by Jackie Nacht
“You’re not brushing me off, are you? I mean, if you don’t want to go out that’s fine.”
Puck started laughing. “Remember, I was the one who asked you, not the other way around. So let’s get you to your exam so you can get done already.”
Torque looked over at him, “Fine, fine, I’m going. I can’t wait for this to be over anyway. This class is the stuff of nightmares.”
No, sweetheart. You’re walking next to one.
Chapter 3
There was so many ways Torque could describe how his exam went, but good wasn’t one of them. It seemed like as soon as he opened his blue book, his mind went totally blank, except for thinking of the guy…and he’d never got his name. Unbelievable, since the guy had asked him for his. Torque’s brain was mush from no sleep and studying his rocks off. He would probably never see him again anyway. He’d been nice enough to drop him off at the lecture hall, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t anything but a brush off.
Honestly, after years of having to deal with his brother and his friends, there was little left of his confidence. At least he didn’t have to put up with his abusive father anymore. He’d beaten the shit out of him while calling him names. Axle only called him names to save face in front of his friends. Sometimes that hurt more than a good kick to the ribs, though. It was like his friends’ opinion meant more than Torque did. Sure, Axle was fine when they weren’t around, but those times were few and far now that his friends spent almost all their time at their place. It didn’t matter anyway—no matter how hard Torque tried, the moments they were alone were beginning to be filled with his resentment towards his brother.
Torque was so wrapped up in his own depressing thoughts, he didn’t hear someone shouting out his name. He turned around to see the guy he’d plowed over walking towards him through the busy hallway. He was easily a head taller than everyone. Every single person that was in his pathway moved quickly towards the edges to let him pass. By the time he had about fifteen feet to go, everyone was standing against the walls watching him come towards Torque in utter silence. The campus hallways had never been this quiet.
The guy seemed unaware of everyone’s focus on him. “Hey, how was your exam?”
He was either absolutely oblivious to all the attention he was gaining, or used to it. After all, the guy was that beautiful with that white frosted red hair and body covered in sleek muscle.
“It went okay, I guess,” Torque whispered, not wanting the entire wing to know he’d got bitch-slapped by his blue book. At this rate, he could kiss his scholarship goodbye. Torque didn’t have a clue how he was going to come up with the money for next semester. Maybe making an appointment with his counselor, he could figure out a course of action. He felt a clawing need to graduate and get as far away from here as possible.
“Well, let’s go get that coffee. You look like you’re about to fall asleep standing.”
“I look that bad?” Torque gasped out. He knew he was a little sleep-deprived, but to be called out on his black circles was a blow to the ego.
“I didn’t mean it that way. Now come, there’s caffeine awaiting both of us.” He smiled down at Torque and put his arm around him, pulling him through the parting of the student body sea. Girls were actually trying to reach and touch him towards the end. Torque had the urge to smack at all their hands.
“By the way, what’s your name?” Torque looked back and hissed at a girl who grabbed at his man’s ass.
“Ugh…Puck.”
Torque chuckled. “What’s the ugh for? You not sure what your name is, or that you were named after some ditzy fairy who drugged the wrong guy?”
Puck stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to look at Torque with one raised red brow. “What did you just say?”
Clearly the joke was going over his head, “Never mind, I was referencing Midsummer Night’s Dream.” He did not want to lose out on a chance to know this guy because he cut at the guy’s name. Hello…he was named after a transmission part.
Puck started walking again and Torque could have sworn he heard him mumble something like, “Oberon thought it was hilarious.” He definitely had Shakespeare on the brain.
Puck pulled them out into the crisp air. It felt like winter was coming even earlier than usual this year. Torque always loved winter. Since he had horrible allergies and no money to pay for the meds, winter was the only time he felt he could actually take a deep cleansing breath. He feared the day when spring came and pollen covered the cars. That was the beginning of his wheezing season, and another reason he viewed himself as weak compared to his brother.
“So what year are you?” Torque queried. He looked to be an upperclassman, maybe even a graduate student.
Puck smirked. “No, I’m just scouting the college.”
“Are you thinking about coming here for graduate school?”
“Nope, just doing a little possible recruiting is all.” Puck pointed towards a corner coffee shop.
“Who are you trying to recruit? Maybe I can help.”
“Hmmm, maybe you can. I’m looking for a couple of people to relocate for open positions.”
The two of them stood in the back of a long line filled with half frozen students. Torque had been here enough to know he was going to just get a regular coffee. The specialty drinks were out of his Ramen noodle price range.
“What are your requirements?”
Puck was looking at the chalkboard that displayed the drink menu. “One person needs to be a cheerful ass, while the other has to be tough and take no shit from anyone. They have to have an edge to them and be able to deal with a lot of…tough characters.”
He had no ideas for anyone like the first person, but he thought of his brother as the second guy. “Is this position even legal?”
“Legal?”
Torque’s mouth fell open. “Yes, legal. You know—follow the law and all that?”
Puck looked around with a scowl. “Of course it’s fine. It’s the chance of a lifetime for a mortal.”
“Did you just say mortal?”
Puck looked him straight in the eye, his green eyes looking swirly all of a sudden. “Of course not. You misheard me.”
Torque’s mind went blank for a second. Shaking the fuzziness out of his head, “What were we talking about? Oh…employees. Sounds like you need my brother. He’s seedy as hell and meaner than all get out.”
“After we have our drink, I’d like to meet your brother. Does he live close by?”
“Yeah, we live together, unfortunately.”
They finally got to the front of the line. A barista girl was eyeing up Puck like she wanted to top him with whipped cream instead of the drink she was making. “What can I get you, sweetie?”
* * * *
Puck hated it when mortals chomped on their gum like that. Smack, smack, smack. His UnSeelie side wanted to come out and slap that gum right out of her mouth just to see how much distance he could get. The only reason he refrained was the sweet man next to him. He felt bad for having to mess with his memory a little. Being at the Gathering had made him a little rusty being around mortals. He needed to be more cautious with his words from now on.
“What would you like to drink, Torque?”
Torque began pulling out his wallet. “I’ll have a small coffee, please.”
Puck noticed that Torque pulled out the only remaining bills in his frayed wallet.
“Torque, this is my treat. Now what’s your favorite drink?”
Torque looked up at the board before answering, “Peppermint mocha.”
Puck looked at the girl. “I’ll take two large peppermint mochas and a couple of those coffee cakes over there.”
The girl gave him a worshipful look before running around to make up their drinks. The girl would never have him on his worst day, and Puck was thinking it might be one of his best days in a long time.
After paying for both drinks, Puck turned to look for a seat and found the entire shop packed with co-eds. There was n
o way he was going to be able to get to know Torque in this crowded place. He used a little of his magic on a particularly obnoxious group in the back and willed them to leave. Within seconds, they were picking up their drinks, walking out with glazed-over eyes.
“Shall we?” Puck gestured with his coffee filled hands to the back booth.
Torque looked back at the group leaving with a little bewilderment. “Wow, those guys never leave here. They’re permanent fixtures in this place.”
Puck watched him take a seat and thought it was completely adorable the way Torque meticulously stirred his whipped cream in then began to blow on the top of the steamy drink. He leaned forward as Torque took a tentative sip with his eyes closed. A small smile crept onto his face. Puck had never seen anyone get such a look of gratification over such a small thing.
Torque opened his eyes and looked down at Puck’s untouched drink. “Aren’t you going to have any?”
Puck began stirring. He wanted to experience the exact same taste that Torque did. He took a small drink and found that it was every bit as delicious as Torque’s face showed.
“It’s good. So tell me about yourself.”
Torque began picking at the seam of his cup, looking uncomfortable. “There’s not that much to tell, really. I’m a freshman here. I have a brother who’s two years older than me and it’s just the two of us. Mom was out the door before I can even remember and Dad died a couple years ago. That’s about it.”
“Sorry to hear about your parents.”
“Don’t be. Like I said, I don’t remember my mom and my dad wasn’t Father of the Year. Axle and I have a house just a few blocks off campus. It could be a lot worse.”
Reading between the lines, Puck thought he also heard it could be a lot better. Puck could see a sadness that surrounded Torque. It was like a cloud blocking out the sunlight. He wanted to experience that sunlight…
What the hell? This guy doesn’t fit any court. And he wouldn’t want him near any of them. He was too special to deal with his world.
“What are you studying?”
“Right now I’m getting my core classes taken care of while I decide on what I want to major in. I’m thinking about being a teacher but not a hundred percent sure yet. Kids are tough nowadays and they might eat me alive. So I was also thinking about nursing. I know biology will be my major for sure but what direction I want to go in…who knows? What about you? You said you were a recruiter? Are you in the military?”
“No, not the military.”
“Mafia?”
“No.”
“Drug lord?”
Snort. “No.”
“Carnival?”
“Carnival?” Puck questioned.
“Yeah, carnival…you know—carnies, circus folk, nomads… Haven’t you seen Austin Powers?”
“No and no. So tell me about your brother. Why do you think he’s the right one to come with me?”
“Whoa. I didn’t say he be good to come with you, I simply said he sounded like he fit your criteria. My brother’s a bit of an ass. You said edge, but I could tell you’re trying to choose your words carefully. That’s my brother to a T. The only thing he cares about is sex and getting into trouble. He’s lucky he’s crafty enough to never get arrested. Is this what this is about? You want to meet my brother?” Torque looked over at the crowded coffee shop with a dejected expression on his face.
“I’d like to meet your brother, yes, but I wanted to spend some time with you while I was on…vacation,” Puck wasn’t used to someone questioning his motives. He had been in existence so long and was at such a rank that everything really just fell into his lap. He had to actually work to get this human to like him. It was definitely a turn on. He began to grow hard at the thought of the challenge sitting across from him.
It was all too soon that their mochas were done and they were rising to let other students come and take their seats. Puck wasn’t ready to let Torque go. They made idle chit chat while they walked back over to his car.
“Wow is that a 2013 Bugatti 16c Galibier?” Torque began walking around the car without touching it. He looked at the front and back seats leaning towards the windows.
“I rented it. I have a few errands to run. Do you want to go for a ride with me, and then I can drop you off at your house afterwards?”
Puck could see Torque trying to contain his excitement. He started to do these small little hops in place while sporting a silly ass grin. He couldn’t take it any longer—he walked over to Torque and grabbed him around the waist. He had just enough time to see the look of shock on Torque’s face before he leaned down and closed his mouth over those full lips. Torque let out a gasp of shock and Puck took the opportunity to deepen the kiss to get a true taste of this man that had drawn him in like no other ever had. He tasted just like Puck thought he would—all male with a hint of chocolate. He couldn’t have suppressed the moan that escaped even if he’d wanted to.
Torque began to whimper while gluing himself to Puck. Puck could feel his desire growing and without thinking at all about where they were, he backed Torque against the Veyron and began grinding their erections together. Pheromones began to pour out of him, beyond his control. This was not good. Too much would send his little mortal into a tailspin that would take him days to get out of.
A couple more seconds couldn’t hurt, though…
Torque broke the kiss gasping. His head had fallen back with his eyes closed and his lips parted. “I’m going to, going to…” and Torque was keening out his orgasm in the middle of the parking lot. Those sounds brought Puck over the edge and he didn’t give a fuck who heard. Closing his eyes, he groaned through the most satisfying orgasm ever in his life.
Slowly, Puck opened his eyes, seeing several people staring at them with their jaws nearly touching the pavement. Some people looked more than a little affected, while others looked on in disdain for such a public display. He could care less what those people thought.
When he looked down to see if Torque was okay, he noticed that his chest was heaving and his eyes were completely glazed. Puck’s pheromones must have affected Torque more than he’d thought.
He quickly tucked his human into the car then began to drive. It was a while before he realized he had no clue to where Torque lived.
“Sweetheart, I need you to know where you live.”
Puck didn’t get a response except a small whimper. Torque reached down and began rubbing his growing erection. Aww shit…this isn’t good. It was easy to see that Torque was drunk on his pheromones. It could take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to recover—it depended on how much he’d given off…and he was beginning to think it had been a shitload, which he had never done before.
He screeched over to the side of the road and began to search Torque’s pocket for his identification. Finally, he found his driver’s license in his back pocket. He programmed the address into his GPS, then noticed the birthday—eighteen years old. He wouldn’t be nineteen for another couple of weeks. He looked over at Torque’s soft features—he was a man, but a very young one.
Within a matter of a few minutes they were pulling into the dirt driveway of a house that had long since seen better days. White paint was chipping off in the front. Half the shutters were either hanging loose or had fallen off. Beer cans covered the cement porch. This did not look like the place that belonged to the innocent blond sitting next to him.
Hurrying around the car, he pulled Torque out of his seat. He began walking him up the steps that were covered in garbage. Torque kept trying to grab for his erection while stumbling next to him. There was nothing like being a little drunk on the pheromones of the UnSeelie. Puck was going to have to keep himself in check a little better next time.
Without knocking, he walked into the house. A bunch of guys were passed out in various positions around the room. One of these men must be Torque’s brother. They all reeked of malice and violence, except one. He looked over to see a dark haired man who smelled o
f pain, self-hatred, and loneliness. Even though there was not one feature that was the same, Puck knew this had to be the brother. This was a man who wore a mask for the world. He was the type that would fit into his court perfectly.
He walked past the group and began looking in the rooms until he found a small room in the back with no window and a twin bed in the corner. There was a crate with a lamp next to the bed. It was extremely tidy but it saddened Puck all the more that this was the environment Torque lived in. He gently guided him onto the bed then began searching his closet to find some clean clothes for Torque to change into. It was empty, except for a couple of worn out shirts and jeans hanging on wire hangers. By the time he turned around, Torque was lights out.
Beginning to get pissed, he felt the frost begin to grow on his skin as he walked out to find a laundry room. He rummaged through the dirty pile only to find a lot of clothes that were several sizes bigger than his man—and that was what he was now, his. The plan that formed in his mind began to grow like the vines of the valley. Puck journeyed back through to the front door. Everyone was still out. Torque would probably sleep until he could make it back. He wouldn’t be long in taking care of these couple of errands. He walked out with a silent promise to return shortly.
Chapter 4
Flames were licking Torque’s skin. Sweat began beading all over his body and the only thing he could think about was the fact that his cock ached painfully. After waking up in his bed, he’d stripped off his clothes and had been jacking off ever since. Every time he came, he had about a minute of downtime before he was grabbing his shaft and working himself towards another peak. His stomach was coated in semen and sweat.
He was furiously working himself towards another orgasm when his bedroom door opened. Torque whimpered in dismay as Donavon walked in and shut the door behind him. Quickly he grabbed the covers and pulled them over his naked body.
“Well, what do we have here? Starting without me?” Donavon sauntered over towards him and began removing his shirt. Whatever had been wrong with him was beginning to dissipate as Donavon got closer and closer to him. By the time the asshole began to climb up on the bed, Torque was shivering with icy cold fear.