Talan's Treasure (7 page)

Adrian rolled his eyes. “Breakfast is ready.”

Talan never understood how Adrian couldn’t know how extremely beautiful he was.

True, his pack had an unusually high percentage of stunning males, but Adrian’s piercing eyes and lush lips made him the pick of the puppies.

Talan walked over to his mate and kissed him, ignoring the soft sound of need from the human behind him. “Here, I found you some clothes. Go dress.” He pushed Adrian gently out of the room. Knowing none of the previous owner’s stuff would fit him, Talan put his cold, wet jeans back on. He pumped out enough body heat that they should be dry soon. He then pulled on his mostly dry shirt, glad his clothes hadn’t got completely soaked after they’d stripped for their run to the cabin.

Not turning around, he spoke to Philip. “Come into the living room when you finish dressing. Adrian will be upset if his food gets cold.” His little wolf had had enough of a hard time recently. He didn’t need cold eggs.

Adrian was all dressed and dishing out the food when Talan walked into the living room. “Looks good, babe.”

He received a brilliant smile for his compliment. “Thanks, I actually had a lot to choose from. For a guy who lived alone, he has a really stocked pantry. He must have enjoyed cooking.”

“Or he had company often.”

“True. Someone stabbed him after all.”

“Stabbed who?” Philip asked as he entered and received one of Adrian’s smiles.

Talan resisted the urge to punch the skier, but only because he thought his lover would object.

“The caretaker.” Talan gleefully pointed out the red blood spot. “Right over there.”

“Huh.” Surprisingly, Philip looked more curious than sickly. “Why would someone do that?”

“We don’t know but we intend to find out.”

Adrian’s take-charge tone had Talan’s cock responding. The twitch in his mate’s nose told him his rising lust hadn’t gone unnoticed.

www.total-e-bound.com

TALAN’S TREASURE

Amber Kell

44

They ate their food in near silence, the only sounds appreciative noises from time to time.

Philip was the first to push his plate away. “That was great, Adrian.”

“Thanks.” Adrian collected all the plates, washing and drying them with familiar efficiency.

“Let’s see if there’s any news. I thought I saw a satellite dish on the roof.” Talan found the remote and used it to turn on the TV, finding the weather station. The perky girl on the screen didn’t have any good news.

“I can’t believe there’s another snow storm coming,” Adrian grumbled. “This was supposed to be a nice romantic vacation. Now we have early snow, a dead body, and a visitor.”

“Sorry guys.” Philip gave them a sympathetic smile.

“Oh, Philip, I didn’t mean for it to sound that way.” An embarrassed expression crossed Adrian’s face. “Nothing about this trip has gone right.” Talan didn’t think Philip sounded sorry. He thought Philip was pleased with himself.

He contemplated throwing the man outside so Talan could have the promised alone time with his mate but Adrian might object. His wolf could be distressingly softhearted when it came to people in trouble.

“Well, at least you’re not shooting at us or slashing our tyres like the last one.” Philip’s gaze shifted back and forth between them. “Um…nope. I just want to hunker down and wait for the snow to taper off before I try to find the lodge again.”

“You’re welcome to borrow the couch,” Adrian offered just as Talan knew he would.

Philip’s brilliant smile lit up the room. “Thanks.” Talan held back the growl but barely. “Your romantic weekends need some work,” he whispered in his mate’s ear.

Adrian laughed. “Sorry love.” He lifted his head for the expected kiss. He didn’t even think about it until Philip spoke up.

“You two have been together for a while, haven’t you?”

“Less than a year,” Talan admitted.

“Really? Wow, I would’ve thought longer. You have that established couple vibe. You know, the one people get when they’ve been together for a long time.” www.total-e-bound.com

TALAN’S TREASURE

Amber Kell

45

“Thanks.” Adrian smiled.

Talan liked the idea that they sent off couple vibes. He kissed Adrian on the cheek.

“That’s because we belong together.”

Philip nodded. “I didn’t see it before because you weren’t standing together, but I totally see the connection now.” He sighed. “I hope to find that some day but so far I’ve had horrible luck with men.”

“You’ll find someone,” Talan consoled Philip, even though he had no idea if the man would or not. His lion moved restlessly inside. He didn’t trust Philip. He didn’t like how the man had come out of nowhere and began to suck up his private time with Adrian. He especially didn’t like how the human watched Adrian like he was a steak dinner and Philip just stopped being a vegetarian.

Instinct had Talan keeping himself between Philip and Adrian whenever possible.

Adrian sent him a questioning look a few times but Talan didn’t have an excuse for what he was doing. He was working on pure instinct.

Talan went to see what movies Darren had on his shelf while Adrian stared out the window.

“It’s too stormy to make it back to the lodge tonight,” Adrian said, contemplating the piling snow. “Do you need to call someone?”

Philip shrugged. “No. I’m travelling alone.”

Talan’s hackles rose. “You came to a resort to ski by yourself?”

“I was hoping to meet someone,” he said with a bashful smile.

Warning bells clamoured in Talan’s head. Nothing was adding up. People didn’t generally go to resorts by themselves unless they were meeting up with others. And they didn’t generally veer so far from their lodge if skiing alone. “How well did you know the caretaker?”

Philip’s genial expression vanished as he pulled a gun out from behind his back. The combined scent of cologne and blood had hidden the metallic scent of the gun.
Shit!
He’d left the man alone with the gun in the drawer.

“I was hoping to get one of you alone to take care of my problem but you wouldn’t leave him.” He shot an accusing glare at Talan like it was all his fault things hadn’t gone according to plan.

www.total-e-bound.com

TALAN’S TREASURE

Amber Kell

46

“You shot him,” Talan countered.

Philip shrugged. “You were supposed to leave him. I only winged him a little.”

“He’s my mate,” he roared. “You don’t ever leave your mate.” Philip’s hand shook as he shouted. “Darren didn’t have any problems doing that.” He pulled his shirt away from his neck, exposing a bite mark.

“Darren bit you?” Adrian leaned closer, making Talan growl.

Venom filled Philip’s eyes. “He said I was his one. His one mate. Then he went and slept with everyone in town.”

Talan’s stomach churned. He’d heard of shifters pulling this before—telling gullible men they were mates so they could have easy sex. The next morning they declared it a mistake and dumped them. They didn’t generally go as far as to bite them, though. “Did he deny it the next day?”

Philip nodded.

“He’s infected,” Adrian whispered.

Talan shuddered at the implication. If a human with the chemical composition to be a potential shifter mate was bitten but not mated, it created a toxin in their system.

“Am I going to be a shifter?” A smile crossed Philip’s face. “I’ve always wanted to be a werewolf. That’s why I had to stab Darren. He refused me as a mate and told me I couldn’t be like him.”

“Even if you were mates, he couldn’t have made you a wolf,” Talan said, ignoring the kick Adrian gave him.

“What do you mean?” Philip’s eyes narrowed menacingly. “He said he could make me one of you, that I could be his true mate. Then when I came over he denied me.
Me!
” Rage mottled Philip’s face. His hand shook, the gun wobbling in his grip.

When the weapon turned towards Adrian, Talan snapped. In a fluid leap, he shifted from human to lion and slammed Philip to the ground.

Roaring, he bared his fangs.

The scent of the man emptying his bladder filled the air right before Talan ripped out Philip’s throat. Adrian looked away from the mess, not wanting to watch the blood spurt www.total-e-bound.com

TALAN’S TREASURE

Amber Kell

47

across Talan’s golden coat. He understood the necessity of killing Philip. Humans didn’t recover from shifter poisoning.

Adrian wondered why Darren would bite someone unstable or if his cousin had really thought they were mates but decided not to follow through in the end. They would never know the truth or even why a shifter had kept a pistol in his drawer. Adrian had a feeling the caretaker had been into a lot more trouble than having sex with the tourists, even if that was what had ultimately ended his life.

The lion trotted up to him, blood covering his snout.

“You get to tell the sheriff about this.”

The big cat purred before slinking past Adrian.

“Okay, I’ll help you wash but I’m going to tell Kade to raze this cabin to the ground. It stinks.”

* * * *

After tossing the infected body outside then taking a quick shower, the men sat beside each other on the couch.

“So why slash my tyres?” There were a lot of easier ways to damage a car. Philip hadn’t needed to slash them all.

“Maybe your car offended him?” Adrian offered.

“Funny!”

“He was crazy from blood poisoning,” Adrian said, looking at the red mark on the floor.

Talan wrapped an arm around him. Adrian leaned into his heat. “I’d like to say I’m sorry for killing him but I’m not,” Talan rumbled behind him. “I’ll kill anyone who threatens you.”

Adrian smiled. Turning in his lover’s arms, he placed a soft kiss on Talan’s lips. “This wasn’t exactly the getaway I was hoping for when I said we should have some time to ourselves.”

Talan rubbed his nose against Adrian. “Honey, you don’t have to have a big production to get me alone. I’ll just kick everyone else out of the pride house.” www.total-e-bound.com

TALAN’S TREASURE

Amber Kell

48

Laughing, Adrian grabbed his lover’s hand and pulled him towards the bedroom.

“Come on, mate. If I’m going to spend another minute in this stinky cabin, you can at least distract me.”

Talan docilely let his smaller mate drag him out of the room. “Oh I see…I’m just a sex toy for you.”

“Yep,” Adrian agreed cheerfully. When they reached the bedroom he turned to face Talan. A sigh came out of him as he admired his large mate. All that golden flesh made his fingers itch to touch. Talan flashed him a wicked smile as he slowly pulled the shirt over his head. “If you want to keep your remaining clothes, I’d recommend stripping faster,” Adrian warned.

Talan cupped Adrian’s face in his hands. “You know what I say when people ask me what is the most important thing I have?”

Adrian swallowed the lump in his throat over the love blazing from his lion’s eyes.

“What?”

“I tell them my biggest treasure is my mate. Cars, houses, and cash mean nothing if I don’t have you by my side. You’re my everything.” Talan placed a soft kiss on Adrian’s lips then took half a step back, bared his claws and shredded Adrian’s shirt.

“Hey!”

Talan’s wide-fanged grin showed his lion was close to the surface. “You’re not going to need clothes, mate. I plan on keeping you busy until the helicopter comes.” Adrian’s eyes widened. “But that could be days.” Talan’s smile only got bigger. “I know,” he purred.

Grabbing Adrian, he threw him onto the bed and proceeded to show him how he planned on spending the remainder of their private time together.

Coming Soon from Total-E-Bound Publishing:

www.total-e-bound.com

Planetary Submissives: Chalice

Amber Kell

Released 16th January 2012

Excerpt

Chapter One

A man should be like an empty chalice ready to be filled with the experiences of life. ~Queen Nyaha

“That’s the best I can do. It should hide your marks but not cover up so much as to offend an interested master,” Odwill said. The elderly servant finished positioning the decorative cuffs over Chalice’s biceps, patting his arm with the familiar touch of a man who’d watched over his charge since birth.

“Thanks Odwill, it should do fine.” Chalice gave his manservant a reassuring smile. He knew the older man didn’t approve of Chalice’s plans. However, he couldn’t argue with Chalice’s mother.

Although his mother had died during Chalice’s birth, her powers as a seer were legendary. Knowing she would die during labour, she’d chronicled advice to her unborn son and uploaded it into the royal archives. Her encryption key died with her so no one would be able to alter them or read ahead. Once a week, the device would chime and advice from beyond the grave would appear on the screen. Not once had she steered him wrong. When Chalice was younger, he’d thought of her as his imaginary friend—always there when he needed help. Now he wished she could advise him in person.

When he’d first announced plans to join the outbound pets on the next starship, Odwill had immediately looked for ways to help. They both knew there was no future for Chalice as long as he lived beneath his father’s roof. His father loved Chalice in his own way, but he www.total-e-bound.com

refused to acknowledge his son’s problem. In his father’s mind, a planetary ruler couldn’t have a submissive for a son.

To protect his identity, he’d first needed to cover the tattoos revealing him as a four elemental mage. No one would take a man on board who could destroy their ship with a single thought. Wide bands of coppery metal on his biceps gave the impression of bondage as well as covering up his signs of power.

Chalice fidgeted with his armbands a moment before turning to face his servant. “You’d best make yourself scarce after I leave. I don’t want you to get into trouble. I doubt father will discover my absence for a few days, but when he does, he’s likely to come to you for questioning. Wait to announce your retirement until they discover I’m missing. Don’t give him any reason to think you were responsible for my disappearance.” Odwill nodded. Not a strand of his white hair moved. Chalice had always wondered how the man stayed perfectly groomed no matter what the conditions.