by Lynn Hagen
“Sterling.”
Sterling ignored Riley as he walked toward the hut. He didn’t think they had anything to talk about. The bear didn’t want him. He got that. Riley didn’t need to keep reminding him of that fact.
Sterling stepped into the hut, glancing around. It was modestly furnished, with only a bed that was sitting low to the ground and a small wooden table. The small side table looked hand carved and made of not only wood, but it had small twigs intertwined in the finish.
He sat down on the edge of the bed, wondering if he could ask one of the elven men if they had extra bedding. He wouldn’t want to put Riley out by sleeping in the same bed with the grumpy asshole.
Sterling glanced down at his feet when Riley came through the door with his luggage, setting it down by the far wall. Sterling let the bag slip from his shoulder, setting it by his feet. He watched Riley bring everything in, neither saying a word to the other. It was very damn awkward.
“I’m going to see what they have to eat,” Riley commented when he brought the last of his things inside.
Sterling nodded, waiting for Riley to leave. Once he was alone, Sterling grabbed his bag and set it close to Riley’s belongings and used it as a pillow as he curled up on the dirt floor, tucking Bacon into the crook of his arms.
“At least you love me, don’t you, boy?” Sterling asked the pig. Bacon made a small snorting sound and wedged himself deeper against Sterling’s body.
“I love you, too.” Sterling wiped at the tears that were once again falling as he turned his back to the door and closed his eyes, telling himself that he would leave come first light.
There was no way he was going to stick around to watch what he couldn’t have. And Riley Lakeland had been someone Sterling had wanted desperately.
Too bad Riley hadn’t wanted him even a little.
Chapter Five
Riley stood just outside the hut entrance, feeling his insides knot at the thought of sleeping in the same bed with Sterling. It wasn’t that he objected to the idea of having Sterling’s warm and lean body next to his. It was the fact that he didn’t know what to do with the man.
Sterling was too young for him.
Sterling was too exuberant for him.
Sterling was too chatty for him.
You just have to love him, son. Everything else will fall into place.
Riley didn’t want to lose the best part of his life. So he knew he was going to have to do better than how he was acting toward his mate. It was hard. Real hard. He wasn’t exactly set in his ways, but he had been like this most of his life. He was quiet, antisocial, and a bookworm. He had low patience, his smiles were few and far between, and he had always been aloof, moody.
Sterling was the polar opposite.
But damn if Riley could deny the man was like a burst of sunshine anytime he appeared. He was the sun to Riley’s dismal clouds. Sterling was the laughter to Riley’s solemn moods. Sterling was the Chatty Cathy to Riley’s quiet aloofness.
And Riley had been blocking out the sun every chance he could get.
Sighing heavily, Riley ran a hand over his head and walked inside the hut with the plate of venison and vegetables in his hand. His mate was probably starving by now.
Riley came up short when he saw Sterling curled up on the dirt floor, fast asleep with Bacon sleeping on the man’s neck. The pig’s snout was buried under Sterling’s shirt collar. He stood there studying Sterling, a smile crossing Riley’s face as he watched the two.
His mate would have to go and pick the runt of the litter. And it seemed Bacon was just as enamored with Sterling. It was ridiculous as hell to Riley that Sterling treated the small piglet like a small kitten. But then again, his mate made absolutely no sense to him.
Riley set the plate on the only table in the hut and walked over to Sterling, bending down to take his mate’s shoes off. He tossed them aside and then glanced up at the pig. There was no way Riley was sleeping with a pig in the bed. He rifled through his bags and came away with a blanket.
Making a small bed next to theirs, Riley gently pulled the animal from Sterling’s neck and tucked it into the blanket. Sterling would be devastated if Bacon wasn’t properly cared for. Riley could not believe he was making sure a farm animal was tucked in, but he did.
He slid one arm under Sterling’s neck, the other under his mate’s knees, and then lifted Sterling from the floor.
“I’m right here, big boy,” Sterling mumbled as he sighed.
Riley raised a brow. What in the world was the man dreaming about? He carried his mate over to the bed, laid him down, and then as gently as he could, pulled Sterling’s shirt from his chest. Riley kept his eyes averted.
Next he unsnapped Sterling’s pants and slid them down, folding the jeans and setting them, along with the shirt, on top of his bags. There wasn’t a washer here, so he wanted to keep the clothes as clean as possible.
Riley undressed, keeping his boxers on, and then slid into the bed. It was late, and he was bushed. After talking with Eagle and Max, Riley had grabbed Sterling some dinner, but it seemed Sterling was just as tired.
He lay there for the longest time, watching Sterling sleep. His mate seemed so quiet now that he wasn’t bouncing on his heels and talking a mile a minute. His features were serene. Riley scooted closer and slid one arm over Sterling’s waist, breathing in his mate as he closed his eyes.
Damn if this didn’t feel right.
Riley’s eyes flew open and immediately saw that it was still dark out, only the glow of the moon shining into the small hut. He lay still, glancing around the darkness. He had a keen sense of hearing, and something had woken him.
A small whimpering noise broke the silence surrounding him. Riley’s eyes flew to his mate, but the man was sound asleep, only he had burrowed into Riley’s side. Riley ran a hand over Sterling’s hair, waiting to hear the sound again.
And there it was.
As much as he hated to leave the warmth of his mate’s body, Riley was sent here to help the fey, and that included late-night whimpering.
He slowly slid from the bed, careful not to wake his mate, and then tucked the covers back around Sterling. He glanced over at the pig, seeing that Bacon was fast asleep as well.
Riley rolled his eyes as he grabbed his jeans and pulled them up his legs. Was he really checking on a pig?
He walked toward the hut entrance. He stayed just inside the door, his eyes scanning the surrounding area. He caught movement across the way and saw Eagle standing just inside his hut door.
They nodded at each other and then glanced around.
The whimpering continued, off to Riley’s left. He signaled for Eagle to circle around the back of his hut as Riley did the same. He crept around the circular structure, his steps quiet and measured as he neared the front, catching the low growl when he saw two men off in the shadows.
Riley’s eyes snapped up when Eagle joined him at his side. He hadn’t seen or heard the man approach. He was good. Eagle tapped Riley’s shoulder and nodded toward a dirt path running alongside Riley’s hut.
They moved quickly, soundlessly, toward the shadowed pair.
“You smell so damn sweet.”
Riley cocked his head, hearing the underlying intentions in those words. They were not a pretty invitation to sex. The words were more of a prelude to something the other man truly didn’t want. Not from the whimpering sounds he was making.
Eagle moved faster than lightning, placing a choke hold on one man while Riley grabbed the other, doing the same. He wasn’t sure who was the bad guy here, and he wasn’t taking any chance.
“What’s going on here?” he asked as he tightened his hold on the squirming man.
“H–He’s a vampire,” the man in Riley’s arms squeaked.
Eagle growled when the man he was holding began to fight to get free. Riley saw the pointy ears on his captive and let the man go. “Get back to your hut.”
The man nodded quickly and took off, making a beeli
ne back to his residence. Riley turned his attention toward the vampire struggling in Eagle’s arms. He swung his arm, his fist slamming into the vampire’s gut.
“You come to prey on the weak?” he asked when the man howled out in pain. He could see Eagle tightening his hold, one hand locked over the opposite arm.
“I could snap your neck with my bare hands, bitch,” Eagle snarled into the man’s ear. The expression on the wolf’s face gave Riley pause. It was cold, deadly, and Riley knew Eagle would do just that. “Try me. I’ve learned very inventive ways to bring a person pain. I was taught by the best.”
“Eagle.”
Riley turned to see Max standing ten feet away. His tone had been commanding, making Eagle look up as well.
“Give him to Riley, Eagle.”
Riley glanced back at the grey wolf. Eagle had his eyes locked onto his mate, but his grip had tightened, his knuckles so white that they were tinged with pink. There was a wildness in Eagle’s eyes, a savageness that belied his calm exterior.
Max walked briskly over to Eagle, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Let him go, Eagle,” Max said a little more gently. “Give him to Riley.”
Riley wasn’t sure if he was the better choice. The vampire had come here seeking to drink someone’s blood. And from the red rimming his black irises, Riley instantly knew this vampire was a rogue. The vilest of creatures. A vampire who would have drained his victim until there wasn’t a drop of blood left in the victim’s body.
What if he had captured Sterling? What if this vampire had tried to drain Riley’s mate? No, Riley was not sure he was the better choice to take charge of the vampire. When it came to those Riley cared about, he had no mercy to the enemy.
Iam came running across the village, something clutched in his hand. “Put these on him and then tie him to the tree.”
Riley saw shackles dangling in Iam’s hands. “They are laced with silver. He won’t be able to dissipate. It will give you enough time to call his prince and have his leader come fetch him if you aren’t going to kill him.”
Riley had never heard of shackles that could render a vampire unable to disappear into thin air. He knew D, the vampire who had stayed with the Lakelands for months, couldn’t disperse his molecules, but that was only because the man could never get it right.
“Where did you get those?” Riley asked as Max grabbed the shackles and clamped them around the vampire’s wrists. The vampire snarled and fought, but Eagle tightened his hold.
“It is something we fashioned for vampires eons ago. Our blood is very sweet smelling to them. It calls them from miles around. We had to find a way to protect ourselves.”
Riley remembered being told that Melonee, Maverick and Cecil’s daughter, had attracted a whole score of vampires when she was younger. Riley wondered why the entire vampire rogue population wasn’t attacking this village.
“Do they come here often?” he asked Iam.
Iam nodded. “We use different herbs to ward them off. The herbs disguise our blood scent. But a few always manage to get through.”
“What else has been going on around here?” Riley asked. “Where is your healer and how did he come up missing?”
Iam turned, heading back across the village. “Interrogate me at dawn. I’m going back to bed, shifter.”
Interrogate?
Oh, Riley was getting really tired of Iam and his smart little jibes. A thought suddenly occurred to Riley as he stood there watching Iam until the man disappeared into his hut. Maybe Ahm didn’t have to search for a new leader. Maybe, just maybe, Riley could whip Iam into shape. The man had potential. He was fiercely loyal to his tribe and looked out for their well-being. The man was a pain in the ass, but Riley could see the hard-nosed determination in the fey to keep his people safe.
“What happened to the sentinels that are supposed to guard this place?” Riley asked Eagle and Max as they tied the vampire off to a tree.
“I haven’t seen any around,” Max answered as he began to dial his cell phone.
“We need to fix that,” Riley said as he waited for Max to finish his call to Prince Christian. The rogues were Christian’s problem, and Riley knew that the prince would come get this piece of shit.
“What are you saying?” Eagle asked.
“I’m saying that we need to find brave men here that have the capability inside of them and train them to guard their village. You’re a soldier. You could teach them.”
Max glanced over at Eagle and then turned his sights on Riley. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“It’s a great idea, Max,” Eagle said. “It will allow me to give these men something I have learned over the years, and it will also give me a purpose.”
Max cupped Eagle’s jaw, his eyes shining with love as he smiled at Eagle. “If that’s what you want.”
Riley looked away. All his brothers, except Bryce, had mated. What he saw between them and their mates, and what he saw between Max and Eagle, Riley yearned for deep down inside. He had just been too blind to see it until now. He wanted that closeness. He wanted that private intimacy between mates.
Riley wanted Sterling.
“Do you have this covered?” he asked the two men.
“Yeah, go back to your mate,” Max said as he and Eagle stood by the vampire, talking privately together.
Riley turned on his heel and headed back to his hut. He would just love Sterling and let everything else fall into place. Although he was quite sure he was going to need a heavy supply of sedatives being around his mate full-time. The guy was way too energetic.
Riley entered the hut as quietly as he could and shucked his jeans. Crawling back into bed, he pulled Sterling close to his chest. He buried his nose in Sterling’s neck and took in a lungful of his mate’s scent.
“Riley?” Sterling yawned out Riley’s name. “What are you doing?”
“Loving you, Sterling.” Riley couldn’t believe he had said that out loud, and then he smiled at how liberated he felt saying it. He was positive he wouldn’t turn into a goober like his brothers did with their mates, but there was nothing wrong with showing Sterling that he wanted the man. There was nothing wrong with letting his mate know that he cared.
Sterling turned in Riley’s arms, confusion clouding his light-grey eyes. “I don’t understand.”
Gods, if he had to explain sex to his mate, this was going to take a lot longer than Riley was hoping to spend talking. “About sex?”
Sterling snorted and rolled his eyes. “No.”
Damn, that was a relief.
“I don’t understand what you’re after.”
Riley chuckled as he slid his hand down to cup Sterling’s ass, giving it a light squeeze. “Do you want me to say it?”
Sterling’s eyes grew so round that Riley thought they were going to pop right out of the man’s head. But the light grey that usually sparkled turned dark, arousal swimming in their depths.
“You want to have sex?” Sterling asked, as if the idea was something he never thought of. The man was confusing Riley again.
“We’re mates. That does come with benefits,” he answered, pulling Sterling closer and refusing to let the man go. He had pushed Sterling away for too long already. Riley didn’t want to waste another minute. Once he made his mind up, he always stuck to his decisions. And Riley had decided to give this mating a chance.
“But you don’t want to be mates.” Sterling sounded so dejected that Riley wanted to kick his own ass. He had done this. He had put that doubt in Sterling’s mind and made the guy think he wasn’t wanted.
Well, he was about to change that.
“I just needed time to figure you out, Sterling.” He was not going into detail about all of his insecurities and doubts. That would take not only all night, but probably a month or two.
“So, did you figure me out?” A smile turned up Sterling’s lips, the teasing apparent in his voice.
“Hell, no,” Riley grunted. “And we are talking way to
o much right now.”
“Okay, okay. But you have to say one thing for me before you go all grumpy quiet.”
Riley quirked a brow, wondering what in the world Sterling would want him to say besides let’s fuck. “What?” he asked cautiously.
A blush stole over Sterling’s face, and Riley became eager to find out just what his mate wanted him to say.
“You have to say, ‘I’ve waited for someone like you my whole life.’”
Riley stopped the laughter that was threatening to spill from his lips. That was the cheesiest line he had ever heard, but he saw the hope glimmering in Sterling’s eyes. Gods, was he really going to say it?
Riley rolled, tucking Sterling under him as he situated his body between Sterling’s legs and then used one hand to cup the man’s face, staring heatedly into his mate’s eyes. If he was going to sink to the bottom of the dick-whipped barrel, he might as well do this right.
“I’ve waited for someone like you my whole life, Sterling.” Riley lowered his head, sealing his words with a kiss and realizing just how true the words rang.
The kiss started out slow, exploratory. Then Sterling made the strangest noise and wrapped his fingers in Riley’s hair and plunged his tongue into Riley’s mouth, taking him by total surprise. The kiss turned demanding, unrelenting, and told Riley that Sterling was taking charge.
Riley knew his mate had a little fire in him from the way he had snapped his fingers at Riley a few times, but he had no idea just how aggressive the man was in bed.
Fuck, he liked it.
The take-charge attitude was turning him on and making his cock so hard that it was almost painful. Sterling wrapped his legs around Riley’s waist, groaning and growling as his tongue skimmed over every single tooth in Riley’s damn mouth.
It was the sexiest little growl Riley had ever heard.
“Sterling.”
“No,” Sterling said as his grip tightened around Riley’s hair. “You’re not making any excuses and leaving my side.”
“I’m not leaving your side, baby,” Riley reassured him. “I was just going to tell you that you’re pulling my hair out.”