by Lynn Hagen
Bailey missed what Corky said next. The heat flared in his body so quickly, so ferociously that he dropped his phone and grabbed the edge of the dresser. His cock was so hard that he feared it would explode.
Heat pulsed inside him as he staggered toward the bathroom. What in the hell was wrong with him? Was he coming down with something? Had Walker drugged him? When he looked in the bathroom mirror, his skin held a deep flush.
He stripped and hurried into the shower, where he turned the water temperature to ice-cold.
That didn’t help. Bailey was still burning up and he was also shaking now. It had to be the flu or something. He couldn’t think of anything else that would make him hot and cold at the same time.
Last winter he’d come down with the flu for two weeks. He’d stayed at Corky’s to be taken care of. If one could consider a box of tissue and “Don’t you dare get me sick, too” being taken care of.
But this felt much worse. Although he didn’t have the other symptoms like a runny nose, migraine, or fatigue, he was still burning up as his teeth chattered.
“Are you trying to catch a cold?” Walker pulled him from the shower and wrapped him a blanket. He carried Bailey to the bed and laid him down before drying him off. “That water was freezing.”
Bailey hadn’t forgotten how he’d rubbed himself against Walker in Corky’s bedroom. He wanted to do that again, only he wanted Walker naked, too. He grabbed Walker’s biceps, tugging him close as he gritted his teeth. “What did you do to me?”
“It was my bear.” Walker pulled back, then took a seat on the bed. “He took over and went after you when I discovered you were my mate.”
“Your what?” Bailey barely listened as Walker explained what a mate was. He was too busy gazing at Walker’s thick arms, broad chest, lips that looked good enough to kiss, and God, he wished Walker was naked so he could see the man’s cock.
Walker rambled on about fate and how they were meant to be together. He even said something about a baby, but Bailey was just too damn horny and all he really heard was “Blah, blah, blah.” Bailey flipped to his hands and knees and crawled toward Walker. “Fuck me.”
Had he really just sounded that needy? Bailey couldn’t remember his voice ever going that deep and gravely. He pulled at Walker’s shirt, nipped at his bearded chin, and tried to crawl into the man’s lap. He’d never been this damn horny in his life, not even when he was a teenager. Not like this, as if he’d die if Walker didn’t fuck him in the next five seconds.
Bailey dipped his head into Walker’s lap and mouthed the outline of the man’s rigid cock. “Let me suck you.”
Walker was off the bed, practically ripping his clothes off before Bailey had settled onto his side. He stroked himself as he watched, and damn if every inch Walker revealed wasn’t magnificent.
Ripped muscles flexed with every move. His biceps were the size of grape fruits and there was a sexy trail of dark hair that ran from his navel to groin. His tanned skin made Bailey’s body pulse harder with need.
When Walker was completely naked, Bailey rolled to his back and spread his legs. He writhed on the cover as he tried to bring himself off, but no matter how fast he moved his hand, his orgasm was just out of reach.
“Fuck!” Bailey pounded the bed with his fist. “Do something already! I can’t take this.”
“I gotcha, Shorty.” Walker settled between his legs. Bailey was so out of it with lust that he hadn’t even thought about a condom and lube, and he couldn’t have cared less about either right now. He hooked his hands behind his knees and pulled his legs back, exposing himself to Walker.
Walker licked his full lips. “Damn.”
“Don’t just stare,” Bailey whined. His cock throbbed as if he’d already climaxed, but only pre-cum had escaped.
Walker pressed the head of his cock against Bailey’s aching hole. Something wet spurted against his entrance and his muscles relaxed. If he hadn’t been crazy with need, Bailey might’ve stopped and asked what the hell that was, but he simply didn’t care.
He just did not care.
“In me, now.” Bailey bit his lip and arched his back, gasping as Walker’s thick girth filled him, stretching him wide as he pushed deeper. Bailey grabbed his sac and pulled it back, moaning at the pain, groaning at the pleasure that assailed him.
The fire licked its way through Bailey, expanding inside him until he thought he’d go up in flames. He no longer cared that Walker may have kidnapped him for sex. At this point, Bailey would be his sex slave. He would do whatever Walker asked just as long as he extinguished the fire raging through Bailey.
So much for his statement to Corky that he wasn’t having any sex with Walker. He would have stuck to his guns if he hadn’t had an erection from hell, if he hadn’t been so desperate to be fucked.
But Bailey had to be honest with himself. His father was a piece of shit and his life had been crap. The attention Walker was giving him made Bailey feel…special. How long it would last, Bailey had no clue, but for now, maybe Corky was right. Maybe he would give this place, give Walker, a chance.
You really are out of your mind with lust.
Those thoughts fled as Walker thrust deep into his ass, making Bailey cry out. He released his legs and wound them around Walker’s waist, grabbing at the man’s biceps to pull him closer. Their faces were inches apart as Bailey lifted his ass, helping Walker to drive deeper inside him.
Walker’s gray eyes grew dark, like storm clouds gathering. Those pointy teeth Bailey had seen at the video store appeared. He hadn’t thought the rumors true, but how could he deny them now? No one could make their teeth lengthen or grow thicker.
I’m actually having sex with someone who isn’t human. The thought should have terrified him. Instead, Bailey and Walker’s tongues tangled, dueling for dominance as Bailey writhed beneath him. He couldn’t get enough of Walker’s taste, of the passionate way he tried to drink Bailey in. As much as he loved kissing Walker, Bailey had to finally pull back when his lungs burned for air.
He tilted his head to the side, moaning as Walker trailed kisses along his neck and shoulder, licking at his skin as Bailey wound his hand around his aching cock, stroking himself with desperation.
Then Walker sank those sharp teeth into Bailey’s skin.
“Fuck!” Bailey shattered. His cum shot between them, slicking their bodies as Walker grunted into Bailey’s shoulder, his cock pulsing deep inside Bailey’s ass.
But…damn it! Bailey’s dick was still rigid in his hand as the fire continued to rage out of control. Whatever this was would kill Bailey before it was over. It was as if he’d been injected with liquid lust.
Walker pulled his teeth free, eased out of Bailey, and scooted down the bed. He took Bailey’s cock into his mouth and hollowed his cheeks, creating suction as he bobbed his head and palmed Bailey’s sac, tugging at the wrinkled flesh. The flat of his tongue slid over Bailey’s prick before he took Bailey’s cock down his throat.
Bailey bucked and writhed, curling his fingers into the bedding as he tried to shove his dick deeper. And Walker took every last inch like a pro, his beard scraping along Bailey’s skin, adding arousing sensations that made Bailey cry out.
Another orgasm ripped him apart. Bailey lay there panting, thanking whoever was listening that his dick had finally grown soft. Even so, the fires had only receded to a slow burning heat instead of completely disappearing. Bailey groaned as he lay there boneless, too tired to think about anything but sleep.
Walker curled around him, pulling Bailey close, nearly tucking him under the man’s body. “Rest, Shorty. The heat might return. And if it does, you’ll need your energy.”
Those words were not reassuring. Bailey didn’t want the heat to return. He didn’t want to feel as if he’d walked into a thousand-degree oven. His skin prickled and his heart galloped as he panted for breath. His ass was so sore that he winced when he moved.
If he had to go through that heat again, he just might shoot himself
instead.
* * * *
Bailey couldn’t take it anymore. He just couldn’t. His body felt as if it had been dragged over the coals, and not enough cold baths in the world would help the heat. He decided going outside would help cool him off.
That, and he was having a nicotine fit.
Two nights after arriving, he snuck outside and pulled a cigarette from his pack. He’d kill for a drink right about now, too. But Walker’s house didn’t have a drop of hooch anywhere.
Bailey had searched.
He lit up and inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as the nicotine filled his lungs and helped him relax. He leaned against the house, hidden by a clump of bushes, and was enjoying his smoke when he noticed something moving from the corner of his eye.
When Bailey turned to look, he saw nothing but trees, trees, and, oh yeah, more flipping trees. There wasn’t a sidewalk or a driveway in these mountains, no corner store, liquor store, or even a crummy siren to tell him civilization existed.
There was only the sound of blowing wind and tree branches creaking. He pulled his jacket tighter over his chest—thankfully Corky had grabbed it from his house—as he hit his cigarette again. He’d never liked the darkness to begin with, but his unease grew at the feeling that he wasn’t alone outside. Bailey glanced around but couldn’t see anything except the darkened woods and a few lights from the houses around Walker’s.
He brushed aside the hair the wind blew into his face as he studied the woods, trying to catch a glimpse of what was hiding in the dark. With the strangeness Bailey had stepped into, the feeling could just be his imagination, but he didn’t think it was.
He moved away from the house and inched closer to the woods. A bird flew from a branch, scaring the flipping daylights out of him. Bailey might have squeaked like a girl, but since no one had heard him, he wasn’t admitting to that.
Still, no one emerged from behind a tree or appeared out of thin air. He wasn’t sure if someone could really do that since he knew very little about Walker’s world. They hadn’t exactly spent much time talking, either. With the heat engulfing Bailey, they’d pretty much spent the last forty-eight hours doing the horizontal mambo.
Bailey’s heart sped and his body tensed when he heard a low hissing sound. He wasn’t sure what kinds of wild animals lived in the mountains, and he didn’t want to find out. He was already far enough away from Walker’s house that if a wild animal charged after him, he’d have a hell of a time getting away.
Backtracking across the lightly fallen snow, Bailey made his way toward the side door. He looked over his shoulder a couple of times to make sure no large animal was tracking him.
You need to chill. You’re scaring the shit out of yourself for no good reason.
But the feeling of his every move being watched was still there. He stopped at the side door he’d slipped out of and decided to finish his smoke. If trouble found him, Bailey could simply run inside.
He screamed when something hit his shoulder. Bailey spun, tumbling backward. He would have fallen in the bushes if Walker hadn’t grabbed his arm.
Walker’s narrowed gaze went right to the cigarette in Bailey’s hand. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Bailey’s defenses shot into place. “What the hell does it look like I’m doing?”
Walker reached for the smoking cigarette, but Bailey yanked his arm back. “Put that out,” Walker growled.
“What are you, my father?” Bailey snapped. “I’m twenty-three years old. If I want to smoke, no one can stop me.”
Walker knocked it from Bailey’s hand. “It’s a disgusting habit that you’re giving up. I won’t have you smoking while you carry my child.”
Walker could have smacked him and Bailey would have been less stunned. His jaw dropped as he backed toward the door. “What did you just say?”
He had to have heard Walker wrong.
“I didn’t stutter,” Walker said. “I explained all of this to you before we had sex.”
The world tilted on its axis as Bailey pressed his hand into the door for balance. The heat. The cramps. The fact Walker was a bear that could change into a man. Bailey’s hand instinctively went to his stomach as he gaped at Walker.
Then he narrowed his eyes. “You fucking bastard! You should have made me listen before you fucked me on every flat surface in the house! You knew I was too horny to hear what you were saying.”
“How the hell was I supposed to know you weren’t listening?” Walker argued.
“Because I still wanted you to fuck me,” Bailey shot back. “That should have clued you in that I wasn’t listening to you!”
Walker’s gaze flashed toward the woods. His brows dipped as he sniffed the air. Bailey looked, as well, still reeling from the news that…fuck, he couldn’t even think the words. The possibility was too unimaginable.
“Get inside.”
“Screw you.” Bailey tried to dodge past him, but Walker blocked his path.
“Get. Inside. Now.” The gravity in his voice made Bailey begrudgingly obey.
As soon as Walker entered, he locked the door and grabbed his cell phone off the coffee table. Bailey turned and stared out the windows. What had Walker so frightened?
“Clint, there’s something in the woods.”
So Bailey had been right.
“No, Bailey’s safe.” Walker paused. “Okay, I’ll meet you out back.”
When Walker set his phone on the mantel, he looked at Bailey. “Stay inside.”
“What is it?” Bailey’s stomach knotted as he strained to see into the woods.
“I’m not sure, but it isn’t anything good.” Walker headed to the door and was gone before Bailey could question him further.
He rubbed his hands up and down his arms, scared, confused, and not liking Walker’s world all that much. He was starting to reconsider his decision that a fling with a rich guy could be fun.
This wasn’t fun and Bailey just wanted to go home. Come first light he would make Corky see reason and the two of them were getting the hell off these mountains.
* * * *
It was too damn cold to be outside hunting down the source of the foul smell Walker had scented. Many creatures lived in the mountains, and for all he knew, the smell could have been some dead wild animal.
But he’d felt as though someone had been watching him, and Walker still felt someone was out there.
He didn’t like leaving Bailey alone in the house, but he refused to spend the evening wondering if danger was close by. “Is it me or does it feel like it’s getting darker out here?”
Clint stopped and gazed skyward. Walker saw that the clouds had covered the moon.
“This is crazy,” Walker said. “It’s asshole cold and the only thing out here will be our frozen corpses if we keep going. I’m heading back.”
“You’re the one who dragged us out here in the first place,” Clint said. “Besides, the smell is worth checking out. Jesse said some feeders were close.”
“He told you that two nights ago,” Walker argued. “And I’m beginning to think he was high when he called you. We’ve been looking for ten minutes and the only thing I’ve seen is my damn breath.”
With a growl, Clint turned around. “Next time you call someone because you smelled something weird, call Bobby Ray. I was in the middle of—” Clint grinned. “Stuff.”
Walker didn’t have to guess what “stuff” consisted of. He smelled like sex. And as cold as it was, with the wind blowing and the snow falling, Walker still smelled Bailey’s heat as if his mate were walking right next to him.
He wouldn’t be surprised if all of his brothers were having sex because of Bailey’s scent. Bailey’s heat had Walker hard and he was ready to get back to the house so he could spank the shit out of Bailey for smoking, then fuck him until he couldn’t walk for a week.
They’d just made it back to Walker’s house when something heavy plowed into his back. He shouted as he flew forward, hitting the cold, hard grou
nd. His palms scraped along the bricks lining his patio.
Clint snarled as he shifted into his bear form and pushed to his hind legs, roaring a warning to whatever had flown into Walker. Walker’s eyes widened as the feeder circled Clint.
God, the thing was hideous. This one was wasn’t as emaciated as the one that had attacked a few months ago, but it was still scary-looking, with jagged teeth and long claws. Its torn and dirty clothes hung off it like a ghost ship’s sails, the rags billowing in the wintery wind.
Walker shoved to his feet and barreled into it, but the feeder slapped him away as if he were a pesky fly. Walker flew backward, his head hitting the bricks this time, and damn if he didn’t see stars. As he lay there trying to get his bearings, Clint roared and the thing hissed as they scuffled.
By the time Walker was back on his feet, Clint’s bear had the feeder pinned to the ground. It had been fast, and Clint’s hindquarter was bloody. The bear panted, his jaw locked around the thing’s throat.
Walker shifted, as well, and lumbered over as the feeder struggled beneath Clint, clawing at his face as it made wild screeching noises.
Clint and Walker tore it to pieces. There wasn’t much blood, but Jesus, Walker was afraid he’d never get the noxious taste out of his mouth. It was like biting into spoiled meat that had sat out in the hot summer sun. He shifted and glanced down at the shredded body. “I’ll get some clothes on and dispose of it.”
After they were done, Walker was going to scrub his mouth out with a scouring pad. Maybe gargle with boiling water, too.
When he turned toward the house, he saw Bailey standing in one of the living room windows, his jaw hanging open, his blue eyes wide.
Chapter Five
Bailey’s plan to leave was put on the back burner the following morning. He’d jumped out of bed and hurried to the bathroom as soon as his eyes popped opened.
“Brought you some tea and crackers,” Walker said as he stepped into the bathroom after Bailey had finished being spewing his guts out. “The tray is in the bedroom. Do you need anything?”
