by Jamie Craig
Jesse moaned with every thrust, completely carried away by the hard rhythm Gideon established. The hint of Gideon’s come once again at the back of his throat sent him closer to the edge, but it was his fast fingers and the glorious vibrations going through his cock that sent him flying over it. He couldn’t shout around Gideon’s cock, but the sound filled his chest as he erupted in Gideon’s throat.
Within seconds, Gideon’s come was filling his mouth, but so caught up in his orgasm, Jesse couldn’t catch it all, sticky droplets seeping out the corners of his lips. Gideon ground his balls into Jess’ nose, the scent musky and mouth-watering, and though he pulled his fingers from Jesse’s sore hole, he kept a tight suction around Jesse’s cock until it began to soften. Only then did Gideon disengage, twisting around to once again cover Jesse’s body with his own.
“And here I thought you’d never waste a drop of my come,” he scolded with a smile. He leaned down and licked the fluid running down Jesse’s jaw. “We’re going to have to practice that.”
“Okay,” Jesse said, dazed. At that moment, he would probably agree to anything Gideon said they needed to do. Gideon cleaned his mouth and chin thoroughly, then pressed his lips against Jesse’s.
“So,” Gideon said, when he finally broke the never-ending kiss, “was it worth the wait?”
“It was worth the wait,” Jesse breathed. “You’ve always been worth the wait.”
Gideon hesitated, and for a moment, Jess wondered if he’d said too much, gone too far. It was difficult to read Gideon even when he wasn’t in an orgasm fog, but now, it was simply impossible.
“You should get some rest now.” He peeled away, stretching to undo the heavy Velcro strapping Jesse down, and the next was said with his eyes averted. “If you want me to stay, I will, but I can’t promise that you’ll get much sleep if that happens.”
A part of Jesse didn’t care if Gideon stayed and kept him awake all day and all night. But his eyes were already heavy. “Are we going to the warehouse tonight?”
“Yeah. I talked some with Tricia while I was in the cage. I think I’ve figured out how we’re going to tackle this.”
Jesse nodded. “Then I better get some sleep so I’m of use for you.”
He turned on his side, his eyes falling shut. He waited for the bed to shift and Gideon to leave, but he stretched out beside him. Jesse closed his eyes, and this time, he didn’t dream about tar that coated everything.
Chapter 14
It was a simple plan. Gideon liked simple. It was hard to fuck up simple.
Go to the warehouse. Jess would take point on the ground level while Gideon searched the inside for human life signs. Get the humans out, though he doubted he’d find any. Burn the warehouse down.
Obsidian problem solved. Henry couldn’t deal if it was destroyed and he was dust. Even Jess liked it, which boosted Gideon’s confidence in success a thousand percent.
It didn’t mean that they weren’t going in prepared, though. Gideon stood out of the way as Jesse finished tucking stakes into his light jacket.
“Stay out of the alley,” he said. “I’ll block the side entrance before we go in so that it’s harder for anybody to try and escape that way. But if you hear something, go to the mouth of it and use the crossbow. You’re still sharp, right?”
Jess nodded. “I don’t always sit behind that desk, you know.”
He didn’t like Jess engaging in the fights, but occasionally, circumstances demanded it. Gideon didn’t want anybody escaping with obsidian, and if that meant killing every vampire who tried to escape, then so be it. Besides, Jess was a good shot with the crossbow. It was one of the reasons Gideon had hired him in the first place. If there was anybody he trusted with long-range weaponry, it was Jess.
Still, he watched him prepare the crossbow out of the corner of his eye anyway, watched his long, slim fingers deftly manipulate the small bolts, searched for any sign that he might not be as ready as Gideon needed him to be. Jess didn’t falter. Not once.
The drive to the warehouse was quiet and tense, both men too focused on the events to come than to consider events already past. Jess had slept most of the day away while Gideon consolidated the plan, but every once in awhile, the temptation to talk to him about what had happened between them—what was happening—tickled at the edges of Gideon’s thoughts.
The sex was amazing. Surprising. Jesse was amazing and surprising. And each time Gideon touched him, each time Jess looked at him through those thick lashes with eyes gleaming in lust and adoration, Gideon fell for him a little bit harder. It was one thing to love Jess as the best friend he’d had in a very long time, but to have that same man who commandeered his professional respect be one of the most satisfying and thrilling partners he’d had in his bedroom as well…
Maybe it was just the newness of it all. Maybe finally unleashing secret passions for each other just made them hungrier. But Gideon didn’t think so. And the more time he spent with Jesse, the more convinced he became that it wasn’t just desire and a submissive streak a mile wide that Jess was harboring. More than once, he thought he’d heard something deeper in Jesse’s tone, words he wanted to say couched in safer terms. There were the glances when he thought Gideon wasn’t paying attention, the way his skin would pink with heat when Gideon returned a smile. Separately, they were nothing, fragments of daily life that could hold any kind of meaning at all. But added together, tossed with Gideon’s gut reaction, he thought they meant something much, much more.
He turned onto Palm far too soon. Gideon wasn’t done trying to sort out the amalgam of emotions inside his head, but there was the warehouse, and here was Jess asking yet again if Gideon was ready, and it was time to work, not play.
“I’m ready,” he replied as he pulled to down the street. They didn’t want to get too close and be spotted before it was time. “Let’s do this.”
They walked in silence down the sidewalk. The storm had done little to erase the oppressive heat, and Gideon smelled the sweat already rising to the surface of Jesse’s skin. When they passed beneath a streetlight, he saw the small beads glistening on the man’s brow, but he didn’t say a word until they were standing at the top of the alley.
“Don’t let your trigger finger slip,” he warned good-naturedly.
Jess smiled and lifted a hand to his forehead. “These things never happen when it’s cool outside,” he said, wiping away some of the sweat.
“Given this or six feet of lake effect snow, I’ll take the heat.” Gideon glanced around, but other than a few cars parked in the distance, the neighborhood was just as dead as it had been every other time he’d visited. “What do you think? You think Tricia’s right about Henry being here tonight? Or was she just yanking my chain?”
“She believed what she told us. If he’s not here, it’s through no fault of hers.”
“He better be here,” Gideon muttered. He wanted this whole debacle done. “Go. I shouldn’t be gone long.”
He waited until he saw Jess get into position in the shadows near the front door. Then Gideon crept down the alley, his steps practiced and silent. Stopping at the fire escape that snaked up the side of the building, he leapt upward to grab the rail, swinging over its edge with feral grace. The iron bars rattled slightly under his weight, but Gideon didn’t pause and pushed open the window he knew led into a back room.
Dust swirled around his feet as he strode through the cramped space. With the building next door blocking any ambient light from the street, the room was near pitch, forcing Gideon to vamp out and heighten his senses. As soon as he did, the stench of obsidian assaulted his nose, and a growl rose unbidden in the back of his throat.
At least he knew Henry was here. From the smell of it, they were cooking up more of the drug. Before reaching for the doorknob, Gideon pulled his gloves out of his pockets and slipped them on. He wasn’t going to fall for that trick twice.
He prowled through the corridor, listening for any signs of activity. Revenants echoed ba
ck at him, empty rooms following empty rooms, and beyond the obsidian lingering in the air, there was no other evidence of life. He came to the stairs that led down to the ground floor and larger, open warehouse space, but didn’t hesitate to start descending. It made better sense for them to be down there anyway. There were easier means of escape on the first level and greater room to work.
Gideon heard it before he’d reached the bottom step.
A breath. Followed by another.
He froze. Listened. Golden eyes searched the darkness.
The breaths were not singular events. It was the constant pulse of someone’s inhalations, and not a demon someone.
His nostrils flared.
Human.
Fuck.
Gideon stepped silently off the stairs and turned in the sound’s direction. In the distance, he could now make out the rough chatter of a group of people, casual tones and the occasional laugh enough to let him know it had to be Henry and his gang. The human was heading in the same direction, but the even pacing of his heart didn’t betray fear or anxiety. There wasn’t even a hint of hurrying.
He recognized the scent the moment before his hand clamped over the man’s mouth and yanked him back against Gideon’s chest.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Lucas?” Gideon growled into the man’s ear.
Lucas Richards struggled in the hold, but even in his prime, he was nowhere near a match for Gideon’s superior strength. He sagged within seconds, allowing Gideon to drag him backward, away from the congregation of vampires deeper inside the warehouse, until Gideon felt the front door at his ass. Reaching behind, he knocked on it twice, the signal to Jess that it was him and not someone to be staked, before twisting the knob and pulling Lucas out into the street.
Though he didn’t worry Jess would shoot, Gideon made sure he blocked Lucas’ body from potential harm until Jess lowered his weapons. Only then did Gideon shove Lucas away, glowering as the man stumbled against the wall.
“Not exactly your neighborhood, now is it?” he said. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Lucas straightened, pulling at his polo as he tried to neaten his appearance. “I thought somebody should be investigating this place,” he spat. “Since it’s very clear to me that hiring you was a mistake.”
“And you think I like crawling around in a smelly warehouse in the middle of the night just because I’m a vampire?” Gideon snorted, shaking his head. “Go home, Lucas. This is not someplace you want to be tonight.”
Jesse stepped between the two angry men, sending a sympathetic glance to Gideon before turning to Lucas. “Councilman Richards, this is a very dangerous place. You could get injured, or worse, if you stay.”
“Like Toby, you mean?” For a moment, Lucas actually looked his age, the lines around his eyes deeper, his cheeks hollowed. “I just want answers, damn it. Why won’t you tell me what’s going on?”
“I know you do. We don’t have the answers you want right now. I can tell you the monsters who are responsible for your son’s death are in there, and if Gideon hadn’t found you, you’d be in ribbons right now. Gideon’s right, you should go home.”
But Lucas didn’t hear the warning. His attention had shifted as soon as Jesse admitted that Toby’s killers—indirect killers, but responsible, just the same—still lurked inside the building. Gideon grabbed his arm the moment he saw Lucas tense and pulled him further away from the door.
“You want answers?” he said, his voice low. “Here’s one. If you stick around, the headline in tomorrow’s paper is going to be ‘Councilman found in warehouse fire, foul play suspected.’”
Lucas paled, but didn’t flinch. “I want them brought to justice, Gideon.”
“They’re vampires. This is as close to justice as you’re going to get.”
“Gideon…”
Jesse’s warning came a second too late. They were both too distracted by Lucas to hear the vampires approach. They flung the door open, narrowly missing Jesse with the heavy steel. Jess scrambled back, trying to bring his crossbow level for a shot, and Gideon pushed Lucas aside, putting himself between the unarmed man and the stream of Henry’s goons coming out of the warehouse.
The nearest vampire, a guy with a large silver stud through his nose, burst into dust less than a yard away from where Gideon and Lucas stood. Jesse stood behind him, his face set in a grim frown, his body already turning to take aim at the next one.
Lucas shrank against the wall, making himself even smaller. Out of the corner of his eye, Gideon saw him start inching away, but there was no time to stop him before two smaller vamps tried to play wishbone with Gideon’s arms. With a snarl, Gideon threw one off, sending him into the street. Jess had a bolt through his heart the second he hit the cement. The second was a bit more tenacious, fangs tearing through Gideon’s thin shirt to slice at his skin.
Gideon glanced up to see Jesse trying to take aim at the vampire attacking him, but he wasn’t firing. It didn’t take long to realize it was because he was worried about hitting the wrong vampire. Narrowing his eyes, Jesse’s finger moved over the trigger, as Gideon turned to better position the snarling vamp.
Before Jess could shoot, the crossbow went flying, and Jesse’s surprised shout of pain echoed in the narrow alley.
All thoughts of protecting Lucas fled.
Jess is hurt.
Fury, white-hot and livid, surged through Gideon’s veins, and he grabbed the throat of the vampire clinging to him and squeezed. His nails broke through the skin, blood seeping out around his fingers, and after a few seconds—though it felt like an eternity—the vamp let go. It was all Gideon needed. The stake was in his hand, through its chest, clattering to the ground as he leapt through the scattering dust toward Jess.
Jesse was pinned against the wall in a defensive position, fending off attacks, but Gideon didn’t smell the familiar tang of his blood in the air. He grabbed the back of the vampire’s neck and yanked him away from Jesse, then slammed his head against the brick wall. The vamp folded to the ground, blood flowing freely from his shattered skull. Gideon prepared to give him another blow, but Jess freed a stake from his sleeve and shoved it through the vampire’s chest. As it burst into dust, Gideon realized they were alone in the alley once again.
“Fuck,” he muttered. He scanned the street, just in case he’d been mistaken, but it was still empty. Henry had gotten away. Even Lucas had found time to flee. “Fuck.”
“Gideon, are you okay? Are you feeling the effects of the obsidian?”
“What?” Turning back to Jess, Gideon blinked at him twice as the question sank in. “No. No. I don’t think so. I’m just pissed we lost him again.” His gaze immediately settled on the awkward way Jess was cradling his hand against his body. “God, what about you? What did he do?”
Jess waved him off when he tried to approach. “I’m fine. But we should get out of here. Henry might come back with reinforcements and I won’t be able to back you up if there’s another fight.” He flushed. “I’m sorry.”
“Fuck, Jess, stop apologizing.”
When Jess started walking back to the car, Gideon scooped up the broken crossbow and trailed after him.
Jess got hurt.
It wasn’t until he turned the key in the ignition that he realized he was shaking. He had to grip the steering wheel with white knuckle force in order for Jess not to realize just how badly he’d been affected by what had transpired.
He could’ve lost Jess.
Getting back to his place was the longest drive Gideon had ever taken.
Chapter 15
There had once been a time when Jesse spent at least five or six hours of every twenty-four at his own place. He went back to his apartment to shower, sleep, eat, and change, like a normal person, even when they were in the middle of a case. Now every hour he spent at his own place felt like some sort of bizarre punishment. Gideon hadn’t sent him away, of course, but it felt like it.
It took just over thirty-six
long hours to perfect his own elixir. Or get it to what he thought was perfection. He still needed to test it—and he didn’t think Gideon would be a willing subject, but there was no way he wanted to get caught in a bad situation with an unknown quantity.
It was thick, but not as thick as the elixir used in the obsidian, and it fit in a small spray bottle. He could release the antidote as a mist. Jesse figured that would be the quickest, easiest way to administer a dose. He made enough for two bottles, securing them in his jacket pocket for easy access. It was far too hot for the jacket, but it was a small sacrifice for safety.
As soon as he was finished, he was out the door. It took exactly sixteen minutes to walk to the office from his apartment, and he never varied from his path. The streets were sweating, pulsing with light, but he was alone in the early morning. Of course, he wasn’t alone. The vampires and demons were simply lurking beyond his senses.
I should have waited a few hours until dawn.
By the time the thought occurred to him, he was only five minutes away from the office. From Gideon. He put his head down and quickened his pace, his hands buried in his pockets, his fingers brushing against the bottles.
“Hey.”
Jesse glanced up, but he didn’t stop. “Rina?”
The vampire stepped out of a darkened doorway. “Where’s Gideon?”
“Have you been trying to reach him?”
“He’s not usually far from you, is he?”
Jesse shrugged. “Do you need something?”
Rina grinned. “Yeah, I do. Do you know what I heard last night?” She began rolling toward him, her hips swaying aggressively.
Jesse held his ground. If she started pushing him, she wouldn’t stop until he was cornered.
