“We can leave it here and report it stolen in a day or two. Hopefully I’ll get it back in one piece.” He brushed his shoulder against his lover’s in a playful manner. “Let’s go.”
The tension left Valentin’s body and he followed Shawn to the trunk. Shawn picked up his duffel, signaled Valentin to retrieve his jacket from the back seat, and started back on the dirt road.
“Do you know these woods?” Valentin ran to catch up with him.
“No. I’ve never been here.”
Valentin’s nostrils flared, a puzzled look on his face. “I can’t smell anything. Can you tell if this land belongs to any packs or prides?”
Shawn sniffed the air again, more careful this time. “I can’t sense anything, but it doesn’t mean this land hasn’t been claimed. We should be careful.” Valentin nodded his agreement and glanced around him wild-eyed, as if expecting a hoard of wild boars to come barreling from under the trees.
“You really can’t smell anything?” Shawn blurted out, smacking an imaginary slap against his forehead. Nice. Really smooth.
“I can smell. But I can’t decode the scents. I could be near a pizza parlor and smell horse shit.”
“Has it anything to do with the bad blood you had?”
“Yes.” Shawn considered dropping the matter, but dismissed the thought just as quickly. He wanted to peel every layer of Valentin’s mind, to reach the very core of his being, but so far their interactions brought painfully little information to work with.
“Did it have any other effects on you?”
“I would say that my dying because of it is the main problem,” Valentin snapped.
“You know what I mean.”
“My ability to sense other immortals or supernatural creatures in the area is completely off.”
“That explains a lot.”
“My hearing is fine though. And my eyesight. So that’s a plus.”
“So it is.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Shawn saw Valentin shake his head, sighing. There was a moment of silence as he deliberated and, when he reached a conclusion, his voice was tense.
“Not exactly. I can’t eat anything, can’t hold it down. I’m nauseated and in so much pain most of the time I have blackouts. I have no idea who is after me, and the worst of it is I’ve dragged you into all this. Not to mention totaling your car. Happy now? Is this what you wanted to know?”
“Yes, much better, thank you. Wait. Eat?”
Valentin rolled his eyes, exasperated. “You know what I mean.”
Shawn nodded, and a mischievous grin lit up his face.
“I have to warn you, I plan on learning everything there is to know about you.”
He whirled around, catching Valentin off guard, and slammed his mouth against his, taking Valentin’s lips in a scorching kiss. Valentin tensed for a second and then relaxed into his arms. Tongues dueled and teeth nipped at hungry lips. Breathless, Shawn pulled back, blood pounding in his ears. He rested his forehead against Valentin’s, taking in the scent of his mate.
“We should go.”
They followed the path down, all too aware of each other’s presence. Shawn reached out and took Valentin’s hand, threading their fingers together.
“Do you feel sick now?”
“What?” Valentin regarded him with a dazed expression, the scent of his arousal heavy in the air, and Shawn answered him in a soft, warm tone.
“You said you feel sick. Are you okay now?”
“Yes, I am.” His eyes widened, his face a mask of surprise.
“Will you tell me if you’re not feeling well?”
Valentin half-closed his eyes at the whispered request and breathed out a yes.
“Good. Are you hungry?”
“No, I’m not. I’m still full from earlier. How can it be?”
Shawn didn’t know what to say. His mind was reeling, trying to find answers to questions he didn’t yet know, to find solutions to problems from a world he wasn’t familiar with.
The way back to the main road took hours through dense forest. In some places, the mud was so thick it passed their ankles, and the humidity in the air clung to them, dampening their clothes. At times, they crossed paths with wild animals’ tracks, brown bears, wolves, some foxes, and every time that happened, Valentin tensed and sniffed the air, his eyes darting everywhere at once. Each time, Shawn squeezed his fingers, offering what comfort he could, not mentioning that he was on full alert for any dangers that might threaten his mate.
****
They reached the main road and Valentin used his mojo to get them a ride with a middle-aged guy driving an old, battered Dacia. Valentin shook his head at the sight of the car, and Shawn smirked, mouthing an I bet you miss my low-capacity ride. With just a small nudge from Valentin, the man agreed to take them to the nearest town, a small, dirty place, just a step above a mere village.
They asked him to leave them in front of a hotel, or at least point them in the right direction, but there was none. Not even a flea-bitten motel. So they settled on spending the remainder of the night in the forest on the outskirts of the town. The ground was damp and they had to walk a great deal to find a suitable place—nothing fancy, just a dry place at the foot of an old oak. They lay under it, and Shawn pulled Valentin close, resting his head on his shoulder, holding him tight. The position was uncomfortable and the ground rough and cold, but they dared not set up a fire, fearing unwanted company.
They managed only a few hours of rest and, much sooner than Valentin would have liked, Shawn shook him awake. He was starving and needed to hunt, the chances of finding fast food in town were slim.
Valentin stood with his back against the oak trunk, half-numb and cold to the bone, watching Shawn stretching. Shawn took off his jacket and handed it over.
“Hold this for me. Or even better, put it on over yours to keep you warm until I get back. It smells like snow.” Valentin took it without a word and draped it over himself, fingers stiff from the night’s chill.
“I’ll try not to be long.” Shawn grabbed the hem of his tee shirt with both hands and pulled it over his head, exposing hard abs and a perfectly sculpted chest. Valentin followed the trail of exposed skin, mouth suddenly dry, and involuntarily licked his lips.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking off my clothes.”
“Yes, I can see that. But why?”
“I can’t shift with my clothes on. Okay, I can, but I would rather not. I only have so many clothes.” The tee shirt landed at Valentin’s feet.
“You’re shifting? May I watch?”
“I was hoping you would.” He threw him a devilish grin and dropped his hands to his fly. Valentin swallowed around the lump in his throat.
The button snapped open and the zipper followed. Pants were dropped to the ankles, deliberately slow, Shawn adding a playful wiggle to his moves. He toed off his boots and slid the jeans over his feet. He threw them at Valentin, his boxers following in their wake. Valentin caught every article of clothing and folded them neatly.
“You needn’t worry with that. Besides, there’s another show coming next.”
Valentin put down everything, eyes glued to Shawn’s. “You have my undivided attention.”
“I will do this slowly. Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“Good. Wouldn’t want you to be. Sit tight. I won’t be long.”
Valentin wetted his lips. Eyes never leaving his, Shawn let the jaguar come out. It’d been so close to the surface, it only took moments. His pupils changed from round to slits, the nose turned to snout, teeth became deadly fangs, and fur covered his skin.
Valentin drank in every detail, no matter how insignificant. Shawn’s body shook with tension to keep it slow as the bones rearranged themselves to the new shape.
Valentin gaped at the three-hundred-pound feline standing in the place where Shawn stood only one minute ago. The black jaguar stretched out its fro
nt legs, back arched, claws completely unsheathed. Muscles rippled under the shiny coat of black fur.
“Wow. You’re gorgeous. I didn’t have the chance to really look at you the other day.” He got to his knees and extended his hand to pet the gorgeous animal as the cat purred in contentment, eyes flashing metallic in the darkness before dawn. Valentin dragged his fingers through the whiskers, marveling at their smoothness. The feline rubbed his head against his palm, purring like a well-tuned diesel engine.
“Aren’t we a good kitten? Aren’t we sweet?” He cooed at the cat as he would have done with a baby, while his hand kept stroking it idly behind its ears.
Shawn purred louder and rubbed himself against Valentin, almost climbing into his lap. Valentin wrapped his arm over Shawn’s shoulders and pulled him close. Their scents mingled.
The jaguar licked Valentin’s face, making the man burst into peals of laughter.
Hesitant, Shawn pulled away from Valentin and, with a last look over his shoulder, he bounded under the trees.
Valentin watched him go, longing to join him and wondering if he’d be welcomed. He clutched Shawn’s tee shirt against his chest, sinking his face into the fabric, breathing in the lingering scent of his lover. He strained his hearing to follow the cat’s moves and closed his eyes, envisioning the picture Shawn would make hunting. Crouched on all fours, completely focused on his prey. Tight muscles would uncoil and he’d spring, gracefully and deadly. Hell if the image didn’t give him a hard-on. He briefly debated following Shawn, but decided against it. He would scare the game away and make it more difficult for his lover to catch his meal.
The jaguar returned half an hour later smelling of fresh blood and licking his muzzle. The feline sauntered over to Valentin in deliberately slow, stalking motions, eyes gleaming. It pounced, landing atop him, claws not even grazing Valentin’s skin. The soft fur receded, replaced by equally smooth skin. The fresh scent of wood assaulted Valentin. Hot lips caught his, the kiss tender and sweet. Shawn tasted like blood and adrenaline, totally irresistible.
One kiss turned to three. Shawn pulled away, panting. Valentin was rock hard and his hips snapped forward, rubbing himself against his lover.
“This is not the place. Someone could wander here at any time.”
“I know.” Valentin panted. He pushed Shawn away, catching him off guard, and rolled on top of him. “I will be quick.”
Shawn gasped. “What are you doing?”
“There I was, horny as hell, waiting for your return. And there you were, looking good enough to eat. So I said to myself, why, not go for it, Vladik ?”
“Vladik?” Shawn’s voice broke, barely managing to get the words out.
Valentin scooted down his body, and in one swift motion had his cock down his throat. Shawn cried out, his hips jerking, driving his dick deeper as dug his fingers into Valentin’s hair. Valentin worked his throat muscles around the head, pulling away just to take that fat cock back in. Shawn writhed and thrashed, moaning and whimpering.
Valentin hungered for Shawn. He wanted to taste him so bad he could barely see straight. He pulled his head up again and licked around the head, teased the slit, lapping at the oozing precome. Shawn moaned and his hips jerked, humping air, back arched.
“Please. Oh God, please.”
“Shh, I’ve got you.” Valentin plunged again, all the way down until his nose was buried in the curls at the base of Shawn’s prick. He swallowed around the head and felt the cock swell even further, the underside vein throbbing hard against his tongue. He swallowed again and hummed. Shawn erupted deep down in his throat. Valentin swallowed the first wave and pulled back enough so he could taste the next one. He had expected it to be pungent, sharp even, but it was sweet, just a tad bitter.
He held the cock in his mouth and swallowed every drop, licking it clean until it became too much for Shawn to bear and he wiggled to break free. One hunger sated, Valentin became painfully aware of the way his dick throbbed behind his fly. He unzipped his pants and gripped his length in a tight grip, squeezing his eyes shut. Another hand joined his, the touch probing and uncertain. His eyes snapped open, his startled gaze meeting Shawn’s clear one.
“Let me.”
Valentin could only nod.
Warm fingers pushed his hand away and started stroking. The grip was looser than Valentin liked, but the swirl over the head on each upstroke more than made up for it. Breath, though not needed, came out in pants, and his eyes rolled in the back of his head.
Shawn must have felt how close he was and increased the speed. His other hand cupped Valentin’s balls and rolled them between his fingers. That did the trick. With a low cry Valentin spilled all over Shawn’s hands, his entire body convulsing.
Chapter 9
“I didn’t have the chance to ask. How did the hunting go?”
“Can’t you tell?”
Heat rose to Valentin’s cheeks. He shook his head no, his eyes dropping to the ground. No, he couldn’t tell anything. Once, he might have been able to smell the prey on Shawn’s breath and body, or perhaps, even read it in Shawn’s thoughts, but now he could barely bend a human’s mind, much less read a preternatural.
“Aww, that is so cute.”
“Cute? Men aren’t cute.”
“I don’t know about other men, but you sure are cute.”
Valentin tried for a menacing scowl. Shawn bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing at Valentin’s grimace.
“Rabbit.”
“Come again?”
“I’d love to. I can go another round. Or five.” His sweet mate gaped at him like he just grew horns, so he decided to take pity on him. “I caught rabbits. Two of them. Not very large, but beggars can’t be choosers.”
“I guess.” Though he didn’t sound too convinced. “What’s the next move?”
“We should see if there is a train heading to Bucharest. If not, we can hitchhike or something.”
“How far are we anyway?”
“About four hundred kilometers. We are in the northeast part of Romania, close to Bicaz.”
“How does an Irishman know these parts so well? It’s a long way from the land of bards and leprechauns.”
“How did you know I’m Irish?”
“With a name like Shawn? I may not be from around here but even I know that’s not a common name. Besides, there’s a slight drawl in your voice that made me think of Ireland. But you’re not native.”
“Excuse me?”
“As a specie.”
“Of course I’m not. I’m a fucking shifter. I’m not native to anywhere.” Shawn let out a deep sigh, his annoyance melting away. “You’re right. I was born near Dublin. After my father died, my mom was sent here to marry Alec’s second-in-command. That was ten years ago.”
“Hmmm.”
“Hmm… what?”
“I was wondering about your coloring.”
“What?”
“I didn’t mean to offend you, sorry. I mean... your hair is dark, but your skin is so light. I would have thought you would turn into a normal jaguar.”
“Normal jaguar?”
“You know, yellow with black spots?”
“It has nothing to do with the color of my skin. It’s probably a weird mutation in my genes. I haven’t paid it much thought. There are a couple of black jaguars in my family, but most of them are the regular kind.”
“Makes sense.” Valentin shook his head. “I’m sorry about your father.”
Shawn shrugged. “It was a long time ago.”
“That doesn’t make it less painful. Especially when your stepfather is a bastard.” They were heading down the mountain and the wet grass was making the trip difficult, so Valentin more guessed than saw Shawn’s shudder. “Did she love him?”
“Love has nothing to do with it. It was pure politics.”
No matter how hard he tried, Shawn couldn’t keep the hurt and resentment he still felt out of his voice, and Valentin desperately searched fo
r a new topic. “So, you speak the language and all?”
“Which one? Romanian or Gaelic?”
“Either.”
“Yeah. I speak Gaelic with a Romanian accent and Romanian with an Irish accent. I went to school here. In Bucharest.”
“What did you study?”
“I was a modern literature major.”
“Modern literature. Wow. Not something I would have guessed.”
Shawn growled before he could stop himself. “What is wrong with literature?”
“Nothing. It’s just that it doesn’t go with your image.”
“My image?”
“Yes. Big bad wolf.”
“Again with the dog analogy?”
Valentin rolled his eyes. “Fine. Big, bad, kick-every-one’s-ass jaguar. Here. Better now?”
“Much better. Thank you.” Shawn threw him a one-thousand-watt smile.
They reached the first line of houses and Shawn was delegated to go ask for directions to the train station and, if possible, to find out when the first train to Bucharest was leaving. As it turned out, there were only two trains leaving that station, and none went directly to the capital. They had to take a train from the Borsec station and then change it with the one heading in the right direction. And the journey through the mountains was bound to take hours.
Shawn sniffed the air, concern furrowing his brows.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s gonna snow sooner than I would have expected. We should get some warmer clothes for you to wear.”
“Snow? So soon? It’s October.”
“At this altitude, snow in September is not unusual. Sometimes, we get some bad blizzards around this time.”
Valentin gasped, looked around eyes wide, and snuggled close to Shawn. The therian placed his hand around Valentin’s shoulders oh-so-casually, like he had been doing it all his life.
“It’s not going to snow right this minute. And you’re supposed to be Russian. What’s with the frightful look?”
“I’m not frightened. I just… I just don’t like the cold. And what does my being Russian have to do with anything?” His voice shook a little and his hands clutched Shawn’s arm hard enough to leave bruises. The funny part was that he wasn’t aware he was doing it.
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