A Sinful Trap

by R. G. Alexander

  He’d been at his side ever since. He owned Cam’s heart and made him burn. But though his wolf loved Davide and was loyal to him, there’d been no compulsion to mate. That’s what made Cam sure the idea was a myth.

  Having a spiritual link to force fidelity sounded wrong to him anyway. Love might not be a choice, but commitment was. He’d learned that from the men in his family, who had all been unfaithful or simply abandoned the ones they’d sworn to protect. He’d learned it from watching other shifters marry, have children and happily spend their lives with someone who wasn’t bonded to them with a mate mark.

  He’d never met a mated shifter. Someone who’d tied his life force to another and was linked in mind, body and spirit for the rest of their days. Faithful only to them. He’d never expected to.

  Bailey. Bailey. Bailey.

  “Cam?” Davide’s playful grin had disappeared and he’d moved closer in concern. “You were telling me how right I was, then you disappeared. Where did you go?”

  “Never anywhere without you.” He couldn’t lose him.

  A surge of desperation made him reach for Davide and yank the towel off his lean hips. “I need you,” he rasped, groaning at the feel of their bodies pressed together. “Now.”

  “Then take me,” Davide dared, his face flushed with surprised pleasure.

  This morning’s lovemaking had been warm and intimate, but tonight it felt like a gathering storm from their first kiss. Urgent. Unstoppable.

  Davide sucked on his tongue and wrapped his fist around both their cocks. “We didn’t get our run, but you won’t skip this tradition, will you? Christening our new home.”

  “Never,” Cam gasped when his grip tightened.

  “We could have been doing this hours ago.”

  Cam licked his fingers and pressed them between the firm cheeks of Davide’s ass, rubbing until his lover shivered. “I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Right here? On my knees?”

  “Not this time. I want your eyes on me. Heels digging into my back while I fuck you. Get on the couch.” Cam gripped his hips and walked the wide-eyed Davide backward toward the leather sofa.

  “She really got to you, didn’t she?” he asked, breathless. “I wonder what the girl-kissing, attic-dangling spitfire would think if she could see us now?”

  “Davide,” he warned, teeth sharply grazing his lips as he tossed him roughly on his back. The thought of her watching them… “Don’t mention her. Not now. I’m already on edge.”

  True awareness lit Davide’s eyes and Can knew he suspected the truth about her. They’d known each other too well, for too long, to keep secrets. But instead of concern, all Cam could see was determination and desire. “There’s no such thing as too much between us, Cam. I know what she did to you, and she’ll know how we feel about each other as soon as she sees us together. How hard you get when you look at me. She’ll hear me tease you and know it’s because I love to get that rise out of you. Love to make you lose control.”

  Davide slid his hand under the couch and pulled out a bottle of lube, throwing it to Cam. He shouldn’t be surprised. It was usually Davide’s first order of business when they moved to a new location. He liked to be impulsive, so he always stayed prepared.

  Cam flicked open the cap and drizzled the liquid on his cock, and then between Davide’s already raised and spread thighs. Awe and gratitude mingled with unquenchable lust inside him. This beautiful man was his. If Bailey was truly meant for him, she would accept that.

  She had to accept that, and so did his wolf.

  Cam cupped Davide’s balls the way he liked, teasing and fondling before sliding his fingers down the seam of his ass, lubricating them along the way. “You do like playing with fire.”

  “I like playing with you. I always have.”

  “Then let’s play.”

  Davide grunted in pleasure when Cam pushed two fingers deep, curling them until they were barely caressing his prostate. The reaction centered Cam and helped him refocus. He refused to hurry. Being with Davide was simply too good to rush.

  He teased him with slow thrusts and too-light touches. Watched, entranced as his fingers slowly fucked and stretched his lover. The moans and pleas couldn’t stop him. And not until Davide was a squirming, sweating mess beside him did he realize how long he’d been drawing it out.

  “I thought you were in a hurry.” Davide’s lips were swollen from biting them, his voice hoarse.

  Cam bent his head to suck the flesh of Davide’s inner thigh, groaning at the taste. He burrowed lower, licking the tight sac at the base of his cock. “It’s our first time in our new home and I was an idiot. I want you to remember every minute of this instead.”

  “I will. I do. It feels different tonight, doesn’t it?”

  He didn’t need to explain. “I think it’s this place. We’re more sensitive to it. Even the air lands differently on our skin.”

  I’m different.

  “Yes.” Davide nodded, shook his head, nodded again. “The place or you in this place? I don’t know. I can’t think. You have to fuck me soon, Cam.”

  “I don’t want you to think.” Cam removed his fingers and knelt between Davide’s legs so he could guide himself to heaven. “Let’s see if this feels different, too.”

  Davide reached for him then, nails digging sharply into Cam’s back with his first stroke. No more teasing. No more waiting. “Do you feel it?”

  “Yes. Cameron. Il mio liu. I feel you everywhere.”

  Cam’s eyes closed on a muted shout, the fit of Davide’s ass more perfect than it had ever been.

  “Don’t hold back,” Davide begged, almost snarling. “You’ve teased me too much. I need it rough.”

  Cam tried to ignore his words and give Davide what he knew he needed before he lost control. Because he loved him. Love him so much. There’d never been anyone or anything else that came close.

  Bailey.

  As if he’d summoned her, Cam saw a vision of Bailey kneeling beside the couch. His hips slammed forward in reaction, hard enough to make Davide cry out in pleasure.

  “Yes. Like that. More.”

  She had to be an illusion, a fantasy, one so detailed he could almost reach out and touch her. She was still wearing her t-shirt and boxers. Her hair was still mussed, hazel eyes wide as she stared unblinking at the spot where he and Davide were joined.

  Is this what you wanted to see? he couldn’t help but ask.

  She nodded, licking her lips. Satisfaction burned inside him. She more than liked it. Good girl. You want to watch me fuck his ass? Touch yourself for me and I’ll make him scream for us.

  He wasn’t sure where it was coming from, but his imaginary voyeur loved his words. Her hand disappeared into her shorts without hesitation. The real Bailey would never submit for him this easily, but she wasn’t here. The sight of this one on her knees and rubbing her clit at his command made him feel like a damn king. Made him want to fuck Davide right through the couch she’d picked out for them.

  “Let’s play. What if she was watching us, like you said?” he found himself saying out loud, his voice thick with lust as his hips rocked in a rough, hungry rhythm. “Right now, on her knees, touching herself as we showed her how we fuck?”

  “Yes.” Davide bucked against him, begging for more. “Harder, Cameron. Fuck me harder. Make her watch.”

  You heard him, Bailey. Push down those shorts so I can see you fuck yourself with your fingers.

  She complied immediately, eager and willing. He saw the blonde tuft of hair and the wetness on her thighs and growled. Watch.

  Cam redoubled his efforts on the man beneath him. He kissed him, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. “She wants me to make you scream, Davide.”

  “Please.” His eyes were golden and dilated. “But I need you deeper. Need more.”

  Cam pulled out and flipped him over, thrusting back inside before wrapping both his arms around Davide’s chest from behind.

  “Fuck, Cam,” D
avide groaned when he seated himself fully inside him. “That. Don’t stop, Cam. Never stop.”

  Cam scraped his shoulder with his teeth. “You’re mine, aren’t you? Every inch of you belongs to me.”

  “Yes.”

  “Feel me claim what’s mine.”

  His hips snapped forward, the smack of flesh loud in the silent room, and then there were no more words. Just fucking and needy growls. His balls tightened as he drove into Davide again and again. Closer. Deeper. More.

  Davide’s cries made him wild. He wouldn’t allow anything to come between them. To stop him from feeling this.

  I need to come, Boot Boy.

  His imaginary Bailey was still touching herself beside them. As close to climax as they were. As desperate. He needed to please her, too.

  “Make me come,” Davide moaned, unknowingly echoing her demand.

  He dropped one hand to Davide’s cock and stroked with a firm grip, gasping as the heat of his own release started burning up his spine. “Come, Davide.”

  Do it, he silently urged his vision. Come on your fingers for me, good girl.

  She tossed back her head, her bangs slipping aside to reveal closed eyes and a mouth opened on a silent scream. Oh God, Cam.

  Davide clenched around him at the same time, his climax erupting over Cam’s hand in hot, sticky spurts. He pumped hard, burying his length deep inside his lover’s ass once. Twice. Again and—

  “Fuck!”

  He was coming so hard it hurt. His body arched and shuddered with every wave of pleasure until he was empty. It had always been so good between them. He’d thought it would be impossible for it to get better. And yet…

  Bailey.

  Cam collapsed, nuzzling Davide’s back and inhaling his rich scent as the mirage stuttered and disappeared. But the wonder on her face was branded in his brain. The desire and curiosity giving him reason to hope.

  Was it wishful thinking on his part, or did some part of him sense she would enjoy this?

  Davide wriggled beneath him. “I forgive you.”

  Cam laughed, breathless against his shoulder. “That’s good. I’m so glad we had this chat.”

  Sweaty and sated, they adjusted themselves on the couch until Davide was lying across his broad chest as he preferred. Fulfillment and peace made Cam smile as he tangled his fingers in Davide’s dark curls. “You’re right, I am covered in desert. What do you say we break in our new shower next?”

  “I won’t be upset if you tell me the truth.”

  Cam stilled and studied the top of Davide’s head. He wasn’t going to let it go. The younger shifter had never been one to repress his feelings. “How could you not be upset? It’s an impossible situation.”

  “Not impossible. Complicated.” Davide kissed his chest. “Have your plans for the inn changed now?”

  Cam pulled him closer and kissed his forehead. “I don’t know yet.”

  “She loves that place, Cameron. You should read her emails. She talks about it as if it were her child.”

  He sensed that. “So we spruce it up and give it to her free and clear. As soon as we find what we’re looking for. There has to be something on that property. Some remnant.”

  Davide made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat. “You could ask her what she knows about the history. Pikeson didn’t care about it, but she would. She might know more than the one file and photograph we’ve managed to get our hands on.”

  “I’ve considered that.” Maybe not as much as he should have. He’d been too thrown by his reaction to her.

  “Consider honesty too. You wouldn’t want your mate thinking you have ulterior motives for seducing her. That won’t go well.”

  Cam took Davide’s chin between his fingers and lifted so he could look him in the eyes. “I’m not sure I’m going to seduce her at all.”

  “You have to.” His gaze narrowed. “I know the stories as well as you do. They’re full of dire warnings about ignoring a mating call.”

  “Stories,” Cam said dismissively. “I make my choices. I control my fate. Those stories also say packless shifters can’t live together without calamity. We’ve proven that one wrong.”

  Davide made a face. “Only because there’s no infighting. We all consider you to be our Alph—”

  “Don’t say it.” That word had brought nothing but shame and sorrow to the Lockes since the day he was born. “We choose our path, no one else. We don’t put all our trust into the hands of a single shifter or human.”

  “But you do want her.”

  So much it brought him physical pain. “You would, too. She’s hard to resist.”

  “Can I meet her?”

  Cam’s throat closed on an instinctive denial. There would be no way to avoid it and he didn’t want to. Not really. But it was too soon. “Wait a few days for me to regain my footing and I’ll introduce you myself.”

  Davide frowned at that, but looked away in acknowledgment and lowered his head back to Cam’s chest. “Maybe we should have purchased that dance club in Switzerland,” he mused sleepily. “Deter’s been depressed since we changed our plans. You know how much he loves to dance.”

  “A few months’ delay. That’s all this is. We’ll find our answers and give Bailey Wagner a refurbished inn to call her own. Maybe with a security system. Then we’ll move on like we always do.”

  His words tasted like ash and felt like a lie. No part of his wolf wanted to leave this place or the mate he’d just found. But what choice did he have? The shifters under his protection couldn’t stay anywhere longer than a year. Not if they didn’t want to be challenged for settling on land without pack or permission. It was an archaic rule, but one that was enforced without exception.

  And then there was Davide. What would mating mean for their relationship? He couldn’t stay. Not even for her.

  Bailey. Bailey. Bailey.

  Chapter Four

  “Any missives for me, Miss Bailey?”

  Bailey sat back on her heels next to the flowerbed she’d been working in, squinting up from beneath her well-worn cowboy hat to look at her guest. “You know what? I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone ask me that before, Ms. Littleton. I like it. Makes me feel like I fell into an Austen novel.”

  The woman blushed pleasantly, as Bailey knew she would. The truth was she’d only seen the movies, but the private school librarian didn’t need to know that.

  She gestured toward the pounding coming from the roofline above their heads. “No missives, but we’ve got all this noise to make up for our lack of correspondence, so there’s that. I’m really am sorry about this. At least it’s an excuse to be outside and enjoying the beautiful day.”

  Ms. Littleton had mentioned that she didn’t get out much, and since she’d come to the inn last week, she’d continued that trend, spending most of her time in her room or on the back porch at night, gazing at the stars and listening to her space noises.

  “Stop apologizing or I’ll feel guilty about the discount you’re giving me. It’s better the work gets done than the roof falls down around our ears.” Her hand fluttered to the wide brim of her sunhat as if she were unsure about its placement. “I’m glad you’re finally getting some help around here. I’ve never seen one person do so much. The landscaping, the indoor repairs, the laundry... You’ve been working yourself ragged since I arrived, and we’ve hardly gotten the chance to speak. That’s why it was lovely to share a breakfast table with you and the Olyphants this morning. Ava is a gem.”

  The reminder had Bailey struggling to keep her smile in place. She’d woken up this morning to four short texts from Cameron Locke informing her of his plans for the day. Plans that included hiring the woman currently cooking on the brand-new stove that was delivered to Bailey’s kitchen. There was also a trio of women armed with cleaning supplies who’d be coming once a week, as well as two men currently pounding away on her roof.

  He’d said he was going to be hands on, and he hadn’t lied. Or wasted his time on trivi
al things, like discussing those hiring decisions with her. He hadn’t answered her calls either, which meant he knew she wouldn’t appreciate his behavior.

  Breakfast was delicious. And Ava—the best cook in town, who hadn’t been able to get a job outside of that sleezy sports bar where she made appetizers for ass-pinchers—was so happy with the hire that she couldn’t stop hugging Bailey between servings. As if it were her idea.

  As if she’d be able to afford to keep her once Locke left for greener pastures, no matter how much she wanted to.

  “Are you okay, Bailey?”

  “I’m fantastic,” she said swiftly. Ms. Littleton didn’t need to know about her injured pride. “But I am hoping you’re going to use this mayhem as an excuse to finally go on a pink jeep tour.”

  The jeeps were a staple of Sedona. Their drivers took tourists through town and off the beaten path, showing them ancient ruins and heritage sites as well as the red rocks of the Coconino National Forest. Bailey knew most of the guides personally, so her timid guest had nothing to worry about. Not because they were perfect gentlemen, but they knew better than to mess with one of her guests.

  “Oh, I couldn’t.” Ms. Littleton clutched her purse and shifted anxiously in her sensible pumps. She really did remind Bailey of a nervous bird. “I wouldn’t want to be one of those tourists the locals always complain about, tromping about their neighborhood with a Hawaiian shirt and a camera.”

  “Are you kidding? We love tourists,” Bailey assured her, laughing. “And you’re far too fashionable to own a Hawaiian shirt, so we’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  Her plain yellow sundress and white button-down blouse weren’t going to stay that pristine in the jeep, but Bailey wouldn’t give her another excuse to get out of it by telling her to change.

  She stood, brushing the dirt off her knees. “I’d be bad at my job if I kept you to myself after you’ve come all this way, and I’m not bad at my job. There’s so much to see here, Ms. Littleton. Sedona can be a magical place,” she added, thinking about Stax and her angry spider.