by M. D. Grimm
“I should have trusted you,” Travis said.
Jack smiled. “Yes, you should have.”
Travis’s chuckle was music to Jack’s ears. He opened his eyes and allowed himself to take in the beauty and perfection of Travis’s pale skin, soft blond hair, and sharp cheekbones, his strong chin and nose. Jack always thought he had a regal look about him.
“I just know what it’s like to have something important taken from you,” Travis said.
“I understand,” Jack said. And he did. The most important things in his life were Travis, his pack, and Haven. He’d already made his choice.
“I’m here, Travis,” Jack said. “I’ll always be here.”
Travis squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his forehead to Jack’s. They stayed like that for a precious moment before Travis spoke. “I want to forget everything.”
Their lips met slowly, tenderly. Travis placed both hands on Jack’s waist and tugged him closer, pressing him against his own solid body. Jack ran his hands through Travis’s hair, massaging the scalp as his mouth played with his mate’s lips. Their tongues danced together, sliding and slipping over teeth and gums. Wanting to get more of Travis’s taste, Jack rose on his toes, until they were at the same height.
Large hands slipped down to cup Jack’s ass, squeezing and rubbing. Shivering with need, Jack gripped Travis’s broad shoulders before sliding his hands down Travis’s chest and unbuttoning his shirt. He skimmed his fingers over Travis’s warm pectoral muscles that were covered with a dusting of fine hair.
Travis broke off the kiss and picked Jack up before carrying him into the bedroom. Jack was impressed Travis didn’t run into anything. He didn’t let any part of Jack hit a wall or corner. Being held confidently in Travis’s strong arms made Jack feel a little giddy, his stomach twisting with a sensation he’d never felt before. He’d spent his entire adult life protecting others, and now he found someone who wanted to protect him. Someone who actually could protect him. Travis would stand by him, and Jack happily let go of all his doubts about their relationship. Travis laid him gently on the bed, and Jack stared at Travis with lustful glee. He couldn’t stay still.
He grinned and stood as Travis began to unbutton his shirt. He shoved Travis’s hands away. “Let me,” he said, sliding the shirt off Travis’s broad shoulders. He threw it into the corner and pressed his hands against Travis’s skin again.
“You have an awesome body,” Jack murmured and kissed Travis’s collarbone before sliding his lips over to Travis’s shoulder. He bit down and Travis flinched, a low snarl escaping him. Jack chuckled before lowering his tongue down the broad chest. Taking his time, he savored his mate’s topography, the swell of his pectoral with its pert nipple, which Jack took between his teeth and nipped, making Travis gasp. The wolf inside him yearned, ached to mate, to finally possess what he had so long desired. He was already hard and his breathing was constricted, but he wasn’t going to rush this, not when he finally had Travis right where he wanted him.
Travis touched him everywhere, stroking, sliding his fingers over his neck and through his short hair. Jack lowered his hands to Travis’s jeans while his mouth sucked his other pink nipple. He unzipped and tugged down the jeans, along with the underwear. He gripped Travis’s erection, and both men gasped. Jack pulled back enough to see what his hands held and his mouth ached to taste.
Long and stiff, Travis’s cock was something impressive. But before he could satisfy his curiosity, Travis gripped Jack’s wrists, breathing heavily, and pushed him down onto the edge of the bed. Travis stepped out of his pants and cupped Jack’s face.
“Can I see you, Jack?” Travis said. “Can I touch you, so I can see you?”
Jack’s heart melted. He stared into Travis’s beautiful, unseeing eyes and knew he would give Travis anything he asked. He grabbed Travis by the waist. “Of course you can. Touch me all you want.”
Travis groaned and kissed him deeply.
Travis would have given anything to see Jack’s face and body for just a moment, but he settled for the image in his mind that he’d built with his touch alone. Travis lowered himself to his knees, moved between Jack’s legs, and proceeded to undress him. Jack’s shirt fell away, and Travis ran his hands over warm skin and well-defined muscles. The curve of Jack’s biceps and the definition of his shoulders delighted Travis and gave him strong visuals. Jack was strong, disciplined, a warrior.
Jack’s earlier words whirled around inside his head, pleasuring him with their devotion and love. His trust in Jack was infinite, and while he still doubted the pack’s acceptance of their relationship, he would never doubt Jack again.
Thick hair met Travis’s fingers as he touched Jack’s chest, and his cougar purred happily, wanting to rub and lick, nuzzle and pet. He pressed his face against that defined chest, kissing the skin and rubbing his cheek against Jack’s hair. Jack slid his hands over Travis’s shoulders and down his back. Travis’s skin became supersensitive, every touch shooting a bolt of pleasure to his cock and hardening it further.
Wanting more, Travis grabbed Jack’s pants and tugged them off. His hands met strong thighs and calves, and thick hair tickled his fingers. Jack was beautiful, and that beauty was deeper than the skin. Travis didn’t need sight to know that. The core of Jack was what had attracted him, and wasn’t that the thing that mattered? The answer was clear to Travis.
He worked his hands back up Jack’s legs, and met at his groin. Jack, who’d been making low noises the entire time, let out a growl when Travis encircled Jack’s thick erection with both hands. Travis took a deep breath of Jack’s musky scent before closing his lips over the head of his mate’s cock.
Jack gasped and tangled his fingers in Travis’s hair. Travis moved his tongue over the heated flesh, the smooth skin, letting the taste and the smell become his entire focus. Travis’s lust brought his cougar closer to the surface, and it began to snarl for release, crouching to leap, to dominate. Suddenly he couldn’t hold back. He pulled away and brought his face close to Jack’s.
“On your knees,” he snarled. Travis heard his mate’s eager breathing, colored by growls, and a flurry of movement as he followed Travis’s order. When Travis reached out, his palm came into contact with skin once more. Fine hair caressed his fingers, and Travis knew what intimate part of Jack he was touching and that knowledge sent a thrill through him.
With both hands he discovered Jack’s ass, and he rubbed his fingers teasingly over Jack’s hole before pausing just long enough to retrieve the bottle of lube from his bedside stand. He used a generous amount before gently pushing a finger inside.
Jack shuddered. “Fuck yes. No need to be gentle, mate.”
“I’m going to take my time, so be patient.”
Jack growled and pushed back against his finger urgently. Travis took a deep breath of Jack’s musk. He continued to tortuously pump his finger while he slid his other hand up along Jack’s muscled back. He was nearing his limits, and his cougar was snarling inside him to find release. His skin rippled, but he consciously kept his cougar under control. He grabbed Jack’s shoulders and pulled him up, pressing his mate’s back to his chest. He stroked his hand along Jack’s side, over his flat stomach, before cupping his balls.
“Hell yes!” Jack gasped and moved against him, sliding his ass against Travis’s erection. Jack reached over his head and wrapped his arms around Travis’s neck before leaning his head back. He exposed his neck, and Travis took full advantage to nip, hard. Jack yelped and groaned and suddenly tugged at Travis’s hair, turning his face to kiss him. Travis dominated Jack’s mouth with his lips and tongue. Having taken charge, he intended on keeping it.
“Take me,” Jack gasped, ripping his mouth away. “Take me now.”
Travis could feel Jack’s skin ripple and move. The wolf inside him must be demanding satisfaction. His cougar responded, calling to the wolf, a demand to mate. Travis let Jack bend over again before getting more lube and pressing three fingers inside him. He str
etched and pumped, listening closely to Jack’s sounds. Suddenly Jack tensed and an aborted howl came from him.
Travis chuckled. He really had no idea how responsive Jack would be as a lover, and he was ecstatic to realize how eager he was, how accommodating. The wolf might act like an alpha, and in many ways, he was, but the fact that he would give up control and domination, especially at a moment like this, proved how special he was. Jack moved frantically against his fingers, demanding more.
“There. There, by the Phoenix, there!”
Travis grinned and jabbed Jack’s prostate, driving him wild, before pulling back.
“Fuck, Travis!” Jack reached behind himself and grabbed Travis’s cock.
“We’re about to, mate.”
Travis slicked his cock, again generously, before quickly finding Jack’s ass. He pushed inside and heard Jack’s quick exhalation.
“Yes, oh fuck, yes.”
Travis huffed out a laugh as Jack’s ass enclosed around his cock like a greedy fist. “Oh shit, Jack. Holy shit.”
Jack moved first, reaching around and gripping Travis’s hip before thrusting his ass back onto Travis’s cock. Travis easily matched Jack’s eagerness, and as his cougar snarled in demand, he gripped Jack once more and helped him lift up. When Jack’s back met Travis’s chest, he wrapped his arms around Jack, pining his arms, holding him securely. Then he proceeded to thrust his hips forward. He tried to go slow, to savor everything, the beat of Jack’s heart, the smoothness and greed of his ass, the way his body shuddered and his muscles contracted. But the sensations became too intense and Jack wouldn’t be still. He kept moving against Travis and turning his head to nuzzle Travis’s neck. Not that Travis didn’t like that. He did, but he wanted this to last as long as possible.
Travis finally bore down with his full weight, shoving Jack face first into the bed and pinning him there as he thrust harder, penetrated deeper.
“Fuck, yes!” Jack howled. Travis slapped Jack’s ass on impulse and heard a surprised yelp from his mate. He grinned, pushed Jack’s legs wider, gripped his hips harder, and drove them both over the edge.
Jack came first. Travis bent over to bite his neck, giving one last thrust before he, too, climaxed. He collapsed on top of Jack and heard his mate’s grunt. When he attempted to move, Jack grabbed his arm.
“No,” he murmured.
Travis smiled and rolled them both over onto their sides, wrapping his arms around Jack, taking deep breaths of the musky air. His heart raced and his cougar slashed his tail with satisfaction.
“You’re awesome,” Jack said after a moment of contented silence.
Travis snorted, feeling easier and lighter than he had in years. Sure, his problems still existed, but for this blissful moment, he was able to escape from them completely.
“Thank you, mate,” he said, nipping Jack’s ear. “You made me forget.”
Jack rolled over and their legs tangled on the bed, their arms wrapped around each other.
“You’re welcome. Mate,” he said before kissing Travis. His cougar purred and when he let that purr come out, Jack chuckled.
Travis found Jack’s hand and linked their fingers, finding it strange that despite the enormity and intensity of Jack’s presence, his hands were smaller than Travis’s. How could that be? Lips nibbled at Travis’s nose, and he grinned, feeling content, safe, and deeply in love.
“Next time, I get to be inside you,” Jack whispered.
Travis brought their joined hands to his mouth and kissed the back of Jack’s hand. Then he grinned wickedly. “We’ll see.”
Jack laughed.
Then Jack’s cell phone rang.
Jack’s blissful bubble burst, and Travis suddenly grabbed him tightly, nuzzling his neck. “Just ignore it,” he pleaded.
Jack sighed and stroked Travis’s hair. “I wish I could, but we have to go back to reality, babe. It might have something to do with the woman I arrested.”
Travis moaned, but let him go. Jack rolled over, found his pants, and answered his phone.
“The agent is here,” Jena said. “Meet at the pack’s house.”
“I’ll be there,” Jack said and hung up. He rolled back over and looked at his mate. He could feel Travis’s regret, which mirrored his own. Travis had truly been incredible. Jack would never have guessed the sex god that lay hidden within the habitually mild-mannered cougar. But Jack had witnessed those talents firsthand, and now he felt loose and happily used, if a little sore.
Jack turned toward the bathroom and took a quick glance around the bedroom itself. The large bed dominated the simple room. There was a dresser, a closet, and another door that led into the bathroom. Jack’s initial impression was that there was something missing, and it took him a few seconds to realize what it was: a mirror. Then he realized he’d never seen a mirror anywhere in the house.
“How do you choose what clothes to wear?” he asked. Why had he never thought of that before? “I mean, how do you know what colors to choose when you shop?”
“I ask,” Travis said. “I’ve become good friends with most salespeople at the clothes shop down on Main Street.”
Jack nodded and gave Travis a quick kiss before heading into the bathroom. Or staggering might be the better word, not that he was complaining.
“You sure touched me in all the right places,” he said.
Travis laughed and got out of bed, He followed Jack into the bathroom. “I should. I see by touch.”
“Then you must see me pretty well,” Jack said.
The cheeky grin that spread across Travis’s face made Jack’s wolf growl with need. That his wolf wanted more of the cougar, as he wanted more of Travis, Jack found fascinating and heartening. His wolf may not have been completely comfortable being the submissive, since it was something he wasn’t used to, and yet, his wolf couldn’t argue with the satiation of his body.
They showered quickly, yielding to their urges only to the extent of quick kisses and nips. They dressed, and Jack drove them to the pack’s home. Another vehicle, a non-descript gray truck, was parked outside. Jack parked his own truck behind it and, taking Travis’s hand, walked into the house.
The first thing Jack noticed when they entered the living room was a striking woman shaking hands with his father. She stood over six feet tall, had the stature of an Amazon, and the hair of a Viking. Red and thick, it fell past her shoulders and was currently tied back. The woman’s garb was as striking as she was: all black, with boots that rose to just below her knees and buckled along the sides. Her belt held pouches and knives.
She had an air of authority, and judging by the way Travis’s head turned in her direction, he was picking up on it also. His head tilted toward her as if he was listening. The agent turned toward them, and Jack was struck by her eyes: large and blue, shining like sapphires. She had a smattering of freckles along her nose and cheeks, but they did nothing to take away from the curiously masculine beauty of her face.
She walked up to them, a welcoming smile on her face, and held out her hand. “You must be Sheriff Ulger. I’m Agent Genii. I hear you have a knight here. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Jack said, taking her hand. Her grip was strong but controlled. “She’s in jail,” he continued, “in a cell with iron bars. We aren’t sure what abilities she has, if any, and we haven’t found evidence of others like her.”
Agent Genii nodded, and Jack gestured to his mate. “This is Travis.”
The two shook hands, and Jack noted her consideration of Travis. Then she turned back to Jack.
“I’m glad you captured her. I can only hope she doesn’t have any psychic or telepathic abilities. If she does, she will have alerted the Knights about her imprisonment.”
Jack resisted a wince, keeping his face straight. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“No need to worry.” Genii’s smile was reassuring, but her eyes were still shielded, emotionless. “I would like to speak with her.”
“Of course,” Jack s
aid, and as he gestured for her to precede him, her eyes, for the first time, showed emotion. They were warm and pleased.
“Such a gentlemen,” she said.
“He is that,” Travis said dryly, but with a slight smile.
Jack led Genii to the sheriff’s office. Jena, Rae, and Bao stood as they walked in. Introductions were made before Jack requested they continue patrolling until told otherwise. Then Jack led Genii down to the basement. Genii approached the bars with caution. Jack realized she would be allergic to pure iron as well. Shannon was sitting on the bench inside the cell. She looked up as they approached. Her mouth opened slightly as she stared at Genii.
“May I speak with her alone?” Agent Genii asked, her gaze never leaving Shannon’s face.
“Of course.”
“Please unlock the door.”
“No.”
Genii met Jack’s eyes. Her own eyes were unreadable. “Sheriff Ulger, I need to speak with her without these bars interfering. She won’t get past me, I promise.”
Jack hesitated and considered them. Then he sighed and unlocked the door, sliding it open. Shannon stiffened and curled away from him, eyes narrowed. She looks like a cornered animal. Jack turned and walked out of the basement.
Upstairs, Jena looked up from the monitor, through which she had a view of the iron cell. Bao had already left and Rae retreated into the dispatch room.
“You unlocked the door?” she said. “Have you gone mad?”
“We’re talking about an agent here,” he said, though he couldn’t shake his own doubt. “If she can’t handle herself, who can? And didn’t I tell you to keep patrolling?”
“I’m not leaving you here without backup.”
“Turn on the volume,” Travis said, standing next to Jena at the desk.
Jack and Jena exchanged a look. Jack nodded. Jena switched on the volume.
What is going on? Shannon stood and backed away as far as she could get. She knew this woman was an agent. Was she going to kill her? Despite her fear, she didn’t feel any sense of menace coming from the woman.
