Chapter Ten

 

 

Korvyn glowered at Droitson the whole time his buddies helped him to feet and aided him in hobbling out of sight. Then he turned his frown on Prudhoe. His mate lifted his hands, peering at him in concern, and Korvyn realized he still brandished his small pistol.

After sliding the weapon into his holster, Korvyn tucked it into a pouch attached to the side of the dash of his modified vehicle. He had a hidden compartment on the bottom of his wheelchair for it, too, but he’d always respected the no firearms in a government buildings mandate. Korvyn wasn’t so certain he’d be able to do that in the future.

How much trouble would that cause if it was ever found? Maybe it really was time for a new job.

“Korvyn, are you okay?” Prudhoe stepped close and wrapped his arms around him carefully. He skimmed his hands over his body, checking for injuries. “Where are you hurt?”

Shaking his head, Korvyn wrapped his arms around Prudhoe’s waist. Then he settled his cheek on his lover’s abdominals. Heaving a deep sigh, he allowed the stresses caused by the last half hour to leave his body.

“I’m good,” Korvyn assured. “Just a few scratches.” Then he tipped his head up. Resting his chin on Prudhoe’s stomach, he frowned up at his lover. “And never, ever do something so stupid as to offer to go with a psycho bent on killing you, even to help me. There is always another way.”

Prudhoe threaded his fingers through Korvyn’s hair, massaging his scalp lightly. “I am so very sorry, Korvyn,” he murmured, his lips twisting in a pained scowl. “I cannot promise that.”

Korvyn grimaced, then offered a slight nod. “Should have thought that request through a little better,” he muttered. “I understand.”

Continuing to massage Korvyn’s scalp soothingly—which was probably for his own benefit, too—Prudhoe asked, “If you don’t mind my asking, where’d you get the gun?”

“I bought it for him,” Rusty stated from where he leaned against the front fender of the bike, his arms crossed over his chest. He sported a wry smile as he added, “Korvyn’s an out and proud gay man in a wheelchair.” He shrugged. “I wanted to make certain he had a way to protect himself.”

Korvyn smiled at his brother. “Took me to the firing range several times a week until I was damn good at it.” Tipping his head back, he grinned at Prudhoe. “I still go once a week to keep my skills sharp. Why? You want to learn?”

Prudhoe returned his smile with a fond look. “No. I am glad to see you have a way to defend yourself though.” Glancing around, Prudhoe must have noticed that the men had shifted back, for he swept his gaze over the group. “Thank you for your help. I’m Prudhoe.” He tightened his hold on Korvyn, then asked, “Are you friends of my paramour?”

The big black man shook his head. “Not officially.” He slung a thickly muscled arm over the shoulders of the friendly, brown-haired shifter. “I’m Perrin, alpha of a lion pride located in Kansas. Kontra is an associate,” he explained. Grinning at Rusty, he stated, “We were at the shop talking bikes when Rusty got Korvyn’s text. Figured a little back-up might be in order.”

The brown-haired man laughed as he wrapped his arm around the big alpha. “Yeah, right. You were just bored, big guy. Too quiet on the home front.” Then he glanced between Korvyn and Prudhoe. “I’m Terence, Perrin’s mate. I used to ride with Kontra.” He pointed at the dark-haired man who’d been the black-maned lion. The guy was just disappearing through the doors at the front of the building. “That’s Valarius, and his mate Brice is in the library.” Terence grimaced as he rolled his eyes. “That busy-body librarian spotted us, so Brice is making certain she doesn’t call anyone or alert anyone.”

“How would you like her memory altered?”

The sound of the deep voice caused everyone to peer to the right. Prudhoe’s grip tightened even further. Korvyn gaped.

While Korvyn knew demons existed, he hadn’t actually thought he would meet one—not until he died anyway—but the creature standing nearby had to be one.

Even though the paranormal had a very humanoid form, the black wings, claws, and hypnotic black eyes were a dead giveaway. He towered over even Prudhoe’s height, and Korvyn guessed he was in the six-foot-six range. The creature wrapped his wings around his shoulders like a cloak as he strode toward them, hiding the fact that he wore only a pair of black leather pants and biker boots.

“By the four realms,” Prudhoe whispered. He glanced between Rusty and      Acheron. “You contacted a demon to alter memories? How do you even know—”

Terence lifted his hand. “I did, actually. Well”—he paused, rolling his eyes—”Kontra did. I texted him when I saw the problem, and he called Balthazar.” Grinning at the demon, Terence stated, “Good to meet ya, man. Thanks for coming.”

“I owed Kontra a debt. Now we are square,” Balthazar stated, crossing his arms over his chest. He glanced around the group. “I blanketed the area with a suppression spell as soon as I arrived. No one outside this immediate area would see anything but an empty parking lot.” Balthazar’s gaze strayed to the library. “But the librarian looked out. How would you like her memory altered?”

Realizing that was the second time the man—male—demon—had asked, Korvyn quickly answered. He didn’t want to push Balthazar’s goodwill farther than whatever he considered his debt to be. “Uh, how about she thinks she saw me arguing with an ex-boyfriend, and so she used that excuse to fire me.” Korvyn smirked as he chuckled. “Misses Winters will like that memory. She won’t question it.”

Balthazar nodded. “It will be done.” Then he turned and strode away. Between one step and the next, his wings and claws were gone, and he appeared to be a big human wearing a trench coat.

“Damn.” Rusty snorted. “Chatty fellow.”

“We’re taking him away from his amina, so—” Terence didn’t bother elaborating. Clapping his hands together, he turned his attention back to Korvyn. “Well, it was great meeting you. Thanks for the fun. Tell Kontra we’ll see him in a couple days when he gets back in town.” Wrapping his arm back around Perrin, Terence began guiding them down the sidewalk. “Valarius has the SUV’s keys, so he’s good. Tell him that Perrin and I are headed to our hotel room to fuck.” A growl entered his voice as he added, “Seeing Perrin fight, so fucking sexy.”

Terence didn’t say more, and Perrin didn’t bother saying goodbye. The pair picked up their pace, their heads bent together. Whispering to each other, they strode down the street.

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” Rusty murmured, hugging Acheron close. “You wanna have a quickie in the bathroom at the shop before we get back to work?”

Acheron chuckled as he nuzzled Rusty’s neck. “Think Jethro will mind?”

Rusty laughed. “Are you kidding? Wilhelm already left. Bet he’s already back there and has Jethro bent over his desk in his office.”

Groaning, Acheron rolled his eyes as he shook his head. “I so didn’t need that visual stuck in my head.”

Laughing, Rusty turned back to Korvyn. He sobered as he reached out and gripped his upper arm. “Are you okay? Really okay?”

Korvyn straightened on his bike, easing partway out of Prudhoe’s hold. Rubbing up and down his fae’s back with the hand he still had around him, he smiled at his brother. “Yeah. I’m good. Thank you.” He patted Rusty’s hand where it rested on his arm. “You’ve always been there for me, and I can’t tell you what that’s meant to me.”

“You’re my brother. I’ll always be there for you.” Rusty squeezed once, then released him in favor of wrapping his arms around Acheron. “However, you have your own mate now, so, uh—” Rusty glanced between everyone, his cheeks taking on a pinkish hue.

Acheron grinned. “What your brother is having trouble saying is that he’s damn uncomfortable knowing that you’re having sex in the next room over.”

Korvyn felt his face flame. He opened his mouth, but Acheron lifted his hand, stalling his ability to come up with a response.

“Don’t worry. We’re not going far.” Acheron knocked his head against Rusty’s as he stated, “I checked our zoning this morning, and we’re going to build a second home on the property.”

Gaping, Korvyn could only stare.

Rusty feels the same way I do?

“It makes sense for you to keep the house,” Rusty stated, his smile encouraging. “It’s set up for you.” After glancing at Acheron, he refocused on Korvyn. His brows furrowed. “I-I guess we could do an addition instead, but we just thought a separate structure would be more practical.”

Korvyn barked a surprised laugh, grinning at Rusty. He realized his continued silence had been taken the wrong way. Lifting his hand, Korvyn cried, “Thank you! I didn’t know how to bring it up. I—” Huffing a sigh, Korvyn grinned widely at his brother. “Thank you.” There wasn’t really much else to say.

“We’ll discuss specifics later,” Acheron told him with a wink. “Time for us to scoot.”

Grinning broadly, Rusty allowed Acheron to lead him away. He called over his shoulder, “Take care of my brother, Prudhoe!”

“Always,” Prudhoe called back.

As the pair fired up their motorcycles and headed away, Korvyn turned back to Prudhoe. “Since I’m losing my job today anyway”—he waggled his brows—”how about we give that busy-body something to really bitch about.”

Prudhoe laughed an instant, then cut off the noise in favor of lowering his head and sealing his lips over Korvyn’s.

Korvyn hummed happily as he opened to Prudhoe’s probing tongue. Suckling on the appendage lightly, he reveled in the natural taste of his lover. He rubbed his hands up and down Prudhoe’s back, tracing the hard lines beneath his shirt. At the same time, he tipped his head and used his own tongue to battle with Prudhoe’s, giving as good as he got.

When the sound of a wolf whistle renting the air pulled Korvyn from his enjoyment, his lungs were screaming for oxygen. He turned his head and spotted Valarius and Brice climbing into the SUV. Panting harshly, he flipped them the bird even as he grinned broadly at them.

Valarius grinned as Brice laughed, then both men disappeared into their vehicle.

Prudhoe cupped Korvyn’s jaw, turning his attention back to his lover. “I want to do so much more than make out, my paramour. I want to check every inch of your body for injury, then lay you down and make love to you.” Threading his fingers through Korvyn’s hair, he dipped his head and nibbled along the side of his neck. “I need to touch you, Korvyn. Confirm with my hands and eyes that you are safe and well.”

Korvyn moaned as he tipped his head to the side. “I am so on board with that,” he mumbled, gripping Prudhoe’s shirt tightly. “S-Since I no longer have to work”—he sucked in a hiss upon feeling Prudhoe’s teeth scrape along the flesh of his neck tendon—”mmm, how about we skip moving your stuff in favor of checking out my awesome shower?”

“Yeah?” Prudhoe lifted his head and grinned wickedly at him.

“N-Never taken a shower with a lover,” Korvyn admitted huskily, loving the way Prudhoe looked at him. “Want to with you, though.”

Moaning deeply, Prudhoe gave him another hard kiss, then lifted his head. “Drive home. I’m going to follow you.” He nipped at the side of his jaw before hissing, “And then I’m going to explore every inch of you.”

Korvyn nodded. Even as he let go of Prudhoe, he wished he could ride with his man.

“You need a new ride,” Korvyn called as he watched Prudhoe cross to his motorcycle.

Prudhoe met his gaze and nodded. “That’ll be second on my list.”

Leading the way home, Korvyn looked forward to his first experience showering with his lover.

 

Once there, Prudhoe didn’t disappoint him. Kneeling before where Korvyn sat in his shower chair, with gentle soap-slicked hands, Prudhoe washed his cuts and massaged his limbs. He stroked and rubbed, teased and scraped, setting Korvyn’s body on fire.

When Korvyn couldn’t hold back any longer, Prudhoe swallowed his dick to the root. Bliss unlike anything he’d ever experienced exploded through his system. As Korvyn came screaming Prudhoe’s name, watching his big strong fae drink him down, one more aspect of bonding with a paranormal registered.

As soon as Prudhoe eased off of Korvyn’s spent dick and peered up at him, banked heat filling his lavender eyes, Korvyn cradled Prudhoe’s cheeks. “I know it’s way too soon, but I love you.”

Prudhoe sat back on his knees with a growl and pulled Korvyn onto his lap. “Love you, too, my paramour. Always.”

Then Prudhoe sealed his lips over Korvyn’s own and proceeded to show him exactly how much, and Korvyn enjoyed every second of it.