Coercing Quinn

by Charlie Richards

  “Just don’t let me say something I shouldn’t,” Quinn mumbled. “I don’t want to, uh, offend. You know?”

  “I won’t.”

  Once drinks were presented, Caspian again thanked Master Dante for his hospitality. Then, he lifted his hand, palm up, and indicated Quinn. “I’d like to introduce you to Quinn Pichousie. He is the one I contacted you about, the mate of boa constrictor shifter Taolma Rabenau. Before meeting and bonding with Taolma, Quinn lived nearby in Hamilton, Montana with his wife and son.” Caspian relaxed back on the sofa, resting his arm around Casey. “His family was killed, drained to death, by one or more vampires. Because this happened close to your area, we hoped you would know of any rogues that passed through this area.”

  Master Dante’s eyes narrowed and he exchanged a look with his second. He pressed his fingertips into a steeple in front of him as he focused on Quinn. “I am sorry for your loss. When Master Caspian first contacted me, I pulled reports from around that time.” He cleared his throat as his expression saddened. “I have the person you’re looking for in custody. His name is Gabriel, and he went missing from our coven a month prior to the attack on your family. I can take you to see him, then you can decide what kind of restitution you deem fitting... even so far as asking for his death.”

  Quinn suddenly felt like all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. His head swam. Swallowing hard, he looked from the vampire master to Taolma, then back again.

  Could I really have my revenge?

  Taolma rubbed his back, urging him to breathe.

  Realizing the spots before his eyes were from lack of oxygen, not nerves or shock, Quinn sucked in a deep breath. He let it out, then inhaled again. Sweeping his gaze around the group, he saw a mix of expressions from sadness to concern.

  “Why?” Quinn blurted out. He settled his coffee cup on his jeans-clad leg to keep it from shaking in his trembling hands. “Did he say why he did it?”

  Dante’s lips pinched and his expression appeared pained. “Not in so many words,” he replied. “When we found him, he was not himself.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Taolma sat on the bed, his back to the headboard. Quinn sat in front of him, his back to Taolma’s chest. With his arms around his mate, he gently rubbed his human’s chest.

  After hearing Master Dante’s explanation, Taolma had watched Quinn withdraw. He’d asked for time and space, since Quinn obviously needed to process what he’d learned. Enforcer Monte had led them to this suite. The huge redhead had urged them to take all the time they needed.

  At first, Quinn had resisted when Taolma had urged him toward the bed, but after assuring him that he just wanted to hold him, soothe him, Quinn had allowed Taolma to position him any way that he’d liked.

  They’d been sitting together in silence for the last half hour.

  Taolma gently rubbed his palms over Quinn’s t-shirt covered chest. He rubbed the fingertips of one hand along the lines of his abdominal muscles. With the other, he gently scraped over his chest, threading his fingers through his light chest hair. He did his best to steer clear of his nipples, since he wasn’t trying to seduce his upset mate.

  Enjoying Quinn’s scent, pleasure filled Taolma when his mate slowly relaxed. His human eventually let out a soft sigh, then tilted his head. Taolma took that as the invitation it was and nuzzled his lips along the tendons in his neck.

  “So, I don’t know if it’s ironic or just tragic,” Quinn whispered. “The way this turned out.”

  “How do you mean?” Taolma asked, hoping that his mate talking was a good thing.

  “Well,” Quinn mumbled, lowering his chin toward his chest. “The hunters capture paranormals. Sell them to scientists, who do unspeakable things to them.” He sighed as he demanded, “Keep kissing my neck, Taolma. I like that. It’s relaxing.”

  “Anything for you,” Taolma promised, rubbing his lips over the soft skin at the back of Quinn’s neck.

  “Someone in their group or maybe a similar group, captured a vampire. Gabriel,” Quinn continued, tilting his head some more, obviously enjoying Taolma’s touching. “They drove him insane with lack of blood and torture or something like that, then released him near this coven.” He scoffed. “He goes on some crazed, blood-lust rampage, and kills my family. Then, months later, Bethany and Roger contact me, recruit me, so I can become one of their brain-washed minions who help them capture more paranormals.”

  “Not ironic,” Taolma whispered, suckling lightly. “Definitely tragic.” Then, knowing he had to share his own view, he admitted, “I hope you won’t be angry when I say that, regardless of how we ended up together, I am happy we met.” Sliding his hand up to cup Quinn’s jaw, Taolma urged him to tip his head back so he could peer into his mate’s eyes. “You are the other half of my soul, Quinn. Fate blessed me the day I walked into that motel room. I’ve never doubted that.”

  Quinn stared back at him, his brown-dominated, hazel eyes moving as he swept his gaze over Taolma’s face. He blinked once, twice, then nodded. “Can you call for Master Dante, or whoever I need to speak with to tell them what restitution I want?”

  Hiding his disappointment that that was Quinn’s response to his heartfelt words, Taolma nodded. “Of course. Slide up, so I can get off the bed. I’ll get my phone and give Enforcer Monte a call. He gave me his cell number.”

  “Thank you,” Quinn replied. Then, he rocked forward and slipped off the bed. Before Taolma could move, he pivoted, rested his hand on Taolma’s shoulder and cupped his jaw with the other. Tipping his head, he pressed his lips to Taolma’s in a hard, swift kiss. “And we will discuss the rest of what you said soon. I promise.”

  Taolma’s relief and pleasure mixed through him. He nodded. “One thing at a time,” he responded, understanding. His mate had been through a lot. “I get it.”

  “I hope you do,” Quinn whispered, his eyes appearing warmer than when they’d entered the room. They also no longer had the glassiness to them. Quinn pecked another kiss to Taolma’s lips, this one softer, slower. When he pulled away, he stated, “I’m going to go splash some water on my face. Be right back.”

  Taolma nodded. Once Quinn turned away, he rose from the bed and grabbed his cell phone from the nightstand. After pulling out a business card with Monte’s number on it, Taolma dialed the enforcer.

  “Monte here.”

  “Hi, Enforcer Monte. This is Taolma,” he greeted respectfully. “My mate is interested in speaking with you or, uh, someone.”

  “Of course,” Monte replied. “I will be right there with Master Dante.”

  “Thank you.”

  The words were hardly out of Taolma’s mouth when he heard the line disconnect. He rolled his eyes at the vampire’s abruptness. Still, he understood that a head vampire enforcer of a coven had little reason to offer courtesy to a strange shifter of no rank.

  Crossing to the kitchenette, Taolma pulled a couple of bottles of water out of the mini fridge. He opened one and swallowed several gulps. The cold liquid chilled his throat on the way down, and he hummed appreciatively.

  “Got one of those for me?”

  Turning, Taolma held out the second bottle to Quinn. No sooner had his mate taken a healthy swig than a sharp knock sounded at the door. Twisting the cap back on the bottle, Taolma set it down, then headed for the door.

  Seeing Master Dante, Enforcer Monte, and Einan waiting on the other side, Taolma stepped backward. He swung the door wide, silently bidding them to enter. Taolma headed toward Quinn and stopped beside him, turning back to face the trio.

  “Quinn,” Master Dante greeted. “I understand you have made a decision on restitution.”

  Nodding, Quinn shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He stared at the floor for a few seconds, then lifted his chin and focused on the vampire master. “Thank you for explaining what happened and for giving me the opportunity to request justice for my family.”

  “It is your right,” Master Dante
responded. “A member of my coven wronged you, took your family away from you. I am responsible for my coven member’s actions. It is my duty to do the best I can to repair the damage.”

  Quinn scowled as he huffed out a breath. “Well, you can’t really be expected to fix a mistake made by scientists torturing your people.” He crossed his arms over his chest, his brows furrowing for a few seconds. “I waive the right for restitution.”

  Taolma gaped at his mate. “Are you sure?” He blurted out the question. After glancing toward the vampires, he refocused on Quinn. He reached out and touched his human’s shoulder. “I don’t mean to question you,” he stated softly. “I just... I want you to be happy.”

  Quinn smiled up at him, the expression a little sad. “There’s been enough death, enough hurting and pain.” He turned his attention back to the vampires. “I hope you can find a way to rehabilitate your friend, bring him back from the trauma he experienced.” With his brows furrowed, he continued, “I guess my only request is that I don’t ever have to meet him.”

  Master Dante nodded. “That can be assured,” he promised. “Should Gabriel recover, your paths will never cross.”

  “Thank you,” Quinn responded.

  “And thank you for the hospitality,” Einan cut in. “If you’re willing to put us up for the night, we’ll take our leave of you in the morning.”

  “Of course,” Master Dante replied. He swept his gaze over them and smiled. “You are welcome here for the evening. We will have a good ol’ fashion Montana barbeque to show you our hospitality.” He scoffed, offering a wry smile. “While I’m certain that’s not quite what you’d hoped for when arriving, it is what we can offer. Any particular cut or type of meat you favor?”

  Quinn opened and closed his mouth once, twice, then his face took on a slight glow of pink. “Uh, thank you. I’d be honored, and... do you have any buffalo steaks?”

  Enforcer Monte grinned widely. “Oh, yeah. If you don’t have a preference on cut, I’ll find you the best one we have on hand,” he told him. After Quinn nodded, he focused on Taolma. “And for you?”

  Rubbing the back of his neck, Taolma shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Uh, I’m actually more partial to fish, but if you don’t have that, I’ll eat whatever.”

  Chuckling, Dante nodded. “I appreciate your candor. As it turns out, a couple of the guys went fishing with their sons a few days ago.” He grinned widely as he told them, “They came home with quite a catch. Probably more than they should have, and we still have a number of largemouth bass in the freezer. I’ll have them thawed.”

  “Oh, I don’t mean to take someone else’s fish,” Taolma countered uncertainly, glancing between the enforcer and the coven master.

  “They won’t mind at all,” Master Dante assured. “In fact, a nicely seasoned bass sounds delicious. Besides,” he told him with a smirk. “They’ll be more than happy to go get more.”

  Taolma grinned. “Okay.” It’d been a while since he’d had good fresh fish. “Thanks!”

  “You are welcome to wander the halls or explore the grounds,” Master Dante offered, stepping backward toward the door. “I only ask that you stay out of the first floor east wing. It’s where the donors reside and they, well...” he paused and snickered. “Handsome men like you... they might get the wrong idea. I wouldn’t want a row started.”

  “Thank you, but we’ll be here for the duration,” Quinn claimed. He smiled over at Taolma, his gaze heated. “We have a bit of making up to do ourselves.”

  Einan burst out laughing, his words hard to make out between guffaws as he spoke. “Your fathers will appreciate the news, Taolma,” he teased. “They noticed a bit of... tension these last couple of days.” He winked. “It sounds like you’re about to work that out.”

  “Uh...” Taolma felt his face heat. He glanced toward Quinn, uncertain what, if anything, he should say. “I—”

  “You tell them that,” Quinn cut in, grabbing Taolma’s hand. “And you tell them to stop discussing our sex life. It’s a little skeevy.”

  Laughing even harder, Einan turned and headed toward the door, waving as he went. The vampire master also chuckled, following him out. Monte snorted, promising a courtesy call in a few hours when dinner should be ready.

  “In the meantime,” Monte told them with a wink and a grin. “There’s lube in the nightstand.”

  Then, the enforcer saw himself out.

  “By the Gods,” Taolma whispered, watching Quinn head to the door and lock it. “I can’t believe you just said that. What are you—”

  Quinn cut him off by cradling his neck with both hands and jerking him down. Acquiescing to his mate’s wishes, he settled his hands on his human’s hips. At the same time, he opened his mouth to him, accepting his thrusting tongue.

  Letting Quinn set the pace, Taolma lapped at his lover’s appendage. When his human plunged it into his mouth, he suckled on it eagerly. He tilted his head, fitting their mouths together more fully, and reveled in his mate’s aggression.

  When breathing became paramount, Taolma wrenched his head up. He struggled to think as he drew in one gasping breath after another. The throbbing of his suddenly too-hard dick made it difficult.

  “Qu-Quinn,” Taolma moaned in response to the way his mate lowered one hand to his hip, grabbed his belt loop, and yanked their crotches together. Feeling Quinn’s hard cock pressing, rutting, against his own, nearly any desire for an explanation flew right out of his head. “Quinn, what?”

  “Want you,” Quinn snarled. “Want to strip you down, lay you out on the bed, and touch every inch of your body. Want to admire your lean muscles,” he claimed, sliding his hands down Taolma’s arm as he moved his other hand under his polo shirt. “Want to trace every line of your beautiful brown skin.”

  Panting softly in response to Quinn’s words, Taolma nodded jerkily. “Y-Yeah. Okay.” He felt his blood rush through his veins, flooding his cock. Pain and pleasure mixed as, in an instant, his body readied for sex. “You can do anything you want to me.”

  “Good,” Quinn rumbled, easing back a step and moving one hand to grab his fingers. “Come with me. What I have planned includes naked bodies, lube, and my dick in your ass.”

  While Taolma didn’t have a problem with any of those things, and willingly followed his mate back into the bedroom, he did wonder about Quinn’s sudden urgency.

  “Quinn,” Taolma rumbled, stopping beside the bed. He watched as his human yanked open the nightstand drawer, pulling out a tube of lubricant. Wrapping his arms around Quinn from behind, he nuzzled his neck, distracting him from trying to tear off the plastic wrapper. “I want your dick in my ass in the worst way, mate,” he crooned. “But please tell me why you’ve suddenly decided to pounce.”

  Stilling in his arms, Quinn peered over his shoulder at him. “Because I finally understand what you’ve been telling me,” he whispered. “We get blessings in life and trials, and we never know when one will end and another will start.” Quinn smiled and held up the lubricant that he’d managed to open. “You are a blessing, Taolma,” he whispered. “One I plan to take advantage of for however long your Fate allows.”

  “That will be a long time,” Taolma told him, finally understanding his lover’s fear. He’d been through loss and trauma and was struggling to put his life back together. “I have no plans to go anywhere.”

  “No one ever does.”

  “Shifters are made of hardy stuff, my mate,” Taolma whispered. Knowing from the look on Quinn’s face that he’d have to prove it, he pecked a kiss to his lips. “Make love to me.”

  Quinn nodded. “I plan to.”

  Easing away from Quinn, Taolma held out his arms. He offered his lover a cheeky grin. At the same time, he swept his gaze over Quinn’s body, openly admiring him.

  “Don’t move,” Quinn ordered.

  Placing the lube on the nightstand, Quinn grabbed the hem of his t-shirt. He yanked it over his head and dropped it on
the floor, baring his chest. Next, he reached for the fly of his jeans. Opening them, he shoved them down and off, taking his shoes and socks with them.

  Finally, Quinn stood up straight. With his naked body on beautiful display, it tested Taolma’s resolve to obey his order. He fisted his hands at his side.

  He desperately wanted to reach out and touch his lover, to trace the mostly healed marks on his shoulder and face. He hadn’t had a chance to map them with lips and tongue, yet, but he planned to.

  Soon, because as Quinn reached for his polo shirt, he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands to himself much longer.

  Chapter Twelve

  Quinn could practically feel the vibrations running through Taolma’s body. His tall, lean form trembled beneath his fingertips, filling Quinn with a heady sense of power he’d never before felt. He wanted to please the man and draw out their pleasure all at the same time.

  With his own cock tapping his stomach insistently and his balls tingling, Quinn knew he couldn’t put off his need much longer. He tugged the bottom of Taolma’s shirt and ordered him to take it off. As his lover obeyed, he lowered to his knees and began working on his fly.

  Quinn lowered the zipper and was immediately greeted by the view of Taolma’s long, slender prick. He pushed the jeans down his lover’s hips enough to free his balls, then wrapped his left hand around the base of his man’s shaft. Leaning close, Quinn lapped lightly at the head, working Taolma’s foreskin back and forth with his tongue.

  Taolma moaned loudly. His hips jerked. He settled his hands on Quinn’s head, threading them through his hair.

  Enjoying the petting, Quinn opened his mouth and popped the head of Taolma’s shaft into his mouth. He sucked on the head, using his tongue to work the wrinkled skin beneath the cap. Then, he worked his tongue beneath his foreskin, massaging his sensitive glans.

  When Taolma let out a low guttural moan, then traced lightly over the scars bisecting his left brow, Quinn froze. Peering up his lover’s long torso, he searched the shifter’s face. It took him a moment to realize the male wasn’t put off by the imperfections. In fact, as Taolma slid his fingertip down his face, over his nose, touching what he knew was pink, puckered flesh, his pleasure-slurred words confirmed it.