by Nicki Ruth
“I told you to stop saying that!” Jason screamed, coiled to strike again. His yellow eyes burned with fury.
Cade grabbed Jason in a bear hug, trapping Jason’s arms at his sides to immobilize him. But Jason slammed his head down on his, causing him to stumble. The blow made Cade’s ears ring. He groaned and felt the wetness of blood on his forehead.
“I’ve had enough of your duplicity.”
Cade moved quickly this time, grabbing Jason again before he threw him on the bed. Then he pounced on top of him, yanking Jason’s head back, trapping arms and legs with his own.
“We still have a deal, but you’re going to listen to me first. Quit fighting me; I’m not going to let you go.”
As Jason continued to struggle under his much heavier weight, Cade thought about the words that had just came out of his mouth. Would he be able to keep their deal and let Jason go if he refused to embrace his heritage?
Jason ceased his squirming and Cade focused on the scowling face beneath him. His reddened rage was dissipating and another equally concerning emotion crept onto Jason’s features, twisting them into a pained grimace.
“Maybe I should disappear. I can’t fit anywhere.” He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his face from Cade. “I . . . I should go through with the ritual.” Jason’s breath quickened.
A cold pit settled in Cade’s stomach. What was it that pained his Jason, painting him with such despair? He growled low. He would never let whatever or whoever caused this pain tarnish his beautiful warrior.
“No, Jason,” he croaked. “I want you. I need you here with me. I won’t let you disappear.”
Jason turned to him, wetness clouding his eyes. They stared at each other for a few moments before Jason spoke.
“You don’t mean that. You won’t want me.” His voice barely rose above a whisper.
Cade buried his face in Jason’s neck, breathing in the rainy scent that had haunted him since they landed on Rosthos. “Jason,” he rasped. “I . . . let me help.”
He lifted his head to take another look at the man with the kind eyes who’d been residing in his thoughts and had made his way to his heart. Jason’s hand traced the scaly patch near his eye, gently stroking its uneven mosaic. He fingered the long braid, rolling its beaded ends between his thumb and forefinger. He looked into Cade’s face and tugged at the braid, urging him lower and capturing his lips.
They descended on each other with combined fury, hungry and demanding. Jason grabbed at him, slipping cold fingers under Cade’s tunic, pulling at, and kneading, his flesh. Cade’s hands moved with more leisure, skimming the smooth hardness of Jason’s muscular chest, pinching his nipples, and palming his pecs.
Jason clamored for more, ripping Cade’s tunic off his body and wrapping his legs around Cade’s waist. He panted and whined and moaned loudly, wild with mounting desire. Cade pulled back. He wanted a moment to gaze at Jason in the throes of lusty passion, at the breathtaking sight of swollen lips and eyes glazed with fiery want.
“Don’t stop. I need this.” Jason grabbed Cade’s head and once more captured his mouth in a searing kiss.
Cade’s breath was torn from him. Jason was desperate and fevered beneath him, and Cade was helpless to refuse, giving in to their consuming passion. Lips and tongues discovering every inch of skin and crevice.
Soon, they were naked and Cade had Jason’s knees around his hips. He paused for breath while his hands moved over the flexing muscles of Jason’s abs.
“I’ll go slow, since it’s your first time with a drogulis,” he said.
“Fuck, Cade, stop talking!” Jason claws sunk into Cade’s behind, pulling him forward as he thrust his hip upwards.
“But what about lube?”
“Baby, you’re all I need.” Jason moaned impatiently and grabbed Cade’s cock, running his hands through the warm slick.
Cade cursed. They had more than enough lube.
“Ohh, yes. Yes!” Jason gasped as Cade breached him.
“Wait.” Cade shuddered. The last of his restraint snapped as he thrust into Jason’s smooth, warm heat. “Mmm. I should go slow . . . for you.”
But as he leaned his body over Jason’s, chest to chest, he moved within him faster and faster. Jason grip on him didn’t let go as he cursed and grunted his pleasure.
“I need . . . I need more. Please,” Jason panted, thrashing beneath Cade. They both cried out as their tempo crescendoed. Jason raked his claws down Cade’s back, drawing blood as he seized and spilled all over his own face and chest. Cade leaned in and lapped up the spill, Jason’s sweet, tangy taste exploding on his tongue. Leaning back, he placed Jason’s knees at his shoulders, drilling into him without missing a stroke.
“Ohh, ah . . . I’m gonna . . .” Jason eyes rolled in their sockets, his skin flushed and sweaty, and Cade soon wrought another explosive orgasm from him. But he wasn’t finished.
“We’re . . . gonna have to work . . . on your stamina.” Cade grinned down at a panting Jason, whose claws were shredding the blankets and sending feathers floating into the air around them.
Cade had long forgotten his intention to ease Jason into the intense lovemaking with a drogulis—a beast of fire whose stamina was unmatched. Instead he watched as heated flames of sexual desire enveloped and devoured Jason over and over again. Jason’s unrestrained passion sent Cade over the edge. It had been years since he’d been with anyone like this, with anyone who stirred his flames as Jason did.
When Cade finally found his completion, he spilled his seed on the floor, scorching the feathers that rested there. Jason complained, but he explained why he couldn’t complete inside him; his seed was hot, and only a drogulis claiming, marking Jason as his mate, would allow Jason to receive him.
Cade licked his lips. Jason was wet and messy, covered in sweat, seed, and Cade’s scent, which mingled with his own.
Make him ours. He is mine.
His beast demanded he mark Jason with fire. The idea of his mark sizzling across Jason’s chest filled him with want, but such a claim wasn’t something he could force on him. Cade collapsed next to Jason’s limp form and gathered him close, inhaling the scents of their lovemaking. He leaned in and licked Jason—his neck, his shoulders, his chest, savoring the taste of him, satisfying his inner drogulian desire to clean his mate.
“What’re you doing?” Jason squirmed.
Cade looked up to see Jason’s brows drawn together.
“Cleaning.” At the strange look on Jason’s face, he hastily added. “I’m sorry. It’s instinct.”
“Oh no, no. It’s fine. It’s just, ah . . . very kinky.” Jason chuckled and winked, then sighed and closed his eyes.
Cade, satisfied with his care of Jason, buried his face into his hair and neck. In the morning, they’d need to finish their talk, but for now, this was good.
Chapter 12
“It’s fried,” Brandr announced.
Alexios’ temper was already under fragile restraint and hearing that parts of the landing gear and gearbox were damaged by his electrical outburst was not helping his attempts to rein in his ire. He shouldn’t have been able to harness energy of any sort since his vampiric gifts were supposed to have been subdued by the Dāmming. But he found himself wielding them, though modestly.
He’d speculated that the seeming return of his gifts was the result of having Davina, his powerful Damurian queen, in his life. A couple months before, Alexios found Davina asleep, floating in a magical capsule in space. Their shared history and unique bond tied them together, and he was at her side when she claimed her powerful bloodgifts and her new queendom.
“Can it be fixed?” he asked
“Perhaps. I can probably borrow parts from the transporter I used. But it’ll take some time to reconfigure and calibrate the gear system,” Brandr replied.
“Okay. Can you see to it? I’ll go find Jason.”
They stood on the bridge of their ship, the Kona, which had survived the turbulent landing on the planet Ros
thos. After picking up Brandr and his small transporter just outside the Arenthian system, they discovered problems with the landing gear. Brandr’s tracking device had led them to Rosthos, which seemed uninhabited, and they landed a couple miles from the location of the last signal they’d received before it disappeared. But they were maybe a day behind, and Alexios was anxious to find his son.
To say he was worried was an understatement. Knowing Jason had almost been murdered once before, Alexios feared the worst. What distressed him the most was knowing how fragile Jason was.
Although he never shared Jason’s origins with the others, he’d seen Jason’s memories of the abuse and pain he’d suffered. Despite his son’s gentle and affable personality, Alexios knew of his crippling fear of abandonment and struggle with his insecurities.
He knew of the many times Jason had spent cold and alone, beaten and molested, and isolated from others because of his perceived differences—the strong aura of Jason’s hidden ancestry making others unexplainably uneasy around him.
Marius and Brandr thought he spoiled Jason, but Jason required delicate attention. Maybe Alexios did indulge him a little too much, but he didn’t have much experience with how to care for someone who’d been through what Jason had.
When Brandr informed Alexios of Jason’s abduction, he’d chided himself for leaving his youngest behind while he obviously needed him. Alexios had been distracted with Davina’s ascension and confronting his sire, but now he had two missing sirelings. Ever since the loss of Vincente, his third son, Alexios preferred having his sirelings close. So how could he have let this happen?
Davina had worked hard to calm him from his rage, finally allowing him to think of what to do. And he’d take his time making this Cade, or whoever was behind Jason’s disappearance, pay.
“I don’t think we should split up,” Brandr said. “We should both go looking. Who knows what’s out there?”
Alexios thought about it. It would truly be a comedy of errors to come back to find Brandr also missing. But if they needed to make a quick escape, having compromised transportation was a potentially unforgiving handicap. Just then, Davina and Amir came onto the bridge. Alexios had not welcomed Amir’s presence on his ship, but Davina insisted. He and Amir had a long, contentious history, since the assassin once come dangerously close to killing Alexios. And despite his vehement protests, Davina accepted Amir’s pledge of service to her and made him part of her counsel. But he saw a boon in having him here now, another soldier to face their unknown enemy.
“Alexios, can I make a suggestion?” Davina asked.
Alexios stared at her, hiding his confusion. When had she ever asked to speak her mind? Amir looked away, scowling. Whatever it was, the quiet assassin didn’t like it. After a few moments of his confounding silence, she continued.
“I’ll be able to sense Jason, and well, since you’re his sire, both of us should head out. Amir has reluctantly agreed to stay behind with the ship. Brandr, you should remain with him.”
“No, I’ll not be staying—”
“Out of all of us, I’m best suited to protect both your sire and your brother from any harm. Besides, we’ll be in direct communication, and I can get us back here quickly,” Davina said firmly.
Alexios let out a ragged breath. She was right. Davina was the only vampire in all the universe with supernatural ability right now, save the fledgling return of his own. And she had formidable power.
He strapped on his dagger and added another gun to his thigh then nodded. “Let’s go. I’m anxious to get started. Brandr, good luck with the repairs, and keep in contact. And Amir, for once, make yourself useful.”
∞∞∞
Jason’s eyes fluttered open, and he found himself half buried under heavy weight and heat. He craned his neck to see a hazy image of a golden scaled creature asleep behind him. It was resting its large head, adorned with a crown of long, pointed horns, on a pillow behind Jason. He smiled, remembering how the creature had visited him the night before, emerging from a spectral veil. Curling himself closer to the beast, he drifted back to sleep.
His throat was dry and scratchy, and the need to drink jerked him awake. His fangs lengthened as he heard the sanguine beating of a heart pumping blood through veins. Jason snuggled closer to the warm flesh beside him, angling his head to sink his fangs into the beckoning pulse of blood. Through his reddened gaze he saw it was Cade who slumbered beside him, rolling onto his back as Jason turned in his arms. He froze with panic. He wanted—no, needed—to drink, but he couldn't violate Cade in that way. In fact, he wouldn’t be able to take from him at all. He needed his sire’s blood.
Jason stifled a whimper. It had been days since he last drank his sire’s blood on Damurios. Feeling his bloodthirst threatening to take over, he hastened to get out of Cade’s place and out of the sanctuary.
The thought of losing control, ravaging and draining those in the valley below twisted his insides until the pain raked terror over his chest. He couldn’t allow himself to become wretched and bloodcrazed. He had enough of a burden to carry on his back.
Thankfully, Cade continued to snore quietly, allowing him easy escape. He rose from the nest and gasped. His entire body ached! No wonder his thirst was raging; he needed to replenish.
He whispered a curse at the Dāmming that prevented his quick recovery and limped to retrieve his discarded pants and coat. His tunic, however, was nothing but shredded ribbons. He moved as fast as his body was able, his legs protesting each step he took down from the chamber.
Despite his trepidation, his lips quirked at the memory of the hours before. Cade had put his body to the test. Jason had enjoyed a host of lovers, both male and female, even a tentacled gibbyon noble, but no words described the pleasure he’d experienced under Cade’s hands. Even now, his cock stirred to life at the memory of it. He couldn’t remember how many times he’d orgasmed, or how loud he’d yelled his delight until he could only pant and quiver. His tender soreness was testament to their rigorous indulgence.
Every inch of skin Cade touched had kindled aflame, his fingertips a conduit for the fire that set Jason alight. He’d proved to be a master of sexual rapture and took command of Jason’s body, strumming every nerve, every sensory response with precision and skill. It pained Jason to leave his lover like this, not trusting himself to even look back at his magnificent, naked physique.
He threw his coat on and secured the wings under it, and profound loss threatened to overwhelm him as he started on the rocky path down the mountain. Light had not breached the horizon yet, and he hurried as fast as he could, knowing he was leaving behind something important that was beginning to sprout in his heart. Something he hadn’t yet been able to understand.
Cade had left scorching fingerprints on him in an indelible way, and now he was fleeing into the dark.
∞∞∞
At the base of the mountain, Jason ran as fast as he could to place distance between himself and the villagers. Already, his claws and fangs refused to retreat, eager to spill blood. He was headed into a bloodrage, when a vampire deprived of blood for too long lost control of himself, primal instinct taking over in its quest for survival.
He ran while he still had command of his body, even as he heard birds rustling in the trees and beginning their morning greetings. The trek down the mountain was not an easy one, and he used his staff to propel himself across missing sections of the path. The exertion served to hasten his thirst and heighten his bloodlust. Even as he ran, his vision clouding, he could practically taste the euphoric metallic tang on his tongue, flooding his senses with power.
He collapsed at the banks of a small stream where the rising sun’s rays skipped over tiny ripples. Hoping to reclaim hold over his declining restraint, he splashed his face with the cold water. A ghastly image reflected back at him, red eyes shaded by animalistic frenzy and fangs glinting in the dawning light.
Jason clenched his fists closed, willing himself to hang on a little longer, hopin
g to avoid the torment of witnessing his descent into a bloodraging madness.
He remembered the night before, the little girl with antlers who ran from him among the flowers, sacrificing her doll. She’d seen who he was—something to loathe, someone to be shunned. He’d seen it his entire life, the look of veiled disgust and hidden fear. And here he was, running from himself, afraid of the unfamiliar face wavering before him.
He wished for his father and the blood that could release the scourge plaguing him. But he was alone.
A loud roar echoed off the mountain, and the sleepy forest responded with cries and howls. Jason rose and headed to the cover of the forest canopy, sinking against the roughened bark of a giant trunk. Not long after, the shadow of great wings swept over him, gliding above like a sentinel over its territory.
Jason closed his eyes, tracing his fingers over the golden band on his arm he’d been gifted a few hours ago. He prayed Cade wouldn’t notice him, fearing what he might find. But he sensed Cade’s presence moving to the west, no doubt retracing the path they took the day before.
Deliberately, Jason had headed in the opposite direction. He let out a ragged breath and rose from his haven to follow the stream wherever it would lead him. He moaned with the ache of his thirst, sinking his fangs into his arm and drawing his own blood to sate his burning need, but to no avail.
He didn’t realize he was no longer alone until it was too late.
He froze but was so lost to the haze of his thirst, he couldn’t tell who or what it was. Something or someone was nearby, watching him. He hoped it wasn’t Cade about to meet him at his worst.
“Jason.” A voice, deep and soothing, reached out to him.
He growled, too dazed and desperate to hold himself back. But something jolted in his chest, a current that dispersed some of his reddened confusion. It was a familiar feeling, one of safety and dangerous possession; the tugging of a precious bond.
“Jason, I’ve found you at last.”