by Lynn Hagen
Jordan glanced down at the floor where the pictures had fallen to see exactly what the stranger had said. He was standing in Bailey’s backyard fighting the vampire. He saw another picture and it looked like the photographer had been peering through the window, Jordan shifting into his cat.
He left the pictures on the floor as he gazed at the stranger. Jordan could no longer deny the man’s accusations. He had the proof in colorful photos. His body coiled when the stranger lifted the gun a little higher.
“What are you after?” Jordan asked, never taking his eyes off the weapon.
“What I want is very simple,” the stranger sneered. “For humans to be the only species once more.”
Jordan shoved his arm out, the heel of his palm slamming into the stranger’s nose, driving the bone up into the guy’s skull. The stranger dropped to the shop floor, dead. That was two people he had killed within a twenty-four hour period. He was beginning to wonder what the hell was going on in Brac Village.
Mark came out of his office and came up short when his eyes landed on the dead body. “Care to tell me why you killed him?”
Jordan squatted and gathered the pictures, handing them to Mark.
“Was he trying to blackmail you?”
Jordan shook his head. “Wanted me dead.”
“Did you know him?”
Again, Jordan just shook his head. He had never met the man before in his life. He himself couldn’t understand why the guy had wanted to kill him. The human said that he wanted nonhumans gone from the face of the earth. Was he a single nut job or was he a part of a group?
“Lock the place up,” Mark said in a grave tone, heading back toward his office. “I need to make a phone call.”
Jordan did one better than that. He pulled the stranger’s car into the bay before closing it. The less people who knew the guy was here, the better. Now all he had to do was figure out how to dispose of the body. He honestly hadn’t meant to kill the man, but Jordan had seen in the stranger’s eyes that the guy meant to kill him.
It had all boiled down to who could kill the other one first. Since Jordan treasured his life and had done nothing wrong to the stranger, he had no qualms about preserving his own life. When Mark walked out of his office a few minutes later, Jordan did not like the pinched look on his boss’s face.
“It seems the guy you killed was a part of some group that hunts vampires.”
“He was hunting more than vampires,” Jordan replied.
Mark handed the pictures back to Jordan. “Destroy those. Some human name Kenyon is out to extinguish the paranormal world. He just recently found out about shifters.”
Jordan was stunned at the news. “How much does he know?”
“Enough to sink us if he wanted to.”
Jordan knew that Mark was human, but he had a shifter mate. This affected him just as much. What he couldn’t understand was why they had come after him. Jordan was just a mechanic, no one special or high up in rank. He knelt and dug the guy’s wallet out. The stranger had said he had a file on Jordan.
He needed to destroy that file.
After retrieving his wallet and looking inside, Jordan felt his hands shake. “He’s a lawyer.” It wasn’t going to be so easy to hide his death. Jordan handed the business card to Mark.
“Ah, man,” Mark said as he ran a hand over the back of his neck, his expression a mask of stone. “This is really bad.”
“We’re going to have to set this up to look like an accident.” Taking a deep, unsteady breath, he stood. Jordan was not a criminal and this didn’t set well with him, but his hands were tied. The deed was done and now he had to clean up the mess.
“Car accident?” Mark asked as he handed the wallet back. “We could make it look convincing.”
They both jumped when someone knocked on the door. Jordan and Mark looked at one another and then down at the body.
“I’ll get rid of whoever it is,” Mark said as he hurried to answer the door. Jordan shoved the wallet back into the lawyer’s pants.
“Hey, Jordan.”
Jordan glanced up to see Bailey standing next to Mark. His mate’s eyes were gazing at the body on the floor. Great. This was all he needed. Bailey already looked at him like he was some kind of murdering maniac. Seeing Jordan kneeling over a dead body was not going to help his case.
“Did I come at a bad time?” Bailey asked.
“He tried to kill Jordan,” Mark explained to Jordan’s mate. “He’s a spy sent here to find out if Brac Village truly has nonhumans.”
Jordan appreciated his boss trying to explain things to Bailey, but he knew he was the one who had to fix this. “That was a vampire I killed last night. He was coming to drain you.”
Bailey slowly blinked at Jordan, his face slack. “I’m sorry, I thought I heard you say vampire.”
“He did,” Mark interjected. “The one last night was what we refer to as rogue.”
“And him?” Bailey pointed to the man on the ground.
“Human,” Jordan answered. “A fucking lawyer.”
“Okay, another sort of vampire,” Bailey said as he let out a slow breath, pushing his hands in front of him. “I’m not going to freak out.”
“Good, because I don’t have time to get shot today,” Jordan grumbled. “Help me get the body into the car.”
“Oh hell no,” Bailey said as he took a step back. “I am not touching a dead body.”
“He can’t hurt you,” Jordan said as he opened the door of the car. “It’s not like he’s going to jump up and attack you.”
“It still gross,” Bailey replied. “He’s dead.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Mark walked toward the car and opened the driver’s door. “You need to go find that file.”
Bailey’s brows slanted into a frown. “What file?”
After closing the back door of the car, Jordan turned and faced Bailey. “It seems the Vampire Hunters are well organized. This guy”—Jordan chucked a thumb at the back of the car—“said he had a file on me. If that’s true, I need to destroy it before it falls into the wrong hands.”
“As long as I don’t have to touch any dead bodies, I’ll help.”
Jordan was stunned that Bailey would offer after his mate had tossed him out last night. Travis had told him what had transpired after Jordan shifted to heal. He had been crushed and angry at what Bailey had done. But as he worked today, Jordan had thought about it and knew that if he were human and just found out about shifters, he probably would’ve done the same thing.
But he wasn’t going to tolerate his mate standing him up. “Then we need to get going,” Jordan said as he walked toward the door. “I saw his address on his ID card. We have a long ride ahead of us.”
Mark was just standing there, almost gaping at Jordan, but spoke to Bailey. “I’m not sure what you’ve done to him, but I’ve never heard him talk so damn much.”
“Shut up,” Jordan muttered.
* * * *
Bailey was out cold when Jordan pulled into his mate’s driveway. It had been a long night and Jordan was exhausted himself. He had found the file that the lawyer had been referring to.
Slipping from the truck, Jordan walked to the other side and lifted his mate out, carrying him inside. Bailey was not a light guy. Thank goodness Jordan was strong. He gently lowered Bailey onto the couch.
He knelt there, studying Bailey. Since finding out that the human was his mate, things had snowballed out of control. Jordan really hadn’t had a chance to talk to the guy or get to know him.
He brushed his hand over Bailey’s short, brown hair, wondering just how hard it was going to be between them. He knew Harley had broken Bailey’s heart, but he also knew the human was his, not Harley’s. Jordan wished he had come to town sooner. Maybe he could have saved his mate the heartache instead of picking up the pieces.
Bailey opened his eyes and Jordan was amazed once again at how beautiful the sage-green coloring truly was. Everything about Bailey appealed to
Jordan. His compact body, handsome face, espresso hair, and pretty eyes, made up one hell of a package. Now all Jordan had to do was crack the man’s defenses and find out who Bailey was, what made him tick.
“How long have I been out of it?” Bailey asked.
Jordan’s eyes were glued to the man’s mouth when his tongue flicked out and licked his bottom lip. Before he knew what he was doing, Jordan leaned in and tasted his mate for the very first time.
Jordan’s tongue licked purposefully at the upper lip and was granted entry to the warm wet cavern. The kiss sent the pit of his stomach into a wild swirl as he pressed Bailey’s lips to his, caressing his mouth more than kissing it.
Their tongues dueled and fought over who would control the kiss as Jordan pinned Bailey against the couch. As if in slow motion, Bailey’s head tilted back as Jordan kissed his mate’s throat. Bailey moaned as Jordan teased his flesh with his lips and the sound sent shivers through him.
Jordan moved back to Bailey’s mouth and their tongues tangled in an intimate glide, his emotions whirling and skidding, the need to claim almost overwhelming.
“I can’t.” Bailey pushed at Jordan’s chest.
Jordan pulled back, gazing down at his mate and then their mouths crashed together again, hungrier and more desperate than before, muffling the sounds of their pleasure. Bailey tried to push at Jordan again, but Jordan grabbed his mate’s wrists and held them in place, refusing to be rejected.
Bailey arched his back, opening his mouth wider and Jordan felt as if he were burning in the fiery passion of their kiss. Jordan guided one of Bailey’s hands to his aching cock. He thought the man would try and push him away again, but Bailey’s touch was oddly soft and caressing.
The smoldering flames he saw in Bailey’s green eyes startled him. He smiled when his mate’s cheeks colored under Jordan’s gaze. It was like the man had been starving for affection and Jordan was finally feeding him. But he wasn’t foolish enough to think that Bailey was totally giving himself over.
The man wanted sex, pure and simple.
As long as Jordan didn’t bite, then he wouldn’t bind Bailey to him. He knew his mate wasn’t ready for that, to commit, to give Jordan his heart. At the moment, Jordan would accept the man’s body, even if his heart wasn’t a part of the act.
Bailey didn’t protest when Jordan released the man’s wrists and began to remove his mate’s pants. He tossed them aside and then stood, undressing. Bailey’s eyes stayed riveted to Jordan as he lowered himself to the couch, blanketing his mate, careful of his weight.
He braced himself by his hands on either side of Bailey’s head as he leaned down to recapture Bailey’s kiss-swollen lips. Bailey’s arms wrapped around Jordan’s neck, his mate’s lips opened to his.
But it wasn’t submission Bailey gave him. It wasn’t supplication. It was a man demanding with harsh groans and subtle touches. Shudders of pleasure raced beneath his skin as his free hand began to caress Bailey, moving up the man’s back, over his waist, and up Bailey’s side as his tongue stroked his mate’s mouth.
One of Jordan’s hands slid lower, his fingers searching for and finding the heated length of Bailey’s cock as it pressed against Jordan’s side. Thick and iron-hard, throbbing beneath his touch, the silken flesh was like a flame in Jordan’s hand.
“Oh god.” Bailey’s head fell back. His hips arched against Jordan’s touch as his fingers began to slowly stroke the man’s heated flesh. Jordan gave a low growl when Bailey tangled his fingers in Jordan’s hair. His mate gave a light tug and pleasure surged through him.
Damn, if Jordan didn’t fuck Bailey he was going to die from the need. He had to get inside his mate. He had to fill him, thrust inside him. Feel the pleasure that exploded into complete nirvana when he came inside his mate.
His cock hardened to painful intensity at the need.
“Sex…just sex.”
Jordan nodded, even though it pained him to do so. He wanted more than just sex with his mate but knew that was all Bailey had to offer at the moment. Releasing his mate’s cock, Jordan moved further up the couch. “Suck me.”
He leaned over and fed his hardening dick to Bailey’s panting mouth. His mate took Jordan’s erection into his mouth in one swift move and sucked ferociously. Jordan hissed as he pushed his cock to the back of Bailey’s throat, waiting for the man’s reflexive swallow to squeeze the sensitive tip before retreating and fucking into him again.
Every time Bailey’s gaze met Jordan’s, his heart turned over in response. His fingers curled into the back of the couch as he watched his cock repeatedly disappear between Bailey’s lips.
Jordan suppressed the purr rumbling in his chest. That wasn’t what Bailey wanted. His mate didn’t want to get to know Jordan’s cat. He didn’t want to be claimed. The man had stated that all he wanted was sex.
So that’s all Jordan gave him. He began to thrust his hips toward Bailey’s face and cried out when Bailey played with his balls. His mate knew exactly how to drive Jordan insane and that scared the hell out of him because Bailey wasn’t willing to commit.
Knowing this, knowing that he was only a means to sate Bailey’s lust, Jordan held Bailey in place as he rolled his hips backward and pulled his dick from his mate’s mouth with a damp pop.
Bailey gazed up at him confusedly.
“On your hands and knees,” Jordan commanded in a rough tone. He moved back enough to give Bailey room, watching as his mate turned over and presented Jordan with his smooth, tight ass.
Jordan scooted back and then began to lick at Bailey’s tight entrance. His tongue flickered and probed, caressed and stroked, each lick light and easy, teasing and tempting. As he feasted on his mate, Jordan reached down and pulled the travel size lube from his jeans. Tearing the packet open, he lubed his fingers before slipping two into his mate’s backside.
Bailey bucked, his legs sliding further apart as he jutted his ass into the air. His mate’s ass clenched around his fingers, holding a tight grip against the rapid strokes that Jordan filled his mate with, stretching him.
A need poured through him, ripping at Jordan. His canines elongated, the need to claim strong. It was a hunger he couldn’t eradicate from his soul, yet he couldn’t satisfy because his mate refused to open himself up and give Jordan his heart.
It was wild, the way the sensation thundered through Jordan, throbbed in every beat of his heart, kept him on a ragged edge of desperate hunger. Jordan reared back and pressed the swollen head of his cock against Bailey’s stretched hole, nudging against the tight opening.
He gripped Bailey’s hips, barely able to breathe for the silky heat cupping the tip of his cock. As he sank deep, rapid bolts of fiery sensation tore through him. His thighs tightened, his hips arched, thrusting his shaft harder, deeper inside Bailey as he fought back the release that nearly slipped his control.
Hips clashed, writhed, perspiration built. He could feel the whirling sensation as it attacked his senses. The feel of his cock inside Bailey, throbbing, shuttling in and out in deep, rhythmic strokes was almost too much.
Jordan used every vestige of control he possessed in order not to bite. Bailey arched his back, sensual moans filling the room as he began to meet Jordan thrust for thrust. Their movements became faster, harder, stronger.
Bailey was the first to cry out, screaming Jordan’s name. His control slipped, just a notch, and then it shattered as Jordan’s climax tore through him. Unable to stop his beast, Jordan sank his teeth into Bailey’s shoulder.
Jordan was thrown into a conflagration of sensation that he couldn’t stop. His hips were moving at lightning speed as he rode a wave of such pure pleasure that control was impossible. His hands held Bailey’s hips fiercely as he thrust into his mate, plunging, throwing himself higher with each stroke into an orgasm that threatened to destroy him.
He circled his arms around Bailey as he pulled his canines free. His hand stroked down his mate’s chest. “You’re like a flame against me,” he whispered. �
��So sweet and hot.”
He could hear Bailey swallowing hard. His mate pulled at Jordan’s arms and Jordan knew that Bailey was shutting down on him. He had fucked around and claimed Bailey even after he told the man that it would be nothing but sex.
There was nothing Jordan could do about it now. He only prayed that Bailey didn’t crush him as he had been crushed.
Chapter Five
Bailey was sore as hell the next day at work. He was also paranoid, waiting for the cops to show up and arrest him because of the man Jordan had killed. Jordan had explained everything to Bailey on their ride to the lawyer’s home.
Jordan had told him about shifters, vampires, demons, Vampire Hunters, and everything in between. His mind was still trying to absorb it all. But out of everything Jordan had told him, what scared Bailey the most was what he felt for the man when Jordan was fucking him.
“Long night?” Travis asked, his eyes flickering to the spot where Jordan had bitten him. That bite had shocked him, but Bailey had been too far gone at the time to care. Now that it was the next morning, Bailey wondered what the biting meant, if anything.
He also wondered if Travis knew what had taken place in Mark’s Garage. “Why do you ask?” Bailey tried not to sound guilty. He phrased his question in a nonchalant tone.
Travis laughed. “You have a glow about you, my man. Did you finally get laid?”
If Travis only knew. Jordan hadn’t just fucked Bailey, he…he… Bailey couldn’t even think of a way to describe what Jordan had done to him. Not even Harley had been so tender, so raw, and no one had ever made Bailey come without touching himself. He normally couldn’t come at all with a cock in his ass, but Jordan had changed all that.
Bailey was terrified of what Jordan was doing to him. But as Travis grinned at him, Bailey couldn’t help but return the smile. It had been freaking fantastic!
“Maybe.”
“I knew it!” Travis hooted with laughter. “I sure as hell hope the old Bailey comes back. I miss him,” Travis said somberly.