by Noah Harris
Adrian felt the first pulse of Michael coming deep inside him and his own building orgasm hit. There was no word, no cry, that could encompass the pleasure that rocketed through him. His arm around Michael’s neck gripped even tighter, his hips pressing up onto Michael’s cock as he came between their bodies in warm spurts. Michael continued to say his name, whispering it at first with great intensity, then gradually sighing it like a man in prayer.
As the ecstatic pleasure of Adrian’s orgasm faded, it was replaced with a soothing flush of warmth. His body felt as if it were floating, wrapped in the comforting embrace of Michael’s arms. Slowly, Adrian became aware of the pressure of Michael’s bulk pressing down on him, smiling as he kissed the man’s shoulder gently.
“I’m crushing you, aren’t I?” Michael asked with an unnerving sense of what was passing through Adrian’s mind.
“A little, but it’s the good kind of crushing,” Adrian assured him with another kiss.
Michael picked his head up, a star-struck smile on his face. “I feel like I’m, I don’t know, buzzing.”
Adrian chuckled, nodding in understanding. “I think I could fall asleep right here.”
Michael kissed the tip of Adrian’s nose. “I want to pull you into bed with me. You’re sleeping wrapped up in my arms tonight, no argument.”
“You won’t hear any from me.”
Michael smiled fondly. “Apparently, all you need is a good bout of sex and all the fuss and fight goes right out of you.”
Adrian laughed, adoring the brutal honesty. “Says the man who will probably wake up after we’ve been asleep for a few hours and want to go all over again.”
Michael cocked his head, his smile turning soft. “You called me your mate.”
“Should I not have?” Adrian asked, his good mood tinged with a sudden rush of worry.
Michael smoothed Adrian’s hair back, shaking his head. “Hearing that was better than if you had kissed me in front of your whole pack. No matter how much you might come down on yourself, just know that I want you, Adrian. Everything you’ve got, even the things you try to keep hidden, I want it all. If you’re going to call me your mate, even if it’s just between us for now, that’s all I could ever ask for.”
Adrian smiled, giving a startled yelp when Michael picked him up without warning. He laughed, slapping Michael playfully as the man hefted him up, preparing to mount the stairs and carry him to bed. He might have said something else, but Adrian found a lump in his throat that made it impossible to speak. The admittance of where he thought Michael stood in his life had slipped from him in the moment, yet he meant it earnestly.
He might not be able to admit anything to the world, but if that little bit of honesty made Michael so happy, then Adrian would be more than happy with that.
Chapter 19
Adrian pushed through the office door, ignoring Miss Adams’ indignant sniff. To Adrian’s surprise, Michael’s office was empty. He had been expecting Michael to be in after being told to meet with him. For a moment Adrian considered returning to the desk to ask the assistant about Michael’s whereabouts, but thought better of it. Miss Adams had yet to warm up to Adrian. Which was a shame, since Adrian was pretty sure that the two of them were going to be seeing a great deal of each other.
Sighing, he leaned onto the arm of one of the leather chairs near the door. He supposed he should be feeling a sense of relief that they were finally in the clear. With Stephan and his groupies either rounded up or killed in the fighting, the city wolves were once again safe. If they could get the local arsonist to stop trying to burn down anything that looked flammable, Adrian would be willing to consider the city safer than it had ever been.
“Yeah, that’s a mystery for another day, I think” Adrian said to himself with a snort.
The office door opened and Michael appeared with a frown on his face. “You know I can hear you talking to yourself through the door.”
Adrian shrugged, smiling at the sight of Michael. “It’s alright, it wasn’t a very interesting conversation anyway. What took you so long?”
Michael cocked his head. “Took me so long? Was I supposed to be here sooner?”
Adrian rolled his eyes. “You were the one who told me to meet you here.”
“I never said that,” Michael said slowly as he closed the door.
Adrian blinked. “No, but one of your lackeys delivered the message when I was checking out the area around your restaurant. I thought it was important to complete some last-minute security checks.”
Michael snorted. “Apparently there was a misunderstanding. I never told anyone to deliver a message for you to meet me here. If I wanted to see you, I would have messaged one of your numbers.”
“Probably would just be easier to send a mass text to all the numbers you have to be honest, otherwise I can’t guarantee that I’ll ever hear from you,” Adrian said with a laugh.
Michael stepped forward, pulling Adrian closer to kiss him. “Soon you’ll have me leaving messages at drop off points to speak to you.”
“Now there’s an idea,” Adrian said, waggling his eyebrows.
Michael smirked. “And when do you think we might speak to Eli?”
Adrian groaned. “What, about this whole thing? You realize the minute I tell them that I’ve decided I might be willing to settle down with someone, with a pack leader no less, I’m never going to hear the end of it?”
Michael raised an eyebrow. “’Might be willing?’ What’s this might nonsense?”
Adrian laughed, slipping away from Michael. “In case you didn’t know, it’s a word that leaves some ambiguity.”
“I can’t say I’m a fan of that, but something more definitive would appeal.”
“Well, I’m sure you can bring your offer to the table and we can discuss the terms like proper gentlemen.”
Michael snorted. “And who’s going to help you? Or are you planning on trying to haggle with an experienced business man?”
“I happen to be very experienced,” Adrian retorted as he turned his back on Michael.
Michael’s voice deepened with what Adrian hoped was promise. “And I’m sure that I can find a few ways to test that.”
Adrian stopped, looking at the mirror behind the desk. “You might want to worry about your interior decorating before you try to impress me at the business discussion, bud.”
“What?” Michael asked, bewildered.
Adrian nodded toward the mirror. “Your mirror is crooked. It’s really off-putting.”
“Adrian, it’s not crooked, I’m the only one allowed back there and I always make sure everything is tidy and straight,” Michael said, exasperation entering his voice.
Adrian approached the desk. “Yeah, well, it definitely looks crooked to me. How are you going to make a good impression if you can’t even keep a mirror hanging straight?”
The mood shifted as Michael seemed to realize Adrian wasn’t simply deflecting by making up a white lie. Adrian didn’t know exactly why, but alarm bells rang in his head as he heard Michael approaching behind him. At that moment, Adrian saw something flicker behind the mirror, a light piercing through the glass.
“Oh shit,” Adrian cursed.
A weight slammed into his back, dragging him down to the ground. A shockwave hit him before he even hit the floor, sending him flying backward. Before the rush of ash and smoke filled his nose, Adrian smelled a rich forest and realized that Michael was the weight that had hit him from behind. They hit something solid and slumped to the ground, Michael’s body taking the brunt of the impact.
Adrian’s head spun and his ears rang loudly as he struggled to get up. He was tangled up in Michael’s limbs, which had been thrown around him in a protective grip. His mind fought to understood what happened, and the word bomb ran through his mind over and over with frightening ferocity.
“Fuck yes, it was a bomb,” he told himself as he fought to get to his feet.
He had been nearly deafened by the explosion, bu
t he realized it could have been a lot worse. If he had taken more of the blast, he would likely be severely injured or dead. Some injuries, even in human form, healed quickly, thanks to his werewolf nature. Injuries from an explosion were something that even a shifted werewolf could easily survive.
At that moment, he remembered why he hadn’t taken the worst of the blast. Adrian whirled around, wobbling as he struggled to keep his balance, and saw Michael sprawled on the floor behind him. The entire left side of Michael’s body was covered in soot, his clothes torn and charred.
“Michael!” Adrian barked, heart leaping into his chest as he crouched down to check on the alpha.
With shaking fingers, he pressed against Michael’s neck, praying to any deity that might be willing to listen. His touch found nothing and the knot in his throat thickened. He pressed his finger against Michael’s top lip in desperation. He held his breath until he felt the soft exhale of air against his finger, not once, but twice, thrice. Adrian let out a gasp that sounded like a sob as he realized that Michael was alive. Adrian’s fingers hadn’t found his pulse because it was so weak.
“Don’t even think about dying on me, you asshole,” Adrian told him brokenly.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to think clearly. It wasn’t the first time he’d almost been blown up. He knew that the blast would have been both heard and seen by someone who would have called 911. Adrian probably had ten minutes, maybe more, depending on traffic, before emergency services showed up.
“Adrian, think. That explosion wasn’t an accident, it was a fucking bomb, you moron,” he scolded himself.
Whoever had set the bomb had done so knowing that there was a place behind the mirror to hide it. It had been set to would go off when someone got too close to the mirror. The only person who could have conceivably gotten close to the mirror would have been Michael. The explosion had been meant for them both, Adrian realized, as he thought of how he Michael hadn’t called for him to show up in the first place. Whoever set the bomb wouldn’t wait for emergency services to show up to make sure their trap worked.
Adrian kissed Michael’s forehead, silently sending another prayer out into the universe before standing. His equilibrium was returning as he walked carefully across the room to the office door. He smiled when he saw the knob begin to shift, thinking that, while it could be cruel, the universe occasionally had wonderful timing. Adrian slipped behind the door as it opened, finding one of the knives in his jacket and silently pulling it free.
His hearing was beginning to return, and he could make out a male voice. “Shit, that was bigger than I thought it would be.”
A voice that Adrian realized belonged to Miss Adams shot back, “It was a fucking bomb Stephan, what the hell did you think it was going to do?”
“Not alert half the damn city, but shit, it worked, right?” The man asked, his voice now clear enough for Adrian to recognize.
Adrian could see Miss Adams hesitate, glancing around. “Wait, where’s the idiot?”
Thinking that he couldn’t choose a better time to interrupt, Adrian gave the door a hard kick. The heavy wood slammed into Stephan, who had chosen to stop in front of it, sending him stumbling into the wall with a yelp. Miss Adams whirled around, hand going to her hip beneath her blouse. Adrian drove his foot into her gut, bending her double. She gasped, her head coming back as she tried to pull in a lungful of air to replace what she’d lost. Adrian kicked out, the bottom of his boot crashing into her face with a sickening crunch.
Adrian ignored her howl of pain as she fell backwards and turned back around to Stephan, who had recovered. Stephan had managed to pull a gun from a holster behind his back. Adrian eyed the piece, thinking it amusing that Stephan had upgraded to a gun. Apparently the knife wasn’t enough anymore.
Adrian snorted. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to bring a gun to knife fight?”
The confusion on Stephan’s face was almost enough to make Adrian laugh. Stephan’s ignorance would end up being his undoing, but he was still too arrogant and desperate to win to realize it. Adrian was already mapping the fight in his mind, wanting to end it quickly. He had learned his lesson about letting Stephan think for too long, and he wasn’t going to let the man get away from him again.
Instead of laughing, Adrian waited until Stephan pulled the gun up to aim. Adrian dipped low, using his free hand to knock Stephan’s arm aside, sending his shot wild. Adrian stepped closer, gliding the knife into Stephan’s body with ease. Stephan gave a woosh of lost air as the blade drove deep between his ribs.
As the strength drained from Stephan’s body, Adrian plucked the gun from his slackening fingers. Adrian pulled the knife free, letting him drop to the ground in a crumpled heap. In a smooth motion, he turned, gun outstretched, just in time for Miss Adams to find her feet, her own gun leveled at Adrian.
“Wanna do me a favor and tell me your first name? It’s getting really annoying to think of you as just Miss Adams,” Adrian asked with a wiggle of the gun.
“And why the hell would I do you any favors?” she snarled.
Adrian shrugged. “I don’t know, I just figured I should know the name of the woman willing to betray her boss for, what, money? Is that it? Was it money?”
“It doesn’t matter why I did it. I’m not going to explain myself to you,” she shot back.
He cocked his head. “You’re one of us. Interesting, Michael told me that he employed lone wolves but he never told me that you were one.”
She sneered. “He respected my privacy. I told him that I didn’t want people to know what I was, and that I wore a perfume that’s good at hiding our scent for just that reason. If you ask me, he accepted that explanation a little too easily, like he just wanted to cover up that he had a loner working for him.”
“I didn’t ask you, actually. I’m just making conversation while I figure out where the hell I’m going to put this knife,” Adrian said, shaking the silver knife for emphasis.
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter, it all went to hell the minute Stephan screwed everything up. Once he knew you were an active player, we couldn’t keep him from making mistakes. I don’t know what went on between the two of you, but boy, did the thought of you just make him froth at the mouth.”
“You know, I’ve been told that I have that effect on people,” Adrian said with his signature mocking smile.
Her eyes narrowed. “It was going so well until you got involved.”
“Yeah, darn those meddling kids, omegas, whatever.”
She shook her head. “I’m the last one standing and I didn’t even complete the one mission I gave myself. I was blaming Stephan for our failure, but I was no better. Couldn’t even rig a bomb that would take you both out.”
“I’m very resilient, like a cockroach, I’m told,” Adrian quipped.
Her eyes flickered to Michael’s unmoving body “Well, at least I got half of it.”
The wolf and man in Adrian both snarled inwardly, and his eyes narrowed. “I would be really careful about how much shit you talk right now, Miss Adams. For all my jokes, I’m not in what you would call a charitable mood. You tried to blow up me and my boyfriend, and I gotta say, that’s making me think quite a few nasty things about you.”
“What are you going to do, kill me? I was dead from the moment you got the drop on us. Even if I get away, you know my face and my name. I wouldn’t make it out of the city. I’m not stupid. I know that I don’t have a chance in hell of fighting you and winning. I guess we should have found a different way to off you, but I was a little too impatient,” she said with a sneer.
“I’m told that proper planning is absolutely essential in guaranteeing that a strategy comes to fruition.”
She tightened her grip on the gun. “So come on, then, finish this so we can both be done. Maybe I can die knowing that I put another hole in that body of yours.”
Adrian glanced at his knife, then back to the furious, broken woman before him. She hadn’t been an o
fficial member of Michael’s pack from the sounds of it, but she had chosen to betray him all the same. Miss Adams tried to bring Michael down from within, abusing his trust. The bomb was just the rotten cherry atop the shit sundae, and it boiled Adrian’s blood to think how much better Michael deserved.
“Oh, Miss Adams, I’m not going to kill you. But I promise, by the time all is said and done, the werewolves of this city will make you wish I had,” Adrian told her with a voice sickeningly sweet with venom.
His aim adjusted as Miss Adams looked bewildered. Her scream almost drowned out the report of the gun as he shot a bullet into each of her knees. Werewolf or not, it would take her a hell of a long time to heal those injures, far longer than it would take for her to escape.
“For the record, I hope it hurts like hell,” Adrian told her as he approached, driving his fist into her face and silencing her shouts as she slumped to the floor.
Adrian tossed the gun aside and sheathed the knife. A faint groan attracted his attention and he turned to his cousin. Adrian crouched beside Stephan, looking him over. He was impressed that the man was still alive, the knife wound should have been almost instantly fatal. Stephan was still hanging on with the stubbornness and sheer hate that Adrian had come to expect from him.
“You failed,” Adrian finally told him.
Stephan gave a thick chuckle. “Perhaps, but at least I took your mate down with me.”
Adrian grabbed Stephan’s chin and held it fiercely. “No you didn’t. He’s still breathing, and you, you’re on your way out the door. All you did was try everything you could to ruin the lives of others, just like everyone else from that godforsaken hellhole you call a sept. You failed, I’m going to be happier than any of you have ever dreamed of, and you will die forgotten.”
