The following morning, Noah peered over the rim of his morning coffee as Eilam sauntered out into the kitchen. “You were late getting home last night.”
Eilam was silent a moment as he took a mug from the rack beside the coffee maker and poured himself a cup. “I was.”
Tension stretched through Noah’s body. Something had happened, he was sure of it. He’d waited up for his brother bear, but ended up falling asleep before Eilam had come home. “Rough night?”
Eilam turned and leaned back on the counter. “Quite.”
He’s quiet. Too quiet. “What happened?”
Eilam stared down into his cup, silent.
Worry filled Noah.
“The king got drunk on Elvish wine… and then asked me to bed him.”
Noah couldn’t breathe for a moment. When he finally dragged a breath in, he then asked the question screaming in his mind. “And? Did you?”
Eilam lifted his stare, frowning. “No. You know I wouldn’t take him without you.”
Noah let out a shaky breath.
“I wanted to. Trust me, it was hard to walk away from him. But the fact he was three sheets to the wind helped me stand a little stronger. When we take him, he’ll be clear of mind and begging.” Eilam took a sip from his cup. “As long as he’s made us wait… he will beg.”
Noah heard the tension in his brother bear’s voice. Could easily see it in his body, too. Noah felt the same need pulsing through him. The past months, he’d felt the sexual tension growing in Eilam. By now, it had reached a boiling point, so strong, Noah struggled to not react to it. He lowered his cup to the table and rose to his feet. Eilam caught his stare and held it as he crossed the space between them.
Their bodies slammed together, lips locking. Eilam was hungry, and Noah was more than ready to feed his lover everything he had.
Eilam roughly dragged Noah’s pajama bottoms down past his hips. A strong hand wrapped around the base of his cock and stroked the already hard length. Noah moaned into Eilam’s insistent mouth, their tongues dancing.
After Eilam spun them and forced Noah against the counter, a small smile spread across his lips. Noah liked it rough, and Eilam knew exactly how to tread the line. Their years together had taught them every want, every desire. Noah leaned over the counter, lifting his bottom for Eilam.
He felt his brother bear yanking his own pants down and the hard tip of Eilam’s hard cock pressing against his inner thigh. The head was moved to the tight hole yearning to be filled. Eilam paused a moment, grabbing a little oil from the counter and coating his cock.
Eilam’s lips trailed along his shoulder as his lover entered his body. Noah cried out, the thick, deep stroke pushing him to the edge. They fucked, mad and furious, standing up in the kitchen.
Bent over the table.
Sitting on the counter.
And eventually, on the cold, tile floor.
Noah loved every minute of it. When he came, he screamed his brother bear’s name for the heavens to hear.
After, they lay there in a tangle of arms and legs.
“I’m lucky to have you,” Eilam said before laying a kiss on Noah’s shoulder.
“As am I.” Noah turned his gaze and stared at one of the sexiest males he’d ever known. It wasn’t just looks—it was that Eilam was everything good in the world.
Honest. Hard-working. Intelligent. Charismatic. Loving.
The king didn’t know what he was missing in Eilam.
“I don’t want to move… but I need to go to work,” Eilam sighed.
“I do, as well,” Noah said. “Today is the first day with the new team.”
“I’d almost forgot… big day… I guess we got it off to a good start.” Eilam grinned, his expressive mouth too sexy not to kiss.
Noah took that kiss before rising on his arms. “That we did.”
* * * *
Hours later, Eilam gazed into the king’s study and saw the ruler behind his desk. He knocked on the door and saw the monarch wince in pain. A little too much wine, hmm? He deserved to ache.
Just as much as he made me ache last night.
“Can I have a moment, Your Majesty?” Eilam asked quietly.
The king waved him in. “Make it quick. I am under the weather today.”
They both knew that was utter bullshit, but Eilam wasn’t in a mood to argue. Not after that delicious escapade in the kitchen earlier that morning with Noah. Eilam walked over to the desk. “I just wanted you to be aware that the team is beginning work on our portal issue today. Noah will be spearheading it for me.”
“Noah?” the king asked, whipping his head up. “Whyever would you do that?”
“You told me I could hire whomever I chose.”
“But not him. You know not him. Why must I keep saying this?” the king demanded.
“You said I had free rein to hire as I saw fit. There are no males in Midnight more concerned for your safety than him and me. I trust him implicitly.”
“Stop trying to force this mate issue. It is not happening.”
“I said nothing about you being our mate.”
“Good. Because I am not your mate.”
“Then what about last night?”
One of the king’s brows rose. “What about last night?”
“You asked me to your bed.”
“I did not,” the king declared. He sat up straighter and glared at Eilam.
Anger roared within Eilam. How the king could take him from zero to sixty in a few seconds, he didn’t know. Scratch that. He did. But knowing why still didn’t stop him from feeling absolutely furious at the denial.
Eilam leaned over the desk and eyed the king. A low growl escaped his lips. “This… is why I refused you. But then, had I taken you last night, perhaps you’d have had a harder time denying me in the light of day.”
The king opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came out. He sat there silently, his lower lip quivering a bit.
“I will make you beg for it. Eventually, you won’t be able to hold back and you will beg us to take you.”
Red filled the king’s face. His eyes widened, his mouth opening farther.
“You’re excused,” the king finally said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Eilam rose to his full height, holding the king’s stare the entire time. After a moment, he spun and stormed across the room, ignoring protocol. The king would have to stare at his back as he left.
He was past caring about etiquette.
And to hell with the king. Noah was the male he’d chosen to run the team. He refused to take something else away from his brother bear.
He’d been given free rein.
Noah was his choice.
* * * *
Out in the human world…
Jeph poured creamer into his coffee, the unease he’d felt for days still playing at his mind. He stirred the coffee absentmindedly as he stared out the truck-stop window. Big rigs, cars, and trucks blasted by on the Interstate a few hundred feet away, past the huge array of gas pumps. A slight drizzle made everything gray and bleak.
It had felt gray and bleak for the past few days.
“You gonna eat or what?” Nick asked mid-chew.
After a quick peek at Nick and Griffin, Jeph looked down at the huge platter of eggs, bacon, grits, and pancakes, not sure why he’d ordered it all. He’d barely been able to eat recently, which was decidedly out of character. He laid the spoon from his coffee down, and then picked up his fork and knife. Jeph began to cut his eggs, the bright yellow yokes leaking out upon the cream-colored plastic plate.
The same yellow as his eyes.
Jeph paused, the thought that had slipped through his mind making him dig deeper.
Memories lingered at the far edges, just out of reach. Something had happened to them. He couldn’t remember it. Griffin and Nick had blown it all off, refusing to talk about it.
Questions kept circling and re-circling in his mind. How had they gotten in that field in the middle of Mississippi? What had brought them there?
Why did he feel like he was missing someone?
Someones?
He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was supposed to be more than the three of them. Jeph was sure of it. He could feel the presence in his heart and soul, but when he tried to remember, he came upon a blank spot where someone belonged.
Family.
“What is it?” Griffin asked.
Jeph lifted his stare to the pair across from him. “We left someone behind in that field.”
“Not this again,” Nick muttered. He sat back in his chair and glared at Jeph. “Who did we leave behind?”
“I don’t know… but I know someone else is supposed to be here. Two more someones if I’m right. I keep trying to remember them, and it’s like something is forcing me back.”
No one spoke for a moment. The air was heavy around the table, charged with ire and fear and the unknown.
“Does the name Hart mean anything to either of you?” Griffin suddenly asked.
Fine hair lifted on Jeph’s arm. “No… but I think it should.”
“I dreamed of some guy named Hart last night… we were all in college… and he and some other guy were with us. I didn’t get the other guy’s name, but one—Hart—he spoke to me. It felt so fucking real.”
“You, too?” Nick turned and asked.
Jeph showed Nick the goose bumps coating his arm. “We still don’t know why we were in that field out in the middle of nowhere. All three of us suddenly wake up and can’t remember how we got there? Do you have an answer for that, Nick?”
Nick was silent a moment. He sighed and shook his head. “No. I don’t.” He fished his phone from his pocket and flicked a finger over the surface. “And I don’t have an answer for this, either.”
Nick showed them the screen. It was a picture of the three of them…
And there were two darkened figures just behind them, their faces blurred in movement.
Griffin took the phone. “That was the night I dreamt about.”
“I took out my phone last night at the hotel and searched through everything again, looking for some kind of answers as to why we were there. I have no calls, no emails… nothing… for a span of about eight days. It’s like someone cleared my phone. So I went through pictures—and there are huge gaps there, too. Months pass between me taking photos and that just doesn’t feel right. It feels like chunks of my life are simply… gone. Then I came onto this one… their faces were darkened, so did whoever cleared my phone miss this one?”
“We need to go back,” Jeph said pointedly.
Nick shook his head. “Whatever we encountered there was strong enough to wipe our memories and smart enough to cover their tracks. This is like government level shit. What if we came across some top-secret experiment? If we go back, we might not survive it the next time.”
“We left people behind out there,” Jeph said. “People I sense would’ve gone back for us.”
Nick and Jeph both turned to Griffin.
Griffin still stared at the photo on Nick’s phone. After a moment, he whispered, “Reese.”
Jeph felt the hairs rise on his arms and the back of his neck again. Hart and Reese. The names felt so familiar. Yet there were no memories there to link to.
Memories that were supposed to be there.
“We have to go back,” Griffin said before lifting his head. “We have to go back and find them.”
Jeph smiled before turning to Nick. “Are you coming with us or what?”
Nick looked between them before grabbing his phone from Griffin. “I suppose we’re turning our rental around.”