by Amber Kell
Letting out a soft moan, he captured Guy's cock in his mouth and started sucking it like a lollipop. Jacob wrapped his hand around the base of Guy's shaft to hold it still while he tasted and savored his lover's flavor.
"Mmm hmm." Guy bucked in Jacob's mouth, words spilling from him like a torrential downpour, telling Jacob he was beautiful and fine, and how he'd waited for him for centuries.
Jacob popped his mouth off.
"Centuries?"
Guy groaned. "Can we discuss this later?"
The limo rolled to a stop in front of Guy's building. Jacob tucked Guy back into his pants with a look promising more later. He craved Guy like a drug he couldn't get enough of, a dangerous need for someone who had never needed anyone before. Even as a child, Jacob took care of himself.
They walked in silence to the elevator and to Guy's apartment. Once inside, Guy wrapped his arms around Jacob and pulled him close. "Baby, I don't want to scare you off."
Jacob pulled back, scowling at Guy. "I'm not a baby."
Guy gave a soft chuckle. "Honey, next to me, you practically are."
"How old are you?"
"A wizard never confesses his age. Let's just say I've seen the century mark more than once."
Jacob couldn't even conceive of living that long. Then it occurred to him. "Will I live that long?"
Guy nodded. Leaning closer, Guy kissed Jacob's cheek, a tender brush of lips that branded Jacob more than any full mouth-to-mouth contact. Jacob didn't know how to deal with a gentle lover. The men in his past hadn't been given to tenderness; they were more hot sex and never call in the morning. Tears burned behind Jacob's eyes as he imagined a lifetime with this overwhelming, gentle man who appeared to want to do nothing but cherish Jacob for the rest of his life.
"Your life is now intertwined with mine." Guy placed his hand over Jacob's mouth. "I know it wasn't fair of me to bind us without your consent, but I need you."
Jacob licked Guy's hand. "Hey." Guy laughed, yanking his hand away.
"What you did is wrong Guy." Jacob tilted Guy's head back towards him when Guy turned away. "But I can understand why you did it. If I'd been looking for a long time, I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing too. I can't promise our relationship will work out, but I promise to try."
Guy gave Jacob a hot smile. "I'll make it as difficult as possible for you to turn me away."
Jacob laughed. "You already do."
That was the last word he got out before Guy devoured Jacob, kissing, licking and touching. The feel of Guy's hands rocked Jacob's world. Heat burst through his body as Guy bit Jacob's neck, a hot spot that turned supernova with the right man.
"Oh, r-right there."
Jacob rubbed against Guy frantically, trying to get just the right spot to relieve the painful ache. Guy chuckled, and his warm breath against Jacob's throat sent shivers down Jacob's spine.
"Let's take this to the bedroom," Guy whispered in Jacob's ear, a low husky sound that almost made him come in his pants.
Jacob wasn't certain he could walk with his legs full of jelly. Taking a deep breath, he stood up away from the wall. He'd only taken two steps when Guy's phone rang.
Guy pulled it out of his pocket. Jacob knew it was the office when Guy pressed the connect button. "What's happened?"
Jacob couldn't hear the other caller, but from the frown on Guy's face, it was bad.
The thought of another murder doused Jacob's desire faster than a bucket of cold water.
Guy hung up after a few minutes. "I've got to go back to the office. There's been another murder."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Jacob wasn't an investigator, but he wanted to help stop this bastard who was killing people he knew.
Guy stared at him for long moment. "Actually, yes. You can come and see if anything looks odd at the work site. You'd be able to spot anything out of place easier than we can."
"O-okay." He didn't want to ask; he really didn't. "Wh-who died?"
"Gregor."
"Oh." The room spun, and when it stopped, Jacob found he was sitting on the floor.
"Take deep breaths."
Spots sparkled before his eyes. As much as he felt bad for the other models, he hadn't worked with them more than once and didn't have any personal connection. As much he disliked Gregor, he hadn't wanted the other model dead.
"It's okay… shh." He dimly heard Guy's reassuring noises as Jacob concentrated on not puking all over Guy's floor. Guy rubbed Jacob's back with his large hands. After several deep breaths and leaning against Guy's warm, strong body, Jacob felt better.
He gave Guy a wan smile. "I don't know that I'd be of any use in an investigation."
"They've already removed Gregor's body so you won't have to worry about that."
"Okay." Jacob nodded. He barely held it together, but he wasn't going to embarrass Guy by passing out on the floor.
With a heavy step, Jacob followed Guy back down to the limo.
* * * *
"They were shooting a commercial or something with a big television camera," Jacob said, pointing to the marks on the floor. "The tripod marks are too large to be for a camera. Unless they were shooting from above, which is possible."
Guy took in Jacob's pale face as he looked at the spot where Gregor's body was outlined.
Rushing to his lover's side, Guy wrapped an arm around him. "It's all right, love, we'll get the killer."
"But why kill models? We don't do anything but sell clothes, perfume and jewels."
"And you're beautiful," Guy couldn't help pointing out. Some people are filled with hate and envy. "You can't always figure out the motive of a killer."
Jacob turned a sad-eyed expression to Guy. "What if I'm next?"
"I'm kind of counting on that." Niles entered the studio, his sharp gaze sweeping the area.
"You are not using Jacob as bait," Guy said through gritted teeth.
"No! That's a great idea. I want this bastard caught," Jacob said, turning to Niles. "I want to help. These people didn't do anything wrong. They didn't deserve to die. But at least we know it's not Paulie."
Jacob frowned. "How do we know that?"
"Paulie's in Milan until tomorrow. He told me he's going to be cutting it close, but he had to go see a distributor in person."
Niles nodded. "A wizard in Italy verified that information for us."
Wrapping a protective arm around Jacob, Guy held his lover tight. He didn't like the thought of his lover caught in a killer's trap. "I don't like this."
"You don't have better options. If they are going after models, I'm the perfect bait," Jacob said.
Guy shook his head. "The killer is going after models with raw power. I don't want you anywhere near the bastard."
"But you said you knew what my magic was."
Guy smiled. "That's because you use your magic. You might not realize it, but you're constantly using your charm on people. It's why you're so successful as a model."
"Huh, and I thought it was because I'm gorgeous."
Guy laughed as Jacob rolled his eyes at him. "You are a pretty, pretty man, but your magic gives you that something extra."
"Did you talk to Mandy about the murders?"
Guy nodded. "She says they must have been doing work on the side."
"Maybe. Sometimes models try to make a little extra money without their agent taking a cut."
"Have you?"
"Taken a job on the side?"
"Yeah."
Jacob shook his head. "Mandy has taken good care of me, I wouldn't do that to her."
"How well did you investigate Mandy?" Niles asked. Meeting Niles's eyes, Guy knew they were both thinking the same thing.
"Not as well as I should have. Go pull up everything you can find on her; I'll meet you back at the office."
Jacob's mouth dropped open. "You don't think Mandy is responsible for this, do you? Why would she kill people who brought her so much money? Especially Gregor, he's one of her top models."
"But you are the top model she has. She went on and on about how loyal you are. What if she found out Gregor was taking jobs on the side? What if they all were? She might take it as a sign of betrayal. All the models had a connection to Mandy, and there is no confirmation where she was the nights of the murders."
"That could be anyone," Jacob protested. "Hell, you just met me. How do you know I didn't do it? And how would she have killed them? Did you sense any magic?"
Guy nodded. "When I talked to her, she had dark smudges on her aura and was evasive. I suspected something was wrong with her."
"I took a sampling of her magic when Guy told me he was suspicious." Niles scanned the room as he spoke. "Her magic was here, along with someone else's, but I don't recognize the other person's magical signature. If it's Mandy, she's a siphon." Niles's soft curses filled the room.
"Hell." Guy frowned at his co-worker. "This gets more and more complicated."
"What's a siphon?" Jacob asked.
"A person who can drain another person of all their magic. That's why there weren't any marks on the bodies and they still looked perfect."
"Can't a person live without magic?"
Guy shook his head. "Not if you have it in the first place. When a person is born with magic, it binds to their life force. When the killer drained them of magic, they sucked out all their energy."
Jacob's eyes went wide. "That's why she always looks so young! I thought it was Botox."
Guy rubbed his forehead. "Stealing energy might make her younger. I've only heard of this practice once before. The last siphon was killed six years ago by one of her victims. The person managed to fight back enough to kill her but not survive. If Mandy only recently started killing models, she won't be able to stop. She'll get addicted to the rush, and anyone, not just those that betrayed her, will be a target."
"That's all the more reason to let me help trap her. Like you said, I'm her most lucrative client. If we're right, and she thinks I've betrayed her, she'll snap."
"How are we going to get her to think you really betrayed her?" Guy asked. It would take a lot of convincing for Mandy to believe Jacob was cheating her.
"Pablo," Jacob said. "He can set up a shoot and let it slip I'm doing some work for him. She'd believe I'd do some work on the side with him in exchange for learning more about photography. I already told her I wanted out of modeling. She'll think I moved my timeline forward when I got the opportunity."
"It's perfect," Niles agreed with an admiring look at Jacob.
"It's dangerous," Guy protested.
"She has to be stopped." Jacob's expression said he wouldn't be deterred.
"Fine; let's call Pablo."
Chapter Seven
Pablo turned out to be the perfect accomplice. The man apparently had never liked Mandy and had only worked with her to get his hands on Jacob.
"She's a bitch," Pablo said, his dark eyes hard.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Guy asked.
"Because as much as I don't like her, she did well by Jacob. I watched over the years, and as much of a bitch as she was to everyone else, she treats Jacob extremely well."
Jacob nodded. He still felt a hole in his heart at the thought of Mandy being a killer. He was currently batting a zero in the mother department.
The group stood around as they waited for equipment to be set up. Pablo's price for helping out was to get a real photo shoot with Jacob because as he said, "If I have to lug all the equipment over there anyway, I might as well get some amazing shots."
Jacob's scalp itched from hair product, and his leather pants were binding in places no clothes should ever go, but he was used to the discomfort, and all of it was nothing next to Mandy's apparent betrayal. He still didn't think she was responsible. They only had circumstantial evidence.
After four hours of shooting, Jacob was convinced they'd gotten it all wrong. Relief swept him as he imagined a different killer out there, one not connected to him in any way.
The door to the warehouse banged open. Mandy stomped through the doorway in a pair of stiletto heels. Jacob was surprised since her ankle had supposedly been broken just a few days before. Maybe sucking people's souls healed all wounds.
"What the hell is going on here?" she demanded. Her eyes pinned Jacob on stage, and for a brief moment, he was overwhelmed with guilt. Before he remembered she was, in all likelihood, a killer.
"Nothing that concerns you," Pablo said in his thickly accented voice. "Jacob is merely doing me a small favor."
"All his schedules go through me," Mandy snapped. "Jacob, come down here. I need to talk to you. I've been looking around for you all afternoon."
Jacob looked at Guy, hidden behind the covered scaffolding on his right. He got a subtle nod. Okay, okay he could do this. Nerves bouncing around like a ping pong ball, Jacob came down the metal stairs. Mandy waited at the bottom.
"Hey, Mandy." He flashed her his best smile, and for a moment, her disapproving look disappeared.
"We need to talk, Jacob."
Jacob sighed. He'd promised not to leave the warehouse with her, but he let her lead him a few feet away to hear her out. "Did you hear Gregor died?"
"Yes." Her face showed a flash of guilt, sending Jacob's stomach churning. Gregor might have been an ass, but no one deserved to be sucked of all energy.
"You're not going to like what I have to say, but you need to know. I tried to stop her. I came to warn you before going to police because I didn't know who you were shooting with."
"What are you talking about?"
From the corner of his eye, he saw Niles step behind Mandy.
Mandy ranted, still not making sense. "She called me and told me to stop giving you shoots with other people. She said you shouldn't have to share the limelight, that you were too good to be on the same page as those other people. I swear I didn't know she was killing people until Gregor was dead. I only wanted to protect you, Jacob. You're like a son to me."
"Protect me from what?"
Cold laughter filled the warehouse. "From me!" Jacob turned at the familiar voice.
"Mother?"
His mother stood in the doorway. Her hair stood on end, her eyes, the same color as Jacob's, were wide with madness, and the expression on her face more maniacal than he'd ever seen before.
"Don't worry, baby boy. I took care of those others. They thought they could take away some of your shine."
"What did you do?" Jacob felt queasy. "You killed those men."
"They tried to take away the spotlight. I stopped them."
She looked so proud of herself.
"I tried to stop her, Jacob," Mandy whispered behind him. "I couldn't stop her in time. I wanted to protect you from that monster."
"I'm a monster? I should've killed you when you sent those others to take Jacob's place."
"I sent what the client asked for," Mandy shouted. "It didn't mean you had to kill them."
"You're no good for him. You were encouraging him to take photos!" Jacob's mother screamed. "You don't understand. He's meant to be seen. If his father sees him, he'll come back."
It was clear to Jacob in that instant that this wasn't about him. This was about his mother trying to bring his father back.
"You are still waiting for father." He didn't make it a question; he knew it as a fact.
"He'll come back," she said in a sing-song voice. "He'll come back when he sees you."
You have magic.
Hadn't Guy told him he had untapped powers? If he used it accidentally all the time, would it work if he tried to use it on purpose? "You don't want to hurt anyone," Jacob said, pushing his belief into every syllable.
"I don't?" His mother's eyes turned foggy.
"You want me to take you home instead." Jacob took a step forward and, surprisingly, Guy released him. He'd thought Guy would be his biggest obstacle, but apparently Guy knew what Jacob was doing.
"I've always wanted your father, Jacob, but I didn't know how to tell him you wer
e born. Now that you're famous, he's bound to see you in an advertisement and come back to me. You look so much like him, even if you have my eyes."
"I'm sure he'll come." Jacob used the low soothing voice he saved for children crying on the set. "Mandy says I've got a few really big ads coming up."
His mother's eyes lit up. "Yes, then you'll see. You'll get to meet him."
Jacob watched dispassionately as Niles snuck up on his mother. He saw the wizard's mouth move. Seconds later, she collapsed on the floor in a crumpled heap.
Tears filled his eyes but he blinked them back.
"I told her," Mandy whispered behind them. "I was so mad I told your mother you were here. I'm so sorry, Jacob."
Guy unlocked her handcuffs.
Jacob walked up to the woman he'd always thought of as a second mother. "I'm only here as a trap. We thought you were involved."
Mandy gave him a shaky smile. "I guess indirectly I was."
He watched sadly as Niles picked up his mother and carried her from the warehouse.
Pablo approached. "Sorry, Mandy. I supported their belief you were guilty."
Mandy gave a laugh as she rubbed her wrists. "I would've accused me too. They were all my models, after all. Maybe it's time I retired. After this, my reputation is shot anyway."
Jacob walked over and gave her a hug. "You let me know. If you leave, so will I."
Mandy gave him a pat on the back. "Deal."
* * * *
Nothing like a life-changing experience to make a man horny. After a traumatic afternoon, he needed reassurance from the man he loved. Jacob barely waited until they'd cleared the door to strip off Guy's shirt. Stumbling and unfastening buckles, snaps, and buttons as they went, both men were laughing as they finally hit the mattress, more or less unclothed.
Jacob tore off Guy's underwear before throwing himself on the mattress. "Your turn to fuck me."
Guy laughed. "If you insist."
Jacob stroked himself as he watched Guy's fine ass leaning over the bed.
Unable to resist, he sank his teeth into one tight cheek.
"Hey!"