by Cardeno C.
Chapter 16
“I’m not a weakling,” Johnnie said as he stood from the table and took their dishes to the sink. He began washing them and kept his back to Hugh, hiding his face so Hugh couldn’t see his humiliation. He wasn’t a seven foot, three hundred pound Premier lion, but at almost six feet tall and one hundred sixty pounds, Johnnie was strong and capable. He wished Hugh saw him that way.
“Of course you’re not weak, Johnnie. And if it was you against either one of them, you’d be evenly matched. But it’s two against one.”
“Or more than two,” Johnnie muttered.
“What?”
Johnnie sighed, put the last plate on the dishrack, and dried his hands. “Last time they tried to take me with two men and it didn’t work. If they have any sense, they’ll come back with reinforcements.”
“You make a good point, as usual. And it supports my position that this is a bad idea.” Hugh pushed his chair back, the legs scraping against the wood floor, and then footsteps sounded behind Johnnie. “I’m not letting you put yourself out as bait for Larry and Dennis.” Large arms circled around Johnnie’s chest and then Hugh’s breath blew across his neck. “I don’t want you to be hurt.”
“Are you ready for my next point?” Johnnie laid his arms over Hugh’s and threaded their fingers together. Though he was a bit resentful that Hugh didn’t think he could take care of himself, the genuine concern in Hugh’s voice and the feeling of Hugh’s hard body pressed against his, made it impossible for him to be truly angry.
“Yes,” Hugh said grudgingly.
“Larry and Dennis don’t know my purring heals us or about our ability to be separated for a longer distance. That gives us an advantage, a huge advantage. They can’t hurt me.”
“They absolutely can hurt you,” Hugh snapped. He grasped Johnnie’s shoulders and spun him around. “They in fact did hurt you. And they could kill you. Maybe not as easily as they could kill another lion, but if that’s their goal and they have access to you, they can do it.”
Now that he understood the importance of the pride’s perception of their Premier as ever-confident, Johnnie was glad nobody else was there to witness Hugh’s terrified expression. “Their goal isn’t to kill me,” Johnnie reminded him softly. “Their goal is to kill you by separating us.” He turned his head to the side and kissed Hugh’s forearm. “But we know that won’t work. Our connection isn’t based only on proximity now. It’s physical.”
“This is more than physical,” Hugh said, his voice gruff. He moved his hands to Johnnie’s neck and rubbed it with his thick, long fingers.
“You’re right.” Johnnie caressed Hugh’s chest and felt warmth bloom in his. “It’s also emotional and mental. We have a lot of connections, Hugh. They can’t break us.”
“No, they can’t,” Hugh agreed. “But you’re not invincible and I won’t risk you. I know you’re upset but…” He placed his fingers under Johnnie’s chin, tipped his head back, and searched his eyes. “I don’t want you to hurt. Can you understand that?”
“I can.” Johnnie nodded. “But it’s our best option.”
“They may have given up,” Hugh said, not sounding convinced by his own suggestion.
“Even if they want to give up, which I doubt, they can’t. At this point, they have to hide from everyone in Berk and any other pride because otherwise you’ll find them. If they try to live on their own, they won’t survive because shifters need to be part of a pride. You said it yourself, they’re dead men walking. With death as their only alternative, of course they’ll try to kill you and take over Berk.”
“Then we can wait them out. That’s an option,” Hugh said tiredly.
“We’ve been waiting for two weeks.” Johnnie brushed his palm over Hugh’s chest. “The entire pride is on edge, unsure what’s going to happen, and nervous as they wait for it. They feed on each other’s anxiety and the stress level is getting higher every day.”
“I know.” Hugh turned on his heel and walked to the other side of the kitchen, rubbing his hand over his head.
Of course Hugh knew. As devoted as he was to the pride, he wouldn’t miss their mounting panic, and as their Premier, he couldn’t let that kind of unrest continue. Confident Hugh would ultimately agree they had to draw Larry and Dennis out rather than continuing to wait for them to make a move, Johnnie leaned against the counter and quietly watched Hugh pace.
After a few minutes, Hugh slumped his shoulders resignedly, dropped onto a chair, and said, “Tell me your plan.”
“There isn’t a lot of detail to it,” Johnnie admitted. “Basically, I should be accessible to them and they need to know that.” He walked over to Hugh, who spread his knees wide, making room for Johnnie between them. “If I’m right that Larry is biding his time, waiting for an opportunity to get to me when you’re not around, then we should give him the opportunity and do it in a way that’ll let him know it’s coming.”
“How can he know?” Hugh’s posture stiffened, his dark eyes narrowed, and his nostrils flared. “You think someone in my pride is feeding him information?”
“Absolutely not.” Johnnie vehemently shook his head. “I think he’s staying close enough that he’ll catch wind of well-placed information, but there’s no way anyone in Berk would intentionally tell him anything. Every member of this pride is loyal to you.”
“Except Dennis.”
Though Hugh would never admit it and he tried to hide it, Johnnie knew Hugh well enough to hear the hurt in that statement.
“Dennis is loyal to you.” Johnnie climbed onto Hugh’s big lap, draped his legs on either side of his torso, and wound his arms around Hugh’s neck. In that position, they were eye-to-eye and Johnnie relished the tenderness in Hugh’s expression as he gazed at him. “He made a mistake.” Guilt washed over Johnnie as he remembered the cause of that mistake. “It’s my fault. I made him think the pride was at risk so he—”
“He should have come to me if he had concerns.” Hugh cupped Johnnie’s cheeks and caressed them with this thumbs. “You’re not responsible for Dennis’s poor decisions.”
“He wouldn’t have done any of this if I hadn’t tried to hang myself and made him doubt you.”
“You wouldn’t have tried to”—Hugh ground his teeth, swallowed hard, and rasped—“do what you did if I had been paying attention to you, taking care of you.” He brushed his lips over Johnnie’s cheek, the gesture feeling like both affection and an apology. “I didn’t do right by you and you suffered the consequences.” Hugh took a deep breath. “Dennis Jones is thirty-five years old. He was born in Berk. I’ve been his Premier his entire life. I was his mother’s Premier all of her life and even his grandmother’s Premier for most of hers. In all those years, Berk has never been in danger and our members have never needed for anything. This is a good pride, a strong pride. I gave Dennis a good life.” Hugh’s voice got deeper, angrier. “He should have trusted in me, but instead he betrayed me and our pride. The fault for that lies squarely on his shoulders. Nobody else’s.”
Though Johnnie wouldn’t forget the role he had played in creating their current predicament, neither could he dispute the truth of Hugh’s statements. But dwelling on the past wasn’t productive and wouldn’t bring them closer to a peaceful future. A solid plan was what they needed, so that was where he’d put his focus.
“The festival grounds are a perfect location,” Johnnie mumbled, an idea coalescing in his mind.
“A perfect location for what?”
After taking a few more seconds to let the concept crystalize, Johnnie said, “A perfect location for a pride gathering, one we start talking about now.” He paused. “Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. That weekend’s a perfect time to do this.”
Smiling fondly, Hugh said, “I’ll just sit here while you get this worked out and then you can fill me in on my role.”
“Oh.” Johnnie’s neck heated. “Sorry. I was focused on the thinking part and skipped the explaining part.”
/> “I could see that.” Hugh slid his fingers over Johnnie’s nape and up into his hair. “Your mind is sharp and watching it work is…” He crinkled his brow and seemed to search for the right words. “The way you think is sexy.”
Johnnie’s groin tightened and his breathing quickened. “My thinking is sexy?”
Nodding, Hugh said, “Among other things. There’s a lot about you that’s sexy.” He tugged on Johnnie’s hair until he raised his chin, exposing his throat, and then he leaned forward and licked a swath up Johnnie’s neck. “Your intelligence is high on the list but so is your tight, talented body.”
“Talented?” Johnnie asked hoarsely.
“I never even imagined the possibility of the pleasure your body gives me, Johnnie. Everything about you turns me on.” Hugh skimmed his hands down Johnnie’s back, clutched his ass, and pulled him forward against his hot erection.
Forcing himself to be responsible despite yearning for what Hugh offered, Johnnie said, “We should talk about the plan.” Or he could unfasten both of their pants, free their cocks, and rub up against Hugh. Or he could slide off Hugh’s lap, kneel between his knees, and take his thick rod deep into his mouth. Or he could undress from the waist down, bend over the table and—
“If you want me to understand anything important, you need to stop moaning and rocking against me.” Hugh nipped at Johnnie’s earlobe. “Those needy sounds and movements make me so damn hard my brain must be short on blood.”
“Sorry.” Johnnie dropped his forehead onto Hugh’s shoulder and took long, slow breaths. “Your touch completely distracts me from”—he trembled and wiggled closer to Hugh—“everything else.”
“Mmm,” Hugh hummed happily. “I like that I can make you feel good enough to penetrate that iron focus.” He massaged Johnnie’s ass, digging his fingers into the muscular globes. “But this conversation is important so how about we compromise?”
“Compromise?” Johnnie raised his head and blinked at Hugh, trying to follow along through the thick haze of lust that surrounded him whenever those big hands touched him.
“Yes. We slow this down, talk about your plan, and when that’s all worked out, we make love.”
Johnnie warmed at how fully his century-old Premier, whose life had been focused exclusively on caring for a lion shifter pride, had embraced a concept normally foreign to their kind. Overwhelmed by emotion, he buried his face in Hugh’s neck, clung to him, and whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Hugh kissed the top of his head and held him while he regrouped.
After giving himself a few moments to enjoy the closeness, Johnnie sat up straight and cleared his throat. “So, the plan.”
“Let’s hear it.” Hugh smiled. “You know I love your ideas.”
Hugh always listened to Johnnie’s thoughts and sought his opinion. Receiving respect and encouragement from the person he most admired bolstered Johnnie’s confidence in himself. His idea had risks, but he was certain it’d work, so he took a deep breath and plunged ahead.
“The festival grounds abut undeveloped pride land, which leads to acres of National Forest Service land.”
“Right.”
“And unless we’re having a large gathering, that part of the pride lands is generally vacant.”
“You think Dennis and his friend are camping out in the festival grounds?”
“No.” Johnnie shook his head. “That’s too close to us, and I don’t think they’d risk being caught, but you know how you said when you hunt you go where the prey is going to be instead of where they are?”
Hugh nodded.
“Well, I did what you said. I considered all the factors and I suspect they’re on Forest Service land abutting the pride lands. Close but not too close. And I think I know where they’ll be.” Johnnie cleared his throat. “Or at least where they’ll be if we set them up to be there.”
“You want to set them up to be at the festival grounds by having an all pride event?”
“Yes. If they’re keeping an eye on things from a distance and we start gearing up for something that big, they’re bound to catch wind of it.” And Johnnie was certain that was exactly what Larry and Dennis were doing. “During the last pride festival, Larry saw me apart from you. We can do that again. By Thanksgiving, they’ll have been on their own, without a pride or resources for a month. My bet is they’ll be desperate enough to take a chance and try to get to me.”
“If either of them step into the middle of a pride event, they’ll be killed. They have to know that or they’d have already approached a pride member.”
“I agree, which is why I’ll be on the periphery. If we leave some empty space in the portion of the festival grounds closest to the Forest Service land, they can walk from that land, onto the undeveloped pride land and get to me without making contact with anyone else.”
Slowly, Hugh nodded. “And then I’ll kill them.”
Johnnie winced.
His expression softening, Hugh said, “There’s no other choice, Johnnie. As long as they’re alive, they pose a danger to Berk, and even if they give up on our pride and decide to try a takeover somewhere else, another pride will be at risk.”
Johnnie knew Hugh couldn’t allow his lions to be hurt and that he was an old enough and strong enough Premier to feel a sense of responsibility for other prides as well.
“And also—” Hugh sighed. “Lion shifters prosper and flourish when they feel safe. A strong Premier is key to that and I cannot send a message that I will tolerate acts of violence against our pride.”
That type of message was exactly what had gotten them into their current predicament, only Hugh hadn’t been the one to send it. The blame for that lay with Johnnie, even if Hugh didn’t hold it against him.
“I understand,” Johnnie said. “It’s not Larry I’m worried about.”
“You’re looking out for Dennis because he was a member of Berk.” Hugh cupped Johnnie’s jaw and kissed him tenderly. “Despite everything you went through and everything he did to you, you remain loyal.”
In truth, Johnnie’s loyalty lay solely with Hugh. He understood the magnitude of Hugh’s drive to protect his pride and he was certain that killing a member of Berk, even a former member, would pain Hugh. That was what worried him.
“I wish it didn’t have to be like this,” Johnnie said.
“I do too and in a Premier Pride, especially one the size of ours, lions are content with their lives, so disputes don’t escalate and minor disagreements are quickly forgotten. But most prides are smaller with limited resources. Their lions are constantly on edge and defensive. They regularly battle one another and other prides.” Hugh looked away. “You were too young and secluded to have seen much of that before Westgate merged into Berk, but it’s the way of nature. When our home, our safety, or our pride is threatened, we eliminate the challenger to ensure our security. I’ve been around long enough to see it time and time again, which is why I constantly work to shelter our pride from upheaval.” He slowly moved his thumb up and down Johnnie’s neck, the barely-there touch calming. “Right now, that means getting rid of Larry and Dennis so our lions are reassured of their safety and interlopers get the message that Berk is an impenetrable target they should avoid. I’m the Premier; it’s my duty to do that.”
“Okay.” Johnnie turned his head to the side and kissed Hugh’s palm. Everything Hugh said was true, but he still had a couple of weeks to analyze their plan and maybe he’d be able to come up with a way for Hugh to protect his pride without hurting his soul.
Chapter 17
“You’re up early,” Johnnie said as he undulated his hips and rubbed his ass against Hugh’s erection.
“I was up while I was sleeping.” Hugh snaked his hand around Johnnie’s waist and flattened his palm on Johnnie’s belly. “You do that to me.” He pressed his face to Johnnie’s neck and inhaled. “Your scent makes me hard.” He gently rocked, dragging his thick cock through Johnnie’s crease. “Being naked, c
urled around you, skin to skin turns me on.” He parted his lips and sucked on Johnnie’s nape. “Feels so good to want like this.”
Desire flooded Johnnie, sharp and sweet. Bending one knee toward his chest, he opened himself to Hugh. “I want you too,” he said, squeezing and releasing his hole reflexively in anticipation of the delicious stretch Hugh would soon give him, the deep connection. “Inside.”
“We’ll get there.” Hugh kissed his way across Johnnie’s shoulders. “Need to taste you first.” He rolled Johnnie onto his belly, straddled his thighs, and caressed his back, fingers digging into the muscles. “You have the best skin. Soft and warm.”
“You make me warm from the inside.” For years, Johnnie had felt icy no matter the temperature or what he wore, but now Hugh filled the emptiness within him and chased away the chill.
Hot breath ghosted over Johnnie’s shoulder blade before Hugh’s slick tongue lapped at him. “Mmm,” Hugh moaned. “Delicious.” He traced the bone from top to bottom, then flattened his tongue and licked his way down Johnnie’s spine. “My beautiful Siphon.” As he kissed Johnnie’s rounded globes and the sensitive area where ass met thigh, he pried Johnnie’s legs apart and settled between them. “I love you.” The words were barely a whisper, as if Hugh’s feelings seeped out. He cupped either side of Johnnie’s ass, spread him open, and then dipped forward and licked the hidden skin.
“Ah!” Johnnie gasped. Keeping his shoulders on the bed, he raised his ass and gave Hugh more room to pleasure him.
“Good?” Hugh asked and then twirled the tip of his tongue over the perimeter of Johnnie’s rosebud.
“Uh-huh,” Johnnie answered breathlessly. “I like that.” He more than liked it, but words escaped him.
