Love's Wariness

by Flynn Eire

  I bobbed my head. That was actually fair given the circumstances. “He only touches me. He told me once I was the only person he could for sure know he wouldn’t kill no matter what was going on because he would die if he did. We’re brothers without mothers. It’s ingrained in him to protect me.” I took in a slow breath and ignored my burning eyes. “He’s accidentally killed. He doesn’t think I know, but I do.

  “I overheard him sobbing, debating suicide. He’s debated that a lot. They might have been zakasacs, but they are living beings. Something whatever power in heaven has allowed to be, and he’s killed hundreds and hundreds of them from his touch . He just has to be angry, not engage it so much like I do when I call metal.” He gave a slow nod, and I took a deep breath. “Now ask me if I think he killed that guard on purpose?”

  Gaius and Claudius snorted, but it was the boss who replied. “I don’t fucking care. The guy was dead anyways for his part in any of this. They all are. I’ll let Ellison kill the rest if he wants, but he did it before the final ruling and process.”

  I thought of something and cleared my throat, knowing I was going to stretch the line a bit. “True, but the guy admitted to wanting us dead and planning to see it done. He didn’t sound under Helios’s influence. I wasn’t sure he was done or not, but I felt my life was in danger.”

  They both smirked at me, Gaius coughing to cover his laugh. “Yeah, I felt the same. I was worried about Falcon’s safety.”

  “Good deal. Okay, get better and we’ll talk tomorrow.” Claudius tapped the doorframe and headed out.

  “Who did Ellison accidentally kill?” Gaius asked me gently, looking worried.

  “Not my story to tell,” I murmured, searching his eyes and understanding why he would ask that. “Ellison said Seneca is immune, as he has the same gift. They are the only ones immune no matter the circumstances. Their gifts would cancel out automatically or something.”

  “Okay, good, yeah, good. I’m sorry for your friend, I am, and I don’t judge—”

  “But you worry for your friend. I get it.”

  “Thank you.” He came over and gave me a quick kiss. “Why don’t you use my stuff and go take a hot shower while I go get you another cart to eat, okay? More sleep is good, but I think we should err on the side of caution and get some IVs for you, blood too.”

  “You be the adult,” I agreed after a few moments. My brain was still too tired to think even.

  He did a good job of it, though, because after I returned from my shower, Bowie was there waiting to give me fluids and warmed blood bags for me, worry in his eyes. He also took blood, wanting to check certain levels, and then went over my diet for the next few days with Gaius after he showed up with a cart full of nummies.

  And apparently he was good at being the adult because Bowie had no objections to anything he brought me. I ate and went back to bed after Gaius gave me a bite of brownie.

  Then woke up and ate another cartful, still hooked up to IVs, had a bite of “dessert” before crashing again… Yes, it was the pot brownie. In my defense, I didn’t see taking a bite of it any worse than taking something to sleep, and those didn’t really work well on us. Or the huge dose way over what humans took would knock us out but not work as long, so whatever. My body would regenerate any brain cells I killed from a bite .

  That was my routine for the next several meals and a couple of days. It was great, and everything inside me sort of melted at how Gaius took care of me, staying to watch over me even because he was worried about the guests still at camp.

  Honestly, after a few days of that, I felt like a whole new man… Or a healed one actually. I sat in front of remaining “guests,” smiling when several were obviously missing like Councilman Garrow. Awesome.

  And several of the East Canada council’s members. Even better.

  Then it was done. My part was done, and my parents… I didn’t ask. Someone tried to tell me, and I shook my head and glanced at a worried Ellison. “Orphan brothers, right?”

  “You got it,” he agreed, actually smiling and looking lighter too now that it was over.

  Now we simply had to heal and try to move past what we’d been through. But I didn’t think I had to do that alone, which I appreciated, adoring Gaius for making sure I didn’t feel I was alone.

  “Where are we going?” I asked Gaius as he led me towards the main building when it was time to be heading to bed. He’d been a bit squirmy since I’d finished my testifying, and I’d assumed it was because he was worried about how I’d handle it all. Now I was worried something else was up.

  “Nothing’s wrong,” he murmured, moving his hand to my lower back. “I’m not good at certain things, and I didn’t have a chance to get Morggyan or Basilia’s counsel.”

  I gave him a funny look, wondering why he would need a female opinion, but didn’t ask. There were certain things he was very old school about. It could be lots of things. Flowers? Yeah, ask a girl because what would guys know about flowers? That sort of thing.

  Then again, his friends tended to rib him if he would ask something like that, and I had a feeling his female friends were above all of that.

  I noticed the “reserved” sign on the cafeteria, and my heart raced, wondering what he had planned. “If you planned some intimate meal, I know I’ve been eating a lot, but I’m full from all I put away at dinner.”

  “No, no dinner,” he chuckled and opened the door. I gasped at what I saw, my hands fluttering to cover my mouth. “You like?”

  I nodded as I took in all the candles and rose petals making a path to the massive fireplace in there that I always thought was beautiful. In front of it was a bed of pillows covered with a huge blanket with another for covering us.

  Gaius locked the door behind us and wrapped his arms around me, giving my neck a brush of a kiss, which always made me shiver. “You’ve been hinting you’re ready, or I think you have be—”

  “I have, I am,” I assured him, getting why he was so nervous now. “This is perfect, Gaius. I mean, I couldn’t have dreamed of something so romantic and perfect on my best day, and you doing this because it’s my first time even if I’m an almost thirty-year-old warrior—I can’t put into words what this means to me.”

  “Good,” he sighed in relief.

  I turned in his arms and attacked him, jumping and wrapping my body around his as I knew he loved. Sure enough, he was moving fast, and then I was lying on the bed, clothes coming off just as quickly.

  “Wait, wait,” he gasped as he pulled away. “I planned a massage and all this seduction and—”

  “Another night,” I chuckled, smiling up at him when he looked confused. “Gaius, you’ve been seducing me from the moment you came to the first training session I gave Nate and Lance. I’m so ready. Massage me after if you make me into a pretzel and I’m sore.”

  “Godiva pretzel sounds nummy,” he growled against my lips. I gasped as his slicked up fingers moved against my hole and he pushed two in. We’d been playing like that for the past several nights, and he’d found I liked that shock with some slight burn to start but then taking the time, as if it kept burning or being painful, it wasn’t fun.

  It went faster this time since I was getting used to it all. I barely got into the kissing and touching him fully naked, it seemed, and then I was ready. Gaius guided me onto my hands and knees, wanting that because it would be easier on me. I nodded, knowing that and wanting easier after I’d waited so long to finally have sex.

  I gasped as he moved completely over me… And ran his fangs against my neck.

  “They just came out,” he admitted as he teased me with them. “I wanted to be honest. I know we’re not ready, but I didn’t want to try and hide them.”

  “Thank you. I don’t want you to ever hide from me,” I admitted. I glanced at him over my shoulder, a thrill going through me at seeing his fangs out for me.

  Apparently, I really liked it because mine came out too, much to both of our shock. The joy in his eyes at seeing
mine was worth the fear I felt at them coming out. I felt my hand move and glanced down to see a ring on my left ring finger.

  “I know it is the style now to wear it on the right hand for men who are gay, but I don’t like that,” Gaius explained. “Equal means equal and normal, but you are of this era, so if you are more comfortable, I understand.”

  “I don’t care what others think,” I admitted, feeling some of the tension in his body dissipate, and I could feel that since he was sprawled over my back. I stared down at the thick black ring that had a spiral of small diamonds. “I love it.”

  “One of the things I love about you is your intelligence, how you always want to learn more, learn everything,” he murmured, kissing my shoulder. “That is the symbol of wisdom and the meaning of Quinn.” He moved his hand next to mine, and I saw he had a matching black ring, but instead of a spiral, the diamonds formed a bird, a falcon. “A diamond lasts forever, but who we are is the important part, not the rocks. I love you with my whole soul, Falcon. Will you mate me?”

  “Yes,” I agreed, my heart trying to beat out of my chest, I was so excited and scared at the same time.

  “I had more to say,” he admitted, smiling against my shoulder when I chuckled. “Will you take my name? You won’t have to pop out babies, I promise.”

  “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

  “No, it was hysterical,” he chuckled, kissing my neck. “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes, of course. I love you. It’s not even I hate being a Byrd and being a part of that family, I want to be part of yours.”

  “Good, then now you’re mine forever,” he whispered, more to himself than to me, sounding relieved. I gasped as he pushed into me, still in shock that I’d just gotten engaged and the whole everything he’d set up. I moaned as he worked me open, my body accepting him and on fire from what he was doing all at once.

  My first orgasm seemed to come out of nowhere, and suddenly I was screaming in pleasure like I never had before. The moment it was over, Gaius flipped me over and pushed back in me, his eyes full of heat and love for me as he moved. I smiled as he interlocked our fingers and moved them over my head. I kissed him with all I had since our fangs were retracted now and there was no chance of accidents.

  He liked it because he moved faster, so, so fast and intense I felt like I’d get thrown across the room if he wasn’t pinning me down. It was awesome and overwhelming. He swallowed the cries of my second climax, smiling like the cat that ate the canary, watching it the whole time.

  “I would give you all the orgasms in the world to be able to see them and you be so open and free,” he murmured as he sat back on his feet, bringing me with him. I couldn’t even think of trying to ride him, my body feeling like mush. But he handled it, handled everything as I held onto him, burying my face against his neck as I made all kinds of noises I’d thought fake and just for porn.

  My third orgasm he followed me right over, and feeling that, him finishing inside me, his body shaking under mine as he moaned my name was one of the craziest, best experiences of my life. I slumped against him when we were finished, enjoying the afterglow but also worried that he wasn’t saying anything, not moving us so I could see his face.

  “Regretting giving me the ring before sampling the goods?” I asked, my words harsher than I meant them to be but unable to think of anything else to convey what I was feeling.

  He slowly leaned away, his eyes bugging out before he threw his head back and laughed so hard I felt it through my whole body. Finally, he settled and laid me on the pillows again, smiling brightly.

  “Not in the slightest, Godiva. I was thinking I’ve had thousands of years of sex and was wondering if I was the one eating the pot brownies lately, as the man I love gave me multiple orgasms during his first time having sex. I was sort of wondering if my heart might give out when you get more experience, or what else I could expect, as first times are awkward and the sex always gets better.”

  It was my turn for my eyes to go wide. “You’re giving me the credit for that? What the hell did I do besides lay there and scream?”

  “You did more than that because I’ve had that before and never came like that. It’s you, Falcon.”

  “If you say so,” I chuckled, shaking my head and stretching my arms overhead. “Wow, so that’s sex.”

  “Good?” he checked, studying me carefully, smiling when I nodded. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like another round,” I admitted, knowing that wasn’t what he meant, but it was what I wanted.

  He laughed again, and I couldn’t help but grin. There was nothing better for my heart and hurt than his laugh. However, I found something better for my sleep and rest than the pot brownie, as the second round knocked me out cold it was so awesome.

  Good thing I was engaged to him then, right?

  The End

  Find A New Series To Love…

  The Coming Storm: Shifting Reality 1

  Pack the Maps, Snacks, and Guns

  The youngest and one of the smallest of his malamute siblings, Chicago Niska is a computer genius with a knack for getting his virtual fingers into any system he wants. While trying to finagle his way out of one tricky situation he and his family are already in by getting information their leaders want, he stumbles across something that will bring the country, if not the world, to a crashing end.

  Now if they can just get what he found to the right people without getting killed in the process.

  On the run across the country to the Paranormal Parliament in the hopes of helping all supernatural kind, he and his older brothers don’t have many options for refuge when every law enforcement agency is after them. There’s only one group in the area that has the power and protection they need to shake the heat… And it’s the one place where there seems to be a great deal of history between two of his brothers and the one vouching for them.

  But is the price for the help they need more than they’re willing to pay?

  Family always comes first to Chicago, so he makes a deal with the devil, and a few vampires on the side, to get the help they need to survive the mission ahead. And after a night of passion and a fantasy come true, Chicago has allies he never dreamed of—one even willing to risk his life, joining their mission to spark a relationship with Chicago. There’s not time for love when you’re trying to save the world though… Is there?

  Things never go as planned, and instead of finding the man of his dreams, Chicago realizes he might end up with a broken heart at the end of the journey. It seems silly to worry about that though when millions of lives are at stake if they don’t get the information he found to the right people. Funny how Chicago can’t seem to focus on much else given it’s his first love and his family will probably live with Aurelo’s coven… If they’re still alive by the time they reach their leaders.

  * * *

  Avoiding Hell’s Gate: Hounds of Hell 1

  They Just Come to Collect… It’s Nothing Personal

  Stryker Magnus is born into a life no one would ever ask for, pray not to have even. But working for Hell has its perks, such as immortality, and Stryker’s far from evil. He’s really just the delivery man who hates his job.

  Rafe Damas lives a lonely life, ignored by his only remaining family—his father. When Stryker and his brothers walk into his life, he’s in shock to learn the hounds of Hell are real… And they are there for him.

  But when Stryker goes from trying to take his soul to Hell to protecting him, Rafe starts to fall hard for the man. How could he not for the man who rescued him and is helping him to see all that he’s missed in life?

  When he realizes Stryker has a jealous temper and there’s much more going on than Rafe was told, he starts to wonder if he made the right decision to trust Stryker. Even the chance for love—no matter how difficult it may be—has to be better than ending up in Hell, right?

  * * *

  Love’s Deceit: Warrior Camp 1

  Older Does
n’t Mean Wiser

  Dimitri Anslow has been in love with Alexander since he came to the warrior camp as a twenty-four-year-old pre-transition trainee. Fifty years later, he finally has the perfect plan to be with Alexander, at least physically.

  After their life changing sex, Alexander tells Dimitri that he doesn’t love or want him. Crushed, Dimitri tries everything he can to forget the man, jumping from guy to guy. As Alexander gives him mixed signals, Dimitri tries to come to terms with the fact that his mate may never be his.

  Can Dimitri move on from the one that owns his heart or is there something worth fighting for?

  * * *

  Shifters for Sale: SeXlection 1

  The Cost of Happiness Isn’t Always Money

  Born a slave, Joss grew up alone, uneducated, unloved, and dreading the day he turned eighteen and began servicing those who came to the brothel. It’s a horrible life for the cat shifters who have no rights and aren’t even seen as people. The only highlight is the massive parties the brothels throw once every few months to draw in potential buyers.

  Joss is about to give up the dream of finding a permanent owner—the hope of every slave. But then the mystery man in the white mask buys him, turning his world upside down. While Joss should hate that, all he wants is to make Dencil happy and solve the man’s problems. Will the cost of Joss’s help be more than he can handle?

  * * *

  Recapturing the Illusion: Open Ended Voyage 1

  Not Available Through Your Travel Agent

  After six years of never going anywhere, nor getting time to do what he wants, Jonah Mendel is taking a vacation. Needing time away from his demanding job and boss, he decides to finally lose his virginity… Fine, he isn’t a virgin but after a six year dry spell it feels like it.