Panahasi

by Lynn Hagen

  Drake knew it would be. He never doubted how well this man would be in bed. He just wondered how long it would take for Panahasi to take him to bed. Now that it was happening, Drake was never going to let the man go. He didn’t understand what he was feeling, though. A sense of love for the man before Drake was even born consumed him, but Drake fought the feeling, fearing he would drown in its turbulent waves.

  Panahasi’s body was a symphony of movements as he claimed Drake, making him his. Panahasi’s masculine, earthy scent invaded Drake’s senses and made his mouth water and his gut clench. But as his mate took him, Drake felt something on a deeper level, something almost frightening moving inside of him.

  His mate had said not to fight it. But Drake felt an ancient power at work, weaving him into Panahasi’s existence, an existence that was created so long ago. It was a strange feeling inside of him, as if something was crawling in his chest, giving him insight into Panahasi’s past.

  Drake could see Panahasi standing in some strange city. Remtin. The name came to him on a whisper. The leader was standing there with a murderous glare as men began to surround him. It was a dark and foreboding city that Drake knew he would never want to visit in his lifetime.

  Drake recognized Phoenyx. He was battered and bruised to the point he was barely recognizable, but he still fought the men around him. He felt a hatred inside of Panahasi that threatened to bring Drake to his knees. It was filled with such odium that Drake wanted to claw at his own skin.

  “Stop it!” he cried out. “I can’t take it.”

  “I thought you could take whatever I threw your way?” Panahasi breathed behind him.

  “Not that,” he begged. “Not your pain. I can’t stand to see you hurting so badly, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it.”

  Panahasi slowed his movements, his grip on Drake’s hip easing. “But you aredoing something about it, Drake.”

  Drake didn’t understand what his mate meant until he felt something wet hit his shoulder. It was a single tear, and it slid down Drake’s shoulder and fell to the bed. He realized in that moment that Panahasi was giving a piece of himself to Drake. It was a small piece, but nonetheless precious.

  “Finish it,” Drake said as he swallowed hard.

  Panahasi kissed Drake’s shoulder softly. “I do not know what you are witnessing, but thank you.”

  The image in his mind returned. He saw Panahasi and Phoenyx fighting back to back. The thought came to mind that Phoenyx was the first warrior Panahasi had gone after and he was determined to take what he had come for.

  He wasn’t leaving the dark and lackluster city until he had Phoenyx.

  Drake cried out as Panahasi drove his cock deep, the image fading, his mind filling up with the pleasure coursing throughout his body. Longing swelled inside his heart. Drake wanted to belong to Panahasi. He needed to belong to the great warrior. His heart ached for the chance.

  He loved Casey beyond measure, but knew that having Panahasi in his life, in his lungs, in his very breath was what he craved most. Drake wanted the man to consume him.

  He threw his head back and howled, not only from the intense orgasm that was rocking his body, but from the longing he felt envelop him. The pain threatened to rip him apart.

  “I am yours.” The words were soft, almost inaudible, but the deep note was heard.

  Drake felt as if he finally belonged as Panahasi rode him hard. He and Casey had a home now, someplace they could finally breathe.

  He felt his mate’s fingers dig into his sides once more, but this time it was followed by an unintelligible slew of words. The only thing Drake could make out was his name. He turned his head and Panahasi dropped down lower, giving Drake his neck.

  Drake bit into it, feeling the bond instantly forming. He gloried in the feeling and then moments later, released Panahasi, licking at the wound and feeling sleep trying to edge its way in.

  “Casey told me you pass out after sex.” Panahasi nudged Drake’s neck with his lips and nose as he pulled his spent cock free.

  “Every damn time.” He yawned, closing his eyes and smiling.

  Panahasi was finally his.

  But on the tail end of that thought came an uneasy feeling that his life had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.

  * * * * Panahasi walked into Diablo ’s. The place was teeming with horny men and exotic dancers. He could smell sex and lust riding the air as he made his way over to the owner who stood behind the bar, watching everything that was going on in his place.

  Diablo was a dragon shifter, fierce, unfriendly, and downright nasty at times. But, dragon shifters also had a very twisted sense of humor as well.

  Panahasi took a seat at the bar. He inwardly rolled his eyes. The patrons who frequented Diablo’s knew a demon warrior when they saw one. And Panahasi stuck out like a sore thumb. The twinks were migrating his way, sashaying across the room, giving him lascivious looks that were meant for nothing but sex.

  “You always attract them,” Diablo said as he leaned his arms on the counter.

  Panahasi thought about his mates who were sleeping back at his penthouse. He had claimed them. He had done the one thing he knew he shouldn’t have, but couldn’t find it in himself to regret the act. They had death warrants now just from being mated to him.

  They were also the only beings that would ever see his tender side. To the rest of the world, he must always be ruthless and hardhearted. He was the demon warriors’ leader. Nothing less would be acceptable. For those two shifters, Panahasi would walk through the fires of hell. They were bonded to him now. The very essence of Panahasi’s life now ran through their veins. His demon would kill any and all who threatened the two shifters.

  And that was one of the reasons Panahasi had hesitated in mating them. His demon would end the world to keep them safe.

  Panahasi ignored the come-hither looks as he focused his attention on Diablo. “You said you had information I needed on the phone.”

  When he felt a hand brush over his arm, Panahasi turned, glaring at the man who thought he had the privilege to touch him. The guy visibly swallowed and backed away. The other men who had moved across the room stopped, glanced at Panahasi, and then went back to what he assumed they had been doing before he entered the club.

  Diablo let out a low chuckle. “That glacial, hostile stare is chilling me.”

  “No it’s not,” Panahasi said truthfully. Diablo was a hard man to scare. They both knew this. “Now what did you want?”

  Diablo leaned back, giving Panahasi a subtle nod. “Come to the back.”

  Standing, Panahasi moved away from the stool and followed Diablo into an office behind the bar. He had been in this room once or twice. There were monitors on one wall, showing every inch of the dragon shifter’s club. Nothing went on in the place without Diablo knowing about it. The man even had bouncers that took care of any problem as soon as it arose.

  “I saw this on the camera that is located on the rear of my club, in the back alley.”

  Panahasi watched as Diablo clicked a few buttons and then pointed at the screen to the far right. “Watch.”

  Panahasi moved closer, staring at the monitor intently. He saw the pitch-black alley, nothing spectacular about it. And then the men the demon warriors had been hunting down came into view. Marino and Constantine stopped at the back door to Diablo’s, talking.

  “Can you turn up the volume?”

  Diablo made a few adjustments, and then Panahasi heard their conversation clearly.

  “Some guy approached me,” Constantine said. “He wants me to kill Panahasi’s mates.”

  “Who?” Marino asked. “You don’t take a fucking job unless the price is high enough. And dealing with the leader of the demon warriors, it better be astronomical.”

  Constantine shook his head, and Panahasi could see fear in the demon’s eyes. He knew that Constantine didn’t scare easily. The man lived on fear. He ate it for breakfast. So it would have to be a very powerful bei
ng that put the terror in the demon’s eyes.

  And there was only one being that Panahasi could think of.

  Jaden.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Marino asked as he slapped his younger brother on the back of his head. “No one scares you.”

  “You haven’t met this guy. He makes us look like amateurs. I don’t trust him, Marino. There’s something about him that makes me want to run far and fast.”

  Panahasi thought Marino was going to smack Constantine again for admitting his fear, but the brother just ran his hand over his chin, his expression thoughtful.

  Gods, please don’t let them get involved with Jaden.

  “I want to meet this guy who scares you.”

  Panahasi closed his eyes briefly. Chaos and pandemonium were about to rain down on Serenity City if anyone made a deal with Jaden. That was how it always began. One deal. One small deal and Jaden had those two men. He would own them. Jaden always asked for a soul in return for whatever a creature was seeking out.

  But it was Jaden who was asking this time.

  What would he barter?

  Jaden may be the one asking for a favor this time, but somehow Panahasi knew the man would end up with Marino’s and Constantine’s souls. He was too smart to agree to anything else. Panahasi watched as the two disappeared from the screen.

  “How long ago was this recorded?” he asked Diablo.

  “Two hours ago.”

  “And you are just now showing me this?” Panahasi asked, feeling his temper rising. The brothers couldn’t get into his penthouse, but with Jaden’s help…

  Panahasi disappeared from the club before Diablo could answer him. He walked into his living room, stilling when he saw Drake holding Casey down. Casey was writhing on the floor, spitting at Drake and shouting to be released.

  “Are you two at it again?” Panahasi asked. “I warned you both what would happen if you laid a finger on one another.”

  “Tell that to Mr. Possessed.” Drake was shoved clear of Casey, landing on his ass with a loud harrumph. Panahasi watched as Casey rose to his feet, the blue in his eyes gone, replaced by the deepest black, darker than the bowels of hell.

  “Welcome home,” Casey replied and Panahasi knew that it wasn’t Casey talking.

  He moved closer to Drake, holding his hand out. Drake immediately pushed to his feet and took it. Panahasi pushed Drake behind him.

  “Jaden.”

  A lecherous grin spread across Casey’s face. It was a look he knew Casey did not possess. His mate was sweet, kind, and somewhat stubborn, but not malicious.

  “It is,” Casey replied in an ominousvoice. “You have a very sweet mate.” Casey’s hands ran over his own chest, his eyes fluttering in pleasure. Panahasi couldn’t stop the growl. It may be Casey’s hands running over his own body, but it was Jaden taking pure joy in the act.

  “What’s happening?” Drake whispered behind him.

  Casey narrowed his eyes. “You would know if you hadn’t fought me. I would be inside of you right now, giving you just as much pleasure as I am giving this one.”

  “Get out of him!”

  Panahasi had to push Drake back. His mate was seething, ready to take Jaden on. As proud as Panahasi was of Drake and his ability to not only resist Jaden’s possession, but willing to battle the creature for Casey, it would be a very foolish move.

  Jaden was provoking them.

  “No,” Panahasi said to Drake.

  Drake slapped at Panahasi’s hand. “What do you mean no? He has Casey. Are you just going to stand there while that, that thing touches all over our mate?”

  “Yes.”

  Drake slammed his hands into Panahasi’s back, struggling to get free. He fought, and fought hard, but Panahasi held on to his mate. Drake slapped and punched Panahasi, but Panahasi refused to release him. Instead, he flooded Drake’s mind with images of the horrible things Jaden had done to others and what he would do if Drake tried to fight the being that was currently taking up residence inside of Casey’s body.

  Drake’s struggling body stilled. Now he was gripping Panahasi, tears in his whiskey-brown eyes. Panahasi hated to see his mate cry. It tore at his very soul. Seeing the unchecked tears on Drake’s face only made Panahasi want to kill Jaden.

  An act he knew he couldn’t go through with no matter how badly he wished he could.

  He may have given Drake the images needed to subdue his mate, but Panahasi had left out one vital piece of information. It was something that would have driven Drake over the edge. He knew the two shifters were very close. Drake would do anything for Casey.

  Even sacrifice himself.

  Panahasi couldn’t have that.

  What he hadn’t shown Drake was that Jaden almost always killed his victims when he left their bodies. Drake would strike a bargain with Jaden to take Casey’s place. Once a bargain was struck, there was no going back. Not even Panahasi could undo it.

  “Hmm,” Casey said. “I like this shifter. Maybe I’ll keep him for myself.”

  “Not while I’m still breathing,” Panahasi retorted.

  “I can remedy that.”

  “No, you cannot,” Panahasi reminded the man. “You know what will happen if you kill me.”

  A feral look crossed Casey’s face. The look was so deadly that chills ran down Panahasi’s spine.

  “What if I didn’t care?”

  Those were not the words Panahasi had been anticipating. It dawned on him that Jaden was on a suicide mission. That was why he had tried to kill Panahasi down in the underworld. That was also why the man was here in Serenity City, a place he knew for damn certain Panahasi would be.

  This was not good.

  The man was going to try and kill Panahasi’s mates, knowing that would throw him over the edge, not caring any longer if he killed Jaden.

  Two things happened at once. Panahasi leapt across the room and cut the palm of his hand with an elongated nail at the same time. He smashed his bloody hand into Casey’s face, forcing Jaden from his mate’s body.

  With forcing Jaden free, the creature had no time to take Casey with him. Casey howled, his body jerking on the floor as Jaden fled. Panahasi pulled Casey into his arms, cradling him as he dropped onto his ass, resting his back against the bar and wondering what in the fuck he was going to do about Jaden.

  The man would be back.

  He wanted to die.

  And there was only one way to prevent Panahasi from dying as well.

  The underworld.

  Panahasi had to seal Jaden in a prison cell.

  The only thing wrong with that plan was tricking Jaden into one of the cells. The man was too damn smart to fall for anything Panahasi might try. They knew each other very well. So Panahasi was going to have to do something unthinkable, something Jaden wouldn’t be expecting or anticipating.

  Now, if only he knew what that something was.

  Chapter Seven

  Panahasi walked into his penthouse after combing the streets for Marino and Constantine pulling his jacket off and then froze. It was the most bizarre sight he had ever seen. And he’d seen a lot.

  There was a disco ball hanging from his ceiling, twirling in place as it splashed a kaleidoscope of colors and lights around the room. The furniture was missing, nowhere to be seen, and his mates were in the middle of the living room, dancing like loons to the Bee Gees’s “Nights on Broadway.”

  What in the hell? Had the world ended and no one told him? Never in his life would he have ever expected to come home to something this…odd.

  His eyes connected with Casey ’s blue beauties as his mate twirled around Drake, a wide smile on his flushed face. Panahasi found himself smiling right back. It was just too damn strange a situation not to.

  He would never in a million years tell anyone he liked disco music. He was not only a private person, but he would be laughed right out of the demon realm. Panahasi had to always keep up his badass persona, always appear defensive and brutal, even if sometim
es he wanted to let it all go and be himself.

  With these two, Panahasi knew he could do just that. The feeling was strange, letting go, but Panahasi blew out a long breath, telling himself that these were the men he was going to spend the rest of his life with. If he couldn’t peel away the façade and be himself around them, then what was the point of being mated?

  He tossed his jacket aside, rolling back his sleeves as he chuckled when Drake began to stab the air and then twirled his arms over one another in a quick rolling motion. The man was a real disco dancer, burning up the floor with his savvy moves. His mate glided across the floor, taking Casey with him as the two boogied their butts off. Panahasi was content to just stand where he was, watching them, enjoying the view of both their tight little asses shaking, but his mates had a different plan.

  Casey bounced from foot to foot, chucking his thumbs from side to side, his head bobbing to the music, until he reached Panahasi. It was comical as hell, and sexy, too. Casey and Drake looked good dancing together. They complemented each other, as if they were born in each other’s arms. That thought brought a twinge of pain to Panahasi’s chest. He wanted to fit in with them. He wanted to be a part of their intimate circle. For the first time in Panahasi’s life, he wanted to belong.

  When Casey reached out for Panahasi, he shocked his mates by gliding onto the dance floor in one smooth motion and then taking Casey into his arms, twirling the smaller man around. He hadn’t been around this long and not learned a thing or two about dancing. Never would he tell anyone that back when disco was all the rage, Panahasi had snuck into the human realm and boogied his own butt off.

  Death and dismemberment wouldn ’t make him reveal that secret. Peals of laughter fell from Casey’s lips as he spun around, ending up in Drake’s arms. The pure joy in Casey’s eyes was well worth Panahasi giving up his steely persona. And gods did it feel good. The feeling of total freedom sang through his body as he danced around the two.

  Drake winked at Panahasi, sending Casey right back at him. When Casey’s soft body ended up in Panahasi’s arms, he felt his heart burst with pure, undiluted joy. Never in his life had he ever felt this way before. It was foreign to him, yet made him laugh loudly as Casey began to hand dance with Panahasi.