by J. D. Tyler
Nick confirmed this. “That’s right. The creature seemed to have some intelligence, which is why we were holding it. But it wouldn’t communicate or eat, and finally it died.”
Rowan couldn’t find it in herself to be real sorry that it had croaked. The thought of literally having a monster under your bed was a bit too much.
“I’m forming a picture here, and it’s one I don’t like.” Aric stared hard at the Fae, who continued his thoughts on the subject.
“Where the Sluagh are present, so is Malik. Since he’s the only one who could’ve brought them to this world, they’ll do his bidding, and his alone. And as badly as my father might want to destroy me, he wouldn’t bring an army of Sluagh here just for that. He wouldn’t need that much help.”
Nick glanced around at his men. “Then it’s safe to assume Malik was behind the ambush on Alpha Pack more than six months ago, as well as placing them on guard at the old church where we found Micah and Aric and the other prisoners. He even sent this scout, perhaps to find us, if not Sariel. It’s much worse than we thought—Orson Chappell isn’t the head of the project to create a legion of super-shifters. He’s working for Malik or, more likely, is under his control.”
“That would be my guess,” Sariel replied grimly. “And if it’s true, no one on earth is safe.”
“Nick, tell them the rest,” Kalen said quietly, looking away. “They need to know.”
Nick was silent for a moment as the team stared at them. Finally he nodded. “You’re right. We’d have to fill them in sooner or later, so it might as well be now.” He faced the group, his voice low. “The short version of it is, since Mac and Kalen were attacked in town by that Sluagh, Kalen’s been hearing a voice in his head. The being, or whatever, is trying to control him. He’s fighting it, and has been successful so far, but…” He shook his head.
The danger to them all slowly sank in.
Jax pushed a hand through his spiky black hair. “If Malik can gain control of a Sorcerer, he’ll have the ultimate weapon.”
“The two of them together would be nearly unstoppable.” This from Zan, who studied Kalen thoughtfully.
“I can leave,” Kalen offered sadly. “I told Nick the other day I was going, but he talked me out of it.”
“He was right.” Ryon shook his head. “We’re not throwing you to the wolves, pardon the expression. You’re one of us now, and the Pack sticks together.”
“Exactly,” Jax said. The rest echoed his sentiment, and Kalen looked touched.
Rowan also knew that it was safer to keep Kalen here, where he could be watched. Though nobody said so, the others had to know it, too.
“Okay, how do we toast Malik’s ass?” Typical Aric.
“If my sire has a weakness, I don’t know what it is. But I’ll keep searching.”
“We’ll help however we can.” Aric sighed. “Though most of us know shit about the Fae. Maybe some of us can research online?”
Sariel rolled his eyes. “Kira is teaching me to become ‘tech-savvy,’ as you guys call it. Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet. Most of it is garbage.”
“Kalen,” Nick called. “Can you place another ward over the property, one that acts as a cloak, making it appear as though there’s nothing here but forest?”
The Sorcerer shrugged. “Sure, that’s easy. The question is, will it fool Malik and his ghouls?”
“For a while, perhaps,” Sariel mused. “It can’t hurt to try.”
With a nod, Kalen held out his right hand and his staff appeared in his palm. On the top was a glowing ball of light, blue on the edges and white in the center. Rowan recalled that when he performed magic at the church, he’d knelt. This time he remained standing, booted feet shoulder width apart. Head back, he raised the staff and began to chant.
She peered at the sky, not seeing anything unusual. But she felt something like static electricity, the hair on her arms and on her head crackling as though it were being rubbed with an inflated balloon, like she used to do as a kid. Returning her attention to Kalen, she couldn’t help but be awed. To be able to command the elements, bend them to your will to do magic, must be such a rush. And he looked damned cool doing it, too.
“What’re you staring at?” a voice growled softly in her ear.
She turned her head to find herself looking into Aric’s annoyed face. “Just watching him use his magic staff thingy. It’s just as awesome as the first time I saw him do it.” His breath puffed against her neck, making her break out in chill bumps.
“Yeah? Bet his magical staff can’t do what mine can.” His lips turned up and his green gaze lit with mischief.
Her brows rose. “My, you must be feeling better. Is that why you really wanted to go for a walk? So you could ravish me in the woods?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Actually, I would.”
“It’s done,” Kalen said, breaking into their exchange. “If the wards fail, we’ll know soon enough. Now for the body.”
Another incantation, and the Sluagh’s carcass slowly withered, like a raisin in the sun. Then it began to crumble, and finally disintegrated all together.
Hammer shuddered. “Man, it grosses me the fuck out when he does that.”
“On that note, I want everyone to get inside the compound and restrict their roaming for a while,” Nick ordered in a stern tone. The predictable groans ensued. “Sorry, but it’s for our safety. If you must go out, do it as a group. No running or going into town alone, and no groups smaller than four.”
“Crap.”
“Damn, that sucks.”
Rowan could tell nobody really blamed Nick, though. Leaders did what they must to protect their teams, and Westfall was no exception. She and Aric lagged behind the others as they trooped back to the compound, but kept them in sight. As they entered the building, Nick turned and pointed a finger at the redhead.
“I’m not going to make you go to the infirmary, but I want you to rest. That’s an order.”
“Yes, Dad.”
“Cocky shit. Don’t push it.” With that, Nick walked off, his men snickering.
“Damn, now what? There’s nothing to do in this place,” Aric bitched.
“Are you kidding? You almost got eaten by an evil Unseelie pet and you’re bored?” Grabbing his hand, she began to pull him toward his room. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“Three guesses.”
“Somewhere I won’t be bored?”
“Ding-ding, got it in one.” She pulled him along, not surprised when he saw where she was taking him and dug in his heels.
“Wait a sec—my room? I’m not a kid and I’m not going to be put down for a nap.”
“Who says we’re going to sleep? Unless you were all talk out there…”
That got his undivided attention. His dumbstruck expression was priceless. “You… I just…”
“You’re just what? Fine with the teasing, but not with real intimacy? Spontaneity?”
“Hey, I did pretty good with that when we were in Vegas,” he asserted, puffing his chest out a little.
“That was nothing but a dream.”
“Was it? No, I believe it was more and I think you do, too.”
Did she? “Maybe you’re right, but I still have a hard time buying stuff I can’t see. Now, those fucking Sluagh things, and the awesome stuff Kalen did? Hard to refute what’s in your face.”
“Kalen!” He made a face. “What’s the Goth kid got that I don’t?”
“A really big staff?” She giggled as his mouth fell open.
“All right, that’s it! Big staff, my ass,” he muttered, punching in the code to his door. It opened with a pop and he pushed inside, pulling her into his living room. Then he whirled and snaked an arm around her waist, pressing her flush to his body.
Her laughter abruptly died as he crushed his mouth to hers. Oh, shit, yes! A man—this man—making her fantasies come true, in the flesh. God, it had been muc
h too long since she’d been held in a man’s arms, and never in a pair as strong as Aric’s. She’d never been kissed as deeply by a man who tasted as delicious, whose masculine scent drove her so completely insane. His hard cock pressed into her pubic bone at the base, the length extending almost to her belly button. She moaned, grinding against him, wanting that searing heat to slide inside her, pumping to her core.
“Shower,” he murmured into her lips. “I need to get that creature’s stench off me, but I don’t want to let you go. I’m a selfish bastard.”
“I can handle that.” Anything, as long as she didn’t have to give up this heat, the promise of being with her wolf.
My wolf.
Why would she think that? He wasn’t hers, but she wouldn’t pass up the chance to be with him while she was here. Ignoring the pang in her chest at the thought that she would eventually leave for L.A., she let him lead her into the bathroom. Like hers, it wasn’t fancy, but was more spacious than she would’ve thought, adorned with nice brass accents and updated tile. Aric had added his own touches, his rugs and towels in rust and brown colors, the pattern giving it sort of a Southwestern feel, like the rest of his apartment.
“Did you grow up in the South?” she asked as he stripped off the tattered sweats. “I can’t quite place your accent.”
“I’m a Texas boy—Houston, but I’ve been gone for so long I’ve lost most of the drawl. Strip, honey.”
She did, pulling off her sports bra, loving how his eyes widened as he took in her freed breasts. “I’ll bet you were raised on Southern rock.”
“Huh?” His eyes somehow made it to her face.
“You know, Lynyrd Skynyrd, beer, and tailgate parties?”
“Oh, sure. What good Texan isn’t?”
Drinking in his naked body, she lost the thread of their conversation. She’d seen him in the buff before, but not when he was all hers. Not when they were about to get wet and naughty. The man was over six feet of lean, cut muscle. Long, burnished hair flowed over his tattooed chest, down his back in a luxurious fall she wanted to drown in. His penis was hard, jutting proudly from its nest of dark curls, arching toward his stomach like a comma. He wasn’t the least bit shy about it, and she found that confidence incredibly sexy.
Pulling open the glass door to the shower stall, he turned on the water and stuck his hand under it to test the temperature. When he deemed it satisfactory, he stepped inside and held out a hand. Though she could manage just fine, she took it, strangely touched by the gesture. None of her former lovers had ever cared about showering together, and certainly none had been very solicitous.
And that described Aric to a T as a lover, she soon learned. Kind and caring. Thoughtful. Such a contrast from his public persona, especially with his friends.
Shutting the stall door behind her, she stepped into his arms. He pulled her close again and she reveled in the sensation of his naked skin against hers. His tight rear end felt damned fine in her palms, perfectly round and smooth. His lips descended, warm and soft, the kiss every bit as deep as before but gentler. Searching. His tongue licked the roof of her mouth, behind her teeth, probed everywhere as though he had to learn every ridge.
Then his hand worked between them, fingers combing through her curls to find the nub of her clit. She widened her stance, encouraging his touch. He played, stroked and teased, sending little tingles to her limbs, revving her long-neglected libido into overdrive. Unable to resist, she wormed her hand between them as well and cupped his heavy sac, testing its weight.
He broke the kiss, groaning. “Fuck, yes, baby. Explore all you want. That’s yours.”
She liked that idea, a helluva lot. “This is all for me? Nobody else?”
“No one but you.”
He sounded very serious, but it had to be a line. They’d met only days ago, not nearly enough time for any attachments to form. Right? It had to be a statement born of lust, nothing else.
The unwanted image of another woman pleasuring her wolf came to the fore, and she ruthlessly squashed it. He might not be hers, but she wouldn’t allow reality to intrude on the here and now.
He spread his legs wider, making it clear he was a man of his word. She could do what she wanted and he’d enjoy every second. Carefully, she knelt and grasped the base of his cock with one hand and steadied herself by holding on to his thigh with the other. Looking up, she admired how the water cascaded over his head, wetting his hair, and streamed down his chest and stomach, poured off his cock and balls. He was like some water god come to life especially for her, and she wouldn’t waste a moment.
Testing the seeping head of his penis with her tongue, she was surprised and happy to find that his flavor was sweet, unlike the salty bitterness of past lovers. Giving head wasn’t her favorite thing, but for Aric she could change her mind.
She sucked on the spongy crown, smiling inwardly at the way he melted under her ministrations, making incomprehensible noises that might’ve been endearments. Or curses. Who knew? All she cared about was rendering the man incapable of speech. At least any that made sense.
She took him down her throat, loving that his entire length seemed to fit like a hand in a glove when this wasn’t typically her forte. He was warm and slick, and she laved every vein and contour, eating him like a stick of candy. The man was putty in her hands and mouth, so she upped the ante, increasing the suction on his cock. A hand fisted in her hair and he increased his rhythm until his hips were snapping like a piston, fucking her face like there was no tomorrow.
She opened to him, squeezing his balls, hoping to make him lose control. Her efforts met with resounding success. After giving a series of quick thrusts, his body tensed, balls drawing up tight.
“Shit! Coming!”
He tried to pull out, but she held fast to her prize. Surrendering to her wishes, he came with a shout, his seed spurting hot and thick onto her tongue, down her throat. She drank him greedily, not wanting to miss a drop, though it wasn’t easy. The man was loaded with cream and maybe hadn’t enjoyed this in quite a while. Or so she hoped.
When he slumped against the tile, she licked away the last drops, then let him slip from her lips and smiled up into his sated face. “Damn, you taste good, my wolf.”
“What?” He blinked at her as though startled.
“You taste good,” she repeated.
“Oh. Thanks.” Helping her up, he smiled. “I’d love to return the favor.”
“You can, but I did that because I wanted to. I enjoyed it, very much.”
He looked rather proud of that. “So did I, as if you couldn’t tell. You’re amazing, sweetheart.”
She basked in his praise as he grabbed a bottle of shampoo and squeezed some into her palm, then his own. They lathered up, took turns rinsing, then soaped their bodies as well. She had fun sudsing his chest and back, not to mention his groin, making him laugh at her playfulness. He soaped her, too, paying special attention to her breasts, tweaking the nipples to hard peaks. Then he soaped between her legs, making sure to rub the sensitive slit so that she squirmed with arousal.
By the time Aric turned off the shower and handed her a towel, she was a ball of frustrated, excited desire. She needed the edge taken off, and fast.
They dried off and then Aric got out a blow dryer, saying that his hair was so long, it was a miserable, cold, damp mop if he let it dry naturally. Rowan itched to get her hands on his mane, and he relinquished the dryer and brush with a minimum of fuss. She had him sit stark naked on the toilet seat facing away from her, and tackled the glorious tresses with relish. As it dried, the mass was silky and shiny, and he practically purred with pleasure at the attention.
When it was sufficiently dry, she did her own, which didn’t take nearly as much time, then switched off the dryer. “Have you always worn your hair long?” she asked, rolling up the cord and replacing the dryer in the cabinet.
“Except for my years in the Navy, I have. Drives the women crazy.”
“Conceited muc
h?”
“Nah, not me. Truthfully, I just like it this way. It feeds my inner rock star wannabe.”
She laughed. “Sling an electric guitar over your hips and the image will be complete. Love it.”
“See? Works every time.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“Would you want me any other way?”
“I doubt you’d wear ‘sweet and innocent’ very well, so no.”
Standing, he crowded her against the sink, a position she liked a lot. “Good, because I’ve never been anything but a really bad boy,” he said, cupping her cheeks.
His tongue teased the seam of her lips, slipped inside to play for a few seconds. Then he pulled away and took her hand, making straight for the bed. She crawled into the middle, laughing when he flipped her over as if she weighed nothing and fake-tackled her, covering her body with his. She spread her legs to accommodate him and he settled his weight comfortably, taking care not to squash her into the mattress. She loved the solid feel of him, his clean, crisp scent.
She especially loved how his hair fell around them like a fiery silk curtain. Unable to resist, she twirled a lock around one finger.
“I think you just want me because of my hair.” His grin was teasing.
“Oh, that’s not all. Trust me. But I’m not going to list your assets no matter how much you fish, because your ego is inflated enough already.”
“Not my ego,” he said with a wicked gleam in his eyes, grinding the proof into her belly. “You walked right into that one.”
“So I did.”
With her fingertip she traced the gorgeous scrolled tattoo that spilled over his left shoulder and onto his chest. The snarling wolf’s head in the center was more of an outline than a detailed picture, a silhouette.
“You like?”
“It’s stunning,” she answered honestly. “When the others shifted to human form, I’ve noticed that except for Kalen, Hammer, and Nick, each of you has one somewhere on your body. Even Micah has one.”
His expression darkened a bit. “Yeah, all of us who were attacked and changed years ago, in Afghanistan. We did it when we joined the Alpha Pack, as sort of a memorial to the life we’d lost, and the one we were beginning.”