He’d half expected to be sworn at and told to bugger off, but Jay appeared to be in a good mood, a horny mood. Arlan didn’t need to be asked twice. He stepped toward his —on-again-off-again lover.
Jay began humming one of his protection spells. Arlan had just enough fae blood in his veins to see the faintest pale blue light surrounding them. Jay could make strange lights appear, but he was probably fooling himself about how strong his magic was. Jay was only half-fae, after all.
As soon as Arlan was within reach, Jay grabbed his shoulders and bent in for a kiss. Arlan moaned into his mouth. Jay pulled back, nipped quickly at his ear, blew softly on his exposed neck, then bit down. Arlan yelped, but his dick swelled in response. Hell! The way Jay blew hot and cold was going to drive him crazy.
What the fuck was with all this sudden passion after denying him for months, after all the bullshit arguments about not being bisexual?
I shouldn’t do this. I’m going to end up angry again.
Aggression, testosterone and lust surged through his veins as Arlan gripped Jay’s firm, muscled ass and pulled him closer until his younger lover’s body was flush against his groin. The lion within Arlan rode him hard, wanting to take control. Jay’s tongue, tasting of burnt coffee, thrust into Arlan’s mouth. He pulled harder on Arlan’s hair, yanking his head back and forcing his lips apart for more. The battle for who is the Alpha is always between us.
But today Arlan could feel himself yielding, submitting as the velvet smoothness of Jay’s lips slid against his, coaxing, teasing and demanding a reaction. Jay shoved his tongue deeper into Arlan’s mouth, smiling a little as his lover gagged from the depth. Arlan choked, but his cock was completely rigid, straining against his khaki shorts.
Jay relented and pulled back. Arlan moaned, panting, trying to recover his breath. Jay’s massive biceps bunched as he pulled his T-shirt over his head. Arlan had the urge to bend and lick the slope of Jay’s broad chest. To lick down the exposed stomach muscles and kiss each one. Jay had perfect abs. But as soon as Arlan began, Jay held him still and glanced nervously around. “Just hold up. I need to put a stronger circle of magic protection around us.” Jay pushed on Arlan’s head in an obvious effort to make him kneel and hummed more magic until the violet circle of light around them stood sharp and bright.
Then he pulled his thick, heavy cock from his khaki trousers. Its dark, curving length reared up before Arlan, the mushroom head gleaming purple-black in the sunshine.
Maybe this is one battle I don’t mind losing. Arlan dropped to his knees on the baked yellow grass.
Jay must have showered in the trailer not that long ago. He still smelled of citrus shower gel combined with the raw scent of the land, and Jay’s own delicious musky male scent underneath.
Arlan’s cock strained painfully against the cotton of his shorts. Part of him still expected Jay to reject him at the last possible minute, as he had sometimes done in the past. Tentatively, he brushed the base of Jay’s cock with his lips.
The hot-straw smell of lion grass mixed with the intense scent of the younger man’s arousal. Arlan took one long lick across his lover’s skin and waited. Today, Jay didn’t seem about to change his mind. Relaxing at last, Arlan licked up and down the shaft, dipping his tongue occasionally into the little slit. He took some of Jay’s pre-come and worked it down the silky skin of his shaft. He stopped and looked up into Jay’s dark brown eyes that flashed with glints of onyx. Slowly, Arlan worked his hand up and down. Jay moaned and gripped his lover’s hair, jerking Arlan’s head up a little.
“Don’t do that so slowly, you little tease. Speed up before I slam your face into my crotch and make you gag on it.”
Arlan moaned at the thick lust in Jay’s voice, the harsh words inspiring him to pick up the pace. Quickly, he closed his lips around the head, sinking down as far as he could, sucking up and down the length again and again, increasing the pressure. Arlan’s cock became even harder, and his balls drew up. He started to really get into it, using the tongue work he knew Jay loved. Jay growled and arched his back, his moans mingling with the hum of cicadas.
Suddenly, Jay gasped, pushing roughly at Arlan’s head, wrenching his dick from Arlan’s mouth. He bent and pulled up his khakis.
Arlan clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, red-hot fury warring with the humiliation of rejection. The lion pressed against the inside of his skin. He growled low in his throat, his fingers changing, his claws unsheathing in his rage. “What the fuck? Jay what the hell is wrong with you?”
Jay yanked Arlan up and slammed his hand over his friend’s mouth, gripping it tight. He felt Jay’s warm breath on his ear as he whispered, “No, mate. It’s not about that.”
Arlan turned and followed Jay’s gaze to see the dust plume of a moving vehicle and swore softly. Dammit to hell! They both ducked down. Jay gave Arlan’s hair a momentary caress, an unspoken apology.
A silver Hummer slowed, and the driver stopped near a giant baobab tree. Arlan clenched his jaw tight. When the door opened, golden lion pelts lay visible on the backseat. One of them was probably Manyara’s. Not all poachers were greedy. Some men were desperate to feed their families. But this lot, with their expensive car… They were obviously part of the crime racket run by the witch doctors. Who else wanted lionskins?
Two burly men in khaki trousers climbed awkwardly out of the car. One wore no shirt, only a mesh vest, and one of the wooden masks the witch doctors favored. Around his waist was a canvas webbing belt heavy with fat brass cartridges. On the other side, a bottle filled with some dark substance hung from his belt. The poachers slung rifles over their shoulders.
The men headed on foot in the direction of the watering hole, where, from his vantage point, Arlan could clearly see a black rhino taking a drink.
“Look at how heavy she is, her belly low to the ground. She’s with calf.” Jay was particularly fond of rhinos.
Arlan nodded. “They want her horn.”
“Fucking greedy bastards. They have money. They don’t need it.” Jay’s feelings matched his own. The men had a nice car. These men weren’t starving. This was purely about greed.
Jay trained his gun on the men, who were still some distance from the mother rhino. One of the men turned to face Arlan, and he thought he saw a fae gleam in the man’s eyes, but he turned away too quickly for Arlan to be sure. The man didn’t seem to notice him. Was Jay’s magic really powerful enough to hide them? It seemed so.
“They won’t get her.” Jay’s voice was deep and raw with anger. His hands shook as he aimed his gun. If Jay wanted to shoot the poachers, it was his legal right here in Zimbabwe to do so. Arlan almost hoped he would.
Chapter Three
It was late in the day, the sun mellowing to an orange red through the hazy dust that always hung over the savannah during the dry season, by the time Arlan got back to the work trailer. He’d spent the rest of the day “calling” lions, playing tapes of other lions and dying prey to try to lure the animals to him so he could study them.
Now back at the trailer, he pushed open the door. Jay sat on a fold-out couch, polishing his boots. He glanced up and raised one eyebrow in greeting, then went back to polishing.
“How did the arrest go?”
After they’d spotted the poachers, Arlan had stepped back to let Jay go after the men. It drove Arlan crazy to think of his friend in danger, but it was Jay’s job and one he was very good at.
Jay didn’t glance up. “I took them down to the station after you went home. Bastards are in the cells. Rhino’s alive. That’s what counts.”
“It was brave of you not to shoot them.”
Jay still didn’t look up at him. The frown on Jay’s face set Arlan’s teeth on edge. At last Jay spoke. “I’d never take a life I didn’t have to. You know that.”
The tension between them was like a taut rubber band ready to snap. To Arlan, Jay’s foul mood was no real mystery. A heavyweight lay in his chest. He had long been patient with Jay.
Arlan tried to make eye contact with his friend again, but Jay turned away. Well, hell. Arlan wasn’t going to play this game.
“We got a package from Kris and Nick’s Toy Emporium today. It contained fae condoms. The kinds that are so fairy thin, you can’t even feel them.”
Jay was silent a moment longer. Then he shrugged. “Maybe one of us will go into town tomorrow night and get lucky with a girl.”
“Maybe.” Yeah, right, asshole.
Arlan shook his head and opened up his laptop. “I’m gonna log online and read that email Kruger sent us. The one about sex-magic. “
Jay dropped into the chair opposite and twisted the top off a bottle of Castle Lager. “Yeah, read that to me.”
After opening up the laptop sitting on the makeshift desk, Arlan logged on, typing in his email address and password. “Here it is.” He took a deep breath before reading aloud and trying to imitate Professor Kruger’s New York accent. “The practice of sex magic in its most basic form involves using the energy of sexual arousal by intense visualization of the desired object in the seconds after orgasm.” Arlan paused as he was rewarded by Jay’s snorting laugh at his imitation.
Once Jay was silent again, he continued. “In the moments after orgasm is achieved, one must visualize the desired result. In this case, Mr. Leonard, you, your friend Jay Nandoro and Ms. August Peak will be visualizing the enchanted storm tower that is the secret hideout of the witch doctors. We need to find their tower before we can hope to defeat their magic. “
Jay rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”
Arlan smiled at Jay’s sarcasm. He put on the fake New York accent again.
“Though you claim, Mr. Leonard, that you are only a quarter fae, you must not believe that that means you are without power. The fae blood that runs through your veins means that you can still tap into the ancient power source if only you put the work in. Sex magic is one way for a man with only a small amount of fae blood in his veins to do just that.”
Arlan stopped to take another pull on his beer before continuing. “Success at achieving sex magic requires two men of fae blood and a willing female of a superior nature forming a ménage. Elements of power exchange, submission and domination between the parties involved may also increase the chance of success. All participants engaged in sex-magic must be pure of heart.”
“Pure of heart? What does that mean?”
Arlan scratched his head. “I dunno. I guess it just means you’re not an asshole?” He clicked the little x in the corner of the screen to close the browser and glanced over at Jay.
“And what does ‘a female of a superior nature mean?
Arlan shrugged. “Who knows. The guy’s a bit of a snob, but he’s an excellent zoologist, and pretty knowledgeable about magic too.”
Jay’s lip curled in a sneer. “Sex magic.” He spat out the words. “That’s the kind of thing witch doctors do, witches in general or sorcerers. Humans with no fae blood in them at all. My mother would have been disgusted.”
“Well, your mother was at least half-fae and able to visit the Fae Realm, right? She was never in our situation of being totally trapped in the mortal realm with almost no understanding of how to use magic.” Jay glared at him.
Arlan sighed. “You’ve never actually told me everything that happened with your mother, mate. You can’t get pissed with me for getting stuff wrong when I don’t know any details. All you ever say is she’s not around.”
“She basically died when I was six, okay?”
“Basically died?”
“Died, fell into a permanent coma, whatever.” He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “She tried to use magic to heal my dad after he was shanked in prison.”
A lump of sympathy rose in Arlan’s throat. Jay’s as much of an orphan as I am. No wonder he’s so fucked up. “I’m sorry.”
Jay took another deep pull of beer. “Anyway, the thought of doing sex magic like some witch or sorcerer goes against the grain. My mother despised mortal’s attempts at magic. She used to talk about that.” He sniffed. “But I was too little when we lost her. She never had time to teach me more than some dumb party tricks.”
“I didn’t even know full-blooded fae like your mother could fall into a coma trying to use healing magic. I thought that only “happened to half-fae.”
“Yeah, well, there’s been so much interbreeding between fae and half-fae, my mother must have some human blood in her somewhere. I don’t know that there are any real full-blooded fae living in the mortal realm, Arlan. She was powerful, so people just called her that. She didn’t manage to survive trying to heal my dad anyway. She’s been in a coma since I was six. I’m twenty-one. She’s not coming out of it.” He took another sip of beer before he changed the subject again. “You know this professor of yours seems like a total wanker.”
Arlan laughed. “Say what you really feel, Jay.”
He raised one eyebrow. “I always do.” He put his beer down on the coffee table. “Listen, the guy is pushing his agenda on you, on me, trying to make it seem easy. But from everything I’ve heard among the half-fae, sex magic is difficult to conduct and often doesn’t work. Even if August agrees to it, it’s not necessarily going to do us any good at all.”
Arlan sighed.
“Also, you and the professor are making a lot of assumptions about August. Why would she want to be involved in sex-magic? And why would she be willing to do it with us?”
Arlan used his fingernail to scratch some of the label off his bottle. “Well, we have to do something. We have to try. The witchdoctors are getting stronger and stronger.”
“We both have fae blood. You’d think we could beat a bunch of humans messing around with powders and drums.”
“I think the witch doctors probably have some magic blood. I’ve scented it. It’s like…” He paused to think for a second. “It smells like sulfur. It’s up to you and me to find out where it comes from.”
A muscle twitched in Jay’s jaw. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess we have to try any means available, because this shit has been going on for, what? Ten years now?”
“Any of those kids who are still alive are losing their childhoods year after year. Being trained as assassins… It’s sick, Jay.”
Jay nodded. Arlan rubbed his hands over his face.” I also hate that from what Kruger’s told me, it sounds like August’s mother is some world-famous dark fae. So, this could be some kind of trick. I’m not unaware of that.”
Jay shrugged. “Relax, she’s not your ex.”
“Mate, Silvara was the most manipulative creature I’ve ever met. She sure had me fooled. I never would have believed she was darkfae.”
“Exactly my point.”
“Give me that photo you got.”
Arlan fished his wallet out of his pocket again and flipped to the picture of August. Jay whistled. “She’s super-hot. But has an innocent face.”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
Jay laughed. “Aren’t you the one who wanted to do this sex magic thing? We don’t try it; the children don’t get saved. It’s that simple.”
Arlan thought of Mukuru. That sweet baby had grabbed his heart more than any other. And that was one he’d saved, when there were so many others he had not. “You’re right.”
Jay laughed. “Okay, mate, well, let’s do this thing. Let’s meet August.”
“I’m meeting her tomorrow at noon.”
“Crap, I have to work. You and your flexible job.”
Arlan took the wallet back from his friend
and put in his pocket. “Don’t worry, you’ll see her soon enough.”
“You don’t sound that happy about meeting her.”
Arlan sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “She’s of dark-fae blood. I don’t think she’s the right person to do this thing with.”
Jay gave Arlan one of his sexy, cynical smiles. “Right or wrong, I’m pretty sure we’ll have fun trying.”
Chapter Four
“So, you’ve come to help save our lions?”
Runo, the junior game warden, smiled at August and Professor Kruger, his perfect white teeth contrasting sharply against his ebony skin. His hair hung in thin braids, bright with shiny red ochre.
August smiled at the guide. “I can’t wait to see them.”
It was early morning, and the glow of the rising sun sent pink and orange rays knifing skyward. The spiky yellow flowers of the spiny acacia trees shimmered against the dawn sky.
They headed for Hwange National Park. August followed the junior game warden through the grass. It was prickly on her bare legs. Now and then, stickers and burrs punctured her feet, but it wasn’t an unpleasant kind of pain. Certainly, a little pain was worth it to be here, in this land where lions still ran free.
Runo opened the door to his Land Cruiser, and she buckled herself in, then gasped when he took off at breakneck speed with seemingly no concern about the many potholes they encountered. August grasped the handle on the side of the door and screamed. Runo’s only response was laughter. He slowed and parked within viewing distance of some lion cubs.
Runo climbed into the backseat and brought out a thermos. He poured tea for Professor Kruger and gave her a mug as well. The three sat in the Land Cruiser drinking and watched the lioness with her cubs.
Claimed by Fae: MMF Paranormal Romance (Magical Mayhem Menage Book 2) Page 3
