Sweet-Delight[ Brac Village 1] (3 page)

That was the word Wayland used, right?
“Really?” Peter said as he looked Ross up and down. “I apologize, but I kinda thought you worked at Diablo’s as well.”
Ross growled.
“Where do you want to go?” Hondo asked.
“Home.” No, wait. If he went home, then his brother just might try to trick him again. With this bracelet on his wrist, Ross would be helpless to stop the little bastard. “Do you know where Brac Village is?”
Hondo’s grin lit up his face, softening his features. “I sure do. You want to go to Maverick’s?”
“No, there is a farmhouse a few miles from there. Do you know the Lakelands?” That was the last place Ross had seen Kenway.
Gods, just thinking about his mate made Ross’s chest hurt. He wanted to be enveloped in the big man’s arms once again. It had felt perfect and right being held by the large buffalo shifter. And once he got back, Ross was going to tell Dante about Virgil’s conniving ass.
“I don’t know the Lakelands, but once we get to Brac Village, just point the way,” Hondo said as he jerked his head to the side. “Follow me.”
Gee, didn’t that sound familiar? “An alleyway?”
Hondo grinned. “How’d you know?”
“Because,” Ross said as he hurried along, “Wayland brought me into an alleyway when he was supposed to take me home, but he ran after a soul-sucker.”
Hondo stopped walking and turned. “Where?”
“Oh, no,” Ross protested, waving his hand back and forth. “I’ll tell you where just as soon as you get me home. I don’t need another ride taking off on me.”
Hondo’s lips pressed into a thin line but he nodded. “Then let’s make this quick.”
Ross walked down the alleyway and then yelped when Hondo grabbed him and walked into a shadow. Gods, he was going to be sick.

Kenway had been over every inch of Brac Village, and Dante, Ross’s coven leader, had been put on alert. There really wasn’t much Kenway could do, and he hated that feeling. His stomach was in twisted knots from worry. If something happened to his mate, Kenway was going to hunt the bastard down who had harmed Ross and make him slowly and painfully die.

“Hey, Kenway,” Spencer said as he walked into the kitchen. “Chauncey Lakeland is on the phone.” Spencer wiggled the house phone in front of Kenway as he bit into an apple.

Kenway snatched the phone from Spencer’s hand, ignoring the small man when he rolled his eyes. “Hello?”
“I think I have someone here who belongs to you. His name is Ross,” Chauncey said from the other end. “He’s the vampire who warned us about the attack on the fey village.”
Kenway felt his heart beating again as relief washed through him. “Keep him there. I’m on my way.”
“You got it. If he tries to leave, do you want me to hogtie him?”
“No!” Kenway growled out. “Just make sure he doesn’t disappear again.”
“I’ll sit here and stare at him until you come collect him.”
Kenway shook his head. He had met Chauncey a few times, and had assumed the bear shifter had a few screws loose. Now he knew for certain the man was nutty. “I’m on my way.”
“I’ll be waiting in anticipation,” Chauncey said and then hung up.
Just what in the hell was wrong with the bear?
“I’ll be back, Spencer. I have to go get my mate at the Lakelands’ place,” Kenway said as he set the phone down.
“Oh, I want to go!” Spencer said as he bounced around. “We were supposed to go there for dinner anyway.”
“I had other things on my mind,” Kenway said as he headed for the side door. “Come on.” Kenway stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Shouldn’t you let Recker know where you are going? You know he has a fit when he can’t find you.”
“Recker, I’m going with Kenway!”
Kenway’s eyes bugged as he wiggled a finger in his ear. For a little shifter, Spencer was loud as fuck.
“Where?” Recker asked as he stormed into the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”
“Kenway’s mate showed up at the Lakelands’, so I’m going with him to get the man.”
“Then I’m going,” Recker said as he pushed past them and headed for the truck.
Kenway didn’t care if the whole damn house came with him, but he needed to get going. Being without Ross had driven Kenway to the point of madness. All he wanted was to feel the vampire in his arms.
He drove to the Lakelands’, Recker on the passenger side, Spencer smashed in the middle. The closer he got to the ranch, the harder Kenway’s heart beat. Where had his mate been? What had happened to make the man disappear, and who the hell was responsible so Kenway could kill the bastard?
“If you breathe any harder, you’ll have to defog the windows,” Spencer said as they pulled into the Lakelands’ driveway.
“No need. We’re here.” Kenway was out of the truck and heading toward the porch before Recker and Spencer had a chance to get out. He wasn’t waiting around. He’d waited long enough. He wasn’t sure if he should knock or walk right in. Kenway chose to walk right in. His mate was in there after all.
“Where is he?” he asked Malcolm Lakeland when he spotted the father walking toward him.
“In the kitchen, son.”
Kenway didn’t wait for an invitation. He made his way straight to the room where his mate was. His heart stuttered in his chest when he spotted Ross sitting at the table, looking tired, but no worse for the wear. He was frozen to the spot. Kenway had forgotten just how beautiful Ross truly was. His flowing dark hair was rumpled, dark rings under his eyes, which told Kenway that Ross was starving.
“Come here.” It wasn’t a request, and Kenway made sure the demand was apparent in his voice. Ross stood, coming toward him slowly.
“You know I didn’t intentionally leave you, right?” Ross asked, his voice quivering just a bit.
Kenway waited as patiently as he could—which by now, he had no patience. When Ross was in arm’s reach, Kenway grabbed his mate and pulled the tall, slender man into an embrace, damn near crushing him.
“Where in the hell were you?” He inhaled Ross’s scent, his buffalo going crazy to claim Ross and ensure the man never left his side again.
“The demon realm. I need to talk to Dante and let him know what happened.” Ross laid his head on Kenway’s shoulder, his hands, palms flat, on Kenway’s chest.
“Then
we
will go talk to him. You aren’t leaving my sight again.”
“What exactly happened?” Chauncey asked.
Kenway wanted to know as well, but with his mate back in his arms, he knew he needed to not only feed Ross, but fuck him this side of the Mississippi. There was no way he was going to be able to think clearly until he nourished and claimed the vampire.
Chance snickered. “There is an empty room upstairs. Third door on your left.”
Kenway was pulling Ross up the stairs before Chance could finish. He wasn’t wasting any time. He’d waited long enough. Two seconds was too damn long for him, let alone the amount of time Ross had been gone.
“We’ll hold the fort,” Spencer called up to him on a light, laughter-filled tone.
“Hold whatever the hell you want,” Kenway shouted back down to the impala shifter, uncaring what anyone did at this point. All he wanted was Ross. Kenway found the door Chance had told him to use and slammed it closed behind him.
“In a hurry?” Ross asked.
“Feed.” Kenway pushed his sleeve up, exposing his wrist. He wanted Ross to feed in other places, more intimate places, but he could see the starvation in Ross’s dark eyes. When his mate hesitated, Kenway shoved his wrist at Ross’s lips. “Eat, damn it.”
Ross didn’t hesitate this time. He bit down quickly, his fangs piercing Kenway’s skin as Ross wrapped his long and lithe fingers around Kenway’s arm, pulling it closer as he took what he needed.
Kenway slumped against the bedroom door, his eyes fluttering as his cock became hard as steel. He found himself moaning, pulling Ross closer to him, wrapping an arm around his mate’s shoulders, and playing in his mate’s long, silky hair.
Small, pleasurable sounds vibrated in Ross’s throat.
“You like your hair played with?” Kenway asked as he grabbed a fistful, tugged, and then released the strands, running his fingers over Ross’s scalp.
Ross nodded, but didn’t release Kenway’s wrist. He knew it was the fact that they were mates that made him want to protect Ross from any further harm, but the raw emotions inside Kenway threatened to bring him to his knees. He brushed Ross’s hair aside, running his thumb over his mate’s silky skin. “Feeling better?”
Ross licked the twin pinpricks closed as he nodded. “Much.”
His eyes followed as Ross licked his bottom lip, catching the last of Kenway’s blood from escaping. It should have bothered him to see his blood on someone else, but it didn’t. “Now, do you want to tell me what happened?” It was the last thing he wanted at this very second, but as much as Kenway wanted to claim Ross, he wanted to make sure his mate was ready as well.
He may have rushed up here, but for Kenway, feeding his mate was just as private an act as having sex with the man. It was personal in his eyes.
“That shithead Virgil tricked me and sent me to the demon realm. He even gave me a small trinket for my trip.” Ross held up his arm, Kenway seeing the bracelet for the first time.
“What is that?”
“Apparently this is a bracelet to stop me from dispersing my molecules. I thought only fey had them to inhibit them from shimmering, but I was wrong.”
Kenway pulled Ross’s arm closer, examining the bracelet. “Do you know how to get it off?”
Ross shook his head and then met Kenway’s gaze. “I’ll have to ask Dante.”
“Does it hurt you to wear it?” Because if it did, they were about to make a quick trip into the city. There was no way Kenway was going to allow his mate to suffer.
Ross wiggled the thing around on his wrist, pulling and yanking, but it still remained in place. The man finally gave up with a frustrated sigh. “No, it doesn’t hurt. It’s just a nuisance.”
Kenway grinned. He liked Ross’s testy little attitude. But he didn’t like to see his mate so frustrated. “Then we’ll go see Dante and get the damn thing off of you.”
“Do we have to go right this second?” Ross asked. Kenway could see the heat in the other man’s eyes. It was the same heat coursing through his body after allowing Ross to feed from him. He cupped Ross’s face, pulling his mate closer.
“No, not now.”
“Good, because I’ve been dying to kiss you.” Ross leaned up, placing a soft kiss on Kenway’s lips. He was mesmerized for a moment, taking in his mate’s scent and tender lips, and then Kenway pulled Ross closer, turning the tender kiss brutal. He explored the warm, wet cavern of Ross’s mouth, luxuriating in Ross’s sweet little moans.
Kenway bent lower, trying to pull Ross into the space between them until Ross jumped up, surprising Kenway. He caught Ross quickly as his mate wrapped his long and slender legs around Kenway’s waist.
This was better.
So much better.
As he kissed Ross, Kenway eyed the bed and wondered if his mate would protest to taking this further. It was true that they really didn’t know each other. But they had to start somewhere. Getting naked and having sex was a pretty damn good way of getting to know someone.
Kenway wanted to get Ross naked and inspect every inch of him to make sure he was unhurt after being gone for so long. He chuckled to himself. He had less pure motives for getting Ross naked, but inspecting him was good enough to start with. But he still wanted to make sure Ross was unscathed.
Instead, Kenway broke the kiss and inhaled his vampire’s scent into his lungs.
Ross chuckled. “You’re a sniffer.”
Kenway grinned into Ross’s neck. “I am.”
Leaning back, Ross gazed into Kenway’s eyes. A wide smile formed on his kissable lips. “What else do you want to sniff?”
That was one hell of a loaded question. He groaned inwardly at the images barraging his mind. There were plenty of places Kenway wouldn’t mind sticking his nose, between Ross’s legs for starters, but at this point, Kenway wasn’t going to be too picky.
“Where would you like for me to bury my nose?”
A salacious smile tilted up the corners of Ross’s mouth, making him even sexier as Kenway’s cock thickened in his jeans. “Anywhere you want, mate.”
“It’s that easy?” Kenway asked, noticing his voice had dropped to a husky tone. He had it bad and didn’t care at the moment. The only thing that mattered to him was that Ross was safe and having sex with the guy. Everything else could fall apart and Kenway wouldn’t give a shit.
Ross gave him a peck on the lips, his grin widening. “For anyone else but you, hell no it’s not that easy. Do you know how many people thought I was a damn stripper in the demon realm?”
Normally, that might have pissed Kenway off. But he had to agree, his mate was enthralling and exotic. He wouldn’t mind Ross putting on a private show for him, but not now. Right now all Kenway wanted was to claim his mate.
Kenway wasn’t sure why he was all of a sudden nervous, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him. He picked Ross up and carried him to the bed, praying the man didn’t protest. Ross laughed and it sounded like liquid sunshine.
“I’m guessing you are very happy to see me.”
Kenway grunted as he pushed Ross’s shirt up to his armpits and ran his hand down the man’s chest. He let the warm pleasure of just being able to touch Ross roll over him in waves as Ross lay there biting his bottom lip. He began to trace patterns across Ross’s stomach, occasionally brushing the man’s belt and very effectively sending all interests lower. Kenway’s cock was about to explode in his jeans.
The spark in Ross’s eyes grew as Kenway unbuttoned the man’s pants, taking his time, teasing his mate, and driving himself insane with want. But the slow reveal was just so damn sexy.

Ross was taking in shallow breaths of air as he watched Kenway’s thick fingers play at his jeans. The guy seemed to enjoy the slow torture, but Ross was ready to melt into the mattress. His mate’s fingers were just inches away from what Ross really wanted Kenway to play with. The man must have read his mind because Kenway stopped teasing the zipper on Ross’s pants and separated the folds, his eyes locking onto Ross in question.

With a quick nod, deft fingers had him unzipped before his head could even follow. It was unbelievably hot the way Kenway applied pressure to Ross’s underwear, making pre-cum leak out just from a touch of his mate’s hand.

Kenway leaned forward, sucking at Ross’s neck as his large fingers wrapped around Ross’s erection. The dual sensations shot his brain into orbit. Ross was losing his mind and Kenway had barely touched him.

Ross squeezed his eyes shut as Kenway’s deep voice rumbled right down through his body and wrapped around his cock, bringing it to full attention. Oh god, he just might be able to come from that sound alone.