Chapter 22

Caught in the Act

Titus wasn't adhering very well to our establish boundaries. I wasn't helping the cause either, in my current position. I was straddling him down below the lake on a sand bank behind a bounder. Titus's hand had started to wander below my waistband of my jeans.

I broke the kiss and moved it back up. He went straight to my shoulder and started sucking on it hard.

"Stop." I squirmed away from him and clasped the area. "You keep leaving marks."

Titus gave me a smirk look and quickly kisses me. "That's the point. I'm marking my territory."

I rolled my eyes. "You're not funny. I'm not wearing a hoodie for the rest of the summer because of you. It's too hot for that."

He wrapped his arms tightly around me, pinning my arms down. I struggled to get away as he grated his teeth down my neck.

"No," I pushed him back. "You're leaving marks!" I snapped. "The others haven't even gone away yet.

Letting go, he grabbed my face and smashed his lips to mine. The kiss was lasting too long. Turning away, I shoved him off.

"Titus! I said stop."

He smiled. "It's not easy too."

With a heated sigh, I climbed off him. "Don't be an ass."

He snatched my arm and pulled me back. Placing his head on my shoulder, he gripped my hips. "It's a natural tendency for a werewolf to want to leave marks."

"Yeah until my parents see them. Then will see what your natural tendency is when my father hunts you down."

Titus whimpered like a hurt pup and kissed my neck. "I'll stop."

"Thank you." I started piling up the damp sand.

With his arm secured around my waist, Titus clung to me. "What are you doing?"

I poked a stick into the top. "Making a sand castle."

He whined. "Can't we mess around more?"

I shook my head and tried to hold in a smile. "We're pushing the boundaries already." I glanced back at him.

Titus sighed. "No one's clothes came off."

"Ha! Barely."

He went back to smothering me, while nuzzling my neck. I just started on the outside wall of my castle. His hand slid up my shirt.

I pushed it down. "No. We can't do that here."

The man was an overgrown puppy and it was showing. "Fine."

He was pouting. A man well over six feet was pouting like a child. Titus did look cute though. I chuckled to myself and gathered the river rocks scattered around. Titus started pouring sand onto my lap.

"You're way too desperate for attention." I built two more mounds to go with the bigger middle one.

"You have to leave soon," muttered Titus. "and you're ignoring me."

"No, I'm not." I started digging the moat.

He whimpered again and bit my ear.

I laughed and moved away. "Knock it off."

He let out a huff. "I'm bored though."

"Not my fault." I patted his leg and went back to my sand castles.

"Fine." He tightened his grip on my waist. "I'll fix it." He stood and tossed me over his shoulder.

"Titus." I pounded my fist on his back. "You stepped on my sand castle!"

"Whoops." He hopped around, kicking sand everywhere.

"Stop it," I laughed. "You're getting it on my jacket."

"We better wash off them." He carried me into the creek.

I turned onto my side and hugged his neck. "Don't drop me. You'll get my pants wet."

"I need to wash the sand off your feet, though." He lowered me toward the water.

"No! You idiot." I climbed up him. "I can do it myself."

"Are you sure?" He swung me down so my butt was nearly in the water.

"Yes! Take me back to shore now!"

The rocks shifted upstream.

Both our eyes shot to shore and saw my father standing there.

"Aden?" said my father.

Titus's grip slipped, and I toppled into the water. I gasped when the cold water washed over me, but it didn't compare to the panic I was feeling. Titus helped me up and to shore. My father simply watched us from where he stood.

I grabbed my jacket and shoes off the grass and hurried to him. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was late," I said, swallowing hard. "We, we can go now."

He looked me over and didn't say a word. His eyes landed on Titus as he took me under his arm.

"We, we can go now."

My dad wasn't paying any attention to me. He just stared at Titus.

"Dad?"

"Hmmm, yes. Let's go," he muttered. He led me up the path to the lake.

My father didn't say anything and kept his hand pressed into the center of my back. I glanced back, but Titus was gone. If I was him, I wouldn't have stuck around either. I sucked in my lip. This was going to be an awkward ride home.

We reached the truck. My dad found a blanket under the seat and handed it to me. I wrapped it around my waist and took off my wet clothes. I climbed in the passenger seat as my dad rang them out and tossed them into the truck bed. I sat frozen, staring forward when he slid behind the wheel and started the engine.

The ride was silent. He didn't look at me or even acknowledge my existence. I reached over and turn on the radio. It was one of his country channels and as the next song started to play the mood relaxed a little. I sunk down in my seat and gazed out the window.

As long as I acted like nothing was wrong then he would think nothing was wrong. He'd forget about it. Oh god, I prayed he'd forget.

***

I opened the front door, and Titus gave me a shy smile. I waved him inside. "Mom, I'm upstairs with Titus."

She appeared from the kitchen. "Hello, Titus."

"Mrs. Perri."

"Anything particular you boys would like for lunch?"

We both shook our heads.

"Whatevers fine, mom." I led the way up the stairs to my room.

Titus shut the door behind me before following me to the bed. He sat by my side and put his hand on top of mine. "So?"

"He hasn't mentioned anything." I took a deep breath. "Even when my mom asked what happened to my clothes, he just told her I fell in the creek." I glanced up at him. "Didn't even mention you at all."

"Maybe that's a good thing." He rubbed his forehead. "Can't believe I let that happen. My guard was down for one second."

"Titus," I squeezed the back of his neck gently. "Don't worry about it. Even if it looked like something was going on, my dad seems to be ignoring it.  We're fine. No one's going to find out."

He smiled and rested his forehead against mine. "I hope so. It would suck if we'd have to end this."

"You're being dramatic." I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his lips to mine. "We're not ending anything."

"Even if they find out?"

I smiled. "Even if they find out."

Titus's hands went to my waist, and he pulled me closer. "Should we go hide in the closet?" he asked, with a smirk while his hands dragged my shirt up my back.

"We'll see." I kissed him again and ran my tongue across his lips. Titus deepened it. He pulled me closer and grabbed my thigh.

The door open. "Aden, I made some..."

I jerked away from Titus and stared at the wall.

My mother quickly left and closed the door. She didn't see. She couldn't have seen. I clasped my mouth. God, make it so she didn't see.

"Aden?" Titus touched my shoulder.

"Don't." I climbed off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom. After locking the door, I sat on the toilet and covered my face. "God," I breathed. "I'm so stupid. I'm so, so stupid."

We had been pushing the limit. My parents would be so ashamed of me if they know what all had happened in that room. I took a deep breath, before climbing into the tub. I pulled my knees to my chest and laid my head on them.

My parents were going to be so disappointed. I lied to them. Snuck around behind their back. Being gay was the least of my list of offences. Hell, Xavier might take this as an excuse to kill me. I ruined everything, because I had to turn into some slut and had no self control. I was a horrible person. I felt disgusted with myself.

"Aden?" Titus knocked on the door. "Aden."

"Go away," I breathed. "Please, just leave me alone."

"Aden, open the door. I can't help you from out here."

I took in a shaky breath and took a moment to calm myself.

"Please, Aden."

I clambered out of the tub and open the door. Titus gave me a small smile.

I fell into his arms and hid my face in his shirt. "I messed up," I whispered. "I messed up so bad."

He hugged me and rubbed my back. "We're fine, okay? We'll be just fine." He rested his chin on top of my head. "It'll work out. Don't worry."

Titus held me until I calmed down, which took some time. He stuck with me though. I was dreading the next step and every time I looked at the stairs, I felt the fear start to build again.

"Are you ready?"

I shook my head. "No."

He kissed my forehand and grabbed my hand. "I'll be right here. Just yell for me, and I'll be there."

I swallowed hard and nodded. "'kay."

Turning to the stairs, I roughly wiped my face and breathed deeply. I slowly walked downstairs and peeked around the corner to the kitchen. My mother was sitting at the kitchen table, looking out the window deep in thought. I could see the tear tracks which nearly sent me running back upstairs. I never wanted to hurt my mother, but I did.

I shuffled over and stood quietly behind her. She looked over her shoulder and smiled. She didn't hate me. The relief crashed down any self-restraint I had left. I collapsed at her side and cried into her lap. She put her arm around me. Every touch was soft and gentle. My mom didn't have to say a word, but I knew she still loved me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." My mother kissed my cheek and sat me down in the chair next to her. "You've done nothing wrong." She brushed my hair out of my face. "You're still my little boy."

Soft footsteps sounded down the stairs. We both turned to Titus, who was rubbing his arm .

"Take Titus and go wait in the living room. I'll get you something to drink." She kissed me again before going to the fridge.

Titus grabbed my outstretched hand and took me to go sit on the couch. I curled up by the armrest with Titus at my side. He put his hand on my knee. My mother entered. She handed me a bottle of water before sitting on the coffee table right in front of me.

I took a drink and forced a smile. My emotions were still everywhere. I hated it, but nothing I tried could stop it.

"Aden," she said softly.

I moved, so she had room to sit by me.

She laid my head on my shoulder and played with my hair. "I'm not mad, sweetheart. Honest, I'm not. But I think you need to explain to me what's been going on?"

I sat up and cleared my throat. "Titus and I..."

She grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. "I won't be mad. I promise."

"We're going out." I stared at our hands. "He's my boyfriend." I glanced up to see tears forming in her eyes. My chest tightened. "Mom?"

"I'm not mad," she clarified, wiping her face. "Seeing you like this hurt me, Aden. I love you, so never be afraid to tell me anything. Never, okay?"

I nodded and wrapped my arms around her. "Thank you."

"I'm your mother, Aden. You're the only baby I have. I'm not letting you go anywhere."

"You could have let out the baby part," I laughed softly, trying to lighten my own mood.

She just smiled. "So Titus," she cleared her throat. "I've raised a son, I've been successfully courted by Aden's father, I know the working of a man's mind fairly well." She eyed my boyfriend. "What exactly has been going on in that room?"