Then a thought occurred to him.
Was he the only human present?
Was he surrounded by vampires? What if this was some sort of coven? Crap. Maybe he shouldn’t have come, after all. It had been dumb to accept the invitation when he hadn’t known what he was walking into. But if they wanted to hurt him, they could have done that already. They’d had the opportunity back at the guesthouse and none of them seemed threatening.
Another thing that Joey couldn’t understand was why there were no women present. From what he could tell, they were all gay men, all together. What were the odds of that? He wasn’t complaining exactly because he didn’t have many gay friends back in Dallas and it was nice to be around people who understood him, but still. Odd.
Didn’t they have any female friends?
Nearly all of Joey’s friends were women.
Chapter Nine
When they’d finished their hotdogs and ribs and a bucket load of potato salad, he and Tristan moved from couple to couple, passing the time of day. Joey tried to subtly ask questions about the fires in town, but everyone was quick to brush him off then change the subject.
Eventually, Tristan ushered him to a seat in the corner of the yard, away from the others. It was the first time they’d been alone together—relatively speaking—and frankly Joey was thankful for it. Finally feeling like he could relax, he sat back in his seat and let out a long breath.
“Everything okay?” Tristan asked.
He was still grinning—hadn’t stopped since the moment Joey had arrived. Just looking at that bright, friendly smile made Joey’s nerves evaporate and a pleasant, warm feeling blossomed in his stomach. Tristan seemed genuinely happy that Joey had agreed to the date and, if he were being honest with himself, he was glad he’d accepted.
Despite his reservations, he was having a good time.
Tristan moved his seat closer until their arms and knees were touching and Joey had to bite down on his bottom lip to stop the groan that threatened to escape when lust raced through his system. He couldn’t believe how excited he felt just being near Tristan.
“Yeah, everything’s great,” he replied honestly. “Your friends are really nice.”
Tristan’s grin got wider, and it was like the sun had made an appearance from behind a cloud, even though its last vestiges were just visible on the horizon.
“I’m glad you like them.”
“How long have you lived—?”
“Do you want to get out of here?” Tristan interrupted, his face hopeful. “We could go back to the guesthouse and spend some time alone together if you’d like.”
Joey’s heart started beating faster.
He could feel the excited energy that Tristan was emitting, although he couldn’t decide if it was a good idea to be alone with him or not.
He wanted to, but…
“Okay,” he replied, with surprising eagerness.
Crap.
The logical part of his brain acknowledged that he might discover more information about the town’s residents if they were away from Tristan’s friends and family, but deep down he knew that that hadn’t even been a factor in his hasty agreement. He liked Tristan and the prospect of being alone with him had been too good to turn down.
Joey’s well-being hadn’t even come into the equation.
Although he barely knew Tristan, he felt safe with him. From the little time they’d spent together, he didn’t think that Tristan wanted to hurt him—at least he hoped that was true.
He supposed he was about to find out.
Tristan took his hand and led him through the yard. They were approaching the door to the ranch when a tall man with a grave expression stepped outside and headed in their direction.
“Tristan,” he greeted. “I have some news I think you’ll want to hear.”
“Is it about Evelyn?” Tristan asked in a rush.
The man nodded.
He opened his mouth to explain, but one look at Joey silenced him.
“I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.”
Taking hold of the outstretched hand, Joey shook it then promptly sneezed.
“Excuse me,” he said, looking at the ground to see if the blasted cat had made an appearance.
It was nowhere in sight.
“I’m Gregory Hale,” the man said, recapturing Joey’s attention. “And you are…?”
“I’m sorry.” Tristan shook his head as though to clear it. “This is my friend, Joey Brooks. He’s a reporter. He came to Wolf Creek to get a story about the recent fires.”
Gregory’s friendly smile disappeared in an instant and his expression became stoic. “I see,” he said through gritted teeth. “If you’ll excuse me, there is something I need to discuss with Kelan.”
Tristan looked torn as he watched Gregory join the others. It was obvious that he wanted to hear what the man had to say but didn’t want to be rude and leave Joey on his own. Joey wasn’t stupid—he could see there was no way that Gregory would say what he wanted to say in front of him.
“We can call an end to our date if you need to talk to your friend,” Joey offered, hoping the disappointment he felt wasn’t too obvious in his voice.
Tristan glanced over his shoulder. “Maybe we could meet up back at the guesthouse later,” he suggested hopefully. “I really do need to discuss something with Gregory.”
Joey nodded. “Sure, we can do that.”
Tristan smiled warmly then reached out and stroked Joey’s face in a whisper-light caress. The simple touch brought Joey’s senses alive. He drew in a shuddering breath and returned the smile.
“Thank you,” Tristan said. “I appreciate this.”
“So, I guess I’ll see you later.”
Tristan nodded. “Can you give me an hour? I’ll meet you outside the guesthouse.”
“Sure,” he agreed. “I’ll see you later.”
Joey turned to leave, but Tristan grabbed hold of his arm and tugged him back.
“Wha—?”
He was silenced with a kiss.
A mind-blowing, earth-shattering, ‘what’s my name again?’ type of kiss.
There had been no time to protest, not that he would have considered saying no. When Tristan wrapped his arms around Joey, pulling him tight against his body, Joey became pliant in his arms. For a brief moment, he forgot where he was and the fact that they had an audience—nothing mattered but him and Tristan and the way their bodies and mouths fitted together perfectly.
It was like they’d been made for one another.
It felt…right.
Tristan pulled back with a gasp and turned his back on Joey as if he needed to hide his face. Joey remembered what Tristan’s eyes and teeth had looked like the night before and wondered if the same thing had happened. The thought sent a shiver of excitement through his body and although he knew he should be afraid, he wasn’t.
“I’ll see you later.” Tristan’s voice was deeper than before, practically a growl.
Joey nodded even though Tristan still had his back to him and couldn’t see it. Taking a last look across the yard at Tristan’s friends and family, Joey waved goodbye then stumbled into the house. Everyone had been watching them, but when Joey caught them staring, they’d quickly looked away. Heat rose in his cheeks as his embarrassment hit him full force.
But it had been worth it.
Joey had never been kissed like that before. It had been powerful and intense and had reeked of possession, just like Tristan had been staking a claim. Bizarrely, walking away from him was more difficult than Joey could have anticipated, though he forced himself to keep moving through the house until he reached the front door.
The evening had surprised him.
He’d had a good time—a great time, in fact, even though he hadn’t been able to find out anything more than he already knew, either about the fires or about the secret lives of the residents of Wolf Creek.
Joey couldn’t help but wonder who Evelyn was and why he’d seen a
flash of fear in Tristan’s eyes when he’d said her name. He’d try to find out more when he met with Tristan later and stored the woman’s name away for future reference. If Tristan wouldn’t tell him anything then he’d just have to do some digging on his own.
As he strode through the front yard to get back to his car, he couldn’t help but keep an eye out for the damn cat.
Chapter Ten
“What’s happened?” Tristan asked as soon as he approached the wolves who had congregated in the yard to listen to Gregory’s latest report. “Have you found her?”
Gregory shrugged. “Sort of.”
Tristan frowned. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He wasn’t in the mood for cryptic answers. He wanted to be with his mate, but he knew he’d have been distracted all night if he hadn’t found out what Gregory knew about Evelyn.
“Tristan!” Jared chastised. “Don’t be so rude.”
Tristan rolled his eyes just as Gregory put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.
“It’s okay. Tristan nearly died in one of the fires Evelyn set. I know he’s as anxious to find her as the rest of us.”
Gregory sighed and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.
“It isn’t good news, I’m afraid. We think we know where Evelyn has been hiding out for during this past couple of months, but getting to her might cause us some problems.”
“What do you mean?” Kelan asked. “Where is she?”
“Our information suggests that she’s been hiding out with the Gator Creek pack.”
Kelan’s loud expletive was followed by gasps and shouts of incredulity. Everyone in the yard began loudly talking over one another.
“What does this mean?” Cody asked, leaning into his mate Stefan’s embrace.
Luke moved closer to Mark, who reached out and enveloped him in his arms, pulling him against his chest. “Do you think the Gator Creek pack alpha is going to challenge Kelan?”
“Why would they help Evelyn?” Nate added.
Tristan frowned.
With the exception of Aaron and Cary, he appeared to be the only one present who didn’t know who the Gator Creek pack were or what their significance was.
“Who are they?” he asked his brother.
Jared pinched the bridge of his nose. “The Gator Creek pack is situated a few towns to the north of here. I’ve never had anything to do with them personally, although I heard there was some rivalry between our packs several years back.”
Kelan nodded his agreement. “When my pop was alive, the alpha of Gator Creek challenged him to a fight over land. His pack had wanted to get their hands on our territory for some time.”
“What happened?” Tristan asked.
“They fought,” Cody supplied. “My father won the fight and, in doing so, put an end to the dispute.”
“Did he kill their alpha?” Aaron asked.
“No,” Luke answered. “Our father showed him mercy, let him live. Of course, this was years ago. The last I heard, Alpha Phillips had passed away and his son, Brady, had taken over the running of the pack.
“Brady has never indicated that he wants to rekindle the conflict or that he holds any feelings of ill-will towards our pack. It was a simple challenge, after all, and his pop lost fair and square.”
“Evelyn won’t rest until our pack has been decimated. If the Gator Creek pack is helping her then that in and of itself can be considered a challenge, can’t it?” Jared enquired of Kelan.
The alpha sighed. “Let’s not speculate. Evelyn might have deceived Gator Creek pack and turned them against us in some way. We know how determined she can be.”
Thinking about what Evelyn was capable of caused a cold shiver to travel the length of Tristan’s spine. She’d already caused so much devastation. She had to be stopped before she could ruin any more lives.
“Why would they believe her?”
“That’s exactly what we need to find out,” Kelan replied. “I think it’s time for Brady and I to have a friendly chat.”
Jake snaked his arm around his mate’s waist. “You’ll be careful, won’t you? I don’t want you getting in a fight.”
Kelan kissed Jake tenderly on the lips. “Don’t worry. I won’t go looking for a fight, but you know I won’t back away from one either. Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that, okay?”
Chapter Eleven
As Joey watched Tristan’s truck pull into the parking lot, his stomach was doing flips. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about their kiss since he’d left Kelan’s ranch and he couldn’t wait for the repeat performance. Silently, he chastised himself. He shouldn’t be thinking about kissing Tristan again. He should be more concerned with securing the story that he’d come to town for.
Had one kiss with Tristan made him forget about his ambition, about his shot at the big time? He needed this story to get his break at the paper. He was sick of reporting all the crappy stories that no one else in the office wanted. If he could get this story, every major newspaper in the country would be queuing up to hire him. This was important—he needed to get his head back in the game. He needed to stop thinking about his dick and start concentrating on his career.
He could do this.
As soon as Tristan got out of the truck and strode in Joey’s direction, a wicked smile on his face, Joey’s good intentions fled. His stomach lurched at the sight of Tristan’s seductive smile, especially knowing that it was just for him.
Man, he was screwed and hopefully in a good way.
When Tristan approached, Joey opened his mouth to greet him, but for the second time that night he found himself silenced with a kiss—a really hot kiss.
Damn.
He could get used to this.
He snaked his arms around Tristan’s waist and kissed him back, uncaring who might be watching them.
The needy moan that escaped Joey’s lips got swallowed by Tristan’s eager mouth. Tristan let out a low growl and pulled him closer, before sliding his tongue alongside Joey’s to deepen the kiss, which had already gone way past the realm of safe and into the oh so dangerous territory. His dick was hard, and he ached to get some relief. If they didn’t stop soon, he was afraid he might beg Tristan to fuck him right there in the parking lot for everyone to see.
Jesus, he had to get a grip.
“We should stop,” Joey said after breaking the kiss and putting some distance between them, hoping that it would help to clear the fog in his head.
Tristan screwed his eyebrows together and tilted his head. “Why?”
Yeah, why exactly?
“Uh, because we’re in public?” he replied lamely.
Grinning mischievously, Tristan leaned in and whispered in his ear. “I’m all for going somewhere private if that’s what you want. What do you say?”
Say no, say no, say… “Okay.”
When Tristan took his mouth again in another hot kiss, Joey forgot his reservations and went with it, enjoying the moment and the feel of Tristan’s lean and firm body. After a brief moment in which Joey lost all sense of time and place, Tristan broke the kiss, took hold of Joey’s hand and led him through the parking lot to the units that ran adjacent to the main building.
Although he was curious to see inside Tristan’s room, Joey didn’t get the chance because as soon as they stepped through the door, Tristan pushed him against the wall and laid a kiss on him that he felt through his entire body. When Tristan reached a hand between them and squeezed his cock through his jeans, Joey let out a low moan and arched his back.
“Oh, God.”
He was so damn hard and knew that Tristan was in the same predicament. His erect cock was pressed up against Joey’s thigh and he was grinding it into his leg while he trailed kisses down his neck. Joey sucked in a sharp breath when he felt Tristan’s teeth graze over his skin. He shivered, his thoughts instantly returning to what he’d seen the night before. Tristan’s eyes had been deep amber in color and those sharp fangs had looked lethal.
Did Tristan want to bite him? Joey wasn’t sure if the thought horrified him or was the most erotic notion he’d ever had—probably a little of both.
“You taste so good,” Tristan murmured against his neck. “So sweet.”
Joey trembled as he waited for the bite. Common sense told him to scream, to fight Tristan and to get the hell away from him, but the very idea caused a pain in his chest. He didn’t want to be away from Tristan. He wondered briefly if Tristan had used some sort of spell or glamour on him. He’d seen some vampires in movies do that.
Was it the same in real life?
Was he under some sort of trance? He didn’t think so. He still felt like himself, but he supposed he wouldn’t be aware of it anyway. He held his breath as the seconds ticked on, but the bite didn’t come. Tristan simply kissed his way down Joey’s neck while he pushed his palm against his erection.
“Oh God,” he said again. It was too much, yet not nearly enough.
Tristan chuckled. “I usually just go by Tristan.”
Joey’s laugh turned into a gasp as Tristan pushed the heel of his hand harder against his cock.
“Want you,” Tristan murmured against his neck.
Fear and doubt quickly disappeared—Joey needed this.
“Then take me,” he whispered in the best seductive tone he could manage.
When Tristan looked up and met his gaze, his eyes flashed amber. It happened so quickly that Joey wasn’t sure if he’d actually seen it or if his imagination was running away with him because of what he’d been remembering from the night before. Tristan slid his arms around Joey’s waist and tugged him towards the bed. Joey went willingly—his heart beating furiously, the anticipation about what was coming sending his pulse into overdrive.
The next time they kissed, Tristan growled against his lips, pushing his tongue against them and seeking entrance once more. Joey opened to him, grabbing Tristan’s ass and kneading it as he caressed Tristan’s tongue with his own. Joey was so lost in the kiss that he barely noticed when Tristan began to undress him, fumbling with the zipper and button on his tight jeans. Joey pulled back from the kiss and helped him out, sliding his jeans down his hips with shaking hands. He kicked his shoes and socks off and hopped on one foot as he removed his briefs then pulled off his shirt until he was completely naked.
Tristan's Despair (2019 Reissue) Page 5
