Reign shifted, his hips pressing forward, a silent nag to Jackson to get back to what he was doing.
He smiled. Reign wasn’t one to miss out on his pleasure. Jackson could understand that.
He looked up. Reign was staring down at him, those golden eyes blurry with hunger and confusion—like he didn’t understand why Jackson was on his knees sucking him off. That just made Jackson’s smile wider. Poor little pussycat. Didn’t understand giving pleasure without expecting it in return. But he’d learn. Jackson was going to teach him.
He took a deep breath. He wanted this, wanted to know what it was like but it was still a defining moment.
He opened his mouth and let the thick head slip inside. He moaned as his mouth was filled, Reign’s muscles fighting to keep still as Jackson took as much as he could, fighting his gag reflexes to take Reign deeper. He tightened his lips, sucking as he pulled back.
A low purr rumbled from deep in Reign’s chest and Jackson growled, the sound muffled because of the cock in his mouth. That was it. He wanted the Cat to purr for him. Redoubling his efforts, he pushed forward again, first slowly, then faster as he learned how hard to suck, how to make Reign purr. He grabbed his own cock and began to stroke in time to his sucking.
Fingers gripped his head, not guiding him, holding him.
“Jax, man. Oh fuck.” Reign’s hips pushed forward just a touch too deep and he came, spilling his cum deep into Jackson’s throat.
He swallowed what he could but had to pull back, the cum still pulsing from Reign’s cock. He pumped his hand up and down Reign’s shaft, drawing out more, the water washing it away as it splattered on his shoulder.
Jackson rested his forehead against Reign’s hip, his breathing hard, his cock even harder. Hands urged him to stand and he forced his legs to move, his knees stinging from the shower floor. Reign pulled him up into his arms, their bodies pressed together.
Reign’s hand curled around his Jackson’s cock, replacing Jackson’s hand, a good hard pull that grabbed deep inside him. Jackson braced a hand on the wall and moved with Reign’s strokes, pushing his cock through the tight grip. Just a hand job, like he’d given himself thousands of times, but fuck, this was somehow better.
“Come on, man. Let me have it.” Reign’s words and an almost painful bite to his shoulder pushed him over the edge. Jackson cried out and came, his seed pouring through Reign’s fingers.
“That’s it.” They turned, facing each other, each holding the other up.
“So good.”
“Fuck yeah.”
Jackson wasn’t even sure who said the words. Both voices echoed in his head. So good.
* * * * *
“Heading out?” Jackson drawled from the bottom of the stairs. Reign’s head snapped up as if he hadn’t known that Jackson had been standing there, watching him. Even with their short acquaintance that seemed unusual for the Cat. Reign was very aware of his surroundings. The fact that he hadn’t been prepared for Jackson’s approach meant his mind was somewhere else.
Reign shrugged off his surprise. “Uh, yeah. I’ve got to go make some kind of report.”
“And find Winston?” Jackson didn’t like that there was a killer out there who might find out that Dani was the witness to put him away.
“Yeah.” A merciless gleam filled Reign’s eyes. “Now I know who’s working with him. I can beat it out of him.”
That soothed the vicious streak his wolf needed satisfied.
“What should I tell Dani?” She was still upstairs, asleep.
“I’ll call her.”
Jackson nodded and tried not to smile. Reign was a typical Cat. He didn’t do commitment.
Too bad for him the wolf had already made his claim.
Reign tugged on his jacket and started for the door. Damn, Jackson thought. He was in full escape mode.
The wise thing to do would be to let Reign go. Hell, it had been a night of great sex. They could leave it like that. Dani had gotten a night with Reign and that might be enough. She’d admitted to the attraction and maybe one night had satisfied her curiosity and Jackson could have her to himself.
But that didn’t feel right. Not that having Dani was bad or wrong but the three of them just seemed better together.
And damn but Jackson was pretty sure he was going to want to feel Reign’s cock inside him again. And that shower upstairs had been enough to leave them both panting. No, he wasn’t ready to let the Cat go, not just yet.
Keeping pace with Reign’s steps, Jackson met him at the door, grabbing the frame as the Cat opened the door. This time Reign knew Jackson was there and paused, looking back over his shoulder.
“Take of yourself,” Jackson said. It was strange letting him go, knowing he was going out on his own to find and confront a killer. Reign nodded and started to turn away but Jackson couldn’t let him leave. Not like this. He stepped close and hooked his hand around Reign’s neck. He didn’t have to pull hard to draw the Cat to him, as if Reign needed this as well. Jackson brought him close and covered his mouth in a hot kiss. They didn’t waste time on preliminaries. Both moved hard and strong on the other, their tongues tangling. It was a fast hard kiss that left Reign’s lips red and Jackson’s teeth aching.
“Kiss Dani for me,” Reign said, turning away.
“I will.” Jackson didn’t even try to keep the laughter out of his voice.
“I’ll bet.”
“You’ll call us later, right?”
Reign paused and Jackson could see his mind working, already trying to find his escape route. He looked up, meeting Jackson’s stare and for a moment, Jackson could almost see Reign’s body move toward him but the Cat managed to pull back.
“I’ll call you.”
He took another step and stopped. “By the way, that call last night. At the club?” Jackson nodded. “It was about Max. Cops were checking to make sure he wasn’t an axe murderer or something.”
Jackson felt his stomach drop.
“You’re just telling me now? Is he okay? Where is he?”
Reign shrugged and there was a hint of a smile bending those beautiful lips. Arrogant asshole. “I think he’s fine. Cop who called me was from Anchorage.”
Jackson stared at the empty space, barely aware that Reign had disappeared. Anchorage? What the hell is Max doing in Anchorage?
He looked around and remembered he’d forgotten his phone. He grabbed Dani’s off the wall and dialed Max’s cell. It was still early in Anchorage but damn it, if his brother was in trouble, he could be awake enough to tell him about it.
It rang four times before Max picked up.
“This is Max.”
“Hey.”
“Jax? Man, where are you? Are you okay?”
Relieved laughter rumbled from his throat. Max sounded like his usual self. “I’m fine. I hear you’re in Alaska. And you got arrested? What the hell are you doing?”
“I didn’t get arrested. I was helping the police.”
There was a pause that warned Jackson that was only partially the truth. What was his twin up to? Before he could ask, Max jumped in with questions of his own.
“And where the hell are you? I fly all the way up here and you’re MIA.”
Jax chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Guess where?”
“Where?”
“Vegas.”
“What?”
“Came to see you.”
Max’s laughter rang through the phone line. Despite their differences, they were definitely twins. After a moment, Max said, “What’s going on? What have you been doing in Vegas without your little brother to take care of you?” Jackson straightened up. There was a lot he needed to discuss with Max but he didn’t want to do it over the phone. This was a conversation they needed to have face-to-face. “Jax?”
“I’m here.” He cleared his throat. “Stuff’s been going on. I’m okay,” he said knowing Max’s protective tendencies. “I was with Reign last night, that’s how I found out you were in Alas
ka.”
“What were you doing with Reign?”
“It’s a hell of a long story. And something we should talk about later. You know, face-to-face.”
“I hear that.” He could almost see his brother’s thoughtful face. “When are you coming home?”
“Uh…don’t know yet. I could hang around here for a few days, wait for you here.” He wasn’t ready to leave. He sure as hell wasn’t going to leave Dani until Winston was caught.
“Uh yeah. I’m actually going to stay in Anchorage for a few days.” He laughed. “I’m not sure the cops want me leaving town just yet.”
Jackson shook his head. “What did you do?”
“Nothing. Much.” Jackson didn’t believe that for a minute. His brother was up to something and he’d only been in Anchorage for three days. Of course, you got up to something in Vegas in three days. He pushed aside the annoying reminder from his conscience. “It’s another face-to-face conversation that we have to have.”
“Well, don’t think you’re getting away from telling me everything,” Jax warned. If nothing else, Anchorage was a small city. He was going to run into the people Max might be pissing off.
“Max?” The feminine voice was faint but distinctive through the phone line. That made more sense. This involved a woman. He could believe that. Soothed his own guilt just a little bit about taking Dani so soon after they’d broken up.
As if his thoughts conjured her, she appeared, walking down the steps, wearing nothing but a long t-shirt. She leaned against the wall and smiled shyly.
Dani bent one knee and raised it, curving around so the edge of the t-shirt pulled up, revealing one bare ass cheek.
“Listen, I’ve got to go.”
Jackson heard his brother speak but the words had no meaning.
“Yeah, that’s good,” Jax replied. “We’ll talk later.”
“Yeah, later.”
He hung up the phone, dropping the receiver on the couch before stalking across the room.
Dani lifted her chin and looked up at him. “Who was that?”
“Max.”
Her eyes widened. “Where is he?”
“Anchorage.” He shrugged. “He flew up to see me.”
Dani smiled, her eyes lighting up with the grin. “That’s funny.” She looked over Jackson’s shoulder. “Where’s Reign?”
“Gone to work. He said he’d call us.”
She laughed and tipped her head back, reaching up and draping her arms around the back of Jackson’s neck. She pulled him close and placed a quick kiss on his lips.
“Don’t you know boys never call when they say they will?”
* * * * *
Twelve hours later when Reign hadn’t called, Jackson started to pace. He really didn’t want to have to hunt down that pussycat but he wasn’t going to let him go. The Cat and Dani belonged to him. And Reign was just going to have to get over his panic.
Jackson looked at Dani. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes a little dreamy from coming twice. She’d been home from rehearsal for two hours or so. The connection between them was new enough that his wolf had felt the need to stake its claim so Jackson had carried her to bed almost as soon as she’d walked in the door. Her cries and moans had soothed the wolf and made Jackson hard enough to pound nails.
The sex had left them both sated and lazy. They’d discussed dinner but neither of them had made a move to do anything about it.
It wasn’t until Dani asked if Reign had called that Jackson’s instincts went on alert. Was the Cat just being a pussy or had something gone wrong?
To fill the silence, Jackson turned on the TV. Unable to settle, he listened to the canned music of the evening news and the anchor’s lead into breaking news.
“A shooting in downtown Las Vegas has left one person dead and one police officer injured. The suspect is still on the loose.”
Dani and Jackson froze, their attention drilled into the television.
“James Blayat, part owner of Spirits, a popular nightclub here in Las Vegas, was found shot to death early this afternoon. Witnesses say a man was seen running from the building moments before. When police arrived they found Blayat’s body and the wounded officer. The name of the police officer has not been released pending contact with his family but we do know he is in serious condition at a local hospital.”
Chapter Fifteen
Jackson followed Dani down the hospital corridor, scanning the hallways as he kept up with her long strides. Dani was focused. Wasn’t thinking about her own safety. If this bastard had gotten to Reign, he might have found out about Dani. She didn’t seem to care. She was thinking only about Reign.
A little twinge of jealousy inserted itself into Jackson’s brain but he slapped it aside. He was worried as well. He just didn’t have the societal luxury of showing it the way Dani did.
His phone calls to the hospital had yielded no information. Unable to stand not knowing any longer, they’d come down.
She stalked up to the Emergency Room desk. He didn’t hear her request but he saw the nurse shake her head.
“I’m sorry, miss, but I’m not allowed to give out any information.”
Dani’s fingers twisted together then she propped her left hand on the counter.
“Not even to his wife?”
The nurse flinched at the sharp question.
Jackson managed to keep his surprise hidden. He glanced down and saw that she’d slipped the thin ring she’d been wearing on her right hand to her left, and turned it around so it looked like a simple wedding band.
The nurse flipped through the file in front of her. “We have Agent Reign listed as unmarried.”
“It’s a recent development.”
“Uhm, if you’ll just wait here for a moment.”
She walked down the corridor and spoke to a stern-looking man standing with another guy, hair cut short, serious eyes. The shorter one wore a lightweight coat that Jackson assumed was used to hide his weapon. The two of them just screamed “cop”. Funny, he would never have looked at Reign and thought “cop”. Thug, Cat, sexy. All those terms applied but not cop.
The two men talking to the nurse looked down the hall, their eyes focusing on Dani and Jackson.
“You think this is going to work?” Jackson said quietly.
“I hope so. It is Vegas after all.”
The nurse left the two cops and walked away, disappearing down the other end of the hall, as if she didn’t want to get involved in what happened next. The older of the two men turned and came down the hall, stopping before Dani, nodding to Jackson. Jackson sniffed the air to check. The guy was a human.
“May I help you?”
His question contained more suspicion than the desire to be of assistance. The aggression that lurked underneath made the hackles on the back of Jax’s neck rise up. His wolf growled low and long, muddling Jax’s ability to concentrate.
“And you are…?” Dani replied with arrogance that matched his tone. The agent’s lips tightened but he didn’t back down.
“I’m Detective Tuna. Now, how can I help you?”
Dani had insisted Jackson tell her what Reign had said before he’d left—he’d mentioned the “Charlie” Tuna comment. She used that now, smiling like she was relieved to have an ally. It was fascinating to watch Charlie melt then shake it off. “You’re Charlie.” This time “Charlie” flinched.
“Yes.”
“Reign’s mentioned you. I’m Dani.” She held out her hand.
“Nice to meet you.” The suspicion was now laced with confusion. “The nurse said you’re claiming…I mean, that you said you’re Reign’s wife.” With each word, Charlie seemed to grow more confident. “Reign’s not married.”
Dani smiled and Jackson could see Charlie fight not to melt under the glow.
“He is now. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing.” The soft, feminine way seemed to blind Charlie. Jackson watched, reminding himself to be aware of her power. She could be tough as nails, st
rong, even bitchy but damn, she did bimbo really well. “Reign and I haven’t gotten around to telling people yet.” Damn, it looked like she was actually blushing. “It’s kind of embarrassing that we got married on a Friday night by a very bad Elvis impersonator. We were sure that people would think we had to be drunk.”
“Uh…” Charlie’s mind had clearly been blanked by Dani.
“Could I see him? Is he all right?” Tears appeared in her eyes and Jackson knew they weren’t faked. Conscious of the role she was playing, he still had to touch her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed.
Charlie didn’t seem to notice. He was captivated by the tears tripping over her lower lids.
“He was shot—three times.”
Dani gasped and Jackson couldn’t stop his reaction to her response. He stepped close, putting his front to her back, letting his body heat comfort her. She leaned into him.
“Will he be all right?” Jackson asked, speaking for the first time. Dani needed his support.
Charlie’s lips pinched together until they turned white. “They don’t know. He’s in a coma right now. One of the shots was to his head. It just grazed his skull but enough to put him out of it.”
“Can I see him?” Charlie looked ready to deny her question but then she said, “Please?”
The tough grizzled cop wilted under the weight of a pain-filled woman and nodded.
He led them back down the hall, speaking softly to the cop who’d been in the hall and again to the officer who stood outside his door.
Charlie opened the door and indicated Dani started forward, Jackson right behind her.
“Wait. Who are you?” Charlie demanded.
“Our priest,” Dani snapped, her anger returning. Jackson tried to look pious as she grabbed his hand and pulled him in behind her.
Dani took two steps into the room and stopped, her heart skipping several beats before racing to catch up. Reign lay in the bed, his blond hair gone, shaved along one side.
She looked at the nurse who stood near one of the machines. “Can I touch him?”
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