Together Bound

by Elizabeth Noble

  Beaming, Nick poured his coffee, fished out the cream, and stood with his nose over the mug, inhaling deeply and smiling.

  “Do you want me to step out so you can be alone with that, ‘cause, kid, I think you’re getting a hard-on.”

  “Am not!”

  Todd leaned to one side and made a point of looking at Nick’s groin. “Am, too.”

  After returning to the table and setting the mug down, Nick wound his arms around Todd’s neck, and he left wet, sloppy kisses along Todd’s cheeks. “You are the best master and mate that ever lived.”

  Pulling his head to the side far enough to look at Nick, Todd nodded. “Yes, I am.”

  Nick snickered, slid back into his chair, and sipped his coffee.

  “Really, Nick, you need to at least put some workout pants on, ‘cause you spill that and…hummfffpptt…I’m not going to be responsible.” He nodded to the small closet and chest of drawers. “Some of your clothes are in there.”

  “Okay.” After slurping up another mouthful of coffee, Nick found a pair of the soft woven pants he liked so well and pulled them on as he walked back across the room.

  “Tonight and tomorrow night, if we’re here, they have me scheduled until midnight.” When Nick’s face fell, he quickly added, “But I’ll come get you as soon as I can.”

  “Okay.” Nick took a bit of toast and chewed on it while wearing a thoughtful expression. “Do you remember when I first came to live with you, the first time we went to the sentry saloon?”

  “Of course. You saw something there. Nick, what did you see yesterday?”

  “I think some sort of creature. Not the exact same as the one I saw that day, but similar. The chancellor, he’s not the chancellor, not anymore. I’m not even sure how to describe it, but what everyone else sees, it’s not what’s really there.”

  “Some sort of spell work?”

  “I don’t think so. There was a blackness, but this time I could see a lot more of what it looked like. More details, not just a black hole. That’s why I don’t think it’s the exact same type of creature…thing…whatever. I think this one is more along the lines of something that can take on different forms, at least for a bit.”

  Nodding, Todd frowned. “A shifter of some kind.”

  “There is more than one kind?”

  Nick had learned and experienced plenty of things in the last year and a half, but shape-shifters were not common, and he’d only read about them.

  “Yeah, there are a couple of kinds. Basically they’re the same, other than who they feed on and how. How they find their victims. Do you think you can draw it?”

  Todd watched a shiver run through Nick as he nodded. “Yes. I also found out yesterday the chancellor never used to visit the slave dorms when the new arrivals came in, but started doing that about a month ago.”

  “That’s interesting and fits into the pattern Clarke described, too.” Todd stood, moved to where he’d left their duffels, and extracted a small sketchpad and two notebooks. He handed Nick the sketchpad and a notebook. “There is a huge library here, one of the biggest in the protectorate, so we should have plenty of resources.”

  “There are books in the school I think I can look through, too, if we can’t get to the library.” Nick flipped open the sketchpad and started drawing.

  “We won’t be able to contact Clarke, but he can contact us, so be sure if he does you let him do it however he wants. We can’t risk blowing his cover or ours. Us staying together here is pushing it as it is.” Nick’s gaze popped up, and for a few seconds Todd thought he saw something odd cross his mate’s face, apprehension, fear, maybe some confusion, he couldn’t be sure. It was fleeting but enough to make a hard, cold kernel settle in the pit of Todd’s stomach. “Nick, is everything okay? No one has hurt you, have they? If they have, you need to tell me right away.”

  Nick shook his head. “No.”

  Todd sat silently for a few seconds, watching Nick finish the sketch, which he handed over to Todd without a word once completed. “Nick.”

  “I’d tell you, Todd. I would. Trust me, I would.”

  Todd swallowed, rubbed the back of his neck, and took a deep breath. He sat, quietly watching Nick. “Nicky, look at me.”

  Obediently, Nick looked at him for a few seconds before his gaze flitted away.

  “Nick.”

  Nick pulled himself straighter and met Todd’s gaze, silently acknowledging Todd’s command.

  “I saw how you reacted when the chancellor got close to you last night. Why the hell do you think I reacted the way I did? I saw your face. He didn’t just alarm you or even scare you. He terrified you. Hell, I thought you were going to pass out. It wasn’t simply because he was butt-ugly, either.”

  “He…yesterday, when he came to the sanctuary, he…” Nick’s voice faltered and trailed off. After drawing in a few deep breaths, Nick licked his lips. He folded his hands on the table in front of him and twisted his fingers together until his knuckles were white. “He touched me, and I f-felt something.”

  “Felt what? Touched you where, how?” What bothered Todd was how guilty Nick looked, as if this were his fault. Trying to quiet his trembling insides, he reached out and laid his hand on Nick’s forearm, feeling fine tremors run through his mate. Todd forced his face neutral and his voice quiet. He wanted to rant and rave, but that wasn’t going to help.

  Nick ran two shaking fingers over his hair and along his cheek. Nick pulled his lower lip between his teeth, bit down hard enough to make Todd suppress a wince, looked at Todd, then dropped his gaze to the tabletop and swallowed hard.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there and that I didn’t stop him.” Todd’s throat felt odd and tight when he spoke.

  “It wasn’t your fault. He knew about me, that I was supposedly owned by a shaman. Do you think he realized what I really am?”

  “No. I don’t. If he did, I don’t think you and I’d be sitting here having this conversation. Look, Nick, the guy in charge of the sanctuary, my ‘boss’, he seems like a real good guy. If you have trouble and can’t get to me, go to him and ask him to put you somewhere safe. Tell him you’re being harassed. Everyone is under orders to let any slave who claims any sort of abuse or harassment to see him immediately. He’ll fire them if they don’t.”

  “Okay.” Nick smiled softly and nodded.

  Todd looked down at the drawing Nick had given him and grimaced. He flicked the paper with one finger. “This thing is really ugly.”

  Nick merely nodded.

  “Okay.” Todd pushed up from the chair and began pacing, feeling how Nick watched his movements. “I’ll take you back to the sanctuary so you can get a real meal before you have to get to the school. I’ll have time to hit the library before I have to check in. See what you can dig up in the school.”

  “All right.” Nick’s voice was soft and silky.

  Todd loved how it flowed over him, igniting a fire and power deep within him he sometimes had absolutely no control over. He eased closer to the table and stepped around to Nick’s side, the overwhelming need to touch and hold washing over him like an invisible tidal wave. Todd slid his hands effortlessly under Nick’s shoulders and pulled his mate in. Nick was smooth, warm skin and liquid grace as he stood up and melted against Todd.

  Todd slipped a hand down to wind around Nick’s waist, pressed the heel of his other against Nick’s spine, and moved up until his fingers found the soft, velvety strands of Nick’s hair. He loved Nick’s hair, loved twining his fingers in it and running his nose through, smoothing it down with his cheek. This time he let his fingers separate and skim through until his hand cupped the back of Nick’s head. Mostly, he loved stroking Nick’s hair while they made love and Nick moaned his name or as they fell asleep, Nick’s breathing matching the easy rhythmic movements of Todd’s caressing fingers, relaxing them both into slumber.

  Todd inhaled deeply and nuzzled his cheek along Nick’s for a moment before turning his head and ghosting his lips over the
skin along Nick’s cheek, then jaw. Tightening his grip on Nick’s middle, pressing them completely flush, Todd ran the tip of his tongue along Nick’s lower and then upper lip, tracing their curves. Todd pressed against the corner of Nick’s mouth and let his tongue slide between Nick’s lips.

  Todd moaned softly against Nick while he moved his tongue in a slow, leisurely path over Nick’s teeth, the roof of Nick’s mouth, and up and down Nick’s tongue. He nudged his thigh between Nick’s legs, then pressed up with steady pressure until Nick was rocking slowly back and forth against the taut muscle of Todd’s thigh. He leaned back, breaking their kiss for mere seconds, drew in a deep breath, and leaned Nick over the table, mouth pressed to Nick’s.

  When he leaned away, breaking their kiss again, Nick wilted against him, panting and trembling, Nick’s forehead pressed to Todd’s shoulder.

  Todd held Nick close for another minute, resting his head against his mate’s. “We’d better get moving, huh?”

  Nick simply nodded. He was less than encouraging about the moving. He let go, moved his arms up, and wrapped them around Todd’s neck and shoulders, snuggling against Todd, body slick, breath quick against his skin.

  “You’re going to be late,” Todd mumbled into Nick’s neck.

  Nick tightened his arms around Todd, twisted so he was flush with Todd, and slung one leg over Todd’s. “Don’t wanna have a real job,” he drawled and looked up at Todd from under disheveled bangs, eyes soft, body malleable and warm in Todd’s arms.

  Smiling softly, Todd reminded Nick, “No more funny business, or we’ll never get this job done.”

  Once they’d cleaned up, and were dressed according to their ‘jobs’ Todd pulled his mate in for one last kiss. “When we get back—” He kissed Nick’s neck and skimmed his lips over Nick’s jaw. “—we’ll pick up—” Todd trailed soft nips in a line to the shell of Nick’s ear and sucked it into his mouth for a few beats. “—right where we left off. Once we’re here—” He pressed light kisses to Nick’s forehead and cheeks. “—get your clothes off, then mine, and get your ass in that bed.”

  Nick dipped his head, angling just so, rubbing his nose against Todd’s and then pressing his mouth to Todd’s. “Yes, master.” The words were soft and breathy. Todd was hungry and greedy, swallowing them before easing away from his mate.

  Todd’s heart nearly broke in two when they reached the slave sanctuary and Nick’s light, playful mood turned to something more akin to depressed and sullen. After glancing up and down the hall, ensuring they were alone, Todd kissed Nick’s forehead and pulled him into a hug. “Do you want me to wait while you change and take you to the dining hall or the school?” He leaned back and ran one hand through Nick’s mostly dried hair a few times.

  Nick shifted his gaze between Todd and the door to his dorm room, and Todd saw Nick’s inner battle on his face. Other than the few places Nick went alone on errands near their apartment, he was rarely far from Todd. A quick shake of his head and an unsure smile was what Todd got now. “No, I’ll be okay. It’s just for a few more days. And we have to play our parts, right?”

  “If that long.” Todd snorted, hands running down Nick’s arms. He squeezed Nick’s biceps and wondered who hated this more, him or Nick?

  One last squeeze of Nick’s muscular arm and a swipe of his thumb over one of the veins webbing beneath Nick’s smooth skin, and Todd winked, turned, and hurried down the hall before he changed his mind and dragged Nick from the estate. He had a few hours to kill before his “shift” started, so he headed to the library and took the many tightly packed steps three at a time. A smattering of charm laid on the woman behind the information desk—though it wasn’t as much fun when Nick wasn’t there to huff jealous breaths—and Todd was headed to the right section, up yet more flights of stairs. Who’d have thought the library would provide such a great workout?

  After an hour of searching through books covered in enough dust he felt like he sneezed the entire time, Todd’s research produced far more on this particular type of shape-shifter than he’d expected. While shape-shifters themselves might not have been very common, lore on them was. This area of the continent was home to a very ancient and vicious type, and Todd suspected this was what he and Nick were dealing with. He scanned the articles and information. Sexual predator; no preference for male or female; prefers young, athletic humans or those of great power of some kind; can feed off its victim and assume its identity for many months.

  Todd sat back, rolled his shoulders, and rubbed his eyes. “Great. Just freaking great.”

  After tucking his notes away, Todd carefully replaced the old books and headed to the map section. What he found there disturbed him even further. The estate, especially the slave sanctuary, had been built over a series of what appeared to be naturally occurring tunnels. In reality, Todd discovered they weren’t natural but the product of most likely hundreds of years of digging done by the shape-shifter.

  He made a mental note to further investigate Witze’s statements about slaves and abuse. Possibly what was going on was not what Witze thought. Another thing Todd would have to do today or tomorrow was get Nick out and walk him around to see if they were dealing with more than one shifter or just the chancellor, which was going to put the two of them in the public eye together. Sighing, Todd massaged his shoulder. There was no way around it. Certain parts of the estate accessible to Todd were not accessible to a slave without an escort. Hopefully, it wouldn’t cause much commotion or be noticed. Witze had already pegged Todd as being interested in Nick, and Todd had surely been seen entering and leaving the slave dorms. No one would think much of him with a slave, since that was encouraged at every turn. Tracing Nick back to him would be nearly impossible without Todd’s real name, and if that got out, Todd knew who to go to, since only he, Nick, and Clarke knew his true identity. Todd was pretty damn sure neither he nor Nick would be giving up that information.

  Clarke, Todd was quite certain, had believed him when he said he’d kill anyone who put Nick in jeopardy.

  Pausing at the entrance of the sanctuary security office, Todd made sure his notes and map were tucked safely into a pocket. He walked through the building, casting a glance out the window at the sanctuary in hopes of seeing Nick, but no such luck. Nodding to a few of the other employees, he stopped in a common area for some coffee on his way to his office. It still made Todd pause and nearly chuckle aloud: he had an office. He shook himself mentally, chasing away thoughts of what he could—and would—do to Nick on his desk, given half the chance.

  “McCabe.”

  Todd remembered that was him, turned, and offered Larry Witze a courteous smile. “Afternoon, sir.”

  “How’s your young friend?”

  Lifting his gaze from his coffee mug to face Witze completely, Todd put an amiable expression on his face. “He’s good.”

  Witze nodded and motioned for Todd to follow him as he headed toward his office, which was much larger than Todd’s. His desk brought about even more thoughts of what he and Nick could do there. “He seems to be settling in well. Remind him he needs to follow the rules laid out to the letter, at least out in public.”

  “I will.” Todd thought it was an odd thing to say and smelled vaguely of a warning. “Was there a problem?” What hadn’t Nick told him, or was it some minor thing Nick was completely unaware of, or just a general statement between colleagues?

  Witze closed the door and motioned Todd to a chair. Todd eased into it slowly, leaned forward, and set the coffee on the edge of the desk, noticing it was long enough that Todd bet Nick could stretch most of his body along its top.

  After settling in his own chair, Witze folded his hands on the desk. “Shamans—hell—most people who have a slave aren’t very strict, especially the longer the slave is with them.” He shrugged. “Just the way he acts, particularly when he thinks no one is paying attention to him, which seems to be most the time. He was obviously used to being something more than a mere piece of property. It’s h
arder for those slaves to fall back into acting formally, eyes down and so on. Makes me wish I could have five minutes alone and off the record with the asshole who’d put a nice kid like that in this sort of situation.”

  Witze’s final words were so filled with hate and venom, Todd flinched. He was the asshole who’d put Nick in this position, though not in the way Witze thought. Todd couldn’t find it in himself to have much malice toward the man. He obviously cared a great deal for his charges.

  Mind flicking back to the first days Nick was with him and how many times Todd had told Nick to look at him when they spoke, Todd sighed and nodded. “I’ll remind him.”

  “Good.” Witze grinned, signaling that matter was resolved. He shoved a file across his desk, and Todd’s mind imagined Nick’s bare ass moving over the smooth, rich wood. “There’s a young woman, a slave, who came in this morning, then decided she couldn’t tell me what her complaint was. There is something going on, and for some reason I’m not the guy she wants to tell. You’re closer to her age, and you’re probably more her…” His voice faltered and stopped.

  Raising his eyebrows, Todd asked, “More her what?”

  “Oh, for crap’s sake, McCabe, don’t be coy with me. I know you have to look in the mirror at least once a day to shave. You’re a big, good-looking, strapping guy.” He waved one hand at Todd, then waved that same hand up and down himself. “And I’m not. She’d probably feel safer with you, and even though you like men, I think you can turn on some charm for the ladies when you want to. Your popularity the other night at the cotillion did not go unnoticed by my old eyes.”

  Todd coughed, putting his fist in front of his mouth. He snatched his mug of coffee and took a sip. “I think I understand, sir. Flex some muscle and smile.”

  “Exactly!” Witze’s hand smacked the desktop, making Todd jump slightly. The sound reminded him of how his palm felt against Nick’s ass. “And stop calling me sir. I’m not that old. Larry, I’m Larry, and you’re—”

  “Tyler, si—Larry.”

  “Good. Now, Tyler, go solve a case for me and impress me.”