“It’s customary to ask permission before boarding another person’s boat,” William commented mildly. As soon as John drew close enough, he wrapped his arm around his lover. His instinct to keep the man safe rode him hard... especially in the presence of all those guns. “What do you want, Stiles?”
William directed his question at Stiles Gribble. He knew the big, black man was Armando’s right-hand man and the head of his security. That he was here with three gunmen didn’t bode well for their visit.
Stiles crossed his arms over his broad, t-shirt-covered chest. His smile held a cold, reptilian quality. “I’d hoped to catch you alone, but one casualty isn’t going to make me lose sleep.” Flicking his fingers at John—a man he obviously didn’t recognize—Stiles ordered, “Kill this fag’s lover, and bring him here. Then sink the boat.”
“Oh, fuck no.” William curled his lip as he watched the second pair of guards bound onto his deck while the first pulled his gun. “Protect yourself, lover,” William ordered. “And grab the tubing rope from the storage in the hold. I’ll entertain these yahoos long enough for you to cut it into lengths so you can truss ‘em up.”
William didn’t wait for a response, trusting in his captain’s cop instincts to keep him safe. With a sweep of both arms, he shifted. His arms extended and grew, splitting to become four. His legs did the same, and his torso and head grew and adjusted position, shredding his board shorts in the process.
Controlling his shift, William slammed into the shocked guards, sending them tumbling over the railing at the bow and splashing into the sea. Rolling off the deck himself, William crashed his huge body into Stiles’s boat. The craft was in no way big enough to accommodate his giant squid form, and it broke apart, forcing Stiles to jump overboard.
If William could have smiled in squid form, he would have.
Chapter Eight
John stared in shock even as he grabbed the railing to steady himself. The yacht rocked dangerously as William’s still-expanding form rolled off of it. Gaping, he saw how his lover in giant squid form landed directly on the other boat, causing the wood and metal to split.
Just damn!
Hearing the cries of the guards, part of John thought about helping them. Then he remembered what Stiles had ordered them to do... and they’d seemed okay with the orders. William was right. Something wasn’t right at Perisource.
Once the rocking of the yacht evened out enough for John to safely move, he sprinted across the deck and into the cabin. His first order of business was getting to his bag. He dug out his Glock, which he’d rolled up in his shoulder holster and tucked in the bottom beneath his change of clothes.
John tugged on the holster, the weight familiar and comforting after being threatened by strangers. After a few seconds of thought, he remembered the hold William had spoken of. His lover had vaguely waved toward it during the short tour he’d given him when he’d first been brought aboard.
After jerking the door open, John peered inside the space. He spotted the uninflated tube as well as the rope. Even as he grabbed the coiled length, he absently wondered when they would ever use the item.
Pausing in the galley, John jerked open a drawer. He saw the sharp knives carefully fitted into their slots. After drawing out a carving knife, he closed the drawer and returned to the deck.
John wasn’t certain what he’d expected to see when he returned topside, but a giant squid—my giant squid—with four arms waving in the air while two more held him against the yacht, just as he’d done before wasn’t it.
In each of the squid’s lifted arms was a man—the three would-be assassins and their leader. One man was unconscious, his head drooping forward with his chin to his chest. Another man was bellowing obscenities. A third gaped, but if he was trying to speak, his voice box wasn’t cooperating. Only the man William had called Stiles appeared to be coherent.
“Help us, you bloody fool,” Stiles called, and John realized he was talking to him. “I see that gun. Shoot this abomination!”
Shaking his head, John gripped the railing. “Tell me what I want to know first. Then I’ll help you,” he lied. “You were going to kill me and sink William’s boat. Why?” The cop in him couldn’t help but interrogate the crazy bastard while he had the chance.
“Because he and his brother are trying to create problems for my boss,” Stiles claimed, twisting and turning within William’s grip. “No one messes with my boss, but if you help us, I’ll make sure you’re well compensated.”
William vocalized a low, haunting sound.
John wondered if that was William’s squid’s way of telling Stiles off. He sure wanted to. Instead, he peered over the railing and asked his lover in animal form, “Now what?”
In response, the squid moved the arm holding the unconscious man over the deck. With a surprising amount of care, he set down the man. Then he drew his arm close to John and slid it over the coil of rope he still held.
“Ah, right.” The squid’s meaning couldn’t have been clearer to John. “Tie them up.”
John uncoiled a length of the rope and cut it off. As he crossed to the downed man, he heard Stiles shouting obscenities at him, calling him a liar and more. John ignored him.
After John had finished tying up the man’s hands, he crossed to the railing and called, “Done.”
William responded by swinging the open-mouthed, seemingly frozen man onto the deck. Instead of dropping him, he adjusted his coiled arm, revealing the man’s hands. As John tied the guy’s hands in front of him, he found himself in awe of William’s control.
Since this man was awake, John trussed the guard’s feet, too.
John and William repeated the process with the third guard as well as Stiles. Those men afforded a bit more of a challenge, struggling and putting up a fight. William ended up having to partially let go of them, so John could put his bad-guy take-down skills to use. That pair he tied with their hands behind their backs.
Once done, William reappeared over the railing and strode toward them. His strong, broad form gleamed with the water dripping off his skin. Comfortable with his nudity, he stopped before Stiles and scowled at him.
“Well, you and Armando are creating quite a problem for yourselves, Stiles,” William stated. Then he grinned and wrapped his arm around John’s waist. “You see, this is Captain John Casinov that you threatened.” William snorted as he smirked at the man. “Not a good idea to threaten a cop.”
Stiles sneered but wisely kept his mouth shut.
“Go put on some clothes,” John grumbled, pushing him toward the cabin. William laughed, but he started moving. To distract himself from the glorious sight of his lover’s flexing ass globes, John added, “I’ll call my guys so they can meet us at the dock.”
“Uh, no. You can’t do that,” William stated, pausing and half turning to look at him. “They saw me shift. We need to alter their memories first. Anonymity is damn near everything to us.”
John gaped. “You can alter memories?”
William shook his head. “Not shifters. But vampires can. We have an agreement with the coven in Los Angeles,” he continued, as if dropping the fact that vampires were real wasn’t another earth-shattering revelation. “I’ll have Kaiser contact the coven and fly someone up to take care of these guys, then you can have your people take them in.”
Nodding slowly, John muttered, “Ooookay.”
* * * *
“John hasn’t been around the last couple of days,” Kaiser pointed out before lifting his iced tea to his lips and taking a drink. After swallowing, William still hadn’t bothered to answer, since it wasn’t really a question, so Kaiser asked, “How are you doing, Will?”
William forced a smile, then heaved a sigh. “I’m okay. He’s not freaking out about me being a shifter, but that vampires are real definitely shocked the shit out of him.” Rising from the chaise lounge chair, he set his own glass of iced tea into the cup slot of the plastic table. “
As it turns out, processing these guys is becoming a hell of a fight. Armando has a lot of rich, sleazy lawyers. Typical.”
Pushing off his board shorts, William placed them on his chaise before crossing to the yacht’s railing. “John’s been working a lot of long hours, but if he doesn’t come over soon, I’m going to show up at his house and ambush him.” Resting his ass against the railing, he told his brother, “My squid is getting impatient, and so am I. I’m also getting tired of my right hand.” Turning away from Kaiser, he stated, “I’m gonna go for a swim. Coming?”
William and Kaiser often swam together, although they didn’t normally go far from their yacht.
Kaiser waved his hand and shook his head. “I’ll join you shortly.” He held up his tea. “I want to finish this first.”
Nodding, William swung his leg over the railing and dove into the water. He shifted, letting his squid out. Diving deep, he undulated away from the yacht in search of something to nibble on.
William had been swimming underwater for only around fifteen minutes when the vibrations caused by a motor danced across his senses. Curious, he swam toward the surface. Keeping deep enough not to be noticed by anyone but the sharpest paranormal eyes, William realized it was a police boat.
The echoes of slightly distorted voices reached William, but he was still able to make out the conversation.
“Hey, there. It’s Kaiser, isn’t it?”
Excitement filled William upon recognizing John’s voice. He barely resisted the urge to rise to the surface, but he had no idea of who else might be on the boat.
“Yes. And you must be John,” Kaiser replied. “How can I help you?”
“Well, Grisham told me William was out here with you,” John replied, sounding a little uncertain.
Kaiser chuckled. “He’s below, deep sea diving.” It was an apt analogy. “Why don’t you come aboard and wait. I’m sure he won’t be long.”
“Thanks.” John’s next comment must have been to whoever was driving the police boat. “Thanks for the lift, guys. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome, Captain,” someone replied. “Anytime.”
Then the boat engine revved, and it started away. If Kaiser and John shared more conversation, William couldn’t hear it over the vibrations washing over his senses. Once the boat was out of earshot, William began surfacing.
“I can fetch William for you, if you wish,” Kaiser was telling John. “It shouldn’t take me long to find him.”
William lifted an arm and tapped the deck.
“Never mind,” Kaiser stated. “There he is now.”
Reaching for his human form, his need to hold and kiss his human driving him, William shifted swiftly. He treaded water and peered up at the railing, spotting John staring down at him. Kaiser appeared, and for the first time in William’s life, he found himself annoyed at his brother’s nudity.
Except, John didn’t even glance in Kaiser’s direction, his attention obviously on William as he called down a greeting.
Kaiser leaped over the railing and dove into the water. A second later, he surfaced beside William. “I’ll swim back.” Giving William a cheeky grin, he purred, “Have fun, brother.” Then Kaiser shifted, his expanding form sinking beneath the waves.
William appreciated Kaiser’s thoughtfulness, then partially shifted his arm and drew himself up onto the yacht’s deck. As soon as he could, he hopped over the railing and grabbed John, drawing him into his embrace. William reveled in the feel of his mate in his arms again and that he’d come to him willingly.
“Hi, handsome,” William whispered roughly, clutching John to him. “I missed you.”
“Missed you, too,” John replied, rubbing his hands over William’s shoulders. “Couldn’t wait anymore, case be damned. Paperwork can wait. You can’t.”
Groaning, William pressed a soft kiss to John’s lips. “Thank you,” he whispered before sealing his mouth over John’s more fully.
Thrusting his tongue between John’s lips, William relished the chance to reacquaint himself with his mate’s taste and feel. He teased their appendages together even as he rocked his hips. The warm give and take as John kissed him back caused his blood to heat in his veins as his arousal swelled.
William broke the kiss and rested his forehead against John’s. He rubbed up and down his back, tracing the knobs of his human’s spine through his shirt. “Tell me I can have you, John,” William murmured huskily. “I need you. Need to complete our bond. Twine our lives for eternity.”
While the vampire had been altering their attacker’s memories, making them think a gas leak exploded their boat, giving John and William the chance to turn the tide and capture them, William had explained everything about the connection between them as mates and how bonding worked.
“Hell yeah,” John replied, his voice just as breathy and eager. “Why do you think I talked the guys into coming out here?”
William moaned before claiming John’s lips again. He kept it brief, the throbbing in his shaft too great. Then he eased his hold, took John’s hand, and began leading him toward the cabin.
“Gods,” William whined, gripping the base of his dick with his free hand to stay his need to come. “I gotta think about something else, or I’m gonna come.”
John chuckled, knocking his shoulder into William’s own. “Does it make me an asshole that I love that you need me so badly?”
“Not at all.” William grinned hungrily, sweeping his focus over the jeans and t-shirt his human wore. “But don’t be surprised if you occasionally lose articles of clothing due to my need.”
Laughing, his hazel eyes twinkling, John nodded. “Dually noted. Then I’ll tell you now that my son called me last night.”
Recalling all the harsh words that had passed between John and Jonathan, William felt his ardor cool a little. “Oh? What did he say?” he asked, stopping in the bedroom and reaching for the hem of John’s t-shirt. William loved that John didn’t even hesitate to lift his arms so he could remove the article.
“Surprisingly, Jonathan apologized,” John told him as soon as his head appeared again. His expression appeared bemused, and he continued talking when William dropped to one knee and began taking off his man’s sandals. “Evidently, Anita lost her temper and came out to him, telling him that she’s a lesbian. Shocked him and forced him to come to grips with it.”
William held his gaze as he began working on John’s jeans. “You don’t seem too surprised.” His human’s scent betrayed that it hadn’t been much of a revelation for him.
John stepped out of his jeans, then backed away, reaching for his underwear himself. “No, Grace and I had already discussed it.”
“I’m glad things are patched up with your son,” William stated, rising to his feet. He narrowed his eyes as he watched John round the bed. William licked his lips as he eyed his human’s gorgeous erection. “But why are you moving away from me?”
“So I could get this,” John revealed, opening the nightstand and pulling out the lube.
Then John climbed onto the bed, sprawling on his back.
William’s breath caught in his throat at the beautiful picture his captain made. His warm hazel eyes held a hunger that caused William’s dick to leak. John’s light, salt and peppered chest hair called for William’s fingers to brush through it. His flat stomach led to a light thatch of curly pubic hair surrounding his thick dick, which curved upward, a bead of pre-cum already gleaming at the tip. John even had his legs spread invitingly, offering just a teasing peek of his hole.
Licking his lips, William longed for a taste of that.
John lifted his hand and beckoned to him. “Take me, William.” His eyes gleamed with a surety that caused William’s heart to skip a beat. “Make me yours. Bond us, mate.”
Moaning, William couldn’t resist an offer like that. He crawled on the bed, prowling forward. After taking the tube of lubricant from his willing human, William swallowed John’
s prick to the root.
William relished John’s howl of pleasure and did exactly as his mate had asked, twining their lives until the end of time.
About the Author
Charlie started writing fantasy when she was eight, and after stumbling onto her first erotic romance at age nineteen, she realized her true calling. She now focuses on writing gay erotic romance, normally of the paranormal variety, with heroes of all kinds. With the help and support of her husband, Charlie finally fulfilled one of her life-long goals... move to acreage with her horses. You can often find her curled up with her laptop and a cup of tea or glass of wine, creating her next adventure. Charlie enjoys exploring the mountains of her new Oregon home on horseback, 4-wheeler, or motorcycle.
She can be reached at [email protected]
Or visit her at www.charlie-richards.com
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