by Kian Rhodes
Chapter Twenty-One
Ralph
Honestly, when I’d run Cass a hot bath, my only thought was how sore and tired he had to be after our backwoods trek of more than seventeen miles in less than twelve hours with only one short, three-hour break in the cave.
Especially since I knew he hadn’t used that time to sleep.
Heck, I was on the verge of exhaustion and I was definitely more used to heavy physical exertion than Cass was.
I didn’t even consider the implications until I was standing beside him in the bathroom and the image of him naked and pink from the hot water hit me so suddenly that it stole my breath. I’d scrambled to excuse myself, torturing myself further by waiting outside the door until I heard the gentle sloshing of the water displacing as the Omega slid into the tub, followed by a deep, pleasure-filled sigh. Not that I was creeping on Cass or anything. I just wanted to be sure that he didn’t slip or fall when he entered the tub.
Even as I tried to justify eavesdropping to myself, my brain called bull.
Forcing myself to walk away from the bathroom door was one thing. Forcing that image of a naked, wet Cass from my mind was another thing entirely. And it wasn’t long before I found myself leaning against my locked bedroom door, my slacks shoved down to my knees and my dick in one hand as I gave up and stroked one out to the thought.
I bit down on my bicep to muffle the sound of my shout when my climax hit, cupping my free hand to catch the mess as my body shuddered.
Holy crap.
If just thinking about him made me cum that hard, what would it be like to bury myself in his firm body? To feel his hole fluttering as his inner muscles clenched around me?
My cock hadn’t even finished softening when that thought made it jerk, trying valiantly to rise again.
Jesus. I was far enough from my youth that that hadn’t happened in years.
Shaking my head, I shucked off my clothes and headed for the shower stall in the small bathroom in the corner of my bedroom to scrub off the dirt and sweat. There wasn’t anything I could do about the shame of what I’d just done.
I was redressed and digging through the freezer for something to feed my guest when I heard a faint cough from behind me. I turned to ask Cass if he’d enjoyed his bath, but the words lodged in my throat at the sight before me.
His black hair was towel-dry and sticking up where he’d rubbed it. His skin, where it was visible, was still pink from the heat and dewy from the steam in the bathroom.
And, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, there was a lot of visible skin. Smooth, hairless, soft-looking skin that I was dying to finish drying with my tongue.
“Um, do you have anything I can wear?” he asked, his eyes on the Spanish tile on my floor. “That uniform is so nasty.”
“Oh, right,” I shook my head to clear the inappropriate thoughts. “Sorry. I should have thought of that. Give me a sec.” I walked into my bedroom and began to rifle through my drawers. I’m a lot bulkier than Cass, but we are close in height, so I figured anything with an elastic waist should work.
Pulling a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt free, I turn around and nearly walked straight into him.
“Sorry,” I gulped. “I thought you were waiting out there.” I gestured needlessly toward the kitchen.
Cass just nodded and reached for the clothes in my hand. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” I responded automatically. “Let me get you some socks.” I pulled a pair from the top drawer and laid them on top of the stack in his arms. “I’ll leave you to change, then,” I managed to force out, walking gingerly out and closing the door behind me before shoving my hand down my pants to adjust my throbbing dick.
Seriously, I didn’t know what it was about that man, but he had my body responding to his presence like an eighteen-year-old in a strip club.
Returning to the freezer, I found a bag of frozen ravioli and tossed it on the counter. While the water worked its way to a boil, I thawed out a Tupperware container of pasta sauce in the microwave and, by the time Cass’s stocking feet padded into the kitchen, it was nearly ready.
“Can I help with anything?” he asked, his voice still hesitant.
“Nope,” I assured him, a little too cheerfully. “Just have a seat and the food will be ready soon.” I laughed. “Even if this is a weird time for us to eat.”
Cass snickered and glanced out the window at the blinding sun. “I have to admit that I don’t remember the last time I was awake at this time in the afternoon, much less sitting down for a meal, but I am starving.” He sat at my small kitchen table, his hands folded in his lap and waited patiently as I set a plate loaded with pasta goodness in front of him. “This smells amazing.”
“Good.” I filled two glasses with water and added them to the table before taking my seat. “Dig in and then we can get some real sleep.”
We ate in silence and, by the time Cass scraped the last of the sauce from his plate, I could see he was struggling to keep his eyes open.
“Why don’t you go lie down?” I suggested as I stood and rinsed our plates in the sink. “You know where the bedroom is.”
Cass looked up, his sleepy eyes suddenly wide. “Oh, I can’t take your bed,” he disagreed quietly. “The couch will be fine.”
I was already shaking my head when he finished.
“Absolutely not,” I said, a little more forcefully than I’d meant to. “I’m not putting you between me and the door, just in case. I’ll take the couch.”
The Omega’s forehead creased into a frown. “Then I can sleep on the floor in the bedroom,” he offered. “You haven’t even gotten as much rest as I have since this started.”
I sighed. “We shared the bed in the attic, right? My bed is much bigger. Do you think we can share it?” Between my over-the-top responses to him and his change in demeanor in the past few hours, I was hesitant to make the suggestion, but I was even more hesitant to let him suffer for my comfort.
His frown deepened, but he nodded. “If you’re sure that you don’t mind.”
“Mind?” I cocked my head. “Why would I mind sleeping with you?”
Cass cleared his throat and began staring past me, his eyes pinned to something over my shoulder as he forced out words that were clearly hard to say. “I’m, ah, clean and all, but I know having a whore in their bed isn’t something most people are into,” he finally whispered. “I mean, using a fuck boy is one thing, but nobody wants to actually sleep next to one, if they have a choice.”
I recoiled in surprise, not at his words, exactly, but at the self-loathing dripping from them.
“Cass! Don’t talk about yourself like that,” I said softly.
Casen rolled his eyes, shaking his head sadly. “I’m not looking for sympathy,” he said. “I just want you to know I understand why you’re uncomfortable around me.”
My tired brain was struggling to keep up with the conversation, but I thought I’d finally figured it out. “Cass? What do you do for a living?”
The Omega turned disbelieving eyes on me. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“I’m a rent boy,” he said flatly. “A whore.”
“I see.” I watched his face carefully. “And you thought I knew that and that was why I didn’t make a move on you?”
His eyes narrowed. “Why else would a horny Alpha walk away from a piece of free, willing ass?”
I snorted. “Well, first off, I actually didn’t know,” I told him gently. “When Rafe set this plan up, I asked not to be given any information on the Omega he was sending in. I’m not exactly skilled at deception and I was afraid that if I knew too much, I’d give the whole thing away.”
“Really?”
I nodded. “Really. And even if I had known, that wouldn’t have had any bearing on the situation. I would never risk an investigation by getting physical in the middle of it. It would have distracted me and risked your safety. Keeping you safe is my top priority.” I held out my hand.
“Now, will you please believe that I am perfectly happy to have you sleep in my bed?”
Cass nodded slowly. “I guess.”
“Good.” I led him toward the bedroom. “Once we get some sleep, I’ll check in with Rafe and we’ll know where to go from here.”
“Okay.” Cass was back to staring at the floor as he gave quiet, one-word answers, but he did crawl into the bed when I pulled the covers back and, within minutes, his breathing settled into a slow, deep rhythm.
I waited until I was certain that he was asleep to slip from the bed and, cell phone in hand, creep out to the kitchen where I could be sure my call wouldn’t be overheard.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Rafe
As the ranking officer from the local COPSD division – a little guy with a big attitude whose name tag said Rogers - filled me in on the fledgling investigation, I glanced over at the small group of Omegas who had been locked in cells in the building when the fire department had arrived on the scene of the Omega Auction House fire. Luckily, there wasn’t an auction scheduled for several more days and, since the suction house charged room and board for Omegas who were dropped off early, there was only a handful.
Seven, to be exact. All male, all naked, and all huddled together as they were gawked at and catcalled by obnoxious onlookers.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I hissed, ignoring the insulted look on the local cop’s face as I interrupted his droning on. “Have your men get those Omegas some blankets and have them transported to the intake center, would you?”
“Right away,” he muttered, stalking off and yelling for someone named Oscar.
The bodies had been laid out on the wet ground and covered with tarps before I’d arrived, but I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to check and see if they were identifiable. So, with Rogers redirected, I headed over to where the coroner, a reed-thin blonde woman with a yellow hazmat suit and large tortoiseshell glasses, was staring at a clipboard.
“Rafael Borrero,” I began to introduce myself, but she rolled her eyes and stuck her hand out.
“I know who you are, Inspector,” she huffed, lowering the clipboard. “I’m Brooke.”
Okay, then.
“Were you able to identify them?”
Brooke grimaced. “Yeah. The fire didn’t have enough time to get to the bodies. And they all conveniently brought ID.”
I felt my brow creep up. “They didn’t die in the fire?”
“Nope,” she said, popping the p. “All three were dead long before the place was torched. The arsonist doused them with accelerant, but the fire didn’t catch as fast as they’d hoped.”
“I see. You have a COD?”
“Not yet,” Brooke shook her head. “I can tell you that they were already dead when the fire broke out and that there is no sign of trauma, but that’s it.”
I gestured to the tarp on the closest body. “May I?”
She shrugged. “Be my guest.”
The face of the first victim looked vaguely familiar, but it wasn’t until I saw Bowlock, Darren on the tag strapped to his wrist that I could place him. He was the bastard that had kidnapped a bunch of wolf pups and then tried to lure Chloe away to raise them. When that hadn’t worked, he’d kidnapped Sky instead. The whole mess had ended with the twin Coruscation Alphas, Clint and Colt, squaring off and throwing down. Colt definitely came out ahead, but he was not going to be sorry the punk was dead.
Snapping a picture with my phone, I dropped the tarp back in place and moved on to the next body.
When the tarp lifted to reveal Paul Cadere, I was oddly unsurprised. It wasn’t that I’d expected to find him there, but, it seemed to make some strange kind of sense that he was mixed up in it. I lifted my phone to take his picture and then hesitated.
Except, that almost had to mean that the mole was involved in the prosecution delay in his case. Shaking the sense of foreboding off, I pressed the shutter button and dropped the tarp. I was just reaching for the third tarp – and placing silent bets in my head as to who the unlucky corpse number three would be – when the phone in my hand vibrated, making me jump.
Brook snickered and I shot her a dirty look. She ignored it.
“What?” I snarled into the phone without checking the caller ID.
“Well, good afternoon, sunshine,” Ralph’s amused voice made me cringe. “How’s your day?”
Shit.
“Sorry, Boss,” I sighed. “Everything okay?”
“Sure is,” Ralph said calmly. “What’s new?”
I sighed again. “Hydra’s heads are falling off before we can sever them,” I said, hoping he’d understand. From the silence on the other side of the line, I suspected he was puzzling through it. Finally, he spoke again.
“You need another set of hands?”
I considered that. “Did you deliver the package?”
“I still have it.”
So, wherever Ralph was, Casen was with him and they were safe.
“Honestly? We haven’t found the porch pirates yet, so, if you want to head in, we’ll need to deliver it to a safe place.”
Translation: The bad guys were still out there, so, if the boss wanted to jump into the investigation, he’d need to set Casen up in a safe house first.
“I see.” Ralph was quiet for a moment. “You know, if you’re not short-handed, I think maybe I’ll just get a little fishing in, then. Keep the package with me where it won’t get broken.”
“Sounds good.” Except, I needed to debrief him and soon. “You think you’ll catch anything? I’d love a fish dinner.”
“Come on by, then,” Ralph told me. “But not too early. I need a nap.”
“Got it.” A weight lifted off me. “See you then.”
Disconnecting the call, I reached for the corner of the third tarp and started when a shock of bright red hair came into view.
Beehive Beatrice was the third corpse. You could have knocked me over with a fucking feather. If she wasn’t the mastermind behind all this, who was?
I added her picture to my phone and dropped the tarp back into place with a huff. I was back to the fucking drawing board.
“You done here?” Rogers’s whining voice came from behind me. “They got something in the rubble.”
I ignored his comment and looked past him to check on the Omegas. “Did you get those Omegas sent to intake?”
“Didn’t need to,” Rogers huffed. “Had some do-gooder in the crowd offered to take them in.”
“What?” I growled. “You let someone walk away with a group of fucking crime victims, you putz?”
Rogers narrowed his beady eyes and planted his fists on his hips. “He was from that Omega rescue group. Divinity Internal or whatever.”
I stared at him, trying to make sense of the drivel coming out of his mouth but couldn’t. Shoving him ahead of me, I snapped, “Show me.”
Rogers stiffened but nodded to the parking lot. “That’s him.”
I keyed in on a familiar tall, angular man who was herding the Omegas into a large transport van and my blood ran cold.
What the fuck was Charles Kier, Esquire, CEO of Omega Destiny International doing at the site of an arson fire thousands of miles from their campus?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Casen
I was wrapped in comforting Alpha pheromones while large, warm hands rubbed my back in long, firm strokes. Long fingers kneading the sore muscles with calloused tips that dragged deliciously over my sensitive skin, making me want to purr. In my ear, a heart beat in a steady, familiar rhythm. Beneath my cheek, a strong chest rose and fell with easy breaths.
Except, I couldn’t think of any reason that I would be in such heaven.
Unless I was dreaming.
Of course, I thought to myself sleepily. I must still be dreaming.
And, since it was a dream, why shouldn’t I relax into it, enjoy it to the fullest?
I released my breath and burrowed closer to the strong, masculine body beneath me, rolling my
morning wood against my dream lover’s and reveling in his gasp.
“Cass,” he groaned, the deep timbre of his voice making me shiver as one hand drifted lower, cupping my ass and pressing me close as his hips bucked up against me. “Are you awake?”
“No,” I murmured against the soft, furry chest, keeping my eyes screwed closed. “Having the best dream.”
My dream man chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest. “You are, huh?”
“Mm-hmm,” I confirmed, shifting my hips and sighing as we crossed swords again. “So good.”
“But what if it’s not a dream?” he asked softly, the hand on my butt alternating between squeezing and rubbing. “What if it’s real?”
“It’s not,” I assured him, canting my hips back to try to get his fingers closer to where I wanted them. “I’m never that lucky.”
Another laugh, louder. “But, if you woke up, maybe it would get better?” he teased, dragging one finger through my crack to tickle my hole.
I moaned. “More.”
“If you want more, you have to open your eyes,” he insisted.
I whimpered. “You’ll go away.”
“I promise that won’t happen,” the sexy voice assured me. “In fact, if you open your eyes and tell me that you really want this, I promise it will be much better than the dream.”
“Fine,” I huffed. Obviously, even my subconscious was against me. I forced my eyes open and waited for reality to intrude on my erotic cocoon.
Except..it didn’t.
“Good evening,” Ralphs warm brown eyes were smiling up at me. “Sleep well?”
“How? Why?” I stumbled over the questions as I realized I was lying completely on top of the handsome Alpha, my thighs straddling his hips with our groins pressed together intimately. My head was pillowed on his chest and I was naked.
I swallowed hard. How had I ended up naked?
“What?” Ralph teased me. “No greeting?”