Trace’s hand came down on Cameron’s ass with sharp precision. It hurt – it fucking hurt. A thousand tiny needles piercing his skin at once. Cameron sobbed, his back bowing and his body devolving into sheer chaos. Until … the rush and heat of pleasure came.
‘Trace –’ he gasped.
‘I mean really,’ Trace said, absentmindedly smoothing his rough palm over the very skin he’d just punished. ‘What were you going to do?’
Before Cam could answer, the second blow fell. The sting-smack-bite of the blow burned over pristine skin. He now had a matching print on his other cheek. Cameron knew he had handprints on his ass because he could feel them banging in time with his runaway heart. He could also feel the electric pound of blood in his cock and want in his gut. Without thinking, he ground himself against Trace just to get the friction.
It hurt – bloody hell, it hurt – but the aftermath was … heaven.
Tears stung his eyes and he got it. As they say, in a lightning flash, he got it. ‘I scared you.’
‘You scared the fuck out of me,’ Trace said, and another blow rained down. He went against the odds, which Cam would have laid on him placing the blow over the original blow. To alternate. But not his wolf. His wolf laid the blow directly over the one he’d just delivered.
Fire licked at Cam’s skin and the meat underneath. He bucked hard, but that only gave him more friction, which swiftly transformed the nearly unbearable discomfort into something sought after – pleasure.
‘I’m sorry.’
‘What did you think would happen?’
One-two-three blows in a row. Trace pulled back on them; they weren’t as heavy handed as the ones before them, but they were delivered with precision. Cam felt like it tore into the meat of him but was no worse than a wet towel snapping on his bare ass. Still, he sobbed, but found himself humping shamelessly at the wolf’s leg.
Trace stopped everything. The silence was deafening. His hands smoothed over the pounding skin of Cameron’s ass and stopped every so often to finger at the tight star of his anus. Finally, he said, ‘I’m waiting for an answer.’
A sob curled out of Cameron first, so he swallowed hard, trying to ignore his dick. It felt like it was throbbing visibly at this point. Couldn’t they just move on to the 69 portion of the evening? The wild thought made him laugh out loud – a crazy man laugh. A needy man laugh.
‘I thought I could save him. I thought the lightning would come. But it didn’t. That only worked with you. I don’t know why –’
That was a lie. His body went tight as soon as he said it, and he could tell by the wolf’s change of position he could feel it too.
Trace pulled him up so they were face to face. ‘You sure about that?’
‘Yes.’ Another lie.
There was something akin to hurt on Trace’s face. Cameron wanted to change his answer, but you don’t say these things after what amounted to a blink of time. Let alone say them first to a gruff, wary wolf who’d been alone since he was 18. Trace would laugh at him, he thought. Even as it occurred to him, his throat grew tight with unshed tears.
I will not cry, he told himself.
There was something else in Trace’s eyes, though. Understanding. He gave a nod and put his big hand to the back of Cam’s neck. For a moment, he simply swept his thumb up and down the side, making that skin tingle. The throbbing pain in Cam’s bottom had bled out into a thrumming kind of pleasure – too much blood beneath the skin, too much of his heartbeat there under his tender flesh – and it felt … wonderful.
Cameron couldn’t wait. He might not be able to say what was in his heart, but he sure as shit could make the first move. He threw himself against Trace and kissed him hard, his tongue sliding greedily along the bigger man’s lower lip before plunging in past his plump lips to stroke over his waiting tongue.
Trace laughed softly. ‘What’s gotten into you, Lightning Boy?’
‘You. Kiss me.’
So Trace did. Kissing him like the world might end. Like monsters might be real. Kissing him rough-gentle-sweet-sharp until the world seemed to be spinning. Then Trace pushed Cameron back and, in that intentional way he had of moving, removed his clothes in seconds. Already bare, all Cam could do was watch. Until the wolf lowered himself over Cameron’s body and licked a long, flaring line of heat from the base of his cock to the tip.
Then Cam’s eyes slammed shut all on their own. It was too good.
Chapter Twenty-four
Cam shoved a pillow under his head to reach Trace better. Playing his lips along the glans only, he teased his wolf. He licked and sucked but only the tip. Just the most sensitive places. He felt, more than saw, Trace’s thighs start to tremble, and Cam was only distracted by it when Trace shoved his mouth all the way down his aching shaft. Trace’s tongue was a bright heat against Cameron’s needy skin. He moaned, but since his mouth was full, the vibration of his pleasure worked through Trace, who in turn moaned too.
A never-ending circle of titillation, Cam thought.
He thrust up without realising he was doing it and Trace chuckled against his skin. ‘Behave, Cam,’ he said. His big hands covered Cameron’s jutting hip bones – he’d lost weight since arriving – and he pushed down with a steady pressure. Effectively trapping Cam to the mattress. Which, my God, only made Cameron want to thrust that much more.
Cam made a desperate sound but repaid the restraint with more teasing, dragging his tongue – held rigid – along the side of Trace’s cock before licking back down the other side.
Trace grew still. A full-on growl erupted from his throat and Cam felt the hair on his body tingle and sway. That one noise alone had him on the verge of coming.
When Trace shoved deeply into his mouth, he didn’t baulk at all. His heart leapt at it and his body too. Cam tilted his head back to let his lover fill his throat to the best of his ability. His seeking hands running restlessly up over Trace’s backside, his flanks, his powerful thighs. He would touch whatever he could. His fingers stroked Trace’s balls and the tempo of the wolf’s mouth on him increased. In the thick of it, he lost himself to the sensation of Trace’s mouth on his skin. The heated stroke of his tongue and the velvety insides of his cheeks. When Trace nudged a finger into his ass and found the hard marble of his prostate and began stroking there … Cam’s mind went blank.
He tried to say he was going to come, but his mouth was full. His throat was full. His hands were full – and so was his heart. It was a blinding rush of white sensation and then he was coming, his body helpless at the mercy of such an ancient instinct: pleasure.
He only had a second to worry before a salty rush filled his mouth and he knew that his was not the only pleasure that had become overwhelming. They were there, tangled up together, and the welted skin on Cam’s ass was still beating in merry time with his heart. He couldn’t think of a better place to be. Or a better place he’d been before.
He dreamt of water and gristly things and electric blue. When he woke, he was almost sad, and when he found Trace gone, the sadness bloomed fully. Cameron sat up and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn’t sure how the fuck he’d slept, only that even the roots of his hair hurt. When he tried to stretch, he groaned.
‘Hey there.’
He jumped when he heard the familiar – and, yes, beloved – voice. Even though it was part of his brain now, he was on edge enough from his dreams to jump.
‘Sorry,’ Trace said, frowning. ‘Thought you heard me.’
‘No. I just woke and, fuck …’ He tried stretching again and winced. ‘I feel like I got hit by a truck.’
‘Not a truck. A behemoth. A beast. What the fuck do we call these things?’ Trace asked, passing coffee to Cam.
‘Monsters,’ Cameron said and sipped at the pale liquid. ‘Perfect. Two sugars and half and half. Thanks.’
‘I’m surprised you have teeth,’ Trace said, winking.
‘You’d probably like me even more if I didn’t,’ Cam said, winking back. He wante
d to push the darkness of his dream away. The worry in his heart could wait. It could take the back burner to his joy at seeing the wolf.
The joke caught Trace off guard and a look of surprised preceded his laugh. ‘Jesus!’ He shook his head, grinning. ‘Not true, but you got me, didn’t you?’
‘I did.’ Cameron held out his hand and Trace took it. ‘What’s wrong? Your face says something is.’
‘Another tremor last night.’
‘And?’
‘And we lost someone. Someone near the falls like Batts was. Her name was Winona and she was a leopard. She lived out there alone. Said she liked the quiet. No husband, no kids, no nothing. But one of the volunteers guarding the perimeter heard her go in. I don’t know why she’d go so close to –’
‘I think the ones who live close – who’ve been near it since it arrived – can be called? For lack of a better word. I think it can lure them or call them or something. But you said it was a tremor, so any other –’
‘Bleed-through near the town fountain of all things. Something took a midnight bath and almost grabbed a barmaid who came out of The Den to see what was up.’
‘So that’s near the original site. Where Malus conjured a crack, right?’ Cam sipped his coffee and refused to give in to the terror that was poisoning his heart.
‘Yeah. So … Something’s got to give. I have these brief mental images of our town full of monsters, flying, sliding and swimming around the place, but we’re all gone.’ Trace frowned, his jaw tight with worry. ‘Stupid and embarrassing, but at least I can tell you anyway.’ He winked.
That made Cameron happy – that trust. But under it was a sadness, a worry, that felt like a pit in his stomach.
‘Something does have to give,’ he said, softly.
Spirit.
‘Hey, sorry to bring you down. Get dressed and come up and eat, OK? Father’s worried, so it’s like a fucking breakfast buffet up there.’
Cam smiled and nodded. ‘I will.’
‘I have to go check the back gates and the part of the grounds that back up near the falls. Finn’s worried about us being safe.’
‘Well, Christ, please be safe when you do it.’
‘Of course. I’m always safe.’ Trace kissed his forehead and then squinted at him. ‘Why do you look so anxious?’
‘Just about you checking is all,’ Cam lied.
‘Well stop,’ the wolf said and then he was gone.
It was only 20 minutes later that an actual wolf came barrelling toward the patio where Finn, Cameron, and Slaughter were eating. As soon as Cameron saw Trace in animal form he stood, his gut clenching with fear.
‘What’s wrong? What’s wrong?’ he bellowed.
The wolf, big and powerful with salt and pepper fur, slid to a halt. As he watched, the image flickered-twisted-shifted to bring him a naked, panting Trace. ‘A tremor.’
‘There was no tremor –’
It hit, rocking the world under his feet. Cam clutched the table and waited for it to pass.
‘I felt it before it came,’ Trace said, shoving past him and into the house. He came out of the kitchen with sweatpants.
‘Do you have stashes of clothes everywhere?’ Cam blurted. It was a stupid thing to say, but it popped out before he could think about it.
Trace grinned. ‘We all do. Never know when you might be naked.’
‘Fuck it all,’ Slaughter said. ‘I don’t even know where to start.’
A lion came into view and Cameron almost cried out before he realised it had to be Tryg. Luke was right on his heels, running.
‘Having to be saddled with human legs and wheezing for air blows sometimes,’ he gasped. ‘This is it.’ He bent at the waist to catch his breath.
‘This is what?’ Trace asked, but he knew. He could tell. His body was tingling, his heels and head felt heavy with power even as his gut felt light and floaty. This was the big push. The creature was making a move.
‘This is the big one –’
A second tremor cut him off. In the distance, someone screamed. The lion took off into the woods, barely audible on giant paws. With a swish of his tail he was gone.
‘We have to go,’ Cam said. He dropped the napkin he’d been clutching like a worry blanket.
Trace stopped him with a big arm thrown across his chest. ‘Whoa. What do you mean, “we”?’
‘I mean we. Let’s go,’ Cam said. He didn’t have time to argue. The energy in his body prompted him to act and, to prove it, a crackling tendril of energy shot out of him, shocking Trace. The wolf jumped back, but only for a moment. He put a hand on Cam again, his mouth drawing down to a tight line.
‘No. Not you.’
‘Trace –’ Slaughter tried to interject.
‘We’ll handle it,’ Trace said, practically grinding his teeth. His fingers curled to Cameron’s chest. The action broke Cam’s heart.
‘I’ll be fine.’ He did his best to look Cam in the eye.
‘Now see, I don’t think you will.’ Trace’s gaze was steady. He didn’t blink. Those intense lavender eyes were probing all of Cameron’s secrets and fears.
‘I will.’
‘Trace,’ Luke said, ‘we need to save this town. We need him to act. He was brought here.’
‘Shut up,’ Trace growled and turned and walked away.
‘He was brought here for more than that,’ Father Finn said, starting to clear the table. ‘He was brought here for Trace also. To heal him, I believe. I haven’t seen that man so interested in life since I met him.’ He said no more, just took his pile of dishes and went in through the French doors to the kitchen.
‘We have to do this,’ Slaughter said, his face grim.
‘I know. We will.’ Another tremor rocked them, and somewhere something boomed. A big boom. The kind that made you jump. ‘And we have to do it now.’
‘What are you going to do?’ Luke yelled as they all started to run.
‘That’s the funny part,’ Cam called above the sound of his pounding heart. ‘I won’t know until I’m doing it. I have no idea!’
Slaughter grunted. ‘That’s reassuring.’
All Cam could do was laugh. Though his heart was breaking and his mind was terrified, he laughed. And he ran.
Chapter Twenty-five
Trace was nowhere to be found. That hurt, but Cam had no choice. He had to run. And run he did, the trees smacking and plucking at his skin as he barrelled up the path that led toward the falls. When they reached the gate that Trace had set out to secure the area, he had no choice but to hop it – it had been chained up. He nearly fell and broke his neck, but recovered his balance at the last minute. Slaughter practically pole vaulted over the thing, but Luke struggled just as Cam had.
He grinned at the two men waiting on him as they all started to run again. ‘I was not, as you can see, varsity … well, anything .’
Cameron grinned. It felt good at that frightening moment to smile like an idiot. This was wild and crazy and full on stupid, going to fight a monster that seemed damn near invincible. ‘Me either. Don’t worry.’
‘How much farther?’ Luke gasped.
Slaughter put a burst of speed on. ‘Not much. We’re almost there.’
And then, sadly, they were there. Around a bend, up a hill, through a copse of trees, and Cam could see the rushing water. See how the land dropped off, a blanket of dead leaves that fell away and earth became sky. He saw the monstrosity twisting and turning in the choppy water beneath the falls.
It looks like it’s trying to get out, he thought. Where would it go? Why …?
There was no time to worry about that. The moment he saw it he knew what he had to do. He’d dreamt most of it, but who can ever tell what fucked-up parts of your dreams are actually significant and which aren’t.
He ran full speed ahead, hearing the other men yell “Wait!” His feet slid out from under him and he took a good portion of the drop on his ass. Then he found his footing again and ran down another incline that se
emed to be the perfect point to do it. Putting on a burst of speed, he hit the lip of the outcropping and he dove. It was all he could think to do. The only sport he’d ever been good at. He plunged through the air toward the dark, gristly abomination and he thought of a wolf with purple eyes and the taste of his mouth and the feel of that man’s hands along his skin.
When the impact came, water and body and air all melded together, he said it out loud. Wishing he’d had the nerve to say it to Trace when he’d had the chance.
‘I love you,’ he whispered.
And then the lightning came.
There was a perfect long, slow moment under the water. He was wrapped in the tentacle and the lightning coursed through him; energy kissing water and melding into one magical, vibrating dance of pain. His whole body ached from the thing’s grip but also from Brother Lightning running through him so fast, so very furious. His teeth ached as if they were going to fall free of his gums. His eyes burned as if they’d pop in his skull – maybe they would.
Cameron didn’t struggle. He did the opposite. He went limp and he let himself be the receptacle. He let himself be the conduit. He felt more than saw the approach of the things maw. His power was part of what it had been drawn to, that was clear now. This thing was of water; if anything could appreciate the power of an element, it was this thing. And yet, it bellowed when a particularly powerful jolt coursed through Cameron, turning the water around them a shocking lavender.
Like his eyes …
Part of Cam wanted to laugh. The thing was in pain – it hadn’t counted on that.
Come on, brother, he silently called to the lightning. You have more juice than this. I don’t care about me. I got my gift. The time I had. But I do care about this town. Take me to save them …
Then the world went white. He felt the maw and that was that. Darkness swallowed darkness for the span of a single heartbeat, and then the white was back as lightning shook Cam’s limbs and rattled his bones. White turned to lavender and he was pretty sure he was dying.
Beast in Me (The Divination Falls Trilogy) Page 15