by Lynn Hagen
The hallways were brightly lit as they made their way to the room Takeo had been held in. It was an odd contrast to the darkness that hid behind each door. His feet started to slow as he reached the room. He was terrified of what he would find.
Was Kamiko even alive?
Takeo’s heart plummeted at the thought of never seeing those beautiful eyes smiling at him again or the feel of his mate beneath him as he claimed him over and over again. His arms ached to hold his mate once more.
“In there,” Takeo whispered as he pointed to the steel door that had held him prisoner for two godforsaken months.
“Are you ready?” Panahasi asked solemnly.
No, but Takeo wasn’t going to back down. He steeled himself for whatever was behind the door. The leader slid the bolt from out of the wall as Wayland opened the door. Takeo held his breath, praying his mate wasn’t dead as they stormed the room.
It was exactly as Takeo remembered it, right down to the rats in the corner.
But the room was empty.
Takeo could feel pure rage building up inside of him. It was a low throb that began in the pit of his stomach and slowly rose, filling him systemically until he was consumed by it. He spun on his heel and stormed out of the room, pushing past the warriors as he walked to the next room. He snatched the bolt from its resting spot and flung the door open.
His eyes settled on a man who was chained to a table. He was so bloody and bruised that he barely resembled a man at all. Takeo cocked his head and studied the bloody man, wondering who he was and what he had done to warrant such abuse.
“It’s not Kamiko,” Panahasi said from beside him. “But we need to help him.”
As selfish as it was, Takeo’s only concern at the moment was finding his mate. He watched Wayland unshackle the man and pull him from the table, carrying him out of the room and down the hall.
Takeo spun around and went to the next room, finding almost the same exact thing. Only this man was dead. What the hell kind of place was this? Takeo was starting to think that his chances of finding his mate alive were becoming very slim. Here he stood in a place most would describe as hell.
And it smelled like it, too.
“We’ll find him.” Deandre tried to reassure him, but Takeo wasn’t listening. If Kamiko were truly dead, then Takeo’s only mission in life would be to hunt Constantine down and torture him for the next one thousand years.
Killing him quickly would be too merciful.
Takeo walked to the next room, grim determination eating away at him as he flung the door open. He wasn’t sure where the torturers were, but he almost begged the gods to send them his way. Takeo had so much pent-up anguish and rage inside of him that he needed an outlet.
His eyes settled on the lump of a man that was bloodied from head to toe, his chest rising slowly, barely taking in enough air. Takeo felt his entire body spiraling out of control when he saw the short black hair. It was caked with blood, but he’d know that head of hair anywhere. He walked in some sort of fog as he entered the room.
It can’t be him. It just can’t.
A quiet sob left his lips as he stared down at Kamiko.
His skin was sliced open in so many different places that Takeo wasn’t sure where to touch him. His arms were so thin that a thick piece of rubber was stuffed between his wrist and the manacle to ensure he couldn’t slip them free. Takeo’s hand shook as he tentatively touched his mate’s arm, feeling the cooling skin beneath his fingers. Kamiko’s eyes were closed, and his dry and cracked lips were parted slightly, dried blood decorating them almost like lipstick.
“Let’s get him out of here,” Panahasi said as he pushed past Takeo and began to release the steel cuffs at Kamiko’s feet. Takeo snapped out of his haze as he released the ones at Kamiko’s wrists.
He felt like he was dying a thousand deaths as he scooted his arms beneath his mate carefully and lifted him from the cold slab of concrete he had been lying on. He vowed right then and there to hunt Constantine down and exact his revenge for what he had done to his small mate.
Prison was too good for the monster.
Carrying his mate from the cell, Takeo took extra care not to jostle him around. He knew that once his mate woke up, he was going to be in a world of pain. There had to be some way to heal him. He knew his heart couldn’t withstand a single whimper from his mate, let alone the screams he was surely going to make.
As they cleared the room and started down the brightly lit hallway, Takeo saw movement out of the corner of his eye, but it was too late. Kamiko was ripped from his arms as one of Constantine’s men tried to run away with him.
Takeo roared and then gave chase, the other warriors close behind him. He ran in front of the man, blocking his way as the other warriors stood behind the man. There was no way out. The man had no choice but to give Takeo his mate back or die.
He was going to die anyway, but Takeo kept a cool head.
“Hand him over.”
“No. If I let you take him, Constantine will make me take his place.”
Like Takeo gave a shit.
“Hand him over,” he said through gritted teeth. There was no way he was going to allow his mate to wake in his torturer’s arms. His eyes locked onto his mate as Deandre stepped closer, closing the gap from behind the man. Takeo was ready.
As Deandre wrapped his arms around the guy, Takeo leapt forward, grabbing Kamiko before he hit the ground. The wounds reopened, blood spilling onto the floor and Takeo as he held his mate tight to his chest.
Kamiko didn’t make a single sound as Takeo took off toward the exit. He had to get Kamiko somewhere safe. Takeo glanced down at the limp body in his arms before ramming the door open.
And the safest place he could be was in the warriors’ apartment building.
Chapter Eight
Kamiko came slowly awake. Every part of his body ached like nothing he ever felt before. He ached in places he never knew existed.
He stifled the groan as he became fully alert.
Keeping his eyes sealed tight, he listened to everything around him. He noticed that the stone beneath him no longer felt cold and hard, but soft and warm—the stench was also gone.
Was this a trick? Had Constantine moved him to another location?
Kamiko was afraid to open his eyes and find out the harsh truth. He heard low murmuring and knew that more than one person was close by.
The longer he lay there, the more he realized that he wouldn’t be able to stay quiet for long. The pain was becoming too much. The deep gashes in his skin felt as though someone was pouring hot liquid lava into them.
He whimpered quietly, wondering how long he would be in pain before he started healing. Never in his life had he ever felt anything like this before.
“Are you awake, little flower?”
Kamiko grabbed onto that voice and held on for dear life. Slowly, he cracked his eyelids open. Takeo hovered above him, smiling tentatively down at him. A single tear slid from Kamiko’s eye before he turned his head, regretting the move instantly as pain shot throughout his body.
“Don’t move. I have a healing salve on you. It’s going to take some time for your wounds to heal, but they’ll heal quicker this way.”
Kamiko wanted to nod, but he was afraid of the repercussion behind that action. He lay there stiff, feeling as though his skin was pulled tightly around him. “I didn’t talk. As much as he whipped me, I wouldn’t talk.”
“Oh, little flower, if it meant him not hurting you, then you should have sung to the gods,” Takeo said as he sat down on the side of the bed, his fingers whispering through Kamiko’s hair.
“Never. I would never betray you, Takeo,” Kamiko said with a conviction he felt deep in his bones.
Takeo blessed him with a smile as he ran a knuckle over his cheek. “What would you have confessed? What do you know, Kamiko?”
Kamiko shrugged, again regretting the move.
“You were very brave. I am honored to have such a br
ave mate.” Those words were Kamiko’s undoing. He had thought that Takeo hadn’t wanted him, was ashamed to call Kamiko mate. Takeo was proud of him. The tears slid down his face as he lifted a painful arm and wiped them away.
“I even like your hair.”
Kamiko blinked as he looked up at Takeo. “You do?” Takeo nodded. “The more I look at it, the more I like it. You look like a pixie to me.”
Kamiko snorted as he shook his head, the pain sliding down his back. “There you go again with the female references.” Takeo chuckled as he leaned forward and placed a kiss gently on his lips. “Never.”
“You want to tell where Constantine is hiding?” Takeo said as he rammed the demon’s face into the brick wall.
“I don’t know,” Gammy growled as he tried to push back, black blood pouring from his nose.
Takeo was tired of worrying about Kamiko and his safety. He wanted his mate to see how wonderful Serenity City truly was…
minus the assholes who had escaped, making life hell here.
“You escaped with him. You two didn’t have a little tea party before parting ways?” Takeo knew it was a long shot, but he had to try. The Malone brothers seemed to have fallen off the radar, and Takeo was getting more and more frustrated by the hour. He wanted to kill Constantine for what he had done to Kamiko.
First he had to find him.
Easier said than done.
“We at least recovered one of the prisoners,” Wayland said from beside him, but that wasn’t good enough for Takeo. He wanted revenge with a hard-on. Images of Kamiko lying there with his skin sliced open every few inches ignited Takeo’s anger beyond anything he had ever felt before. He slammed Gammy’s head into the brick wall repeatedly, wanting the location of that bastard.
“Takeo!” Wayland shouted.
Takeo could feel Gammy’s powers amping up. His little freeze-dry trick was about to get underway, and Takeo was having none of that. He cocked his arm back and then let it fly, hitting Gammy so hard that the demon crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Takeo reached down to pick Gammy’s limp body up when Wayland stepped in the way. “Enough, bro. Think about Kamiko.
What’s he going to do if you’re locked up in the detention cells for killing an unconscious man?” Wayland asked. “He isn’t the one you’re after.”
Takeo ran his hands over his head as he backed away and then began to pace in frustration. If they found the Malone brothers, so much could be stopped.
“I’ll call two warriors to help you take him back to the detention cells.” Takeo lowered his voice into a bitter and defeated tone. “I can’t go.”
“Tell me you’re not going to try and find Constantine on your own.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement coming from his friend.
Takeo didn’t answer him as he walked to a shadow and then into his apartment.
After calling Kane and Phoenyx to assist Wayland, Takeo made his way into his bedroom where Kamiko lay asleep. The angry red marks had finally faded into small, light pink lines on his beautiful skin. His mate had healed, externally.
He wondered if the innocence in Kamiko would be gone now.
That was one of the things he loved about the small man. Even after his horrific deal with the kidnappers to bring him to America and use him, the man’s spirit was strong and pure.
“If you keep staring at me like that, I’m going to think you want me,” Kamiko said with his eyes still closed.
A smile tugged at Takeo’s lips. Never in a million years would Takeo have guessed his shy friend to be such a horndog. Kamiko just kept amazing him. “I’ll always want you, Kamiko.” He nearly swallowed his tongue when Kamiko threw back the blanket to reveal naked, creamy flesh. Fuck if that wasn’t a wondrous sight. “How do you feel?”
“Like having your cock shoved deeply into my ass,” Kamiko answered as a smile played at his lips, his eyes still closed. Takeo growled at his mate’s naughty words. Who would have guessed that such language coming from Kamiko would turn him on so much?
Takeo’s cock stretched in his pants as his eyes roved over his mate’s body. The faint lash marks didn’t detract from his beauty one ounce as Kamiko rolled to his belly and spread his legs, resting his head on his tucked arms.
That was an invitation in the most blatant form of arousal. His eyes took in the small flare of his mate’s milky mounds as he lay there with his balls centered between his legs. It was the sexiest sight he’d seen in ages. When Takeo made no move toward Kamiko, the small man slid from the bed and knelt before him.
Takeo wasn’t sure what his mate was doing, but seeing his coal-black eyes stare up at him made Takeo feel godlike. His mate’s fingers trembled as he reached up and unsnapped Takeo’s pants, peeling the zipper back and exposing the head of Takeo’s cock. Clear liquid glistened, pearls of pre-cum sitting on the eye of his cock.
Kamiko stretched up from his knees and swiped his tongue across the head, eliciting a loud groan from Takeo. He’d never had anyone kneel before him. It was such an erotic sight. Kamiko’s eyes slowly closed as his lips parted, taking the head of Takeo’s cock between them.
His legs shook as Kamiko’s tongue worked its magic. Takeo fisted his hands, stopping his body from jerking forward and forcing his entire cock into Kamiko’s mouth. Light ripples washed through him as Kamiko’s warm hands worked his pants down to his ankles and then skimmed his fingers up and down Takeo’s thighs.
“Little flower,” Takeo groaned as his thigh muscles grew rigid.
He was fighting with everything in him not to move. His body ached to sink into his mate, but he stood there allowing Kamiko his time.
And hell if it didn’t feel fucking fantastic, too.
His knees almost knocked together when one of Kamiko’s wet fingers slid into his ass. If Takeo didn’t know any better, he would think his mate wanted to fuck him. Never in his thousands of years of life had Takeo ever let a man take him, and it perplexed him that he was even considering it now.
He was Takeo, survivor of Baku, strong, fierce, and lethal. He had taken down the largest of the lot when pitted against a fighter in the rings back home. Takeo didn’t know how to bow to anyone, let alone a short man with a pixie-like appearance. It was an odd contradiction, and one he was considering.
How the mighty have fallen.
Takeo’s arms swung up, his hands skating over Kamiko’s hair as he felt his orgasm approaching. In one smooth motion, Kamiko leaned all the way forward and swallowed Takeo whole.
He shouted to the room as he came down his mate’s throat, hot spurts jerking from his balls. Takeo shivered at his release and then grabbed his mate, spinning him around and bending him over the side of the bed.
He had to be inside of him. Takeo felt like he would die if he didn’t feel Kamiko’s body wrapped around his cock in the next five seconds. He grabbed the lube from the drawer, not wanting to wait for his own natural lubricant to prepare his mate.
He needed and he needed now. Takeo wet his fingers, shoving two into his mate as he quickly stretched him. He prayed it would be enough because the animal inside of him—the animal inside every man—was about to be unleashed.
Takeo snatched his hand free and then lined his lubed cock up, slamming home as he pulled one of Kamiko’s legs up onto the bed.
His fingers curled around his mate’s shoulders as he hammered his cock between the two small mounds. His mate stretched beautifully for him.
“Yes, harder, Takeo. Fuck me with everything you have.” Takeo was certain that in one thousand years, Kamiko would still be surprising him. He grabbed his mate’s slim hips, slamming Kamiko’s body onto his cock as sweat rolled down his face and back.
His inner demon roared as Takeo took Kamiko in the most primal way. Their bodies collided repeatedly, harshly, as Kamiko cried for more. Takeo was only too happy to give it to his mate.
“Takeo!” Kamiko shouted as his body jerked and his hole pulsed, milking Takeo’s cock as Kamiko’s fingers dug into
the bed. Takeo clenched his jaw, determination filling him as he jetted his shaft inside Kamiko over and over again.
As the buildup reached an all-time high, Takeo stiffened and then shouted to the ceiling as he came for the second time.
His head was pounding as he pulled in small gulps of air. Takeo’s vision shifted as he blinked a few times. Had he ever come that hard and brutal before? He didn’t think so. Lowering his mate to the bed, Takeo slid from Kamiko’s body. His mate’s hole was puckered and swollen, as if Takeo had just fucked him for ten hours straight.
As he laid Kamiko’s limp and sated body on the bed, Takeo kicked his pants the rest of the way off and then walked to the bathroom, drawing a bath for his mate. He let his fingers swirl through the water as he thought of Kamiko.
For many years Kamiko had been timid, shy, and had never voiced his desires toward Takeo. He even remembered when Chey, the grey wolf in Zeus’s pack, healed Kamiko of his inner demons.
Takeo was about to kill the wolf for touching Kamiko until he was told that Chey was healing his soul.
That had been something Takeo had wanted to do. That was what all his visits had been about, until he had fallen in love with the small man.
Now Kamiko was his, and the man seemed to have stamped ownership all over Takeo. He loved it. But it also frightened the hell out of him. Takeo didn’t know how to love anyone. He was a warrior.
What did he know about taking care of a mate?
So far, he hadn’t done a bang-up job of keeping Kamiko safe, but Takeo never planned to make that same mistake. If Constantine, or anyone else insane enough to come near Kamiko, threatened his mate again, Takeo was going to pull his entrails from his body on the spot.
Kamiko was his, and Takeo didn’t plan on failing him again.
When the tub filled, Takeo stood, removing his shirt, and then went after his mate. He pulled Kamiko’s resting form from the bed and then stepped into the tub, lowering them both as he lay back.
“This feels good,” Kamiko murmured as he rested against Takeo’s chest. “You take such good care of me,” he said and then yawned, burrowing deeper into Takeo.
