Who Needs Christmas? 8

Stripe My Pole

Twelve elves left the North Pole to be free of all things Christmas

and have been living together for decades. They have gone

without their mates for years, but when the first of the twelve

finds his, the others have hope of finding theirs.

Box hates candy canes and that his friends seem to pay attention

to him only when they need something. When he finally meets

Egan—the man who does see him—he must fight fiercely to keep

him.

Egan is a bus driver who has endured constant abuse from a

woman he just can’t seem to deny anything. The passionate bond

that he shares with Box may be the key to overpowering that

abuse with eternal happiness.

Will the love that Box and Egan share be enough to conquer the

evil that has been plaguing Egan for too long, or will that evil

destroy their promising relationship?

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 35,373 words

STRIPE MY POLE

Who Needs Christmas? 8

Joyee Flynn

EROTIC ROMANCE

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

STRIPE MY POLE
Copyright © 2011 by Joyee Flynn
E-book ISBN: 1-61926-141-3

First E-book Publication: December 2011

Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be
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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
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PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

If you have purchased this copy of Stripe My Pole by Joyee Flynn
from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also,
thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or
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The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying
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This is Joyee Flynn’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect
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DEDICATION

To Gabrielle Evans for coming up with the title…I still can’t help

but giggle when I see it. Your mind works in mysterious ways, but I
love it just the same!!

STRIPE MY POLE

Who Needs Christmas? 8

JOYEE FLYNN

Chapter 1

I am a total cliché.
The last Monday of the month, November this time, I always have

a board meeting for one of the charities I’m involved in, Cystic
Fibrosis. It’s a great charity to get involved in, but the meetings are
worse than going to the dentist…or so I hear.

Self-important people blab on about what they do as a board

member that’s so great. Pleeease, we donated the most money, met
once a month, and smoothed the way for the bigger events. The
important people were the ones who worked there day in and day out.
The great people were the ones who gave their precious time every
week to help.

And to top it off, the coffee always sucked.
So why did I stick with the charity when the board was a bunch of

pompous asses? Easy, humans were starting to win the fight against
CF. In the past two decades, the life expectancy of cystic fibrosis
patients had gone up over twenty years. When I first started
volunteering about twenty years ago, the normal child diagnosed with
CF had a life expectancy of maybe eighteen.

Now it was almost forty. A-ma-zing.

Stripe My Pole

Besides, every board I sat on, or have ever sat on, was a bunch of

tools. I think once people get named as board members, they’re given
prescriptions for asshole pills. And most just take them. That’s my
current theory at least.

But anyways, back to my being a cliché.
The coffee always sucks at the meetings, and I didn’t have time to

get some of the good stuff on my way because the meeting is always
at six thirty in the morning. Right? Gods, that was early. But everyone
else had other jobs to get to or just didn’t want to deal with people.
Like the amount of people around during normal waking hours. Who
knew?

By eight thirty I’m half-asleep, dragging my ass into a Starbucks

so I don’t fall asleep at the wheel and hurt someone. Not like I could
get hurt or killed as an elf, but I don’t want to risk injuring a stranger.
I’m a little giddy, if I was awake, because as much as I hate
Christmas, the North Pole, and abhor candy canes…I love eggnog.
Especially eggnog lattes. Yeah, yeah, add it to the list of reasons I was
a bizarre short man.

But I was really glad the eggnog lattes weren’t as hot as a normal

one.

“Shit,” a man exclaimed as he crashed into me. I had been adding

a little extra sugar at one of those stations right by the door and he
plowed right into me. My latte went everywhere, including all over
my Dolce & Gabbana suit. That was going to be interesting to clean,
even with magic. I sucked at anything domestic.

And here’s where I’m a cliché. He knocks into me, we fall to the

ground tangled together, and all I’m paying attention to is that he’s
hot. Not just good-looking hot, but like on a scale of one to ten, he’s a
fifteen kinda hot. So we’re on the floor and writhing against each
other as we try and get our feet under us, but with the latte all over the
floor, it’s hard…and so is he. Nice.

I froze when I realized two things at once. One, my fangs were

trying to pop out, which meant he was my mate. And two, his eyes

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were red rimmed and puffy, which meant he’d been crying, and
whoever had made him cry I was going to kill.

“I’m so sorry,” he said in a soft but deep, deep voice as he finally

knelt between my legs and helped me get to my knees as well. He
glanced down at my suit and winced. “And I just destroyed a suit that
probably costs more than I make in a year.”

“I don’t know,” I replied with a shrug. “I don’t know how much

the suit costs. Who cares? It’s just a suit. No one got hurt, and I can
get another latte.” I lowered my voice as we got to our feet and ran
my thumb over his eyebrow. “But who hurt you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he answered as he ducked his head and looked

at the ground. Thick, wavy, dark blond hair fell to cover some of his
face, and all I wanted to do was run my fingers through it. “I knew I
should have stayed in bed. But I couldn’t stay there! How could
Karen do this to me?”

Wow, he was a loud projector when he was upset. I hadn’t even

been focusing on him, and it was almost as if he had screamed it in
my ear.

“It matters to me,” I said gently as I placed my hand on his lower

back and led him to the counter. I ordered another drink and one for
my mate. As we waited for them, he kept apologizing, and I realized
something major I had yet to ask. “What’s your name?”

“Egan Stokes.” He groaned in a way that went right to my cock.

“And now you have it for your lawsuit against me, right? That’s just
the way my week’s been going.”

“I’m Mike Smith.” I chuckled as we grabbed our drinks. “I’m not

a big fan of suing people. Too much time and effort. Besides, lawsuits
are for people who couldn’t work things out like adults or others who
want some quick payday for reasons they don’t deserve.”

“Thanks.” Egan sighed in relief as he held the door open for me.

“Can I at least give you a ride somewhere? I’ve never seen you on my
route before, I don’t think. But I can get you to the L if you need.” He

Stripe My Pole

nodded over to the street, and I glanced up to see a CTA bus with its
blinkers on. Huh.

“You drive that?” I asked with awe. I’d so take out a few houses

with that monster.

“Pays the bills.” He snickered and then went serious. “Mostly at

least.” He shook his head as if to dispel bad thoughts and took another
few steps towards the bus before turning to me. “Anyways, I have to
get going on my route, but if you need a ride—”

“Sure!” I quickly said and hoped I put enough change in the meter

for my BMW that was parked about half a block away. “I’d love to go
for a ride.”

“Okay then,” he said hesitantly and opened the door for me. “Was

he just flirting with me?”

I wanted to roll my eyes. Yes, yes I want you, hot, dense man.
“So can I get your suit cleaned for you, too? I figure it’s the least I

can do.” Egan eyed me over quickly before sitting down and getting
us on our way. I sat in the seat right behind him so we could talk.

“Naw, my brother’s magic with stains.” I met his gaze in the

massive rearview mirror he used to see the entire bus while he was
driving. “But you could tell me why you’ve been crying and then I’ll
call it even.”

“I wasn’t crying,” he snapped and ducked his head but not before

I saw more tears gathering in his eyes.

“There’s nothing wrong with crying, Egan. I wasn’t picking on

you. I just want to know why you were so sad,” I replied gently. He
pulled over for someone waiting at the bus stop, and we had to put our
talk on hold. Well, it wasn’t really a talk, more like I was trying to get
more information without listening to his thoughts.

Not because I had a moral issue with it. No, I just always ended

up slipping up and talking about something I’d heard instead of what
the person told me. Really made things uncomfortable when I did
that.

Joyee Flynn

As people got on and paid the fare, I stared at my mate. He had

the lightest ice-blue eyes I’d ever seen. Egan was simply breathtaking.
About six-five, two twenty-five of muscle and gorgeous. Not what I
pictured when I thought of a typical bus driver. That’s for sure.

When the three people paid and were seated toward the back of

the bus, Egan got the bus back into traffic and glanced at me in the
mirror. “My girlfriend, well, ex-girlfriend, Karen.”

Fuck, he’s straight! Maybe he’s not my mate? But aloud I asked,

“What did she do?”

“I caught her in our bed with another man last week.”
“Ouch.”
“Right?” he exclaimed and then lowered his voice again. “And

now she won’t leave me alone. I kicked her out, and she keeps
showing up crying that she’s got no place to go because she was
starting to move in with me. It’s not my fault her lease is up next
week. She should have thought about that before cheating on me.”

He tugged on his collar in a nervous gesture, and that’s when I

saw the bruises. Fresh, angry bruises in the shape of a woman-size
hand that had tried to choke him. Bitch!

“And she hurts you,” I whispered gently so no one could hear me

but Egan. He straightened his shirt out so the bruises disappeared
under the cloth, but he nodded.

“I can’t hit a woman no matter what she does,” he admitted, and I

saw a lone tear trail down his cheek. Poor Egan! “I went to the police
once and they laughed at me, called me a pussy. I just don’t know
what to do. She got more violent after that, and when she cheated, I
had the locks changed and boxed up what she’d brought over
already—Why am I telling you all of this?”

“Because you needed to get it out, and I was in the right place at

the right time.” He snorted at that. “And I asked. I won’t judge you,
but I think I can help if you want.”

Stripe My Pole

“Why would you help me? I crashed into you and ruined your

suit,” he said sadly. Gods, I was practically drowning in the despair I
felt coming off of him in waves.

“Because you need help and I can give it to you.” I took a chance

and patted his shoulder. “My brother’s partner is a cop. He’s one of
the good guys. Can you take some vacation time?”

“Yeah, I’m actually only working today before taking a week off.

I had vacation days that were about to expire.”

“Perfect,” I said, giving him a wide smile in the mirror. “After

work you can pack a bag and stay with me so she can’t find you, and
we’ll talk to Bren.” And I’ll work on making you my mate and seeing
if you’re at least bisexual.

“I couldn’t impose like that—”
“Nonsense,” I replied quickly. “You need a place to hide while we

get this all sorted out, and I have a large house with lots of rooms. It’s
no big deal at all.”

He nibbled his lower lip in an adorable gesture, surprising from a

man so large. Egan wanted to get away, but I was a stranger to him.

“I promise to keep you safe.” That seemed to push him over the

edge. He let out a sigh of relief and nodded. “Good. We’ll get this
bitch out of your life.”

“Thank you,” he said with so much emotion in his voice that I

wanted to hug him. “I don’t know why I’m trusting a stranger, but
something about you makes me feel as if everything could be okay
again.”

“I’ve been told that before.” I chuckled harmlessly. See? I’m not a

scary stranger. “If it makes you feel any better about me, I was
grabbing coffee after a board meeting for a charity I help out with. I
have a detective in the family and no criminal record.”

“Always a plus.” He snickered.
We sat in silence as he did his job, and I was amazed at how full

the bus was now and I’d not even noticed him picking up more
people. It was about another twenty minutes before he realized I

Joyee Flynn

wasn’t getting off and we were getting close to the end of his route,
according to the posted map.

“Where did you need a ride to?”
“I don’t,” I admitted sheepishly. “My car was at Starbucks, but

you looked like you needed a friend, and I had no place to be just
then.”

“Are you an angel?” he blurted out and his cheeks turned bright

red with embarrassment.

“Yes, yes, I am,” I answered with a straight face. “I’m the angel of

kicking ex-girlfriends’ asses and helping strangers put their lives back
together.”

“That’s a long angel name.” He snickered, getting that I was

kidding.

“Hmm, it really is.” I rubbed my chin in mocking thought.

“Maybe you can help me find an acronym for it or something. You’ll
get brownie points for that towards heaven, of course.”

And then the most amazing thing happened…Egan laughed. Not

just a shy smile or a snicker, but a full, hold-his-stomach laugh. It was
beautiful. He was beautiful, even with his eyes still red and puffy.

“So yes, you’ll help me?” I asked with a wink.
“Of course, little angel.” He returned the gesture.
I got off the bus back at where my car was after agreeing to meet

at the bus depot at one. Egan had already been working since five in
the morning, and I bit my tongue to keep my opinion to myself about
that. My mate should not be working a crappy section of Chicago in
off-hours like that!

But, since I was trying not to scare him, that conversation would

have to wait.

I drove home, informed everyone what was going on, and had

lunch. Then I raced upstairs to shower and change while cleaning up
my room. I grabbed the keys to Shadow’s Hummer in case Egan
wanted to bring more than just an overnight bag and headed to the bus
depot.

Stripe My Pole

I thought about my luscious mate as I drove and realized I’d have

to go slow with him. Whether he realized he liked men or not, he just
got out of a relationship with a woman who hurt him. All I could be
right then was his friend.

I pulled up and saw him standing outside waiting and honked the

horn. His blue eyes went wide as he waved and jogged over.

“I thought you said you had a car?” he asked as he climbed in the

passenger’s seat.

“I do, I was driving my BMW this morning,” I answered and

headed to the direction of his apartment. He’d given me the address
earlier when we were debating where to meet up.

“Just how rich are you?” He let out a whistle as he rubbed his

hands over the soft leather interior.

“Very, but this is actually my brother’s. I wasn’t sure if you

wanted to grab more than just a bag to come stay with me. I thought it
might be smart since your ex-girlfriend seems off her rocker. I didn’t
want her getting into your apartment and destroying your stuff.”

“You think she would?” he asked in shock.
“I don’t know her, but unless you’ve told the landlord what’s

going on, she might be able to finagle her way into your apartment.”

“She is very vindictive,” Egan muttered to himself and then

sighed. “I knew something was wrong from the moment we started
going out. This is partly my fault for letting it go on this long. I just
never seemed to be able to say no to her.”

That raised the hairs on the back of my neck. “What do you

mean?”

“You’re going to think I’m crazy,” Egan muttered.
“Try me, Egan,” I said gently and gave him a soft smile. “I know

there’s more out there in the world than most people think. I’ve seen
it with my own eyes.”

He hesitated for another moment, and then his cheeks turned

bright red. What was that about? “I’d want to say no to something,

Joyee Flynn

like her moving in, and I’d be all ready to say no. But when I opened
my mouth, I always said yes. It was as if I wasn’t controlling it.”

“Shit,” I hissed and thought quickly about what to do. “Did you

ever black out and forget time when you hadn’t been drinking or not
drinking a lot?”

“Yes,” he gasped. “How did you know that?”
“It’s complicated,” I grumbled. “Ever see any pentagrams or

books in weird languages at her apartment?”

“Yeah, she’s a Wiccan.” His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You

think she bespelled me? Magic’s not real.”

“Yes it is,” I said firmly and glanced at him out of the corner of

my eye. “Whether she’s a poser who got a spell right or a real witch, I
can’t tell you. The first is an annoyance. The second are very
dangerous.”

“How do you know all this?” I listened in to his thoughts right

then and winced. “I should just stay at my apartment. This guy’s not
going to help me because he’s fucking nuts.”

“I know it’s hard to believe, but I’ve come up against witches

before,” I whispered and visibly shivered. “Let’s just get you away
from her. She might just be a harmless Wiccan, but after dealing with
witches and the things I’ve seen, I’d rather not take any chances.
Please, Egan? Just give me a little faith here that I’m not crazy. I’m
trying to help you.”

“Okay, I’m willing to go out on a limb here since you got the

blacking-out stuff right and her creepy books.” He looked at me
sharply as I pulled up at his apartment and found a parking spot. “But
a small tree limb, Mike. I’ve had enough crazy lately. Fair enough?”

“Yes, thank you,” I sighed in relief. I just wanted to keep him

safe. We could get to the other crazy later.

We got out, I locked the Hummer, and we headed to his

apartment. The moment we were a foot away from the elevator, I had
my answer. It reeked of evil magic and witch. I quickly texted Horse
and Cave as we rode up to Egan’s floor. We might need backup.

Stripe My Pole

Egan stepped off the elevator first since he knew the way and

froze. “Karen? What are you doing here again? I told you not to come
back. We’re over!”

“No we’re not, Egan,” Karen said firmly, and I felt the air pulse

with magic. “You’re going to take me back.”

“The fuck I—” Egan growled but then stopped. I listened in his

mind, and sure enough, she was trying to control him. Fuck this bitch!

“Hello, witch,” I drawled as I stepped in front of my mate,

breaking her connection. “Wonderful day to take over someone’s
mind? You fucking witches are all alike.”

“Leave now and you won’t get hurt,” she hissed before Egan

snapped out of it, and then she changed her tune back to wounded,
human Karen. “Oh, so now you’re a fag? I leave and you turn to men?
Or is that why you could rarely get it up?” Oh, ouch.

“Wait? What?” Egan asked as his gaze shifted between us. He

was trying to catch up from his mind taking a momentary sabbatical.
“You know I’m straight and Mike’s not a fag.”

I cleared my throat and turned so he could see the profile of my

face without losing sight of the witch. “I am actually, but I prefer the
word gay over fag.”

“Right, sorry,” he said quickly and then turned back to Karen.

“Either way, it’s none of your concern. He’s my friend, and I told you
to leave me the fuck alone.” In his mind I heard, “It’s like the blinders
have come off. I never used to talk to her like this.”

That’s exactly what happened. When he threw her out and

changed the locks, his brain had started blocking her in a way. She
wasn’t very strong, and I’d bet she had to be in close contact or
intimate with him to bespell Egan.

“You heard him, leave,” I snarled when she started moving her

hands and muttering to herself. “I already called the wolves. I smelled
you on the elevator and sent them word.” Okay, so I sent a text and
they would get the wolves, but the threat was the same. And this bitch
was going down.

Joyee Flynn

Chapter 2

That got her attention. She froze her spell, and her head snapped

up in my direction. “You’re bluffing. You might know about us, but
you have no power, I’d feel it.”

“Right!” I barked out laughing before I could stop myself.

“You’re so weak I’m shocked you could even control Egan at all. I’ve
got more power than you in my pinky, you fucktard.” Just to give her
a show I let it flow through me and flash in my eyes, knowing Egan
wouldn’t see it or feel it.

“Shit,” she gasped and took a step back. “What are you?”
“Dangerous,” I snarled and took a step closer to her. “Egan might

have issues with hitting a woman, but I don’t, bitch. Don’t you ever
forget that.”

In a flash she shot off an energy blast. I knew it was meant for me,

but her aim sucked, and I had to step to my right to let it hit me and
block Egan. I absorbed it, tasting the power as I did.

Her eyes went wide enough that I thought they might fall out of

her head. I started tsking her in my best condescending voice. “Blood
magic, Karen? Couldn’t control him so you upped your game? Who’d
you kill?”

“No, that’s impossible,” she whispered, finally smart enough to

look scared. “No one can absorb an energy blast.”

“Except another, stronger magical being.” I winked at her, just to

be a shit.

“Egan, get away from him,” Karen begged. “He’s dangerous,

baby.” I felt the pull in her voice.

Stripe My Pole

“You fuck with my mate and I will kill you and not wait for the

wolves,” I hissed and let my fangs come out. I touched Egan’s chest
and easily cleared her influence. “Leave now and you’ve got a chance
of escaping before they find you. Stay and I end you.” I wasn’t a
coward, but I wasn’t going to take any risks with my mate here.

“I’m not running from some little fag twink. You’re all show. Bet

you’ve been doing some blood magic of your own for that power.”
She had a big smirk on her face, and while her words affected me, it
wasn’t in the way she meant. Accusing someone of blood magic was
a big insult.

I put all my power behind my voice. “I am Box of the elven clan!”

I let my ears change back to normal as my magic crackled around me.
“I have never, nor will ever, use blood or evil magic. I am of the light!
Leave now and bother my mate no more, witch, or today will be your
last day.”

“Elf?” She gasped as she shook with fear. Karen lost her bravado

and looked as if she was going to piss herself.

“Mate?” Egan asked at the same time. Whoopsies. This was so not

how I planned to let him know.

“He has my crystals,” Karen said hesitantly as she held up her

hands in surrender. “I just need them back.”

“Do I look stupid?” I asked in disbelief. “You killed someone for

that blood magic, and you think I’m going to allow you to get more
power from your crystals. Bitch, pleeease. Get the fuck out.”

She opened her mouth but snapped it back closed when we heard

a howl not far from where we were.

“Run,” I sneered, and she did. The witch turned tail and took off

down the hall towards the stairs.

“Mike?” Egan whispered, sounding a little shell-shocked. I altered

my ears and retracted my fangs before turning to him. “Box?”

“Box,” I answered softly. “Mike’s my human name. I’m so sorry,

Egan. This is not how I wanted you to find out, but I had to protect
you.”

Joyee Flynn

“Your parents named you Box?”
“No, I did. I used to play in all the boxes I’d find, and when I

found out what they were, I wanted to be named after one. Some kids
have imaginary friends. I had boxes. It’s elven tradition to name
ourselves at five.”

“I need to sit down and have a drink,” he mumbled as he pulled

out his keys. “Or six.”

“Okay, Egan.” I didn’t mean to sound like I was placating him,

but he’d taken a huge shock.

“Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Oh wait, witches, elves, and

wolves, fuck me!” He thought hysterically to himself as he let us into
his apartment. That wasn’t good. He waved his arm around as if to
say sit anywhere. But he continued into the small kitchen and pulled
something out of the freezer. I realized it was Jäger when he started
chugging it and I saw the green glass bottle.

Fuck.
“My ex is a witch. My new ‘friend’ is an elf who says I’m his

mate. And they were talking about wolves. I might not be the smartest
person, but I get the distinct feeling he didn’t mean real fucking
wolves like in the woods.”

“No, I meant werewolves,” I said quietly. He turned slowly to me

as he lowered the bottle before it slipped from his shaking fingers. I
quickly used my magic to stop it from hitting the ground. He stared at
it floating in the air. “I know this is lot, Egan, but I swear I’m one of
the good guys.”

“This isn’t real. I’m hallucinating,” he mumbled as he backed

away from the bottle. And as fate would have it, my friend picked the
wrong time to teleport in.

“We lost her, but the wolves are following her scent,” Horse

announced as he and Cave appeared. “They’ll get her.”

“Fuck!” Egan exclaimed and clutched his chest.

Stripe My Pole

“Guys,” I whined and gestured to Egan. “I told you he didn’t

know about any of this and then you teleport into his apartment! What
were you thinking?”

“Your mate’s safety was more important than telling him

everything delicately,” Horse answered with a raised brow.

“Yeah, you’re right.” I concurred with a nod. I held my hands up

in surrender and approached my mate when I realized something bad.
“Egan, you have to breathe.”

He shook his head as he gazed wildly around the room. He still

wasn’t taking air into his lungs.

“Egan! Breathe, now!” I ordered, and he did. Thank the gods.

Then things actually got worse.

“I got here as soon as I could,” Shadow said as he

appeared…covered in blood.

“I thought you were the good guys!” Egan screeched at an octave

I didn’t think he normally used. Wow.

“We are,” I sighed and turned to Shadow. “Explain whose blood

that is, please.”

“Vampires.” He shrugged. “I was hunting a coven by Green Bay.”
Egan’s eyes rolled up into his head.
“He’s going down,” Cave said, trying not to laugh. I raced to grab

my mate before he hit the ground. “How many mates fainting is that
now?”

“I don’t think we can count Alexi since he did because of that

heart condition,” Horse replied.

“Fuck you all,” I growled as I lifted my passed-out mate into my

arms.

“Oh, come on,” Cave chastised. “Don’t be like that. We get to

hunt a witch!”

“Who is my straight mate’s ex-girlfriend!”
“Oh yeah, that blows,” he conceded. Asshole.

Joyee Flynn

“You think?” I snapped and carried Egan to the couch. “She was

trying to get back her crystals that she left here and Egan didn’t see to
pack up with the rest of her shit. Find them.”

“Yes, Box,” all three mumbled as they set to it.
“And start packing up his stuff. It’s not safe here.”
“Agreed,” Horse called out from his bedroom. “I smell blood

magic.”

“Yeah, she’s an evil bitch. She’s not powerful and young, so my

guess is she started killing people to up her juice.”

“Fucking cunt,” Shadow growled. He was walking around the

living room with his hands held out, trying to feel the power of the
crystals. I watched as he walked over to the entertainment unit and
pulled out a pouch. “Got them.”

“And I found something else,” Horse said in a dire voice. He and

Cave walked out of the bedroom with a human bone in his hand. My
guess would be a femur from the size of it. “Was she controlling your
mate? Because I found this under his mattress.”

“Sometimes, but even with the sacrifice she didn’t have much

power.” I sighed with despair. This just kept getting better and better.

“Karen killed someone,” Egan whispered. I glanced down at him

as he lay with his head in my lap, tears brimming in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Egan,” I said gently as I ran my fingers through his

hair. “Yes, she killed at least one person.”

“Not just one,” Shadow muttered as he pulled out another bone

from behind the entertainment unit. “From what I sense of her
lingering magical signature, I’d say at least three.”

“I–I can’t stay here,” Egan stuttered as he glanced between the

bones. “I need to think or throw up. It’s a toss-up between the two
right now.”

“Okay, Egan. I’m going to take you to my home.” He nodded and

I sighed in relief. He couldn’t be too scared of me if he was willing to
come with me. I glanced up at Horse with a what do I do? look on my
face.

Stripe My Pole

He tossed me a set of keys. “Take my Z4 and leave us the

Hummer so we can pack up some of his stuff.”

“Okay, put everything in the guest room across from my room.

That’s where Egan will be staying.” I pulled out my keys and set them
on the coffee table as I helped my mate sit up.

“Guest room?” Cave asked with a raised brow. “He’s your mate.”
“He’s straight,” I hissed at my friend. One thing at a fucking time!
“Right,” he said and went back to the bedroom but not before I

saw him roll his eyes. “Let me get a bag of clothes for him at least. He
probably wants a hot shower to relax while he processes.”

“Good idea.”
“No,” Egan said firmly as he got to his feet. We all froze and

stared at him as if waiting for what that one word meant. “I’ll pack
my own bag.”

“Whatever you want, Egan,” Horse said with a shrug. My mate

went into his room as Cave came back out. He made a bunch of
moving boxes appear and they started packing. Shadow had magically
changed his clothes so he wasn’t covered in blood at least. That might
help my mate…a little.

“I’ll thank you all later when I don’t feel like tossing my cookies

or shitting a brick,” Egan announced as he walked briskly from his
room and out the front door. I quickly grabbed the keys and caught up
with him at the elevator. “I need time to process all of this. Please? I
know I’m being an ungrateful, fainting ass, but I can’t handle all of
this.”

“You’re not being an ass.” I chuckled as we stepped onto the

elevator, and he pushed the button for ground. “This is a lot, and
you’re doing pretty damn good from what I’ve seen when other
humans found out.”

“Yeah, right.”
“No, seriously, you are. Cut yourself some slack, Egan.”
He nodded once and then stepped off the elevator when it opened.

Once outside, I found Horse’s new car right away. I knew why he

Joyee Flynn

drove. In case we had to give chase when finding Karen. Teleporting
was easy. Teleporting when your person was on the move…not so
much. Hell, even I had a tendency to get nauseous when teleporting to
a moving target.

“Nice car! I’ve never been in one before. I wonder how it

handles?” Egan thought, and I couldn’t help but smile. Even with
everything going on, he took a moment to appreciate a thing of
beauty.

“Want to drive?” I asked. He turned to me with wide eyes and a

hesitant look. “I go for a drive sometimes when I’ve got a lot on my
mind. It helps me sort things out.”

“Me, too,” he said quietly. I tossed him the keys, which he caught.

He hit the fob and put his bag in the trunk before getting in the
driver’s seat. “Are you sure you’re okay with me driving your very
expensive car?”

“We have dozens at home,” I replied with a wave. His jaw

practically hit the center console as he turned to me. Whoopsies. Not
the right thing to say, I guess. “We have money, Egan. I know there
are a bunch of cars in the garage, but I couldn’t tell you what they all
are. Champ is the gearhead of the family.”

He nodded and started the car up, pulling out from the curb with

ease. It wasn’t even dinnertime yet, and I cringed that we’d be stuck
in rush-hour traffic. But then again, maybe time in the car to think
was exactly what my mate needed.

We were on the expressway, moving at turtle speed, when he

finally spoke. “You read my mind in the kitchen, right? I didn’t
imagine that?”

“I did,” I sighed, wishing we weren’t going to bring up more new

things for him to fret about. “All elves are telepaths. We acquire the
talent when we’re little. It teaches us early on how to focus and
control our magic. It’s not something I have to try and do, it comes
naturally. It’s turning it off that’s the bitch sometimes. If I’m
distracted or upset, it’s really hard to do.”

Stripe My Pole

“How do you acquire these gifts?” he asked suspiciously. “Like

Karen? Or no, in the hallway you said you were of the light.”

I took a deep breath to control my raging emotions, but my tone

came out a little clipped still. “If you believe nothing else about me, I
need you to understand and know that I would never use blood magic.
It’s actually insulting and to go one step further impossible. Elves are
baptized in our magic. We are of the light, meaning the gods have
bestowed our magic to us.

“If I ever even tried to do blood magic or harm someone to gain

power, I would be stripped of my magic. It’s such an integral part of
who I am that it would kill me. The older I get, the more my power
grows, and the more talents I pick up. Some are shown to me like a
few tricks Horse taught me.”

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment since what he’d shown

me had been sexual. Egan didn’t seem to notice and went right on.

“I know you’re not a bad guy,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to

insult you.”

“It’s okay,” I replied gently and patted his hand. “I wasn’t insulted

because I knew you didn’t understand, but I wanted you to know that
it was one so you didn’t make a slip or something in front of my
friends.”

“Yeah, good, wouldn’t want to piss them off.” Egan chuckled

nervously.

“They would never hurt you, Egan. You’re my mate. It’s against

our laws unless you were directly hurting one of their mates.”

“You’ve said that word before. Is it like being mated in romance

movies and books?” Yeah, I’m a moron. I didn’t mean to bring that
up again.

“Yes,” I answered as I turned away from him to look out the

window. “You’re the other half to my soul. I knew you were my
mate, the one I’ve been waiting for, since we fell to the floor and my
fangs wanted to come out so I could bite you and claim you.”

Joyee Flynn

He spoke so quietly over the Chicago traffic that if I didn’t have

heightened senses, I wouldn’t have been able to hear him. “But I’m
straight.”

“You’ve never been with a man?” He shook his head and my

heart fell into my stomach like lead. “Never been attracted to men or
wanted to experiment?”

“No, never,” he assured me, and I wanted to cry in despair. “Not

until I met you.”

“What?” I gasped, putting my pity party on hold for a moment.

“Not until you met me, what?”

“Was I attracted to a man,” Egan mumbled and stared straight

ahead with such focus. We’d maybe moved a few miles the whole
time we’d been talking, so I knew he wasn’t looking intently because
the traffic required his attention, but I let it go.

Though it seemed he couldn’t.
“Something about you makes me want to curl up and let you hold

me and tell me that everything is going to be alright. It’s why I agreed
to come with you. I thought I needed a friend so badly that maybe I
was making more of the pull I feel, but when you came to get me
from the bus depot, I realized it was more than that. You’re gorgeous
and I was picturing you naked. The moment I saw you I was happy,
like you’re my own personal rainbow.”

“I feel the same. It’s the draw to mate,” I explained.
“So none of it’s real?” he asked, finally glancing at me and now

with anger. “This is another type of spell?”

“No, not at all,” I answered, my own eyes going wide with shock.

“Being mates can’t make you want me or bespell me into thinking
you’re the hottest man I’ve ever seen. That’s all us. The feeling of
security and that I’m safe? Yeah, that’s your soul recognizing mine
and wanting to join them together. It’s not a spell though. I feel
comfortable around you as if we’ve known each other for a while, but
we just met. That’s the only thing affecting you as my mate.”

Stripe My Pole

He nodded as if he understood and turned back to the road,

processing what he felt.

“It’s not like being with Karen then and not being able to say no?”
“You’ve already said no to me, Egan,” I answered instead. “You

feel comfortable with me like we were meant to know each other. The
rest is all us.”

“Okay, good.”
“I won’t push you, Egan. I can wait as long as you need. All I

want right now is to keep you safe and get to know you. I swear those
are my intentions.”

“How old are you? I felt like a cradle robber for being attracted to

you. I’ve got to have at least ten years on you.” He shot me an
appraising look before turning back to the expressway. Thankfully,
the traffic was starting to pick up.

“How old do you think I am?”
“Twenty at most,” he answered and shook his head as if feeling

guilty for that. I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing.

“I’m a couple hundred years older than that. I’m two hundred and

twenty-five, Egan. How many twenty-year-olds do you know that sit
on the board of charity foundations, wear the kind of suits I do, and
drive a BMW?”

“Okay, so you’re the cradle robber then,” he drawled. “I don’t

know! I don’t know many rich people.” We sat in silence a moment.
“Wow. Elves live that long?”

“We’re immortal,” I said calmly, hoping he didn’t pass out behind

the wheel. “Our mates become immortal as well after we claim them.”
Better to leave things in the “we” for now so he didn’t get freaked that
I was just speaking about him and me.

“Yeah, put that on the back burner then.” He started to sound a

little panicked. I would have reached for his hand or wrapped an arm
around him if he didn’t need total mobility to drive the manual-
transmission car. Granted, he was really good at shifting often with

Joyee Flynn

the traffic, but I figured it gave him something else to focus on and
keep his hands busy.

As long as I didn’t shock him badly enough to where he drove off

the road. Then we were screwed.

“So I’m gay?” he asked suddenly, and if I’d been driving, I’d be

on the shoulder or have caused an accident with that one.

“I’d say bisexual maybe.” I shrugged, trying to make it sound like

it wasn’t a big deal or an out-of-the-blue question. “I wouldn’t worry
about the labels too much just yet. We’re not even close to being
intimate.”

Ain’t that the fucking truth.

Stripe My Pole

Chapter 3

We picked up some Chinese food, beer, and a few new movies at

Egan’s suggestion. I was a little worried at how normal he was
sounding and acting after everything he’d been through. No one was
that good at coping. Maybe it just took him a while to process?

I had warned him about the twins and how many people lived in

our house. He nodded, almost as if he was numb. It was killing me
that I couldn’t fix everything for him.

We got home, and I showed him around on the way to our home

theater. He plopped down on the comfy, big, leather couch and set
everything on the coffee table. I popped in the first Blu-ray and joined
him. We ate in comfortable silence and watched the movie. I hadn’t
seen Captain America though being a big fan of Chris Evans. But the
man next to me was distracting me from the hotness of the actor.

It was the silence that was killing me really. Sure, it wasn’t

tension filled, but I kept feeling as if it was the calm before the storm.
I was waiting for him to yell or have some kind of outburst, but it
wasn’t coming.

When I was full, I leaned back and got comfortable. If Egan

needed normal tonight, I could do that for my mate.

“Can I move closer?” he asked hesitantly when he was done

eating.

“Of course,” I answered, a little shocked that’s how he broke the

silence. “Whatever you need, Egan.”

“Okay.”
He kicked off his shoes and lay down with his head in my lap. I

took a chance and ran my fingers through his dark blond hair, smiling

Joyee Flynn

when he let out a happy sigh. I hadn’t expected this, but it was a
progression that thrilled me.

“She was right, you know,” Egan whispered after a few minutes,

snuggling against my upper thigh. I bit back a groan as I started to get
hard. Sooo not my fault.

“About what, sweetie?”
“Am I your sweetie?” he asked instead as he turned to lie on his

back and stare up at me.

“If you want to be,” I answered with a smile. He reached out and

moved the hand not in his hair onto his chest and covered it with both
of his. Was he hitting on me or simply looking for comfort?

“Karen was right that I didn’t perform very well,” he admitted

with a gorgeous blush. “In bed.”

“Maybe you just weren’t with the right person. After all the crap

she put you through, I’d think it would be difficult to want her.” I
didn’t really know what to say to make him feel better, but it was
worth a shot.

“No, even when we first started going out,” Egan mumbled and

shook his head. I gasped when his cheek rubbed against my cock. I
was wearing thin, stretchy denim jeans that were more for fashion
than durability, so I could feel everything. “She’d want to have sex all
the time like most new couples, but I just wanted to hang out. I know
she used to slip me Viagra when she was horny. It wasn’t hard to
figure it out.”

“And you didn’t say anything?” I asked without thinking. Of

course he didn’t, she was a witch.

“I did a few times, but she denied it and I figured if that’s what I

needed to make her happy, then it was a small thing. It just hurt that
she didn’t just tell me instead of treating me like an idiot or a
possession. I wasn’t her sex toy to just turn on when she wanted
some. And she’d always leave right after or sleep way on the other
side of the bed in between rounds. All I wanted was her to lie with
me, let me hold her, ya know?”

Stripe My Pole

“I know what you mean. She wanted to fuck but not have sex or

make love.”

“Yeah, that’s a good way of putting it.” He went quiet for a few

moments, both of us watching the movie neither of us were paying
attention to anymore and lost in our own thoughts. “Will you lie with
me?”

I thought at first I was hearing what I wanted to hear. I glanced

down at him and listened in to his thoughts.

“What a stupid thing to ask. Men don’t ask to be held! It’s like I

just need a hug to make sure anything is real anymore. And Box
makes me hard just playing with my hair. Karen never did that, but
small touches from her didn’t affect me this way either.”

“I’d love to,” I answered when I’d heard enough and knew it was

what he really wanted. Egan gave me a shy smile, but I could see how
hesitant he still was. He might want this, but what we want and what
we know how to accept can be two very different things in my
experience.

He sat up enough so I could move beside him. The sofa was wide

enough for both of us and normally, being the small guy, I’m sure
most would think I snuggled up against Egan. Well, this wasn’t about
them or normal standards…this was about my mate.

“Come here,” I said gently once I was lying flat on my back with

my arms open to him. Egan snuggled up against my side, laying his
head on my shoulder and his hand on my chest. I held him to me and
kissed his forehead.

“Why do you make me feel so safe?” he whispered in awe.
“You’re the other half of my soul,” I answered simply. He lifted

his head and looked at me longingly. Hell, I didn’t even have to read
his thoughts to know what he wanted.

I leaned down and brushed my mouth over his. Sweet hell, his lips

were soft. I would never have thought they would feel like silk. Egan
whimpered slightly when I pulled away, and I didn’t need to be told

Joyee Flynn

twice. I rolled us so I was straddling his hips and plundered his
mouth.

I pushed my tongue inside, stroking his until he got the hint and

brought it back into my mouth. Then there was the twirling and
exploring I loved to do so much when kissing someone new. I gasped
into his mouth when he slid his hands under my shirt and up my back.

“You’re going to have to tell me when to stop, Egan. I would

never forgive myself if I pushed you, but fuck, I want you so bad.” I
panted against his lips when we both needed air.

“You won’t get mad if I ask you to stop?” His eyes were filled

with lust, but I could see the underlying fear as well.

“Never,” I said firmly as I cupped his face in my hands, sliding

one back around his head and into his hair. “I don’t care if I was
inside of you and seconds away from coming. You could tell me stop
at any time and I will. I would never be mad at you for being honest
with me. Whatever you need, okay?”

“I don’t know what I need, but I know I need you, Box,” he

whispered and looked away from me in embarrassment. “I just don’t
know how far I can let it go.”

“Tell me whenever it gets to be too much.” I licked the shell of his

ear and worked my way down his neck. “Will you submit to me,
Egan? Let me please you.”

“Yes,” he whimpered, tilting his neck to give me better access. “I

don’t know what to do.”

“Enjoy,” I growled playfully as I sucked on his Adam’s apple. “I

want you to enjoy what I do to your body. Just let go of today and let
me take care of you.”

He gasped and sat up so fast that I fell back in between his legs so

our knees were lined up.

“Egan?” I asked as he tore off his belt and unzipped his jeans.

“Egan?” I was getting a little worried when he started laughing after
pulling out his excited dick.

“I’m hard!” he announced with a smile and gestured to it.

Stripe My Pole

“Yes, I know,” I replied gently. Yeah, this was getting weird.
“No, you don’t understand.” He chuckled and shook his head.

“I’ve never gotten hard from just kissing before. I’ve never been this
excited to be with someone.”

“Oh!” My eyebrows shot up in surprise and then a seductive grin

crossed my face. “Did I do that?”

“Yes, yes you did,” Egan purred, the lust returning to his gaze. He

stroked himself a few times, raising an eyebrow. It wasn’t much, but I
liked the confidence. I whimpered and sat up so I could reach him. “I
don’t know how to tell him what I want. I’ve never had anyone suck
me before.”

“That bitch!” I exclaimed before I even realized it. His eyes went

wide with understanding that I’d been listening in. “She didn’t even
take care of you orally after putting you through all that crap?”

“No, never,” he whispered and stopped stroking himself. Shit, I

ruined the moment.

“Well, I love sucking cock,” I said firmly and pushed him back

against the sofa. I moved his hand out of my way and swallowed him
down. Egan cried out and arched his back, pushing himself down my
throat.

“Sorry!”
I couldn’t talk, so I pushed the thoughts into his head. “No, it’s

fine. You won’t hurt me. I think it’s hot you want to fuck my mouth.”

He moaned and pulled his shirt off as he kept arching his hips. I

tugged at his jeans, but I couldn’t get the leverage I wanted while
keeping his cock in my mouth. So instead I used magic to remove our
clothes.

“Neat trick,” he gasped as he ran his fingers over my short brown

hair. I bobbed my head up and down, slurping my tongue around the
head every time I pulled off his dick. “I’m going to come.”

I pulled off his cock with a loud pop. “Not until I taste your sweet

ass.” I hesitated as I pushed his knees to his chest. “Unless that’s too
much?”

Joyee Flynn

“No, feels so good so far. I trust you.” I saw it shining in his eyes,

and I didn’t doubt his words for one second. I gave him a wink before
burying my face in his groin. He smelled divine. I took another whiff
and moaned. Egan smelled like earth and musk and man…all man.

I flattened my tongue and licked from his tight, virgin hole up and

over his sac. Egan cried out, and I watched his dick explode, shooting
reams of cum all over his stomach. Holy shit! I guessed he liked it.

“Beautiful,” I whispered in awe. I wanted so much more though. I

wanted to feast on his body, tasting every inch of him.

“Oh. My. God,” he panted, gulping down lots of air in between

each word. His smile could have lit the sun as he pushed himself up
onto his elbows and stared down at me. “I’ve never come like that in
my life. Sex would be even better, right? Can we have sex?”

“Fuck,” I groaned and grabbed the base of my cock so I didn’t

blow right then. “Yeah, we can have sex.”

“Now?” Bloody hell, I’d created a nympho.
“Is that what you want? I was going to play some more before

working up to that.”

“We can do that.” He nodded like a bobblehead doll. “Whatever

you want to do. I’m all yours.”

I breathed in so fast I knew he heard it as my heart raced. “What?”
“I’m yours, Box,” Egan answered as his cheeks heated up. “Even

if this didn’t feel so right, my body just proved it to me. I’m not going
to lie and say I’m not scared with everything going on and having
trouble dealing with it, because I am. But that was the most sexually
gratifying moment of my life and you barely touched me. I believe
you when you say I’m the other half of your soul. My body and my
heart know you.”

“Thank you,” I whispered as I crawled up his body, letting his

legs fall down. I kissed him gently, squirming my body over the
cooling cum on his stomach.

“You’re going to get us stuck together.” He smiled against my lips

and I felt myself doing the same. “Not that I’m complaining.”

Stripe My Pole

“Let’s take a shower, and then I’m going to eat your ass for

dessert and make you come again. Then we’re going to make love in
our bed because now that I’ve got a taste of you, there’s no way I’m
letting you sleep across the hall from me. I want you in my arms
every night and to wake up and have your face be the first thing I
see.”

“I’d like that.” He let out a loud laugh as he hugged me to him.

“I’m gay! I so don’t care that you’re a man. My mother can—” He
froze and I heard his heart skip a beat. He released me and rolled off
the couch from underneath me. “Where are my clothes? I need to go.”

Well, talk about a one-eighty! “Egan, calm down.”
“No! You don’t understand,” he shouted, and luckily I’d taken off

our clothes magically but piled them on the floor. He started digging
through them and yanking his on. “This was why she did it.”

“Did what?” I asked as I approached him with his hands out. He

looked on the verge of a panic attack. And then he started
hyperventilating. I shoved him none too gently back onto the couch
and put his head between his legs. “Breathe, Egan. Slow, deep
breaths, okay? No one’s going to hurt you anymore. I won’t let them.”

He nodded against my hand. It took a few minutes for him to calm

back down. When he did, I released his head and he flopped back
against the couch, slouching in his seat. He stared off across the room,
but I knew he wasn’t seeing any of it.

“When I was about ten, my mom tried to kill me and herself by

filling up the garage with exhaust fumes. I remember her explaining
to me it was the only way to save my soul. That she would damn hers
for mine and spend an eternity in hell to save me. She said boys like
me go straight to hell and no good momma would allow that. I never
understood until this moment what she meant.” He turned and looked
at me with pained eyes. “Gays like me, right?”

“I don’t believe that, but most churches do teach that, yes,” I

whispered as my green eyes filled with tears. “How did you survive?”

Joyee Flynn

“I passed out first, but when I slumped over, I ended up lying right

by a crack in the garage and got enough air until we were found.” He
shuddered at the memory. “She was dead, and I was sent to live with
her parents, who homeschooled me and never let me out of their sight.
I wonder now if she left them some type of note to warn them or
explain what she was doing.”

His eyes went wide and he started shaking uncontrollably. I

moved to straddle his lap and held him to me as tightly as I could.

“I never thought about it before because all I remember was my

momma tried to kill me. That’s all I ever think about when I look
back at that day,” he cried against my shoulder. “But I remember
now. I came home from school and told her I was going to marry Jack
Singler because he was my favorite person in the world. How could I
not remember that?”

“You went through a traumatic experience, sweetie,” I said gently.

I quickly used my magic to clean us up and re-dress us before
teleporting us to the kitchen. He gasped in shock but didn’t say
anything. I got him some ice water and helped him sip it slowly.
While I could have made it appear, it was hard for some people to
drink things that were created out of thin air when they were getting
used to our ways.

My mate had had enough of a shock for one day.
“Okay,” he said shakily when he’d had enough water and pushed

it away. “More water isn’t going to help me understand.”

“I’m sorry, I was just trying to help you calm down.” I started to

slide off his lap, but before I could, he crushed me in a bear hug.

“I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m so sorry. I’m just so pissed. All

these years of not knowing, not understanding why she did it, and to
realize she tried to kill me because I said something stupid as a child.
Because I might have turned out gay? For fuck’s sake!”

“Egan, your mom couldn’t have been right in the head,” I said

gently. “No matter how religiously fanatical she was, to take her own
life, to try and kill you, she was unbalanced.”

Stripe My Pole

“You’re right,” he sighed and nuzzled my neck. I could feel his

tears running down my shoulder.

“Let’s get you to bed, sweetie,” I whispered. He nodded and let

me slide off his lap. I held my hand out to him, smiling when he took
it. Again, not wanting to risk upsetting him anymore, we walked to
our room.

When we passed Bren and Horse, I shook my head, letting them

know now was not the time to talk. Horse looked worried, so I
pointed to my temple.

“What’s going on, brother? Your mate looks like he just lost his

best friend.”

“It turns out Egan’s mom was nuts. She tried to kill him when he

was a child because he said something about marrying a boy at his
school. I think he’s repressed that he’s gay all these years along with
that memory.”

“Where’s the mother?” Horse asked.
I filled him in on what Egan told me as we entered our room and I

tucked my mate in. He was like a zombie, and I couldn’t say I blamed
him. I was ready to have a nervous breakdown for him, and it hadn’t
even been my mother that should have been in the padded cell.

“My gods! Your poor mate,” he gasped when I was done.

“Anything either of you need you just let us know.”

“Just find Karen. I don’t want her threatening him anymore. He

needs calm and easy for a while.”

I could practically hear Horse mentally wince. “You want calm

from this house? That might be a challenge, Box.”

“Calm in his own life,” I explained.
“Understood,” he replied and cut the connection.
“Who were you talking to?” Egan asked after I got undressed. My

eyes went wide in shock as I crawled into bed next to him. “I could
see you were focused on something, and you kept nodding your head
as if agreeing with someone.”

Joyee Flynn

“I was filling Horse in on what was going on and why we didn’t

stop to talk to him and his mate when we saw them.”

“We saw them?” Egan asked distantly as if he didn’t really care

what the answer was.

“Yeah, in the hall by the stairs. It’s okay, they knew something

was up. No one would blame you for being a little out of it right
now.” I hugged him to me, letting him snuggle up against my side.
“Rest, Egan. We’ll figure out everything in the morning.”

“This doesn’t change the way I feel about you, Box,” he mumbled

against my chest. “I know I started to panic and run, but that wasn’t
about you.”

“I know, sweetie.” I kissed his soft, blond hair and rubbed my

hand over his back. “But I’m glad you told me.”

“I just want to stay like this forever,” Egan whispered before I

heard his breathing even out as he fell asleep.

“Me, too, sweetie. Me, too,” I agreed to no one.

Stripe My Pole

Chapter 4

I awoke the next morning with a start when I realized that my

mate wasn’t in the bed anymore. I sat up and was ready to leap out of
it when I saw him sitting in my overstuffed chair by the window.

“Did you sleep at all?”
“On and off for a little bit,” he answered, not turning to look at

me. “Just been thinking the past few hours.”

“Are you hungry?” I asked hesitantly.
He glanced over at me then. “Aren’t you curious as to what I was

deciding?”

“Of course, but I figured you’d tell me when you were ready. I

know you’ve had a lot of unexpected surprises the past twenty-four
hours, and I don’t want to push you.”

“Unexpected surprises,” he parroted.
Okay, it was lame, but I didn’t really want to say shit that fucked

with your mind. My way sounded less scary. I was new to this whole
comforting someone else thing.

“Do you want to tell me?” I asked when the silence dragged on. I

wasn’t sure I wanted to know, and I was giving him the privacy of
staying out of his thoughts.

“I forgive my momma,” Egan whispered so quietly I barely heard

him. “All these years a part of me has hated her for what she tried to
do to me and leaving me with my grandparents. But you’re right, she
was sick. They never said that. And now I know, but they should have
instead of telling me that she failed and they didn’t care enough to try
again.”

Joyee Flynn

“Fuck me,” I gasped. I crawled out of bed and slid into his lap, not

paying attention to the fact I was naked. Immediately he wrapped his
thick arms around me. “They really said that?”

“Yeah,” he sighed and pressed his face into my neck. “They never

explained, and they’d just yell if I asked about my momma or what
they meant. But now I understand. They knew somehow why she did
it and thought I wasn’t worth risking their souls to kill me. I’m glad
they didn’t, but it hurts to know they thought that would save me and
I wasn’t worth it.”

“I guess, but damn, that’s sick of them.”
“I don’t think being gay is wrong, I never did. Even before I

realized I am,” he said quietly after a few moments of silence.

“I don’t think so either,” I agreed and kissed his temple. “We are

who we are and no matter what anyone thinks or says we were born
this way. Gaga got that right.”

“So you’re a Lady Gaga fan?”
“Isn’t everyone with taste?” I teased. He snickered and kissed my

neck.

“What happens now, Box? I’m scared.”
“What do you mean?” I ran my fingers through his hair and held

him to me.

“You’ve opened this whole new world to me, and I don’t mean

realizing I’m gay. I know about elves and witches and werewolves,
and I’m assuming there’s more out there, right?”

“Yeah, there are vampires who are horrible monsters. The

werewolves are cool and so are the werecats, but they’re a little
creepy, too, since they can change their sex anytime they want to.”
Egan raised his head and looked a little pale, so I guessed he’d heard
enough for now.

“That’s my point though,” he said, sounding incredibly tired.

“After everything gets handled with Karen, how am I just supposed to
go back to my life and act like everyone’s human again? I’d go crazy
wondering what each person was who stepped on my bus.”

Stripe My Pole

I thought about that a moment, and while I never wanted him to

go back to work or leave my sight, I couldn’t just ask that of him. I
needed more information before I could figure out a plan. “Do you
like driving a bus?”

“No.” He snickered bitterly. “I fucking hate it. People are rude,

some smell horrible, there’s never enough heat or air, so I’m always
uncomfortable, and the traffic in Chicago sucks.”

“Then why do you do it?” I asked, this time for my own curiosity.
“I left my grandparents’ farm in Tennessee when I was seventeen

because then I wouldn’t be a runaway. I moved using every penny I’d
made from my allowance and caught a bus to Chicago and put the rest
of it down on some shithole apartment that was the size of your
bathroom. The only place that was hiring that I could walk to was the
CTA. I started out working in a booth on the Blue Line taking tokens
and whatnot.

“It was the only thing I could get at seventeen even though I’d

finished the equivalent of high school from homeschooling. I worked
there a few years then moved up until I could get trained to drive the
bus. It’s one of the better-paying jobs though I barely have any
savings and you saw my apartment now isn’t that nice. But I’ve got
full benefits and a pension because I’ve been working there thirteen
years.”

“If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?”
“I’d like to be a writer,” he answered sheepishly. “I love reading

and want to try and make my own stories.”

“Then you should do that,” I said excitedly for two reasons. One, I

could tell it’s what he really wanted, and I heard his heart pick up
rhythm when he talked about it. Two, he could stay right here with me
and do it.

“How do I support myself while I’m trying to get published?” He

looked genuinely confused as if it never crossed his mind that I’d take
care of him.

Joyee Flynn

“Egan, you’re my mate,” I answered with a soft smile. “I’d hate

for you to be away from me all the time driving a bus, but if you
loved it, I’d figure out a way to deal. If you were writing, you could
be here with me. I have a study you could use, and you know I have
enough money for both of us.”

“That’s not fair to you—” he started to argue, his eyes wide in

shock.

“Elves look their whole lives for their mates, sweetie. You are the

greatest gift I will ever get. Money doesn’t matter to me. All I want is
for you to be happy. When you get published, you can pay for
whatever you like, but until then, let me take care of you. I’ve got lots
of money but only one of you. You’re what’s important.”

“I guess now would be a good time to say I decided I want to be

with you, huh?” he asked with a bright grin a moment later.
“Forgiving my momma and wanting to be with you always were the
two things I figured out. The rest was still kinda up in the air.”

“Well, you had to prioritize,” I purred and nuzzled his chin as I

plucked one of his nipples. “Glad I was right up there.”

“You were,” he moaned quietly and tilted his neck to give me

better access.

“Then let me show you how much I appreciate that. Let me take

care of you, Egan.”

“Do you mean sexually or with everything else we talked about?”

He seemed hesitant but on the fence.

“Both, sweetie. You are my first priority in life, and I want to give

you everything you need, anything you want.” I kept kissing his throat
as I talked, trying to push him into agreeing. Cheap move? Abso-
fucking-lutely! But he was my mate and I’d do anything to keep him.

“I–I don’t know,” he stuttered. I sat back, turning so I was

straddling his lap, and took his face in my hands.

“So you want to be with me as a couple but not act like one?

Married humans share incomes. Mating me would give you
immortality, but you can’t accept my financial assistance?”

Stripe My Pole

“I thought we would just date,” Egan whispered as he looked

down. “I didn’t mean I wanted to jump into mating.”

“Oh,” I mumbled as my heart shattered. “Oh, okay.”
“Is it okay?”
“Of course,” I answered immediately. I moved off his lap,

ducking when he grabbed for me.

“Box…” I could hear the desperation in his voice.
“I need to think,” I said quietly, trying not to let my hurt show. I

knew I was doing a rotten job of it though. I yanked on some running
pants that were in my clean laundry basket and a long-sleeve shirt.
Grabbing my sneakers, I left the room without a backwards glance.

I slid them on and raced downstairs. I wasn’t sure where I was

going, but I figured it out when I suddenly had my heavy jacket on. In
a flash, I teleported to the top of the Sears Tower. I know the name
was changed, but it was still the Sears Tower to me and always would
be. You can’t have something so important to Chicago be named one
thing for so long and then just change it!

It was like if I just suddenly was bought and was no longer Box.

Whatever!

I sat there and thought about my mate and my life. When I got

cold I made some coffee and a seat cushion appear like people use at
football games so their butts don’t get soaked with snow. Watching
the flakes fall, I realized I was being unfair to Egan, but I couldn’t
help the way I felt.

And I felt like shit.
I finally found my mate and he wanted to date? Everyone else’s

mates jumped right in and got claimed within days of meeting. And
while I understood why mine wasn’t ready, it didn’t make the pain
any less.

Was I too weird to be loved? Maybe I was pushing too hard and

scared him? Maybe he just needs more than twenty-four hours, I
thought to myself as I rolled my eyes. Egan’s whole life had been

Joyee Flynn

turned upside down and here I was pouting and ready to cry because
he wasn’t ready to be claimed.

I was acting like an asshole with a capital A. I just didn’t know

how to stop or turn off the hurt of rejection.

“How did you find me?” I asked when I felt someone else teleport

to where I was.

“Well, when your mate came to us freaking out that you left the

house without taking your car and you were really upset, it wasn’t
hard to figure out,” Horse said gently. “I know where everyone in the
house likes to go when they need time away or to think.”

“Where do you go?” I asked out of curiosity, not surprised he

knew that much about the rest of us.

“The Art Institute.” He said it with a duh in his tone, and I started

chuckling.

“Yeah, that would have been obvious if I’d been thinking. Sorry,

my head seems to be up my ass at the moment.”

“Pull it out.”
“I don’t know how,” I admitted with an exhausted sigh. Horse

came and plopped down beside me, and I felt not only guilty for
worrying Egan but for pulling my friend away from his mate.

“Talk,” my friend ordered gently.
“I’ve always been invisible.” I sighed and leaned against his

shoulder. “I didn’t have problems like most of you guys did with your
family…I was just invisible to them unless there was something
wrong, and then it seemed I always got blamed for it. Shit, I’m not
even sure they realized I left. Well, at least until something went
wrong and I wasn’t there to take the fall. Or they just pinned it on me
from afar.”

I took a deep breath before going on because this next part was

going to be hard. “Even in the house I feel the same way. I love you
guys, I truly do, but I just feel like no one would miss me until they
needed my computer expertise. It’s the only time anyone seeks me
out, and if I didn’t know how to help, I don’t think anyone would

Stripe My Pole

realize I was there. No one comes to ask me to hang out, go to the
club, or do anything.

“If I’m standing there, then I get included, but there are times I’m

playing with my toys and everyone just goes out without me. Maybe
that’s why I became a hacker? I was used to never being seen.”

“I didn’t know you felt that way,” he said softly. “I know

personally that it seems like you’re so wrapped up in hacking or your
computer that I always feel like I’m bugging you when I interrupt.
You tend to keep to yourself like you have these walls around you.”

“Huh. I never thought of it that way,” I conceded.
“Can I ask what this has to do with Egan?”
“He was the one person I wasn’t supposed to be invisible to, ya

know? I always thought my mate would see me.” I thought about that
and voiced my worst fear. “Am I unlovable? Maybe that’s why he
doesn’t want to mate me.”

“He said that?”
“No, he said he thought we’d just date, and it makes sense, we’ve

only known each other a day. But it hurt. Like he took a look and
didn’t like what he saw enough to be with me fully.”

“That’s not how I feel,” Egan said from behind us. I gasped and

turned around.

“I’ll leave you two to talk.” And with that, Horse teleported home.
“Talking is good, but can we get off the top of the fucking Sears

Tower?” Egan was shaking with fear, hanging on to one of the
antennas as if his life depended on it. “I’m not a fan of heights, and
one of us can be killed by falling.”

“Of course,” I said immediately, hating that my mate was upset. I

got to my feet and went to him. The moment I touched his arm, I
teleported us back to our room.

“Thank you,” he sighed with relief and plopped down on the bed.

Egan glanced up at me, and I could see the anger in his gaze. It was
totally inappropriate, but I shivered with lust from the heat in his eyes.

Joyee Flynn

“Don’t you ever run from me like that again. I was scared shitless that
something happened to you. You just disappeared.”

“I can’t die, Egan.”
“I didn’t know that!” he shouted and jumped to his feet, pacing

around the room. “You said you were immortal, but how was I to
know that meant indestructible? With everything going on with Karen
and me learning about all other types of beings, I was freaking that
one of them took you. Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, my heart hurting that he was so upset. I

moved to him slowly and sighed in relief when he opened his arms for
me. I hugged him tightly and snuggled into the embrace. “I just
needed to think.”

“Fine, I get that, Box. But most people go sit in the other room or

get out for a little bit, not go sit on the top of the Sears Tower forever.
You were gone six hours.”

“I’m not weird,” I whispered as tears filled my eyes. I went to pull

away, but he wasn’t letting go. Sure, I could have made him, but that
would probably have broken his arms in the process so I let him hold
me.

“I didn’t say you were and I didn’t mean to imply you were. I

meant people I’m used to dealing with, but then again they can’t just
go pop off to the Sears Tower, sweetie.”

“Am I your sweetie?” I asked hesitantly as I rested my chin on his

chest. It was what he’d asked me the day before, and I thought it a
good way to get answers to some of my questions.

“If you want to be,” he answered gently as he cupped my cheek.

“You are completely lovable, my little elf. I just need more than a day
to feel that way for you.”

“I know,” I mumbled against his shirt as hid my face from him. “I

just thought we were on the same page, and when you said no, I kinda
shrank into myself. I’m sorry.”

Stripe My Pole

“Hey, everyone’s got issues. Hell, I’ve got enough to start my

own talk show. But you’re not alone anymore and you’ve gotta let me
in.”

“What if I do and you leave me?” I asked, voicing one of my other

fears.

“I have yet to see one thing about you that would make me want

to leave, Box. I told Horse that the guys could go pack my apartment
and move me in here.”

“Really?” I gasped, my head shooting up.
“Really.” He chuckled. “Maybe dating wasn’t the word I meant to

use. I want more than that but this whole eternity thing and
immortality is scary and not something I’m ready for just yet. Can
you give me more time to wrap my mind around that?”

“Yes!” I exclaimed and yanked off his jacket before doing the

same with mine.

“What are you doing?”
“Picking up where we left off yesterday,” I purred as I used my

magic to get us both naked.

“Whoa, warn a guy.” He laughed as I pushed him back to the bed.
“Nope,” I growled and leaped onto him, catching myself on my

hands and knees before colliding with him. I mashed my mouth down
to his, a thrill going through me when he moaned passionately and
wrapped his body around mine.

Egan thrust his hard, leaking cock against mine as we scooted to

the middle of the bed. I stretched him magically and he went wild
under me, screaming out my name and coming all over me.

“Wow,” I whispered in awe. I’d never had that happen.
“Yeah, great,” he panted as he came back down from his peak. “A

thirty-year-old who can’t hold his load.”

“Or I’m doing all sorts of great things to your body that you’ve

never felt before and they’re so surprisingly pleasurable you can’t
hold back.”

He smiled wickedly up at me. “Let’s go with your answer.”

Joyee Flynn

“Okeydokey.” I giggled and squirmed against him. “I should have

warned you before stretching you, but I don’t want you to feel any
pain your first time, only bliss.”

“Good, then take me,” he moaned and spread his legs wider. I sat

back on my feet and pushed his legs to his chest as I lined up my cock
to his perfect pink hole. Egan got the idea and moved his hands
behind his knees as he watched me in fascination. “I’m not sure I can
take a sausage that big.”

“Sausage?” I snickered and waggled my dick at him. “This little

thing?”

“Pleeease,” he drawled. “Your cock’s the biggest I’ve ever seen!

You’ve got to be at least ten inches, and that’s some real girth there.”

“I could make it bigger if you want,” I groaned as he looked at my

dick like it was his favorite dessert. I showed him what I meant using
my magic.

“No thanks,” Egan squeaked as my dick passed twelve inches.

“Maybe once I’m used to anal sex and not scared already.”

“Good point,” I agreed and adjusted it back to my normal size. I

rubbed his thighs in a calming gesture. “We were made for each
other, my mate. Your body knows this and will accept me.”

“Do it.”
I didn’t need any more encouragement than that. I lined my cock

back up and slowly pushed into his willing hole. He felt like heaven! I
moaned loudly as I slid in the last few inches. I glanced up at his face
as I wrapped his legs around my hips.

“You okay, sweetie?” I asked as rubbed my hands up his chest.
“So weird,” he whispered and looked away from me. “I feel so

full and weird.”

“Bad though?” Shit! It never crossed my mind that he might not

actually like sex.

“No, just don’t know what to think of it yet.”
“How about now?” I asked as I gave a few gentle thrusts. He cried

out and arched his back as my dick ran over his prostate.

Stripe My Pole

“I like! I like! Please don’t stop.”
“Never,” I purred and moved my arms under his shoulders. I

licked along his neck as I kept snapping my hips slowly but
forcefully. “You feel better than anyone else ever did.”

“You’re not just saying that?” He sounded so insecure and

worried that it broke my heart. I pushed up so I could look into his
eyes as I made love to him.

“Best I’ve ever had,” I swore and brushed his lips with mine.
“Fuck, I’m like right there again.” He gasped and raised his hips

to the pace I’d set. He was getting the hang of it real fast. He tilted his
neck submissively, and I didn’t even stop to think about it. I licked the
spot where it met his shoulder, letting my fangs slide out, and bit
down.

Egan’s hands spasmed where they were holding on to my back as

he screamed out my name. I felt his ass clamp down on my cock as he
filled the space between us with his seed. I followed him right over,
grunting around his flesh.

When we were spent, I retracted my fangs as I licked the bite

closed, thrilled that he’d let me bite him. I couldn’t help wanting to do
a happy dance that we were making such progress.

“Why the fuck did you claim me without asking my permission?”

He growled as he shoved me off of him.

Or maybe not.

Joyee Flynn

Chapter 5

“I know about the biting! Justice and Shely explained it when

everyone was looking for you.” His expression was equal parts pissed
and hurt. “How could you do that without checking with me first?”

“I didn’t claim you,” I said adamantly as I plastered myself to his

side. “There’s a whole ceremony for that. Yes, biting binds us but not
permanently. It’s like me giving you a promise ring. When you tilted
your head back I thought you were telling me it was okay to bite
you.”

“Oh, I thought the biting was the claiming. Guess I wasn’t paying

attention fully to what they were saying while you were missing,” he
whispered and ducked his head. “I don’t know why I did that. It just
seemed as natural as breathing. I didn’t even realize I did it until after
you bit me.”

“I’m so sorry, sweetie. I thought you were giving me permission.”
“No, but it’s okay. I really liked it if you didn’t notice,” he said

with a chuckle. I still felt like the afterglow of his first time having
sex was ruined. I reached between his legs and fingered his hole that
was leaking with my cum.

“Did you like having sex with me, too?”
“Fuck yes,” Egan moaned and lifted his hips so I had better access

to his ass. “How long until we can do it again?”

“I can clean you up and lick you if you’re sore. I can make the

tenderness go away.”

“I kinda like the burning feeling,” he mumbled and threw his arm

over his face. “Does that make me completely fucked up? I want you
to fuck me raw so I’m walking funny for a week.” He gasped as I

Stripe My Pole

pushed two fingers into his used hole. “I want to try every kink and
everything you like until we make porn stars jealous.”

“Music to my ears,” I growled and shoved three fingers back in

him.

“Box!” he screamed and arched his back. “Fuck me, please!” It

seemed my mate had the same recovery time I did. I pulled the digits
out and yanked him to the side of the bed.

“Go brace your hands against the wall. I’m going to take you for a

ride.”

“My legs are like gelatin,” he whimpered.
“Lie over the side of the bed then,” I ordered. Egan nodded

quickly and did as I asked. I wanted to be standing so I could get
better leverage. I moved behind him and spread his legs farther apart.

“Please,” my mate begged beautifully as he tilted his ass up.

“Please fuck me.”

“Anything my mate wants.” I slammed into him hard, loving how

he cried out in bliss. My man was a screamer. That was for sure. I
pounded into his ass hard and fast, giving him a good smack. Egan
made the most gorgeous, loud noises in bed, and I was already
addicted to them.

“Do that again.”
“My hot man likes to be punished?”
“Yes, yes! I’ve been bad. I doubted your intentions when you bit

me. Now slap my ass!”

I moaned as I did what he asked. I loved a verbal partner in bed. It

just flipped my switch. I spanked him hard, loving how my handprint
looked on his soft, pale flesh. I slammed into him over and over again
until I was getting close to my peak. Reaching down, I ran my fingers
over the slit of his cock.

Egan threw back his head and shouted my name as he shot his

creamy seed all over the comforter. I bellowed my bliss as I thrust
into his pulsing ass and climaxed. He’d already been full from the

Joyee Flynn

time before, and now the more cum I pumped into him, the more that
ran down his thighs. Fucking hot!

He slumped into the bed as we finished, and I flopped down on

him, knowing my smaller frame wouldn’t hurt him.

“Will the sex between us always be like that?” he panted, his heart

racing under my head.

“Oh no.” I knew I was intentionally misleading him, but he was

fun to tease.

“Really? That’s the best we’ll ever have?” He sounded so

disappointed but like he was trying hard to hide it.

“It will get better,” I purred as I rubbed my cheek into his back.

“I’ve not even shown you the play room yet.”

“Shower first?” My mate sounded like an excited kid on his

birthday.

“And food.” I chuckled as I pulled out of him and rolled off his

back. “I need to fuel up your hot body and take care of my mate.”

“I really mean that much to you?” His eyebrows shot up, and I

could see the shock on his face as much as I felt it coming off of him
in waves.

“You mean everything to me, Egan.” We shared a kiss, sweet but

full of love. Then I lifted him into my arms when he stood on shaky
legs.

“My hero.” He chuckled as he shook his head. “At my height I

never thought someone would be carrying me around.”

“I’m just that strong.” I used my magic to fill the tub with a warm

bubble bath so my mate could soak his sore muscles. Him liking the
burn was one thing, but I’d never let him walk around in pain. It went
against everything elves believed in about treasuring their mates.

I lowered him into the bath and didn’t miss the way he winced

when the water hit his ass. Egan groaned and wiggled in his seat. I got
in after him and reached for the washcloth. After soaping it up well, I
ran it over his chest.

Stripe My Pole

“What are you doing?” he asked in confusion but not even

opening his eyes.

“Taking care of my mate,” I answered quietly. “Let me pamper

you a bit.”

“I’m not stupid enough to turn down an offer like that.” Egan

chuckled. And he didn’t. He was like an obedient child, but not in a
creepy way, as I moved him around and washed him. I cleaned myself
up quickly and pulled the drain of the tub.

We climbed out and I dried him off, taking my sweet time with

his bits and pieces.

“Box, you have to stop that,” he moaned but still spread his legs

wider for me. I got an idea and dropped to my knees. I gave him a
quick blow job and licked him clean.

“I needed my protein,” I explained. He was leaning against the

counter panting and burst out laughing at what I said.

“You’re going to spoil me.”
“That’s the plan.” I gave him a wink and sauntered out of the

bathroom. I was pretty pleased with myself after having made my
man orgasm four times in one morning. Either Egan had years of
pent-up sexual need we were just tapping into or I was just that good.

I went with both.
We got dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen. Most

everyone was there and the room went dead quiet when we entered.

“What?” I asked, knowing I wasn’t going to like what they had to

say.

“Egan’s apartment was broken into,” Horse answered with a

heavy sigh. He looked at my mate sympathetically. “We got most of
your stuff last night, and I think anything of value, but the rest is toast.
I’m sorry.”

“Toast?” he asked as he swayed on his feet. I quickly led him to

one of the kitchen table chairs and he plopped right down.

“Clothes were shredded. Your TV would need a miracle to work

again, and everything was just trashed,” Shadow explained as he

Joyee Flynn

shook his head. “The witch’s scent was stronger than last night, so I
think it’s safe to say it was her. The problem is Peter left a couple of
wolves to watch the apartment, so she shouldn’t have been able to get
in.”

“The police are there now and they wanted to speak with Egan,”

Horse informed me. “We told them he was unavailable and would be
there as soon as he could. I didn’t answer where so you might want to
come up with something.”

“Fuck,” I said with feeling.
“Keep it simple,” Shadow replied with a shrug. “You went to the

Sears Tower and your phone died. The best lie is part truth.”

“I don’t know if it’s really smart of you to know that or really

scary,” I grumbled as I raised a brow at my friend. He shrugged again
and went back to his food. Put that on the shelf of concerns to deal
with later.

“Okay, we can handle that since I don’t even have a cell,” Egan

said firmly as if he was grasping at anything to make sense right then.
He turned to me then. “Your cell phone died and I don’t have one.
Okay, we can do this. I can deal with the police then.”

Then I realized something with the force of being hit upside the

head with a two-by-four. “Sweetie, does the idea of talking to the
police upset you?”

“No, well, yes, but not really,” he answered and then shoved his

head between his legs as he started to have a panic attack. I knelt next
to him, rubbing his back as I whispered comforting words to him. It
took about five minutes for him to calm down and be my Egan again.

“What happened?” I asked gently, keeping both my hands

touching him.

“The police back in my small town in Tennessee harassed me a

lot. Which was insane because I never did a damn thing,” he
explained and then frowned. “Do you think maybe when they found
my momma they saw whatever note she must have left for my
grandparents?”

Stripe My Pole

I mentally groaned. Yeah, that probably explained it. “Maybe.” I

answered aloud instead. “But we’ve dealt with the Chicago Police
Department, Horse’s mate Bren is one of them. Most of them are
good guys. Working in a big city, they’ve got to be more accepting.
I’ll be there with you, too. If anyone’s mean to you, I’ll kick their
ass.”

“I’d like to see that.” He chuckled and instantly relaxed. “Okay,

let’s go deal with today’s drama.”

Wasn’t that the truth? Damn, I needed a nap.
We grabbed our wallets, and jackets were needed, given the cold

weather and snow. I grabbed the keys for one of the trucks and
skidded to a halt in the garage when I saw all my friends and their
mates minus Bren there.

“Bren’s working and he’s meeting us there,” Horse said, raising a

brow at my open mouth. “We’re family, Box. We’re coming with to
help and show our support.”

“Okay then,” I replied with a nod. I was shocked. I hadn’t really

ever needed my friends before, so this was new for me. Though I’d
seen the way we all came together when there was trouble, I guess I
just assumed if it was ever my turn they wouldn’t notice.

“It’s nice to have backup like that,” Egan said as we climbed in

the truck.

“Yeah, it is.” I agreed. I couldn’t help but smile even though we

were heading into a mess because my friends had my back.

Traffic was good, and twenty minutes later we were pulling up to

Egan’s apartment building. There was only one squad car, and I
figured that was normal, given how busy the police probably were in
a city like Chicago.

Egan immediately took my hand after we got out of the truck and

walked to the elevator. My mate was shaking slightly, and I only then
remembered that he’d mentioned the police laughing at him when he
had tried to report Karen’s abuse of him. Shit! He had dealt with this
city’s police before and had a bad experience.

Joyee Flynn

Well, he didn’t have me then.
We stepped out of the elevator, half our group following us. The

other half had to wait since the elevator wasn’t all that big. I froze
when we got about ten feet away from it and came into view of
Egan’s apartment. The fucking door was burnt and hanging off the
hinges. Damn that woman!

“Holy shit.” Egan whistled and walked forward.
“Can I help you?” an officer asked as we stopped at the entrance.
“Yes, this is my partner’s apartment, Officer Schueler,” I

answered after seeing his nameplate.

“Egan Stokes?” he asked as he pulled out a small notebook and

flipped it open.

“Yes, that’s me,” Egan squeaked, looking into the ruined

apartment. I started to panic when I realized something.

“Where are the human bones?” I pushed into Horse’s mind.
“Disposed of along with some other shit we found.”
Oh, thank the gods! That would have been really bad if the police

found shit like that in his place!

“We were told you were unavailable. Where were you?” Schueler

asked with a grunt.

“We were playing tourist,” Egan answered, looking a little green

around the gills. “I don’t have a cell phone and Mike’s died.”

“You’re Mike?”
“Yes, Mike Smith.” I nodded and looked around in the apartment.

Man, she really did a number on it. “We were here last night to start
moving Egan into my house and had a little run-in with his ex-
girlfriend. He stayed the night with me and then we went to the Sears
Tower and then did some shopping since he’s got the week off.”

“The ex just find out you’re gay?” Schueler asked with a raised

brow, not in a judgmental way but in a yeah, that explains a lot way.

“I just found out,” Egan mumbled as he stared at his suddenly

fascinating shoes.

Stripe My Pole

“We found a report you tried to file about a Karen Henson

assaulting you. Is that the same person?”

“Yes, sir.”
“She was beating on a big guy like you?”
That got a reaction from my mate…anger. “I don’t believe in

beating on women even if they start it. I was trying to follow the letter
of the law and file a report complete with pictures so I could get a
restraining order.” He gestured to his apartment. “Maybe this
wouldn’t have happened if someone had given a damn. And size
doesn’t always matter. I was sleeping at the time she decided to bash
my head in with a lamp.”

“Hey, I agree with you, man,” the officer said as he held his hands

up in surrender. “I just had to get the story from the horse’s mouth. I
dated a girl who went nuts and threw shit all the time. Women can be
just as violent as men are.” He paused to take some notes before
looking back up. “And just so you know, the guys who gave you shit
and didn’t file the report are up for review about it. Obviously the
report was needed.”

My mate sighed in relief. “Thank you.”
“What do you need from us?” I asked when it started to feel like

we were just standing there as part of the scenery.

“Well, we weren’t expecting this many people for one.” Schueler

chuckled.

“I have a big family.” I shrugged. “They wanted to help.”
“You’re all related?” He raised an eyebrow.
“We are now,” I answered firmly. “My eleven brothers and I were

in foster care together, and when we were of age, we legally became a
family. The rest are my brothers’ partners.”

“And us!” Jade exclaimed from Alexi’s arms. “Can I see his star?

Uncle Bren lets me touch his star.”

“Sure thing, little lady,” Schueler said sweetly as he moved over

to them in the crowded hallway. “Who’s your Uncle Bren?”

Joyee Flynn

“I am,” Bren announced from the back of the long line. “Detective

Griaule. I just got here. My husband called me earlier about the break-
in.”

“Break-in is putting it mildly,” Schueler said quietly and turned to

Alexi and Chiquita. “You might not want the kids seeing this. There’s
profanity written on the walls and the place is torn apart bad and
burned in spots.”

“We know,” Horse replied with a sad smile. “They wanted to help

so we figured they could be in the bedroom and pick up all the
feathers.”

The officer seemed to get the fact we were going to keep the kids

from the bad stuff and nodded his approval. “We’re done processing
the scene and we’ll put out an APB on Karen Henson. You can go
head in. You’re going to want to take pictures for your insurance.” He
glanced at Bren then. “Sorry, you know that already.”

“No, you did right,” Bren told the younger cop with a smile.

“Never assume anything no matter who’s a part of the family. I’m not
here as a police officer right now. I might forget to tell them
something and then you ended up not doing your due diligence.”

“Good deal,” Schueler replied, looking pleased as punch with

himself. He turned to my mate. “Sorry about your place, man. It’s a
good thing you started moving already and the insurance will cover it
all. The door was forced open and everything.”

“I don’t have insurance,” Egan admitted, looking as if he was

twenty seconds from crying. “I finally got a raise and had enough
where I could afford it and not skip meals for it, but Karen said no.
That was the lamp argument actually. She said I’d have less money to
take her out and I was a selfish prick. I just submitted for quotes
online after I kicked her out.”

“Tough break, man.” Schueler gave him a sympathetic smile and

waved his partner out of the apartment. He nodded to all of us and
then they were gone.

Stripe My Pole

“Why don’t you guys wait out here while we check it out and get

rid of the profanity so the kids don’t see it,” I said to my friends. They
all agreed, and I wrapped my arm around Egan as we walked into the
apartment.

Yeah, it was bad.
She spray-painted bitch and you’re dead, Egan over almost every

wall. Those that had had pictures she tore off and destroyed before
writing her shit. The sofa and chair made me shiver. They were
butchered. There was no other word for it in my mind.

Karen must have grabbed one of the large kitchen knives and just

went to town on the furniture. They were slashed beyond repair and
almost unrecognizable as to what they were with all the stuffing and
springs hanging out everywhere. And there was a funky smell coming
from them as if she peed on them. Girls didn’t do that, right? I mean
it’s not like she could just whip it out. Maybe lift a leg…

“Wow,” Egan whispered in a shaky voice, pulling me out of my

musings. I looked over at where he was staring and cringed. There
was a golf club sticking out of his flat-screen TV. Ouch.

“Too bad it wasn’t on when she did that and it electrocuted her,” I

grumbled as I pushed aside what was left of the coffee table.

“I don’t want her dead, Box.” I froze.
“Egan, what do you think the wolves are going to do to her when

they find her?” I asked, afraid I knew the answer.

“Turn her over to the police,” he answered, blinking at me as if

wondering why I was asking.

“No, sweetie,” I said gently as I took his hands in mine. “We want

the wolves to get her instead of us just killing her because they can
absorb her power into the pack. We can’t utilize it and it would be
wasted. Better to have our allies get it.”

He ripped his hands away from me. “You would really have killed

her yesterday?” He seemed horrified at the idea.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” I growled and crossed my arms over my

chest. “You need to understand that elves do not fuck around where

Joyee Flynn

their mates are concerned. She’s hurt you, controlled your mind,
threatened you, and”—I gestured around the room—“done this.
You’re damn right I want her gone, and the threat to you.”

“You can’t just kill her!” he exclaimed as he started to panic.

“That’s not your choice to make.”

“Egan, think! She’s already killed at least three people for her

blood magic. What would happen if the police got her? She was
controlling your mind. Do you think she won’t do that to them? She’s
not above taking human lives. She could make them put their guns in
their mouths and pull the trigger.”

He flinched at what I said, and as much as I didn’t want that, he

needed to understand the severity of all of this. Better he realize she
was the monster than me. Because, in this instance, I wasn’t. No, I
was the good guy in this situation, and I refused to allow my mate to
think I was anything but.

Now I just had to convince him of it.

Stripe My Pole

Chapter 6

“Not to mention she could expose our whole world.” I paused and

took a calming breath when I saw he was processing all of this and
relaxing a bit. “What do you think any human government would do
if they found out about me and my family? Or the werewolves? I’d be
in some government lab so fast our heads would spin. Is that what you
want for me?”

“No, but you could just teleport out,” he answered, shaking his

head in denial.

“Not if I was drugged,” I whispered, voicing every supernatural

being’s worst nightmare. Granted most drugs didn’t affect us, but
since we could get drunk, it was safe to assume there were some
drugs out there that could take elves down.

“I have to be of sound mind and able to focus to teleport. Or

they’d try and kill us, and gods only know what they’d do when they
realized we couldn’t be killed. We’d be a threat and have to live in
hiding if we were ever outed. And I’m not talking about hiding in
plain sight. I mean some remote location or go back to the North Pole.
No, thank you.”

He was quiet for a few moments, and when he spoke, it was so

soft and pained that I barely heard him. “You really think she killed
people for stronger power?”

I thought about how to explain that answer to him. “When I taste

power, it’s like tasting different coffees. Our power is light, smooth
like a mild blend. Hers was bitter, tart like a rough, cheap, bold blend.
That’s blood magic. Shadow’s the oldest of us, and if he says at least
three people, I believe him.”

Joyee Flynn

“Seven actually,” Shadow stated from the doorway.
“What?” Egan gasped as he turned to face my friend, the blood

draining from his face.

“I felt her lingering power last night in the hallway and in your

apartment. It was three maybe four people’s blood staining her power.
I’d say she killed another three last night to get this much power.” He
gestured around the room, showing where Karen had shot energy
blasts. “I don’t even know how the police are explaining this. But I
felt her signature when we found your apartment like this earlier.
She’s killed more.”

“Fuck,” I groaned and wiped my hands over my face. I met

Shadow’s sympathetic gaze. “I–I didn’t know, I didn’t m–mean for
that—I w–was worried about—”

“I know, brother,” he said gently. I slumped to my knees as tears

ran down my cheeks.

“It’s my fault,” I whispered in defeat.
“What? How?” Egan asked as he moved beside me and held me to

him. “How is that your fault?”

“I let her get away last night because I was worried about it being

traumatic to you if I killed your ex-girlfriend right in front of you.
Then she went out and killed three more people. People who would be
alive if I’d done what was right.” I started sobbing as I tried to pull
away from him. “I didn’t think!”

“This is not your fault,” Shadow snarled as he grabbed my jaw

roughly.

“Don’t hurt him,” Egan said and shoved Shadow. Yeah, my mate

would have been more effective trying to push a tank than one of us
who didn’t want to be moved.

“Shut up!” Shadow barked, not even looking at him. “Box carries

this guilt because you weren’t thinking about the bitch’s consequences
to her actions and your delicate sensibilities.”

Stripe My Pole

He spoke to me then in a softer tone. Part of me wanted to rip his

head off for speaking to my mate in such a manner, but my head was
already spinning.

“You couldn’t have known, Box. Your mate comes first. Always.

You did what was best at the time to protect him. Do you blame the
wolves because they lost her scent?”

“No,” I whispered as I wiped my eyes, starting to understand what

he was getting at.

“No, of course not,” he said firmly. “And it’s not your fault either.

The only one to blame for Karen’s actions is Karen. She made these
choices, she killed those people, and she will die for those crimes,
brother. I promise you that. She’s just stronger now.”

“And she’ll be harder to track then,” I finished for him. “Fuck.”
“Yeah, but Cave already called Peter, and he’s assigning more

wolves to help in the search. We just have to be more careful until
she’s caught and stick together.”

“Do we have to clean this place up for show?” He knew what I

meant and paused to think about it. Meaning, could we do this our
way magically or did we have to pretend we were human and bag
everything up.

“The squad car is still outside, and I detect at least thirty people in

this building. I say we go through the motions. There’s going to be
enough raised eyebrows at the focused burns on the walls. Let’s not
add to it.”

“Good point,” I agreed, now calm. My friend let go of my chin

and I grabbed his wrist none too gently. “Brother or not, friend or not,
you ever talk to my mate like that again and I’ll feed you your balls.
We clear?”

“Crystal,” he answered with an evil grin. “Not that you could, but

I’d never hurt your mate. It was like the movie slap to snap you both
out of it.”

“I know. Which is the only reason I’ve not hurt you.”
“Good deal.” And with that, Shadow stood and left us alone again.

Joyee Flynn

“He didn’t hurt me,” Egan said as he glanced down at his hands.
“No one talks to my mate like that,” I growled and went to hug

him. He flinched and it was like he slapped me. “You think me a
monster.”

“No, I understand logically everything you’ve said.”
“But?”
He looked at me with teary eyes then. “But you speak of her death

so easily it scares me. You act as if she was a fly on the wall that
needs to be killed. I need to think.”

“Okay, but know one thing first.” He nodded and I went ahead. “I

wouldn’t kill the fly, Egan. I’d open the window so it could get out,
and the fly doesn’t take human life. Karen did. Think about the at
least seven innocent people she’s killed to get that power before you
think me such a monster. That’s who you’re upset I’d want to take out
of this world.”

I didn’t wait for an answer. I stood and stormed into the kitchen,

magically removing the graffiti on my way. I grabbed a large box of
garbage bags and started putting some in each room.

“It’s safe for the kids,” I called out towards the hallway as I

walked back into the living room. I saw Egan still on the floor,
confused and upset, and kept moving. As much as I wanted to
comfort him right now, he had hurt me and acted as if I was a
monster.

“What happened in here, Daddy?” Jade asked as they came into

the living room.

“A mean lady wanted to hurt your Uncle Egan and took it out on

his stuff when she couldn’t find him,” Alexi explained as they set the
twins on their feet.

“But she can’t do that, it’s wrong,” Wade stated angrily. Aww,

wasn’t he just too cute?

“You’re right, it is wrong, and that’s why she’ll be punished for

this,” Chiquita said as he guided them into the bedroom. “Don’t touch

Stripe My Pole

any of the broken glass. We’re going to pick up all the feathers and
stuffing.”

“I like feathers!” Jade squealed with delight and raced into the

bedroom. Glad someone was happy.

Everyone started cleaning up and the only time we used our magic

was with broken glass. Hey, we didn’t want to touch it either.

We tried to salvage what we could, making a pile of pictures from

the smashed frames. There was a pile of clothes that might make it
after major washing and DVDs that weren’t charbroiled. The rest was
simply garbage. She’d sent energy blasts to all the cabinets in the
kitchen so everything in there was toast as well.

It didn’t escape my notice that any room I was working in Egan

did as well. I tested to see if he was purposely by moving into the
kitchen, then living room, then bedroom again. Sure enough, he was
right behind me. I guessed he thought maybe if the physical space
wasn’t big between us that the proverbial canyon between us
wouldn’t grow.

I’m not sure it worked like that, but I wasn’t listening in on his

thoughts right then. I was upset enough and hurt by the way he
reacted.

I started to wonder if Egan and I really were a good fit. He wasn’t

used to our world and didn’t seem to have the morals to adapt. He’d
been straight or at least acting straight for a long time and being with
a man was a big change. Glancing around his destroyed apartment, it
was apparent that he’d built a life, and whether it was one he liked or
not, it was his.

Who was I to come into it and change everything?
But then again, could he go back now? Maybe Egan wanted to

settle down with some nice, sane girl instead of a supernatural elf who
was centuries old? Could fate have screwed up this time? Or maybe
his scent was off somehow and I only thought he was my mate.

And round and round and round my thoughts went until I felt

ready for the padded room. I hadn’t figured anything out after a few

Joyee Flynn

hours and only had more questions. But I was feeling less and less
good about mating with Egan the longer I worked.

Shadow and Maze mostly took care of garbage bag removal,

stating it would be their evening workout running stairs. We ran out
of bags and someone made some appear. Who, I had no clue. I wasn’t
really paying attention to much. I was lost in my own thoughts.

Oh sure, I knew conversations were going on around me, but I

wasn’t listening. I felt invisible again, even if this time it was pretty
much self-inflicted. But more with my mate. How could he see me as
a monster? He wasn’t really looking as if he thought me some
bloodthirsty murderer. I wasn’t homicidal. Karen deserved her fate,
and I would do whatever was necessary to protect my family and my
mate.

If he really is my mate, I thought bitterly. I stuffed a piece of what

had been his table into the bag so roughly it tore. Instead of just
calmly getting another bag I thought it better to tear up the plastic like
a maniac.

“Go home, brother,” Horse said gently when I was done and

realized everyone was staring. “We’re almost done and can finish
here. Head out and take your mate home to rest. You both need it.”

“No,” I replied, staring at Egan as I shook my head. “He’s not my

mate. He thinks I’m a monster. You take him wherever he wants to
go, which obviously isn’t with me.”

I stormed out of there, making sure I had the keys to my truck in

my pocket. I ignored the protests, gasps, and disappointed looks as I
walked past everyone. Whatever! They weren’t in my shoes, and if
they didn’t like the way I was handling this, they could shove it. I no
longer cared.

The only person I heard call my name was Egan and I didn’t stop.

I ran down the stairs and into the cold winter night, glad I didn’t put
on my jacket because the temperature helped my temper cool.

“Box, wait!” Egan called out. Fuck! I didn’t want to see him and

just go lick my wounds in private. I’d gotten as far as the truck before

Stripe My Pole

he caught up to me. He trapped me against the truck with his larger
frame, but I didn’t turn around. “Please, Box, don’t abandon me. I
need you right now.”

“Abandon you?” I laughed hysterically. “I’m surprised you can

even be this close to a monster.”

“I didn’t say you were a monster, my mate,” he whimpered as he

buried his face in my neck. I was still upset but him referring to me as
his mate took the edge off. I just wish these weren’t the circumstances
he said it under. “I just needed a little time to think.”

“Fine, think all you want,” I grumbled and pushed away from

him. He didn’t move and I didn’t want to hurt him, so I slumped
against the truck, my forehead banging the glass. “What do you
want?”

“I want to know what you’ve been thinking about because I have

this feeling that you walking out that door was the end of us. I didn’t
want that, Box. I just needed a little bit to wrap my mind around your
world and way of doing things. Was that too much to ask for?”

“Nope, not in the slightest,” I answered and shrugged. “Can I go

now?”

“No,” Egan growled as he plastered his body against mine. “Tell

me what’s going on!”

“Don’t touch me,” I snarled right back and shoved him hard. It

couldn’t have felt nice, but I doubted it would leave a bruise. He
stumbled back a few feet, just enough for me to open the door to the
truck and climb in. Yeah, I could have teleported, and I’d gotten close
to doing that, but it seemed childish. Not that running wasn’t or
anything…oh fuck it. I just wanted to be alone.

I quickly turned the truck on and started to pull out of my parking

spot when the passenger’s door opened and Egan jumped in. Should
have hit the locks maybe? I ignored him but didn’t press the gas
either. I was upset, but not to the point I wanted to cause him physical
harm. When he closed the door, I took off.

Joyee Flynn

“Please talk to me,” he begged, and I shook my head. “I don’t

think you’re a monster, Box. It was a shock, okay? I just needed to
think and then you kept leaving any room I was in and there were so
many people around. I couldn’t talk to you then. Don’t leave me!”

“You don’t want me,” I whispered with tears in my eyes. “Go find

some sane woman and live your life.”

“No!” he exclaimed. I slammed on the breaks and almost rear-

ended someone because I was distracted and the waterworks had
started. Egan grabbed the oh shit handle in time and didn’t end up in
the dashboard. Right. Driving wasn’t a good idea in my state of mind.

I found a deserted park and pulled onto the service road. I threw

the truck in park and jumped out when I immediately felt trapped. I
slammed the door and headed to the rear as I took deep, sobbing
breaths.

“Please, sweetie,” Egan whispered in my ear as he wrapped his

arms around me from behind. “Tell me what to do. How do I fix
this?” He kissed my neck and I melted against him. Damn traitorous
body. “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I swear that wasn’t my intention. I
don’t want to find a woman. I want to be with you.”

“Prove it,” I snapped, not sure what I even meant. Egan reached

down to the front of my jeans and cupped my hardening cock.

“You still want me,” he whimpered in relief as he stroked me.

“How can I show you I want you?”

“Me wanting you was never up for debate,” I moaned as he

nipped along my neck as he touched me intimately. “You don’t seem
sure you want me or me as I am.”

“I do! I swear I do. You’re the only man I’ve ever been with and

I’ve never been happier. Will that prove you’re not a monster to me?
Take me as only you have, Box. Please? I need you so much. Don’t
leave me.”

“Fine,” I growled, thinking angry sex wasn’t a bad idea right then.

I pulled down the tailgate and had Egan bent over it in a flash. I undid

Stripe My Pole

his belt as I magically stretched him. He cried out and arched his back
as I yanked down his zipper.

“Here? Now?” He gasped in shock.
“You want to say no?” I challenged, being a jerk, but it was as if a

piece of me needed to see how far he’d go for me.

“Someone could see us,” Egan panted, and I felt his cock twitch at

the idea. Interesting. Something I needed to file away for later. That’s
for sure.

“I’ve veiled us from sight,” I said instead as I pulled down his

jeans enough to expose his firm ass. I froze for a moment. “Unless
you don’t trust me enough to believe that?”

“No! I believe you. You’d never do anything that would get me

hurt or in trouble. Take your mate, Box. Give us what we both need.”

I growled my acceptance, feeling more animal right then than

man. I quickly opened my own jeans and whipped out my dick. Holy
shit! I was rock hard and leaking. Hurt or not, it seemed the kinky
atmosphere and my mate offering himself up to me like this was still
enough to get me wound up.

I slammed into his prepared hole hard. Egan started to cry out

before burying his face in his sweater. Good thing because people
might not be able to see us but they could hear us. I wasn’t sure how it
worked with the difference between cloaking sound and visuals. I just
knew that hiding us from sight was easier than masking our sounds.
And doing both was totally out of my league. That meant someone
could still call the police if they heard his screams.

“You were supposed to be the one person who really saw me,” I

cried as I pounded into him over and over again. “I’m not the bad
guy. I didn’t want to risk you or my family. The look you gave me,
Egan…”

“I’m sorry,” he gasped as I nailed his prostate and I kept up my

punishing pace. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you or upset you.
I just needed a few minutes to think.”

Joyee Flynn

“You flinched away from me! You wouldn’t let me touch you or

comfort you.” I started thrusting faster as the hurt boiled inside of me.
“You were supposed to see me! My mate was the one person I
wouldn’t be invisible to and would see the real me.”

“I see you! You’ll never be invisible to me, sweetie. All I want is

you. I know you’re not the monster—she is. You want to protect all of
us and mostly me. I’m your other half. I could never not know you.”

I stopped moving and slumped over him as I sobbed. “Is that what

you really feel? Or are you just afraid I’ll leave?”

“Listen to my thoughts, Box. I’m an open book to you.”
I’d only hear what he was thinking right then and he could just

think what he wanted me to hear, but I wasn’t sure Egan knew that.
Maybe he thought I could see into his mind and everything he felt or
ever thought.

“He can’t leave me when I think I love him already. I’m so

scared. Everything is upside-down and left instead of right. The only
thing that makes sense is him. I’ll do whatever he wants! He makes
me feel whole for the first time in my life. He doesn’t care I’m just a
bus driver or a pushover. He didn’t belittle me when he heard I let
Karen beat me or boss me around. I see the real him as much as he
sees me!”

I stopped listening then, hearing more than enough. I’d been so

lost in his thoughts that I missed what was going on around us.
Mainly that Egan had pulled away and laid me back in the truck bed.
He’d also removed his jeans off one leg and was straddling my hips.

“Let me show you,” he whispered as tears of his own streaked

down his cheeks. I nodded and he lowered himself onto my cock. We
both moaned as he bottomed out. Egan leaned over me and took my
face in his large hands as he rode me. “You heard how I feel. I can’t
help being scared. I feel like the blinders have been taken off and I’m
in the middle of a tornado. The only thing keeping me grounded is
you.”

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“I waited centuries for you,” I whimpered, still a little hurt and

afraid he’d change his mind and decide I was the monster. “All I
wanted was for a mate to love me for who I really was. One person I
wouldn’t be invisible to.”

“I see you, baby,” he stated firmly but with tenderness. His hips

started to move faster as he got closer, but he lost the rhythm. I moved
my feet flat on the bed and grabbed his waist as I started thrusting up
into him as he came down. We were both panting, staring deeply into
each other’s eyes as he still held my face.

The only sound besides the slapping of skin was the truck

groaning under our movements. The shocks had to be getting one hell
of a workout.

“I’m sorry, too,” I admitted when I saw the depths of his feelings

reflected back in his gaze. Egan wasn’t faking. He was falling in love
with me as much as I was him. It was all right there on his face.
“Your reaction hurt and then my brain spun out of control, and I
decided it would be the best thing for you if I let you go.”

“Never again, Box,” he growled before mashing his mouth down

to mine in a brutal, searing kiss. “Never decide things like that for me
again. Never let me go. I want you forever.”

I gasped at that last part but it seemed best to let it go for now. He

wanted me and that was all that mattered. Better to wait to make
major decisions until after our emotions calmed down.

“Make me yours.” He tilted his neck to the side as he moved so I

could reach him perfectly. “Bite me, baby. I’m yours always.”

I snarled in approval as my fangs came out so fast it almost hurt. I

sank them into his neck, moaning as his sweet blood flowed into my
mouth. Egan bit my shoulder as well, crying out around my flesh as
he rode his climax. I kept thrusting up into his now vise-tight ass a
few times before grunting as I found my own release. I filled his ass
while he filled the space between us.

This was what I was supposed to feel with him. Not the sex,

though that was great. But this closeness that only two people meant

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to be could share. How could I ever think that Egan might not have
been my mate? We fit so well together and I’d never felt this
complete in my life.

I retracted my fangs and licked his bite closed as he mimicked the

same on my neck even though he hadn’t even broken my flesh. I got
the idea though. He wanted to take care of me just as much as I did
him. Message received. Loud and clear.

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Chapter 7

Everyone got home an hour after we did. We were in the kitchen,

me sitting on Egan’s lap as we fed each other a light snack of cheese
and crackers. Yeah, we’d made up.

After the hot sex, I cleaned us up and drove us home. It was that

calm but still awkward feeling that happened when the fight was over
but there were still lingering emotions swirling around. But we got
over it and started making out like teenagers as we ate since we’d
missed dinner.

“Glad you guys made up,” Horse said with a smile. He looked a

little tired around the eyes, like I’m sure we all felt. The humans in
our family might have been fine, well, and Shadow and Maze. But the
rest of us were used to using magic when things needed to be done
and didn’t do anything really physical. Except sex, that is. I found that
to be my favorite workout.

“Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it,” Egan replied

shyly. My mate wasn’t used to people doing nice things for him.

“No problem, mate to my brother. We called in a cleaning crew

for the walls and whatnot. Bren said that’s how humans would handle
it. Hopefully you’ll get your deposit back then or at least won’t be
charged extra.”

Alexi and Chiquita walked in, each carrying a sleeping twin. I felt

my heart skip a beat at how cute they were. I couldn’t help but
imagine a little Egan or a pretty girl with his hair and gorgeous blue
eyes.

None of my friends had ever talked about having children. I

couldn’t help but wonder if now we’d been exposed to some great

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ones, the rest of us wouldn’t start wanting some of our own. Maybe in
a few years.

We cleaned up our food as we all talked about needing a night off.

So tomorrow we all decided to go to Leather No Lace if a sitter could
be found for the twins, otherwise we were going to have our own
gaming tournament. Maybe something on the Kinect systems so the
kids could play with us.

Then we all said our good-nights and headed to bed. I snuggled up

at my mate’s side, too tired to have another round of sex, knowing he
felt the same way.

The next morning I awoke to wet heat surrounding my cock. It

seemed my mate wanted to give his first blow job. I could suffer
through it and take one so he could have the learning experience. Who
was I kidding?

“Right there, sweetie,” I moaned and spread my legs farther apart

to accommodate his large body. Egan grabbed my calves and moved
them over his shoulders. Hot damn! His face was buried in my groin
as he massaged my sac and rubbed his fingers over my hole. I felt my
cock leak a little pre-cum when he swirled his tongue in the slit and
he groaned at the taste.

Then he deep-throated me but couldn’t take all of me. Still, I was

impressed. I’d been with guys who’d given lots of blow jobs and
couldn’t take that much of me.

I met his gaze and he tapped his temple as he worshipped my

dick.

“Am I doing this right?”
“Fuck, sweetie, you’re a natural. I’ve never been so turned on as

waking up with my dick in your mouth.”

“Okay good. I didn’t want to screw it up.” Then he thought of

something I wasn’t sure he meant for me to hear. “How do I ask him
what I want tonight if we go to the club?”

“You can ask me anything, Egan. I’m your mate. There’s nothing

we shouldn’t share.” His cheeks flushed red and he looked down at

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my groin instead of at my face. That was okay. He was allowed to get
embarrassed when experiencing new things. I just didn’t want him to
be too scared to ask for something he wanted. I never wanted my
mate to be unfulfilled.

“Will we have sex at the club in front of people?” I knew he liked

the idea because he started sucking on me harder as he squeezed my
balls.

“I’d love to if you’re comfortable with it,” I moaned, loving the

mental image it gave me. “It would be so fucking hot if you did this to
me with a roomful of people watching, wishing they were me.” He
groaned and sucked faster. “What would you like?” I bit my lip from
reacting when I saw the answer in his head.

“I want you to hire me as your hooker for the night. I’ve always

wanted to try role-playing, and while maybe I never admitted to
myself what I truly wanted…I am now. Is that too kinky?”

“Egan, kinky is the middle name of everyone in this family.” I

chuckled. “I’d love for you to be my whore.” He hollowed out his
cheeks and practically sucked my brain out through my cock when I
used that word. I cried out as I came, shooting deep in his throat. My
mate swallowed all of it, not missing a single drop.

When I was spent, he popped off my cock with a wide smile. He

had reason to be proud of himself in my book!

“What should we do until then? I am on vacation after all.”
“Give notice at your job,” I blurted out with absolutely no finesse.

I wanted to smack myself in the head for that one.

“Okay,” he agreed as he crawled up next to me.
“Huh?” I asked in shock. Really, I swear he melted my brain.

Who looks a gift horse in the mouth when they get what they want?

“Okay, I’ll quit my job. I have this week off and lots of vacation

days accrued so that won’t be a problem.” I hugged him and kissed
his neck, tackling him with joy as best as I could when we were
already lying in bed. “I hate my job anyways, and when I thought I

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was losing you last night, I realized I’d do anything you wanted to
keep you.”

I froze. Shit. “Sweetie, I don’t just want you to quit because it’s

what I want. I want you to be happy and writing seemed like an idea
you loved.”

“It is, and I do want to quit. But normally I wouldn’t go along

with it this easily. I’d take days or weeks thinking about every aspect
of the choice, making things more difficult than they needed to be. I
refuse to do that anymore and risk what we have. Hemming and
hawing because I’m bad at making decisions hurt you, and I could
have lost you. It’s not worth it to me. I trust you. You wouldn’t let me
do anything that wasn’t good for me. So I’ll quit.”

It sounded so simple when he put it like that. I wasn’t sure it was

lack of making a decision that hurt me last night, but if that’s how he
worked it out in his brain…Hell, it was his brain. However he wanted
to work it out was cool with me.

“Quitting will take a five minute call. What else?”
“We should go through your stuff and unpack,” I answered after a

moment. “And see what was salvaged last night. I need to clear out
some space for you, too.”

“Really?” His smile and eyes were so bright you’d think I’d hung

the sun this morning just for him. “You want me to move into your
room and not the spare bedroom still?”

“Absolutely,” I purred as I rubbed against him suggestively. “I

love falling asleep with you in my arms. And that blow job was the
best wake-up ever, though I’d still want you here even if I hadn’t
gotten it.”

“Okay then.” He gave me a wink and climbed out of bed. My

mouth got dry at the sight of his firm, toned, naked body strutting to
the bathroom.

“Want me to take care of that for you?” I asked as I followed him

behind like a dog in heat.

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“Nah.” Egan chuckled, knowing what I was referring to. “I want

to save up as much sexual energy for tonight. I’m really excited to
role-play.”

“Me, too,” I whimpered, wishing I had the power to forward time.
We quickly got cleaned up and threw on some sweats before

heading downstairs. I found myself famished. Mostly from the idea of
all the energy I knew I’d exert tonight if I was lucky. When we got to
the kitchen, it took me about thirty seconds to realize what was
wrong…the kitchen table was missing.

“They finished the new one,” Horse said with a yawn, answering

my unasked question.

“Huh?” Yeah, I was out of the loop as normal.
“Benjii’s workshop is up and running now. Remember we built

one for him?” he teased as he leaned against Bren’s chest.

“Yeah, I was there,” I grumbled and then smiled when my own

mate did the same so I was snuggled in his arms.

“The almost-barn-looking thing on the back of the property?”
“Yep,” Horse answered my mate. “It’s got the horses and a shop

for Benjii. This is the first furniture he’s making in it. Shely and
Justice were working on it with him and wouldn’t let anyone see it, so
I think everyone’s excited for the unveiling.”

Sure enough, everyone was in our large kitchen waiting. Some

were on the chairs from the old table or camped out on stools at the
counter. All I cared about was there was a morning spread set up right
there because I really was hungry.

“Ooooh, scones,” I whimpered and raced over like a little kid. I

took a huge bite out of one before fixing coffee for my mate and me. I
learned yesterday he liked a lot of sugar and just a tad of milk. And he
liked it warm, almost cold. I thought it was cute because he’d blow on
it while he ate and then when he was on his last bite of whatever
breakfast was, he’d down the whole cup. Not to mention the happy
noises he made while drinking it.

Those were just hot.

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“Thanks, baby,” he said from behind me and kissed my neck after

I’d doctored his coffee. I also felt his hard cock against my ass,
knowing full well that was intentional. Maybe he would want to top
me? Something to think about later.

We took our breakfast and found a spot at the counter as we

waited. I could see Benjii, Shely, and Justice struggling to carry a
massive table.

“Morons,” Idiot grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest. “It

would take us two seconds to move the table. But noooo, they wanted
to carry it like real men after building the table from wood.” He gave
a couple of caveman grunts to emphasize his point.

“Can we go help them carry it?” Otis asked and glanced around

the room.

“You guys are like a foot taller than us,” Idiot whined. “If we

actually moved it without magic, I’d have to lift it up to my shoulders
to match you guys.” Slight exaggeration maybe? “I offered to help,
but they want to do it the real way.”

Otis chuckled as he headed out the terrace door in sneakers. Bren,

Daran, and Egan were right behind him. Which left only Alexi sitting
with us twelve elves. And all eyes turned to him.

“No way,” he grumbled. “I’m not freezing my butt off and

carrying that heavyass oak table when you guys could have moved it
in two seconds. They want to be manly men, then let them. I’m quite
comfortable right here, thank you very much.”

“Amen, brother.” Horse laughed and toasted his coffee mug. We

all agreed and did the same, cracking jokes at the other seven idiots
lugging the table across the backyard. Ten minutes later they were
still only halfway. They had to keep setting it down, and at first I was
worried about the snow covering the ground ruining the table, but
they had it wrapped in plastic.

I couldn’t help chuckling. Carrying that in over a foot of snow had

to be a bitch.

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“Think they’ll get it in here by lunch?” Cave asked and we all

burst into peals of laughter again.

“Daddy, this is getting boring,” Jade whined. “I wanna see the

horsies again.”

“Hey now,” Alexi gently chastised. “What’s the rule about

whining?”

She thought about that a moment, but it was Wade who threw his

hand in the air and waved it around. “I know! No whining until Dad
and Daddy have had their fill of coffee.”

“Exactly,” Chiquita drawled with a smile. I bit my lip to keep

from giggling. I can’t believe they taught that rule to twin five-year-
olds. And even more shocking…the kids actually listened to it! “And
your uncles made a nice table for us so it would be rude to not wait
for it, right?”

“Yeah.” Jade agreed but crossed her arms over her chest in a pout.

Alexi reached over and put cheese Danish filling on her nose. She
squealed and smacked his hand, her earlier distress forgotten.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Shadow exclaimed and stood up. “I did

have things to do today.” He waved his hands and the table lifted out
of the guys’ hands and started floating towards us.

We heard several angry shouts but just shook our heads. Why

make things harder if they don’t have to be? Cave and Idiot opened
the terrace doors for Shadow and the guys ran after the table. That I
understood. After all their hard work, they should be there to see our
reactions.

I, for one, gasped when I saw the magnificent piece of art in the

shape of a table. It was fucking gorgeous! It had to seat at least thirty,
so the thing was massive. And now I also understood why they were
struggling with it so much.

Justice had done a mosaic top on the table. Actually it looked as if

Benjii cut out part of the wood just to fit the ceramic tiles.

“It’s of the house,” Horse whispered in awe as he reached out and

touched it when Shadow set it down.

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“Baby, this is amazing,” Cave said as his eyes filled up with tears.

“I knew you were talented, but gods, this is just breathtaking.”

“Really? You like?” Justice asked as he blushed under the praise.
“Dude, this is fucking awesome!” Maze announced. He looked

under the table. “This thing must weigh a ton.”

“Yeah, it really does,” Bren grumbled and went over to his mate.

“I might need a back rub later.”

“You’re the twit who went out there to help.” Horse snickered and

then stood on his toes for a kiss.

“We were trying to make a grand entrance,” Benjii bitched as he

stared daggers at Shadow.

“You’ll thank me when your balls don’t fall off from frostbite,”

Shadow threw right back. “The table looks great though. It’s fine
craftsmanship.” He gave Benjii his most innocent smile. “Even if the
makers are stupid cavemen.”

“Me want mate,” Shely grunted and threw Idiot over his shoulder.

“Man work. Now man want to play.”

“Not yet.” Idiot gigged and slapped Shely’s shoulder. “I want to

sit at the new table.”

“We didn’t make chairs yet, so we’re going to have to use the old

ones for now,” Benjii said sheepishly. “This took longer than we
thought it would.”

“There was no rush, Benjii,” Horse replied firmly with a wave. “It

was supposed to be a fun project, not something that you worked
constantly at and killed yourself for.”

“We had fun,” Justice said with a bright smile as he pulled up a

chair. “It felt good to do what I love instead of just pouring concrete
with those assholes I used to work with. I like this crew much better.”

“Only because I let you take fu—sex breaks,” Benjii replied,

glancing at the twins. Yeah, we all had to start watching our cussing
or we’d have twin truck-driver mouths.

“You took just as many,” he shot back, sticking out his tongue as

the rest of us sat down. Some of us were on our mates’ laps and others

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were using folding chairs, but it was worth it. The table was great, and
we spent a good twenty minutes telling the makers just that.

“Since we’re all together, there are a few things we need to

discuss,” Daran said suddenly and pulled out a bunch of file folders
from gods know where. He slid them down the table, one for each of
us. “Your old lawyer was just that, old. He made long-term, low-yield
investments and hadn’t updated your wills in forever. I’d say you
have another—”

One by one, each of us let our heads fall to the new table and

started snoring. I was one of the first. I hated talking about this shit.

“Seriously, guys!” Daran growled. “I’m your attorney! And you

never let me discuss any of this with you. I want to update the wills
and restructure your investments.”

“Then do it and tell us where to sign,” Horse mumbled as if he

was really sleeping. “We hate this shit.” My thoughts exactly. “That’s
why we have a lawyer.”

“Don’t you want to know what I’m going to do with everything?”

he asked, his face paling. We all sat up and glanced at each other
before shaking our heads. “I can’t be in charge of your entire estate
and make those kinds of decisions.”

“Why not?” Shely asked, looking confused, but I had an idea why.

“Isn’t that what you normally do?”

“Not like this,” Daran answered quietly, still looking a little green

around the gills. “They have money everywhere and lots of it.”

“I never asked how much y’all were worth.” Benjii raised an

eyebrow, implying the question. I shrugged. I didn’t keep up with it.
It might have been sad, but we all glanced at Daran for the answer.

“How can you guys not know?” Daran threw his hands in the air

in frustration and turned to Benjii. “As of last quarter, the twelve of
them are worth over six hundred billion dollars. They own Smith
Industries and several other subsidiaries, dozens of investments and
stocks. Not to mention their accounts in Grand Cayman, which I

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couldn’t even get access to since no one tells me any of the
passwords.”

That one I knew because I had been the one to set it up and I had

the PIN codes. “Five hundred million, four hundred and eighty-six
thousand, and fifty dollars last statement.”

“Well, fuck me standing.” Benjii whistled. “And your last lawyer

handled all of that?”

“No, we have a CEO of Smith Industries and presidents of all the

other companies. We also have an investment advisor.” Horse glanced
over at Cave. “What’s that guy’s name?”

“Ralph?” he answered, not looking so sure.
“Yeah, Ralph was your financial advisor,” Daran grumbled,

rolling his eyes. “Your last attorney, Jeffrey, told me he informed you
five years ago when Ralph died. You’ve got CDs that need to be
rolled over or reinvested and everything else has just been sitting
there.”

“Really? Ralph died?” I asked, feeling kinda guilty we’d missed

that one. “Well, that sucks.”

We all sat there digesting the news until Shadow broke the

silence. “So we find another one? Or can we just stick it all in a
savings account and just let the interest accrue? It’s not like we need
more money.”

“Yeah, I’d say not,” Bren mumbled, his face pale. I glanced

around and found all the mates looked a little nauseous, mine
included.

“What’s wrong with you guys?” Horse asked as he held his hand

up to his mate’s forehead, checking for a fever. Could they get sick
anymore after we claimed them? I had no clue.

“You’re kidding, right?” Justice replied, his eyes going wide.

Yeah, I was totally lost.

“No, why do you all look like you’re going to barf?” Cave looked

as confused as the rest of us.

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“You could pay off the US deficit and you guys act as if it’s

Friday-night spending money!” Bren exclaimed and jumped to his
feet. “You could end world hunger or buy a fucking country with that
kinda money and you never told any of us? Even worse, you don’t
seem to care about it. It’s been sitting there for five years when you
could have done something with it.”

“Is that how you all feel?” Shadow asked coldly. All the mates

nodded, and I felt a pit grow in my stomach. I could tell I wasn’t the
only one.

“Then fuck all of you,” Horse whispered. He stood and stormed

out of the kitchen, every elf right behind him. Egan wasn’t as bad as
the rest of them, since I’d not even officially claimed him, but I knew
he was on the humans’ side. And it was the first time I felt as if there
was a side for all the mates. It had never been us versus them, always
us against anything that came our way.

We didn’t stop until we were in the converted ballroom we’d

made into our media room with our gaming consoles. Horse took
several deep breaths and wiped his eyes. I wasn’t happy with the
mates, and I felt the worst for Horse. He was our leader and had been
with Bren the longest.

“Did I just overreact? You guys were all feeling the same way,

too, right?” he asked finally, looking heartbroken.

“No, you were calmer than I would have been,” Shadow answered

gently. “None of them were my mate and I was still furious and ready
to bitch slap them all.” I glanced around, seeing I felt as defeated as
everyone else looked. I plopped down in the middle of the room, not
even having the energy to stand anymore.

“What do we do now?” I whispered. Eleven sets of eyes focused

on me, and I saw that we had the same answer. No one had a fucking
clue.

Joyee Flynn

Chapter 8

“I don’t get the big deal. It’s just money,” Maze muttered after

we’d all sat down.

“Does it really matter to them how much we’re worth?” Cave

asked, looking ready to cry. “They had to know we were rich, we
never hid that. That’s supposed to be a good thing in a partner, right?
It’s always a bonus when your mate is loaded.”

“I thought so,” Horse mumbled as he picked at something on his

pants. “Bren looked angry, disgusted, and as if he’d never seen me
before. What’s the big deal?”

We all thought that one over for a minute.
“Okay, we suck for not paying attention that Ralph was gone,” I

conceded, and several of them nodded. “And I know we think about
money differently than humans do. But I never felt as if it was elves
and then humans in this house before.”

“I know,” Horse whispered as a tear rolled down his cheek. “Even

when I first told Bren, he never looked at me like that. I felt like a
freak of nature for the first time.”

“Yeah, Shely, too.” Idiot nodded, pulling his knees to his chest.

“We pay our taxes, donate millions every year to charity, and we
check that our companies aren’t doing anything wrong. Hell, we
contribute to the economy all the time. That’s more than most rich
people can say right now. We’re not outsourcing jobs and we buy US
products when we can.”

“Why should we have to pay the deficit?” Horse grumbled. “We

pay a lot in taxes. I approve and look over what our accountant does
every year. Not all we donate to charity is even a write-off.” He

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turned to Shadow. “Remember last year when you were on the Girl
Scout cookie kick? And we bought all those cookies and let the girls
have most of them so they could win some trip. That didn’t count.”

“They had lots of fun on that trip,” I added. “And we keep

thousands of people employed in our companies. So what if we don’t
run them and get involved in the day-to-day?”

“We’d never keep our cover if we did,” Button agreed. “I just did

windows for a church a few months ago. I’m not even Christian and I
didn’t charge them for my time and donated the materials. I can’t
write off my time on our taxes.”

“Dad?” Wade called out from the other side of the ballroom. We

all looked over even though he’d only been talking to Chiquita. He
looked so sad and Jade was crying.

“What’s up, buddy?” my friend asked as he waved the twins over.
“The uncles are all upset and Daddy’s crying that he hurt your

feelings,” he answered as they came over. “Did he?”

“Yeah, Wade, he did.” Chiquita pulled Wade on his lap while

Horse, who was sitting next to him, did the same with Jade. They both
hugged them tightly and right then I would have liked someone to
hug, too. “You know we’re elves and we’re different, right?”

“But not bad different,” Jade clarified softly.
“No, not bad different.” Chiquita chuckled. “But we were raised

different than humans are and don’t always see things the same way
they do. All the uncles in the kitchen are human and got upset with us
because we don’t. It hurt our feelings.”

“Are you and Daddy going to get a divorce?” Wade asked after a

moment of processing that. Wow. That was one question I never
thought I’d hear in our house.

“No, baby boy,” he answered and tickled Wade’s tummy. His son

burst into peals of giggles. “We don’t ever divorce our mates. We just
had a disagreement.”

“Does Daddy need to say he’s sorry?” Jade asked as Horse wiped

her tears.

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“I–I don’t know,” Chiquita answered. He glanced around to the

rest of us. Personally, I shrugged. Could you get mad and demand an
apology from someone for the way they felt about something? It’s not
like they called us names. They couldn’t help the way they felt any
more than we could.

This was so fucked up.
“Daddy is sorry,” Alexi said loudly from where the twins had

emerged a few minutes ago. “He didn’t mean to hurt your dad’s
feelings.”

Horse growled when Bren stepped into the room. “Go away,

Bren.”

“No,” his mate said defiantly and stepped closer as did all the

other mates. “I’m sorry.”

“Whatever. You think what you want and judge away.” Bren

winced at that one, but it was accurate. Then he handed Jade over to
Button and jumped to his feet. “No, actually you stand right there and
shut your trap.”

Bren nodded, his eyes wide. I hadn’t seen Horse’s sudden change

in mood coming either. He went from upset and defeated to pissed off
in a flash.

“We do everything legally. Not even most humans do that, and do

you have any idea how easy it would be for us to hide all our money?
Lie to your government? But no, we play by the rules. We pay taxes
and give to charities all the time. We can’t run our companies or have
real jobs because someone would figure out we’re not human. So we
tend not to get involved at all because once we start, it’s hard to just
let go.

“And money doesn’t mean shit to us. Elves have tons of it. We’re

immortal, Bren. You look at a big diamond and probably think about
how much it costs. We think, oh, shiny and pretty. That’s it. The
North Pole treasury is a million times bigger than your Fort Knox
because we are immortal. It’s easy to accumulate money when you

Stripe My Pole

live forever and have magic to make anything you need. So don’t you
dare judge us because we’re different!”

“We weren’t judging and it has nothing to do with you being

elves,” Bren said gently.

“Sure fucking felt that way,” Maze scoffed, and I had to agree. “I

felt like you had your side of the table and we had ours. And none of
you are even my mate.”

“We didn’t mean it like that,” Shely said quietly. “I was just

shocked. I didn’t know what to say, and I was a little hurt Idiot never
thought to tell me the extent of what you guys have.”

“Who cares?” Idiot exploded, jumping to his feet. “Why does it

matter? We don’t have to worry about money. None of you have to
work, no one will go hungry, and we can always get more if we want
it. It just buys things and stuff. That doesn’t matter to us.”

“Says the guy in the huge tricked-out mansion.” Daran raised an

eyebrow, confident he’d made his point. Yeah, wrong fucking thing to
say.

“You want it?” Why snarled and shoved his mate. “Fucking take

it. It doesn’t matter to us, but if that’s what you think is important, it’s
all yours. We care about other things.”

“N–No, I didn’t mean, y–you’re taking it,” Daran sputtered as he

reached for his mate. Why ducked under his arm. I hadn’t even
thought about how he felt since it was his mate that started all of this.

“What he means is it is easy to not care about money when you

have always had it,” Otis said quietly.

“We should apologize for that? Pay off your government’s

deficit? Should we just grant people wishes with our magic, too?”
Horse asked mockingly, staring at Bren with such anger I was
partially surprised Bren wasn’t bleeding.

“No, you shouldn’t have to fix anything,” Bren answered firmly.

“My point was you could and you act the way most people would
about pocket change.”

Joyee Flynn

“Humans, Bren. The way most humans act about pocket change,

you mean. We’re not human. We weren’t raised like humans. We
don’t see things the way you do.”

“We didn’t mean it like—” he started to argue, paling as he

realized how badly he fucked up.

“Save it,” Horse snapped. “I’m going to my room…alone.”
He left and others followed as well, taking the twins with them. I

went to do the same but paused in front of Bren. “Now you
understand why we got so upset, especially Horse. He’s our leader
and you laughed and held all of us to the way you think, deciding we
were wrong. If that doesn’t divide us into elves and humans, I don’t
fucking know what would.”

I didn’t wait for his reply. I left, not even able to look at my own

mate in case I wouldn’t like what I saw in his expression. I got to the
stairs and was practically tackled from behind.

“I know something big is going on here, but I’m not a part of it,”

Egan said, his voice sounding panicked. “You don’t see things the
way most people do but neither way is right or wrong. Who cares?
You have money, great, that won’t make us happy, just keep us from
going hungry. It’s your money, do with it what you want. I don’t care
if you invest wisely or know who’s in charge of it all.

“Sure, I would be pissed if someone was taking advantage of you,

but beyond that, do what you want. Invest it or don’t. Donate it or buy
a farm. I. Don’t. Care. All I care about is you. I want to be with you,
Box.”

“You understand,” I whispered in awe. He just summed up

exactly what we’d been feeling and why we were upset. Amazing. All
the other mates had been together longer and mine was the one to
understand, to really see me for what I was and accept me anyways.

“I do,” he said as he took the last step towards me and placed his

hands on my hips. “I get you, Box. And I’m ready.”

“For?” I held my breath and waited for his answer.

Stripe My Pole

“Claim me. When everyone started arguing all I could think was

this is stupid. Who cares? I just want to be with you forever, money or
not. And then I realized that I did want forever with you. I’m not
scared of the immortality thing anymore. Claim me.”

“As soon as everyone makes up because we need witnesses,” I

said with a smile and kissed him. My big, strong mate swooped me up
in his arms and carried me up the stairs in a very old South move that
thrilled me down to my toes.

He set me down once in our room, and we made out a little before

unpacking all his stuff. Then when we went downstairs for lunch, the
tension was still bad, but some of the mates had made up. We ignored
the rest. We ignored everything but each other. Well, until the next
drama broke out.

“I’m just saying let’s stay and watch the twins instead of going

out,” Flower said as they entered the kitchen. “I feel like staying in.”

“You were just saying last night we needed to go out more often

because you are bored,” Otis countered, looking confused. I
practically saw the lightbulb go off over his head. “You do not want
to go to the club with me. You are embarrassed.” Wrong bulb.

“No!” Flower exclaimed and turned to hug his mate. “I don’t want

you to have to go there again and bring up all those memories.
You’ve been through so much and that club is part of it. We can have
just as much fun at home, so why put you through it?”

“Oh, love,” Otis sighed and squeezed Flower tighter. “Gus did not

have anything to do with all of that. Sure, he could have handled it
better, but all he got in trouble with the police for was the gambling
and not reporting knowing about me being kept as a slave. I do not
blame him. Alfred had a lot of power and influence. Most feared him
and would not risk upsetting him.”

“You still shouldn’t have to deal with that place.” Flower looked

worried, and I could understand his position.

Joyee Flynn

“Will it trigger something bad for me? Maybe but I am looking

forward to partaking in the club as a free man with the love of my life.
I want to play in one of those rooms.”

Damn, that was the same idea I had for my mate.
“Anything you want, my mate,” Flower finally conceded. Well,

that was one crisis averted.

“Are you going to carry me around the rest of your life?” Horse

giggled as Bren entered the kitchen with my friend in his arms.

“I like you in my arms. It’s where you belong,” Bren purred and

nuzzled his mate’s neck.

“You guys good now?” I asked, glancing between them, thinking

I knew the answer but wanting to make sure. They had been the last
pair on the outs.

“Yes, my mate fixed everything.”
“You grovel, too?” Benjii asked with a snicker.
“Big-time,” Bren answered with a smile. “I think the blow jobs

helped, too.” He set Horse on his feet and glanced at the rest of us. “I
never meant any of this to be about you guys being elves. I didn’t
come from money, and I thought I was missing something about how
rich people act. And it wasn’t even about judging, I was just shocked.
I’m sorry I upset all of you.”

“No worries,” Shadow said with a shrug and went back to his

lunch. Yeah, he was so good with emotional stuff it made me want to
laugh.

The twins had already finished their lunch, and since Shadow had

read all the child care books and announced that they were supposed
to take a nap after lunch and not before, that’s what they started
doing. Alexi and Chiquita walked back in and sat down, both looking
deep in thought.

“What’s up?” Flower asked when we were all tired of waiting for

them to spill.

Stripe My Pole

“Huh?” Chiquita replied and then realized that everyone was

staring at them. “Oh, well, we’ve been talking about putting the twins
in school up at the North Pole instead of a human one.”

“Why?” I asked, genuinely curious and not trying to sound like I

had an opinion one way or another.

“Well, since they will become immortal, they’ll be different from

human children, and it might raise questions we don’t want asked,”
Alexi explained with a shrug. “But then they won’t be elves so they’ll
still be different. But since they’re a part of this world now it might be
better to keep them within it.”

“Yeah, that is a tough decision to make,” Horse said gently.
“Crab assured us that there are other human children up at the

school now. It wasn’t like when we were young. Families come in all
shapes and sizes now and some mates already have children when
their elf finds them. So they wouldn’t be the only ones but still a
minority.” Chiquita looked tired and like he was still lacking the
answers when he finished.

“Isn’t kindergarten normally a half day?” I asked, thinking I saw

that in a movie or something.

“Yes, normally,” Alexi answered with his brows drawn together.
“Then can’t you enroll them in both? Let them decide which they

fit in with.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Chiquita said slowly, glancing over at his

mate. “But should we leave such an important decision up to the
twins? Is that the responsible thing to do?”

“I guess, but that’s really not my biggest concern,” Alexi replied

sheepishly. “Please don’t anyone take this the wrong way, but I’m
worried about the twins getting jealous.”

“Because the elves around them will be practicing magic,” Horse

said sympathetically.

“Yeah,” he sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. “Hell,

sometimes I’m jealous of the things you guys can do. You make

Joyee Flynn

everything look so easy. I don’t want them to be bitter or upset ever at
part of their family. I just don’t know what’s best for them.”

We were all quiet for a bit, trying to come up with the best

resolution. I really didn’t know. This was a tough one. Alexi was right
that five-year-olds wouldn’t be the best at making decisions that big
for themselves. But who really would then?

Button sighed and rolled his eyes. “The solution is easy. Magic is

only practiced in the last half of the day. Have the children attend
only the first part when it’s straight studies and homeschool them for
the rest. That way they still learn the social skills of school but don’t
develop any lingering jealousy. It’s not like we don’t have a certified
teacher in the house.”

“That’s brilliant!” Alexi looked years younger, as if the weight of

the world was lifted off his shoulders.

“Yeah, easy if we’d known that magic was done only in the

second half of school,” Chiquita grumbled, rolling his eyes. I had
forgotten that, too.

“You went to that school,” Button said with a shrug.
“That wasn’t the best time in my life,” our friend whispered. Shit!

I’d forgotten what he’d gone through. “I blocked out a lot of that.”

“Right, I said something wrong again.” Button looked confused as

per usual when he stuck his foot in his mouth. But like always, he
shrugged it off and went back to what he was doing.

“Can we add more good news?” I asked when there was a strained

pause. Horse nodded and everyone looked relieved I was changing the
topic. “Egan agreed to the claiming ceremony.”

“That’s great!” Horse exclaimed, hugging me and then Egan.

“Welcome to the family.”

We got congratulations all around, and I was tickled pink by how

excited he looked. This was what life was about. The love of a good
man, family, friends, and enjoying the life we’d been given.

Stripe My Pole

Chapter 9

Several hours later I was sitting at the bar at Leather No Lace, still

smiling like a twit. The claiming ceremony had been perfect and the
man of my dreams was now mine forever. Sure, we hadn’t professed
undying love to each other outside of the binding words but we’d get
there. No need to rush everything between us.

“Hey, you looking for some fun?” a deep voice asked from behind

me. My grin got even wider. Let the games begin.

“I might be.” I didn’t turn to face him.
“The fun isn’t free though,” he purred. I glanced over my shoulder

and gave him a once-over.

“And you think you’re worth paying for?”
“Baby, I’m worth so much more than I charge.” He gave me a

wink and ran his hands over his sculpted, naked chest.

“Is that so?” I turned on my stool since he had my full attention

now. “What do you cost?”

“Five hundred a night.”
“You take orders well?” I raised an eyebrow, knowing this was

normally the deal breaker since I was the little guy.

“I love a strong top,” he panted, his eyes flaring with lust.
“Then come play with me, sugar,” the man next to me said loudly.

I bared my teeth and snarled at the man.

“I only have eyes for him,” Egan purred, pointing to his collar so

the guy got we were just role-playing.

“My bad,” the guy replied but was still watching him. Fine, let

him see the show.

Joyee Flynn

“Let’s see what you’re offering.” I got off my barstool and

pointed to it. “Lie on it so I can see if you have an ass worth five
hundred a night.”

“As you wish.” My mate chuckled as he shivered with lust. He

made a show of slowly leaning over it and presenting me his ass.
“Like what you see?”

“All I see is leather,” I growled, quickly reaching down to undo

his pants. I yanked them down to his thighs and bit my lip to keep in
the moan brewing in my chest. Egan was wearing a large blue butt
plug, slicked up and ready for me. I wiggled it around and he went
wild, arching his back and moaning like a slut.

“You ever share?” that same guy asked as he reached out to touch

Egan’s soft blond hair.

“You touch him and I’ll break off that hand and shove it up your

ass,” I warned in a tone that showed I wasn’t fucking around.

“Can you blame me?” The guy whimpered as he gestured to my

mate squirming all over the place, the picture of sex.

“Nope, but you still can’t touch,” I answered and got back into

character. “I’ll give you a thousand but you do everything I say, no
questions asked.”

“Yes, okay, fine,” he gasped and stood when I smacked his ass

hard enough to leave a mark. “As long as we use rubbers—”

“No,” I hissed and backed him against the bar as I grabbed his

cock. I started stroking it hard and fast. “Not for what I’m paying for
you. I want to feel all of you, come inside of you, and watch as it
leaks back out your tight hole.”

“Okay,” he squeaked as I pushed the nail of my thumb into his

slit. “Anything you want. You’re the boss.”

“Good you understand that,” I purred as I moved back so

everyone around us could see what I was doing. “And if I wanted to
use you as my toy all night? Make you stand here on display, jacking
you off for all to see?”

“Yes.”

Stripe My Pole

“Told you to get down on your knees and suck me off?”
“Yes, fuck yes.”
“What would you do if I said I wanted you to come right now?”
“Scream your name and shoot my load,” he whimpered.
“Then do it. Come for me right now.” I’d barely said now and

Egan screamed my human name and climaxed. His cock exploded,
his seed going all over his perfect abs and my hand. He grabbed the
bar hard enough that his knuckles turned white as he rode out his
peak.

When he was spent, he slumped against it, gasping for air. “Thank

you.”

“Oh, a polite whore,” I cooed as I let go of his dick and ran my

fingers through the cum on his stomach. “You’re going to earn your
pay tonight. I promise you that. And I reserved a glass room tonight in
case I got lucky. You’re going to be the entertainment for the whole
club.”

“I don’t care as long as you make me come like that again,” Egan

panted and started to pull back up his pants.

“Leave them,” I snapped and he instantly let them go. “I want

everyone to see how beautiful you look painted in cum and be jealous
they can’t have you.”

“Whatever you want.” I placed my hand on his lower back and led

the way, carefully keeping an eye on the patrons we passed. Leather
No Lace was a classy club, but there was always still that one asshole
that tried to get away with whatever he could when given the chance.
My mate’s naked cock and ass would not be it. I wanted to parade my
gorgeous man around, not let him get groped by other people.

I planned on groping him a lot over the course of the night. But I

was allowed to.

Egan was vibrating with excitement as we made our way up the

carpeted stairs to the room I reserved. He was also blushing from all
the attention he was getting.

Joyee Flynn

“They’d give their left nuts to be with you,” I whispered in his ear

as we passed a group of really good-looking guys eyeing Egan over as
if he was their dinner. “Do you want them?”

“No,” he answered immediately, almost sounding surprised with

himself. “Them watching turns me on, but the idea of being with them
does nothing for me. Makes me feel cold inside.”

“Right answer.” I smacked him hard on the ass and pointed to the

room. If he had been able, he would have practically skipped through
the door he was so wound up and happy.

“You don’t want them either, right?” he asked hesitantly as he

pulled off his pants and shoes once in the room.

“Sweetie, they were like New York strip steak and I’ve got Prime

Rib right here.” I undid my own jeans and stroked my dick as I talked,
showing him just how much I really wanted him. His eyes glazed
over with lust as they watched the movement of my hand. “You want
to suck it, slut?”

“You own me for the night. What do you want?” He got the idea

and slipped right back into his role.

“Get on your knees and suck me off. Swallow every drop or I’ll

punish you.” He did as I asked, opening his mouth wide for me. I
flicked the leaking head on his tongue a few times. Egan moaned and
moved forward, swallowing down as much as he could. “Good boy.”

He tapped his temple before bracing his hands on my thighs. I

opened my mind to his thoughts as I ran my fingers through his head.

“Don’t be so gentle with me. Fuck my mouth. I know you want

to.”

“You’re killing me here,” I moaned and tightened my hold on his

hair. I thrust hard into his mouth, almost to the point of gagging him.
“I’m sorry, sweetie.”

“Don’t be. I’m fucking loving this. I’m not your mate tonight. I’m

your whore, treat me like one.”

“Fuck,” I hissed as I almost came just from his words. “You’re

lucky I recover easily.”

Stripe My Pole

And then there was no more time for talk. I fucked his face as he

wanted, as I wanted. Granted I wasn’t mean or brutal, but it definitely
wasn’t a gentle loving. And I was so wound up it didn’t take long
until I was crying out and coming down his throat. Egan drank down
my seed, not missing a single drop.

When I was spent, I pulled out of his mouth and flopped down in

the chair behind me against the wall. My imp of a mate licked his lips
and made sounds that let me know he thought I tasted yummy.

“Stand up and hold your hands out in front of you,” I demanded.

Egan’s blue eyes went wide but he did as I wanted, nodding his head.
I took off the rest of my clothes and lowered the chains from the
ceiling. “I’ve decided I still want to punish you even though that was
the best blow job I’ve ever gotten.”

“Really?” he asked, his eyes shining with pride. I slapped his ass

hard.

“I never lie.” I moved around to the front of him and shackled his

wrists. Then I went back to the wall and raised them over his head
before tying off the chain. “Look out at the club and see everyone
watching you.”

I didn’t miss the way his cock twitched when he did just that. Oh

yeah, my mate was loving this.

“Count them off.” I spanked him hard as I tortured him by playing

with his plug. Egan cried out every number and then moaned when I
rubbed his abused flesh. It was hard for me not to break character or
keep myself under control. I wanted to be buried balls deep in him
more than I wanted my next breath of air.

Actually, I had no clue if he was counting them off right. I’d lost

track after the first one because I was so enamored with my
handprints on his ass. I heard numbers. That was the point.

“Fuck this,” I growled when I couldn’t take it anymore. I yanked

the toy of out of him and replaced it with my cock. Egan cried out at
the sudden force in his ass and came. I had to grit my teeth and will

Joyee Flynn

my body not to come yet. His ass convulsed around me, demanding
my own peak.

The moment he started to come back down, I snapped my hips

hard, setting a punishing pace. Egan moaned as it made his orgasm
last longer, aftershocks racing through his body. I couldn’t help but
smirk at the noise outside our room in the club. My mate was hot. I
knew that. But the walls were just thin glass, so we could hear more
than I’m sure people thought.

And my mate was a hit.
And I was hidden behind his large frame. From their view they

might have been able to see my legs and my hands on his hips. But
other than that I was invisible to everyone. I was okay with that for
once. This was about Egan. Not me.

“Worth every penny,” I announced before burying my face in his

back and shooting my load deep in his ass. I pumped every last drop
into him until it was leaking back out of him. Egan started to slump,
and I quickly pulled out of him. I walked over on shaky legs and
released his hands. I quickly undid his wrists and helped him over to
the chaise lounge in the middle of the room.

“We’re so doing that again,” he whispered as I leaned over to kiss

him.

“Anything my mate wants,” I replied with an evil grin. We traded

soft kisses before heading to the bathroom and getting cleaned up.
Then we grabbed our clothes, got dressed, and went downstairs for a
much-needed drink.

“Guess he’s not straight,” Horse teased as we joined them at our

regular booth.

“I just needed the right man to unleash my gayness,” Egan shot

right back with a wink. He glanced around the room, and I saw
something flash over his face as his body shook. It was almost
instantaneous and gone before anyone else noticed. “But I’m ready
for more.”

“You’ve got the same recovery time I do.” I chuckled.

Stripe My Pole

“No, not with you. I’m bored with us.”
“Yeah right.” I snickered, not finding his comment funny in the

slightest but trying not to show how much it affected me. “Want to
dance?”

“Yes. I’ll go ask someone.” And with that, Egan walked away.
“Egan!” I exclaimed as I leaped from my seat and raced after him.

I went to grab his arm and he dodged me.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” he snarled, pulling his arm out of my

reach. “I said I was done with you.”

“Are we still role-playing?” I was so fucking lost it was scary.

What happened to my sweet mate who not ten minutes before said
we’d need to repeat tonight’s performance? “Egan, I don’t want to
play any more games.”

“I’m not. It’s been fun, but I’m moving on to bigger and better

things.” He gave me a look of disgust. “I can do better than you.”

“What?” I gasped as he started to turn. “You live with me. You

love me, my mate.”

“I’m moving out tomorrow, and I didn’t love you. I loved fucking

with your mind.”

“We already had the claiming ceremony,” I whispered, my heart

breaking in a million pieces. “What did I do wrong, Egan? Why are
you acting this way?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he answered firmly, but his

expression said something else. He was pissed at me. “And I came to
my senses. It’s not my fault you can’t ever be with another. But I can
and I will. Good-bye, elf.”

He turned and walked away as if he was done with his meal. I

stood there frozen with disbelief as pain like I’d never felt sliced
through my body. What the fuck just happened? My mate went from a
happy, sated man to disgruntled and leaving me. And he didn’t even
have the decency to have a real discussion about it past announcing it
to an entire club with my friends around.

“Something’s not right,” Shadow said as he joined me.

100

Joyee Flynn

“You think?” I screamed in his face. “My mate just fucking

dumped me.”

I didn’t wait for a reply before storming over to the bar and

ordering enough alcohol to kill a human. The bartender didn’t bat an
eyelash at it. We’d been members of the club long enough for them to
know that we had a high tolerance, didn’t start drunken trouble, and
most importantly…not to ask questions.

I slammed my first drink as I watched my mate flirt with some

muscle-bound jerk. Okay, the guy could be as nice as could be but
right then I didn’t feel like being fair. And the guy was very interested
in my mate. They moved onto the dance floor, their bodies pressed
against each other.

By my tenth drink they had danced three songs and I realized I

was in hell. This was my version of hell, and I couldn’t get out of it.
Well, I could leave, but it seemed I preferred to torture myself and
watch my mate go home with someone else.

It all seemed like a nightmare, even the bitter smell I kept catching

a whiff of. The only excuse I had for not noticing sooner was the deep
grief I was feeling over losing my mate. But I knew that scent. I
should have known something was wrong and Egan would never
leave me willingly. I had simply been too hurt and stunned to think
logically.

I finished the rest of my drinks besides one and grabbed it before

heading over to the booth Horse was at. I sat down and turned to him,
flinching when I saw the rage on his face.

“You’re just going to allow your mate to cheat on you?”
“Even if he didn’t want me, what could I do to stop him from

leaving?” I asked in anger. I couldn’t force him to be with me.

“Yeah but you—even if?” Horse caught what I said and tilted his

head to the side. I opened up my mental barriers so we could talk
freely. “What’s going on?”

“I smelled witch at the bar. She’s here. I should have noticed

sooner but…” I trailed off.

Stripe My Pole

101

“You think she’s controlling Egan?”
“You got a better answer for his behavior?” I threw right back.

Horse shook his head and caught Shadow’s gaze, giving him a nod to
join us.

“He’s possessed, right? That bitch is controlling him?”
“How did you know?” I asked, hiding my shock. Had I been too

blind by hurt to see what was right in front of me?

“I didn’t, but it’s the only thing I could think of for his behavior,”

Shadow replied gently as he sat down across from us. “He loves you,
brother.”

“I thought so,” I whispered, my eyes filling with tears. “I smelled

her signature.”

“I’ll make some people leave before we make a move. Less

people would be easier to control.” I felt his magic stir but not enough
to tip off Karen…hopefully.

“I’ll let everyone else know what’s going on,” Horse said quietly

in case someone was listening. I nodded numbly. I wanted to believe
this was all the witch, I really did. But if Egan truly loved me,
wouldn’t that have broken whatever hold she had on him?

I snorted at the thought. True love didn’t conquer all like in the

books. This was real life and sometimes things beyond our control
happened. And the only thing that made me see past my pain was how
instantly Egan changed his tune. He might have felt the same as his
words but then he wouldn’t have said after the life-altering sex that he
wanted a repeat.

With renewed resolve that my mate’s actions were not his own, I

lifted my head up from staring down at the table just in time to see
muscleman grope Egan’s ass. He was about to go in for a kiss. I was
out of the booth and heading there way before I even realized it.

We needed to get into position and set the trap for Karen, but that

didn’t mean I couldn’t stall until then and make sure my mate didn’t
do anything he’d regret. It was the least I could do for him after
thinking he might betray me.

102

Joyee Flynn

“Don’t touch him,” I snarled and pulled the other man off Egan.

He’d freaked when I’d touched him, so I knew Karen was keeping
him away from me. Last time she’d tried to control Egan all it took
was my touching him to clear his mind.

“Fuck off. He wants me,” the guy said and went to shove me. I

bared my teeth and let my magic swarm in my eyes. He froze. Smart
man.

“You will leave what is mine alone and never even speak to him

again.” I pushed power behind my words and the guy nodded before
walking away and leaving the club. I hadn’t really meant to do that,
but since there was a fight about to happen, it was for the best.

The wolves were on their way to get the witch. Cave had sent us

all a message pushed into our minds a while before. No matter the
boost she got from her blood magic, she wasn’t teleporting out of
here.

“Take the hint, Box,” Egan said in a cold voice that chilled my

blood. “I don’t want you.”

I looked at him closely, listening in on his thoughts. There were

none. It was static. Fuck! How did I not notice that last time? Well, I
knew how. I always shut off my telepathy when around lots of
humans. It was too exhausting to hear what everyone thought about
all the time.

Everything in me was screaming to clear his mind of the witch’s

influence. I wanted to help him but there was one slight downfall to
that plan. Egan’s ex-girlfriend would know we were onto her. As
much as I wanted to do what was right, right wasn’t the right move
this time. The only consolation I had was that it wouldn’t be much
longer and all I had to do was keep Egan distracted. That way he
wouldn’t take someone else home.

Today just fucking sucked.
Well, it was more the past hour, but one hour this bad was enough

to tarnish the whole damn day. I listened to more of the static in my
mate’s mind and realized something. The bitch could hear me through

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him, too. She might not have loved Egan for real, which was apparent
in the abuse he’d endured. But she couldn’t have liked that he was
with me. That had to be chapping her ass in a major way.

“Are you just going to stare at me like a moron or are you finally

going to take the hint and leave me alone.” Egan glanced at me with
disgust. It hurt, no matter how much I knew in my head that it wasn’t
him talking. But my heart, well, that was a different story.

“And all the times you said you loved me? That was just a lie?

You’re no better than that whore I saved you from.”

“She’s not a whore!” he screamed and made a crucial mistake. Or

she did, I guess. He took a swing at me. I didn’t fight it. I used all my
magic to free him the moment he touched me. And then several things
happened at once. Egan fell to the ground as if he was the one who’d
been hit while the doors flooded with our allies.

“No!” Karen screamed from across the club. I knelt down and

pulled my sobbing mate into my arms as I faced her. Or him. It was
her, but she’d cloaked herself to look like a man.

“Freeze them,” Shadow called out. I knew what he meant. He was

going to try and freeze the rest of the humans in the club. The shit was
about to hit the fan.

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Chapter 10

“Stay here and don’t move,” I said firmly to my mate. Egan

nodded, his body shaking with quiet sobs. Dear gods, I wanted
nothing more than to simply hold him, but I was needed. All my
friends were focused on the humans, some getting the rest of them to
leave the club while others simply putting them to sleep. It was the
easiest way and used less magic. Wiping all of their minds would take
hours and drain all of us.

“Do it,” Horse ordered in my mind. I nodded and launched

myself across the club. Karen didn’t even have time to react. I took
her down in a tackle any defensive lineman would be jealous of.

She started muttering under her breath as she tried to scratch my

eyeballs out. I lifted my elbow and I clipped her in the jaw, effectively
shutting her up while making my night just a little bit better.

“You can’t have him,” she hissed and dug her nails in my cheek.
“And you want him why? Buy a punching bag and leave my mate

be.”

“Mate,” she snorted. “You didn’t even realize that I was

controlling him. You supposedly love him and yet think he’d just
betray you like that. That he’d just flip a switch and want someone
else.”

“Words hurt. My pain and shock clouded my judgment.” Why the

fuck was I bothering to explain myself to this bitch? I’d just realized
that when she kneed me in the sac. I might be immortal, but I could
still be hurt. And nothing caused pain like a shot to the family jewels.
I wasn’t going to let Karen win.

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I slammed my forehead against hers. Ouch! Actors make it look

so easy in the movies. But the reality was it hurt almost as much as
her knee to my groin.

“You bitch!” she screamed. “You broke my nose.”
“Oh, it’s going to get much worse than that, cunt.” I paused and

glanced at my friend who joined us. “You need her alive to eat her
and gain her power?” I asked Peter, having felt his presence a few
minutes ago.

“Yeah, sorry, man.” Peter gave me a sympathetic look.
“No worries. I got my punches in,” I replied as I got to my feet. I

landed a couple of kicks to her ribs, smiling when I felt them break.
“Dinner’s served.”

“Get her, boys.” Peter chuckled. Some of his wolves moved in as I

walked by him, giving Peter a nod. I didn’t care about Karen’s
screams or the tearing of flesh I heard. All I cared about was my mate.

Egan was still on the floor, curled into a ball, shaking. He’d

stopped crying but what he was going through was worse. He stared
off into the distance, not looking at anything. It was almost as if he
was numb.

“Sweetie, how are you holding up?” I asked as I knelt next to him

and reached for him.

“Don’t touch me!” he shouted and moved away from me. I froze,

confused. Hadn’t her influence been broken? No way had he really
meant all those things he’d said before. Right?

“Why?” I swallowed loudly, trying to keep the bile in my stomach

from coming up.

“I betrayed you,” Egan sobbed. “I touched another man, let him

touch me. We were going to kiss, and I couldn’t stop what was
coming out of my mouth. All those horrid things I said to you.”

“Oh, Egan, that wasn’t you,” I whispered and grabbed him to me

even as he tried to fight me. “That was Karen. She made you do those
things. It’s okay now, Egan. She can’t hurt you anymore.”

“You can’t want me anymore. What I did is unforgivable.”

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“I don’t blame you and there’s nothing to forgive,” I said firmly.

He shook his head and tried again to pull away. I glanced over at
Horse, who gave me a nod. It was time to take my mate home. He
needed to not be here anymore.

Egan started mumbling, “What have I done,” against my chest as I

teleported us home. I ran a hot bath, hoping that soothed his nerves. I
also produced a bottle of expensive whiskey. If there was ever a time
for a few shots, it was right now. But I didn’t want it to burn or throw
him into a coughing fit, so I got the good stuff.

“Please just go,” he whispered as I lowered him into the tub after

getting him undressed. “I’ll get cleaned off and grab a bag. If you
won’t let me leave, I need to not be in your bed at least.”

“You think that will change what happened?” I asked gently but

with a raised brow. He shook his head and slumped against the tub in
defeat. I handed him one of the glasses of whiskey and took the other
as I moved across from him. “You don’t blame the victim for the
crime, sweetie. Ever.”

“You were the victim.” Egan finally looked at me then, and I

could see the deep pain in his eyes. It broke my fucking heart that he
had to endure this. I knew Karen was dead, but I wanted to kill her all
over again. “I heard what I was saying, Box. I saw what my words did
to you. I just sat there in part of my brain like a prisoner and watched.
I screamed the entire time I was dancing with that guy, but I couldn’t
stop it.”

“What she did to you was the same as rape even though it was

with your mind,” I explained gently, remembering how Shely’s ex-
girlfriend had felt after being controlled by witches. “Did what she
made you say hurt? I’m not going to lie and say no. It fucking killed
me. But I was at fault, too.”

“What? How?”
“I should have known it wasn’t you,” I answered, my own eyes

filling up with tears. “The moment you wouldn’t let me touch you I
should have realized it was Karen controlling you. She knew I could

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clear your mind if I did. Instead I wasn’t thinking and actually
believed what you were saying until I smelled her magic. The only
excuse I have was shock. You did such a one-eighty on your mood
and actions that I should have known. I failed you.”

“You saved me,” Egan said, setting down his drink and taking me

into his arms. “None of this is your fault. We’ve only been together a
little bit, and if you spewed all that shit at me, I would have bought it,
too.”

“Thank you.” I melted into his embrace. “This isn’t your fault

either. I’m not upset at you, only for you. I never wanted you to have
to go through something like this. I should have protected you better.”

“How can you not be upset with me?” He seemed genuinely

confused, which was better than deeply depressed.

“I’m just so fucking happy that what you said wasn’t true that the

rest doesn’t matter to me. I thought I was watching you leave me
when I’d just found you and thought we were happy. Fuck what was
said. You weren’t the one really saying it and you’re back in my arms.
That’s all I care about. You’re alive, not hurt, and in my arms.”

“I love you.” His body shook. Afraid maybe that I didn’t love him

anymore? But I did. More than anything in the world. We’d known
about how we’d felt even if we hadn’t said it.

“I love you, too, Egan.” I stroked his wet hair as I leaned back to

stare into his gorgeous, ice-blue eyes. “Nothing will ever change that.
We’ll get past this and laugh at it one day as a little hiccup after sex
one night at the club.”

“I hope you’re right.” We washed each other, our hands never

stopping. It was as if both of us were afraid if we quit touching each
other something was going to happen again. It was silly, but when the
heart is involved, not everything is always logical.

When we were done and dried off, we crawled into bed. It was

one of those nights where I was exhausted but couldn’t sleep because
my mind just wouldn’t turn off. Egan seemed to be in the same

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predicament. It was as if we both wanted everything to feel normal
again, safe.

“Why do you hate Christmas?” Egan asked suddenly. I smiled,

knowing he was trying to get our minds off what had happened
tonight. “Each of you seem to have a different reason besides simply
not fitting in at the North Pole, but I don’t know yours.”

Wow. He really was that observant. I knew at that moment I’d

never doubt my mate truly saw me ever again.

“Candy canes,” I answered simply.
“Evil candy canes?” my mate asked, and I could hear the humor in

his tone. I didn’t care, anything to make him smile after the night
we’d had.

“Nope, just regular ones.”
He waited for me to continue, but I didn’t, letting him process

that. “Gonna tell me why?”

“You ever work with melted sugar?”
“No,” he drawled.
“It’s a bitch and a half, let me tell you. It’s sticky and hot and

doesn’t cooperate with where you want it to go. Some of the elves in
the North Pole make them for one of the larger companies that sells
them. My parents do and in elven tradition you tend to follow in your
family’s footsteps. I hated it. I loathed getting up and going to work. I
always screwed something up, too.”

“Like?”
“My stripes never worked out. You have to pour white then red,

letting each layer harden a little. It’s a pain. I’d end up burning myself
and leaving at the end of the day covered in sugar. I hate fucking
candy canes.”

“I promise to protect you from the mean candy canes, my mate,”

he said firmly, trying not to laugh.

“Thank you.”
“I’m glad you didn’t like your job and left. How would we have

met otherwise?”

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109

“I would have found you eventually,” I answered confidently.

“You’re my fate.”

“Thank whoever’s listening for that.”
I couldn’t agree more. I hugged him to me, smiling. We’d be just

fine. I knew it down to my very soul.

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Epilogue:

Chiquita

“Come on, Dad!” Jade yelled with glee as she tugged on my hand.

“We gotta find a tree!” Of course, at five it really sounded more like,
“Wee godda finda twee.” But I got the idea.

I glanced over at Alexi for the tenth time, wondering how the hell

he’d talked me into this one. He simply shrugged, letting Wade lead
him over to another display. We’d checked with all my friends and
they grudgingly agreed that since the twins now lived with us, we
couldn’t keep our house Christmas decorationfree this year. It
wouldn’t be fair to them.

So now we were being dragged around SuperTarget on the first

day of December looking for the perfect tree. Never mind my deep
hatred of them. Though I had to admit, seeing things in the eyes of the
twins now changed my opinions on a lot of things.

But not pink. Jade loved pink and when she let out an ear-piercing

squeal, I wanted to groan. We’d agreed that the kids could each get
one small tree for their rooms and help us pick out the big tree for the
media room.

“I want this one. It’s pink,” Jade announced with a reverent tone.

Yeah, it was pink alright. It was three feet tall and looked as if
someone wrapped it in sparkles and cotton candy. It was horrid. But
her brightly shining face let me know that we would in fact be getting
it.

“You’re sure?” I asked, checking, praying she might change her

mind or announce she was kidding.

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111

“Yes, Dad,” she huffed and bent down to find one in a box under

the raised display. Oh wow, she already had the teenager attitude
down. Which meant when she was a teenager…better not to think of
that just yet.

Just as I put one pink tree in the cart, Alexi came over with

another little one, Wade trailing behind him with a huge grin on his
face. In the other shopping cart we put the biggest tree Target had in
it.

“Okay, let’s roll,” I said, relieved that was over. All three of them

froze and stared at me as if I’d grown another head. “What?”

“We need to get decorations, love,” Alexi answered gently,

realizing I might blow.

“Seriously?” I asked, glancing over at where he was looking. Holy

shit! There was aisle after aisle of ornaments, tinsel, garlands, lights,
and on and on. Fuck. Me. Sideways.

“Come on, Dad. It’ll be fun,” Wade said softly as if not sure I’d

agree or I’d say no decorations.

“Of course it will,” I agreed with a nod, plastering on a fake smile.

The twins had been through enough in their short lives and I loved
them. If a day of torturous shopping made them happy, I’d do it in a
heartbeat.

“It won’t be so bad,” Alexi whispered as he pushed his cart up

next to mine. I watched as the twins raced over to the first aisle and
started pointing as they hopped around.

“Yeah, it sooo will be,” I drawled and headed over to the kids

anyways.

It was three hours of, “Dad, can we get this?” and, “Dad, that

doesn’t match.” Along with, “Dad, I want pink.” I loved the twins but
towards the end I was starting to think they’d look great with a little
garland…wrapped around their mouths.

As long as it wasn’t the kind that hurt or scratched. I wanted peace

and quiet, not my kids bruised.

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And I had to admit they were so adorable with the way they

picked out ornaments for everyone in our makeshift family. Bren got
a policeman, Benjii a cowboy, Justice’s had a guy with a hardhat, and
so on.

We picked up a pizza on the way home and made a picnic of it.

Some of my friends were home and helped us unload the truck,
dragging everything up to the kids’ rooms. We set up Wade’s tree
first, snacking on the pizza as we went.

“It’s done,” Wade announced about an hour later.
“It looks great,” I said with pride even though I was biting my lip

to keep from laughing. Both trees came prelit so all we had to do was
unfold and plug in. I appreciated that at least. But then Wade didn’t
want ornaments or garland. We sat back and let him work, trying not
to laugh as he opened some tinsel. Jade helped him as well, and they
went through at least ten packs of the stuff on a three-foot tree. It was
hysterical.

Jade’s was the exact opposite. She didn’t want any tinsel, and as

we helped her hang the ornaments, all pink and mostly fairies of some
type, she kept rehanging them somewhere else. “It belongs there,”
she’d announce and would go unwrap another one. It made me
chuckle, but then again, maybe she could really see the whole tree in
her head and how it should go.

Either way, my daughter knew what she wanted.
“Okay, bedtime,” Alexi said when we were done and the twins

were yawning.

“But we’ve not done the other tree, Daddy,” Jade whined quietly

as she went to go get pajamas. It seemed even her subconscious was
telling her she was tired. “And we didn’t have baths.”

“We can do that in the morning,” I replied with a smile. Man, she

really was the boss. “And we’re just going to set up the tree tonight
and put the lights on. You guys couldn’t help with that anyways. So
we’ll all decorate it tomorrow, okay?”

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113

“That’s fair,” she declared. I chuckled at her antics and helped her

get ready for bed while Alexi did the same with Wade. We kissed
them both good night and they were out within moments of getting
tucked in.

“I’m proud of you,” Alexi whispered in my ear and kissed my

cheek when we were alone in the hallway. “It takes a big man to put
aside his own issues and focus on what the kids want.”

“I love the twins too much to deny them anything.” I shrugged.

We carried down the rest of the decorations to the media room. Benjii
had made a platform for the tree so it would be the main focus of the
room. He even made two small steps for the twins so they could get
up onto it. Everyone in the house was embracing their role as Uncle
with joy.

“You know there are good points to trees,” Alexi declared with a

wink as we were wrapping up a few hours later.

“And that would be?” I was exhausted. The tree didn’t come prelit

because it was so big, and each branch had to be fluffed out. I wasn’t
a fan of this job.

He plugged the tree in and even I had to admit it was pretty. My

mate started stripping off his clothes and suddenly I wasn’t so tired.
“Have you ever made love under a lit tree?” I shook my head as I
started yanking my clothes of as well. “The lights twinkling all over
your bare skin.”

“That does sound nice.” I would have said a tank of piranhas

sounded good right then if it meant sex with my hot mate. “How do
you want to do this?”

“Let me lead?” he asked hesitantly. I nodded, panting after him

like a dog in heat once I was naked. Alexi guided me onto my back on
the tree skirt. “We don’t have lube.”

“I can stretch myself,” I said, assuming he was going to top. He

smiled and I knew I’d guessed right. I used my magic to prepare my
ass for him as my mate latched onto one of my nipples. I moaned and

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arched my back, pushing against his mouth. He growled his approval,
biting it gently before moving to the other one.

I felt his hand move between my legs, and I spread them wider to

make room for his large frame. Alexi got the idea and lifted one ankle
over his shoulder as he ran his fingers up and down over my groin,
teasing me to the point of madness.

“Please, Alexi,” I whimpered when he went to move his lips back

to my other nipple. I was so close, the pressure building to the point
that if I didn’t find release soon, I swear my brain would explode.

“Look up at the lights and let me take care of the rest,” he ordered,

and I found it a strange request. Most lovers insist you look at them
during sex, not somewhere else. I nodded furiously, willing to do
whatever he wanted if the end result was his cock inside of me.

I gasped when he slid into me easily, throwing my legs over his

hips. I didn’t wrap them around fully, but squeezed my thighs against
his flesh. Alexi moved his body over mine, nibbling on my neck as he
pumped into me. I realized what he was doing and tilted my head,
giving him more room to play.

And he was right. Lying under the tree, looking up into something

so simple but pretty with all the lights was magical. Add to that the
fact my mate was making love to me and it was almost disorienting,
like something one person should never feel at the same time. I
fucking loved it.

“I love you,” I whispered after my realization, knowing he’d done

all this for me.

“Right back at you, my mate.” I lifted my hips in time with his,

holding on to him with everything I had.

We moved together as only two people in love could, slow and

gentle as if this was an unrushed dance just for us. When it was time
to move to the next level, I knew exactly what my mate wanted.
Whether Alexi realized it or it was a subconscious move, whenever he
wanted me to bite him, he’d start licking my neck by my shoulder,

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115

making the cutest whimper noises. To me it sounded like begging
without words.

He didn’t even need to beg since I wanted it, too.
I turned my head to his neck, letting my fangs slip out, and bit into

him. Alexi cried out, slamming his hips against mine. I drank him
down, feeling fifty feet tall when he shuddered and filled me with his
release. The scent of his seed, the feeling of it inside of me, and the
taste of his blood were too much. I lifted my head and roared out my
bliss. My cock exploded in between our bodies.

We rode our orgasms together, holding on as if nothing else in the

world mattered but each other. When we were done, Alexi collapsed
against me and I felt like I melted into the floor.

“I change my mind,” I gasped, trying to take in much-needed air.

“I love Christmas trees.”

“Just not that pink one,” Alexi mumbled against my neck. “That

thing is just fucking ugly.”

“At least we agree on that!”

THE END

WWW.JOYEEFLYNN.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joyee Flynn grew up in Chicago living in the same house all her

life until she went left for college. Though she has a great life, she
loves to get lost in fantasy that only books could bring. Her wide
interest in reading was reflected in her writings. Currently Joyee lives
with her dog, Marius, named after a vampire from Anne Rice’s
Interview with the Vampire series. She dreams of one day living out in
Montana, enough land to have a few horses, and find a couple of
cowboys of her own.

A lover of men, Joyee’s all about them in any form in her books.

Vampire, werewolf, military, doesn’t matter at all as long as they are
hot, hard, and sex fiends!

Also by Joyee Flynn

Siren Classic: Who Needs Christmas? 1: Screw Santa

Siren Classic: Who Needs Christmas? 2: Hell’s Bells

Siren Classic: Who Needs Christmas? 3: Stupid Mistletoe

Siren Classic: Who Needs Christmas? 4: Holy Stockings

Siren Classic: Who Needs Christmas? 5: Down with the Tunes

Siren Classic: Who Needs Christmas? 6: Frosty Melt

Siren Classic: Who Needs Christmas? 7: Shove Your Tree

For all other titles, please visit

www.bookstrand.com/joyee-flynn