Runaway

by B. A. Stretke

  He stood and gathered his things together before heading to his bike. As he was about to mount his bike, his phone buzzed indicating he’d received a text message. It was from Bryn and it read, Don’t fuck this up, James, you only get one.

  James read the text a couple of times, taking each word to heart. He was fucking this up and the realization of what that could mean hit him. It was the wakeup call that he needed. As soon as he was heading back to town with the clear intention of seeking out his mate, his dragon began to settle down but also maintained an excited anticipation. Thoughts of his impressive mate danced through his mind.

  …

  Augustin had little rest, his thoughts never left his beloved. The churning of possibilities turned ever more negative as the night wore on and by morning, he was convinced his beloved loathed him. The ever-growing negativity in his soul did nothing for his souring mood and limited patience. He kept his guards in the outer rooms while he sulked in his bedroom. He had no tolerance for conversation of any kind. His beloved had abandoned him.

  He would have to decide how long to extend his stay in Laramie. He’d originally thought that a couple of days would be plenty before taking his beloved back to Jackson to introduce him to the Coven. Now he had no idea how long it would take or if James would ever accept him. Augustin stood and reached for his jacket which he’d hung near the closet and roughly pulled it on.

  He would call Calum and explain the outcome of yesterday’s visit. It burned him to have to discuss his personal problems with the Chieftain, but he saw no other recourse. His dark eyes flashed with hurt and anger as he looked at himself in the mirror and straightened his shirt and tie. Time to face the day.

  He left his bedroom just as his guard, Antoni, answered the door. He heard him talking with someone but paid them little attention as he poured himself a cup of tea. Antoni finished and closed the door before walking over to address Augustin.

  "The desk clerk said that there is a young man downstairs that is demanding to see you. His name is James Keith, he is part of the Clan here in town." Antoni reported flatly. He had no idea how that news struck Augustin in the most sensitive parts of his soul. His Coven and his staff did not know of his discovery, they were not aware of the importance of James Keith. Augustin wanted to shout it to the rooftops but there was too much uncertainty so he remained still and hid his burgeoning excitement.

  Augustin turned and regarded him without showing any of the emotion that was currently crushing in upon him. “Send him up, I will see him.” Antoni turned back to the door and gave the clerk Augustin’s direction.

  "You and Nef please remain outside in the hallway while I meet with Mr. Keith." Both men nodded and left. Augustin knew they would not be far away, his guards were fearless and loyal. They were trained by Vadin and they were the best, but for now, he wanted privacy with his beloved.

  Augustin stood alone and waited and when James arrived Antoni opened the door to let him in and then closed it returning to his post in the hallway. Augustin stood still as he watched his beloved walk into the room and remain silent. James looked unsure but there was something else there too. He looked determined which sent Augustin’s heart to pound. He would not go to him as much as he wanted to take him and hold him, he would not beg.

  James was determined to explain himself but as he looked at Augustin across the room, his voice left him. He had failed to take in all that was Augustin Chamberlin yesterday when they met on the Lodge’s back deck. He remembered being impressed with his looks and manners the first time that they met. But yesterday he was so overcome with self-doubt at the thought of having a mate that he hadn’t looked closely. Now he saw the man, the man that was destined to be his forever.

  Augustin was cultured, sophisticated and more handsome than anyone James had ever seen before. His every breath and movement was like a siren’s call to James and his dragon. Augustin’s body was lean, yet muscular and he was tall, very tall. His hair was jet black and styled perfectly giving his angular features a flawless frame. His eyes were dark and were staring holes through him at the moment. The look was hesitant and James knew that it was his behavior that was putting that doubt in his mate’s eyes and it crushed him to know the pain he’d caused.

  As James had contemplated his own needs and wishes and fears, he’d never given a thought to what his mate was going through. It was obvious that his running had impacted Augustin in a damaging way. Yesterday Augustin had been open and expectant and warm, today he was distant, closed off and waiting. Augustin silently waiting because he didn’t trust James not to run.

  He had disappointed his mate. James took several steps closer but Augustin did not move to meet him halfway. Augustin stayed on the other side of the room. James decided to just go to him and lay it out. They needed to talk and resolve the damage he'd clumsily caused yesterday.

  He walked right up to stand in front of his mate. Augustin was taller which forced James to look up at him and hope that Augustin would acknowledge him.

  “I apologize for my behavior yesterday.” James began and he saw Augustin lock eyes with him and his heart warmed when he saw a hint of understanding in their depth. “I was surprised by your presence and I handled it badly. I’m asking for you to forgive my rudeness and give me another chance.” James held his breath as Augustin did not immediately answer, but rather continued to watch him.

  “Why did you run? What did I do to make you run away from me?” Augustin’s voice was clear but the hurt he suffered was clear in his tone and it affected James’ dragon. The beast rolled and whined and pushed to be released to comfort his mate.

  "I was scared, scared of everything you meant to me, scared I wouldn't measure up, just scared. You did nothing wrong, Augustin." James tried not to squirm under the heavy gaze of his mate.

  Augustin was watching him closely, most likely checking for truth in his words. It bothered James that his mate distrusted him but it was all he deserved, considering his cowardly behavior of yesterday.

  James was relieved but also tensed up when Augustin took a slow lazy step towards him. “Are you scared now?” Augustin asked. He held James in what felt like a trance as he approached and spoke so softly and held James’ gaze so fast.

  "No, all I feel now is the shame at my weakness and regret that I hurt you." James was speaking from his heart, he knew nothing else would convince his mate, the Master Vampire. "I don't want to lose you, Augustin." That sentence had Augustin's walls crumbling.

  Augustin planned to remain firm and strong in the face of his runaway beloved, but the pain on James' face had his resolve collapsing around him. Augustin took the final step towards him and reached out taking James in his arms. He was pleased when James did not resist and went willingly in his arms and pressed himself against Augustin's chest seeking the comfort and warmth that was offered.

  Augustin had not expected James to return so soon, if at all. His doubts had grown over the evening to the point he wondered if James would be lost to him forever. It all fed into the dark mood he was in when he arose and the poor treatment he bestowed on his guards. He would apologize later.

  Right now, all that mattered in his world was that James, his beloved, was in his arms and holding him tightly. James felt like home and Augustin wanted to cradle him in his arms for eternity. The emotion was spilling and James began to tremble while pressing his face against Augustin’s shoulder. He was crying and Augustin was shattered. He pushed James’ curls out of the way and pressed a kiss to the side of his face. Augustin tasted the tears and his heart bled.

  "You will never lose me, my sweetheart. Even if you run, I will find you, I will always find you. You are the beloved of the Master and I will gladly move mountains to please you." Augustin rubbed his cheek against the side of James' head loving the feel of his soft curls against his skin.

  James was everything Augustin had ever wanted or dreamed of in a partner and so much more. James was strong yet vulnerable, loving yet cautious and bold yet
yielding, he was the whole package and Augustin would not lose him.

  Augustin held James close rubbing his back and gently caressing his face. He calmed the man and the beast. Augustin could feel very distinctly the beast within the shell. His vampire nature was reaching out to the dragon and the dragon was reaching back. Even if James wasn’t completely sure at this point what he wanted, his dragon was full of clarity and ready to move ahead. It gave Augustin the hope that he needed following his dark night.

  "Talk to me James, tell me why you are scared. What is it that you fear?" Augustin continued to hold him as he spoke lightly against his ear. "Tell me, sweetheart." He urged. He felt James shutter as he took a deep breath. James' hands gripped Augustin by the sides and held on as if afraid one of them was about to run away.

  “My father abused me and my mother.” James’ voice was blunt and rough. Augustin knew some of what he referred. Calum had given him a vague understanding of James’ background. “He abused his true mate and ultimately she died. Dragons can only reproduce with their true mates, so obviously my mother was his true mate.” James began to shake in powerful waves but did not let go of Augustin, his anchor.

  Augustin managed to steer them over to the sofa and sat them both down. Augustin never let go of James and kept him wrapped in his arms as James’ shaking subsided for a moment and he began to speak again.

  “He made our lives a living hell until ultimately she fell down a flight of stairs. His involvement in the fall is unknown but the abuse became apparent when her body was taken to the medical center. Then they questioned me and examined me and all the secrets were free. It was an awful life and an awful freedom.” James took several deep breaths and rubbed his face against Augustin’s shoulder. It took him a few minutes to begin again.

  “What if I have the same propensity as my father, what if I hurt you?” James lifted his head to stare up at Augustin with his distress written so clearly in his eyes.

  "I am not a human woman, James, I can take care of myself," Augustin reassured.

  "That's not the point Augustin, what if I hurt you? I could never forgive myself if I hurt you. I would surely die." James' voice rose with the upset he was feeling and he gripped Augustin tighter.

  “I doubt those words were ever uttered by your father, which sets you apart. Only a coward would use their strength against a woman and a child and you are no coward James.” Augustin threaded his long fingers through James’ curls and held him close to his shoulder giving him the support he was craving.

  "But I was a coward." James drew in a ragged breath. "I told no one, I willingly kept his secret and allowed him to hide." James went on to describe the events in his life that Calum had told him about and finished with the fact that his father had dishonored their name. Augustin planted several kisses on the side of James' head in an effort to calm and comfort his beloved. James was equating himself with the monster that was his father and that was false.

  “You were young and under the control of your father, there was little you could have done. As for your name, you are James Keith an honorable man on an honorable quest. Most important of all, you are my beloved.” Augustin would fight him until he understood he was not to blame for his father and he was not his father.

  “I am also James Lorde son of Rory Lorde, a monster who abused his family.” James was not letting go and Augustin needed for him to let go of the responsibility even if just a little.

  “Didn’t your mother ever try to help you?” Augustin never new a mother not to give everything she was to try and protect her child.

  “No, we lived separate lives. She showed me no thought or care and would often set my father on me in order to lessen her own punishments. She hated me as much as he did, but it didn’t help her.” James sounded so distant and accepting of the cold relationship that it broke Augustin’s heart to hear.

  "You survived, and that is all I care about," Augustin exclaimed and pulled James closer. "You're allowed to live and you're allowed to be happy. Don't drag the past with you everywhere, you did your best under the circumstances. You are not accountable for your father's actions, don't lessen his inadequacies by taking them on yourself. He owns his behavior, so leave it where it belongs."

  Augustin became more severe in his assessment of James’ parents, the pair were truly horrendous people. His beloved deserved so much better and he would see that he got it.

  “I don’t ever want to hurt you.” It was a plea now more than a dread, so that was improvement. “I don’t ever want to lose you or cause you pain, you are my life, Augustin.” It was in that moment that Augustin fell in love with his dragon. The alluring honesty of his beloved was sealing him as the center of Augustin’s world.

  “I know for a fact, that you will never deliberately hurt me or find joy in my pain. You are my beloved, we are destined for forever, Fate has deemed it so.” Augustin lifted James’ chin and looked deeply into his eyes. “There is nothing you could ever say or do that would make me walk away, not now.” He kissed him hard with intent and determination. He was going to leave him with no doubt as to who he belonged to.

  Augustin pulled him over so that James now laying half across his lap to have open access to James’ sumptuous lips and tempting throat. Augustin wanted so badly to take a taste of his beloved and to begin their bond. But he feared James’s reaction to being bitten, after a difficult childhood there was no telling what his triggers might be.

  James was lost the moment that Augustin took him into his arms. He felt Augustin’s hesitation and distrust the moment he entered the room and it gutted him to know that he’d done that to his mate. But Augustin opened and accepted him back into his life and James would not take that gift for granted.

  He loved the feel of Augustin's lips against his and Augustin's body pressed so tightly against his. James melted into him and cuddled close as Augustin pulled him over and onto his lap. He was not a small man but Augustin had no trouble moving him about as he pleased. James felt authentic love and desire for the first time in his life.

  He reached up and cupped the back of Augustin’s neck and held him as James opened to Augustin’s unrelenting, questing tongue. His lips moved with heat and expertise as he went deep stirring and stimulating the nerve endings within. James felt the thrill rush through him and pulled Augustin closer, eating at his lips and demanding more.

  This was real, Augustin wanted him with no reservations. He knew the truth now and there was no disgust or pity, just desire, and understanding. What a beautiful thing. Augustin abruptly stood taking James with him and surprising the hell out of him. James never had anyone carry him before yet Augustin did it with ease.

  James felt himself gliding through the air with each step Augustin took. “I want you in my bed sweetheart. I want to make love to you James. I want to show you what I feel.” Augustin whispered sensuously against James’ lips as he continued the heated embrace they’d begun in the living room.

  James pulled back slightly in order to catch his breath and make his own feelings clear. “I want that too, I want to know you.” He smiled a wicked smile and latched onto Augustin’s lips, having missed his taste and touch even for a moment. James was lost in the most wonderful way possible, in the arms of his mate.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Augustin carried James into his bedroom and kicked the door closed before settling his beloved onto the bed. He had to have him, every molecule of his body was vibrating with the need to have his beloved.

  Augustin quickly shucked off his jacket and loosened his tie before kneeling over his beloved and with his hands braced on either side of James' shoulders, he looked down into his face. James was looking back with the same urgency and desire that Augustin was feeling. "I'm going to make you feel so good, sweetheart."

  James reached up and pulled Augustin down on top of him and wrapped his arms possessively around him. He smiled, his actions speaking so much louder than words. Augustin kissed him hard and thorough, teeth and tongues
dueled for control.

  Augustin eased back to pulled off his tie and toss it over his shoulder while pulling his shirt free. He was desperate for skin on skin and the sooner they were naked the better. Augustin trailed kisses down James’ throat and hooked his fingers under the hem of his t-shirt pulling it up and off in one fluid motion.

  Augustin ran the palm of his hand over the hard ridges and valleys of James’ magnificently chiseled chest. The skin was so hot beneath his hand that he felt it to his depths and it warmed every part of him. So soft and so hard, James was twisting him into knots and pushing him to devour. Augustin dropped and took James’ hardened nipple between his teeth and bit down lightly as his hand found the button on James’ jeans and popped it open.

  The need to get at James' innermost regions was a driving force that Augustin had no intention of curbing. He bit down a little harder and the sucked on the abused little nub while lowering James' zipper and slipping his left hand inside to graze the silken surface of James' hardened cock.

  James felt himself rise off the bed when Augustin’s firm hand slid across his throbbing cock and then cupped his tightening sack. It had been a long time since anyone had touched him so intimately and never had it felt so right and so dangerous.

  "Shhh, I'll take care of you sweetheart." Augustin crooned in response to James' whimpers. James attempted to control his vocals but found it impossible the moment Augustin began pumping James' cock in a slow languid motion. "I got you, my love." Augustin's voice was pure sex and desire and James was coming completely undone with every word that he uttered.

  Augustin was using all his control to hold himself back from taking his beloved fast and hard. James was making the most erotic sounds and moving about like a sensual dream. Augustin held his beloveds throbbing member in the palm of his hand and it was impressive, long and thick and hard.