Demon Warriors 3: Rainerio

by Lynn Hagen

  As bad as he wanted to do exactly what Kobe had suggested, Rainerio knew they couldn’t.

  “We’re not on vacation here,” Takeo reminded them. “Our job is to follow him and catch him making contact with Marino.”

  “And what if he doesn’t?” Kobe asked. “Then what? We follow him around for the next month? No offense, but I have better things to do with my life, like live it.”

  “What’s gotten into you?” Rainerio knew that Kobe wasn’t a patient warrior, but he was acting a little too fidgety. Kobe was the youngest of all the warriors, with some more maturing to do, but he was grown enough to know how to do his job. All this whining and complaining wasn’t like him.

  Kobe shrugged as they waited on the teller to emerge from the store. “I thought I found my mate last night. I was pretty damn sure he was the one. But there was no binding.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Kobe. It’s a hard road to travel when looking for your mate. A lot of meaningless hook-ups are a part of it.”

  Kobe spit on the ground as he looked away from Rainerio. He could tell it was taking its toll on the warrior. It was an inborn need in demons to want their mates. Rainerio didn’t even want to think of the men he had slept with in order to find his. He couldn’t believe he had almost passed him up when he refused to sleep with Dillon. That would have been the worst decision he would have ever made.

  Thank goodness the small man had been insistent and pushy.

  Rainerio knew he wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer anyway.

  Dillon had fascinated him from the moment he laid eyes on him in Snooke’s apartment.

  “There he is,” Takeo pointed out. The teller walked out of the store, a few bags in his hand. They followed him to his apartment building where the guy stayed for the rest of the night.

  Dillon smiled when he felt Rainerio’s hard chest melt into his back. He was unpacking boxes, putting things away when he felt his mate against him. “How’d it go?”

  Rainerio kissed a path down his neck as he sighed. “Nothing exciting. He’s in for the night.” His mate reached into one of the boxes and pulled out a small family album. “Do you need any help?”

  “No, it’s helping to occupy my mind from all the crazy shit going on in this world. I don’t plan on spending too much more time doing this. I have a collection of movies set up for us to watch. I’m calling it the ‘Hunky Gorgeous Men Marathon.’ Too bad you won’t be starring in it.”

  Dillon giggled as Rainerio dropped the album on the bed and picked him up, nipping playfully at his neck. “I don’t think I want you watching hot men all night.”

  “I’ll only attack you when it’s over.”

  “Then by all means, watch away.”

  Dillon laughed this time. “I thought you would change your mind.” He shook his head at his mate, wearing a smile on his face as he dug back into the boxes. He frowned when he pulled out a gold pendant necklace. It wasn’t something he remembered having.

  “That’s nice, family heirloom?” Rainerio asked as he stepped beside Dillon.

  Dillon stared at the necklace, the gold sparkling, even in the dimly lit room. It was very beautiful, but not his. “I’ve never seen it before.”

  There was a locket at the end of the chain. He palmed it, ready to open it and see what was inside when a large hand covered his, stopping him from revealing the contents.

  “If you don’t know where it came from, then I think it best you don’t open it.”

  Dillon looked down at his palm once Rainerio’s hand was removed, wondering where it could have come from. He looked into the box, pushing things aside, but the only other contents in there belonged to him.

  “I have heirlooms, but I know what each piece is. I’ve never seen this before.” He held it up, watching the tiny heart spin around. It wasn’t a “meh” piece, but a brilliant “wow” piece. It didn’t look tarnished or fractured anywhere.

  “I think I should take that.” Rainerio held his hand up. Dillon wasn’t going to deny that he was very curious as to its contents. There may be nothing inside the locket, but there may be something to reveal where it had come from.

  Reluctantly, he handed it over to Rainerio. Living in this realm and dealing with the strange inhabitants, one couldn’t be too sure what something was. It looked like a locket, but in this ass-backward place, it could be a key to a portal or a damn bomb.

  He didn’t want to wait around until the damn thing exploded. It may be tiny, but tiny things often carried a powerful punch.

  “I’m gonna give this to Panahasi and let him figure out what it is. Are you sure you’ve never seen it before?”

  Dillon shook his head. “I’d remember something as stunning as that.”

  His eyes stayed with the trinket as Rainerio held it up for examination. It had strange symmetrical designs on it, crisscrossed and looped to elegant curves. The piece reminded Dillon of something a woman would wear back in the times when jewelry was handcrafted and an art. It looked dated.

  “I’ll be back. The quicker I get this out of here, the safer I’ll feel about it.”

  Dillon nodded, watching as Rainerio disappeared. For some strange reason, his head seemed to clear once the piece of jewelry was out of his sight. He was able to think more clearly now.

  Why on earth did he feel drawn to the darn thing?

  Chapter Eight

  Rainerio snap-grabbed the teller’s shirt as he emerged from the backroom of Diablo’s, Takeo and Kobe rushing the room. He heard curses ring out as the warriors came back into the hallway. They didn’t look too happy, which told Rainerio all he needed to know.

  Marino had gotten away.

  Shit!

  His night seemed to be getting better by the hour. This surveillance shit was wearing on his nerves and he was ready to slam the teller into a fucking nearby table. Rainerio was tired and horny, not a good combination when dealing with someone who aggravated the hell out of him.

  “He was there but was already vanishing when we came in,” Kobe announced with a bit of anger in his voice. Rainerio didn’t blame the guy. He was getting tired of the cat and mouse game as well. It was wearing on him. He absently wondered what Dillon was doing right now. Rainerio would give anything to get this piece of shit to the leader and go see his baby.

  Rainerio pulled the teller from the club, taking him to the shadows. “Since you want to play go-boy for Marino, you can play tell-all to Panahasi.”

  The teller’s eyes rounded as he shrank back. “No. I swear, I didn’t do anything wrong.” The teller squirmed as Rainerio hauled him to the side of the building. He was tired of playing games and very tired of following this dickhead. The teller was going to spill all to Panahasi or take a trip down to the keeper.

  Rainerio grinned evilly.

  The teller may not be guilty of anything, but the trip was sure to scare the hell out of him and make him think twice about who he kept company with.

  Rainerio was aware the man may not have had a choice, but he could have come to them when Marino approached him. That would have solved a lot of headaches over this tailing bullshit.

  “Okay…okay. No need to manhandle me. I’m going.”

  Rainerio wanted to throttle the little snot. “I honestly hope you don’t think this is some sort of game. You have a lot of explaining to do.”

  “I swear, it wasn’t my fault—” Rainerio shook the teller, hoping it silenced him and relieved that it did. He had heard about every story out there. This man would be no different. It may come in another form, but a lie was a lie.

  “Save it for the leader. I could care less.” The only thing on Rainerio’s mind was dropping the piece of shit off and going to check on Dillon. He was at work where Jake was not only keeping an eye on him, but Chris as well.

  It didn’t matter.

  He wanted to see with his own eyes and maybe get a kiss from his mate. He was itching to touch Dillon, and it had only been a few short hours since the sexy little man had bee
n writhing under him.

  His cock was getting hard just thinking about the blond-haired beauty. Damn, Dillon affected him like no one else ever had. It wasn’t only the mating thing. Rainerio knew deep down that Dillon was his kind of man through and through. He had thought he wasn’t before sleeping with the man, but Rainerio was only thinking that because he was fighting the attraction.

  Having his mate taken from him once was enough. He was determined to make sure it never happened again. And if watching dickheads like the one in his grasp kept his mate safe, then he would spend his time tailing them.

  It just sucked to be away from his mate.

  He handed the teller off to Takeo when his phone started vibrating in his pocket. Rainerio grabbed the phone, keeping a close eye on the guy. Even though Takeo had him, he wasn’t taking any chances. He could see sneakiness written all over the man’s face.

  He placed the phone to his ear, taking a deep breath to calm himself. This teller man was pissing him off. “Rainerio.”

  “This is Jake.”

  The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and a cold chill ran down his spine. This couldn’t be good. The only time Jake was to call him was if something was going on.

  “Hello.” Rainerio said it slowly, as if speaking that way could slow down time, could make whatever was going on cease to be happening.

  “I don’t mean to call you, but I need you to get down here. Something funny is going on with Dillon.” The tone of Jake’s voice made Rainerio race into the shadow next to the two warriors and the teller, appearing at the coffee shop just as Jake spoke into the phone.

  “Hurry.”

  Rainerio’s jaw dropped as the phone slowly lowered from his ear.

  His hand hung in midair with the phone attached to it as he stared at his mate. No fucking way!

  His mate was fighting Chris behind the counter to get his own clothes off. Chris was battling with him to keep Dillon’s pants on while Dillon was trying to bite Chris and yank his jeans down. His shirt was already gone, his naked chest in plain view. Rainerio growled at the creamy flesh that was revealed for all to see.

  Mine!

  Rainerio raced around the corner of the counter, snatching Dillon off of his feet as he rushed in the direction from where he had entered the shop. “Let me know what’s going on,” Jake shouted as Rainerio disappeared with his battling mate.

  He didn’t have time to answer the man. He was too busy stopping his mate from tearing his damn clothes off.

  “Dillon, stop,” Rainerio commanded, but his mate kept right on pulling at his jeans. He was acting like a madman. He wasn’t sure what was wrong, but Dillon wasn’t acting like himself.

  Rainerio growled when he saw the gold necklace around Dillon’s neck. He wasn’t sure how he had missed it before, but the damn thing sparkled as it sat on Dillon’s chest.

  “How did you get this?” He yanked it from around Dillon’s neck, staring at it as it dangled from his hand. His mate stopped attacking his jeans and began to attack Rainerio. Small black nails grew from the tips of his fingers as Dillon tried to shred him apart.

  “Dillon. Stop,” he shouted, pinning his mate’s arms to his chest.

  Rainerio kept a tight hold on him as he walked backward and ended up in Panahasi’s apartment. He tossed the necklace at the leader as he pinned Dillon to the couch. His mate struggled, his face glistening with sweat.

  “Did you give that back to him?” he shouted as Dillon tried to take a bite out of him. He yanked his arm away and repositioned it away from his mate’s sharp fangs. “He tried to strip at work.”

  Rainerio grabbed Dillon’s wrists and placed them above his head as he blanketed his mate’s body. He could feel Dillon shaking beneath him.

  The leader looked at the necklace in his hand as he shook his head. “No. I had it sitting on the bar, waiting for the keeper to come and retrieve it.” Panahasi walked away, disappearing from sight.

  Once his leader was nowhere to be seen, Dillon stopped fighting to get free and began to panic.

  His chest was expanding and contracting at an alarming rate as Dillon’s eyes darted around frantically.

  “Rainerio,” he called out in a hyperventilating tone. His mate was filled with fear, and it showed in his eyes. The pupils were huge as Dillon looked around wildly.

  “Are you with me, baby?” He ran his hands over Dillon’s blond hair. His mate took a deep breath and nodded. “Can you tell me what happened, love?”

  Rainerio’s heart broke at the lost and frightened look in his mate’s eyes.

  Dillon’s fingers curled into his shirt, his eyes begging Rainerio to help him make sense of this. “I don’t…I don’t remember,” Dillon cried as his fingers dug through Rainerio’s shirt and into his flesh.

  Rainerio sat back on his haunches and let his mate sit up, watching him for any signs of combativeness. “I was working behind the counter with Chris, having a good day. We were talking and laughing, and then I was here.” Dillon looked around like the room held the answer.

  He took a deep and calming breath before settling his eyes back on Rainerio.

  Rainerio wanted to know what the hell was going on. No one should lose part of a day. It was very strange, and he had a feeling the necklace was a huge part of it. “You were wearing the necklace, sweetheart.”

  Dillon looked up at Rainerio with a frown. “What necklace?” His hands reached up and felt around his neck for the necklace that was no longer there.

  “The gold one you found in your box yesterday, with the heart pendant attached to it.”

  Dillon bit his bottom lip as he shook his head. “I don’t remember any necklace, Rainerio. What necklace?” he asked, his voice gaining a hysterical pitch. “What’s going on? Why can’t I remember getting here, and why can’t I remember a necklace?”

  “Calm down.” Rainerio pulled his mate tightly to his chest. He wanted answers to those questions as well.

  Dillon kept fingering his neck every five seconds, making sure there wasn’t a necklace there. He couldn’t understand what had happened, but if Rainerio said there was a gold necklace around his neck, there must have been.

  He quickly put away the dishes that his mate had used for dinner.

  Dillon had tried to eat the food, only to throw it right back up. It was useless to try again. Even though the smell was delicious and teasing, he knew he couldn’t go for a second attempt.

  “Why are you washing them?” Rainerio asked as he walked into the kitchen and pressed his back into Dillon’s. God, his mate felt so good standing behind him.

  “It gives me something to do, but if you keep humping on me like that, I’m sure I can find something better to do. Like ravage your body.”

  Tulip picked that moment to come into the kitchen barking, making her needs known. Rainerio chuckled as he bent at the waist and hauled her up into his arms. “I’ll take her out.”

  “Don’t forget I have a ravaging appointment when you get back,” Dillon called out as he let the water drain from the sink. He wiped the counter down and swept the floor, waiting for his mate to return.

  Dillon ran into the bedroom when he was done with the kitchen and took the world’s quickest shower. He dried off quickly and then ran into the bedroom, lying across the bed, trying his best to look sexy. He lay on his side, with one leg propped up and his head resting in his hand.

  Okay, that won’t do. Dillon turned over on his back and spread his legs wide, palming his cock as he heard Tulip bark. He closed his eyes, waiting for Rainerio to join him, when he felt the bed move and then his face being dampened with a wet tongue.

  “Tulip! No, girl, you have to go. You can’t see Daddy having sex. That’s just wrong. Now go.” He shooed her away only to see Rainerio standing in the doorway chuckling.

  “Looks like she beat me to you.”

  Dillon wrinkled his nose. “Don’t even joke like that. And close the door so she doesn’t have a heart attack when her big daddy tries to kill her
little daddy.”

  “Kill?” Rainerio asked as he shut the bedroom door.

  “I sure hope so.” Dillon rolled to his hands and knees, wiggling his ass around. “Make me feel like I’m dying and going to heaven.”

  Dillon watched Rainerio’s eyes darken and smolder with desire. It was the hottest thing he had ever seen. His fangs pierced his bottom lip as he watched Rainerio slowly undress, revealing his tanned and succulent skin.

  Dillon’s gums began to ache as Rainerio climbed onto the bed and bent down between his legs, giving one long lick between his cheeks.

  His head dropped to the pillow as Rainerio circled his tongue around Dillon’s hole, pressing in slightly and making him moan.

  He jerked when he felt a finger enter him, and then Rainerio began to tongue-bathe him again. Oh hell, it got better and better every time with his mate. His knees slid apart as Rainerio lapped at his skin.

  Hands cupped his rear, kneading his cheeks as Rainerio delved his tongue deeper into Dillon’s hole. His eyes rolled as his lips parted. He knew now that his mate was going to try and make his wish come true. Dillon was going to see heaven.

  His body shivered as Rainerio’s finger twisted and his hot spot was grazed. “Another, another,” he chanted.

  He was bearing down on Rainerio’s thick finger, gasping when his mate added a second. Rainerio didn’t need to stretch him with his fingers—his cock pulsed a lubricant that naturally relaxed his tight entrance—but to feel his mate’s fingers playing with him so erotically was what he was after.

  He was barely hanging onto the edge as Rainerio tongue-fucked him and then alternated with his fingers, making Dillon’s mind turn to mush.

  Dillon was able to take an unsteady breath when Rainerio’s tongue left his entrance and began to lick its way down to his ball sac.

  He fisted the sheets as Rainerio’s tongue swirled around, teasing each orb.

  His hand moved down to encircle his cock, but Rainerio’s hand pushed it away. His body was coiled tight. He needed the release. “I need it.”