The Link That Binds

by Dawn H. Hawkes

  It took a couple of minutes to drive through the enclosed forest before the heavy branches and leaves cleared enough so Link could see where they were heading. A large building met them, looking like a cross between a factory and a mansion. It definitely looked regal, but still managed to look sturdy enough to withstand a nuclear attack.

  Outside were parked several identical black SUVs just like the one they were driving, along with two Harleys.

  Getting out when Solomon parked the car, he waited for the man to lead the way. Link had no idea what to suspect at this place and he knew better than to stroll in like he owned it. This was feline territory, not human.

  Walking up the steps, Solomon managed to step back a moment before the front door flew open and a petite young man wearing an apron burst through the doorway, giggling ‘til he noticed Link and froze in his tracks. His face visibly paled, a look of terror replacing the previously joyful one.

  Only a second later a large blond covered in flour came running out the door with an identical smile. When he recognized the smaller man’s terror, he pulled the man behind him and roared.

  Link could see something shift under the other man’s skin and had to fight the urge to run and take cover back in the car.

  “Maddox!” Solomon called out to the enraged being. “Stand down, now!”

  Maddox seemed unwilling to do anything but jump at Link and tear his throat out. His body appearing to vibrate with the desire to dismiss his leader’s order.

  Only when the little guy wrapped his arms around the big guy’s waist did the shifter seem to calm down.

  “Maddox, it’s all right. I was just startled, okay?” The young man soothed the large man.

  With his eyes still glowing a predatory, golden color, he pulled his mate, as Link figured he had to be, from behind him and into his arms while still glaring death threats at Link.

  Now that Link had a better look at the kid, his eyes went wide as he realized who he was. No wonder he hadn’t recognized him immediately though, seeing as the last time he’d seen Leo, he’d been drugged out of his mind, wearing nothing but a pair of leather pants and a collar. Now he seemed to have gained some crucial pounds and a lot healthier coloring. And he was smiling.

  “What the fuck is he doing here, Sol?” Maddox growled. “He’s a fucking drug dealer for crying out loud.”

  Link glared at him, but knew he couldn’t argue against what he said. After all, it had been he who’d manufactured the drugs, which were far from suitable for a human body, that the moron, Mika, had given Leo. The fact that Leo still lived, given the condition he’d been in back then, wasn’t far from a miracle in Link’s opinion.

  “Leo,” Sol started, “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you before bringing him here, but I brought him for Jace’s sake.”

  Maddox rumbled as he pressed his mate closer in his arms. “Hope it’s to have his balls chopped off for what he did to him. Liam’s still pissed for letting Jace get caught and I’m pretty sure he’ll want to chomp this bastard down a few inches if Jace isn’t up to it.”

  Link caught Leo watching him warily, before his eyes widened and his head snapped back to look at Solomon. “He’s Jace’s mate, isn’t he?” he whispered.

  Link shifted uneasily as Maddox’s jaw appeared to go slack.

  “You’re shitting me?!” Maddox slipped out when the initial shock wore off.

  “Easy tiger, I don’t even know if I like him yet,” Link informed him.

  “Lion,” Leo objected.

  “Sorry?” Link asked.

  “Maddox’s a lion shifter, Solomon is the tiger,” he explained.

  “Right… thought shifters gathered amongst their own, but these guys are just a mixed band of strays, aren’t they?” Link chuckled darkly.

  “At least they aren’t fucking volunteering to be Mika’s bitch!”

  Link startled at harsh words coming from the little man and, from the looks of it, he wasn’t the only one taken off guard. His face went red though when he seemed to realize what he’d said and turned to hide his face against his mate’s broad chest.

  “I haven’t gone through anything near what you had to go through, Leo,” Link admitted. “But I never volunteered for this, either. Mika is a pathetic excuse for a living organism and I’m sorry he used my drugs to harm you. Those drugs were never intended for human use.”

  When teary eyes met his, Link felt his heart sink. He knew very well what Mika’s pets had gone through and knowing this innocent creature had been the target for such cruelty…

  “If you’re gonna be Jace’s mate,” Leo said in a slightly rough voice, “you’re going to have to stop making excuses. You should have known Mika wouldn’t have cared who he gave those drugs to, even if you were coerced to do so. They were still your drugs.”

  And damn if Link’s eye didn’t start to twitch again…

  Chapter 9

  Jace couldn’t sleep. His mating pheromones had his body temperature soaring to ungodly heights, making him permanently hard. Shaking badly and feeling starved for sexual relief, Jace suffered, but whenever he touched himself it only ended up hurting even more.

  Having Sol kiss him had set off the heat a lot earlier than he’d expected and he knew his body would continue to reject the touch of anybody who wasn’t his mate, including his own, so again, masturbation didn’t do a damn thing. Basically he’d only get worse until his mate showed up to give him proper release. Guess he would just have to keep suffering.

  Just barely managing to drag himself into the bathroom, he turned on the cold water in the shower before collapsing on the floor. Moaning as the cold water hit his body, Jace curled himself into a ball.

  The cold water was a lifesaver, cooling his body enough to be able to think clearly. If only he had the energy to crawl back into his bedroom, he could call Kett to get him some tranquilizers from his office and maybe some cooling gel.

  Jace had used them on other patients before, on those who’d gone into heat when their mates were out on assignment. He’d never suspected that he’d be in the same situation… or rather, in this situation without a mate to go through it with.

  “Jace?” Solomon’s voice rang out.

  Thank god, Jace thought as Solomon came into the bathroom. “Sol, I need you to get me some meds from the medical cabinet in my office…” He trailed off and moaned again.

  The most wonderful scent had just wafted through the door and penetrated the rain of water. It was the smell of brandy and earthy spices. Jace really wouldn’t mind a little taste of that.

  “Shit! He looks like hell,” another voice sounded, startling Jace.

  Looking up, he wished he hadn’t and then completely wished he hadn’t turned away when he did. Link stood there, looking just like the sexy, frickin’ demi-god he was with his black t-shirt and worn out jeans. The cold water suddenly turned useless as his body went into hyper-drive and he groaned in pain.

  The water disappeared and he suddenly found himself wrapped in Link’s muscular arms as he was carried back into the bedroom, despite the fact he was dripping wet. Acting on instinct, Jace couldn’t help turning into Link’s body and taking in that delicious scent, causing him to groan.

  Refusing to let go of Link as the man tried to deposit him on the bed, afraid his salvation would fall past his reach again, Jace cried out when a vaguely familiar grip surrounded his erection.

  “If you think I’m gonna fuck you, dream on,” Link said, still keeping his hold on Jace’s erection, stroking him, agonizingly slow.

  Jace whimpered and fought the urge to tear up; he’d already shown Link how pathetic he was—no need to add to it. Still, he wanted so badly for Link to keep touching him and for him to do it a hell of a lot faster. He was burning up, for Christ’s sake.

  “No weeping, Jace. It’s your own damn fault for giving me your knee earlier; not traditionally something that puts a guy in the mood.” Link growled as he let go of Jace’s straining cock to take off his shirt, which he
proceeded to throw across the room.

  Jace nearly came as Link’s perfectly sculpted chest came into view. He ached to touch him, but was afraid Link was still mad at him for what he’d done. He didn’t dare reach out and guide him. He knew his alley-kick would come back to bite him in the ass, he just knew it.

  It had just seemed like the thing to do at the moment.

  “You’re sorry, aren’t you?” Link asked him with a wicked smirk, squeezing painfully around Jace’s recaptured dick.

  If Jace hadn’t been desperate to be in Link’s good favor, or if he hadn’t been in heat, he would have thrown the man to the floor, hard. Instead Jace nodded his head vigorously, ‘cause he was sorry… sorry Link wouldn’t be able to bury his thick dick in his ass again.

  Hell, even his damn prostate felt swollen with the need to be caressed. “Please…” Jace managed to wheeze out as he struggled against the urge to pant.

  Jace startled as, suddenly, a bottle of lube landed close to his head and it hadn’t been Link who’d thrown the damn thing either.

  Shit, he’d completely forgotten about Sol being there. Looking up he expected to see sadness or discomfort on his former lover’s face, but all he saw was affection and a gentle smile.

  Jace blushed something fierce though.

  Link never let go of Jace’s erection as Sol spoke to him. “That lube’s a special blend; we use it to cool off our mate from the inside out when they’re overheated. Use it on yourself when you’re done; should help with any unwanted swelling.”

  Solomon left the two of them alone. Jace was desperate for all of Link, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t somewhat cautious around him considering their history with needles and ball-busters.

  Barely hearing the cap of the tube being opened, Jace jumped as a slick finger pushed into him. Groaning, he could feel his entire body clench, trying to hold onto Link’s finger.

  The cold of the lube seemed to make it burn even more with the contrasting temperature and Jace could feel his third form, his Triferus rippling just beneath the surface, wanting to come out and play with their mate. Not able to completely resist, Jace let his claws come out and scraped possessive marks into Link’s back.

  His reward, or punishment as Link may have meant it to be, turned into another finger added as they roughly pushed in and out of him.

  Torturing Jace, the fingers inside of him slammed into his sweet spot and made him mewl. When moist heat wrapped around his ready-to-burst cock, he was helpless to hold back, particularly since Link appeared determined to suck him down like a damn vacuum.

  With partially clawed hands, Jace grabbed onto Link’s hair, shredding another one of his hair ties, and held him there as he came down his mate’s throat.

  This only seemed to spur Link on as he sucked harder and swallowed around him repeatedly at the same time as he increased the pace of his fingers in Jace’s ass, pushing Jace into another orgasm straight after the first.

  The intensity of feeling Link’s throat rhythmically clench around his already erupting member almost made him buck Link straight off him. His lover’s bruising grip on his hip seemed to be the only thing keeping him grounded.

  Temporarily exhausted, Jace felt his entire body go limp and he fell back onto the bed, panting heavily and purring loudly. His cold shower never happened as far as Jace was concerned; his entire body felt like a sated flame, even despite the cooling effect of the lube Link had used. But the pain of the long wait in Jace’s mating heat had faded, leaving him somewhat drowsy in his contented state.

  “Damn it!” Link swore as he began clawing at his own pants and pulling them off.

  Jace instantly forgot about his plans for a little catnap and took notice of his undressing mate, making his mating heat flare up again. His eyes were all but glued to the newly exposed areas of skin.

  His purring increased when Link pulled his boxers down and a hard dick slapped up against Link’s stomach, leaving behind a wet spot of pre-cum on his abs, one that Jace was simply dying to lick.

  “Shit!” Link cursed again. “I can’t get the damn thing to down if you don’t shut off that damn purring of yours.”

  With a feral grin, Jace let his purrs increase in volume. Apparently, his mate had a little bit of kink in him and Jace definitely wasn’t opposed to kink, nor would he stop purring if it made his human mate go into heat as well.

  Link grabbed hold of his cock and hissed, clenching his jaws together. When Jace recognized Link’s hiss as one of pain, he instantly stopped purring. He’d nearly forgotten about the aches he’d caused his mate earlier.

  Before Link could go any further, Jace grabbed hold of him and pulled him down on the bed, angling him so he fell on his back.

  Getting the lube, Jace crawled up his mate’s body, quite aware of how Link’s eyes followed him to see what he would do.

  Strange how much of a turn on it could be, having his mate look at him that way. Straddling Link’s thighs, Jace poured a liberal amount of the cooling ointment into his hand and carefully started rubbing it into Link’s throbbing cock.

  Link groaned as the cooling liquid effectively began easing the pain as Jace gently smeared it onto the man’s dick, enjoying it just a tad too much considering Link was hurting. It made Jace feel somewhat proud that it was the concoction of his own making that served to ease his mate’s discomfort when Link let out a soft, relieved sigh. It at least made up a bit for his guilt trip, being the one who’d caused Link those pains in the first place. Plus, it did give him an excellent reason to stroke his mate’s wonderfully thick cock, which he hoped would be stretching him out not too long in the future.

  Damn, maybe he should have made the recipe even stronger, that way they could’ve fucked sooner, but he hadn’t wanted anybody to get frostbite either.

  Seeing Link clutching the sheets under him as he unsuccessfully tried to suppress his moans had Jace completely hard again. And stroking the man’s straining dick definitely made him want to suck it down.

  Unfortunately the cream would have to be washed off if he was to do that. Cooling his ass down would have been one thing, a pleasurable thing even, cooling his throat however—not so much. Sure he could always rim his ass, but Jace wasn’t sure if Link was quite up for that at the moment. He still hadn’t figured out if the man ever bottomed, but from what Jace had experienced, Link acted completely dominant.

  Link groaned when Jace increased his stroking as the shifter got a bit hot under the collar. He tried not to let the sexual frustrations take him over and tried to keep his strokes gentle, but by the way Link started pushing his cock through his hand with hard, determined thrusts… the need was contagious.

  Unable to withstand the tempting buffet of flesh before him, Jace slid down slightly and let his tongue lick at Link’s abs. The slightly salty taste of Link’s sweat coating his skin had Jace tightening his grip around the man’s throbbing dick.

  Fuck; Link tasted so fucking good. Jace could feel his cock jerk in response and couldn’t help rubbing insistently up against his mate’s thigh.

  Link watched him with a burning gaze, spurring Jace on to continue his exploration of the man’s chest. Following the dip of his mate’s abs and up to his chest, Jace couldn’t help but nip at one of Link’s pert nipples.

  Groaning when Jace did so, Link grabbed hold of the hand Jace had been using to stroke his dick and started moving it so that he ended up stroking faster.

  Jace moaned and let Link set the pace while he focused on tasting more of his skin. Licking up alongside Link’s neck, he started purring again when Link tilted his head back to give him better access.

  Jace nipped Link behind the ear before dragging his tongue across the scar from where he’d bitten him the last time they’d been intimate. He suppressed the brief memory of the needle Link had shoved into his neck and focused on the mark he’d left behind on Link instead. He nipped along the edges of the scar and felt Link tense underneath him. For a moment, Jace was afraid he’d c
rossed some sort of a line, but when Link’s grip on his hand urged him to jerk him even faster, he knew his mate was perfectly fine.

  Taken off guard when Link’s other hand suddenly grabbed hold of his hair and forcefully pulled him to his lips, Link effectively smothered his whimper at the slight sting.

  Link’s tongue forced its way into his mouth, instantly taking control of the kiss. Jace moaned, Link’s mouth was scorching and tasted vaguely of beer and scotch. Purring, Jace molded his body to Link’s, perfectly happy to let Link take the lead as he used Jace’s hand to jack himself while plundering his mouth.

  Jace could feel how close Link was to coming and felt his canines extend in response. When the kiss broke for gasps of breath, Jace broke free from Link’s grip and struck his teeth into the mating mark on Link’s neck.

  Crying out, Link came with several forceful blasts all over Jace’s hand and both of their stomachs. With the combined sensations of Link’s cum hitting Jace’s abs and the intoxicating taste of Link’s ecstasy of release soaring through his blood, Jace bit down harder so as not to scream as he came seconds later, mixing the evidence of their joint pleasure.

  Jace couldn’t have stopped purring even if he’d tried at this point and as Link wrapped his arms around him, Jace felt a big-ass weight being lifted off his shoulders. A sneaking suspicion told him it wasn’t just because he’d been sated and thus saved from the hellish flames that had threatened to consume him less than an hour earlier.

  “We should get cleaned up,” Link stated as he moved to get off the bed, but Jace stopped him.

  “Just a little while longer?” Jace asked, not ready to be out of his mate’s arms just yet and snuggled in closer, thankful that Link didn’t press the issue further. Jace really didn’t give a damn if they woke up all scratchy and itchy from the dried cum. Lying down in Link’s arms wasn’t something he was willing to lose just yet.

  Not being able to help himself, Jace lifted his hand to his lips and started cleaning off the copious amounts of Link’s juices. A salty treat, the taste definitely something Jace could see himself wanting more often, maybe after a good game and a few beers. Sure as hell beat bargain-bucks bar-nuts.