Delevan chuckled, the movement making his cock jerk inside Blair. “I will, but there’s something you need to do first, remember?”
Trying to think about what they’d said before was hard when the only thing Blair wanted was to rise and slam down until he came, but he managed. “I have to bite you first.”
Delevan grinned and tilted his head, and who was Blair to protest? He’d never wanted anything more, so he didn’t even pause to think about it before leaning down and biting. His fangs had come out on their own, and it was different from when Blair shifted them while training with Ira. He knew he wouldn’t hurt Delevan, that he wouldn’t poison him. He didn’t know how he knew it, but he did, and his dragon hissed his satisfaction at finally marking their mate.
Blair instinctively knew when he’d drunk enough blood, and he retracted his fangs from Delevan’s neck. He flicked his tongue over the bite mark to heal it, and he realized his tongue was forked. He wasn’t sure Delevan would enjoy that, so he made a quick work of cleaning up the blood and straightened. He tried to focus on shifting his tongue back, but Delevan noticed something was off.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Blair shook his head, but Delevan cupped his cheek, and Blair gave in at the tender gesture. He opened his mouth and flicked his tongue out, and to his surprise, Delevan laughed. “Now you’ve bitten me, so I’m going to fuck you until you plead.”
Suddenly he wasn’t tender anymore. That emotion had left, replaced by hot lust, and Blair surrendered to it.
Delevan flipped them, slamming Blair on his back and ramming into him almost before he could realize what had happened. Delevan’s thrusts were long and smooth, and he took care of hitting all the right spots.
Blair had nothing against pleading, and he didn’t even care that he shouldn’t have started that soon, but after what felt like only minutes, he was already ready to come. He didn’t want to, though, not without the mating bite, so he pressed the back of his head against the pillow, exposing his neck. “Bite me, Del!”
Delevan leaned forward, but instead of biting Blair, he licked his throat, nibbled on it, sucked hickeys on it, never stopping fucking him. Blair clutched Delevan’s shoulder, digging his nails into them as Delevan’s stomach rubbed against his cock, almost making him come. “Bite me!”
Delevan chuckled against the damp skin of Blair’s neck. “Beg for it.”
“Oh my fucking god, fine! Please, Del. Bite me. Please, before I come.”
Delevan bit down before Blair had to insist even more, and Blair arched his back. The pain of the bite was nothing, not against the wave of pleasure that flooded Blair, and he came.
He was still in a haze when he felt the bond solidifying, and through it, Delevan coming. Delevan slumped on top of Blair, the domination streak abandoning him, and Blair rolled him away. “I need to breathe,” he complained, and Delevan chuckled.
“C’me here,” he said, opening his arms.
Blair squirmed, a sting of pain passing in his ass, until he was pressed against Delevan’s side, the blond hair on his thigh tickling Blair’s oversensitive cock. “We’re mated.” It was hard to believe, and even Blair could hear the wonder in his voice.
A snore escaped Delevan’s nose, and Blair realized he’d already fallen asleep. He probably should have been offended, but he was too happy and sated for that.
Chapter Six
Delevan whistled along with the music and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. He loved summer, and this summer was the best one ever, up to a point—he’d been mated to Blair for about two months, and his life was good, at least inside the sanctuary the mansion was.
He stopped the car in the middle of the mansion’s private road when he saw the man standing next to the gate. The guy was wearing a suit, and he screamed official. No one wore suits in the middle of the summer if they didn’t have to for their job. This couldn’t be good.
The man looked at Delevan, and Delevan took his phone out. He dialed his dad’s private number and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for him to answer.
“Del?”
“Dad, there’s a car at the gate.”
“I know. They just rang the bell. They’re detectives. We’re letting them in. Are you out there with them?”
Delevan hadn’t noticed the woman in the car, but now that his dad mentioned it, he did. “Yeah. I parked behind them. Is everything as it should be?” They both knew what Delevan meant—are all the kids in their human form? Are the ones who can’t control their shift yet secured? Is Aaron—Troy and Emery’s son—in one of the safe rooms with his fathers?
“We’re finishing up.”
“What do you think they want?”
Delevan’s dad sighed. “I don’t know, Del. We’ll find out soon enough.”
The gate started to open and the man climbed into his car. Delevan followed it and parked. He got out of the car and grabbed his gym bag from the passenger seat. When he straightened, he noticed that even though the front door was open and his dad was there, the detectives were both looking at Delevan.
Delevan knew he hadn’t done anything that would bring police officers to his door, but he was a shifter, so he had something to hide anyway. Their presence made him uncomfortable. He walked toward the front door, his gaze flicking to his dad. His dad smiled and Delevan went faster. He paused next to the detectives, because it would have been impolite not to, and tilted his head at them. “Detectives.”
The woman offered him her hand to shake. “Detective Grand. How did you know what we are?”
Delevan chuckled. “No offense, but it was kind of obvious. And I recognized you.”
She arched a brow at him. “From?”
“I give your daughter swimming lessons.”
She examined Delevan and recognition sparked in her eyes. “Mr. Atkins. I didn’t recognize you with... your clothes on.”
Her colleague cleared his throat and she presented him. “This is Detective Flynn.”
Delevan nodded at him. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go put my things in the wash before the smell of chlorine sticks.”
Detective Grand stepped to the side, and they both followed him as he climbed the steps. His dad stepped to the side to let him pass and clasped his shoulder. Detective Flynn focused on the gesture. “I take it you two live together.”
Delevan’s dad chuckled. “Us, and another fifty or so people.”
“Can I ask why that is?”
“Why don’t we go to my office?”
Delevan’s dad gestured toward the hallway, but detective Flynn didn’t take the hint. He looked at Delevan again. “I’d like to talk to you, too.”
“I’ll come to my father’s office as soon as I take care of this,” he answered, holding his bag up. The detective nodded and followed Delevan’s dad toward the office.
Delevan waited for them to disappear from view to hurry toward the kitchen. He knew everyone would be gathered there, and sure enough, there was a big group present. Keenan and Nysys were all but vibrating, and they jumped Delevan as soon as he stepped in.
“What’s going on?” Keenan asked.
“Who’s here? Why was I asked to tone it down? What’s happening?” Nysys said.
“Why are we hiding in the kitchen?”
“Why didn’t anyone tell us what’s happening?”
Delevan held his hands up and the two miraculously snapped their mouths shut. “They’re detectives, and I don’t know why they’re here. I’ll probably find out soon enough since one of them asked to talk to me.” He dumped his bag at Keenan’s feet. “Would you mind taking this down to the laundry room? I need to go.”
Keenan grabbed the bag and shook his head. “No, I don’t mind. I expect payment, though.”
“Payment?”
“I get to be the first one to know what’s going on.”
“Won’t you be anyway?” Nysys asked. “You’re Dominic’s
PA.”
“Doesn’t mean he tells me everything.”
“I’ll tell you what I can as soon as they leave.”
Keenan nodded and Delevan left the kitchen. He really didn’t want to talk to the detectives, but he had no choice. His father would be there, so he’d make sure everything went well, or as well as it could, anyway.
Delevan knocked on the office door and his dad told him to come in. The detectives were sitting in front of the desk, so Delevan walked around it and perched his ass on the arm of his dad’s chair.
Detective Grand looked at them. “You said you were father and son?”
“Yes,” Delevan’s father answered.
“You look young to have a son this old, Mr. Nash.”
Delevan’s dad chuckled. “I’m not quite as young as I seem, and I had Delevan when I was only twenty.”
“Can I ask why you don’t have the same surname?”
“My mother didn’t tell my father about me,” Delevan told her. “I have her name.”
“But you’re here.”
“Yeah, well. I wanted to know my father, and I was old enough to come look for him, so I did.”
“And you live with your father even though you don’t know him well?”
“I’ve been living here for the past year, so I think I know him pretty well by now. Why? Did my mother call you? Is that why you’re here?”
Detective Flynn leaned forward. “No, but why do you think that?”
Delevan shrugged. “We didn’t have the best relationship when I left. She didn’t want to tell me about Dad. In fact, she didn’t. I found out about him through an old friend of his, and she had to tell me the rest. I haven’t talked to her much since then, so I thought maybe she was trying to get me back.”
“As far as I know she’s not.”
Delevan nodded. “Good. Can I ask why you wanted to talk to me, then?”
“There have been a lot of attacks recently, most of them against groups like yours, people who live together in large communities. We found the same phone number in most of the houses or cell phones, and it led to this house. Do you know something about it?”
“Why should I? I do live here, but all my friends are part of this commune. I work in Whitedell and I don’t go out much. I don’t know anything about attacks, except for what I see on the news, and I don’t watch it often to begin with.”
Delevan’s dad leaned against his desk. “I’m the official leader, if you will, of the commune, and yes, I know about the attacks. The other leader and I keep in touch. It’s a way to talk about our situations and have help when we need it. It’s not easy to have this many people live together under the same roof. There are fights, grumblings, but luckily, nothing too bad.”
“Why do you all live here?” Detective Grand asked. “Are you part of a cult?”
Delevan’s dad laughed. “God, no. I don’t care what the commune members believe in. To be honest, I didn’t think the commune would expand this fast. It started because I wanted a safe place for those of us cast out by our families. There are a lot more of us than I thought, and a lot gathered here through the mouth to ear connection.”
“What do you mean, cast out by your families?”
“I might have a son, but I’m married to a man. Most of us here are gay, or were abused for any other motive. This is a safe house, nothing more, nothing less.”
“And you do this out of the goodness of your heart?”
“Yes. I lost my brother when I was young, and I have no other family. I wanted to give the people who were alone one.”
“They don’t give you anything in exchange?”
“Are you accusing me of something?”
Detective Grand shook her head. “No.”
“Yes, I do get something in exchange. I have a family. I have children, even though they aren’t mine. I have the brothers and sisters I’ve always wanted. And before you ask, some of them do contribute by giving money to the commune, but you can check the accounts. I don’t keep anything. Every single penny goes to the commune’s account, and I use it to buy food and to take care of the house.” He leaned back against his chair. “Now, do you have any other questions?”
* * * *
Blair entered the kitchen after Ira, and he wasn’t surprised to see it was packed. “What’s going on?”
Nysys was the one who answered—of course he was. “It’s the police. They’re going to arrest all of us!”
He looked scared, and Blair didn’t like it. They’d become close ever since the prank a few months before. Well, Nysys was close to almost everyone in the pride. Blair had a soft spot for him, especially since Nysys hadn’t tried to prank him after the doll thing.
He opened his arms and Nysys grinned before stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Blair’s waist. Blair kissed the top of his head. “They won’t arrest you, Nys. Why would they?”
“I don’t know.”
“Have you done something that could have you arrested?”
“Not as far as I know, but it doesn’t mean I haven’t.”
“Well, if they do arrest you, just shimmer back here, yeah? I’ll hide you in my room so they can’t find you.”
Nysys laughed against Blair’s chest and relaxed. “Yeah, okay.”
“So, why are they here?”
“To talk to Dominic. Delevan is there, too.”
Blair frowned. “Why?”
“Don’t know. He came in with them, so it’s probably just because they saw him.”
Blair gently pushed Nysys toward the table. “Come on, let’s sit down.”
Darin was at the stove, no doubt baking something, and Blair stopped next to him to peek. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here,” he answered without looking up.
“I know that, smartass. Shouldn’t you be at your shop?”
“Benjamin wanted to try to be on his own. I’m going back after lunch.”
“How’s he doing?”
“Well. I was surprised to see him take to people so easily.”
“What are you baking?”
“Chocolate cherry coke cupcakes,”
Blair watched as he added a brown mixture to the flour—or whatever the white stuff in the bowl was. “How’d you come up with those?”
Darin shrugged. “No idea. They just sounded good.”
He mixed the stuff in the bowl and reached sideways for the tins, but Trevor was there handing them to him, already lined with the little paper thingies. Darin nodded at him, and Blair let them work.
He didn’t know what to do. His instinct was to run to Dominic’s office and defend Delevan—from what, he didn’t know. He stayed right where he was, though. He didn’t want to give anyone more problems than they already had.
He sat at the table and ignored Nysys, who was chatting with Jayden and Keenan. He tapped his fingers on the table, shifted in his chair, and bounced his knee.
He stayed still for about thirty seconds before getting up again. “I’m going for a walk in the garden,” he told no one in particular.
“I’ll tell Delevan when I see him,” Nysys said before going back to his conversation with his friends.
Blair exited the kitchen and paused on the porch. It was hot, but he and his dragon loved the July weather. It was a pity he couldn’t shift right now, but a walk would do. It would have to. Blair didn’t think the detectives would react well to a Komodo dragon lazing in the sun or walking around.
Once he’d had enough of walking, Blair collapsed on the grass and tilted his face up. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sun until someone walked toward him. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know who it was, not now that Delevan was close and Blair could smell him.
“All done?” he asked when Delevan sat next to him.
“Yeah.”
“What did they want?”
“They asked questions about the groups of shifters that were attacke
d lately.”
Bradley certainly hadn’t been idle since he’d run away. The attacks on the weakest shifter groups had increased, and if it was to the point the human police had noticed, they were in trouble.
“Did Dominic answer?”
“He just told them those groups were also communes and that they kept in touch just to chat and share experiences, stuff like that.”
“And they believed him?”
“I’m not sure.”
“What’s your dad going to do about it?”
“He was already on the phone with Troy when I left his office.”
Blair blinked and looked at Delevan. “Troy?”
“His best friend’s in the police department, or something like that. Dad hopes he can help.” Delevan huffed. “How can you stay out here like this? It’s hot.”
“You’re a lion. You should be used to it.”
“Yeah, well, apart from the fact that I’ve never lived outside the country, I’m not in my lion form right now.”
“Are the detectives gone?”
“Yeah.”
“Then shift.”
“Here?”
“Where else? I guess you could shift in our bedroom, but you’d take up a lot of space. We can sunbathe.”
Delevan stared at Blair for a few seconds, then yanked his T-shirt off. Blair grinned and followed suit. They threw their clothes on the grass and Blair couldn’t resist sneaking a peek at Delevan’s body. He was tanned, and Blair wished they were at the pool just to be able to see his mate wet and glistening in the sunlight.
Delevan shifted first, and Blair watched him. The lion was a majestic creature, and when Delevan shook his mane out, Blair sank a hand in it and scratched Delevan’s head. “You’re a pretty lion.” Delevan growled, but a scratch under the chin was enough to mellow him. “Come on, you know it’s true. You’re very good-looking, even as a lion.”
Blair could almost hear Delevan’s answer—Good-looking, yes, but not pretty. He laughed and kissed Delevan’s nose, then he shifted. Delevan head-butted him as soon as he was in his dragon form, and Blair flicked his tongue out. He was always very careful not to let his teeth tear out of his gums when he was in his dragon form. The last thing he wanted was to poison his mate, or anyone else he was with.
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