Bite Me Tender

by Kate Lowell

  She snorted. “No, not yet. But soon. I needed him to do something first.”

  “Oh.” He was so tired. Too tired to put together the clues right now. But something about the situation made his heart a little lighter. “I love you, Gram,” he whispered as he surrendered to his fatigue and her spell.

  Just before he fell completely asleep, he heard her say, “I love you too, Glynnie.”

  * * * *

  Levi walked into the house and closed the front door behind him. “Glyn?” The word seemed to echo down the hallway. No answer. He stopped, one hand on the banister beside him, and listened.

  The house was empty. There was a slip of paper on the table in the kitchen, neatly folded and standing up like a tent, his name precisely centered on the front. He walked over and picked it up. Glyn’s tidy copperplate handwriting jumped out at him from inside:

  Call me when you’ve figured out who you are.

  Let Me In

  Glyn clicked through to another listing for an apartment.

  Why am I looking at apartments here? He still had enough money set aside to make a down payment on another condo. And he’d be back in New York, where a willing body could be had at the crook of a finger.

  He sighed; he wasn’t really interested in an apartment. This was just killing time while he waited for Levi to call.

  That hope was fading, though. It had been a day and half since he’d thrown his tantrum and stormed out of the bar. Levi was probably thinking good riddance at this point and planning to settle down with that little tart.

  Lady, Connor was beautiful. They both were. Tall and dark. Those eyes…one pair brown and rich as the earth, the other blue and deep as the living ocean. Glyn felt a tightening in his groin and firmly redirected his thoughts toward the images on the screen. Fucking witchblood.

  He scrolled through the pictures, frowning. Not that one. The windows are too small. He clicked back to the listings and hit the next one. No way. I’ve crapped things the same color as those cupboards.

  A knock on the door made him jump. “Who is it?” He stood up cautiously.

  “Levi.”

  He padded across the room, flipped the lock, and unhooked the chain, but only opened the door a few inches.

  “You were supposed to call.”

  Levi stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced briefly down at the floor. “It’s not really a conversation for the phone, is it?”

  Glyn stared at him for a moment, his brain running in frantic circles. “I suppose you’re right. Come in.” He turned and walked back into the room.

  Levi closed the door behind him and followed Glyn. Everything about him screamed how ill at ease he was.

  This is it. He’s ending it. Fuck. Glyn sat down in front of his laptop again. When Levi reached for the other chair to pull it around the table, Glyn stopped him with a raised hand. “Don’t. I’ve barely got the room balanced for me as it is.”

  Levi froze and then moved to sit on the end of the bed. “This okay?”

  Glyn nodded. Levi’s presence changed the currents of power in the room. Glyn had managed to direct most of it along the walls, where Levi wouldn’t affect it and Glyn wouldn’t risk picking it up like a bad case of static cling. They were okay, so far. Well, this part of them was okay. It remained to be seen if the rest was still broken.

  They stared at each other in strained silence for several minutes. Be damned if Glyn was going to break first. This was Levi’s mess—let him start.

  Finally Levi dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry.”

  You better be. But Glyn held his tongue and waited to see what else Levi had to say.

  Levi looked up. “That wasn’t supposed to happen. I didn’t know they were going to have him there.” He paused to look down at his hands, where his fingers laced and unlaced themselves restlessly. “I’m really caught here. We’ve lost territory and wolves to McCourt, which makes me—us—look weak already. And there hasn’t been a new wolf since you and I got together. At some point, McCourt’s going to decide he has enough bodies to take us on.” He slid off the bed to kneel by Glyn’s feet. “Is there no way, no compromise, that we can find?” He laid a hand on Glyn’s thigh, the touch weak and tentative.

  Well, I guess that isn’t a surprise. Gram was right; Levi worked hard at being the level-headed one, the peacemaker. Why should it stop now, when it only broke Glyn’s heart? Oh stop. It’s not that he doesn’t care. Glyn sighed and lifted Levi’s hand off his thigh. “Anything else I’d give you. I’d say yes and not think twice. But not this. I can’t, not even for a little bit.” How did you explain something that you barely understood yourself? Sorry, darling, but I’m a hypocrite. Can’t help it; it’s in my blood. At Levi’s hurt expression, he lost his temper. “It’s a witchy thing, okay?”

  Levi frowned, his mouth a tight line, and moved back to the bed. “No, it’s not okay. I’m not cheating on you when I do this. And as soon as it’s done, we can go back to trying to change you again. Or not, and just be together. I need you to work with me on this, Glyn.”

  “You don’t get it, do you? If you’re with me, you’re mine. No one else’s.”

  “I’m not going to be his. And he isn’t going to be mine.”

  Right. Like any man in his right mind wouldn’t jump on the chance to trade in the weirdo for someone with less baggage and more good looks.

  Glyn shook his head. “See? You don’t understand.” He turned away and pulled on his hair. “Dammit, I should never have gotten involved with you. My dad was right. Witches and wolves don’t mix.”

  The blood drained from Levi’s face so fast Glyn actually felt it. “What do you mean, your dad was right?”

  “Lady. When I first brought you home, he told me it was a disaster in the making.” Glyn looked up at Levi. He tried to smile, but even he could tell it wasn’t a nice one. “I told him I was already a disaster, so how could you make it worse?”

  “I never thought of you as a disaster. And your dad is crazy, remember?”

  “My dad is half a witch. If there’s a way to fuck something up, he’s done it. I expect he knows what he’s talking about.”

  “Let’s leave your dad out of it.” Levi leaned forward, wearing his oh-so-reasonable face. “Glyn, we’re talking lives here. It’s not the pack taking a shot at you. In fact, it makes you look noble, like you’re sacrificing for the pack. It wouldn’t hurt to think about it.”

  Rage flooded Glyn so strongly he could taste it, a rotten, metallic flavor coating his tongue. “You selfish bastard. You think I’m being a diva about this?”

  “What the hell am I supposed to think? I’m caught between you and the pack, and neither of you will damn well budge. The pack can’t, and you won’t. You’re gonna rip me apart, between you all.”

  Glyn gripped the arms of the chair so hard he heard the wood creak, and the ghost of the wood’s soul sent up a weak complaint. “Idiot wolf. You said you didn’t mind that I was witch. Said you understood. What, you think it’s like sleeping with a normal?” Fear tightened his chest painfully. Broken in the coven, broken in the human world, and broken in the pack to boot.

  Too witchy to share, too human not to care. Why does every damn choice have to be a loss?

  Levi shifted on the bed, his jaw clenched as he bit down on his temper. Glyn heard his mutt grumbling inside him, whispering wolf-thoughts in Levi’s heart as it plotted Glyn’s downfall. They had a truce, he and the wolf, so he wasn’t allowed to pound the little mongrel into a million pieces like he wanted to. He had to win this battle with words.

  “We made an agreement in New York, Levi. No. One. Else. And I think I can safely say that I was giving up more than you.”

  “If you call three or four one-night stands a week something to give up.”

  “If you sleep with him, I’ll kill him. For real. You’re mine, and it’s not a witch’s nature to share.”

  “Then maybe witches need to learn to share!” Levi grabbed Glyn by the shoulders and tumb
led him out of the chair. Before Glyn could collect himself, Levi picked him up and pinned him against the wall, holding him there with the weight of his chest and a thigh shoved between Glyn’s. The table skittered away and came to rest at a crazy angle against the window ledge. Glyn felt the electric snap as the table redirected the currents back into the center of the room, and he cringed in anticipation the power buildup to come.

  Levi’s wolf chuckled inside him as he forced a kiss on Glyn, hard lips and teeth bruising Glyn’s mouth. It was a lesson, not a sign of affection, and Glyn knew it. The blood and violence hadn’t all come from the wolf.

  Glyn struggled at first but then gave in. This was likely his last kiss ever from Levi—he wanted to enjoy it.

  As Glyn relaxed, so did Levi. He picked Glyn up with a hand under each thigh and wrapped Glyn’s legs around his waist. His kisses became softer, and his manner changed, no longer a dominant trying to cow another being, but a lover seducing his willing partner.

  Glyn wound his arms around Levi’s neck and opened up to the kisses. He was hard as stone right now, and a good, hard fuck up against the wall sounded wonderful.

  Levi pulled away to trail anxious kisses down Glyn’s jaw. “Come back with me. We’ll share him until he’s weaned.”

  “Share him?” Glyn jerked his head away and stared incredulously at Levi. “How the fuck is that supposed to work?” He thinks this is just greed.

  “We’ll figure it out. I don’t mind. If it’s what you need to make you happy—”

  Glyn unwound his legs from Levi’s waist and let them fall, where they dangled a good four inches from the floor. Funny how he used to like that Levi was taller than him. Not anymore. “Let me down.”

  “You’ll give it a try?” Levi let him slide to the floor.

  Glyn pushed him away. “No.” He laid a hand on Levi’s cheek and looked him in the eye. “You’re lying to yourself, like a child who thinks they can change the world if they just wish hard enough. It doesn’t work that way. I know—I’ve tried, many times.” He swallowed and prayed he’d get the next words out without making a fool of himself. “Go home, Levi. Go home and make your decision. I can’t make it for you.”

  “I’m not the one causing the problems here!”

  “Then maybe you need to find someone with a little less self-respect. I hear there’s a tart going free for the asking.” That was a little too far. Glyn damned his smart mouth and ducked when Levi grabbed for him.

  There was a sudden whoompf, and the side of the dresser burst into flames. Cursing, Glyn grabbed a giant bottle of water from the minibar, popped the cap, and emptied the entire thing over the burning wood. What the water didn’t put out, Levi smothered with one of the pillows.

  “Well. That was an expensive fire extinguisher.” Glyn hefted the bottle and slanted a frustrated look at Levi. “Five dollars a bottle.”

  Levi opened his mouth—to say what, Glyn wasn’t sure, nor did he really care—and the fire alarm went off.

  Glyn threw the empty bottle at the floor like he was spiking a football. “Thanks for that too. Fucking chaotic werewolves.” He snatched his laptop off the table and slid his feet into his shoes before marching out the door.

  Levi followed him down to the parking lot, where the rest of the hotel patrons were streaming out onto the broken asphalt. Glyn walked across the front of the building until he came to a ragged little garden surrounding a concrete bench. He stretched himself out on the bench, his laptop clasped to his chest, and closed his eyes. One hand dangled down into the stunted plants, which reached eager green leaves toward his fingers and the life energy he was doing his best to dump inconspicuously.

  When Levi crouched beside him, Glyn said, “Don’t touch me; don’t talk to me.”

  “Glyn…”

  “Fuck no.” He opened his eyes and stared up at the clouds that floated peacefully above them. He wanted to rip them down from the sky and stomp on them. It wasn’t right that they should be so serene when his world was going up in flames just like that damn dresser. Finish it now. “I’ll swing by the house full-moon night, pick up the rest of my stuff, leave my key. I’ll call the lawyer, arrange to sign over my half of the house and my share of the bar.” He closed his eyes again so he wouldn’t see the hope fade out of Levi’s eyes.

  “Will you at least come? Talk to the pack, give them your side of the story?”

  “Do you really think they’d listen to an outsider? I’m not even human, let alone wolf.” Silence. “Good luck, Levi. I hope he works out for you.”

  For a moment, all he heard were the sounds of the breeze and of people’s voices as they speculated on the cause of the alarm, and then Levi’s boots creaked as he stood up. Glyn lay there and listened to his footsteps as they faded into the distance. Even the crunch of his heels on the gravel sounded sad.

  When he couldn’t hear them anymore, Glyn sat up and walked back toward the hotel, where the fire department was packing up their gear and letting people back into the building. No one seemed to be looking for him, so he assumed they hadn’t found the burned dresser. Hopefully he could coax it back to its former appearance before he left town. He trudged up the stairs, very carefully thinking about nothing.

  Inside his room, he righted the table, wincing at the wild prickle of energy across his skin, picked up his notepad from the floor, and arranged his laptop precisely in front of his chair. He contemplated the minibar and then decided he didn’t really need drunken craziness on top of everything else.

  What he really needed was a night of fast, dirty sex with Levi. Which wasn’t happening anytime soon. Or ever again.

  Fuck.

  Glyn looked at the laptop and sighed, then flipped the screen up and settled in front of it.

  New York condo sales, he typed, and clicked on the first link.

  Hours of Internet searching and e-mailing later, he closed the computer and stood up, stretching the kinks out of his back. Stiffly, he dragged himself into the bathroom to wash the salt from his cheeks, rubbed raw over the course of the evening. He’d given up trying to stop the tears after the first hour and let them fall unheeded.

  A glance at his watch showed it was still early, but Glyn was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. He stripped his clothes off as he walked back to the bed and left them on the floor wherever they landed. They set up swirling currents in the energy flowing through the room, like tiny waterspouts or dust devils, sucking at him, calling to his witchblood to come dance with them. He grunted in frustration and gathered them up, then cautiously folded and arranged them on the second chair, where they canceled each other out.

  Glyn climbed into the bed and pulled the sheets up to his chin, hoping he’d fall directly to sleep despite the tingling surge of power still curvetting beneath his skin. Instead of sweet oblivion, though, he was hit with the same two contradictory urges he’d been fighting since he’d seen that little tart of Levi’s in the bar.

  On the one hand, he wanted to bend the man over a table and fuck the living daylights out of him until he screamed for mercy. That was understandable; the guy was hot, and Glyn had power to siphon off before he blew himself or someone else up. And he loved sex. Especially sex with pretty things with skin like satin and mouths meant to wail in passion. It had been a long time since he’d indulged his witch side in a free fuck with a random pretty.

  On the other hand, he wanted to wrap that power around his rival’s heart and tear it free so he could watch the light fade from those striking blue eyes and know that Levi was his and his alone.

  He understood that one too.

  House of Sticks

  Levi closed the front door behind him and hung his keys on their hook by the door. Methodically he stripped off his coat and boots, hung the coat up in the closet, and arranged the boots neatly underneath so Glyn wouldn’t go ballistic.

  Except Glyn wasn’t ever going to go ballistic on him again, was he?

  He scrubbed his hands roughly over his face, pressin
g hard enough to hurt, as if the pain would somehow absolve him of his mistakes and bring Glyn back to him.

  Dream on, wolfboy.

  His wolf stretched within him. It seemed to have gotten past its earlier indecision over Glyn, and the feeling Levi got from it told him the wolf was looking forward to slipping the leash—Glyn had been a civilizing influence on it since they’d first met. Hell, the wolf had liked Glyn until it realized it couldn’t intimidate him, recognizing a kindred spirit deep inside him until it clued in to the tight rein Glyn kept on himself. He could feel it already as it shook out its muscles and planned to retake the parts of Levi that Glyn had conquered years ago.

  He wandered upstairs for no particular reason, except he couldn’t think of anything else to do. Certainly he didn’t want to go to the bar and face any of the pack members. He didn’t want to kill anyone, and he had a feeling that, once his current frozen blankness wore off, he just might do that.

  In the bathroom he picked up a nearly empty bottle of Glyn’s body wash and held it to his nose. It always made him smile. Glyn could rant and rave with the best of them over something he considered a waste of money but had no qualms about spending nearly thirty dollars for a bottle of soap. Levi used to tease him about it, but it smelled wonderful on its own and even better mixed with the sunshiny scent of Glyn’s skin.

  He dropped the bottle absentmindedly in the bathtub and pressed a hand over his mouth. His gaze roamed the room, spotting the things Glyn had left behind and picking out the places where others were missing. He ran his hand over the piece of countertop where Glyn’s razor usually sat, before opening the medicine cabinet. Glyn’s shaving cream was gone, though he’d either forgotten or hadn’t bothered with his cologne. Levi picked it up and unscrewed the cap to smell it. Light and sophisticated, with a hint of sex peeking out between the other scents. The smell of it made his stomach clench and his cock harden. On impulse, he spilled a bit on himself so he could at least pretend Glyn was still there.

  Downstairs in the kitchen again, he wandered along the cupboards, his eyes moving blankly over the neat rows in which Glyn had everything arranged.