Dealing With the Dead (4 page)

What the hell was he supposed to do with a mate?

He was only twenty after all. Jayden had assumed that, as none of his other brothers had yet to meet their mates, it would be some time before he met his. Yes, he had wanted to meet the one person in the whole world that was said to be his other half; he just never even contemplated the idea that he would meet the man when he was twenty.

"Jayden!"

Jayden shook his head to try and clear his thoughts.

He closed his mouth as he figured he had to have been looking like an idiot standing there with his mouth open and blinked several times to try and clear his vision before he could focus on his father.

"Son?"

"Yeah," Jayden finally managed to focus on his dad,
who was still standing just inside the office door with a confused expression.

"Everything okay?"

"Uh… Yeah—umm." Shit! He had to get it together; he must sound like a complete moron. Jayden cleared his throat again and concentrated on what he wanted to say. "Yeah, Dad, everything's fine. We'll talk once I see Mr Michaels out."

"It's Noah." Jayden swung his attention back to his mate.

"Sorry."

"No worries. I figure we'll be seeing a lot of each other over the next several weeks, so there is no need to stand on formalities, and you already agreed to call me Noah."

"Of course, sorry."

Noah smiled at him and Jayden's eyes were drawn to his perfect lips. They looked so soft that Jayden wondered what they would feel like pressed against his own, kissing the side of his neck, wrapped around his c—

Jayden squirmed where he stood and hoped

desperately that his hard cock was not noticeable to either their new client or his father. Talk about embarrassing.

"Umm, as much as I hate to, I might need my hand
back."

Jayden jerked as he felt his cheeks heating, instantly missing the touch of his mate. The charges that had been a constant feeling in his arm stopped immediately. Looking into Noah's eyes Jayden was hopeful at what he saw shining back at him.

"Until tomorrow, Jayden."

"Until tomorrow, Noah, I look forward to getting to know you better over the next several weeks."

"Likewise." Noah smiled at him one last time before he turned, said goodbye to Jayden's father, and walked out of the office.

Jayden collapsed back into his chair and groaned as he covered his face with his hands, berating himself for being an idiot. When he was finally done, he sat up straight and gasped when he saw his father now sitting across the desk from him.

"Jesus H Christ, Dad, make some damn noise next time. I thought you had left with Noah," Jayden said as he placed his hand over his heart feeling it beat rapidly.

His Dad just sat there and laughed at him. Jayden scowled. He was enjoying his scare far too much for his liking.

"Son, is everything all right?" his father asked him
when he had calmed down enough to talk.

"I don't know, Dad. I think I just met my mate."

Noah hit the ground floor button in the elevator and leaned against the rear wall as the doors closed. "Holy hell what had happened in there?" Noah wondered aloud, desperately. He breathed deeply and waited until his heart finally started to slow down. He flexed his right hand several times but was unable to get the feeling of the lovely Jayden to leave his skin.

His body hadn't ever had such a visceral reaction to anyone in the past. The need to grab hold of Jayden and never let him go had swept through him and wasn't leaving.

Noah closed his eyes and banged his head against the wall behind him. "Get a grip on yourself, he's barely more than a kid."

Young had never been Noah's type in the past. He had always preferred men around his own age of thirty.

However, that didn't mean he wasn't more than willing to change his preferences if it meant getting his hands on Jayden Thompson.

The ding of the elevator arriving at his floor
snapped his mind away from the blue-haired beauty and back to what he was doing there in the first place. As Noah stepped out of the elevator he placed a quick call to Rebecca that went through to her voicemail.

"Hey, Bec, it's me. Just wanted to let you know the Thompson agency could help. It's going to take some time but I'll keep you informed of our progress. Give Nikki a big kiss for me and I'll see you soon. Bye."

He hung up and shoved the phone back into his pants pocket. Then he took his suit jacket off and rolled up his sleeves before he even walked outside the building. You would have to be an idiot to walk around Darwin in a full suit. Not only would you stand out, but you would roast in minutes. It wasn't so much the heat that got you but the humidity.

Slinging his jacket over his arm Noah walked outside and headed to where he had parked his SUV. His traitorous thoughts turned once more to Jayden, who he thought would look absolutely gorgeous underneath him.

Noah was a half a block past his vehicle before he even realised what he had done. His head had been filled with images he wished were a reality. Swearing at himself he turned and headed back to his SUV.

Noah unlocked it and threw his jacket on the
passenger seat before climbing into the driver's side to head home. He had taken a leave of absence from the accounting firm he owned when his brother had passed. His best friend and manager, Harrison, could run the show while he took some time off.

The drive home took only a few minutes as he lived on Litchfield Street. He pulled into the secure car park, went in to check his mail, and five minutes later Noah was stepping out of another elevator that led down the passage to his apartment.

Noah unlocked his door and walked in. He threw his mail on the kitchen bench, his jacket over the back of the couch, and collapsed into his leather recliner. Noah sighed as he picked up his laptop and booted it up. He sat there quietly and stared for a long time at the picture of him and his brother he had set as the desktop background.

"I miss you, you idiot," he said into the silence of the apartment as he wiped away a tear that trailed down his cheek.

"I think I may have met someone. He's a bit younger than I usually go for, but I think you would have liked him. You'll get to meet him tomorrow, although I'm still not a hundred per cent sure how that whole thing is supposed to work. I guess we'll see then."
Noah spent the afternoon making sure he had

everything needed for his meeting the following day. He had transferred all of Gray's files onto his laptop last week and had been in constant contact with his publishing company. He shot them off an e-mail letting them know he was successful in the first step of the process and, hopefully, he would have something to turn in to them soon.

Noah checked to make sure he had the digital voice recorder with extra batteries and external battery packs for his laptop. He didn't want to run out of juice halfway through. Noah gathered everything together and placed it by his front door so he would be ready for tomorrow night.

He had decided to try and stay up as late as he could that night, figuring he could sleep in later and subsequently stay up later the following night without being tired. So he spent a quiet night at home in front of the television, but he barely paid attention to it as his mind constantly drifted back to Jayden.

He finally gave up at around midnight. Noah shut everything off and headed into the master bedroom. He stripped his clothes off and threw them in the basket next to his chest of drawers before making his way to the attached bathroom. After taking care of business, Noah crawled
between the sheets and sighed in pleasure.

The only thing better than crawling into bed was crawling into bed with someone you loved. Noah had had only two serious relationships in his life. Hamish had been his high school boyfriend and they had been together for three years. They went to university together, but drifted apart halfway through Noah's second year. Then there had been David. He and David had met one night at a club while Noah was out with his brother and they had hit it off.

They'd been dating for a year and a half when David wanted them to move in together but Noah just hadn't been ready. It had been all or nothing for David and so they had gone their separate ways.

That had been two years ago. Since then there had been nothing but one night stands with a few repeat performances thrown in to break up the monotony. After today Noah was convinced he had done the right thing in listening to his heart about David. As devastated as he was at the end of their relationship he knew deep down that David was not
it
for him.

He had a feeling that Jayden just might be though.

He had no idea why he was so confident in this thought.

The man was nothing like his usual type, but Noah couldn't deny the idea of waking up every morning and looking into
those ocean-deep blue eyes and seeing love and happiness shining back at him made his heart hurt with want. The thought of all the erotic things Jayden could do with those sinful lips had his cock perking up in an instant.

Noah pushed the covers back and rolled over to reach into his bedside table for the well-used bottle of lube.

He flicked the cap open and drizzled the liquid onto his throbbing cock. He hissed as the cold viscous liquid hit him. He closed the bottle and then dropped it, uncaring of where it landed.

Closing his eyes, Noah pulled up the perfect mental image of Jayden; jet black hair, streaked through with blue, eyes ringed with smudged eyeliner, and lips a dark red.

Those lips would be plump and moist from their kisses.

Noah wrapped his fist around his steel length and slowly started to stroke as he imagined Jayden kissing down his jaw and neck, licking as he went. Noah imagined Jayden above him, looking at him through thick lashes before he leaned down and slowly licked, sucked and bit along Noah's collarbone. His cock pulsed in his hand at the image. Noah swiped his thumb over the head of his cock, hissing at the sensations that shot through his body at the contact.

Noah increased the speed of his hand before he
groaned and bucked upwards as the image of Jayden in his mind made his way further down his body. Jayden swiped his tongue across his aching nipple before he bit down forcing Noah to cry out in pleasure. The smug expression on Jayden's face as he slowly went lower kicked Noah's libido into high gear.

One imagined swipe of Jayden's tongue from the base of his cock to the tip was all it took for Noah to go over the edge. His hips bucked forward and his head fell back against the sheets as his body erupted into immeasurable pleasure. Noah screamed as he painted his stomach with his seed. When he could finally breathe again he removed a clean washcloth from his drawer and wiped down his chest.

Noah dropped the cloth on the floor, pulled the sheets over himself, and rolled to his side. He stared for a minute at the empty pillow next to his own before reaching out and gently laying his hand on it. No matter what he thought about the age difference between them, Noah knew it was a lost cause. He wanted Jayden Thompson with every fibre of his being. Noah closed his eyes and the image of Jayden was the last thing he saw before he drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER 5

Jayden pulled up outside Thorak regional cemetery, a place he knew well as it was currently Darwin's only operating cemetery. Although there were others located in the Darwin area he didn't get to visit them as often as he did Thorak. He grabbed his backpack and got out of his car to wait for Noah to arrive.

As good as Jayden was at his job and as much as he enjoyed it at times, there really was something that just plain creeped him out about being in a cemetery after dark.

The trees and the large headstones cast shadows over the grounds in the minimal light from the night sky overhead—

not to mention the utter silence of the cemetery grounds.

Jayden only had to wait a couple of minutes before a large SUV pulled in beside his own smaller car. He met Noah's gaze through the windscreen of his vehicle and couldn't help but smile at the happy expression on Noah's face. Jayden waited as Noah stepped out of his car.

Noah looked mouth-watering. Long legs were

encased in faded blue denim that seemed to hug his form to perfection. He was wearing a white shirt that had to be least one or two sizes too small from the way it clung to his wide shoulders and upper body. Heavy black workman's boots
completed the outfit. The man looked amazing in a business suit, but dressed in jeans and a shirt he was downright gorgeous.

"Hi." The soft word broke the spell that Jayden was under. Looking up, he realised Noah had stepped so close they were almost touching. Jayden wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch the other man so he did.

"Hi," he whispered back, his hand trailing down Noah's arm until their hands touched. Noah's expression turned caring as he clasped his hand with his own and pulled him close, their bodies pressing together.

Jayden gasped before his mouth was covered by Noah's. Noah's lips were gentle against his own, moving softly and sweetly. Jayden whimpered when Noah's tongue searched for entry before Jayden opened his mouth. Their tongues sparred in a dance as old as time—Noah never rushing him or taking anything Jayden wasn't willing to give.

Jayden's body was on fire. He had never been kissed so perfectly in his life. If he wasn't sure before that this was his mate, he sure as hell was now. Jayden could feel little electric charges all over his body everywhere they touched. Noah moved his other hand until it was gripping Jayden's hair. Jayden felt Noah tighten his hold over his
body, keeping him exactly where Noah wanted as he deepened the kiss.

A horn jolted Jayden out of the haze he was in and he jumped back, but Noah simply pulled him back into his arms. Noah placed a last peck on his lips before whispering, "I've been dreaming of doing that since yesterday. I think you and I have a lot to talk about later."

Jayden knew they did. He would have to explain the concept of mates and how he believed Noah to be his; however this wasn't the time or the place for that conversation. Instead, he mutely nodded his head in agreement.