Trick of Silver

by Jamie Craig

  He knew what bad magic smelled like. As soon as Aden mentioned the smell of ginger, Darren understood. Most people wouldn’t notice it. Werewolves always would. So would anybody trained to keep all five senses open to any sign of paranormal activity. That ginger smell would linger on skin, compounding and growing more pungent with each use. Like cigarette smoke.

  Aden hadn’t smelled like ginger.

  It was a detail he could confirm again, because though Aden had taken Darren’s warning about touching to heart, he had also stolen what little personal space he had left. Aden now stood as close as he possibly could without contact, and the occasional flare of his nostrils as he regarded Darren with those intense blue eyes sent more than one shiver through his body.

  “Can I ask one little favor before you put your nose to the trail?” Aden murmured. “Take off the wig.”

  Darren had forgotten he was even wearing the wig, especially since he had long since shed the shoes and the bra. He took it by the side and pulled it off the side of his head, wishing that Aden wasn’t watching each small motion—wishing that he wasn’t noticing the intensity from his dark eyes.

  “Better?”

  The stubble made it hard to tell but it looked like Aden actually smiled. “Much. Now what about a name? Or I can keep calling you gorgeous. That works for me, too.”

  He considered lying, but it wouldn’t serve any purpose. If Aden was innocent, he wouldn’t use Darren’s name against him. If he was guilty, then he would be dead before morning. “Darren.”

  “Darren.”

  It sounded different in that deep voice, drawn out into a sound that was almost a growl. It shouldn’t have been sexy. Not at all. It shouldn’t have turned him on, either, but Darren had long ago stopped keeping track of all the things Aden shouldn’t have done to him.

  “Ever tracked bad magic before, Darren?” Aden leaned a shoulder against the wall, blocking the way to the hall behind him. “Or do you just go after big bad wolves and hope to get caught?”

  “I can track anything you can. My targets aren’t usually so conveniently placed in a high-profile party.”

  “Too bad you didn’t know about the real target. You could have saved us both a lot of work by nosing him out instead of waiting for me to show up.”

  “You don’t know who he is, either. This guy went to a lot of work to make sure you looked like the baddie.”

  “Yes, he did.” The flirtatious tone was gone from his voice. Now each word sounded chipped out of the air itself. “He’s going to pay for that.”

  “Do you think he’s here at the party?”

  “Yes.” Aden tilted his head back, exposing his long neck. His eyes closed, and his nostrils flared as he breathed in deeply. “I think he’s a frequent guest here, actually. Someone who would visit Giessen at work.”

  “Could be family. There are private suites on the third floor.” Darren grinned wryly. “That’s not an invitation. But if he is a family member, he might have a room here.”

  But Aden wasn’t responding to his denial. He still held his head back, lines etching between his heavy brows, and the arm that hung at his side tensed. It gave Darren the opportunity to look and appreciate the man without fear of being caught, but something about the way Aden stood made him nervous. Like he was waiting for something. Or someone—

  He flat-handed Darren in the chest, sending him flying back down the hall. Before Darren landed, Aden kicked the door opposite where they had stood, splintering it from its hinges. With a snarl, he disappeared inside.

  Darren didn’t hesitate to follow Aden into the dark room, his gun at the ready. He was almost immediately at a disadvantage in the dim light, but that didn’t worry him. He stood perfectly still, stretching his ears into the blackness, trying to sense where Aden went. The silence was perfect for the space of a heartbeat, and then he heard a growl to his left. Darren’s mouth ran dry at the sound. Just because he could hold his own with werewolves—and taken out a fair few—didn’t mean that the primal warning of a deep, hungry growl didn’t affect him.

  Air rushed along his cheek as something leapt past him. He even felt the beast’s hair tickle across his skin. Was it Aden? It shouldn’t matter. By all rights, he should shoot both of them. They were both killers; the world would be better off without them.

  But Darren knew he wouldn’t take the shot. Regardless of everything else, he had made a deal with Aden. He wouldn’t go back on his word unless the deal was broken.

  A loud thump reverberated through the floor as two heavy bodies collided. In the murk, he barely made out the two bodies, one furred, one not. Silver eyes flashed as both wolves snarled, and it took him a moment to realize that the set he caught were human. Aden’s. The glimpse was gone as the pair rolled over the floor, colliding with a heavy dresser. Darren tried to follow them with his gun, but he couldn’t get a clear shot. Every time he thought he had the wolf in his sights, Aden went on top again.

  Aden pinned the wolf to the floor with a loud snarl, but the beast managed to get his feet under Aden’s body and kicked him directly in the chest. Aden went flying, and the wolf jumped to his feet. Its body was sleek and predatory, and it moved through the shadows like oil. Darren flicked the safety off the gun, prepared to take the shot, but he wasn’t expecting the wolf to lunge at him. Its roar was almost deafening in the small space before it leapt into the air and toward Darren.

  He had never seen anything move so fast.

  Not the werewolf.

  Aden.

  Aden took only a moment to recover before his eyes locked with Darren’s. They were bright and feral, the only evidence he would ever need that Aden was a threat, no matter what shape he took. It didn’t last. He sprung at the wolf in a blur of perfect flesh, leaping across yards as effortlessly as it took to breathe. His arms wrapped around the werewolf’s midsection to drag them both down to the ground, at the same time his features began to ripple, his jaw elongating slightly along with his teeth.

  By the time the two landed, Aden had buried his teeth in the wolf’s neck, the blood splattering onto his face and chest at the very first bite.

  The blood was black, painting Aden and the unknown wolf, flowing into the carpet. It splashed across Darren’s chest and face in tiny, hot drops. The attempted attack was enough to prompt Darren’s flight-or-fight instinct, but his pride wouldn’t let him run, and his sense of self-preservation wouldn’t let him get in the middle of the struggle. The struggle that didn’t show any signs of ending, despite the blood that flowed freely from both wolves.

  They rolled toward him, and Darren caught a glimpse of wicked looking claws poised over Aden’s back. They were long enough and strong enough they could deliver the final, killing blow. But there was no missing at this distance, and Darren didn’t need to think about what he should do. He didn’t weigh his options or consider letting the wolves kill each other. There was only one real choice.

  He put a bullet in the wolf’s head, between his eye and his ear. It immediately stilled beneath Aden’s large frame.

  Time slammed to a halt. Nobody moved, not Darren, not Aden, and definitely not the dead wolf. A slight tremor had taken up residence in his trigger finger, and he ground his teeth together in order to get rid of it. He was a professional. This was what he did. He managed to keep the gun steady as Aden finally began to move, but Aden only lifted his head, like it weighed far more than a few pounds.

  Silver eyes glittered at him through the darkness. Black blood stained his mouth—his very human mouth—and collected in the dark hair shadowing his jaw. Aden licked his lips.

  Darren’s stomach churned.

  “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.” Darren took a step forward. The first day of his training, the very first thing he had learned, was never to approach a wolf once it got the taste for blood. “What about you?”

  His sensual mouth curled into what he probably meant to be a smile. “Couldn’t be better. Kills on the full moon are always g
ood. Even if they’re not mine.”

  “Sorry for ruining your fun, but he was about to…” Darren stopped. His job wasn’t to defend wolves against each other. “Any idea who he is?”

  Aden didn’t even bother looking down. He seemed too intent on fixating on Darren. “Not the one we’re looking for. My guess is he’s a guard.”

  Darren wanted to tell the other man to stop staring at him. He took another step forward, the hair on the back of his arms and neck standing on end. “Thanks. For stopping him before he tore my head off.”

  “Well, I couldn’t let that happen.” His gaze slid downward, locking on his hips. “I like your head.”

  Darren wished his cock wasn’t still strapped up, because it was more than a little painful. In fact, his whole body throbbed in sympathy, and the only thing stronger than his arousal was the sharp sense of disgust—at himself. Seeing Aden covered in another wolf’s blood, fresh bruises blooming over his face and chest, shoulders still rising and falling rapidly, shouldn’t have sent new waves of desire through him, but he couldn’t help it.

  “Maybe you should find a bathroom and get cleaned up.”

  He nearly jumped back when Aden peeled away from the body, fresh smears staining his chest. He tracked every inch Aden straightened, wondering if he’d known all along just how much bigger the other man was. But he couldn’t move at all when Aden slowly reached out and curled his hand around the gun.

  “Aren’t you going to kill me?” came the soft query. He forced Darren’s arm upward until the muzzle pressed into Aden’s sternum, the blood oozing around the metal rim as he forced the contact even greater. “This is your chance.”

  Darren swallowed. “You had your chance to be rid of me forever. Why did you stop him?”

  “Because you’re not his to kill.”

  The straightforward answer was enough to steal Darren’s breath. But something had stationed the werewolf on that floor with orders to kill. Had Aden been the specific target? Or was there something in that house so precious that the orders were to kill first and ask questions later?

  “I’m not going to kill you until I have some answers. Like who this wolf was working for, and what he was guarding.”

  “But I’m not the one who has those answers for you.” His voice had dropped to dangerous levels, caressing each word before releasing it for Darren’s ears. “I can’t even say right now I care too much about finding them just yet.” Without letting go of the gun, Aden reached out with his other hand and dragged his nails across Darren’s stomach. “Just a word of warning. I’m about to break your no touching rule.”

  Darren’s muscles clenched, the simple contact intensifying the throbbing in his groin and thighs. Darren knew he wasn’t attracted to the wolf, but his disgust and fear of the wolf twisted around the growing lust for the man, sharpening his hunger rather than diminishing it.

  “Thanks for that warning.” He touched Aden with his free hand, running his fingers over the twisted scar on his arm.

  The caress elicited a low growl, one that did more than raise the hair on the back of Darren’s neck. Aden hooked his fingers into the waistband of the skirt, and with a sharp yank, tore it from his body. It fluttered to the ground. It settled over Darren’s feet, but he didn’t have the strength to kick it away. Everything in him was focused on Aden, on the broad hand reaching between his legs to palm his strapped-in cock, on the glittering eyes devouring Darren’s body.

  “I can’t remember the last time I wanted to fuck someone so bad,” Aden murmured, so low Darren wondered if he even meant for the words to be heard.

  Darren’s knees were weak and his vision blurred a little. Knowing that Aden wanted him as much, maybe more, made things worse, somehow. There was no walking away from Aden, and the gun might as well have been empty for all the use Darren was going to get out of it. Lust made every nerve in his body burn.

  “Do it.”

  Permission snapped Aden’s head up. For a single, shattering moment, he went completely still—his head, his chest, even the hand that had been stroking Darren’s cock. The familiar pose should have driven Darren away. He’d seen it often enough. It came in that second before a wolf struck, though he had never witnessed it on a wolf in human form before.

  It didn’t. It mesmerized him. It made his heart pump extra blood to all his extremities, as if anticipating needing it elsewhere.

  Then the moment was gone. Aden tightened his grip on the gun and took it effortlessly from Darren’s grip, his other hand clawing at the hosiery barring their skin from direct contact. He tossed the gun away, and just when his deft fingers found the straps holding Darren’s cock back, Aden hooked his free hand around Darren’s neck and slammed their mouths together.

  Darren let the last of his doubts and hesitation go. He wasn’t going to walk away, and he wasn’t going to stop Aden, so there was no reason not to respond to the kiss with all the hunger he felt. Aden tasted of dark copper, blood still clinging to his lips and tongue, but Darren didn’t care. He skimmed his palm over Aden’s chest, smearing the fluid still on his skin, and his other hand went to Aden’s hip. The harder he gripped Aden, the more demanding his mouth became.

  Without breaking the seal of their mouths, Aden released Darren’s cock and immediately fisted his length. His grip was brutal, tighter than anything Darren had ever felt before, but when he gasped into the kisses, Aden only held him closer. The thick line of his arousal rubbed against Darren’s hip. His ass clenched at the memory of what it had felt like sitting on Aden’s lap. He wanted back there, wanted to ride him until they were both drained. When Aden hauled him to the edge of the nearby bed, he knew without a shadow of a doubt Aden wanted it, too.

  Darren tugged at Aden’s fly, ripping the tight pants open. He forced them down Aden’s hips, and he closed his fingers around the other man’s shaft. Aden’s thick cock was already slick with pre-come, and Darren knew it would split him in two. He tensed, whimpering against Aden’s mouth at the thought.

  Aden finally let his mouth go, panting heavily as he perched on the bed. “You wanted to sit in my lap, right?” He whirled Darren around, hauling him back until his shoulders pressed to Aden’s bloody chest. It trapped Aden’s cock between their bodies, but Darren was too lost in the way Aden began tugging at his balls to argue right then. “You’re going to ride me this time, gorgeous. Because if I bend you over to fuck you that way, you’ll be too useless when we’re done to help me stop this son of a bitch.”

  Darren tilted his head and found Aden’s mouth again, his hand curling back to grip his neck. Their tongues wound together, and Aden’s fingers tightened on Darren’s sac. His grip was almost tight enough to hurt—everything was almost just enough to hurt. But the shocks of pain only made him crave more.

  “You can bend me over after we stop him.”

  Another growl. Another squeeze. Everything about Aden felt on the cusp of the wolf. Darren almost expected to feel razor-sharp canines tearing into his lips.

  Aden abandoned his balls to slide between their bodies, tracing along his crack until he found the tight ring of his hole. His fingers were slick with pre-come, but that was the only lubricant as he mercilessly buried two of them inside Darren’s passage. He twisted his wrist, each grind against Darren’s skin igniting it even more. The addition of a third finger only made him burn hotter.

  Darren couldn’t bite back his shout, even though he knew anyone could come investigate at any time. Hell, anyone walking down the hall would see the two of them on the bed, Darren writhing and twisting against Aden’s body, moaning and shouting for more. He didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything except feeling Aden’s glorious cock stretching his ass. Logical thought and higher brain functions would be welcome to return as soon as Aden was spent with his come coating Darren’s body.

  “I’m guessing you’ve never been fucked by a wolf before.” Aden licked the sweat off Darren’s shoulder, up and up until he reached Darren’s ear. His hot breath prickled ever
ywhere it touched. “You’ll probably have to shoot me when we’re done.”

  “Why? You going to deserve it?”

  “Because if we both walk away from this, I’m going to want more. And I won’t take no for an answer.”

  Darren did not need a wolf stalking him, making demands on him, getting in the middle of his life. If they both walked away from this, he would have enough problems with his superiors. But the dark promise just made him ache, especially when he thought of what Aden would do if Darren tried to deny him.

  “I’ll take my chances.”

  The concession sent a ripple through Aden’s already tense body. His mouth clamped over the tight sinew of Darren’s neck, sucking hard at the muscle. It was hard enough to hint at sucking his balls straight through his body, and Darren dug his nails into Aden’s hip to keep from begging for more. He closed his eyes, desperate to stave off the dizziness threatening to overwhelm him. There was a brief respite when Aden’s fingers pulled free of his ass, but when the other man clamped his arm around Darren’s waist and lifted him up, those sensations returned.

  “I wanted this even when you wore that awful wig,” Aden said. The blunt tip of his cock nudged at Darren’s hole. “It’s better without.” And with that, he yanked Darren back down, sheathing his length in one deep, single stroke.

  Despite Aden’s attempt to stretch him, a cry ripped from Darren’s throat and the back of his eyes stung. He would have liked a chance to adjust to Aden’s width, but Aden started moving almost immediately. Darren pressed his teeth together, trying to ward off more shouts, but Aden was just too overwhelming. The only thing that could smother the sound was Aden’s mouth, slamming into his.

  Hungrily, Darren took the kisses. It eased the burn scorching through his flesh, made it possible to breathe when he was fairly sure his lungs had forgotten how. It dawned on him the mattress probably softened Aden’s strokes, for which he was grateful. Without it, he suspected the blood on Aden’s chest wouldn’t be the only blood smeared across his body.