CHAPTER SEVEN
Torin loved how Shae responded to his body and how their needs aligned.
He was perfect, and he belonged to Torin.
The details were unimportant at this point.
Shae was getting the gist of his new world, and he would understand it all in time.
Right now, he needed to get his mark on Shae, complete their bond, and make sure everyone knew who this precious little man belonged to.
The tight embrace of his beloved soothed and excited him in equal measures, bringing him pleasure beyond comparison. The warm grip of his body is squeezing me and igniting a fire once again, a fire that burns only for him.
The need escalated rapidly, and Torin pounded into his beloved.
Shae thrashed and held on, matching his thrusts.
He came in a sudden flash of sensations that exploded within, lighting every corner of his being.
Torin dropped and sank his teeth into Shae's throat and drank, sealing their connection and establishing their bond for eternity.
The tie that binds was the most beautiful thing Torin had ever experienced.
This was how it felt to love someone, to ache to be willing to die for someone, and it was beautiful.
Shae’s breath was soft and quiet, but his heart was beating out of his chest, and his face held a fascination filled with pure and raw emotion.
He understood his beloved, his fears and hesitations, his love and his goals.
Everything was becoming clear as the bond grew and solidified their souls as one.
***
Shae felt the earth move, and he'd never used those words before in his life, but right now they best described the mind-blowing experience of the bond.
Torin said it would be intense, but he had no idea it would disrupt every cell in his body.
Even his skin seemed to be humming with new life and vitality.
Torin drank from him, sparking thrills that ping ponged along his nerves and exploded in his heart and mind.
He finished and licked the area until it was sharply sensitive, reacting to his every touch. Even his breath made the area sing with sensation. "That is so good," Shae spoke softly on an exhale.
"You're so good, baby, so good, and now you are mine." Shae heard the possessiveness in the tone, and it did not bother him; it brought a lightness to his thoughts and a smile to his face.
This was meant to be it was just as Torin had described. Fate had brought them together because they were meant to be. It was coming together, all his scattered thoughts and concerns were making sense. Having Torin's strong arms around him, pleasuring him so perfectly, made everything so clear.
Shae woke up when Torin bent and kissed his forehead. Torin was dressed in all black like he had been when they first met, and he looked like he was leaving. "Where are you going?" Shae tried to keep the panic out of his voice, but he failed.
"I told you last night that I would be leaving before dawn and joining those searching out Massey and his people," Torin said gently and kissed him again.
Shae sort of remembered Torin saying something like that, but now he wished that Torin was still in bed with him, still holding him. Torin got the message and smiled.
"We'll pick up where we left off as soon as I get back." He kissed him again, and those dark eyes looked him over. "You're sexy in the morning, baby."
“I’m sexy all day, Torin.” He shot back.
"I will not argue with that." He kissed him again and then stood and headed for the door. "If you need me, call." He waved his phone. "I put my number in your phone."
"Don't get hurt, I want to ravage your body when you get back." Shae sat up and winked at him. Torin laughed, and it lightened everything in the room. It was a deep, true laugh.
"I won't get hurt, sweetheart, and I look forward to the ravage." Shae watched him leave and felt it right down to his bones. The loss was causing a tightness in his abdomen and a sadness that came on him suddenly.
Would it feel like that every time they were apart, he wondered.
He missed guys before, but he had never ached for anyone.
He stretched out and tried to go back to sleep, hoping to wake up to Torin next to him, but sleep was impossible.
The people who were hunting him and others from that day were evil, and he worried about Torin.
The guy was an assassin, a very dark assassin. But he had also saved Shae's life repeatedly. Deep down, Shae could see that he was a good man in his own way. He was a good man.
It would take some time to get used to his line of work and everything else he dumped on him in the last two days, but he would get used to it because he was falling hard for this guy.
The beloved aspect made everything harder and faster, but it also provided insight and a supernatural connection that excited and stirred.
Shae had a place with this man he felt it in his bones.
Torin wanted him long-term, and Shae felt the same.
The bond had tied him to Torin in a way that allowed him to feel for him and his well-being.
It wasn't mind-reading, but he could read emotions, and Torin cared for him.
He wasn't sure how deep, but it was real, and that was as good a place as any to start.
He pulled himself out of bed, tired of running all these arrant and scattered thoughts and observations over and over in his mind. He wasn’t going to stress or panic every time Torin had to leave for work.
He smiled at that thought because it made them sound like a committed couple.
Were they a committed couple? They better be committed because Torin didn't get to say the things he did about forever and destiny and all, and then hook up with others.
The very thought had him clutching his midsection as a horrible feeling of dread washed over him.
Damn, he really had it bad for this guy.
He made a cup of coffee and sat by the window looking out at the city as the sun began to break the horizon. He had been sitting there for about 30 minutes when his phone rang. It was Lauren.
He picked it up, stared at the number and the name, and wondered if he should answer. He was safe, and apparently Lauren was safe, so there didn't seem to be an issue. He answered. “Hey, what’s up?” He opened with his usual not wanting to lean into the disaster too quickly.
"Oh, my God, Shae, I am so scared." She cried out, catching Shae off guard.
"What, why I thought you were somewhere safe, why are you scared?" Shae sat up straight and gripped the phone.
"I don't know who told you that, but it's a lie. I'm not safe. I'm hiding, and I'm so scared."
“Where are you?”
“I don’t want to say I’m afraid they will hear.”
“No one can hear. Are you alone?”
“Yes.”
"Tell me where you are, and I'll come get you. I'm in a safe place, and I'll bring you here."
"They killed Margaret, and they killed the caterers. They killed everyone but you and me." Lauren was losing it, and Shae felt so sorry for her. He desperately wanted to help.
"I'll tell someone you need help, and they will come for you." He figured the Hadden people had brought him and others in for protection so they wouldn't say no to helping Lauren.
“No, don’t tell anyone I’m still alive.” Shae was at a loss as to how to help her.
"Just tell me where you are, and I'll come and help you, I promise." Silence fell for a few seconds as Lauren apparently thought through her options.
"Okay, but come alone, you can't trust anyone, Shae they are all in this together."
“Who?”
"Mr. Massey, Master Hadden, they are all in this together." Shae listened to her. Although his gut told him Hadden was solid, he was not a liar or working against them, but he wasn't going to be able to convince Lauren of that now. She was too caught up in her fear to hear him.
"I'm at the Coffee Beanery, not far from the Hadden Center. It's open, and there are a lot of people here. I've been safe so far no one has bothered me. I'm in the back booth with a clear view of the front doors and access to the back door." She spoke more clearly.
"Okay, stay there. I know where that is. I'll meet you as soon as I can."
"Don't be long, I can't stay here."
“I won’t be long.” Shae closed the call and slipped his shoes back on. He wasn’t dressed well, but he managed to straighten his shirt and sweats as much as possible. Lauren won’t care what he looked like.
He contemplated telling Torin what he was doing, but worried that it would distract him, and he might feel compelled to come back, and Shae didn't want to be a burden. He could handle this on his own.
If anyone was looking for him, they wouldn't be looking in downtown Pittsburgh. Besides, Hadden's people had them on the run, so they were probably more concerned about themselves at the moment rather than murdering him.
Shae stepped out into the hall and looked both ways.
The place was large and busy. He found the elevator, and three others got on with him.
They were all vampires, he knew that, and he wasn't sure how he knew that.
They nodded to him but did not converse.
He took it to the ground floor and exited into the lobby, a massive area of businesses and activity.
The vampires on the elevator with him followed him out.
He turned to regard them, but they veered off in other directions.
He thought they might be following him at first, but they split up and headed in different directions. He looked back again, and he did not see them. It must be his imagination.
Shae knew the layout of the ground floor he'd been there before, and he knew how to make his way out to the Plaza. Leaving by the front door would garner attention, especially in his t-shirt and sweats, but he could slip out of the Plaza easily enough; there was a lot of cover there.