Modeling Death (9 page)

"Fred? Yeah. He's really protective. I think he's got a bit of a crush. He's at most of my fashion shoots."

"Hmmm." Guy would have the guard checked out tomorrow when he went back to his office.

"So, what are you doing here? Got off work early?"

"We need to talk." He would have to confess to Jacob what he really did. Not a conversation he was looking forward to, but he couldn't lie to his mate any more.

* * * *

Jacob felt his heart sink in his chest. He'd thought they were doing so well. True, it hadn't been a very long relationship, but he'd felt a connection between them. He'd thought Guy felt it too. "A-all right."

Guy didn't say another word as he slid his hand across Jacob's back and helped him into the limo. His heart breaking, Jacob braced himself for Guy's talk. It wouldn't be the first time he was dumped. Other men had dumped him before, but surprisingly, this was the first time it really hurt. This time part of his heart would be left behind.

"Stop looking so scared," Guy admonished. Before Jacob could comment, he was pulled across to sit on Guy's lap, an awkward position since they were almost the same height.

Jacob slid off and sat beside Guy. "I'm not into the whole sitting on a lap thing."

"Anti-cuddling?" Guy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, anti-lap sitting. I feel stupid sitting in another man's lap. I'm not a baby."

Guy shrugged. "Fine." He wrapped his arm around Jacob and pulled him close. "I don't know what's going on in your mind, but you're wrong."

"How can I be wrong if you don't know what I'm thinking?"

"Because you wouldn't look like I just killed your puppy if you knew what I was going to say."

Jacob took a deep breath. He could do this. He could face whatever Guy wanted to tell him.

"This might be easier if you sat across from me."

"O-okay." The man couldn't be satisfied. First, he wanted Jacob in his lap, then beside him. Whatever his confession, Guy didn't want to give it any more than Jacob wanted to hear what Guy had to say.

Jacob wasn't going to hyperventilate, he wasn't. He slid over to the other side of the limo. The distance between them felt farther than it had ever felt before. He could feel sweat pooling at the base of his spine as he worried over what Guy would say.

"I'm a wizard."

Jacob stared. "Of course you are." Guy's expression didn't change. He watched Jacob as if he were waiting for his words to sink in. "You're serious."

"Absolutely."

"Um. Where's your wand?"

Guy made a disgusted scoffing sound. "Wizards don't use wands. That's the stuff of stories and fairy tales."

"Oh, excuse me. I didn't realize we were talking about reality here. Do you have a pet dragon?"

Guy crossed his arms over his chest. "If you aren't going to take me seriously, I'm not going to talk about it."

"I'm sorry if I have problems taking your wizardness seriously. I'm two seconds from throwing myself out of the car because I'm falling for a wacko."

Shit!

He hadn't meant to say that.

"You're falling for me?"

Jacob looked out the window. Maybe if the limo slowed, he could jump out.

"Don't even think it," Guy said.

"What? You can read minds now?"

Guy laughed. "I don't have to be a wizard to see you want to get the hell out of here. If it makes you feel any better, you have magical ability too. You're just not trained."

Jacob's laughter had a hysterical edge even as his stomach churned. He was going to spew the yogurt he'd eaten earlier all over the limo.

"Hey." Guy slid down on his knees, pushing his body between Jacob's legs. "Honey, focus."

Jacob blinked down at the man he was coming to love. "Y-you're insane."

"Would it help if I did some magic?"

"Sure," Jacob laughed again, a nervous broken sound.

Guy cupped Jacob's cheeks before giving him a soft kiss.

"I know this sounds bizarre, but have you been hearing a soft humming sound since we made love?"

Jacob nodded. "Yeah, I thought I was coming down with a headache or something."

"All the people I've talked to said the sound either fades or you get used to it."

"What is it?"

"The bond. When we made love, we formed a bond. With wizards, it's a soul bond. You are the only man for me… ever."

Jacob jerked back, yanking his face out of Guy's hold.

"What are you talking about?"

"We're mated. You and I will always belong together, just like Will and Cash."

"Will is not magical." There was no way William Stamson had magic. Will would've told Jacob years ago. If Will had been lying to Jacob all this time, he didn't know what he was going to do.

Guy smiled. "No, Will is like the anti-magic. He doesn't have any magic at all. Cash, on the other hand, is a powerhouse."

"I haven't met Cash." Jacob didn't know if he wanted to if Cash was also crazy.

"Hey." Guy's voice jerked Jacob's attention back to the man crouched at his feet. Damn, he looked hot there. "I'm not crazy. See… watch."

Guy placed his hands a foot apart. As Jacob watched, a blue swirl of light coalesced between his hands. The glow tightened until, after a moment of time, a blue glowing heart made of light and smoke floated between Guy's hands.

"Shit." Jacob threw himself back against the limo seat. Maybe it wasn't Guy at all; maybe Jacob was the crazy one.

The heart disappeared when Guy grabbed Jacob, lifted him, and settled him back on his lap.

"We talked about the lap sitting," Jacob said, resting his head in the crook of Guy's neck.

"Humor me."

Jacob was too drained to argue.

"What kind of magic do I have?" If his lover was going to be crazy, maybe Jacob should join him.

"Charm. You are one of the charmed. It's kind of rare. What are you parents like?"

"I was raised by a single mother who has an addictive personality to both drugs and alcohol. I think she's bipolar, but I can never get her to see a doctor. She drifted through most of my childhood."

"Ahh, your father was probably fae then. They sometimes leave behind the fae struck. Your mother is probably trying to balance out her addiction for your father. He must not have known she was pregnant."

Jacob lifted his head. "Why do you say that?"

"Because the fae are desperate for children, even half breeds. Trust me. If your father knew about you, your life would've been different."

"Huh." Jacob settled his head back down on Guy's shoulder. Despite a childhood filled with neglect, his mother had never abused him, even when she remembered he was there. However, if he hadn't been desperate to get out of the house, he probably wouldn't have become a model at the age of fifteen. "My life wasn't all bad." He wasn't even going to go into the fae thing. If he was uncertain about wizards, he was definitely uncertain about being only partly human.

Guy rubbed Jacob's back. "It'll be all right. We'll figure things out. I can look into finding your father if you'd like."

"Maybe." Jacob was still registering the change in his reality. "So if wizards bond during sex, why are Cash and Will getting married?"

"Because Will's family wants a more ostentatious display of their bond. Once bound, wizards can't be separated except by death."

Jacob sat up straight. "So you're telling me I'm not only magical, I'm married!" Damn, his voice was shrill. Jacob was going to be ill.

* * * *

Shit! This isn
'
t going well
.

Guy watched Jacob turn pale over the thought of bonding to Guy for the rest of his life. Guy guessed since Jacob hadn't waited centuries to find the perfect man, Jacob wasn't as excited as Guy about their bond.

Guy raked his fingers through his hair as he looked at the beautiful man still sitting in his lap, unconsciously still seeking comfort from Guy. Without magic, Jacob would stop people in the streets. With magic, it was a miracle cars didn't crash while their drivers stared.

"Jacob. I don't want you to feel obligated to me. We can let this develop like any other relationship. We just have a special bond."

Guy would die if Jacob left him. He'd waited too long to find the perfect mate, but he wasn't going to mention that to Jacob. The poor man looked stressed enough.

"Guy, you don't just tell a person you married him and then say let's date." Jacob peered suspiciously out the window. "Where are we going anyway?"

"I thought it would be best to take you to my workplace. That way you can meet other wizards and learn more about magic without me freaking you the hell out, or I can take you back to David's if you'd prefer."

Jacob rubbed his hands across his face. "No. I-I think it would be good to meet others."

It was a good thing Jacob agreed because they were pulling up to the building as he finished talking.

Joel opened the door. Guy stepped out first before reaching back in to pull Jacob out of the limo. He had the uneasy feeling if he let Jacob go he'd never see the other man again.

The lobby was empty this time of night, but he knew his partner would still be upstairs working.

Glancing over at Jacob, he gave into his urges. Guy had been too long without the feel of his mate, and his body ached for the contact. Pressing Jacob up against the wall of the elevator banks, Guy held Jacob in place with his body.

"I thought we were going to talk about my break with sanity."

"You're not insane, Jacob, you're mine." The expression in Jacob's gray eyes almost broke his heart. His expression begged for reassurance.

Jacob's lips were soft beneath Guy's kiss. Reluctant at first, soon Jacob was kissing Guy back with the same passion he'd shown before. Jacob clawed at his back while Guy pressed to get more friction between them.

"Were you planning on going up?"

Niles's voice broke into Guy's haze of passion. Blinking, he tried to focus on the other man's face.

"Uh, yeah." Guy licked his lips, savoring Jacob's flavor. "Niles, this is Jacob Richmond. Jacob, this is Niles Weathers; he's my partner for this investigation."

"Actually his right hand lackey." Niles's cool blue eyes took in Jacob as if he were memorizing him for a test later. Niles held out his hand.

Guy moved between them. "I don't think so."

The elevator dinged, and the trio stepped inside.

"Why can't I shake his hand?" Jacob asked.

Guy gave Niles a cold look. "Niles's primary skill is he can read a person's mind if he touches their flesh."

"Oh." Jacob moved closer to Guy, who put a protective arm around him. Guy didn't miss the admiring gaze Niles gave the model. "Just so you know, Niles, Jacob is my bonded mate, and if you touch him without permission, you'll need to use your finding ability to collect your teeth."

Niles swallowed, audibly. "Got it."

Jacob rubbed Guy's back in a soothing motion as if Guy were a wild beast he needed to tame. Despite his best efforts to hold onto his anger against Niles and his frustration at Jacob's disbelief, he wasn't strong enough to hold out against Jacob's touch.

The man was magic in more ways than one.

Guy led Jacob to the conference room where Guy's assistant, Sheryl, was standing by the boards.

Jacob sucked in his breath when he saw the photos of the bodies.

"Oh!" Jacob stepped forward and touched the cheek of one photo, slid down the nose of the other. Guy noticed Jacob's hand shaking as he brushed his fingers across the pictures. "I know these people. What happened?"

A cold chill went up Guy's back. "You know all three?"

Jacob nodded. "I did a perfume commercial with Jim." He pointed to the blond lying still as death, but still obscenely handsome. "A jeans ad with John." Jacob pointed to the dark-haired male. "And with Vince, I did an underwear ad."

"When did you last see the victims?" Niles asked, stepping up to Jacob and pulling out his notepad.

Jacob paled. "Last week. I saw Jim, John and Vince at a go-see."

"What's a go-see?" Niles asked.

Jacob's eyes were glued to the photos of the dead models. "Umm, when you go to clients' places of business and let them look you over." He turned to Guy. "Sort of like I did with your sister."

Guy nodded. "And you were all at the same one?"

Jacob nodded.

"Who was it for?"

Maybe now they were getting somewhere. This was the first time anyone had identified a link between where the three of them might have been.

"Umm…" Jacob's gray eyes grew distant as he drew up memories of the day. Guy could almost hear Jacob's thoughts going through his head. Jacob snapped his fingers. "Paulie. He's an amazing designer, but he didn't like these three."

"Who did he like?" Niles asked.

"Besides me?" Jacob shrugged. "I don't know. I left after I did my walk. He said he was going to call Mandy and set up a time. I'm walking for him tomorrow."

"If he is our guy, we can catch him," Niles said. "We just need to get close enough to look at his aura."

Guy wanted to grab Jacob and protect him from the world, bodily if needed.

"I can help!" Jacob said, turning to Niles. "What do you need me to do?"

"Call in sick," Guy said before he could stop himself.

"No! I want to help. I don't think Paulie is involved. I mean he's a nice old man. What could he do to kill three vibrant young men?"

"You'd be surprised," Niles said in a cold tone.

"You are not going to use Jacob for bait." Guy wouldn't stand for it. Jacob was his. He'd waited far too long to let his beloved be endangered from some asshole killer.

"I want to help." Jacob turned his gray-eyed gaze towards him. Guy could feel his will bending. Even though he knew it was Jacob's charm working against him, he couldn't stop from agreeing.

"Fine, but you can't go anywhere alone. If Paulie wants you badly enough, he'll try to get you by yourself. Make sure you have someone with you at all times. I'm not going to lose you."

"Deal!"

"Did you want the others to show you their abilities?"

Jacob shook his head. "I'm tired; take me home."