Fallen Protector

by Tl Reeve

  Hadn’t that been the reason he went to work out? To burn away the worry. To dissipate the aching knot in his stomach of not being aware and having his ability to say no, taken away?

  Rafe groaned as he finished a set of bench presses and sat up. His muscles burned with exertion and overuse. He’d been at it for almost two hours, making a circuit around the small weightlifting area. An hour into it, Shax and Lix had joined him. Neither had said a word. They didn’t have to. If he wanted to talk, he would, same went for them. It was one of the things he liked about his crew. Their non-verbal communication skills were outstanding. They each knew when the other needed space and when they needed support, even if it was silent.

  Rafe stood then turned toward the mirror, behind the small rack of dumbbells when he heard the commotion at the entrance of the area. Natalie and Gabriel were going at it like a pack of rabid wolves. Both narrowed their eyes as they snarled and snapped at each other. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t pretty. Sure, he could have used his exceptional hearing to eavesdrop, but he didn’t. Sometimes siblings needed space to hash out their own shit.

  Except when he heard his name and Shax’s. He looked at the other man. Shax narrowed his grey eyes, and the corner of his mouth tugged upward in a devious smirk. The perverse asshole got off on watching both Natalie and Gabriel argue with each other, because he knew he got under Gabriel’s skin. Natalie’s too, if it was any indication of what they argued about.

  “Should we stop them?” Lix hedged. “They’re getting loud.”

  “She’s feisty,” Shax added. “I like it. It’s about time she stood up to him.”

  “It’s not good, though, brothers,” Rafe replied. “Causing a scene only draws unwanted attention, and with the way this case is going, we don’t need anyone using this to divide us more.”

  Lix frowned. “You’re right.”

  “Always am.” Rafe strode toward the door and yanked it open, startling the twins. “Hey! What the fuck is going on out here?” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at both of them while Shax and Lix flanked him. “You’re causing a fucking scene.”

  “Ask him.” Natalie motioned to Gabriel. “He’s the one who has a problem with me staring at sexy, sweaty men. Even though he’s been watching your fine ass since he snuck up on me.”

  “You’re such a little shit,” Gabriel snapped.

  Natalie shrugged. “I learned from the best. I am a Raferty, after all.”

  Gabriel ran his fingers through his hair and made a frustrated sound. “Fine. Fuck it. Keep doing what you’re doing, Natalie. But, don’t come crying to me when you get hurt.” He stormed off in the opposite direction leaving all of them to stare after the petulant asshole.

  “Are you okay?” Shax asked, easing forward to her.

  She nodded. “I have been watching you. I did it to get him to open his eyes. Unfortunately, I think they’re permanently sealed shut.”

  “I’m thinking even if you had the right intentions here, he’d never pay attention,” Lix replied, scratching his chest. “He’s got issues. Major ones.”

  Natalie snorted. “Don’t we all? He’s taken the full weight of our family name onto his shoulders. He reminds me so much of my daddy, Jase, it’s not even funny.” She touched Rafe’s arm. “He’s trying to keep you safe.”

  “I know,” Rafe answered. “I figured it out at the morgue.”

  “Unless you make the first move, he’ll never do it. He sees a wounded person in you. He sees our dad, which is kind of gross, but understandable, too. You have to be the one to force his eyes open and prove you’re not fragile. That you won’t break. It’s what my daddy Blake had to do and our mom.”

  Rafe grunted. “I see.” He turned to Lix and Shax. “Make sure she gets back to the room safe. I’m going to find Gabriel and settle this shit.”

  “Bout fucking time,” Shax yipped. “Watching the two of you dance around each other has been sickening.”

  “Get out of here.” Rafe flipped him off as he strode down the hall in the same direction Gabriel had gone.

  Natalie’s words confirmed what he’d been thinking. Gabriel was too nice of a guy to push anything. He would suffer in silence until Rafe made the first move. He found the quality enduring and also annoying. Rafe could take care of himself. Sure, he’d been freaked the fuck out. However, he had two choices. One, he could crawl into bed and hide for the rest of his life and be afraid of his own fucking shadow or two, he could get back to being himself, with a few modifications with how he did things.

  He stepped outside into the early-afternoon air and inhaled. Gabriel had been there. The smell of sage and wilderness filled Rafe’s senses. He followed it and came to an abrupt halt when he saw Gabriel leaning against the outer wall of their section of hotel rooms. He stared up into the sky at the clouds as they slowly passed over them. In that particular light, he looked more angelic than Rafe would ever be again. He swallowed hard. Every inch of him pinged to life any time he was around Gabriel.

  As if sensing him standing there, Gabriel turned his head and frowned. “Great, you found me.”

  Rafe scowled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Well, if you couldn’t tell, I didn’t want an audience.”

  Rafe closed the distance between them in four strides then snatched at the front of Gabriel’s shirt, tugging him closer. Face to face, Rafe inhaled his mate’s scent and growled. “Listen here, you little shit. I have had about as much of your lies and rudeness as I can stand.”

  “Nobody said you have to take it,” Gabriel snapped. “For all I care, you can leave the case here and go home. This is PRA territory, anyway.”

  Rafe jerked him. “What the fuck is wrong with you? We’re here to help, and all you keep doing is pissing on us—me!”

  “Nothing is wrong with me. I have a job to do. I’m not here to fuck around or fuck. I’m here to avenge my friends and to find out who killed our kids. That’s it. End of story.” Gabriel’s eyes glowed the eerie shade of yellow he’d seen when he’d been a wolf. “I’d put me down if you know what’s good for you.”

  Rafe laughed. The dark sound rumbled from his chest. “What’s good for me?” He leaned in, so he was mere inches from Gabriel’s ear. “I’m about to have what’s good for me.”

  Gabriel gasped.

  “You’re trying to push me away, and in the meantime, you’re becoming the weak chain link in this investigation.” Rafe pressed him to the wall. “You think you have your self-recrimination in check, but you’re out of control.”

  “And you?” Gabriel spat. “What about you?”

  “I never said I was anything.” Rafe slammed his mouth down on Gabriel’s and groaned. The man tasted of heat and desire. He deepened it then hissed when his mate bit his bottom lip. “Mother fucker.” Rafe ran his tongue over the bloody mark as he stared at a defiant man. “You bit me.”

  “I’d do it again, too,” Gabriel challenged.

  “I fucking love it.” Rafe kissed him again; this time, the desperation Gabriel had been hiding shot forth, leaving Rafe breathless and weak. Their tongues tangled while they groped and grabbed at each other, clawing through each other’s clothes.

  “We’re really doing this here?” The growly edge to Gabriel’s voice turned Rafe on.

  He’d been semi-hard since he’d started working out. When his arousal mixed with his anger at seeing Gabriel argue with his sister, his dick went rock hard. Rafe couldn’t blame him. They weren’t known as “good,” people, after all. According to God, they were now demons. Fallen from grace. “Afraid you’ll get caught?” He pressed his thigh between Gabriel’s legs, pinning him in place. “Tell me, have you ever had sex outside?”

  Gabriel trembled in his hold. He licked his bottom lip. “Plenty of times.”

  He pushed his hand under Gabriel’s shirt and ran his thumbnail across the wolf’s hard nipple. “Have you? Kinky. I like it.”

  “What-what’s this?” Gabriel pointed to Rafe�
�s forearm. His anger bled away as Rafe continued to toy with the man.

  “My sin,” he answered. “Manifesta autem sunt opera carnis quae sunt fornicatio inmunditia luxuria. Galatians 5:19.”

  “Huh?” Gabriel frowned. “I don’t speak Latin.”

  Rafe leaned in then whispered, “Follow your sinful nature, and the results are pretty clear: Sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, and debauchery.” He nipped at the other man’s ear.

  Gabriel inhaled. “And this?” He traced the vibrantly colored apple Rafe used as a “fuck you,” to God.

  “Poisoned fruit.” Rafe rubbed against Gabriel’s groin and groaned. “Do you want a taste of my forbidden fruit?”

  Gabriel whimpered.

  The clean, crisp scent of his mate’s arousal washed over Rafe. “I bet you do.” He placed his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder and urged him to go to his knees. “Bet you suck dick real nice, too.”

  Gabriel parted his lips, meeting Rafe’s gaze full-on. His cheeks were tinged in pink drawing out the light speckling of freckles he hadn’t noticed before. Rafe’s heart thundered. Adrenaline and desire flowed through his veins. “Don’t be shy now.”

  “I’m not shy,” Gabriel grumbled, pulling his shirt off, causing his dog tags to jangle. “See.”

  “Don’t pout, either,” he teased, taking in the view. You’re moving too fast. Maybe he was, yet he didn’t want to stop. Stopping now would prove Gabriel’s point. Would show how much being drugged and being used really affected him. No, I won’t allow Éviel dictate my life. Not now. Not ever.

  “I’m not.” Gabriel rolled his eyes as he grabbed the tab of Rafe’s zipper and pulled it down. Each set of teeth released one at a time, drawing out the anticipation building in Rafe’s gut. When Gabriel’s hand wrapped around the length of Rafe’s dick, he groaned. The heat of the man’s palm startled him.

  “Pull it out and get your mouth on me,” he snarled. “Don’t test me.”

  If he thought the barked command would get the wolf to do what he wanted, he had another think coming. Gabriel, he realized, did things at his own pace and fuck what anyone else said. The dominant wolf, inside Rafe, pushed forward. He growled, curling his lip with the force of it.

  “There you are,” Gabriel whispered. “I wondered if I’d see your wolf again after the other day at the scene.”

  “We’re still getting used to one another.” Rafe rolled his shoulders. He didn’t talk about the wolf or how they’d meshed together in a split second of falling. It had never made sense to him, and if he couldn’t explain it, Gabriel wouldn’t believe him. “It’s a little strange to say the least.”

  “The wolf saw a person in need.” His mate shrugged. “There is no rhyme or reason sometimes. It just is.”

  Yeah. ‘Just is,’ sounded perfect to him. “Sure.”

  Gabriel groaned when he released Rafe’s cock. The ruddy tip had been covered in precum and jerked when the man ran the pad of his thumb over his glans. Fuck. The ravenous way the guy stared at his erection had pleasure boiling in his gut. He gave a tentative lap at the head of Rafe’s cock and his ass clenched.

  “Much better.” Rafe ran his fingers through his lover’s curly locks. “Open.”

  “You’re pushy.”

  “You have no idea.” He smirked. “Now, say ahh.” Rafe braced his hand against the wall, then shoved forward.

  Gabriel took him until he stopped then groaned. The vibrations shot up Rafe’s length and settled in his balls. His eyes fluttered shut as he moaned. His pace was sedate, he wanted to enjoy the wet heat of his mate’s mouth for the moment. For the last few days, he’d imagined doing this with Gabriel to wash away the lingering anxiousness left behind by his blacked-out memories. He wanted to show himself he could do it without fear. To prove he’d never be manipulated ever again. Only they were in his bed, and he straddled Gabriel’s face while he sucked the other man’s cock.

  He shuddered and let out a sigh. It felt way too good. Better than he could have imagined. “Get ready.” Rafe tightened his hand in Gabriel’s hair and took control. He fucked his mate’s mouth in short, quick strokes. Pleasure zipped down his spine pooling low, and his sac drew up. He gritted his teeth. “Fuck. Makes me want to cum down your throat seeing you stare up at me.”

  Tears gathered at the corner of Gabriel’s eyes. Saliva coated his cock. It was a sensory overload for Rafe. He pulled out. His breath came in harsh pants as he tried to gather his tattered wits. He sat on a razor’s edge, and he squeezed the base of his dick, so as not to blow his wad. Ten pumps of his hips had been all he lasted. He prided himself on his ironclad control, and with Gabriel he had none.

  “Stand,” he growled.

  “Huh?”

  “You heard me.” He jerked Gabriel to his feet. “Pull your pants down and don’t hesitate either. I’m holding on by a thin thread here.”

  His fingers fumbled with the tab of his jeans twice before he ripped open the front of his pants, and his cock sprang out. Gabriel palmed his length and moaned. If Rafe was hard, Gabriel’s erection looked painful. His hand glided over the thick shaft, twisting when he got to the head of his dick.

  “This isn’t the drug,” he muttered, not sure why he had to say it.

  “No,” Gabriel said. “It’s not.”

  “Good.”

  Gabriel turned and faced the wall, showing Rafe his ass. He hadn’t appreciated the view before. Now, he did. Gabriel didn’t have a bulky muscular body, he was tight, compact. He was all sinew. The muscles of his shoulders bunched and twitched. The black and white wolf on his back stared at him. The yellow eyes bore into him, and he swore the beast dared him. To what, Rafe didn’t understand.

  Shaking off the idea, he stepped up to Gabriel and kicked his feet apart as far as they would go. “This is going to be hard and fast.”

  “Don’t tease me with a good time.” Gabriel glanced over his shoulder. His blue eyes swirled with playfulness and desire.

  He chuckled as he spread Gabriel’s ass cheeks. “Bet you’re fucking tight.”

  “You’re going to have to find out.”

  Fuck. The guy knew how to push all his fucking buttons. He spit on his dick then on Gabriel’s puckered hole. He spread the fluid on his cock then used the tip to smear Gabriel’s rear. The muscle fluttered, and Rafe muttered a curse. “Let me in.”

  He pushed forward. The starred entrance gave way, opening up to him. Gabriel grunted and pushed back, taking Rafe. When he breached the tight ring of muscle, he let loose with a sound mixed with pain and pleasure. The flutter kissed his tip, welcoming him into the warm recesses of the man. He sucked in a breath, grabbing onto the wolf’s hip as he sank inch by inch into his mate.

  “Fuck, yeah. Your ass is fucking perfect.” He retreated then filled him the rest of the way. “Nice and tight. You took my dick like a goddamn champ.”

  “I get off on praise.” Gabriel rolled his hips. “And, big dicks.” He reached between his legs and began to work his dick.

  Rafe thought he’d lose his mind. “You getting off on mine right now?” He ground against the man’s ass.

  “Yes.” Gabriel whimpered. “Gonna cum.”

  Rafe stilled his hand and growled. “No, you’re not. You’re going to wait until I tell you to, then you’re not going to use your hand.”

  Gabriel cried out. “I misspoke. You’re not a tease. You’re a torturer.”

  Rafe laughed. “You have no idea.” He smacked the wolf’s ass. “Get busy. Fuck my dick.” A lightness settled over him. By no means, did Rafe believe he was in the clear or that he could act like nothing happened to him, but for a minute, for just a second, he allowed all of his transgressions to wash away and enjoyed himself.

  Gabriel’s nails dug into Rafe’s thighs as he rolled his hips. The delicious friction slithered through his veins. A small voice at the back of his mind warned him of something more powerful to come. What it could be, he didn’t know. All he wanted at the moment was to cum in Gabriel’s
ass, marking him on the inside. Some baser instinct attached to his wolf demanded his mate smell like him.

  The urge coursing through his veins, grew impossible to control. He bent Gabriel forward and began fucking him in earnest. He couldn’t control the need. Couldn’t control the demand to fill him. To bite him. To claim him. “I think,” he groaned, “the drugs–”

  “No.” Gabriel shuddered. “Not the drugs. You and me. This is between us. Focus on us.”

  “Fuck.” Sweat beaded at his temple. His heart galloped in his chest. His breathing became heavy pants.

  The air surrounding them was thick with arousal. His cock tingled. His balls throbbed. The wolf pushed forward again, and he howled. The answering howl surprised the shit out of him. Gabriel’s eyes flashed that eerie yellow once more when he glanced over his shoulder. He curled his lip, exposing the curved canines of his wolf. “Bite me.”

  “What?”

  “Bite me.” Gabriel snarled and snapped at him.

  In Rafe’s mouth, his gums throbbed and ached. He was creating too much saliva, too. He didn’t understand. “I—”

  “Neck. Now. Do it.” Gabriel bent his head to the side, exposing the supple flesh to Rafe.

  His gaze narrowed on the junction. He licked his lips. The pop of his gums startled him. He ran his tongue over the spot in his mouth and pricked his tongue. Holy shit. The wolf in his mind snapped at him. Mine. Take. Bite. He shook his head. He couldn’t lose his shit out there. Yet, instead of pulling out and giving both a chance to calm down, he fucked Gabriel harder. His strokes were shorter, stronger. He whimpered with each thrust, the pitch of his voice going higher with each time he bottomed out.

  Gabriel was right there with him. He trembled in Rafe’s arms. His body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. His gaze jerked back to the spot on Gabriel’s neck where he wanted to place his mouth. Rafe licked his lips. He plastered his chest against Gabriel’s back and locked his mouth on the area he’d been gazing at.

  A rush he couldn’t explain, filled him. The tingle of his impending orgasm raced down his spine and settled in his balls. He sucked air the second he started coming then bit down. The electric connection he’d felt when he first touched Gabriel, pulsed between them. It locked into place, and it felt as though a whole new part of himself he hadn’t realized was there, opened up.