by Jo Penn
“Hell.” Rico spun Freddie around to face him. “So damn much I hurt with the need.” He lowered his head, mouth covering Freddie’s in a kiss that stopped his breath. “Gods, I can smell your arousal...”
After another deep kiss that left Freddie clinging a bit embarrassingly to Rico’s big biceps, they stood close together the remainder of the trip.
“Our stop.”
Once off the train, they hurried along a few streets before entering the hotel. The doors of the elevator were still closing when Rico lifted Freddie against the wall and their lips locked. Somehow Freddie managed to hit the button for their floor as Rico thrust his tongue into Freddie’s mouth. Meeting Rico’s tongue, he twirled his own as his sank his fingers through Rico’s thick warm brown hair and gripped tightly, yet not hard enough to cause pain.
They groaned together. Freddie tilted Rico’s head back and, taking the lead of the kiss, enjoyed the softness of Rico’s lips, his taste, and the feel of him.
“I need you, mate,” Rico growled into Freddie’s mouth.
Freddie darted his tongue inside Rico’s mouth, their tongues touching and tangling, their kisses long and deep, only broken to catch their breath then coming back together in a rush of need and passion, enjoying each other and wanting more.
Rico hissed and growled in a peculiar way, very animal-like, and when Freddie licked Rico’s lips and nibbled, he vibrated all over. But as Freddie softened and deepened the kiss, Rico purred, hands touching everywhere. His tongue took over, like he was coaxing more and tasting every inch of Freddie.
Neither noticed they’d arrived on the right floor and the doors opening, Freddie blinking when a woman interrupted them, clearing her throat then looking Rico over with immense lust in her eyes.
Freddie glared. Rico kissed him sweetly and got them out of the elevator, which was difficult, as they were tangled up, clothes askew, and a few weapons had fallen.
By the time they got into the hotel room, he was expecting them to tumble onto the large soft bed, get naked, and enjoy themselves, but he was the only one who ended up on the bed. Rico stepped back, his hands flashing to claws for a moment.
“Logic, Rico, use your frigging logic!” he muttered while pacing the room.
“On the train you said—”
“I more than want to.” He took a few very deep breaths, releasing them slowly and running a hand through his hair. “First, we need to talk. What the hell were you thinking! There are crāwan all over Oslo looking for us, and you just take off from the sprites.”
“Your thinking actually sounds like yelling at me,” Freddie snapped, frustrated. Rico wasn’t yelling, but he sounded annoyed. So now they both were.
“My mate…” Another few deep breaths. “I need to step back. If I get near you right now, I’m not sure you’re going to want what I really need.”
“Sex.” Freddie shrugged.
Rico jerked back, face taut. “Loving. Mating.”
Going to the fridge, he pulled out two bottles of water. He opened one and handed it to Freddie, their hands touching briefly.
“Mine.” His eyes flared brilliant green a second before he closed them, looking pained. “Damn…”
So, no sex. Freddie flopped back onto the bed while Rico went into the bathroom and closed the door. He’d been right. Rico had a lot going on, and now he knew a large part of that was about them being mates. At first Freddie hadn’t understood, didn’t really believe in the soul mate myth.
He did now. He understood this was different from anything he’d felt before. He’d had lovers, he’d even been in love, deeply. But it wasn’t like with Rico. What they had was another level. Rico obviously felt it intensely and needed a bit of space right now. Freddie would give it, even if his nuts might fall off.
Chapter Seven
Getting off the bed, Freddie collected a soda from the fridge, a bag of peanuts, room service menus, and the phone to distract from the throbbing demands of his body. He could not recall ever hearing of a male sprite refusing sex and was bemused by the pouvoir’s strange behavior.
Settling back on the bed, he nibbled peanuts and drank the soda while going through the menu. Having been with Rico a few days now and seeing how much the man ate, Freddie ordered a large selection and a good-sized meal for himself, as he hadn’t gotten breakfast or lunch and his stomach was now eating itself.
By the time Rico came out of the bathroom, minus the contacts and partial face mask, their food was on its way and Freddie was checking their combined weapons.
“Freddie, I left you with the sprites to keep you safe. Why did you leave them?” Rico pulled up a seat beside the bed. Seeming now to be more interested in talking than continuing what began on the train.
He was really a very confusing man. And he hadn’t learned much at all, disappointingly.
“You ditched me.” Freddie got straight to the point.
“I was keeping you safe! Hell, what do you think you were doing walking around the city by yourself?”
“Protecting you. We’re in this together. No more going-it-alone crap. Oh, and as you missed the point entirely, you don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do, Rico. You don’t have the right.”
Rico’s mouth snapped shut on the deep growl he was in the midst of rumbling, his expression shocked.
“Protecting…” He blinked.
“Hmm.” Freddie flashed a small smile. “You’re the genius professor searching for a globe that crāwan are after, and I’m your partner.”
It really was that simple once he thought about it, and this morning, while following Rico around, Freddie had a lot of time to think.
“I…” Rico shook his head, one hand going through that wavy, thick longish dark hair.
“Don’t ditch me again. It’s more difficult to protect you if I have to stay so far back.”
“Damn.” Rico dropped his hands, staring at Freddie in an amazed sort of way, and then he came to the edge of the bed and sat beside him. “I was coming back for you.”
“No, you dumped me on the Oslo sprites saying I was a distraction and some crap about it being for my own safety.”
“I just need you safe, love, but I was coming back.” He took one of Freddie’s hands in his, thumb caressing. “I had to go back for you, and not when the mission was finished, but today. Another hour and I planned to head over and pick you up.”
Studying the pouvoir suspiciously, not really believing, he went to withdraw his hand and was tugged down onto his back, Rico moving so fast it seemed like Freddie blinked and he’d moved.
“I was, pisicuta, couldn’t freaking think when worrying about whether you were safe. I ached being away from you.” They lay pressed together, Freddie’s body aching and throbbing. “I need to have you with me, to see you wrinkle your nose and spring when you walk. To touch you and hear your voice. Have you tell me off and smile, put me straight… Hell, I have no logic without you, pisicuta. And yeah, I heard you loud and clear. I didn’t have a right. It’s your choice. But that doesn’t stop me from saying I don’t like you being in a fight.”
About to kiss Rico, Freddie wanting his lips, he hissed at the knock on the hotel room door.
“Room service,” someone called out.
“Back in a sec, love.”
With a gun tucked into the back of his jeans, Rico went to the door and sniffed deeply, nodded, and opened to a mortal with a room service trolley.
Fully expecting Rico to sit down to eat once room service left, he watched Rico pull the trolley over to the side of the bed. But he didn’t eat. Instead, he kicked off his shoes, removed the light sweater he wore, and twirled a finger in front of himself, taking away whatever it was that covered up his true creature appearance.
Hopping on the bed and stretching out beside Freddie, Rico held out his arms. “Come, let me guard your body, mate.”
“I’m the bodyguard, not you.” Freddie grinned.
“How about we take it in turns?” He wrapped his
arms around Freddie. “Being apart from you today was shit.”
“Well then, don’t ditch me again.”
Laughing, he hugged Freddie tightly. “Yes, mate.”
Thinking he wouldn’t, Freddie relaxed. Dinner could wait. Rico purred, a hand going to the hem of the sweater. His hand slipped beneath and stroked hot skin.
“Once we get the globe, everything will be different, love, in a good way. I promise.”
“Yes, the crāwan won’t be able to get it and hurt anyone. Once I get home—”
“Home?” Rico frowned. “When we are home. Together. Well, damn, sprite, are you still thinking that once the mission’s over, we are?”
“Not really. It’s a bit up in the air right now.”
“We’re mates, always together. We’ll work it all out.”
Before he could ask about that, or dispute it, Rico kissed him softly. It was gentle, yet stirred Freddie as much as the one they’d shared earlier in the lift.
“As much as I want to enjoy you and the food, I need to make sure you believe that I was coming back for you today and that I only put you with the sprites to keep you out of harm’s way. You are what is important, pisicuta. I can’t have you hurt.”
“I am well trained, as I’ve told you before. And I let you leave me there. Probably you need to get used to the fact you can’t make these decisions alone. What I want to know is why you purposefully walked around the city where crāwan could see you. That was foolish when we are meant to stay hidden from them.”
“I was drawing them out to see how many were here. If I could get one to talk, I’d have an idea of what we’re up against, but what the hell, we’ll stay hidden, and after midnight tonight, I’ll collect the last piece of parchment.”
“We.”
The way he hesitated told Freddie a lot. Rico was not wanting him to come. Whether he really was concerned about Freddie being hurt or not, this was now Freddie’s mission too. Rico couldn’t take that away. But he wasn’t going to argue. He’d just do.
“Let me tell you about mating. You should know this before we go any further. Pouvoir join.” He rolled onto his side and stroked Freddie’s hair, voice dropping to that soothing, beautiful quality that relaxed and settled Freddie. “I see into your mind, you into mine. We see each other’s memories, know each other’s thoughts and feelings. Our souls joined at first sighting, and now our bodies and minds must. I’m fighting here, my sprite, to give you time before mating, but to do these things is a natural pouvoir instinct, so to stop myself, I step back, soothe, and think of what you need. That’s why I went to the bathroom. I await your decision.”
“Can we not just have sex?” Freddie whined a bit.
Smiling, Rico kissed his left temple. “Yeah. I’m not rushing you, just letting you know. Let’s eat.”
* * * *
Rico jolted awake with a start, fully alert and hands turning to dragon claws. Sniffing the air cautiously and moving from the bed without disturbing his sleeping mate, he picked up the gun from the bedside table, checked the clip, and flipped off the safety. Pouvoir and dragon senses were alerting him to the presence of others, though who was yet to be determined. There was very little to detect in the air, a sense, a touch of scent. Some magic and the vibes were…unpleasant.
If these creatures were crāwan, he could not take the chance of injury to his mate, would not take a chance.
Shit and fuck. Throwing a protective shield over Freddie, Rico jerked on a shirt and jeans and covered his pouvoir appearance. Picking up the hotel key, he placed the loaded tranq gun beside his mate, loaded a third gun, and tucked it into the front of his jeans beneath his shirt, along with a dagger.
Slipping out of the hotel room quietly, Rico checked both ways, letting his senses direct him. He turned left toward the emergency exit on this floor.
Halfway along the hall, a woman stepped out of a room, smiling at Rico as they passed by one another. He scented human and kept walking, cautious now.
Rico swore when she suddenly turned and shot at him. At the same time a demon dropped from the ceiling to land behind him, blocking the exit. Avoiding a bullet, a warning one he guessed and covered by a silencer, Rico turned to keep both attackers in focus. If he could avoid a fight, he would. There were a lot of innocents in this hotel, and it’d be best to draw those after him away from here.
The demon came at him wielding a long thin sword, the woman shooting at the same time. Rico jerked to the side at the last minute and grabbed the demon’s hand holding the sword and twisted, calculating his every movement. The bullet nicked the edge of the sword and was deflected into the carpet-covered concrete floor, embedding there and not able to harm anyone.
Flinging the demon in front of him, the creature took the impact of the next shot and snarled loudly. Rico had to knock him out to silence him then thrust the now unconscious man at the woman. Movement up the hall caught his attention. More crāwan were coming, one pausing by the door where Freddie was sleeping.
No way in Hades were they getting his mate. A rush of anger and power coursed through every cell. He zoomed with supernatural speed to the hotel room, evading an imp and the human woman’s bullets. At the door, he tossed a witch aside with an energy beam full of moon rays that could, when directed correctly, cause disorientation and madness.
When he slammed the door open with a hard kick, Freddie woke, springing up with gun in hand and firing. Rico quickly ducked, and the bullet sped straight by him into the imp, who was wide-eyed a half second before losing consciousness.
“Crāwan?” Freddie rushed toward him.
The crāwan were closer than he’d thought and would probably use anything and anyone to capture him and find the globe. That he could not let happen. Even if it meant having to be separated from Freddie, the pain of this was better than him getting hurt.
“Yep. Sorry, love, I know you’ll think I’m ditching you again, but I need you safe, or I’ll lose my head, which ain’t a good thing.” Rico picked Freddie up, voice dropping. “My brothers will take care of you for me.”
“What? No way!”
With a quick kiss on Freddie’s soft lips, Rico teleported his sprite through time and space to the Tarok castle. He hoped Uri Golden hadn’t let the dragons inside again. Freddie might shoot one.
He needed to get out of here fast. By teleporting Freddie to his family, they’d quickly find out from him where Rico was, and about the soul globe mission. Another worry for him to deal with, for the crāwan would go after them as a tool to get the globe. First, he had to deal with his attackers here.
Turning, Rico swung the dagger at a vampire who attempted to creep up on him and stared in shock at who strode into the room, black mist swirling around his big body. Holy Creator! They moved faster than he’d expected.
“Darkness.” Rico sighed heavily.
“Hello, my brother.”
Ah hell, this wasn’t good.
* * * *
Blinking at finding himself no longer in the hotel room fighting crāwan and a little disorientated from teleporting, Freddie frowned down at the tranq gun still in his hand.
Had Rico just taken him out of the fight?
He looked around and frowned at seeing the completely black room he stood in was a kitchen. There was a young man leaning against a counter with a thick burger halfway to his mouth. Electric blue eyes fixed on Freddie, and his stunningly gorgeous face held a shocked expression.
Next, he noticed two other young-looking men seated at a long wooden table, one gorgeous and blond, the other an attractive brunette. Both stared at him, their huge burgers forgotten.
Sweet Heavens, where the hells was he?
Rico said something about needing to keep Freddie safe before teleporting him. And a brother. Freddie studied all three men wondering if the crāwan had teleported him instead. Immortals had this ability also.
He raised the tranq gun, ready to fight.
“Ah, err, nope, not crāwan. What’s wrong with yo
ur dragon senses? How’d you not feel him popping in?” the curly-haired brunette said to the blond and dark haired men in accented English.
Lucky Freddie was fluent in English. “Who are you…what are you?”
The burgers looked good.
“I can make you a burger if you want.” The blond smiled. He was gorgeous with sea-blue eyes and now blinked at Freddie. “You’re cousin Rico’s sprite.”
“I am not.” Freddie was miffed a little, still trying to process this. “Who are you? Where am I?”
“I’m Hali Tarok Arkman, Rico’s younger cousin. Most call me Hales,” the blond said and pointed at the brunette. “This is our friend Tarrant Squires. And he’s my cousin, Callum Arkman Tarok, Rico’s youngest brother.” Hales pointed at the stunner by the sink with electric blue eyes. “You’re Freddie di Moor, right?”
“Yes…how do you know my name?”
“Boss Judge Talent and Seerman Dray found out from the sprite group you belong with.”
“Who? And what?” All Freddie understood from that was sprite group. Pouvoirs, if that was who these were, made absolutely no sense. He should get in contact with his leader.
“Want a burger? Do you know where Cousin Rico is? Everyone’s looking for him, real worried… Can’t believe he went off and left you.”
“He didn’t.” Callum Arkman Tarok put aside his burger and wiped his hands on a napkin. He was beauty itself, six feet two and a half with black dreadlocked hair and muscular build. “Daray Darkness just informed me Rico sent his soul mate here to be kept safe from the crāwan attacking them at a hotel in Oslo.”
“Freaking crāwan scum,” Hales snapped. “Hay, you okay, Freddie? We should call Judge Talent I guess and maybe Jazz since Uri Golden is in Oslo.”
Who? And what? Who were these people Hales kept spurting the names of? Freddie sighed heavily. He wasn’t sure he’d ever been so angry, but now wasn’t the time to express it.
