Chapter 4 Rafe
“Did you develop X-ray vision or something while I was gone, Doc?”
Rafe huffed in annoyance at being called out and dragged his eyes away from the wall where he’d been peering straight toward where the tug on his chest of the potential mate bond was pulling.
“Don’t you have better things to do, Bella? You’ve been away for over a month. Go make love to your wife or something.”
“My wife is plenty satisfied, Doc, and we were travelling together for the last week.”
“I assume Marco sent you here to try and extract the information I didn’t give him about the break-in.”
Bella was his Alpha’s best friend. An intimidating woman who smelled of fire and old magic.
She’d never confirmed what kind of supernatural she was, but he had his suspicions that she was something out of legend, hiding in plain sight.
She was also excellent company when she wasn’t trying to intimidate you, and they’d been known to share a whiskey on occasion.
He’d even met Katie, the wife she was so careful to keep away from the darkness of the pack’s business.
She was a medical professional as well, although she spent most of her time treating humans in the hospital.
“Can’t an old friend stop by to say hi?” Bella asked, false innocence in her voice as her white teeth flashed in an aggressive grin.
Rafe ignored that and continued tidying up the kitchen. He’d been busier than usual in the clinic that morning, given he’d missed a day looking after Adri, and he hadn’t cleared up from dinner the night before.
“Fine. If you’re not going to tell me why your clinic still smells of angry young jackal shifter, you can at least tell me how your kitten’s doing.”
Rafe glared at the dangerous woman. “I mean it, Bella. Don’t track them down. I have it under control.”
Bella just stared at him, one elegant brow raised.
“He’s a terrible patient, but his arm is no longer in danger of dropping off in a slight breeze,” Rafe said, breaking the stalemate and hopefully distracting her by answering her question about Adri.
“You smell of him—intimately.”
Yep, she was definitely not your run-of-the-mill shifter.
Her senses were so much more acute than most of the pack’s.
He’d been careful to wash with scent-dampening soap before seeing any patients.
Some of the people he treated had suffered trauma, and the last thing he wanted to do was trigger them with the smell of sex.
Thankfully, he’d only had routine cases that morning, because even that mild use of his healing magic had wiped him out on top of what he was still doing for Adri.
Shifter healing magic was rare and worked differently from witch magic.
He knew that because when he first realised he had the power, he’d tried to learn his craft from a witch.
He’d almost burned out trying to do it their way before he found his own methods through experimentation.
His healing magic was much more reliant on his own personal energy levels to manipulate his patients, working with their bodies to achieve the ends he wanted.
Although the term ‘healing magic’ was a bit misleading, a PR term at best, because he could equally use it for non-healing purposes.
“Don’t let him hear you talking about that,” Rafe warned, keeping his voice down as he felt his mate waking.
“Just take him somewhere safe and keep him there until he realises what he’s ignoring between you,” Bella offered.
Rafe huffed a laugh and shook his head as he went to make them a coffee. Was that how Bella had wooed her wife? “Safe? Or isolated? That’s called kidnapping, Bella. It’s generally frowned upon.”
“I prefer hoarding. Most of what our pack gets up to is generally frowned upon.”
“This is different. And not up for discussion,” Rafe said.
They both turned towards the door as Adri joined them, and Rafe took the third cup he’d made over to his mate.
“How’d you know I take it with cream?” Adri asked.
Bella snickered. “Because you’re a cat?”
Rafe shot her a warning glare. “Because I pay attention.”
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of in being feline,” Bella said, her pupils flickering into slits and back. “Although you should really stop your kitten from clawing the walls like that.”
Adri scowled as Bella jerked her chin to the marks he’d scored down the door to the study. Rafe probably should’ve grabbed a sander and buffed them out, but the marks made him hard every time he saw them. He liked the reminder.
“I’m not his anything,” Adri snapped.
At least he was holding his temper better today. Bella had an even lower tolerance for rudeness than Rafe did, and he was too wiped out to go toe-to-toe with her if she took offence at something Adri said.
“If you think that, you’re not paying enough attention,” Bella said.
Fuck. She needed to back off.
“Thanks for stopping by. I need to care for my patient now,” Rafe said, taking her still-full cup from her and gently shepherding her out the door, much to Bella’s amusement.
“He just needs a little push,” she murmured as they stepped outside Adri’s hearing range.
“Any more pushing and you’ll push him right out the door. He probably wouldn’t come back,” Rafe snapped.
Bella turned to face him, cocking her head. “He’ll get there, Rafe. I can feel the draw between you.”
“He’s a cat. The only way he’s going to get anywhere is if he chooses to go. He won’t be pushed.”
Bella smirked. “True. Reminds me of my wife. It’s fun. You just need to find his version of catnip and then roll around in it with him.”
Rafe sighed. “Go make trouble for her instead of me.”
Bella’s expression turned serious for a moment. “Make sure you take care of yourself as well as him, Doc. You’re running on empty.”
Rafe jerked his head in assent, watching until Bella’s form disappeared down the street and around the corner before locking the door to the clinic and setting the alarm. The last thing he needed was another break-in while he was dealing with whatever Bella’s teasing had sparked in his mate.
“Did you make me come with your magic yesterday?” Adri asked as soon as he got back upstairs.
Guess they were jumping right into it.
“I only amplified the sensations you were already feeling,” Rafe said.
“Isn’t it supposed to be a healing magic? Doesn’t that breach some kind of oath or something?”
“I’m a mafia doctor, kitten, not a human one. I have a moral code, but I took no oath. I’ve definitely done harm before, although only to those who deserved it. How is using my power any different from using my hand? Did you not enjoy it?”
“I couldn’t stop myself from coming.”
“All you had to do was say stop, and I would have. You know that. You didn’t want me to.”
Adri growled. “I should have wanted you to.”
“Why? You deserve to take what you need.”
“I’m not an idiot, Doc. I wasn’t taking a damn thing.”
“You deserve to be given what you need, then. Would you like to know what else I can give you with my power?”
“No.”
“You sure about that, kitten?”
“No.”
Rafe smiled, stalking closer and taking Adri’s empty mug from his hand to set it aside before caging him against the kitchen counter and running his nose up his throat as he drew in his mate’s intoxicating jungle scent.
“I can make you orgasm over and over again without even touching you, totally dry while your cum swells in your balls, until your heart is racing and you can’t remember a time you weren’t bathed in pleasure, but every cell in your body is aching to feel my skin.
I can touch you, suck on you, bite you, and shove my cock deep inside you, all while holding your orgasm back, controlling it, because I will own it.
You’ll be unable to come until I let you.
Unable to do anything but take what I give until you beg me for what you need.
It will hurt so good, kitten. You’ve never felt anything like it.
“And if you rile me up really good. If you’re rude to me, and brat at me, and storm out that door after you’ve given yourself to me, I’ll make your blood head south, make you swell until you’re hard and dripping, make your length tremble and throb, and then keep you that way.
You’ll be walking down the street, talking to your friends, training—and you won’t be able to jerk yourself to release, no matter how hard you try.
Won’t be able to do anything to relieve the pressure until you return to me.
Everyone who looks at you will know exactly who you belong to. Would you like that, kitten?”
“No,” Adri said, glancing away.
The rich scent of his arousal flooded the room, and a quick glance down showed just how hard Rafe’s words had made him.
“Liar. But don’t worry, I won’t do any of that until you ask. It’s like Marco said—it’s more fun when you beg.”
“Never going to happen.”
“Your loss. You’re not ready for that yet, anyway. You still need to heal. Need to rest.”
“So do you,” Adri shot back. “I know you skipped breakfast. Sit down and eat something proper already.”
Rafe’s eyes softened, and he brushed a kiss over the stubble on Adri’s cheek before heading over to the tray of food he’d left out for his mate to make them both a plate.
“I’ve got a fight scheduled for next week. I need to start training again,” Adri said once they were sitting. He’d waited until Rafe had his mouth full so he couldn’t immediately growl at him.
“No,” Rafe said before he could control his instincts.
Adri froze, and Rafe knew he’d fucked up. Again.
“Thanks for everything, Doc. I got it from here,” Adri said.
Rafe’s knuckles whitened as Adri placed his fork down on his plate with a soft clink before getting to his feet and heading toward the stairs.
“I can’t maintain the pain block once you leave,” Rafe reminded him, forcing himself to stay seated before he did any more damage to their fragile relationship by trying to save his mate from himself.
“Good. You shouldn’t be maintaining it anyway. You’re wasting your magic on me. It looks fine now. Any pain will be manageable,” Adri said.
“You feeling any pain at all is too much,” Rafe growled.
Adri huffed as he shoved his feet into his combat boots by the door. “I’m not a delicate kitten you need to protect.”
“No. You’re a vicious kitten I want to devour.”
“Maybe try more devouring and less controlling next time.”
Rafe relaxed a little. At least Adri was admitting there would be a next time.