“Zan,” he moaned when Zan’s lips wondered to the side of his neck. Zan bit him lightly.
“Now, suck my dick,” Zan ordered and pushed his head down.
Cade went and noticed almost instantly he had more head room, telling him Zan had adjusted the steering wheel so it was higher.
He swirled his tongue around the head and sucked him slow and easy. He drew in the scent of soap and man and sucked Zan deeper. He loved giving head, always had. The simple taste of a man’s dick drove him insane with wanting more.
He took Zan deeper, his lover’s fingers in his hair pushing his head closer to his groin. Cade didn’t gag as the length hit the back of his throat. He merely relaxed his gag reflex and let it slide down.
He lifted his head and cupped Zan’s balls as he swallowed his cock. “Mmm.”
“Fuck, your mouth is so damn good,” Zan said roughly and reached out to stroke his hand down his back to his ass. “Suck it harder, baby.” Zan dropped his hand on his ass and he groaned.
His own cock ached and strained at his zipper, but this was about giving to his man, about distracting him from what had seemed like murderous intent to Cade.
“Suck it, Cade,” Zan growled and threw his head back. “Ahh!” he hissed and Cade lifted his head and replaced his mouth with his hand.
He shifted on the seat to get more comfortable as he claimed Zan’s mouth for another kiss. He increased speed, knowing exactly what would set Zan off.
“Do you really want to miss me?” He rubbed his palm against the head before giving it a pinch.
“Shit!” Zan let out a hard cry and his cum spurted forth, slicking Cade’s hand.
Zan breathed roughly. “I always miss you, sweet Cade.”
Chapter Five
When Zan got home, he stopped at the front gate where Daxton waited for him. He studied the two guards, wondering which of them was a Jarvis supporter.
“We haven’t found anything yet,” Daxton told him. “Rhys and Dade beat you here so they’ve already joined the search, but I don’t think anyone’s out there.”
“Why is that?” he asked coldly. Daxton was loyal as far as he could tell, but Zan was pissed off thanks to the point Cade had made. Jarvis was probably behind this.
“The sensors aren’t pinging anywhere,” Daxton told him. “The only reason Rhys went out is because he knew you’d be pissed if he didn’t.”
Zan grunted. “I’m going to do a walkthrough in case they left anything. Where did the breach occur?”
“In the apple orchard,” he said. “Rhys and Dade decided to take a look around there and I’ve got men searching the nut groves, just in case.”
“Tell Rhys I’ll check in with him later,” he said and headed to the storage shed where they kept all the equipment. Once there, Zan pulled on his work boots and grabbed a tool belt loaded with flashlights and a scanner that detected crystals and headed out.
They used Barrian technology to maintain their orchard, ensuring that disease and pests didn’t ruin their crops from year to year. Thanks to Kel who’d been able to grow the water crystals used on Zytena—where water needed to be absorbed and saved for their summer months when rain was a little scarce—they didn’t have to worry about water either.
Crystals had been planted in the ground to manage soil consistency, feeding, temperature, and water distribution.
The nut groves were closed, and they’d be closing the orchard soon in order to plant crystals there for water distribution and temperature control during the winter.
Zan set out and walked half the lands close to the house and turned his patrol toward the fallow lands. It was there that he spied someone sprinting in the other direction.
“Get back here you son of a bitch,” Zan called and took off at a run.
He slid down an incline to see his quarry heading up on the other side. So he put on a burst of speed in hopes of catching him.
He made it to the intruder as the man, he knew the figure was male by the way he was dressed and the breadth of his shoulders, climbed up a hill. Light shone in his eyes as he started his ascent, and a hard object connected with his back.
Zan let out a groan of pain and took another hit to the back. A burning pain cut through his shoulder and he leaned slightly forward to kick out before spinning around. He grabbed the man who’d crept up behind him and dragged him in front of him. Zan used the second intruder as a shield as he climbed the hill. The man began to writhe in agony from the debilitating light and he had to toss him aside just before reaching the top. He dove forward, knocking the other attacker off his feet. The man rolled away out of reach and got to his feet.
Zan was on him in a breath, slinging him back to the ground. The intruder rolled onto his back and held up his hand and Zan kicked it before stepping on the man’s ankle and grabbing his still out stretched hand. He twisted, breaking the wrist with an audible snap.
The intruder screamed in pain. “Why the fuck are you here?” Zan demanded.
The other man wailed. “My hand!”
Zan bent back a finger, breaking it, and the intruder screamed.
“Find your tongue or I’ll break a few more bones,” Zan warned in a hard tone. “Why are you here?”
“To get the stones,” he managed to stammer out.
“What meeting?”
“For the stones. The frezite and stars.”
“Where’d you get this ring?” He jerked the gold ring from the man’s finger. The light ring had been a common tool on Barria. Some of them merely blinded, but others killed with laser light that liquefied the organs within seconds.
“I bought it,” he snarled. “Give it back.”
“From who?”
“Beets. He sold me frezite before and told me there was plenty where that had come from.”
Shit. The frezite had been a valued resource on Barria as well as Zytena. The crystal had multiple uses, including keeping crops at the right temperature and warding against disease. They had some and Kel had figured out how to grow it naturally here.
“Beets is dead,” Zan snarled. “Who sent you here?”
“Beets told me you had a supply,” he said quickly, though pain was etched into his face.
“What in the hell do you want with it?” Zan demanded. He didn’t recognize the interloper, but he wasn’t surprised. Jarvis could have hired someone from out of town with the promise of a big pay day.
“That’s my business,” he growled.
“Don’t move, or I’ll break your arm,” Zan told him and tore his phone from its holster. “Maybe the police can get some answers out of you.”
He punched in Dade’s number and waited for a response. The man on the ground watched him warily taking only a single step back.
“Dade, I’ve found the intruder,” he said coldly. “Come get him before I kill him. His pal’s already dead. I’m in the fallow lands.”
* * * *
Cade glanced out the window in his bedroom thinking the house was just too big for him. He’d considered taking in boarders, but they didn’t get many tourists after winter started. This was a southern town, but it was also an odd phenomenon.
Every winter, starting the first of December, the climate changed here. Clouds fell over the town and lingered for a few days before it began to snow. Once the first snow fell, the tourists stopped coming and by mid-month, they were more or less a winter oasis of snow, ice, and freezing temperatures.
His mother had told him that her grandfather had said the founders of this town had done something to ensure the winter was a replica of Barria and Zytena. The freezing temperatures allowed their bodies to rejuvenate and recover from the toxins blown in from neighboring cities.
The strange part was they couldn’t leave the town after that second snow fall in December. They’d have to wait until late April when spring began.
He’d be clearing up all of his cases soon in preparation for that time. Right now, he reached for his phone, unable to stop himself. He di
aled his friend Travis’s number, though, rather than calling Zan.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Travis,” he said, attempting to keep his tone friendly.
“Hey, man,” Travis answered. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much,” he replied. “I was just wondering if you guys caught the intruders. Zan gave me a ride home and got a call while I was in the truck. He was pretty upset.”
“Dade’s taking care of things now but that’s all I know.”
“But nobody got hurt, right?”
“I don’t know,” Travis said. “Zan’s fine. Are you coming over tomorrow night for the celebration?”
“Celebration?”
“Zan’s victory,” Travis told him. “It’s just family and a few friends. Kel and Dade are throwing some meat on the grill, and we’ll just be having a good time.”
“I don’t know,” he said finally.
“C’mon, Cade, we both know you’d rather be wherever Zan is, and he’s not seeing anyone. Now’s a good time to start seeing him and get to know him before he brings a woman into your lives.”
That was rich. Nobody even knew he and Zan were lovers, or fuck buddies. That was closer to the truth, and so was the fact that he didn’t really know Zan. But he wanted to.
“I’m not sure I can make it,” he said.
“He’s the man he is, Cade,” Travis said. “You sound like you can’t handle that.”
Could he?
“In which case, you need to just have your fling with him, get him out of your system.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“The party starts at seven. We’ll put you up for the night if you drink too much and can’t drive home,” Travis told him with a grin in his voice that made Cade shiver in anticipation.
Perfect.
He could spend the night with Zan.
“I’ve got to go,” Travis said. “Daisy needs me to wash her back. I’ll see you tomorrow and just bring you.”
“Yeah. Later, man.” He ended the call and went to his bed and stretched out. The scent of Zan lingered. He drew it in and sighed, letting the aroma wrap around him.
Maybe Travis was right. He couldn’t handle Zan the way he was. He was certain he’d never fall in love with a woman himself.
While the sex was tolerable, Cade didn’t find most women emotionally stimulating. And he needed to feel a connection to get close to anyone, that’s why he wasn’t nearly as promiscuous as Zan. However, he had to admit there was something visually arousing about Zaria. She had a nice ass that he’d actually like to caress and slide balls deep into. On top of that, she had the perfect size breasts to fill a man’s hands without being too much.
She was curvier than Alicia in a lush sexy way that made him want to see her spread out naked. And the brown of her skin had hints of red, giving her an almost copper tone that intrigued him. Then there were those eyes—the whorls in them seemed to spark like star burst when she was amused.
So, she was cute, but he wasn’t actually attracted to her, right?
And if he was, so what? He wasn’t going to fall in love with her.
Still, Zan was going to go out with her eventually, so he should grab all the time he could with him now before Zan fell in love with her.
A broken heart would last only so long, and he’d realize in time Zan had been what he’d needed right then. But Zan wasn’t husband material. He would just be Cade’s favorite mistake.
* * * *
Zan stood in Keyos’s spacious office taking in the tension in his older brother’s face. They weren’t really brothers by blood, though they’d known each other all their lives. Zan, Rhys, and Kel had been children of employees of Keyos’s father, the duke who’d had charge of their city.
Zan’s father had been a close friend of Keyos’s and they’d often socialized together. When the decision had been made to send Keyos away to avoid death as the asteroid that ultimately destroyed their planet drew nearer, Keyos’s father had insisted that Zan, who was being groomed to be Keyos’s right-hand man and confidant, accompany him.
Rhys and Kel had been younger, but their parents had favor with the duke. Not only that, each boy had been groomed as well for a position in Keyos’s life when he came of age to take over running part of the duchy. So, they’d been sent, as well.
“I can’t believe this,” Keyos muttered. “Rhys, I want you to find out who those bastards were. They didn’t come here looking for frezite on some whim. Someone introduced them to it and what it could do.”
Rhys had worked as a private detective before they came here. Each of them had learned a trade and been educated and taught to appear as human as any human they saw on the streets.
“We’re going to have to lock him up,” Dade said.
Zan threw him a look, wondering if the man realized he was now part of this family, and their survival and well-being was his top priority, not some human law.
“You can take him once Rhys has questioned him,” Keyos said coldly. “Even if it takes all night to get information from him.”
“No,” Dade said coldly. “People know he’s here. He has another friend who’ll be looking for him and the dead man. We have to report the body and take this guy in for trespassing and theft.”
“You won’t be able to hold him on that!” Rhys snapped. “He’ll make bail and never tell us a damn thing.”
“Rhys—”
“It’s my land, and my call, Dade,” Keyos told him. “You’ll take him when we’re done. If you can’t deal with that, then take off.”
“I’m not going to let you do this,” Dade insisted.
Keyos glanced at him and Zan gave his brother a nod before sharing a look with Kel. The two of them walked out of the room. Their destination was the living area where the intruder was tied up.
“Dade still needs to work on his loyalty,” Kel said coldly. “I’ll get Zier and we’ll beat the truth out of that dumb son of a bitch even if it takes all night.”
“We won’t beat him, but we will give him a taste of what frezite can really do,” Zan said. Keyos would put Dade on his ass even though it might take a while, but Rhys would stay out of it if he knew what was good for him.
Chapter Six
“Thanks for driving me in, Zan,” Jaxon said as they entered the Cat’s Meow diner the next morning. “My car should be ready to pick up later, so I won’t need a ride home.”
“If you do, I’m sure Kel or Zier will be more than happy to make sure you get home okay.”
Jaxon gave him a grin. “Every time I think about them I just start smiling like a loon. I can’t believe how lucky I got.”
Zan shrugged. He’d thought Kel had been irresponsible in not taking one female mate. However, he understood that the heart just wanted what it wanted sometimes. His wanted Cade and to give Cade the time he needed to become secure in their relationship. At the same time, he didn’t want to ignore that spark between him and Zaria unless Cade gave him no choice.
“I’ll be with you guys in a minute,” Alice, a waitress there, called.
“Take your time,” Zan replied as he glanced around the diner looking for any unfamiliar face.
The intruder had told them he’d been sent to the farm to collect frezite instead of making the buy from Ashley Beets. He was a scientist and wanted to study the strange crystal a little more and see what it might be good for.
Zan had a feeling that was a lie, and Rhys was supposed to be searching his room at the Rose Inn this morning.
“You do realize Dade is going to be pissed if he finds out you guys are searching the guy’s room.
Zan grunted. “Dade is against taking any kind of action,” he said angrily. “He insists the police should be allowed to handle things further since the guy is just a human scientist who happened to be misled.”
“But by who?” Jaxon murmured.
“That is the question,” Zan agreed. “Whether we find out or not, there won’t be any further intrusions on our la
nd.”
Jaxon nodded. “Let’s hope that affirmation doesn’t end in too much bloodshed or a rife between Rhys and Dade.”
“Rhys will handle it.”
“What about you and Cade?” Jaxon asked and wiggled his brow.
“Nothing about us, why?” Nothing concrete or certain.
“Morning, guys,” Alicia said and turned the cups on their table over to fill them with coffee before smiling at Zan. “Congratulations,” she said. “Who are you taking to the celebration this weekend?”
The week after each election was followed by a town celebration that usually resulted in businesses not opening until late the next afternoon.
He flashed her a friendly smile, acutely aware of Jaxon watching him. “I’m not sure yet,” he admitted. He was sure of one of the people who’d be on his arm, just not the other.
“You could take me,” she said and batted her lashes at him.
“I could,” he agreed. “But I do have someone in mind. Besides, I’m sure there are plenty of men lined up around the corner waiting for you to say yes.”
She shrugged. “Let them wait.”
Jaxon cleared his throat. “I’d like the pancakes with hash browns and bacon.”
She gave him an annoyed look. “Anything to drink?”
“Milk.”
“What are you having? Me?” she asked Zan and laughed throatily.
“Get in line,” Cade muttered as he took the chair next to Zan at the table and Alice gave him an irritated glare.
Zan didn’t really like jealousy in a lover, but he understood it coming from Cade. Cade felt something for him that most of his other lovers hadn’t. That alone made him tolerant.
“What is with you two? Can’t you bust up someone else’s groove?” Alice demanded coldly. “Cade, get a date. Zaria is clearly hot for you. And, Jaxon, shut up, you already have two men.”
Jaxon smirked and Zan shook his head as Cade put a possessive hand on his thigh. He loved the warmth and demand in the feel of his touch, which made Zan wonder if he didn’t enjoy Cade’s jealousy after all.
Passion’s Brewing Storm [Alien Passions 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 4
