Stealing My Heart

by Stephani Hecht, Jambrea Jo Jones, A. J. Llewellyn, Carol Lynne, D. J. Manly, Jaime Samms, Serena Yates

  “Would not insulting you reduce my predicament?” Elryk snorted. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I care. I’m just curious.”

  “Based on your file, I’d wager that nothing can reduce your ‘predicament’.” He grinned, making sure he seemed appropriately disdainful. “However, there’s still plenty of potential for making it worse.”

  “Really?” Elryk crossed his muscular arms across his broad chest. “Do tell me what can be worse than the painful Ray’loyst procedure which wipes people’s personality?”

  “You don’t want to know.” He shuddered, careful to keep a neutral facial expression. He’d seen some of the torture inflicted before the deletion of a prisoner’s mind. Since the prisoners never remembered any of it after receiving the new ‘programming’, nobody was ever the wiser.

  “Probably not.” Elryk nodded, agreeing with him for once. “So, to get back to why I’m here, aren’t you going to arrest me and put me into restraints or something?”

  Oh, the wizard had no idea. Just thinking of him naked, all tied up, powerless to prevent anything that Kaythan was going to do to him, made him rock hard in his uniform pants. Crap! He couldn’t stand here sporting an erection. He was supposed to arrest the wizard and get him back to Tah’Nut. Even if it was to follow his own agenda, he had a job to do here.

  “Why, are you going to try and run away after turning yourself in?” He pulled the magic-suppressant handcuffs from his belt and opened them.

  “Maybe not right now.” Elryk shrugged and held out his hands. “But I might change my mind.”

  He ignored that last remark as he cuffed the wizard, making sure the device adjusted itself properly and didn’t cut off the circulation.

  Oh, Elryk had given as good as he got verbally, but Kaythan wasn’t really convinced the wizard would fight. He’d fled rather than confront his enemies three years ago, hadn’t he? He’d have to get his ‘prisoner’ out of here and talking if he wanted his plan to succeed.

  He needed the most powerful lightning wizard currently alive willing to fight if they were going to have a chance at stopping the magic thieves from doing more damage. Spreading magic abilities to more people was a good thing in principle. But it also meant more and more unqualified people using it, including the elusive magic thieves who didn’t care about the damage they did.

  He couldn’t stand the fact that those thieving vermin were only tracked down and punished when they attacked someone important to the Xoh’kas. Most people accepted that their Ruling Assembly had only ‘limited resources’ to pursue the thieves and that it was better to ‘focus on the big offenders’, who stole magic in a major way. You couldn’t really control something as intangible as magic, could you?

  That sure as hell didn’t make it right to let them go on unhindered, though.

  Chapter Two

  Elryk’s head hurt so badly he wanted to scream. He lay on his back on some soft surface. As he was trying to figure out what was going on he found that the pulsing behind his temples was matched by an equally painful ache between his legs. What the hell?

  “You’re okay.” The deep voice made him panic. Who was that? Where was he? What had happened? “Don’t worry, you’re safe. Just breathe and let your body recover.”

  That was easy for him to say, whoever he was. Elryk was ready to jump out of his skin as the headache got worse, now accompanied by a tingling itch at the back of his neck. Shit, but that didn’t feel right.

  “You had a nasty shock when we crossed the gateway to Tah’Nut. I suspect it has something to do with your magic.” The voice sounded familiar. It was deep and smooth and made him feel safe. It also intensified the ache between his legs every time the man spoke.

  His sense of smell was next to return. The musky scent that assaulted his brain was overwhelming. It was strong, male, with an underlying note of sandalwood and leather. His cock throbbed in response, increasing the pressure in his balls. He moaned.

  “Ah, your voice is back.” The man chuckled. “That’s a good sign.”

  “What—where …” Elryk swallowed past the pain in his parched throat, trying to open his eyes. He’d had it with the darkness and the not knowing who the hell was talking to him.

  “Easy.” The man slid a straw between his dehydrated lips. “Have some water to relieve the pain in your throat.”

  Elryk sipped the ice cold liquid gratefully, wishing it would reduce the pain in his head and groin as well. No such luck. He decided to try and open his eyes again. When he succeeded, the bright light almost blinded him at first.

  He was in a large well-lit room, sunlight streaming in from floor to ceiling windows on his left. Nothing but trees outside and birdsong that was uninterrupted by traffic noise. He wasn’t in the capital city Tah’Algor. For some reason he’d expected to be there. The walls and ceiling were light blue, one wooden door leading to a bathroom, the other to a hallway.

  The man sitting to his right, one deliciously muscled thigh on the bed, faced him with a hesitant smile. Rugged looking with a square jaw and a straight nose his face exuded strength. The eyes were the deep blue of the ocean right before a storm and the full lips were as red as ripe cranberries. Short dark brown hair and skin the colour of golden olives made Elryk’s mouth water. He’d be at least six feet five when standing and the man’s broad shoulders and muscular, well trained body made the ache between his legs almost unbearable.

  “Kaythan.” Elryk’s memory came back in a rush. Shit. The Law Forces Commander had gotten to him from the very first moment, making him wish they weren’t enemies. He’d felt a longing to be in his arms that had made his knees weak.

  “You remember my name.” The smile broke through and lit up Kaythan’s eyes.

  “Uhm, aren’t you supposed to hand me over to the Xoh’kas?” Elryk frowned. “You did arrest me back on Earth, didn’t you?”

  “Do you want me to hand you over to those idiots?” Kaythan’s eyebrows rose.

  “Huh? Are you the same Law Forces Commander who put handcuffs on me and threatened me with ‘worse than torture’?” Elryk shook his head to clear it, wincing with the shooting pain that stabbed the back of his eyeballs. “Not that I’m complaining, but are you even allowed to think of them as idiots, never mind say it out loud?”

  “I’m not their puppet, I never was,” Kaythan grunted, anger briefly clouding his eyes. “Look, this may sound weird, but what I said and did in that office was all an act. I had to make it seem real until I could get you away from the surveillance equipment.”

  “An act?” Now he’d heard it all. Yet it made hope surge in his heart and increased the pounding between his legs. “It was pretty damned convincing.”

  “I assure you, I had no choice.” Kaythan swallowed. “I’ve been planning this for a long time, ever since I found out that you refused to become head of the Magic Council. That made me hope you might become an ally in my plan to defeat the thrice-damned magic thieves. Then, of course, you decided to run and make things very difficult for me.”

  “I made things difficult for you?” The man was obviously deluded. “I wasn’t about to become the leader of the Magic Council with the Xoh’kas breathing down my neck. Shit, they took my lover hostage to make me do what they wanted. I couldn’t give in though, not with their plans for total control. So I tried to negotiate with them, but they wouldn’t even listen and killed Zolak in cold blood. I had to flee before rage took over. I didn’t want to kill innocent people by unleashing uncontrolled lighting magic on them.”

  “I know. It wasn’t your fault and I’m sorry you had to suffer like that.” Kaythan’s hand covered his and squeezed his fingers is silent support. The fire between Elryk’s legs flared up as Kaythan’s eyes widened. That could only mean one thing. “What the fuck?”

  Kaythan withdrew his hand and stared at him as though he’d caused the problem. Elryk shrugged, helpless to prevent any of what was about to happen. Not even magic could stop a mating bond from forming.

 
Kaythan took several deep breaths, trying to calm his insistently throbbing cock the hell down. He’d found the wizard attractive all along but this was absurd.

  “What did you do to me?” He almost growled the words.

  “I didn’t do anything.” Elryk closed his eyes. The wizard was even paler than before.

  “So what’s going on?” He was going to get to the bottom of this.

  “I believe we are mates.” Elryk swallowed and opened his eyes.

  “Mates?” Kaythan almost got up to walk away. “That’s not possible. There hasn’t been a reported mate bond in at least two hundred years.”

  “Ever since the Xoh’kas took over.” Elryk nodded. “Something they did to the gateway. Nobody ever found out for sure.”

  “So why is it happening to us now?” Kaythan thought there might be worse things than having the wizard as his mate. If the man—and yes, he was no longer just a wizard—could only stop hating him for being a Law Forces Commander.

  “I think it’s because we first touched when we went through the gateway. I hadn’t gotten full control of my magic back when I went in, so I must have fainted from the sudden power surge.” Elryk waited for him to nod before he continued. “When you caught me the touch must have triggered the mate bond since we were still away from Tah’Nut. Whatever the Xoh’kas did to the gateway must only affect people on Tah’Nut itself.”

  “So what do we do about it?” Surely they didn’t have to just—mate.

  “We either fight it and die, or we give in and live.” Elryk’s lips drew into a tight line.

  “What? That’s our choice? I’m not just going to follow some damned instinct like an animal!” Not that he’d mind fucking the gorgeous wizard but he wanted it to be his choice, not the need to follow some primitive impulse.

  “I’m sorry you don’t like it.” Elryk turned his head away.

  Was that pain in his eyes? Shit, Kaythan hadn’t wanted to hurt him. He just needed time to adjust. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t found the man attractive even before this mating bond nonsense happened.

  “Why did you bring me here?” Elryk turned back, all traces of emotion gone from his eyes and face.

  “What?” That wasn’t what he’d expected. “You’re just dropping this mating thing?”

  “Your reaction told me everything I need to know. There’s no point in wasting time now that you’ve made your decision. So I suggest we use what time we have left wisely.” Elryk glared at him. “I’m still not sure I can trust you, you being a Law Forces Commander and all. But at least I want to find out what it is you think you can accomplish by taking me to some remote location rather than handing me over to the Xoh’kas.”

  “What time we have left?” All Kaythan was able to focus on was the other man’s well-toned body under the sheet, his black glossy hair surrounding his head like a dark halo on the pillow. He wanted to kiss him.

  “Has your brain stopped working already? It’s a little early for that.” Elryk was definitely impatient.

  “My brain is going to stop working?” Actually, he wasn’t sure that hadn’t happened already with all the blood trapped in his painfully erect cock.

  Elryk just raised his eyebrows at him.

  “Okay, okay. A friend of mine is a seer.” They’d get back to the mating bond issues soon enough. “Arith unearthed new information about the Muyd’Othar when he was looking for ways to stop the magic thieves.”

  “The Magic Shield?” Elryk’s eyes grew big. “But that’s just a legend!”

  “No, apparently it’s real. It’s supposed to stop magic being siphoned off. According to Arith, any Great Wizard who knows where to go can find it.” Kaythan grinned. “You’re a Great Wizard and he’s found out just where to send us.”

  Chapter Three

  It hadn’t worked. Elryk couldn’t sense the Muyd’Othar even after trying the unusual revealing spell for the third time.

  “You must have gotten the directions wrong.” He rubbed the persistently tingling itch at the back of his neck. Kaythan was only trained as a Law Forces Commander. How could he be expected to know about magic?

  “I certainly didn’t.” Kaythan frowned. “Maybe your magic isn’t back to full strength?”

  “Once I entered the gateway it should have returned to normal.” Elryk didn’t want to consider the alternative. He’d already spent three years without magic abilities.

  “If the directions are right and you weren’t able to locate the Muyd’Othar, then there’s only one other explanation.” Kaythan knitted his eyebrows.

  “Shit!” Annoyingly Kaythan had come to the same conclusion. “Okay, I’m going to find out. But I’ll go outside just in case.”

  “You need help?” Kaythan got up and stood next to the bed.

  Elryk shook his head and sat up. He closed his eyes, trying to will the pain away. When he blinked them back open, Kaythan looked worried.

  “I’m fine.” It was a lie, but he didn’t want to touch Kaythan if the man had such issues about bonding. Touching without—relief would only make it worse.

  Elryk got up, so dizzy he almost fainted. He made it to the glass doors leading out onto the balcony and opened one with shaking hands. Stepping outside he took a deep breath. Damp earth, green leaves and the scent of blossoms mingled into a heady perfume almost as good as his favourite ocean aroma. He gripped the railing and closed his eyes, summoning the magic. A simple wind spell would do.

  Nothing.

  He tried again. The back of his neck was now tingling so hard it was painful.

  Still nothing.

  “I was right, wasn’t I?” Kaythan’s voice came from right behind him.

  “Yes.” Elryk opened his eyes, helpless anger making him lash out, raise his voice. “My magic isn’t working and, if the legends are to be believed, it won’t return until we’ve mated. Your negative reaction earlier made it clear that isn’t going to happen. So now who’s going to stop the magic thieves and the Xoh’kas?”

  “Whoa, Elryk. What’s wrong?” Kaythan raised his hands and took a step back. “I’m not your enemy here.”

  “Sorry. But you’re not exactly a friend either.” Elryk breathed, trying to find his centre. It didn’t really matter. Even if Kaythan were his friend, his earlier reaction to a potential mating wasn’t promising.

  “Hold on. Why do you still think I’m not your friend?” Kaythan frowned. “I brought you here instead of handing you over to the Xoh’kas. I offered my help to fight the magic thieves so we can stop them from stealing the magic needed to balance the Ruling Assembly’s activities. I want to help you return the Magic Council to full strength so they can kick out the Xoh’kas.”

  “You’re right, those are the actions of a friend.” Elryk sighed and walked back inside to sit on the bed. He felt weak and confused. “I just can’t get myself to believe that a Law Forces Commander would give up all his privileges as a Xoh’kas favoured citizen to help a wanted criminal remove their power.”

  “That’s all you see me as, isn’t it?” Kaythan’s eyes flashed with anger.

  “It’s really hard to see you as anything else.” He wanted to, even more so now that he knew Kaythan was his mate. “But your reaction to us being mates made me feel as though you didn’t want anything to do with me on a more personal level.”

  “I’m sorry I reacted that way. It was mostly surprise that the mating legend is true. And yes, I don’t like the thought that I’m being drawn to you by some instinct rather than choice. But I’ll be honest with you.” Kaythan’s stormy blue eyes stared right into Elryk’s soul. “I was attracted to you way before we touched and set this mating thing in motion.”

  “Be-before?” Elryk’s heart sped up right along with the pounding in his cock.

  “When you first appeared in my office on Earth.” Kaythan swallowed. “You made me so hard I thought my pants were going to burst.”

  “It wasn’t just me?” Elryk sagged with relief. Maybe it would all work out.

&
nbsp; “No, it wasn’t just you.” Kaythan sat down on the bed, their thighs almost touching. It made Elryk want to pounce on the man. “Now that I know we’re both attracted to each other anyway and are supposed to be mates—what’s stopping us from doing something about it?”

  What indeed?

  Kaythan stared into those black eyes that were making him burn with desire beyond even the ache in his balls. Why had he ever thought bonding with Elryk was a bad idea? He was everything he’d ever wanted in a man, physically at least. He didn’t know him well enough to judge the rest. But he did know that Elryk was honourable. He hadn’t given in to the Xoh’kas’ demands to become the token leader of the Magic Council even though they had caught and probably tortured his lover. And when they’d killed him, Elryk had fled into exile rather than endanger innocents’ lives.

  “So, how do we do this?” Kaythan lifted his hand and caressed Elryk’s cheek. A spike of desire made the ache between his legs flare up into pain. “Fuck!”

  “Yeah, that’ll work.” Elryk grinned, but there was tension in the lines around his eyes.

  “Not-not what I meant.” Kaythan knew touching Elryk made it worse. But he couldn’t let go of the warm cheek covered in light stubble that rasped against the palm of his hand. He bent closer, bringing his lips to Elryk’s other cheek, brushing the skin. Tah’, but the scent of the man drove him crazy. Fresh like an ocean breeze yet musky and definitely male.

  “I know.” Elryk’s breath hitched and he turned his head, brushing his burning lips along Kaythan’s. “The Xoh’kas destroyed most of the information about the bonding ritual.”

  “We’ll just do what feels right.” Kaythan slid his other arm around Elryk and bent towards his lips. Hot, supple and soft, they made him want more. He used his hand to turn Elryk’s head so he’d have a better angle and licked his way inside the other man’s mouth. The ache in his balls lessened a little and the relief made him moan as their tongues met. The deeper the kiss went, the better Kaythan felt.