A Mating Dance (Ashwood Falls)

by Davis, Lia;

  Graham took a step then swayed. Blaine clasped him on the shoulder, ignoring the odd electric current from the touch. He’d thought it had dulled from first gripping Graham’s arm to teleport the both of them. Apparently not.

  As if sensing the electric spark, Graham shrugged out of Blaine’s touch. “That’s the most disorienting thing I’ve ever done.”

  Blaine raised a brow. “Have you done many disorienting things?”

  Graham chuckled and moved toward the door. He felt above the door frame until he pulled away a key. Smirking over his shoulder to Blaine, Graham unlocked the door and walked inside. Blaine followed, shutting the door behind him. He crinkled up his nose at the stale, musty air. “How long did Sammie say they were being held captive?”

  Graham shrugged. “She said it was close to a year, but she was guessing. She said she lost track after eight months.”

  “Fucking rogues,” Blaine growled.

  “Yep.” Graham set his duffel bag on the sofa and went to the pick up the mail from the coffee table. Blaine watched as the male drew his brows together, and a tic formed in his temple. “The postmark on this is fourteen months ago.”

  Blaine didn’t flinch at his angry tone. Hell, he agreed with it. He was betting the whole disappearance thing had the Onyx written all over it. But why hadn’t Isaac told Graham that anything was wrong? Could he have been protecting his lover?

  Graham moved to walk by, and Blaine grabbed his arm to stop him. Locking gazes, Blaine asked, “You good?”

  The other male gave a short nod. Blaine wasn’t convinced but released his hold anyway.

  After a few moments, Graham said, “I didn’t see it at the time, but now everything looks out of place. Like he left in a hurry.”

  “Or someone had taken him and the kids.”

  Graham’s head snapped in Blaine’s direction. Blaine’s chest tightened at the emotions rolling through his features. It was something he’d seen many times from the Pack members over the last thirty years. Loss and sorrow at never being able to see their loved ones again.

  Blaine was the first to break eye contact. The loss of his mother threatened to resurface, bringing renewed rage with it. Blaine didn’t want to remember that day his father lost it in a fit of rage and pain when his mate took her own life. His father thought Blaine believed the story that Onyx had killed his mother.

  The truth was he had mind linked to his father when he found her. Blaine heard them argue, heard his mother’s pleads for forgiveness, and then heard the gunshot. The final thoughts Blaine picked up before cutting the link were his father’s angry roar then sobs as he asked her why over and over.

  Breaking from the dark memories, Blaine scanned the living room. Graham was right. It didn’t look right. A coffee cup and a toddler’s sippy cup sat on the coffee table. At the far side of the room, toys were scattered about the floor, but it was the diaper bag that confirmed his theory of abduction. He nodded toward it and said, “What kind of single father leaves the diaper bag behind?”

  Graham growled low. “One that was either running from something or taken.”

  “Exactly.” Blaine paused to study Graham, who ran a hand through his short blond hair and peered around the room as if unsure where to start. “You want to start in the bedrooms, and I’ll look out here?”

  Graham glanced at him then nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.” He turned and walked down the hall.

  Blaine tore his eyes from the male’s back and searched the living room for other oddities. He needed to focus on the job and not the male that confused the shit out him. He should be furious with Graham for boldly touching Cameron, but he wasn’t. Instead, he was intrigued and a little amused at the nip on his lip. That told Blaine Cam was taken off guard and had bitten the male. Chucking softly, Blaine wondered if she’d threatened to hurt him at the uninvited kiss.

  He’d also felt the tension between the two last night at Russell’s Bar and again this morning at Nevan and Dani’s. He wasn’t the Marshal of Ashwood because of a birthright. He saw things others didn’t. Like the now healed cut on Graham’s lip. And his scent had been too heavy on Cam’s skin yesterday to have been transferred from his son.

  The kicker was Blaine really did like the male’s scent mixed with Cam’s. For the first time in almost a century, he was considering taking a male partner. Graham smelled right, as though he was meant to be with him and Cam.

  There was only one way to find out. He was damn sure going to get this out in the open and straight out ask Graham his intentions.’’

  ***

  Graham grew more frustrated with each passing moment. He’d searched every room in the damn house with no results. Although it was an assumption that Isaac would have left something behind to give Graham a clue as to what had happened.

  The smell of food drifted into the bedroom, making his stomach rumble. Giving up on his search, he made his way to the living room and smiled. Blaine pulled out small takeout boxes from a bag and set them on the kitchen bar.

  The male looked at him and nodded. “I thought you might be hungry. I didn’t know what you like so I just got fried rice, noodles, vegetables, chicken, and beef.”

  Graham raised a brow and sat on one of the bar stools. “I’m not picky.”

  They fell silent as Graham fixed his plate. He could feel Blaine’s gaze boring into him, and it was all he could do not to stare back or lash out at him in irritation. His nerves were shot to hell, and being in this house with its haunting memories only put Graham more on edge.

  “You kissed Cam.”

  Graham stilled, his hand holding the fork inches from his mouth, and he met Blaine’s hard gaze. He set the fork down on the plate, letting the metal hit the ceramic with a clink. “She told you?”

  Blaine’s lips twitched. “No, you just did.”

  Graham shook his head. “You knew last night, or you wouldn’t have marked her.”

  The male shrugged and spooned out some rice onto his plate. “I always mark her. She’s mine.”

  Graham snorted. He couldn’t help it. The tiny spark of amusement in Blaine’s grey eyes eased some of the tension in Graham’s shoulders and told him Blaine was teasing him. Then again, Graham could have finally use a break from the stress of what the kids had gone through and were still dealing with and the cascade of emotions being in this damn house. “Even Dane was surprised by it.”

  Blaine narrowed his eyes and studied him for a moment before asking, “Why did you do it? My scent is all over her. You had to know we’re in the mating dance.”

  “I was trying to get your attention.” He rose from the stool and strolled around the bar-style countertop. Stopping a couple of feet from Blaine, Graham felt his mouth lift on one side. “Don’t tell me you don’t feel it because I felt it the moment I arrived in Ashwood. And again when I saw the two of you.”

  A tic formed in Blaine’s temple, but Graham didn’t sense anger or irritation coming off the male. No, the male was turned on and wary at the same time. He took a step, closing the small distance between them.

  “Cam will resist with everything she’s got.”

  “Well, we’ll have to convince her to lower her guard.”

  Blaine raised a brow. “How do you plan to do that?”

  “That kiss threw her off.”

  “She’s confused.”

  Graham smiled. “Let’s keep her that way for a little while.”

  “Wait. I didn’t agree to a triad.”

  Leaning in a fraction of an inch, Graham whispered, “You’re thinking about it.”

  Suddenly Blaine grasped Graham’s face in his hands and claimed his lips in a hard, possessive kiss. Graham groaned, wrapped his arms around Blaine, and opened to his demanding tongue. Pinpricks of desire scattered over his skin, and his cock filled.

  Damn.

  He’d never dreamed the alpha male in his arms held so much passion and power.

  Blaine pulled back. His gray eyes held a little more silver in them, indicating
his leopard wasn’t far from the surface. Graham knew his own blue eyes had darkened for the same reason.

  Graham was the first to step away and break eye contact. He felt Blaine’s gaze on him as he made his way back to the barstool.

  “What’s your plan?”

  Graham raised a brow at the male then smiled. “I thought you weren’t agreeing to a triad.”

  Blaine growled. “I’m thinking about it.”

  Graham laughed. “I have a few ideas.”

  ***

  Cameron checked her phone for the hundredth time in the last thirty minutes. Annoyance raised its ugly head and wrapped around her. Why the hell hadn’t Blaine called? And where the fuck was Keegan with Max?

  “Dear, you really have to relax,” Dani said from her wall of DVD collections. “The guys will be fine.”

  Cameron huffed and checked her phone again. She was acting like a possessive and worried den mother. And it was all that adorable, sweet baby boy’s fault. “Max is making me soft.”

  Shay snorted as she came out of the kitchen with a tub of ice cream and three spoons in one hand and a bag of Oreos in the other. “You’ve always had a soft spot for children. We all do. Being an enforcer doesn’t make you any less female.”

  Dani straightened and turned toward them, her eyes holding a hint of mischief.

  Cameron suppressed a smile at the Healer’s sudden change in mood. “What do you have cooking in that brain of yours?”

  She looked at Shay and frowned. Shay shook her head. “Go ahead and break out the wine. I’ll be happy with the ice cream and cookies. Plus one of us has to stay sober to watch the girls and Max if my father decides to bring him back.”

  Just then Cameron’s phone rang. Startled, she answered it without checking the caller ID. “Hello.”

  “Sitting on your phone, Cameron?” Keegan’s deep, smooth voice didn’t relax her.

  If the Alpha was calling her, then he had no intention of bringing Max to her. “I’ll be right over to get him.”

  “Stay put. Max and I are currently playing Xbox. You know he is very smart and a quick learner.”

  Cameron pulled the phone away to make sure it was Keegan’s phone number that had dialed hers. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “Never better. Did you know the kid has mixed abilities?”

  “Um, no.” She was almost afraid what the Alpha had discovered about Max. If anyone could find magickal abilities or other shifter-related gifts, it was the Alpha.

  “He will be a very powerful Empath and Healer.”

  Oh. My. God.

  No wonder everyone loved to be around the toddler. “Are you sure?”

  He made a noise and avoided the question. “I was calling to let you know that Max will stay over here tonight. You can pick him up tomorrow.”

  Seriously? “Keegan, he is my responsibility.”

  “Spend time with the females tonight, Cameron. You need it.”

  She clenched her jaw together. “He has night terrors.”

  Keegan let out a sigh. “I know, and I have taken care of that.”

  Her heart stopped for a split second. “What did you do?”

  “I simply erased his fear. He’ll sleep much better now.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “You can’t just go into his mind like that.” Her answer was a soft growl before he hung up.

  She stared at the phone for several seconds. “He hung up on me.”

  Shay nodded. “He’s good like that. Plus Dad would never do anything to hurt one of his Pack members. It’s a good thing that he helped Max.”

  Cameron sagged back into the couch with a sigh. “I know you’re right. I just can’t stop the need to protect that kid with everything in me.”

  Dani came over with a bottle of wine and two glasses that Cameron hadn’t notice her going to get. “It’s because he’s an empathic Healer. As he grows older, the whole den will look to protect him like they do me.”

  Cameron nodded, not at all surprised that Dani and Shay had heard every word of her conversation with Keegan. Their supernatural hearing allowed them to pick up on almost everything within a hundred-yard radius.

  Her phone beeped, and she peered at it to see a text message from Blaine.

  Looks like a dead end. We’ll search some more and head home tomorrow. B

  Cameron picked up the wine glass Dani had filled and took a drink. “Looks like it’s just us girls tonight.”

  Chapter 6

  After dinner, Graham went into the bedroom that he’d used when he stayed there to look one more time in case he missed something. Isaac was notorious for leaving little messages for him all over the house when he wanted to surprise him.

  His sight grew blurry. Damn you, Isaac.

  Blinking to clear his vision, he looked around the room and saw something on the floor. He walked toward it and smiled when he was close enough to get a good look. A tiny pink doll shoe lay against the baseboard. He bent down to pick it up, remembering all the times Isaac got onto Sammie for leaving those little shoes around the house.

  As he straightened, he banged his head on the corner of the shelf hard enough he swore he saw stars. “Fuck,” he bit out and placed a hand on his head.

  A few moments later, Blaine was there, guiding him to the bed. Not having much of a choice with the alpha male pushing him into a sitting position and standing between his parted thighs, Graham sat still. Graham sucked in a breath as something cold pressed against the throbbing lump growing on his head.

  “What were you doing?” Blaine gritted out. The slight scowl made Graham smirk.

  “You talk to Cameron like that?”

  Blaine let out a soft chuckle. “I sure do.”

  Graham lifted his head to peer up into his gray eyes. Blaine’s expression gave nothing away. His eyes, however, held a hint of amusement. “I can’t imagine her taking any shit from you.”

  Blaine smiled at that. “That’s why she’s my mate.”

  Graham looked away, suddenly wondering what the hell he was doing. Cameron and Blaine had a life with each other. Who the hell was he to come in and disrupt that? He pushed at Blaine’s legs to get the other male to move so he could stand. Blaine didn’t move. In fact, he seemed to have planted himself a little more in place, trapping Graham where he sat on the bed.

  When he looked back up at Blaine, he saw desire light up in his eyes. Graham’s body heated, and his cock pressed painfully against the zipper of his jeans. He wanted to explore that hard body standing in front of him. He dropped his gaze, allowing it to roam down Blaine’s chest to the abs he knew were tight and hard like those of all male shifters. It was hard coded into their DNA, and it came with the genetics that made them long-lived and gave them the ability to heal most wounds.

  Deciding to take the risk and make a move before he lost his nerve, Graham ran his hands up the sides of Blaine’s thighs. The leopard purred at the touch, giving Graham all the incentive he needed to continue.

  He moved his gaze back up Blaine’s body to meet his intense stare and held it as he unfastened his jeans and slid the zipper down. He pushed the denim down until his hard, thick cock sprang free. Graham gripped it and slowly stroked up and down, drawing a moan from Blaine.

  “Graham,” Blaine warned with a growl.

  Graham’s heart skipped at the sound of his name growled out in a sensual, yet demanding, tone. His own cock filled, becoming impossibly hard in his now too-tight jeans, but he ignored it. All he wanted was the male in front.

  He leaned forward and took Blaine into his mouth. Blaine immediately fisted his hands in Graham’s hair and pulled, sending tiny stabs of pleasure through him. The taste of male, salty and sweet, almost made Graham come. He sucked and circled Blaine’s cock with his tongue while holding on to his ass as he pumped in and out of his mouth.

  Blaine panted, and Graham knew he was on the edge of a release. When Blaine tugged hard on his hair, trying to get him to stop, Graham only held on tighter as he sucked and licked. B
laine let out a curse as he came, his hot seed sliding down Graham’s throat.

  Graham released him and wasn’t prepared when Blaine pushed him back on the bed hard enough that he bounced. A moment later, the male had Graham’s jeans off, and Blaine leaned over him, blocking him with his large arms on either side of his head. Blaine kissed him, hard, while rocking against him so their dicks rubbed together. Graham groaned and moved with him.

  Pleasure like he’d never known flooded his senses and warmed his whole body. Graham lifted slightly and bit down on Blaine’s earlobe. Blaine growled, ran his hands down Graham’s side to hook his arms around Graham’s knees, and froze.

  With his eyebrows drawn together, Blaine asked, “Do you have lube?”

  Graham smiled and nodded. “In my jeans.”

  Blaine released him to dig the tube out of his jeans pocket. Graham had stuck it in his pocket that morning in hopes of seducing the leopard since he definitely wasn’t going to get anywhere with Cameron without Blaine. Graham never bothered with condoms since shifters couldn’t carry or transmit sexual diseases. Besides, Isaac had been his only lover in the last ten years, and Graham had never been with a female. Hell, he’d never even desired a female until he saw Cameron.

  However, that kiss the day before made him want to her even more. His mother’s words echoed inside his mind from the day he told her he was gay. “You don’t choice who, male or female, you fall in love with. Mating is fickle like that like, and the Fates like to think they have a sense of humor.”

  Blaine touched his knee, drawing Graham from his thoughts. The male stood over him, completely naked. “Take off your shirt. I want to see all of you.”

  A spark of need burned in his veins, and he complied without hesitation. Once the cotton hit the floor, Blaine inched closer until he had Graham pinned to the bed, his larger, muscular body covering Graham’s. Blaine studied his face for several moments. When Graham went to speak, Blaine said, “It’s been a very long time since I’ve been with a male.”