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Resilience
ISBN # 978-1-78184-052-8
©Copyright Bailey Bradford 2012
Cover Art by Lyn Taylor ©Copyright July 2012
Edited by Claire Siemaszkiewicz
Total-E-Bound Publishing
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination
and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or
places is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form,
whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of
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Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound
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proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.
The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs
and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator
of the artwork.
Published in 2012 by Total-E-Bound Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL,
United Kingdom.
Warning:
This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This
story has a heat rating of Total-e-melting and a sexometer of 2.
This story contains 263 pages, additionally there is also a free excerpt at the end of the book
containing 9 pages.
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Southwestern Shifters
RESILIENCE
Bailey Bradford
www.total-e-bound.com
Book five in the Southwestern Shifters Series
Todd Benson almost died for the freedom to love Adam Soames. Now they face obstacles that once
again place both of them in danger.
Todd Benson had figured he’d be alone forever. He had the best friend any guy could want
in Gabe Staley, and Gabe’s partner Mika was okay, too. But a personal life and any kind of
true happiness was out of the question. With Todd’s bigoted and violent parents, and the
sheriff he worked for trying to torture animals and Gabe, Todd knew he’d do well just to
survive his job as a deputy in the small town of Shasta, Texas.
Adam Soames needed to get away from the big city. His best friend had found his perfect
man and moved away, and Adam felt lost in the city. The opportunity to have his own
veterinary practice in a small town sounded perfect. He didn’t know he’d soon be living a
life he’d only dreamed of—or the cost he and the man he loved would have to pay.
Together Todd and Adam face seemingly insurmountable odds, from Todd’s recovery from
a vicious attack to the prejudices and trials many couples have. Then there’s the big shocker
of finding out Gabe and Mika aren’t humans, exactly, but wolf shifters instead, and a whole
new door is opened and trouble soon comes barrelling through it.
Dedication
For everyone who asked for Todd and Adam’s story.
Trademarks Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following
wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Chevy: General Motors
GQ: Conde Nast
Midol: Bayer HealthCare LLC.
Prozac: Eli Lily and Co.
POP-TART: Kellogg NA Co.
Lucca Shoes: Lucca Couture
Oscar: Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
National Geographic: National Geographic Society
The Exorcist: Warner Bros Studio
Nair: Church & Dwight Co. Inc.
Google: Google Inc.
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PART ONE
In The Beginning
Chapter One
Todd Benson couldn’t begin to count the number of times he’d thought he was going to
die. Probably, he guessed, every time his hell-and-brimstone preaching daddy had grabbed a
belt, or a cane, or a switch. There’d been those two times with the crop, and another with the
electrical cord. Those were just the times he remembered. Sometimes he wondered if he
hadn’t blocked out even worse episodes of abuse.
But he’d survived the abuse, no thanks to most people in the small town of Shasta. As
an adult, Todd knew now that everyone just about had to have been aware of what was
happening to him when he’d been a kid. And as a member of law enforcement, a certified,
bona fide deputy, Todd knew they knew.
Forgiving the people of Shasta for turning a blind eye to the abuse he’d suffered was
something he was still working on. The only people who’d really tried to help him had been
Mr and Mrs Staley, his best friend’s grandparents. That hadn’t really gone so well, but it had
helped Todd, knowing there were people who didn’t think he deserved to be treated so
badly. When they’d died, Todd had cried like a baby. Gabe, their grandson and his closest
friend, had been devastated as well.
And, somehow, Todd had developed more of a backbone then. His father and mother
had already condemned him to hell for being friends with Gabe since Gabe was one of those
demon-possessed homosexuals. Well, Todd had news for his parents—he was too. He was
just too scared to do anything about it. He was too scared to even talk about it, because if his
parents found out? All those times he’d thought he was gonna die, well, those would be
nothing compared to what would happen.
Todd had heard his parents rant before, and he’d been subjected to some severe
beatings over being Gabe’s friend even once he’d passed the age of eighteen. It was, Todd
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knew even though it shamed him, very hard to break out of the cycle of abuse. He still
hadn’t, he supposed, because it’d just been earlier in the day that his father had slapped him
so hard Todd’s entire head throbbed. And here he’d been wearing his badge and…and he
hadn’t done more than hang his head and leave.
At least he’d made his father stop hitting him otherwise, and he’d moved out. Those
were two accomplishments, and Todd was intelligent enough to know he needed to give
himself what positive reinforcement he could. His confidence was almost nonexistent and he
had plenty of other problems, but he had to believe he’d get better. Maybe one day he’d
move away from Shasta, because he’d need to get away from his parents if he ever wanted to
be able to be himself.
But first he’d have to figure out who he was. That was just frightening, because Todd
knew that, despite the badge on his shirt, he was a big old coward. If he wasn’t, he’d be out
like Gabe, and he sure wouldn’t be letting anyone smack him around.
“Get off your lazy ass and go see what you can find out about the new vet that’s
moving in to the Duggart place.”
Todd looked up from the papers on his desk. How long had he been sitting there
staring blankly at them? Long enough for Sheriff Kaufman to catch him at it. Kaufman was
only mildly better to Todd than his parents were.
“New vet?” Todd said, and, if he stuttered a little, oh well, Kaufman tended to scare
him. The man was cruel on a whole different level than Todd’s parents were. At least even
they didn’t get their rocks off abusing and shooting stray dogs like the sheriff did. Kaufman
was a sociopath with a badge as far as Todd was concerned, and that was a combination that
should terrify everyone, not just him.
Kaufman snorted and kicked Todd’s desk. “Yeah, now get your lazy ass up and go
check him out. I think he looks too pretty not to be one of those fags. We already got that
Staley freak here, at least until I can run his fruity ass out of Shasta. Don’t need no more of
’em around.”
Todd bit his tongue to keep from pointing out that Gabe didn’t actually live in the town
of Shasta, but on the outskirts. He pushed away from the desk and grabbed his jacket and
hat. Better that he not say anything to draw more attention to Gabe. Soon enough Sheriff
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Kaufman would catch on to what he was doing, and probably to the fact that Todd was
helping him.
The first time Todd had witnessed Kaufman beating a stray dog to death, he’d been sick
and terrified. He’d been frozen in shock and fear, having come around the side of old man
Harrity’s barn when he heard a dog yelp, only to find Kaufman snickering as he swung a bat
repeatedly. Kaufman had spotted him and ran his hand over the butt of his gun. Todd hadn’t
said a word to him, but his conscience gnawed at him and he was haunted by what he’d seen
and heard, and he turned to the one person he could confide in.
Gabe had wanted to confront the sheriff, but Todd had managed to make him see the
futility in doing so. They’d come up with a plan to thwart Kaufman and protect as many
strays as they could.
Together, Todd and Gabe had set about rescuing the stray dogs around the area. It was
as close as Todd had come to making a stand, but he couldn’t have lived with himself if he’d
sat back while Kaufman tortured some of the most noble creatures on earth.
So Todd tried to make sure he got the calls about strays, and he and Gabe would sneak
out and rescue them. Sometimes Kaufman got the info first, though, and those times were
just awful. Todd had ended up puking for a good couple of hours after the last time.
Sheriff Kaufman stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Todd couldn’t quite look
into the man’s squinty little eyes. “You tell me if he’s a faggot, or an asshole who’s gonna shit
bricks over our stray policy. I’ll handle him from there.” He slapped Todd’s arm hard
enough to bruise. “A few tickets and a little roughin’ up and I bet he’d run off cryin’.”
Todd waited until he was outside to shake his head. It was like an epic battle between
good and evil or something, except the Bible had it wrong, because the devil couldn’t be as
hateful and cruel as people were, could he? Sometimes—a lot of times—Todd thought Hell
was right here on earth, and the little town of Shasta was at its epicentre.
He didn’t have time for philosophical bullshit, though. Right now he had to go warn
the good veterinarian about the evil sheriff. Yep, good and evil, Todd thought, and smiled for
the first time that day. Now, if the vet turned out to be a total douche, that’d skew Todd’s
budding philosophy on religion and God and all that. Todd didn’t even worry about being
sacrilegious anymore. His father had beaten it into him that God knew what was in one’s
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heart, and, if that was the case, and what Todd felt and thought secretly in his heart was
wrong, then he was toast anyways.
But, if his father was wrong and God wasn’t the hateful being his father thought he
was, then Todd figured he was going to be okay. His father and mother, on the other hand,
were in for some hot weather in the afterlife.
Todd rolled his eyes at his thoughts. He spent too much time on stuff like that, but,
considering the way it’d been drilled into him all his life, he reckoned it was understandable.
It wasn’t like he had friends other than Gabe to hang out with and distract him from his own
stupid brain, either. Todd was, as weird as it might seem, considering his job, so shy it hurt
to talk sometimes. Plus, who could he trust in Shasta? No one, besides Gabe.
“I really need out of here,” Todd mumbled, then nearly wrecked his cruiser when he
rounded the corner of Main and Brentwood. As it was, he hit his brakes a little too hard and
the tyres screeched on the asphalt, and the man who was bent over digging through the back
of his SUV stood up and turned around.
And Todd knew, then, there, in that second when his eyes met a pair of dark chocolate
brown ones, that he was going to die. His father would kill him, because everything inside
Todd was pinging with an awareness he’d tried so hard to suffocate, or at least hide until he
was free. His father had always said Gabe was going to turn him gay, and, though Todd
knew that wasn’t the case—he’d known what he’d felt for as long as he could remember,
which was before Gabe ever came to town—there was no way his father would believe him.
Todd was afraid that some switch had been flicked in him now, and that his darkest secret
was going to be glaringly exposed. It was stupid, paranoid, but the power his parents,
especially his father, had over him was not to be dismissed.
Then the dark-haired man smiled, and it made Todd dizzy, dizzy! He managed to put
the car in park, he thought, and his lips did something weird, twitched or trembled or
prepared to spew odes to the man’s beauty. Todd groaned then, because he was so dead. He
wouldn’t ever get out of Shasta, wouldn’t have any of those wild hedonistic nights he
fantasised about when he dared to let himself.
He wasn’t ever going to get very far away from the man now approaching the cruiser,
not if he could help it. But—Todd shook his head slightly and the man stopped. Todd took a
minute to study him. No designer clothes, no loose-hipped gait like Gabe had, no clues as to
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the man’s sexuality. Gabe and TV were about the only representations of gay men Todd had
to go by, and this man didn’t fit any of those stereotypes. Not that Gabe was flaming or
whatever, but he wasn’t exactly…not.
Todd told himself to get it together and unbuckled. He got out of the car and tipped his
head at the man. And he tried to smile, or at least not look like he was as terrified as he felt.
The stranger’s smile struck again and melted everything inside Todd.
“Hi,” the man said, offering a hand as he approached. “I’m Adam Soames, the vet
taking over Dr McIntire’s practice.”
Todd’s hand was sweaty so he wiped it on his uniform pants before shaking Adam’s
hand. He looked down at their hands. Adam’s was bigger than his, hairier, stronger. Adam’s
voice was deeper, too, and Todd couldn’t classify him as anything other than a handsome
man he’d be drooling over if he wasn’t careful. Adam was probably straight.
“Is there a problem?” Adam asked, and Todd realised he hadn’t let go of the vet’s hand.
“No,” he said as he whipped his hand back. “I, ah, it’s… I j-j-j—” Oh God, the stuttering
was kicking in!
Todd closed his eyes and took a deep breath, aware that his entire face had to be bright
red. He opened his eyes and about died at the understanding look Adam gave him.
“Welcome to Shasta,” Todd blurted out, relieved that he didn’t stutter it and mortified that
he sounded like a thirteen-year-old boy going through puberty.
Adam’s smile actually turned up a notch and Todd felt sucker-punched. “Thank you,
Deputy Benson.”
Todd was confused for a second until Adam tapped his badge, then he was just back to
being mortified. “Yeah, uh. Welcome.” Now what? Todd wondered. What happened when
you met the person you’d been waiting for, and they weren’t waiting around for you? There
was no way Todd was good enough for a man like this even if Adam was gay. Todd gave
himself an internal shake. He needed to get his act together, and maybe, if he tried hard
enough, he could keep his secret hidden for a while longer.
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Chapter Two
“It was kinda crooked.” Adam stepped back and tried his best to look, well, non-
threatening, which he had a feeling in this case meant straight. “I’ll just get back to unloading
these boxes…” He needed to tone it down, Adam chastised himself silently. It was obvious
he was freaking the cute deputy out. The man’s freckles had vanished under the ferocious
blush that’d swept over his face. It made his green eyes extremely vibrant, and Adam had
always had a thing for green eyes, damn it. And hadn’t that caused him no end of trouble? It
was a huge part of why he was settling in Fuckitall, Texas.
Although…his brilliant plan to remove himself from temptation might have backfired.
But who’d have thought there’d be even one gay man in a town like this—well, besides
himself, obviously—or that he’d be the culmination of Adam’s favourite fantasies?
Except the very sweet-looking Deputy Benson might drop dead of a stroke or
something if Adam didn’t watch it. And dampen the flame. I promised to tone it down to
nothingness.
“Was there anything else, Deputy Benson?” Adam asked, because Benson seemed to
have rooted to the ground there. Adam’s heart did a slow lurch in his chest. Was that hunger
there in those green eyes? Or was he projecting his own desires? But the way the deputy
blushed and stuttered, and seemed loath to leave—
“No, n-nothing,” Benson mumbled, then quickly turned and headed back to his cruiser.
“Okay, not so loath to leave after all, dumbass.” Adam sighed and forced himself to
turn away when all he really wanted to do was stand there and watch the handsome cop
drive away. Yeah, and there’d be a rainbow over my head decorated with cute little hearts and
sparrows and all that sappy stuff. Jesus. He could be a bit melodramatic.
And it wasn’t like Deputy Benson had really been looking at him like that. Adam was
just too used to the horny guys at the clubs and such, where everyone seemed to be eye-
fucking each other. He really had to get his head on right.
Adam snorted as he lifted a particularly heavy box. He also needed to get the fuck over
himself. He was attractive, he supposed, but he wasn’t all that and a bag of chips too. He was
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just a guy, nothing standout-ish about him. It wasn’t like he was really tall and built or short
and cuddly. He wasn’t a troll, but he wasn’t going to be on the cover of GQ in this lifetime,
either.
He sure didn’t have freckles that looked like cinnamon sprinkles, or big bright eyes
fringed in thick lashes, or—
“Stop it!” Adam would have stomped his foot just to jar himself if he hadn’t been
lugging the box. As it was, he caught his heel on the last porch step and just kept from face-
planting. Or being crushed by the box. What the hell had he packed in there anyway?
Adam made it through the front door then set the box on the floor. He pushed it into
what would eventually be his office—he thought, he hadn’t quite figured it out yet—and was
going to head back outside for more when something about the box caused him to pause. He
really didn’t remember packing that damn thing into the vehicle. And there was no tape
holding it shut, just the flaps folded under one another. Adam bent down and plucked at
one, pulling it back just enough to get a peek at the contents.
“I didn’t…” Well, no, he definitely didn’t pack up that particular box. His best friend,
Jameson, had helped. Of course, Jameson’s idea of helping looked like it took batteries. And a
fuckload of lube. “No wonder the box was so heavy.” Adam had a feeling the entire box was
full of helpful…things.
“Jameson, you perv.” There weren’t many people Adam was going to miss, but
Jameson had been his best friend forever, just about. If he hadn’t found his Mr Right and
decided to move to Amsterdam, Adam might not have left, too. But it seemed fitting, the two
of them leaving Dallas at the same time, even on the same day.
It also made Adam’s chest ache. He felt utterly alone. At least before, he’d had Jameson
to talk to. Well, not as much once Steve had come along, but still. More than it’d be with
Jameson in Amsterdam. They’d email, but it wouldn’t be the same.
Adam plopped down on his butt, overcome for a moment with a melancholy that, if he
wasn’t careful, could turn into a mild bout of depression. It was something he had to watch
out for. He opened the rest of the flaps and grinned when he saw the envelope in amongst all
the sex toys—and there were things in there even he had never seen, which was saying
something. He plucked out the envelope then tapped it in his hand, debating for a moment
before opening it and unfolding the plain white paper. Jameson’s sloppy scrawl brought a
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watery grin to Adam’s face. He wondered how Jameson was doing with the man he’d fallen
head over heels for, Luuk Visser. The two had moved to Europe when Adam moved to
Shasta.
There wasn’t much to the letter; it was just a brief congratulations on purchasing the
veterinary clinic and Jameson’s wishes for him to be happy. Adam tucked the letter back
into the envelope then folded it in half and put it in his pocket. He was going to miss
Jameson a lot. Maybe, if he was lucky, he’d make a friend or two here. No one would ever
take Jameson’s place, though.
Adam spared the box’s contents a last look before he got up. There were some things in
there, like the padded cuffs and a soft, silky blindfold, he’d like to see against someone’s fair,
freckled skin. He’d bet Deputy Benson’s blush would be a full-body one.
“That’d be sexy as hell,” Adam muttered. And great, now he had a major hard-on,
which was going to make the rest of the unloading lots of fun. Oh well, at least he had some
new toys to help take care of that problem later—although he thought his imagination and
the memory of a pair of wide green eyes would be all he needed to do the job just fine.
* * * *
Todd was so shaken up by the brief meeting that he could hardly drive for his
trembling hands. And arms, and every other part of himself, he thought, except his dick.
That particular piece of him was trying to stiffen up even though Todd was feeling
borderline panicked.
What was he going to do? Adam Soames, gay or straight, was going to make Todd’s
cock hard, even, apparently, if Todd was busy embarrassing the crap out of himself by
stuttering like an idiot. Try as he might, stuttering was something his dad hadn’t been able to
beat out of him. Maybe if he’d been allowed to take speech therapy, but since his dad
equated that to special education…
Thinking about his hateful father put Todd’s desire right out. It also stirred the embers
of anger and resentment that were never far from the surface of Todd’s emotions. Sometimes
he thought he would blow up from all the pain he carried around inside, all the fury. Other
times, he thought if—
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Todd shook his head. No use thinking that way, not at all. He needed to forget about
the reaction he’d had to Adam Soames, and not freak out over the stuttering. It was just that
he hadn’t done it in so long—to have it happen now undermined his confidence in a major
way. And he knew it, but he wasn’t sure how to rectify the situation.
Rolling around in self-pity sure wasn’t going to help, but—Todd smiled—he knew
something that might.
Fifteen minutes later, he pulled into Gabe’s driveway. He called in his lunch break then
shut the cruiser off and got out. A couple of deep breaths and he already felt better than he
had in a while. Something about visiting his friend always loosened that weird knot in
Todd’s chest. Knowing he could just pop in anytime helped, too. It was nice to feel wanted,
or at least something more than just tolerated.
Todd walked up to the porch, then tried to keep his steps light. If he could pull it off, he
was going to sneak in and surprise Gabe. It’d probably result in Todd’s eardrums bleeding
from Gabe’s shriek, but they’d both laugh about it afterwards.
Tiptoeing in cowboy boots sucked, but Todd did it. He got to the door. The screen
wasn’t open but the wooden door was, as usual. Todd raised his hand to knock—and about
had a heart attack when Gabe jumped out from behind the open door and shouted “Boo!”
“Jesus!” Todd barely kept from screeching it, or maybe he didn’t, hard to tell with his
pulse pounding in his ears. He stumbled back and caught himself on the porch rail as he
gawped at Gabe…the laughing bastard!
Gabe’s eyes were practically glowing as he bent and grabbed his stomach. “Ohmigod,
you should see your face!”
Todd blinked then scowled and shut his mouth. He saw his face every day when he
shaved. He knew exactly how goofy he could look contorting his features around. “Ha ha.”
Then Todd’s pique morphed into amusement at his own expense and he laughed. “I was
gonna scare you.”
Gabe stood up and leaned against the doorframe. He nudged the screen door open with
his foot. “Yeah, but you about made me piss myself sneaking up on me out back last week.
You want lunch?”
Todd shrugged. He didn’t care if he ate or not, he just wanted the warm
companionship. Wanted, for an hour, to not feel like such a loser.
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Gabe straightened up and moved to hold the screen door open with his hand. “Well,
come on then. I’m not gonna stand here all day holding the damn door open. I do have
websites to design and all that fun shit.”
Todd tried not to blush. He’d seen some of the websites Gabe had designed. One in
particular had stirred up all kinds of fantasies. Rick’s Rockin’ Rods, that was it. Todd had only
caught a glimpse of some of the things on there, but it’d been enough to make his cock so
hard his eyes had crossed. He’d had to beat off in Gabe’s bathroom. Fortunately it hadn’t
taken long at all, the fear of discovery merging with a weird excitement and a flood of
horniness that’d brought Todd to his peak in a few short minutes.
“Hey.” Todd stopped right inside the doorway. The screen door popped him on the
backside but it didn’t hurt and he didn’t notice it much because Gabe caught his arm. Gabe
looked at him in a way that Todd knew too well, that mix of pity or sympathy, it was the
same thing to him, and a dose of caring that was more precious to Todd than his own pride.
Gabe narrowed his eyes and reached up with his other hand to touch Todd’s cheek.
Before he could think better of it, Todd sucked in a sharp breath and turned his head. He’d
forgotten about his father slapping him earlier. Todd wondered if Adam had seen the bruise
that must have been there. Either that, or Gabe was psychic.
“He did this?” Gabe growled, then he rolled his eyes. “Of course he did, unless your
mother did it. Fucking assholes, both of them!” Gabe stroked over his cheek once more then
stepped away and glared at Todd. “One of these days I am going to lose my shit all over
your father! Guh!” He threw his hands up in the air and stomped down the hall, still
bitching. “And your mother? Oh. My. God. Someone needs to hold her down and give her an
IV of Midol! Or Prozac. Something, she’s just… She’s just mean! If my grandma were still
alive, she’d go smack some sense into your mom and set your dad straight, let me tell you!”
Todd almost smiled at that. He liked it when Gabe got all protective of him. Made him
feel like there was at least one person in the world who cared. Sometimes he thought it’d
have been nice if he and Gabe were attracted to each other, but then he shook the idea away.
Gabe was too much like a brother to him. He listened as Gabe kept ranting, or tried to listen,
but his mind kept drifting off as he wondered about Adam Soames. Why would a young,
attractive man want to move to a small armpit of a town? Was he running from bad
memories or…or was he a shitty vet who couldn’t do any better than a town like Shasta?
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“Earth to Todd.”
Todd blinked when Gabe snapped his fingers in front of Todd’s face. “What?”
Gabe huffed and set a plate of Pop-Tarts in front of him. “There. Lunch. You weren’t
listening to a word I said.” Gabe gave him a look that brooked no argument, not that Todd
was going to deny the accusation.
“Sorry.” Todd picked up a Pop-Tart, warm and toasty. He took a bite and moaned a
little, he couldn’t help it. Gabe couldn’t have been too pissed off about Todd’s lack of
attention, otherwise Todd would have got cold Pop-Tarts. And he sure wouldn’t have got
cherry, his favourite. Todd loved the childish treats, unhealthy as they were. He hadn’t been
allowed anything like them growing up, and he refused to buy them now, or else he’d eat
nothing else and weigh a ton in no time.
Gabe sat down across from him and took a bite of his own Pop-Tart. “S’okay. I was just
talking about the puppies. I really wish you could take one.”
Todd swallowed and chased the gooey sweet down with cold milk before replying.
“You know I can’t have pets in the apartment. Probably a good thing or I’d have a whole
herd of dogs and cats.”
Gabe chuckled and finished off his lunch in two big bites. He took Todd’s plate when
he was done then rinsed it while Todd found the dish towel. “So, anything interesting going
on in town?”
Todd almost dropped the glass he was drying. It was the same question Gabe
frequently asked him, but this time it seemed almost prying. Me and my good friend, paranoia.
“Nah.” Todd set the glass in the cabinet, careful to keep his back to Gabe while he continued.
“Met the new vet, Adam Soames. Sheriff wanted me to go check him out. Guess he’s afraid
Soames might take over the world or something.”
“New vet?” Gabe nudged Todd’s back. “Why didn’t I know we were getting a new vet?
Maybe he’ll be one I can actually use. My gay cooties scared Doc Shithead too much.”
Todd risked a peek over his shoulder. Gabe was watching him, sure enough. Todd
sighed and turned around. “Soames seems nice, I guess. I didn’t really talk to him. Just
checked to make sure he wasn’t the Antichrist or whatever.”
Gabe arched a brow. “They’ve got makeup that would have covered the Mark of the
Beast on his forehead. You have to be more thorough when checking those things out.”
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Todd almost cringed, but not quite. His father would have struck him and Gabe both
for such jokes. But he was past that. He hoped. “Well, maybe you should check him out then,
since you know so much more about all that than this preacher’s son does.”
“Is he cute?” Gabe waggled his eyebrows and it was only then Todd realised he might
have screwed up royally, because if Adam was gay, and he saw Gabe? Met Gabe? Well,
that’d solve the problem of Todd’s rapidly growing attraction, kind of. It wouldn’t kill it but
he’d sure never act on it then.
I’m not gonna act on it now! He absolutely wasn’t! “I dunno.” He shrugged and knew if
he wasn’t careful he was going to be beet red. “Can we go outside? I want to play with the
puppies for a bit before I have to get back to work.”
“Diverting, much?” Gabe muttered. Todd chose to ignore that. He suspected Gabe
suspected… Todd took a page from Gabe’s book and rolled his eyes. If Gabe didn’t know
Todd was gay, he had to at least wonder. But Gabe hadn’t asked and Todd hadn’t told, so…
So it was just what it was. “And I’m taking that as a yes. If he was ass-ugly, you woulda
said.”
There wasn’t any sense in denying it. “Yeah.” Then the yips of the puppies and the
bouncing, happy dogs, always so glad to see him, distracted Todd from everything else. It
wasn’t until he was driving off that he went back to worrying about whether or not Adam
was gay, and what would happen when Gabe and Adam met.
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Chapter Three
It’d been a week since Adam had seen the cute deputy, and he was kind of relieved. It
hadn’t taken but a couple of days to realise Shasta wasn’t an LGBTQ-friendly town. Which,
considering he’d moved here with the idea of becoming a pathetic old hermit with only his
pets for companionship… Well, yeah, seemed things were going to work out just like he’d
planned.
At least he’d learn to get his straight act down quick. That sheriff was a creepy, bigoted
fucker who wore hatred like a badge. Probably wore it with more pride than his actual
sheriff’s badge. He was without a doubt the epitome of every jerk who’d bullied and beaten
Adam in school, and Adam had hated him on the spot. He didn’t feel bad about it since he
knew it was mutual.
And of course, he thought as he pulled up to his clinic, there sat Sheriff Dickhead in his
cruiser, glaring across the parking lot at Adam.
“Yeah, well, fuck you.” Adam gave the man the biggest, fakest smile he could manage
on only a cup of coffee, then parked his car and got out. He laughed when the sheriff gunned
his engine and roared out of the parking lot. Maybe he’d make the sheriff so mad he’d roll
his damned vehicle or something. “Calm yourself, inner bitch.” He really needed to work on
his temper, but he had a really bad feeling about Kaufman, and life was too short to put up
with shitty people.
Adam tried to shake off his funk, let it get carried away in the cool early morning
breeze. He unlocked his clinic—his, God, how he liked that!—and turned off the alarm before
it could start blaring. He went ahead and turned the lights on, opening up officially even
though his employees hadn’t come in yet. He checked the clock on the wall and grunted.
They had fifteen minutes before they were supposed to clock in. Adam didn’t know
Jade and Verna well, but they seemed like decent people. They sure didn’t seem broken up
about getting a new boss. Adam didn’t blame them. The old vet had been an utter ass, and
Adam would bet dollars to dog collars he’d not have sold the clinic to a gay man—
knowingly. That was why realtors could be such a blessing, he mused.
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Adam turned on the computer at the front desk then flipped the lights on in each room
he passed. The dogs heard him coming, and the noise from the kennels attached to the
medical building ratcheted up to un-frigging-godly. Adam grinned as he stepped into the
small kitchen and started a pot of coffee. He really needed to get a new coffeemaker, one
with a timer so the coffee would be ready when he got in to work.
Once the coffee had started brewing, and his mouth watering, Adam heard the
electronic bell that let him know someone had come in the front door. “Back here,” he
hollered, figuring it was one of his employees since there were no appointments scheduled
until…tomorrow. “Please tell me one of you brought some more of those sausages…” Spicy
and wrapped in a crescent roll, those things were divine and addictive and Adam really
shouldn’t eat them if he didn’t want a fat ass. Then again, he wasn’t looking for a man, right?
The lack of an immediate answer gave him a fissure of unease that turned quickly into
embarrassment when an unfamiliar male voice called back, “Okay, you do know there’s so
many ways that could be taken.”
Adam’s eyes about popped out of his head. The man’s voice was just slightly breathy,
flirty. Maybe not noticeably so to someone who wasn’t attuned to such nuances, but he sure
as hell couldn’t miss them. Obviously he wasn’t the only gay guy in town… Bad news if he
was intent on keeping to himself.
Oh, shut yourself up, idiot. Just because he’s gay and I’m gay doesn’t mean there will ever be
fucking of any kind involved. Jesus, I’ve had gay friends before that I never… Adam’s thoughts
screeched to a halt. Even with Jameson, his best buddy ever, there’d been the occasional hand
job or blow job when they’d been single and desperate…and usually really drunk.
Well. He would just have to cloak himself in asexuality then, Adam decided. He’d
meant it when he’d given up on finding a partner, and when he’d decided he’d had enough
of his friends breaking his heart. Even Jameson, though he was only following his own,
falling in love and being happy—and leaving Adam without a friend he could trust on the
goddamned continent.
Yeah, better to not be too friendly. Adam tried to put the slightest bit of frown in his
voice when he called back to the stranger. “Sorry, thought you were one of the girls.” Oh
shit, ‘the girls’ would skin him if they heard him call them that! But he was trying to get
some breasts involved somehow, and…and he was a fucking idiot. Adam sighed. “Would
you like a cup of coffee?”
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“Sure.”
He jumped and sloshed coffee all over the floor. “Shit!” Adam set the pot down and
tried not to glare over his shoulder at the… Oh, God damn it, the handsome dark-haired man
with the bright green eyes. Holding an adorable puppy, who looked at Adam with a world
of misery in its woeful expression.
Adam’s irritation fled, as did his awareness of the man holding the puppy, except in the
most basic of ways. “What’s a matter, little—guy? Girl?” He put a hand on the pup’s head
and looked expectantly at the man holding it.
The man blushed and stuttered and Adam’s inner vanity slut did a “Woot! I still got it,
baby!” cheer. “Uh, yeah. Girl. Um, this is Babs, and she’s been lethargic since last night, but
the rest of her litter is fine.”
Adam took the puppy from the guy, forgetting about the coffee or manners or anything
else. He peered into her eyes, then lifted her lip to check her gums. They were pale and his
gut clenched just as it did any time he saw an animal suffering. “Has she and the rest of her
litter been wormed?”
The man nodded. “I bought this worming paste from Pets R Us—”
Adam shook his head and tried not to melt the guy with a scathing look. “Do you know
what kind, and for what internal parasites? Has she or the others had a fecal? And what
about their boosters?”
Those green eyes snapped with temper as the man planted his hands on his hips. “Wait
just a fucking minute! Don’t get all snappy with me! You don’t know a thing about me, or
these puppies or the dogs I rescue—”
And that, Adam would reflect years later, was the inauspicious beginning of a
friendship he’d never wanted but he treasured greatly.
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Chapter Four
“I kinda think he’s a douche.” Gabe shrugged and flapped one hand as if shooing away
a fly. “Cute as fuck, but still. Then again, it’s not like I’ve never jumped to a wrong
conclusion before. I have been known to have almost fatal cases of foot-in-mouth disease.
Probably I shouldn’t be so judgemental.”
Todd grunted as Babs nipped his thumb. Puppy teeth had to be made out of freakin’
razor blades—“He seemed okay to me. Maybe it’s just that he actually cares about animals,
you know. Like you do. So he’s protective…like…”
Gabe rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. He’s almost as awesome as I am.” He laughed
and picked Babs up, planting a noisy kiss on her head. “He fixed this beautiful little girl, so
he can’t be a total monster. I still think he has douche tendencies, but eh, who doesn’t? Push
our hot button and we go off.”
“Some people have more buttons than tact,” Todd murmured, not really paying
attention to what he was saying. He really wanted to know if Gabe thought Adam was gay
or not, but there was the whole issue about Todd never admitting to being gay, and Gabe
never asking him, and him not being able to act on it anyways so what’d it matter what parts
Adam liked?
Gabe thwacked him on the arm and glared as if he was the one who’d just been hit.
“What kind of comeback was that?” He glared harder and pitched his voice to an annoying—
more annoying—whine. “‘Some people have more buttons than tact.’ Really, Todd? You can
do better than that!”
“Not really.” He wasn’t the brightest bulb in the flower garden, but he wasn’t going to
say that because Gabe had already lectured him several times about calling himself stupid.
Todd wasn’t to even joke about his lagging IQ, at least not around Gabe. “Mind’s on work, I
guess. Kaufman’s been a jerk—well, more of one. Found out he’s been giving my parents
reports on who he sees me talkin’ to and whether he thinks I’m doing my job. Crap like that.”
Gabe set Babs down and closed the gate, leaving her to play with her littermates. “You
do realise that’s all kinds of illegal, right?”
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Todd nodded. “Yeah, but what am I gonna do? Go file a complaint? Get a lawyer?”
Gabe cursed and huffed and generally made his unhappiness with those options
known. Kaufman’s sister was the only attorney in town. “I’d say go to a paper in a big city,
but they wouldn’t give a shit. So, I guess I’m just going to have to settle for making his life
hell every chance I get.” Gabe got a look on his face that made Todd cringe. He knew that
evil expression. Gabe was planning something devious. He was glad whatever it was
wouldn’t be coming his way. “Y’all don’t have those dash cams, right?”
Yeah, he really didn’t want to know what was going through Gabe’s mind. “Nope. And
Kaufman takes his cruiser home every night. He stopped driving his truck a while back.”
Todd wasn’t beyond helping a friend out, either. “Sleeps like the dead, too. Can’t rouse him
hardly at all when there’s an emergency he needs to tend to. Rumour has it he uses Jack as a
sleeping aid.” Todd ran everything he could think of regarding Kaufman through his mind,
but he thought he’d covered the pertinent parts.
Gabe’s smile was just… Well, if there was a devil, he’d have to be terrified hell was
fixing to be taken over by one very pissed-off Texan.
“Do I want to know?” Todd asked.
“Probably not.” Gabe winked and started walking back towards the house. “So, I can’t
get any vibes off Dr Soames. Usually my gaydar is spot on—” Todd told himself Gabe was
not looking at him when he said that, but Todd was too afraid to look at Gabe, so he kept his
eyes glued to the ground. “But I can’t tell with him. Which, I guess that could mean he’s
straight? Except that doesn’t feel right, but… Oh fuck, I dunno. Doesn’t really matter. Not
like I’d wanna bang him if he is gay.”
That got Todd’s eyes bouncing up as he looked at Gabe. Why not? He’s gorgeous!
Something flickered in Gabe’s expression and Todd felt oddly, and frighteningly, exposed.
And he didn’t like it at all. He struggled to find a way to divert Gabe from thinking whatever
he was thinking. “You said he was a jerk—sorry, douche, to you, but I think he’s probably an
okay guy. If I’m right, I bet he’ll be willing to work with you on the strays we save from
Kaufman. If I’m wrong, well…”
Gabe’s grin was so bright it about hurt Todd to look at him. “That’s a great idea! Maybe
he’ll feel so bad about being a douche that he’ll volunteer to help for free! Great idea, Todd!”
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Gabe batted his lashes and Todd chuckled at his best friend’s silly behaviour. Until Gabe
asked, “So, when are you going to go ask him?”
“What?” Todd sputtered, “How’d I get dragged into asking him?”
Gabe sighed as if the answer was obvious. “Well, because it’s your idea, you brilliant
man, you! And because if he says no to me I will want to bend him over and shove his head
up his ass. Then you’ll have to bail me out of jail. Or not. Though if you leave me in there,
I’m gonna sing Britney songs at the top of my lungs every time you’re in the office. You’ve
been warned.”
“Not your singing, ugh!” Todd dodged a jab at his ribs, dancing quickly to the side.
“Anything but that!”
Gabe started then, of course, singing as loud as he could, or maybe not—Todd didn’t
want to know if he could holler any louder. And he sang Celine Dion, which meant Todd
wanted to stab himself in both ears with an ice pick.
“Okay, okay! You win!” he yelped when Gabe shredded a particularly high note.
“Jesus, I’ll go talk to him tomorrow or sometime soon!” Tomorrow, because he wouldn’t get
any sleep now knowing he had a valid reason to talk to the sexy vet. Then it occurred to him
that he’d actually have to talk and that meant he’d stutter more likely than not because he’d
be nervous and, fucking hell, he was going to make a total ass out of himself!
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Chapter Five
“Come on, Lexie! Give me back my shoe!” Adam laughed as the boxer-mix puppy ran
out of his office, her nails clacking and skittering on the tile floors as she took the corner into
the hallway. “Fire in the hole!” He’d taken to shouting the now-familiar warning to his staff
when Lexie was on a tear. Normally, their boarder wreaked havoc with her favourite tennis
ball. Apparently that was only because Adam hadn’t kicked his shoes off to rest his sore feet
before.
Verna giggled as she jogged down the hallway. “Oh, shoot! I heard a crunch!” Jade
came running down the hallway and the laughter and shouts made Adam happy even if
other people would say it was all unprofessional. Fuck them anyway. Everyone needs a little fun
occasionally, especially at work. And it wasn’t like he was going to be having any other kind of
fun elsewhere.
Adam sighed and got up from his chair behind his desk. He gave a passing glance to
his remaining Italian leather Lucca shoe… Soon to be a chew toy, no doubt. Jameson would have
shitted bricks since he’d bought the shoes for Adam’s birthday present a few years ago, but,
other than the sentimentality of them, they were just shoes. Why the hell anyone would pay
three hundred-plus dollars for shoes was beyond him.
Guilt poked at him. He should be more concerned since the shoes had been a gift. He
was an ass. Adam hurried after the noisy trio. By the time they got his shoe back from Lexie,
it wasn’t good for anything more than playing fetch with. Adam held the slobbery leather
between two fingers and gave Lexie a mock-severe look.
“Now I’m going to look so much more professional, running around here barefoot.”
“You’ve got socks on at least,” Jade pointed out.
“And they’re not holey,” Verna chimed in, “so it seems to me you’re about fancier than
all the usual men in town!”
The two women snorted with laughter as they high-fived each other. Adam wasn’t so
sure they were joking. He was definitely not impressed with the men he’d seen, and, short of
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Gabe and Deputy Delish, as he’d taken to thinking of Todd Benson, it was a damned good
thing Adam intended to stay single.
The front doorbell chimed and Adam waved off Verna and Jade. “Take care of getting
that shoe-eating pup put up and I’ll handle the front.”
“What about your shoes? Or lack thereof?” Jade asked.
Adam tossed the ruined one in a trash can. “You think they’ll notice? I’ll be behind the
counter before anyone thinks to look down. And if not, oh well.”
One thing about being shoeless, it was a hell of a lot easier when your toes curled.
Adam’s did, his body’s reaction to finding Deputy Delish standing in the lobby
instantaneous. His dick went rigid and he tugged the front of his lab coat together before
buttoning it as he moved behind the counter.
“Deputy Benson, what can I do for you today?” It was on the tip of his tongue to make
some ridiculously corny joke about arresting Lexie, but Adam reminded himself he was not
flirting with the sexy deputy. Besides, Benson had flushed beet red in the seconds Adam had
spotted him. No wonder, if he was a good little deputy for that asshole Kaufman. Adam
didn’t feel so much like flirting anymore as he gave Benson a—he hoped—steely look. “Are
you here on behalf of your stalker boss?”
Adam had never seen anyone go from red to ghostly white so fast in his life!
“What?” Todd slapped a hand on the countertop. Adam at first thought he was being a
dick, then he realised that, no, the deputy really was shaken up. Over Kaufman?
“Your boss?” Adam asked, arching a brow at him. “You know? That asshat who parks
in front of here most mornings? Who I suspect drives by my place? It’s like he has an
obsession with me. Any idea why?”
Todd stuttered out a no then shook himself and coughed, then stuttered again when he
started to speak. He looked miserable, but Adam didn’t know what to do to help him out. He
didn’t even know what was wrong! But it seemed like Todd was working himself into a
worse state, stressing over his stuttering, Adam guessed, and probably growing more
embarrassed by the second. Adam felt really bad for the guy and hoped he wasn’t a weirdo
like Kaufman.
“Look, calm down, okay?” he finally said. “And don’t get all mad at me for saying that.
It’s just—” Adam heard his helpers whispering down the hall. He sighed and walked out
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from behind the counter. “Come back to my office, please.” He waited until Todd preceded
him then shot a glare at Verna and Jade. “You two should get back to work and stop
eavesdropping. Ignore them,” he said to Todd.
Adam closed the office door and started for his desk when he realised Todd was staring
at his feet. “Long story. Well, not really.” Adam sat down and kicked his remaining shoe a
few feet away. “I thought I’d take off my shoes and relax while I took care of some
paperwork. Lexie, a pup we’re boarding for a client, sneaked in and made off with one of
them.” He gave a sad-sounding little huff. “Will I get ticketed for driving home with no
shoes on? Or will one count?”
Todd looked a little less miserable now as he shook his head. “Kaufman gets off at four
today. No one’s going to bother you. I c-can t-talk to him about b-bothering you.”
Impossible to miss the way Todd’s stutter returned when he spoke of confronting his
boss. For some reason that caused a weird pinching sensation in Adam’s chest and he didn’t
like it. Of course, maybe he just had heart disease. “Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t want to
get you in trouble with him—unless you are on his side, which, granted I don’t know him,
but I am pretty sure his side is the evil one.” He watched Todd nod eagerly. Huh.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Todd began, and with a lot less
nervousness than he’d had just seconds ago. “See, here’s what happens in this messed-up
town…”
“Jesus,” Adam muttered later as he gaped at Todd. “I moved to get away from fucked-
up people and ended up here!” He snorted and shook his head, missing the look on Todd’s
face. “Of course I’ll help, if your friend Gabe will let me. I was kind of a douche to him the
other day.”
* * * *
Todd was pretty sure he was dehydrated, his hands had sweated so bad through the
meeting with Adam. At least he’d finally been able to stop stuttering, mostly. And Adam had
agreed to help, which was good. But it was bad, too, because that meant Todd was going to
be seeing more of the sexy man and that wasn’t going to help him get the twisted thoughts of
ravishing Adam over his desk out of his head. It didn’t help that he thought he’d caught
Adam checking out his package at least once, but, well, Todd had done that to guys
sometimes not even realising it. He’d bet straight guys did it too because men were
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competitive and just about everything centred on the size of their dicks. Whatever, he knew
it didn’t mean anything. Except maybe that he hadn’t shaken off so well—
Todd breathed a relieved sigh. All safe down south. Well, he didn’t know why Adam
had looked. Probably he had been staring off blankly, that was all. Anyway, Todd was going
to have to get his shit together, because he’d be seeing more of Adam. If Adam was gay, he’d
never be interested in someone like Todd, and even if he ever, ever was, Todd couldn’t do
anything about it.
But he could find out what Kaufman’s problem with Adam was. Todd thought it was
just him being a veterinarian, and Kaufman being afraid he was going to get busted for
animal abuse, but Todd wasn’t sure. You could never tell with Kaufman.
Todd parked his cruiser beside Kaufman’s at the station. He got out of his vehicle and
promptly gagged. In seconds, his eyes began watering as the scent of rotted seafood—
shrimp, he thought—flooded his nostrils. In the hundred-plus degree weather, the odour
was overwhelming. Todd waved his hand in front of his face, trying to fan away the stench
as he quickly left the parking lot.
Kaufman was in for a surprise when he left work today. And it was only two. By four
o’clock, the smell would be…toxic, just about. He wondered where Gabe had stuck the
shrimp, because that had to be who’d done it, and if it wasn’t shrimp it was some other
stanky crustacean. Maybe the hubcaps, Todd thought. He could easily visualise Gabe
popping off one or all of them, packing in some gross stuff, then putting the hubcaps back
on.
Todd circled the block and parked at the movie theatre then walked around to the
station, staying as far away from Kaufman’s vehicle as possible. He went inside and knocked
on the sheriff’s door, waiting until Kaufman called out for him to come in.
Once he did, Todd dove right in before he had time to get nervous and think, although
he knew from years of dealing with Kaufman not to be accusatory. “Has the new vet done
anything wrong?”
Kaufman sat back in his chair, still looking at his computer screen. He had an addiction
to the card game Pyramids, and Todd would bet that was what he was doing, playing games,
not working.
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“Nope, but I bet he’s another queer. Don’t want him perverting anyone else if he is.”
Kaufman sounded so calm, as if he was being perfectly reasonable. “Although maybe I’m
wrong. I figured for sure he’d be fucking around with that bent motherfucker Staley, and
that ain’t the case, as far as I can tell.”
Todd considered weighing in, saying he didn’t think Adam was gay, but didn’t,
knowing nothing he said would help and might, more likely, cause Kaufman to continue
spying on Adam.
“Why you asking?” Kaufman still wasn’t looking at him, for which Todd was grateful.
“No reason, really,” Todd muttered. “Just saw your car there a couple times this week
in the morning.” That wasn’t true, but Kaufman didn’t need to know it. “Figured I’d ask in
case there was something I needed to know of, keep an eye out and such.”
“Nah,” Kaufman said dismissively. “I can handle that city boy myself anyways. Go do
something useful, like take my car to the wash. Had a weird smell to it this morning. Think I
might have left part of a tuna sandwich in there under a seat or something.”
Todd gulped as quietly as possible as his stomach tried to turn inside out. This was
karma, wasn’t it? What he got for telling Gabe about Kaufman’s personal business. Todd
sighed and thought it wasn’t quite fair that he was the only one karma was crapping on
today. “Yes, sir.” An idea occurred to him. “Can I take it home and clean it? Be cheaper to
use a hose and dish soap.” And Kaufman would assume, by home, Todd meant his folks’
place. It wouldn’t be odd for Todd to drive out towards Gabe’s, and if he just decided to turn
in and share his crappy karma with Gabe…well then, who’d know?
Besides, he needed to tell Gabe about Adam agreeing to help, and give him Adam’s cell
number. Which, yeah, Todd had in his own phone now, but that was just so he could contact
Adam in case of an emergency rescue, that was all.
Todd absolutely wouldn’t ever call Adam for anything other than that.
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Chapter Six
Shasta was definitely a screwed-up little town, Adam thought as he helped Gabe and
Todd carry in the unconscious dog that, had Adam not known better, he’d have sworn was a
small pony.
“Heavy,” Gabe grunted, and Adam would have said ‘No shit, genius’ but he could
hardly breathe, much less speak. Damn it, he was going to have to start doing more than a
few hundred sit-ups a week! He sneaked a glance at Todd. In the six months or so he’d been
helping rescue the strays in and around Shasta, Adam had ogled the deputy on the sly quite
a bit. He hadn’t, however, got to know the man any better.
Which was good, right? That was what he wanted, to keep everyone at a distance. He
sure didn’t want a lover. Or a fuck buddy. Whatever. Adam slammed his elbow into the
doorjamb and yelped.
“Get your head out of your ass,” Gabe snapped. “If you drop that end of the stretcher
I’m gonna—”
“Calm down,” Todd murmured, and damned if he didn’t sound just that, calm and
soothing and velvety smooth like melted dark chocolate—Adam smacked the back of his
head against the doorjamb, this time on purpose. He needed to stop thinking such stupid
crap. Seriously.
But Todd was so… Adam strained his brain trying to figure out what it was about the
quiet deputy that got to him. Because he could deny it until he was blue in the face—or until
he herniated every disc in his spine carrying this dog—but the truth was, Todd fascinated
him. The guy was just… Adam shut down that train of thought as the dog began to convulse.
Hours later, he was bone-tired and contemplating sleeping in his office chair. Sparky,
the huge mastiff-mix that’d been hit by a car or more likely a damned tank, was stabilised.
Adam was drained physically and emotionally. He’d almost been too slow to save Sparky.
Luckily he’d stopped the internal bleeding, but Adam knew that didn’t guarantee Sparky’s
survival. He couldn’t contemplate anything but a recovery for Sparky, not without bawling
like a baby.
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“You need a ride home?”
Adam lifted his head up from where he’d been resting it on his desk. He blinked until
there was only one Gabe standing in the doorway. Gabe had about passed out on them a few
times, especially when Adam had had to open Sparky up. “Probably you shouldn’t drive.
You were kind of…shaky.”
Gabe snorted. “Fuck shaky, I have nerves of steel but a stomach of glass or something
pussy-ish like that.” He shuddered and plucked at his shirt, which was splattered with
blood. “In fact, I was gonna ask if I could borrow a lab coat or something?”
Adam stood up on shaky legs and started for the file cabinet. Inside were some tacky
shirts he’d got for free from a vendor, and he was glad, now, that he hadn’t tossed them.
“Got a T-shirt, just a sec—”
Gabe whipped his shirt off and tossed it towards the trash can. “Thanks. Try to control
yourself, okay? I know I’m irresistible, so don’t look directly at me or my beauty might blind
you…”
Adam was laughing before Gabe finished his ridiculous diatribe. The guy was cute and
all, but not someone Adam ever would have found irresistible. He opened the cabinet and
pulled out a God-awful orange and blue shirt. If he remembered right, the front had lime
green and neon pink fleas doing a tango or something. It was truly obnoxious—and perfect
for Gabe, Adam thought. He turned with the shirt in hand and started to make a smartass
remark but it died on his tongue as soon as he saw Todd standing behind Gabe, glaring
daggers at his friend.
Well, Adam had wondered and wondered about Todd, hadn’t he? He was pretty sure
six months of questioning himself about Todd’s sexuality had just got answered. His gaze
clashed with Todd’s as Gabe squealed excitedly—how the hell did he have any energy
left?—and grabbed the shirt.
Adam ignored Gabe’s babbling and kept his eyes locked with Todd’s. There was an
interesting tic at the corner of Todd’s left eye, one that was set off by—what? Adam
wondered. Anger? Jealousy? Did he suspect Adam was gay? Was Todd, really? Was he
closeted and screwing around with Gabe, was that why he looked pissed off? He’d walked in
on Gabe topless and—
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Stop it, stop it, stop it! Adam tore his gaze away and felt heat crawling over his face. He
needed to cut this shit out, stop looking for what he wanted but didn’t want at the same time.
“I’ll pass on the ride. Think I’m going to sleep here, keep an eye on Sparky.” Adam cleared
his throat, irritated that his voice had dropped to that husky, fuck-me level. “I gotta go to the
restroom. Y’all lock up on your way out, okay?”
Adam kept his eyes on an invisible target as he walked out of his office. He went into
the restroom and hit the light and fan switches. He needed to back away from Gabe, keep a
professional distance, because letting people close hurt, even as friends. Adam hadn’t heard
from Jameson in ages, and that was an unexpected…betrayal. He couldn’t think of any other
word for it. His texts, emails, phone calls—none of them had been returned. It fucking hurt,
and he didn’t want to think about it, didn’t know why he was doing so anyways right now.
Adam turned on the sink and started scrubbing his hands and arms, then he washed his
face. The hand soap was going to do a number on his skin, but he’d moisturise later. Adam
concentrated on that, on superficial things like potential wrinkles and whether or not he’d
dye his hair when he started going grey, anything but the empty ache inside him.
Or he tried to, but sometimes he was so lonely he hurt with it, like a physical pain that
made him curl up and hold himself. His were the only arms he’d felt around him in months,
his the only voice he’d heard that really knew him, and Adam sometimes felt he was
straining at the edges, ready to come unravelled because he wanted yet loathed to be alone.
No, what he wanted was to not be hurt, Adam thought. And, yet, Jameson, his best
friend for most of his life, had just ditched him completely. What was it about him that made
him unlovable? Adam wished he knew, and he wished to hell he was better at being a
hermit, a loner, whatever.
But he would get better at it, because he didn’t have a choice. His life now was here in
this shitty little town. He had patients who needed to be cared for, clients he sometimes
wanted to euthanise, and people who depended on him to help keep a certain asswipe sheriff
from abusing strays.
Which brought him back to Todd and Gabe. Were they…? And, if they were, how was
he going to deal with it?
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“I’m not,” Adam muttered to himself as he slapped off the switches and pulled open
the door. “It’s not my…” He bit back a squeak when Todd stepped into the hallway.
“Problem?”
* * * *
Todd didn’t know what he was going to do, but something was gnawing at him,
pushing him, hounding him. He’d walked into Adam’s office, needing to see the man just for
a few minutes, and there’d been Gabe, all…all out-there gay and half undressed and looking
sexy and vulnerable and happy and—
Todd had almost lost it. Almost. He’d bitten his cheek until he’d tasted blood to keep
from saying anything. Gabe had seemed unaware, but Adam… Adam had looked back at
Todd with something akin to the way Todd was feeling inside. If Gabe had made a play for
Adam, Todd was certain Adam had shot him down.
Then Adam had run off and Gabe had been oblivious, proof of Gabe’s exhaustion
because normally the man was sharp as the proverbial tack. But Gabe had about keeled over
a few times, so maybe he’d suffered from lack of oxygen to the brain or something. Probably
Todd shouldn’t have let Gabe drive himself home, but when Gabe had threatened to snap his
head off his neck if he didn’t quit nagging him about it, Todd had shut up.
He hung around the clinic, just to make sure Adam was going to be okay. That was all.
And to check on Sparky, too, because, well, Adam had been in the restroom a long time, and
Todd thought it’d be a good idea to check on the big ol’ dog and, afterwards, it was only the
right thing to do, to let Adam know Sparky seemed okay, resting at least and still alive.
Except Todd thought he’d heard a sob.
Maybe he hadn’t, because he didn’t hear it again, but it’d…it’d hurt even thinking
Adam might be upset. Todd couldn’t leave then. He knew he’d seen a keen hunger in
Adam’s eyes earlier, knew Adam had seen the want roaring through him then too. They’d
lied and denied by omission for months now, but maybe they didn’t have to.
The idea began percolating, growing stronger. Todd had thought about it before, but
coming out wasn’t an option, and he hadn’t been sure about Adam, but now… If Adam was
gay, and if he wasn’t interested in letting anyone else in on that secret, then just maybe…
Maybe what, that remained to be seen, and Todd couldn’t quite get past the maybe to
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imagine anything else. His body was flushed, hot with need. He could feel sweat trickling
down his back and beading his brow. Images of Adam, his eyes hungry and full of promise,
were popping up in his mind, making Todd’s dick even harder than it already was.
He wondered if the sob he’d heard had been a different kind than one of pain or
sorrow. If it’d been one of relief. Todd couldn’t stand it anymore, he had to talk to Adam, see
if they could figure something out. He stepped out of Adam’s office just as the bathroom
door opened, and—
He couldn’t help himself. Years of longing, of denial and fear, snapped as Adam looked
at him, confusion and want mingling in his expression. “Problem?”
No, no problem at all as far as Todd was concerned. He was beyond thinking about
consequences as he walked up to Adam. Todd met with no resistance from the man as he
reached for Adam, no protests when he slowly lowered his head and brushed his lips over
Adam’s. Instead, Adam moaned softly, his dark eyes closing as he grabbed onto Todd’s belt.
Adam’s lips parted, and Todd’s heart raced and shattered as he finally tasted the man
who’d haunted his fantasies for months. He closed his eyes and just felt.
So soft. Adam’s lips were so soft against his. Todd shivered, more inside than out, he
hoped, but he couldn’t tell. Then Adam sighed, and Todd parted his lips, a silent plea that
Adam answered by deepening the kiss, his tongue stealing into Todd’s mouth. Todd
clenched his hands against the need to touch, then quit fighting it. He opened them and
reached around Adam to press against his lower back.
He chased Adam’s tongue with his own as the kiss grew more intense, Adam tilting his
head and sealing his mouth to Todd’s. Todd mimicked every flick, every twist and languid
stroke. He wanted to keep kissing Adam forever, wanted—
What he wanted didn’t matter, did it? The thought was like a bucket of ice dumped on
him and Todd opened his eyes and stumbled back, breaking the kiss. There was too much
risk, to him, to Adam. He couldn’t do this. Adam’s expression quickly went from blissful to
confused and Todd didn’t think he could handle seeing what emotion would come next.
Anger, hate, disgust? He turned and fled.
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Chapter Seven
Since the invention of the kiss… Adam knew there was some line in a movie that
addressed a magnificent kiss like that, but he couldn’t think of what it was, not even hours
later after Todd had run out of the clinic like a pack of wolves was at his heels.
Adam sat on the floor beside Sparky’s kennel and touched his lips again, as he’d done
several times since Todd had left. He’d been stunned at first by the kiss, because God in
heaven as his witness, no one had ever, ever kissed him with so much hunger, so much need,
so much—everything. Everything he had wanted and given up on, all his romantic fantasies
the cynic in him had scoffed at, it’d all been right there, and for a few precious moments, he
had felt it, experienced his longed-for dream of being the world to someone.
Then Todd had pulled back, ending the kiss. Adam would have been furious, crushed,
but how could he be when Todd had looked as if he were fixing to break into a million
pieces? Todd had been hurting so much and Adam hadn’t seen it before then. It ripped at
Adam’s insides, like a physical pain. Yet as much as he’d wanted to rail about Todd leaving
like he had, the sob he’d heard as Todd turned and left killed off the anger and hurt feelings
Adam would have still carried around.
Well, maybe not all the hurt feelings, Adam acknowledged to himself. He’d have liked
to think he was irresistible, after all, but he wasn’t quite vain enough to pull it off. Still, he
needed to think about what’d happened, and his own resolutions. Admittedly, as Jameson
had pointed out before Adam’s move here, it had probably been really stupid to think he
could spend the rest of his life alone. He was only thirty, not ancient by any means.
Sometimes, though, he felt older than Methuselah. Used up and empty, or at least he had felt
that way. But Todd had changed that, even if Adam hadn’t realised it until he’d been kissed.
God, it reminded him of that sappy Disney movie. He closed his eyes and started a
visual reel, narrated by his voice tinged with more breathiness than he’d ever exude.
And so, the sweet young prince fell into a deep sleep, so deep he appeared to have passed away.
(He tried the word ‘dead’ but it clashed with the whole Disney thing and singing birds in the
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background.) His friends… Scratch that… He slept on the cold stone floor until one day, a strong
and handsome man searching for…searching, found the sweet young prince there.
Stunned by the prince’s beauty—
Adam laughed until his jaws hurt. Geez, he’d turned into such a chick. Not a bad thing,
considering what a man-whore he used to be. It’d taken moving away, removing himself
from the situations, rather, for Adam to figure out why he’d not valued himself more. That
was what it’d been, he knew that now. He hadn’t liked himself, hadn’t loved himself for sure.
He didn’t want to think about the reasons why, either, but Jameson’s ditching him hadn’t
helped. Honestly, Adam was surprised he hadn’t sought out temporary comfort—the kind
that really was no comfort at all, just left him feeling sleazy and worthless.
“Don’t sit here and kick yourself now,” he muttered. It was all well and good to criticise
oneself and work at improving, but dogging himself was a habit he’d been trying desperately
to break. It had been negative thoughts that had driven him to be careless with himself.
Sparky whined and Adam groaned as he pushed up to his feet. The concrete was not
comfortable at all. At least Sparky had a nicely padded bed to lie on. Adam would grab one
for himself after he checked Sparky over again. Then he’d sit back down and maybe drift off
for a couple of hours, and dream about Todd’s kiss.
* * * *
It took Todd almost half an hour to be able to drive away from the clinic—from Adam.
First he was shaking so bad he couldn’t even get in his vehicle, then he just couldn’t leave.
He wanted to go back inside and touch Adam, kiss him again and maybe talk to him. Todd
was really afraid talking would be a mistake, though. What would he say? I’m gay, but don’t
ever intend to come out of the closet ’cause my family’s violent and crazy and—
Besides, he’d never said the actual words out loud, not even to himself. Somehow he
just knew his parents would find out, would hear the words carried on the wind or
something, and he was truly scared of what would happen then. His father especially still
bullied him, and Todd was as big as him, but his dad was stronger, physically, and the hold
he had on Todd? That was much harder to escape than anything else.
But the more he sat there and thought about Adam, his deep brown eyes pleading, the
soft, wet feel of his lips giving beneath Todd’s, the way Adam had clung to him and
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whimpered… Todd thought he might be a stronger man than he’d ever expected to be.
Eventually, anyways.
He drove back to his place, running through different options in his head. If he could
get Adam to agree to keep things discreet, just between them, that would be ideal. However,
Todd knew secrets never really remained such, and he didn’t think Adam was the kind of
man who’d take kindly to being hidden away. Then again, Adam hadn’t given off even a
hint of his sexuality until tonight, so…
So Todd was still fucking confused, that was all there was to it, but he was determined
not to ignore what was happening between him and Adam any longer. He couldn’t, even if
he’d have wanted to. Adam called to him, and, after tasting him, Todd wasn’t going to be
able to keep from doing it again.
He got back to his apartment and stumbled up the steps, and in short order he
collapsed onto his bed for a few hours. It sucked that he had to work but life was what it was.
He wouldn’t have not helped Sparky, or missed that kiss with Adam, for the world.
And the work day itself was more exciting than usual, that was for sure. Todd was out
in the boonies because he’d got a call about a stray at old Mrs Shumaker’s place. Todd knew
her—she was a snippety, judgemental, ornery woman, one of the people in town who’d
known about the abuse his father had heaped on him and commented once that Todd should
behave himself if he didn’t want to ‘feel the rod’.
That hadn’t endeared her to Todd one bit.
He also knew Kaufman had heard the call, and the idea of sneaking another stray from
under the jerk’s nose easily overrode Todd’s aversion to Mrs Shumaker. He pulled down the
long drive, though, and it wasn’t a dog he saw once he got out and started looking. As soon
as he saw the wounded black wolf lying by the barn, Todd started backing up even while he
dialled Adam’s cell number. He wasn’t sure what was wrong with it, but the animal was
bigger than he’d have expected a wolf to be. It’s fur was dull and grungy looking, like there
was dried blood and God only knew what in it here and there. All in all, the wolf didn’t look
good, and Todd wasn’t sure it could get up, but he didn’t want to find out the hard way and
end up being mauled or whatever.
Adam answered after the first ring. “Hey, Todd, got another rescue?”
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He sounded so casual, as if the kiss hadn’t turned him on his ear like it had Todd. Well,
maybe it hadn’t—or maybe Adam was a really good actor. Todd intended to find out. “Yeah,
there’s a wolf—”
“A what?” Adam asked, his voice hitching a bit.
“A wolf, and it looks pretty bad. Can you come?”
Adam huffed but Todd could hear him gathering stuff up in the background. “Yeah,
yeah, I can, but I’ve only ever dealt with cats and dogs and the occasional rodent. And a
snake, once, but—” Adam made a clucking noise. “Oh, listen to me rattling on. Tell me
where to go.”
Todd did, and added that Adam needed to hurry since Kaufman had likely heard about
the call. Next Todd called Gabe, who wasn’t as far away as Adam, then he couldn’t do
anything else but wait for the others to arrive, and hope to hell they got there before
Kaufman did.
When Gabe arrived, Todd waved him on back. Gabe parked close to where he was
standing. Todd noticed Gabe left the truck running, probably to take off in a hurry if he
needed to. Gabe was smart like that.
“Look at him, Gabe. The poor thing’s barely alive.” At least it seemed so to Todd. The
longer he’d stood there waiting, the worse off the wolf appeared to be to him.
Gabe walked around him and went right up to the wolf. Todd’s pulse shot up at that.
He’d been scared to get too close, but Gabe didn’t hesitate. Adam arrived shortly after that,
and Todd tried not to eat the man up with his eyes. He was ashamed of the way he’d run off
after the kiss, and was more than a little hesitant to look Adam in the eye.
But Adam didn’t spare him a glance, his attention on Gabe and the wolf. Adam started
scolding Gabe and Todd moved up to the front of the barn. He needed to keep an eye out for
Kaufman, and anyway, if he stayed to close to Adam, he might beg the man to kiss him
again. Adam would probably laugh at me if I did. Why would he want to kiss me after the way I
acted?
Todd kept glancing back, unable not to steal glimpses of Adam while he had the
chance. Adam and Gabe were murmuring in low voices. Todd couldn’t make out the words,
but the tones had an urgency to them that made him think the wolf was really bad off, and
once or twice, he thought he detected anger in each of the other men’s voices. Todd itched to
go back and listen, maybe see if he could redeem himself somehow to Adam. Just when he
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thought he was going to give in to the impulse, his radio squawked, startling him so badly he
almost yelped. He listened to Kaufman barking out orders, then he turned and ran over to
Adam and Gabe, his concerns now on them and the wolf rather than his messy personal
problems.
“Y’all need to hurry it up. Kaufman radioed to see what the holdup was here, and he
sounded suspicious. I wouldn’t put it past the fucker to come screaming down the drive any
minute.” Todd nodded towards the wolf. “Think he’s going to be okay, Adam?”
Adam didn’t answer him, and Todd hoped that was because Adam was so focused on
the wolf, but he was afraid that wasn’t the case. He allowed himself one long, yearning look,
then he jerked his gaze back towards the road as Gabe and Adam began to pick the wolf up.
Todd ran over and opened the rear passenger door for them. He stepped back, wishing
there was more he could do to help. He thought he heard the familiar roar of the cruiser
Kaufman drove, and panic nipped at his spine.
“Let’s go!” he barked in a sharper tone than he’d intended, but fear for Gabe, Adam and
the wolf’s safety began to pound in his veins. He shut the truck door and seconds later Gabe
took off, with Adam following right behind him.
None too soon, either, because Kaufman turned onto the road to Mrs Shumaker’s
shortly thereafter. He pulled into her drive and slammed on the brakes, and Todd braced
himself for an ass chewing.
Kaufman got out, his beady eyes narrowed until Todd didn’t know how he could
possibly see anything other than the back of his eyelids. Todd forced himself not to tense, to
keep his posture as casual as he could instead of cowering like he wanted to.
“Sheriff—” he began but Kaufman slashed a hand through the air and Todd snapped
his mouth shut.
“Where’s the fuckin’ wolf, Todd?”
Despite his best effort not to, Todd gulped. He tried to cover it with a cough as he
chided himself. Why should he let this jerk terrorize and intimidate him? Kaufman was
about as low on the human DNA chain as a person could get. He was a bully, and yeah,
Todd had been bullied a lot, but he didn’t have to keep taking it, did he?
Kaufman moved another step closer and stabbed a finger against Todd’s chest with
each word he spoke. “Where. Is. The. God. Damn. Wolf.”
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Todd knew he was going to have bruises from each jab. He tried to put on his best, lazy
grin as he shrugged. “It’s gone—”
“Shut up! I don’t want to hear whatever bullshit you’re fixing to say.” Kaufman sneered
as he backed off. “It’s gone, my ass. Like it just up and disappeared, boy?” He didn’t give
Todd the chance to offer any kind of explanation. “Get. I’m just gonna go have a chat with
Mrs Schumaker, see what she has to say about all this.”
If he was lucky, at all, maybe Mrs Schumaker hadn’t seen Adam and Gabe when they’d
been there. She hadn’t come outside or anything, so there was a chance she wouldn’t have
anything to tell Kaufman.
But he seldom had that kind of luck, and his stomach twisted with worry as he nodded.
It was too late to offer up the truth now, and he wouldn’t narc on his friends even if he could.
Whatever shit storm he’d landed himself in, he’d have to deal with. Todd got in his cruiser
and left.
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Chapter Eight
Getting woken up via a phone call from a panicked Gabe made Todd’s head want to
just explode. How the heck had Gabe lost the wolf? What did he want Todd to do about it?
He’d got reamed by Kaufman yesterday for calling Adam about the wolf, and now that wolf
had run off. Of course mean Mrs Shumaker had had to tell the sheriff all about the wolf and
the handsome vet and, even worse, she had mentioned Gabe being there.
Todd had had to do some quick thinking to explain Gabe’s presence. He told Kaufman
Gabe was helping Adam out part-time. It was the best he could come up with, and even then
Todd was still in deep shit. He told his boss he thought wolves were endangered or protected
or whatever—the more vague he could sound, the stupider Kaufman thought he was. And,
therefore, the more likely he was to buy Todd’s babbling. Kaufman had never been shy about
telling Todd just how stupid he was.
So there’d been that bit of hell, along with Todd getting only a short bit of time near
Adam. They hadn’t even got to talk, which might have been a good thing. Or not, Todd just
didn’t know.
But then, as a capper to his hellish day, Kaufman had called Todd’s father and told him
all about the day’s events and Todd’s part in them. At least this time he could hide the
bruises, although he was sore as all get out and hiding that would be difficult. What he
couldn’t hide was the anger building inside him. He was afraid it was going to boil over, and
he’d do something he’d regret. Todd understood how someone could snap after years of
abuse.
He was terrified he was going to be one of the ‘someones’ who did unless he found a
way to extricate himself from the abusive people in his life. Those were huge steps to take,
though, and he wasn’t sure how exactly to take them. He did know he had to start, soon.
And maybe, even though he was carrying so much fear inside him it almost suffocated
the anger, Todd could learn to accept and love who he was—but first he’d need to discover
that. He also had to figure out what to do about the feelings he had for Adam. The kiss
they’d shared had been seared into his memory. Every sound Adam had made, the way he’d
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felt beneath Todd’s hands, his taste—None of those things were going to fade away, Todd
knew it. He couldn’t walk away from Adam like he thought he could his parents, or
everyone else in this town except for Gabe.
Adam was… Todd pressed the heels of his hands to his temples. Adam was like a part
of him, and Todd thought it’d hurt like hell, worse than any beating he’d had, to give Adam
up.
It was all such a jumble in his head, what he wanted, what he thought he could do,
what scared him so bad he thought he’d pass out. He couldn’t figure it out right now, and
maybe he didn’t have to. He should just do what he told Gabe he’d do and go to the clinic.
Talk to Adam, see what happened. Adam might want to pretend they’d never kissed.
Todd’s heart sank as he realised that was probably exactly what was going to happen.
Adam hadn’t ever given him any more attention than he’d had to before that kiss. Probably
Adam had just been exhausted and stressed and—
And I need to quit making up crap and go do what I said I would. What happens, happens. I’ll
come home and fall apart after, if I need to. And I am not opening my door for anyone once I’m home.
* * * *
It was the weirdest thing. Adam would swear he knew the instant Todd had walked
into the clinic. Adam had been in the back, but he’d heard the chime of the front door, and
he’d experienced an unpleasant hot flash. Unpleasant, because he’d started sweating,
something he hated doing unless he had a damn good reason to be doing it. Like mind-
bending sex or hiking, or playing with the dogs in the fenced clinic yard.
He was bitching to himself about it still when he heard Todd’s voice. He couldn’t make
out what Todd said to Jade, but it didn’t matter. Todd was there and Adam just about
swooned like a fool. He slapped his cheek hard enough to jar himself but it knocked the
sense right back into him. By the time he heard Todd heading toward the back area, Adam
was sure he had his shit together and sealed up tight.
Then Todd stepped through the doorway, his soft green eyes barely meeting Adam’s
gaze, and Adam knew he’d been an utter idiot to think he had anything together where Todd
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was concerned. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, when he noticed Todd
seemed to be holding himself…weird.
Adam cocked his head to the side and frowned. “Are you hurt?” There were a lot of
things he wanted to say, chief among them, ‘Come here and kiss me again, you big, sexy stud’
(Corny, but what the hell? It was his fantasy) yet the nurturer in him prevailed over
everything else.
Todd turned a bright shade of pink and looked mortified. “I-I’m n-not—”
“You are,” Adam said impatiently, waving off Todd’s protest. He glared at the deputy.
“Don’t lie to me. You’re favouring your left side. What happened? Do I need to—” Adam just
stopped himself from saying kick someone’s ass, sure the implication Todd couldn’t take care
of himself wouldn’t go over well. The thing was, Adam thought Todd was a big, gentle
sweetheart, which meant he probably wouldn’t take care of himself in certain situations. “Do I
need to examine you?” he finished, unable to keep a hint of eagerness from his voice. He
wanted to help, and he wanted to see Todd shirtless.
“No!” Todd yelped, moving back and whacking a surgical tray. He yelped again and
pressed a hand to his side, turning big eyes on Adam. “I’m okay?”
As if Adam was going to believe that when even Todd didn’t. Adam’s amusement and
his libido both vanished. He wasn’t thrilled about seeing Todd shirtless now, because he was
afraid instead. “You’re going to let me look at you.” Adam used his firmest tone and Todd
nodded instantly, a reaction Adam filed away to peruse later.
“Now, do you need me to help you? I know you got here on your own, but since then
you obviously hurt yourself on top of whatever’s going on under your shirt.” Adam glared at
the baggy thing as if it was offensive. Well, it kinda was. He had never been a fan of red and
white checked anything. Ick. But Todd made it look cute anyways.
“I got it.” Todd stood up almost completely straight, gasped a little, then walked with a
shuffling gait towards the surgery room when Adam pointed him that way.
“I’ll want you to sit on the table to start,” Adam began explaining. “I doubt there’s
really anything I can do, but you can’t… You can’t just be hurt and expect me to ignore it,
Todd. Especially—” Adam took a deep breath, exhaled and hoped he didn’t send Todd
running again. “Especially not after the way you kissed me.”
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Todd stumbled and Adam rushed to slip an arm around his waist. The way Todd
sagged against him scared Adam, almost as much as Todd’s silence. He got Todd to the table
and was about to have a full-fledged panic attack when Todd turned and faced him, this time
meeting his eyes without hesitation.
“Do you regret it?” Todd asked, his voice so soft Adam had to strain to make out the
words.
Adam looked at Todd, at the features he had memorised, the face of the man who’d
grown to mean so much to Adam, and, so slowly, the emotions sneaking up on Adam
stealthily and in small bits and pieces so that Adam was hooked before he knew to stop it.
Did he regret it? Any of it?
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Chapter Nine
What was Adam thinking? Todd wished he knew, because that serious look was different
from any he’d ever seen before. But maybe he’d be better off worrying about what he was
thinking, and doing, for that matter. Because here he was, letting Adam check him over…or
out, whatever. Todd didn’t know what was going on, why he was going along with what
Adam said.
Well, yes, he did. Because he always went along, didn’t he?
“Take your shirt off,” Adam instructed, still watching him with that same intense
expression. “Or do you need me to help you?”
Todd’s mouth went dry and he hitched his butt up onto the cold surgery table. He
couldn’t look away from Adam, weird considering so often he had a difficult time meeting
the man’s eyes. Todd reached for the placket of the red gingham western shirt he’d had for
years. Gabe’s grandma had given it to him, and, when Todd needed comfort, he often put the
shirt on and pretended things were different, he was different.
His hands were shaking, he realised, and his fingers were stiff, his palms sweaty. The
material slid from his grasp and he gulped, because Adam chose that moment to slowly
lower his gaze, down, down, down to Todd’s hands, and to walk, his steps jerky as if he
wasn’t even aware he was moving, over to stop in front of Todd.
So close, so close I can feel him but—Todd watched the way Adam’s chest heaved, as if
breathing were a tricky thing. Adam touched him then, just a caress over one of his shaking
hands, and that touch pulled a sound from Todd, a pain-filled sob that felt like it was ripped
right up from his gut.
“Todd,” Adam rasped, and Todd couldn’t look at him, couldn’t find the courage when
he was afraid he was breaking there on that table, all because of one brush of fingers, one
show of compassion or caring, Todd didn’t care which. He tried to turn his head aside but
Adam stepped in between his spread legs and framed Todd’s jaws with his hands. “Don’t.”
With that one word, Adam’s breath wafted over Todd’s chin and cheek, setting off a riotous
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beat of his pulse. Then Adam rubbed his cheek against Todd’s, the slight scratch of stubble a
sound Todd had fantasised about hearing, but he’d had it wrong in his head.
Now he knew, just like he knew how Adam tasted, how he smelt. How right he felt in
Todd’s arms…
* * * *
Ahhh, fuck! Adam didn’t regret anything, not pertaining to Todd. How could he when
Todd trembled so perfectly? When he’d seen, for months now, Todd’s kindness, his
compassion? His loyalty to Gabe and the rescued animals? Todd risked his job, and fuck
knew what else from his nutjob of a boss, all to do what he thought was right.
But Todd wasn’t out, and Adam had to wonder why. Did Todd think being gay was
something that was wrong, and therefore had to be hidden or denied? Granted, Adam hadn’t
been waving a rainbow flag, exactly, but he’d intended to be alone. He’d never planned to
find a sweet, sexy man who’d steal his heart.
Todd’s breath hitched then, and Adam pulled back just enough to bring his lips to
Todd’s. Without resistance, Todd opened for him. Adam took his time exploring Todd’s
mouth, teasing and suckling on Todd’s lips, then his tongue. Todd rumbled, a questioning
sound, or maybe a curious sound, Adam didn’t know, but Todd clutched at his shoulders
and Adam looped his arms around Todd’s waist and—
Todd hissed and jerked back even as he tightened his grip on Adam, almost painfully
so. Then Todd released him and looked like he was trying to figure out how to escape, but
Adam wasn’t having it. Todd’s shirt had pearl snaps, and Adam gripped the material and
jerked before Todd could even try to scoot away.
“No!” Todd yelped. He grabbed the edges of the plackets and pulled them together, but
Adam had already seen enough to turn his stomach.
In fact, he felt like his knees had turned to jelly and he had to grab onto the table, his
hands on either side of Todd’s hips. There’d been fresh bruises on Todd’s torso, two or three
that Adam had seen.
“What happened?” he asked when he was able to speak. He’d had to wait until he was
sure he wouldn’t be sick. Anger and fear were a nauseating combination—apparently
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resulting in rapid babbling. “Who did this? Are they in jail? Or did you shoot them? Because
that would be an okay thing to do to anyone who hit you. Not that I’m advocating murder,
well, I am but it’s not the same thing because you’re a cop and—” Adam had to actually bite
his tongue to shut himself off, and it fricking hurt. But he did it, and looked at Todd
expectantly.
Todd started trying to button up the shirt, and kept his gaze averted. His cheeks were
flaming red, and Adam wanted to tell him it was okay, he didn’t have to answer any of those
questions. Except Adam thought Todd kind of did, at least some of them. Those two kisses,
and the current of attraction that was running between him and Todd? None of them was
easily dismissed or ignored, and Adam couldn’t help but believe—because he wasn’t as
cynical as he’d believed, was he?—each of those were unspoken promises. And he was
positive, now that he and Todd had begun to acknowledge the way they were drawn to each
other, they’d never be able to ignore it again. So yes, he wanted answers, thought he had the
right to them.
Adam caught Todd’s hands in his and, after a few seconds of hesitating, Todd finally
allowed Adam to push the shirt back open. Then Adam slid his hands up to Todd’s
shoulders—God, how many times he’d imagined doing this, undressing his sexy deputy!—
and shoved the shirt down.
He was a pervert, he scolded himself, because he knew, he knew Todd was hurt, and yet
Adam couldn’t stop himself from getting hard as he looked at Todd’s chest, milky white
skin, red-gold hair covering his pecs, coral nipples hardening as Adam eyed them. There
were freckles, on Todd’s shoulders and where the vee of his shirt had laid open over the
years, and—
“Jesus.” Adam sucked in a sharp breath and darted a glance up at Todd before turning
it back to the first bruise, the one higher up on his ribs. “Todd, tell me.” He touched it gently,
relieved when Todd didn’t hiss or cuss or even flinch. It meant Todd wasn’t excruciatingly
sore, for which Adam was grateful.
Todd shifted on the table, and startled Adam by cupping the back of his neck. When
Todd massaged the tense muscles there, Adam moaned softly, but he didn’t stop carefully
tracing the bruises. “I don’t want to talk about it,” Todd muttered a minute or two later.
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Adam looked up at him then and frowned. “Todd, can’t you trust me?” To think he
couldn’t just hurt.
Todd swallowed nervously and he moved his hand around until he was cupping
Adam’s cheek. “It isn’t that. It’s just… I’m s-s—” Todd’s stuttering was, Adam knew, a sign
of his discomfort at the very least. But Adam couldn’t shake the belief that this was
important. If it’d been just some criminal, Todd wouldn’t have been afraid to tell him, right?
Adam hated to make Todd so uncomfortable, it made his heart pinch, and he kissed
Todd again. He stroked Todd’s sides, warm skin and firm muscle feeling like perfection
beneath his palms. Todd shook, or quaked, Adam wasn’t sure what to call it. Then Todd
pulled him in, held him tight despite the bruises, so tight Adam could barely breathe, and
took control of the kiss. He melted Adam, that was all there was to it. Adam went warm then
hot inside, and he couldn’t suppress a moan as he leaned into Todd.
By the time Todd lifted his head, Adam had forgotten his questions. His body was
aching for more, the craving he’d only begun to acknowledge swelling until Adam was
ready to let Todd take him regardless of the fact that the clinic was open and employees were
on the clock.
But Todd just held him and rocked them slightly, and rubbed Adam’s back with long
sweeps of his hands.
Then he stilled, and Adam started to step back, but Todd tenderly pressed Adam’s head
to his shoulder. “I can’t say it if you’re looking at me,” Todd said in a broken voice, and
Adam had to seriously restrain himself from jerking back to do just what Todd didn’t want
him to do. But then Todd wouldn’t be able to speak, maybe even wouldn’t trust him, so
Adam kept still and waited.
“I’m ashamed, Adam, and you won’t…” Todd stopped and cleared his throat, but he
still sounded as if he’d swallowed gravel. “You won’t want someone like me. I’m so messed
up. So messed up.” He laughed, a bitter cackle unlike anything Adam would have expected
from Todd, and it scared Adam to his core. “What kind of man lets someone hit him?”
“Lets—” Adam was confused as hell. He rolled his head on Todd’s shoulder, trying to
see him. Was Todd into being hit and—no, no he didn’t believe that.
“Lets,” Todd said. “I didn’t fight back, but I never have, not that I remember. And he’d
kill me, I know he would, if he knew about me and you.”
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Adam couldn’t help it, he jerked back then, feeling as if he’d been the one to receive the
body blows. “You—you have a lover? A—what?” Adam hadn’t heard a peep about Todd
having anyone! How—
“No.” Todd stood up then and whipped the shirt off, and the sweet gentle man Adam
knew seemed to vanish beneath a stoic mask as Todd gestured at his bare torso. If it weren’t
for the pain he saw in Todd’s eyes, Adam would have thought Todd was as unaffected by his
bruises and the situation as he obviously wanted Adam to believe.
“This wasn’t from a lover,” Todd said bitterly. “I’ve never had anyone. This,” he
touched one of the bruises, “and this,” then he turned and Adam stumbled back, “are all
from my parents. Mostly my father, but Mom had her hand in it a time or two.”
Adam grabbed onto the countertop behind him for support. The scars on Todd’s back
were numerous, and Adam’s eyes burned, then his vision blurred with unshed tears. He
didn’t know what to say, and Todd just kept talking.
“I’ve never stood up to him, to them. I don’t think I can, most days.” Todd turned back
around then, and Adam wanted to look away, not from disgust but because he was going to
embarrass himself. Then he thought it didn’t matter. Why should he be ashamed if he
couldn’t stop the tears from falling? Todd deserved to have someone give enough of a shit to
cry for him.
“I b-better g-go.” Todd picked up his shirt and started to slide his arms in the sleeves. “I
w-won’t come b-back around unless you n-need help with a rescue.”
Adam swiped at his cheeks and willed his legs to hold him up. He crossed back over to
Todd and put one hand on his back, between his shoulder blades where a thick scar
protruded. Todd went still as stone. “No. Stay. I don’t want you to go. I want… I want you,
Todd.”
Then all he could do was wait for Todd to decide what he was going to do.
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Chapter Ten
Todd turned around slowly, not wanting Adam to stop touching him. “I want…” His
tongue felt thick and uncooperative, maybe because talking was one of the last things he
wanted to be doing right now. He couldn’t keep his eyes off Adam’s lips, and it didn’t help
that Adam was, even now, licking them as if he too wanted Todd to put his mouth to better
use. What did he want? Todd couldn’t think past this very moment.
Adam’s eyelids drifted down as Todd leaned closer. He didn’t rush, taking his time and
wanting to memorise every detail from the way Adam looked, his skin smooth and slightly
tanned, his lips parted, glistening, to the sound of their breaths, the feel of Adam’s hand on
the bare skin of his arm, the scent of the man…
By the time Todd pressed his mouth to Adam’s, he was dangerously on edge, his cock
hard and compressed uncomfortably by his jeans. Todd cupped the back of Adam’s head
with one hand and held Adam’s hip with the other, and, although he’d meant the kiss to be
gentle, as soon as a soft sound bled from Adam’s mouth into his and Adam rubbed his
erection against Todd, need trumped any plans Todd had had.
Adam groaned and writhed in Todd’s arms, and Todd pulled the man in closer, almost
crushing Adam to him. He could feel the firm muscles beneath Adam’s clothes, the even
harder dick prodding at his groin. His ribs ached and throbbed with a dull fiery pain, but
Todd had been hurt worse before and could ignore the discomfort for the pleasure he was
feeling.
Especially when he speared his tongue in and Adam sucked on it at the same time he
found Todd’s dick. Todd bucked and his heart and breath stuttered when Adam rubbed his
hand over Todd’s denim-encased length. Adam tipped his head down, ending the kiss as he
pushed back enough to watch as he stroked Todd.
“Oh, man, I want…” Adam squeezed and Todd thrust and hissed. It sure never felt this
good when he touched himself! “Just give me a second—”
“What—” Todd’s creaky voice startled him into shutting right back up. He tried to cling
to Adam but Adam grabbed his hands.
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“Just let me lock the door real quick.” Adam’s dark eyes burned with a desire that
matched the heat flaming inside Todd. He was both scared and thrilled at the possibilities of
what locking the door meant. More thrilled than scared, though, because he’d quit trying to
keep Adam from moving away.
Adam brushed his fingers over Todd’s dick and made an approving sort of murmur,
both of which left Todd jittery as a tight knot coiled in his groin. He needed so much, and
he’d had years of telling himself he couldn’t, shouldn’t—even that it was wrong, until he’d
found out Gabe was gay. Then he knew without a doubt it wasn’t wrong—but reconciling
that belief to himself, applying it to himself, was much more difficult.
Adam turned back from the locked door and swept Todd with a gaze that ignited his
nerve endings, flooding him with even more arousal. He felt like he was ready to shatter
from it, or incinerate, combust—something! Adam’s lips kicked up at the corners and he
sauntered forwards in a way Todd would have envied had it not been so sexy. The slight
shaking of Adam’s hands betrayed his cool act, though, and it somehow made Todd feel less
afraid of whatever was coming next.
* * * *
There had never, Adam felt certain, been a more important moment than when he’d
realised how hard he’d fallen for Todd. Except, maybe when Todd had kissed him with such
want it’d melted every one of Adam’s defences. Or when Todd hadn’t wanted to let him go,
or… No, the momentousness just kept building with each minute they spent together. Adam
knew, he knew they should talk a few things out first at least, but, damn it, Todd was looking
at him with such hunger, such yearning, how could he do anything but cross over to him and
palm that thick length again?
“Ohhhh,” Todd gasped, spreading his legs and reaching back to clutch at the table.
“I—” He shook and gulped, and Adam dropped to his knees. He pressed his face to
Todd’s groin and looked up at him while he rubbed his cheek against Todd’s zipper.
Todd’s eyes were huge, his mouth slack, one hand behind him on the table and the
other fisted and pressed to his chest, as if he were holding his heart in place. If Adam had
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doubted Todd’s innocence before, this moment would have obliterated those doubts. Todd
was speechless, breathless—beautiful.
Adam worked the waistband open, and Todd’s abs rippled and clenched. He brushed
his knuckles over the ridged muscles then reached for the placket of Todd’s jeans with both
hands. Todd’s eyes were almost shut now, his breath faint, choppy measurements. Every few
seconds he would shiver and unclench his fisted hand then close it again.
“Touch me,” Adam said as he watched Todd’s hand. “Please.”
The sound Todd made then, a need-drenched rasp that ended on a sob, was almost
enough to undo Adam. He hurried to unfasten Todd’s jeans, sliding a hand down to scoop
out Todd’s shaft almost before getting the zipper down. He needed to touch Todd, taste him,
and embed himself in Todd’s mind and heart.
“Adam,” Todd squeaked as soon as Adam had him in hand. Adam took a last look—for
a little while, at least—at Todd’s expression, tight with want and awe and anticipation. Then
he pushed at Todd’s jeans and freed his balls as well, and that was as long as he could make
himself wait before tasting Todd.
Adam leant forward and rubbed his lips over Todd’s cockhead, brushing them back
and forth to tease them both. Todd made a strangled sound and there, there was the touch
Adam had asked for! Todd grabbed his shoulder, his thumb curling against Adam’s neck.
“Please, Adam—”
Adam licked at the wide slit and Todd hissed, thrusting eagerly at Adam’s mouth.
Adam rolled Todd’s balls in his hand and felt them draw up. He opened up and sucked
Todd’s cap in, and Todd gave a muffled shout and bent over him, folding his arms around
Adam’s back. It didn’t give him a lot of room to work in, what with the way Todd was
pushing him forwards, but that was okay. Adam just hoped he hadn’t developed a gag reflex
in all the months he’d not been sucking cock.
He bobbed down and promptly gagged. Pulling back, his eyes watering and the urge to
cough almost overwhelming, Adam took a moment to get his act together. The need to
please Todd, to blow his mind, was pressing, but Adam knew he needed to relax or he’d
never get Todd’s shaft in as deep as he wanted.
Adam massaged Todd’s sac and began sucking Todd’s length back in, slower this time,
while holding onto Todd’s hip with his other hand. Eager sounds fell from Todd’s lips, and
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they spurred Adam on, strengthened his determination to give them both what they wanted.
He inhaled deeply through his nose then took Todd in steadily, until finally the head
breached Adam’s throat.
Todd went utterly still and moaned. Adam swallowed then backed off, and Todd stood
upright. He ran his hands up Adam’s back, to his shoulders and neck, then cupped Adam’s
jaws.
“Jesus, Adam, I—have to—” Todd thumbed Adam’s cheekbones as Adam sucked
harder. “Damn!”
Adam flicked his tongue down Todd’s length and pulled on Todd’s hip, ready to let
him thrust. Todd did, sucking in a noisy breath then holding Adam’s face tighter as he began
pumping into Adam’s mouth.
Adam kept one hand on Todd’s balls, although he teased the soft skin behind them
when he could, and he used his other hand to finally grab a firm ass cheek and squeeze.
Adam could feel the coating of fuzz on Todd’s butt, and he wanted to see if it was the same
pale red-gold as his chest hair. Oh hell, Adam wanted to lick every inch of Todd’s ass, but
that’d have to wait. Besides, he was a bit busy right then.
Todd’s thrusting increased, both in speed and force, and Adam quit thinking about
anything besides the thick cock invading his mouth. He sealed his lips tight and applied
pressure with his tongue, his throat, anywhere he could, and Todd grunted, burying his dick
deep for a second before Adam jerked back. Tangy cum spurted from Todd’s length and
Adam swallowed eagerly. His own cock was so hard it hurt to move, but Adam had to stand
up before his knees locked up. The cement floor was definitely not comfortable for such
things.
Adam stood, Todd holding onto him loosely still. He took in Todd’s debauched
appearance, his pants open, softening cock and his balls hanging out, the thick golden curls
that lead to the treasure trail and on up to crinkly chest hair. Todd’s torso and neck were
flushed, a rosy pink that was splotchy but looked good on Todd’s pale skin. His eyes were
still shut, his breath still stuttering, lips parted and—
And Adam leaned in to kiss him, wanting to touch Todd everywhere. Todd melted
against him, and Adam pressed in closer, his own arousal scorching him. Still kissing Todd,
he unfastened his pants enough to get at his cock, then he grabbed Todd’s hand and pushed
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it towards his dick. He thought he might have to beg or prod or something, not just because
of Todd’s inexperience, but because he was climaxed out, but no. Todd grabbed onto him
eagerly, tensing with—Adam hoped—excitement.
“You feel…” Todd squeezed and gave Adam’s cock a pump. “Good. I want—” Todd
nudged him back a half step and looked down. “God, Adam! Look at us!” Todd’s voice was
quiet but strong nonetheless. He flicked a glance up at Adam and gave a crooked smile.
“You’re bigger.”
Adam snorted and cupped his hand over Todd’s. “I’m about ready to fucking explode.”
“Can’t have that,” Todd murmured, then he began a slow, tight rhythm that threatened
to drive Adam out of his mind.
Adam bit his tongue to keep from demanding more—he wanted Todd to have this, to
enjoy it as much or almost as much as Adam would—but ended up making the most
embarrassing whimpering sound when he tried to keep from begging for harder, faster, please!
Instead he hefted a leg up and grabbed the back of Todd’s head. He brought his lips to
Todd’s and kissed him with all the desperation that was coursing through him.
Todd moaned into the kiss and his hand stilled for a second. Adam grunted and jerked
his hips, and Todd blew Adam’s mind with a sharp twist of the wrist. Adam threw his head
back and it took every last shred of control he had not to bellow as he came, shaking and
panting, curling his fingers as he held tight to Todd.
“Ah,” Todd sighed, as if he’d just found completion while he rubbed Adam’s cum over
his dick. Todd made the sound again, then Adam was tugged forwards and slammed against
Todd’s body as Todd held him.
And Adam held him in return, and tried not to worry about what would happen next.
Todd obviously had some very, very bad shit happening in his life, and Adam would have to
think about that, about being involved with a man who still—
But not right now, not when Todd was holding him, shivering in his arms and
sounding suspiciously like he might be crying. Adam would wait to worry and contemplate
the risks he was taking, wait to examine facts that were very disturbing, frightening, even.
Right now he just wanted this time with Todd, and he’d take it before he let himself freak the
hell out later.
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Chapter Eleven
Todd’s life had been dramatically altered in those few moments he and Adam had
shared—then Jade had banged on the surgery room door. She’d scared ten years off him and
Adam, too, judging by the way Adam had actually jumped and squeaked like a mouse. It
was cute, but they’d had to part too quickly, no time for more than a ‘See ya’ when Jade told
Adam there was an emergency coming in.
Todd didn’t even realise he’d made it outside to his vehicle until he was standing right
there by it. He’d been too busy trying to sort out what he felt—hard to do when every single
second he’d just spent with Adam kept slamming around inside his head. He couldn’t
concentrate on a single thing. One second he’d see Adam down there on his knees, and the
next he was kissing Adam, touching him—
Well, he needed to get his crap together before he drove himself off a cliff. Todd
snorted. He’d have to drive a hell of a long way to find a cliff. This part of Texas was on the
flat side. Todd shook his head and got in his car. He saw Sheriff Kaufman go by and a chill
raced down his spine. Had the sheriff seen him? Why hadn’t Todd thought to park around
back? What excuse could he use if confronted about being here?
Todd kept his foot on the brake as he banged his head against the steering wheel. Jesus,
he was an adult, not a kid! Had been for years, and he couldn’t even keep himself from
panicking at the idea of being seen here?
He was pathetic, that was what he was. Maybe his parents were right. He didn’t have
much of a backbone, had no ambitions, really—it didn’t matter that he’d been too scared to
dream for himself when he’d been younger. Now he didn’t know how to.
Why would Adam want someone like him? Surely he deserved better than a screwed-
up moron who was still a punching bag for his old man. Adam… Adam had probably just
felt sorry for him. Really, why else would he have touched Todd?
Don’t go putting words in the man’s mouth. You don’t know why he did anything, so don’t go
thinking you do! Todd lifted his head up and checked for traffic, then pulled out and headed
towards his place. He kind of liked that little voice that had just harped at him, because it
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was right. He didn’t know why Adam had done what he’d done, and he wouldn’t until they
could talk. It’d be plumb stupid to go jumping fences blind and not knowing what was on
the other side. Any cowboy knew better than that.
Todd realised, once he’d got home, that he’d forgotten to pass along Gabe’s message.
Not yet ready to talk to Adam, and figuring he was probably still busy with whatever
emergency had been on its way in, Todd settled for leaving him a message. Then he
showered and called Gabe, and his concerns for his own sorry state were dampened because
Gabe sounded…off, somehow. Todd would make it a point to go out and check on him as
soon as possible.
* * * *
It was like someone had dumped crack in the town’s water supply. Todd had been so
busy, he’d actually worked a couple of double shifts. He hadn’t heard from Adam, but, then
again, he hadn’t called Adam either. Or stopped in.
Until today, and what a surprise that’d been. First Gabe, with a…a boyfriend he
claimed to have known for a while—which was really suspicious to Todd, but what did he
know? Still, he thought Gabe had probably met him in one of those chat rooms or something.
No way had Gabe known the guy for long, at all. Todd was going to do some digging on that
Mika character.
Adam had looked at Mika. Looked at him, like…like that! Todd had checked the guy out,
too, though… But he was being stupid, and he knew it. The weird vibe between him and
Adam had been strong and scary and Todd hadn’t known what to do to make things right.
He hadn’t deliberately ignored Adam—he’d been busy as hell. What was Adam’s excuse?
No judging, Todd scolded himself. That was how people made total idiots of
themselves. And his parents were so judgemental, he didn’t want to be like them at all. But
Todd hadn’t got the chance to talk to Adam alone at the clinic. It’d been obvious Gabe
and…and Mika were going to be there for a while, and Todd was on his shift. And he
wanted to do some checking on Mika, if he could, without Kaufman getting wind of it. He
and Adam needed to talk, though, soon. It seemed clear to Todd that Adam thought he’d just
dissed him, which hadn’t been the case. Todd was willing to give Adam the benefit of the
doubt for not calling him, so he sure wished Adam would do the same.
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And there he was, deciding he knew what Adam was thinking, in a way. Well, he
didn’t. For all he knew, Adam could have been just as busy, or he could have had company
or something. Todd thought he had his head on straight by the time he finally got off shift.
There was nothing for it. He and Adam needed to talk, and they needed to do it soon. He
was working himself up to do it tonight, to just go over to Adam’s place, knock on the door
and lay everything out. All of his fears, his desires, what he hoped they could have—
Except his plans were shot right to hell when he saw his father’s car in the driveway.
Todd groaned. How could he have forgotten? It was Bible study night, which really meant it
was yell and condemn Todd to hell night. The only time his old man cracked open the Bible
was if he slammed it against some part of Todd’s anatomy.
Todd took a steadying breath. Normally he felt resigned to his father’s treatment of
him, same as he did to his mother’s, but, tonight, he just… He didn’t want to be that person
anymore. The one with no backbone. The one who was ashamed, so ashamed he didn’t want
to cause a fuss and expose his dirty secret—that he was an adult fully grown and still abused.
No, Todd wanted it to stop. He wanted to not be afraid, and he wanted… Well, he
wanted to deserve Adam. How could he do that when he couldn’t even stand up for himself?
He could stand up for Gabe, and for Adam, but what did it say about him, about what he
thought of himself, that he kept letting this happen?
His father had a key to his place, given to him by Todd’s landlord, Mr Hanks. That was
what he got for renting from a member of his father’s congregation. He shouldn’t have
agreed to move here in the first place, should have stood up and—
“No, I’m not doing that.” Todd wouldn’t start with the should have, could have, would
have crap, that never was good for anyone. He’d been weak, scared, conditioned even to be
those things before, but now he was beginning to see that he didn’t have to tolerate being
treated like he was vile.
He didn’t have to settle for borderline hatred when there were people in this world who
might actually be capable of caring for him.
Tonight was the last night he was going to come home and find his father in his
apartment. Todd was going to ask for the key back, and tell his old man to leave. If that
didn’t work, Todd would leave and return later to change his locks. He didn’t expect it to be
a peaceful confrontation. In fact, he was pretty sure he was going to be hurting come
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morning, but he hoped, he hoped, he could hold onto his own anger without giving in to the
same violence that drove his father. Todd wanted to make a stand, not become a cruel,
abusive person.
After parking beside the other car so as not to block his old man in, Todd shut off the
engine and got out of his vehicle. Todd forced himself to move, to walk to his own door. It
wasn’t locked, and though it was always quiet when he got home, this time it seemed
unnervingly so. Todd went inside and shut the door. His father stood in the living room, a
grim expression in place. The old, thick Bible Todd had felt bruising his skin was held in his
father’s right hand.
“You missed church last week, every service. How does that look to people, when the
preacher’s own son can’t be bothered to show respect to God and family?” His father raised
the Bible and thumbed the pages. Todd’s throat ached with the need to start stammering
apologies, but he wouldn’t. Not anymore. “You have nothing to say, Todd? I’ve heard you’ve
been disrespectful to Sheriff Kaufman.” He narrowed his eyes and Todd felt his look like a
slap to his cheek. “And now, you’re carrying pride like it’s something that will save you. It
won’t. The only thing that will save you is—”
“G-get out,” Todd rasped, pushing the words up past numb lips. “I want my key back. I
want you to leave…l-leave me alone.” He managed enough saliva to swallow and at the
same time felt sweat bead his brow and his palms turn clammy. Fear gnawed at his gut but
Todd refused to give in to it. “You can’t k-keep showing up and hitting me when you feel
like it. I’m a grown man—”
“You’re my son,” his father snapped, striding up to him. Todd’s insides went cold at
the look on his father’s face. He’d never seen him so angry. “You’re mine and if you can’t be
good for anything else, you will at least not embarrass me!”
Todd couldn’t stop himself from taking a half-step back. He realised his mistake
immediately. Now he was up against the door, with nowhere to run. But I shouldn’t have to
run, not in my own home. Not ever, not from him.
“I want you to leave,” he repeated, voice dry and breaking. “Give me back my key, and
don’t come here anymore. I want—”
“I don’t care one whit about what you want, boy,” his father growled. “You will show
me respect!”
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Todd threw his arm up as soon as he saw the glint in his father’s eyes that was so
familiar to him. Still, the impact of the Bible slamming against his forearm hurt, but not as
bad as the fist his father pummeled his ribs with. Todd coughed, his breath bursting up from
his lungs. Another punch to his stomach and he groaned, hunching in on himself, trying to
cover as much of his body as he could.
“Leave,” he rasped every chance he got.
His father only hit him harder, no more accusations, his judgement solely meted out
with his fists.
Todd had the sickening thought of what Adam would do if he saw him now, cowering
like a kicked dog. Was that what he was? Todd grunted and the next hit pissed him off more
than it hurt.
“Stop it,” he growled, slapping at his father’s hands. “Stop! No more!” Todd yelled it
again, louder, angrier. Anger turned to fury and Todd bellowed as he shoved his father
away. The urge to give back a taste of the pain he’d experienced, was experiencing now, was
almost irresistible. Todd shook with it, but he curled his hands into fists and kept them
planted by his side as his father panted and glared at him.
“You touch me again, and I ain’t holding back. You want respect, this is the only time
you’re getting it.” Todd moved over enough to grab the door knob. “You can walk out of
here or I can drag you out, but either way, you’re leaving, right now.”
“You try laying one hand on me—”
“And what?” Todd yelled, getting a small thrill from the way his father’s eyes widened
in surprise. “You gonna call the cops? Go ahead. I don’t even care anymore. You know
why?” Todd didn’t give his old man a second to answer. “Because I finally figured out, there
is nothing I can do to make you or Mother happy. Y’all will always find a reason to abuse
me.”
“Abuse?” his father sneered. “Lies fall off your tongue too easy, boy. You’ve only ever
gotten what you had coming.” He came a little closer but Todd noticed his hand shook when
he raised it to point at him. “You’ve deserved every mark we’ve left on you!”
As his father stood shouting at him, spittle flying with every word, Todd’s own anger
melted away. There was no reasoning with the man, Todd knew that as surely as he knew
his own name. It was time for this to end.
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“You need to leave,” he repeated, this time calmly. His side throbbed, his arm, too, and
there were a half-dozen other places he’d be bruised and tender tomorrow. He wanted to go
and take a long bath and pop a few pain pills. “I want my key. If you won’t return it, I’ll
change the locks or move. I don’t want you here ever again.”
His father looked like he was on the verge of having a stroke, his face almost purpling
with his rage. Todd made very sure to remain unaffected by that, at least on the outside.
Inside he was quivery and scared, but knew this was the right thing to do.
“Don’t come here, don’t drive by, don’t contact me at work, either. Until you can treat
me with respect—” His father scowled, and for some stupid reason, that hurt as much as one
of his fists did. Todd didn’t even wince, though. “And if you can’t ever do that, then I guess
we’re done. I won’t be what you want anymore, and I have been, no matter what you say.
You wanted a whipping boy. Well, I’m not a boy now, and if you raise your fists to me again,
you’ll find out just what it feels like to be beaten until you can hardly walk.”
“You wouldn’t dare to touch me,” his father seethed, “I’m your father and you have to
respect me!”
Todd shook his head and opened the door. “You’re nothing more to me than someone
who has hurt me too many times. Leave the key on your way out.”
“You’ll regret this. You’ll burn in Hell and your time here on Earth will be cursed
And—”
“Get out.” Todd was done. He stood up as straight as he could considering his ribs hurt
like hellfire. He didn’t flinch or look away from his old man’s face, watching the shock and
rage there. For a man of God, his father sure had a lot of meanness in him. “My key, please.”
That please about killed him, but Todd was determined not to be a petty, hateful person.
His father took the key off his key ring and threw it at Todd, hitting him in the neck.
“You are nothing to me. Nothing!”
That was better than being a punching bag, a victim, Todd figured, so he nodded. His
father shouldered by him, deliberately slamming into him. Todd had given him plenty of
room to get by. Rather than let it get to him, he told himself that was the last time he’d have
to put up with such treatment—even though he hadn’t exactly put up with it this time. At
least it was over, and Todd’s relief helped ease the knowledge that he’d lost what family he’d
had.
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He didn’t watch his father get in his car or drive off. Instead he locked the door then
went and ran the hottest water he could stand. A few ibuprofen and a bottle of water, and
Todd was suddenly so tired he could hardly stand. Tired, and sore, and he knew probably
more than a little messed up in his head by what had just happened. It’d hit him later, surely.
Or maybe not. Really, what had he lost? Had there been any love from his parents, any
kindness he was going to miss? None came to mind, and Todd quit thinking about it. He had
bruises coming up already, and he was hurting. He needed to soak then he was going to
sleep until he had to get up for work. Dinner wasn’t a necessity, but the respite he hoped to
find in sleep, the dreams of Adam he wanted to have, just the hope for those were as
necessary to him right then as breathing.
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Chapter Twelve
Adam whistled as he locked up the clinic. He’d been busy as hell lately, and he’d been a
jerk. Seeing Todd today had been like a kick in the balls. It’d hurt clear up to the top of his
head, and he’d felt queasy, jittery with nerves, but he thought he’d covered it well. Maybe
too well, because Todd had looked hurt.
Petty shit that he could be, Adam had felt a quick surge of happiness, knowing he
wasn’t the only miserable one. Then he’d felt like the complete and total asshole he was
being. He’d wanted Todd to call him, to make the next move. What an idiot. He knew Todd
wasn’t experienced, probably in any kind of relationship. Adam’s pride had caused him
more trouble…
“Aw, fuck it.” He gave up on the whistling; it wasn’t making him feel any better no
matter how happy the tune. He had to make things right with Todd, like, now. God, Jameson,
where the fuck are you when I need advice? Adam still hadn’t heard a word from his friend, and
he could really, really use some guidance right now. Grovelling had never been his strong
suit, and he had a feeling he needed to grovel. Adam hated that he’d been so stupid, so
stubborn. There were so many things he didn’t like about himself, but he was working on
them, and he thought he was making progress.
But this wasn’t about him, not right now at least. It was about how he’d put the burden
of their budding relationship on Todd’s shoulders. He didn’t have to dig deep to figure out
he was scared of a relationship—scared of failing, scared of being hurt, scared of Todd really
getting to know him and hating him, because Adam wasn’t the best or easiest person in the
world.
“Everyone has faults.” Adam huffed and glared at the ceiling. “Fine. That sounds like
an excuse. But constantly dogging myself isn’t going to help either!” God, where was the line
between being properly remorseful and pathetic? He had the feeling he was crossing over it.
This self-examination thing is fucking hard. Adam walked to his car. He needed to quit
whining to himself about himself. He’d screwed up, yes, but he was going to fix it. That was
the way to handle it, not examining it all to death. Go to Todd, tell him he’d fucked up
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because he was a chicken shit, and leave it up to Todd if he wanted to mess with someone
like Adam or not. He had the feeling Todd was seeing him through rose-coloured glasses, so
he probably needed to point out his major flaws.
Or did he? Maybe he shouldn’t, because he had some damn good qualities, too. What
he and Todd needed was time to get to know each other. Which didn’t preclude sex, he was
quick to tell himself.
Adam felt marginally better as he drove towards Todd’s place. He wouldn’t park out
front. There was the local Super S right down the street—he’d park there and walk to Todd’s.
Since it was just about dark, he hoped no one would notice him.
Adam parked in the lot and stripped off his white lab coat. He smelt like dogs and
chemicals from scrubbing his hands clean, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now.
To go home even just to shower would feel like an act of cowardice.
He got out and locked the car. It was almost dark. Adam leaned against the door and
waited a few minutes, letting the sun set more and wondering if he should call Todd first.
Probably not, because, if Todd was mad, it’d be harder for him to turn Adam away in person
than on the phone.
Adam finally headed out, feeling as if he was being watched, but, since no one was
around, he figured he was being paranoid. But maybe he should have just driven. That’d
have seemed less suspicious than if someone saw him park, wait until dark, then set off.
Adam added ‘moron’ to his self-recrimination list. Obviously stealth wasn’t his thing.
Todd’s vehicle was there, so Adam went on up to his door and knocked. And knocked.
Then pounded, because he just knew Todd was in there, his skin was prickling with an
awareness that set his nerves on end.
“Todd, open the door!” Adam was going to beat on the damn door all night if he had
to. Todd’s neighbours might not like it but that was just tough. “I know you’re home, so—”
He heard a chain slide and the deadbolt unlock. “Thank God,” Adam muttered as the door
opened. “I thought—shit!” Adam’s stomach flipped and rolled and tried its best to climb
right up his throat.
“What the hell did he do to you?” Adam growled as he came in and slammed the door.
Todd’s torso was littered with new bruises and some gashes that Adam thought probably
could use a few stitches. “I’m gonna kill him.” Maybe even literally, Adam was so pissed off.
No, no, no. No murdering anyone even if they fucking deserve it!
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“I’m sorry,” Todd said miserably. “I made you mad, I made him mad—”
Adam shook his head. His eyes were burning and he swiped at them. Now wasn’t the
time for him to be a wuss. “I’m mad at myself, Todd. I’ve been a total idiot, all because I’m
scared. You really deserve better than me.”
“No.” Todd took Adam’s arm and drew him close. “I don’t. But I’m trying to be good
enough for you, Adam. That was the only thing that kept me from hurting my old man when
he went nuts on me.”
Adam stiffened and dug in his heels, not letting Todd hug him. He glared at Todd, so
angry at Todd’s dad he wanted to spit. “You can’t let him keep hitting you, Todd! He’s
insane, sick, he’s… He’s—” Adam couldn’t even find the words, not when they were all
clogging up his throat, damn near choking him.
Todd tugged and Adam found himself fitted neatly to his side. “He won’t be doing it
anymore, Adam.” He lifted Adam’s chin, and the quiet strength he saw there in Todd’s eyes
was one of the most beautiful sights ever, as far as Adam was concerned. “I stood up to him
today, which was why he went so far off the handle. I had to… I had to finally pin him up
against the wall and tell him to stop. I-I was a-afraid he was gonna k-kill me when I told him
he couldn’t treat me like a punching bag anymore.”
“Oh, Todd.” Adam sighed, his heart breaking in a way that had nothing to do with him
other than it hurt seeing Todd so battered, but it hurt even more thinking about him being
scared, afraid he was going to be killed. Adam traced one of the livid bruises, then pressed a
kiss above an inch-long cut on Todd’s chest. “What’d he do here?”
Todd looked down and touched the spot. “Something he had in either the Bible he was
using or in his hand. Maybe his wedding ring, I don’t know. Looks worse than it is.”
Adam checked it out. The wound wasn’t as deep as he’d first thought, although Todd
was pretty battered. “I swear, Todd, I will kick his ass if he comes near you again.”
Todd’s bottom lip quivered for a second then he stood straighter and smiled, a tenuous
tip-up of one side of his mouth. “I don’t think he will. His parting shot was I was dead to
him, like some bad movie line and all that. I didn’t know whether to laugh or…” Todd
sighed. “I cried a little, after. I wish I could say it was all from relief, and maybe it mostly
was, but it hurts, you know, knowing he and my mom never loved me. They wouldn’t have
been like they were to me if they had. Took me long enough to realise it.”
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Adam wanted to hug Todd, but he was afraid of causing him more pain so he settled
for easing an arm around his waist. “Every child wants their parents’ love. It’s only natural,
but, yeah, sometimes you just have to let them go.” He avoided Todd’s scrutinising gaze.
“Now, looks like you cleaned yourself up pretty good, but I want to check over these places.”
“Okay.” Todd was silent after that as Adam examined him. When he was finished, he
could see how exhausted Todd was. Adam wanted to talk to Todd and spend some time
with him, but he thought what he wanted and what Todd needed were two different things
just then. Adam ran a hand gently down Todd’s arm then circled Todd’s wrist with his
fingers as he smiled at Todd. “I think you’ll be all right in a few days. Take ibuprofen, and
get plenty of rest.”
Todd’s eyes were shadowed but his smile seemed sincere to Adam. “Thanks, doc.”
“You’re welcome.” Adam leaned in and brushed his lips over Todd’s before moving
back. “Now go, get some rest. Call me if you need anything.”
Letting Todd go was one of the hardest things Adam had ever done, but he had a lot to
think about, and so did Todd. Adam hoped they’d be able to have the special relationship he
felt they could, if only they’d give it a chance. It seemed like there were so many road blocks,
but Todd had started to remove some of them, hadn’t he? Maybe it was time for Adam to do
the same.
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Chapter Thirteen
Somehow Todd found himself kind of liking Mika even though he tried not to. And
even though he got this weird vibe from Mika sometimes, like he was somehow emitting
waves of power, which was just ridiculous. The guy was a full-blown macho man, alpha to
the core. Todd wasn’t sure Gabe was telling him the truth about where they’d met—Gabe
had been alone, then Mika seemed to just appear. But if Gabe wanted to keep who they met a
secret, well, that was his business. Todd tried not to be hurt that Gabe didn’t confide in him.
He knew it was juvenile on his part and so he tucked it deep down and did his best to forget
about it. All that mattered was his friend’s happiness. It was evident Gabe was head over
heels for the man, and, since Todd hadn’t ever seen Gabe so happy, he decided to back off
and let Mika be.
Plus, he had his own personal life to deal with. And his parents. He’d thought… Well,
he should have known his folks wouldn’t just let him go. Even Kaufman seemed to be in on
the new ‘let’s all stalk Todd’ plan. The result of which was he and Adam hadn’t had any time
alone, not face to face. Some of the texts they’d sent to each other had made Todd’s cheeks
burn—he couldn’t believe how eagerly he sent and read those dirty messages! He was half
afraid of what would happen when he and Adam finally did get to be alone.
Todd clenched every muscle from his calves to his belly. He knew exactly what was
going to happen. And, hopefully, it’d happen soon since Gabe and Mika had some adoptions
to deliver. Todd was going to take care of the other rescued dogs while they were gone, and
he was thinking he might just sleep over at Gabe’s. He hadn’t asked but he didn’t think Gabe
would mind since he’d told Todd he was welcome to crash there if he wanted.
He just hoped Adam would be agreeable to coming out there. Todd sighed and finished
filling out the last report for the day. Someone had vandalised the high-school gym the night
before, and it’d been a damned mess to deal with. He stopped in and told Kaufman he was
done then left before the jerk could tell him to do something else. Todd’s shift was supposed
to have been over a couple of hours ago and he was more than eager to leave.
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His drive was empty, a miracle in itself. Todd hurried inside and made a beeline for the
shower. He was hard as stone and even pulling his briefs off over his erection just about did
him in. “Oh Geez.” Todd’s entire body burned with embarrassment then, a hot flare that shot
through him as he considered his cock. Did he dare? Was he brave enough? Or was it a really
stupid thing to do? After all, once he did it… But his face wouldn’t be in the pic, and—
“And I’m gonna do it.” Todd might die from sheer mortification, but he was going to
do it! He fished his cell phone out of his pocket. Todd’s hands were trembling with a mix of
fear and excitement. He’d never, ever done anything like this, never thought he would, but
here he stood, phone set on camera and his dick in hand.
“Oh my God.” His heart was going to burst right out of his chest! Not that his erection
was flagging at all, even though he was terrified. Nope, that cock was harder than ever, and
there was a nice glisten to the crown where pre-cum had begun to leak out. Todd gave
himself a stroke and moaned, his eyelids fluttering as he struggled to keep his eyes open. He
stopped stroking, fisting his shaft right in the middle, spreading his fingers so that his thumb
touched the sensitive underside just so. Todd almost couldn’t quit shaking and twitching
long enough to get a decent pic, but then he did and he made himself send it before he could
second-guess the action again.
“There.” Todd shook his head because all sorts of doubts and fears were bubbling up in
there and he wasn’t going to have it. He was so tired of hiding, so tired of being afraid. He
knew Adam wasn’t the type of man who’d be anyone’s secret, and Todd thought he was
willing to risk hell and, even worse, his parents and the condemnation of the town members,
in order to be with Adam. It wasn’t just a physical need, either, although that was pretty
damn strong. But Todd wanted a life with Adam, maybe a kid or two, the picket fence, all
that stuff. If they had to move away to have it, so be it. Todd didn’t care anymore and
thought it might actually be best for them.
But, for now, he had to take care of one aching part of him. Wasn’t going to take very
long, either. Todd looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. His cockhead was purple
and wet, his balls high and tight. He hitched up a leg and propped his knee on the counter
then eased a finger between his cheeks.
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Todd’s breath hitched when he found his opening, so small and sensitive. He hadn’t
been brave enough yet to stick anything in there—no, that wasn’t quite it. He wanted Adam
to be the first to penetrate him in any way, silly and romantic as it was.
Yeah, he was curious as to what it’d feel like to finger himself, but he’d waited this long.
Todd wasn’t going to ruin it now by going there when he could have the man he loved
touching him.
Besides, it felt so fricking good just to rub over that furled skin. He was so warm there,
and his cock was so hard. Todd moaned and gripped his cock hard for a second or two,
before he blew all over without even really getting started. Once he thought he could last for
a few minutes—maybe—he started jerking his length at the same time he increased the
pressure to his hole.
The effect was mind-bending, and Todd wasn’t going to make it for even those few
minutes. A strangled sound was torn from him as he stroked himself with hard, rough
movements. Every time he rubbed his palm over his slit he gasped and twitched and
clenched all over. He added a twist of his wrist and shouted in surprise as heat and pleasure
burst from his cock to his balls. Todd pumped frantically, smearing pre-cum along his length
and rubbing at his hole. It was so tempting, the idea of pushing his fingertip in, but he
wouldn’t.
No, instead he’d think of Adam, imagine him covering Todd, his bare chest pressed to
Todd’s back. Todd moaned and closed his eyes, feeling it, seeing it. Adam’s cock would be
thick, wet, slicked and ready to go. He’d growl and grip Todd’s shoulders, then spear him in
one fierce thrust—
Todd screamed, his mind blanking then as his orgasm tore through him. His balls
ached and his cock spilled hot cum over his fingers and onto the countertop. Todd panted
and stroked himself through it, then winced when his dick seemed to instantly become
hypersensitive.
Jesus, fantasies like that were going to kill him! He’d imagined a burning pain, like he’d
read about in the few stories he’d been brave enough to check out online. He wasn’t looking
forwards to that part, but the idea of Adam in him, filling him, claiming him, of that
growling, thrusting, wild man…
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Todd felt lightheaded just thinking about it! He chuffled and prised his eyes open. “Get
it together before ya pass out, dipshit.” His reflection smirked back at him. Todd blinked,
surprised at how erotic he looked. Then he decided it was a good look for him, one he
wanted Adam to see as soon as possible.
Which meant he needed to get cleaned up—and wipe down the mess he’d made on the
countertop—then get his ass on over to Gabe’s. Maybe Adam would be there already. Todd
checked his phone. No reply yet from Adam, but that was okay. Sometimes he had surgeries
to do or appointments.
Todd got in the shower, smiling and happier than he’d been in a long while. When he’d
finished cleaning up and got into bed, Todd thought he’d have trouble going to sleep. He’d
never done anything so bold as what he’d done earlier, and expected it to bother him. But it
didn’t, and he was asleep within minutes of his head hitting the pillow. He woke up feeling
good, almost like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Todd liked it. A lot.
The day passed pretty quickly, until a few hours before he was supposed to—
hopefully—meet Adam. Todd had sent texts to Adam throughout the day, texts that made
his cheeks burn hot and his dick so hard he was tempted to jerk off again. He didn’t, because
he was hoping Adam would touch him, let Todd touch him in return. If he came, he wanted
it to be because Adam made him.
Todd was thinking about the ways that might possibly happen when he went to feed
and water the dogs out back. His mind was definitely in the gutter and his gaze was on the
ground, which was probably why he didn’t see his father until the man stepped right in front
of him.
“Father—” he started, pulling himself up short before he ran right into him. Then Todd
saw it, the long, dark piece of pipe in his father’s right hand. “What are you doing?” he
rasped, fear clogging his throat as his pulse shot into warp speed. Years of terror at this
man’s hands froze Todd to the spot before he remembered he’d stood up to him not that long
ago.
“You’ve become an embarrassment, and an unrepentant sinner,” his father said, his
eyes blazing with hatred. Todd wondered why he’d never seen it before. “I won’t have
someone like you for a son. The Bible is clear, children must honour their parents in order to
live a long life. You have dishonoured me and your mother.”
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Todd glanced at that pipe then couldn’t look away from it. Surely his father was just
trying to scare him? He wouldn’t seriously try to use that! “The Bible also tells fathers not to
provoke their children to wrath.” Todd jerked his gaze up then, shocked that he’d said such a
thing. It was true, but not what should be coming out of his mouth when he was faced with
the situation he was in.
His father canted his head slightly and studied him. “And are you angry, Todd? Is
wrath not a sin?”
Todd gestured at the pipe. “What you’re implying, threatening, that’s not a sin?”
“No,” his father replied, and before the word had ended, he swung the pipe, hitting
Todd’s thigh.
“Stop!” Todd yelled, trying to stay upright and block a second blow. He hit the ground,
screaming in agony, his ribs feeling like they’d broken in a dozen places.
“What are the wages of sin?” his father said. “Tell me!”
Todd couldn’t even breathe, much less speak. He raised his hands, knowing he had to
try to protect his head. He didn’t want to die, not like this, not now, not when he was just
getting started living!
But the pipe came down on him again, his father asking his sick questions, and Todd
found the breath to scream before consciousness was ripped from him when the pipe clipped
his head, and Todd’s last thought was that he hoped Adam didn’t show up after all.
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Chapter Fourteen
Adam was flustered as hell. Todd had sent him some very…shocking—in a good
way—texts, and as luck would have it—of course—Jade had decided to peek over his
shoulder once. Probably because Adam had made a sound like he was about to keel over,
something between a gasp and a groan and a panting racket. Yeah, well, Jade sure knew
which way Adam swung now. The fact that he’d growled and about snapped her head off
had to have been a big clue. That and the hard-on he couldn’t have hidden if his life had
depended on it.
Todd had sent him a picture, a dirty, dirty picture! And, after that, he’d proceeded to
send some texts that were just—“Whew!” Adam swiped at his brow. He was going to be one
sweaty, smelly guy by the time he got to Gabe’s, but he doubted Todd would mind.
Although Todd was obviously going to be clean, if that text about what he’d done in the
bathroom was true. Todd detailed masturbating and washing the cum from his skin and
Adam wanted to scream in frustration because he kept having walk-ins for stuff that wasn’t
life or death. Still, he wouldn’t make the animals pay for his impatience, or for their owners’
impatience, either. Although he did charge more for the walk-ins, unless he knew the owner
was having a tough time financially.
Anyway, he was almost at Gabe’s now. Adam patted his shirt pocket, reassured to feel
the lube and condoms there. He had an irrational fear they were just going to flippin’
disappear on him or something. Stupid, because there were other ways to get off, but
knowing that Todd was—for lack of a better term—saving himself for Adam? It was an
irresistible lure. Adam wanted to feel Todd’s sweet ass clenching around his shaft.
“Oh, God, stop it!” Adam scolded himself. His dick was already so stiff it hurt like hell
to sit and drive. He was surprised he could think to drive, for that matter. There couldn’t be
much blood left upstairs.
Adam whooped when he saw the turn-in of Gabe’s drive. It was dark out, but, as he
pulled his car over to the right side of the parking area, he could see the glow of the barn-
cum-kennel’s light. His headlights caught on something weird. “What the hell?”
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Adam’s vision swam and an ominous shiver rocked him. He told himself to quit being a
twit. Still, something very like panic was skittering under his skin, setting his heart to beating
in an erratic, harsh manner. What the hell? It’s not like I’ve never had sex before or… Adam rolled
his shoulders. These weren’t those kind of nerves. For some reason, he was fucking terrified.
He shut the car off and heard the racket as soon as the engine was silent. The dogs were
going batshit in the kennels. His fear spiked up to terror, because he recognised the frantic
sounds the dogs were making. Those were scared barks. Something was very, very wrong.
And Todd was in there.
“Okay, okay. Stop being a puss.” Adam blew the horn, just in case there was an
intruder. Maybe that’d scare them off. Then he tried to call Todd. When he didn’t get an
answer, Adam took a deep breath, told himself to grow some fucking balls, and he opened
the car door. He dialled Todd’s number again—then slapped a hand to his chest. He couldn’t
breathe, couldn’t make a peep as he stared at the object that’d caught his eye. It looked big,
and…and human-shaped, like…
“No!” Adam screamed at it, fury and fear sending him hurtling full-force, concern for
himself forgotten as he realised it was Todd lying bleeding on the ground. He couldn’t tell
how bad he was hurt, not even with the light from the kennels. All he knew was he was
screaming, and Todd wasn’t answering, wasn’t even moving.
“No, no, no, no, no!” Adam couldn’t seem to say anything else, couldn’t feel anything
other than utter terror and his fucking eyes wouldn’t stop welling, he couldn’t see for shit!
He dropped to his knees and reached for Todd, felt wet, sticky blood. “No, God damn it!
Todd!” Adam blinked furiously and saw the blood, the swelling, and where he could see
skin, Todd was so, so pale.
“I’ll kill him, Todd, I swear I’ll kill the fucker!” It had to have been his father, or
Kaufman, but no, the fuckwad sheriff had never beaten Todd before. And Todd had texted
about wanting them to be able to be together—“What did you do, baby? Did you tell that
fucking useless, hateful, pathetic—” Adam bit his tongue until he tasted blood. His ranting
wasn’t going to help Todd. He felt Todd’s pulse, so relieved even though it was weak. “Hang
on, baby, I’m calling for an ambulance.”
Adam did so, then he spotted Todd’s phone. He leaned over Todd and grabbed it.
Maybe it was interfering with a soon-to-be investigation, but Adam didn’t think it would be
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a problem. Kaufman sure as shit wasn’t going to go after Todd’s dad. Hell, he’d probably
cheer him on or destroy evidence or something.
“We’re gonna take care of you,” Adam rasped, his voice hitching despite his best
attempts to sound reassuring. He smoothed the hair back off Todd’s bloody brow. “I won’t
ever let anyone hurt you again, baby. I mean it. I will pure-dee kick some fucking asses.
Starting with your father’s, and your mother’s, and the sheriff and anyone the fuck else—”
Sirens wailed and the dogs went crazy howling and barking. Adam wished he could
cradle Todd close, wished he could hold him and stay with him, but he didn’t know how bad
Todd was hurt.
Very bad. Any hurt is too much for him, sweet baby. Adam’s own mushiness should have
shocked him, but, somewhere along the way in his budding relationship with Todd, he’d lost
most of his cynicism. He’d owe Todd for that forever, because who wanted to end up a bitter
old bitch? And that was exactly what Adam knew he’d have been like.
The ambulance pulled in the drive, and Adam let go of Todd long enough to wave to
the driver so they’d come on back. He thought they could fit between the house and Adam’s
car, but if not, well, then they’d better fucking get out and run!
Standing back while the EMS crew started checking Todd was the hardest thing Adam
had ever had to do. He didn’t try to hide how worried he was, or how much Todd meant to
him. He was positive the most dangerous person who could have known already did. Only
Todd’s father would have dared to attack his own son with a metal pipe—Adam had nearly
puked when he’d spotted it. Would have, except he’d been afraid he’d collapse too and the
EMS guys needed to give Todd their undivided attention.
“Gonna load him up.”
Adam tore his gaze away from Todd’s beloved face to look instead at the burly man
addressing him. He saw a wealth of sympathy in the man’s eyes, and it eased a tiny bit of the
tension in Adam’s chest.
“Okay, okay. Can I—”
The guy glanced at his partner, who scowled but didn’t speak. “You can ride in the
back, just stay out the way.”
“I don’t—” his partner began.
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“Shut the fuck up, Scotty,” the bigger man snapped. “You drive, I’ll take care of Todd.”
To Adam, he said, “Ignore him. Not everyone’s as small-minded as Scotty.”
Adam snorted in disbelief. “Right. And that’s why Todd’s been beaten, right?” He
turned away and jogged to his car to grab his keys and lock the vehicle. If he had his way,
Todd and he were going to leave this fucking hateful shithole of a town just as soon as Todd
was released from the hospital.
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Chapter Fifteen
Once the first week had passed after his father had tried to kill him, Todd began to be
slightly less miserable every day. Physically, at least. Emotionally, he knew he was just a
fucked-up mess. He couldn’t get over the hate he’d seen in his old man’s eyes, the words
he’d spewed as he’d swung that pipe. And Todd had fallen right back into playing the
victim. He could have died because of his stupidity.
Adam could have died because of it, if Todd’s father had come back then. As it was, the
jerk had come back, and Gabe and Mika had come unglued on him. Todd was glad for that,
but sorry about Gabe’s hand, which he’d hurt clocking the old guy.
“Hey, you’re awake.”
Todd rolled his head on his pillow and looked at Adam standing in the doorway. Todd
figured whatever closet he’d been hiding in had had the door and ceiling blown right off, so,
when Adam had insisted on bringing Todd back to his place once he was released from the
hospital, Todd hadn’t argued.
But, the truth was, he was kind of scared. He’d yet to venture out of the house—well, he
was still beaten to hell, but even so—just the thought of the people he’d known all his life
seeing him and knowing—
“Stop it right now,” Adam said as he snapped his fingers. The man had a lethal glare
that accompanied the sound. He pointed at Todd. “I don’t know what you’re thinking about,
but it couldn’t be good. You flushed red and, while that is hot when I’m turning you on, it’s
definitely not a look I want to see on you when you’re frowning fit to petrify Medusa.”
Todd snorted and rubbed at his hair. “S’it that bad?” He was feeling kind of woolly.
And if he could deflect—
Adam sauntered over and brushed the back of his knuckles over Todd’s cheek. The
compassion in Adam’s eyes made Todd’s burn and he gulped but didn’t look away. Adam
had seen him cry in pain and fear over the past couple of weeks, and he’d had to help Todd
with everything, a humiliation Todd never wanted to experience again, although he was
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grateful Adam had taken it on. And mostly without griping much. When he did snark, it was
always humorously done.
Adam sat on the bed, his hip nudged against Todd’s. “What had you looking so
miserable, baby?”
To Todd’s utter mortification, tears spilled over onto his cheeks. “Crap.” He started to
wipe at them as he sniffled but Adam beat him to it, catching the moisture on his thumbs. “I
just, I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t know how to face the people here, or how to
find a job. No one in Shasta is gonna want to hire me since it’s out that I’m gay.”
Adam hummed and knuckled under Todd’s left eye, which seemed determined to keep
leaking. “I think you’d be surprised, both at your own strength and at the people here. And I
don’t know why you’re thinking you’re gonna need a job. Kaufman can’t fire you. Even if he
could, he’d have to have a damn good reason, and you being hurt isn’t a good reason.”
Todd started to speak but Adam shook his head. “Let me finish. Everyone here knows
Gabe is gay, and no one gives him shit, or at least not much and not that I know of.”
Todd’s lips twitched. “Well, yeah, ‘cause Gabe would tear their heads off, verbally at
least. Then he’d sic Mika on them.”
Adam chuckled and leant down. He pressed his lips to Todd’s in a sweet kiss before
sitting back up. “No doubt, but even before Mika no one messed with Gabe. I don’t think all
of that was because he can be a feisty dude.”
“A feisty dude.” Todd wanted to laugh at the description, but it fit, and, besides,
laughing too hard hurt like a bitch.
“And I haven’t lost any clients, and everyone here knows I’m gay, obviously, after the
whole wailing and sobbing I did at the hospital,” Adam continued, winking. “Okay, I didn’t
wail or sob, more like…bitched and snapped, but eh. Anyways, I actually have more
customers now. It’s probably an odd show of support, but it is a show of support, and it’s for
you, not me.”
“Right.” Todd tried to look away but he couldn’t. Adam could do that, hold him with
some invisible thread between them. Todd’s belly felt fluttery and a slow warmth spread
through him in a now-familiar reaction that would, as it had since his injuries, leave him
frustrated. Adam didn’t think he was well enough to mess around yet, and, damn it, Todd
had agreed mostly, but maybe not today.
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“It’s true.” Adam slid his gaze down to Todd’s dick. “You started breathing heavier,
and now I know why. Looky here.” He palmed Todd’s shaft through the sheet. “Hot. I
swear, Todd, you’re gonna set this bed on fire.”
Well, if he hadn’t been before, he might now because Todd flushed hot from his toes to
his head. “Adam, please.” Something, anything, Todd didn’t care what. He didn’t want to
hurt, didn’t want to think, didn’t want to be afraid anymore.
“I’ve got you, baby,” Adam crooned right before slanting his mouth over Todd’s.
Todd sighed happily as he parted his lips, opening for Adam. The taste of the man
never grew old. Todd closed his eyes and reached for whatever part of Adam he could touch.
He thrust up against Adam’s hand and his balls tingled with warning.
Please, please, please. Todd chanted it over and over in his head, desire coiling, volcanic
heat building in his groin. He clutched at Adam and nipped his tongue, and Adam pulled
back enough to hiss.
Todd cracked open his eyes and watched Adam lick his swollen lips. The wicked grin
should have warned him, but Todd wasn’t exactly thinking right then. Adam jerked the
sheet off and grabbed Todd’s hard cock. A string of pre-cum bridged the gap from his tip to
his stomach, and Adam leant down and licked it up.
“Oh my fricking God,” Todd panted, sure his eyes were going to bug right on out of his
head.
“I think you’re healed up enough for this, don’t you?” Adam asked, but he didn’t give
Todd time to answer. Instead he swooped down and sucked Todd’s dick in, and Todd
writhed even as a shudder rocked him. “Mmm.”
Todd clutched at Adam’s hair, wanting to slow him down at the same time he wanted
Adam to keep on going. Todd was so close to coming, and he wanted to hold off, enjoy the
magic of Adam’s throat muscles massaging his dick, the heat, the wet, Adam’s tongue—God,
he didn’t want it to ever end.
But he also wanted to come, to let the ecstasy wash over him, drown him in the most
perfect pleasure he’d ever felt. Todd bit his lip to keep from whimpering, or shouting, he
didn’t know which. Then Adam cupped his balls and rubbed the soft skin beneath them.
Todd screamed, his heart slamming, vision exploding into brilliant white shards as his
cock spurted into Adam’s mouth. He felt like he came buckets, although logically he knew
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better. It was just so intense, so perfect, and more moisture leaked onto his cheeks as he
thrashed, unable not to pump into Adam’s mouth as he swallowed every drop.
Todd’s head was still spinning and he was still gasping when Adam sat up and shoved
at his sweats. “Jesus, I gotta—” Adam cackled breathlessly, “Fuck, I’m gonna come in my
pants if—Oh yesss!”
Todd blinked furiously while the bed bounced under him. He finally was able to focus
on Adam, watch him jerk that big dick. Todd’s mouth watered and he clenched everything
from his butt down as he ogled Adam’s length.
“I want that in me,” he muttered before he thought to stop himself, then immediately
burned with embarrassment at his brazenness. How the hell had he let himself say that out
loud?
Adam gasped, then crawled over him, his knees on either side of Todd’s waist. His eyes
burned with need and Todd’s cock twitched as he imagined Adam looking at him the same
way while fucking him until they both screamed.
“Say it again,” Adam demanded, lowering himself to one arm so that, every time he
reached the tip of his dick, his knuckles brushed Todd’s belly. “Say it. Tell me what you
want!”
Todd swallowed around his nerves and scolded himself for being such a prude. It was
just so hard to admit after so many years of denying himself, but he couldn’t refuse Adam’s
demand. Adam needed to hear it, Todd knew he did, and Todd needed to admit it out loud.
“I want you to fuck me.”
Todd got it out, almost without stuttering, and Adam’s eyes went wide as a strangled
sound ripped from his throat. Todd felt the jet of hot spunk hit his chest, smelt the musky
scent of Adam’s cum, and found himself saying the words over and over again, his dick
growing erect once more.
Adam groaned and slumped over to Todd’s side. “Oh my God, oh my God…”
Todd couldn’t help but feel kind of smug. Adam sure seemed to be a pile of boneless
goo. Todd had helped him get that way, just by admitting his own needs, his own desires.
Knowing the truth of it gave Todd a small bit of power, of strength he hadn’t ever thought to
have, and he owed Adam for it.
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Which was why, when the phone rang, Todd actually patted Adam’s chest and said
he’d get it. If it was still ringing by the time he actually made it to the phone, then he’d
answer it. Todd still didn’t move as fast as he had before.
But the phone kept ringing, or he was quicker than he had been yesterday. Either way,
he made it before the machine picked up. Todd plucked up the phone and was only slightly
short of breath when he answered.
Then he was completely breathless when he said hello and the mayor of Shasta greeted
him.
“Er, hello, Todd, this is Mayor Edmunds.”
Todd immediately stood up straighter, as if the mayor could see him through the
phone—which was a disturbing thought, considering he was naked. “Yes sir.” He coughed
to get the squeak out of his voice. “How can I help you, Mayor Edmunds?” Was he fixing to
be fired? Ran out of town?
“Actually, Todd, I believe you can help me,” Mayor Edmunds said, sounding more sure
of himself with each word. “You see, we’re in need of a new sheriff in town as Kaufman has
been…relieved of duty.”
“He has?” Todd had heard as much, but it still seemed unreal to him.
“Yes, of course he has. Once I found out about all the laws he broke, and of course, the
animal abuse, oh my.” Mayor Edmunds sighed. “If one of those save the animal places had
gotten wind of his behaviour, well, I don’t think any of us want Shasta on the news all
around the world for something like that. It would reflect very badly on us, and we have
some good people here. Bad ones, too, yes, but overall we have great citizens.”
Todd wasn’t so sure about that, considering many of the ‘great citizens’ had to have
known about the abuse he’d suffered at his parents’ hands. Then it occurred to him, as hard
as it’d been for him to break out of that cycle—and it’d almost killed him, hadn’t it?—it
might have been just as hard for people to speak up. It was a horrible excuse, but possibly a
true one. Mayor Edmunds cleared his throat and continued talking when Todd didn’t speak.
“Todd, I know you might feel as if several people in this town let you down, and you’d
be right. I myself wasn’t aware of what your father did to you, not until this last time, and I
am very sorry, son. Someone should have stepped up.” Another sigh, this one louder,
gustier. “But no one did, and there are a lot of people feeling very badly about that now. I
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know that you have a good heart, that you’re a respectful, forgiving man. Not many people
would be after what you’ve been through.”
Todd frowned as he wondered what the mayor was buttering him up for. “Okay.” He
didn’t know what else to say. He heard footsteps and turned to see Adam watching him as
he walked over. Todd shrugged and mouthed ‘Mayor Edmunds’ and Adam scowled at the
phone. He slipped an arm around Todd’s waist and tipped his head towards the phone.
Todd held it out a little so Adam could hear. “Mayor Edmunds, I don’t know why you’re
calling. I’m kind of confused here.”
“Well, son, first off, I’m calling to tell you I’m sorry for what you went through, and
second, ah…” Mayor Edmunds made a noise that had Todd thinking the man was
embarrassed. “See, I want you to know that it’s okay that you’re…gay. Harumph. Sorry, this
is, er, unusual, I imagine. For me at least, and possibly for you.”
“Yeah,” Todd croaked, sure his eyes were about to bug right out of the sockets. Adam
snorted softly and squeezed his waist.
“I just want you to know that there are many others here in Shasta who feel the same.
I’ve gotten numerous calls and visits at my office, and oh my, e-mails and even letters.
People want you to know you’re welcome here, you and Adam. I have been hounded
endlessly, well almost, by those who want to make sure you understand that. In fact, after
meeting with numerous citizens, and discussing it with the council, we’d like to offer you a
job.”
Todd darted a glance at Adam, who wasn’t scowling anymore, but he did look like he
was suspicious of everything he was hearing. “Yes sir?” Todd kept his eyes on Adam’s,
finding strength and courage there.
“Todd, I did say Kaufman is gone, and we need a new sheriff. Someone we can trust to
do the right thing. Someone strong yet compassionate.”
Todd pressed a hand to stomach, which had gone quivery inside.
“We, the majority of the citizens of Shasta, would like to have you as our sheriff, Todd.
What do you say to that?” Mayor Edmunds asked.
Say? Todd couldn’t even breathe! He gave Adam a pleading look. Adam moved around
him and whispered almost soundlessly in his ear, “Tell Mayor Edmunds thank you ,you will
consider it and call him back tomorrow.”
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Todd bobbed his head. “Mayor Edmunds, thank you for considering me, and…and for
the other things you said. I’d like to have a little time to think about this.” Todd looked at
Adam. “I need to talk it over with Adam, see what we want to do. Can I call you with an
answer tomorrow morning?”
“Of course, of course, son. You do that. And say hi to your—to Adam for me. Take
care.” Edmunds hung up and Todd did the same.
“They want me to be the sheriff,” he muttered. “I—I can’t quite believe it.”
Adam stepped in front of him and took his hands. Todd met his gaze and felt a little
calmer. Adam kissed him, a chaste brush of lips. “What do you want to do, Todd?”
Todd tried to remember everything the mayor had said. “He wants us to know we’re
welcome here. And that people are sorry they didn’t step in and stop my father from abusing
me. I don’t know how I feel about that. I had to try really hard not to be angry at a lot of
people for a long time. People from my father’s church that knew he beat the crap out of me,
knew my mother did the same. People at school who saw the bruises and didn’t do anything.
But I remember, Adam. I didn’t ask for help, either.”
Adam’s eyes snapped with anger as he growled, “You shouldn’t have fucking had to
ask.” He inhaled slowly and shook his head. “Sorry. It’s hard not to be angry, but you
shouldn’t have had to ask, Todd. The adults in your life, from the people at church to those at
school and anywhere else where they knew, all those people failed you. I can’t fix that now,
but maybe we can get past it. Heal, you know?”
“I like that idea. I don’t want to be angry,” Todd said, realising how true it was. “I don’t
want to be like my father. He was always angry. I want a better life than that, and I want it
with you, in this town, if you’re willing.”
Adam’s smile could have lit up a moonless night. “I’d love to have that chance with
you, Todd.”
Todd grinned, feeling like he’d just about float, he was so happy. “Then it looks like
there’s a new sheriff in town.”
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Chapter Sixteen
Adam watched Todd pin the sheriff’s badge on. “Looks good on you.” Actually Todd
looked friggin’ edible, but Adam was trying not to be pushy. Todd had been through a lot of
shit. Having the mayor inform him that Kaufman was gone, fired and possibly facing
charges of all sorts, had thrown Todd for a loop. As had discovering how right Adam had
been—there’d been hardly any protests at all over Todd stepping into Kaufman’s position.
He’d been appointed sheriff in an emergency council meeting, but Adam knew, when Todd
ran for the position, he’d get it. And Todd would run for it, Adam would make sure of it.
This town needed good, honest people leading it. Todd was a start. Adam was seriously
considering running for mayor, although he should try for council first…
“Where’d you go on me?”
Adam blinked and shook his head. “Sorry. Mental rant. But you really do look—”
Adam swept his gaze down Todd then up again and shivered. “So sexy, babe. Turn around
and let me ogle your ass.”
Todd turned a nice shade of pink but swung around eagerly enough. The dark blue
trousers hugged his ass perfectly. Adam wanted to pull the pants down and bend Todd over,
but he also didn’t want the first time he fucked Todd to be like this, hurried and frantic and
probably rough since Adam was so damned aroused. He settled for patting Todd’s ass.
“Perfect. I have plans for you,” he said, addressing Todd’s butt. “Very intimate plans.”
Todd cleared his throat and Adam looked up to find Todd watching him over his
shoulder. Todd’s cheek was scarlet now, and the one pupil Adam could see was huge. “M-
maybe t-tonight?”
Oh God! Adam had to bite his tongue to keep from jumping Todd right there. “Okay,”
he squeaked and didn’t even care that his voice sounded like he’d sucked down some
helium. He pulled Todd around and studied him closely, looking for nervousness, regret,
anything signalling Todd wasn’t ready to take their sex life a step further. “Are you sure
you’re ready?” He didn’t see any doubt whatsoever, but he had to be sure.
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Todd’s Adam’s apple bobbed along with his head. “Past ready. I j-just didn’t know h-
how…”
And Todd was very nervous, to be stuttering like he was. Adam’s heart pinched and he
cupped Todd’s jaw. “Please don’t be nervous. I promise, you’ll love everything I do to you,
because I’ll do it with love.”
Okay, now his cheeks were burning! He wasn’t used to being so…so emotionally
honest, had never been to this point with any of his exes, at least. Jameson had been the only
guy who Adam hadn’t hid anything from, but they’d been best buds—and look where that
had got them! Jameson had cut Adam out of his life!
“You love me.” Todd didn’t ask it, although he didn’t sound entirely sure when he said
it.
Adam rolled his eyes then wanted to smack himself for being such an unromantic
fuckhead. “Of course.” And he could be so dense, it was a surprise Todd put up with him
sometimes! “I wanted to tell you in some grand, romantic gesture, not…not by blurting it out
like I did, but yes. I definitely love you.”
Todd’s smile nearly blinded him. “I love you too, you know. I hoped… I m-mean, why
else w-w-would you have done all this for me—?”
Adam snorted and gave Todd a hug that made them both grunt. “Well, when you put it
like that, I guess it should have been real obvious how I felt. But I—” Adam loosened his
hold and leant back, seeking Todd’s eyes with his own. “I wanted to say it, because I’ve
never said those words to another man, not in a manner that wasn’t joking or friendly, you
know.”
Todd frowned. “What do you mean?”
Adam glanced at the clock. Todd needed to be out of the door in just a few minutes.
Adam sighed and shook his head. “I mean, I had a good friend, and we said the ‘love ya,
man’ but not, I love you. It’s different to me, and, anyway, Jameson has decided to trash a
lifetime friendship. You’re the only person who’ll be getting any form of love from me now,
so stop frowning.” Adam brushed a quick kiss over Todd’s lips. “Go on. Go be sheriff and
show the people of Shasta how a real man does the job.”
Adam smiled, and he didn’t have to fake it at all. He was damned proud of Todd.
Todd’s lips quirked but he didn’t quite grin. Instead he caressed Adam’s cheek. “I meant
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what I said, about being ready, but I want to talk some more tonight before…” His cheeks
flamed but he didn’t avert his gaze. Adam’s heart thudded in his chest. Todd just melted him
inside.
“Wasn’t planning on jumping you at the door and ravishing you as soon as you got
home, although that doesn’t sound bad, either,” Adam teased. He winked at Todd, trying not
to appear smug at the way Todd’s breathing skittered. “I think someone likes that idea,
though. Someone other than me, I mean.”
Todd coughed and seemed to shake himself out of a daze. “It—I—ugh!” He glared
down at his groin. Adam looked and really wished they had more time. That was an
impressive erection, but all of Todd’s were.
“Well, damn.” Adam couldn’t resist brushing his knuckles over it. “Wish we had more
time.” He gave Todd a squeeze and looked up at him. “I get lunch around one today. If you
can save this until then, I will be happy to suck you dry.”
Todd’s eyes bugged and he wheezed, as if something clogged his throat. But he
nodded, his head bouncing up and down, reminding Adam of one of those bobble-headed
dolls.
“Stop,” he snickered. “You get to work, and come by for lunch. Even if you only have a
few minutes, we can at least eat something—and I mean real food—before you go back on
shift. And if you have a whole hour…” Adam trailed off. He wouldn’t fuck Todd at the
office—this time—but he’d sure be happy to give them both a little release. Or a big one.
“I will.” Todd took a deep breath, then, with a glint in his eye Adam hadn’t seen before,
he jerked Adam to him and kissed Adam with a hunger that left Adam’s knees weak. As a
matter of fact, he felt quivery all over and had to grab onto the door to keep upright when
Todd let him go.
Hot damn, he did like an aggressive man, but he hadn’t expected…
“See you at one,” Todd rasped, then he turned and strode away.
“Well, well, well,” Adam murmured once he could get his tongue to function. Looked
like his timid man was really turning out to be a tiger. Rawr!
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Chapter Seventeen
Damn it, he was nervous as hell! Adam kept having little shivering fits, and he felt like
a complete idiot because of it. “Stupid. Jesus!” It wasn’t like he’d never had sex before, and it
wasn’t even like he’d never had sex with a virgin… It was just…Todd. Adam’s heart pattered
erratically. Geez, what now? Was he going to swoon on top of shaking like a leaf?
Adam snorted and plopped down onto a kitchen chair. He eyed the table, decorated as
fancy as he dared, with two white tapered candles waiting to be lit, and a vase holding a
single red rose. Nothing extravagant, really, but way more than he’d ever done for anyone
else.
He was kind of embarrassed, actually. If anyone had ever told him he’d do something
like this, along with what he’d done in the bedroom and bathroom, well, he’d have laughed
himself unconscious, that was for sure.
But Todd deserved so much more than he’d ever got, and Adam would swallow his
damn pride and give it to him. He just hoped Todd didn’t laugh at him. Adam didn’t think
Todd would, but… A horrible thought occurred to him and Adam leapt up from the chair.
What if all this added pressure to Todd? What if he wasn’t ready, or he had a shit day?
He’d seemed fine when he swung by the clinic, eager and gorgeous and God but Adam
loved the man, but still. They’d only had a few minutes, time for some kisses and panted
promises before a customer had come in screaming and panicked because her cat’s tail had
been slammed in the car door.
Adam had wanted to snarl and point out there was a reason cat carriers were made, but
the woman had been beyond distraught and the cat, Finkles, had been in misery.
And now, as he heard the sound of an engine in the driveway, Adam didn’t have any
time to tone down his silly, romantic gestures. All he could do was hope Todd didn’t freeze
up or think Adam was a total wuss.
* * * *
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Todd’s stomach had felt warm and tingly all day. Nerves, sure, because he’d never
expected to be sheriff, never thought anyone in this town besides Gabe cared about whether
he lived or died. That was before Adam, though, and Todd wouldjust as soon quit thinking
about any time in his life before the sexy and sweet vet had moved to town.
Then at the clinic today, well, Todd had been ready to beg, to just be bold enough to
unfasten his belt and pants and to do like he’d seen on his favourite Tumblr site and
just…‘present’. He didn’t know if that was what it was really called when a guy bent over
and spread himself for his man, or hitched up a leg and offered himself, but it seemed like an
apt description to him. He envied the men in those pictures, being brave enough to do that
even if it was just for show or money, whatever. All Todd wanted was to be able to offer
himself in such a way to Adam but he was shy and scared and, even so, for a few seconds
he’d actually thought…
Well, it hadn’t happened. Adam hadn’t pushed, and he hadn’t picked up Todd’s hints,
such as they’d been the past couple of weeks. Then this morning, Todd had understood.
Adam had been waiting for him, trying not to make Todd feel rushed or uncomfortable.
Adam wanted him, wanted him wanted him, he was just afraid Todd wasn’t ready.
But, oh my hell, Todd was beyond ready. He wanted Adam, wanted to feel Adam
inside him, branding him, marking him. Todd wanted to take Adam as well, but he wasn’t
sure if Adam did that. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to ask, or at least not for a while.
Todd had spent most of the day anticipating what would happen when he got home.
It’d helped him, actually, because otherwise he’d have been too aware of how friendly
everyone was to him. Like the residents as a whole were trying to make up for having
tolerated Todd being abused for so many years. Maybe they were. Todd was tired of hanging
on to being angry about it. He’d thought he was going to die, the last thing in his vision his
father’s furious, hate-mottled face, contorted and demonic and—
“No,” Todd scolded himself as he pulled into the driveway. No more time thinking
about it. He refused to give his father any more time, any more power. The old man could rot
in jail. Todd was almost looking forwards to testifying against him in court. He wanted to
stare his father down, to let him know Todd wasn’t afraid of him anymore. Todd’s father had
done his worst, and Todd was still here, still alive, and he was loved, God damn it, for the
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first time in his life. Yes, Gabe loved him, but that wasn’t the same. This love with Adam was
more, and he couldn’t explain it better.
Not when he was staring at Adam, standing on the small porch and smiling shyly at
Todd. It was such an odd expression, Todd was a little stunned. He’d never thought Adam
had a shy bone in his body, but, yeah, Adam was darting his eyes around nervously, and he
was twitching and…
Todd mentally rolled his eyes at himself. Funny how he could visualise that. And he
was a dummy for sitting here when he had Adam waiting for him a few yards away.
Todd shut off the car and unlatched his seatbelt. He kept focus on Adam the whole
time, noting the shiver that rocked him. Was Adam sick? Embarrassed? Todd studied him as
he approached. He really thought it might be the latter. It looked adorable on Adam,
especially when Todd could see the love shining in his eyes. Todd wanted to shout with the
joy that welled up in him, but he doubted the neighbours would appreciate the ruckus.
He sped up and Adam held his hands out. His fingers were trembling. Todd’s heart
thudded unevenly as he took Adam’s hands in his. He lost himself for a few seconds in the
dark brown eyes watching him. Adam had soulful eyes, Todd thought. He could see
everything in them, all the man’s hopes and emotions now that Adam wasn’t trying to hide
them anymore.
“I’m glad you’re home,” Adam whispered, and even his voice had a quaver to it.
Todd’s gut clamped with concern. Maybe he wasn’t reading Adam right at all? “What’s
wrong? D-did I—”
“No!” Adam yelped before he could get any further. “Hell, no!” Adam huffed and did
it again, sounding fairly disgusted. “I’m just really nervous, okay? Are you sure you’re
ready?”
Adam’s gaze drilled into him pretty much with the same intensity Todd wanted
another part of Adam to drill into him…lower down and a hundred and eighty degrees
around. “Yes, God, Adam, don’t make me beg.” Todd’s entire face burned, but he was proud
of himself for getting the declaration out without stuttering.
“I won’t,” Adam said after studying him for another moment. Then Adam smiled so
brilliantly Todd had to blink. “All right, well. I wanted to give you a proper seduction, so
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come on inside and let’s see how badly I botch my attempt to be the suave letch.” He winked
and Todd chuckled. He wondered what Adam had in store for him.
It didn’t take long to find out. As soon as Adam took him inside, holding onto Todd’s
hand and fuck what the neighbours might think (Adam had said so on more than one
occasion), Adam shut the front door then promptly pinned Todd against it and rubbed all
over him. Nerve endings Todd didn’t know he had stood up and started singing with joy at
the feel of Adam pressed to him, sliding, buttons catching and—
“Uhn.” Todd clamped a hand to Adam’s shoulder and squeezed. “I s-should take off
the belt—”
Adam jerked his head back and shook it, as if clearing his head. “Oh, yeah. The holster
and all that…”
“Be a shame if one of us got hurt,” Todd muttered, but he was hurting already. His dick
had grown erect so quick it’d been uncomfortable. “Help me?”
“Of course.” Adam took over when Todd’s fingers, clumsier than usual, couldn’t seem
to unfasten his belt. Within seconds Todd was divested of the belt, his holster, his weapon.
Adam smiled at him then and brushed his knuckles over Todd’s cock. “I need to suck you.”
Manly or not, Todd whimpered and clenched his thighs. He was dangerously close to
an edge he didn’t want to topple over. “Adam—”
Adam kissed him then, taking Todd’s mouth, owning him with a gentle force that
should have been contradictory but wasn’t. Adam speared his tongue into Todd over and
over, sucked his lips until they tingled and burned. He pressed a leg between Todd’s when
Todd finally got the message to spread his apart.
White-hot desire raced out from Todd’s groin as Adam wedged his thigh against
Todd’s balls. Adam grabbed Todd’s hips and tugged, encouraging him and Todd eagerly
began rutting. Needy sounds he’d never thought to make were bleeding from his mouth to
Adam’s, and Todd was shaking like he was fixing to blow apart.
Adam nipped his bottom lip and Todd cried out in protest when Adam slid down his
body. Once his brain informed him he was in for an even more incredible experience, Todd
tried to quiet down, but he couldn’t. He ached, his balls hard and tight, his cock stiffer than
stone.
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“I’ve got you, baby,” Adam rasped, then Todd’s breath hitched as his pants were
opened and shoved down his thighs, his underwear following shortly thereafter. “Oh, look at
you. So hard, so—”
Todd didn’t hear anything else then because Adam pressed a hand to his balls, pushing
slightly upward, and engulfed the head of his dick. Not even his shout registered until
afterwards, when his ears were ringing and his throat ached from the force of his exultation.
His cock was encased in silky wet fire, clutching and tormenting him. Adam suckled
and used his tongue to drive Todd to the brink, had him dangling there, so close. Todd
gasped and folded over Adam, arms looping around his lover awkwardly as Adam took
Todd’s cock to the base.
“Ah!” Todd’s head spun and waves of ecstasy crashed down on him at the same time
Adam pressed a fingertip to his opening. Todd desperately wanted it inside him, wanted
Adam there, filling him, but he couldn’t hold on, and he wailed as cum shot up, spilling into
Adam’s mouth.
Afterwards, Todd didn’t quite know how he’d ended up on the floor. Adam was
grinning happily, though, and it registered slowly that Adam hadn’t yet come. Again. Todd
wasn’t sure he liked this pattern.
“Don’t glower,” Adam mock-scolded, “you’ll give me a complex.”
Todd couldn’t think of a witty comeback so he just stayed quiet and drank in the sight
of his handsome lover.
“Now, I think dinner’s about warmed up. I picked it up from Mary’s Diner after I got
off and put it in the oven before you came home.” Adam waved at Todd’s cock and balls.
“You gonna tuck that away or eat dinner with it all hanging out? I’m fine either way.”
Todd croaked in embarrassment. He didn’t even want to know how it was possible to
make such an absurd noise!
Adam crouched beside him and tipped Todd’s chin up. He looked so happy. “Aw,
come on, don’t be shy with me. In fact, I think maybe we should just eat in the nude. I love
looking at your sexy body.”
Oh, Todd knew he was blushing all over now, because his entire body felt warm.
“Wouldn’t get much eating done.” Or he wouldn’t, at least.
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Adam sighed, a long, exaggerated sigh that could have won him an Oscar. “Fine, fine.
You’re right. And I’m a sex monster. And before you complain, I don’t want to come until
I’m buried in your sweet ass—”
Todd opened up his mouth to say now was good for him but Adam narrowed his eyes
and clucked his tongue. “Nope. See, I went the whole nine yards, as they say, and have a
very romantic evening planned before I take you to bed. I wasn’t joking about seducing you,
although maybe it’s courting, I don’t know. I’m not sure I understand what that old term
means, nowadays. But…” Adam kissed Todd, tenderly, heart-meltingly sweet, before he
continued. “You deserve to be treated like the special man you are. Loved, shown how
extraordinary you are. And I’m the man who is gonna do it. I hope.” He grinned and stood,
waiting as Todd tucked himself away. Then he held his hands out to Todd.
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Chapter Eighteen
Dinner turned out to be everything Adam had hoped for, with him and Todd
exchanging lots of long, steamy looks and feeding each other tiramisu for dessert. He hadn’t
even set anything on fire with the candles—not that he was normally clumsy, but, hell, he’d
been sooooooooo nervous!
The second part of the seduction was a little less successful. Not that it went badly, but,
when Todd had entered the bathroom and stopped dead in his tracks, Adam had looked up
from where he sat on the side of the tub, stirring the…bubbles.
Well, it’d seemed like a good idea, until that second, when Todd had kind of gaped at
him and looked like he didn’t know whether to run forwards or back. Fortunately, that’d
been cleared up quick. Todd had only been floored by Adam’s thoughtfulness—he said—
and Adam chose to believe it was true, because Todd stripped his delectable body bare and
slid into the hot, fragrant, bubbly water with a long moan that made Adam’s cock weep for
relief.
Adam wished the tub was bigger so he could crawl in and lie behind Todd. Of course,
then he probably would never make it to step three, which involved exploring every inch of
Todd’s naked skin in a bed.
Adam snatched the cloth from Todd. “Nuh-uh, let me. Tonight I am going to pamper
you and touch every bit of you while I’m at it.”
Todd looked through his lashes at Adam. “You don’t have to, Adam. You’re doing a lot
for something you’re gonna get regardless.”
Adam sat back on his heels and glared. “I will have you know I am not doing this just to
get laid! I know you want to make love, and, believe me, oh my God do I want to spread you
out and—” Adam stopped, desire making his throat so dry he almost squeaked. He
swallowed and waited for the saliva to reappear. “I am going to make love to you, Todd, but
I want to give you this, tonight.”
Adam decided Fuck it, and he stripped off his clothes then got in the tub, straddling
Todd. It wasn’t comfortable, but it felt fucking good. “I plan on giving you lots of nights like
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this, Todd. Nights and days, mornings and afternoons, weeks, months, years—a lifetime or
more, if possible.”
Todd’s lower lips quivered and Adam leaned in and sucked on it. Todd’s hands on his
back felt large, strong, right as Todd clutched at him. And the thick cock prodding at his
bottom, that felt pretty damn perfect too.
“Do you want—”
“No,” Todd grunted, even as he thrust. “Want you in me.”
Adam’s smile couldn’t possible get any bigger, he thought. “Whatever you want. But
first…”
Adam kissed Todd and lowered himself as much as he could, letting their slick wet
torsos rub together. “Fuck.” He nibbled down Todd’s jaw and bit at the side of his neck.
Todd jolted under him and squeaked and squeezed Adam so hard he couldn’t breathe.
Apparently Todd liked being bitten, at least there.
Another time, he’d explore where-all his lover liked being bitten and kissed, but, for
right now, if he ever wanted to get inside Todd, he needed to get them out of the tub. Adam
pulled away and felt around for the washcloth before he remembered he’d dropped it on the
rug. “Shit, hang on.”
He shivered when he got out, but there just wasn’t enough room for him to do what
needed to be done if he was in the tub. “Close your eyes and just relax.”
Todd puffed out a laugh but did as Adam said.
“I’m gonna make this short and get you clean, otherwise I’ll end up stroking this—”
Adam gripped Todd’s cock in his hand, using the soapy washcloth to stimulate him. “Until
you go off, then we’ll both have to wait for a while to go on. Although, the foreplay—”
“Adam, please,” Todd mumbled, “I want you in me the next time.”
Adam released Todd’s dick. “Whatever you want. But yeah, that’s what I want, too. I
ache for you, Todd, and, you know, I never understood what someone meant when they said
that before.”
“I ache, too.” Todd looked at him and Adam decided there’d been enough talking. He
washed Todd, relieved when the man didn’t protest at Adam cleaning his ass. Adam didn’t
want Todd to be shy with him, not about his body, and not about sex, but he knew it’d take
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time. And Todd was so sweet, Adam didn’t mind waiting…except right now he really was
painfully ready for his lover, and there was still more to do.
“Up.” Adam helped Todd up and pulled the drain on the tub. Once Todd got out,
Adam rubbed him down briskly, careful not to touch his erection much. Adam’s was curved
up towards his belly, dabbing moisture on his skin, bobbing and reminding him it needed
attention.
He didn’t rush—much, though. Adam pulled Todd to him with the towel around his
hips. He rumbled happily as Todd embraced him. Adam found the sweet spot on Todd’s
neck and worked it with teeth and tongue until Todd’s breathing came in short pants and he
writhed against Adam.
“You like that, huh?”
Todd made a choking sound then surprised Adam with a bit of sarcasm. “Duh!”
Adam chuckled and stepped back. “Well, then, let’s see what else you like.” He already
knew Todd had sensitive nipples, whereas Adam could take or leave having his messed
with. Didn’t mean he didn’t like playing with a responsive man’s tits, though, and Todd was
very responsive.
“Come to our bed,” Adam said, tugging on the towel. Todd stumbled and Adam let go,
choosing instead to hook his arm through Todd’s. “And don’t laugh.”
Now his nerves were kicking back in.
Todd cocked his head at him. “Why would I laugh? Did… Did you do more in there,
like the candles on the table and…?” Todd’s eyes rounded and Adam had a feeling he’d been
found out.
“Just wait and see.” And that was not desperation and fear tingeing his voice! Adam
might have gone a little overboard. He stopped outside their bedroom door and looked at
Todd. “I, uh, I’m not sure—”
Todd smiled softly and this time it was he who kissed Adam, drinking in his fear and
insecurity. “Whatever it is you did, I know it’ll be perfect.”
Adam would have mocked someone for saying something so sappy back when he’d
been a cynical asshole, but now he just beamed, he knew it. He felt like he did, anyways.
Todd turned then and opened the door. He stood still as stone for a few seconds—the
longest seconds ever, next to those horrible ones when Adam had found Todd beaten—then
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Todd made what sounded like a sob. His shoulders hunched and he fisted a hand, pressing it
to his mouth.
Adam thought he’d really fucked up, or really done right, he wasn’t sure. “Todd, is
it…? Is that a happy sound or—?” Or what? Or was Adam a pathetic, stupid—
Todd grabbed him and pulled Adam around. Todd’s eyes were luminous with tears
and with the reflections from the numerous candles Adam had set out. Well, not too
numerous, he was worried about them burning for long and he’d only used ones he could
put in candleholders but—Adam barked out a laugh at his own rambling thoughts. “I
thought…”
Todd glanced at the room again. “Those are rose petals.”
Adam nodded even though Todd wasn’t looking at him. “Yeah, but I’m not sure now
they were a good idea. They might get in places we’d rather they not.”
Todd chuckled softly at first, then louder. He turned to Adam and arched a brow. “So I
might smell like roses for a while, is that what you’re saying?”
Adam shrugged, feeling a bit silly for having scattered the petals on the red silk sheets,
but Todd was smiling still and he seemed happy and relaxed even though his dick was hard.
Adam touched the wet tip and Todd shivered. “Come lay down with me.”
“Yes,” Todd whispered. He placed his hand in Adam’s and walked with him to the bed.
“Red sheets.” Todd touched them, then picked up a petal and rubbed it between his finger
and thumb. “Soft as the rose petal.”
“Silk,” Adam explained, then he took Todd’s chin in his hand and kissed the man
breathless. They tumbled not ungently onto the bed, and Adam stretched out on top of Todd,
making sure not to put all his weight on him. Todd had a clear bill of health, but Adam
preferred to be careful.
“Adam,” Todd sighed, his eyelids lowering until Adam could barely see thin slits of
colour. “I need you.”
“You have me.” But Adam knew what Todd meant, and he also knew his plans to
immerse them both in hours of foreplay wasn’t going to happen, at least not this first time.
The whole evening had been foreplay, or perhaps it’d even started this morning, and now
both of them were primed and ready for completion—or almost.
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Adam brushed his lips over Todd’s until Todd parted his eagerly. Todd’s taste, the
sweet sounds he made, fuelled the fire burning in Adam. He ran a hand down Todd’s arm,
aware of each scar, each ridge of muscle and goose bump he encountered. Then he sucked on
the underside of Todd’s jaw as Todd writhed beneath him.
Adam licked down Todd’s neck, scraping his teeth over the love mark he’d left. He
loved the divot at the base of Todd’s neck, framed by the tendons there as Todd arched for
him. Adam sucked, licked, nibbled and nipped his way down Todd’s chest. He knew Todd
was nearly desperate for him, but Adam had to make sure Todd’s body was near to going
haywire with pleasure.
He sealed his lips around Todd’s small pink nipple. Todd bucked and let out a sharp
sound. Adam grinned around the hard nub and pinched the other with his fingers. He
worked Todd’s tits for several minutes, driving Todd out of his mind from the sound of it.
Todd pressed Adam’s head down, demanding more, and Adam gave it to him even as Todd
rutted against him.
“A-Adam, please,” Todd panted, and Adam wanted to point out he couldn’t very well
go anywhere else as Todd was holding him to his chest. But Todd released him then and
started pushing at his shoulders. “Please, please, Adam, please.”
It was all Todd said, over and over, and Adam scrambled to get to his knees. He pulled
the lube and condom out from beneath the pillow. Then Adam rolled onto his back and
patted his chest. “Come here, Todd. Let me taste you.”
Todd’s eyes rounded and he paled, all except for the bright spots of red on his cheeks
and a flush running over his chest. Adam thought he’d misstepped or that he needed to
clarify, but Todd surprised him, rolling up quick and only hesitating once he had a knee
beside Adam’s head. Todd frowned down at him. “You did mean, uh…this?”
Adam grinned up at Todd. “That I’m going to rim you?” And there was that delightful
shade of red, accompanying the eager need in Todd’s expression. “Oh yeah, that’s what I
meant. I’m going to rim you, and stretch you, then you’re going to put the condom on me
and ride me until we both shatter.”
Todd’s head bobbed even as he frowned. “Do we have to use the condom? You said—”
Adam shook his head. “I’ve always been safe, but I want one more clean test. I won’t
put you at risk.” He wanted to feel Todd around him, nothing between them, but he meant it
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when he told Todd he loved him, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do to ensure Todd was
taken care of.
Todd grumbled but didn’t protest, and Adam was glad. He wanted Todd to enjoy
everything about their first time together.
“Do you want me to turn around?” Todd asked.
Adam nodded. “Yeah, so I can get you ready.” But he’d have Todd straddle him, push
his firm ass down so Adam could rub against it another time.
Todd shifted around and got in place, sort of. He wasn’t lowered enough. Adam
hooked an arm around his hips and tugged down and back. “C’mere.” He eyed Todd’s crack,
the golden-red fuzz there and the pink quivering pucker nestled between Todd’s cheeks.
“Back more,” Adam ordered, and Todd complied. Adam used his other hand to pull aside
one ass cheek, then he tongued the tight little hole, a firm lick over it.
Todd made a guttural sound and slammed back. Adam took that for a demand for
more. He hummed an agreement and held Todd open as he laved his pucker. Todd began
rocking and moaning, and Adam stiffened his tongue, spearing it into Todd and drawing a
keening from the man.
Adam squeezed and kneaded Todd’s ass as he drank in the taste and sounds of his
lover. Todd was babbling, senseless words, sounds, pleas, as Adam tongue-fucked him. He
thought he could have done it for hours, had Todd not grabbed Adam’s dick and started
stroking in a jerky, erratic manner.
Adam jerked his head aside and rasped, “Todd, stop!” He locked his knees, curled his
toes, and barely kept from shooting all over the place. “Stop, oh my fucking God!”
Todd clamped the base of Adam’s dick tight. Adam’s eyes crossed and the breath
squeaked out of his lungs. “Then fuck me, Adam!”
Adam groaned and flopped a hand out, feeling for the lube. He’d had the stuff earlier—
“Here.” Todd slapped the tube into his hand. “Don’t… I might come if you touch me
too much.”
“Oh shit,” Adam muttered, because he wanted to ease Todd open, to touch him inside
and caress his gland, to drive him wild and—but he already had Todd there, didn’t he?
“Hurry,” Todd was urging him.
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Adam popped the cap off with his teeth and figured he was lucky he didn’t get a face
full of goo. “Can you spread yourself open for me?”
Todd didn’t even hesitate. He let go of Adam’s dick and reached behind himself. “Like
this?” he asked as he parted his cheeks, exposing the rosy pucker to Adam.
“Yes,” Adam hissed. “Beautiful. You’re so fucking sexy, Todd, opening yourself for
me.”
Todd exhaled noisily and pulled his cheeks farther apart. Adam thought he couldn’t
love the man more. He squeezed the tube and poured the viscous stuff at the top of Todd’s
crease.
“Cold,” Todd grumbled.
“Sorry.” Adam should have warmed it in his hands first, but, damn it, he could hardly
think. He rolled his fingers through it and smeared it down, slicking Todd’s crack then
rubbing it all around his hole. Todd’s opening clenched and loosened, and Adam slid a
finger in. Todd’s silky heat rippled around his digit, and Adam’s moan drowned out Todd’s.
He pushed in deeper, and Todd gurgled and pushed back, taking Adam’s finger in as far as
possible.
“Oh Geez,” Todd rasped, “oh da-damn, Adam!” Todd’s inner muscles clenched, his
ring squeezing the base of Adam’s finger. “Do something…”
Adam wanted to curl his finger, stroke over Todd’s prostate, but didn’t, knowing Todd
was likely to come if he did. He pumped his finger in and out, slowly at first. Todd moaned
again and started riding Adam’s digit, swivelling his hips when he came down. Adam took
that to mean Todd needed more, so he gave it to him, slipping in a second finger, then
eventually a third. It was at that point that Todd stopped moving and hissed.
Adam was afraid to move a muscle, but he spoke. “Are you okay? We can stop if—”
“Adam,” Todd growled, something that surprised Adam so much he almost jumped. “I
can’t take much more without coming, so you better hurry up and get that fat dick inside
me!”
Adam pulled his fingers out and wiped them on the sheets regardless of what the damn
things were made of. Rose petals stuck to his fingers. “Fucking petals!”
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Todd shifted, then Adam heard the sound of the condom package being opened.
“Might need some help here.” Todd moved until he was kneeling beside Adam. He looked at
Adam, trying to shake the rose petals off his fingers. “Or maybe not,” Todd chuckled.
“Just—oh,” Adam sighed as Todd rolled the rubber down his length. “Ah, you got it.”
“Yeah,” Todd said proudly. He picked up the lube and squirted some on the tip before
rubbing it around.
Adam squirmed and caught Todd’s wrist. “Close, too, baby. It’s not just you.”
Todd gave him a beaming smile that faltered. “Uh, how do I do t-this?”
Adam gestured him down, and Todd came. He kissed Todd until Todd all but
sprawled on him. “You just get on me, and I’ll hold my dick up and help us both. Trust me,
Todd, you can’t do anything wrong here.” Adam wasn’t going to scare him with horror
stories of what might go wrong, better to just guide Todd.
“Okay.” Todd sat up and positioned himself over Adam. He planted a hand on Adam’s
chest. “This okay?”
“Yeah.” Adam held his cock upright and put his other hand on Todd’s hip. “Whenever
you’re ready, just ease back until—” Adam hissed, no words just sound as Todd began
pressing down. The head of his dick slid through the snug ring after only a few seconds’
pressure, and Todd gasped and stopped moving as he gaped at Adam.
“Too much?” Adam asked. He was thick, not necessarily real long but, yeah, not a stub,
either. It might be too much girth for Todd just yet. Adam tried to push his ass down and
pull out but Todd narrowed his eyes and made that growling noise again.
“Don’t even.”
Adam stopped and Todd sank down a little more. “It feels…”
Adam’s mind spun. It felt…awful? Horrible? Painful? Like Todd wanted it the hell out?
“So good,” Todd said rather breathlessly. “My God, I don’t know how I’m ever gonna
not be sitting on your dick like this.”
Todd’s eyes seemed glazed, and Adam had to wonder if he even knew what he was
saying, but then Todd hummed and pulled up a little—and rocked down farther, almost
taking Adam all the way in.
“Todd,” Adam gritted out, needing to thrust so bad his muscles burned from holding
back. “You’re gonna drive me crazy here.”
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Todd’s smile was sublime as he came up then down with enough force that his butt
slammed against Adam’s groin. “Ah, I’ll be right there with you.” Todd opened his eyes
wider and dropped forwards on his hands. “I can do it like this, right? It feels good for you
too?”
“Anything you do feels good for me,” Adam began, but Todd started moving his hips,
short, sharp jerks that brought friction and blessed heat and velvety tight spasms around
Adam’s dick. “But especially that—”
“Oh yeah,” Todd crooned. Adam reached around and grabbed Todd’s ass, holding onto
the sweat-slicked globes as Todd rode him. “Ah! Ah, uhn—”
Adam’s ability to speak wasn’t any better than Todd’s. All he could do was grunt each
time Todd came down and damn near whine when he rose up. Adam’s body flushed hot and
cold, and his balls felt like hard stones pulled up taut in their sac. Adam curled his fingers,
burying them in Todd’s crease. His pinkies brushed over where he and Todd were joined
and Todd slammed down hard, pinning Adam’s hands.
“Yes, ungh!” Todd shouted as he gyrated, barely laying a hand to his cock before
bucking and painting Adam’s chest and belly with cum.
Adam didn’t even have the breath to scream, not when Todd’s muscles convulsed
around his length and squeezed the spunk right out of him. All he could do was gasp and
pant and squirm, trying to get as deep into Todd as possible. His climax felt like it was
ripped from him, like it ripped through him, leaving him raw and aching and all but
unconscious as he emptied into the condom.
“Geez,” Todd scratched out. “I gotta lay down.”
And he did, right on top of Adam. Adam was still mush, shaken inside and out. He’d
known it’d be earth-shattering when they finally made love, but he’d had no idea just what
that meant. Now he did, and he thought his spine was plain melted, along with the rest of
the bones in his body and probably his brain too.
But that was okay. He had Todd in his arms—well, on him, but no need to be picky—
and they were going to have a damned good life together. A great life together.
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PART TWO
An Almost Perfect Life
Chapter Nineteen
“Hi honey, I’m hoooome!”
Todd tingled all over hearing Adam’s familiar voice calling out as he did every day
they worked. It didn’t matter who got home first, Adam still said the same thing every time.
It was little things like that that made Todd’s heart race and fill with more love than he
thought he could hold. Really, some days he expected to just go all supernova with it.
“Me too,” Todd called back, completing their little ritual. He finished stirring the stew
and headed out of the kitchen. The house they’d bought together a little less than a year ago
was perfect for them, not too big with just two bedrooms, but on the outskirts of town, closer
to their friends Gabe and Mika.
And those two were still going strong, all sappy pretty much like Todd and Adam,
although he and Adam agreed Gabe seemed different over the past year or so. Not bad
different, and not in any way he and Adam could put their finger on, but—well, as long as
Gabe and Mika were happy, which they were, then it wasn’t anyone’s business.
Todd’s belly warmed and a smile stretched his lips as soon as he rounded the corner
and saw—hell, almost collided with—Adam. He loved that sappy grin Adam wore, the
slightly mussed hair and the way Adam’s eyes practically glowed as he beamed at Todd.
“Missed you,” Todd said gruffly, overwhelmed with emotions for no logical reason he
could see. It didn’t make sense that his eyes burned or the tip of his nose, as if he wanted to
weep. Yet he held Adam tighter, squeezing a muffled grunt from his lover as Adam
embraced him in return. “Missed you so much.”
“Me too,” Adam squeaked out, and Todd forced himself to let go, just a little. He was
still adjusting to the strength he’d developed since he’d started working out shortly after
he’d taken the job as sheriff. “Mmm.” Adam nuzzled his cheek then licked Todd from temple
to chin, something that always made Todd squirm as he tried to figure out if he liked it or
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not. “You taste good. And I like this… This whatever it is that has you being all…” Adam
shrugged.
Todd got it, though. Usually he wasn’t the leader in the relationship, although he truly
believed he and Adam were equals. It was just that he tended to be happy letting Adam be
the aggressor in certain situations. But, lately, Todd had been thinking he should show Adam
more affection, or, at least, initiate some of their intimate moments in a less passive manner.
Oh, he knew if he arched his butt against Adam, or looked at him just a certain way,
Adam would be on him and in him in no time. It wasn’t as if their sex life was lacking in any
way—Todd hoped.
Adam never complained, but Todd was beginning to think Adam wasn’t necessarily
getting all he might want. As much as he loved Todd—and Todd didn’t doubt it was a lot—
Adam wouldn’t ever push, and Todd had come to realise, even though he’d thought he was
letting Adam lead, he really wasn’t. Adam always followed Todd’s cues, and Todd, innocent
and goofy guy he was, had only just caught on to this.
And, now, Todd was wondering if Adam had some wants and needs he might not have
brought up owing to Todd’s naïvety. Considering Adam’s reaction, it’d seem so.
Well. Todd bit back a grin as he closed his eyes and let Adam lick him again. “Being all
what?”
Adam huffed and nipped him, and Todd reciprocated by growling. Adam sucked in a
sharp breath and palmed Todd’s cock. His dark eyes burned with need as he rubbed Todd’s
length, and Todd had to fight to keep his eyes open. He just wanted to thrust and moan and
come with Adam stroking him.
But he didn’t. Todd caught Adam’s wrist and pulled his hand away. Adam arched a
brow at him in a questioning manner Todd was familiar with. “Got plans for us after dinner.
If you’ll let me?”
Jesus, two years and a month together, and his cheeks still burnt like hell when it came
to some things! Todd didn’t flinch under Adam’s curious stare, though. He had that weird
emotional feeling again, like this was important and maybe wouldn’t happen again and what
was wrong with him? No more watching those dumb end-of-the-world shows on National
Geographic or whatever channels those things are on. I’m all doom and gloom in my own head!
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“Okay,” Adam said slowly. Then he gifted Todd with an eager smile, and his voice
dipped into the rough velvet tone guaranteed to make Todd’s ass clench. “I think I’d like
that, very much. I’m all yours, baby. Do with me what you will.”
Todd mentally gave himself a big Whoop! He’d called it right, had finally got his head
out of his—well, anyway, he’d managed to see that there were needs Adam had, things he’d
kept back in order to take care of Todd. “You mean it?”
Adam nodded without hesitation. “Yeah, of course, anything. Anything you want,
anything at all.”
There was no way to misinterpret that offer!
Todd figured there was likely a hungry twist to his lips in the smile he gave his lover.
Adam shivered and an expression Todd couldn’t recall seeing before flitted over Adam’s fine
features. It strengthened Todd’s determination and fuelled the ember of desire already
flickering inside him.
He took a half step back, then before Adam could move, he bent, and, with a sharp tug,
he had his man over his shoulder. Adam gasped and squealed and grabbed onto Todd’s belt
loops, but he didn’t protest.
It was the most combustible accelerant that could have been poured on Todd’s arousal.
He didn’t even give dinner a second thought as he held Adam by the ass and legs and strode
for their bedroom.
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Chapter Twenty
“Uhn!” Adam’s breath gusted out as his back hit the bed. He bounced once then Todd
was on him. Adam didn’t even get a chance to inhale, but he didn’t care. This growly, gruff
side of Todd was threatening to burn him alive with need!
Todd’s lips crashed down on his, stealing another grunt from Adam. Adam scrambled
for a hold on Todd, settling his hands on Todd’s broad shoulders as his mouth was
plundered. The quivering began in Adam’s centre, warmth radiating out from about his belly
button, spreading up and down and everywhere in soft, shaky waves.
He curled his fingers, digging the tips into hard muscles, and tried his best to writhe
beneath Todd. When had his lover got so big, so strong? Adam was going to have to start
working out more—or maybe not. He really liked the way Todd felt on him, the way his
thick thighs bracketed Adam’s, and, fucking hell, but he loved the way Todd rutted against
him, the hard thick length of his cock burning a trail through their clothes.
Adam whipped his head aside and panted out, “Naked, now!” He pushed at Todd’s
shoulders, then just grabbed onto the material covering them and tore at it. Seams ripped
and Todd cursed, something he rarely did, but he also ground down harder against Adam.
Seemed he wasn’t the only one who liked a wild man on occasion!
Todd sat up and unfastened his belt and jeans. His eyes were narrowed, his cheeks
tinged with the red flush of arousal as he nodded at Adam. “Get your clothes off.”
Like Adam had any objection to that! He whipped his shirt off while doing his best to
watch Todd. The first sight of his cockhead made Adam’s stomach flip. Todd had a beautiful
dick, thick and long, the head broad and the slit wide. Adam’s mouth watered and his
tongue tingled. He licked his lips and leant forward, his focus on getting that big cock in his
mouth.
“No.” Todd stepped back and pointed at him. “You’re supposed to be getting naked so
I can…”
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Adam looked up expectantly. Todd’s cheeks were tinged with a different kind of blush,
the one that made Adam’s heart trip over itself with a swell of love. Todd was still shy at
times, and it was adorable.
“Fuck me?” Adam said, and if he was kind of breathless when he did so, well, who
could blame him? It’d been forever since he’d been fucked. Not that he was complaining. He
loved feeling Todd’s ass gripping him like he’d never let Adam go.
Todd kicked off his shoes even as he answered. “Yeah. I want to, if that’s okay.”
If it’d been anyone other than Todd to address fucking him in such a way, Adam would
have laughed. He could be a snarky bitch at times. But it was Todd, and Adam knew his
tender heart, his careful nature, and it touched Adam that Todd was being so cautious.
Especially when Adam thought it was pretty obvious how much he was on board with
Todd’s plan.
“More than.” Adam stripped and flopped back on the bed, then quickly rolled to his
knees. “Like this.” He was also still a bit bossy, but he wanted Todd in him, hard and deep.
Who knew how long it’d be before Todd wanted to do this again, or if he would? Adam
wanted to feel it for days.
“God,” Todd rasped, “I can’t…”
Adam craned his neck to look at Todd. The poor guy looked ready to jump him. “Come
and get it.” Adam wiggled his butt, while at the same time he grabbed the lube from the
headboard shelf. “Use lots of this first, though.” Adam tossed it back in a sloppy throw that
had Todd lurching forward and slapping at the bottle.
“Crap!” Todd bobbled it a couple of times but that tense, desperate expression that had
pinched his features seemed to have eased some when he glared at Adam. “You aimed that
right for my balls!”
Adam snickered and manoeuvred his head until he was more comfortable and his neck
didn’t feel like it was going to snap. “No, this is a shitty angle to throw from. Good for you to
pitch, though.”
Todd groaned after a second. “Guh, that was horrible!”
It had been a pretty bad joke, but Adam hadn’t been able to resist. “Yeah, so, what’re
you gonna do about it?” It was on the tip of his tongue to suggest something like slapping his
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ass purely as a joke, but Adam wasn’t big on getting spanked, and Todd might very well be
repulsed, considering—well, Adam just wasn’t going there.
The bed dipped then Adam found himself rolling over, squawking as Todd pushed him
onto his side. He opened his mouth to protest but Todd laid a finger over Adam’s lips. “Why
don’t you let me do the driving all the way this time?”
Adam’s eyes felt like they were trying to leap right out of the sockets, he had to be
gaping so intently. “I-I thought you were driving.” Why was he so nervous and fluttery and
the tips of his fingers and toes were numb—Adam snorted. Duh. All the blood was rushing
to his dick—no wonder his extremities were protesting!
Todd pushed at his legs until Adam uncurled and stretched out. He ran a hand over
Adam’s calf, up to his hip, then back down to tease at the juncture of thigh and groin. “Mm,
well, yeah, I am, but I meant, let me be in charge. I think you need me to as much as I want
to.”
“Oh,” Adam breathed, his eyelids so heavy he gave up trying to keep them open. It
made his body even more sensitive to Todd’s touch. “Yes.” He didn’t have anything else to
add, not when Todd finally fisted his dick.
“Good,” Todd murmured, the bed dipping more as his breath wafted over Adam’s
damp tip.
“Fucking hell,” Adam yelped when Todd unhesitatingly took his dick in, swathing half
Adam’s length in wet heat. Soft, yet firm, tongue and cheeks and suction—Adam bucked and
choked on a squeal he refused to release. He grabbed for a handhold and found Todd’s silky
hair. “Ah, baby, just keep—” Adam bit his lip when he remembered Todd was taking the
range.
Perhaps in reward, Adam’s balls were cupped and rolled in a rough palm. Todd
prodded and pushed them with his fingers, and his cock was worshipped with a skill Todd
had perfected. It was bliss being buried in Todd’s mouth—any part of him, yes, but Todd
sucked dick with an enthusiasm only matched by his talent. He took Adam in deep and
swallowed around his crown, pressing Adam’s balls up at the same time.
Adam couldn’t have held back the garbled shout if his life had depended on it. Pleasure
spiked up from his balls and spurted from his dick. Todd murmured or hummed, for all
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Adam knew he sang Dixie! There was rumbling and pleasure so exquisite Adam almost
ached from it.
When Todd pulled off, nuzzling Adam’s softening dick, Adam whimpered and
tightened his fingers in Todd’s hair. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Todd asked. He caught Adam’s wrists and prised his hands free. “Don’t
what?” he repeated.
Adam shook his head. Everything in there was still mush. “I dunno.” And didn’t his
voice sound slurred? “I just want you to stay here beside me.” He had some stupid irrational
fear that Todd was going to spontaneously poof away? Adam wondered if he’d had a mini-
stroke or something with his orgasm. Todd wasn’t going to leave him. He guessed he just felt
vulnerable, unused to the change in their roles, not that it was a bad thing, at all.
“Don’t mind me,” he said, feeling a little ridiculous but more clear-headed. “I’m just
woozy upstairs from you blowing my mind.” Adam saw the glint in Todd’s eyes and the
curve to his lips and scowled. “Don’t even go for the cheesy joke there. That’s my job. You’re
the classy one of us!”
Todd laughed for a good thirty seconds then swiped at his cheek. “Honey, if I’m the
classy one, we’re so screwed.”
Adam knew Todd was just joking, but he also knew Todd might not be, deep down. He
sat up and crawled onto Todd’s lap, straddling his lover. Adam cupped Todd’s cheek and
looked into his pretty eyes. He was certain he saw doubt there, and that would never do.
“You are. You stand by the people you love. You’re the only one who has stood by me.”
“Oh, hey,” Todd murmured, taking Adam’s cheek much as Adam was touching him.
“It’s not your fault. We both have messed-up families, and that friend of yours, Jameson?
You don’t know what happened to him. I don’t think, after what you told me about how
close y’all were for so long, well, I don’t think he’d just ditch you.”
Then Todd slanted his mouth over Adam’s, cutting off the familiar fear over Jameson’s
fate, because Adam knew Todd was right. Which didn’t leave a good resolution for Jameson.
“Don’t,” Todd whispered, and Adam knew he meant, don’t think about it, not now.
Adam tipped his head up and Todd kissed him again, licking into him with a leisurely stroke
that set the nerves under Adam’s skin to humming with anticipation.
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Todd lowered Adam onto his back, never breaking their kiss. Adam’s mouth felt well
and truly plundered by the time Todd began nibbling down his jaw, down his neck. Adam
clutched at Todd’s shoulders, trying not to push. Todd brushed over his nipples, not messing
with them much. He covered Adam’s abs in soft bites and love marks, then scraped his teeth
over a thatch of Adam’s pubes.
“Raise your legs up.”
Adam opened one eye. That definitely sounded like an order, not a request, and his
dick sure seemed to like the bossy tone. Adam hitched his legs up, holding the backs of his
knees. He knew how wanton it made him look, because he had Todd in this same position
every chance he got. Adam groaned low in his gut and dug the back of his head into the
pillow. He needed Todd, so very badly.
Todd palmed his ass cheeks, squeezing and kneading before pulling them apart.
Adam’s hole was exposed to the cooler air, then it was exposed to the mind-meltingly erotic
feel of Todd’s tongue lapping over it.
Adam couldn’t form words, and had to just grunt and breathe in funny little hitches as
Todd ate his ass. Licking and scraping his teeth over the tender skin, Todd reduced Adam to
a puddle of needy, desperate man. Todd speared his tongue into Adam’s opening, then
pressed in the tip of a finger as well.
“Ungh!” Adam meant, more, now, fuck me! But ‘Ungh!’ was what it sounded like.
Thank God Todd understood him regardless.
Todd kissed Adam’s hole noisily. Adam wanted to protest when Todd moved, but the
sound of the lube being opened, the gurgle of the gooey stuff being poured, shut him right
up.
Then that cold liquid was being smeared around his hole, in his hole, and Adam was
babbling, begging, pleading. His need overrode his pride, and he sobbed as he opened his
eyes and reached for Todd.
“I have you, honey,” Todd soothed, kneeling and pulling Adam’s hips up onto his lap.
“Like this, at least at first. I have to see you when I take you.”
“Todd,” Adam breathed as he felt Todd’s cock prod his hole. “I love you.”
Todd’s smile was so sweet it made Adam ache, fitting since Todd’s cock was doing the
same, pushing in, spreading and stretching Adam’s opening in a mix of pleasure-pain. Todd
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shifted them then until Adam was twisted around, lying on one hip, his torso still flat with
his back pressed to the mattress.
Satisfied with the positioning, and his gaze locked with Adam’s, Todd thrust, grunting
as he buried his shaft to the root. Adam arched his back, popping vertebrae and clenching his
ass against the spike piercing him. He panted and fisted his hands in the sheets, wallowing in
the ecstatic sensations, in having his man inside him, joining them together in a new way.
“Can I move?” Todd asked, his voice strained.
Adam hadn’t realised he’d shut his eyes again until then, when he prised one open to
see Todd. Was that consternation in Todd’s expression?
“Doesn’t hurt, baby,” Adam explained, while he could still speak. “Feels too good, so
good, oh my God, yes, move!”
Todd did, with a decisive withdraw and thrust that sent Adam skittering a few inches
up the mattress. He slapped his hands above him, whacking the headboard and grabbing a
shelf to brace himself. Todd powered into him relentlessly, perfectly, shoving needy cries
from Adam.
He started to reach for his dick, close to coming, but Todd grabbed his hand. Adam
cursed but then he gasped when Todd pulled out slowly. “What—” He didn’t get any further
than that. Todd grabbed his ankles and pulled and flipped Adam onto his belly.
Adam was disoriented, but he wasn’t stupid. At least, his body knew what was what,
and he was up on his knees in a heartbeat.
“Yes!” he roared when Todd slammed back into him, no tender prodding or slow filling
this time. Adam was getting the fucking he’d wanted, all primal and force, thrusts that
rattled his teeth and made him scramble to keep upright. He ended up having to drop his
shoulders down as Todd latched his arms around Adam, covering him and driving into him
in shorter, harder thrusts.
Adam’s breath was driven from him with each penetration, raw sounds torn from him
as Todd ploughed into him over and over.
His balls ached with each slap of skin, and his dick was so hard his gut hurt from it.
Then Todd’s hand was around his length, and Adam screamed, unable to hold back as spunk
shot from his cock.
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“Agh!” Todd drove into him hard, and Adam’s legs shot out from under him. He was
pinned flat on the bed, his cock still spurting as Todd ground against him, into him. Adam
felt the warmth of Todd’s release inside him, the first jet startling him, then, to his
mortification, moisture slipped from his left eye—the traitorous one that leaked at all the
worst times, damn it!
“Adam, Adam, Adam,” Todd panted, jerking above him, pelting his ass as if he
couldn’t get deep enough. Todd keened and went still after a mighty thrust, and Adam
turned his head, wiping his cheek on the sheets, his heart soaring with a joy he hadn’t
expected, and he swore he’d never lose it, never lose this man who meant more than his own
life ever would.
Adam was trying to figure out how to get enough brain function together to speak just
that sort of mushy declaration when the smoke alarm started blaring, and he decided it
might be best to prevent the house from catching on fire first.
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Chapter Twenty-One
Todd had a plan. He hoped it was a good plan, but, considering what he knew, it could
all blow up in his face and Adam would be the one hurt.
Taking any sort of risk with Adam’s feelings wasn’t something Todd would normally
do, but, the thing was, Adam was hurting regardless. Todd just really, really didn’t want to
make it all worse.
The way he saw it, though—and he had examined it from every angle he could think
of—was that doing nothing was adding to the problem. All he was going to do was some
digging around, use some of the resources he’d cultivated in the past couple of years. See
what turned up. If it was a body, Adam would be crushed, for all that he’d tried so hard to
brush off his friend’s abandonment.
Jameson Ventura had been—was still, even if only in memory—an important person in
Adam’s life. Todd didn’t believe Jameson had just up and forgotten Adam. How could
anyone forget Adam? Especially someone who’d loved him, and Jameson had loved Adam.
At first Todd had been jealous about it, and he wasn’t proud of the petty emotion at all. Now
he understood, and honestly wanted Adam to have his friend back in his life.
What Todd feared, though, was the scenario that was most likely. People didn’t just
vanish because they were living a happy life. They didn’t get whisked off their feet by a
stranger, run off with the stranger when they’d always been sensible before, or, if they did—
because by Adam’s account, Jameson had willingly moved away with his boyfriend—they
didn’t cut off everyone else.
Unless their partner, boyfriend, spouse, lover, whatever, was abusive. Possessive,
dangerously so. Todd had seen it too many times—hell, he’d lived it in a manner, what with
his parents being twisted as they were.
It could have happened to Jameson. Statistically, it probably did. A whirlwind
courtship, a move away from everyone and everything familiar. Jameson would have had to
depend on his boyfriend for everything. It was just the perfect sort of situation an abusive
person wanted.
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And, so, Todd had waffled about looking for Jameson, afraid he’d end up finding out
Adam’s friend was dead. There were so many unidentified bodies, and Todd’s
understanding was that Jameson had no family. No one would look for him, try to have
dental records matched with remains or do whatever was necessary to determine if he was
deceased.
The burden fell to someone else or no one. The latter was unacceptable. Adam had
shared stories about Jameson over the past two years. There’d been more than once he’d
saved Adam from a really bad decision, possibly even saving his life in one situation where
Adam had made the mistake of drinking too much then trotting off to an alley with a bit of
rough.
Todd shuddered just as he did every time he thought about it. Adam could have been
raped, beaten, murdered. Jameson hadn’t allowed anything bad to happen to Adam other
than a slap. From Adam’s telling of it, Jameson had burst out of nowhere (Todd imagined
there had been a back door at the club, but what did he know?) and proceeded to stomp the
shit out of Adam’s attacker. For that alone, Todd owed Jameson.
Todd looked over the notes he had. Jameson Ventura was average height and slender.
He had a black belt in tae kwon do, which explained how he’d kicked a bigger, more
muscular man’s ass. While some would say the black belt meant Jameson could never be a
victim of abuse, Todd knew better.
Just because someone had the ability to use force didn’t mean they would, and almost
everyone wanted to be loved, cherished. There were master manipulators in this world who
knew how to exploit that need, and even someone with a black belt could fall victim to such
a skilled sociopath.
Sandy blond hair, blue eyes, thirty-two years old. Disowned by his family, no arrests,
nothing remarkable on the outside of his life. But Jameson had been a remarkable man.
Adam deserved to have his friend found, even if… Todd grimaced at the burning in his eyes.
He wished he weren’t such a wuss sometimes, but the idea of Jameson being dead hurt
because it would decimate Adam.
Eventually he’d recover, sure, but there’d always be that pain, the loss of someone
loved. There was the risk, but he had to take it. Adam, and Jameson, deserved to have the
truth known.
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Of course, there was always a chance Todd was way off base, and Jameson had just
been a really good actor. Maybe he’d never given a shit about Adam after all, or Jameson
could have fallen into a drug or alcohol habit, or had a lobotomy…
Todd rolled his eyes at his thoughts. He was stalling.
After reading over what notes he had, Todd made a bullet-point list of what he needed
to do. First, he would run a more thorough background check. He also wanted the full name
of Jameson’s boyfriend, and all the details about the guy Adam could give him. Todd didn’t
want Adam to know he was actively looking for Jameson, though, not until he had some idea
of the man’s fate, so he’d have to pry carefully. Otherwise, he was afraid Adam would get his
hopes up only to be more shattered—
Or Adam might tell him not to bother trying to find Jameson. Sometimes the pain of
abandonment was so deep Adam said angry things about his friend, which Todd
understood. He’d thought nasty stuff about Jameson too for hurting Adam, until it’d
occurred to him, in bits and pieces, that Jameson’s disappearance didn’t add up to the man
Adam made him out to be.
So, information, more information, get Adam to talk… Yeah, he was going to blow that one.
Todd sighed and rubbed his forehead. He sucked at subterfuge. It was a damned good thing
most of the crimes here in Shasta were petty things now that his father was in prison and his
mother had moved away. Kaufman had disappeared, or, rather, moved, but no one cared
enough to find out where he was. Things were generally peaceful in Shasta.
He was going to have to tell Adam, wasn’t he? He hoped Adam didn’t tell him not to
try to find Jameson, because Todd had a gut feeling about it. He had to do it.
Todd was concentrating so hard he didn’t even hear the annoying electronic ding of the
door to the sheriff’s office opening. He yelped and slid halfway out of his chair when Gabe
spoke.
“Looks like you’re working hard,” Gabe said before snickering at Todd. “Well, maybe
not! Are you looking at porn while you’re working, Sheriff Benson?”
“Why would you even say something like that?” Todd asked, his voice pitching high
while he pressed a hand to his chest. Damn it, his heart sure felt like it was going to exit his
body! Gabe had scared the tar out of him!
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Gabe shrugged and his smile grew bigger. “Because you jumped and squeaked and
your neck and face are red? All signs of guilt to me, but, then again, I’m not the one wearing
the badge.”
Todd could see Gabe’s point, but he was still wrong. Sort of. “You just… You s-scared
the crap out of me. I was trying to figure out how to do something without pissing Adam off
or hurting him.”
And, just like that, Gabe’s teasing stopped. He straightened up from leaning on the
door frame and walked over with a loose-limbed stride to plop down in the chair in front of
Todd’s desk.
Then, keeping his eyes locked with Todd’s, Gabe put his elbows on the desk and
propped his chin in his hands. The sincerity in his green eyes warmed Todd through and
through. Adam had had this kind of friendship with Jameson, and both of them deserved
answers.
Gabe blinked once and sniffed the air, a weird habit he’d developed in the past year.
His eyes darkened and he seemed to grow more alert, although Todd couldn’t say how he
knew this. He just knew Gabe, had for years, just as Gabe knew him.
Which was why, when Gabe looked at him with that kind, intent expression and said,
“Tell me what’s going on,” Todd did. And it was why he listened when Gabe suggested he
come clean with Adam and tell him what Todd intended to do. Gabe was smart, he was
compassionate, and he could rip someone’s head off verbally in a way Todd envied.
Todd respected Gabe as much as he respected Mika and Adam. He felt better having
heard Gabe out. Todd couldn’t imagine his life without a friend like Gabe in it. No one
should have to go through life without one good friend who could be depended on to set
them to rights when they were about to screw up.
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Chapter Twenty-Two
“You’re going to try to find Jameson?” Adam leant back in his chair when Todd nodded
jerkily. “I’m not sure…” God, his throat felt so tight and dry it wasn’t funny. But, then,
nothing about this conversation was funny. “I just don’t know if it’s a good idea,” he finished
lamely.
Todd reached over the table and took Adam’s hand in his. His earnest expression
touched Adam, chasing away the beginnings of a dark mood that could consume Adam if he
wasn’t careful. “Why are you afraid to find him?”
Why was he? Adam’s mind spun with two reasons that tumbled from his lips as soon
as they popped up. “Because he might not have wanted anything to do with me anymore.
I’ve been an ass quite often in my past. Or he might be d-dead. I’d rather believe he just
hated me than find out something bad had happened to him.”
Adam clenched Todd’s hand in his when Todd started to rise. He shook his head,
knowing he’d end up a sobbing mess if Todd came over and held him. “You have to
understand, Jameson is one of those people, like Gabe except nicer.” Todd laughed, and the
warm sound helped Adam gather a little more of his control back. “At first glance, he might
have seemed plain, but when he smiled? Oh, man, I’ve seen guys trip over their own feet,
even seen one walk into a door and brain himself because he was too busy staring at
Jameson.”
Todd’s half-grin was every bit as transforming in Adam’s opinion. Todd cocked his
head towards the living room. “He just looks like a guy in the picture of you two at Lost
Maples.”
It was nice of Todd to say so, but Adam knew better. Jameson’s happiness, his
enjoyment of the outdoors and, yes, Adam’s companionship, had shone in his entire
expression. The man who’d taken their picture that day had been enchanted by Jameson,
much to his wife’s dismay, until Jameson had turned his smile on her.
Adam stood, keeping hold of Todd’s hand. It was awkward, but he needed the comfort,
and Todd managed to get up and move over to his side. Together they walked to the living
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room. Adam stopped in front of the shelf with the picture on it. “He was more than average-
looking there.”
Todd grunted, and Adam, distracted by the memory of that day, flinched when Todd
caressed his cheek.
“Sorry,” Todd mumbled, but he didn’t pull back, instead repeating the touch. This time
Adam leaned into it. He closed his eyes and almost purred at the way Todd stroked his face.
Todd’s fingers burned a path down Adam’s neck, then back up to rub at his nape where
Adam tended to carry his tension.
“Ungh.” Adam didn’t know what it was about having that spot massaged but it just
seemed to make his tongue thick and his body lax. Todd slid an arm around his waist and
pulled Adam to him.
“What was I gonna tell you?” Todd murmured, his breath teasing Adam’s ear. He
nipped Adam’s earlobe and Adam’s dick began to thicken. “Oh yeah. I never really noticed
Jameson was even smiling in the picture, because all I really see is you. Gorgeous, Adam.
Look at you. You’re so sexy, tanned and fit—that smile that melts me. Your hair was longer,
and, the way the sun was glinting off it, I swear I see a hint of red.”
Adam prised his eyes open and looked at the picture, or, more precisely, at himself in
the picture. He’d never really paid himself any mind, except to think he was happy that day,
one of the last he and Jameson had spent just the two of them, since shortly thereafter
Jameson had met his partner.
Todd jostled him slightly to reach around and trace over Adam’s leg in the photo.
“Look at the muscles here. You’ve got such strong legs, and, every time I look at you here, I
think of the way you use them to fuck me. Think about how strong you can wrap those legs
around me, too. I think about licking your biceps, sucking up a mark right here.”
Adam was expecting Todd to touch another part of him in the picture, but instead there
was the scrape of teeth where Adam’s shoulder and neck met. “Todd,” Adam sighed, leaning
his head back and turning it aside in blatant invitation.
“Mm-hmm,” Todd hummed right before he covered the sensitive spot with his mouth
and started sucking. He hummed again and the vibrations from it shimmied down to
Adam’s groin. There was the lewd slurp-pop when Adam shifted his hips and accidentally
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dislodged Todd’s mouth from its wonderful suctioning, but Todd latched back on and Adam
had to grab at the shelf to brace himself as his knees went gelatinous.
Todd rumbled, and that was a new, toppy sound Adam was coming to love quickly. He
grunted when Todd tightened his hold—lips, teeth, the arm around Adam’s middle. Then
Todd brushed his hand over Adam’s erection, just a featherlight touch guaranteed to make
him ache for more.
“Please,” he squeaked out, too needy to worry about how he sounded. It wasn’t like
he’d never driven Todd to the same point of desperation.
Todd popped the button loose at Adam’s waistband. He tugged down Adam’s zipper
and ran his fingertips over the wet spot on Adam’s boxers.
Adam bucked into the promise of friction. “Todd,” he warned, doing a little growling of
his own.
In answer, Todd sucked harder at the same time he delved his hand into Adam’s
boxers. Todd used his other hand to press Adam back, keeping his ass firmly against Todd’s
cock. Todd began stroking Adam’s shaft, twisting his hand as it reached the crown. The rub
on Adam’s frenulum combined with the next-second palming of his cockhead was going to
undo him quickly, and they both knew it.
Todd held him harder, and began rutting against him as he pumped Adam’s length.
The sounds they made together—Todd’s grunts and slurps, the wet suctioning of him
marking Adam, their skin rubbing, Todd’s hand on Adam’s dick, Adam’s pants, his
whimpers and the rustle of clothing—all of it combined into one of the most carnal
experiences in Adam’s life.
His climax exploded through him, no warning tingles or quivering anything. One
second he was so immersed in bliss he couldn’t breathe and the next he was keening, cum
spurting from his cock as he shook from head to toe.
Adam was only dimly aware of Todd’s fierce snarl, of the snap of his hips against
Adam’s ass. The world dipped and spun, and Adam became more aware as his orgasm
began to ebb and he found himself pushed up against the wall beside the shelf.
He felt Todd’s hand between them, the rough jabbing of his knuckles as Todd freed his
dick. Each jerk of Todd’s hand dragged a rough sound from him. He pressed his cock
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between Adam’s ass cheeks and covered it with his palm. Then he leaned into Adam and
rutted, hard, fast jabs that burned despite the sweat coating them both.
Adam fumbled behind him and grabbed Todd’s hip. He curled his fingers, holding on,
and arched into each thrust. Todd’s gasps became erratic as did his thrusts. He shoved
forward forcefully, then bit where he’d suckled as the first shot of spunk hit Adam’s back.
Adam could do nothing but revel in the feeling of being so thoroughly owned and knowing
he held Todd just as much.
“Got distracted,” Todd scraped out minutes later. “You’re just too sexy to resist.”
Adam rolled his neck and kind of looked at Todd. Kind of, because his vision was still
blurry. “Why would you want to?” he teased.
Todd snorted and Adam felt his cock twitch, which made Adam’s want to come up and
play, too. “Exactly. Why would I?” Todd pulled Adam over a few steps and tumbled them
onto the couch. “Let me show you just how irresistible you are.”
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Chapter Twenty-Three
Todd was about at his wits’ end. Not only was he turning up absolutely zilch on
Jameson, but he couldn’t find anything on the guy Jameson ran off with, Dirk Govind, either.
He was truly leaning towards the belief that Dirk Govind wasn’t the mysterious boyfriend’s
name at all.
“Seriously, who names anyone Dirk…ever?” Not even if the dude was born in the early
twentieth century. No one would do that to their kid. Todd rolled his eyes then rubbed them.
He was so tired, and it didn’t help that his old man was up for parole. Twice in the past week
Todd had even seen his mother in town—not that she’d spoken to him, but whatever. He
didn’t know what she was doing in Shasta to begin with. The prison was an hour away in
Falls Hills. Most likely she was visiting with the two or three former parishioners who hadn’t
moved off.
She sure as hell wasn’t here to see him. It was stupid, he knew it was stupid, but he
couldn’t quite silence that little boy inside who wanted his mom’s love, his dad’s approval.
But the man he was now knew better, knew the futility of such wishes. Todd didn’t believe
his parents would ever change. He didn’t wait for it, pray for it, hope for it. But he did wish,
on those rare occasions he allowed himself to think on it, that his parents had been kind,
loving people instead of psychotic nuts.
Todd snorted and pushed away from his desk. The chair’s wheels squeaked and
stuttered, threatening to send him ass over teakettle. Todd just went with it. The chair hadn’t
tossed him yet.
He yelped when the chair hit something solid. There shouldn’t have been anything
there. Todd about snapped his neck looking around and growled when Gabe smirked down
at him.
“Nice office, Sheriff.” Gabe glanced around the break room. “Good to see my tax dollars
hard at work. Nice vending machines.”
Todd flipped Gabe off. “I told you my office is being redone since the ceiling caved in
after those storms. Wasn’t much in there that didn’t get ruined.”
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Gabe bobbed his head. “Sure, and that was good because your old office was ass-ugly,
buddy. Absolutely no taste at all. Looked like every boring office ever created.”
“It’s not supposed to be some cosy spot to snooze in,” Todd pointed out. “It should be
austere and maybe even intimidating.” He didn’t really believe it, mostly, but it was fun to
watch Gabe get all puffed up and ready to launch into a tirade. “I’m not here to make the
criminals cosy, you know.”
“It’s cruel and unusual punishment to fucking beige them to death,” Gabe snapped.
“Jesus, I’ll sue you myself for visual assault or…or something, I swear I will, if that office is
more than ten per cent beige when it’s done! And the floor counts, everything in there
counts!”
Todd tried not to laugh. Gabe was getting wound up, and it was funny. But if he
laughed it’d be all over because Gabe would know Todd was just poking at him. Todd hated
beige, and there wasn’t going to be any of it in his new office.
“What about grey?” he asked, tapping his fingers on his knees. “You know, that
medium-toned grey, kinda like Dallas Cowboys’ colour. Might even add some of the same
blue in the trim or something.”
Gabe bent and poked Todd right on the nose. “I will kick your ass, and at least
something in that office will be bright then!”
Todd snickered as he batted at Gabe’s hand, and it got him a thump on the tip of his
nose. “Hey!” Todd cupped a hand over his nose as his eyes watered. “That’s assaulting an
officer!”
Gabe arched a brow and planted a hand on one cocked hip. “Well, if I’m already gonna
be in trouble, then…”
Todd waved him off. “I can forgive you since we’ve been friends for so long. I’ll let it go
this time. Now, did you just come in here to give me grief over my hideous former office?”
Gabe had been studying the vending machine and rubbing his stomach, but he stopped
then and looked totally stunned. “Oh shit! No, I actually had a reason for coming in besides
harassing you.” He frowned so hard it made Todd’s head hurt. “You know that biii—er,
bimbo who gave birth to you is in town trying to get people to go vouch for how wonderful
your sperm donor is, right?”
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Oh. Well, that explained why she was in Shasta. “I seen her a time or two. She looked
right through me.” And, yeah, it’d hurt but he hadn’t gone home and cried about it or
anything. Truthfully, he didn’t think he could ever forgive her or his father for everything
they had done to him even if they ever did apologise.
Gabe snorted. “Yeah, well. I might have had a word or three with her. At her.
Whatever. Stupid… Anyways. She sure can pucker her mouth up like she’s sucking an as—”
“Gabe!” Todd barely kept from slapping his hands over his ears.
“What?” Gabe said as he blinked, the picture of innocence…or not, considering who
was doing it. “I was gonna say, like she’s sucking an aspirin. Have you ever went to dry-
swallow a couple aspirins and had them stick? Gack!” Gabe stuck out his tongue and heaved.
“Nasty shit, man. Makes you pucker your mouth up like an as—”
“Gabe!”
This time the thundering voice came from behind Gabe, and, though he hadn’t cleared
the corner and entered the room yet, Mika’s presence was definitely felt as soon as he
hollered. Todd sat up straighter and Gabe sighed. He turned around lazily, sinuously, as if
his partner hadn’t just basically made his name into a demand.
“Whatcha want, honey?” Gabe drawled, all sweet and syrup and, Todd knew, at his
most snarky. Mika was going to have to guard his ribs, and probably his balls, too.
Mika wasn’t stupid. He peered through the doorway cautiously, his head appearing an
inch at a time. Once he saw that Gabe wasn’t going to come flying at him, Mika got a little
braver and stepped into the doorway.
Gabe smiled, and it wasn’t a nice smile at all. Although, maybe the threat in it meant
something entirely different to Mika, who narrowed his eyes and stared back at Gabe. When
Gabe sighed softly and sauntered up to Mika, Todd had a moment of curiosity about the two
of them. Sometimes there was a powerful force between them, something more than love and
sex.
Or maybe Todd didn’t really want to know what it was.
Mika hooked an arm around Gabe and pulled him to his side. He dropped a tender kiss
on Gabe’s lips then looked at Todd. “Can you and Adam come over for dinner tonight?
We’re having some guests over, you met them before, Aidan and Zane. They have
some…skills. Maybe they can help find Adam’s friend.”
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Todd’s senses prickled as they did periodically around Gabe and Mika. It’d begun a
little over a year ago, and it was weird, like a power surge or something. Todd couldn’t
define it, but he knew something had changed, or something was up, or… He didn’t know
shit, but his subconscious was jabbing at him. He wished he could prise out whatever it was
trying to tell him.
But, for now, he just nodded. Something very weird was going on.
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Chapter Twenty-Four
It had taken Adam a while to feel comfortable enough with Gabe and Mika to really
consider them friends. It stood to reason, then, that he wouldn’t be comfortable around
Aidan and Zane even though he’d met them before. He didn’t know them.
And how the fuck am I supposed to get to know them if all I do is sit here fretting like some… I
don’t even know what.
Todd took his hand and squeezed gently. Adam looked at him and some of his nerves
settled. Todd was here with him, beside him on the couch—the very same couch he and
Todd had walked in and found Gabe and Mika all but fucking on years ago. Adam cringed
and fought back the urge to jump up and check the cushions.
“Thank you for inviting us over,” Adam said to Mika. He did, after all, have some
manners. Occasionally. Adam turned his attention to Zane and Aidan. For some reason
Adam had to suppress a shiver when he looked into Aidan’s dark eyes. But Zane’s silver
ones weren’t much less intimidating.
And why was he intimidated?
Adam perked up, exuberance bubbling up to cover his discomfort. “So! Are you two in
town long? And don’t you have a twin?” he asked Aidan. He knew the answer, because
Gabe could babble like no one else and he’d gone on and on about Aidan and his twin
brother, but if it would get the giant blond guy to talking instead of just…just watching
Adam, that’d be great.
Zane’s lips twitched and Aidan flat-out grinned and Adam wondered what the hell the
joke was and if it was on him like he suspected it was.
“We plan on being here for a few days,” Aidan rumbled, “then we’re going to take a
hiking trip since someone hasn’t shut up about the Catwalk.”
Zane snorted and muttered something about the appropriateness of them being on
something called a Catwalk, but before Adam could ask what he meant Gabe bounded into
the living room.
“Er, Iko kinda got the platter of steaks. Everyone okay with burgers instead?”
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Adam stood up and barely stopped himself from heading out back. “Did you get the
meat away from Iko? Raw meat isn’t good for dogs, not in such large quantities.”
Gabe rolled his eyes. He pointed a spatula at Adam. “And what the hell did dogs eat
before they were domesticated animals? Tofu?” Adam opened his mouth to snark back but
Gabe shook the utensil at him. “I’m not a dipshit. Iko got away with one of the steaks but the
rest are all nasty and dirty and gross. I wouldn’t want to eat ‘em, but if you annoy me…”
Adam arched a brow but sat back down. “I was just concerned about Iko, that was all. I
doubt it’d hurt you at all to eat the remaining raw meat yourself.”
Gabe walked over and ruffled his hair. “Aw, you’re sweet. You’ve got pathetic
comebacks, though. Good thing Todd isn’t with you for your rapier wit.” He turned and
pointed the spatula towards Aidan and Zane. “Okay, Zane. You get to help me make
hamburger patties, because Mika can’t be a rude host and abandon y’all to help me, and,
frankly, I would probably end up shoving this spatula up Double D’s ass—”
Adam heard Gabe’s teeth snap together. What the hell was that about? And Double D?
Did he mean Aidan? He glanced at Todd, who was frowning and looking as confused as
Adam felt.
Gabe spun around and had a fake smile plastered on his face. “The Double D is for
Aidan’s moobs. They may be muscles, but he still has big tits.”
“Ass,” Aidan sniped. Gabe flipped him off and Zane kissed Aidan’s cheek.
“I love your Double D’s,” Zane purred, and promptly yelped when Aidan smacked his
ass. “That’s not discouraging me any, just so you know.” Zane chuckled as he backed away.
He only turned around once he was out of Aidan’s reach, then Zane and Gabe headed off
into the kitchen.
“Men,” Aidan said, but he had a sappy grin on his face that surprised Adam for some
reason.
Mika darted a look at Adam and Todd then grunted. “Sorry about the steaks. Iko’s been
pushing his boundaries lately.”
“Maybe he needs a sibling,” Adam suggested. He saw the refusal coming before Mika
even spoke and moved to cut the man off. “Don’t even say y’all have a kennel full of siblings.
Those rescues aren’t treated like Iko and you know it. They can’t be, or else y’all would never
be able to adopt them out. But maybe you and Gabe should talk about it, see if there isn’t one
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of the rescued dogs that would really fit in with your family. Wouldn’t hurt Iko to learn to
share, and he’d have a consistent playmate.”
Adam leant back, having said his piece. Mika narrowed his eyes and Adam wasn’t sure
if he was getting glared at or if Mika was just contemplating what he’d said.
“For what it’s worth, I think Adam is probably right,” Aidan said. Adam turned to look
at him. The guy was just freakin’ huge, maybe that was why Adam didn’t feel comfortable
around him. “I don’t know that it’d help with the whole steak-stealing thing, though. I mean,
that’d be like leaving us near a steak cooked to perfection, when we hadn’t had a steak in
years.”
“But he’d have companionship,” Todd added. “Maybe Iko gets lonely. I hated being an
only child, although, I guess, all things considered, it was for the best.”
Gabe poked his head through the doorway. “Okay, y’all know what? Everyone can
help. Zane is pokey as hell, insisting on adding just the right spices to the hamburger and
stirring it and getting the heat of the grill just right.” He glared at Aidan. “If you’d have
warned me, I would have dragged your ass in here instead. Now you can come cut up the
tomatoes and onions. Mika, you can handle the lettuce and condiments. Stop snickering.”
Gabe came all the way into the room. “What? Are you like, twelve?”
“I can’t help it, between you flouncing and everything else, I’m finding it hard to be my
usual taciturn self.” Mika stood up and, yeah, Adam had to admit the man seemed happier
than Adam had ever seen him. Not that Mika was a snarly asshole, but he could be kind of
quiet, solemn even. But he had a great smile when he let go, which happened rarely. Tonight
he was grinning fit to be tied, and Gabe’s prickly irritation faded as he fell under the spell of
Mika’s smile.
“Maybe we could…” Gabe began. Mika shook his head.
“Nope. Got to get dinner ready.” He cocked his head at Adam and Todd. “Y’all want to
join us in the kitchen?”
Something seemed to have shifted, some tension Adam had either carried alone or that
had existed was now gone. Maybe it was just him—getting comfortable around people he
didn’t know well was just hard for him—but Gabe and Mika’s love and affection, and
teasing, had worked like magic. Even Adam’s impatience was tempered, which was a trick
he’d bet Todd wished he knew how to do.
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Of course, if he threw Adam down and fucked him senseless, that usually offed his
impatience. And, suddenly, Adam just needed a few minutes alone with Todd, needed to
touch him, kiss him, feel the reassuring strength of the man as Todd held him—but he also
wanted to know just how Aidan and Zane thought they might be able to help find Jameson.
Adam leapt up and tugged on Todd’s hand. He winked at his sexy sheriff then faced
Gabe and Mika. “Yeah, we’ll help, too, because I’m thinking no one is going to tell us what is
going on until after we eat.”
Gabe nodded. “Pretty much. So, dinner, dessert, then the serious stuff.”
Adam wondered why the ‘serious stuff’ caused Gabe and Mika to glance at each other
and frown. What did they know that he didn’t?
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Chapter Twenty-Five
If there were any more weird looks passing between Gabe, Mika, Aidan and Zane,
Todd was going to snap. He wasn’t sure just what that would entail, but, damn it, Gabe had
been his closest—and only—friend for years, and to feel so left out of the loop now was
driving Todd batty.
About the only thing keeping Todd from flat-out asking what was going on was Adam.
The man seemed to know just how to touch Todd, what little caresses and soft looks to give
that would calm him down.
Normally Todd wasn’t so tightly wound, but everything tonight just felt off. God, he
hoped he wasn’t just being an insecure jerk because Gabe had new best buddies. He sure did
seem close to Aidan and Zane, even if he did give Aidan shit almost constantly.
Oh Geez. He was jealous, wasn’t he? Todd peeked at the other couples just in time to
see more of those suspicious looks. Okay, he wasn’t jealous, or not just jealous, anyways.
Todd averted his gaze and took another bite of his burger. He slipped into cop mode, as
he thought of it. It was as if he stepped outside of himself and viewed everything that had
happened and was currently going on. And his conclusion was, he was most definitely
suspicious. Something was going on, some secret between the other four men from which
Todd and Adam were excluded.
Todd tried not to think why that might be, but even he couldn’t keep his mind out of
the gutter all the time. He excused himself from the table and gave Adam a look he knew his
lover wouldn’t misinterpret.
“Gotta go check for messages,” Todd offered as an explanation. “I left my phone in the
car on the charger. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
The story had the benefit of being the truth, too. He walked off and heard Adam make
some borderline lewd quip about following Todd out for a grope. Todd heated from the
inside out with arousal. Even though he knew Adam was joking, his words still sent a flare
of want up from Todd’s groin that seeped out through his pores. It wasn’t just the humid
Texas evening that had Todd breaking out in a sweat.
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He heard the front porch screen slap shut seconds after he went through it. Todd
stopped walking then and turned around to wait for Adam only to find himself the recipient
of a very thorough groping.
“Didn’t wanna be a liar,” Adam proclaimed, his voice rich with laughter and lust as he
palmed Todd’s balls and squeezed his ass. “Think we have time for a quick blow job? I bet I
could have you spilling down my throat in under five minutes.”
“More like under three,” Todd wheezed, his chest tight as need coiled his insides. His
dick had gone from nice and content to raging hard so fast he was surprised he hadn’t hurt
himself, and the sheer naughtiness of Adam fondling him like this while their friends sat
inside, less than twenty feet away… Well, he was both very turned on and very terrified.
Adam grinned and rubbed him for a second before planting a sloppy, wet kiss on
Todd’s lips. He stepped back and patted Todd’s ass. “As much as I’d love to suck you dry, I
really want to know what the hell is going on!”
“So it’s not just me,” Todd said before biting back the whole ‘being a jealous dickhead’
part. “Do you… Do you think maybe Gabe and Mika, you know, with Aidan and Zane?” His
cheeks burned uncomfortably but he knew Adam wouldn’t laugh at him for being a perv for
wondering.
Adam cocked his head to the side and peered at some point to Todd’s left. He hummed
slightly and tapped his thigh. Then he shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. As possessive as
Mika is, and as… Come on, can you picture Gabe sharing Mika? No, those two would kill
anyone who tried to fuck with the other. Now, I don’t know Aidan and Zane, but I just can’t
imagine Mika or Gabe putting up with anything like that.”
“Whew.” Todd’s relief was probably exaggerated but he didn’t care. Gabe and Mika
were his proof that a couple could have a happy, monogamous relationship. A stable
relationship. “Well, then, I’m afraid someone in there might have done something illegal. Or
they’re hiding something from us, from me at least. I don’t like it at all.”
Could that be the reason for the secretive looks? Had Gabe and the others been judging
Adam’s frame of mind, and Todd’s, even? But Todd thought about Gabe’s joviality earlier.
Surely, even though Gabe didn’t know Jameson, he wouldn’t be so happy and Gabe-y if he
had such horrible news for them?
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Adam sighed and hooked his arm through Todd’s. “I think you’re right, sort of. They’re
hiding something, but I don’t think it’s illegal. I’m afraid…” Adam’s voice cracked and Todd
had to hug him, had to hold him for a moment. Adam’s breath was warm against Todd’s
chest when he spoke. “I’m afraid Jameson is dead, and they don’t want to tell us.”
“I don’t think that’s it,” Todd said. He cupped Adam’s cheek and tipped his head just
so for a kiss. Adam relaxed against him. It was one of those perfect moments Todd knew
would remain branded into his memory, the two of them standing under the moonlight,
kissing, loving as they leaned on each other.
A sharp outburst, a shout answered by another, snapped him out of his reverie. He and
Adam both leapt back, as if they’d had anything to do with what was, obviously, a heated
argument coming from inside.
“What the hell?” Adam muttered. “Grab your phone.”
Todd ran over to the vehicle and quickly got his phone. He could still hear arguing,
although he couldn’t make out the words. And he definitely heard Gabe’s voice. The other
low rumbles were hard to place to their owners. In fact, it almost sounded like a bunch of
growling to Todd.
“What the hell are they doing in there?” Adam huffed as he darted up the porch steps.
“Sounds like a bunch of snippy intact male dogs in there! Men!”
Todd snorted even as he ran up the steps behind Adam. He almost tripped when he
caught sight of Adam’s fine ass flexing in front of him. They thundered over the porch and
into the house—then stopped right inside.
“It’s totally quiet now,” Adam whispered, and, even so, he sounded damned loud to
Todd. “Gabe’s never quiet. Do you think they killed him?”
Todd knew Adam was joking, but his heart still rolled over in his chest. He cocked his
head and concentrated on listening. “No, they’d have had to kill Mika too, and there wasn’t
enough noise for all of that to be going on.” He gestured towards the kitchen and held out a
hand behind him. Adam gave him an arch look but didn’t argue. He moved in behind Todd
and took his hand.
Together they crept down the hallway, Todd feeling like a total idiot for doing so. This
was, after all, his buddies’ home, and one Todd had found refuge in when he’d been
younger. And, okay, even as an adult at times. Why was he sneaking around?
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Adam squeezed his hand and Todd stopped worrying about what noise they might
make. It was too silent in the kitchen—surely everyone could hear his pulse since it was
thudding like a damned gavel in his head?
Todd entered the kitchen only to stop immediately. There was no blood, no dead
bodies, but there was at least one broken dish. If he’d had to bet, he’d have figured Gabe had
thrown it at someone…someone other than Mika. None of the other four seemed to notice
him or Adam. They were all too busy standing stiff, chests puffed out, glaring at each other
in some battle of the wills or testosterone…
Then he heard it, and so did Adam judging by the way he grunted and edged up
against Todd’s back. A low, rumbling growl. Todd looked for Iko, but the dog was nowhere
to be seen. Besides, Iko had better manners than to act like that. He darted looks from one
man to the other and finally pegged Mika to be the one making the noise. Made sense, he
supposed. Mika could be a snarly guy, possessive and rough and perfect for the more
boisterous Gabe. But what had set everyone off?
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Chapter Twenty-Six
“I’m going to tell him,” Gabe announced, and for some reason goose bumps broke out
all over Todd’s skin. “No, I’m going to tell them.”
Aidan puffed up even bigger, and his partner, Zane, laid a hand on his back and
whispered rapidly in his ear. Aidan shook his head sharply and Zane bit his bottom lip, as if
forcing himself to quit trying to talk some sense into his man.
“You know why…” Aidan cut his eyes towards Todd, and Todd felt the look like a
threat. He automatically reached for the reassurance of the gun at his hip only to remember
belatedly he wasn’t on duty and therefore wasn’t carrying. Still, he narrowed his eyes at
Aidan and gave what he hoped was his very best intimidating look.
And Aidan did the most bizarre thing, at least in Todd’s opinion. The big blond snarled,
his upper lip curling as he bared his teeth. The sound he made when he did it wasn’t human.
It couldn’t be, Todd thought, and he maybe should have paid more attention to parts of the
Bible that mentioned demons or whatever, because he was suddenly utterly sure there was
something dark or supernatural or maybe both in existence. In Aidan, and—Todd couldn’t,
wouldn’t look away from Aidan’s challenging glare, but still—maybe Zane as well. Thoughts
of demonic possession and The Exorcist were foremost in Todd’s mind. Aidan’s eyes had a
creepy glow to them that might have all just been Todd’s imagination, but he wasn’t making
up the tension in the room, the growling he heard now coming from Mika or someone else,
the almost oppressive power he didn’t know how to describe.
His world was flipping, or at least his perception of it was.
“What the fuck?” he heard Adam ask. Todd locked an arm around Adam, holding him
behind him. Instincts he’d not been aware of before were pushing at him to protect Adam, to
keep him back, out of direct range of threat. “Todd, what’s going on? Why is Aidan doing his
best rabid dog imitation? He’d have to actually turn into a dog to be any better at it, and if he
did that then I’d neuter him for being a dangerous asshole.”
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Todd was thinking he’d just shoot Aidan in the foot or something when Gabe surged
forwards and smacked Aidan upside the head. “Cut it out! This is my house, mine and
Mika’s! We aren’t in some pack land!”
“Gabriel!” Aidan yelped, looking for all the world like a chastised child. A really big,
muscled chastised child. Aidan had a hand clapped over the spot where Gabe had thumped
him. He turned to Zane. “He hit me!”
Zane, his silver eyes tilting up at the edges, nodded. “He did. I expected him to do it
sooner since you dodged the plate and the bowl. I love you dearly, but you had it coming.”
Aidan harrumphed and crossed his arms over his chest. “You know why things have to
remain as they are.”
Gabe elbowed past Mika and poked Aidan in the ribs. “No, they don’t. What kind of
archaic thinking is that? Todd has been my best friend for years, and I trust only one person
as much as I do him. And I would be willing to bet Adam would say the same about his
friendship with Jameson.”
Aidan uncrossed his arms and ran a hand through his short blond hair. “Be that as it
may, there’s just things we all keep secret, aren’t there?”
Zane cocked a hip and gave his partner a contemplative look. “There are?”
Aidan blanched and Gabe laughed. “Well, hell. I should just let you ramble and get
yourself in deep shit with Zane. If I didn’t like you, and like Zane even more, I would do just
that.”
Todd was growing weary of the drama, especially since he didn’t understand it. He was
pretty sure Adam felt the same, and was sure of it when Adam pushed and pulled until he
was in front of Todd.
Adam’s spine was straight, his shoulders back, and Todd could see the tension curling
his muscles, driving them to bulge in a display that went right to Todd’s dick. Adam pointed
at Gabe. “You. Out of everyone here, you are supposed to be our friend. Todd’s friend, at the
very least. Mika tolerates us, but you love Todd. And Todd loves me. And yes, I loved
Jameson, maybe I still do. He was the best, the only, friend I had for a very long time. So, if
you know something, you think about how you’d feel if Todd vanished on you.
Just…vanished. Would you think it’s funny? Some farce with fit-throwing and growling and
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whatever the fuck it was Aidan was doing? And what the hell was that? Huh? What is going
on?”
Adam’s voice reached a level of shrill Todd had only previously heard Gabe hit.
As for Gabe, he looked poleaxed, silent in his shocked state, and that was scary in itself.
A quick check of the others showed expressions of anger, fear, regret, understanding,
reluctance—so many emotions, all shared by Mika, Aidan and Zane.
Yet no one spoke. Adam drew in a breath, tensing again, and Todd knew another
outburst was coming.
Except Gabe slumped against the table, propping his ass on the top, uncaring, it
seemed, that he sat on a plate still scattered with food. “I’m telling, and that’s final,” Gabe
muttered. “Adam has a right to know if the guy you told me about is his friend Jameson.”
“Marcus is going to be pissed,” Aidan grumbled, but he shrugged after he’d said it.
“He can get over it,” Mika snapped. “If he had come tonight like we asked, he could
have thrown in his two cents, but he didn’t.”
“He couldn’t,” Aidan snapped back. “He has a situation on his hands involving
something very much like what is happening here. Our existence relies on trusting those who
aren’t like us—”
Todd was freaked, he couldn’t help it. “What the f-fuck are you talking about?” He was
going to carry his gun from now on. And maybe a water gun filled with holy water if it
turned out there really were demons walking the earth.
Aidan just shook his head and moved over to his chair. He sat and in an instant Zane
was in his lap, petting him, murmuring soothing words. At least, Todd assumed they were
soothing. Aidan didn’t look any different from any other man enjoying the attention of his
lover.
What was going on with them wasn’t his business. Adam was. Todd eased his arm
around Adam’s waist and tucked his thumb in Adam’s front pocket. “Do you know what
happened to Jameson, or where he is?” he asked, both hopeful and terrified of the answer.
Gabe held out his hand and Mika took it. He pulled Gabe up and gave a half-smile at
the mess on Gabe’s backside. “We don’t know anything for sure about Jameson, but Marcus,
Aidan’s twin, he’s…” Mika huffed and glared up at the ceiling. “It’s complicated.”
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Chapter Twenty-Seven
Everyone was fucking insane, that was all there was to it. Everyone but him and Todd.
Adam was about ready to throttle Gabe, and as for Aidan… He didn’t know what to make of
the big creepy guy. That growling snarling shit hadn’t been right. Adam had felt the
intimidation all the way to his toes, just like he’d felt power rolling off of Aidan. He’d
wanted to quiver and drop to his knees and bow his head and any other number of shows of
submission. Not in a sexual way at all, but simply in response to the very alpha-ness Aidan
gave off.
Gabe was slapping at the food on his ass, then he cursed and started unbuckling his
belt. “Let’s meet in the living room. Give me two minutes.”
Two minutes felt like a damned lifetime. Adam fidgeted beside Todd, who was paler
than normal. Adam felt like a total shit. How hard must this be on Todd, to see this bizarre
behaviour from his best friend? Yeah, yeah, Adam was his partner, his soul mate, all those
wonderful things, but Gabe had been the one to befriend Todd years ago, and stand by him
ever since. Adam didn’t begrudge Gabe the best buds status at all. He understood it. He’d
have still been calling Jameson his best buddy had the man not disappeared.
“That’s much better.” Gabe trotted into the living room with Mika sauntering behind
him. Mika’s eyes were zeroed in on Gabe’s ass, almost indecently displayed by the tight, thin
sweats. Gabe plinked down on the coffee table right in front of Adam and Todd rather than
taking the recliner or the love seat like Adam was expecting. He peered at Adam for a second
before focusing his bright green gaze on Todd.
“So, Todd,” Gabe began, his voice so soft and hesitant Adam wouldn’t have recognised
it as belonging to Gabe had he not been watching. “The thing is…” Gabe waited as Mika
settled behind him, framing Gabe’s legs with his and all but covering Gabe’s back with his
bigger body. Gabe sighed and leant back. He swallowed noisily and let his head drop back to
rest on Mika’s shoulder.
“The thing is, if what I’m fixing to tell y’all gets out to anyone else, it could start a war,
or a slaughter, something bad.”
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Adam wanted to accuse Gabe of being melodramatic as he tended to be at times, but for
some reason he didn’t. Fear gripped his gut and pinched his tongue.
“There’s some weird shit in this world,” Gabe started, patting Mika’s hand. “Not us,
honey, but irrational fears and judgement, and you know how people are when they fear
something. All they want to do is destroy it. Hate it.”
“Gabe,” Todd said as he propped his elbows on his knees. “You’re killing us. Is
Jameson alive? And what are you going on about?”
Gabe blinked a couple of times before answering. “We don’t know about Jameson.
Marcus knew of someone who had a mate—er, partner, named Jameson. He’s checking into
whether they were ever found after a…a coup, I guess? Or a coup attempt? See, Marcus is the
leader of a very secretive, powerful sect—”
“He’s a cult leader?” Adam asked, confused and scared and even more confused. “Are
you saying Jameson joined a cult?”
“No.” Gabe sat up and rubbed his temples. “Man, I suck at this explaining shit. Let me
try it like this—”
“Or let me,” Mika interrupted. Gabe craned his head to glare at Mika, who just dropped
a kiss on his parted lips. “I am trusting you, Todd, to make sure nothing bad ever happens to
Gabe for his insistence in trusting you.”
Adam got the message loud and clear. Gabe was doing this for Todd, and maybe Mika
didn’t like it, but he supported Gabe. And, yeah, in a small way, Gabe was doing it to help
him, too, but it really was about the friendship between Gabe and Todd. Adam just wished
he knew what the fuck it had to do with Jameson. If someone didn’t explain it soon, he was
going to start banging heads together.
“About a year ago, Gabe experienced a change.” Mika nuzzled Gabe’s neck for a
moment. “He became like me, and Aidan, and Zane, and Marcus—”
“So pretty much like everyone but me and Adam?” Todd asked, hurt thickening his
voice in a way Adam had heard it do before. “I’ve noticed something is different about you,
Gabe. I can’t place it, but if you’re trying to say you’ve o-o-out g-g-g-grown t-t-this f-f-
friendship—”
Gabe lurched forwards and knelt against Todd’s legs. “No! No, that isn’t it at all! I
wanted to tell you, but, on the one hand, there was no reason. Except there was, and that was
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that you are my friend, right? We used to share everything, then I found some secrets and…”
Gabe glanced back at Mika. “And I found Mika. You know how you want to protect those
you love?” Todd gave a nod. “Well, I would do anything to keep Mika safe.”
Adam wasn’t as touched as he should have been, probably. He was tired, emotionally
exhausted, and he never had cared for beating around the bush. “Your point, Gabe?” It was
rude, but God knew Adam wasn’t the only one who’d been rude tonight, and certainly not
the most offensive of the bunch.
Gabe pinned Adam with his brilliant stare. “You have to swear not to tell anyone,
ever.”
Adam wondered if he should make up some super-secret handshake. “I won’t, unless
whatever you tell me puts Todd in danger. Then all bets are off.”
Gabe considered that for a moment than nodded. “Okay. So, Jameson. Let me just tell
you what Marcus heard when he started asking around. Apparently, someone in charge of a
large…group, of people like the ones I’m fixing to tell you about—”
“Gabe, you’re talking in circles already!” Todd said, his exasperation heavy. “Can you
please give us the condensed version?”
Gabe sat back on his heels and narrowed his eyes at Todd. “Yeah, sure. If Jameson is the
same guy Marcus heard about, he and his ma—partner were attacked and they disappeared
for years. People thought they were dead, but there’s been rumours of sightings and there’s
reason to believe those sightings are true.”
Adam couldn’t speak, couldn’t get past the nausea rising in his throat and the despair
kicking at him. “So you don’t know if he’s alive?”
Gabe touched Adam’s knee. “Marcus thinks he is. He thinks Jameson and his ma—man
are hiding, understandable considering their own people turned on them and tried to kill
them.”
Adam’s heart ached as he thought of his beautiful friend, his sweet soul and his desire
to be accepted, to be loved. “I don’t understand. You’re still not making any sense.”
“I will.” Gabe stood up and plucked at the tie string of his sweats. “Here’s where you’ll
both probably really freak out. I hope… Todd, I hope you don’t hate me. You either, Adam,
but I could get over it if you did whereas if I lost Todd, I’d be missing a part of myself.” Gabe
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reached for and clasped Mika’s hand. Then he dropped a bomb that sent Adam’s temper into
orbit.
“We’re shape-shifters.”
Adam screamed and shot up off the couch, tackling Gabe. How dare the asshole fuck
with him, mock him like this!
“Adam!” He heard Todd, felt the swipe of his hands as Todd tried to stop him, but
Adam had succeeded in clearing a path to Gabe.
Except something nightmarish happened as Adam lunged, as his body covered Gabe’s.
Gabe began to contort, his body jerking, bending, spasming. Thick tufts of hair sprouted out
over his skin as they hit the floor. Adam gasped and tried to scramble back but fear
paralysed him and all he could do was watch in horror as Gabe turned into something else.
Then Adam found himself face to muzzle with a tri-coloured wolf. His vision buzzed
and his hearing dimmed, or maybe it was the other way around. He thought Todd yelped or
screeched. Adam couldn’t parse it out, though, because his mind shut down and pulled him
into the safety of unconsciousness as a wolf licked his cheek.
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Chapter Twenty-Eight
If Adam hadn’t passed out, Todd thought he might have. As it was, one of them needed
to stay conscious to figure out what the hell was going on. Todd wasn’t having any luck
doing so. He’d dived after Adam and, yeah… Adam hadn’t hit the floor but it had been a
near thing and…
“What the fuck?” exploded out of his mouth before Todd could think to keep it in. His
heart was pounding so hard he fully expected to die any second from it. He held Adam
tighter and the damned wolf—Gabe, oh hell, how?—“Stop licking him!” Todd smacked the
wolf smartly on the nose.
The thing yelped and looked at him with wounded eyes. “Well, screw that,” Todd
snapped, knowing he wasn’t making any sense. “You have no fucking right to look at me like
your feelings are hurt!”
And there it was, along with the shock, a crushing wave of pain because his friend was
something other and Todd hadn’t known. Whether or not he could have handled knowing
didn’t matter, did it? Because he damn well knew now!
Todd jerked back when Gabe-wolf nosed at him. He looked around at Mika, and Aidan
and Zane, and it clicked then. This was the secret, what they’d been hiding. It was the reason
for the weird feeling he got around Gabe and Mika sometimes.
“When?” he asked, zeroing in on Mika. It had to be since Mika had come along. Now
that Todd knew to look for it, he could feel the power of the supernatural coming from
Mika…and everyone else in the room except for him and Adam.
Mika sighed, of all things, and looked regretful. “Almost a year ago. He’s my mate,
Todd. I don’t know how to explain it to you—”
“I’ve read books,” Todd muttered, cheeks burning with the admission. He refused to be
embarrassed over it, much. Not when all this weird stuff was happening.
Mika blinked and seemed at a loss for words. Adam coughed and groaned and opened
his eyes a little bit. “Todd? I thought—oh fuck!”
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Adam sat up so fast his head smacked Todd’s chin. Todd rocked back and landed on
his ass. Since he hadn’t let go of Adam, he brought Adam with him, and in seconds Todd
was on the floor with his lover sprawled on top of him. Between Adam’s elbows and hands,
Todd thought he might end up with some fractured ribs, but Adam wasn’t about to let
anyone else help him up.
“Get back,” he snapped, and Todd saw a very naked Gabe shrink back. Todd felt bad
and started to speak but Adam cut him off. “Oh, get that look off your face. You’re naked
and your junk is flopping, and I don’t want my eye put out with that…fucking baseball bat.”
Todd had to admit Gabe was rather…large. He helped Adam up while Gabe darted off,
one hand kind of cupping his cock and the other splayed over his ass.
“He really needs both hands for his dick,” Aidan said.
“Mika is big—er,” Zane blushed furiously and started shaking his head. “Sorry! Uh, I’ll
just… I’ll just go…hide—”
“I don’t think so,” Aidan growled, but he didn’t really sound mad. Not at Zane at least.
“We have to sit down, all of us, and hash this out.” Aidan turned his commanding gaze on
Todd and Adam. “I am going to have to trust that Gabe’s faith in you two wasn’t misplaced.”
As hurt as Todd was, and as freaked out, he could kind of understand. Well, not really.
He’d never, ever do anything to put his friends at risk, so yeah. But was it fair of him to be a
jerk in return without hearing Gabe’s side of it? No.
Todd looked over to find Adam studying him, patience and love shining in his brown
eyes. It eased the ache in his heart and settled the freak-out he was barely containing, seeing
that look. Todd knew Adam was waiting for him, willing to go with whatever Todd decided.
Then Adam smiled, just a hint of a smile, really, and Todd held out his hand to him.
Gabe came back into the room, covered up almost completely despite the warm weather. He
was wearing socks, jeans, and a long-sleeved shirt, as if trying to keep as much of himself
hidden away—probably for his sake, Todd realised. And he saw in Gabe’s eyes a look similar
to Adam’s, on a different level, though. This one silently promised friendship and
acceptance, and the sorrow tingeing Gabe’s expression was almost tangible.
Todd stood up and felt even better when Adam nestled up to his side. He nodded at
Gabe, even though he was speaking to Aidan, he supposed. “Gabe’s trust wasn’t misplaced
at all.” Then he couldn’t hold back a snort. “He just scared the hell out of me.”
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“No shit,” Adam seconded. “Jerk.”
Gabe blinked rapidly but tears slipped from the corners of his eyes. He sobbed and
threw himself towards Todd.
“Umph!” Todd’s ribs were definitely going to hurt. He managed to catch Gabe and
keep them upright for the enthusiastic hug.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you, so sorry,” Gabe muttered around sobs. “I didn’t know
how, and it’s just so much to deal with. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you.” Gabe lifted his head
and reached for Adam with one arm. “Or you, because I know Todd is your world, like Mika
is mine. But maybe…” Gabe sniffled and rubbed his nose on his sleeve.
Adam grimaced and patted his hand. “I don’t want that on me.” He gestured with his
chin to the slimy patch of material. “Nothing personal.”
Gabe’s crying turned to laughter in a heartbeat. Mika came over and hooked an arm
around his shoulders. “Come here, babe. Let’s go sit either in the living room or at the table.
We have a lot to discuss.”
“The living room,” Gabe croaked. “That’s where all our important talks take place.”
Then he beamed at Todd. “Oh my God! There’s so many things I can tell you now. Well, I
mean, I could have told you before but I was—can we just skip that whole part?”
Todd knew two things—Gabe had always been there for him, even when Todd had
tried to hide, and Gabe was one of the kindest, most decent people he knew despite the
man’s snark. And he therefore knew Gabe hadn’t ever deliberately meant to hurt him.
“Yeah,” Todd said, smiling bigger than he had all night. “We can do that.”
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Chapter Twenty-Nine
Adam half expected to find out he’d eaten some bad—or very good, depending on the
outcome of the night—mushrooms. Seriously, there were werewolves in the world! Shifters,
rather, since the term werewolves made the…shifters…snarl. Who would have ever thought
supernatural beings would be so damned sensitive? Adam shook his head and tried to
concentrate on the conversation.
The thing was, it was all over the place. Gabe wanted to talk about everything that had
happened since he’d met Mika, apparently. Adam didn’t want to be rude, but, for one thing,
he really, really wanted to get Todd alone to discuss all this weirdness.
And, secondly, he’d been waiting for someone to fill him in about what all this had to
do with Jameson. Were they saying Jameson was like them now—like Gabe and Mika and
the others? Adam frowned. Would Jameson not have felt he could trust Adam with
something like that? The idea hurt like a bitch, considering Gabe was confiding in Todd and
him. Surely Jameson would have known Adam would never betray him?
“Gabe,” Aidan interrupted, his tone carrying a commanding note that snapped Adam
right out of his chaotic thoughts. “I think maybe y’all should catch up on the past few years
later. It’ll take more than one night, and Adam is putting off enough anxiety to make my hair
stand on end.”
Gabe didn’t argue, surprisingly, or maybe not. He wasn’t a bad guy at all, just
enthusiastic. “Yeah, you’re right.” Gabe turned an apologetic look to Adam. “I’m sorry. I’m
being a selfish ass.”
“It’s—” Adam stopped, not ready to lie and say it was fine, because he needed time to
process every damn thing before he knew what was fine and what wasn’t. He cocked his
head at Aidan. “So your brother is some big deal with shifters in the US, and he heard
rumours about, or possibly about, Jameson?”
Aidan leant back and tapped his fingers on his thick thighs. “The North American
continent. And, yeah, Marcus is definitely a big deal, not that he’d tell you so. But you’d
know it the second he stepped in the room.”
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“Cuz Nathan would shout it out,” Gabe muttered. Mika snickered and Zane coughed.
Aidan’s lips twitched but he didn’t show any other signs of amusement.
“Nathan is Marcus’ mate, and, yes, he probably would. But Jameson isn’t a common
name, and something rang a bell when Gabe was talking about the timing of his
disappearance, the move to Europe… Well. Marcus is only the Alpha Anax of the North
American continent, like I said. The European leadership has been in a state of chaos for
years. There were rumours the Alpha Anax there had returned with a mate from the US, only
to have been ambushed before he ever made it to his pack lands.”
Adam pressed a hand to his stomach, pushing at the cold knot of fear balled up there.
Todd slipped his arms around Adam, holding him as much as he could on the couch. “And
you think it was Jameson…”
Aidan nodded, his expression blank. “We do. Todd forwarded a picture to Gabe, who
sent it to me, and—he fits the description.” Then Aidan sat up, and Adam saw that he had
been trying to conceal a spark of hope, as if he’d been afraid to give Adam hope in return.
But it was there, in the eagerness of his movements and the lightening of his features. “The
thing is, no one found bodies, ever. There was blood and—” Aidan shook his head. “No one
can go by that. Shifters are hard to kill, and, if the traitors trying to take over had killed the
Alpha Anax, they’d have been waving his head all over the place. But they couldn’t prove he
was dead, and his supporters fought back and it’s just been a constant state of war ever
since.”
Adam’s mind was spinning so rapidly he couldn’t think. Aidan opened his mouth up
and Adam flapped a hand at him. “No. Just tell me, what did you mean there’s rumours of
them being spotted?”
“Just that.” Aidan shrugged. “It could be wishful thinking, or it could be truth. We
don’t know. Much like most nations, us shifters rule our own packs. We don’t interfere with
what happens in other countries. Although maybe we should. There’s likely a lot we could
learn from each other and—”
“Can we go home?” Adam asked Todd. He couldn’t handle any more of this tonight.
He felt even more raw and aching over his friend than he had before he’d learned any of this
stuff. They could be wrong. It might not be Jameson at all. Except the picture fits—but that’s
according to someone I don’t know, someone who doesn’t know Jameson.
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Then why are they risking themselves to tell you this? God damn it, Adam hated it when his
brain tossed logic at him.
Todd must have said yes, because the next thing Adam knew, Todd was guiding him to
the front door. The timid way Gabe approached him for a hug made Adam feel like puréed
shit. His eyes burned with unshed tears and his emotions were all over the place, but he
couldn’t stand to see Gabe be so much less than his usual effusive self.
“We’re good,” Adam said gruffly, opening his arms to his friend. Gabe’s sniffle as he
flung himself at Adam wrenched his heart. Then the wrench turned into a sturdy bolt of
pain. If Gabe was this torn up from holding back his secret, this laden with guilt and grief,
what must Jameson be going through if he was indeed the man Aidan was speaking of?
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Chapter Thirty
Todd was worried, not surprising considering everything that had been revealed last
night. Adam was withdrawn, although he didn’t seem to be angry—not with him, anyways.
Todd was sure there was some anger, and a lot of hurt feelings and worry that Adam was
trying to deal with. God knew Todd was still having issues, but, the reality was, Gabe meant
too much to him to just toss aside. It’d have taken a bigger secret than him not being
completely…or only?…human for Todd to cut off ties with him.
In fact, Todd couldn’t think of anything that would dissolve their friendship, short of
Gabe somehow hurting Adam, intentionally, cruelly. But Gabe would never do anything like
that, and Todd knew it. So, he would deal with his hurt feelings and, yes, his dented pride.
He could get over himself, as the saying went.
Adam, however, was facing a different set of problems, different pains. Todd wanted
nothing more than to hold him and protect him, but last night they’d both been so
emotionally exhausted they’d barely spoken of the events at Gabe’s. And, this morning,
Todd’s plans to talk at least for a little while got shot to hell thanks to one of his deputies
calling in sick. He still might have been able to work around that, but there’d been an
emergency for Adam at the clinic, with Miss Jemma having swallowed another penny. The
poor Maltese had a copper allergy, and Todd knew from Adam’s grim expression, as he’d
run out of the door, it was not a good prognosis for the dog. Sadly, he’d been right. Adam
had texted him an hour ago to let him know Miss Jemma had passed away. Todd had been
directing traffic after a roll-over at the one main light in town. Luckily no one had been
seriously hurt, but there’d been plenty of screaming and accusations being flung around
there at first. It’d been a real mess and he’d only now got the chance to check his messages.
“Manny, I’m going to lunch,” he told Deputy Martinez. The young man had proved to
be Todd’s best employee. “I’ll be at the clinic if you need me.”
Manny nodded and put a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun. “I got it
covered, Sheriff. You go enjoy your break.”
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Todd grunted his thanks and walked up the street. The clinic was less than five minutes
away on foot, and anyway his vehicle was blocked in at the ice house parking lot. He’d get it
later.
He wasn’t in the best frame of mind, and he was feeling an almost desperate nagging
sensation to get to Adam. Todd sped up as much as he could without outright jogging—no
need to give everyone in town something more to gossip about.
The sidewalk had a smattering of people on it today, unsurprising considering it was
lunchtime. Todd waved at one of his acquaintances then gasped as he stubbed the toe of his
boot on the sidewalk. The concrete was uneven and cracked badly in spots, and he usually
paid more attention to where he walked but he’d been distracted.
Todd flailed his arms and kept from toppling on his ass. He looked down and checked
the next few steps—and caught a passer-by with his elbow.
“Excuse me, I’m sorry, I didn’t—” Todd’s words dried up just like every bit of spit in
his mouth as he looked at the person he’d walked into. He felt a bolt of terror, remembered
fear and phantom pain, physical and emotional, as he looked into his mother’s piercing eyes.
“You should be sorry,” she spat out, “letting your father rot in prison all for trying to
save your soul!”
Not piercing eyes, he realised, but hateful, and soulless, and as close to evil as existed.
He wouldn’t engage in a battle of words with her, because he knew well that logic and
reason couldn’t be applied to a fanatic. Which was why he was shocked probably more than
she when he said, “You should be rotting right there with him, Mother.”
It was shock, he thought, that propelled him past her, on down the sidewalk. Shock that
kept her from yelling, or maybe he just didn’t hear her. All he knew was it felt like something
had snapped in him, some final thread of his past that he’d held on to. It was an audible
sound in his head, and a releasing of a band of tension around his chest. And Todd finally,
completely, let it go. What his parents had done, what others had allowed to happen rather
than interfering, it was all in the past completely and he’d not let it control him anymore.
Granted, he’d cut off ties with his parents, and vice versa, after he’d nearly died at his
father’s hands, but letting go of everything they’d done to him… He just hoped he’d truly
managed it now and he wasn’t suffering from a temporary euphoria caused by snarking at
his mother.
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The clinic parking lot was deserted. Todd saw Adam’s car parked at the side. He
plucked his cell phone from his pocket. He hadn’t texted Adam back about Miss Jemma,
because it had seemed such a cold way to offer condolences. But should he make sure Adam
wasn’t busy?
Todd rolled his eyes at himself. What was with him, anyways? His lover was hurting,
and no doubt completely mind-fucked what with all they’d learned about Jameson. Or
possible Jameson… Todd still had some doubts, but—
The electronic doorbell blared and Adam peeked out from the hallway. He looked so
tired it made Todd ache to his core. “Lock it, will you? There’s no appointments this
afternoon. I think I’m going to go home and just have the calls forwarded to my cell.”
Todd snapped the lock on the door without looking away from Adam. Adam’s eyes
had a sheen to them the instant before he swiped at them. “What a fucking shit day.”
Opening his arms, Todd crossed the waiting area. “Come here, baby.” Then he had his
arms full of warm, shaking, sobbing man. Each sound wrenched at Todd and twisted him in
knots as he stroked his hands down Adam’s back. “It’s going to be okay. I’m sorry about
Miss Jemma, I know you loved her. And the rest, with Jameson, we can find him, okay? If
Gabe and his friends are right, and it was him, we can…” Todd’s mind skipped and stuttered
as Adam tipped his head back and looked at him with red-rimmed eyes. “We can go t-to
Amsterdam.” Oh shit, what was he saying? Just the idea of getting on a plane made Todd’s
heart flutter and he… He was fricking scared of flying, he thought.
But Adam’s face lit up and a tremulous smile curved his lips, and Todd’s fear of flying
could go screw itself. He’d deal with it. “Really? You mean it? Because Jameson doesn’t have
anyone else, and the idea that he could be hurt or d-dead…” Adam gulped and rubbed his
face on Todd’s shirtsleeve. “I can’t stand the thought of him being forgotten and just…just
left, you know.”
“I know,” Todd murmured. And he did. “I would do the same for Gabe.”
Adam nodded. “When can we go?” He frowned. “How long will it take to get
passports?”
Todd groaned, wondering if it was still a nightmarishly long wait. “We need to find all
that stuff out, if we need shots and when we can get off and just, I don’t know what all else.
I’ve never even been out of Texas.”
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Adam gave him a half-grin. “Well, once you decide to leave it, you sure do it big, don’t
you?”
Todd couldn’t help himself, not when Adam’s expression was melting him from the
inside out. He framed Adam’s face with his hands and kissed those smiling lips.
Adam moaned and grabbed at Todd’s shoulders, and, the next thing Todd knew, Adam
was on him, literally winding his legs around Todd’s waist and locking his arms behind
Todd’s neck.
Adam’s need rolled off him, warming the scant air between them. Todd growled, a low
rumble bubbling up from his stomach as he spun and pinned Adam to the door. He didn’t
think to check for anyone approaching as he crushed his mouth to Adam’s.
Todd curled his fingers into the seam of Adam’s pants, wedging his fingers in his
crevice. He squeezed and kneaded the firm globes of Adam’s ass while plundering his
mouth. Todd didn’t let any of that moist, warm cavern go unclaimed, owning every bit he
could suck, lick or nip.
And Adam made the most stimulating sounds, whimpers and gasps that Todd
swallowed and made his own. He hefted Adam up higher so he could hold that fine ass
better, then Adam threw his head back and writhed against him.
“Please,” Adam whined, pulling the short hair at Todd’s nape. “I need you.”
The fact that he was dry-humping Adam against the door penetrated Todd’s lust-
fevered brain and he cursed soundly as he pushed Adam’s legs, encouraging him to stand.
“Where?” he croaked out, want making every bit of his body tight and hard.
Adam grabbed his hand and all but ran into the hallway. He turned into an exam room
and grabbed a small package. “Catch.”
Todd caught it and glared down at it. “What—”
“Lube,” Adam huffed out, his voice muffled for a split second. “And don’t ask, it’s
for—”
“Stop before you kill the mood,” Todd said, firmly tossing that last bit of info from his
mind. There were things he didn’t need to know. Ever. Adam smirked and finished pulling
his shirt off.
The sight of his fit bronze chest, his nipples dark and hard, sent a surge of desire
swamping Todd’s brain. He ripped the lube open then set it on the exam table as he
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unfastened his utility belt and pants. He considered just pulling his cock out, but there was
the distinct feeling of this being a bit wilder than that. Todd toed off his boots then removed
his pants and briefs. He slicked his length with half the lube.
Adam kicked off his shoes and shoved down his trousers and briefs. “Damn it!” He
hopped and got one foot free then turned and bent over the table. His brown eyes seared
Todd’s green ones as Adam looked over his shoulder. “Fuck me.”
Todd trailed his gaze down the broad expanse of Adam’s back, the sculpted muscles
and deep line of his spine, the paler, firm swells of his ass, and the dark, soft fuzz lining his
crease.
“Now, damn it!” Adam arched and spread at the same time, giving Todd a view of his
pucker.
“In a minute,” Todd growled, because, oh yes, he knew Adam’s dick got slick every
time he used that tone. Sure enough, Adam whimpered and dropped his head down on top
of his folded hands. “That’s good. Just have some patience, honey. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Adam pushed up on one arm. “But—”
“No.” Todd put a hand between Adam’s shoulder blades and pushed gently. Adam
didn’t protest, instead lowering himself down with a soft sound that Todd thought seemed
full of relief. “I know that you’re hurting, and I’m sorry, Adam. But asking me to hurt you,
for me to give you enough physical pain to distract you from the other, I can’t do that.”
Adam’s breath hitched into something close to a sob. Todd leaned over him and
nuzzled beneath his ear. “But loving you, making you feel so good the pain ebbs for a while,
that I can do.” He let some of his weight press down on Adam, let Adam feel him there,
around him, holding him in place. Hopefully, keeping Adam safe.
Todd licked a path down Adam’s neck then back up to right beneath his ear. He pushed
Adam’s dark hair back and sucked there, marking him with a love-bruise that would stay for
a week if not longer. All the while, Adam squirmed and undulated beneath him, rocking his
ass up to Todd’s groin. Todd had to scoot his hips back a bit to keep Adam from spearing
himself on Todd’s dick. He reached beneath Adam and pinched his nipples hard enough to
give Adam some of the bite he wanted, but not hard enough to damage him.
Adam bucked and slapped at the table, grabbing the edges. He begged with his body,
and Todd slid down, tonguing the deep groove of his spine until his knees were on the floor.
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He smoothed his hands over Adam’s sides and parted his cheeks. Todd eyed the clenching
pucker as Adam rubbed against the table.
“Todd, please, please. Fucking hell, do something to me!”
Adam didn’t have to ask again. Todd held Adam’s cheeks open with his thumbs,
holding onto his ass. He licked over Adam’s asshole with a firm swipe of tongue, and Adam
bellowed as if he’d been shocked. His entire body shook, and Todd, surging from the
knowledge of the effect he had on his lover, dived in and rimmed Adam thoroughly,
learning which licks and sucks drew out the most pants, the loudest curses, the most ardent
demands for more.
Todd didn’t hold back, eating Adam’s ass until Adam was incoherent with need, his
breaths loud rasps punctuated with wordless sounds. Adam’s hole was wet, slick and
gaping, as ready to be fucked as Todd was to do it. He surged up, one hand holding his cock,
the other tracking up to Adam’s shoulder.
“Now,” Todd said, his voice raw and stripped, need damn near strangling him. He
covered Adam and got his cock lined up. He moved that hand to Adam’s hip. “Mine,” he
snarled, knowing Adam needed to hear it, to feel it, and he thrust, spearing Adam open and
driving in balls-deep.
“Agh!” Adam shouted, shoving back as hard as Todd drove forwards. The slap of their
bodies coming together was almost as loud Adam’s shout. Todd couldn’t make a sound, he
couldn’t even breathe, not when a rapturous sensation was already beginning in his balls.
He held Adam by the shoulder and the hip and withdrew to the tip, then slammed back
in. And didn’t stop, not even when Adam reached beneath himself to jerk off. Todd kept
powering in and out, deeper and harder, circling his hips when he could pause long enough
to do so, his body and Adam’s battering each other as they thrust and pumped, Adam’s ass
to his groin as their need ratcheted up even higher.
“Todd!”
How Adam had said even that, Todd hadn’t a clue. His tongue was thick, his mouth
dry, his body and brain focused on one thing—the abundance of pleasure flooding him,
flooding his lover, pulling the sweet sounds of ecstasy from him.
Todd hitched up his leg, getting his knee onto the table beside Adam, and thrust in
smaller, more forceful movements. Adam made a choked noise and his ass fluttered around
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Todd’s cock. Todd arched more, knowing he’d found Adam’s gland, and he went after that
pleasure spot until Adam jerked, his inner muscles constricting so tight Todd’s eyes watered.
Heat and ice tore through him and he cursed as he buried his face in Adam’s hair.
Todd’s head pounded even as his cock pulsed and he came so hard his balls ached from
it. His climax felt endless as Adam continued clenching around him and quivering beneath
him. Those movements pulled each jet of cum from Todd, milking him until his knees gave
out. He collapsed on top of Adam, leg still hitched up, his softening cock still in Adam’s
warm sheath.
Gradually he became aware of a cramp in his leg. Adam had to be uncomfortable, too.
Todd propped himself on his elbows and kissed the back of Adam’s sweaty neck, savouring
the salty tang of his well-loved man. “You all right?” Had he been too rough after all?
Adam groaned and managed to open one eye just enough that Todd could see the
white. “M’good. You’re good. Fuckin’ great. Magnish—magnifishent, even.”
“Well then,” Todd said, his cheeks hot for more than one reason. He’d fucked his
sweetheart into the whole slurred-speech state. Not too bad, he thought. Not too bad at all.
Adam sighed and reached back to hold Todd’s hip. “Stay. Do you… Do you have to go
back?”
Adam never asked him to take time off, and, really, never asked him for anything, it
seemed to Todd. So he knew just how much Adam must need him to do so now. As long as
it was calm in Shasta—which, considering the roll-over, it should be. Not much happened in
Shasta.
“Just let me tell Manny he’s in charge for the rest of the day.” They were a person short,
yeah, but Todd could come back if he needed to. And Manny could also call in one of the
reserves. Todd hadn’t done so this morning since Adam had gone in early, but now… Now
he was going to spend the rest of the day and night taking care of his man.
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Chapter Thirty-One
“Geez fuck,” Adam muttered as he glared at the laptop screen. “Four to six weeks
unless we pay for expedited service. That’s… What the hell, you know? Someone can blow
up the planet with the push of a few buttons—and that’s a scary fucking thought. Who has
access to our nukes anyway?”
Todd scooted his chair closer and draped an arm over Adam’s shoulder. Adam could
see him frowning in his reflection on the computer screen. “How much for the expedited
service?”
Adam scrolled down. “Let’s see, it’s a hundred and forty plus twenty-five, sixty for the
expedited, and…and twelve seventy-two for overnight shipping, and that’s two to three
weeks versus four to six weeks. Huh.” Adam scratched the back of his head, mainly just
because he liked feeling Todd’s arm back there on his shoulders. “This is confusing, and
stupid. Why pay more if it might come at four weeks, if, say, you pay the extra, which we’d
double, of course, since we would both need it, and it ended up coming at the long end of the
spectrum, like the end of the third week.”
Todd didn’t answer so Adam turned to look at him—only to find Todd gaping at him.
“What? Do I have something?” Adam’s face flushed hot as he rubbed at his nose.
Todd snapped his mouth shut and shook his head before finally chuckling. “Sorry, no,
it’s just sometimes it takes my brain a while to catch up to yours. What you meant was, if we
pay for the regular processing, and it takes four to six weeks, and we get our passports in
four weeks, then it’s dumb to pay more for them if they’re promised in two to three weeks
and we end up getting them around the end of the third week, right? ‘Cos we really didn’t
save much time.”
“Right,” Adam said, grinning at Todd. He knew his lover would catch on.
Todd frowned at him and Adam’s grin kind of melted away. “Adam, honey, why are
you fussing about it? I’ll pay for the expedited everything, and if it comes around the same
time as the other, oh well. No worries, okay? But why are you picking at it?”
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Adam bit his lip against an outright denial. He had to look away from Todd to think,
though, because Todd was just too damn cute to ignore. “I guess I’m just scared, and I
fucking hate being scared. It sucks.” Understatement of the year. Being scared tended to make
Adam bitchy at the best of times. Luckily Todd seemed to sap the bitch right out of Adam.
“It’s gonna be okay.” Todd sounded sure of it, but Adam wondered.
“You aren’t scared about walking into some kind of werewolf turf war?” he asked as he
turned his head enough to look at Todd. “Because I am. I want stun guns and tear gas and
cattle prods and…and whatever else will scare those fuckers off if they aren’t on our side.”
Todd sighed then laughed for a solid minute, jostling Adam and chasing away a big
chunk of his moodiness. By the time Todd had stopped Adam was even grinning again.
Todd just fucking made him happy. “I’m glad you find my fear so amusing,” he teased.
Todd kissed him, a wet, sloppy, hot kiss that had Adam’s dick hard and singing
hallelujah in seconds. “I would tear apart anyone or thing that tried to hurt you. Don’t think
we’ll be going unprepared.”
It touched Adam, it really did, as nothing ever had, but he didn’t think the outcome of
Todd versus hairy freaky wolves would work in Todd’s and his favour. “How are we not
going in unprepared? Last I looked, we couldn’t bring weapons with us and, man…” Adam
scratched his head again as a ripple of unease flittered through him. “I just keep thinking the
bad guys will know we’re coming, which is fucking stupid because what could we do to
them? If we were a threat, they’d have already shown up at our doorstep.”
And it’d figure someone would choose then to bang on the door. Adam screeched like a
sissy, he couldn’t deny it in any way, shape or form, and Todd jumped and slid halfway out
of his seat…taking Adam with him.
“Jesus,” Todd panted. “Jesus on a pogo stick, that’s just…c-creepy!”
“No fucking shit,” Adam bit out, glaring at the door. He was really angry now, at
whoever had just scared the hell out of him. “I’ll get it. Where’s your gun?”
“What? No!” Todd and he played hand slap and push, each trying to keep the other
from getting up and getting to the door. Finally another round of banging set them both to
silence.
“I’ll get the baseball bat, but no gun,” Todd whispered.
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Adam didn’t like that idea at all. “What are we gonna do, knock a ball out of the yard
and yell fetch if there’s a wolfman at our door?”
Todd snorted and got up, keeping a tight grip on Adam. “Maybe.”
The third round of banging was louder, but a familiar voice accompanied it. “Todd,
Adam, are y’all okay in there?”
Adam growled and lunged around Todd. He hated being frightened! But Todd was
quicker, and Adam found himself grabbed and spun, pinned to the wall beside the door and
in short order kissed until he couldn’t think. He wasn’t even aware of Todd unlocking the
door—and how the man could do that while kissing Adam utterly senseless was a mystery
Adam intended to delve into later—until Gabe and Mika started giving a critique.
“A little more tongue, I’d say.” Gabe leaned in, actually leaned in and hummed. “What
do you think, Mika?”
Mika raked Adam with a hot gaze. “Man looks happy enough to me.”
Todd rumbled, Adam could feel it in Todd’s chest pressed to his. But Todd didn’t let up
on the kiss, and Adam blocked out his annoying friends and closed his eyes. He let Todd kiss
away the last of his anger, and most of his frustration and fear. When Adam sighed and
sagged against Todd, Todd murmured his approval and layered soft kisses on Adam’s face.
Adam decided getting the shit scared out of him might be worth it if this was how Todd
gentled him down.
“Wow, they look so sweet,” Gabe murmured. “My Todd has become a stud for sure.”
Adam opened his eyes then and flipped Gabe off, much to Gabe’s delight. Todd
nuzzled Adam’s neck and Adam had to point out, “He’s always been a stud, just no one else
was smart enough to see it. I mean, look at this.” Adam grabbed a handful of firm, rounded
ass.
“Adam,” Todd whispered, and Adam let go.
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to embarrass you.” Adam wished his tongue and his brain could
get together to set some rules on etiquette and all that stuff. “But you are gorgeous, you
know. I can’t believe someone didn’t snap you up before I got the chance.”
Todd shook his head and laid another kiss on Adam before stepping back. He was
blushing furiously, probably because he had a boner no one could miss, when he turned to
his friends. “So what brings y’all over?” Todd asked with only a slight stutter.
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Gabe and Mika looked—how could they not? And Adam preened, because Todd was
all his.
“We, uh, we…we—” Gabe jumped and yelped. “Hey, what the fuck?” He glared at
Mika and promptly elbowed him in the ribs. “That was totally uncalled for!”
Mika glared back but his amusement shone clearly in the way his lips curled up just the
tiniest bit. “You were ogling another guy.”
“So were you,” Gabe pointed out. “I should elbow you again, as a matter of fact. Todd’s
been my best bud for years, so I can ogle him objectively.”
Mika opened his mouth only to shut it when Gabe pointed at him. “Do you really want
to argue about it?”
Mika arched a brow. “Maybe. Later, when we’re home and you’re naked and begging
me to fuck you.”
“Oh my God,” Todd rasped. “Shut up, please! I don’t want to know!”
Gabe blinked as if he’d forgotten there was anyone else there besides him and Mika.
“Sorry? Didn’t mean to have my mate spill that little bit of fun.”
“Just stop,” Adam said when Todd could only squeak. He didn’t mind listening, so
maybe he was kind of a voyeur or whatever, but Todd obviously wanted to crawl into a hole
and hide. And that thought sent Adam’s mind spiralling down into the gutter until Todd
grabbed his hand.
Adam shook himself and wound his fingers between Todd’s. He looked at Mika, who
was usually the calmer, quieter one of the two. Although obviously not this time. Adam
turned back to Gabe. “So y’all are here giving my lover a stroke because…why?”
“Oh!” Gabe clapped his hands then bounced on his toes. “Because we have great news!
Mika and I, along with Aidan and Zane, are going to go with y’all to look for Jameson! And
we get to fly on a private jet, how cool is that?”
Adam thought he just might have a stroke, too.
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Chapter Thirty-Two
Todd and Adam decided to hit up Fort Worth even though it’d likely be a disaster
taking care of getting their passports. Plus, Todd just didn’t want everyone in town to know
where he and Adam were flying off to. For that matter, he hoped they’d buy Gabe’s
proposed explanation that he and Adam were off on a hiking vacation. The questions they’d
get asked if people found out they were going to Europe, aw, man, Todd didn’t even want to
think about stuttering through the explanations.
There’d be the troublemakers, too, who’d spread rumours about how much such a trip
would cost and where did Todd and Adam get that kind of money and, yeah, he didn’t want
to deal with it. He couldn’t even imagine the fuss if people found out they were flying out on
a private jet. That belonged to the head honcho werewolf—er, shape-shifter—of North
America. Holy mother, visions of villagers with torches and pitchforks, and really big guns,
were not a totally impossible reality.
Texans and their guns. Sometimes it was just a bit unnerving knowing there were so
many people in the state with deadly weapons, licensed to carry concealed.
Todd pointed just such creepy thinking out to Adam as they walked down the
sidewalk. He was glad they were in shorts, it was frigging hot. The sun was brutal, and it
was early hours yet.
“Can’t you tell who has a weapon tucked beneath their shirt or in their pants?” Adam
shook his finger at Todd. “And don’t even crack a joke about guns and pants and penises.”
Todd’s brain hadn’t leapt that far ahead. A bead of sweat ran behind his sunglasses and
dripped into his eye. “Ouch! Crap. Hang on.” Todd nudged Adam to a shady spot and out of
the middle of the sidewalk.
“What happened?” Adam was already patting at him.
Todd, aware of just where they were, gently pushed Adam’s hands aside and shook his
head. “Just sweat in my eye.” He finally got to take the sunglasses off and rub.
“Todd, don’t rub your eye. You can scratch your cornea.”
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Some people might have got annoyed at Adam’s mama-ing, but not Todd. He took one
last swipe at his eye before Adam could stop him and smiled at his man. It always made him
feel good to know Adam thought he was worth nagging. “It’s just sweat.”
Adam scowled. “And your big…” his scowl melted as he eyed Todd’s hand, “sexy,
manly hand.”
“Stop it,” Todd whispered. It was both wonderful and wrong how his dick got half
hard just from Adam talking about his hand. Of course, the rough timbre to Adam’s voice
reminded Todd of how he sounded when—Oh hell. He wasn’t going to make his hard-on
any less obvious by going down that route.
“You probably need to walk in front of me for a while,” he suggested.
Adam shoved his own sunglasses back into place. “I love how easily you respond. And
now I just want to get you home.”
Sounded good to Todd, but they didn’t get to the big city often and he didn’t want to
deprive Adam of the trip. “Why don’t we do some sightseeing, maybe go to a gallery if you
want?”
Adam snorted so loud people turned to look at him. “What?” he asked them.
Obviously he wasn’t worried about concealed weapons.
“Do you really want to go to a gallery, Todd?”
How was he supposed to answer that? He knew Adam liked artsy stuff. “If you do.”
Wow. He touched Adam’s shoulder, just a brief connection then ran his knuckles down
Adam’s arm before shoving his hand in his back pocket. Otherwise he’d keep stroking
Adam. “I just want to spend the day with you, watching you have fun. However it happens,
I don’t care, as long as we’re together.”
Adam’s smile could have lit up the city. “Right answer, stud. Home it is.”
Butterflies in his belly. Todd should have been used to them after more than two years
with Adam, but no, and he hoped he never did get to where the sensation was nothing to be
amazed about.
“Are you sure?” He had to ask.
“Do you want me to change my mind?” Adam batted back. “Nah, you know I’m
teasing. Why would I want to go look at somebody else’s idea of art when I have my very
own masterpiece I can touch, and lick, and fuck?”
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“You need to walk in front of me,” Todd got out. Geez, he should have worn a button-
up shirt over his tank top. There was nothing but Adam to hide his boner now.
“I don’t mind giving you a show.” Which Adam did by doing nothing more than
walking as he usually did. But the way the khaki cargo shorts cupped his ass, the material
caressing the flexing globes with each step he took, God, he was something to see. Add in the
trimly sculpted back, the muscular calves, and Todd’s dick didn’t stand a chance of going
soft.
They got back to the truck and Todd fished his keys out of his pocket. The paid parking
lot was full and he wondered if there was something going on in town to make everyone
willing to come out in the heat. He was soaked through and so was Adam, and there was
little Todd loved more than getting his hands on his sweaty man.
“Soon,” Adam muttered, proving he knew Todd very well indeed.
It was a good hour and a half drive home, though. “Not soon enough.” Todd took his
cell phone out. He hit the lock button on the fob and hissed when he opened the door. “And I
was grumbling about it being hot out here. You’d think I’d get used to it.”
“I don’t think it’s possible to get used to this kind of heat,” Adam said from where he
stood at the passenger’s side. “I mean, it’d be like getting used to the heat in hell, and what
would be the whole point of being sent there as punishment?”
Todd leaned in and started the truck, glad he’d left the air on full blast. “You calling
Texas hell?” He gave Adam a mock-glare that had Adam laughing and shaking his head.
“Aw, now, it ain’t so bad here.” Except sometimes it was, especially when some politician
did something stupid and made everyone in the state look bad.
“You know what I mean, and I don’t believe in hell anyway,” Adam said as he got in,
gingerly sitting on the hot seat. “Ow, damn, that’s uncomfortable. Turn the AC on the seats.”
“Oh, yeah.” Todd flipped the switch. He’d forgotten about heated and cooled seats. It
was a luxury he’d never thought to have. Well, had never thought about period, until the
sales man at the Chevy store had started talking it up.
Todd got in and had the pleasure of hundreds of tiny bursts of chilled air blowing on
his heated skin. “Ah, that feels soooo good.”
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“It does.” They shut the doors and Adam patted his leg after buckling up. “Only bad
thing is, now we’re going to have to get out and run around the yard or something to get all
sweaty and glistening.”
“Or we could just shower. It lacks the distinctive, manly odour—”
Adam snorted and covered his mouth.
“That sweat has, but it’s still got the wet and glistening part going on.” Todd grinned
when Adam laughed again. He wanted to hear that sound every day, as often as possible.
Sometimes with their jobs, they didn’t or couldn’t laugh, especially Adam. He took the loss
of his patients very hard.
Adam tapped Todd’s phone where he’d laid it on the centre console. “You’ve got a
missed call.”
Todd was pulling into traffic, one of the lovely wonders of Fort Worth. It had just
sprung up out of nowhere. “Can you check it for me?”
Adam picked the phone up and looked at the call. “It was Manny.”
“Okay, go ahead. You can put it on speaker if you want.” When Adam didn’t
immediately answer, Todd risked a quick glance at him. “What?”
“Well, it’s just…” Adam sighed and Todd really wished he hadn’t pulled out of the
parking lot. “What if it’s bad news?”
“Manny’s called me before when I’m off.” Todd braked for the guy in front of him who
was apparently determined to run the car in front of him off the coming overpass. Then he
thought about what he and Adam had just said. “Okay, every time he’s called me when I’m
off it’s been ‘cos there’s a problem, but it’s never been something personal for us, right?”
“Yeah.” Adam punched a button. “I don’t know what’s up. You get a sudden case of
gun paranoia and I’m scared to listen to your voicemail.”
“It’s the heat. Baked our brains.” Todd signalled—instantly making him a wuss in
Texas traffic—and squeezed into the right-hand lane, intending to exit. The phone beeped
and the automated message rattled on, then came Manny’s voice, sounding kind of grave as
he asked Todd to call him.
“Okay, now I’m worried for real,” Adam muttered. Todd knew how he felt.
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“I’m gonna exit and pull over at the Valero. Can you go ahead and call Manny back?”
Todd gave himself a mental ass-kick. “Unless you really think it’s something bad and don’t
want to hear it from him.”
Adam was already dialling, Todd could hear the tone. “I do think it’s bad, but I’m not
the hiding kind. Manny, this is Adam. Todd is driving. I’m going to put you on speaker.”
“…Not sure if—”
“You’re on,” Todd said, and now it felt like all those butterflies had turned to lumps of
ice in his stomach. Shit.
“Ah, okay. Well, I don’t know if this is going to upset you or not, Sheriff, er, Todd…”
Manny’s tone had already set Todd on alert, but the use of his name was a definite
precursor to something upsetting. “Who’s hurt? Are Gabe and Mika all right? Or was one of
our men—”
“Your father,” Manny cut him off. “Sorry, I hate to tell you like this, but he passed away
a few hours ago. The guard found him dead in his cell. They think it was from natural causes
but—”
“Thank you for letting me know, Manny.” Todd blocked out the rest of the call,
Manny’s goodbye and Adam’s reply. He parked the truck at the Valero.
“Todd, I’m sorry. Can I hold you?”
Todd checked the area. It seemed safe enough, and his truck did have tinted windows.
“Yeah.”
Adam pushed the console up and settled right beside Todd, looping one arm over his
shoulder and the other around his middle. His stomach didn’t feel so awful now. In fact, all
of him felt almost normal, and that made him sadder than anything.
Adam was murmuring condolences, but Todd shushed him with a kiss. Then he tipped
his head back and closed his eyes. “I don’t feel bad that he died, Adam. I feel bad that he was
such a hateful man, but, other than that, there’s just nothing. Does it make me a horrible
person?”
Adam turned Todd’s face towards him and waited until Todd opened his eyes. “No.
Todd, I know we’re born to families, but blood isn’t what makes us family. You know how I
feel about the subject. Mr Benson may have been your genetic father, but he never loved you
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like a dad should. I don’t think he was capable of loving anyone, not even your mother. She
was just another devoted worshipper of his who fed his ego.”
This time it was Adam who initiated the kiss. It warmed Todd inside where he hadn’t
even realised he was chilled, and that in itself gave him a sense of relief. He wasn’t a totally
heartless bastard like his father. Todd knew he hadn’t been loved, but, in turn, he also hadn’t
hated his father or mother.
Oh hell, his mother. Todd couldn’t even begin to think of how she was handling this.
Even though she hated him, he’d offer to help her. “She’s just gonna slap me down.”
“Who?” Adam asked, his lips brushing over Todd’s.
“Mother.” Todd sighed and pulled Adam into an awkward hug. “I’m gonna have to see
if she’s okay.”
“Of course you do,” Adam said. “And I’m going to be right with you when you do it.
You’re not dealing with her, or this, alone.”
“I don’t know what to think, what I feel.” Todd shook his head, careful not to bump
Adam’s. “I’m kinda, I don’t even know what.”
“We’ll figure it out. You have me, and our friends. If you need to mourn, we’ll respect
that. If you don’t, not one person will condemn you. At least, not anyone who cares about
you.”
“Okay.” Todd would have to spend some time figuring out just what was what in his
head. Meanwhile, “Can you drive us home?”
“Anything you need,” Adam told him. “All you have to do is ask.”
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Chapter Thirty-Three
Adam shoved the newspaper in the trash, hoping Todd wouldn’t ask to read it before
going to work. It was probably a futile attempt to protect him from additional pain. Someone
would almost certainly come up and tell Todd he wasn’t mentioned at all in his father’s obit.
On the one hand, Adam didn’t consider the piece of shit Todd’s father, but he knew,
sweet man that his partner was, Todd had never stopped wishing for his parents’ love and
approval. He’d known realistically it’d never happen, but Todd wasn’t cynical enough to not
be affected by this, and Adam loved him for that innocence and kindness.
It was going to hurt Todd to know the obituary claimed Benson was childless. How
Adam was going to keep from going off on Mrs Benson if he saw her was beyond him. He
had neither the control nor the patience Todd had. As if the snub in the paper wasn’t hateful
enough, the old bitch had banned Todd from the memorial service.
Adam heard the shower shut off. He looked at the trash can. “Oh, God damn it!”
Luckily the paper hadn’t landed on anything gross. Sometimes it was fucking hard not to be
overprotective when you loved someone.
“Well, if he wouldn’t have noticed the paper before, he sure as hell will now. Moron.”
Adam glared at the newspaper as he tried to flatten it out. He hadn’t crumpled it that much,
had he? “Apparently I did.”
“You talking to yourself always makes me hot,” Todd said from the kitchen doorway.
“And if you’re trying to hide the obituary from me, don’t. Marla from the paper called and
told me about it yesterday.”
All that worry over Todd seeing it had been for nothing? Adam cocked his hip when he
faced Todd, a sure sign of his irritation. “And when were you going to tell me?”
“Well…” Todd dragged the word out as he sauntered up to Adam. The need in his eyes
scattered Adam’s thoughts and put the kibosh on his pique. “I’d planned to say something
when I got home last night, but you were waiting for me at the door.”
“Naked,” Adam managed to tack on. He’d been very naked, very horny, lubed up and
ready to go. “Okay, I see your point.”
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Todd pulled Adam to him, a hard, quick move that would have made Adam stumble
had he not been pressed to Todd. “We didn’t even eat dinner, and it was amazing,” Todd
said in a bare whisper.
Adam opened his mouth to agree and moaned as Todd slanted his mouth over his. Last
night had been amazing, with Todd making love to him first, then, once they were recovered,
Adam had explored every inch of his lover’s body until Todd had begged to be taken.
Like Adam would ever say no.
The kiss ended and Adam clung just a little, stroking Todd’s lean cheek. “Are you going
to be okay? I mean—”
“I know what you mean.” Todd gave him a chaste kiss and, damn it, Adam’s cock
leapt.
The simplest touches from Todd…
“And I’m all right as I can be, considering. I knew they hated me, so it isn’t a surprise. “
Todd sighed and stepped back. “I got to have some coffee, honey.”
“Yeah, me too.” Adam poured them each a cup and they drank it as they chatted. “See
you at lunch.” Adam tossed Todd an energy bar. They really needed to quit skipping meals
but considering they mostly did so after intense lovemaking—or talking in the morning and
forgetting about breakfast—at least neither of them should have to worry about gaining any
weight. They’d just collapse from malnutrition.
Jade and Verna were more solicitous than usual. Adam thanked whatever deities
existed for his vet techs. They’d stuck by him and Todd through thick and thin, and when
Todd had been recovering, really, if it hadn’t been for Jade and Verna, Adam probably
would have lost the clinic.
“Is Todd coming for lunch?” Verna asked.
Adam was looking through a vet supply magazine, trying to figure out if he really
needed the new autoclave in there. Nothing was wrong with his, it just wasn’t new and shiny
and holy shit, almost five grand! Adam slapped the magazine shut and turned to find Verna
and Jade both holding containers. “What’s that?”
Verna squirmed but Jade stepped up and put the rectangular dish—Adam could see it
was food through the clear plastic lid—on his desk.
“Usually when there’s a death in the family, people bring food,” Jade explained. “And I
know Todd isn’t going to the memorial—”
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“He can’t,” Adam said, just in case Jade and Verna weren’t aware of how tender-
hearted his man was. Todd would have gone.
“I know. Mrs Benson always was a vindictive bitch, and there’s not one good thing I
can say about Mr Benson, but Todd is a sweetie. He deserved better parents.”
Adam couldn’t argue with that. Verna set her dish on his desk too. Jade added a paper
bag. “There’s plates and silverware and some cold drinks in the fridge. Verna made cake,
too.” Jade shrugged. “I don’t care that the old bastard is dead, and if that makes me horrible
oh well, but I do care about you and Todd.”
“We both care,” Verna said, finally speaking up just as the door chimed announcing a
customer, or an early Todd. “We’ll take our lunch and lock up as soon as Todd gets here, that
way y’all have plenty of time—”
“Jade? Verna?” Gabe’s voice carried into Adam’s office and was almost as loud as if he
were standing right in there. “Adam? Maybe they’re in surgery…”
“Back in the office,” Adam called out. “Come on back.”
And, in short order, he had more containers on his desk.
“It’s a funeral thing,” Gabe explained.
Adam’s lips twitched as he looked at all the food. “I’ve heard.”
Jade and Verna went to attend to the kennels and Mika and Gabe sat on the leather
couch Adam had spent many a night on, before Todd.
Gabe elbowed Mika, who let loose with a much put-upon-sounding sigh, but the
fondness in his expression was undeniable. “We figured, Todd being all nice and kind like he
is—oomph!” Mika’s glare wasn’t anything short of sincere when he turned it on Gabe. “What
the hell? I was explaining like you wanted me to!”
“No, you weren’t,” Gabe argued. “You just implied that Adam wasn’t all nice and kind
too.”
“Well, I’m not,” Adam said at the same time that Mika snapped, “You interrupted
before I could finish!”
Gabe huffed and rubbed Mika’s side until the irritation fled his expression and he was
all but purring. Then he turned his attention back to Adam. “You know what I mean.”
“I do,” Adam said with a nod. “I know I can be difficult sometimes.” He eyed Gabe,
knowing the man would pick up on the challenge.
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“Oh, fine,” Gabe muttered. “I elbowed him too soon. But he’ll love my apology.”
Adam would swear the temperature in the room had kicked up ten degrees. “Uh,
yeah.”
Mika cleared his throat, twice, before speaking. “Anyway, I think you and I have a lot
in common, Adam. And we all know Todd is pretty unique. He came through a hellish
childhood, and even into adulthood, and turned out to be probably the nicest person I’ve
ever met.”
“I’d like to get my feathers ruffled over that but I’ve never been self-delusional,” Gabe
said. “We figured he’d be here for lunch, and wanted both of you to know y’all had our
support.” Gabe looked at the food on the desk. “Glad Verna and Jade felt the same.”
The door chimed again. Adam looked at his watch and frowned. Too early for Todd
and there weren’t any appointments until the afternoon.
“Got ‘em,” Verna said as she dashed by. “Oh my, Mrs Walker,” he heard her say.
“Mrs Walker?” Adam started to get up and the door chimed again. Mrs Walker didn’t
even have a pet anymore, not since Darcy had passed away.
“Hello, Jerry, here, let me—”
Adam frowned. “What the hell is going on?”
Jade hurried down the hall.
Gabe and Mika sniffed—and that was just—but Adam wasn’t going to judge. “Guess us
and Verna and Jade weren’t the only ones who wanted to let y’all know—”
Between the door chime, the voices in the lobby, and Gabe’s delighted chuckling, Adam
couldn’t hear who was doing what, but soon his office was full of food, and Todd was with
him, shaking hands and accepting the hugs and comfort of more people than Adam could
keep track of.
It was moving, and maybe Texas, or Shasta at least, wasn’t such a shithole after all.
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Chapter Thirty-Four
Todd was aware of a few people looking at him funny in the following weeks, but he’d
experienced that before and so he didn’t allow it to bother him. He didn’t have time to worry
over people judging him and gossiping over being excluded from his own father’s funeral, or
his mother’s refusal to even look his way. Well, whatever, he couldn’t do anything about
that.
His office was all neat and tidy as he finished up every loose end he could before going
home. Tomorrow he and Adam, along with Gabe, Mika, Aidan and Zane, were going to
board a private jet—and, holy crap, he couldn’t wrap his mind around that still!—and fly to
Amsterdam. He wondered, too, if they were flying into the midst of a secret war zone. To be
truthful, Todd was a little scared, more for Adam than anything else, but he’d do everything
he could to protect Adam.
Todd snorted. Like Adam couldn’t take him in a fight. Adam was tough, his core
unshakeable, whereas Todd often felt like he was still growing after being stunted all of his
life. Until Adam. Everything always came back to then—it had been Todd’s true beginning
even if he had been born a quarter-century before then.
Adam was simply everything to Todd. When he had those awful morbid moments, the
realisation that one of them would likely outlive the other, Todd hoped he died first. Then he
felt bad, but, honestly, if Adam did pass before him, Todd knew he’d be one of those people
who died shortly after of a broken heart.
“What a happy friggin’ guy I am today,” Todd muttered to himself. He needed to shake
the morose mood. Tonight he wanted to make love to Adam, well, he really wanted to feel
Adam spread him open, fill him with fingers and cock, and drive all the hidden worry from
Todd’s mind for a while.
“Hey, don’t worry, everything’ll be all right here while you’re gone,” Manny said,
hopping up from where he’d been leaning against his desk. He smiled so broadly it made
Todd’s face hurt. Manny held out his hand and, once Todd shook it, his deputy used his
other hand to thump him on the back. “You just go enjoy the hiking with Adam and y’all’s
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friends. And watch out for bears and bobcats. Been lots of those cats attacking people what
with the drought driving ‘em closer to civilisation.”
Todd hoped his lungs stayed attached to whatever the hell held them in place. Manny
wasn’t a tiny thing by any means, and he was very enthusiastic with his thumping.
“Maybe y’all should carry a gun or a bow,” Manny was rambling on. “Although I
reckon Gabe and Mika would not be happy about that.”
“Understatement,” Todd agreed. “They do rescue strays, so, yeah, shooting any critter
wouldn’t go over too well.”
“Yeah.” Manny sighed and his smile dimmed to almost nonexistent. “Just be careful,
Sheriff Benson. There’s a whole bunch of people who would be upset if you got hurt or
something.”
What a weird thing to say. Todd suspected it was just Manny’s way of showing concern
but it still creeped him out. “Yeah, well, thanks. I’ll try not to be bear bait.”
“Good, good.” Manny squeezed his shoulder. “And, if you need anything, just call me.
You got all my numbers, right?”
“Yes, Manny.” Todd frowned at him. “What am I, three?” He didn’t mean to be snippy,
but Manny was being weird.
Manny’s skin turned swarthy on his cheeks. “I just, well, we aren’t used to you being
gone, Sheriff. I can handle it,” he tacked on quickly, “but it’s just… You never took vacation
before, not more than a day here and there, yanno, and even then you were mostly here. So
it’s just different, I guess. But good, you need a break.”
Try as he might, Todd couldn’t detect anything other than sincerity in Manny, and
some of the tension balled in his chest began to unknot. “Okay, well, thank you then. Now
stop being all…” Todd waved a hand. “We’re good. I gotta go.”
Todd thought about Manny being worried about him, and about the way so many
people had rallied behind him when he’d been banned from his father’s memorial service.
More people had come to the clinic to offer him and Adam comfort than had gone to the
service. Many more, from what he’d been told.
Sure, there were some people looking at him cross-eyed lately, but they didn’t matter
anymore other than as people he was sworn to protect, and he’d do that. He would never
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discriminate against someone because of how they treated him. It’d be harder if they were
asses to Adam, but Todd thought he’d still do his job.
At the house, the lights were on and Adam’s car was in the drive. Todd’s heart did a
happy lurch and so did his cock. Usually he and Adam were in sync when it came to their
sexual needs. He really, really needed Adam tonight.
Todd got out and locked his vehicle. The walk up to the door seemed to take twice as
long as usual, and, by the time he reached it, his cock was uncomfortably hard. He flipped
through his keys, found the one for the door and had just started to slide it in the lock when
he heard the snap of the deadbolt being undone. The door was opened and Todd flushed
with heat and desire from his head to his toes.
Adam stood wearing Todd’s favourite clothes—if he couldn’t get Adam naked, seeing
him in his faded, hole-ridden jeans and the tight white tank, feet bare, hair mussed and the
shadow of whiskers on his face was not as good as totally bare skin, but it certainly didn’t
suck, either. Damn, but it just flipped every switch Todd had.
And Adam knew it, too. His dark eyes burned and his cock was already half hard and
pressing against the placket of his jeans. Adam stepped back, just enough to let Todd inside
and still be able to shut the door. He did so, then furrowed his brow at Todd, giving him an
authoritative look that, God, made Todd want to drop and worship at his feet. “Why are you
still dressed?”
Todd had never got naked so quick in his life.
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Chapter Thirty-Five
He loved the eagerness that made Todd’s movements jerky, his breaths short, his eyes
almost solid black when the pupils blew. And Adam really loved the way Todd sank to his
knees, looking up at him with a worshipful gaze as his hands hovered in front of Adam’s
zipper.
Adam let him wait a moment, drawing the tension out until Todd began to quake with
anticipation. He tucked his hands in his back pockets and nodded. “Take it out and get me
hard.” Todd reached for the button at his waistband. “Just your mouth for now, babe.”
This hadn’t quite been what he’d had planned, but Adam would swear he could feel
Todd’s need before he ever got out of his vehicle. He’d watched Todd pull up, and
something had burned in his gut. Whatever it was that let him know it, Adam could see
Todd’s need to be dominated, controlled, at least for a few hours.
Todd’s breath seeped through the layer of denim covering Adam’s cock. He had a
second to rethink the no-hands bit when Todd had to burrow for the zipper tab. The metal
ground against Adam’s flesh and it wasn’t a comfortable experience. “Hang on.” Todd
glanced up, worry clear in his expression. Adam stroked over his cheek, thumbed his lips
and felt his balls tingle. He pushed a hand behind his zipper. Better to lose some skin off his
knuckles. “Go on.”
Todd did, bringing teeth into play now. He bit Adam’s hand through the taut material,
a pinch that didn’t really hurt. Todd looked up at him through thick gold-tipped lashes and
licked over the bite before finding the tab again.
It was so tempting to just grab Todd’s head and fuck away. The man had an exquisite
mouth, could take Adam deep, and suck Adam’s brains right out of his dick. But Adam
needed to stay in control, and fucking Todd’s face until he came wasn’t exactly doing that.
Todd got the zipper down then slowly fingered the edge of Adam’s waistband, as if
silently asking permission.
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“Okay, get it out.” Adam pulled his hand back beneath the kisses Todd brushed over
his skin. “And pull my jeans down enough to get to my balls.” His hands went back in his
pockets lest he lose his resolve and bury his fingers in Todd’s hair.
Todd began peeling down the denim, pressing his cheek against Adam’s cock just as
soon as he could get to it. The bristle of stubble against that sensitive skin was both
pleasurable and painful. Adam grunted, unsure if he wanted it to continue, and Todd slid his
hands down Adam’s hips, gripping them tight, the tips of his fingers curling against Adam’s
ass.
Then Todd inhaled deeply and rubbed his face over Adam’s cock. He dipped his head
and nuzzled Adam’s balls, nosing and rubbing, pushing into them as if to cover himself in
Adam’s scent. A low groan floated up from him, then wet heat striped Adam’s sac as Todd
licked him.
“Fuck yeah, soak ‘em,” Adam ordered. He propped his elbows against the door and
tilted his hips, wishing now he’d taken his jeans off so he could spread his legs wider. As it
was, Todd had some room, but he couldn’t get his head under there and suck Adam’s nuts
like Adam wished he could.
But Todd tried, sucking each nut, pulling it into his mouth and laving it with his
tongue. He scraped his teeth over the skin, shooting goose bumps down Adam’s thighs. The
hums of approval and slurps and eager looks from Todd had Adam vowing to himself to do
this again in bed, because his damn knees were on the verge of buckling. He loved this, could
come from it probably, especially with Todd so enthusiastically going after his balls. Soft
whimpers tinged with a good dose of desperation were coming from Todd now with each
lick and suck. His fingers would leave bruises on Adam’s hips and ass, and that was fine.
Adam liked mementos from his lover.
Adam was feeling pretty desperate himself, but he also wasn’t in a hurry to bring this to
an end. He did grab the base of his cock, though, and rubbed his shaft over Todd’s hair, on
the sides of his head, signifying his readiness for more.
Todd made a happy, needy little moan and released Adam’s ball sac. It slipped from his
mouth with a lewd noise and Todd licked a straight line up from Adam’s balls to the
sensitive underside of his crown. “Yes,” Adam hissed when Todd flicked his tongue over the
spot repeatedly. Todd opened his mouth and tilted his head, sucking there until Adam’s
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breath clogged in his throat and he had to have more. He let go of his cock and caught
himself before he could fist his hand in Todd’s hair, instead cupping his jaw.
“Please,” Todd whispered, and Adam frowned even as Todd licked around his glans.
Todd nipped the rim with his lips folded over his teeth, but the shock of it flicked on a switch
that highlighted Todd’s need.
Here Adam had been trying to hold back, because sometimes Todd needed rough, and
Adam always worried about the why of that. But tonight his lover just needed him to be the
strong one, and that didn’t always mean holding himself back. Adam knew what Todd was
feeling, he thought, had experienced the urge before and Todd had answered it,
overpowering him and taking him, yet keeping him safe at the same time. It was a fine line of
trust and love, and one Adam could walk for Todd.
“Open,” Adam demanded, and Todd gave him that trusting look, licked his lips and
coated them well for entry, then parted them and waited. Adam traced Todd’s lips with his
crown, adding his own bits of moisture to that soft skin. “You want this? Want me to fuck
your mouth? Come down your throat and make you take it all?”
Todd didn’t speak, instead nodding as a strangled sound wafted over Adam’s tip.
Adam brought his other hand to Todd’s other jaw, holding the man’s face still. He pressed in
slowly, savouring the slick glide and suction. Todd’s lids drifted down and he moaned. His
nostrils flared and he slid his hands back to burrow his fingers in Adam’s crack.
“Take me, take what you want.” Adam kept a firm grip on Todd, not nearly as firm as
the one Todd had on him, but still good. “Show me you want it, how much you like sucking
my dick.”
Todd shook and shoved his head forwards, too fast, Adam thought, expecting a gag
and a quick pullback—no. The head of his dick sank into the sweet confines of Todd’s throat,
and Adam saw fuzzy stars as he yelped in surprise. Those tight muscles constricted around
him at the same time Todd pushed a finger into his hole, and Adam’s plans for retaining any
sort of control shattered. He pulled back then thrust again, and through his spotty vision saw
how pleased Todd was with himself.
Adam was pretty damned pleased with him, too, but he wanted something else. He
wanted Todd to be as mindless with need as possible, and, right now, Todd was still
thinking, plotting, figuring how to drive Adam to that very same place of thoughtless desire.
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Adam snarled around words he couldn’t get out and pulled Todd off his dick. He
dropped to his own knees and kissed Todd with a force that left his lips bruised and a
coppery tang in his mouth. Todd whimpered and clawed at him, trying to grab onto him, but
Adam didn’t give him the chance. He toppled Todd backwards, locking an arm around his
shoulders to keep from braining him on the floor.
Todd’s breath gusted out and Adam sputtered, their teeth clacked and it didn’t matter,
he couldn’t stop plundering Todd’s mouth. He was dimly aware of Todd’s legs around his
waist, then he was rutting and grinding, trying to push into Todd’s ass. A shock of sense hit
him and he pushed up enough to slap at his pocket.
“Adam, please,” Todd whined, and that was so unlike him Adam stopped trying to dig
the lube out of his pocket. “Just fuck me already. I need to feel you—”
“Not like that, you don’t,” Adam interrupted. “You won’t be able to sit for a week and
we’ve got a long flight tomorrow.”
Todd growled, and normally that sound drove Adam wild but tonight he growled back
and planted a hand on Todd’s chest when the man tried to pull at him. The want and need
filled the air between them as Todd glared up at him.
“I won’t hurt you just to get your mind off other things,” Adam said, because he
worried about that sometimes. He was aware people had needs, and pain had its place in
those needs from time to time, but, with Todd’s past, there was a fine line to be walked and
he didn’t ever want to cross it.
Finally the tension ebbed and Todd seemed to melt beneath him. Adam checked and
found his cock still hard, dark and wet-tipped. He slid down Todd’s body and sucked the fat
head into his mouth, and Todd bellowed, bowing up over him and bringing an arm over his
shoulders. “Fuck!”
Adam had the lube in hand but opening it was tricky. The flip-top cap could stick, but
he wedged his thumbnail under it and got it open as he sealed his lips tight under Tim’s
head. Lube leaked all over his hand and the floor as he tipped the bottle. Adam didn’t give a
shit, he had Todd’s cock in his mouth and his ass quivering and eager beneath him.
Adam bobbed down and fitted his hand between them, finding Todd’s pucker
unerringly. He didn’t tease, sinking two fingers in deep and fast. Todd wanted to walk that
edge, Adam would do the best he could.
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Todd was loud, and if they’d had any neighbours, that might have been a problem.
That yell, along with the eager pump of his hips, the shove down on Adam’s head, those told
Adam he was right on track. He swirled his tongue and felt the crown press against his soft
palate. Todd’s asshole clamped around his fingers. Sweet whimpering noises fell from
Todd’s lips, and it was a perfect moment, one Adam would always remember.
He curled his fingers and stroked over Todd’s gland, a soft touch as he deep-throated
Todd. Adam didn’t want Todd to come, not until he had his dick buried deep in the man’s
ass, so he pulled back, fingers and mouth. Todd’s protests died away when he looked at
Adam. That tell-tale flush spread over Todd’s chest and up his neck.
“On your side.” Adam slapped Todd’s ass for emphasis as the man began to roll. He
caught Todd’s leg behind the knee and pushed up until Todd caught on and hooked an arm
under it. Adam straddled Todd’s lower leg. He brought his left leg up against Todd’s raised
one and rubbed his balls over Todd’s ass. “I’m going to give you what you want, what you
need,” Adam said as he held his cock to Todd’s hole. With no other warning, Adam thrust,
that tight ring of muscles parting for him, clenching around him as he sank in deep.
Todd’s shout rang out as his inner muscles rippled around Adam’s length. The hot, soft
walls sucked him in until his balls slapped against Todd’s ass. Adam bent and grabbed
Todd’s shoulder, held his hip with his other hand, and didn’t hesitate. He withdrew and
slammed in again, sliding Todd a couple of inches across the floor. Todd arched beneath him
and flailed with his free hand, seeking to anchor himself, but Adam couldn’t give him time to
do so. Todd’s body was massaging him, milking his cock and sending white streaks of
pleasure to his balls that somehow managed to block out everything else.
Adam pulled Todd back to him with each thrust even as it jostled him. He couldn’t
slow down, couldn’t stop, and Todd’s keening sounds didn’t encourage him to do either.
Adam plunged deep and hard, his hips battering against Todd. Pleasure was rising, high tide
in him, and he couldn’t last much longer.
Todd gave up trying to keep himself in place, choosing instead to fist his cock. Adam
thought he jerked once, maybe twice, then Todd’s back bowed, his ass clenched around
Adam’s cock, and he loosed a strangled sound.
Adam’s balls pulsed and sent cum shooting up his dick, pleasure blinding him as he
went rigid, emptying his load into Todd. It thrilled him every time, filling Todd’s ass with his
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spunk, and tonight was no exception. Adam shook as the last spurt was released. His
muscles burned, his skin was slick with sweat, and as he opened his eyes and met Todd’s
sated gaze he saw something shift there and it made warmth curl in Adam’s groin. And,
even in his sex-stupor, Adam knew they’d only just begun with the night’s loving.
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PART THREE
The Hunt
Chapter Thirty-Six
Adam was kind of intimidated, but, hell, who wouldn’t be? They were, for all intents
and purposes, in the presence of a very powerful man…wolf…shifter, whatever. He looked
so much like Aidan it was creepy, except power oozed from the man. Marcus Criswell could
scare the fuck out of anyone. Except Adam wasn’t scared, he was just trying to wrap his
mind around all this altering of his former reality.
“Weird, isn’t it?” Todd asked beside him. Adam looked and saw that he was watching
Marcus and Aidan, or maybe he was watching their ‘mates’, Zane and Nathan. The early
morning sun shone brilliantly on Nathan’s long, loose red hair. Adam had never particularly
cared for such brightly coloured hair, but the little guy pulled it off. And he was never going
to be dumb enough to let Nathan know he’d just thought of him as ‘the little guy’. Adam
might not have been scared, but he sure as shit wasn’t dumb, either.
Todd’s eyes were crinkled at the corners and sparkling like he was amused, like he
knew what Adam was thinking. He probably did. Todd knew him inside out. Todd glanced
at Nathan, yes, that was who he looked at, then back at Adam and arched a brow. He
mouthed “Really?” but wisely didn’t say it. Adam wasn’t the only one who remembered
Gabe bragging about enhanced senses. And sexual staying power. The jerk.
Gabe and Mika waved them over, and Adam took Todd’s hand in his—he loved that
freedom to touch when he wanted to—and walked over to everyone else. They’d met Marcus
and Nathan, but it wasn’t like they knew the two of them. Thanking Marcus for use of the
plane had been embarrassing, but Todd was so sweet with his thanks no one paid any
attention to Adam’s bumbling efforts.
For some reason, that very power he felt coming from Marcus made Adam
uncomfortable, which was asinine. Probably some inner human fear of the big, bad predator,
because Adam had no doubt that was exactly what Marcus was. Deadly.
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“Don’t do anything stupid,” Marcus said, and Adam thought he meant it for everyone,
but Aidan sighed and cocked a hip to plop his hand on.
“I’m not the reckless kind.” The look Aidan gave his twin was beyond Adam, but
Nathan snorted and so did Gabe. The two of them moved closer together and started
whispering, and a giggle followed shortly thereafter.
“You’re not helping any,” Marcus all but growled. Nathan flapped a hand at him. “God
knows what those two are concocting,” he muttered, turning to watch Nathan and Gabe.
“Thank goodness we won’t be on the jet with y’all. Imagine the trouble they’d get into in
Amsterdam.”
“I’d rather not,” Aidan said at almost the exact same time Mika did. They looked at
each other and shrugged.
“I have a feeling they’re plotting.” Marcus didn’t look upset about it,
more…anticipatory.
“They’ll have to resume their plans when we get back.” Mika tapped his watch. “Time
to load up.”
“Excited?” Adam asked Todd as they made their way to the set of stairs.
Todd tried not to grin, Adam could tell, but the edge of his mouth tipped up in one
corner. “I’m trying not to be. Seems wrong, y’know.”
Adam did know. He felt the same way, excited, and guilty for it. But it beat being
terrified of finding out Jameson was dead, which was what he was very much afraid was
going to happen. Don’t think about that! Adam brushed a kiss over that turned-up corner.
“Don’t feel bad. Who wouldn’t be excited to fly on a private jet?”
“Shifters,” Gabe snarked, unconcerned apparently about eavesdropping. “When I was
just a human, this would have been ultra-cool. Now the very idea of being up in the sky and
in a confined space is freaking me the fuck out!”
Adam couldn’t resist. “I have some acepromazine if you need it. Works on wolves and
dogs both.”
“Fuck you,” Gabe grumbled. “But I might just take you up on it.”
“Huh.” Well it was a good thing he’d really brought some, along with other vet
supplies.
They boarded the plane and Adam’s jaw about hit the ground. Todd’s, too.
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Aidan was smirking, damn him. “Not quite what you expected?”
Gabe squealed and smacked Aidan on the arm. “Dick! You didn’t mention it was like,
the über-rich kind of jet! Look at this!” Gabe bounded over and sprawled on the white
leather couch. His footsteps were silent on the thick white carpeting. “Ungh, this is so
comfortable I may never get up.”
“I feel like I stepped into that TV show about rich and famous people’s homes and
toys,” Todd murmured.
“No kidding. Just look at this thing.” Adam tucked himself under Todd’s arm and they
walked to an un-Gabe-occupied couch. “I’m almost afraid to sit on it.”
“Hey, don’t be. There’s been all sorts of stuff done on these couches. It’s a good thing
they’re white.” Aidan waggled his eyebrows and Adam snickered before he could catch
himself.
“Gross, dude,” Gabe chimed in. “So, Nathan said there’s a bedroom—”
“I don’t think so,” Zane said, speaking up for the first time. “I’ve got plans—”
Gabe was up and the race was on. “Loser gets the spunky sheets!”
“This is going to be an interesting flight.”
Aidan snorted at Mika and took off after Zane and Gabe. Then it was just him and
Todd, and the pilot was telling everyone to sit down and get ready for takeoff.
“I’m not sure what to make of this.” Todd dug out a seatbelt and handed the end to
Adam.
“Me either, but honestly…” Adam peered towards the doorway the other four had
vanished through. “It’s almost like our own in-flight porn show, without the actual show
part.”
Todd’s smile was sinfully hot as he leaned to nip Adam’s ear. “That’s all right, as long
as they’re in there, or, at least, we’re the only ones in here…”
Adam’s cock went from almost soft to hard as stone in a heartbeat, owing in large part
to the way Todd kneaded that eager flesh so perfectly. Oh yeah, a most interesting flight indeed.
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Chapter Thirty-Seven
A short nap on the jet and the change in time zones left Todd unable to sleep. He was
worried about Adam and what they’d find here. A few months ago, if you’d have told Todd
that he’d be in Amsterdam and not even the least bit curious about the place, he’d have
thought you were a liar. But, the truth was, he was bone-deep scared of Adam being hurt,
either by finding out Jameson was dead or that he’d simply ditched Adam carelessly. And he
was scared for all of them on a physical level, of course. He’d seen the way the four shifters
had sniffed the air almost constantly and the occasional frowns they gave back and forth. No
one had explained them. Todd had thought to give them the opportunity to do so, but then
they were at the hotel, and everyone but him was exhausted. Well, if he didn’t get answers
voluntarily in the morning he would demand them. Adam probably would anyway, right off
the bat. Todd grinned at the image of Adam waking in a few hours and pounding on either
Gabe and Mika’s or Aidan and Zane’s door, waking them and snarling until he got what he
wanted. Damn, he really loved his man.
Tomorrow—or later today, rather—would most likely be spent travelling. Although
Jameson might have come to Amsterdam, the rumours had the coup occurring then him and
his mate disappearing into a mountainous area. That being the case, he could be in any
number of places. More specific information would be great. Aidan hoped to be able to make
a few inquiries. It seemed his brother Marcus had managed to scrape together a list of
possible sympathisers, shifters who wanted equality and freedom, not madness and murder.
Todd wasn’t sure what exactly was going on with this group of shifters, but he’d
imagine, with at least a half-wolf nature—he wasn’t sure how that worked, but his mind
could make up some scary shit—and the strength of being a supernatural creature… Well,
he’d bet things could get violent and deadly, and if someone or several someones chose to
abuse the gift—or curse—of their powers, then that’d be a very scary thing indeed. Visions of
the apocalypse danced in his head and Todd slapped a hand to his forehead, both amused
and irritated with himself.
“Whassa prollem?”
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Adam’s sleep-slurred voice triggered a flash of guilt in Todd. “Nothing, baby. Sorry,
just thinking and being ridiculous. Didn’t mean to wake you.”
Adam propped up on an elbow and, in the darkness of the room, Todd could still make
out his smile, thanks to the shaft of light peeking between the curtains. Todd didn’t know
what sign or whatever gave off the light, but he was glad for it. There was nothing quite so
gorgeous as Adam’s sleepy smiles.
“You should go back to sleep,” Todd added, because that smile was stirring things up,
and Adam really needed to rest.
But Adam’s smile only stretched wider and Todd would swear the man’s eyes gleamed.
Adam didn’t say a word, though, just shoved the covers off them both.
“Adam—” Whatever Todd had meant to say died on a choked sound as Adam ran a
finger up the underside of his cock. Todd melted like ice in the Texas heat, his legs falling
open, spreading, his cock giving a happy thump.
Adam still didn’t speak, and Todd’s entire body tingled with excitement. He knew this
game although they’d never discussed it. Silence was the unspoken rule, except for the pants
and curses and—
“Ahh!” Todd hissed and grappled for Adam’s shoulders, his hair, anywhere as hot lips
sealed around the tip of his dick. Adam wasn’t wasting time on foreplay, going right for the
mind-blowing pleasure instead. Todd managed to link his hands around Adam’s head,
burying his fingers in his soft hair just as Adam sucked him in deeper. Fingers teased at his
balls, the soft skin behind them, and his hole. It was an instant immersion in pleasure and
Todd couldn’t process it, could only feel his nerve endings pinging with each touch, each
lick.
Todd thrust, unable not to, and bent his legs to offer his ass up to his lover. The thick
burn of fingers spearing into his opening was his reward. Todd shouted as he was spread
mercilessly, the bite of pain what he needed to chase off the persistent chatter of his brain.
Adam pushed in deep and curled his fingers, finding Todd’s gland.
He quickly bobbed down and sucked Todd’s cock into his throat, tonguing the length
with rapid flicks, then swallowed. The constriction of those tight throat muscles combined
with the massaging of his gland shot Todd’s climax right out of him in a strength-stealing
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ecstasy. Todd gasped, fighting just to breathe through the intense pleasure as he pumped his
load into Adam’s mouth.
Dimly he became aware of the grip he had on Adam’s hair. Considering the ache in his
knuckles, it had to be painful for Adam. Todd forced his hands to loosen up as Adam licked
at his balls. Todd purred happily, relaxed from his orgasm and the warm nuzzling affection
from Adam.
Eventually Adam crawled up to lay beside him. The hard ridge of Adam’s dick poked
at Todd’s hip. Todd reached down unsteadily, sleep heavy on him and threatening to pull
him down. Adam slapped his hand away then brought his knuckles up for a kiss.
“In the morning,” Adam mumbled, and Todd realised his lover was worn out despite
the way he’d been acting a few minutes ago. “Too tired now, but I’ma fuck you until your
eyes cross in the morning.”
Todd curled onto his side, facing Adam, and pulled him close. Sleepy or not, he needed
to touch, to feel Adam beside him. That damned niggling fear was back, but this time it was
tempered somewhat by exhaustion. Todd held Adam as tight as he could and drifted off to a
mix of pleasant dreams and nightmares.
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Chapter Thirty-Eight
Adam was jolted from a very erotic dream and a very comfortable snuggle session with
Todd by some idiot pounding on the hotel room door. With a curse foul enough to make a
sailor blush, Adam stumbled from the bed. Todd mumbled something unintelligible.
“I got it,” Adam growled back. Maybe he was being unreasonable, but a glance at his
watch and some sloppy math in his head told him it wasn’t even six a.m. Why the fuck was
someone banging on the door?
A better question would have been who, but Adam just assumed it’d be one of their
friends. He had no reason to think otherwise, which was why he didn’t check first, just
unlocked the door and pulled it open enough to glare through the opening. He blinked
stupidly at the strangers in the hallway. “What the fuck—”
It was as far as Adam got before the door was shoved open with enough force to send
him reeling back on his ass. He opened his mouth on a pained gasp and tried to yell a
warning before the big scary guy coming at him could stop him. “Todd! Get—”
“Quiet!” the big brute snapped at the same time he slapped Adam hard enough to
make his ears ring. He clamped a sour-smelling hand over Adam’s mouth. Mean, beady eyes
glowered at him as the man spoke in heavily accented English. “You will bring trouble!”
What the fuck do you call this? Adam kicked and tried to hit, anything to free himself. He
heard Todd call out his name, then cursing and sounds of fists on flesh.
“Be still and I have them stop,” he was told. “You know what men like us can do to
your mate?”
Adam went limp, breathless with fear. The use of the word mate let him know just
who—or what, rather—their attackers were. Why they were here, how they’d found Adam,
whether Gabe, Mika, Aidan and Zane were okay or not, those were questions spinning in his
head, right behind the big, pounding ball of fear for Todd.
“Ahhh, good man.” His captor smirked and had the gall to pat Adam on the head.
Adam began plotting revenge. He might only be a human, but these assholes had hurt Todd.
“Behave, or else…”
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God damn it. Adam was as docile as he could be while his hands were bound and a gag
stuffed into his mouth. He’d do whatever he had to in order to keep Todd and their friends
safe.
Except Todd appeared before him, arms cuffed behind him, looking gorgeous and
unharmed and completely nude—which reminded Adam of his own naked state. The two
shifters (they were, weren’t they?) beside him each had a black eye and split lips. Adam
fumed, thinking he could have kept fighting himself had he known it wasn’t Todd getting
the shit beaten out of him.
“Who hit him?” Todd said in such a soft, low voice it sent shivers down Adam’s spine.
That wasn’t the voice of reason Todd was using, but one of great fury. Adam wasn’t the only
one who noticed it, either. Every person in the room went on alert, as evidenced in the way
they stilled and tensed, as if preparing for an attack.
“He slip when I shove the door open.” Adam was hoisted to his feet. “Be good or he
slip some more. Maybe he doesn’t survive the next fall.” The big man clamped a hand
around the back of Adam’s neck, and when he spoke again his voice was every bit as deadly
as Todd’s. “I remind you like I did your mate. You know what we are. If Daan and Sim had
wanted it so, you would be dead. Instead they let you hit them so as not to hurt you. I am not
so noble. Remember that.”
Adam had never seen such a cold look on Todd’s face before. It tore at him seeing it
now, because Todd was sweet and kind, and should never be forced to the point where he
was ready to kill someone. And he was, Adam could see it in his eyes, in every line of his
body. Guilt slapped him harder than the asshole had. It was because of him Todd was here,
and, because of him, some of Todd’s sweet nature had just died.
“Get dressed. Do not give Daan or Sim any trouble.” The man squeezed Adam’s nape
until Adam winced from the pain.
A tic started beneath Todd’s right eye. “Where are our friends?”
“Sleeping. Even shifters can be encouraged to sleep heavily.”
Adam took that to mean Gabe and the others had been drugged. He wondered how,
and could only figure they’d either ordered food or drinks, something. Granted everyone
was all jet-lagged and screwed up time-wise, so he supposed it was entirely possible the
others had woken early and eaten. But how did these shifters even know they were here?
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Well, duh. All it’d take was one spy, one person knowing either we were coming or we were here.
Could have passed someone in the airport, or on the way to our rooms, anywhere. Idiot! But how did
they know to look for us? Are they here because of Jameson, or because of some other reason? Do they
know who Aidan is, who his brother is?
It seemed most likely this was related to Jameson. Surely shifters didn’t just attack
random tourists. Adam couldn’t fathom how they’d know why they were here, but it didn’t
really matter. Right now he just needed to make sure Todd and he, and their friends, all
stayed alive.
“Are you taking our friends, too?” he asked as he watched Todd dress. Todd never
looked away from him.
“No. There is no need.”
That made no sense to Adam. Why wouldn’t they want the American shifters too?
What did they hope to accomplish just by taking him and Todd? “There’s no need to take us,
either,” he couldn’t help pointing out.
The bastard holding onto him gave a sickly smug smile. “So little you know of shifter
games. Soon you will know so much more.”
It was a prospect that filled Adam with dread.
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Chapter Thirty-Nine
After some sort of debate—Todd couldn’t understand what was being said, but from
the tones it was clear their captors were arguing—he and Adam were led out of the hotel via
the stairwell. He could only suppose the security cameras weren’t working or else the guards
had been bribed. For all he knew, there could be shifters manning the security desk.
Obviously the assholes taking them had no concerns about being spotted.
Todd considered yelling, something, making a scene, but he was marched out first and
Adam was behind him with the big nasty jerk who’d hit Adam. He’d pay for that, Todd
didn’t care what side the guy was on. Didn’t care he was a supernatural being capable of
turning into a wolf. He’d pay.
“They’ll find us,” he heard Adam snark.
“Maybe, eventually.”
Todd looked back over his shoulder as they stopped in front of a white panel van,
windowless in the back, of course. They would have abductors who were walking
stereotypes…except for the whole wolf-shifting thing.
“Daan, Sim, get them inside then go back and eradicate our odours.”
“Okay, Peter.”
“Peter?” Adam’s voice hitched with disbelief as he looked at the shifter scowling at
him. “You’re seriously named Peter, like Peter and the Wolf? Did your parents hate you or
what?”
“Yes! They did. Are you happy?” Peter snapped and Todd might have felt sorry for him
except Adam still had a bright red handprint on his cheek. He refused to have any sympathy
for the man responsible for that.
“Not really,” Adam snapped back. “If you want me to be happy, then let us go.”
Peter narrowed his eyes and opened the side door. “In.”
Todd and Adam were shoved in. Adam grunted, his breath knocked out of him, and
Todd promised himself to make Peter pay for every bump and bruise. Todd rarely hated
anyone, but he was very close to hating the big stinky jerk. The van door was slammed shut.
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Todd did some grunting of his own as he rolled and wiggled until he was pressed against
Adam’s back. “Are you all right?” Stupid question…
Adam’s breaths were short and shallow. Todd cursed and pulled against the cuffs, pain
shrieking up and down his wrists. “Adam?”
“Ribs,” Adam finally rasped. “Landed wrong.”
Adam’s hands were cuffed behind him. He’d been shoved in and had gone down on his
side, his elbow between him and the floor. “Your arm—”
“Hurts like a goddamned bitch,” Adam bit out, and Todd’s eyes burned at the pain he
heard in his lover’s voice. The driver’s side door opened and Todd began yelling, demanding
Adam be released and taken to a doctor.
Peter growled and turned in his seat. “Fucking humans. So fragile.”
“Fuck you, you ignorant jerk!” Todd had never wanted his gun so bad in his life!
“Being human has nothing to do with it! You’re deliberately hurting him, and I swear I will
take every single mark on him, every hurt, out on your hide.” Todd glared and grinned. “I’m
gonna have a nice wolf rug to throw down in front of my fireplace. If I can get your stink
out.”
Peter shouldn’t have been intimidated, yet he blanched and gulped before getting a
belligerent look in his eyes. “Right. You do that with handcuffs on.”
Todd didn’t answer, because there was one thing he was good at—being the sheriff.
One of the things he’d feared—irrationally, he’d thought at the time, but maybe now it was a
premonition—was being held by his own handcuffs. Now, granted, the ones on his wrist
weren’t his, but they weren’t much different as far as he could tell.
Did Adam remember that he could get out of the cuffs? Todd had tried to teach Adam,
too, but Adam didn’t have the patience.
“Wish I’d listened to you,” Adam whispered, and, while Peter frowned, Todd’s
heartbeat kicked up a notch. Adam did remember.
“S’all right,” Todd said, staring right at Peter. “He won’t hurt you again. Not if he
wants any chance at staying alive.”
“Hmph.” Peter turned back around, but Todd didn’t miss the shudder or the nervous
glances in the mirror. He smiled and bared as many teeth as possible. Daan and Sim returned
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and Peter barked at them to ride in the back. Maybe Todd had scared the jerk too much. He
needed the other two idiots out of the back so he could get free.
“Why’s he breathing funny?” Daan asked. He actually looked worried, which struck
Todd as weird.
“Probably he is scared,” Sim replied, looking similarly stressed.
“Oh, fuck you both,” Adam found the breath to grouse. Todd kissed the back of his
sweaty neck and glared at the other two shifters. “He’s hurt. What kind of shifters are y’all?
Can’t you smell pain or whatever?”
Sim and Daan glanced at each other. Daan shrugged. “Not now. We had to use this
stuff to de-scent—“
“Shut up!”
Daan jumped and whacked the back of his head against Sim’s jaw. Both men glared at
Peter, who didn’t seem to give a damn as he drove.
“Where are we being taken?” Todd figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask, and there was no
point in trying to keep his voice low enough that Peter wouldn’t hear him. He didn’t expect
an answer, which was a good thing, since he didn’t get one, exactly.
Daan bit his lip and Sim sucked on his as they both looked anywhere but at Todd or
Adam. Peter chuckled and the van lurched as he came to a sudden stop. “That’s the wrong
question. You should be asking to whom are you being taken.”
But before Todd could ask, Peter floored the gas pedal and sent him and Adam rolling
and sliding back. Todd slammed into the rear of the van, his head hitting the metal hard
enough he was utterly stunned, and Adam slammed into him, his head connecting with
Todd’s chin and sending him into darkness despite his struggle to stay conscious.
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Chapter Forty
Between nausea—which Adam totally despised—his own pain and his fear over Todd’s
continued unconsciousness, the next several hours were a blur. Adam himself had trouble
staying awake, and tended to come to with a gasp that made his vision dim immediately all
over again. His ribs ached and his arm, but that was nothing compared to what he felt every
time he looked to find Todd still out, his breaths shallow and unsteady. Adam cussed and
yelled, demanded to be uncuffed so he could check on Todd, but, though Daan and Sim
shared guilty looks, neither of them had the balls to go against that fucker Peter.
“Why should I care if he dies? He threatened to make me into a rug, did he not?” Peter
asked. Before Adam could answer he was slammed backwards again as Peter braked hard.
Head spinning and electric lights blinking rapidly in front of his eyes, Adam was hefted
and dragged to the door of the van. He tried to fight, tried to stay with Todd, but as soon as
he opened his mouth to yell, Peter slapped him again. Adam’s jaw popped as pain exploded
from the joint. Blood pooled in his mouth, gagging him. He must have bitten his tongue or
cheek.
“Get his lover boy,” Peter barked out, and that at least eased a little of Adam’s fear—
until he realised it didn’t necessarily mean they were bringing Todd to wherever Adam was
going to end up. Adam bucked and succeeded in shaking off the hands holding him only to
receive another scorching slap. “Behave, or I will see to it your mate is skinned as he
threatened to do to me.”
Adam’s eyes widened then narrowed. He’d never hated anyone so much in his life.
Maybe Todd’s father, but that was an older sensation, and this, with Todd’s life in the
balance, was a whole new, fresh cut. Adam wanted a bottle of Beuthanasia for Peter the wolf.
If the fucker was lucky, Adam would hit a vein and be kind enough to use a big enough
dosage.
“Ah, ah, I can see evil thoughts in here.” Peter smirked and slapped the side of Adam’s
head. “It would be in your best interest, but, more importantly, in his best interest, for you to
be very, very nice to me.”
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The nausea that had receded earlier came spewing back, literally. Adam couldn’t have
stopped it if he tried. He heaved and Peter squeaked just before vomit splattered his pants
and shoes. If it pissed Peter off, that was too bad. Adam would never do what the delusional
jerk had just suggested. Todd wouldn’t want him to, and Adam would truly rather die…but
he’d take Peter out with him, somehow or another.
“Ick, what a rejection,” Daan said loudly and happily. Adam craned his neck and saw
Todd propped between Daan and Sim, still unconscious, and fear spiked in his gut, hot and
sharp.
“Fuck you,” Peter groused, glaring fit to kill.
“No fucking you, that’s for sure,” Adam spat out.
Peter raised his hand and Adam tried not to flinch but his eyelids slammed shut
anyway.
“I wouldn’t do that, Peter,” someone said in a low voice filled with menace.
Adam opened one eye as little as he could get away with and still be able to see. Peter
had turned white as could be as he dropped his hand back to hold Adam’s arm.
“I wasn’t—I was just trying—” Peter sputtered, red dots appearing on his cheeks. Hell,
Adam could even smell his panic, and when he cut his eye to where Peter was staring he
knew why. There on the step in the doorway stood the biggest man Adam had ever seen in
his entire life. The term ‘hulking’ came to mind, certainly. With shoulders that filled the
doorway and a head he bowed to keep from touching the top of the frame, there was no
other way to describe him. Except for terrifying, perhaps.
“You obviously would, and have,” the huge man continued, his cold blue gaze raking
Adam then Todd. He nodded once then turned a fierce look on Peter as he stepped fully out
of the doorway and walked over. “You will wait in my office.” He towered over Peter, who
was now shaking like a man caught naked in a blizzard. “You will, I am sure, seek to find a
way to justify this mistreatment of my guests. And I almost certainly won’t believe you. Then
you will accept your punishment.”
Peter gulped. Adam felt like gulping himself. It really pissed him off. Peter all but
dropped him and ran inside. If the big scary guy hadn’t hooked an arm around Adam’s
shoulders he’d have probably fallen on his ass.
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Adam glared at the man, determined not to be cowed. “Guests? What a presumptuous
load of—”
“I assume you have come looking for Jameson.”
The words shut Adam up.
“I am Maarten Visser.” Adam felt the first stirring of hope.
“Visser?” He searched the man’s blue eyes, took in his dark brown hair and build. He
could see some similarities, or could he? Was he just seeing what he hoped to see?
Maarten nodded. “Yes. My brother, Luuk, is Jameson’s mate.”
Adam wanted to believe it, but what difference did it make if Maarten was telling the
truth? He’d had them abducted, and drugged their friends, and had them beaten…although,
as mad as he’d looked when he’d spied Peter fixing to hit him, maybe Maarten hadn’t
ordered that last bit. Or he had, but was fucking with Adam’s already messed-up head.
“I will explain what I can when we get you and your…” Maarten glanced back at Todd.
“Husband,” Adam growled, and dug in his heels. For all intents and purposes, that’s
what Todd was to him, and he was the same to Todd. He figured that would be clear and
easier for Maarten to understand, too. “Uncuff me, right the fuck now. Unless you intend to
harm us…more.” He dared Maarten with his posture, his eyes, his tone, everything. The man
was definitely an alpha, and wouldn’t like it, but fuck if Adam cared. Maarten could show
him respect, and Todd, too.
Maarten looked more amused than angry, which predictably infuriated Adam, but,
since he pulled a key from his pocket, Adam decided to shut up for now. In seconds, Adam’s
hands were free, and Maarten had tossed the key to Sim. Adam started to turn around but
Maarten caught him by the shoulder. “Inside first, please. Then I promise you can see to your
husband. We are at risk every moment we are outside.”
“Well, you sure didn’t seem to care before,” Adam snapped. “And I’m checking him
now.” He pivoted and promptly gasped, having turned too quickly. His knees gave out, and
only Maarten’s quick reflexes kept him upright once again.
“What is the saying? Doctor heal thyself?” Maarten muttered. “You are hurt, too. Come
on. I gave you my word you can tend to him, but you can’t do so if you are unconscious as
well.”
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“That’s a bullshit line in this case,” Adam protested, but, the truth was, he could hardly
breathe, much less walk. He felt battered from head to toe, his nerve endings screaming with
pain. He had no choice except to let Maarten help him inside. To his complete surprise, he
and Todd were placed in a spacious bedroom. Windowless, which didn’t surprise him and
cast more doubt on their host, but there was nothing he could do about it right now.
“I will send someone in to see to you both,” Maarten said. “I know you are a
veterinarian, but your husband is a man, and you are hurt. You haven’t anything to work
with, either.” Maarten frowned at him then studied Todd. “What did Peter do?”
“What the hell does it look like he tried to do?” Adam shouted, patience eradicated by
hours of fear and hurt. “Fucking look at us!”
“He was very hateful and hit Adam several time,” Daan said from behind Maarten.
“And made threats to Todd unless Adam was very nice to him. That is when Adam threw up
on him outside.”
If Adam thought Maarten had looked furious before, it was absolutely nothing
compared to the thunderous expression he wore now. “Get Spiegel in here,” Maarten
ordered. “I will go take care of Peter.”
With that ominous threat, Maarten left the room, Daan running off with a “Be back with
the doctor,” right behind him.
Adam sat on the edge of the bed and felt the fluttering pulse at Todd’s neck. Was it
stronger? It wasn’t weak, but it was erratic. Adam flipped on the bedside lamp and gently
touched Todd’s cheek. His gold-tipped lashes cast shadows on his fair skin, and Adam
fought back the urge to weep. It was a ridiculous urge, but he knew the stress and pain and
fear and anger and all the other chaotic emotions bouncing through him were truly fucking
with him. He wanted Todd to open his eyes, wanted to see their pretty colour…
Adam swiped at his eyes then felt carefully around Todd’s head. The bump on the back
was worrisome, certainly. He touched again, and Todd whimpered, and Adam thought it
was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard, even if he did regret causing Todd pain.
“Todd?” Adam leant down, rubbed his nose against Todd’s cheek then brushed a kiss
over his parted, chapped lips. “Baby, please open your eyes for me. I’ve been so scared.”
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Todd winced but his lashes fluttered, his eyes darting behind the closed lids. Slowly, he
opened his eyes and Adam barely kept himself from whooping. As it was, he sucked in a
sharp breath and nearly passed out from the pain of it.
“Adam?” Todd ground out, his voice sounding uncomfortably raw. “Where—”
“I don’t know.” Adam stopped trying to hold back his tears. Everything had been too
much, and he hurt, and Todd hurt, and he didn’t know what was happening. He hadn’t even
asked Maarten about Jameson or Luuk! He was too worried about Todd, and until he knew
Todd would be okay—
A sharp rap at the door startled Adam into another gasp, which made him sway as he
struggled not to pass out. He made out a blurry shape, not a big one, so not Maarten then.
“I’m Dr Spiegel,” the blurry shape said. “Please allow me to check you both.”
Adam didn’t think he could stop the guy. He was barely managing not to keel over as it
was.
“Todd first,” he insisted, though. Then he scooted up and held Todd’s hand,
determined to keep a staunch watch over him.
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Chapter Forty-One
Todd glared at the man sitting on the floor at Maarten’s feet. Peter was nude and
battered, and Todd probably should have felt bad for him, but fuck it.
“He had a chance to defend himself,” Maarten said, interrupting Todd’s angry
thoughts. Todd jerked his head up to look at the freakishly big shifter. Adam had filled him
in on what had happened, but Todd wasn’t about to trust anyone other than his husband.
“I don’t know how things are done in North America, but, here, I give my betas a
chance to apologise properly and accept punishment or fight those they’ve wronged, myself
included, in the ring. Peter chose…” Maarten glanced down at the man who hadn’t yet
looked up from the floor, “unwisely.”
“From the moment he broke into our room,” Todd snarled, glaring at Maarten even
though it made him want to piss himself. The guy was just scary. Adam linked his hand
through Todd’s and leaned against his side. Todd thought about the bruises and scratches.
Adam’s ribs were just bruised, thank goodness, but they were sore as hell and who was
really to blame? “So since you have offended me…” Oh shit! What was he saying?
Maarten looked startled, too, blinking owlishly and sitting back in his chair. “By?”
Todd wanted to whoop the big ox…wolf. “You’re the one who sent that jerk after us.
What kind of leader doesn’t know his own men?”
Maarten actually appeared to shrink a little at that accusation. He muttered something
Todd couldn’t hear and rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth.
“Maybe he’s just not very bright,” Adam chimed in, whispering and knowing full well
the shifters would hear.
Daan made a choking sound and Sim shoved a fist in his mouth and stared at them
with wide eyes. Peter didn’t so much as twitch, and Maarten growled, a low rumbling sound
that made every hair on Todd’s body stand up, but he didn’t back down. He could growl,
too, if that was the way the shifter wanted to play this chest-thumping game.
“You couldn’t touch me in the ring,” Maarten finally said, not without a little mockery.
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Todd’s cheeks heated but he kept his own tone bland. “Who said anything about being
in a ring?” Todd scrambled for an alternative, because, yeah, Maarten would clobber him in a
heartbeat.
“Why should he have to?” Adam asked. “You orchestrated this whole thing, and expect
us to think you aren’t a bad guy? What the fuck is wrong with you?” Adam had worked
himself up to a furious ball of indignation. “You drugged our friends! Or had them drugged,
whatever! And you sent psycho-fuckwit along in charge! If you’re the leader of the shifters
here, they are so fucked!”
“I’m not,” Maarten snapped, “not more than those who live here in this house with me.
We are rebels, outcasts, whatever, of Luther’s regime! I want him dead, and my brother back
in his rightful place! As for your accusations—”
“Facts,” Todd interrupted, “there’s no accusation to it!”
Maarten growled again and clenched his hands on the armrests of the chair. Todd
heard the material rend, heard wood crack. “Fine, then. Yes, I sent him, as a test! I suspected
he was sent to me to spy by Luther, and he was. I did not order him to drug your
friends…exactly.”
“What the fuck does that even mean?” Adam shouted, then groaned and went white as
a ghost as he clutched his side.
Todd murmured soothing words to him and cradled him to his side carefully, all the
time glaring daggers at Maarten. Maybe he’d have two wolf rugs.
“I just said not to bring them.” Maarten huffed and looked up at the ceiling. “Fine, yes. I
didn’t want the other shifters here because I do not know or trust them, and they are strong.
You two are just humans.”
“Oh, fuck you, asshole,” Adam hissed, his voice was pitched higher than usual and
laced with pain. “My human can shoot you before you can blink.”
“He doesn’t have a—”
Todd did, though, since Daan and Sim had brought his bag. He didn’t know how
Marcus had managed it, but he’d assured Todd he could get his handgun through and he
had. Now Todd got to give Maarten a thin smile while pointing his nice .357 at him.
“…gun,” Maarten finished lamely. He twisted to glare at Daan and Sim. “What kind of
help are you two?”
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Daan shrugged even as he blanched. “We didn’t go through his bags. You said you
wanted their help, which was why we couldn’t understand Peter’s behaviour.”
“Couldn’t understand why you made him a beta in the first place,” Sim sneered.
“You both do remember there is a very large calibre gun pointed at me?” Maarten
asked. Todd was wondering the same thing himself.
Daan looked at him. “He won’t shoot you. Todd is a very honourable man.”
Damn it. There went any leverage Todd had and he knew it. So did Adam, judging by
the soft sigh he gave. Maarten faced him and arched a brow. Todd set the safety and tucked
the gun in the back of his waistband under his shirt.
“You’re still an asshole,” Adam informed Maarten.
“I am,” he admitted easily. “I suspected Peter’s duplicity and put you and your friends
at risk unnecessarily, but I did manage to beat some information out of Peter. At least I know
Luther hasn’t yet found Luuk or Jameson.”
“Are you sure they’re even alive?” Todd asked even though he hated to do so. But
Adam deserved the truth.
Maarten shook his head. “I have no proof, but I believe they are. Luuk went to America
and, somehow, he met his mate. Europe’s shifter politics have been unstable for a very long
time. When Luuk went to America, I believe he intended to meet with the Alpha Anax there,
Marcus Criswell—”
“Whose brother you had drugged,” Todd pointed out. “Hate to be in your shoes.”
Maarten shrugged. “I honestly did not think Peter would drug them. But, as you have
both said, he is my responsibility. I would not defend myself against Marcus Criswell any
more than I would against either of you.”
Todd was getting really tired of the head games. “You said—”
“That you couldn’t touch me in the ring, and, no, if it were an actual fight, you couldn’t.
But I did cause harm to you and your mate, or husband, whatever you call Adam, and to
you. There wouldn’t be a fight. I would give you your pound of flesh, as it were.” Maarten
shrugged one massive shoulder. “I am a fair man, and honourable too, even if my judgement
wasn’t the best.”
Todd was almost glad he hadn’t shot him. “If you really are as honourable as you claim
to be, then send someone for our friends, or contact them and tell them how to get here.”
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Maarten lowered his head and his expression hardened. “I will not give your friends
the same pound of flesh. They are shifters and should understand my reticence at having
them in my small pack.”
“I think maybe you’re wrong about that.” Adam sounded better, as if the pain had
receded. “Or maybe y’all just aren’t as evolved as the North American packs.”
Oh, that didn’t sit well with Maarten at all, and Todd wanted to laugh. Adam did,
snickering at the thunderous expression. “Well, if y’all are more beast than man and can’t
have guests of the same species without it being a pissing match…”
“We can,” Maarten grumbled. “Daan, Sim, go back to the hotel and bring the shifters
here. Watch for a tail.”
As much as Todd wanted to see Gabe and the others, he didn’t think Maarten’s idea
was the best. “They’re likely to get their asses kicked first,” he pointed out. “Easier to call.”
“Fine.” Maarten waved at his betas. “Call, but don’t give them our location, and use a
disposable phone. I’m paranoid for a reason,” he said when Todd gave him a questioning
look.
“If you were smart the paranoia might not be necessary,” Adam pointed out.
Maarten scowled at them. “Why were you Jameson’s best friend? I was told he was a
very nice man.”
“Fuck you,” Adam said succinctly.
“Adam is too, but get your head out of your butt, Maarten.” Todd refused to point out
the obvious. They’d been kidnapped and hurt and had every right to be bitchy and furious.
“Of course, you’re right.” Maarten nudged Peter with his foot. “Get up and shift.” To
Todd and Adam, he explained, “His wolf has submitted to me wholly, but I don’t trust the
man. The beast will obey, however.”
Peter shifted and trotted unsteadily over to a kennel. The door was open on it and he
entered it, pawing at the padded surface beneath him before plonking down.
“It’s a security thing, before you think me cruel,” Maarten said. “Peter isn’t locked in,
but the small area gives the impression of a den and soothes the wolf.”
“Okay.” Todd didn’t know why Maarten gave two shakes about their opinion of him.
“About Jameson?”
Maarten stood and walked over to a small portable bar. “Care for a drink?”
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“No, we’re both on pain meds.” Adam didn’t add ‘duh’ but it was definitely implied.
Maarten almost looked embarrassed. “Ah. Well. If you don’t mind, I will imbibe,
although I doubt there’s enough in here to truly do the job right.” He waved a bottle more
than halfway filled. “Scotch, my favourite.”
After he fixed his drink, Maarten turned and leaned against the bar. He sipped slowly
then moaned and closed his eyes. “God, there’s nothing quite like this.” Maarten opened his
eyes and peered at the glass. “I haven’t seen Luuk or Jameson for over two years, not since
shortly after they landed, actually. I was there to greet them, having been standing in Luuk’s
stead, in a manner of speaking, while he was gone. There were rumours of a coup, but there’s
always such rumours, ever since I can remember. No one had actually tried anything in
decades.”
He tossed back the rest of his drink and poured another. “And that was my mistake
then, too, wasn’t it. Not believing the rumours. I had some men check into it, including my
close…friend, Luther, whom I trusted, but those very same men are the ones who turned on
us. All hell broke loose, as the saying goes. I was hurt.” Maarten tipped his head to the side
and it was only then Todd saw the thick scar running across his neck.
Adam hissed and touched his own neck. “That…looks like it should have killed you.”
Maarten’s lips twitched and kicked up on one side. “Well, on days where I’m throwing
myself a pity party, I wish it would have, but no, the artery was missed. I was in shifted
form, otherwise, who knows?” He sipped his second drink again. “When it was over, only
Luuk, Jameson and I had survived that attack. Me, just barely, I suppose. Jameson was hurt
as well. He was, at that point, only a human.”
“I’m really beginning to hate that whole ‘only a human’ shit,” Adam groused. “Like
we’re somehow less.”
“You’re not,” Maarten corrected quickly. “Well, not less important or what have you.
Obviously humans aren’t as strong as we are, or as long-lived, and you do tend to break
easier. That does not negate the importance of humans, however.”
“How sweet to hear you say so.” Adam stood and Todd did as well, slipping an arm
around Adam’s waist.
“I don’t mean any disrespect, I’m just trying to explain. I can’t say either of our species
is superior. We each have our good and bad points.”
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“How bad was Jameson hurt?” Todd asked, knowing Adam wanted to know but was
afraid of what he’d hear.
Maarten’s slight nod made Todd think the shifter had the same opinion. “Quite, I’m
afraid, although I believe he survived. Not without many scars. A human body is little
barrier for a wolf’s teeth. There were only the three of us against almost a dozen.” Maarten
finished his second drink and, instead of pouring a third, lifted the bottle to his lips and
drank. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and continued as Todd rubbed
soothing circles on Adam’s back. “Jameson was alive, though. Luuk took my car. We didn’t
know whom we could trust at that point. And Luther, he is now Alpha Anax here. Early on, I
received a note, handed to me by a human boy on the street one day. All it said was, ‘We
are.’”
“Alive? Here? We are what?” Todd asked. Adam was too quiet, too still beside him. He
looked and found Adam struggling against tears. Todd gently folded Adam into his arms.
Maarten shook his head. “Alive, I took it to mean. It was definitely Luuk’s writing, and
I could still catch a hint of his scent on the paper. That was almost two years ago. I’ve tried
finding him, but, honestly, I’ve no idea where he and Jameson could be. Rumours have them
in the mountains. That encompasses…a shitload of places.”
“How many shifters do you have to help you search?”
“Thirteen.” Maarten cast a glance at the wolf. “I won’t have Peter help. As it is, I
halfway expect Luther to send his murdering minions here at any time. But then he would
have no hope of finding Luuk, or Jameson. That’s the only reason he’s left me alive, I’m
sure.”
“He hasn’t come after you at all?” Todd thought this continent of shifters was entirely
too fucked-up to comprehend, or at least their way of doing things was.
“Sometimes, he has. He even caught me once, or, rather, some of his pack did.”
Maarten’s smile was all teeth and not the least bit friendly. “He should have sent more than
four, the fool. I think he believes I’m not quite all here.” He tapped his head.
Todd kind of agreed, but, honestly, after what had happened to Maarten, Jameson and
Luuk, who could blame him? “Why does Luther want Jameson? Just to hurt Luuk?”
Maarten shrugged again. “I believe so. To have one’s mate taken, or killed? That would
be hell for a shifter. Plus, Jameson was a very attractive man. Luther would enjoy…hurting
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him. My brother will give up being Alpha Anax—may have already done so—before he risks
his mate. I suppose he already has given up on us, and I can’t blame him. I just keep
hoping…”
“Why don’t you take over?” How did that happen? Another coup?
Maarten was vehemently shaking his head. “No, no way. I think I’ve shown I’m not the
best strategist, and not the smartest guy. Whoever leads us needs to be both, and Luuk is.
Luther is just a murdering bastard who rules through fear. He’s a thug, nothing more, but
everyone is scared of him and his followers. He’s always surrounded by guards who would
kill anyone just for Luther’s entertainment.”
If Todd had to guess, he’d say that Luther and Maarten had been lovers, and Luther
had used the big man and set him up to die. And maybe that was why Luther didn’t kill him
now. Guilt. But did someone like that even have a conscience? Todd had noticed the pause
earlier when Maarten first said Luther’s name, as well as the pinched look that settled on
Maarten’s expression. Still, it wasn’t his business. Maarten wasn’t a friend, he was
dangerous, and Todd had better not forget it.
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Chapter Forty-Two
Loud cursing and crashing sounds announced the arrival of Gabe, Mika, Aidan and
Zane. Adam bolted upright from where he’d been lying in bed beside Todd. Adam had been
trying to figure out a way to have sex without it making him want to scream in pain, but had
just about settled on seeing if Todd would blow him…carefully, and he’d do the same in
return. He just needed some energy, but, yeah, that was going to have to wait.
“Guess they found them,” Todd muttered happily, already up and holding a hand out
to Adam. “I think Maarten is going to have his ass handed to him.”
Adam didn’t disagree, but—“I hope Gabe isn’t the one to try to do it.”
Todd snorted as he opened the bedroom door. “Gabe isn’t stupid. He does have a
temper, but he also likes to stay pretty for Mika. My bet is on Aidan or Zane.”
Yeah, Adam could see that, although he didn’t really know Zane well. But it was
always the quiet ones that could kick some serious ass, wasn’t it?
A roar tore through the house and Todd sped up. “Sorry,” Adam said, knowing Todd
would love to run but wouldn’t leave Adam behind.
“It’s—” Todd began.
“Where are they?” Aidan—Adam was almost certain it was Aidan—thundered loud
enough to make Adam’s head throb.
“Okay,” Todd finished weakly, eyes huge in his face. “Oh shit,” he exhaled as a loud
thud sounded. “Did the house just shake?”
Adam didn’t have the chance to answer, because the yelling and cussing and growling
and snarling was too damn loud and scary to boot. He tugged on Todd’s hand. Todd
stopped and frowned at him. Adam tipped his chin towards the living room where all the
chaos seemed to be.
“Maybe we shouldn’t go in there,” Adam said, “because it sounds like a pack of wolves,
and I don’t know how that works, if they’re all shifted and we aren’t and—”
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Because Todd was facing him, Todd didn’t see what Adam did, a large grey wolf
barrelling down the hall towards them. “Todd!” Adam forgot about his ribs and every other
part of his battered body. He shoved Todd behind him with every bit of strength he had.
“Damn it!” Todd yelped, grabbing at Adam. Adam kept his eyes on the wolf as it
skidded to a halt right in front of him, literally feet to…paws. “That’s—”
Adam figured it out the second before the wolf shifted. Zane knelt nude and staring up
at him, his silver eyes still the wolf’s, or was it the wolf’s were always the man’s? Jesus
Christ, what did it matter?
“Adam, Todd.”
Adam was still trying to get his heart to stop trying to fucking kill him when Zane
darted up and gave Adam and Todd a very nice view of his, well, everything.
“Geez,” Todd huffed, and Adam understood that completely. Zane was perfectly
formed, each muscle chiselled and standing out in stark relief—but he wasn’t Adam’s
beautiful, built man, not by a long shot.
“You two were hurt,” Zane growled, and Adam yelped then because Zane was patting
and touching him, poking and reaching back behind Adam to get at Todd. “How bad? Who
did it and are they still alive? They won’t be…”
Just then Aidan’s shout turned into a howl and Adam guessed they hadn’t all been
wolves in the front room, but they might be now.
“Fuck!” Zane about whipped his head off his neck turning to glare down the hallway.
“That was Aidan’s challenge, and…and I don’t want to fucking live here if he wins!”
“Why would you have to live here?” Adam was beyond confused. Didn’t Aidan and
Zane have free will?
“Because if he defeats Maarten then Aidan has a pack to care for, get it?”
Oh, that responsibility thing. Pack dominance and alphas and all. “But what if Luuk is
found?” And Jameson, God, please let him be okay.
Zane snorted even as he turned to keep poking at them. Adam hissed and slapped at
his hand when he touched Adam’s ribs. “Watch it! They’re bruised.”
“God damn it,” Zane spat. “And if Luuk is found, he is the Alpha Anax of the European
packs, not just the alpha of this one.”
“Couldn’t Aidan appoint someone?”
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Zane stopped and finally looked at Adam. “Well, yeah, I suppose.”
Adam pushed him back. “Stop it already and go do something in there before there’s
blood and guts everywhere. I don’t think Maarten is the bad guy, just…not the brightest bulb
in the pack, you know.”
Zane scowled. “Which is why there’s the whole survival of the fittest. If he isn’t smart
enough to back down then he deserves whatever Aidan dishes out to him. Even death.”
“I don’t think I like the shifter laws,” Todd said, sounding more than a little shaken.
“And Maarten was worried about bringing strange shifters into the pack, about power
exchange and stuff like that, in case it makes any difference. He was trying to keep some sort
of peace, and he had a spy in his midst that did this.” Todd gestured at himself and Adam.
Zane bit his bottom lip then seemed to deflate somehow. He gave a sharp nod then
tipped his head towards the front room. “It might matter. I can actually understand, but I
think I’m the calmest of our bunch. Mika’s possibly—” Another howl rent the air. Zane’s
eyes bulged. “Or maybe not. Come on.”
Adam still couldn’t run. “Go stop the chaos,” he said as he shooed Zane.
Zane gave him what might have been a scathing look, it was hard to tell when the man
was all but a blur of movement. One minute he was all nude flesh and flapping bits then
poof, not so much.
“This is a disaster,” Todd said as they made their way, albeit slower, after Zane. “It’s
like they all think any little thing is an excuse to give in and let the animal part of them take
over.”
Adam would have disagreed but he wasn’t one for lying. “Maybe the wolf is really
stronger than the human or something. Or maybe you’re right and they just think, fuck it,
let’s be wild beasts.” Adam shrugged then bit back a whimper, because, damn it, that hurt. “I
don’t know that I’d be much different, really. I’d have torn off Maarten’s head, Peter’s head,
hell, probably even Daan’s and Sim’s and they aren’t even that bad, just…sheep in wolf’s fur,
hey.”
“Yes, but all of them are responsible in some way for you being hurt, so, yeah, I agree
there, but you and I love each other like I think the shifter mates do. It makes sense that we’re
that protective of each other.”
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“Yeah,” was as far as Adam got then because they turned into the living room and
chaos did not begin to describe it. Wolves were jumping and snarling and fighting and even
Adam, plain ol’ human that he was, could feel the power in the room, the alpha-whatever it
was that made one top wolf.
And he had no problem picking out Aidan, because he was a huge white beast, and he
was the one taking on an even bigger light grey wolf. And winning. Aidan had Maarten
backed into a corner, dangerous positioning for sure, and Maarten was snarling, snapping,
spit and blood flinging from his teeth.
A quick look and Adam found Gabe, his calico wolf fur distinctive, and whoever he
was going after was pinned down and whimpering. Mika was battling a couple of smaller
wolves who looked terrified to Adam, not that he could really read wolf expressions, but
still. Every time Mika lunged they both whimpered. Zane was fierce, biting and knocking
wolves back. But no one interfered with Maarten and Aidan, and the two of them didn’t
seem to be willing to call a truce.
“This is bad,” Adam whispered, aware of the increasing tension in the room, the vicious
sounds emanating from Aidan and Maarten. “They won’t stop.”
“And Zane doesn’t want to live here,” Todd added, and Adam glared at him. Todd
hitched up a shoulder. “I wasn’t joking. I don’t know what to do. They’re all wolves and
we…aren’t.”
“Is there a water hose we can use?” Adam asked, then shook his head. That was a
stupid idea. “One of them is going to kill the other, an,d if Aidan doesn’t survive, I think it
will be shifter war. And if Maarten dies and Luuk is found…”
“Yeah.” Todd stepped further into the room and kicked when one wolf barrelled into
him. “Get back!” The wolf yelped and darted across the room. Todd looked at Adam then
stuck his fingers in his mouth. Adam had just enough time to plug his ears, and, even then,
the God-awful shrill whistle about made his ears bleed.
The wolves went nuts, yelping and barking, and Todd did it again. Aidan and Maarten
both dropped their heads and pawed at their ears. Todd inhaled quickly, and let out a
higher-pitched whistle. Adam clapped his hands just once, because, damn it, he kept
forgetting he was hurt.
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“Stop it!” he shouted, pain fuelling anger and making him louder than he thought he
could be. “God damn it, we’ve had enough of this stupidity! Why are y’all fighting? It isn’t
over us, because we are standing right here!” That got his friends’ attention, but it was
Maarten who shifted and slid to the floor on his butt.
“Back,” he rasped out, keeping a wary eye on the white wolf still snarling at him.
Todd walked over to stand at Aidan’s side. “Aidan, cut it out. This isn’t helping anyone,
and acting like animals instead of rational people is just asinine.”
“Well, fuck, of course you’d be the voice of reason,” Gabe muttered. “And Adam, too.”
Gabe sat but he kept a hand on the now-shifted form he’d been pinning down, which turned
out to be Daan. “Seriously, we should talk first, then kick asses if need be.” Gabe leant
forward and looked at Maarten. And snorted. “Well, it looks like someone already got their
ass-whooping.”
“Gabriel,” Mika rumbled. Gabe rolled his eyes and muttered “Whatever.”
Aidan continued to give Maarten a menacing wolf-glare for several moments until
Zane, still in wolf form, joined him and rubbed against his side. Something was
communicated between them, Adam was sure of it, then Aidan snapped at the air between
him and Maarten and turned his back on the man, flipping his tail up right in his face.
“Talk about showing your ass,” Adam mumbled. He didn’t really blame Aidan,
though. He truly thought the wolf demanded so much in the manner of respect and
authority.
Aidan loped over to him, Zane and Todd with him. As soon as Aidan and Zane shifted,
Adam’s anger and energy drained right out of him. If it wasn’t for Todd’s quick action,
sliding his arm around Adam’s waist and holding him up more than hugging him, Adam
would have probably hit the floor.
“You’re hurt,” Aidan snapped, and Adam could feel the man’s irritation at that. “I want
to know who hurt you and Todd.”
“Fuck. Now?” Adam wasn’t sure he could stay upright that long, or awake, even.
Hurting was exhausting.
“Come to our room, Gabe and Mika, y’all too.” Todd looked beyond them. “Maarten,
you can join us when you’ve got your pack under control or whatever. Just give us a little
time alone, okay?”
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“All right,” Maarten replied, and Adam heard the pain in his raspy voice.
“He’s hurt.”
“Not bad enough,” Aidan said. “He’s still breathing.”
“Stop it,” Adam tried to shout. It came out as more of a whimper. How embarrassing!
“Adam’s right, everyone needs to realise we’re all on the same side. Maarten.” Todd
nodded at him. “If you need help, I’ll do what I can for you. Adam’s a vet, and he brought
some stuff in case…we needed it. If you can wait, let him rest a little bit then he’ll take care of
you as much as he can. If you can’t wait, he—”
“I can wait,” Maarten interrupted. “Take care of him first.”
As much as Adam would have liked to protest that he could see to Maarten now, he
didn’t think he could. Plus, he needed to check his friends over first. There was bound to be
more than one bite that needed tending. Hopefully he’d be able to do it, but, if not, Todd
would help. He’d not want his friends to suffer, either.
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Chapter Forty-Three
“I don’t give a rat’s ass if he’s a saint, he’s still a dick!” Gabe slammed the bedroom
door.
“You do realise that makes no sense,” Todd said, knowing well the reaction he’d get
from Gabe.
Gabe didn’t disappoint him, either, marching right up to get in his face. He planted one
hand on his hip and shook his finger an inch from Todd’s nose. “Don’t even start or I’ll
manscape you with the duct tape I have in my bag. You have to sleep sometime.” Gabe
grinned, looking for all the world like an evil elf. “Just think of all your pubes being ripped
off, those short and curlies on your balls and behind—”
“Stop,” Todd squeaked. His groin was hot and he wasn’t entirely sure why. He was
afraid, wasn’t he? That effervescent feeling in his stomach wasn’t some twisted kind of
arousal?
“The only person handling Todd’s goodies is me,” Adam snarked with almost enough
bite to convince Todd he wasn’t about to keel over. “I will put Nair in your shampoo bottle
or something equally horrible if you even come at Todd with duct tape.”
Gabe opened his mouth, a thunderous expression on his face that, in a heartbeat,
morphed into amusement. He leaned around Todd to look at Adam sitting on the bed. “Hey,
that’s pretty evil, I am impressed. Apparently being beaten and scared brings out your
devious nature. We should chat.”
“No, y’all shouldn’t,” Mika interjected. “That’s the last thing we need, our mates
plotting together? Nope.”
“Spoilsport,” Gabe groused. “Adam doesn’t look so hot anyway.”
“Fuck you too,” Adam huffed. “Come over here and sit down so I can check you out.
Mika, you’re after Gabe, then Aidan and Zane and Maarten—”
“Spiegel can handle some of them,” Todd interrupted, thinking Gabe didn’t look very
damaged to him. “I thought you were bleeding…”
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Gabe shrugged and sat on the bed. “Shifters heal fast, and, for some reason, I heal really
fast. Maybe ‘cause I’m some freaky patchwork-coated wolf. Who knows. Besides, it was just
scratches.” He raised his arms and allowed Mika to pull off his shirt. Someone had handed
out sweats and T-shirts, thank God, because Todd sure didn’t want to keep seeing a shitload
of naked shifters.
“This is amazing.” Adam murmured that and other variations expressing his awe. Todd
was just kind of struck silent, because, yeah, there were long, pink scratches on Gabe’s ribs
that had been bloody gouges not very long ago.
“See? I’m speeesshulll,” Gabe sang. “Mika got bit on the ass, though.”
“Gabe,” Mika growled, then hissed between his teeth when Gabe poked at his butt
cheek. “Stop it, or so help me I’ll paddle your ass.”
Gabe went still, except for one eyebrow that he quirked up almost to his hairline. Then
he poked.
“Not in our room!” Todd yelped when Mika, moving faster than a rattlesnake striking,
jerked Gabe up and over his shoulder, landing a loud, hard smack on his ass. Gabe yelped
then moaned and wiggled. “Out.” Todd pointed to the door. “Maarten said y’all can have the
room across from us. Go do…whatever in there, but we need to talk.”
“Won’t take long, and Adam needs to check Aidan and Zane.” Gabe waved happily as
Mika trotted out of the door.
“Guess his ass wasn’t hurting that bad.” Adam rubbed at one eye. “Gabe’s will be,
though, and that knowledge is just another traumatic realisation now permanently scorched
into my brain.”
Todd chuckled and sat on the bed beside Adam. He cupped Adam’s chin and tipped
his head up so he could study his husband. Dark circles ringed his eyes, and his normally
tanned skin had a sallow cast to it. Fine lines feathered out into bare crow’s feet, and his lips
had a pinched look that conveyed the fact he was hurting.
“Ribs?” Todd asked, caressing Adam’s cheek with his thumb. When Adam gave a bare
nod, Todd gently eased him back, always touching, comforting with his hands. “Rest. I
imagine Aidan and Maarten are hammering out some kind of agreement. I know I said
Spiegel could help, but I don’t think Aidan or Zane will trust him.”
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“Me either.” Adam sighed, his breath fluttering over Todd’s palm. “I’m so tired, but I
don’t think I can sleep.”
“You need some pain medicine?” Todd spotted the bottles on the nightstand. A loud
moan reached them from across the hall. “Earplugs?”
Adam snorted then pressed a hand to his side. “God, don’t make me laugh. Yes to the
pain meds—two of the ones in the biggest bottle. And no to the earplugs, because, honestly,
being voyeurs might be the highlight of our sex life for a few days.”
Well, that sucked but Todd understood. He didn’t feel so hot himself, but he wasn’t as
badly off as Adam. The sound of flesh on flesh was undeniably loud and Adam’s eyes
sprang open just as Todd’s about popped out of his head. He felt flushed from thighs to ears.
“Mika’s really…” Adam gulped and propped up slowly on one elbow. “That was—”
Another loud slap, followed by Gabe’s voice breaking in an unmistakably sexual manner.
“Oh.”
Todd couldn’t even say that much as it sunk in that Gabe was indeed getting a very
hard, and much wanted and enjoyed, spanking.
“I kind of thought people just did that in pornos.”
Todd looked for any sort of arousal from Adam, almost terrified of finding it. As
someone who’d been beaten until he’d passed out on more than one occasion as a child, he
couldn’t fathom wanting to be spanked. He didn’t blame, didn’t want to judge, but, hell, he
couldn’t do something like that if Adam wanted to.
“I don’t get it either,” Adam said quietly. “I mean, I love it when you fuck me hard,
when you mark me with your teeth and hold on so tight you leave finger bruises, but that’s
about as wild as I ever want to get. And I surely don’t want to be doing that,” he darted his
eyes at the other bedroom, “to you. I’d rather eat your ass than hit it.”
“Oh.” Gabe and Mika’s noises were blocked out by the rush of blood flowing south in a
whoosh.
“In fact, I like it when you get kinda dominant, with that growling and stuff,” Adam
said, fluttering his lashes. “Turns me all kinds of on. And makes me horny even though I’m
hurting. Already I’m thinking about things we could do that wouldn’t jostle much, like you
naked, straddling my face—” Adam stopped suddenly and his cheeks turned ruddy as he
looked past Todd.
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Todd was already blushing when he twisted around and saw Aidan and Zane looking
kind of glassy-eyed in the doorway.
“Sorry,” Zane scraped out, his voice cracking. It was then Todd noticed Zane had both
arms around Aidan’s torso, as if holding him up, and Todd thought maybe their glassy-eyed
look wasn’t from arousal. Indeed, a glance assured him neither man was even half hard.
Todd was up like a shot. “How bad?” He ignored his own aches and pains to help get
Aidan to the bed. Adam sat up and carefully gained his feet.
“Just the shoulder,” Aidan said, rolling with Zane’s help onto his stomach.
Todd’s stomach plummeted and threatened to send whatever was in it spurting back
up. The bite mark on Aidan’s shoulder was deep, and just gross, that was all there was to it.
“Shit, that looks bad.” Adam obviously wasn’t playing the part of professional, he was
speaking as a concerned friend. “Todd, can you get my bag?”
“It’ll heal in a couple days,” Aidan grumbled, but Todd thought he’d seen something
that might have been bone. Then again, he didn’t know anything about the inside of a
person’s body beyond the basic stuff. Plus, for all he knew, shifters were different. Well,
more different than the whole shifting thing.
“Maybe so, but, unless you can generate several inches of skin, it’s gonna be ugly,
because this needs to be stitched.” Adam cursed as he looked closer. “And quickly, thanks to
your shifter supersonic healing capabilities. They’re going to fuck you over with this if we
don’t move now.”
The next hour tested Todd’s mettle. More than once he had to lock his muscles against
being sick. Adam, even hurting as he was, stayed calm and kept at the stitches, even
trimming away some skin when it proved to be too healed for his liking to graft together.
Aidan, for his part, kept a stoic expression in place. He refused to be numbed up, saying
only it’d take more than Adam could spare, possibly more than he had. Todd accepted that
he was never going to be that much of a badass. He’d have taken all the pain meds he could
have got or, more likely, passed out and been done with it. But Aidan stayed conscious, his
gaze locked with Zane’s almost the entire time.
Mika and Gabe came in the room before Adam was done, and Gabe’s steps were a bit
off, which Todd didn’t want to think about. He wasn’t freaked that Gabe and Mika played
rough, and now that he knew Adam and he were on the same page there he wasn’t nearly as
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weirded out by it. Actually, he wanted to spank Gabe himself on more than one occasion, but
not for the same reasons Mika did. Then again, he didn’t know all of Mika’s reasons, did he?
“We’ll help Aidan and Zane get to their room,” Gabe announced as soon as Adam had
finished. “Adam needs a long, hot bath and some TLC—Todd’s lovin’ care, how sweet is
that?”
“Dork.” Todd tried not to chuckle but it was impossible when Gabe seemed so proud of
himself.
“You know you love me.” Gabe grunted as he helped take some of Aidan’s weight.
Todd suspected Aidan was leaning extra on Gabe, and Aidan confirmed it with a wink at
him. “Oaf. I’d elbow you but you’d cry and lose all your alpha points.”
It was almost pleasant to listen to their bickering, especially since they were heading
out while they were doing it. Todd locked the door behind him then turned and froze as
Adam pulled off his sweats. Acres of naked flesh were bared and Todd wanted to lick every
bit, but his gaze landed on the deep purple bruises on Adam’s side and his arousal
dwindled.
“Sit, or lay down, whichever’s easier for you. I’ll go start a bath.” He walked over and
covered Adam’s face in kisses, a gentle apology for the order. “I just don’t want you
hurting.”
“I know.” Adam caught his chin and slanted his mouth over Todd’s. There was no
gentle invasion—Adam thrust his tongue in and laid claim to Todd’s mouth. When he leant
back, Todd was pretty sure he had a goofy, lovestruck look on his face.
Adam grinned, dimpling even. “Go on, and make it a hot bath. Maybe I won’t be so
sore between that and the drugs, and we can experiment.” Adam waggled his eyebrows.
Todd’s mouth went dry. “I’m all for experimentin’.” He went and started the bath.
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Chapter Forty-Four
Adam woke the next morning so sore he whimpered. The pain, added with the guilt
over having conked out before any experimenting got done, pretty much ensured he was
going to have a sucky day. He knew it for certain when Todd rolled over and kissed the line
of his jaw just as someone banged on the bedroom door.
Todd jerked back and yelped when he went over the edge of the bed, the sheets tangled
around him—and Adam. He barely kept himself from tumbling after Todd, kicking and
scrabbling out of the material and hissing and cursing the entire time.
“Someone’s gonna get their butt kicked,” Todd grumbled as he sat up. His green eyes
warmed Adam as Todd looked him over. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to try to take you
down with me.” He leaned over and this time even the banging on the bedroom door didn’t
distract them. Todd kissed him full on the mouth, morning breath unheeded and, Adam
hoped, not too bad. He would happily kiss Todd any time, any place.
“You need help getting up?” Todd asked, tenderly stroking Adam’s cheek.
Adam’s bladder let out a warning throb. “Yeah, bathroom?” He could get up, but with
Todd’s help he’d be quicker and it wasn’t like he was ashamed to admit to his man that he
needed help.
“Just a sec!” Todd hollered. The banging stopped and Adam was soon in the bathroom.
“Let me get you some clothes, then I’ll deal with whoever interrupted our morning.”
Adam nodded and shuffled over to the toilet. In short order Todd had clothes laid on
the countertop for him and Adam was feeling marginally better. He listened to a voice he
didn’t recognise as he moved over to the sink. He couldn’t make out the words, but there
was an urgency to the tone. Adam gave up on eavesdropping and ran the water to wash his
face and brush his teeth. His bruises still looked awful, and he surely wasn’t his most
attractive, but he shrugged that off.
Getting dressed was tedious even though it was just sweats and a shirt. He was sorer
today than yesterday, probably because he’d tensed up so much when all that stupid alpha
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shit had gone down yesterday. Really, though, the shifters were interesting. It had to be an
amazing thing, changing from man to wolf. How much did one control the other?
He wasn’t ever going to know. Adam finished tugging the shirt down then went to the
bathroom door. Whoever had been talking to Todd was either being quiet or had left. Adam
opened the door. Todd was reading the labels of the medicine bottles on the nightstand and
turned to him, holding one up.
“This one?” Todd rattled the bottle. “I know you need something.”
Adam squinted then shook his head. “Nope, that’ll knock me back out. Just one of the
heavy-duty ibuprofen for now.”
Todd went back to reading the labels, then prised the lid off and pulled out a tablet.
Adam walked over and took the pill along with a bottle of water he’d left out last night.
“So, who was the psycho door-banger?” he asked after he’d swallowed the pill. Stupid
thing had tried to stick to his throat. Adam had done well not to upchuck all over.
Todd scratched his head, cocking it to the side in a way Adam knew meant he was
worried. “That was one of Maarten’s betas. He said Maarten wanted us all in the meeting
room. Didn’t tell me where that was, though, and damned if I was awake enough to ask.
Plus, I could hardly understand the guy. His accent was really thick.”
“Well, Gabe and Mika will be going, along with Aidan and Zane.” Adam felt a slight
lessening in his pain level and sighed. “They can sniff out the way if nothing else.” He
glanced at the doorway and shook his head. “Speak of the devil, Gabe.”
“Yup, we can do that, except Aidan and Zane are already gone. They met with Maarten
earlier,” Gabe said. “Morning, guys. How are y’all feeling?”
“Like shit.” Adam kind of envied the shifters if they healed as fast as Gabe had implied.
“How’s everyone else?”
Gabe pulled up his shirt. The pink lines were gone. “I’m dandy, so’s Mika. Aidan still
has a gross-looking bite, but it’s nothing like it was before. Zane won’t let Aidan overdo it.
Dunno about Maarten or anyone else, we haven’t seen them yet.” Gabe frowned at Adam
and waved a hand around. “Are you sure nothing’s broken in there?”
“There’s not, but having the shit scared out of me for a wakeup call didn’t help.”
Todd eased an arm around him and nuzzled his temple. “Yeah, Esb-Esb—” Todd
huffed. “Whatever that guy’s name was, he about beat the door off its hinges.”
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“Esbjörn.” Mika actually blushed when Adam and the others looked at him. “What? I
can pronounce it, why’s that so weird?”
Gabe sidled up to his mate and purred, “’Cause you sound so sexy when you say it. Got
the accent down and everything.”
“That isn’t why I was looking,” Todd sputtered, voicing Adam’s denial. “I just can’t
believe you can say it. I get hung up when there’s heavy accents involved. Like, I don’t even
know where we’re supposed to go.”
“I heard.” Mika hitched a thumb over his shoulder. “Down that way, if y’all are ready.”
“Any idea what this is about?” Adam asked, because, now that he wasn’t in so much
pain, his mind was prodding at him. He laced his fingers with Todd’s as they followed Gabe
and Mika.
Mika grunted and Gabe elbowed him in the ribs before craning his head around
enough to glance behind himself. “Not really, although Mika suspects we’ll be heading out to
hunt for Jameson as soon as you can move around better.”
“We ought to go without you two,” Mika said, earning another elbow. “Cut it out,
Gabe. You know it won’t be safe for them out in the wilderness. Y’all are more likely to be
bait than help.”
“Condescending asshole,” Adam muttered, aware Mika would hear. “We aren’t
helpless.”
Mika stopped and pivoted on his heel so quickly he wasn’t more than a blur. He had a
hand on Todd’s chest and a finger pointed at Adam. “No, y’all aren’t, but you aren’t shifters,
either, and I would think, after that display yesterday, you’d know well and good how much
more powerful we are than humans.” He dropped his hands to his hips and glared at the
floor. “We just don’t want either of you hurt…more than you already are. Not that I wanted
you hurt in the first place, but—oh hell, you know what I mean!”
“He means he’s worried about y’all,” Gabe offered, and, yeah, Adam had caught the
gist of Mika’s ramblings. “But I know you can’t sit back and wait.”
Maybe Gabe understood because he hadn’t always been a shifter. He knew being
human didn’t mean you were weak, or cowardly.
“We have to go,” Adam said.
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“I won’t let anyone hurt Adam again.” Todd sounded so sincere it sent a chill down
Adam’s spine. “But we do need some time. Adam’s not fit to travel right now.”
Mika turned back around and started walking again. “We’ll need to plan and I
seriously doubt Maarten has any better an idea of where to look than he did before we
showed up.”
Adam didn’t have anything to say to that. He just wanted to find Jameson and take him
back home if he could. If not, he wanted to make sure he was okay. If he wasn’t alive…
Adam wasn’t going there.
The room where Maarten and the others were waiting was large and rather barren, no
paintings on the dark panelled walls and no rugs on the wooden floors. The windows were
covered in heavy drapes and the lighting was adequate but not great. Adam had been
expecting something more like a corporate meeting room for some reason, not a big empty
room with shitty stools to sit on. No way was he putting his ribs through the hell of sitting on
one of those things.
“Here.” Maarten stood and limped over to the door. Adam wondered how bad his
wounds had been yesterday. “Daan! Bring Adam the padded chair from my office.”
Within minutes, Adam was seated in a comfortable chair. Todd propped his hip on the
arm of it.
Maarten looked at Aidan, who didn’t seem to be hurting even if he did still have a nasty
bite on his shoulder. Aidan nodded once and Maarten grimaced as he steepled his fingers.
“Okay, so I don’t have any new information on where Luuk and Jameson might be, but there
are more places I haven’t looked than I can name. Truthfully I haven’t been able to go far or
leave for very long for fear of what would happen to us if we were caught, but Aidan assures
me he and Zane are strong enough to ensure we’re as safe as we can be.”
Aidan took over then. “Marcus will be sending some of his guard over. I’m not thrilled
about that, as I prefer my brother protected at all times, but he will have a few of his most
trusted men with him. I did request Alex, one of our best trackers. He’s wily, and I think he
can come up with the most likely places for us to search.”
“How long until we leave?” Adam asked, touching his ribs before he realised what he
was doing. He put his hands in his lap and mentally cursed himself for possibly pointing out
how injured he was, or at least reminding the others of it.
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Aidan looked at Zane, who walked over and stood in front of Adam. “May I?”
Adam wasn’t sure who he was asking, him or Todd, but he answered. “Okay.”
Zane knelt and, after a quick glance at Todd, lifted the hem of Adam’s shirt. He hissed
as soon as the bruises were uncovered. “This looks like it could take a while to heal.”
Adam fought against the desire to jerk his shirt back down. “It doesn’t matter. We can’t
be gone for too long, I do have the clinic and Todd has his job. I can handle whatever I need
to.” Maybe if Todd helped him wrap his ribs it’d help.
“Dr Spiegel might be able to give you something, that man knows all kinds of natural
remedies and the like.” Maarten waved at someone behind Adam, which he guessed meant
Spiegel was being sent for. “Shifters aren’t susceptible to most human illnesses, or most
human medicines, so perhaps Spiegel will have a healing agent not known to humans.”
“Then how do you know it’d be safe to use on Adam? He isn’t some guinea pig.” Todd
stood and hovered beside Adam.
Zane released Adam’s shirt and stood as well. “Todd has a very good point. It’d be
beyond stupid to use something unproven on him.”
Maarten rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t suggesting Spiegel pour whatever concoction he
could find down Adam’s throat. Spiegel did attend medical school. He also knows about
human physiology. And he knows what would happen to him if he hurt Adam.”
Adam felt marginally better about Spiegel helping if possible, but he would still
demand to know each and every thing the man was doing. No matter how nasty or painful
the cure might be, if one existed he’d be all for it. They were running out of time to find
Jameson. He and Todd had to be home in less than two weeks. How the hell would that be
enough time when Adam was in such bad shape?
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Chapter Forty-Five
Whatever the doctor, Spiegel, had given Adam, it seemed to have helped. Within two
days the bruises were faded to a pale yellow and Adam didn’t grimace in pain every time he
sat, stood or moved around.
“Wish I knew what the hell that stuff was,” Adam muttered again as he ran a palm
down his ribcage as he checked himself in the bathroom mirror. Todd nodded mutely,
uneasy and aroused at the same time. Adam smirked at him via the mirror and arched his
back. His pert ass was every bit the temptation he had to know it was.
Todd shook off the unnamed niggles and let his desire come to full focus. He still had
some residual soreness, twinges in his head and back, but they were nothing compared to
how much he wanted Adam. A look passed between them, and Todd’s cock jerked, the
tender skin pinched in the fold of his jeans. He stood and strode over to stand behind Adam,
the silence an agreement between them reached in that look. Eyes locked on Adam’s in the
mirror, Todd bent and bit his neck, hard enough to ache. Adam vibrated against him, a low
groan rippling up from his belly.
Todd slid his arms around Adam, holding him tight as he began to suckle and nip,
marking Adam in a spot that’d not be easy to hide. That was okay, Adam wouldn’t want to
hide it. He was purring and undulating beautifully against Todd. Adam rubbed down
Todd’s arms until he found his hands, then Adam pushed them over his hard cock.
Adam dropped his head back, his eyelids dropping almost shut as he hissed air through
his clenched teeth. He pressed Todd’s hands a little harder and thrust. Todd could feel the
heat from his dick through the denim of his jeans and he sucked harder, inhaling through his
nose to soak in the sweat and musk odour he loved so much.
A primal need was building in him, something he rarely let loose, but when he had—
oh, when he had… Todd growled and scraped his teeth over already copper-tanged skin at
the same time he moved one hand down to cup Adam’s balls. He gripped Adam’s cock
firmly and squeezed it as well as Adam’s sac.
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Adam arched, an erotic perfection in the mirror and in Todd’s arms. Todd wanted to
devour him. He raked his hand up, letting go of Adam’s dick, and let his fingers drag and his
nails catch where he knew it’d drive Adam insane with need. It did, Adam’s abs clenching,
spasming under his touch, his chest heaving, his little nipples pointing out, begging for more
as Adam reached up and locked his hands together behind Todd’s neck. Offering himself,
opening himself.
Todd pressed Adam’s sac up, careful with the pressure. Adam whimpered and Todd
pinched one taut nipple. He twisted the nub, drawing animalistic grunts from his man. He
eased his hand up to unfasten Adam’s pants, managing it with the one hand while
continuing to work Adam’s tits with other.
Adam’s neck was well and truly marked, at least in the one spot, so Todd found the
sweet little patch under his jaw, right in front of his ear. A nip there had Adam almost
keening, wordless pleas spilling from his lips.
Todd got the jeans open and Adam’s cock was right there, no underwear in the way.
The wet tip batted his hand as it was freed. Nipples, jaw and dick, Todd worked each, setting
a slow grind of his own against Adam’s ass+. The firm globes of Adam’s butt felt amazing
despite the clothing in the way. Todd rubbed eagerly, the friction to his cock a temporary
balm to the desire threatening to overpower him.
And it did, all with one low keen from Adam, one eager, hungry rub of his buttocks
against Todd’s groin. Todd’s control snapped, hunger pounding into him. He didn’t
recognise the sounds coming from him as he shoved Adam’s jeans down. Somehow they got
off one ankle and that was all Todd needed. He pushed Adam forwards, up against the
bathroom counter in front of the sink.
Adam dropped down to his elbows and braced himself, his gaze demanding, daring.
Todd had his pants shoved down enough to get his cock out, then he leaned and rubbed in
the warm furrow between Adam’s cheeks. It was so tempting, the thought of pushing right
into Adam’s tight little hole, but Todd would never be so far gone as to hurt Adam. He
rutted for several seconds, rocking hard, one hand on Adam’s shoulder and the other on his
hip. It felt good, and Todd knew if he wasn’t careful he’d blow his load all over Adam’s back
instead of inside where he wanted to be.
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There was no lube at hand, but Todd remembered seeing a bottle of lotion. He nipped
the back of Adam’s neck, watched goose bumps roll over his back, then stood and reached
for the lotion on the counter. A glance at Adam, an arched brow and a nod, and it was good.
Todd pumped out a palmful of the cold lotion and grinned at Adam. Neither of them wanted
easy, comfortable, not now.
Adam hissed when the coolness coated his crack, but came to his toes and pushed his
ass up when Todd fingered his hole. Without hesitation, Todd pushed two fingers in.
“Yes!” Adam shouted, that tight ring stretching, so hot and silky past it, Todd’s fingers
encased in Adam’s body. Inner walls contracted around them and Todd had to close his eyes
and bite the hell out of his cheek as his cock leaked pre-cum. He was dangerously close to the
edge, and seeing Adam, hearing him, feeling him, was making Todd ache from his balls to his
chest with the urge to come.
Todd kneaded one of Adam’s ass cheeks while he twisted his wrist, pumping in and
out of Adam’s pucker rapidly. Adam rocked back, fucking himself on Todd’s fingers as
much as he could.
“More,” Adam demanded, and, yeah, Todd was all for that. He pulled his fingers out
all the way on the next withdrawal, and, when Adam slammed back, Todd had his cock
lined up. “Agh! Fuck, yeah!”
Silence obviously was no longer the unspoken agreement, but Todd couldn’t make a
sound as he sank his dick into Adam’s velvety heat. The tight grip of inner muscles, the
clench of that hole around the base of his cock, was driving Todd mad. He put his hands
back on Adam’s shoulder and his hip and pounded into him, giving them both what they
needed, this hungry, consuming mating.
Adam’s wail was almost eardrum-piercing, his body shaking as he shoved back, his ass
battering Todd’s hips, their balls slapping together. Todd might have yelped, he might have
shouted, he couldn’t tell because of the rushing of his pulse, the pounding of his heartbeat
was all he could hear. He wasn’t like this, hadn’t been, but something drove him, drove
Adam until they were driving need and instinct.
Todd grunted as he fucked Adam with harsh strokes, his rhythm already shot. Sweat
burned his eyes and made hanging onto Adam difficult. Todd curled his fingers, some part
of him knowing he was possibly leaving marks. Adam spurred him on with words Todd
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couldn’t make out but the eagerness in Adam’s tone was unmistakable. Just as there was
eagerness in each shove back, their movements were almost violent as Adam fought to be
taken harder and Todd met his need with a snarling force that later would puzzle him.
“Fuck me,” Adam cried out, roaring the words over the chaotic racket in Todd’s head.
Todd let go of his hip and grabbed the back of Adam’s leg. He hitched Adam’s thigh
up, propping his knee on the counter. Todd wanted in deeper, hitched his own leg up,
winding his arms under Adam’s torso to grab at his shoulders that way. Sometime during
their fucking, Adam had got a hand under him, and for a second there was a tangle of arms
and hands, then Todd got the grip he wanted. He couldn’t pull out as far, but he could
jackhammer his hips against Adam’s ass, fucking him with hard, short strokes.
Breathing was a challenge, Todd’s lungs burning, his stomach muscles on fire as he
pounded away at Adam. Todd’s vision blurred, his balls growing warm as they drew up.
Pleasure spread in waves from his sac to his cock, and Todd pressed his head against Adam’s
shoulder then bit the salty skin tempting him so.
And Adam screamed, his entire body tensing, his ass clamping down around Todd’s
cock so tight that he swore his heart stopped. Then he bellowed and ground his hips against
Adam’s ass as his orgasm ripped out of him in thick spurts, cum pumping from him into his
lover.
Todd gasped with the last shot of spunk, an overload of sensation making his spine
sizzle. He couldn’t open his eyes, couldn’t move, could only draw in uneven, raspy breaths
as he all but collapsed on Adam. A part of him was stunned by the way they’d gone after
each other, the way he’d taken Adam, but Todd could still see that look, the challenge and
need in Adam’s eyes. He couldn’t chastise himself for doing what Adam had wanted, and,
even though he hadn’t known it, what he’d wanted as well.
But why now? Todd couldn’t figure it out, and he was probably overthinking it as
usual. He had that tendency. He should be grateful they could still find new ways to excite
each other. And that was what he was going to do, quit worrying. Tomorrow they were
leaving to go try to find Jameson and Luuk. Tonight he and Adam were going to explore
more of this newly discovered need between them.
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Chapter Forty-Six
It was decided, with Adam’s input, to search outside of the Netherlands for Jameson
and Luuk. Adam pointed out that Jameson had loved hiking, loved spending time in the
mountains. He’d not particularly cared for the cold, which showed how much he loved
Luuk, to move here. But would he be capable of hiding out in any of the mountainous areas?
“If he were a wolf, I’d think so,” Adam mused. “But if he wasn’t then I just can’t picture
it.”
Alex, one of the dozen shifters Marcus had sent over to help with the hunt, growled and
tipped his head down to glare at the floor. “Well, where would he go then?”
“I don’t fucking know!” Adam snapped, rubbing at his temples. “I mean, it’s not like
we discussed a secret escape-from-the-evil-shifters plan!” As soon as the words were out,
Adam cringed and held up a hand. “I’m sorry, I am. I just, I don’t know how to help here.
My fucking head is pounding, like there’s a bunch of little bombs in there that go off every
few seconds. It’s driving me fucking nuts.”
Todd was immediately at Adam’s side, massaging his tense shoulders. “Have you
taken anything?”
“Ibuprofen and some heavier shit, but it hasn’t even made a dent in this pain.” He
closed his eyes and sagged against Todd.
Adam’s normally tanned skin was pale and held a faintly green tint to it. His eyes,
when they’d been open, had been bloodshot and underscored by heavy bags.
“I’m going to take Adam back to our room and try to help him rest,” Todd told the
others. Alex looked like he wanted to argue, but Aidan nodded.
“We’ll figure out something. There’s got to be clues here. I can’t believe Maarten
doesn’t have some idea of where Luuk would go.” Aidan turned and arched a brow at
Maarten.
Maarten shrugged. “I do not. My brother is the European Alpha Anax. I am his
subordinate, his beta, but he and I didn’t confide everything in one another. I wish we had. I
only knew of Adam because Luuk expected him to visit and we had discussed how to hide
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who and what we truly are. I’ve kept an eye on Adam as much as I could over the past few
years, but that isn’t saying much. I just lucked out in discovering he was coming here.”
Todd had heard it before. He started to steer Adam out of the room but Adam stopped
and inhaled sharply.
“Did Luuk have any close friends in the shifter hierarchy? Anyone with some power
who could help him?” Adam asked.
Maarten nodded. “Yes, but Luther has killed or displaced them.”
“And where are they?”
Maarten opened his mouth to answer Adam then huffed. “I don’t know. Luuk’s closest
friend was Yannis, who led the Greek packs. He was the first one Luther went after once
Luuk and Jameson disappeared. I’d heard Luther had captured Yannis but he escaped.”
“When?” Aidan asked in an aggrieved voice.
“Last year.” Maarten stood and walked over to a window. He peered out and his broad
shoulders rounded in either defence or guilt, or perhaps despair, Todd couldn’t tell. “I don’t
know what’s the truth anymore. I have no reliable spies to tell me what Luther does or if the
rumours that come back to me are true or not. But if Yannis has escaped, he can’t return to
Greece. More likely he’d leave…Europe…altogether,” he finished lamely. “Oh fuck!”
“Indeed. Alex,” Aidan gestured at the dark-haired man, “see what you can find out
about any gathering of ousted alphas from Europe. Maybe I’m off track here, but I would
think Luuk would be working on building up an army of shifters to take back what was
stolen from him since he can’t do it how we do in America.”
Maarten snorted. “Yes, Luther wouldn’t honour the traditional challenge. Luuk would
tear him apart limb from limb. Luther would act cowardly as he did before and murder his
challengers before they could defend themselves. Fucking bastard.”
“At least they seem to be making some progress,” Todd tried to reassure Adam as he
resumed guiding him out of the room and towards their bedroom. “Do you think if I give
you a thorough massage it will help?”
Adam groaned and melted beside him. “It sure won’t hurt. I’m sorry. I’ve never had
headaches like these before. Honestly, I’d have thought you would be the one hurting up
here.” He touched his temple. “You had the bad hit to the noggin.”
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“And I have occasional residual jolts of pain, but nothing like what you seem to be
experiencing. I hate that you’re hurting.” Todd’s chest ached just knowing Adam was
suffering. “Maybe Dr Spiegel should come—”
“No.” Adam huffed and clung to Todd. “He creeped me out last time, and, if he gives
me another disgusting concoction to drink, I might just pour it over his head. I barely kept
the last one down.” Adam shuddered and Todd wasn’t entirely sure he was faking it. “I’ve
never tasted such vile shit before.”
“Okay, so no Spiegel.” Todd opened their bedroom door and soon had Adam on the
bed. “Let me get you naked.” He waggled his eyebrows and Adam chuckled then slapped
his hands to his head.
“God, don’t make me laugh.” Adam had gone a couple of shades lighter. “Maybe I’m
allergic to shifters or something.”
“Nah, I think it’s just stress.” He hoped. Todd undressed Adam gently, careful not to
jostle him. “On your belly, honey.” He helped Adam to roll then he straddled Adam’s strong
thighs. Adam’s butt was right there in front of him, and it was exquisite, but Todd forced his
gaze up to the broad shoulders hunched down, evidence of Adam’s pain. “I’m gonna help
you,” he promised, then Todd began massaging Adam’s shoulders, taking his time. He
worked out every knot he found, from Adam’s neck to just above his ass. Instead of
stopping, Todd started all over again.
Adam’s muscles were bunched into hard lumps again, and Todd frowned. It was no
wonder, really, that Adam was so tense. Everything that had happened, everything they’d
learned since Gabe’s confession—Geez, it was mind-boggling, and that was a frickin’
understatement. And what had happened here in Amsterdam, that was the stuff of
nightmares and crap. Todd didn’t know how he managed not to have a nervous breakdown.
“Ahhhh,” Adam sighed dreamily as Todd began massaging his scalp a second time.
“Guh, that helps so much.”
“Good.” Todd bent and dropped kisses down Adam’s nape. “Anything for you.”
Adam opened one eye and peered at Todd with a devilish glint. “Anything?”
Warmth bubbled through Todd as arousal sent a flush over his skin. It looked like
Adam’s headache was gone. Then Adam jolted beneath him, and he pushed up on his
elbows.
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“I have an idea of where they might have gone, but it’s just a hunch, and I could be very
wrong.”
Todd got off Adam’s thighs and sprawled on his side to face him. “Where?”
Adam grinned. “I’ll tell you that right after I make love to you.”
Todd wasn’t going to argue with that. They wouldn’t be leaving here today anyway. He
rolled to his back and pulled Adam on top of him, already anticipating the feel of Adam’s
cock sliding into him.
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Chapter Forty-Seven
There was nothing even remotely comparable to the exquisite lovemaking between him
and Todd. Chest heaving, muscles burning, Adam eased the tip of his shaft into Todd’s tight
hole, shivers racing down his back as Todd’s inner walls rippled around his cock.
“Adam,” Todd panted, wiggling his ass, trying to push back despite the grip Adam had
on his hips. Adam had wanted to go slow, but slow just wasn’t happening.
“Right here.” Adam plunged in, his hips slamming against Todd’s ass. Todd yelled and
arched, his body opening so that Adam’s cock slid in a little farther. “Oh yeah, take me.”
Adam was too stimulated and on the verge of sounding like a bad porno flick. He growled, a
sound foreign to his ears. Adam dropped down over Todd. He licked over Todd’s shoulder
blade, the salty tang of Todd’s skin the best aphrodisiac.
Adam’s mouth watered, and any other time he’d have laughed because he was literally
salivating over Todd, leaving behind a slick trail as he nibbled his way to the join of shoulder
and neck. Mm, there was the sweet spot, the one calling to him. Adam sucked at it, holding
his hips still to concentrate on Todd’s sigh, the taste of him, the feel of him shivering beneath
Adam.
Desire coiled brightly inside him, then spiralled out, threading throughout his body and
increasing with each heartbeat. Todd always aroused him, always turned him on in ways no
one else ever had, but this was different, more intense, a thousand times stronger. Maybe it
was something in the air, or being surrounded by shifters, whatever. Adam didn’t know,
didn’t care, his body craving, craving, demanding things he didn’t understand or question.
“Feel me,” he rumbled against Todd’s neck, moving hips, grinding, needing something
more, something unnameable. Adam nipped the taut skin, and his mouth tingled. He felt
lightheaded, because, yeah, Todd. It was Todd’s skin, his taste, the feel of him, the smell, his
sounds, the sight of him—everything. Adam nipped him again and Todd all but purred,
moaning and writhing, begging with his body.
Adam’s mouth burned, pain spearing along his gums. Weird, but nothing compared to
what was happening inside him. The urge to claim Todd, to make him his thrummed
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through Adam. It was odd, because he knew Todd was his, but a red fog of need filled his
mind, tinted his vision. Adam licked Todd’s skin, then bit, but something was different,
something changed, and Todd screamed, and Adam screamed, blood pooling in his mouth
as something snapped inside him.
Agony shot through his bones and he flailed backwards, everything spinning and
tipping, tossing him around from the inside out. He fought the pain, striking out, the thing
inside him crazed with the rending of muscle and bone.
His mind shut down, unable to comprehend what was happening, and instinct took
over. The pain was killing him, destroying him in a barrage of fire and ice, and Adam
howled, striking out, fighting for each breath, panic making him every bit the wild beast.
If there were people around, he couldn’t see them, his vision warped, red, misted with
blood or a mirage. Adam didn’t know, he didn’t know anything. Something touched him
and he snarled, the pain firing a rage inside him. Everything hurt, every particle of him,
rolling over him, anguish coming in waves.
Adam fought it, terrified to accept it, to give in, some part of him knowing it’d be his
end, and he had to stay. Todd. He needed to reach Todd. But Adam couldn’t, his body wasn’t
his own, and the scent of blood taunted him with the promise of a horror he couldn’t
comprehend.
There was too much screaming, too much fear, too many voices. Adam couldn’t grasp
what was happening, couldn’t comprehend anything but the fact that his body was turning
inside out and he needed Todd, had to reach Todd, to touch him, to know he was okay.
His mouth still had the coppery tang to it, and whatever was inside him knew that
taste, blood, sweet and necessary and wrong and frightening. People didn’t do whatever
he’d done, didn’t explode from the inside out in agonisingly slow motion.
Adam tried to shout as a convulsion rocked him, contorting him into a rigid form
before snapping him down and doing it again. He was dying, over and over, and it was
never going to end.
Something hit him, pinching at his hip, then his neck. More pinching pains, nothing
compared to what was happening to him inside, outside, whatever. Still, he knew there was
another thing under his skin, being put into him with each poke, each sharp stab. Then it was
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catching at him, bringing darkness but not peace as Adam was dragged away to
unconsciousness.
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Chapter Forty-Eight
Waves of pain crashing down on him were what brought Todd to screaming
consciousness. His side burned like someone had poured battery acid on it, and his right arm
felt the same way. What the hell had happened to him?
Then he remembered and Todd screamed again, this time Adam’s name. He tried to get
up but hands pushed at him, holding him down, keeping him from his love.
The next time he woke up, Gabe was leaning over him. “Don’t freak out again or you’ll
get another shot to knock you back out. Don’t make me watch them do that to you again,
Todd. But I will, if you’re gonna kick and hit and tear your stitches open again.”
Todd was scared, more scared than he’d ever been. Something was horribly wrong, and
his mind shied away from it when he tried to think, to figure out what had happened.
But where was Adam? Todd’s gut clenched, fear and pain hitting him hard. “Adam?”
he scraped out after three tries.
Gabe looked aside and swallowed, his nervousness fuelling Todd’s fear. “He’s being
taken care of.”
What the hell did that mean? Panic was rising, setting Todd’s heart to hammering in his
chest. Something was horribly wrong.
“He wasn’t hurt.”
“That’s not true,” Todd tried to say, but terror reigned in his mind, snarls and claws
and he couldn’t think about it, couldn’t speak. He wanted Adam, but why did that make him
so scared at the same time?
“You, on the other hand…” Gabe rubbed at his eyes and Todd was more confused.
“You’ve got to stop almost dying on me, dude.”
And, that fast, Todd shut down, eyes closing even as he struggled to stay awake.
* * * *
“How is he?”
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Gabe shook his head, not looking away from Todd. “He’s so pale, and scared. God, it
was pouring off him, the fear and confusion. He asked for Adam.” Gabe finally looked at
Mika. “I don’t know what to say. I think I fucked up last time he woke up.”
Mika sat in a chair beside the bed. “What happened?”
“I told him he had to quit almost dying on me. He just…closed his eyes and went back
to la-la land. He’s hiding, isn’t he?”
Mika hitched a shoulder. “I don’t know, I’m not the best at psychological stuff. But,
considering one second Adam was fucking him, and the next he bit him, then everything
went to hell for sure, I think Todd has the right to be traumatised.”
“Yeah,” Gabe agreed. He reached up and brushed at Todd’s hair. “It’s just shit, man.
He’s had such a hard life up until he and Adam got together. He never asked anyone for
anything, just wanted to live a good life with his man, and now…”
“And now what, Gabe?”
Gabe glanced back at Mika and couldn’t turn away from the fierce expression his mate
wore. “I-I don’t know.”
“I do.” Mika sounded so sure, and Gabe needed that, needed him right now. “Todd is
going to heal, mentally and physically, and he’s going to be told what happened. And he’ll
understand. Blaming Adam won’t be something Todd does, but Adam… He’ll blame
himself, just like I would if I’d torn you up.”
“I still don’t understand how the fuck—” Gabe stopped, aware he was close to yelling.
Todd was probably better off unconscious right now. “I don’t understand how the fuck
Adam turned into one of us!”
Mika scrubbed at his cheeks, looking so tired Gabe ached for him. “I don’t either, but
there’s a big shouting match going on in Maarten’s office. Heard some punches thrown,
some furniture break. Some bodies hit the floor.” He shrugged.
Gabe gaped at him. “Shouldn’t you make sure our friends are okay?”
Mika snorted. “Do you really think that was any of our friends getting their asses beat?”
Gabe thought about it, compared Aidan to Maarten and the other shifters… “Well, no.”
“Yeah, so I wasn’t going in there, Aidan’s got it covered, and, besides, I wanted to come
sit with you and Todd.” Mika took Gabe’s hand in his and one of Todd’s in the other. “I’d
never have thought I’d have friends like him and Adam.”
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“Speaking of Adam…”
“Zane’s with him,” Mika muttered. “I checked on them before I came in here. Zane’s
having to keep Adam tranquilised. He can’t control his shifting, and he’s obviously very
distraught over what’s happened to Todd.”
“And probably to himself,” Gabe pointed out.
Mika wrinkled up his nose as he considered that. “I don’t think he’s even thinking
about himself. Zane said he’s only yelled for Todd, he hasn’t even acknowledged what
happened to him.”
“Kinda hard to do if he’s knocked out, duh.” Gabe rolled his eyes. “Geez, what a mess.”
Maybe he should have been more puzzled over Adam going from regular ol’ human being to
shifter from out of fucking nowhere, but Gabe was too worried about Todd, and Adam.
“When are we going home?”
“As soon as Todd gets the okay from the doctor, Marcus is shipping out here. He’s
sending the best one he has. She ought to be here any time now.” Mika cocked his head when
a particularly loud scream rent the silence. “Guess she could be here already, actually. Hard
to say with all that racket going on.”
“If she’s here, she better get her ass in here and check on Todd.” Gabe had barely
spoken the words when there was a knock on the door. Instead of calling out, Gabe got up
and opened the door. “Oh—oh!” He hugged Shania. “I should have known it’d be you!”
“Get off me, you over-exuberant goofball.” But Shania hugged Gabe and patted his
shoulder gently. Her eyes conveyed her sorrow for his suffering even if she didn’t say it out
loud. “Mika,” Shania said as she nodded at him. “Let me look this young man over before
the fighting in the other room ends and I have to tend to more injuries.”
“Do you know what they’re fighting about?”
Shania tutted and shook her head at Gabe. “No, because all they’re doing is cussing and
fighting and I only just got here. Now, tell me what happened. I know what I was told on the
phone, but I want to hear it directly.”
Gabe was going to get a headache from all the eye rolls he was doing. “We don’t know
for sure! All we do know is, Adam had been roughed up pretty bad, he was all battered and
bruised, and that was putting a delay on trying to find his friend Jameson and Jameson’s
mate Luuk. Anyway, Maarten asked Dr Spiegel if there was anything he could do to help
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Adam heal up faster.” Gabe narrowed his eyes as anger rushed up from his core. “Adam met
with the doctor, and suddenly he’s healing super-fast and he and Todd are doing the deed.
Best we can figure, Adam started to shift in coitus. Todd has a nasty mating bite on his neck
and shoulder. There was lots of screaming. We came running, along with seven or eight
other people, and Adam was on the floor thrashing, parts of him man, parts of him wolf. He
was…” Gabe swallowed back the bile rising in his throat. “Uh.”
Mika took his hand and placed it in Todd’s. “Sit with him, I’ll finish this.”
Gabe sat and Mika, whispering so that Gabe could hardly hear him, finished filling
Shania in. But Gabe didn’t need to hear it, because he could see every second of it in his
mind. Adam, convulsing, his body twisted in ways that shouldn’t have been possible in man
or beast. His agonised screams would haunt Gabe forever.
And Todd, he’d tried to grab Adam, confusion and terror and pain all fucking Todd’s
head up too. Otherwise, why would he have got close to Adam when he’d looked like some
kind of demonic thing? Gabe wasn’t trying to be mean, but he’d never ever seen anything
like that, and Todd hadn’t cared, had only wanted to get to Adam…
Much like shifter mates would, Todd had been thinking only of Adam’s pain and
suffering. He hadn’t cared about the risk to himself, and so he’d damn near been
disembowelled. When Adam had realised what he’d done in the split second he was fully
man, that was the truly hellish scream that was branded into Gabe’s memory. His ears still
rang with it. And who could blame Adam? If Gabe had nearly killed Mika, by accident
even—because occasionally he was tempted to strangle the man—Gabe would just want to
die.
“We don’t know what happened to make Adam one of us,” Mika was saying. “As far as
I know, there’s only two ways for a human to become a shifter. Since Todd isn’t a shifter, he
couldn’t turn Adam, and there was no exchange of blood and fluids with the Alpha Anax,
obviously.”
“Which leaves Spiegel,” Gabe growled. “I’ll fucking kill him!” Because Adam would
never ever have consented to fucking someone else, or being fucked by someone else, and
the whole biting and exchange of blood and semen? Yeah, a sixty-nine was cheating, and
having to bite and be bitten on the cock as you came? Gabe wanted to cover his dick just
thinking about it. Adam wouldn’t have done it, which meant… “Spiegel had to have
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knocked him out and done it. Adam would never have consented, he’d never have cheated
on Todd.”
Gabe was definitely going to kill Spiegel, and that was no joke. God or whoever better
help anyone who got in his way.
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Chapter Forty-Nine
So help him, if Zane gave him another shot, Adam was going to find a way to beat his
ass! He needed to see Todd, to know…to know he hadn’t killed him. It was a burning in his
gut, a buzzing in his head that set his heart to slamming in his chest, the need to see Todd. To
touch him, and, oh God, to beg him for forgiveness. If Adam were any type of man, any type
of good man, he’d leave Todd after what he’d done to him.
But Adam couldn’t, even thinking it set off that fucking nightmare of a thing inside
him. It scratched and clawed and howled and tore him up from the inside out all over again.
He couldn’t think of leaving Todd, he couldn’t, he couldn’t, he couldn’t—
“Adam, Adam, stop.”
Stop what? Adam snarled as pain ripped through him.
“Do you need another syringe?”
Nonononononono! No more! He just needed to see Todd! And he needed the pain to stop
so he could do that, find Todd, hold him. He couldn’t be dead, Adam would know if he was.
He’d die too, the ache of the loss killing him slow or fast, alone or by his own hand.
Somewhere inside Adam, a part of him whimpered at his need. He’d loved Todd more than
life for years now, but this, this was a new industrial-strength version of that love. As if, it’d
always been there, hidden under a filmy layer of glass, but now that glass was clean or
broken or just…just whatever, and the emotion was clearer, sharper, more intense. Todd
truly was his other half, and Adam had hurt him, badly.
“Give me another one.”
“No!” Adam roared, the single word tearing out of him, burning his throat.
“It’s for your own good, Adam.”
He knew that voice. Adam blinked through the haze of red-tinged pain to see silver-
grey eyes. Zane. Zane with his creepy pale eyes. If he weren’t miserable, if Zane weren’t the one
knocking him out, Adam might be more charitable.
“Todd…” Adam begged.
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Zane moved out of sight for a moment then was back, peering at Adam. “Todd’s going
to be all right. He was…” Zane paused, glanced away. “Hurt pretty badly. He’ll be all right,
though,” he reiterated. “You need to calm down. This constant shifting, the partial shifting—
I don’t know what is happening to you. I’ve never seen someone turned, not like this. With
Gabe it was a simple matter of sex and blood from his mate and blood from his Alpha Anax.
I don’t understand how you’ve become a shifter.”
Oh fuck. Fuck! Adam’s lungs froze up as fear flooded his mind. He didn’t want to be a
shifter, he wanted to be a man, who loved his partner dearly and would grow old with him
and, God damn it, Adam worked on animals, he didn’t want to be one!
He was utterly terrified.
The needle pierced his skin and he hardly noticed it until the unnatural sleep grabbed
at him with icy fingers. And Adam screamed at the realisation that he was still being kept
from Todd.
* * * *
Gabe didn’t give a flying fuck if Maarten and Aidan and the whole goddamned shifter
hierarchy was in that office fighting and yelling, that office was also where Dr Spiegel was
and Gabe was going to go in there and beat some answers out of the fucker. Normally he
wasn’t violent, didn’t think it was the way to handle most situations.
But this wasn’t a normal situation at all. His friends had been hurt, Todd almost dying
because Adam had gone all shifter-batshit crazy. And Adam wasn’t even shifting right! But,
beside that, he knew, he knew Adam wouldn’t have consented to being changed, especially
not when it would have involved sexual intercourse with someone else. Adam loved Todd,
that true, forever kind of love—like him and Mika. And the other mated pairs. That kind of
love. So no way would Adam have screwed around, which meant Spiegel did something.
Maybe he knocked Adam out or…
But Adam hadn’t been in his office very long. Gabe stopped a few feet from the door,
frowning and trying to block out all the yelling. Hadn’t Spiegel gone to Adam and Todd’s
room? And wasn’t Todd in there at the time?
What. The. Hell?
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Gabe couldn’t put all the pieces together. All he knew was, Adam had been a human.
Now he wasn’t, and Todd had nearly died because of it. Was there some sort of recessive
shifter gene or something? Would they know if there was?
Hell, this was so confusing! A loud screech made his brain throb and Gabe started for
the door hiding all the chaos from him.
“Wait.”
Oh hell’s bells on a banana, Gabe knew that voice. He stopped and looked at the other
end of the hall to where, sure enough, Marcus Criswell stood. “Hey, it’s the Grand Poobah,”
he joked, but his heart wasn’t in it. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t
supposed to be in this place since there’s been a coup and crazy shit and—” Gabe felt a spurt
of happiness despite all the awful shit that was going on. “Nathan!”
Nathan, gorgeous redhead that he was, looked fabulous with his hair pulled back in a
severe braid and his tight, firm body displayed in some kind of Spandex-cotton-mix-looking
pants and a long-sleeved shirt that fit him like a second skin. The deep green colour set off
his pale complexion and eyes beautifully. If Gabe didn’t love the guy he’d be so envious he’d
hate him. As it was, he was just really, really happy to see Nathan.
Nathan hugged him hard enough that Gabe thought he was going to snap in two. “We
had to come. Marcus and I consider you and Mika to be more than just pack members, y’all
are family to us. And your friends, they’re important because of that. Add to it the total
weird factor of, what the fuck happened? And Aidan wanting to kill a few people? There’re
lots of reasons we came.”
“Exactly.” Marcus, freaking giant that he was, hugged them both and Gabe nearly
popped out a lung. “I’m thinking Aidan is in the office here?”
“Like you really had to ask?” Gabe said right after Aidan yelled a string of curse words.
“I was just going in here to kick Dr Spiegel’s ass. Now I’m not sure who did what.”
Marcus caught Gabe’s chin and pulled his head around to look at him. Gabe snarled
and slapped Marcus’ hand. “Stop being an ass!”
Marcus huffed and shook his hand. Big wuss, like Gabe had really hurt him. “I just
wanted to ask you something.” Gabe arched a brow and fisted his hands on his hips. “Is it
possible that Adam had one of the shifters—”
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As much as Gabe loved Marcus—not that he’d tell the arrogant jerk that—he wasn’t
going to tolerate that shit. One fist left his hip to land with a nice thud on Marcus’ thickly
muscled arm.
“Ouch,” Gabe whimpered, because it’d been like slamming his fist into a concrete wall.
Marcus rubbed at his arm and frowned. “I had to ask, Gabe. I don’t know Adam or
Todd, except through you. And that hurt, the hit and the snit.”
Gabe snorted so hard his nose burned. “Fine, I’m sorry, sorta. But no, Adam cheating
on Todd would be like…like you cheating on Nathan.”
“He wouldn’t,” Nathan said when Marcus said, “Not possible. Mates aren’t capable of
cheating.”
Gabe arched both brows. Marcus would get it eventually.
Marcus sighed and nodded. “Okay, you know them, I don’t. That leaves force, then. But
surely Adam would have, er, been sore if he’d been bitten, and he’d have confided in Todd,
right?”
“Well, at least you’re asking me now and not making judgements,” Gabe muttered.
“I wasn’t—”
“Hush.” Gabe grinned when Marcus did just that. He thought it was cute the way the
big bad Alpha Anax could behave so well. “I’ve thought of that. I can’t figure out what
happened. Recessive shifter genes…uh. Well, that and rape were the only two things I could
come up with. I was ready to come beat Spiegel but I just, I think Adam would have said
something, and Spiegel wasn’t alone with him that I know of. Oh fuck, I don’t know.” Gabe
deflated a little. He was still pissed off, but wasn’t sure who he could justly be pissed off at.
Marcus cocked his head and frowned at the door. “Well, right now, someone who isn’t
Aidan is tearing into a doctor for being a fucking idiot.”
Gabe listened for a second. “That would be Maarten.”
A loud thud shook the door. Marcus and Nathan nodded at it. “If they kill the doctor,
and he’s the one that changed Adam, we might never find out how.”
“Why are we out here?” Gabe snarked.
Marcus banged on the door, and when no one answered immediately he tried the knob.
“Locked.” Marcus drew a deep breath and Gabe thought he was going to do some cool
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karate chop to take the door out, but all Marcus did was shout, “Aidan! Alex!” and in two
seconds flat the door was being opened.
“Alpha Anax, you shouldn’t be here,” Alex said, shock pinching his handsome features.
Aidan nudged Alex aside. “Seriously, bro. What gives?”
But Marcus was looking at Maarten, who had Spiegel pinned to the wall with one big
hand around the doctor’s neck.
“Let him go.” There was no mistaking the command in Marcus’ voice, and even Gabe,
who knew he had authority issues, wanted to whimper and roll onto his back. Everyone in
the room with the exception of Aidan, Maarten and Dr Spiegel, dropped to their knees in a
show of respect for the powerful AA.
Maarten gulped and slowly released Spiegel. “I’m sorry, Alpha Anax Criswell. My God,
it’s been too long since I’ve been in the presence of a true leader.” Maarten tipped his head
down and knelt.
Dr Spiegel slid down the wall and landed on his butt. The man didn’t look as battered
as Gabe had expected, considering all the yelling and thudding. He had a split lip and a black
eye—did that make him guilty?
“Get up, and everyone but Aidan, Alex, Maarten, Spiegel, Gabe and Nathan, leave.”
The exodus was over in seconds as everyone hurried to obey the powerful alpha.
Marcus and Nathan walked up to Dr Spiegel who was still sitting on the floor.
“Tell me what happened,” Marcus commanded, and, just like that, Spiegel began to
talk. Not that Gabe understood a goddamned word he said, since Spiegel spoke in German
or some other language Gabe didn’t know. He could speak some Spanish, knew how to say
‘fuck me’ in it as well as in French, Russian, Arabic, and Farsi…that was about it. The things
he learned when he was bored and online.
But, whatever Spiegel was saying, waving his hands in the air and whining every few
words, was beyond Gabe. He just knew Marcus didn’t look like he wanted to kill Spiegel.
Then again, Marcus was this badass leader who probably couldn’t run around ripping off
heads. Or shouldn’t, anyways.
Nathan looked at Gabe then and frowned, worry creasing his brow. He didn’t look
mad, either, just very concerned. Gabe’s stomach plummeted. What new awful thing or
things were they finding out? Nathan jerked at something Spiegel said, or maybe some
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thought Marcus shared with him, then he moved over and slid his arm through Gabe’s. He
tugged and Gabe leant down, because, well, Nathan was short—but he packed more of a
punch than any bigger guy except Marcus and Mika.
“He didn’t touch Adam like that,” Nathan said on a whisper so light even Gabe’s
enhanced hearing barely caught the words. “It was a family medicine that has been passed
down for generations.”
Oh, Gabe had so many questions. Nathan shook his head slightly and Gabe thought he
was going to fucking explode if he didn’t get some answers.
Marcus, still listening to Spiegel, spoke to Adam, telling him to get Shania. Gabe stood
beside Nathan until Shania returned with Mika.
“Adam is sitting with Todd for a few minutes,” Mika murmured. “Nathan, thanks for
comforting Gabe.”
Nathan nodded and moved back over to Marcus, touching his hip. Marcus waved
Shania over. “Go with Spiegel to his office, and get the vials from him, please. I want you to
examine the contents of them, or at least one of them if you’re certain they contain the same
substance. And use only what you must, because, if it’s what Spiegel believes it to be, the
stuff is to be guarded and used sparingly.”
“And what is the stuff supposed to be?” Gabe asked when Shania and Spiegel had left.
He’d had enough of being talked around or whatever.
Marcus glanced at Maarten. “Did you know of this?”
Maarten shook his head. “No, Alpha Anax, I did not. I’m not the Alpha Anax here, and
would never want to be. I just trusted Spiegel to do his job.”
“Marcus…” Gabe growled and Marcus shot him a look that actually almost made him
whimper. But not quite. He did, however, shut up.
Marcus waved Maarten over to stand by Gabe and Mika. “I don’t want to be trying to
look at the three of you on opposite sides of me.” Marcus sighed and Gabe thought he looked
suddenly tired, until he saw the spark of excitement in Marcus’ dark eyes. “So, here’s the
thing. We know shifters originated in Europe thousands of years ago. It’s possible that at one
time man and shifter coexisted knowingly, but something happened and we hid ourselves
from humans. Anyway, there’s always been this legend, about a shifter named—”
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“Matamesius,” Mika interrupted, blushing when everyone looked at him. “What? I
paid attention to the pack story time. That was the best part about gatherings.”
Marcus grinned for a second then continued. “Yes. And Spiegel’s family have been
healers of one sort or another since as far back as they can trace their lineage. Granted, that’s
nowhere near the beginning of our existence, but still. One of his great-great-great-great-
great grandfathers was very close to someone who was supposedly a direct descendant of
Matamesius. He was, according to the family legend, hundreds of years old, still very young
in appearance, very healthy. He told Spiegel’s ancestor it was because he was a descendant of
Matamesius, that his body, his blood was age-proof because of it.”
“But he died, right?” Gabe asked. Seemed like the dude would have had to if this story
was going where Gabe thought it was.
Marcus nodded. “When this shifter died an unnatural death, beheaded by his lover,
Spiegel’s ancestor slayed the woman and took the man’s body. He… Well, this part is really
gross, especially for Adam. But Spiegel said his ancestor stripped the meat and muscles from
the body, drained the blood, took the marrow from the bones. He dried it and pulverised it.
Made it into a powder, I guess.”
Gabe was gonna hurl. “Are you…urk.” He slapped a hand over his mouth.
Marcus rubbed at the corner of his lips, as if chasing away a smile as Gabe tried not to
upchuck. “Yeah, so Spiegel’s family kept this medicine, if you will, made from a dead guy.
They used it only in emergencies, pouring a bit of powder in a cup of tea or adding liquid to
it and pouring it straight into a patient’s mouth. But they used it sparingly. So sparingly, in
fact, that the original tale was lost. Spiegel was cleaning out his great grandfather’s shed
when he found the box of it along with the notes about it. He hadn’t used it, but then
Maarten,” Marcus tipped his chin at him, “ordered him to find a way to fix Adam sooner, if
that were possible. Spiegel was simply trying to do his job and please his alpha.”
“Shit like this is why I make a lousy alpha,” Maarten said. “I didn’t ask him what he
was going to do, just figured he would do something. And here I spent all morning yelling at
him, accusing him of reprehensible things.”
“He could have told you,” Gabe pointed out. “He could have said, ‘Hey Maarten, I
might have fucked Adam up.’”
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“He could have,” Maarten acknowledged. “But I am not a true alpha, and so I think he
refused to tell me anything because of that. He didn’t stop talking to Marcus until he’d given
his entire life story from birth to now.”
Gabe felt a bit gobsmacked. “So Adam took a pill or drank some tea and it had dead
guy in it, dead shifter, and it changed him? How the hell—”
“Because the dead guy was a direct descendant from Matamesius, although Spiegel
postulated, and I have to wonder if he isn’t right, that the man was actually Matamesius
himself and Spiegel’s relative was his mate. A jealous would-be lover killed Matamesius,
perhaps. We don’t know. But if Spiegel truly has a centuries-old corpse ground up, and it has
the ability to heal or change a human into a shifter, it’s dangerous shit. Very dangerous shit.”
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Chapter Fifty
Todd could hear Adam in his head, calling for him, crying out Todd’s name. It drove
Todd up from unconsciousness, his pulse racing as Adam’s fear and need flooded his veins
and filled his head.
“Adam,” Todd rasped, his voice breaking and fading over the short name. He’d been
terrified, and, as images of Adam shifting into a horrific mix of man and beast flitted through
Todd’s mind, he shoved away the fear. This was Adam, whom he loved. Adam, who loved
him in return, who even now ached with a physical pain because he wasn’t allowed near
Todd. How he knew that, Todd couldn’t explain, although Gabe and Mika had a weird
psychic bond thing going as mates. Was he Adam’s mate now? Todd couldn’t think about
that—he just needed Adam, needed Adam to stop panicking and worrying. The guilt Adam
was feeling was almost suffocating, as well.
“Adam,” Todd managed more clearly. He blinked his eyes open and found a stranger
peering down at him. She smiled and tucked a lank of hair behind her ear.
“Hi, Todd. I’m Shania, Marcus Criswell’s personal physician.” She paused and Todd
figured he was supposed to be impressed but he didn’t really care. He just wanted Adam. “I
know, you want your mate. Do you remember what happened?” She sat in the chair beside
the bed and took his wrist in her hands. Todd assumed she was checking his pulse.
“Yes,” he rasped, then he touched his throat. It hurt, inside and out, very badly.
“That’s the mating mark he left on you. It’s very deep.” She held his wrist in one hand
while reaching for a glass of water on the nightstand. “Drink,” Shania told him.
Todd did, almost crying with relief as the liquid trickled into his mouth. It wasn’t cold
by any means, but the water soothed his parched tissues. Swallowing hurt like a mother,
though, and Todd didn’t drink more than he needed to in order to speak.
“I need Adam.” And Adam needed him, fiercely. Todd had to touch Adam, make sure
he wasn’t in the agony he’d been in when Todd had reached to try to help him. Todd knew it
was his own fault he’d got hurt. He knew better than to step close to a hurting animal, be it
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man or beast, who was in such obvious pain that he or she was out of their mind with it. All
Adam had done was flail, which he’d been doing before, screaming and howling.
“You do know he’s been changed?”
Todd rolled his eyes towards Shania. Even that hurt. “Yes. How?”
Shania shook her head. “I don’t know. That’s what Marcus is here to find out. There
was screaming and thumping coming from an office I walked by. I didn’t hang around to
listen.”
Right now, Todd didn’t care about the why, but he firmly believed Adam hadn’t known
or wanted to be turned into a shifter. They would deal with that aspect later. Right now, they
just needed each other.
“Please,” Todd begged. He hurt so badly, and Adam was hurting too, and he could feel
it, the combination of their physical pain and emotional pain. It was too much. He needed
Adam, now.
“I want to check Adam over then I will insist he be brought to you.” Shania stood and
walked over to a bag where she took out some things. “Let me re-dress your wounds first
and give you another shot of antibiotics. It will do neither of you any good if you get an
infection.” She came back and without warning pulled his blankets off, exposing his naked
body. “I’ve seen it all before. I inspected your wounds earlier. You slept right through me
pulling the bandages off. Now, on your side so I can give you this shot in the hip.”
Rolling over was impossible with the way he hurt, but Todd managed to turn his hip
slightly. The sting of the needle was of no consequence. Shania was a quick and effective
doctor, her hands gentle and her bedside manner easy. In short order Todd was bandaged
and Shania patted his hand. “Now, let me make sure Adam isn’t in need of my skills, then I
will bring him to you personally. It is cruel to keep mates separated when they are in such
need of one another.”
Todd trusted her. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but Adam’s anxiety was too
strong. Then something occurred to Todd, and he tried sharing every loving thought he had
for Adam, every bit of compassion and understanding and sorrow for Adam’s pain and fear.
Todd didn’t know how it would work, but, if he was hearing Adam, then surely Adam could
hear him back?
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A warm rush of love enveloped Todd. There was so much relief, so much need, that
Todd believed his attempt had worked. And, when Shania returned with Zane, Adam
supported between them, clearly wobbly and doped-up if the look in his eyes was anything
to go by, Todd knew they’d be okay. There would be many things to work through, but, for
now, all he needed was Adam.
Adam’s eyes lit up and he shook with eager anticipation as he was brought closer.
Todd, though it hurt him horribly, raised his arms in welcome.
“Not on the bed, Todd, Adam,” Shania said. “But Adam, you can sit here beside Todd
and hold his hand, and remember what Zane and I have told you about shifting. Don’t fight
it, don’t panic. Accept that it has happened, and concentrate on loving your mate.”
And as Adam took his hand, tears streaming down Adam’s cheeks, Todd vowed he’d
do the very same thing. He’d make sure loving Adam was always his priority.
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Chapter Fifty-One
He was done with this. Though it felt like betraying Jameson somehow, Adam couldn’t
keep Todd here. Todd needed to be home, and needed to heal—there were too many dangers
in this place, too many people he couldn’t trust. Granted, they wouldn’t be going back to
Shasta right away. Marcus was insisting they return to his home in Santa Fe so Shania could
continue to treat Todd. Adam wasn’t going to argue. They couldn’t very well take Todd to a
hospital and explain what had happened.
Added to his help with Todd’s medical care, Marcus had promised to assist with the
search for Jameson and Luuk, and at this point, Adam was going to have to trust him and
hope Marcus would have more success than Maarten. If nothing else, perhaps Marcus’
people, his guards, wouldn’t be persecuted by Luther. That would almost certainly cause an
all-out shifter war between the North American pack and the fragmented one Luther led.
Once Todd was fully recovered, and when they could take off from their jobs again,
they could return here if necessary, to help look for Jameson and Luuk. Adam was hoping
his friend and Luuk would be found before then, not because he didn’t want to help or come
back, but because it hurt to think of Jameson running, scared for his and his mate’s lives.
Adam wanted them both safe.
And Adam had so much to work out in his head. He’d been turned into something he’d
never in his life thought of being. Didn’t think he wanted to be a shifter, but he hadn’t had a
choice. He understood Spiegel hadn’t known what would happen to him, and that was
precisely the number one reason the doctor shouldn’t have given him—Adam shuddered
and bile burbled up to his throat—ground-up shifter.
“He just wanted to help,” Todd said, his voice little more than a whisper. Adam cocked
his head at him. “The link.” Todd rolled his eyes up as if trying to see the top of his head.
“Oh. Right.” Something else to adjust to, being able to communicate mentally. It
was…weird, but not unpleasant. It was actually a form of intimacy Adam appreciated. He’d
thought he’d drown in guilt, but feeling Todd’s love, his lack of blame, his desire for Adam
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to not let guilt tear him to pieces, well, Todd was an amazing person. Adam knew now he
was even more beautiful on the inside than Adam had ever known.
“I love you, Todd. I am so sorry I hurt you. No—” Adam held up a hand when Todd
opened his mouth to protest. “Just, just let me say it, okay? I know you don’t blame me, you
don’t even blame Spiegel. You are the kindest, most loving person I’ve ever known, and I
hope to live up to deserving that. Because, no matter what you say, I’m not as good a person
as you are. I can only strive to be the man you deserve, and I will cherish being able to do
even that.”
Todd’s eyes gleamed and Adam had to kiss him, had to feel those smiling lips beneath
his own. He kept it light, kept his heart and mind open, bathing Todd in all the adoration he
had for the man. When Adam sat back up, his heart was racing, and he felt at peace in a way
he hadn’t since this whole nightmare had begun.
“You calmed it, you know, this thing inside me.” Adam touched his own chest. “I
couldn’t. Shania thinks it’s because of how I was…changed, that I was too busy freaking out
to let my, um, spirit or whatever merge with the shifter one. Our consciences or whatever. It
was only hearing you, seeing you, touching you that has made me able to accept what has
happened to me. I didn’t want this wolf in me, knowing what I’d done to you because of it.”
Todd shook his head, just once, slowly. “Wasn’t intentional. On either part.”
On Adam’s or the wolf’s, he knew Todd meant, and that was true enough. Although
there was the bite when they’d been having sex…
“Don’t.” Todd squeezed his hand and placed it over his heart. “’S’ mating bite.
Claiming.”
It was, and Adam’s stupid cock tried to firm up when he thought of that, but he
wouldn’t let himself hurt Todd again. “We’ve claimed each other for years, so there was no
need—”
Todd, obviously hurting from trying to talk, cut Adam off with a thought that both
thrilled and terrified him. “But you’re gonna have to change me, too, Adam, because I won’t let you
do this alone. We do it together, and we’ll claim each other, do what a couple of shifter mates do. So
don’t keep kicking yourself over this bite on my shoulder. I plan on making you mine in the same way
if that’s what we’re supposed to do when you change me.”
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Then Todd closed his eyes and sank into sleep with a suddenness that would have
scared Adam had he not known it was a healing sleep. Todd was exhausted, and he trusted
Adam to stay by his side and keep him safe.
Shania came in later and checked on Todd. She seemed pleased with what she found,
though she scolded Adam about not resting himself. Adam was on the verge of dozing
lightly when the bedroom door creaked open. His heart stuttered in his chest but a wave of
power thrummed through him and he knew Marcus had entered the room.
Adam didn’t like the whole being a subordinate wolf part of this shit, because he’d
never been a subordinate anything. So, if he glared a little hostilely at Marcus, who could
blame him?
Marcus arched a brow but merely looked very amused. “I can smell the attitude,” he
said quietly, “and understand it,” he added before Adam could get a full-on mad going. “I
know you don’t know me at all, really, and I hope that will change during your and Todd’s
stay with us.”
It was only then Adam noticed Nathan behind Marcus. He’d been so focused on not
cowing to the more powerful wolf he’d ignored Nathan.
“I don’t do the whole follow the alpha thing or whatever,” Adam growled softly,
glancing at Todd. “I only ever let one man have power over me.”
“That’s fine, that’s all I wanted you to know, Adam.”
Oh, but, damn it, he couldn’t not look when Marcus addressed him. It was almost like a
pain in his gut to refuse, and Adam didn’t see the harm in giving in. Marcus smiled and
suddenly he seemed to be just a man. A big, muscular man, but just a man.
“I don’t make anyone follow me, but I would very much like for all of us to be friends.”
Marcus held out his hand and Adam shook it, then shook Nathan’s as well. “I am sorry for
how you came to be one of us—against your will, unaware of it—but am glad to have you be
a shifter, if that makes sense.”
It kind of did. Adam nodded and some of his tension eased. For the first time since he’d
thought he was being ripped open from the inside out, he thought it just might be…well, not
okay, exactly, but not hell, either. And if he and Todd got to run through the forest together,
got to experience a freedom neither had ever thought to have, then their life together might
be even better than okay.
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Chapter Fifty-Two
Talk about feeling like the odd one out. Todd didn’t particularly look different—in
general—from most of the people gathered in the big dining hall. Anyone unaware of the fact
wouldn’t be able to pick him out as the sole human amongst the shifters. He’d heard there’d
been another human here a while back, some Harley guy, but not now.
“We can eat in our room,” Adam offered, his arm tightening around Todd’s waist just
slightly as Todd was still very tender. “Shania only said you needed to try to move around
more. She didn’t specify—”
“Stop.” Todd pressed a finger to Adam’s lips, more because he loved the feel of any
part of Adam than because of a need to silence him. “I want to eat here. These people are…”
Todd stopped, glancing up at nothing as he tried to figure out how to say what he was
thinking. It was more of a notion than an actual thought, but he tried to force it into words.
“They’ve got something in common with you that I don’t, and I want you to be easy
with who and what you are. Easier than you have been.” Todd still didn’t move his finger
from Adam’s lips, instead tipping his chin at the table. “Look at them. They’re just people,
when you get down to it. I was thinking how someone unaware of shifters’ existence
wouldn’t be able to pick me out as the human in this bunch. We all look the same on the
outside, and maybe, where it counts, we’re the same inside. We just want to love and be
loved, to find a measure of peace.” Maybe he wasn’t the odd one out, after all. Maybe no one
here was.
Still, there was something that had been bugging him more and more each day, but he
tried not to let Adam know. No reason to stress the poor man out when he was still dealing
with being something he’d never asked to be. Guilt was an issue—Adam had days where he
couldn’t seem to forgive himself for Todd’s injuries. Todd always tried to soothe that burden
when he knew Adam was struggling under it.
“Let’s sit over there.” Todd pointed and Adam grunted an assent. They walked to the
table and Adam helped Todd ease onto the long bench. Todd’s side throbbed and he bit his
bottom lip to keep from whimpering.
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“Here, let me help you,” the young woman beside him said. She helped him get his legs
around and held him steady as Adam sat beside him. “My name’s Lala, and you must be
Todd,” she nodded at him, “and Adam. It’s great to meet you both.”
Lala had a firm handshake and a bright smile. In no time at all, Todd’s pain was
forgotten as he enjoyed chatting with Lala and Adam. Dinner was served and the roast was
perfectly cooked. Todd had to restrain himself from gorging on the feast.
“How much longer are y’all going to be here?” Lala asked as she cut off a spoonful of
lemon pie.
“Only three or four more days. We have jobs we need to get back to.” Todd was
actually getting antsy. He enjoyed spending so much time with Adam, but he worried about
his job, his town. Their town. Their people—although, these people were kind of Adam’s
people now, too.
“They’re not. I haven’t been around them, and won’t be, enough to care about them like we do
the people of Shasta. Well, most of the people,” Adam corrected.
Todd knew that may be the case, but there was still a bond, even if it was just a
supernatural one, between Adam and the other shifters that Todd couldn’t have with Adam.
Not yet, at least.
“Todd, “ Adam growled beside him, nudging Todd’s hip. “Nothing else matters but
you.”
Lala was gracious enough to turn and begin talking to the person on her other side.
Adam stroked Todd’s shoulder and Todd had to look at him, had to see those dark eyes and
the love that reflected so clearly in them.
“Can we go back to our room? We need to talk.” Adam wasn’t using code for fuck,
either, which was kind of sad. They hadn’t had sex since the whole mess back at Maarten’s.
Todd was beginning to wonder if Adam was too afraid to fuck him again.
“Not even,” Adam muttered, standing and helping Todd up. They said their goodbyes
and left the dining room, waving to Marcus and Nathan as they went. “You’ve been too
injured for sex,” Adam began as soon as they cleared the dining room doorway. “You
couldn’t even get out of bed until a couple of days ago. And maybe, okay, maybe I’m a little
anxious about it, but I know I have my wolf under control now. We…there’s peace here.”
Adam tapped his chest. “I won’t do anything to hurt you. I won’t.”
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Todd didn’t really need the assurances. He knew Adam. “I didn’t think you would. I
just wasn’t sure if you knew it.”
Adam stopped in front of their door and framed Todd’s face in his hands. “I’d die
before I hurt you like that again. I know, I know I couldn’t control what was happening to
me then, but that knowledge just can’t negate the guilt. Because, intentionally or not, I did
hurt you. Todd, I almost killed you. I can’t just say ‘whoops’ and let it go!”
As much as Todd wanted to argue, he understood, and, besides, if he’d been in Adam’s
shoes, he’d probably never have forgiven himself. “Okay, but you can’t beat yourself up over
it. Sometimes it feels like the guilt is just about to crush you. When that happens,
remember—I love you, and I forgave you.”
Todd took a gentle kiss from Adam then stumbled and only managed to keep upright
because of Adam’s quick reflexes. “Tired,” he mumbled before Adam could start peppering
him with questions. He’d overdone it today and knew it.
“I should have insisted we come back sooner.”
Todd might have felt weak, but he had enough energy left to shake his head hard
enough to rattle his brain into action. “No, I needed to do that. See the others, and
understand they aren’t so different from us.” Adam was a shifter, sure, but he was first and
foremost the same man Todd had fallen in love with. Now there was just more to love, but
Todd had to strengthen their connection. “I want you to change me. Tonight.”
Adam froze, hand on the doorknob. “W-what?”
“You heard me. Do it tonight.” Todd pushed a little more when Adam just stared at
him. “Think of how fast a shifter heals. I bet I wouldn’t be hurting anymore after you bit
me.”
Adam finally opened the door and pulled him inside. “You know Marcus wanted us to
wait, and he would do the ceremony—”
“I don’t want the ceremony, I don’t want his blood.” And he sure as hell didn’t want
some dead shifter powder. “I want you to do it, if you will. Only your blood, your cum in
me, making me a true mate for you. I don’t want Marcus to be the reason my body responds
to the order to shift. I want it to be you I can run with, learn with. I just want to be closer to
you.”
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Adam gulped loudly—if his eyes had got any bigger they’d probably have fallen right
on out.
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Chapter Fifty-Three
Adam’s hands shook as he set out the supplies. Just because there had to be biting and
blood didn’t mean there had to be pain involved. He hoped.
The topical anaesthetic should do the trick. They just needed to be careful and only use
a tiny bit of it, otherwise there’d be no coming as everything would be numb. Even if there
was some pain, it couldn’t be anything like what he’d experienced when he’d been turned.
Adam would rather die than put Todd through that. And he’d hurt Todd, badly, even if he
hadn’t meant to. That was going to haunt him forever, Adam figured. Todd was the gentlest
man he knew, which might have been contrary to him being the sheriff, but it was the truth.
Of course, they were fixing to do something else that would potentially cause pain, but
this was at Todd’s insistence. Adam would love the man endlessly whether Todd was
human or shifter.
Adam straightened the stack of gauze and wished he wasn’t so, well, fucking terrified.
But how could he not be, given what he had to do?
* * * *
Adam’s borderline panic was almost enough reason for Todd to call the whole thing
off, except…except he really wanted to be what Adam was, not because he thought it would
be cool, but because he couldn’t stand the difference between them. And, yeah, the idea that
he’d have to inflict pain on Adam made Todd want to puke, but he was really, really hoping
that numbing stuff would work great.
Surely there wouldn’t be any permanent damage, and the small incisions would heal
instantly, wouldn’t they? Considering the speed at which shifters healed? Todd thought so,
and the fact was, as nervous as he was about what they were going to do, he was even more
excited.
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This would bring his and Adam’s relationship to a new level, one they’d never have
attained in human form. The mate bond they now shared was incredible, bringing them
closer and allowing them to understand one another in a way they’d not been able to before.
And, sometimes, Todd was just astounded by the depth of Adam’s love for him. Not
just the love, though, but all the admiration and respect and—well, Adam sure thought a lot
of him. Todd wasn’t at all certain he deserved it, but he’d try his damnedest to be worthy
someday.
One thing, it was harder now to sneak up on each other, accidentally or not, so the fact
that he was able to stand half a dozen feet away and watch Adam fiddling with the stuff he’d
laid out on the nightstand—that said something about Adam’s state of mind. Todd would
have known anyways. He could feel Adam’s turmoil and fear, and, even more, the almost
crushing guilt because Adam really wanted this, was moved by Todd’s desire to have only
Adam involved in turning him. There was more in the mix, but Todd wasn’t going to give
Adam any more time to dwell on it all.
After all, Todd was standing there, bare-assed naked and his cock hard despite
knowing what was going to happen to it in a few minutes. Or maybe because of that
knowledge. It was difficult to say. Todd had never been huge on pain for many reasons, but
this was different.
He straightened from where he’d been leaning, hip cocked against the doorframe. He
needed to stop thinking and just do. To that end, Adam was overdressed and thinking
entirely too much. Todd could definitely help with that, and, honestly, the sooner they got
this whole thing moving, the sooner they’d both be healed up and happier. He wasn’t going
to believe any different.
Todd pushed a thought at Adam, a mental image, really, of him pinning Adam to the
bed and slamming his cock into the tight confines of Adam’s ass. Adam wheezed, like he’d
choked on his own spit or something right before he began coughing as he spun around. One
hand pressed to his throat and the other slapping at the nightstand, Adam was a confounded
and beautiful picture of arousal even if he was sputtering. Todd could feel Adam’s desire,
felt it hit him in a sudden rush, like that first slap of wind when a storm blew in.
There was no need for words, not when Todd felt the warmth of arousal swelling
between them. He took a couple of slow, sinuous—not goofy-looking, he hoped—steps,
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letting his hips move as if to a beat only he and Adam heard. The soft thump of his cock
against his belly sent a sweet spiral of heat through his bloodstream. Todd’s eyelids grew
heavy and he let them slide almost shut before he stopped beside the bed.
Across from him, on the other side of the wide mattress, Adam trailed his hand down
from his throat, now that he’d stopped coughing, to tease at one of his pert nipples. As he
pinched at the nub, Todd’s cock twitched, tapping lightly as anticipation shortened his
breath.
Adam’s smile showed not a trace of nervousness as he pulled off his shirt and tossed it
aside. He ran his hands over his chest, nails scraping skin and streaking it with pink trails
Todd longed to lick.
“Go ahead,” Adam finally said, digging in and marking his tanned skin. “Lick me, bite
me, make me yours.”
“You are mine,” Todd replied without hesitation. He knew what Adam meant, but the
claim was out, his stake declared before a second’s silence had passed between them. “Strip.”
Adam liked the command in his voice, that was evident by his sharp inhale and the rip
of material as he tore at his sweats. There was an awkward hopping scene, then Adam tipped
forwards. Todd leapt onto the bed and caught Adam, not that he’d have been hurt, but still.
The undignified sprawl they landed in sent them both into a fit of laughter. Then Todd
looked down into Adam’s sparkling eyes and nothing else existed except the need to kiss his
man.
So Todd did, pressing his lips to Adam’s parted ones, sweeping his tongue in to claim
the sweet space inside. Adam’s eyes closed and a low moan spread from him to Todd as
Adam clutched at him. Adam wiggled and Todd lifted, then he was right there, his cock
pressed against Adam’s, the rigid heat of their cocks maddeningly perfect as they rutted.
Todd forgot about everything else but Adam and the love thrumming between them,
tangled with the thick pulsing of their desire. He thrust, body driven by the promise of
exquisite pleasure only Adam could bring.
Beneath him, Adam drove up, rapid, hard jerks that slid his dick against Todd’s.
Adam’s glans caught the underside of Todd’s just right and his orgasm tore through him in a
surprise wave of ecstasy that drove a shout from Todd. Cum spilled between them as Adam
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bucked and writhed, then his garbled yell nearly shattered Todd’s eardrum. Goose bumps
pebbled Todd’s skin as he felt awash in pride at driving Adam out of his mind in such a way.
Then reality slowly intruded, and Todd propped himself up on his elbow and looked at
Adam. He nibbled his bottom lip until Adam finally popped one eyelid open.
“Oops?” Todd muttered. That hadn’t exactly been the plan.
Adam closed his eye and snorted, then snickered for several seconds. “It’s okay, right? I
just can’t control myself around you.”
“Me either, but I don’t see why that’s a problem.” It wasn’t like they fucked in the
middle of the sidewalk or whatever. Todd nuzzled Adam’s cheek until Adam cupped his
face and kissed him soundly, then Todd got to look into the eyes of the man he loved. “And I
don’t think we’re done for the night, anyway.” He nudged Adam’s belly with his half-hard
dick.
Adam nudged him right back, proving he, too, was almost ready for another round. “I
think you’re right. But first—” Adam reached for the nightstand and Todd’s heart stuttered
as joy and fear tangled in his chest. “We need to get ready.”
Todd reminded himself firmly that this was what he wanted. He refused to let his cock
soften, rubbing it against Adam’s, sliding in the warmth of their combined cum. “Okay. Do
what we need done.”
If Adam gulped a little, well, that was okay. Todd felt like whimpering himself but he
buried his fear because Adam needed him strong, and he could do that for his mate. Todd
gave Adam a kiss that left him looking dazed—maybe not the best idea under the
circumstances, since Adam would soon be wielding a scalpel, but what was done was done.
Then Todd rolled over onto his back and spread his legs as he fisted his cock, stroking
himself firmly. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“Oh, God,” Adam moaned as he looked from Todd’s dick to the nightstand. “Are you
sure you wouldn’t rather—”
“No,” Todd interrupted. “Just you and me, unless you don’t want it this way.”
Adam shook his head. “I’m just scared, but I’d be scared either way. I don’t want to
fuck this up.”
“You won’t,” Todd assured him. “I trust you.”
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Adam took a deep breath then exhaled slowly. He did it again, then again, before he
picked up the small tube of what Todd assumed was an anaesthetic of some sort. “It is, like
we discussed.” Adam uncapped it and squeezed out a small amount. “It won’t take much,
and I don’t want it all over or you’ll never cum until it wears off.” Adam plucked up a cotton
swab and dabbed at the cream. “Ready?” he asked as he held the swab up.
“Yup.” There was no other answer. Todd lowered his hand to the base of his cock.
Adam didn’t hesitate after that, applying the topical anaesthetic to a small spot right below
his crown.
“Just give it a few minutes,” Adam murmured, then sat back and treated his own cock
similarly. “It’ll just be a small nick. Marcus said he didn’t think it took much blood, not like
in the other ceremony…”
“Hope he’s right,” Todd said, feeling the oddest urge to laugh, “I sure don’t want to do
this again if we can avoid it. But I will.” He looked Adam straight in the eye. “I’ll do
whatever it takes to be able to run with you.”
* * * *
Adam hadn’t thought it possible to love Todd any more than he already did, but that
declaration sent a swell of love right to his heart. “Me too,” he scraped out, and the lingering
fear over what they were doing vanished under the wealth of the emotions between them.
“Numb?” he asked as he pinched at the spot where he’d applied the anaesthetic to his cock.
Todd tapped himself and nodded. “Yup.”
“Oh, good.” Adam scooted closer and pushed at Todd’s legs. He wanted them both
ready to blow before he messed with the scalpel. “Up.” He tapped at Todd’s thighs. “Let me
at your sweet spots.”
Todd huffed as he raised his legs, pulling his knees to his chest. “Sweet spots?”
Adam nodded as he lowered himself down until his nose was an inch from Todd’s
balls. “Yeah, that’d be all of you, but for now I meant—” He licked Todd from balls to hole
then back up. Todd hissed and shuddered and Adam nosed under his sac to suck at the
smooth patch of skin there.
“Fu—fuuuuuck,” Todd rasped, “Adam—”
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Adam moved lower, lapping up the pink puckered skin as Todd’s voice hitched,
turning his words into something unintelligible. It filled Adam with pride, bringing Todd to
such peaks of pleasure. He cupped Todd’s ass and wedged his thumbs into his crease to
massage that tight hole. Todd’s cries grew louder, shakier. Adam pushed the tips of both
thumbs inside, spreading Todd’s opening, and Todd jerked, his balls pulling up tight.
Adam’s cock was wet with need, Todd’s sounds, his reaction to Adam’s loving the best
aphrodisiac in the world. Adam was up in a shot, barely remembering to grab what he
needed, what they needed. He barely winced, refusing to think about the fact he was
wielding a very sharp instrument over their respective bits. But Adam’s hand was steady,
guided by need and love and hope as he did what needed to be done.
He didn’t feel a thing as blood welled, dark and bright all at once on his skin. Adam
refused to let his stomach lurch—much—as he nicked Todd, but he couldn’t help but
grimace at having to do it. Still, Todd was barely managing to hold still. His want was
battering at Adam, at his restraint, his own desire, and Adam made the careful mark then
tossed aside the scalpel. He straddled Todd’s shoulders, his cock dripping with more than
pre-cum now.
Adam gripped Todd’s dick and didn’t waste a second. He opened up and sucked Todd
in deep at the same time his own shaft was encased in wet gripping heat. Adam’s lids closed
as he moaned around Todd’s cock, then he sank down, taking Todd in to the root as Todd
swallowed him, those smooth muscles contracting around Adam’s length and stealing any
hope he had of holding back.
Adam whimpered as his balls tingled, as he thrust uncontrollably into Todd’s throat.
Pleasure suffused him as Todd took him and gave himself, pushing into Adam’s mouth,
breeching his throat and writhing beneath him.
Spunk jetted from Adam’s cock with a painful force, his climax rendering him
breathless, thoughtless, motionless except for the hard clench of his ass as he came. Then
Todd’s cum spurted into him as well, and dizziness slammed into Adam. Everything spun
around him, a hellish mix of vertigo and resounding ecstasy racing through him.
Adam lifted his head and shouted, his wolf rejoicing inside him. He rolled aside and
scrambled around as he started to reach for Todd as the first ripple of shift went through his
mate. Adam caught himself before he touched Todd, keeping his hands hovering above
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Todd’s shoulder. Now might not be the time to try to grab a part of Todd, not when those
parts were being shuffled into something different. Would Todd hurt, would he be afraid as
his body twisted and morphed into something new? The idea of either slapped away Adam’s
lingering sexual euphoria.
Todd’s back bowed, then he shook from head to toe in the split second before bones
and tendons snapped and popped. Thick fur sprung over his skin, and his face stretched,
bulged. It seemed to take forever and yet pass in a few heartbeats, Adam alternating between
fear and hope, finally settling on the latter when a beautiful, pale orange wolf looked up at
him with Todd’s green eyes.
Adam’s nose burned and he blinked furiously as he finally put his arms around Todd’s
neck. He rubbed his face in the silky fur. “Welcome to our new world.” Adam was looking
forward to exploring it together.
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Chapter Fifty-Four
It was hard to explain, exactly, how Todd felt different. He guessed the best word he
could find to describe it was simple even though everything was really complex—he just felt
like he was more. Stronger, faster, his senses so, so much sharper, and there was this…this
peace inside that he wouldn’t have expected. Like he’d finally found every bit of himself.
He supposed it showed in the way he carried himself. Manny had been eyeing him
weird-like all day. Like he was doing now. Todd gave his deputy an inquisitive look and
Manny huffed before crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes at Todd.
“I just can’t figure it out. There ain’t an obvious difference, so I guess it’s just that you
really needed that long-ass vacation.”
“I did,” Todd agreed as he leant back in his chair. “But we did get home a few days
early, and I even came to work instead of chilling at home.”
Manny shook his head and held up a hand. “Please, don’t say chilling. And it’s chillin’,
anyways, and both of us are too old for that word.”
“Speak for yourself.” Todd was kind of affronted until he saw Manny smirk. Dick. “I’m
cool no matter what.”
“Yeahhhh,” Manny drew out before snorting forcefully. “I’ll agree ‘cause you’re the
boss. Now I’m gonna get home and chillax since I’m no longer solely responsible for this
town.”
Todd shuddered. “And you were giving me grief over my choice of words?” He
chuckled and stood, then rounded the desk to hold his hand out to Manny. “Thanks again,
Manny. You did a great job. I really appreciate it.”
Manny opened his mouth to reply at the same time the door chimed signalling the
arrival of someone in the lobby. “I got it,” Todd told him, kind of relieved to be done with
the touchy-feely conversation before it got too intense. He had a flash image of him and
Manny giggling like schoolgirls and gave an internal groan.
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“Good thing since it’s your best buddy,” Manny muttered, and for a second Todd had
the very real fear Manny had read his mind somehow until he caught a whiff of cherry Pop-
Tarts®. “I’ll see ya tomorrow.”
Todd followed Manny out of his office and slapped his hands over his ears when Gabe
squealed and launched himself at him. “Todd! You have some ‘splaining to do!”
Manny gave him a sympathetic grimace and quickly bolted out of the front door,
shrieking a bit when he almost collided with Mika, who was coming in.
Gabe latched onto Todd like some kind of space alien-octopus-plunger mix. Todd was
fairly certain he couldn’t have prised Gabe off with a dozen crowbars, and he couldn’t even
hug him back properly, what with Gabe tangled on him, arms and legs all over and—
“Shit!” Gabe yelped, and Todd had to agree as he stumbled. They bounced off the wall
then hit the floor hard enough to knock the breath from their lungs. Pain shot out from too
many places to count, nothing major, just the usual crap that happened when one did
something like fall over. Then Mika was there pulling them both up with more force than
grace.
“That was almost as funny as it was ridiculous,” Mika groused. “You coulda got hurt.”
Todd wasn’t sure who Mika was talking to, him or Gabe or both of them, but he did
point at Gabe. “It was his fault. He attached himself like a huge leech.”
“I didn’t suck on anything, jackass,” Gabe retaliated with, then ruined his snark by
laughing. “I’m just glad you’re alive and oh my God, you two did it! You’re one of us!”
Todd and Mika both looked around nervously. The uniformed officer was either
deliberately ignoring them or was asleep at her desk. He grabbed Gabe’s arm and dragged
him into his office. “Could you maybe not tell everyone in the whole world?”
Gabe flapped a hand and rolled his eyes. “Please. And I get called a drama queen?
Whatever.”
“Well, at least the people in Shasta,” Todd temporised his claim. “I’d rather you not
shout it out for everyone to hear in town. Or anywhere, really.”
“Well, duh.” Gabe huffed but couldn’t hold his pout, grinning widely and bouncing
onto his toes. Todd prepared himself for another launch, and, sure enough, Gabe tried, but
Mika caught him and growled in Gabe’s ear. Gabe’s shudder was not one of fear, and the
spicy scent of arousal blossomed in the office. Todd sat down behind his desk. “Uh, guys?”
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Mika growled again then nipped Gabe’s neck, and for a second or two Todd was afraid
he was going to be traumatised by having his best friend fucked right in front of him. Gabe
was more like a brother to him, and that was just—not something he wanted to see. He
grabbed the bottled water off his desk, uncapped it and took a sip.
“Behave, caveman,” Gabe rumbled in a surprisingly low voice. Mika actually sniffed
and looked like he might be the one pouting for a change. Gabe arched his brows at Todd.
“So, you did the whole bite the wang thing, huh?”
Todd sputtered, having just taken another drink of water. “Jesus,” he gasped, or
squeaked, but he didn’t really like having to admit to that. He swiped at his mouth while
Gabe and Mika both snickered at him. Todd glared at his friends and rubbed his nose, just in
case he’d spurted water out from there, too. “What are you, twelve? Wang?”
Gabe nodded. “Well, yeah. Or your baloney pony, man meat, wiener—”
“All of those are meat products,” Todd felt oddly compelled to point out.
“There’s dozens of them, buddy, just check Google sometime and expand your
vocabulary in minutes.” Gabe plopped down right on Todd’s desk and bent until he was
almost nose to nose with Todd. “Seriously, how bad was it? Was that really easier than being
fucked in front of Marcus and other people?”
How could he explain it, the need to keep such a special exchange between him and his
mate only? Todd shrugged and felt his cheeks burning. “Adam used stuff…down there, so
nothing hurt.” God, he was gonna die if he had to explain it any more than that, at least if he
had to talk about the actual sex part of it all.
But Gabe murmured softly and nodded. “Well, of course. Adam has some good drugs.
What a smart guy.”
“Yeah, and, as for the other, it wasn’t so much doing it in front of other people”—
although he didn’t care for the idea—“as much as it was just something between me and
him, only. I didn’t want someone else’s blood or whatever in me. Only Adam’s. Ever.”
Gabe sighed and fluttered his lashes, and a dreamy expression settled on his features.
“Aw, man, that’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard! Does that make me a ho-bag since I was
too chicken and had another man’s blood in me?”
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“No,” Mika said before Todd could even figure out how the heck to answer the
question. “Marcus is our AA and I surely didn’t have anything to numb our”—he smirked at
Todd—“love muscles with.”
Todd groaned and slapped a hand over his eyes. “I’m gonna be subjected to stupid
penis terms for a while, aren’t I?”
“Yup,” Gabe agreed. Todd didn’t see the thump to Mika’s ribs but he recognised the
swift intake of Mika’s breath along with Gabe’s snickering. “But that one was really lame.
Even yogurt slinger would have been better than that. “
“That’s gross,” Todd grumbled. “Can we lay off the food names?” Besides, he’d had
yogurt of various colours, so to imagine his dick spurting some of it was just nasty.
“Nope.” Gabe bounced over to him and Todd just managed to catch him for a hug that
rocked him back in his seat. “You know I love ya, man. I’m so glad you and Adam are like us
now. We have got to run.”
“Okay,” Todd said as he patted Gabe’s back. “Go on then—”
Gabe snorted loudly in his ear. “No, dumbass, I mean, the four of us need to run.
Maybe tomorrow night, if y’all are up to it? Come over after work.” Gabe finally released
him somewhat, enough to lean back and look at him. “Talk it over with Adam, I can’t wait to
see y’all shifted! What do y’all look like? No!” Gabe slapped a hand over Todd’s mouth, a
little too hard in Todd’s opinion. Gabe grinned. “Hey. Whoops. But really, come over, and I’d
rather see y’all shift than be told, ya know? This way me and Mika can make bets and the
loser gets fucked…” He straightened up and tapped his hip. “Which means, of course, no
one is the loser but it’s still fun to bet.”
“That’s—” Todd cleared his throat and pressed his hands to his cheeks, which were
absolutely flaming. “TMI,” he choked out. “Definitely.”
“But you blush so pretty,” Gabe informed him while batting his lashes. He giggled and
dropped down to plant a sloppy kiss on Todd’s temple. “Now we will leave you in peace so
you can go home to that handsome mate of yours! See you tomorrow!”
And, as quickly as he’d entered, Gabe turned and walked out, only adding a slight
exaggeration to his walk as he laughed and waved at the officer.
Todd sighed softly and melted into his seat just a bit. That had gone more smoothly
than he’d hoped it would.
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Epilogue
“It’s like us add-in shifters are marked, isn’t it?” Gabe draped an arm over Adam’s
shoulders. The guy was sweaty and not exactly pleasant-smelling, considering they’d all
spent half the night running all over the damn countryside, so really Adam figured he stank
as well, but—ew.
“Dude, scoot that way,” Adam said as he nudged Gabe. “Between the two of us, we’re
probably toxic.”
Gabe scowled and sniffed then gagged. Adam wasn’t sure he was faking it, either.
“Jesus, you are ripe, buddy. I, on the other hand,” Gabe lifted an arm and inhaled close to his
pit. “Mmmm, I just smell like man.”
Adam snorted and stole Gabe’s eye roll. “Whatever, you reek, like nappy ass and toe
jam.”
“Oh yeah?” Gabe glared at him a split second before the sharp edge of his elbow caught
Adam’s ribs. “Well, I look better naked.” Then Gabe laughed and slapped Adam on the back
as he tried to catch his breath.
“Stop beating up my guy,” Todd growled, a healthy dose of teasing in his voice. “I have
plans for him that don’t involve the emergency room.”
Adam cast a glance at Todd, surprised by the bold claim, and he went warm all over
upon seeing the fiery blush on Todd’s cheeks. Unfortunately, Adam’s cock was very pleased
with the sight too, and it started to plump right up in front of Gabe and Mika and, yeah,
Adam casually tried to drape his hands over his groin.
Which caused a round of laughter from Gabe and Mika while Todd reached down to
cover his own cock and balls.
“Y’all are so cute,” Gabe cooed, flapping a hand at each of them. “Seriously, the
modesty is adorable.”
“It’s not something I’m familiar with,” Mika added, catching Gabe’s arm before he
could deliver another elbow. “What I mean is, being raised in a pack, we often all stripped
and shifted, and no one really paid a lot of attention to anyone else.”
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“Riiiiight.” Gabe shook his head. “I am sure there was plenty of ogling going on. It’s
only natural.”
“Probably. Now, let’s go, I want to ogle you in the privacy of our own home.” Mika
waggled his eyebrows and Gabe giggled, and Adam wondered if he’d fallen through some
weird portal that made normally scowly men flirtatious instead. Mika generally wasn’t
so…fun.
Gabe grinned and waved. “That’s our cue to leave. Adam, you make a lovely brown
and grey wolf, and Todd,” Gabe grinned so wide he looked unstable, “who knew ginger
wolves even existed?”
Todd made a choked sound and Adam was pretty sure he was swallowing back a ‘fuck
you’ since Todd just didn’t say things like that, even joking, at least not often. And, besides, it
was true—Todd in shifted form was gorgeous, a sleek, light orange wolf whose tail and ears
were tipped in cream and whose paws were a rusty brown. Adam felt kind of plain, actually,
just being brown with the odd black patch on him. Kind of like Gabe’s calico wolf but with
only two colours. Definitely not like any kind of wolf Adam had ever seen before.
He and Todd waved Gabe and Mika off then turned to each other. Todd let his hands
drop away and Adam was delighted to see that he was still hard, still eager. He took a step
forwards then stopped and sniffed. He was kind of funky smelling.
Todd grimaced as he sniffed, too. “Maybe we should shift and hit up the creek?”
Adam nodded. “Yeah, the whole sweaty man thing can be fucking hot, but we smell
like wet dog more than anything else. It’s kinda gross.”
“Kinda,” Todd agreed, then there was a lean orange wolf blinking at Adam.
“That just isn’t fair, that you’re quicker at it than me.” Considering he’d been turned by
some ancient dead shifter remains, you’d have thought Adam would shift lickety-split. He
sighed melodramatically then shifted. He and Todd howled, a joyous song of mates, as they
bounded towards the slight creek. Adam wasn’t sure it’d make them smell a whole lot better,
but it sure couldn’t hurt.
And, weirdly enough, his cock was still hard in shifted form. Adam eyed Todd in his
peripheral vision. They could fuck like this, right?
“No!” Todd’s thought slammed at him. “Well, probably, but I want the man fucking me
senseless, not the wolf.”
“But maybe, sometime…” After all, they were part wolf now, so why shouldn’t they?
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Todd’s wolfy snort was much louder than his human one. “Yes, but not tonight. I need
you.”
Adam wasn’t an idiot, and he thought he’d best do a little research on shifter mating,
which would be really embarrassing, but, if there was any chance of Todd being hurt, they’d
never have sex in their shifted forms. God, that was going to be a fun conversation to have
with Marcus.
The scent of water was tickling his nose and Adam yipped happily. As humid as it was,
it’d be sheer pleasure to play in the creek. Owing to the drought, it was a pitiful stream of
water that barely covered the rocks beneath it in some places, but, hey, he wasn’t a picky
guy.
Adam stopped at the creek’s edge, Todd right beside him. He nuzzled his mate then
drank the cool water, occasionally licking Todd’s tongue just because he could. Todd shifted
and stood up, fondling his still-erect dick, and Adam’s mouth watered. He shifted just as
Todd stepped into the water. It only reached his ankles there, but Todd shuffled a dozen or
so feet down and sat when the water was about knee-height.
Adam shifted as well then and joined Todd. The water was not cold, but it was a shock
to his heated skin. Didn’t affect his arousal at all. Adam straddled Todd’s lap in the water,
easing down so as not to put his knee on a sharp rock. With his hands braced on Todd’s
shoulders, Adam leaned in and kissed Todd, sealing his mouth firmly over his mate’s and
laving every bit of the sweet interior he could reach.
Then he scooped up a double handful of the water and dumped it on Todd’s head, and
the playing was on. Adam was laughing too hard to have enough sense to close his mouth
so, when Todd dunked him in that shallow water, Adam sucked in half of it, he’d have
sworn. He came up coughing and sputtering, and Todd snickered, his eyes gleaming under
the moonlight. He looked so…happy. Adam thought he didn’t see Todd like this enough,
filled with joy, glowing with it, really. It was worth a little water in his lungs to see it.
Of course, he couldn’t let Todd get away with nearly drowning him. Adam surged up
and promptly stumbled, stubbing his toe on what had to be a damned boulder in that
shallow creek. He flailed and Todd reached for him and together they went down.
Adam was determined to take the fall but so was Todd, it seemed, because he couldn’t
roll Todd on top of him when Todd was struggling so. They landed in the water on their
sides, the loud slap of the impact sounding much more painful than the actual event was.
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This time they both came up gasping and hacking. And Adam pressed his advantage,
surprised he even had one. He had his hands beneath Todd’s arms and was pulling him to
the bank before Todd had finished spluttering.
“Clean enough,” Adam muttered. Why had he been going on about a little sweat and
dog scent when he had a man like Todd naked and eager for him? Adam stretched out on
top of Todd on the grassy bank. Todd looked up at him, expression open and loving and so
much more than Adam had ever thought to have. “I love you.”
Todd opened his mouth to answer and Adam bent, capturing the words, the taste of
them on his tongue. He felt Todd shiver beneath him, felt the vibration of a moan as it
worked its way past Todd’s lips. Adam held his torso up on his elbows and buried his hands
as thoroughly as he could in Todd’s short hair. He gripped the silky wet strands and tugged,
and Todd arched for him, want rising harder and faster between them.
Adam rutted against Todd, the burn of Todd’s cock beside his almost maddening in its
perfection. Adam growled and shuddered as he struggled for restraint, too close to coming
all over Todd’s firm belly.
Todd rocked up, whimpering as he canted his head slightly. Adam met Todd’s need,
kissing him with more force, claiming every centimetre of his mouth. He nipped at Todd’s
tongue, at his lips, sucking the swollen flesh there as Todd continued to make soft keening
sounds with each thrust of his hips.
Adam licked his way down from Todd’s lips to the sweet spot at the base of his neck. A
scrape of his teeth over there, and Todd gasped, his cock pulsing between them, cum slicking
them both. Adam held back, barely, his intent to be inside Todd when he finally came. He
didn’t doubt he could be hard again in minutes—his libido and therefore recovery time being
one of the awesome things that had increased when he’d become a shifter—but holding on
until the spunk all but burst from him would be a mind-melting experience.
Plus, he got to drive Todd over the edge again.
Adam suckled on Todd’s neck until he stopped undulating beneath him, then Adam
began kissing and nipping a path to Todd’s nipples. With fingers and mouth, he worked the
little nubs into hardened peaks in seconds. Todd’s cock didn’t soften completely, didn’t get
the chance before Adam ratcheted up the arousal in his mate all over again.
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“Adam, please,” Todd rasped as Adam teethed one tip and pinched the other. Todd
grabbed his biceps, squeezing hard. Adam applied more pressure in return and Todd sucked
in a sharp breath, his eyes going wide before closing on a broken groan.
Being what he—what they—were now made everything so much more intense. Adam
could feel Todd’s need throbbing in him like a living thing, could smell it, hear it in his shaky
breaths and the sounds spilling from him, see it, taste it. Adam’s control was unravelling
quick as a ball of yarn tossed down a steep hill. He pushed himself down, his cock dragging
the length of one of Todd’s thighs, his balls tight and ready for release. Adam slicked his
fingers with Todd’s cum and Todd, as attuned to Adam as he was to him, raised his other
leg, offering Adam his ass.
Adam rubbed the cooling spunk over Todd’s clenched hole, then eased a finger into
Todd’s heat. His eyes nearly crossed as Todd’s inner walls rippled around his digit. Adam
stretched Todd quickly, pausing only to pull out and swipe more jizz onto his fingers. When
Todd was all but sobbing, his need tearing at Adam until he ached from it, Adam surged up,
catching the backs of Todd’s knees with his arms, rolling Todd up onto his shoulders. Adam
knew a moment of utter frustration when he had to release one of Todd’s legs to line his cock
up right, but then he was sinking into Todd’s ass, his cock massaged and pulled deeper as
Todd moaned and thrashed his head from side to side.
“Beautiful,” Adam managed, then his balls slapped Todd’s ass as he sank to the root.
Adam choked on whatever words had been trying to escape, and his vision blurred, his mind
hazed as the wolf inside him howled with the perfection of Todd’s gripping ass.
Adam pulled back only enough to slam back in. It felt so good, so exquisite, he roared
and repeated the movements over and over, driving into Todd fiercely as Todd gripped him
with a strength that fired Adam’s need even higher. He needed more, and Todd did as well.
Adam let go of Todd’s legs and Todd snarled at him, reaching for him. “Roll over,”
Adam ground out, trying to focus when he couldn’t see straight, couldn’t hardly refrain from
diving right back into Todd’s ass.
But Adam had barely got the order out when Todd was on his knees, his ass high and
inviting, his chest down as he presented himself to his mate. Adam was on him in an instant,
pushing back into the heat and softness as Todd howled, clawing at the ground. He slammed
back, meeting Adam’s thrust, driving hard. Adam gripped one hip and one shoulder and
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ploughed Todd’s hole. His canines elongated and his wolf demanded, and Adam obeyed,
leaning over Todd, finding the tender join of shoulder and neck.
Now, he knew he wouldn’t hurt Todd, not more than either of them wanted. The
mating bite was painful, but in a pleasurable way they both needed. Todd had left a deep one
on Adam just the night before, and Adam had actually passed out from the pleasure of it
when he came.
Tonight, he was going to drive Todd to that same point.
Adam’s balls were so tight he knew he wasn’t going to last much longer, not with the
way Todd was keening and cursing, something he rarely did so fluently. Todd’s back was
wet, slicked with sweat, and their bodies made stirringly lewd sounds as Adam fucked him.
It was too much, Todd’s need, his perfection as Adam drilled into him, his love and the
emotions flowing between them. Adam tossed his head back as he thrust deep, the shout
ripping painfully from his throat right before he dropped forward and bit.
Todd’s throaty yell sent goose bumps over Adam even as the coppery taste of Todd’s
blood coated his tongue. Adam froze, his cock clenched by Todd’s inner muscles, which
rippled and caressed his length as Todd came. Adam’s own climax was pulled right out of
him, pouring into Todd’s body, marking him inside. He let up on the bite, lapping at it
sloppily instead as he came.
Dizziness hit him then, too much pleasure to process. Todd’s yell cut off suddenly, and
he collapsed beneath Adam. Adam was attuned enough, even in the throes of release, to
know Todd was fine, more than fine, actually. As Adam had the night before, Todd had
given in and let consciousness slip away. Adam could feel him, floating peacefully, sated,
and it made Adam’s orgasm that much better.
Once he stopped shuddering, stopped coming, Adam eased out of Todd’s body and lay
down beside him. He pulled Todd into his arms. Todd snuggled to him, already watching
him with a sappy smile on his handsome face. Adam knew he had to be grinning just as
sappily, because how could he not with such a perfect mate?
“I’m not perfect,” Todd mumbled, but he was pleased, Adam knew. “Far from it.”
Adam rubbed his nose against Todd’s, enjoying the simple touch. “But you are, Todd.
You’re perfect for me, and you’re the best person I’ve ever known, will ever know.”
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Todd mumbled a denial, and Adam could feel the heat from his blush, which he found
more endearing than he could express. “You know it’s true.” He found Todd’s hand, brought
it down to press to his chest, letting Todd feel his heartbeat. “Feel how much I believe it.
Here, and here,” Adam said, his mind open and filled with all the goodness he saw in Todd.
“Oh,” Todd said after a moment, just the one word, but it was filled with enough awe
that Adam knew he’d shown Todd what he’d meant. He wanted that, wanted Todd to
understand how special he was, and how Adam knew he was the luckiest man ever to have
Todd’s love.
“But I’m just as lucky,” Todd told him, and, before Adam could protest, Todd
proceeded to show him just how lucky they both truly were.
Coming Soon from Total-E-Bound Publishing:
Leopard’s Spots: Isaiah
Bailey Bradford
Released 2
nd
July 2012
Excerpt
Chapter One
“There ya go, Mr Brinkman, she’s all fixed and ready for the road.” Isaiah Trujillo
winked at the old man and handed him his keys. Mr Brinkman was cool, a sweet lonely
widower who’s partner of thirty-seven years had passed away almost eight months ago.
Mr Brinkman took the keys and caught Isaiah’s hand in both of his, patting it
affectionately. “I think you can call me Cliff, Isaiah. Especially after all the work you put into
restoring this beauty.”
“Thank you, Cliff.” Isaiah fought against manners drilled into him by his mother and
grandma to call Cliff by his first name. He knew it was good manners to do as he was asked
by the man, too, but it just felt a little weird. He withdrew his hand after Cliff patted him one
last time then Isaiah turned and gestured at the bright red ’69 Camaro he’d spent all his spare
time working on over the past few months. “So, are you planning on racing her?” he teased.
Cliff tittered and walked over to run a couple of fingertips over the hood of the Camaro.
The thick white racing stripes down the car really made the red pop. The paint job had been
an utter pain in the ass, and Isaiah had lived in fear of fucking it up, but he’d been driven to
do his best on the opportunity he’d been handed. Isaiah’s auto shop usually handled day-to-
day repairs, and he seldom took paint jobs, but his true love lay in restoring old cars—he just
wasn’t sure he could make a living doing it yet. Maybe, once he built a rep for himself.
“I might just. Relive some of my youth.” Cliff didn’t sound like he was joking, and
Isaiah became aware of the melancholy look in the older man’s eyes. What was it like to have
loved someone for so long, to have found your soul mate? Isaiah had seen his brother,
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Timothy, and his mate, Otto. Like Isaiah, they were snow leopard shifters. They were also
very much in love. Would he ever find someone like that? It sure didn’t seem possible. All
the clubs he went to were just meat markets, places to fuck or find someone to take home for
a night. Perhaps he should try somewhere else, but where?
“You know, I was driving this car the night I met Quincy,” Cliff said, then he sighed
and grimaced. “But I’m sure you don’t want to hear about that. Probably bore you, what
with all the hustling men do now days.”
Isaiah frowned in return, trying to grasp what Cliff was talking about. He wasn’t
confused over how Cliff knew he was gay, or gay-friendly. The rainbow flag in the shop
window wasn’t small or possible to miss. “Hustling?” he asked.
“Screwing around,” Cliff clarified. “Seems like that’s the thing to do, see how many
men you can have sex with. Maybe I’m just cynical, but I even hear it in my own age group,
you know. Like no one actually cares about anyone, just…” Cliff huffed and flapped a hand
in the air. “Just bodies slapping together. It saddens me to think so many people are missing
out on a love like Quincy and I had. Still have, because I won’t stop loving him.” Cliff’s eyes
sparkled with tears that soon leaked down his cheeks. He didn’t seem ashamed at all, not
even swiping at them. “I don’t think it’s just gay men, but sometimes I wonder if love will be
a thing of the past in another couple of generations.”
“That’s awful,” Isaiah said without thinking, but the very idea made him feel kind of
queasy. Then it dawned on him what he’d just done and he blushed so hard even his feet felt
hot. Isaiah tipped his cap back and rubbed his forehead as he looked at Cliff through his
lashes. “Sorry, I don’t mean—” he stopped himself. He wasn’t a liar, but how did he say
what he meant without being insulting?
Cliff just nodded and caressed the hood of his car, waiting patiently. “I’m not going to
get mad, Isaiah. We’re talking, and I’d like to think of us as friends, if you can tolerate the
ramblings of an old queen sometimes.”
It made Isaiah feel a little less insecure. He wasn’t the brightest guy—there was a reason
his brother was a doctor and he was a mechanic—and talking wasn’t his best talent, either. In
fact, he was so shy outside of work that sometimes he couldn’t bring himself to deal with
people. Other times, he could manage a trip to a club, when he was desperately lonely, but
he didn’t really have to talk much then, either. Which kind of proved Cliff’s point.
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“Yes, sir,” Isaiah blurted out, then quickly corrected himself when Cliff started to speak.
“I mean, Cliff. I’d be happy to count you as a friend.” One of Isaiah’s very few friends,
actually. Cliff nodded and waited. Isaiah hoped he got his words out in the manner he
intended them to be heard. “All I meant was, it’s awful to think that’s the way we’re going to
end up. I see what you mean. I’ve been to Cinders”—Cliff muttered his understanding of
that being a gay club—“a few times. And yeah, all it is, is a place to hook up.” Blowjobs in
the bathroom, sometimes even in the club itself, and the alley… Well. Isaiah wasn’t going to
tell Cliff what went on there. “The thing is, I don’t know that there’s lots of places to meet a
nice man, you know? Like, how did you meet Quincy?”
Cliff beamed and his eyes twinkled with joy instead of sadness, and it warmed Isaiah’s
heart. Stroking the hood gently, Cliff watched his fingers. “I was driving this beauty down
A1A in Florida, believe it or not.” He cackled and shook his head. “Got the retirement down
backwards, don’t I? But I was born in Merritt Island, Florida. Anyway, here I was driving
down the highway, and you have to understand, times were different. Certain things weren’t
talked about. I knew I was different, but there was no one I could turn to.”
Cliff stopped rubbing the hood and clenched his hand into a fist. He faced Isaiah and
anger etched deeper lines around the old man’s mouth. His expression shifted, and he
appeared to go off somewhere years back in his mind. “At the stop light in Cocoa Beach, I
saw this beautiful young man being hassled by two big brutes. No one else gave a damn that
he was being shoved or about to be seriously hurt. I saw him go down, pushed to his knees.
But he didn’t quail in fear or anything. Instead I could see his anger, see him struggle to get
up against the hands holding him down. He was magnificent in his refusal to give up.”
“The light changed, but I couldn’t leave him. All of the sudden, just like that,” Cliff
snapped his fingers, “everything clicked into place. I knew with a certainty who I was, what I
was, and that the man shaking his fist at his attackers was the key to my happiness.” Cliff
turned a sharp look on him. “People make fun of love at first sight, but it happens. In
seconds, I knew Quincy and I would be together, no matter what I had to do to make it
happen. If he wasn’t gay, then so be it. I’d be the best friend he ever had and pray he’d love
me back. Cars behind me honked when the light changed but I didn’t care. I leaned over and
pushed the passenger side door open just as Quincy fought to his feet. I’d have gotten out if I
needed to, but Quincy was a fighter, yes he was. Little guy, and fierce…”
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Isaiah understood that. His cousin Oscar wasn’t exactly tall or muscular, and he scared
the shit out of Isaiah. Fierce was an understatement.
“Quincy looked up and our eyes met. He never looked away from me as he ran for the
door. The second he dove in, I felt a peace like you wouldn’t believe, joy so encompassing I
thought I’d burst from it.”
Isaiah believed it. Cliff was all but glowing now talking about it. He wondered if Cliff
always spoke so poetically of his love, if he was so well-spoken on other subjects, or if it was
Quincy and what they’d had together that gilded his tongue.
“Quincy and I never wanted anyone else,” Cliff continued. “We were it for each other,
and there was no need to go messing around. We held each other’s heart, and that is a
treasure, and an honour. No real man, or woman, would abuse such a gift.” Once again, tears
streamed down Cliff’s cheeks. His lower lip trembled, and Isaiah shuffled his feet, wishing
he had enough balls to hug him. “Then he started having trouble eating, and the doctor
found the tumour, and it didn’t matter how much Quincy fought, it still took him from me.”
Fuck it, he could just about risk being embarrassed. Isaiah took a couple of steps
forward and opened his arms. Cliff sobbed and Isaiah’s heart broke for the man. Maybe he
didn’t want to find someone after all, not if this was what happened to the one left behind.
Except Cliff had been so happy, and Isaiah didn’t doubt that Quincy had been, too. “It
was worth it,” Cliff sniffled, as if reading Isaiah’s mind. “Every second we had together,
every second I could touch Quincy, see him, hear him. I wouldn’t change anything, except to
love him even more, if possible.”
Oh, Isaiah’s eyes burned and so did the tip of his nose. His sense of scent was skewed
from the motor oil and other chemicals in the shop, but he thought he could still possibly
smell the sincerity, even, of Cliff’s words, catch the sweet promise of his love.
Maybe I can have a flowery thought, too.
“Oh dear, look at the mess I’ve made,” Cliff mumbled, swiping at Isaiah’s chest. “Your
coveralls are all wet and I’m not sure that’s just tears on them.”
Cliff looked mortified but Isaiah laughed, not that he was going to look and see what
was left on the material. “It’s okay, Cliff. These things have dirt and oil and God knows what
else all over ‘em. I have a washer and dryer on site and a shower in the back I use most
nights before I go home.”
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“Are you sure it’s okay?” Cliff looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. “I could pay to
have it…dry-cleaned?” He seemed to realise the ridiculousness of that as soon as he said it
and he chuckled. “Silly me, right?”
Isaiah huffed a laugh himself and patted Cliff’s bony back gently. “This ol’ thing ain’t
worth the cost of dry-cleaning, but I do appreciate the thought.”
Cliff’s smile was tremulous at first but it soon blossomed into one that Isaiah would bet
had charmed Quincy from the start. “You are a sweet young man, putting up with a
melodramatic old geezer like me. Thank you.”
“It was—” Isaiah began, only to shut up when Cliff pointed at him. “What?”
“You need to stop going to that club, and start going places where nice young men are,”
Cliff chided. “Isaiah, there are gay churches here in Denver, and ways to meet online, I’ve
heard—”
“Oh no, nuh-uh,” Isaiah interrupted. He’d seen some of those online places, and that
one phone app, Grindr, and it just wasn’t for him. Some of those, if not all of them, were at
least as bad as Cinders.
Cliff caught his wrist and it was only then Isaiah realised he’d been retreating like some
big coward. He stopped and Cliff gave his wrist a squeeze before speaking again. “There’s
still church, and if nothing else, you could spend the time you waste at clubs volunteering for
one of the GLBTQ centers. There’s a youth centre not far from here that just re-opened after
receiving some much needed donations. I know for a fact they could use all the help they can
get.”
“What’s it called?” Isaiah asked. He’d thought of volunteering somewhere before but
didn’t know what he could contribute. But surely, even if all he did was sweep floors or
something, it’d help, right?
“It’s just called The Heart, and if you are truly interested, I can give you the name of
who to talk to.” Cliff was digging in his pocket, pulling out his wallet. “There’s a new staff
director there. She’s young but very intelligent and dedicated to helping kids in our
community.”
Isaiah took the card Cliff handed him and studied it. There was nothing fancy about it,
it was just a cream-coloured business card with Bae Allen Warren, DVM, and a couple of
phone and fax numbers printed on it. “I think you gave me the wrong card. This one’s for a
www.total-e-bound.com
veterinarian.” But he wasn’t eager to give it back. It felt good in his hand, the paper soft and
smooth on his rough skin. Isaiah thumbed over the name and smeared oily residue on the
card and immediately felt guilty, as if he’d done something wrong or ruined something pure.
He was just full of drama, wasn’t he?
Cliff pulled at the edge of the card, squinting as he hunched over to look at it. “Oh, oh
no, that’s Dr Warren, a veterinarian who might start volunteering there, too. He’s very cute,
and single, I believe.” Cliff winked at him and Isaiah couldn’t think of a word to say when
his face felt so hot all the sudden. “You keep that card. He left several at the centre. Here.”
This time Cliff read the card he plucked from his wallet. “Yes, this is who you need to talk to,
Sandy Singh. She’s truly a wonderful person. The Heart is lucky to have her.”
“I don’t know what I could do, but yeah, I can call.” He looked up when Cliff snorted
and jerked his wrist. “What? I’m not a veterinarian. I don’t have those kind of degrees.”
“You don’t know what you could do?” Cliff let go of him and waved at his car. “How
about teach some of those kids a skill they could use to support themselves? There are boys
and girls there who’ve been kicked out of their homes, and their future, although we’re
trying to help them, is very shaky.”
“We?” Isaiah couldn’t help but ask. It was easier to focus on that than think of trying to
teach a class of kids, although maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Wasn’t like he’d be standing up
front in a real class room.
“Yes, we,” Cliff clarified, tipping his chin up as if daring Isaiah to say something about
it. Why would he, though? “Quincy and I both volunteered there for the past seven years.
When Quincy passed, I used his life insurance to help them re-open. I still volunteer there as
often as possible. It…helps.”
“I’m sure it does, you and the kids, too,” Isaiah murmured, humbled once again by Cliff
and his kindness. And Quincy’s. Isaiah really wished he’d have got to meet him before he’d
died, even if it would have hurt when he passed. As Cliff had said, it’d have been worth it,
he thought. “Okay, I’ll make sure to talk to Sandy Singh next week.”
Cliff’s smile was one Isaiah couldn’t read this time, and his shifter senses weren’t any
help, either, damn it. “Yes, you be sure and do that.” He jangled the keys. “I don’t suppose
you’d like to go for a ride with an old man?”
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Isaiah had the feeling Cliff was up to something. Nothing bad, but the guy was
definitely gloating.
Well no wonder, The Heart is his baby, it sounds like. He’s just glad to rope in another
volunteer. And maybe I can help some kids, like he said.
“All right, Cliff,” Isaiah said as he winked at the old man again, “let’s go and you can
show me whatcha got.” He didn’t worry Cliff would take it wrong. The man wasn’t a slut
and he loved his deceased partner.
“More like you’re going to show me what you did to my baby,” Cliff retorted, tossing
the keys. “This really is a young man’s car at heart.”
Isaiah disagreed, but he wasn’t going to argue. He caught the keys and hollered at his
helper, Dorso, to keep an eye on the place, then he took the sweet man and the sweet Camaro
out for a ride.
About the Author
A native Texan, Bailey spends her days spinning stories around in her head, which
has contributed to more than one incident of tripping over her own feet. Evenings are
resounds for pounding away at the keyboard, as are the early morning hours. Sleep?
Doesn’t happen much. Writing is too much fun, and there are too many characters
bouncing about, tapping on Bailey’s brain, demanding to be let out.
Caffeine and chocolate are permanent fixtures in Bailey’s office and are never far from
hand at any given time. Removing either of those necessities from Bailey’s presence
can result in what is known as A Very, Very Scary Bailey and is not advised under any
circumstances.
Bailey loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and
author biography at
.
Also by Bailey Bradford
Southwestern Shifters: Rescued
Southwestern Shifters: Relentless
Southwestern Shifters: Reckless
Southern Spirits: A Subtle Breeze
Southern Spirits: When the Dead Speak
Southern Spirits: All of the Voices
Southern Spirits: Wait Until Dawn
Love in Xxchange: Rory’s Last Chance
Love in Xxchange: What Matters Most
Love in Xxchange: Ex’s and O’s
Love in Xxchange: A Bit of You
Love in Xxchange: In My Arms Tonight
Love in Xxchange: Where There’s a Will
Total-E-Bound Publishing
www.total-e-bound.com
Take a look at our exciting range of literagasmic™
erotic romance titles and discover pure quality
at Total-E-Bound.
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