He slammed his cock deep into Jeremiah’s ass, body following, straightening his legs, hooking pale thighs over his massive forearms. He curled Dean’s body up, pressing his thighs further apart. Jeremiah looked up at him, eyes wide, black irises searching his face. Joshua smiled, a feral grin he was sure, and the vampire shivered beneath him.
The next few minutes were filled with male voices goading each other on, cries of lust filling the room. Joshua fucked Jeremiah with deep, full-seating strokes, leaving his body only to come pounding back in. The bed groaned beneath their weight and activity, the headboard knocking the wall. Joshua growled, his pelvis aching from the punishing rhythm he set. He moved his arms higher on the bed, bringing the delicate crook of his elbow near Jeremiah’s cheek. When he turned toward the offering, his tongue flicking out to lick salty flesh, Joshua pumped faster. He saw sharp fangs bared a moment before they struck.
“Yes!” The sight of Jeremiah’s mouth and throat working, the feel of his life force leaving his body, made Joshua insane with lust. He lowered his face to Jeremiah’s shoulder and returned the favor, his razor sharp teeth slicing through skin, hot blood flooding his mouth.
Jeremiah’s balls drew tight, his cock slapping his belly. The pain of teeth tearing his skin sent him over the edge. He wrapped one strong hand around the arm beneath his mouth and sucked hard as jets of come erupted from his cock. Hot and sticky, his orgasm covered his stomach and Joshua’s, his ass clamping down on the thick cock working in and out.
Joshua pulled his mouth free from Jeremiah’s shoulder, blood dripping from his lip. The tight channel around him slowed his movements, milking his cock, ripping him over the edge. He threw back his head and howled his release, his cock thumping in time with his heart, come spurting from the tip, filling Jeremiah. When the last echo of orgasm stuttered down his spine and out, he collapsed onto the shaking man beneath him. When Jeremiah groaned in discomfort, Joshua moved his arms so his partner could straighten his legs.
“Holy shit, Black. My lips are numb.”
Joshua closed his eyes, the pounding beat of Jeremiah’s heart lulling him. “Just your lips?” He smiled when Jeremiah laughed softly.
They lay there, bodies cooling, for a while. Finally, Joshua moved off him. Jeremiah regretted the loss, though he said nothing. Instead, he rolled from the bed and stood, stretching out the kinks in his back and thighs.
“I’m gonna jump in the shower.” He looked at Joshua inquiringly, but the War Wolf shook his head.
“I’ll use the other bathroom.”
Neither man regretted what had happened. But when two alpha males enjoyed each other as they had, the afterward could be awkward. Jeremiah grinned at Joshua, his tried and true persona slipping right back into place. “Suit yourself.”
Joshua shook his head at Dean’s back as the other man entered the bathroom. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants from the nearby dresser before heading downstairs. He padded into the kitchen for a drink of water, wincing when he bent his arm. It ached a little more than normal, so he looked down at the bite. It was already healing, but Joshua could tell it would scar. He brushed his fingers over the wound. This was one scar he wouldn’t mind bearing.
Chapter 9
The sound of the doorknob turning startled Karia. She grabbed the towel from the vanity, wrapping it around herself. “I’m in here.”
“Oh, I apologize.” Joshua’s voice came from the other side.
“That’s all right, I’m just finishing up. Gimme a minute.” Ari dried herself in record time, repositioning the towel around her hips before throwing her blouse back on.
“There you go, Joshua.” She stepped out into the hall, motioning toward the empty bathroom.
He leaned against the wall, a pair of loose sweats hanging low on his hips. His eyes looked slumberous, his lips a little swollen. Black skin shone with cooling sweat and a soft bluish hue. She tested the air between them, feeling the soft buzz of fading magic. A blush suffused her face; she knew that look too well. It was the same one she’d had the morning she’d left Jeremiah.
“We’ll be leaving in about an hour. I don’t think Dean went to see the M.E. yet, so we’ll swing by her office first.” He straightened and glided past her into the bath.
His bare chest brushed her shoulder and she shivered. The overpowering masculinity of Joshua Black set her body on high alert. Ari pressed her thighs together, hoping to quell the damp heat building between them. She hoped he didn’t notice her arousal as easily as she had his.
“Understood. I’ll be ready.” Ari headed to her room without looking back.
At the top of the stairs, she ran into Jeremiah. He too was only partially clothed, a shirt tossed over one shoulder while he dried his hair with one hand. “Hey, Ari. You just getting out of the bathroom?”
Her cutting reply died on her lips when she saw the bite wound on his shoulder. Unable to stand there and trade barbs when her mind instantly began creating images of exactly what the two men had been doing, Ari simply flipped Jeremiah off and hurried to her room.
She checked herself in the small mirror above the dresser. “You are a professional. You are an ambassador. You can handle two seriously hot males doing the wild thing.” All her pep talk did was get her antsy with desire. Ari had hidden as long as she could stand.
She heard Joshua and Jeremiah talking as she descended the stairs. Following their voices, she found them in the kitchen, snacking and looking over the photos and notes from the legal pad.
“Ari, did you get enough rest?” Joshua glided to her side, his movements lithe and graceful despite his size. She nodded in assent, not trusting her voice. Black was still half dressed, though he’d exchanged sweats for jeans. Ari tried to keep eye contact, but she’d avoided really looking at all that exposed flesh outside the bathroom earlier. She had to look now.
His chest was black as ink in the fluorescent light of the kitchen. Two small, flat nipples a few shades darker than his skin drew her gaze and she licked her lips. Joshua’s arms flexed, biceps and triceps tightening. Jesus, his arms are bigger than my head! Conscious of a stillness in the room, Karia tried to say something, look somewhere else, but her eyes refused to cooperate until after she’d taken in the sleek beauty of a granite etched six-pack and the tiny light blue streak below Joshua’s navel. Scars covered his upper body, nothing garish, but there was no doubt he was a warrior.
Ari found the marks of battle highly erotic. Her pussy contracted, moisture pooling, her clit throbbing softly in counterpoint to her heartbeat. She swallowed hard and finally looked into Joshua’s eyes. The intensity, the approval in his gaze, stole her breath. A cold flush of need raced over her body and her stomach turned over.
“Hey, Logan, you with us?”
“Huh?” Karia blinked rapidly and turned her back to Joshua. Jeremiah gave her a curious look. His position behind her had stopped him from seeing her ogle the War Wolf. “Oh, yeah. Sorry.”
She cleared her throat and called a tiny bit of magic to hide her face. She knew Jeremiah would see arousal there if she didn’t put on a mask. “I got enough rest, yes. So, what do we do now?” For the love of… Her inner voice trailed off. In trying to avoid talking about anything intimate, she’d just opened herself up for a salacious jibe from Dean.
“Now, we work some magic. We need to see if we can conceal Black. If we’re successful, then the three of us will go visit Simone and pick up her preternatural John Does. If we aren’t, then it’s you and me on hearse duty. Once we have the bodies, we’ll head to the docks and hopefully, you’ll be able to deliver them to Marshall.” Jeremiah hopped onto the counter.
Karia tried not to gape. Jeremiah Dean had completely overlooked an opportunity to tease and titillate? Her surprise almost wiped away her desire. Then his eyes darkened and he slowly licked his lips. He wasn’t being flashy, but that only served to heighten her need.
“As a peace offering of sorts. In doing so, Robert will probably feel he owes you something.
When all you ask for in return is a meeting, he’ll be suspicious, but he’ll most likely agree.” Joshua had moved up behind her, and Ari felt her breath freeze.
He made her feel exceptionally feminine. Heat rolled off his body, making every cell in her body acutely aware of his nearness. Karia felt trapped between the two men. Jeremiah, oddly serious, sat before her, undressing her with his eyes with the intense Joshua behind her, blocking any escape.
Jeremiah slid from the counter and stalked toward her. Ari couldn’t stop herself from falling back a step, right into Joshua. She gasped and danced to the side, slipping around Black and out of the kitchen. You better get control of the situation, Ari. Her inner voice was so good at pointing out the obvious.
Ari swung her gaze from the vampire to the War Wolf. They were corralling her, herding her. They’d made a critical decision while she was dressing, which she wasn’t privy to, and she should have been. If the sexual energy fairly lighting the room was anything to go on, Ari was in trouble. While she wasn’t really against that kind of trouble, now wasn’t the time. She wasn’t ready.
If it was just Dean, she’d have known exactly what to do and how to act. But Joshua Black was unknown to her. So far, he hadn’t shown her anything but respect. He’d been soft spoken and polite. The last thing she wanted was to offend him. But with both men closing in on her, Ari’s sense of self-preservation kicked in. She stepped to the side, slipping around Joshua, before walking backward, around the island wall and out of the kitchen.
The men moved in smooth conjunction, following her out of the kitchen. Joshua stepped toward her, slowly, from the front while Jeremiah tried to slip in behind her.
“Whoa, boys!” She threw her hands up, palms out, and conjured a wall around herself. It stopped Jeremiah cold. He pressed against it with a frustrated sigh. But Joshua moved through her projection like the illusion it was. So, she showed him why she hadn’t joined the Metamorphic Class.
Joshua stumbled, his feet and legs suddenly dead weight. He tried to move, but his mind told him to stop. He didn’t want to keep moving, did he? Yes, he did. No, he didn’t. Joshua fought with himself before a low cough from Jeremiah broke his concentration.
“It’s her, Black. This particular power is why she came to my class.”
He looked up at Karia, seeing her in a different light. A gift like hers wasn’t something he wanted to endure for any length of time.
She could steal the will.
“I’m sorry, Colonel Black. I am. But you two are creeping me out.”
She was sincere, but knowing she’d forced him to comply set Joshua’s teeth on edge. He drew a slow breath and completely relaxed his body. As soon as the tension left him, so did the power she wielded and he was again in control. He stared at her hard, pleased when she dropped her eyes first.
“Logan, you mind displacing the damn wall.”
Jeremiah barked the command and Ari jumped a little. “If you can behave.”
“Never.”
Karia sighed and dissolved the illusion. At least he was being honest.
“Thanks.”
“You aren’t welcome. Now, pack the testosterone away so we can attempt this illusion.”
Joshua watched Karia draw her magic and compose herself. She had seemingly moved on, unaffected by what she’d revealed about her power or by what might have happened if she hadn’t. But Joshua was certain the ambassador was anything but calm on the inside. She knew she’d only bought herself a little time.
Chapter 10
“Damn it, Jeremiah! Stop doing that!” Karia shook her numb hand and glared at Dean.
“Stop fighting me for control of the magic!” He clenched his fists at his sides to stop from shaking her. If she’d just relax, we wouldn’t be having this problem. Jeremiah grumbled to himself, “Stupid woman.”
“Watch it, Dean. I heard that. Just what do you suggest we do?”
“I suggest you chill out. You’re so damn tense it’s affecting the flow of power. Relax.”
“I am relaxed!” A vein in her forehead pulsed with tension.
Jeremiah bit back a laugh. “The muscle in your jaw is ticking, Ari.”
She threw her hands up in disgust. “Whatever!”
The trio had moved upstairs to the master suite. They stood in the middle of the room, in front of the mirrored panels of the large closet. Each time they tried to conceal Joshua, something went wrong and Ari was about to scream. They’d been at it for more than an hour.
“We can’t waste much more time trying this out, Jeremiah. We have to get to the morgue.” Through all the trials and tests, Joshua stayed calm and relaxed. It made Karia feel a bit better knowing he wasn’t as disappointed in her skills as she was.
“Once more. If we can’t get something viable, then we’ll quit.” She scraped her nails over her scalp in frustration.
“I have an idea. Close your eyes.” Jeremiah stepped around Joshua to stand next to her. “Now, clear your mind, and stop thinking about what you want to happen. Just focus on the magic.”
She rolled her eyes at him, but complied grudgingly. Karia put aside thoughts of failure and centered her mind only on the power. Her thoughts became clay, malleable, able to become anything. She breathed deeply, pulling the magic up and out, until she felt the weight of it in her palms.
“Good. Now, I’m going to move behind you and direct the power. Don’t let go of your focus.” Jeremiah’s voice came softly into her consciousness. His tone was calm, but directive, and Ari let herself follow his lead.
Joshua watched as Dean moved directly behind Karia. The vampire closed his eyes as well, moving his arms alongside hers, his hands moving over an unseen shape in her hands. Joshua’s skin tingled, then grew warm. He didn’t see anything happening, until he looked into the mirrors.
Light flesh was slowly encompassing his arms. Shocked, he snapped his gaze back to his arms. They were the familiar Sidhe black he knew. Spying the mirror again, he saw his entire body was now a very faint caramel color. The ridges on his forehead were gone in the reflection, but his eyes were still blood red.
Heat streaked over his body, and Ari sagged beside him. The magic had done what it could. He looked at Jeremiah over Karia’s head. He nodded, letting Joshua know she would be fine. The War Wolf walked toward the closet doors, and took in the human the world would see.
He had no scars, no ridges on his forehead. Joshua bared his teeth, long canines flashing back at him in the mirror. He looked at his hands and saw his talons were also still visible. Obviously, the magic could only do so much. Still, he would be able to go out in public without garnering too much attention, especially at night.
“Oh my god! You look fantastic.” Ari’s voice was slightly hoarse.
Joshua turned around, anger burning in his chest. “You like me better this way?”
Karia looked up at Jeremiah, shocked by the venom in Joshua’s words. Jeremiah shrugged his shoulders.
“No, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just proud of what we accomplished.”
“I see. You’re glad to have made the War Wolf look human. No scars, no ridges, no beauty. But your magic isn’t perfect is it? No, my eyes are still mine, and my teeth, and my claws!”
“Joshua, chill. You know she didn’t mean anything like that. What the hell crawled up your ass?” Jeremiah released Ari, moving between her and Black.
Joshua clenched his fists at his sides. The tension strung out between the three and Jeremiah readied himself for a fight. But as quickly as Joshua’s fury rose, it disappeared. His muscles loosened and his face became placid once more.
“I apologize for my outburst. Please excuse me.” He left the room without another word.
“What did I miss?” Ari asked Jeremiah.
“I don’t know, but we’re about to find out.” He took her arm, leading them from the room.
Jeremiah followed his instincts, figuring Black would have wanted to get out of the abode. Down the stairs and through the
living room he trod, pulling Karia behind him. They halted just inside the French doors that opened into his private garden.
“Wow. It’s beautiful.” Karia tugged her forearm from his grip and stepped through the open doors out onto the deck.
“Don’t go tellin’ people I like all these flowers and serenity. It’ll ruin my image.” His lips lifted in a light-hearted smile Ari returned.
A slight breeze, accented by river smells, rustled the leaves in the large trees shading most of the space. “Where’d he go?” Karia looked around, but she couldn’t see Joshua anywhere.
“Don’t look with your eyes. Human-looking now or not, the War Wolf can conceal himself in shadow.” His whispered words barely registered in Ari’s ears.
She turned to frown at him for being melodramatic. Her displeasure faded at Dean’s alert posture. Ari didn’t have the gift of sight. Instead, she felt around the backyard for the distinctive trace of her personal magic.
She found it about ten feet from the deck. Ari cast a glance at the fading sunlight, then down to her watch. She knew the situation called for sensitivity, but she was working on the last reserve of her patience. This day had been exceptionally long, tiring, and confusing and she really needed it to be finished.
Squaring her shoulders, she marched toward the signature of her power. When she was within arm’s reach of her target, Joshua opened his eyes. Ari stopped, put her hands on her hips, and stared straight into them. “If you have a problem, Colonel, you need to tell me.”
“I don’t have a problem with you, Ambassador. I apologized for my outburst.”
“I know. And I accept it. However, the last thing I want to do is offend you. And I can’t help but think that’s exactly what I’ve done. It’s very hard for a diplomat of my training to handle.”
“It has nothing to do with your skills. Let it go.”
Joshua stepped out of the shadows. She looked over her transmorphose projection, her illusion, noticing the things the magic couldn’t conceal. “If the magic isn’t working to your liking, we can try again.”
WarWolf Page 5
