by Lynn Hagen
Victor looked into Pierce’s green eyes and saw pure lust. “In the meantime?”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Pierce meant.
His mate let go of a low, deep chuckle as he slowly undressed. “I’ll give you three guesses. But you’ll only need one.”
Victor lost focus on what Pierce was saying as he watched his mate’s shirt slide off to reveal a solid, broad chest, with large pecs and ripples of abdominal muscles. His biceps—which Victor had noticed were huge when they’d first met—flexed as Pierce tossed the shirt aside.
He knelt and untied his boots as Victor gazed at his strong back, the thick hair on his head, and noticed how close Pierce’s face was to his crotch.
When Pierce stood, he toed his boots off, leaving him in his jeans and socks. Victor sucked in a deep breath when his mate backed him against the door, placing a hand on either side of Victor’s head.
“I’ve been dying to kiss you again.” Pierce’s lips were mere inches from Victor’s. “The first time wasn’t near long enough.”
“And I’ve been dying to taste you, too.” But kissing wasn’t on Victor’s mind. He unfastened Pierce’s jeans, his fingers uncooperative as he tried to free his mate’s cock. He glanced at his mate when Pierce grabbed his wrists to stop him.
“All in good time, mouse.” Pierce slid his fingers around the hem of Victor’s shirt and removed it, letting the material fall to the floor.
Victor’s sexual encounters had been far and few. He’d been too busy keeping away from Riley and the other vampires who thought fucking with him was a sport that he hardly found the time for sex.
“So flawless.” Pierce ran his hand over Victor’s pale chest. “So perfect.”
That wasn’t the description Victor would’ve used to describe his body. He used to be tanned all the time, but since sunlight was lethal to him now, he’d grown extremely pale over the past two decades. Victor had grown used to his body, but now that Pierce was studying him, he became self-conscious as a shiver ran through him.
Until Pierce took one of Victor’s nipples between his wet, warm lips. Victor let out a hiss, his cock hardening, as he arched his back, concerned that Pierce had to practically bend in half to reach his chest but not worried enough to stop his mate.
Pierce slowly rose and took Victor’s lip in a blazing kiss as he walked backward, guiding Victor toward the bed.
Victor’s heart sped when Pierce broke from the kiss and undressed. Victor’s mouth watered as he watched. When he was done, Victor didn’t wait for an invitation. He dropped to his knees and took Pierce’s length into his mouth.
“Oh fuck.” Pierce’s hips shot forward as his hands clamped down on Victor’s head. “I’m in love with your lips,” he groaned, making Victor smile around his mate’s length.
Pierce gripped Victor’s hair and tried to ease out of his mouth, but Victor wasn’t finished having fun. He moaned and lashed his tongue over the slit in the head, making Pierce give up his attempt to dislodge his cock.
“I see you like to play dirty.”
In response, Victor slid his tongue up Pierce’s shaft. Pierce hissed and used his grip on Victor’s hair to thrust in short bursts. Victor could tell when Pierce was close. He clenched his jaw, and his movements weren’t as coordinated.
Also, his grip on Victor’s hair tightened.
It might have been his imagination, but he could’ve sworn his mate’s cock swelled right before he came. He looked up at Pierce and saw how taut his neck muscles were. His mate blinked and lowered his head, gazing down at Victor with those gorgeous green eyes as Victor pulled back, unable to look away.
Pierce slid his hand under Victor’s jaw as Victor rose to his feet. He pressed his face into Pierce’s hand and closed his eyes, letting go of a shuddering breath.
“You’re so beautiful,” Pierce whispered. He slid his arms around Victor, nuzzling his neck as Victor gasped, shivering as tiny fingers of pulsing electricity coursed through him. The feel of Pierce’s warm, bare skin, the dark, masculine scent, and the feel of his soft lips gliding over his skin had Victor panting as he gripped his mate’s biceps.
He moved backward when Pierce moved forward. His mate lifted him and placed Victor on the bed, worshipping Victor with his hands as he stared down at him as though Victor made the man’s sun rise.
No one had ever looked at him with such reverence.
In that moment Victor was pretty sure he’d fallen just a little in love with his wolf.
“Are you just gonna stare at me?” Vince teased. “Or are you gonna help me out of my clothes?”
“There’s a lot of things I plan on doing to you.” Pierce winked. “We’ll start with the clothes, then I plan on fucking you until you can’t walk.”
Vince gasped. “Then I’m all yours.”
Pierce tweaked one of Victor’s nipples. Victor moaned as he lowered himself to his back. “I got something else you can grab hold of.”
“Yeah?” One of Pierce’s brows arched. “And what’s that?”
Victor pursed his lips. “I’ll give you three guesses, but you’ll only need one.”
Pierce threw his head back and laughed. “You can’t use my own words against me.” He pulled Victor’s shoes off and tossed them aside. “Okay, my first guess is your toes.”
Victor shook his head. “Try again.” His gaze lowered to Pierce’s hard cock, and Victor wasn’t sure how long he could play this game before he attacked Pierce and had his wicked way with his mate.
His socks came off next, and then Pierce reached for the waistband of Victor’s pants. “Let’s see how hard your dick is for me.”
Victor lifted his lower half so Pierce could pull his jeans and underwear down. “Believe me, my dick is hard enough to be used as a lethal weapon right about now.”
Pierce grinned boyishly as he pulled the rest of Victor’s clothes off. That gorgeous smile made Victor’s breath hitch. Maybe, finally he’d found the one person who could love him for who he was and never consider his status as a factor.
Victor spread his legs in invitation when Pierce ran his knuckles up his shaft. “Is this my prize?”
“That depends,” Victor said.
“On what?”
“What you plan on doing with my cock.”
Pierce wiggled his brows. “Why don’t I show you what I’m about to do with mine?”
His mate settled between Victor’s legs as he leaned in for a soul-stirring kiss that made Victor’s toes curl. As they devoured one another, Pierce pressed the blunt head of his cock against Victor’s hole. His mate’s natural lube spurted at his hole, relaxing Victor’s tight band of muscles.
“I’m liking where this is going,” Victor moaned.
“Trust me. It gets better.”
Victor wrapped his legs around Pierce’s waist as Pierce thrust inside him. They both took a moment to groan at the feel of each other, but after all the teasing and foreplay, Victor was too wound up to pause for long.
He lifted his bottom half and started moving up and down on Pierce’s thick cock.
His mate gave a throaty growl. “Impatient?”
“Oh my god.” Victor slapped his muscled chest. “Fuck me already!”
Pierce locked gazes with him as he slowly pulled back, and then inched his way back in, stretching Victor deliciously with his thick cock. “Like that?”
Victor bit his bottom lip, refusing to say a word. Demanding to be fucked hadn’t worked, so he wasn’t going to say anything at all. He simply lay there trembling as desire rushed through him, and he held onto his mate’s biceps.
“How about now?” His hips moved so fast that Victor cried out, knowing full well everyone in the house probably heard him.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Victor thrashed beneath the assault, hanging on for dear life and his mate fucked him to within an inch of consciousness.
A sharp pain pierced his neck as his mate sank his canines in. Victor arched his back, clutching at Pierce’s arms
. So many emotions collided inside him as his orgasm tore through him. When Pierce pulled his canines free and licked the wound closed, Victor felt their bond snap into place. Pierce pulled back and stared wide-eyed at him. “I guess you were telling the truth.”
“Did you think I was lying?” Victor gasped for breath.
“No, but…”
Victor took his turn and sank his fangs into Pierce’s neck, drinking from him as his mate pistoned into him.
He licked the twin pinpricks as Pierce threw his head back and howled, his cock throbbing heavily in Victor’s ass.
After Pierce eased out of him, they collapsed, gasping for breath. Victor turned and snuggled close, luxuriating in the feel of Pierce’s body.
He furrowed his brows when he heard light snoring. When he looked up, his mate was sound asleep, his lips parted, making Victor think the guy would start drooling at any second.
That was okay with him. Victor was cuddling against his mate. As far as he was concerned, Pierce could eat crackers in their bed and he would be fine with that.
Chapter Four
“You gonna tell me who that guy was?” Pierce ran his hand down Victor’s side, enjoying the feel of him under his fingers. He’d fallen asleep for a moment, but when Pierce woke, he found Victor watching him.
“No.”
Well, that was quick and precise. “Why not?”
“Because this is my battle, and I don’t want to get you involved.” Victor tried to get up, but Pierce pulled him back down.
“That’s not how this works, mouse. You got someone fucking with you, then I get involved. Period. End of discussion.” He wasn’t trying to be a prick, but whoever that vampire was should be damn lucky Pierce hadn’t gotten his hands on him. In truth, he was still shocked Victor had busted a bottle over his head. At the price the club had charged for that Corona, Pierce should’ve beaten the stranger’s ass.
“Besides, did you listen when I told you to stay outside when I went after Hallman? Or when I told you to stay home when I went after that snake?” He sat up and turned Victor over so he saw his mate’s handsome face. “You got involved, so it’s my turn to return the favor.”
This time when Victor got up, Pierce didn’t stop him. His mate sat on the side of the bed, his hands pressing into the comforter. “This is different.”
“How?”
Victor looked over his shoulder, and Pierce was nearly sucked in by his blue eyes. “Because this isn’t a warrant being executed. This is my life. If you get involved, then the Masters get involved. I’ll be punished for what I did to Riley.”
“So, his name is Riley.” Pierce smiled in triumph.
Victor cursed. “Promise me you won’t go after him.”
“I can’t make that promise because it’ll be a lie.” Pierce got up and strode to the bathroom. He looked at the windows as he passed them and told himself he needed to find something to cover them. Dawn wasn’t that far away.
“You can’t get involved,” Victor argued as he followed Pierce to the bathroom. “Do you want me punished?”
Pierce whipped around and glared at Victor, making his mate shrink back. That hadn’t been his intention, but the thought of anyone harming his little mouse made his blood boil. “No one is laying a hand on you.”
Victor let out a short bark of laughter. “Like you can stop the Veneto brothers.”
“You’d be surprised what I can do when properly motivated.” Pierce continued to the bathroom, not bothering to close the door as he took care of his business and then washed his hands, all the while Victor standing there looking downright livid.
His mate might be pocket-sized, but he had fire in him, and Pierce loved that about him. But he was also learning that Victor was stubborn as fuck, too. But Pierce could be stubborn, as well, and he was gonna deal with Riley for laying a hand on his little vampire.
“Look,” Pierce said as he sighed, “let me cover the windows and we’ll talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” Victor turned and headed back toward the bed. “As you said, end of discussion.”
“You don’t get to end our discussions,” Pierce argued.
“Why not?”
“Because…” Pierce couldn’t think of a reason. He could pull the double standard and say that he was the authority in their relationship, but his mate would pounce on that, and Pierce liked his balls where they were.
Victor turned over in the bed, giving Pierce his back. This wasn’t how he wanted to spend their morning. He’d just wanted to know who the guy in the club was, and now his mate wasn’t speaking to him.
Grabbing a pair of jogging pants from the closet, Pierce slid them on and then left the room, in search of something he could cover the windows with.
Ten minutes later he returned with a few black trash bags and some tape. For now, it would have to do. He’d find better material later.
When he entered the room, he saw his mate’s eyes were closed, but he was unsure if Victor was sleeping. Pierce worked in silence as he covered the windows and then crawled into bed, their backs to one another.
Victor wasn’t gonna budge, and neither was Pierce. He wasn’t going to let his little vampire deal with a bully on his own, and he wasn’t going to allow Victor to be punished for defending himself.
After they got a good night’s—or day’s—sleep, Pierce was gonna call Colton and find out exactly what was going on and how to fix this.
* * * *
Victor was thankful the sun set early in the winter months. It was nearly six in the evening when he hurried out the front door. He wasn’t sure where Pierce had gone, but as soon as he’d left the bedroom, Victor had made his escape.
He wasn’t going to let his mate fight his battles. Victor had to face this problem on his own and accept whatever punishment the Masters decided to give him.
And that wouldn’t happen if Pierce was with him. Victor loved that his mate wanted to protect him, but there were some things in life he had to handle without help.
He’d made it to the bottom of Murray Hill when a horde of motorcycles drove past him. The Grizzly Bastards were a huge nuisance, and Victor couldn’t understand why they hadn’t been driven out of town by now. Then again, evil always hung around. Riley was proof of that.
Victor rubbed his arms and wished he’d grabbed a jacket before he’d left the club. The temperature had dropped during the day, and now the wind was gusting as he walked down the street at a normal pace. Why rush getting back to the club? It wasn’t as though he was looking forward to what he was about to do.
And why was he about to turn himself over? That was a damn good question. The only thing Victor had done was defend himself, and he would argue that point when he faced the triplets. They were a lot stricter than Magnus had ever been, and one of their rules was no in-house fighting. Especially in front of humans.
Did it matter that Riley fucked with him all the time? No, because Victor didn’t have any proof, and with Riley’s status higher than his, who would believe Victor? The one good thing about the Veneto brothers taking over was that they didn’t believe in killing their own kind. Then again, being placed in a cross-wrapped coffin wasn’t the least bit appealing.
Victor shouted when his upper arm was grabbed. He spun but couldn’t get his arm free when he saw it was Pierce holding him.
“Where the hell are you going that you had to sneak out of the house?” He looked downright pissed.
“You’re hurting my arm.”
Pierce instantly eased his grip but didn’t let Victor’s arm go. “Answer my question.”
“And if I don’t?” Victor raised his chin in defiance. “What are you gonna do?”
His mate still appeared irritated from earlier, when they’d ended their argument with them going to bed angry at each other. It had killed him to ignore his mate, but Victor had refused to budge, and clearly Pierce was just as stubborn, because he hadn’t held Victor or spoken a single word to him when the
y’d woken up.
“Goddamn it.” Pierce let go of his arm and scrubbed a hand over his head. “Why are you treating me like the enemy when all I’m trying to do is help you?”
“Because I have to live with my coven,” Victor argued. “You don’t know what it’s like being at the bottom. If you go to the club and make a fuss, I’m the one who’ll pay for that, not you.”
Riley was already going to try and rip Victor’s heart out for breaking that bottle over his head. Pierce didn’t need to make matters worse. And involving a wolf shifter in vampire business would send Riley over the edge. The guy was still livid that Colton had almost become Master, and Riley had never spoken a kind word about the triplets’ mate.
“Not if you move in with me.”
The statement shocked Victor, and he wasn’t sure why. It was a natural progression once your mate was found. Since mates were rare, most moved in with each other right away to protect one another and to build a future together.
So why was he rendered speechless?
Pierce tapped his finger under Victor’s jaw, closing his mouth for him. “Why the look of surprise?”
With everything going on, Victor hadn’t thought about their living arrangements. “You want me to live at the pack house?”
Pierce had mentioned that another vampire lived there, but still, the thought of being surrounded by so many wolves frightened him. Most wolves were big, brawny, and snarly. Matters weren’t helped with the wild stories that flew around the club, either.
Victor hadn’t believed most of them, but that didn’t stop him from quivering at the thought of living with a pack of wolves.
“Just think about it.” Pierce was compromising, giving in when Victor knew he wanted to demand he move in. Was this his way of making up for earlier?
“So who’s next on your list?” Victor wanted to change the subject. He had a lot to think about, but at the moment, he wanted to occupy his thoughts with hunting. He’d hand himself over later.
“I just got whiplash from the subject change,” Pierce said. “But first, I didn’t get a chance to eat, so we’re heading to Grizzly’s.”
