Jaden's Price

by Lynn Hagen

  Demon Warriors 9

  Jaden’s Price

  Hilton works as a male nurse in Brac Village. He feels a presence following him wherever he goes. His mother and grandmother went insane, and Hilton fears he is heading down that slippery path. That is, until Jaden reveals himself and claims to be Hilton’s guardian angel. Hilton isn’t convinced and runs from Jaden, terrified of the wicked man.

  Jaden is Death. The master grim reaper. He has known nothing but loneliness and despair since the Primal Source breathed him into existence. He is feared by all, even if this is not the life he would have chosen for himself. But a chance meeting in a small town presents an opportunity his enemies can’t resist. He must keep Hilton safe from those out to hurt his mate, because if the bunny shifter is harmed in any way, Jaden will rip apart the universe and unleash his deadly wrath.

  Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Fantasy, Paranormal, Shape-shifter

  Length: 26,858 words

  JADEN’S PRICE

  Demon Warriors 9

  Lynn Hagen

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  JADEN’S PRICE

  Copyright © 2017 by Lynn Hagen

  ISBN: 978-1-64010-198-2

  First Publication: April 2017

  Cover design by Jess Buffett

  All art and logo copyright © 2017 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at

  legal@sirenbookstrand.com

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lynn Hagen loves writing about the somewhat flawed, but lovable. She also loves a hero who can see past all the rough edges to find the shining diamond of a beautiful heart.

  You can find her on any given day curled up with her laptop and a cup of hot java, letting the next set of characters tell their story.

  For all titles by Lynn Hagen, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/lynn-hagen

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Landmarks

  Cover

  JADEN’S PRICE

  Demon Warriors 9

  LYNN HAGEN

  Copyright © 2017

  Chapter One

  “Not likely,” Hilton said into the Bluetooth at his ear as he tried to decide what to wear. “He’s gorgeous, but Phoenyx is also a demon warrior. They come with way too much baggage for me.”

  “But you’re double-dating with me and Hawk!” Jonathan Stone sounded as if the world would end if Hilton showed up stag at the restaurant. “How is it a double date if it’s just you? That’s not a double date, Hilton. That’s a date with an extra guy on the side.”

  Hilton chuckled at Johnny’s hysterics. “Calm down, my little puppy. I have a date to bring with me.”

  “Oh!” Johnny giggled. “Who is it?”

  Nobody to write home about, that was for sure. Hilton had met the human at the grocery store and the guy had been nice, but he doubted the date would go beyond one dinner. Hilton was just desperate to go on a date. Anyone would’ve done.

  But not a bad boy. Dangerous men usually wanted to eat Hilton rather than fuck him. And there was his dilemma in a nutshell. At the ripe young age of one hundred and twenty-two, Hilton was still a virgin. Not for lack of trying, but every guy he’d gone out with had either been too boring, too crazy, or way too deadly. He just couldn’t seem to get it right. So for now, it was just him and his hand in a committed relationship.

  “Nobody you would know.” Hilton could practically hear Johnny salivating. The human was nothing if not a gossiper, and he was probably looking for something juicy to share with his best friend, Spencer.

  I wish I had something juicy to share.

  Hilton finally decided on a pair of kakis and a dress shirt. If he’d been really excited about his date, he would’ve gone to the mall and found something thrilling to wear. Since he didn’t want to give his date the wrong idea, Hilton decided on a simple outfit.

  The air stirred around him. Hilton looked around his bedroom, but no one was there. Yet he felt a presence. Something caressed his arm. He shivered as his stomach fluttered. Hilton had been feeling off ever since Gilmore Flanagan’s mother had shown up at the clinic where Hilton worked. She’d had a heart attack, and from what Dr. Sheehan had told him, the elderly human shouldn’t have pulled through. Dr. Sheehan had taken an MRI of her heart, and the chamber walls had been too weak to allow her to live much longer. But the woman had miraculously recovered, her heart strong, and she’d gone home the very next day.

  That had been over four months ago, and Hilton hadn’t been able to shake the feeling of a presence around him since.

  “You still there?” Johnny asked. Hilton heard the crinkling of a wrapper and then smacking lips. How Johnny stayed so skinny was beyond him. Then again, Hilton was thin, too. But he didn’t snack like Johnny did, either. The guy should weigh three hundred pounds and have a thousand cavities. Every time Hilton saw Johnny, he was eating something sweet.

  “Yeah, just trying to find something to wear.” Hilton glanced at the clothes he’d picked out and felt less than enthused about his date.

  “We’re just going to The Lucky Clover. I’m wearing some pink pants, an orange dress shirt, and my Hello Kitty boots. Nothing special.”

  “Then I guess you could say my clothes are bland. Kakis and a dress shirt.”

  “Wow that is boring. You wanna borrow something from my closet?”

  Hilton would rather have all his teeth pulled than wear anything from Johnny’s wardrobe. The man loved sparkly things, pink and orange, and if it had Hello Kitty on it, all the better. “Um, no thanks.”

  “Okay, but you can at least come with me to Ray’s grandmother’s house after dinner. Grandma Lucinda baked me some cookies, and I told her I’d pick them up later tonight.”

  “I think you have a grandma crush on her.” Hilton chuckled. Every time he turned around, Johnny had cookies from Lucinda’s. She wasn’t Johnny’s grandmother, but Ray’s—a Brac Village resident mated to a wolf shifter named Lorenzo.

  “She feeds me cookies. What’s not to love about that?” He giggled. “But I don’t love her, love her. I just love her.”

  “That makes about as much sense as a three-headed cat.” Hilton sat on his bed and put his foot on the edge, checking to make sure his toenail polish hadn’t scuffed. “I’m telling Hawk you love her.”

  “He already knows. He loves her, too, but not loves her, loves her. He just loves her.”

  “Being your friend is never dull.” Hilton inspected his other foot. “That’s why I love you, but not love you, love you. I just
love you.” Hilton snickered. Sometimes it was fun letting his proverbial hair down and just going with Johnny’s flow.

  “Aw, just for that, I’ll give you some of my cookies. You know I don’t share them with anyone.”

  “Well, cookie your butt into the shower. We’re supposed to meet up in an hour, and I know it’s a production with you when you’re getting ready for a date with Hawk.”

  Hilton truly envied Johnny and Hawk’s relationship. Johnny was mated to a badass timber wolf, yet Hawk was a pile of goo for his mate. Watching Johnny wrap Hawk around his skinny little finger was fun.

  Something brushed the back of Hilton’s neck. Startled, he jumped from the bed and spun around, but he didn’t see anyone. But someone was there. He felt it in his gut. “I’m gonna finish getting ready, Johnny. See you soon.”

  “Okay, bye.”

  After pressing the Bluetooth button at his ear, Hilton tossed the device on the covers. He thought about shouting at whoever was stalking him to reveal themselves, but he was too afraid to issue the challenge. Instead, he quickly dressed, ready to get out of his apartment.

  But that wouldn’t help. He’d felt the presence at work, too. Hilton was afraid to tell anyone for fear of looking crazy. What if he was? What if he’d inherited his family curse? His mother had been institutionalized after a nervous breakdown. His grandmother had gone insane, as well. As messed up as it sounded, Hilton lived on the hope that craziness only affected the women in his family, but lately he’d started to wonder.

  He’d gone to see his mother a few times but couldn’t handle how she had deteriorated even more over the years. She wasn’t even his once-loving mom anymore. Destiny Grammar was nothing more than a babbling shell of a person now. It literally hurt Hilton’s heart to see her like that, so he’d gone to the institution less and less over the years.

  Her meltdown had happened when Hilton had been just a juvenile, so his uncle had raised him. That hadn’t gone so well, considering Uncle Ted was a traditionalist Christian and told Hilton more than once he would go to hell for being gay.

  Hilton had told his uncle more than once that he would go to hell for being a moron, but Ted hadn’t found that funny. Neither had Hilton. He’d been serious. So he’d suffered through his uncle’s attempts at trying to “cure” Hilton of his gayness and through his own angst about his uncle doing that.

  He’d felt as though his cell door had been opened when he’d moved out on his own, and Hilton hadn’t talked to Uncle Nutjob since.

  Glancing at the clock, Hilton sighed as he grabbed his coat, keys, and wallet and headed out the door. He would arrive at the restaurant early, giving him plenty of time to get wasted so he could not only endure his date, but forget he was being stalked by Casper the Maybe-Friendly Ghost.

  * * * *

  Had Hilton thought his date would be boring? He wished it had been that exciting. Boring didn’t even cut it. If he had to listen to Chuck tell one more story about his dog, Hilton just might stab his fork into his eye.

  Or Chuck’s.

  Too bad Hilton was against violence. So he just sat there with a plastic smile as Chuck went on and on about his ankle-biting dog. In truth, the guy was so much in love with his dog that Hilton started to suggest the two marry. But in polite society, one didn’t say such things. Too bad. It sounded as if Chuck and Daisy were perfect for each other.

  Hilton rested his chin on his hand, seconds away from yawning. His gaze shot to Johnny, who was picking all the onions out of his spaghetti. Hawk waved a waiter over and ordered another Red Spanking. He seemed as though he needed a few stiff drinks to deal with Chuck.

  “You should’ve brought Phoenyx,” Johnny said in a singsong voice as the waiter brought Hawk his drink.

  “You own a phoenix?” Chuck’s dark brows shot up. “How cool is that? Can I come over and see him after dinner?”

  Johnny laughed uproariously as Hawk stared wide-eyed at Chuck. Hilton wiped at his mouth with his napkin, although he was really hiding his grin. But he couldn’t hide it for long, not when Johnny was laughing so hard that tears slid down his cheeks. Hilton’s grin turned into a belly laugh.

  If Chuck only knew that Phoenyx was a demon, not a bird, he would probably grab Daisy and haul ass away from Brac Village.

  “What’s so funny?” Chuck looked confused.

  Hawk held his hand up. “Check.”

  “Nonsense.” Chuck waved Hawk away. “I’ll pay for dinner.”

  “No!” Hilton covered his mouth at his outburst. If Chuck paid, he would think he had something coming for buying Hilton a pork chop dinner. Hilton was desperate to lose his virginity, but not to this guy. He’d rather jack off with a spiked glove.

  “Battleship.” Hilton coughed the word into his hand. Johnny just sat there still picking the onions out of his spaghetti. This wasn’t Johnny’s first time at The Lucky Clover. Why hadn’t he just ordered the pasta without the onions?

  “Battleship.” Hilton coughed again, but Johnny didn’t look up.

  “Are you okay?” Chuck patted him on the back. Hilton wanted to reach across the table and smack Johnny upside his head. Johnny wasn’t catching the code word they’d agreed on if Hilton wanted to be pulled away from this date. Hilton was terrified Chuck would try to kiss him when dinner was over. Thankfully Hilton had been smart enough to drive his own car so he wouldn’t have to suffer through a ride home with his date.

  “Ow!” Chuck jerked his arm back and cradled his hand to his chest. “It felt like your back twisted my wrist.”

  “How is that even possible?” Hawk asked in a bored voice as the waiter brought him the black book that held the bill. Hawk handed over his credit card as he stood, taking his drink from the table. “It was nice meeting you, Chad.”

  “It’s Chuck,” Chuck said.

  “Whatever,” Hawk muttered low enough that Hilton’s dinner date couldn’t hear.

  Chuck stood and shook Hawk’s hand. “I hope we can do this again sometime.”

  Hawk had a look that said never gonna happen. At least Hawk had been polite the entire evening. He’d even engaged Chuck in conversation, which had started the long incessant tales of Daisy. Hawk probably wanted to kick himself for opening his mouth.

  “Are we hitting the bar?” Johnny asked his mate as he stood.

  “I just need to talk to you for a second,” Hilton said as he pulled Johnny aside.

  “What?” Johnny asked. “I want to get drunk with Hawk, so make this quick.”

  Hilton gaped at him. “Didn’t you hear me using the code word?”

  Johnny blinked. “I thought you were just coughing. I started to throw one of my Halls at you, but you stopped.”

  Hilton hung his head as he sighed. Hanging out with Johnny was definitely an experience. “Just stick by me until Chuck leaves. I don’t want him to try and kiss me.”

  “What?” Johnny wrinkled his nose. “You want me to kiss you instead?” He shook his head. “No thanks. You’re cute, but not that cute.”

  Hilton gave a tiny growl. “No, I don’t want you to kiss me. I just want you to stay at my side and come up with something if Chuck looks like he’s gonna kiss me.”

  “I can do that.” Johnny chuckled. “For a second there, I thought you wanted Hawk to beat the snot out of you.”

  Hilton shuddered at the thought of Hawk coming anywhere near him with those beefy fists of his. He was allergic to having his face smashed in.

  “Chuck probably won’t try since you twisted his wrist.” Johnny clucked his tongue. “You shouldn’t hurt a guy you’re on a date with. You’ll never get a second date doing that.”

  Hilton didn’t even bother trying to explain that he hadn’t hurt Chuck. It wasn’t worth the headache. “There isn’t going to be a second date.”

  “Then come have a drink with me.”

  “I have to tell Chuck good night.” He grabbed Johnny’s arm and hauled him over to his date. Hilton hoped his friend’s presence would make things too awkward for
any attempts at smooching.

  “I had a nice time,” Hilton lied.

  Chuck grinned and moved in closer. Mayday! Mayday! When Chuck tried to grab Hilton’s hand, Hilton hugged him tight, making it impossible for their lips to touch. “You drive home safely, buddy.”

  “Uh, okay.” A frown puckered between Chuck’s eyes when Hilton pulled away. Hilton grabbed Johnny’s hand a made a beeline for the bar as Hawk chuckled deeply behind him.

  * * * *

  For the next two weeks, Hilton dodged Chuck’s calls and texts. The guy was relentless and had even sent Hilton tons of photos of his dog. They looked happy together. Hilton wished they’d just leave him alone.

  Dr. Sexy—that was what Hilton called Dr. James McNeal—handed him a patient file. “Staying busy?”

  Hilton heated with a blush and he hated that he was so pale. “Always.”

  Dr. McNeal was a wolf shifter and he was sexy wrapped in erotic. Hilton’s brain went on vacation anytime the man came around him. Too bad Dr. McNeal had gone to work for the clinic in Desire, but he stilled helped Dr. Sheehan out from time to time, and vice versa.

  Whenever Dr. Sheehan went to Desire to help out, Hilton always went with him. They were a package deal.

  Besides, Dr. McNeal was still studying under Dr. Sheehan. Doctors in small towns weren’t constantly busy like those in large cities. Some days Hilton just sat behind his desk munching on carrots and surfing the Internet. He liked downtime, but he also liked staying busy.

  “Good.” Dr. McNeal smiled and Hilton’s dick smiled in return.

  “Was there something you needed?” Like me dropping to my knees and sucking you off? The thought only made Hilton blush harder. He’d never been more thankful Dr. McNeal couldn’t read minds.