Without Reservations (27 page)

Keaton handed over the gun and ammo. “But why didn’t he come back and tell us what was going on?”

Howard shrugged. “He tried. He didn’t have a phone number. He followed Jonathon all the way back to his hotel and watched him, by then all of you were already on a plane headed here.”

“But why the change of heart? Aubrey hates me,” Keaton said.

Howard shook his head. “No he doesn’t, Son. We all make mistakes when we’re younger. He has grown up quite a bit since you left home. Give him a chance. You only have one brother.”

Remi groaned, grabbing his face in both hands. “Goddamn it! I’m sick and fucking tired of my eyes shifting.” He dropped his hands and pointed to Jonathon’s body. “And that is just gross. Why do I want to eat it?” He stormed off toward the house.

Chay glanced down at Jonathon. Yeah, it was pretty gross. But Chay didn’t feel the least bit of remorse. That son of a bitch tried to kill his Bit. Chay glanced up to see everyone staring, puzzled, after Remi’s retreating back.

Keaton looked at Chay, his eyes wide. “You’re sure you are okay?” He reached up and felt Chay’s forehead with the back of his hand. “You don’t feel feverish. If you had silver poisoning, you’d be feverish, right?”

“If he had silver poisoning he wouldn’t have healed,” Howard said.

Chay shook his head. He couldn’t believe everyone made such a fuss over him. Bit was the one who could have been killed. “Don’t even start, Bit.” Chay pointed at him. “You’re already in trouble.”

“Me?” Bit squeaked.

“Yes, you. What the hell were you thinking antagonizing a lunatic with a gun?”

Keaton sputtered for several seconds.

Chay growled and shoved Bit toward the house, following the others. “You psychotic little Georgia Peach.” He put his hand on Keaton’s shoulder, needing to touch his mate. “Geez, Bit, you really know how to pick ‘em.”

Keaton stopped in front of him, turning. He looked Chay up and down slowly, a serene little smile on his face. He raised up and kissed Chay’s chin, his arms going around him. “Yes, I do.”

Epilogue

Grinning like an idiot, Chay sat on the couch watching his mate dismiss his class of werewolf cubs. Bit had made a life for himself in New Mexico. For a man who proclaimed himself to be socially retarded, he had become quite the social butterfly. He still couldn’t cook worth a damn, but he’d taken to hosting all their poker games and inviting more people to boot. The man had his mother’s flair for partying.

Chay was so proud of Bit he could bust. Keaton had also been appointed pack teacher. Keaton was doing such a fine job of teaching Remi control that John Carter had begged him to take the position. Keaton was now responsible for teaching the prepubescent wolves how to control themselves and pack history—a sort of, “How to be a werewolf 101”—before they actually changed for the first time. He taught his werewolf pupils at their home, so Chay helped on occasion.

“Bye. Have a nice Christmas.” Bit waved the last of his class off, all but one at least. From the sound of it, Remi was raiding their refrigerator.

Remi came out from the kitchen with coke and chips in hand and sat on the couch next to him. His friend was getting pretty good at hiding his werewolf instincts but Keaton continued to work with him. Remi was adjusting well, but he still had no clue that Jake was his mate. Jake fortunately seemed to be taking things in stride, allowing Remi to get used to being a wolf first.

Remi flipped his head up in greeting.

Chay nodded.

“You finish staining those bookshelves?”

“Yup. Looks like I did it at a good time too.” He looked at Bit who had just closed the door. Chay was making the extra bedroom into an office for Bit now that Bit gave up the charade of it being his bedroom.

Keaton stopped in the middle of the living-room floor, hands on hips, glaring at Remi. “Who said you could eat? You aren’t done with your lesson.”

Remi groaned around a mouthful of chips and shot Chay a pleading look.

Chay held his hands up in a you’re-on-your-own-buddy gesture. No way was he getting involved. Remi and Keaton actually got along pretty well nowadays, but that didn’t stop them from bickering at each other.

Remi washed down his chips with a swig of soda. “Why did you let everyone else go?”

“They were done for the day. But you aren’t.” You could practically hear the “duh” at the end of Bit’s explanation.

Remi rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why I have to keep working. I’m older than they are.” He popped a chip in his mouth and glared up at Bit. “Why do I have to come to class with a bunch of little boys?”

“Because there are no adults who need instruction. Werewolf attacks are very rare.” Keaton settled himself into Chay’s lap and kissed his chin. “Hey. Did you finish the bookcase?” Bit asked, practically bouncing.

Chay smiled and kissed his nose. “Yes, I did. You want to see it?”

“Uh-huh.” Bit smiled.

“Hey. I thought I had more to learn today?” Remi protested.

Keaton pointed at him. “Don’t start with me. I voted to let you die. But noooo…Chay and Jake wouldn’t have it.”

Chay bit his lip to keep from laughing.

Remi’s mouth fell open, then snapped shut. “You’re an asshole, Keaton.”

Keaton blinked. “That is Professor Asshole to you. Now, strip!”

“Excuse me?” Remi’s eyes widened.

“Strip. I want to see how fast you can shift. If someone were to challenge you, how fast you can change forms could make the difference in life or death. Now strip.” Keaton turned to Chay. “Thank you for making me a bookcase. It will be all the better just because you made it for me. Now, if you’d learn to cook…”

Chay grinned and pulled his Bit in to snuggle. “You’re welcome. And that goes both ways, you could learn to cook too.”

Remi was still mumbling in the background, throwing clothes all over the place.

Keaton leaned in, sealing his lips to Chay’s, his tongue probing.

Ah yeah.
Chay opened, letting him in. He was vaguely aware of Remi shifting into a wolf and back to human. He heard toenails on the wood floor, followed by a deep growl. The doggy door whooshed open, then shut. The whole time Chay’s tongue tangled with Bit’s, lazily enjoying his mate.

“Dammit, Pita! Give me my underwear back.”

Chay and Keaton broke apart, heads snapping around.

Remi stood in the middle of the living room, naked, glaring at the back door.

Keaton started giggling. “Class dismissed.”

About the Author

J.L. Langley was born and raised in Texas. Which is a good thing considering that Texas is full of cowboys and there is nothing better than a man in a pair of tight Wranglers and a cowboy hat. She is fortunate to live with four of the most gorgeous males to walk the earth…ok, so one of those males is canine, but he is quite beautiful for a German Shepherd. When not writing, she can usually be found with a book in hand and chocolate in the other.

To learn more about J.L. Langley, please visit
http://www.jllangley.com/
. Send an email to J.L. at
mailto:[email protected]
or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as J.L.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_yellow_rose

Look for these titles by  J.L. Langley

Coming Soon:

With Love

Letters are funny things, you know? A piece of paper with some handwritten words can change a person's life…

The Letter

© 2006 Willa Okati

Available October 17, 2006 at Samhain Publishing

The time has come for them to go their separate ways. It’s been a hard decision for two men so very much in love, but Luke and his partner Brandon are parting so that Luke can head to New York and follow his dreams.

It seems, however, that someone or something doesn’t want Luke to leave his beloved. He and Brandon discover a chest of letters in their attic which details their relationship down to the last moment—except that these letters were written in 1948.

Should they listen to the guidance given by the mysterious writer of the letters? Should they give in to the urge to stay together, no matter what? Should Brandon fight for his man?

The answer is in the final letter…

Enjoy the following excerpt for
The Letter:

Brandon led the way to the bedroom they’d shared for the past five years, no looking back, quietly confident that Luke would follow. He did, swallowing down another lump of regret as he entered and saw the big, dark wood bed with its handmade crazy quilt and the long pillow they both rested their heads on.

When he reached the bed, Brandon turned around to face Luke. “How shall we do this?”

Luke shook his head. “Any way you want to, babe.”

“Please—” Brandon held up a hand. “I can’t bear to hear you calling me that. Not now.”

“All right. I’m sorry.
Brandon.
Anything you want, it’s yours. Just tell me what to do.”

Brandon sat on the edge of the bed. “Come here, to me. Stand between my legs. I want to taste you before we do anything else.”

Luke obeyed, the movement natural but the atmosphere charged with something heavy and unquiet. Whenever they’d done this before there had been passion or laughter, but now there was only Brandon’s studious concentration as he ran his fingers over the zipper of Luke’s jeans, then pulled it open. He tugged the jeans down, along with Luke’s jockey shorts, all the way to mid-thigh, and studied what he found there.

Luke let out a small hiss as the cool air of the house kissed his cock, which was hard and ready for action even if the rest of him wasn’t. He looked down to see Brandon gazing at him as if he were something rare to be treasured, and then watched him as the man bent forward to take Luke’s dick into his mouth.

Luke swore under his breath and put his hands forward, steadying himself on Brandon’s shoulders. He moved his hands like a cat would knead, rolling in time with Brandon’s sucking motions and making small cries whenever Brandon used his teeth or his tongue in an especially fine way, turning him desperate for the feel of something tighter and hotter around his cock.

All too soon, Brandon drew off, licking his lips. He held on to Luke by one hip and looked up at him, eyes serious. “Now,” he said solemnly. “Do what comes naturally, but I want you.”

I’ll always want you—
that went unspoken.

Luke nodded, pushing his jeans and shorts out of the way and kicking them lightly across the bedroom floor. As Brandon stretched out on the bed, Luke moved to Brandon’s side, helping his lover wriggle out of his own khakis until he, too, was bare of any stitch. Naked, Luke stretched out on top of the man, bracing his weight on his arms.

They shared another kiss, long and deep and slow. “Good,” Brandon murmured when they parted. “No one’s ever kissed me like you do.”

And never will again
, Luke thought
. God, so many things are going unsaid.

“Kiss me.”

Luke obeyed, bringing his mouth down with a hungrier fervor, trying to let Brandon know through his movements how much regret he felt at this having to be their last time together. That changed quickly, though, to pleasure at how good this felt, having Brandon beneath him.

In a world where the nights are darker and the passions run deeper,

two young men go from friends to something more when a

dangerous stranger appears on their doorstep.

Blood Brothers

© 2006 Barbara Sheridan and Anne Cain

Available now at Samhain Publishing

In feudal Japan, war and famine tear through the countryside, and demons lurk in the darkness. Two young men struggle together on the outskirts of a ravaged village: the strong yet kind Liu Sakurai and his beloved gentle-hearted Kiyoshi. And as their friendship endures the endless hardships, their bond grows into something more.

When the summer night brings a mysterious stranger to their door, the most dangerous desires of their dreams and nightmares are awakened. Blood now binds Kiyoshi and Sakurai together where once love did, but can this tie last an eternity?

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Blood Brothers:

Oh I know what he is to you, Liu, I can see the hunger in your eyes for him. I felt the passion in your blood for him. Even now you grow hard and ache for him and if I wasn’t here you’d be fucking him into the futon, wouldn’t you?

The trembling in Liu’s hands worsened until his entire body quivered. “I don’t—I—,” the young man gasped. He kept the curved blade to Kuro’s throat, but he sat back on his heels and groaned. His free hand pressed against the front of his
yukata
, stroking at the part in the robe between his legs. Kuro laughed again when the steel scraped against his neck, drawing out blood with the same ease he’d drawn out the hidden desires of Liu’s heart. Kuro reached up and touched the boy’s chin.

“Y—yes,” Liu sighed heavily, his pulse quickening as the blood rushed through his body with lust.

Give in to those desires…
Kuro smiled, reaching out with his senses until he could taste Kiyoshi’s essence through Liu’s passionate imaginings.

“Gods!” Liu dropped the
kama
and scrambled backwards away from Kuro. “How did you know that?” he croaked. “Why can I hear your voice in my mind?”

“I am a strong man, Liu. Strong in ways you can’t even begin to imagine,” Kuro said softly. “I can see inside men to read what lies within their hearts.” He sat up, leaning back on one elbow to regard Liu. “A farmer’s life is not for you. Had you been born to better parents you would be a fine samurai. I sense in you a bloodthirsty warrior to rival the best Nobunaga’s army has ever seen.”