Suffer the Knight

by B. A. Stretke

  "Kai, wait." He heard Jude call to him, but he continued towards the door needing to get outside and into the cool night air, but Jude's hand on his upper arm stopped him. The rough touch brought home just how good his mate felt and how much he wanted this man, needed this man.

  He turned and saw the surprise, the concern, and the interest in his mate's emerald green eyes. Eyes so magnificent that Kai could stare into them all day long and never tire of their beauty. Jude was one of a kind, wild and fierce but also serious and so intense. He wouldn’t be able to fool him much longer and Kai wondered if he were making the biggest mistake of his life by running from this man, his mate. But he felt that it was too late now to do anything else.

  "Are you here alone," Jude asked and Kai nodded. "Come sit with me." He said and started pulling Kai back inside, but Kai stopped and regarded him coldly, one last effort to deny what he was feeling and what he wanted.

  "You already have your hands full. I wouldn't want to intrude on your evening. The men you were mauling are looking lonely. I'm sure you have better things to do than stand here with me." The words came out with a bite that he hadn't intended but couldn't stop. The men, twinks is the term, were looking at him with daggers in their eyes. They wanted Jude, and from what Kai had witnessed, Jude appeared to want them too.

  "They're not important, just dancing nothing more." Jude was confused by Kai sudden jealousy but also rather pleased. If Kai could feel jealous, he was also feeling the draw that Jude was feeling. It was a strange state of affairs considering Kai was not his mate, but the feelings and difficulties harkened to those suffered by couples and mates, not two random paranormals who simply had the hots for one another.

  Kai attempted to pull away, but Jude prevented his retreat. "I'll leave and let you get back to the business of fucking those two men on the dance floor." Yeah, Kai was pissed, and Jude wanted to know why. He took him firmly by the upper arm and instead of urging him inside, Jude ushered him out into the parking lot of the Red Lion. They needed privacy and a little quiet to get to the real issue at hand, whatever that might be.

  "Why the hell are you upset about those two men when you could have had this if you wanted it." Jude grabbed his cock and squeezed it for effect. "But you refused me and ran away." He knew he was being crass and crude, but maybe that was the only way to reach Kai.

  “Don’t flatter yourself.” Kai hissed. "I don't want any part of you. Go, fuck every man in the bar, I don't care."

  "Oh, you care. I see your wolf, and he is fucking mad. Your wolf wants me, and so do you." Jude took Kai by his upper arms and pulled him roughly against him. "Feel me, Kai." He dropped one hand down to cup Kai's ass and press him firmly against Jude's hardening cock. "You make me so hard." He whispered into Kai's ear. "You might think that dragons are beneath you, but you ache to be beneath me to feel my hard cock stretching you wide and my dragon making your wolf sing with delight. I dare you to deny it."

  Kai froze for a moment and looked longingly at him, then he jerked free of his grasp, took a step back, and looked away. Jude saw the expression clearly, the desire was in Kai's eyes until he shuttered the emotion and feigned offense.

  “I want no part of you or your loathsome beast.” He repeated his sentiment with a voice that was softened with pain. His words and his actions were in opposition, but Jude had no clue as to how to proceed. The wolf was walking away, again.

  "Talk to me, Kai." He said to the man's retreating back. Kai stopped but did not respond or turn around. "Tell me why. What's wrong with me?" Jude asked but stayed where he was giving Kai his space and opportunity to do as he desired without interference.

  "It'll never work for us, Jude. I live on my little corner of the mountain, and I mind my own business. We don't belong together." With that, he took off, not running, but he was through the parking lot and out of sight before Jude could formulate a response.

  The forlorn tone of Kai's declaration made for a sadness that welled up within Jude, and his dragon began to whine softly in his mind. The reaction was weird and confusing. His dragon was fierce and warlike on a daily basis. His sudden lovesick infatuation with this wolf was ridiculous, but Jude could not console him with anyone else. No one but Kai would do.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  "Was that the wolf from the mountain?" Bryn walked up beside Jude and looked out into the parking lot, following Jude's line of sight.

  "Yeah, Kai Becket. My dragon wants him in the worst way and I know that Kai is interested, but he won't give in." Jude kept watching in the direction Kai had walked off as if willing him to return.

  “Is he the reason you were giving the guys inside the brush off?” Bryn continued to pry as he often did.

  "I think so, he's gotten under my skin, and I don't know why I can't dismiss him or why my dragon won't let go." Jude saw no reason to lie or hide the facts from him. He turned to look at Bryn directly when he didn't get an immediate comment or response. Bryn was looking at him peculiarly.

  “What?” Jude finally asked.

  "You're acting like a dragon who has found their mate. Don't scoff, I've seen all my brothers find their bonds. Each one, although different in some ways, experienced the overwhelming attraction of their dragon first. Even when the human half doesn't know or pick up on the subtleties, the dragon always knows." Bryn fell silent as Jude absorbed every word and dismissed each one.

  He shook his head. “Can’t be, I kissed him and did not scent my mate. If we were mates, I would have felt something.” He countered.

  “You did feel something, you are feeling something.” Bryn shot back with raised eyebrows and waited for Jude to refute. “Follow him, Jude, make him talk to you. He’s hiding something, even I can see that. Maybe he's afraid of dragons." Bryn said with a half-smile and patted Jude on the shoulder. "Find out for sure, taste him, and you'll know."

  Bryn was usually cracking jokes, this deep, insightful Bryn was a surprise, and his thoughts were rekindling possibilities Jude had already considered. If Kai were his mate, wouldn't he know, wouldn't Kai know? Bryn cocked his head, motioning for Jude to go to the parking area at the back of the bar.

  “Go, he had to park in the back if he just showed up. The front has been full of hours. It’ll take him a while to get to his vehicle.” Bryn smiled when Jude nodded and hurried off in the direction of the back lot.

  …

  Kai tried to walk fast, but his wolf was pulling on him so hard that it was difficult putting one foot ahead of the other. He had to leave even though the thought of Jude with anyone in that bar, especially those two blond twinks, was twisting his insides and setting his mind on fire.

  He kept his head down and moved as fast as he could, but he'd had to park so far away. Since the dragons took over the Federal and renamed it the Red Lion, it had become the hot spot in Laramie's nightlife. Finding a parking spot late in the evening was nearly impossible. He continued to move fast, but he doubted that Jude would follow him. After the hateful things Kai had said, Jude would probably never talk to him again, which was what he wanted, or at least what he thought he wanted.

  Now that it was a reality it hurt like hell, and he was losing control. He was so caught up in his thoughts and feelings, Kai did not notice the men closing in on him as he hurried to his Jeep in the very back of the back lot. The area was well lighted, but he didn't become aware of his surroundings until he heard someone laugh.

  He turned towards the direction of the laughter and saw two men standing beside a dark sedan. One pushed away from where he was leaning against its fender and began a slow walk towards him. The other followed a few steps behind. The scent on the air told Kai they were both wolves. Wolves that he’d had dealings with before. Reggie Knoll and Franklin Leland two wolves near to Kai in age and a constant thorn in his side. Fuck, he really didn’t have time for this, but trouble rarely kept to a timetable.

  "Haven't been out much lately, Kai." Reggie snorted. Kai heard the approach of another man from his left and two from h
is right. Reggie never liked to take on anyone alone. He would instigate the fight but then step back and watch as the others finished it.

  "Why do you only ever confront me when you have your friends with you?" Kai countered. "You afraid to challenge me all by your lonesome?" Kai was baiting him, hoping that there was a shred of decency that would compel him to fight alone, but that wasn't the case. Reggie was a coward, and he didn't care who knew.

  "It just seems to work out that way, Kai. I only ever see you when I'm with my friends." He laughed, knowing what Kai had attempted but wouldn't take the bait. Within seconds Kai was surrounded and he took a defensive stance knowing that he would put a hurt on a couple of them before they brought him down. It was the best he could hope for and decided today the hurt would be on Reggie. If he could do some damage, maybe the guy wouldn't be so eager to challenge him again.

  As soon as the first man on his left charged at him, Kai went for Reggie bringing him down with a thud on the hard asphalt lot. He looked shocked by the move, and that was pure satisfaction for Kai as he went at Reggie with all he had as the other four piled on him.

  It was a short victory as the others pummeled Kai with their fists and feet and drug him off of Reggie. They held Kai as Reggie pulled himself to his feet and started wailing on him. Kai jerked and kicked and used every ounce of strength he had left, but he could not throw off the four that were holding him. "You fucking coward." He said and spat in Reggie's face as the man continued with his barrage of strikes to Kai's face and upper body.

  Reggie stopped and grabbed Kai by the hair of his head and pulled him up close. "I may be a coward, but you're not walking away this time Kai, this time you're a dead man." He laughed, and then he screamed and then Kai was no longer being held; he was on the ground spitting up blood and trying to get his bearings.

  A burst of dragon fire hit the asphalt in front of him and he heard it sizzle and smelled the burning tar. He also heard more screams and begging; his attackers were begging for their lives. It was awful of him, but he couldn’t help but laugh loud and unaffected because it was a pure joy.

  Hearing that bunch of swine being brought to their knees was glorious. He glanced up from where he lay on the ground and saw Jude standing between him and the others, and he was magnificent. His dragon was on the surface, and the beast was beautiful.

  Jude stood there fierce and commanding, the ancient warrior within him front and center as he reduced the wolves to the sniveling cowards they were. He glanced back over his shoulder at Kai, and the bond was there so clear that Kai felt it to the depths of his being. His wolf called to the dragon, and the dragon responded, showing itself as color and scales chased each other across Jude's face and shot through his hair.

  He'd never witnessed anything so breathtaking as his mate in a partial shift. He could just imagine the total majesty of the beast in its full glory. This was his mate, the Viking warrior, the Dragon Knight. His blood sang in desperation with the need of this man.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Jude sensed trouble when he rounded the side of the building and headed to the back lot. He could hear talking, and he recognized Kai's tone, and it was sharp. He sounded displeased and on edge, and that knowledge put Jude and his dragon on alert as he hurried to intervene. The sight of those bastards holding Kai while the other one beat the snot out of him tipped the scales on Jude's self-control, and the dragon took over.

  He took out the primary first, the one delivering the punches, grabbing him and tossing him roughly across the lot. The others dropped Kai and attempted to run, but Jude halted them with a blast of dragon fire that melting the pavement and singed their heels. "Another step and I will erase you from this world." He growled out through smoke and flames. The wolves froze and began to whine like the cowards they were. Jude took two steps forward, making sure to keep Kai directly behind him and grabbed the ringleader by the ankle as he scrambled to get away.

  Dragging him roughly back across the pavement and making sure he felt it, Jude jerked him up and off his feet holding him aloft while staring down into his terrified eyes.

  "Don't kill me." The wolf began to beg, and Jude heard a burst of laughter from behind him. Kai was pulling himself to a seated position, and the look of satisfaction on his face made Jude feel fantastic. He was pretty roughed up, but he would be okay and for that and that only the wolves would live. If Kai had been hurt worse or if he requested it, Jude would end them all here and now. But it was satisfaction and a sense of comeuppance that Kai needed, not their deaths.

  "You or your crew here ever come near Kai Becket again, if you dare to look at him, talk to him, or even send him smoke signals, I'll find you, and I will kill you." Jude tightened his grip for effect and the wolf immediately began promising everything, including his mother, if Jude would allow them to go. He hesitated for one beat and then tossed him over to where the others stood. "Get out of here." Jude roared. They grabbed their friend and swiftly disappeared.

  Jude crouched down to where Kai was seated and ran his fingers through Kai's hair, pushing it back from his face and getting a look at the damage. "Do you get a reception like that every time you come to town." He asked with a half-grin.

  Kai coughed and made to stand. Jude held him as he stood up and helped to steady him. "Reggie never comes after me unless he has his friends with him." He said and then added. "But to answer your question, yes, the local wolves have had a grudge against my father and I ever since we left the area and moved to the mountain. Most of the wolves here in town belong to the Fort Collins pack. There are a few rogues, but it's getting better since the dragons have taken care of the worst of them." Jude was impressed that Kai would give them any kind of positive credit for cleaning up the area.

  "Why don't you come inside and get cleaned up," Jude suggested as he steered Kai towards the back door. "There are a couple of rooms back here that are used as offices by the staff and owners. "You can wash up and rest before heading home." Jude had him at the back door and entering one of the offices before Kai could formulate a denial.

  "Okay, yeah it would feel good to wash up, thanks," Kai said in a halted speech as he looked around the large room Jude had brought him to. Jude could see he was unsure of himself, so he eased him over to the kitchen area and to the sink. As Kai cleaned up, Jude poured him a whiskey and handed it to him.

  “This will help settle you.” Jude watched as Kai down it in one shot and placed the glass back on the counter.

  "Thanks," Kai said and turned towards Jude as he looked up into his eyes. With that pleading expression of hope and desolation, there was nothing Jude could do to stop himself from wrapping him in his arms and kissing him thoroughly. The sensation was immediate, and Bryn's words of earlier came back to mind. Taste him, and you will know.

  The wound on Kai's lip opened under the pressure and bled, covering Jude's tongue with a taste that was singular in its pleasure and power. The clarity of Kai came at him and covered him with longing and gratitude. The question of ‘how did he not know,’ faded to the back of his mind as his overwhelming need to possess shadowed everything else.

  He pulled Kai closer squeezing him tightly and ravishing his mouth. The wolf was responding, holding Jude and searching for his own satisfaction in the embrace. This was his mate, Kai Becket was his mate and Jude was gobsmacked, over the moon, in seventh heaven all the crazy out of this world feelings were flooding him with excitement and promise.

  Kai gripped Jude's shirt and dug his fingers in clutching frantically to feel more as the desire to own this man swamped him. His need to hide was pushed aside as he ate away at the most delicious mouth in all creation. Jude Adair was everything he wanted, and that was all Kai kept in his thoughts, no hesitancy only this moment and this man. Regrets were for tomorrow.

  He felt Jude walking him backward into the living area and allowed himself to be lowered carefully to the soft rug below. Jude never broke from the kiss and never released Kai, following him down and effectively pinn
ing Kai beneath him.

  The hardness of his body fit perfectly against Kai’s and the kiss went deeper while Jude’s hands worked on the fastener of Kai’s jeans. Kai’s need was reflected in every touch and moan of his magnificent mate. He could have this without losing himself, Kai fought to convince himself, he could have this moment. It’s what they both wanted.

  "Are you comfortable, Kai?" Jude whispered into his ear while his hand slipped inside the front Kai's jeans and embraced his hard, heated cock. The sensation of his touch on so sensitive an area, brought a long shivering moan that was incentive enough for Jude to stroke faster and harder.

  Jude was moving too fast, and he tried to slow his eagerness, but he found it impossible to hold back when his mate was so willing and pliable in his arms. The defiant, defensive, dismissive Kai had been replaced with a warm, eager lover, and Jude was not going to deny what he wanted. They were mates, there was no question now, and Jude intended to mark and claim this man as his own.

  "Do you know who I am?" Jude moved from Kai's mouth to his ear, asking the all-important question. Kai nodded and looked away but then reached up and pulled Jude down for a feverish kiss that trailed up the intricate tattoos that he found so fascinating. The act stole away any other questions Jude may have had. Kai thrust up into Jude's hand, gaining friction and pressure striving for completion.

  "I need these off," Jude stated and then began pulling Kai's jeans down his legs and off along with his boots. He reached between them to release his own throbbing member from the confines of his jeans. The pressure and the urgency making his movements rushed and jerking, so he forced himself, once again to calm and focus his attention on the needs of his gorgeous wolf. Jude traced the side of Kai’s face with the tips of his fingers and continued to stroke his velvety stiff cock.