Feral (Wicked Nights At Lair Book 1)

18. Hale

Syn is talking to Yves and updating him on what happened at the warehouse as it burns in the rearview mirror. I hold Yannis’s hand as he leans his head on my shoulder. He’s handling all of this remarkably well, which only affirms my belief that he’s the man for me.

“How do you feel now?” I ask him.

“Stronger by the minute. What did she give me? It’s a miracle cure.”

Bowie chuckles. “Same thing happened to me. I got jumped by a bunch of dudes and Syn rescued me. Vivienne gave me something too.”

“Was is something magical?”

I smile, playing with his fingers. “Yes, a healing potion.”

“A powerful one,” Thorn says from the front seat.

“Magic is…” Yannis pauses, his brow creasing. “Real?”

Kyson twists from the front seat. “Very real. There’s a whole world most mortals don’t know anything about.”

Yannis nods, lifting his eyes to mine. “I’m finding that out.”

When I tear my eyes away from my mate, I glance outside to see Thorn taking the street that leads to Lair. It’s still dark, remaining mostly hidden from the world, except those with something special in their hearts.

Past the gate, Thorn parks next to an SUV that has Eros and Justice standing outside of it. On the other side, Yves, Damiano, Raphael, and Haven wait. As we exit the car, I spot Midnight and Tru leaning against the hood, speaking softly together.

Yves’s gaze lands on Yannis, inquisitive but kind. “How are you feeling?”

“Good, thank you.”

I turn sharply towards the street, catching the flash of headlights. “I think our guests have arrived.”

“Well, let’s be proper hosts and invite them in,” Damiano says, already striding towards the gate. Thorn takes off after him.

The doors to Lair open and Tiago and Rhett join us. “What’s going on?” Tiago asks.

“They’re here,” Yannis says.

As he speaks, a car comes flying through the air, landing with a loud crash in the parking lot. Yannis jumps, but the rest of us are unbothered by the event. My guess is Thorn got impatient. They’re assassins for a reason.

Damiano and Thorn appear, dragging two men behind them who are desperately trying to get away, but that’s not gonna happen.

“That’s the guy I saw in my neighborhood. The one who warned me.”

“That’s Ricco Bianchi,” Rhett says, standing beside me now. “He’s been in the news a lot. Bad dude. Drugs, trafficking, tax evasion. He gets acquitted every time.”

“Not tonight,” Yves says ominously. “He picked the wrong city.”

Thorn has Ricco in his clutches, presenting him to me and Yannis.

“Hello, Ricco.” I step closer to him as he scowls at me. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your warehouse operation is burning. Vito, Pippo, and everyone else that was there is dead now.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” he snarls. “Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, yes, we know who you are, big man.” I grab the collar of his dress shirt. “The problem is you don’t know who the fuck we are, a factor you should have considered before you stepped foot in New Onyx.”

Rhett bounces on his toes. “Fucking hell, do we get to take these guys out?”

I tilt my head, studying the face of the very angry mafioso. “We need to make sure the message gets out though. Crime families aren’t welcome here. Any suggestions?”

Ricco jerks forward and spits on me. Before I can react, Yannis pulls his arm back and lands a solid punch across Ricco’s jaw.

“Don’t disrespect him like that.”

I stare at my mate, my heart fluttering and cock swelling. Gods, he’s perfect.

Ricco spits blood, scowling at Yannis. “You’re gonna pay for that.”

“No, actually he’s not.” I shove Ricco’s chest and he falls back straight into Thorn. “You’re gonna be an example for the rest of your kind.”

“Are we done talking now?” Thorn asks, completely bored. Kyson giggles.

“We are. You can let him go, Thorn.”

Thorn drops his arms and Ricco looks surprised, backing away from us slowly before turning to run through the parking lot.

Thorn chuckles, glancing at me. “Ready?”

I twist my neck side to side as my vampiric features take over. “Very.”

I stalk my victim as he runs in circles, panicked and confused. Yannis and the others catch up, leaving the bloodied body of the other man lying on the ground. He’s not dead though. He’ll be kept alive to tell the others what he witnessed.

We find Ricco at the edge of the lot, staring into the woods. I lunge at him, jumping onto his back and sinking my teeth into his neck. He screams, flailing and trying to get me off him, but that’s not gonna happen.

All the anger and rage I felt after finding Yannis beaten and near death rises to the surface, provoking my beast to completely take over. I lose myself in flesh and blood, tearing the man apart until his screams stop and nothing but bloody pulp is left.

I sit back on my heels, catching my breath as my anger recedes. Yannis stands nearby, watching the scene, the other mates on either side of him.

“Damn, Hale,” Rhett says. “You’re feral when you’re pissed.”

“I’m so proud,” Thorn says, like he raised me.

I don’t respond though, focusing on my mate. His scent reaches me, pushing back the smell of blood and replacing it with all my favorite things instead. I can feel his body heat as he steps closer, holding his hand out to me. I take it, rising slowly. I’m covered in blood, but I wipe my mouth with the back of my sleeve anyway.

“Can we be alone?” Yannis asks.

“Yes. We can go to my office.”

“We’ll clean up out here,” Midnight says, whistling like he’s impressed. “And I thought Thorn was vicious.”

Rhett claps me on the back. “We got it covered, boss.”

Yannis takes my hand, leading me to the front of the club. I can’t read his reaction, but he’s not running, so that’s something. We pass through the club, attracting curious stares, until we reach my office. Once inside, Yannis closes the door, pausing in front of me for a second.

“What are you?—”

My words are cut off as Yannis slams into me, wrapping himself around me and kissing me hard. I’m startled for a second, but I quickly snap out of it and hold him close to me. He reaches between us, groping for the button of my pants and getting them open.

Without words, he sinks to his knees and tugs my underwear down enough to release my cock.

“Yannis…what are you doing?”

“I want you so bad right now I can’t think straight.” He turns his gaze on my erection. “I have no idea what to do, but I want to try.”

Dragging my hands through his hair, I nod. “I won’t stop you.”

Trembling, he closes his eyes and presses his cheek to the tip of my cock, leaving a slick trail of precum. He moans, moving his face so that I paint his lips with the glistening, sticky liquid.

“Fuck,” he whispers. “You smell so good. All the time. Even now.”

“All for you.”

His eyes open, wide and beautiful, and then he parts his lips, sucking the tip of my cock into his warm mouth. Relief washes over me, like finding home after being lost for ages. Gods, he looks beautiful like this.

He tilts his head back, replacing his mouth with his hand. “Remember when you told me you like watching?”

I nod, barely able to process thoughts.

“Pretend right now. We’re in the middle of the club and everyone is watching us. They see me on my knees, worshipping your cock, desperate for a taste of you.”

“Fuck, Yannis.”

“Would you like that?” He drags his tongue along the underside of my shaft. “Everyone would be so jealous of me.”

“No. They’d be jealous of me. What a prize you are.”

He smiles, swirling his tongue over my leaking tip. “Everyone wants to be us, Hale.”

“Yannis…”

“But no one can have you. You’re mine now. All the other people, they’ve become the voyeurs to what we have.”

I tangle my still bloody fingers in his wavy locks. “You’re so beautiful. Your words, your face, your body. You leave me stunned.”

He smiles, opening his mouth and sliding it over my throbbing cock. With his eyes still trained on my face, he moves up and down, trying to find a rhythm, but my focus is his mouth on me. He gags a few times, but he’s determined.

He digs his fingers into my thighs, sucking and licking in sloppy motions that still feel amazing. I want so many things with him—sexy nights and soft mornings. I want him in my mouth, his blood on my tongue, his love in my soul.

His confidence in what he’s doing is as much of a turn-on as the act itself. I know it’s his first time, but he’s thrown himself into it, trying his best to please me. What he doesn’t know is that his mere existence pleases me.

“Do you want to fuck me?” he asks, his lips moving against my balls. “I want to feel that.”

“Desperately, but not here. Not like this.”

“But you do?” He smiles. “You want me.”

“Since the moment I laid eyes on you, beautiful man.”

“Later then.”

Before I can say anything else, he closes his lips over my cock, sucking me and massaging my ass with his strong hands. After a couple of minutes, he relaxes, sitting back on his heels.

“I want to make you come. Use my mouth.”

A shiver of desire rolls through me and I slide my hand to the back of his neck and begin slowly fucking his mouth. As I lose myself in pleasure, my pace increases, but he handles it perfectly. Our eyes stay locked together, and I memorize the image of this man, so filled with desire to please me, sticky precum and saliva dripping down his chin.

The sight pushes me to the finish line, and as I grunt and try to pull back, Yannis grips the backs of my thighs, clamping down with his lips and milking my cock. He chokes slightly as I spill onto his tongue, but watching him swallow it makes my stomach flutter.

He takes every drop, his eyes watering and cheeks flushed pink. I’ve never seen anything so stunning in my very long life. My cock softens and I slump against my desk while Yannis rests his head on my thigh. His scent wraps around me like a blanket, sweet and floral like a spring day, but the heat radiating off him is more like standing too close to the sun.

“Thank you,” I manage.

He doesn’t say anything, just squeezes my thigh.

“Are you alright? Was that too much?” He sniffs, and I drop to my knees. “Yannis? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He smiles through watery eyes. “I’m… happy. I swear it.”

“You’re sure?”

He nods, brushing his soft fingers across my cheek. “I’ve never…” He pauses, wiping at his eyes. “That’s the first time I’ve ever been turned on like that and really wanted to have sex. I used to think maybe something was wrong with me because sex was cool, but I didn’t get all excited and worked up about like other guys seemed to, but tonight, just now, I wanted you so much. I wanted to make you happy. I wanted to have sex.” He laughs softly. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. I’m happy for you.”

“You changed my whole life, Hale. I want so many things with you now. I’ll get better too.”

“You don’t need to get better. You were perfect.”

Yannis leans forward and presses a kiss to my mouth. “You were incredible tonight. You’re so sexy, and I felt so safe and protected.”

“I didn’t frighten you?”

“Not at all, but I do have a couple of questions.”

“Okay.”

“What did Bowie mean when he said mate?”

I nod, accepting that it’s time we talked about this. “Why don’t we go home and discuss it? I’ll answer all your questions.”

“Promise? I know you’re holding back, but I can handle the truth.”

“I learned that tonight.” I cup his face. “I promise. I want you to know.”

And I hope you’ll still want to stay.