Relentless, p.13
Relentless, page 13
Aw, Mika looks so cute when he squirms! Gabe had to struggle to keep his expression one of irritation. He wanted to smile and lick the flushed parts of Mika’s skin.
Mika groaned and reached for Gabe, pulling him fully on top. “You sent that loud and clear, babe. And yes, I was being foolish, but I will be talking to Aidan tomorrow. And I…” Gabe arched his brow at Mika. “We,” Mika corrected, “will be getting some answers from John whether he’s willing to talk or not.”
“All right, I agree with the plans for tomorrow. But for tonight…” Gabe leant in and ran the tip of his tongue around the shell of Mika’s ear, “tonight, I get to have you any way I want.”
“Oh yeah,” Mika’s head bobbed up and down as his eyes slid shut. “Whatever you want.”
Chapter Thirteen
Aidan woke up with a raging hard on and a warm body sprawled across him. He wasn’t normally a morning person, but if this was how his mornings were going to be from now on, he could certainly become a morning person real quick. He ran his hand down Zane’s warm back to his firm, round ass and squeezed. God, the man had the sweetest bubble butt Aidan had ever seen. He reached down to where Zane’s ass and thigh met and squeezed again, thoroughly enjoying the firm flesh and the way it fit so perfectly in his hand. Zane murmured sleepily and rubbed his erection against Aidan’s thigh.
Oh yeah, that felt perfect—
A sudden and loud pounding on the bedroom door had Aidan and Zane wide awake and jumping up so fast that Zane’s head smacked into Aidan’s chin.
“Fuck!”
“Shit!” Zane rubbed his head and glared at Aidan.
Aidan glared back and touched a finger to his tongue. His index finger came back speckled with blood. No wonder he wasn’t a fucking morning person.
“Are you okay?” Zane’s irritation fled and he shot Aidan a worried look.
“Yeah, just bit my tongue.” Aidan grinned ruefully. “Probably should do that more often.”
“Hey!” Gabe called out through the door. “We need to talk to you both ASAP!”
Aidan looked down at his wilting dick then looked to find Zane’s in the same state.
“We’ll be there in five minutes,” Aidan called back.
“Fine. If you two aren’t out by then, I’ve got a key and I will be coming in with a bucket of ice water and a spatula!”
As a warning, it was effective. Aidan and Zane both knew Gabe would follow through on his threat, and neither of them was willing to find out what the man intended to do with the spatula. Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good.
“Go ahead.” Aidan gestured to the bathroom. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
Nodding, Zane headed to the bathroom. Aidan watched him, noting the improved ease of the man’s movements and the barely discernable bruises. He glanced at the wound on Zane’s shoulder. Another day or two and his mate would be almost as good as new.
Aidan gathered up his clothes—still dirty; he’d gotten distracted yesterday. He went to the dresser and pulled open a drawer. Sweats and t-shirts, socks and underwear. Since neither Gabe nor Mika had come in here searching for clothes, Aidan was going to assume it was safe for him and Zane to use them. If not, oh well. He was not going to put on his dirty clothes if he had any alternative.
He grabbed two of everything and walked into the bathroom, grateful Zane had left the door open. The sight of Zane standing naked and beautiful under the shower had Aidan’s prick trying to perk up. Aidan looked away quickly and thought the unsexiest thoughts he could dig up. He had to piss like a racehorse, and that wasn’t going to happen if he kept looking at Zane’s water-slicked body.
Groaning, Aidan glared at his dick and thumped it with his finger. The pain shot straight to his balls and did the trick, causing his cock to soften. Aidan peed and flushed—and Zane let out a startled shout.
“You flushed the fucking toilet!” Zane accused.
Aidan felt like an ass. “I didn’t… I’m not used to having to worry about it!”
Zane opened the shower door and flung water at Aidan. “It’s not like I wasn’t right here showering!”
“Yeah but I…” Aidan looked at Zane and realised his mate was teasing him. Laughter brought a sparkle to Zane’s normally sombre eyes, and his full lips curled up in a breathtaking smile. A bolt of fear shot through Aidan as he realised he was sunk. If Zane looked at him like that and asked him for anything, Aidan would do it, or give it. When Zane’s brow arched, Aidan panicked. Surely he hadn’t been careless and let Zane hear that thought? There was no way he wanted the man to know how he felt; not now when Aidan didn’t know anything about how Zane felt. God, no.
“You going to shower?” The question was muffled as Zane turned away and began towelling his hair and face.
“Not sure we have time,” Aidan pointed out.
Zane grunted. “Go ahead, I’ll go out and hold Gabe off. Just don’t take too long. That whole spatula threat gave me the heebie-jeebies.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.” Aidan turned and grabbed socks, underwear, sweats and a t-shirt. He pivoted back and handed them to Zane. “Here, I found these in the dresser. Thought you might like something other than the blanket, and my clothes are kind of rank.” Aidan stepped into the shower. “I’m pretty sure my jeans could walk themselves to the washer.”
Laughing, Zane hung up the towel. “I’ll ask Gabe about washing them.” Zane looked at Aidan but gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. “Your clothes in there?”
“Yeah,” Aidan grabbed the bar of soap. Thank God there wasn’t any of that girly body wash crap. “Thanks.”
Zane nodded and left the bathroom. Aidan stopped washing long enough to watch the flex of his mate’s very fine ass as he walked from the room.
“Damn it,” he muttered, looking down at his hard prick. “And damn Gabe’s timing.”
Zane pulled on the borrowed clothes and gathered Aidan’s dirty ones. He glanced at the bathroom doorway and saw that Aidan’s back was to him. Zane quickly turned away and gave in to the impulse riding him. He buried his face in Aidan’s dirty clothes and sniffed. The scent of sweat and musk swamped him and he groaned. Aidan was wrong; his clothes weren’t rank. They smelled like man and sex and…
And Zane better get his ass in gear before Gabe came pounding on the door. Or walking in with the ice water and spatula. The image lit a fire under Zane’s ass, and he nearly ran to the bedroom door. He stopped and picked up one of Aidan’s socks then cautiously opened the door, trying not to drop anything else.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when he came face to face with Gabe—who, true to his words, held a pitcher in one hand and a spatula in the other. The man also wore a grin that had the hairs on the back of Zane’s neck standing up, and his balls were trying to crawl up into his body. Okay, so he feared Gabe a bit, but in Zane’s opinion, that just made him a wise man. Only a fool would think Gabe’s good looks were all there were to the man.
“Dare I ask?” Zane ventured.
Gabe laughed and shook his head. “Probably not. Where’s Aidan?”
Zane felt the sweat break out on his upper lip. “He’s showering—but he will be here in just a couple of minutes. In the meantime, I was wondering if I could use your washer? Please?”
“Sure, and get that look off your face, Zane.” Gabe turned on his heel and Zane followed. “I swear to you I didn’t have a specific plan for the spatula. It was just the second thing that popped in my head, right behind the ice water.”
Zane snorted. “Somehow I doubt that, Gabe. But if it is true, I have no doubt you would have found a way to inflict some serious damage with that spatula.”
Gabe grinned over his shoulder. “Damn straight I would have.” He turned into a room off of the kitchen. “Here.” Gabe opened the washer’s lid and poured in some soap. “Just press this button and you’re good to go.”
“Okay, thanks.” Zane dumped the clothes in and hoped nothing needed a special setting. He wished he could take one more deep sniff of Aidan’s clothes, but Gabe was watching him, and it wasn’t like Zane wasn’t already enough of a freak to him and Mika. Zane pulled the lid down, pressed the button and walked out of the washroom.
“We’re doing this in the kitchen, right?”
“Yeah, Mika will be in here in a minute or two. He’s finishing up at the kennels and letting Iko have a good run before putting our baby in the fenced part of the yard.” Gabe strolled over to a cabinet and pulled out a box of Pop-Tarts. “And this is the breakfast of champions today, buddy. I don’t feel like cooking.”
Zane sat in a chair and looked at the box. Cherry. He could do that. “Sounds good to me.”
Gabe opened two packets and dropped the pastries into the toaster. He pushed the lever down and faced Zane.
“How are you doing, Zane? Seriously.” Gabe studied him and Zane had to concentrate on not flinching under Gabe’s scrutiny.
“I’m healing, so that’s…” Gabe’s eyes narrowed in warning. Zane sighed and leant back in the chair. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Gabe. I’m fucked up. Aidan’s fucked—“
Gabe snorted. “Somehow I doubt you mean that literally. Aidan doesn’t strike me as a happy bottom.”
The pastries popped up and Gabe turned from Zane to plate breakfast.
“A happy bottom? I don’t think he’s a bottom at all.” And Zane didn’t mind it one bit, though he was still curious.
“No, not at all,” Aidan’s voice rumbled behind Zane, startling him enough that he jumped. “Anything else you want to know about our sex life, Gabe?”
Gabe had the grace to look embarrassed. “I was just joking. Sort of,” he muttered as he handed Zane a plate. “Do you want any, Double D?”
Aidan pulled out a chair and sat down and eyed Zane’s breakfast. “I think maybe, if you and Mika will let me borrow the truck, that I will take Zane to town in a bit. Surely there’s a place or two there to grab some breakfast? Plus we need to take care of a few things.”
“Yeah, there is. A couple of diners and three fast food joints.” Gabe looked down at his own plate. “I’d be offended, but if you want to pass up a sugar rush, it’s no skin off my nose.”
Aidan chuckled and shook his head. “I think it would take more than a couple of those things to do the trick.”
The back door creaked open, and everyone turned to watch Mika as he walked in.
Mika stopped and looked at each one of them. “Why do I feel like I walked in to a room full of people talking about me?”
Zane and Aidan offered protests but Gabe talked over them. “We weren’t talking about you. I don’t know why they’re looking at you, but I just wanted to ogle your sexy self.” Gabe waggled his eyebrows and Mika grinned before looking at Zane.
“What do you remember about when my parents disappeared?”
The question shook Zane. Maybe he should have expected it as he had his own suspicions, but he hadn’t. He clenched his hands as he held Mika’s gaze. “I wasn’t there when it happened. It was right before Uncle John appointed me alpha; that’s really all I know.”
“Come sit down. You look all pissed and intimidating standing there like that.” Gabe pulled out a chair for Mika before sitting himself. Mika crossed the kitchen and took the chair Gabe had indicated, never looking away from Zane.
“Where were you? I don’t remember hearing anything about you going away.”
Zane’s stomach lurched as he looked at his plate. Vision blurring, he searched frantically for some excuse for his absence, one that wouldn’t leave him feeling humiliated. He could feel Aidan’s presence in his mind, not pushing him but offering support, telling him he could do this. “But I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to think about it!”
Aidan took Zane’s hand and tugged. Zane looked into his mate’s warm brown eyes and felt humbled by the understanding he saw there. He had done nothing to deserve it.
“Zane,” Aidan murmured before leaning in and placing a soft kiss on his lips. “You can do this.”
“You’d better do this,” Mika grumbled.
Aidan pulled back and faced Mika. “I understand this is important to you, but Zane is mine and you will not threaten him in any way.” Aidan’s voice never raised in volume. He sounded calm, controlled, and much more dangerous because of it.
Mika started to rise, anger flushing his features. Gabe grabbed his mate’s shoulder and pulled him back down.
“God, would you all quit with the whole testosterone bit? It’s fucking ridiculous. Aidan,” Gabe thrust a finger in his direction, “I know you’re doing the whole ‘I’m-the-alpha-protecting-my-mate’ bit, but cut it out. No one is threatening Zane.” Gabe turned his finger and mouth on Mika. “And you, quit acting like a caveman. Just because I call you one doesn’t mean I’m into the whole Neanderthal crap. You would be mad as hell if someone spoke to me like you did Zane so cut it out.”
Mika and Gabe glared at each other but, much to Zane’s amusement, it was Mika who nodded and dropped his gaze. Gabe’s slight smile as he kissed Mika’s cheek wasn’t smug, either, just happy, and Zane thought there was much more to Gabe than anyone, except possibly Mika, would ever know.
“I apologise,” Mika’s voice was laced with sincerity and amusement. “Gabe is right. Maybe we should all try to curb the alpha tendencies.”
A murmur of agreement was made by all. Zane felt Mika’s questioning gaze on him once again and knew he had to do the right thing—no matter how much it made him look like a pussy. Taking a deep breath in a vain attempt to settle his nerves, Zane tried to decide where to begin. Probably at the beginning as he knew it—except he wasn’t sure where that was.
“Start where you can first see a connection,” Aidan encouraged.
“Okay. Ah, I’m not sure whether it’s connected or not, but…” Zane closed his eyes and let his memory kick in. “About a week before your parents went missing, John and I got into a huge argument. Normally, I wouldn’t argue. He’d broken me of that habit when I was a child.” Aidan’s thumb stroked the top of Zane’s hand. “But this was—I didn’t want it.”
“Didn’t want what?” Mika prodded.
Zane opened his eyes and met Mika’s near-golden gaze. “I didn’t want to be alpha. I think now he wanted to appoint me because he must have known what your parents were doing, and must have feared they would succeed. But then, I didn’t know anything about it. I just knew he was trying to make me do something I wasn’t prepared for and didn’t want.” Zane’s hand shook as he ran it through his hair. “I didn’t ever want it.” And speaking that truth felt like an elephant had been lifted off Zane.
“You could have refused.” Aidan’s voice was soft and inquisitive.
“I did. That was the last time I argued with John until he wanted you gone, Mika.” And that hadn’t gone over well, either.
“So what happened?” Mika’s eyes never left Zane’s face.
What happened? Zane only had vague memories of some parts, memories he wasn’t sure were true or not. Everything was so messed up in his mind about that time and he just didn’t know—or maybe he did.
It wasn’t as though he couldn’t remember, but parts were hazy and maybe there was a reason for that. He examined the images of pain and fear, that terrifying feeling of being abandoned again, and the certainty that this time he would die. The images mixed with others, and Zane wondered if he was losing his mind. God, what was wrong with him? Zane felt his lungs constrict as he tried to sort it out.
“Zane, Mika needs to know. And it may help you, too, to talk about it.” Gabe’s voice was full of sympathy and understanding—but how could he understand? How could anyone?
Zane looked at Mika, noting the compassion in his expression. He owed it to this man to help in any way possible, even if it meant reliving something he would prefer to forget. Striving to regulate his breathing Zane turned to Aidan and nodded. He didn’t trust himself to speak and not say ‘no’.
“Can we go into the living room? I’d like to…”
“…be able to hold you,” Aidan finished silently to Zane.
“That would probably be best.” Mika stood and took Gabe’s hand. Together, they led the way to the living room.
Zane sat on the couch and Aidan quickly followed, putting his arm over Zane’s shoulders. Aidan’s other hand stroked Zane’s thigh in a gentle caress.
Mika sat in the chair across from the couch, Gabe perched on the arm of the same chair. Mika slid an arm around Gabe’s waist and tugged, dumping the man into Mika’s lap.
“You were too far away,” Mika explained as Gabe glared up at him. Zane smiled as Gabe rolled his eyes but snuggled closer to his mate before turning to look at Zane.
He had put it off long enough. Zane leant forward and braced his forearms on his knees, trying to counter the burning in his gut.
“What I remember before your parent’s went missing, Mika… I know I told you all that John stopped, uh, punishing me—”
“Zane, that wasn’t punishment!” Aidan’s big body tensed. Zane cast a quick glance at his mate and nodded.
“Okay. This is hard enough. Do you think maybe you could refrain from critiquing my choice of words?” Because Zane wasn’t sure he could do this if Aidan didn’t stop.
Aidan’s lips thinned and Zane could see how badly the man wanted to argue. “I’ll stop, for now. But we will discuss this, Zane.” The promise was evident in Aidan’s dark eyes and made Zane’s stomach burn even worse.
Zane turned back to Mika and Gabe. “He didn’t stop, exactly, and before we get to your parents, I think you should know this. John hated you. He said it was because you were gay, but I’m not sure that’s it, or at least not all of it. I think he saw you as a threat to his position, and I know he saw your parents that way. John didn’t want me associating with you, but he couldn’t come out and say that, not to your folks—but he could say it to me, and he did, often.” Not that Zane had listened. It had been his one rebellion, strengthened by his puppy love for Mika. “Mika, you remember when we were about sixteen, and we’d been out exploring some of the caves?”
