed bonds always made emotions run a little hotter in the first few weeks, his wife really should have known better than to bring this up now. "I firmly believe Spud would sooner harm himself before harming Ethan."
"Thank you Serg," taking a gulp of his coffee to buy an extra few seconds to cool down Ethan pretended at a calm he didn't feel. "I appreciate your concern Aunt D but this bond with Spud is different. For one he had no idea what I was so if anything I took advantage of him and secondly our bond was stronger after only a few minutes than my first was after six months." Sinking back in his seat he ran his finger idly over the rim of his cup, anger dissipating just a bit at the look of resignation on his Aunt's face he threw her a bone, "not to mention I'm not sleeping with Spud."
Rolling her eyes Dixie smacked her husband on the arm when he smirked, she didn't need his help to pick out Ethan's silent 'yet'. "I'm glad to hear that Ethan and I'm sorry if I've made things more difficult for you. I promise not to ask Spud to do anything else for the rest of the weekend." Pausing she delicately dabbed her mouth with a napkin, "and speaking of difficult have you let your parents know yet?"
Wincing at the reminder Ethan shook his head, "they're coming home next week, I thought it would be best to let them know in person, maybe even introduce Spud. Mom will want to meet him." He was fairly sure both his parents would like Spud, and be relieved he'd finally formed a bond with someone. They hadn't said as much to him but he knew they worried, someone his age would typically have had several Vessel Bonds by now. It was a popular belief they might exist to help prepare for the more serious and permanent Mating Bond.
"Yes, and if I know my brother he'll want to … have a word with Spud. After all," holding back her own grimace Dixie sought comfort in her husband's encouraging nod, "due to the bond Spud is family now."
By the time Spud parked his car in the driveway for hopefully the last time he was exhausted, every muscle in his body felt like it had gone through five tables courtesy of Bully Ray. The house was quiet and rather than heading to the kitchen to scrounge something to eat he silently made his way to his room, collapsing on his comfortable bed too tired to even remove his shoes.
Almost asleep he was dimly aware of his door opening, a part of him knew without looking who it was. "Long day tiger," opening his eyes a crack Spud peered up at Ethan's shadowed face, having only enough energy to murmur something vague in response. The other man's warm laughter only served to relax him further and he put up no resistance when Ethan tugged his shoes off.
Dropping the shoes Ethan pulled Spud into something resembling a sitting position, having to prop him against his shoulder in order to pull off his jacket. Carefully sliding Spud's bowtie off he awkwardly stripped off his shirt, humming softy at the other man's whined protests at being jostled. Easing Spud back down he lightly skimmed his fingers along the newly bared skin, eyes bleeding red at Spud's sleepy hum. Pulling the blankets aside and nudging him under he smiled at the low grumble of discontentment at being moved yet again, "sweet dreams tiger." It was a struggle but he left before he gave into the desire to join Spud in bed, with the bond so new he wasn't certain he could restrain himself to just sleeping.
Not bothering to hit the lights Ethan stripped off his suddenly constricting clothing, leaving a trail to the bathroom he turned on his shower and stepped under the forceful spray. Tilting his face up he didn't even fight the urge to touch himself, hand gliding down his chest and stomach to grasp his erection, imagining it was Spud touching him he groaned and leaned his forehead against the cool tiles. Heat flushing through his body he was already so close to the edge his legs shook, hand tightening all it took was picturing Spud on his knees in front of him, blue eyes looking up at him with hunger before he was coming all over the wall.
Swearing he shuddered under the sheer force of his orgasm, hitting the taps to turn the water off he stumbled out of the shower and sucked in a deep breath of cooler air. Grabbing a towel he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror, eyes blood red and fangs fully extended the humour of the situation hit him. All it had taken was simply touching himself and thinking about Spud to have one of the best orgasms of his life. Drying off quickly he flopped on his bed and laughed quietly, "always the exception tiger." Closing his eyes and enjoying the cool air on his over-heated skin he let his mind drift to the shining warmth of their bond, no matter how much he wanted Spud he knew with absolute certainly he would wait as long as the other man needed.
