by Nikki McCoy
Dhani rolled his eyes and cut him off, “Stop before you hurt yourself.”
Tailor grinned as he reached down to grab a couple of anchors from an open container on the floor. “Anyway, Manning’s parents let me store it in their garage so my father wouldn’t find out. I didn’t get to drive her often, but when I did, it was like freedom.”
Dhani nodded then went on to ask him several more questions. Some were more difficult than others, though Tailor didn’t mind. As the time passed, the tension between them abated and he felt a tiny spark of joy each time he made his mate smile.
Talking with Dhani was a lot easier than he’d thought it would be. Even easier than it had been to talk to his first mate. Dhani held no expectations or doubts. His genuine honesty in all things was refreshing and put Tailor at ease, even while discussing areas of his life he’d only told Manning about. Like how he’d accidentally run into his mother once at a community he and his father had defended against an attack. How his father had purposefully introduced them, knowing the woman would reject him just as she had when she’d abandoned him as a baby.
Instead of commenting on the fact that Tailor had rejected him several times as well, Dhani simply nodded as though he understood. Which, of course, he would. Only, Dhani had been old enough to remember his mother abandoning him. Tailor was thankful Layzani had decided to stay at a hotel in the community for a few days to give him some alone time with his mate.
When Dhani yawned, Tailor glanced at his watch to find more than two hours had passed. “It’s getting late,” he said, packing up the materials. “I should get you to bed.”
“Not yet,” Dhani said hastily. “I’m not tired, really.” When Tailor merely peered at him, he shrugged a shoulder. “Besides, if either of us should be tired, it’s you. What are you…twenty times my age?”
Tailor dropped his jaw in false indignation and narrowed his eyes. “Come here. I’ll show you just how old I am.”
Dhani squealed and tried to dodge Tailor’s advance, but he wasn’t quick enough. Tailor picked him up with one arm around his waist and began tickling him. Dhani laughed hysterically as he twisted in Tailor’s grasp. Finally, Tailor relented and pinned his mate by the wrists against the nearest wall. They were both out of breath and Dhani’s eyes danced with humor when he looked up.
Without thought, Tailor leaned down and took possession of his mate’s mouth. Dhani’s lips were warm and pliant, then they became rigid as his body stiffened. A current of fear filled the air around them and Tailor drew back. Dhani’s expression was veiled, hesitant.
It pained Tailor to see the resistance in his mate, though it wasn’t anything he didn’t deserve. In his stupidity, he’d only added to the suffering his mate had known all his life. It was a miracle the younger man wasn’t the jaded, sarcastic asshole Tailor had become.
Just as Tailor was about to pull away, however, Dhani lifted himself on his bare feet and pressed their mouths together. Pleasure hit Tailor hard as he delved into the kiss, breathing in Dhani’s heat. The shroud of fear was replaced with arousal and it was all Tailor could do not to strip his mate right there and devour every inch of his body.
When Dhani moaned into him, the vibration sent a shiver down his spine. His cock strained in the confines of his jeans and his head swam in relief at his mate’s willingness. No woman had ever made him feel this way, and thinking back on the momentary comfort he’d taken in their bodies made him realize just how much of a fool he’d been. There was no comparison. With Dhani, he felt alive again.
Reluctantly, he drew back and rested his forehead on Dhani’s. As much as he wanted to take things further, he didn’t want to scare his mate away. Dhani was safe now, and Tailor didn’t want to screw things up between them like he had the last time.
“Let’s get something to eat. The Doc will kill me if he finds out I haven’t been feeding you.”
Dhani’s low chuckle sang along his nerves. He led his mate to the kitchen where he took two beers from the fridge and offered one to Dhani. He downed half of his in an attempt to flag his aching erection, then began taking out food for sandwiches.
He frowned when someone knocked on the front door and told Dhani he’d be right back. As he opened the door, apprehension speared him when he saw who it was. Great, just great, he thought with an inward groan. This is all I need.
Tula smiled at him with all the seductive grace of a wolf on the prowl. She was one of the women he’d slept with occasionally whenever he was in the community. Her bobbed hair framed a face painted with too much makeup and the slinky shirt she wore over a miniskirt rode low on her ample breasts. Perfume wafted over Tailor as she stepped forward and rubbed her slender body along his.
“Hello, handsome,” she purred. “I heard you were finally back and wanted to welcome you personally. It’s been so long.” Her bottom lip pushed out in a pout. “What’s kept you?”
“Tula, uh…” He stepped to the side to put distance between them, but she only followed until he was trapped against the foyer wall. Gently, he removed her wandering hands from his chest. “Look, now’s not a good time. I think you should go.”
“Why? Do you already have another female here?” Her eyes perked up. “I know! We can all play together. I don’t mind. Besides, it looks like she’s already gotten you hot and ready.”
When her hand squeezed his cock, still hard from Dhani, he jerked and pushed it away. “Whoa!”
Cy entered the foyer then with a hand shielding his eyes. “Don’t mind me. I’m not here. Just wanted to grab a—”
“Oh!” Tula exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight. “Your visitor’s a man. Even more fun.”
Cy practically skidded to a halt and looked over in surprise.
“And he’s just as attractive as you are,” she commented, licking her red lips.
“Thank you,” Cy said as he moved to a nearby wall and leaned against it. “I was just not leaving.”
Tailor growled at the amusement shining in Cy’s eyes. “My foot and your ass are about to become real good friends.”
Cy raised his hands in an innocent gesture.
“What’s going on?” Dhani came in at that moment and froze when he saw Tula still crowding Tailor.
Tailor gave him a weak smile, dying a little inside.
Tula frowned. “Two men? I’m getting confused.”
“Tula,” Tailor started, “This is Cy and Dhani. Dhani is my…” he hesitated over the word mate, unsure of whether Dhani wanted him to broadcast their relationship yet. Once Tula knew, so would the entire community by the next day.
But Dhani made that choice for him.
“His mate,” Dhani ground out.
“His…mate,” Tula repeated, then looked sharply at Tailor. “Your mate? But he’s a guy.”
“Caught that, did you?” Dhani said bitingly. He strode to the door and proceeded to push Tula through it. “I’m his mate, he’s taken, and you’re no longer necessary. Have a good life and don’t come back again.” He slammed the door then turned on Tailor, fuming.
Tailor’s stomach plummeted. “Dhani, I—”
Dhani reared back and punched him hard across the jaw. In the next instant, he was marching toward the staircase.
“Dhani, wait!”
“I’m not talking to you right now!” Dhani yelled back.
Tailor rubbed his jaw, cursing under his breath. He caught Cy’s wide grin and glared at him. “Thanks for the help.”
“Hey, I’m on your side, stud. I think what happened is a good thing. At least now you know how your mate feels about you.”
With a grunt, Tailor headed back to the kitchen. “Pissed off? Betrayed?”
“Possessive,” Cy corrected. He took a whiskey bottle down from a cabinet and poured two glasses, handing one to Tailor. “There’s a fine line between love and hate, my friend, and I think your mate just crossed it. I’ve lived over three centuries and have never seen emotion like that unless love was involved.”
Tailor mulled over Cy’s words as he sipped from his glass. Was it possible Dhani loved him, even if it came from just a small part of his heart? Dhani certainly had no problem telling Tula they were mates, and before that disaster, things had been going so well. The tension that had always existed between them had disappeared.
He scrubbed his face. “I just don’t know what I’m doing. With my first mate, Dominic, it was so easy. We fell in love instantly and would’ve bonded if I hadn’t been required to investigate a few skirmishes during the war. Then I got him killed and I…lost myself.”
After he upended his glass, he took a deep breath. “With Dhani, there were so many complications in the way. I got scared,” he admitted, not caring if he sounded like a vulnerable coward. Dhani was all that mattered. “I pushed him away, right into the hands of Roh Se Kahn. For the past year, all I’ve been able to think about was that I’d killed another mate. A second one. No one gets a second chance, so why is Dhani here? Goddess knows I don’t deserve him.”
Cy refilled their glasses and shook his head. “I don’t know, but my parents were mated and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from them, it’s that love is a scary bitch. There’s no hiding from it and there damn sure ain’t no running from it. You need to keep trying, for his sake and yours.”
“It’s not that easy.”
After a stretch of silence, Cy said, “When Dhani was taken by Roh Se Kahn, you spent a year searching for him. You put aside your obligations as Ketai to your best friend and Jaes’din, you left all your friends behind and I’ve seen you kill dozens of Roh Se Kahn’s followers with no fear for your own life. That’s not the kind of thing you do out of guilt alone. Then when Dhani came back, you were the first person he asked for—the only one. He’s here, right now, with you, because he chose you. He trusts you. If that’s not love, what is?”
Cy clapped him on the shoulder then turned to leave. “Good luck, buddy.”
A smile lifted a corner of Tailor’s mouth. Surprisingly, Cy’s words made sense. It wasn’t guilt that had driven him. Dhani had wanted him from the start, and even after he’d been a fool, Dhani hadn’t given up. That kind of love was unconditional, and that was what he’d been chasing for the past year. Dhani could’ve gone anywhere, sought out any one of the people who cared for him, yet it had been Tailor he’d asked for.
With newfound determination, Tailor poured his liquor into the sink, finished the sandwich he’d been making Dhani, then cleaned up. He put the food on a tray and headed for his mate’s room.
“Dhani,” he called out, knocking on the door. “I’m sorry about what happened. I wasn’t sure about telling Tula we were mates because…” I didn’t know if you wanted to claim me, “she loves to gossip. Telling her something is like announcing it to the world. I didn’t know if you were ready for that. Dhani?”
Dhani stood on the other side of the door with his back to it. His body was trembling and hands shook violently. Within, the darkness was rising like black tendrils through his veins. The sliver of Roh Se Kahn’s soul beat at him, trying to tear down his will and replace it with its own.
It became active from its near dormant state by his anger, he was sure of it now. Just as it had been triggered outside the Alpha’s house when Cy had drawn a gun on Tailor. Before that, it had almost taken over when Dhani had tried to kill himself out of fear and rage. It was feeding off his aggression, getting stronger each time he lost control.
“Dhani?” Tailor called again, knocking harder.
He tried to calm himself, but it was no use. Terror made him gasp when he looked down and saw bright, blue sparks spitting in his palms. Dread made him look up at his reflection in the dresser mirror across the room. Right there in front of his very eyes, another lock of his hair turned white. His pupils flashed to silver then back again.
“Dhani, she means nothing to me. She never has. Please talk to me,” Tailor called out.
Dhani clamped his eyes shut and balled his fists. He wasn’t even mad at his mate anymore. When that woman had been rubbing her breasts all over him, Dhani hadn’t felt a single thread of arousal in his mate’s energy. It had just been a knee-jerk reaction to someone trying to seduce Tailor that had fired up his anger. He’d been unable to control it.
“Daishen, you have every right to be mad,” Tailor said in a stern tone, “but I need to know you’re okay. I’m coming in, all right?”
He glanced around frantically, searching for anything that might calm him. Tailor couldn’t see him like this. Dhani wanted more time with him. Just a little more time.
When the doorknob turned, Dhani spun around, yanked the door open and leapt into Tailor’s arms. What sounded like dishes clattered to the floor, but he didn’t care. He circled his arms around Tailor’s neck and kissed him hard. At first, Tailor didn’t move, then he wrapped him in a tight embrace and opened his mouth to deepen the kiss.
Dhani strengthened his hold and concentrated on moving his tongue around Tailor’s. Part of him was desperate and the other part afraid Tailor would let him go. This was the only time he’d felt any kind of peace, in Tailor’s arms, and he was hoping this time wouldn’t be any different.
Sometime between his panic and the rush of Tailor’s alluring scent filling the air, the kiss changed. It became pleasure instead of work. The potency of the darkness inside him began to wane and his thoughts stopped spiraling. He loosened his grip and sank into the wonderful heat of his mate’s firm body enveloping his.
Gradually, Tailor eased back to look at him in concern. “What’s wrong? You’re shaking.”
For a brief moment, Dhani considered telling him, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The darkness was still volatile within and he wasn’t sure what it would do if he made it known. He bit his lip in turmoil. “I need you.”
“You have me,” Tailor said, hugging him close. “I’ll stay with you all night if you want me to.”
“No.” Dhani pulled back just enough to meet his mate’s gaze. “I mean I need you. Right now.” He poured all of the desire he felt for Tailor into his voice. It was the truth. He needed the light of Tailor’s spirit, his affection and warmth to chase away the darkness still competing for dominance inside him.
Seconds ticked by, and just when he thought Tailor might question him further, Tailor grabbed his waist and lifted him. Dhani circled his legs around his mate and gave in to the crush of Tailor’s mouth on his. This time, Tailor took charge and fisted a hand in Dhani’s hair at the back of his head to keep him there. His embrace was strong and his tongue demanding as he plunged into the cavern of Dhani’s mouth.
Dhani was barely aware of Tailor walking into his own room and kicking the door shut. He flipped the switch to turn on two lanterns hanging from either side of the bed which bathed the room in soft light. When Tailor laid him on the bed, he looked around in amazement. Everything was so rustic and obviously hand-chosen with care. A tribute to all the comforts nature had to offer and so far from the playboy persona Tailor had once cultivated. It was exactly the style Dhani would’ve chosen for his own house.
Tailor took off his shirt then blanketed Dhani’s body to resume their kiss. His hard muscles stretched beneath Dhani’s hands as he gathered him close and threaded his fingers through Dhani’s hair. The strength of his passion was almost overwhelming, as if he’d been starving for this.
Dhani let himself go. He forgot about his worries and surrendered to the intensity of his mate’s hold on him. Tailor’s energy was everywhere, enticing and rousing him even as it calmed the frenetic violence his anger had unleashed earlier. He could feel the darkness shrinking back into dormancy.
Just a little more. He was almost in control again.
Then Tailor rubbed his solid erection into Dhani’s groin and a jolt of electricity raced up Dhani’s spine. He gasped as his cock thickened, begging for the pressure of Tailor’s steel column sliding along it through the rough material of their jeans. Dhani dug his nails into his mate’s back and arched up, nea
rly whimpering when Tailor paused to stare down at him.
“Are you sure, baby? We don’t have to do this if you’re not ready.” Although his words were couched in patience, his voice was strained and his blue eyes couldn’t hide the lust in them.
In the horror of the alternate realm where he’d been held prisoner, Dhani had imagined this moment a thousand times. He’d dreamt of it and held it close where none of the other essences could steal it away. Now, with his mate willing to accept him, his dream was a reality. Maybe it wasn’t all he’d hoped for. He didn’t expect Tailor to love him, but it was a start.
If this was all he could have before the darkness took over, he would gladly take it.
“This is where I want to be.”
Tailor smiled widely then fused their mouths together again. He moved his lips down the curve of Dhani’s neck and grazed the sharp tips of his canines along Dhani’s collar bone. The sting made Dhani’s breath catch in his throat. He raised himself to let Tailor pull off his shirt, but when he reached for his pants, Tailor held him down.
“Don’t move.” Tailor’s voice was deep and commanding, and sent a shiver through Dhani’s chest.
He lay there and watched his mate strip his pants from him then slowly brush his mouth across every inch of his chest. Tailor teased Dhani’s nipples between his teeth then moved lower, grasping at Dhani’s narrow waist and licking the trail of fine hairs that led from his flat belly to his groin.
As Tailor’s mouth traveled closer to his weeping cock, he strained with the urge to switch their positions. No one had ever gone down on him. It had always been his role to please first, whether for money or fear of pain, even during the few times he’d had sex for pleasure. It came naturally to him. Yet, at the same time, he didn’t want Tailor to stop. His skin quivered in anticipation of his mate’s mouth surrounding him.
Tailor flicked his tongue over Dhani’s slit then lowered his lips down the throbbing shaft. Dhani threw his head back in shock. Incredible heat engulfed him all the way down to his base and his hips bucked of their own accord. Tailor restrained him with strong hands as he brought his mouth up then lowered it again, creating a tight suction that scattered Dhani’s thoughts.