Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
CRAZY SEXY MAN BAT
Iflicked an annoyed glance at Quillan before nodding at Wiley. “Yes, I am.”
He blinked at me and said nothing.
Realizing I sat in the only chair available, I got up and offered it to him. He kept staring and didn’t move to take the seat.
“Honestly, Wiley, it’s nothing.” I leaned on a corner of Quillan’s overcrowded desk and crossed my arms. “I’m only royalty amongst vampires. I’m one of six Contestrello marquesses. The current king of vampires is a Carpathian. It’s all nonsense to humans.”
He cocked his head at me. “If someone was going to introduce you formally, what would they say?”
I sighed before giving him what he wanted.
“They would say, ‘I present His Most Blessed Excellency, Hamilton Xavier Darkwing Fawkes, Marquess of Innadore, Lawgiver of the Contestrello, Champion of the Watch.’ I’d be addressed as Lord Innadore or just Innadore.
Most Americans who find out call me Lord Fawkes because they don’t know any better and it doesn’t matter here. ”
Wiley crossed his arms and glared at me. “Why are you getting so testy just telling me something about yourself?”
My ire faded and I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my stolen slacks. “Because this is one of the things I wanted to talk to you about later. During our…date.”
“Oh.” He walked over, gave me a peck on my cheek, and then sat down in the chair. “We’re fine then. And I just realized that Liana wasn’t saying ‘lordy, Fawkes, where have you been,’ she was calling you Lord Fawkes all American and wrong.”
I shrugged. “Mermaids do royal titles differently, so she was addressing me correctly according to her people.”
“Do I need to be here?” Quillan said like he was sincerely confused.
“Yes, you do. Or we do.” I glanced at Wiley. “We can continue this later.”
“On our date,” he said with a grin.
I cleared my throat and focused on Quillan. Nothing I was about to tell him would be easy for me to say, or him to hear. I was bringing some of the worst possible news to his desk.
“Approximately six weeks ago, I was abducted from The Chop, a restaurant in North Parnell, and taken to The Barnabas Institute of Genetics where Doctor Edsel Barnabas is attempting to create genetically altered super soldiers for the American government.”
Quillan’s eyes got larger and a snout started to push out his mouth and nose.
Fur began to sprout over his bare arms and his fingernails extended to claws.
That was testament to how afraid the werewolf became at my words.
I almost reached for him, wanting to reassure him somehow, but he blinked, swallowed hard, and shook himself to return to his fully human form before wiggling his mouse to wake his computer.
“Tell me everything,” he said. “Everything. I’m recording this as of now. This is Quillan MacLupine with Hamilton Fawkes and Wiley Winslow. Case number DW2356.9. Initial intake.”
Quillan gave me a nod, so I repeated what I’d said about being taken and then just kept talking about everything I’d experienced, sussed out, or been outright told by the arrogant Barnabas himself.
The chemical that had been sprayed on me to keep me in my bat form.
The numerous and invasive samples they’d taken.
The men they’d given me to feed from…and that I wasn’t one hundred percent sure what had happened to them afterward.
At that point, Wiley silently stood and wrapped himself around me.
I was usually the strong one, the one who protected and comforted, so it was startling to find myself in his arms and getting a kiss on my forehead.
For just a moment, as I put my hands on his hips, I was going to push him back and carry on.
But no, I could have this now. My mate had been moved to show me that I wasn’t alone, and I wanted to feel that from him.
I wrapped an arm around Wiley’s waist, leaned my cheek against his chest, and continued telling Quillan everything I knew. It felt like hours had passed by the time I was done, like maybe it was evening already. I wanted to sleep.
“When did you get involved, Wiley?” Quillan asked.
“I was taken from just outside the back door of Tony’s Diner in Irmaville where I work.
Well, I probably don’t work there anymore since I never finished closing for the night.
Anyway, the dudes in black tactical gear knew my name and had me confirm it.
I thought maybe they were ICE and was about to throw down, but one of them stabbed me with a syringe and…
I didn’t pass out completely, but everything got real fuzzy around the edges and I couldn’t make myself move the way I wanted to. ”
I tucked my face against his chest and just breathed in the scent of him. The urge was strong to go back to the institute and see if I might be able to bring the whole building down. Not in retaliation for what they’d done to me, but for Wiley. He deserved to have his vengeance, too.
But I didn’t move because he was petting my hair as he talked. I couldn’t be sure which one of us he was comforting more.
“I don’t know how far they drove,” he continued, “when they dragged me into a room and stripped me. I remember one guy was pissed that I kept talking and left my socks on me, while another guy was like, ‘take his socks off’ and he was all ‘fuck that.’ Oh, you know what? I left those at the house. Oops. Anyway, then they shoved me into Hamilton’s room and he snatched me up. ”
Wiley cleared his throat, and I looked up at his face. “Do they need like all the details of that?” he whispered.
I glanced at Quillan, who was shaking his head. He knew what we were to each other, and since weres also got a boost in strength and virility and everything else when they took their mate for the first time, I assumed Quillan could guess that was why I’d finally been able to escape.
“You can stop there,” Quillan said. “I’m launching an investigation right now.
I know you said you never gave them your name, Fawkes, but I’m not going to assume your place is safe.
I’ve got a room upstairs where we’ll keep you for as long as necessary.
I’m going to need you available as the investigation progresses anyway.
I’ll have someone escort you there now.”
Quillan stood, his bulk jostling the desk. I felt like I might fall off my corner of it, so stood straight. Wiley was suddenly in my arms, one leg around mine and his face pale and eyes huge.
“All is well,” I told him as I peeled his hand free of my back and then held onto it.
“Are we, like, being imprisoned?”
“Oh! No, not at all.”
“But he said there’s a room where we’ll be kept for—”
I hugged him close, realizing Quillan’s word choices might not have been clear. “The top floor of the building has suites—like a hotel—that visitors, guests, and people like us who need protection can use temporarily.”
He relaxed, clearing his throat as color reappeared on his cheeks. “Oh. Yeah, okay, a mini vacation sounds good right about now.”
I petted his hair this time. “And we have much to discuss.”
Wiley nodded and held my hand with both of his.
Hopefully, what I had to say about us being mates would ease his fears instead of adding to them.
I’d never had this talk before, but I’d heard that it could be very difficult for humans to understand given they didn’t react to pheromones and instincts like we did. All I could do was be patient and hope.
Several people were in the hall once we stepped out of Quillan’s office.
It was immediately clear to me that they had either gotten some kind of notice or might have listened in on the recording as we spoke because they were talking about plans and roles already.
Quillan directed everyone down to the large conference room at the end of the hall and asked for an immediate breach of the institute’s computer system.
Someone with electricity arching between the wild ends of their black hair said they were already on it, and I realized the hackers were elementals, not witches.
“Hi, I’m Felix,” a man of about Wiley’s age said with a smile. “I’m going to take you upstairs, get you settled, and take care of getting food, clothes, and anything else you need while you’re staying with us. Okay?”
“Oh. Yeah, okay.” Wiley’s grip on my hand eased, and I was glad to see him embracing the vacation aspect of this.
Perhaps, I could do the same.
Felix was some breed of cat shifter from the scent of him, and he knew exactly what he was doing as he eased both of us into our new accommodations.
Normally, I didn’t like to be handled, but it was working for Wiley, so I didn’t fuss.
I merely gave my measurements to Felix, while Wiley discussed fabrics and vibes like that was all anyone needed to know about clothes.
It was my hope, though, that Wiley wouldn’t spend much time clothed, assuming the revelation of our mating went well.
Not wanting to think about that, I explored the suite since I’d never been up here before.
Like the home we’d borrowed, there was a great deal of glass, but it was definitely laminated to keep those like me safe.
The furniture was mostly firm cushions and chrome as if it had been done in some attempt to be both modern and easily cleaned.
It wasn’t my aesthetic, but it was fine for a getaway.
And, truly, I did need to get away from the past six weeks of my life.
Part of me wanted to jump back into normalcy.
To return to my condo downtown or my estate in Saint Jude, make sure all of my clients had been taken care of properly in my absence, and live as though none of that captivity nonsense had happened.
But I was also self-aware enough to know that would never work out well for me or anyone else.
Suddenly, Wiley was thumping against my back and wrapping his arms around me, his cheek pressed to my shoulder blade.
“Felix is going to get us two entire wardrobes that we can take with us when all this is over and he’s getting the whole kitchen stocked with all kinds of gourmet foods plus someone to cook it all for us! ”
I chuckled as I eased open his embrace of me so that I could turn around and face him. “I’m glad you’re so delighted.”
He re-plastered himself to the front of me and snuggled in as I looped my arms around his shoulders.
“It started awful—and you’ve been through so much, baby—but this all feels like a chance at a new start, you know?
Like, I wasn’t loving my life as someone who had no idea that supernatural anything was real, but now I could maybe be part of that world.
I could work with you guys! And starting this new beginning in a penthouse suite with fancy everything and you…
” He blushed and bit his bottom lip, eyes sparkling.
“I’m having a very good day, Your Excellency. ”
A snort slipped out involuntarily at his use of that title, but I dipped down to kiss the top of his head. “You can absolutely have a new start.” I gulped some but made myself say the words. “And I hope you’ll allow me to be a part of the life you make.”
“Absolutely,” he said when I’d paused to breathe.
“Well, um, let me continue by saying…”
He pulled back and looked up, frowning.
I cleared my throat, finding it more difficult to go on now that I could see his eyes.
“The reason I grew strong enough to escape after being with you was because we’re mates.”
He cocked his head at me. “Like g’day mate?”
“Oh, no, like fated mates. Life partners.”
“Husbands?”
I licked my lips and nodded, still worried because he kept frowning. “Yes.”
Wiley stepped back and turned around, pacing away. He looked thoughtful to me, so maybe this wasn’t the end of the world. I couldn’t quite convince my heart of that, though, as it galloped in my chest while I watched him.
Then all of a sudden, he put his arms in the air and yelled, “I’ve won the fucking lottery!” And a second later, he turned and launched himself at me.
I wasn’t prepared to catch him and so fell backward from his momentum, landing on the couch with a grunt as he came down on top of me. He wiggled his stiffening dick against my stomach and grabbed my face in both hands before kissing me hard.
Was I the lottery he’d won? It felt as though I could be, and oh, that eased my heart entirely. I wrapped my arms around him, took control of the kissing, and pressed his little ass down, encouraging him to frot against me more.
But when he started unbuttoning my shirt, I had to ask, “Isn’t Felix coming right back?”
He shook his head, lips swollen and smirking. “I asked him for a few hours of alone time.”
“What a grand idea.” I smiled back at him and massaged his pert ass.
“It’s never been so good as it’s been with you.”
Oh, god, he was everything! I grabbed his hair and angled his head to kiss him deep, claiming him as mine and knowing he wanted me, too. He wanted to be mine!
I wanted to shift into my natural form, not this one that I used to hide myself from unaware humans.
I itched to use claws to rend his clothes and free his pale skin to my touch, my tongue.
God, yes, I wanted to lick him everywhere, bite him again and again, and hear his whimpers and cries for more.
But what if it was too soon? What if that form brought bad memories and fears back to the surface? It had barely been a day since we’d escaped.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered.
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
He nodded but seemed distracted. “Can you, um… Um…”
“Anything, Wiley. I’ll give you anything you wish.”
He nibbled his bottom lip adorably and sat back on my lap. “Can you be your, um… Your bat form again?”
Had he read my mind? “I’d feared you might associate that with pain and your own abduction.”
“What? No! I mean, you were scary at first, but then everything after that was…” He licked his lips, his eyes going liquid with lust. “The crazy sexy man bat that saved my life, like, five times in under twenty minutes.”
I’d been described in many ways but… “Crazy sexy man bat?”
“Ugh!” He thumped both fists against my chest. “Just get naked and batty. I want to explore you, alright?”
My worries allayed, I sat up and kissed him. “Yes, dear.”
Wiley backed off my lap, and I leaned forward to follow him.
I took a moment to toe off my stolen shoes but then let my shift happen.
Cloth ripped every which way as my much larger form took over and shredded my clothes.
He gasped, his gaze flicking everywhere at once like he was compelled to take in all of me.
I loved seeing his reaction and grinned devilishly as I grabbed him up, flapped my wings, and darted up to the loft bedroom as he hollered in sudden alarm.
“You wicked beast,” he said with a frown as I set him down.
I snarled to reveal my fangs and tore open the seat of his trousers. “I’ll show you beastly…”