Pleading the Fifth

by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

  “Feed me that,” Scott smiled wickedly. “Excuse me?”

  “Haven’t you ever fed one of your…”

  Scott tilted his head, “Fucks?”

  “I don’t stick around to do anything with

  my ‘fucks’ when I’m done.” Tristan eyed Scott’s

  naked torso. He was sitting on his bed in nothing but boxer shorts, it was damned arousing. Scott cocked an eyebrow at him and Tristan conceded. Leaning over, he slid the shrimp tail over Scott’s

  lips, leaving a perfect trail of salty butter behind. “Mmm,” Scott parted his lips to enjoy the

  taste of shrimp on his tongue. He got Tristan’s

  tongue soon after when the man pinned him to

  the bed. Tristan’s muscular biceps held him down

  efficiently; he wasn’t even breaking a sweat.

  Damn-that was just so hot. Scott eyed the perfect

  man above him. “Okay, you’ve got me. Now

  what? And for crying out loud, move the food so

  we don’t ruin it!”

  “Hang on one sec,” Tristan cleaned off

  the bed and then grabbed one of the glasses of

  champagne, taking a sip of the cool liquid. The

  bubbles tickled his nose and he leaned over, kissing Scott.

  “God that’s good,” Scott sighed in perfect

  bliss. “I could get used to this.” Scott yelped

  when a cool liquid hit his belly. He looked down

  at his stomach to see a small pool of champagne in his belly button. Tristan pulled his boxers down a little lower on his hips, and then proceeded to lick the champagne off. Scott’s mouth dropped open at the sensation, Tristan’s warm tongue a sharp contrast to the icy

  champagne.

  “You taste divine,” Tristan peered up

  through his lashes at the look of pure lust in his

  mate’s eyes. “I want to taste all of you.” “Uh huh…” Scott nodded, his eyes glued

  to the sexy man at his navel. He couldn’t look

  away even if he tried. Tristan took another drink

  of champagne and held it in his mouth. Scott’s

  eyes went wide as Tristan took his cock into his

  mouth, champagne slid down his shaft, tickling

  his balls. “Oh, Jesus, Tristan…”

  “I haven’t even started,” Tristan growled,

  licking the underside of Scott’s dick, his tongue

  swiping his balls in long licks.

  Jesus …could you die from a perfect seduction? Scott’s eyelids fluttered as Tristan inhaled him to the root, and his hand hovered above his mate’s hair. He knew they would fight for dominance again, so he rested his hand on Tristan’s head, massaging his scalp as the man basically fed off his prick. The warm suction, coupled with the cold of the champagne in intervals had Scott shaking on the bed, trying to hold back what he knew would be one hell of an orgasm. Tristan palmed his balls all while alternating between sucking him down and licking around his rim. The pressure mounted and Scott’s back arched as Tristan increased his suction, bob

  bing up and down while humming.

  His claws flared from his fingertips and a

  loud growl rose from his throat. Tristan sucked

  him in deeper all while watching his eyes. That

  did him in, the look of absolute lust on Tristan’s

  face as he sucked him like he couldn’t live

  without it. Scott came unglued, his whole body

  erupted in a frenzy of emotion and he shot hot

  and hard, wailing as his orgasm raced from him.

  Tingles of pleasure zinged through his balls as

  Tristan’s mouth kept at him, licking through his slit, gathering every last drop. Scott closed his eyes as his body came back down to Earth.

  Tristan was licking a slow path up his abdomen. “Jesus, Tristan,” Scott opened his eyes,

  Tristan hovered above him. “That was…wow.” “I enjoyed every damn minute of it, too.”

  Tristan’s fingers swept through Scott’s

  coal-black hair. “You are so beautiful, Scott.”

  Tristan smiled at the look of annoyance on

  Scott’s face. “Oh come on, you have to know

  that.”

  “Be a man, will ya?” Scott turned his

  head to the side, hoping Tristan couldn’t see the

  emotions on his face.

  “I heard what happened tonight,” Tristan

  cupped Scott’s face in his palm. “They didn’t deserve you Scott, it’s just as well Alexander became your father.”

  “Can we not…?”

  Tristan nodded. “I believe you said you

  wanted to fuck me?”

  Scott studied Tristan’s face. Underneath

  all the bravado, Tristan looked scared, maybe

  even uncomfortable.

  “Not tonight. When I take you, it’ll be because you want it as badly as I do. I want you to

  beg for it.”

  “Me? beg?” Tristan scoffed.

  “Yes, you,” Scott pulled Tristan down to

  his lips. The taste of champagne along with

  spunk sparked his taste buds. Tristan settled on

  top of him, wrapping his arms around him

  tightly. As much as Scott wanted to think it

  would be uncomfortable, it wasn’t. It was like

  they fit perfectly together, two pieces of a puzzle

  finally snapping into place. Tristan’s lips were

  soft and yielding, begging for more pressure

  more of everything and Scott obliged him. The

  kiss became frenetic and carnal as they both

  sought to own each other completely. Air became

  a necessity and Scott broke from the kiss panting. “Holy shit!”

  Tristan nodded, his lips raw and red. “I

  know.”

  “We should…um…”

  “We should get some sleep, let me just

  clean this up.” Tristan went to move, and Scott’s

  hand gripped his wrist.

  “Are you…leaving?”

  The vulnerability in Scott’s gaze grabbed

  his heart; he couldn’t leave this man even if he

  wanted to.

  “No, I’ll stay.” Tristan bent to kiss Scott

  softly.

  “Thank you,” Scott whispered.

  “No,” Tristan whispered across Scott’s

  lips. “Thank you.”

  * The incessant vibrating of his cell phone brought Tristan out of his deep sleep. He was curled around Scott, his hand resting on Scott’s thigh. Tristan moved carefully, trying to locate his annoying cell phone. He remembered putting his phone on the dresser after cleaning up the bedroom and putting all the dishes in the kitchen sink. Scott and Jude’s apartment was immaculate; Tristan figured if they ever ran out of plates they could eat off the damn floor. Scott’s room was a sharp contrast to the rest of the house; it looked like an F5 tornado had gone through it. Tristan smiled. Jude must be the cleaner of the two. Locating his phone, he crept into the living room to answer it.

  “What?” Tristan hissed.

  “Well, fuck you, too,” Jacob chortled. “Get your ass in gear, we’re off to Colorado.” “For what?” Tristan peeked into the bed

  room, checking on Scott. “Can’t you get Noah or

  Ross to go?”

  “They are already on their way there.” Tristan contemplated that; it must be bad

  if they were all going. “Logan and Locke going?” “Yep.”

  “Okay, give me a half hour. Text me the

  coordinates.” Tristan hung up and searched for his pants by the dim light of the stove. Gathering his belongings, he wrote a note to Scott letting him know where he’d gone. He set the letter on the pillow and leaned over to kiss Scott’s forehead. He was beautiful even when he slept; the dark hair hung partially in his eyes. “I’ll se
e you soon.” Tristan whispered.

  ~~ Scott opened one eye, his back was cold and the view of his room was askew. What the hell? Did he move his room around in his sleep? Scott kicked the blankets off the bed and realized he was sleeping horizontally on the bed. He hadn’t moved that much during sleep in years. He sat up, squinting at the clock. Five in the morning, great. His internal alarm clock had woken him up yet again. Scott looked at the bed and realized he was alone in it and most of the pillows were on the floor along with the sheets. Throwing his legs over the side, he made his way into the kitchen. The coffee had made itself at four in the morning and Scott picked up the carafe to pour himself a cup. It was lighter than normal, meaning someone had already had some. Namely Tristan Miles. Who was no longer in his bed.

  Great, Tristan had done the walk of shame? Scott shook his head. He should have known better, he’d been vulnerable, had allowed Tristan to fuck him. Scott banged his head on the refrigerator. He’d been played yet again. Why wasn’t he surprised? His own mate couldn’t even stand to be around him. Scott looked around the quiet apartment; Jude was still out. He sighed, drank his coffee and went to get dressed.

  “Fuck it. Might as well go to work.” The note from Tristan remained unseen.

  ~~ The next two days, Scott kept his thoughts and cell phone off. He really didn’t want to hear some lame excuse from Tristan about why he’d ducked out after they’d had sex. He’d made the damn excuses himself in the past to his lovers, to be on the receiving end was not on his list of things he wanted to do. Scott stopped by the office to see Jude sitting at the desk.

  “Hey, I’m going home. You almost done?”

  Jude sighed in frustration, running a hand through his unruly hair. “Yeah, just about. I’ll meet you at the apartment.” Jude regarded his brother. “You okay? Why don’t you just talk to him? I heard from Noah, they went to Colorado only to find the tip they had was useless.”

  “Are they still there?”

  “Yep, they are keeping an eye on the mine just in case the rogues come back.”

  “He left me in the middle of the night without so much as a ‘fuck you’.” Scott raised his brows. “I’ll see you at the apartment.”

  Scott walked out the emergency room doors and headed for home. God he’d been so stupid. Just because Tristan was his mate, he’d let his guard down. He’d never make that mistake again. Scott bounded the stairs to his apartment and stopped. A man stood outside his door. He was well dressed, his suit and tie covered by a long wool trench coat. The outfit was finished off with leather driving gloves. Scott’s nose twitched. This man was sick; he hadn’t perfected his abilities yet to know what the man was sick with, but the scent was a strong.

  “Can I help you?” Scott asked.

  “Are you Scott Delange?”

  “Yes,” Scott took the last steps.

  “You’ve been served,” the man said, handing over an envelope.

  “Excuse me?” Scott took the papers and looked them over. “My parents are suing me?” Scott flipped the page. “For defamation of character?” Scott looked up at the man still standing there. “Is this a joke?” Scott’s fingers began to tingle; he looked down to see a substance on them. “What the hell?” The stairs seemed to elongate and the urge to throw up was rising.

  “I’m really very sorry,” the man said.

  Scott’s eyes widened as the man produced a syringe from his pocket. Scott tried to call out to no avail. His throat constricted and his knees wobbled.

  “Please…” Scott croaked.

  “I’m sorry, I have no choice.”

  Scott recoiled from the needle, but the man stepped forward, plunging it into his neck. Heat flared to his ears and Scott collapsed in front of the door. His last thoughts were of Tristan.

  ~~ “This is bullshit,” Tristan growled. They’d been watching the damn mine for two days. Nothing was going in or coming out. “Where did we get this tip?”

  Jacob shrugged. “Anonymous.”

  Tristan looked up at the sky; large, gray

  clouds were forming above them threatening to spill over with rain. He’d wanted to be back in bed with Scott. He hadn’t been able to get a hold of him since the morning he left. Now he had a very uneasy feeling about the whole mission. Something was off. Before he could open his mouth, Jacob said everything for him.

  “This feels wrong,” Jacob narrowed his eyes at the mine. “Why all of a sudden Colorado? It’s almost like—”

  Tristan felt an overwhelming sense of fear and pain. “We were set up!”

  Jacob grabbed Tristan before he fell over. “What is it?!”

  “Scott…”

  As if on cue, Jacob’s cell phone rang displaying James Jacobs’ number. Jacob answered his cell to an already shouting James.

  “Get back to Seattle, now!” James shouted.

  “It’s Scott…” Tristan shook his head clear. The mental connection was back, somehow it was back. “He’s in pain.” Jacob put the phone on speaker.

  “Scott was injected with some kind of pathogen; we have Alexander working on it,” James said. “He’s in bad shape, Jacob. Jude found him on the ground right in front of their apartment. Jude managed to call Alexander before he succumbed to whatever was on the paperwork he touched.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Scott had been served by some law firm representing his parents. Whatever the substance is on the papers, it affected Jude as well. He’s been slowly coming around, but we found an empty syringe next to Scott. Alexander is analyzing the contents of the syringe.”

  “We’re on our way now,” Jacob said. “We need to go, like right the fuck now. I’m sure you heard that.”

  Tristan nodded. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to get me out of the way so they could get to Scott. Someone needs to interrogate Walter again; he said at the club that this would happen.”

  “I’m on it,” Jacob stood up, pulling Tristan up. “You need to go to Washington.”

  “Call Ri—” Tristan was interrupted by his ringtone. He looked at the caller ID and saw ‘Esposito, Riley’. “Never mind, I think he’s way ahead of me.” They were on Riley’s jet in no time.

  ~~ Jude sat by Scott’s bedside. Scott was on fire, his temperature well over one hundred and ten. His skin was pale and his veins were distended. Scott hadn’t regained consciousness since he’d found him in front of the apartment. Jude wiped at his eyes, squeezing Scott’s hand.

  “Please don’t give up,” Jude whispered. “I can’t lose you.” Whatever Scott had been injected with, it was ravaging his body. The substance on the letter had been ketamine, a very strong anesthetic widely used in veterinary clinics. Jude had had a massive migraine when he awoke from it. He put his head down on the bed and hoped Alexander could find out what was used in the syringe.

  “How is he?” Jude looked up; his father stood in the doorway.

  “Dad…” Jude shook his head, the tears streaming down his cheeks.

  Jonas crossed the room in seconds and held his son. Scott looked pale, his cheeks sunken in and dark rings marred his beautiful face. “What happened? Noah called me.”

  “I don’t know. When I got home he was just there, on the ground in front of the door. He had paper in his hands and when I touched it, I barely had time to call Alexander before I got sick. I lost consciousness and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in the hospital.”

  “I’ve called Jackson, he’s on his way. Are you all right? Did Alexander look you over?”

  Jude nodded. “Yes, I’m fine.” Jackson Murphy was the alpha of Tristan’s pack; Jude wasn’t surprised his father had called him. Tristan was Scott’s mate; the alpha would want to be by his pack member’s side.

  “Is Scott going to be okay?” Jonas smoothed the sweat-soaked hair from Scott’s brow.

  “God, I hope so,” Jude sobbed. ~~

  Tristan ran down the hospital hallway three hours later. Jonas had called him on the plane as well as his own alpha, Jackson. S
cott’s condition was worsening. What the hell had been injected into his mate? He turned the hospital corner and almost ran into Preston. Skidding to a stop, he searched the faces of the werewolves standing outside his mate’s door. Wyatt had been crying, his eyes red and puffy.

  “He’s not…” Tristan swallowed hard. “No, he’s breathing,” Preston took Tristan by his shoulders. “It…doesn’t look good, Tristan. Wayne has been injecting him with his blood as well as biting his major arteries. He’s trying everything and anything.” Preston looked down, avoiding eye contact. “I’m…I’m so sorry.”

  “He’s not going to fucking die,” Tristan barked. “Not while I still breathe air.” Tristan pushed the door open and walked inside the room. Jude looked up from his position by the bed, his own eyes were red and he looked like he hadn’t slept. Tristan nodded to Jude, making his way over to the bed to his mate. Scott was white as a sheet, and his veins looked like they were trying to burst through his skin. His face was sunken in. Tristan’s heart lurched in his chest.

  “I’ll give you some alone time with him,” Jude sniffed, standing up.

  Tristan nodded. “Thank you,” he whispered.

  Jude leaned over kissing Scott’s forehead. “I’ll be back soon. “Hang in there, bro. Please. I love you.”

  Tristan waited for the door to shut before taking his place on the edge of the bed. He gently pulled Scott into his arms. “I’m here, I’m sorry I wasn’t there when this happened. I’d die before I’d let anyone hurt you.” Tristan tried the mental link between them, but was met with silence. “Please, please, please fight this,” Tristan murmured in Scott’s ear.

  ~~ Jacob and Seth stood over Walter. The guy hadn’t stopped grinning since they got there. His eyes were changing rapidly to rogue yellow, his transformation almost complete.

  “So, I take it Scott’s sick?” Walter cackled.

  Jacob’s hand flew out so fast Seth couldn’t catch it. The loud crack of bone filled the small room. Walter fell off the chair and hit the floor with a grunt, blood dripped from his lips and nose.

  “What did you do?” Seth crouched down by Walter. “Tell us what the plan is, Walter. I promise I’ll kill you quick.”

  Walter’s eyes widened. “Hey, he never said you guys would kill me!”

  “Who said?” Jacob pulled Walter back up, throwing him back into the chair. “Obviously, ‘he’ doesn’t know us well. We kill all rogues.”