Chapter 30
Chapter
Thirty
CALEB
It was Saturday, and I was riding Jesse’s dick like the jockey of the odds-on favorite at Churchill Downs.
I fucking loved Saturday.
Three weeks had passed in a blur, every day a whirlwind of joy and relief.
So far, my gift hadn’t manifested again.
The Council of Elders was supposedly searching for another seer who could teach me how to summon it or something.
My parents seemed content to go no-contact.
Citing a lack of evidence, the police in Hale Valley had closed their investigation into Aiden Cross’s busted arm.
I was in love and nobody wanted me dead.
“Baby…” Jesse breathed, holding my waist. He sprawled against the back of the leather sofa, his eyes narrow golden slits as he stared at my bouncing dick. “Damn, you’re good at this.”
“The best,” I said, digging my fingers into his shoulders. Our forgotten lunch waited on the ottoman. The clothes we’d shed littered the glossy hardwood. His London townhouse was quintessential Jesse: all sleek, masculine lines and expensive statement pieces with no clutter.
Well, mostly no clutter. In the three weeks since my trial, I’d upset some of his careful balance.
My T-shirts usually spilled from the side of the dresser he’d vacated, and my socks rarely made it to the hamper.
My college transfer paperwork covered the kitchen table.
Most of my credit hours would make the jump across the pond, but I was looking at about a year of coursework in England.
Once the disappointment had worn off, I’d realized I didn’t mind.
The colleges we’d looked at were a hell of a lot nicer than Hale Valley.
There was no internship requirement, and I’d end up with a more reputable degree.
And I had time.
Jesse wrapped a hand around my dick, and we both groaned as he gave me a rough pump.
“Fuck,” I muttered, staring at the dark hair on his thick wrist. The bottle of lube rolled into the crack between the cushions. We’d started keeping them all over the townhouse because we were a pair of horny, impatient motherfuckers.
“You’re so damn sexy,” Jesse murmured, dragging his fist up and down my shaft. “Taking what you want. Making yourself feel good.” His breath hitched, and he stroked me faster. “Keep going, baby. Sit on it.”
“Fuck, yeah,” I panted, my ass slapping his thighs. My orgasm hovered but, damn, I wanted this to last. Slowing my wild pace, I grabbed his face and kissed him.
He moaned as our tongues clashed, and he moved both hands to my ass and squeezed. His stubble scratched my chin. I worked my hips in a slow circle, grinding on his dick. The head dragged over my gland, and pleasure shot through me.
“Shit,” I muttered against his mouth. Rocking my hips, I squeezed my ass around his cock. Another zing of pleasure nailed my central nervous system. So I did it again, squeezing and grinding.
Jesse’s nostrils flared. “So slutty,” he whispered, sliding his fingers into my cleft. He rubbed my rim, then wedged a finger next to his dick, setting off a burn that quickly dissolved into more pleasure.
I rested my forehead against his. “Fuck.”
He licked my bottom lip. “Too much?”
“Not enough.”
His growl rumbled between us. In one swift move, he seized my hips and flipped us, pinning me flat on my back. My skin stuck to the leather, and my breath punched from my lungs. Jesse loomed between my thighs, already thrusting.
“What happened to letting me take what I want?” I asked.
Possession gleamed in his honey-colored irises. “Changed my mind. Pull your knees to your shoulders.”
Heat licked up my spine. I did as he ordered, putting myself on display.
We both stared at his glistening shaft entering me.
Leather creaked. The slick, wet sound of his thrusts warred with our heavy breathing.
He pulled out, and my hole clamped on air.
We both groaned, and he pushed back inside.
He kept doing it, pulling out and then rocking back into me.
My toes curled. Blood pumped to my dick, and my balls drew up so tight. Jesse stared down at me, his hair falling over his forehead and trembling in time with his thrusts.
“Harder,” I told him.
He raised a brow. “Is that how you ask?”
I licked my lips, and his eyes shot to my mouth. As intended. God, he was so easy.
“Harder, sir,” I said, letting my voice go husky. “Wreck my hole and this sofa.”
He snorted, then braced a hand on the back of the cushion. The muscles in his chest flexed as he snapped his hips. “I have to keep you filled up. Keep you happy.”
“Well, you’re doing a great job.” Life was pretty damn perfect, although I was ready for some downtime. Jesse and I deserved to relax a little. Go pub crawling and then crawl up each other’s dicks. Explore London so he could tell me disgusting history facts. I was even down for another bike ride.
He stopped mid-thrust and jerked his head toward the foyer. “Stefanos,” he growled.
My heart skipped a beat. “What?”
He pulled out and grabbed his sweatpants from the floor. “We have company.” He snatched my briefs from the ottoman and tossed them to me. “Get dressed.”
The doorbell rang.
“No fucking way,” I said, scrambling off the sofa. I stabbed my foot into my briefs and almost lost my balance. “What does he want?”
Jesse’s mouth was tight. “I don’t know. Stay here.” He headed for the foyer, scooping his T-shirt from the floor as he went.
Wait, was he serious? I wasn’t letting him face Stefanos alone. Cursing, I dressed quickly and hurried after him.
“…for the inconvenience,” Stefanos was saying as I entered the foyer. Jesse’s shoulders blocked most of the doorway, but Stefanos caught sight of me and smiled.
“Caleb,” he said. “It’s been too long.”
Not fucking long enough.
“What can we do for you?” Jesse asked Stefanos, displeasure radiating from him.
I moved to his side, trying not to look like I’d just been getting railed on the sofa. But what the fuck did I care what Stefanos thought? He’d shown up uninvited, ruining people’s orgasms.
I folded my arms.
His smile didn’t budge. “May I come in? My business isn’t suitable for the front stoop.”
Jesse waited a beat before stepping back. “Sure.”
We moved to the kitchen, where Stefanos’s gaze landed on the mess of college brochures and enrollment forms.
I scooped everything into the glossy folder and shoved it into a basket on the counter. Jesse leaned against the sink. I moved to his side. He didn’t invite Stefanos to sit, but Stefanos didn’t seem offended.
“I’ll get to the point,” he said. “The Council needs your assistance. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t request it so soon after your ordeal, but this is something of a unique situation.”
My ordeal. Right. As if he hadn’t helped orchestrate it.
He pulled an iPhone from his pocket and thumbed the screen. Then he set it face-up on the counter.
Jesse and I leaned over it. A grainy photo took up the display. In it, a man stood in profile, his features indistinct against a city backdrop.
“What am I looking at?” Jesse asked.
“There are two photos,” Stefanos said. “Both taken in Rome two nights ago.” He reached over and swiped the screen.
I stopped breathing.
The second photo was clear, the lines crisp and unmistakable.
So was the man in the center, except now he faced the camera.
His blond beard hugged a square jaw. Hair the same color was pulled back in a low ponytail.
The last time I’d seen him, he’d worn it loose.
Then again, the last time I’d seen him, his head hadn’t been attached to his shoulders.
“This is impossible,” Jesse said, staring at Ulfrik Haraldsson. He looked at Stefanos. “I burned the body.”
Stefanos’s eyes were steady. “I believe you.”
“Is this some kind of joke?” I asked.
Jesse cut me a look, a clear warning in his eyes. He wanted me to shut up, but it was going to be a while before I forgot two days in a concrete cell with no pillow and cold grilled cheese. Plus the whole death sentence and attempted execution thing.
Stefanos turned his steady gaze to me. “If only that were the case. The Council wants to know how Ulfrik Haraldsson can be alive in Rome when he’s supposed to be dust in New York.
We also need to understand how he’s seemingly controlling his wolf when he was most definitely a rogue.
” He looked at Jesse. “A wolfseeker is the most logical choice to track him down.”
Jesse’s jaw tightened. “And you want me to do it.”
“Both of you,” Stefanos said. “Caleb has obvious ties to Ulfrik. Even if he didn’t, it can’t hurt to have a seer at your side. And I have a feeling you wouldn’t consent to leaving your mate behind even if I ordered it.”
“Correct,” Jesse said.
Stefanos pocketed his phone. “You leave for Rome in the morning. I’ll deposit funds in your account.”
Jesse looked ready to spit nails. “Thanks for booking the flight.” The unspoken before we agreed to it hung in the air.
“No problem,” Stefanos said. He nodded at me, then turned and headed for the foyer.
“Wait,” Jesse said, and Stefanos turned back. “Who took the photos?”
For the first time since he’d appeared on the stoop, Stefanos’s easy demeanor vanished, replaced with something taut.
Worried.
“We don’t know,” he said. “The photos arrived in my inbox last night. The email was encrypted. We haven’t been able to trace it.”
Unease drifted through me. I tensed, waiting for images to form in my head.
For my magic to kick in and show me what was coming.
But nothing happened. No visions appeared.
Nothing fluttered in my stomach besides the typical anxiety of hearing that a supposedly beheaded werewolf was walking around Rome.
Stefanos looked between us. “Whoever sent the photos wanted us to know Ulfrik is alive. Be careful. Both of you.”
He left the kitchen. A moment later, the click of the front door drifted from the foyer.
Jesse and I looked at each other. We moved at the same time, and I ended up in his arms. He held me against his chest, one hand splayed over my lower back.
“How do you feel about this?” he asked.
I thought it over. Ulfrik’s face appeared in my mind. It wasn’t magic this time, either. Just the memory of him lying dead on Jesse’s patio.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “Can we tell the Council no?”
Jesse pulled back, a little frown between his brows. “I’ve never tried it.”
“But?”
He sighed. “But I’m guessing not.”
“This will probably be dangerous,” I said.
“Probably.” His eyes were warm and serious. Just like him.
I touched his jaw. “We’ll be together, though.”
He smiled. “Definitely.”
I smiled back. “Then I guess we’re going to Rome.”