by A J Jarrett
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barely had enough time to roll out of the way before the other man collapsed on top of him.
Logan ran to him and fell to his knees at his side. “I thought I was going to lose you.”
His mate buried his face into Finn’s chest and cried the hottest tears Finn had ever felt against his skin. Finn placed a hand at the back of his mate’s neck and held him close, giving him the silent comfort the man needed.
The shift crept over his body and Finn’s snake form reverted back to human. He cringed when he tasted Rhett’s blood on his tongue.
Finn turned his head to the side and spat out the vile filth, wiping away the excess. He then placed a finger under Logan’s chin and gently titled his head up toward his. “You can never lose me, honey.
You’re stuck with me.”
Logan smiled through his tears, and Finn rose up on his elbows to kiss his mate’s soft lips. He caught the long, drawn-out moan that left his lover’s mouth. Nothing tasted better than Logan, nothing. Finn probed his tongue against Logan’s lips until the man relented and let him into his warm moist heat. Logan curled his fingers into Finn’s shoulders, his short nails digging into the skin. It was as if Logan thought Finn would leave him, if the death grip the man had on him was anything to go by.
The chatter of the other warriors grew louder as they got closer to the campsite. Finn broke the kiss to look at his friends.
“Seriously, guys, were you going to let him start slicing my head from my shoulders before you came to my fucking rescue?” Finn smiled as he joked with them.
“Hey,” Ben said with a mischievous grin on his face. “I know you pretty well, and you would have never let us hear the end of it if we stole your thunder.” Ben’s voice grew serious. “I know what it’s like to want to save the man you love, and I wasn’t about to take that away from you.”
Finn nodded his head in thanks. “I appreciate that.”
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“No sweat, but we did have a backup plan set in place in case your ass needed it,” Ben teased.
“You let Logan go to distract Rhett, didn’t you?” he asked Klaus.
“Well.” Klaus’s face scrunched as if he was thinking of a way to explain what had happened. “Technically that wasn’t the plan, but your mate elbowed me pretty fucking hard in the ribs, so he kind of got away on his own.”
Finn looked back at his mate. “You’d risk yourself to save me?”
He knew the answer, but it was always nice to hear the man Finn loved confess his affection.
“I’d die for you a thousand times over again.” Tears sprang to Logan’s eyes. “I love you, Finn.”
Before Finn could respond, the sound of coughing interrupted them.
“Lindsay.”
Logan pulled away from Finn to stare over at Rhett, who lay motionless on the ground. A rattlesnake bite from a shifter was deadly to other paranormals. It was a death sentence. There had yet to be a cure for such a bite.
Finn grabbed Logan’s arm as he moved toward Rhett. The venom caused paralysis, but Finn didn’t want to take any chances. “It could be a trick.”
Logan understood Finn’s hesitation, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Rhett needed to find peace. Even though this man killed his best friend, Logan still had his humanity and could show this man some mercy.
“Let me go to him,” Logan said softly. “He’s dying. I feel like I owe this to Lindsay.”
Finn looked to Rhett then back to him. He gave a quick nod, and Logan crawled over to Rhett.
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“I’m here, Rhett.” Logan took Rhett’s hand in his and cradled it to his chest.
“I’m so sorry for what I’ve done,” Rhett rasped out. “I never meant to hurt anyone, but I’ve missed you so much. I’d have done just about anything to be with you again.”
“It’s okay.” Part of Logan could sympathize with the man. Living without the love of his life had to be a grueling existence. He ran his hand through Rhett’s sweat coated hair and tried to sooth the man in his final minutes.
“I shouldn’t have let you run into that fire.” Rhett began to cough, and blood bubbled up in his mouth. “I should have been the one to die in that fire not you.”
“Shh, don’t talk like that.” Logan didn’t know what else to say.
What Rhett did was wrong, but he did it for love. Logan wondered how he would have reacted had the shoe been on the other foot.
“We’ll be together soon, promise.”
“Logan.” He looked up at Ben when the man spoke. “Ask him if he knows the name of the witch who he made the deal with,” Ben said in a low voice, but Logan didn’t think it mattered. Rhett seemed pretty out of it and probably didn’t even notice the other men standing around.
“Rhett, can you tell me the name of the man who made you this deal to bring me back?”
Rhett started to wheeze, and his eyes lost all focus. Logan laid his fingers against the hot flesh of Rhett’s cheeks, trying to bring him back to the present.
“Rhett, please, do you remember the witch’s name?”
“Damon.” Rhett’s breath came out in a hard gasp. “His name was Damon.”
Logan looked up at Ben. The man looked over to Klaus, and the witch gave a jerky nod. Whatever they needed to know Rhett must have been able to provide that bit of information.
“Will you be there waiting for me?”
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He looked down when he heard Rhett’s small whisper. Logan’s eyes stung from the unshed tears building up. This man had caused him so much pain and hurt, but it wasn’t in him to not show compassion. Lindsay was his ancestor and the least he could do was help ease Rhett’s transition from this life into the next.
“Of course I will.” Logan smiled through his sadness, trying to be strong.
Rhett’s breath drew shallow, and his eyes went blank. Logan saw the instant the man’s soul left his body. He just hoped he hadn’t lied and that Lindsay would be there to greet Rhett when he crossed over.
Warm hands peeled his fingers from Rhett’s grip. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, so much death and sadness unlike anything Logan ever felt before.
“Honey, don’t be upset. You gave him more than he deserved.
You showed him compassion when he had none to offer you.” Finn wrapped his arms around him, and Logan sunk into the warm embrace.
“I know I shouldn’t care, but I think Rhett wasn’t always bad. He just lost his way.” He didn’t want to defend the man, but he couldn’t help it. “Even after he killed Leo, I couldn’t just let him die alone on the hard ground.”
Pictures of Leo popped into his brain like a slideshow. They always say that a person’s life flashed before their eyes before they died, but the same was true for the ones left to live without that person. The first time they met, when they opened up their coffee shop, Leo’s understanding when he found out about Finn and his friends. The man was always there for him, and now he was gone.
Even now looking down at Rhett, he couldn’t hate the man for taking Leo from him. He didn’t want the hate to consume him and turn him into the monster that Rhett had become.
“Logan, I have something to tell you about Leo.”
He looked over his shoulder to see Finn’s eyes sparkle in the moonlight. “What?”
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“When you two didn’t come back to the house, Miles and Trevor went looking for you. They smelt the blood and followed the trail.
When they saw that Leo had been shot, they went into action and did the only thing they knew would work.”
Logan eyed Finn wearily. “What was that exactly?”
“They turned him. It was either that or death, and Trevor couldn’t let that happen.”
It was too good to be true. He started to laugh. After everything that had happened, he could care
less if Leo was a vampire just as long as he was living.
“Is he going into shock?” Ben asked as he knelt beside them.
“No,” Logan said between laughs. “I’m just so happy and relieved.”
“Thank god.” Ben blew out a hard breath. “Trevor was worried sick you’d hate him for taking that choice away from Leo.”
Logan shook his head. “No, I’m not mad. In fact, when I see him I’m going to hug him until he turns blue in the face.” He wiped away the tears that ran down his face. “I can’t say for sure what Leo will say, but I couldn’t be happier.”
After a few more minutes of him convincing the men he was okay, they buried Rhett. Klaus used his magic to cause the ground to separate, and they laid Rhett into the gap then Klaus closed the whole.
Logan watched in amazement as they worked. When they were done, Finn helped him to his feet, and they made their way to the SUVs they had parked a few miles back.
Once they reached the vehicles, Finn opened the door and helped Logan climb inside. The events of the day were finally hitting him, and he began to falter under the pressure. So many things took place that his mind was having trouble dealing with it all. When Finn got into the car, Logan turned to his side and laid down, putting his head in Finn’s lap. Sleep. He just needed a small nap to help his mind heal from the events of the last few days.
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He heard the engine turn over and felt the jostle of the car as it rolled over the uneven ground. It rocked him like a baby, and before he knew it, his vision started to get dark around the edges and he gave up, letting the blissfulness of sleep consume him.
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Chapter Eighteen
Logan snuggled down deeper into the warmth of the blankets surrounding him. He also felt the distinct impression of a hard cock nestled tightly against his ass cheeks. A smile curled his upper lip, and he gave a small wiggle of his hips. The answering groan was enough to have him doing it again.
“Hon, stop it,” Finn groaned as he lifted up his leg to lie over Logan’s.
“Why?” Logan giggled.
“Because you should be resting,” Finn informed him. “And Leo would never forgive me if I woke you up for sex.”
Leo! Logan rolled over as he remembered his best friend was still alive. He was a vampire now, but he was still part of the land of the living.
“It wasn’t a dream? All that stuff really did happen?” Logan knew it did, but he wanted to hear it confirmed.
“It wasn’t a dream.” Finn dropped a kiss to his forehead. Logan closed his eyes at the gentle contact.
“How is he?”
“Good,” Finn said excitedly. “It’s only been one day, but Leo took the news really well. He said he wasn’t ready to die and thanked Trevor for saving his life.” Finn started to laugh.
Logan leaned up on his elbow to get a better look at his mate.
“What’s so funny?”
“Leo and Trevor are totally inseparable now. Ben said it has something to do with them both being newly turned vamps and unable
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to ignore the connection toward each other. Nothing like being mated, but let’s just say they’re close now.”
“I bet Quinn hates that.” Logan didn’t have any concrete proof that the older man had a thing for Trevor. But an attraction on Trevor’s part was there.
“Ben said the same thing.” Finn shifted to look at him. “Do you know something I don’t, my little empath?” Finn teased.
Logan began to laugh. In retaliation, Finn started to tickle him. He squirmed but couldn’t break away from his lover and truth be told he didn’t want to. Finn rolled him to his back and positioned himself between Logan’s outstretched thighs. A small whimper escaped Logan’s throat as he felt Finn’s hardened shaft nudge against the underside of his balls.
He pulled his legs up and wrapped them around Finn’s hips.
“Let’s not discuss them right now. I’d rather talk about us.” Logan moved his legs up and down Finn’s. The rustling sound of their furred legs felt erotic against his oversensitized skin. Logan’s cock filled to almost painful proportions.
“Oh really.” Finn ground his hips down into his, capturing Logan’s dick between them. His eyes fell shut as Finn continued to smash his tight abdomen against Logan’s shaft.
Finn fell forward, bracing his arms on either side of Logan’s head.
He kissed and licked his way down Logan’s jaw to his neck. His lover nibbled on the thin flesh, leaving little bite marks in his wake. Logan whimpered, and his head began to thrash from side to side on the bed.
Finn reached down between them and gripped his cock, letting the tip brush against Logan’s eager hole. Logan’s blood was boiling with the need to have this man inside him. It felt like ages since they last made love, and he needed to feel Finn deep inside him, coating his inner walls with his cum.
“Make love to me,” Logan said softly as he held Finn’s gaze.
His mate didn’t say anything, just leaned over to the nightstand and grabbed the bottle of lube that sat there waiting to go to good use.
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Finn flipped the top and coated his fingers with the clear gel. Once his fingers were thoroughly wet, Finn moved them down toward Logan’s entrance. Finn dropped his head down until his lips covered one taut nipple on Logan’s chest. Just as he bit down one thick finger entered him.
Logan cried out at the intrusion but arched his back trying to angle his hips to get more of those delicious fingers inside him. Finn lapped at the tight peak for a little bit longer before tonguing a path to the other one. He sucked the pebbled peak inside the hot cavern of his mouth, eliciting another moan from Logan’s mouth.
The lone finger moved in and out, swirling around his velvety depths. Just when he was about to order Finn to add more, his lover did so on instinct. Two, then three, fingers stretched his tight muscle, preparing him for Finn’s fat cock. The small pinch of pain had his eyes watering. It felt so good and so right.
Logan grew tired of the finger play and grunted his displeasure.
Finn kissed his way up Logan’s chest and he could feel the smile on his lover’s lips.
Finn sat up, staring longingly down at Logan. Unable to take the lack of contact anymore, Logan pulled him down for a kiss, gentle even in the heat of the moment.
The feel of Finn’s hands between his legs had him moaning and sucking on his mate’s tongue in anticipation. Finn positioned the broad tip at Logan’s prepared hole. Logan drew his legs up higher around Finn’s thighs and pulled him closer.
The head of Finn’s cock met resistance for a brief moment before slipping into the slickened channel. Both men cried out at the abrupt entry. Finn looked lovingly down at him, and Logan’s heart melted all over again at the passion he felt for this man.
Finn tilted his hips, pressing farther within Logan’s body. Logan felt his inner walls clamp firmly around Finn’s cock, grasping at him and inviting him in farther. Finn pressed deeper, and Logan arched up beneath him, clenching his legs tighter around the man.
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Finn surged forward until his balls rested on Logan’s ass, in as deep as he could go. He held still, allowing Logan time to adjust.
Logan’s head fell to the pillow as he savored every sensation, loving the way Finn felt inside him. They were as close as two men could get, but it still didn’t feel like enough. Logan wanted more.
“Fuck me hard,” Logan grunted as Finn pulled out then pushed back forward with a slam. “Show me your love.”
Finn didn’t say a word. Logan could sense the man was overcome with raw emotion. Finn slid his hands under Logan’s back, his fingers curled up over his shoulders to hold him firmly in place as he thrust, fast and deep, rubbing against Logan’s prostate with every snap of his hips. Logan cried out with each thru
st, never taking his eyes off Finn.
Logan ran his hands up his lover’s back, feeling the muscles coil and flex as the man’s body moved over his. Finn pounded into him so hard the bed began to squeak. He smiled and arched, writhing upon his impalement, never wanting more than this, more than this man.
This was what he had waited for his whole life, the closeness and love of another. Not a friend but a lover. Logan finally didn’t feel all alone in the world, and for that he was thankful.
Wanting to give as good as he got, Logan rolled one of Finn’s nipples between his fingers. Finn gasped, and the strong rhythm of his hips faltered. Logan grinned and pinched the small peak, loving the way his mate shuddered and moaned from the teasing touch.
Finn knocked his hand away and leaned up on one hand, bracing himself on his knees as he grabbed Logan’s cock. His eyes gleamed as he pumped Logan’s dick with tight, hard pulls, tugging the sensitive flesh almost to the point of pain. The hurt faded into a burning need setting Logan ablaze in his nether regions.
Logan lifted his hips, fucking the tight tunnel Finn’s fist created then slamming his ass back down onto Finn’s cock. His toes curled with the magnitude of pleasure coursing through him. He met Finn’s eyes, wanting to hold the connection up until the very moment of completion.
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Finn’s hand pumped faster around Logan’s dick, sending sparks shooting up the base to the very tip. He watched as his lover panted for breath then threw his head back and shouted his name as his cum shot up into Logan’s body, painting his inner walls with his very essence. Just watching Finn in the throes of passion sent Logan careening over the edge, sending long arcs of hot cum across his chest. He cried out as his orgasm rushed through his body.
Once his cock stopped throbbing, Finn collapsed on top of him and Logan held him tightly, not wanting the man to pull free of his body. He ran his fingers through Finn’s short, dark hair, feeling the man shiver from the gentle touch. Tears clouded his vision. This was utter happiness that he never thought he would ever have. He was loved and in love and had Finn to thank for that.
