by Lynn Hagen
When Darcy tried to turn his head further to look behind him, Raven dipped his head and began to trail his tongue over Darcy’s jaw, and then he licked at the pulse in Darcy’s neck.“So good,” Raven whispered.
“What’s good?” Darcy asked. He was confused and willing in equal measures. He didn’t want Raven to stop touching him, but Darcy wanted to know what was happening, what to expect. He felt the need rise up inside of him to overanalyze the situation, but his brain wasn’t functioning at the moment to scrutinize a damn thing.
Tomorrow. Darcy would overanalyze Raven tomorrow. Right now he prayed Raven gave him some kind of relief. His cock was so hard that Darcy feared his blood wouldn’t return to his brain anytime soon.
“You,” Raven sighed as his teeth nipped Darcy’s neck.“All of you, Darcy.”
He shuddered when Raven nipped at him again. He tilted his head to the side in hopes that Raven wouldn’t stop his oral exploration. The man’s lips on his skin were heavenly. His heart sped up when Raven began to move Darcy’s hand, the one with the fingers still buried in his ass.
“Fuck yourself.”
Oh, hell. He was going to come. There were no two ways about it. The command, along with Raven’s sexy-as-sin voice, was going to be his undoing. Darcy had never performed for anyone, and found himself blushing so badly that his skin was heated to the point it felt like it was boiling. But damn if feeling Raven’s hand on his didn’t add to the excitement.
“I’m watching everything you do, Darcy. I want to see what you do when you are alone and think no one is watching.”
Gee, the man didn’t want much.
Raven pulled Darcy until he was lying on his side, and then his fingers brushed over Darcy’s erection. It made Darcy moan and hitch his hips forward in hopes that Raven would stroke him off. Darcy began to move his hand in novice pumps, his eyes closing as he felt Raven push closer. Every time his fingers pulled out, his hand grazed over the hard bulge in the front of Raven’s jeans.
“Just…fucking…perfect,” Raven moaned, his arm resting over Darcy’s hip, his knuckles brushing over Darcy’s cock in a lazy rhythm.
A powerful tremor shook Darcy’s body as he tried desperately to get Raven to do more than just graze his damn knuckles over Darcy’s cock.“Please, touch me.”
He almost cried out in joy when Raven’s lithe fingers curled around his erection, squeezing it tightly as Darcy’s fingers plunged deeper into his ass, bearing down on them as Raven stroked his cock.
Yes! That was exactly what Darcy had been looking for.
Raven fisted a handful of Darcy’s hair, yanking his head harshly to the side, and then moved so fast that Darcy almost imagined Raven at his neck. The bite was painful, radiating throughout his body, and then Darcy screamed, his orgasm ripping through him from so much pleasure he thought he was going to drown in it. Raven grunted and pulled deeper at Darcy with his mouth and sharp teeth as Darcy’s orgasm seemed to not only go on forever, but intensify with every pull of Raven’s mouth.
There was a raw desperation to Raven as he clung to Darcy’s neck.“R–Raven.” Darcy was becoming dizzy, and wasn’t sure if it was from his explosive orgasm alone.
Raven slowed and then pulled free of Darcy, licking at his neck as his hand eased from Darcy’s oversensitive cock. The room fell silent, both men lying there quietly, and only quick intakes of breath could be heard.
What in the hell had Raven just done to him?
Raven refused to move. He lay there motionless, waiting for his mate’s reaction to what he had just done. Raven had tried to stay away. He tried to resist the aromatic scent of his mate. But Darcy was just too damn tempting for his own good.
And when Raven heard his mate call his name, he could resist no longer. It was like a siren call in the night, begging Raven to come to the sweet sound. As hard as Raven resisted, he found himself in Darcy’s room, desperately wanting what he feared to take.
What was rightfully his.
But he hadn’t planned on feeding from the human, although Raven couldn’t find any regret inside himself for indulging. Darcy had tasted even better than he smelled. Raven was a bit surprised he hadn’t come from the scent of his mate’s blood and seed clinging to the air in the bedroom.
Being with a man wasn’t as awkward as Raven had thought it would be. Maybe it was because Darcy was his mate, but Raven wanted to explore some more, preferably naked.
“You take my self-control, Darcy. You shred it with your sweet smell.”
Darcy chuckled softly.“Thanks.”
Raven ran his hand over Darcy’s soft brown hair, wishing he could look into his mate’s coppery eyes. He hadn’t drained Darcy like he had feared, although he had taken more than he should have. Even so, he thought maybe they had a chance together. Darcy’s blood was temptation incarnate, but Raven had held back. He didn’t think it possible, but he had. “I think we’d be good together, Darcy.”
Darcy stiffened, pulling away from Raven and putting space between them.“I need to get some sleep. I have a job to go to in the morning.”
Ouch! Raven knew a dismissal when he heard one, and he didn’t like it. He had set aside his reservations about Darcy not only being a man, but a human, and now Darcy was excusing him from his bed because he mentioned something about being a couple? He could feel the tic in his jaw begin to beat as Raven uncurled his body from the bed. Maybe he had moved too fast, but in the world Raven lived in, he should have had Darcy the moment he scented the human as his mate.
He had resisted for a few hours. He should get some damn credit for that.
Raven glanced at the door, refusing to look back at Darcy. It would be a cold day in hell before he allowed Darcy to see how hurt he was.“Good night.” The words were sharp, even though Raven was trying to keep his anger out of his tone.
“Good night,” Darcy replied as Raven walked out of his mate’s bedroom. Never before had he been dismissed in such a way. Raven wasn’t sure what to do about it. Instead of going back to his bedroom, he headed downstairs and walked outside. Standing on the front porch, Raven glanced up at the sky, vibrating with rage.
“I usually eat chocolate when I’m that mad.”
Huh? Raven turned to see Sterling laid back on the porch swing. He had been so preoccupied with thoughts of Darcy that he hadn’t even noticed his mate’s kid brother. Raven really should work on his “ignoring everything around me” when he was pissed.
“Chocolate helps?” Although Raven wasn’t going to try any to find out. He was a vampire. The whole drinking blood thing kind of stopped him from eating human food.
Sterling kicked his foot out, the swing swaying gently back and forth. It must be nice to look as though there wasn’t a care in the world.
Raven wished things were that easy. He had a feeling dealing with his mate was going to be anything but easy. The guy was hot and cold in a span of minutes. Raven couldn’t understand what had happened, and thought once again that maybe he had moved too fast.
If that was fast, Darcy was in for a shock. Raven didn’t plan on letting the man go. His mate better get used to the idea of having him around, because Raven wasn’t going anywhere.
One mate.
That’s all Raven would get. And fuck if Darcy was going to blow him off. He was seething with anger at the dismissal.
“It does for me, but then again, I don’t take too many things seriously. Darcy thinks I’m immature, but I think he’s uptight.”
No shit. Raven was thinking along those very same lines. Yeah, Darcy was probably freaked out over the biting thing, not to mention the idea of being a couple. But his mate could have talked to him instead of kicking him out of the bed they had just shared something very intimate in. Talk about a bucket of ice tossed over his raging hormones.
“You remind me of him.”
Wait, what?“How?” Raven sat sideways along the porch railing, folding his hands over his thigh. He wasn’t uptight—okay, maybe he was, but he wouldn’t have ki
cked Darcy out of bed after some very intense…whatever they just shared. Raven wasn’t sure a hand job and feeding were considered sex, but hell if he didn’t enjoy himself.
Darcy had gotten off at least. Raven was still full of sexual frustration and hadn’t a clue what to do about it without taking matters into his own hands, literally.
Sterling’s smirk was downright evil.“You two were cut from the same cloth. If I didn’t know any better, I would say you liked him.”
Raven stiffened. Just who the hell was this kid?“Why?”
“Because only Darcy can piss someone off that much. But you have to care in order for my brother to push your neurotic buttons.”
“Who says it was Darcy who pissed me off?” And who said Raven was neurotic? He was solemn, moody, and a bit pushy, but he wasn’t neurotic.
No matter what his brothers said.
Sterling rolled his eyes.“Deny it all you want. I saw the way you two were stealing glances at each other.”
Raven wasn’t sure how much to admit. Sterling was human, and unaware of mates. He was also blissfully ignorant of vampires. The guy wasn’t Raven’s mate, so clueing him in wasn’t an option. He shrugged, neither confirming nor denying what he and Darcy had between them.
“Oh yeah, you are definitely a Darcy.” Sterling chuckled as he got to his feet, shaking his head.“I’m heading in. I have to go to work in the morning.”
So, Sterling was just as observant as Darcy when it came to his surroundings.
Sterling turned before walking into the house, a somber look in his eyes.“You know, there used to be a shine to Darcy when he smiled. I haven’t seen that shine in so long that I sometimes wonder if it was ever there. Help him get it back, Raven.” Sterling grabbed the screen door, pulled it open, and walked inside.
Raven sighed as he took Sterling’s place on the swing. He thought about how good it had felt to hold his mate in his arms, how right Darcy felt against his body. There had been nothing awkward about being with his mate. It had felt as natural as breathing.
He wasn’t sure how well things would go when it came to sex though. Raven had never been with a man. But if tonight was any indication, then Raven knew that he and Darcy would fumble through the sex part just fine.
Looking down at his hand, Raven curled his fingers in, remembering the feel of his mate’s cock in his hand. It had felt like a steel rod encased in soft silk. Raven wouldn’t mind holding the shaft once more.
Hell, he was willing to go further than that.
If only he could get Darcy past the whole couple thing. The man had freaked out and kicked Raven from his bed, something that still stung when Raven thought about it. Raven also wondered if Darcy would freak out when he told his mate he was a vampire. Darcy seemed too out of it to notice that Raven had done more than just lustfully bite his neck. He prayed it wouldn’t be a problem, because feeding was the only way Raven could survive.
And fuck if he was going to drink crimson when he had a hot, moist vein attached to one very attractive mate.
But Sterling’s words haunted Raven. He was determined now to make the shine appear on Darcy’s face once more.
Chapter Four
Maverick Brac walked out of the small movie house that had been recently built, his beta, Kota, at his side. Some of the warriors had brought their mates to town for a night out, and Maverick was a little miffed that he had been pulled away from his mate, Cecil.
The movie had actually been pretty damn good. But so was the hand job Cecil was giving him in the back row of the theater.
“What’s so important that you pulled me away from my mate?” Maverick was still trying to get used to Kota with shoulder-length hair. It didn’t look bad on the wolf, but Kota had always worn his honey-blond hair down his back in one long braid ever since Maverick had known the guy. Seeing it cut to the shoulders was just plain weird.
“I didn’t intentionally pull you away from your…fun, but I think you need to handle this yourself,” Kota said as he led Maverick around the side of the red brick building. If Maverick hadn’t known Kota for over three hundred years, he would have been suspicious.
As they neared the back of the movie theater, Maverick slowed. “What is this, Kota?” he asked as the hairs on the back of his neck began to rise. Standing on the other side of a parked car were a group of men, all extremely large, and all looking as though they had seen better days. Maverick wasn’t afraid, but he was cautious. He had a family to look out for and a mate to protect. As he scrutinized the group, he noticed that one man was shorter than the rest, but he was being blocked by another, as if the larger man was protecting the smaller one.
“Just hear them out,” Kota said from beside him.“I would never place you in harm’s way, alpha. You know that I would lay down my life to protect yours.”
Maverick cut his eyes from Kota back over to the group of men. The largest of them all took a step forward, making Maverick’s canines instantly punch through his gums as a snarl crept from his throat.“That’s far enough.” The warning was clear as he stared at the largest of the group.
He was going to hand Kota his ass for this.
“We mean you no harm, Alpha Maverick,” the largest man said. Maverick instantly took in the Native American features. The man had long black hair, high cheekbones, and his skin was a dark tan. “We’ve come to find refuge under your protection.”
These men needed Maverick to protect them? Maverick was the largest timber wolf ever born, and he was a force to be reckoned with, but even he was wary about taking these strangers in.“What breed are you?” He could smell shifter, but the scent wasn’t something he dealt with on a regular basis, so he wasn’t familiar with it. As a matter of fact, the longer Maverick stood there scenting them, he was realizing that they were a mixed bunch.
“My name is Kenway. I’m a buffalo shifter,” the largest of the bunch answered.“We were living peacefully in a small township when we were attacked. The alpha of the local wolf pack deemed us dangerous and called a hunt on our heads.” The man looked back at the group and then turned back toward Maverick.“We’ve done nothing wrong, but the alpha fears us.”
Maverick could see why. He was six nine, and the man standing before him made Maverick feel short. A goddamn buffalo shifter? Now he had heard it all.“Why would he think you were a threat?” Besides the obvious.
Kenway shrugged.“Our size? He never really gave a plausible explanation. He said we had twenty-four hours to leave his territory. And when we refused, the fighting began. The alpha burned our homes to the ground, killing some of our pack. We have heard of you and how men with certain tastes live among you peacefully.”
Maverick could hear not only the mounting rage in the man’s voice, but the sorrow at losing those he cared about. He glanced at the other men behind Kenway, counting eight, nine if he included the buffalo shifter.“There is a farmhouse about two miles outside of town. If I agree to accept you and your men, you will need to give me not only your blood oath of loyalty, but everyone’s name and their breed.” Maverick took a step closer, allowing his claws to extend as he stared Kenway directly in his eyes.“But if you try anything while in my territory, none will survive. Do I make myself clear?”
Kenway nodded, his deep cobalt-blue eyes hard as stones.“Very.”
Maverick glanced over at Kota, wanting to kick his beta’s ass for this. The man could have given him warning.“Kota will give you the address to the farmhouse. Go there for the night, and I’ll come see you in the morning. But be warned, I will send warriors out there to guard the house until I can find out what’s going on. And if you are here to fuck with me or mine, I’ll let the Santiago brothers burn that place to the ground with you inside.”
“That’s more than we had hoped for,” one of the other men in Kenway’s group spoke up. Maverick swore it was the smallest of the group.“Thank you, Alpha Maverick.”
Damn, after the threat he just handed out, someone thanked him? Maverick was losing his
damn touch. He nodded, leaving the mess with Kota as Maverick walked back inside the movie theater, his erection gone.
Darcy tossed and turned, unable to sleep. All he could think about was Raven. The man dominated his thoughts as he tried desperately to get some damn sleep. He felt bad for practically tossing the man out of his bedroom after that mind-blowing orgasm.
He felt guilty for his knee-jerk reaction to what Raven had said. They’d be good together? What did that mean? Did he want Darcy to announce to the world that they were an item? Not that Darcy would mind—although it would take some getting used to everyone knowing—but he and Raven had just met. The man was moving way too fast for him. He was overanalyzing this, and Darcy knew it.
And what was with the biting? That wasn ’t his kink, but Raven sure as shit seemed to get off on it.
Darcy sighed as he tossed the covers aside and sat up, letting his feet hit the floor. It seemed he wasn’t going to get any sleep. He stood, pulling his jeans and shirt on, walking over to the window, brushing the curtains aside, and looking out into the darkness. He leaned against the windowpane, wishing he could figure Raven out.
For his life, Darcy couldn’t understand why he was so confused about being with Raven. Maybe he was making a bigger deal about Raven than he should. So what if Raven was a man. Darcy liked men. It should be a no-brainer. He knew in his heart that Sterling wouldn’t have any problems with who Darcy chose to be with.
But Sterling wasn’t the problem, and Darcy knew it. It was Raven. The man intimidated the hell out of him. He called to Darcy and made him want to run as far away as possible at the same time.
Damn it, he was going nuts.
Darcy stilled when he saw a shadowy figure over by the corral. He didn’t know a damn thing about ranching, but he was pretty sure no one should be out this late. He watched as the shadowy figure moved along the wooden fence, his steps slow and measured.
Sterling.
Darcy felt like smacking his younger brother when he saw the dark-blond hair. He would know that head of hair anywhere.“What in the hell are you doing out there, Sterling?” Darcy asked. Sterling was bound and determined to ride one of the horses, or pet a cow, he wasn’t sure which. But Darcy knew his brother was going to bug someone into letting him get his way.