by Jo Penn
“No, we will work together to protect you and your mate. The more Vicus is discovering about the creature, the more there appears to be behavior that was hidden and covered up. In each coven he’s been to, there have been nothing but good reports, but as Ryson is digging up, there are cover-ups, vamps, and other creatures he’s harmed and threatened. Because he was trusted by the coven leaders, no one came forward.”
“Physically? Emotionally? Or blackmail?”
“All of it. Rest, brother, I will be back in ten minutes.”
“Drake, you don’t need to camp out here tonight.”
“I do, Dominic. I could have lost you today.” Drake growled at the thought. “I will sleep on the floor and watch over you both.”
“I understand.” Dominic grinned. “Ya love me, bro, admit it.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Drake smiled and left the bedroom of Dom’s suite. Turning his attention to his sleeping vampire, Dominic chuckled at the now messed up hair and twisted around tunic. Not wanting his mate to be uncomfortable, he carefully, so as not to wake him, turned Chane onto his back and flicked open the buttons. Chane offered a few little protests in French, so Dom turned his hand to a tiger paw, and with a few flicks, shredded the tunic and pulled the tattered remains off. Then he felt certain his mate would be uncomfortable in the soft cotton pants—okay, he probably wouldn’t—so he shredded those also. Once removed, he leaned back and took in the glory of his mate’s fine body, his hairless chest—vampires nearly always tended to be hairless—the trim waist, defined muscles without being sculptured and very fair complexion. He was lithe and firm, and smooth and trim.
For a moment, he contemplated removing the boy shorts but instead placed Chane under the blankets with him, and just in time, for Drake returned carrying a mattress that he dumped on the floor in front of Dominic’s bed and quickly made it. A moment later, a short, skinny honey-blond wandered into the room dressed in silk pajamas and looking extremely tired. Dominic glanced at the window with a frown. Time had certainly gotten away from him. He hadn’t realized it was so dark and late.
“Hey, Dominic, feeling better?” Keeley, Drake’s gorgeous human mate, asked quietly.
“I’m good, Keels. You having a sleepover here, too?”
“Apparently. Xavier refused. I think he felt it was undignified or something. I like Chane. He played hide and seek with the kids and me the other day. They all adored him. I don’t really understand a word he says though.”
“Lay down, baby.” Drake drew Keeley down onto the makeshift bed, the human yawning so wide Dominic wondered if he’d crack his jaw.
Though Keeley was a touch quirky, had a need to run when startled, and often caused harmless chaos, beneath it he was kind and never mean. Kids adored him and Dominic doted on the quirky little human. A moment later Xavier strode in and glared at the pair on the floor.
“Really? This is what you wish to do? Camp?”
“I’ve never camped before and you know I don’t sleep well without you, Xav.” Keeley closed his eyes and snuggled.
“Come on, my star, we all need some rest, tomorrow we have a vamp to fry.”
“What is he doing?”
“Tai chi chuan.” Dominic sipped his hot, strong aromatic coffee.
“Oh yeah, I’ve heard of this. It’s a form of martial arts, right?” Ryder placed his tray on the table, eyes glued to Dom’s mate. “Pretty impressive— Wow, he just did a back flip, no hands!”
Forty minutes ago, Dominic had woken to find himself alone in his bed. Usually that would not bother him. In fact, he never took lovers or casual flings back to his home, and certainly not his bed. Chane was different though. He was Dom’s mate. At first, he panicked, worried that Sandstone had somehow gotten into the compound, then the Sanchez palace and snatched Dominic’s mate, but the absurdity of that thought quickly had him reevaluating. Sandstone might be lucky enough to get onto the property, but he’d set off alarms, and he’d never make it inside the palace undetected. Yesterday he used a sniper rifle and was well back from the compound. Apparently the psycho vampire was an expert marksman with a hell of a long sniper range.
Drake, who was lying on the mattress holding a sleeping Keeley, quietly told Dominic that Chane had risen half an hour ago, and Xavier had taken the other vampire to clean up and dress. Considering Drake was extremely protective of his vampire, despite the fact Xavier was a brilliant fighter and well able to handle himself, Dominic was surprised his brother didn’t go with the pair to ensure their safety. Drake had smirked and said Baron was with them.
Dom had risen and, being careful not to wake Keeley, retrieved some clothes and went to a communal shower down the hall where he washed, dressed, and then followed his nose to his exotic mate.
Only to find Chane outside in the back manicured lawn doing tai chi chuan. He’d been hard the moment he sat down in awe and watched the performance, though did manage to note the guards on duty and that his cousin Sebastian was close by meditating.
“He is very good,” Dominic commented. “Probably years of experience.”
“True, but the fluidity, the flexibility, that is born more than learned,” Ryder said.
Dominic had one of the staff fetch a tablet from his office, and while watching Chane, he transferred meetings to other staff and looked over anything urgent. It helped distract him from how his body was demanding he grab his mate and bond fully.
A few staff came out with trays and set up the long table in the gazebo where Dominic sat with Ryder. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sebastian twitch, his nose sniffing.
“So, are you keeping Chane?” Ryder asked quietly.
Frowning, startled by the question, he gazed at his brother questioningly. “He is my mate, Ryder, why do you ask me that?”
“We-ll, because I overheard Drake say he got the vibe you were doing your evaluating and analyzing, and as you, Drake, and Emile pretty much know what each other think, when he said he felt you were evaluating whether you would keep the vampire or not and mate, that that was what you were doing.”
Dominic winced. He did have a habit of evaluating and analyzing, but that is also what made him an excellent diplomat, mediator, and counselor.
“When you meet your mate, Ry, you may understand.” Dominic shrugged and loaded his plate with food from the laid out trays. “There is a driving need to be close, to claim, have, mate. You feel a connection to the creature when you don’t even know them. It is amazing, yet it makes you long to really know your mate. Usually I like to know more before making a decision, and such a permanent one that affects so many lives, such as mine, Chane, and even yours. Before bonding, we have a chance to resolve differences. After, it can get damn unpleasant and difficult. Granted, I was prepared to bond immediately, but the time we have received has only enhanced what we have and provided a stronger connection and drive to be close.”
Ryder nodded. “I see your point and, bro, that’s cool. That’s your way and works for you. I haven’t met my mate, so I haven’t a clue how I’ll feel and react.” Grinning, Ryder loaded his plate. “Morning, Sebastian.”
Sebastian was their cousin, younger than Dominic’s near two hundred years, older than Ryder’s one hundred and twenty. Like Dominic, Sebastian was the youngest of a litter of three, the eldest being Baron, a big, burly Alpha, and next Alessandro, or Trent as he went by, who was charming, suave, and dedicated. Sebastian had a very special gift of being able to see inside others, see who they were, what they were like, also everything they had done, good or bad, and could sweep out what had harmed them. Dominic really wanted to hear what Sebastian saw in Chane.
Dominic quirked a brow at his cousin and partner in the Sanchez clinic that they ran to aid others.
“Morning, cousin, congratulations.” Sebastian squeezed Dom’s shoulder, gave him a big cheesy grin, and sat down, immediately loading his plate.
“Tell me,” Dom ordered impatiently.
“Ha, first time you’ve been so
impatient.” Seb laughed at Dom’s growl. “Okay, okay, chill. I see nothing but goodness. He can be dramatic, difficult at times, he’s completely oblivious to nearly everything around him except what he’s focused on, and he is smart, charming, and fun.” Seb waved a fork around, turning serious. “He hasn’t got one dark deed, but I see gaps, cousin, in his mind, and in his heart. As for the mind part, his memories are damaged, not repressed or wiped away, but rather damaged and destroyed, probably from that car accident five years ago.” Sebastian glanced over. “He’s exotic and hot, real beautiful inside and out. You’re damn lucky. He’ll bring you the excitement you crave just with his presence. He looks at things entirely differently, not in a way I’ve ever really seen before.”
“What do you mean?”
“Huh, well, it’s like he just lets the world be. He doesn’t strive to change it, doesn’t dwell, simply moves with it, and focuses on what he likes. He will selflessly give everything he owns. I can see he’s got great compassion, and he won’t ever have the vampire iciness, which is good.”
“So does he ignore the battle with the Renegades?” Ryder asked curiously.
Over the centuries, creatures of all kinds banded together to fight the powers that governed them all. These creatures wanted ultimate control, to take over, and at present had such a strong force prides, packs, covens, herds, guilds, and the like had formed alliances, joined together to fight the common enemy.
“He will defend himself and others. He hasn’t got the leadership skills and knowledge to join the fight. I spoke to him this morning when he was studying the plants we have here, and as we spoke, I saw inside him the sadness, a longing to work with the plants again.”
Dom frowned. “Right, I’m sure I can set something up for him.” He smiled slowly. “I get him. He focuses inside rather than outside on the behavior of others.”
“Exactly. It’s an amazing thing to see. Everyone is so concerned with how everyone else behaves that we forget to modify and monitor ourselves. A bit of a Gandhi tradition to look at oneself first, check your own behavior, find yourself, and be at peace with who you are. And that’s what your mate has. He won’t go gossiping and berating others, he won’t be sitting there judging, but if crossed, and it has to be in some drastic way or it goes against his Buddha beliefs, he will just remove you from his life, cut you out as though you never existed, which is also a tradition of disowning. You’re a lucky son of a bastard.”
Dominic just smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I am.”
Five minutes later, a few others of the family had joined them at the table for breakfast and Chane had finished his workout. Immediately Dominic’s mother, Queen Lisette, was all over the vampire, as was Ryder’s twin, Kirsten. So Dominic sat, chatted to his family, and watched his mate interact. He ate no animal or animal bi-products, fruit, yes, and he did look longingly at the croissants, but didn’t partake. He chatted in a mix of English, French, and Korean, which confused the hell out of everyone, but they were by now adoring him, so they just smiled and kept talking.
Dominic could feel the mating heat rising. While Chane had been recovering yesterday, it had thankfully subsided, but now it was back, hot and heavy. He excused himself and made his way to the clinic in the palace where a medic or nurse was always on duty and found Ace lying on a bench. Ace was their second-youngest cousin, his parents were deceased, and he had been raised by the parents of the family group. He was a psychotic little thing at times, a cloud leopard, but good-natured when he wished to be, and they all doted on him.
“What happened?” he asked the medic, Janet.
“Wow, that’s some mating heat pouring off you, Dominic.” She tutted and went to a locked cabinet, opened it, and shuffled through until finding what she wanted and placing them in a tray. “Hop up on the bench. I’ll give you a shot to reduce that and provide you with time to get your vampire ready to be mated.”
Dom nodded, stroking his hand down Ace’s back before sitting on the bench opposite. “He’s out cold.”
“Tranquilized. Your father was here sitting with him for a while but got called away. I need to monitor him for the next hour, Kirsten said she would sit with him. Sleeve up.”
Dominic did as instructed and sat through the shot without complaint, even though Janet was the worst frigging needle giver in the compound. He was tempted to growl at her, but as he’d done that before and it didn’t help, he just gave her a look. She ignored him and cleaned up the equipment.
“So. Ace.”
“Oh, yes, your father noticed Ace’s scent was beginning to change, and he seemed sore the last few weeks. I’m running tests to see if he is beginning his first shift. It’s been slow in coming, but with leopards, unless they’re Alphas, it’s a slower process. A shame because it makes them just a bit more difficult and temperamental until they shift.”
Yeah, Ace could be a temperamental little snarky shit, but that was okay. They all had their quirks. Feeling the effects of the medication to cool him down beginning to work, Dom sighed with relief.
“Hey, cuz, how’s the squirt doing?” Marco, their tiger cousin and Baron and Sebastian’s younger brother, walked in followed by a wizard.
“Resting, so don’t disturb him,” Janet ordered.
“Hey, I’m just checking on him. He was all twitchy and more shitty than normal the last few days. Uncle Diego thinks he’s going through his first shift.”
While Marco teased and stirred Ace constantly, Ace sneaked around making little traps and troubles for Marco. It was entertaining to watch.
Laurence Armstrong automatically began looking at all the cabinets full of drugs and potions. Janet narrowed her eyes on him.
“Don’t touch anything, wizard. Last time this room couldn’t be entered for three weeks.”
Laurie flushed. “Ah, Xavier around somewhere?”
“No, he just left for the vampire coven.” Drake entered the room.
Dominic gave Ace one more little petting before leaving the clinic and seeking out his mate. Hopefully, Chane wanted to spend time together, for Dominic couldn’t think of a single thing he would rather do than spend time with his beautiful mate. Sure, he wanted to bond, which generally happened through fucking, but if Chane needed a little more time he would wait, just as long as he got to be with the vampire whom he was quickly becoming very attached to.
* * * *
Chane had wished to shower and change after his work out and breakfast and returned to the suite Dominic said was theirs. The tiger was surprising him on so many levels and intrigued Chane. The man was big and obviously well trained as a fighter. He had seen that first hand when Dominic and Carlo were fighting on the road, what he had not anticipated was the shifter’s happy nature and perseverance. Listening to Dominic last night talk of his counseling position where he helped others find their right direction and overcome hardships and hurtles showed a true, generous spirit, and someone who persevered even when situations were difficult or seemed unobtainable. Dominic was not one to give up and walk away. He kept going, kept battling forward with any weapon he had. Humor, heart, intelligence, wit, that soothing nature.
Chane was not a daredevil like Dominic seemed to enjoy being from the pursuits he’d told Chane about, but they had looking for more than what was obvious and just there in front of them in common. They went off the normal track and tourist paths and explored, trying new things.
Dominic’s fierce nature, his giving, his intelligence, and that cheerfulness all mixed together to make a very intriguing man whom Chane was very much in lust with…and liked even more. As was the paranormal way he wished to cement their mateship. He felt needs rising inside him. He wanted to be closer to Dominic, learn more, remain together.
And he just plain wanted the man.
After showering, Chane donned a silk pair of drawstring lounging pants and waited in the lounge area of the suite for Dominic, easily distracted by the books.
“Knock, knock!” Archie strode in wearing torn jeans t
hat hung low on his narrow hips, an atrocious-colored polo-type shirt, and his hair spiked up sharply. “You haven’t forgotten we’re going to the Armstrong coven for that teaching session, right?”
“No, it is not until eleven.”
“Yeah, but we could stop at the shops along the way—or not. I guess I’ll go keep myself busy.”
“You do that, cub.”
Chane smiled and replaced the book he’d been glancing over back on the shelf. Dominic closed the door after Archie and locked it, his dark brown eyes darkening as they trailed over Chane’s body.
“You’re tempting me, mate.” The big tiger averted his gaze to the bookshelf. “Books, I’ve got a few you might like—”
“I like you, Dominic.” Chane stepped closer and held out his hand.
Without hesitation, Chane’s mate took his hand and stepped close, his body heat seeming to wrap around Chane like a warm, thick blanket. Raising his hand, Dominic kissed each knuckle, his dark eyes sinking into Chane’s, watching, wanting.
Chane wished to touch and trace every inch of the sexy shifter, learn what made him purr, what made him growl with unrestrained pleasure.
“I desire you, my mate. I desire our bonding.”
Dominic’s scent intensified, heavy waves of arousal practically soaking the air. Without a word he swooped down and kissed Chane, showing he wanted their union also, and how much. It was beautiful, intense, filled with lust and needs, and when they broke apart, both were breathing heavily.
They fell onto the bed together, Chane not even caring he did not remember walking into the bedroom, far too busy removing his tiger mate’s fancy shirt and learning the big, solid warm body with the splattering of white-blond hair across pecs and a treasure trail that continued past the waist band of his mate’s pants.
Gliding his hands over Dominic’s body, Chane wished he had his fragranced natural oils to smooth over the beautiful muscle definition and glorious tanned skin. He would love to massage and taste, lave the man’s nipples and cover Dominic in honeydew oil. He was certain no other combination would taste as fine.