Boneyard (The Thaumaturge Series Book 2) (13 page)

“Is he here for me?” I whispered.

He shook his head. “No. People like him—they’re organized. Powerful. If he did know about you, you wouldn’t be standing here. I think he’s probably interested in the witches and nothing more.”

“Or the grave robbing,” I added. “That was quite a headline.”

Leo didn’t smile though. He gazed thoughtfully at the empty trunk, his eyebrows together.

“So what do I do?” I asked.

“Keep a low profile. Don’t give him any reason to talk to you. And most importantly, don’t do any resurrections while he’s here.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll try not to.”

He glanced up at me sharply. “Ebron...”

“I’m joking,” I said, but swallowed hard. “Anyway, back to the boyfriend thing?”

“I’ll get another phone and we can keep in touch when I’m gone.”

“Okay,” I agreed. “What about Thanksgiving?”

“What about it?”

“Will you stay?”

He looked confused, like the concept was foreign, but despite his faint accent, he was as American as I was.

“Thanksgiving is coming up,” I said flatly. “I think my mom and Lloyd are going to Coeur d’Alene and I’d rather not spend the holiday alone again. Will you be here?”

“Yeah,” he said, looking surprised. “Sure. Will you make a pumpkin pie?”

“Sure,” I said and then I grinned at him. Even the garbage bag full of incriminating evidence couldn’t dampen my happiness at that moment.

He grinned dopily back at me, then said “Your phone is buzzing.”

“Huh?”

“Your phone. It’s vibrating.”

I patted my coat pocket, but the phone was still resting in the cup holder in the car. I scrambled for it and then froze when I saw who was calling.

“It’s Chad,” I told Leo, letting the phone dangle from between my fingers.

He shrugged. “So don’t answer it.”

“He’ll just come looking for me.”

“So answer it.”

I grimaced, but stepped a few feet away from the car to answer. Like Leo couldn’t hear me perfectly well no matter where I stood.

“Hello?” I said, with as much annoyance I could inject into my voice.

“Where are you?”

“Um, gassing up my mom’s car for her,” I said. Keep to the truth as much as possible.

“Ebron, I really need to talk to you. I’m not joking this time.”

“Were you last time?”

He exhaled loudly and over the phone it sounded like a hiss. “Look,” he grated out and it sort of pleased me that I’d pissed him off. “Something’s happened. Does the name Carl Fogerty mean anything to you?”

I shifted the phone from one ear to the other, glancing at Leo. He wasn’t even pretending not to be listening.

“Yes,” I said cautiously.

“Then we need to talk immediately.”

“No,” I said. There was no way I could shake Leo tonight and no way would he let me go without him. “Tomorrow morning.”

Leo scowled at me. 

“Fine,” Chad said. He didn’t sound fine. “10:00 a.m. at the Dinner Bell.”

Ugh. The Dinner Bell. “Are you buying?”

“Sure, whatever. Ebron?”

“What?”

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

I swallowed heavily. “Is that your professional advice, Officer?”

“I’m serious.” His voice lowered all of a sudden. “Things went wrong, didn’t they?”

“A lot of things have gone wrong,” I agreed, but my heart was pounding.

“Be there tomorrow.”

Leo was still glaring at me when I hung up.

“What?” I asked defensively.

“Tomorrow morning, huh?”

“It’ll give us time to come up with a plan. Get our stories straight,” I said and he rolled his eyes.

“Christ. My
boyfriend
is Scooby Doo.”

“Shaggy. Scooby is the dog.”

“I know.” He smirked. “Come on, we have to go burn all this.”

And that’s how we spent our first official date, watching the evidence of a dead witch burn into ash and drift away on the wind.

Chapter 8

Leo followed on my heels straight through the living room and into the kitchen. I dropped my keys on the table and turned around, almost bonking heads with him, he was so close.

“So,” he said, winding his arms up around my neck. He tilted his head up for a kiss and then kept his face next to mine.

I chuckled. “I thought you had to leave.”

“I can make time,” he replied with a smirk. He kissed me again, his lips lingering. He moved down to my throat, his open mouth hot and sliding.

“You should let me bite you,” he murmured against my skin.

I closed my eyes. “Leo,” I moaned. “Don’t... don’t ask.”

“I won’t hurt you. You know I won’t hurt you.” He held my throat in his mouth, very carefully, the pressure of his teeth thumping to my heartbeat.

My mind went blank, then white hot and suddenly we were
kissing
, hot and deep and wet with sliding tongues. He tasted coppery and I tried to pull away but he just rained kissed across my jaw.

“You taste—” I gasped.

“Shut up,” he said and kissed me again. I didn’t protest, moaning when his tongue slipped back into my mouth. My fingers dug into his soft leather jacket, pulling him closer. My dick ached for friction. My hips bucked helplessly into the empty space between us.

“I want it to be you,” he breathed against my lips. “I want to taste you, Ebron.”

I couldn’t help the moan, couldn’t stop myself from mashing my mouth back against his. We kissed, frantic and wet, and then he dragged his mouth away from mine and fastened to my neck, just below my ear.

“Let me,” he panted against my skin, and I might have, I really might have told him
yes, yes, do it
but I’d refused him for ten years and that hard, stubborn part of me flared and I shook my head.

He made a low, agonized noise, but nonetheless tugged on me, pulling me into the hall.

“I would never hurt you,” he said again, staring hard into my eyes.

“It’s not that.”

“You don’t trust me.”

“Leo,” I said softly. I hesitated and this time when he pressed his lips to my throat I tilted my head back, giving him access.

“I haven’t said yes,” I warned him and he nodded slowly, his hands dragging down my back and hooking into the waistband of my jeans. He gave me a tug towards the bedroom.

“It’s like that, is it?” I said, giving a little nervous laugh.
I haven’t said yes,
I reminded myself.

But that isn’t the same as saying no.

He drew me down the hall, stopping every few feet to tug my face down to his. He kissed me with intensity, his hands cupping my jaw and his tongue licking into mine.  We strained against each other. I got my hands under his tee shirt and spread my fingers across the warm expanse of his ribs. Our mouths moved wetly together.

We banged through my bedroom door all tangled up, stepping on each other’s toes. Leo pulled back long enough to drop his coat to the ground and peel his shirt over his head. I panted, watching his abs ripple. The flush on his skin reached up to his neck, getting lost in the stubble along his jaw. I wanted my mouth on his skin. I wanted his hands all over me.

I hooked my fingers under the hem of my own shirt, but he got there first, knocking me back into the wall as he yanked the tee shirt over my head. My elbow got caught in the sleeve and for a second we struggled with it together, his laughing face right up against mine and then I was free and we kissed again. My arms wrapped around his neck. His fingers burned against my bare hips.

“Come on,” he whispered against my mouth and I walked him backwards until we reached my bed. Leo let himself fall backwards and I stood over him, gazing down at him with open appreciation. He smirked up at me, letting his hand stray down to the spread fly of his jeans. I made no move to help, just kept watching, and his smirk turned into an evil grin.

“You want to watch me?” he asked, sliding his hand into his pants and giving himself a slow stroke. Heat bloomed up my neck and I licked my lips.

“I love watching you,” I replied, my voice a croak and he stroked himself again. I took the legs of his pants and tugged, skinning them off of him. He wriggled back into the sheets, letting his knees fall open.

“God, Leo.” I planted my knee on the foot of the bed and draped myself over him catching his mouth in a rough kiss. His nails scratched down my back and I arched into the touch, driving my hips forward. We both groaned at the friction and then he pulled his mouth away from mine and latched onto my throat.

He felt me tense and tilted his head back to look up at me.

“Not unless you say so,” he promised in a slow, scratched voice. I took in his golden eyes, the tips of his fangs visible against his kiss-swollen lips, but I nodded. When he kissed my neck again, I dropped my head to the side, baring my throat. Leo made a low, appreciative noise and sucked harder.

“No more hickeys,” I protested weakly. Underneath me, he chuckled, but didn’t stop.

I closed my eyes, the sensations overwhelming. My hips started grinding down all on their own, my erection chafing uncomfortably against my jeans. Leo’s tongue dragged along the line of my jaw. He sucked the thin skin right below my ear.

“I need... wait—” I moaned, pulling away from him. His hands following me, sliding down my arms to my wrists and holding me there, kneeling between his legs. He looked dazed.

“Pants,” I explained and he nodded, releasing me and folding his arms comfortably behind his head. I kicked off my jeans and stepped out of my underwear. My cock bobbed up against my stomach and smeared pre-come into the hair beneath my belly button. Leo licked his lips, his eyes hooded and I grinned.

“Fucking c’mere,” he growled and I crawled over the top of him, settling down on the tops of his thighs. His hands went straight to my hips, holding me in place while he writhed underneath me, sliding his erection against my balls. My eyes went heavy, my breath shaky.

“You feel so good,” I told him. His fingers gripped my hips and he rolled, flipping me onto my back and crowding me down into the mattress.

A surprised laugh punched out of me and he drew back, smiling.

“I think you like getting manhandled,” he said, playfully nipping at my chin.

“Maybe,” I agreed and moaned when he ground down against me. My knees fell open and he moved between them. His tongue slid against my collarbone.

Heat pooled in my groin and I thrust up against him. Under my hands, the muscles of his back rippled and bunched. I wanted to lose myself under him, to stop my brain and let my body take over. I wanted to claw and buck and scream.

Leo’s mouth found mine again and we kissed until I panted, until my hands knotted in his hair and our bodies clamped together. My heels dug into the backs of his thighs, urging him closer, urging him to go harder. His breathing grew unsteady, his movements jerky and then he drew back.

“I gotta slow down,” he breathed, kissing me softly. “I’m too close.”

“Lay on your back,” I said, pushing on his shoulder. He rolled over, stretching out again. I knelt between his legs, rubbing my hands up his thighs.  His erection stood out in red contrast to the surrounding pale skin.

I leaned over, blowing lightly against his inner thighs. He jerked a little, and gave a small laugh. Our eyes met across the length of his body and the heat in his gaze startled me. The
want
. A tiny pain flared behind my ribs, a feeling achy and familiar.

I shoved the feeling away and touched my tongue to the underside of his cock, making him groan. His hands gripped my hair, tugging once and then loosening.

“You can hold my hair,” I told him, pulling back only so far as to allow speech; my lips moved against the velvety head of his cock. He shuddered.

“I’m not used to it being so long,” he whispered, sliding his fingers into my hair again. He gave another sharp tug when I licked him and then his grip tightened when I took him deep into my mouth.

“Fuck, Ebron,” he moaned, his head falling back against the mattress. I bobbed up and down for a few beats, but I knew that he was too close for me to tease him for long.

“Do you want to fuck me?” I asked, pulling back. Strings of spit connected my mouth to his cock and I licked my lips.

“Yes,” he croaked. The muscles in his stomach flexed and relaxed as he got himself under control, and then he propped himself up on one elbow. Sweat beaded down one temple. Under his stubble, his cheeks flushed.

“Stay right there,” I said, climbing off the bed and rustling through my drawer for the lube. I could feel Leo’s eyes on me, hot and hungry. I swallowed hard. I knew it wasn’t fucking he wanted.

I straddled him again, pumping some lube onto my fingers and then dropping the bottle onto his stomach. I reached behind myself, pressing slick fingers into the heat of my own body. Then Leo’s hands joined mine, pulling my ass cheeks apart to give me better access. My cock throbbed. Never mind my cock—my ass ached for him.

“Go slow,” he whispered as I took hold of him, guiding him against my hole.

We both panted as I slid down. My legs trembled. Pre-come spurted from my cock. My body gave a reflexive flare of discomfort, but I clenched my eyes shut, ignoring the pain. Leo petted my thighs.

“So good,” he moaned when I was fully seated. I rocked forward, setting a shallow rhythm. Our harsh breathing filled the quiet room. Beneath me, Leo drew up his knees, bracing his feet flat on the mattress. It gave him leverage to thrust up into me and my head fell back at the sensation.

“Oh, fuck,” I moaned, grinding down to meet his thrusts.

For long moments, we fucked with abandon. Our movements felt primal, drawn from something deep inside myself. Our eyes met and locked. The connection between us felt like a taut bow string, humming with energy.

Leo’s skin shone with sweat, slick as a seal. He held onto my wrist, hard enough that I couldn’t pull away. Abruptly he sat up, rearranging my legs to drape over his lap, and the flat of his chest bumped against mine. He pressed his face against my cheek and I threw my arms over his shoulders, pulling him flush against me. With my legs around his waist, I couldn’t get the same leverage, but his hands dove down to cup my ass. He bounced me on his cock. I felt my toes curl.