«I think I'll stick around here, Dad, if you don't mind,» Jim said, his eyes on Donovan, who stared back just as intently.
«Yeah, okay. Then I'll see you all in a little bit.» Daniel was shaking his head as walked out of the house.
«Okay, on that note, I'm going to go upstairs and meditate. I'll let you know if I'm able to contact Justin. Just remember that I need lots of quiet and no interruptions,» Nate said as he stood to his feet. He leaned over and kissed Joe quickly before heading upstairs.
«He's quite the man, isn't he?» Donovan asked as he watched Nate go. He seemed to need Joe as much as Joe needed him. He wondered if it would be that way if he and Jim were mated. Would they hate to be separated even by just a few feet? Donovan was pretty sure they would. They weren't even mated fully yet and he couldn't keep his eyes off of him.
«He's the best. I've never met anyone like him. He has more compassion and care in him than anyone I've ever met.» His eyes turned to Donovan's. «I'll do whatever I have to do to keep him safe.»
Donovan nodded. «Understandable. He's your mate. We protect what is ours,» he said, looking straight into Jim's smoky gray eyes, hoping Jim saw the promise in his eyes. The slight nod of Jim's head made a warm glow flow through Donovan. Maybe they did have a chance together.
CHAPTER 3
«Hey, Nate, can I talk to you for a moment before you meditate?» Jim asked as he followed Nate up the stairs.
«Yeah, sure, Jim, what's up?» Nate asked as he walked into the bedroom to sit down on the side of the bed.
Jim pushed his hands into his pockets and looked down at his feet as he tried to gather his thoughts. He couldn't believe he was actually here asking Nate how to have sex with his mate. His mate-that was still a scary thought.
«Jim?» Nate asked when he didn't immediately answer. «What is it?»
Jim raised his head to look at Nate. He could feel his face reddening. «You know that guy downstairs?»
«Donovan, you mean?» Nate asked with a smirk.
«Yeah. He's-well, he's-«
«Totally hot?» Nate chuckled.
«Better not let my brother hear you say that.»
Nate rolled his eyes. «Please. I may be mated, but I'm not dead. Donovan is gorgeous,» he said as he stood to his feet. «You could do worse, you know.»
«He's my mate, Nate,» Jim explained.
«I know.»
«You know? That's it? That's all you're going to say? You know?» Jim exclaimed.
Nate turned to look at him, a grin on his face. «What would you like me to say? Congratulations? Way to go? Have you seen him naked yet?» Nate laughed.
Jim sat down heavily on the side of the bed, dropping his head into his hands. «You're not helping, Nate.»
«What do you want me to say, Jim?» Nate asked as he knelt down in front of him.
Jim lifted his head to stare down at Nate. «He's a guy, Nate.»
«I kind of noticed that, Jim. So what? You are, too.»
«That's just it. We're both guys. I've never-I mean, before-my parents are going to shit!» Jim groaned.
«Let me ask you something, Jim. Do you think any less of Joe because he loves me or because I love him? Because we're two men?»
«No, of course not, but it's not the same thing, Nate. It's-« Jim began.
«It is the same thing, Jim. Being mated is a wonderful thing. And if you are as lucky as I am, then your mate will make you the happiest person on earth. I've only known Joe for a few weeks but I couldn't ever imagine being with anyone else or not having him in my life.»
Jim stared down at Nate, suddenly understanding that his brother Joe had hit the jackpot with Nate. Over the last few weeks he had seen how happy Nate made Joe. He never realized that Nate felt the same way.
«Do you think-is it possible for two men to be together who have never-well, you know,» Joe said, shrugging his shoulders.
Nate laughed, getting to his feet so that he could sit beside Jim on the bed. «Well, I think it's easier if at least one of you know what you're doing, but it doesn't always happen that way. Until Joe, I'd never been with anyone. Didn't stop us.»
«Donovan wanted to talk to you about that. He wanted to make sure that he didn't do anything that might hurt or make us uncomfortable,» Joe said, chuckling a little. «This whole thing makes me uncomfortable.»
«Enough to give him up?» Nate asked quietly.
«Would I be here embarrassing myself like this if I had decided to give him up?»
«No.» Nate laughed. «I guess not. So, what do you want to know?»
«It's the whole sex thing.»
«Got you a little confused, has it?»
«You have no idea.» Jim laughed. «I mean, I've imagined things in my head, but I have no practical experience.»
«Okay, I think it's safe to say that you're both attracted to each other, right?»
«If you mean do I want to touch him constantly and can't stop thinking about what he looks like naked?» Jim nodded his head. «Then, yeah, we're attracted to each other.»
«Well, I'm pretty sure that the mechanics are pretty much the same as they would be with a woman. There are just a few variations. You'll want to use plenty of this,» Nate said as he reached into the nightstand and pulled out a bottle of lube, handing it to Jim.
«Lube?»
«A gay man's best friend.» Nate laughed before turning serious again. «I'm sure in your experience you've had anal sex with a woman, right?»
«Sure, why?» Jim asked in confusion.
«Did you like it?»
Jim could feel his face heat up again as he nodded. Yeah, he had liked it. In fact, he preferred it. It also seemed to be the easiest way he could get off when having sex with a woman. He just hadn't found a woman that liked it as much as he did.
«When you're with a woman, you don't just stick your dick in her do you? You make sure she's ready, right?»
«Of course! It would hurt if I-Oh!»
Nate patted Jim on the leg. «You'll get it. Men and women have pretty much the same erogenous zones, I think. Nipples are nipples. A kiss on the lips is a kiss on the lips. Get my drift? The actual intercourse is a little different but not that much. When you go down on Donovan, you're not going to find a vagina. You're going to find a dick. Just do to him what feels good to you and you can't go wrong.»
«You make it sounds so easy.»
«It is easy once you get past the fact that he's a man. That's going to be your biggest hurdle. But the nice thing about being mated to a man? You don't always have to be gentle.»
«What do you mean?» Jim asked in curiosity.
«Sometimes Joe can be very gentle and loving. Other times, he just tosses me over the side of the bed and fucks me. We don't have to worry about him hurting me during those times. I think woman prefer gentle to rough. Course, having never been with a woman, I could be wrong.»
«Not by much. It depends on the woman, I think,» Jim replied.
«So, what are you going to do?» Nate asked after a moment.
Jim looked down at the bottle of lube in his hand, turning it over as he thought about what he was going to do. «I don't know if I'm ready to be with a man, but I can't give him up. He's my mate. I'm never going to have another one and I guess I'm hoping to have what you and Joe have.»
Nate smiled over at him when he looked up. «As long as you remember that you have been granted a very special gift and never take Donovan for granted, I don't see why you can't. Finding you're mate is the easy part. Learning to love the one you've been given is not so easy.»