Resilience

by Bailey Bradford

  Todd didn’t speak, instead nodding as a strangled sound wafted over Adam’s tip.

  Adam brought his other hand to Todd’s other jaw, holding the man’s face still. He pressed in slowly, savouring the slick glide and suction. Todd’s lids drifted down and he moaned. His nostrils flared and he slid his hands back to burrow his fingers in Adam’s crack.

  “Take me, take what you want.” Adam kept a firm grip on Todd, not nearly as firm as

  the one Todd had on him, but still good. “Show me you want it, how much you like sucking my dick.”

  Todd shook and shoved his head forwards, too fast, Adam thought, expecting a gag

  and a quick pullback—no. The head of his dick sank into the sweet confines of Todd’s throat, and Adam saw fuzzy stars as he yelped in surprise. Those tight muscles constricted around him at the same time Todd pushed a finger into his hole, and Adam’s plans for retaining any sort of control shattered. He pulled back then thrust again, and through his spotty vision saw how pleased Todd was with himself.

  Adam was pretty damned pleased with him, too, but he wanted something else. He wanted Todd to be as mindless with need as possible, and, right now, Todd was still thinking, plotting, figuring how to drive Adam to that very same place of thoughtless desire.

  Adam snarled around words he couldn’t get out and pulled Todd off his dick. He

  dropped to his own knees and kissed Todd with a force that left his lips bruised and a coppery tang in his mouth. Todd whimpered and clawed at him, trying to grab onto him, but Adam didn’t give him the chance. He toppled Todd backwards, locking an arm around his shoulders to keep from braining him on the floor.

  Todd’s breath gusted out and Adam sputtered, their teeth clacked and it didn’t matter, he couldn’t stop plundering Todd’s mouth. He was dimly aware of Todd’s legs around his waist, then he was rutting and grinding, trying to push into Todd’s ass. A shock of sense hit him and he pushed up enough to slap at his pocket.

  “Adam, please,” Todd whined, and that was so unlike him Adam stopped trying to dig

  the lube out of his pocket. “Just fuck me already. I need to feel you—”

  “Not like that, you don’t,” Adam interrupted. “You won’t be able to sit for a week and we’ve got a long flight tomorrow.”

  Todd growled, and normally that sound drove Adam wild but tonight he growled back

  and planted a hand on Todd’s chest when the man tried to pull at him. The want and need filled the air between them as Todd glared up at him.

  “I won’t hurt you just to get your mind off other things,” Adam said, because he

  worried about that sometimes. He was aware people had needs, and pain had its place in those needs from time to time, but, with Todd’s past, there was a fine line to be walked and he didn’t ever want to cross it.

  Finally the tension ebbed and Todd seemed to melt beneath him. Adam checked and

  found his cock still hard, dark and wet-tipped. He slid down Todd’s body and sucked the fat head into his mouth, and Todd bellowed, bowing up over him and bringing an arm over his shoulders. “Fuck!”

  Adam had the lube in hand but opening it was tricky. The flip-top cap could stick, but he wedged his thumbnail under it and got it open as he sealed his lips tight under Tim’s head. Lube leaked all over his hand and the floor as he tipped the bottle. Adam didn’t give a shit, he had Todd’s cock in his mouth and his ass quivering and eager beneath him.

  Adam bobbed down and fitted his hand between them, finding Todd’s pucker unerringly. He didn’t tease, sinking two fingers in deep and fast. Todd wanted to walk that edge, Adam would do the best he could.

  Todd was loud, and if they’d had any neighbours, that might have been a problem.

  That yell, along with the eager pump of his hips, the shove down on Adam’s head, those told Adam he was right on track. He swirled his tongue and felt the crown press against his soft palate. Todd’s asshole clamped around his fingers. Sweet whimpering noises fell from Todd’s lips, and it was a perfect moment, one Adam would always remember.

  He curled his fingers and stroked over Todd’s gland, a soft touch as he deep-throated Todd. Adam didn’t want Todd to come, not until he had his dick buried deep in the man’s ass, so he pulled back, fingers and mouth. Todd’s protests died away when he looked at Adam. That tell-tale flush spread over Todd’s chest and up his neck.

  “On your side.” Adam slapped Todd’s ass for emphasis as the man began to roll. He

  caught Todd’s leg behind the knee and pushed up until Todd caught on and hooked an arm under it. Adam straddled Todd’s lower leg. He brought his left leg up against Todd’s raised one and rubbed his balls over Todd’s ass. “I’m going to give you what you want, what you need,” Adam said as he held his cock to Todd’s hole. With no other warning, Adam thrust, that tight ring of muscles parting for him, clenching around him as he sank in deep.

  Todd’s shout rang out as his inner muscles rippled around Adam’s length. The hot, soft walls sucked him in until his balls slapped against Todd’s ass. Adam bent and grabbed Todd’s shoulder, held his hip with his other hand, and didn’t hesitate. He withdrew and slammed in again, sliding Todd a couple of inches across the floor. Todd arched beneath him and flailed with his free hand, seeking to anchor himself, but Adam couldn’t give him time to do so. Todd’s body was massaging him, milking his cock and sending white streaks of

  pleasure to his balls that somehow managed to block out everything else.

  Adam pulled Todd back to him with each thrust even as it jostled him. He couldn’t slow down, couldn’t stop, and Todd’s keening sounds didn’t encourage him to do either.

  Adam plunged deep and hard, his hips battering against Todd. Pleasure was rising, high tide in him, and he couldn’t last much longer.

  Todd gave up trying to keep himself in place, choosing instead to fist his cock. Adam thought he jerked once, maybe twice, then Todd’s back bowed, his ass clenched around Adam’s cock, and he loosed a strangled sound.

  Adam’s balls pulsed and sent cum shooting up his dick, pleasure blinding him as he

  went rigid, emptying his load into Todd. It thrilled him every time, filling Todd’s ass with his spunk, and tonight was no exception. Adam shook as the last spurt was released. His muscles burned, his skin was slick with sweat, and as he opened his eyes and met Todd’s sated gaze he saw something shift there and it made warmth curl in Adam’s groin. And, even in his sex-stupor, Adam knew they’d only just begun with the night’s loving.

  PART THREE

  The Hunt

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Adam was kind of intimidated, but, hell, who wouldn’t be? They were, for all intents and purposes, in the presence of a very powerful man…wolf…shifter, whatever. He looked so much like Aidan it was creepy, except power oozed from the man. Marcus Criswell could scare the fuck out of anyone. Except Adam wasn’t scared, he was just trying to wrap his mind around all this altering of his former reality.

  “Weird, isn’t it?” Todd asked beside him. Adam looked and saw that he was watching

  Marcus and Aidan, or maybe he was watching their ‘mates’, Zane and Nathan. The early morning sun shone brilliantly on Nathan’s long, loose red hair. Adam had never particularly cared for such brightly coloured hair, but the little guy pulled it off. And he was never going to be dumb enough to let Nathan know he’d just thought of him as ‘the little guy’. Adam might not have been scared, but he sure as shit wasn’t dumb, either.

  Todd’s eyes were crinkled at the corners and sparkling like he was amused, like he

  knew what Adam was thinking. He probably did. Todd knew him inside out. Todd glanced at Nathan, yes, that was who he looked at, then back at Adam and arched a brow. He

  mouthed “Really?” but wisely didn’t say it. Adam wasn’t the only one who remembered

  Gabe bragging about enhanced senses. And sexual staying power. The jerk.

  Gabe and Mika waved them over, and Adam took Todd’s
hand in his—he loved that

  freedom to touch when he wanted to—and walked over to everyone else. They’d met Marcus and Nathan, but it wasn’t like they knew the two of them. Thanking Marcus for use of the plane had been embarrassing, but Todd was so sweet with his thanks no one paid any

  attention to Adam’s bumbling efforts.

  For some reason, that very power he felt coming from Marcus made Adam uncomfortable, which was asinine. Probably some inner human fear of the big, bad predator, because Adam had no doubt that was exactly what Marcus was. Deadly.

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” Marcus said, and Adam thought he meant it for everyone,

  but Aidan sighed and cocked a hip to plop his hand on.

  “I’m not the reckless kind.” The look Aidan gave his twin was beyond Adam, but

  Nathan snorted and so did Gabe. The two of them moved closer together and started

  whispering, and a giggle followed shortly thereafter.

  “You’re not helping any,” Marcus all but growled. Nathan flapped a hand at him. “God knows what those two are concocting,” he muttered, turning to watch Nathan and Gabe.

  “Thank goodness we won’t be on the jet with y’all. Imagine the trouble they’d get into in Amsterdam.”

  “I’d rather not,” Aidan said at almost the exact same time Mika did. They looked at

  each other and shrugged.

  “I have a feeling they’re plotting.” Marcus didn’t look upset about it,

  more…anticipatory.

  “They’ll have to resume their plans when we get back.” Mika tapped his watch. “Time

  to load up.”

  “Excited?” Adam asked Todd as they made their way to the set of stairs.

  Todd tried not to grin, Adam could tell, but the edge of his mouth tipped up in one

  corner. “I’m trying not to be. Seems wrong, y’know.”

  Adam did know. He felt the same way, excited, and guilty for it. But it beat being

  terrified of finding out Jameson was dead, which was what he was very much afraid was going to happen. Don’t think about that! Adam brushed a kiss over that turned-up corner.

  “Don’t feel bad. Who wouldn’t be excited to fly on a private jet?”

  “Shifters,” Gabe snarked, unconcerned apparently about eavesdropping. “When I was

  just a human, this would have been ultra-cool. Now the very idea of being up in the sky and in a confined space is freaking me the fuck out!”

  Adam couldn’t resist. “I have some acepromazine if you need it. Works on wolves and dogs both.”

  “Fuck you,” Gabe grumbled. “But I might just take you up on it.”

  “Huh.” Well it was a good thing he’d really brought some, along with other vet supplies.

  They boarded the plane and Adam’s jaw about hit the ground. Todd’s, too.

  Aidan was smirking, damn him. “Not quite what you expected?”

  Gabe squealed and smacked Aidan on the arm. “Dick! You didn’t mention it was like,

  the über-rich kind of jet! Look at this!” Gabe bounded over and sprawled on the white leather couch. His footsteps were silent on the thick white carpeting. “Ungh, this is so comfortable I may never get up.”

  “I feel like I stepped into that TV show about rich and famous people’s homes and

  toys,” Todd murmured.

  “No kidding. Just look at this thing.” Adam tucked himself under Todd’s arm and they walked to an un-Gabe-occupied couch. “I’m almost afraid to sit on it.”

  “Hey, don’t be. There’s been all sorts of stuff done on these couches. It’s a good thing they’re white.” Aidan waggled his eyebrows and Adam snickered before he could catch

  himself.

  “Gross, dude,” Gabe chimed in. “So, Nathan said there’s a bedroom—”

  “I don’t think so,” Zane said, speaking up for the first time. “I’ve got plans—”

  Gabe was up and the race was on. “Loser gets the spunky sheets!”

  “This is going to be an interesting flight.”

  Aidan snorted at Mika and took off after Zane and Gabe. Then it was just him and

  Todd, and the pilot was telling everyone to sit down and get ready for takeoff.

  “I’m not sure what to make of this.” Todd dug out a seatbelt and handed the end to

  Adam.

  “Me either, but honestly…” Adam peered towards the doorway the other four had

  vanished through. “It’s almost like our own in-flight porn show, without the actual show part.”

  Todd’s smile was sinfully hot as he leaned to nip Adam’s ear. “That’s all right, as long as they’re in there, or, at least, we’re the only ones in here…”

  Adam’s cock went from almost soft to hard as stone in a heartbeat, owing in large part to the way Todd kneaded that eager flesh so perfectly. Oh yeah, a most interesting flight indeed.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  A short nap on the jet and the change in time zones left Todd unable to sleep. He was worried about Adam and what they’d find here. A few months ago, if you’d have told Todd that he’d be in Amsterdam and not even the least bit curious about the place, he’d have thought you were a liar. But, the truth was, he was bone-deep scared of Adam being hurt, either by finding out Jameson was dead or that he’d simply ditched Adam carelessly. And he was scared for all of them on a physical level, of course. He’d seen the way the four shifters had sniffed the air almost constantly and the occasional frowns they gave back and forth. No one had explained them. Todd had thought to give them the opportunity to do so, but then they were at the hotel, and everyone but him was exhausted. Well, if he didn’t get answers voluntarily in the morning he would demand them. Adam probably would anyway, right off the bat. Todd grinned at the image of Adam waking in a few hours and pounding on either Gabe and Mika’s or Aidan and Zane’s door, waking them and snarling until he got what he wanted. Damn, he really loved his man.

  Tomorrow—or later today, rather—would most likely be spent travelling. Although

  Jameson might have come to Amsterdam, the rumours had the coup occurring then him and his mate disappearing into a mountainous area. That being the case, he could be in any number of places. More specific information would be great. Aidan hoped to be able to make a few inquiries. It seemed his brother Marcus had managed to scrape together a list of possible sympathisers, shifters who wanted equality and freedom, not madness and murder.

  Todd wasn’t sure what exactly was going on with this group of shifters, but he’d

  imagine, with at least a half-wolf nature—he wasn’t sure how that worked, but his mind could make up some scary shit—and the strength of being a supernatural creature… Well, he’d bet things could get violent and deadly, and if someone or several someones chose to abuse the gift—or curse—of their powers, then that’d be a very scary thing indeed. Visions of the apocalypse danced in his head and Todd slapped a hand to his forehead, both amused and irritated with himself.

  “Whassa prollem?”

  Adam’s sleep-slurred voice triggered a flash of guilt in Todd. “Nothing, baby. Sorry, just thinking and being ridiculous. Didn’t mean to wake you.”

  Adam propped up on an elbow and, in the darkness of the room, Todd could still make

  out his smile, thanks to the shaft of light peeking between the curtains. Todd didn’t know what sign or whatever gave off the light, but he was glad for it. There was nothing quite so gorgeous as Adam’s sleepy smiles.

  “You should go back to sleep,” Todd added, because that smile was stirring things up, and Adam really needed to rest.

  But Adam’s smile only stretched wider and Todd would swear the man’s eyes gleamed.

  Adam didn’t say a word, though, just shoved the covers off them both.

  “Adam—” Whatever Todd had meant to say died on a choked sound as Adam ran a

  finger up the underside of his cock. Todd melted like ice in the Texas heat, his legs falling ope
n, spreading, his cock giving a happy thump.

  Adam still didn’t speak, and Todd’s entire body tingled with excitement. He knew this game although they’d never discussed it. Silence was the unspoken rule, except for the pants and curses and—

  “Ahh!” Todd hissed and grappled for Adam’s shoulders, his hair, anywhere as hot lips sealed around the tip of his dick. Adam wasn’t wasting time on foreplay, going right for the mind-blowing pleasure instead. Todd managed to link his hands around Adam’s head,

  burying his fingers in his soft hair just as Adam sucked him in deeper. Fingers teased at his balls, the soft skin behind them, and his hole. It was an instant immersion in pleasure and Todd couldn’t process it, could only feel his nerve endings pinging with each touch, each lick.

  Todd thrust, unable not to, and bent his legs to offer his ass up to his lover. The thick burn of fingers spearing into his opening was his reward. Todd shouted as he was spread mercilessly, the bite of pain what he needed to chase off the persistent chatter of his brain.

  Adam pushed in deep and curled his fingers, finding Todd’s gland.

  He quickly bobbed down and sucked Todd’s cock into his throat, tonguing the length

  with rapid flicks, then swallowed. The constriction of those tight throat muscles combined with the massaging of his gland shot Todd’s climax right out of him in a strength-stealing ecstasy. Todd gasped, fighting just to breathe through the intense pleasure as he pumped his load into Adam’s mouth.

  Dimly he became aware of the grip he had on Adam’s hair. Considering the ache in his knuckles, it had to be painful for Adam. Todd forced his hands to loosen up as Adam licked at his balls. Todd purred happily, relaxed from his orgasm and the warm nuzzling affection from Adam.

  Eventually Adam crawled up to lay beside him. The hard ridge of Adam’s dick poked

  at Todd’s hip. Todd reached down unsteadily, sleep heavy on him and threatening to pull him down. Adam slapped his hand away then brought his knuckles up for a kiss.