V: The V in Vengeance

by Snyder, J. M.

  V: The V in Vengeance

  By J.M. Snyder

  Published by JMS Books LLC at Smashwords

  Book 2 in the Vic and Matt: V series.

  Visit jms-books.com for more information.

  Copyright 2009 J.M. Snyder

  ISBN 9781611521764

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  Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

  Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

  All rights reserved.

  WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

  No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

  This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It contains substantial sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which may be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Published in the United States of America.

  NOTE: Readers can learn more about Vic and Matt’s super-powered relationship online at vic-and-matt.com.

  * * * *

  Other books in this series:

  V: The V in Valor

  When one of the landlady’s cats gets loose, Matt broaches the subject of getting a pet with his lover. Vic doesn’t want the added responsibility, but the discussion raises questions of long-term commitment both men have been contemplating but neither is quite willing to address yet. Then Vic interrupts the bullying of a stray dog, and his perspective changes.

  V: The V in Vigilant

  When Vic has a rough day at work, his lover Matt puts their telepathic connection to good use, tapping directly into Vic’s needs to provide some relaxing downtime at home. However, their sensual message turns to serious talk, and Matt finally asks Vic the question he's been wrestling with for the past few months.

  V: The V in Virtue

  Vic and Matt swear off intercourse for the week after Christmas to come together in an orgasmic union at midnight on New Year’s. When Matt’s coworker Roxie invites them to a year-end bash at her place, their plans for a quiet celebration alone seem thwarted. But Vic manages to make the evening special.

  V: The V in Vulnerable

  Matt stops by a local jewelry store to buy the perfect ring for Vic. But a trio of criminals strike the store while Matt and coworker Roxie are inside. When the police arrive, what started as a simple robbery turns into a hostage situation. With the cops at a stand-off, Officer Kendra Jones places a call to the one man she knows will be able to help. Vic.

  * * * *

  The V in Vengeance

  By J.M. Snyder

  Slowly, Vic Braunson became aware of heavy breathing that tickled his left ear. Still asleep, he brushed his hand over his cheek as if he could fan away the hot air. One word woke in his consciousness—Matt. Without thinking, Vic stretched out his mind to connect with his lover’s.

  Silence answered him.

  One bleary eye opened to glance at the alarm clock on the bedside table. The red digital numbers read 9:58, two minutes before Vic’s alarm was set to go off. It took all the strength he had to extract his arm from the warm confines of his blankets and reach across the short distance separating him from the clock. As he fumbled for the switch, the clock changed to 9:59, counting down to a time when the early morning stillness would be shattered. Vic turned off the alarm, then stretched his arm out across the bed as he rolled onto his back, mouth wide in a cavernous yawn. “Matty?”

  The only response he got was a soft woof in his ear.

  Vic turned his head and found himself face to face with a large golden dog. Part Labrador, part retriever, all mutt, the dog stared at Vic, eyes as black as buttons set in its face. When it saw he was awake, a pink tongue lolled out to lick at Vic’s cheek and that low woof! came again. How many times had Vic told Matt the dog wasn’t allowed in their bed?

  “Matt?” Vic pushed the dog away as it tried to lick him again. Sitting up, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stretched life into his sleepy muscles, but after a moment he felt a cold, damp nose press against the base of his spine. He jerked to his feet, startled. “Sadie!”

  The dog lay in the middle of their bed, head in her paws, those wide eyes now turned up to Vic in a contrite expression. One ear raised quizzically; the other hung limp, its torn edge healed to a shiny pink. A thin whimper only added to her dejected appearance. Though Vic glared at the dog, he couldn’t hold his anger for long. Snatching a pair of his boxers off the floor, he stepped into them and muttered, “Get the hell off the bed.”

  Bounding up, Sadie leapt to the floor, all pretense of sadness gone. Her eyes sparkled, her mouth opened wide, and her tail swung wildly as it knocked against the bed, the wall, Vic’s legs. She circled him, eager, tongue darting out to wet first one hand, then the other, then the back of his knees when he pulled his hands away. He started for the doorway only to find her already racing ahead, leading him down the hall. He let her get a few yards ahead before he switched direction in mid-step and ducked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him for some privacy.

  Two seconds later, he heard the perpetual wag of her tail thud against the bathroom door.

  “Go lay down,” he growled as he relieved himself.

  The thudding stopped, but he heard her hindquarters plop down on the floor and knew she waited just outside for him. Vic groaned. What had happened to his quiet mornings alone, waking up slowly, savoring his coffee before he had to head to work?

  Sadie happened, that’s what, and to be honest, it was Vic’s fault. He’d found the dog at a construction site, where she had fallen victim to a few mean kids. He came to her rescue, and Animal Control took her off his hands. But when Officer Kendra Jones told Vic the chances weren’t very good that a rangy mutt like that wouldn’t be put down, he stepped in a second time and offered to take the dog home. His lover Matt diLorenzo had been talking about getting a pet, and Vic always made sure Matt got what he wanted.

  So, Sadie. In the few weeks they’d had the dog, Matt had managed to spoil it rotten. Yes, there was a pet bed in one corner of their bedroom, and they kept a large cage under the kitchen table, but whenever Vic woke in the morning, the dog was always beside him in the bed. Why Matt couldn’t cage her after their morning walk, Vic didn’t know.

  Well no, he did know. Sadie didn’t do well in a cage, even one as large and roomy as the one Matt had bought. Vic knew the dog had plenty of room in it because he’d crawled into the thing himself to show her how it worked, and damned if Matt hadn’t grabbed the digital camera to take a few quick pictures of him on his hands and knees before Vic told his lover to knock it off.

  “God, seeing you like this does wicked things to me,” Matt said, a sly grin on his handsome face. “If Sadie decides she doesn’t like the cage, maybe we can find some use for it. A pair of handcuffs, a leather whip, your ass flat up against the bars where I can get at it—what do you say?”

  Crawling out of the cage, Vic warned, “If anyone ever sees those pictures…”

  Matt stepped up to him, pressing his body against Vic’s. Nearby Sadie sat on the floor, tail thumping, as she watched Matt quiet Vic with a kiss. “Nobody sees them but me,” Matt promised. “W
hat kind of superpower do you think you’d get if we fucked in that thing? Hey! Remember—”

  “No.” Vic shook his head, adamant. Even without the telepathic ability they shared, he knew exactly where his lover was headed with the thought and he didn’t want to remember that particular power—there had been nothing super about excessive hair growth that had turned Vic into a shaggy Sasquatch. Matt might have enjoyed seeing his boyhood fantasies of making love to someone furry come true, but Vic had hated being covered head to foot in a long, luxurious pelt of hair. He liked his body smooth, shaved, and the memory of that horrible Halloween still haunted him.

  Despite Vic’s demonstration of the cage, Sadie didn’t like it. The first day Vic left her alone in it, Matt came home from work to find her howling—he could hear her from the street, and their elderly landlady stood on the landing as he entered their building, the look on her face rivaling Vic’s sternest glare. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” she swore. “That beast is ungodly! Where is Vic—”

  “He’s at work, Mrs. K.” Matt ducked around her and headed for the door to his apartment, key already in hand. When Sadie heard it scrape into the lock, her infernal howling ceased immediately. “She’s just lonely. I’m sorry, I really am.”

  “She needs daycare,” Mrs. K. spat. “She’s terrorizing my cats!”

  At the time Matt had thought she’d only said it in anger but later that evening, he looked in the phone book and found there was such a thing as daycare for dogs after all. Because he and Vic worked different schedules, they didn’t need to leave Sadie for too long—Matt went to work at eight, Vic at noon. They chose a facility near the gym; Vic could drop off the dog when he came in to lift weights before heading to work, and Matt could pick her up when he left for the day at five. She wouldn’t be away from home for long, and the interaction with other dogs would be good for her. The arrangement worked out perfectly.

  Only now they had an empty cage no one used, and Sadie never stayed in her pet bed after Matt left for work in the mornings. Instead, she preferred to snuggle up beside Vic. He didn’t know what was worse—Matt’s gentle teasing when he was still half asleep or Sadie’s over-eager obnoxiousness when he first woke up.

  When he flushed the toilet, he heard Sadie’s claws on the hardwood floor as she scrambled to her feet. With a groan, Vic slowly opened the bathroom door—he only got it a few inches before Sadie’s golden snout shoved into the crack.

  “Sit,” Vic commanded. Sadie disappeared immediately.

  At least she listened to him. He opened the door fully to find her sitting on the floor, tail sweeping across the hardwood and wrinkling the throw rug in its path. When she saw Vic frown at her, Sadie barked softly. The dog was as bad as Matt, and, unfortunately for Vic, he couldn’t stay mad with either for long. “Just calm down,” he muttered, scratching behind the dog’s ears as he headed down the hall toward the kitchen. “It’s too early for this shit.”

  Sadie trailed behind him, right on his heels. In the kitchen, Vic found a fresh pot of coffee warming for him and a note written in Matt’s blocky handwriting taped to the front of the coffeemaker. I made muffins. Look on the stove. Don’t give one to Sadie! They’re chocolate chip because I love you.

  It took Vic’s sleepy mind a moment to work through the message. It seemed like nonsense to him. Matt baked muffins, that much he could get. They were on the stove—Vic glanced behind him and saw a dinner plate covered with tinfoil, so that made sense. But why mention the dog?

  He didn’t know. Frankly, he didn’t care. A muffin or three slathered with butter would complement his coffee nicely. Pouring himself a steaming mug of java, he grabbed the butter from the fridge, then carried the plate of muffins into the dining room. At his feet, Sadie whined.

  “Hush,” Vic admonished, holding up the balled note so she could see it. “This says none for you.”

  That dejected look again—how an animal who couldn’t smile or frown still managed to look so pitiful amazed Vic. Before the dog came into their lives, he hadn’t really understood why people kept pets. They had no personality, he’d thought, nothing to offer to a relationship. All they did was eat and sleep and shit…why put up with it in the first place?

  Now he knew why. As he settled into his chair, Sadie set her chin on his thigh, the heavy weight warm through Vic’s flannel robe. Scratching Sadie’s floppy ear, Vic murmured, “Good dog.” Absently he petted the top of her head, careful to keep the muffins over the plate so no crumbs would fall on the floor. He had to admit, he did like this—this lull in time, when the two of them sat quietly together, content to be still.

  The only thing missing was Matt. If he were home, Vic’s morning would be perfect. At least he’d get to see Matt soon—he exercised at the same gym where Matt worked as a pool instructor, and since Sadie’s daycare was nearby, Vic always stopped in to see his lover before heading to his own job at the city bus depot. The thought of a few minutes alone with his lover made Vic eat faster, eager to get going.

  * * * *

  Matt diLorenzo’s office overlooked the gym’s swimming pool, but at the moment he wasn’t watching the hydro-aerobics class performing in the shallow end. He stared at his computer screen, his e-mail program open, but his gaze didn’t register the images before him. It was turned inward, where his lover Vic held Matt’s captive attention. ::So Sadie got dropped off okay?:: Matt asked.

  In the confines of his mind, he felt more than heard Vic’s affirmative grunt. Currently Vic lay on a bench in the weight room, bench-pressing a barbell laden with eight hundred pounds of weights, and he was just getting started. But the superpowers Matt gave his lover during sex awakened in him a telepathic ability that linked the two men’s minds together, and they could communicate mentally while both were in close proximity. Matt could feel the strain of Vic’s muscles as if he himself lifted the weights. It always surprised him that what would cripple a normal man—like say, a few hundred pounds of solid iron—barely registered with Vic. Thank Matt’s powers again. A thrill ran through him at the display of strength and, not for the first time since Vic had arrived at the gym, Matt wished his early morning lifeguard hadn’t called in sick. Then he wouldn’t be stuck overseeing the hydro class and could instead salivate over his lover’s feat alongside the other men in the weight room who cheered Vic on.

  Only half of Vic’s concentration was on the weights. The rest of his thoughts centered on Matt, where they belonged. Watching the barbell in his hands as he pushed it away from him, Vic ignored the men surrounding him and told his lover, ::She’s fine, Matty. It’s not like I dropped her off at the vet’s.::

  ::You could’ve brought her in to say hi,:: Matt told him, not for the first time. Even though he’d seen Sadie that morning, he’d grown very attached to the dog since Vic had first brought her home, and enjoyed being with her every chance he got. And besides… ::You know Roxie’s scared of her, right? So why you don’t bring her by more often is beyond me. I mean, seriously. I’d keep her here with me if I could. She’d keep Roxie out of my hair. Speak of the devil.::

  Matt heard the scrape of the double doors open out in the gym, then heard a familiar clomp clomp clomp as the gym’s receptionist crossed the tiled floor. When Roxie appeared in the doorway to Matt’s office, he glanced up at her and rolled his eyes. Her hair was dyed an unnatural shade of black, with two strands in the front fire-engine red. She had the sides pulled up into tight little balls that sprouted off the top of her head, the ends spiking out like rays. Her black long-sleeve T-shirt sported a skull and crossbones that wore a pink hair bow, and suspenders held up a short mini-skirt that flounced when she walked thanks to the crinoline petticoat underneath it. Capri-length black and white striped leggings and a clunky pair of black Doc Martens completed the picture. Sometimes Matt wondered if maybe Roxie didn’t own a mirror…did she honestly look at herself before she left her apartment in the morning? He didn’t know if she liked the whole goth/emo appearance she put on or if she only did it to attra
ct attention.

  When she flashed him a quick grin, her lips black with lipstick, he told her, “You better not come in here after one. I don’t want you scaring the kids again.”

  “Ha ha.” Roxie held a batch of envelopes in one hand, a couple catalogues in the other. “Mail call. Nothing but bills. Lucky you.”

  At the sound of Roxie’s voice, Vic grunted again, a vibrating sound that sent shivers of delight tickling along Matt’s spine down into his groin. ::That does terrible things to me,:: he told Vic, suppressing a smile. ::If I didn’t have this damn class to watch over, I’d take you right there on the bench in front of all your buddies and you know it.::

  ::Roxie’d probably want a ringside seat,:: Vic teased.

  That thought doused Matt’s ardor quickly. ::Don’t even—::

  The envelopes flew over the top of Matt’s computer screen right into his line of vision. “Matthew!” Roxie cried, her voice cranking up an octave or three. “Are you ignoring me?”

  “Heaven forbid,” he muttered under his breath. To Vic, he promised, ::Stop by on your way out, sexy. I have an angry riot grrl to deal with at the moment.::

  “I know what you’re doing,” Roxie announced. “You’re pretending to talk to Vic, aren’t you? Give it up already, will you? That whole my boyfriend’s a superhero routine is getting old.”

  Now Matt did smile. Ever since Roxie had learned of Vic’s powers and, more importantly, where they came from, she refused to believe it. She explained away any manifestation of the powers, no matter how outrageous. Matt suspected they made her uncomfortable, which meant he now harped on them at any opportunity. “Come on, Rox,” he joked, leaning away from his computer to turn his full attention onto her. “You know you’re just jealous you’re not getting any super dick.”

  She scoffed, “Please. I hate to break it to you, lover boy, but if I had to choose one? It’d be Vic, hands down. It’s just my rotten luck he doesn’t like girl cooties.”