DAN #2
To his credit, Armel listened without interrupting as Dan went through each element, telling the sheriff about the podcast, the reward, and his sighting of the strange creature in the forest.
“And you’re telling me this now, why?” Armel asked.
“He just moved to town yesterday after he fled for his life in the middle of the night,” Quinn broke in. “It’s the first chance he’s really had.”
“Harrumph.” Armel didn’t argue, but the incisive glare he gave made Dan sure that if he had actually been guilty of anything, he would be spilling his guts.
“I’ve talked to Dr. Jeffries about protection, and he’s arranging for a witch to help me with spells tomorrow.
My cryptid side isn’t really a fighter, and I’m a meteorologist, which doesn’t involve guns.
I’m in the process of moving to a place here in town,” Dan went on.
“I’m afraid the bounty hunter will find me. ”
“I thought about asking him to move in with me, for safety,” Quinn added, “but I’m gone most of the day, every day, and my cabin is pretty remote. He seemed safer closer to town, where people might notice strangers poking around.”
Armel ran a hand through his hair. He took a swig from a coffee cup and grimaced at the contents.
“All right, we’ll take this one step at a time.
As far as the threats and the bounty hunter, I’ll put out a notice to my officers and the sheriffs in the surrounding towns—leaving out your name.
Anything you can find out to identify the hunter will help us see if he’s got priors that would let us arrest and detain him before he makes a move,” Armel said.
“Obviously, I can’t put out an APB without a name and description.
“I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t think there’s much you can do legally against the podcasters without exposing your identity,” the sheriff went on. “And if you really are the creature they said you were, then they didn’t lie, no matter how sensationally they told your secret.”
“I know,” Dan said miserably. “Thanks for listening anyhow.”
“Hey,” Armel said sharply, and Dan’s head jerked up.
“None of that giving up stuff. You got yourself out of a bad situation and came to a safe place. You’ve already made friends, and we’ll do our best to watch out for you.
Just because there isn’t an easy solution, don’t think we won’t find an answer. ”
Dan nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Thank you,” Quinn added.
“Now get out of here. I’m late for dinner,” Armel grumbled. “We’ll let you know if we hear anything.”
Quinn took Dan’s hand once they left the police station. “That actually went pretty well,” Quinn said. “Considering I doubt they hear about this kind of situation every day. I’ve heard really good things about the sheriff, and I think we can trust him to come through for us.”
Dan managed a bleak chuckle. “Well, at least it’ll give him something to talk about on the sheriffs’ chat boards.”
“Armel is a grumpy bear, but he’s good at his job,” Quinn pointed out. “Let’s get takeout, and then I’ve got some ideas to take your mind off things.”
The Chinese food was better than Dan expected, and he dug in with gusto.
Quinn enjoyed his own meal and seemed amused at Dan’s appetite.
“I suggested takeout because the fewer people who see you around town, the fewer who can tell the bounty hunter anything if they show up sniffing around,” Quinn told him.
“Am I under house arrest?” Dan asked, only partly joking.
“Not exactly, but sticking close is probably a good idea,” Quinn replied.
“If this were a big city, it might not matter. But Fox Hollow is small enough that people notice out-of-towners and newcomers. Folks in official positions won’t provide personal information, but if the hunter has tracked down your name and human-side photo, someone might remember seeing you. ”
“Bet you never expected to have a boyfriend in witness protection,” Dan quipped, knowing that he relied on humor when he was stressed.
“It’s not that bad,” Quinn chided. “And I get you all to myself.”
Dan knew Quinn was right. Moving would keep him plenty busy getting settled in, and with luck by the time he was done the problem would be settled.
While they ate, Quinn filled him in on Liam’s hacker brigade, and Dan felt a flicker of hope.
“Now you just have to get the squirrels on my side,” Dan replied.
“If we had a description of the bounty hunter, I would,” Quinn said. “They’re already looking for the dragon and the hikers. I’m hoping I’ll hear from Madden tomorrow. The thing is, you’re not alone, and we’re covering enough angles that something’s got to break open soon.”
We have friends, Wally said in the back of Dan’s mind. They will help us stay safe.
Dan took comfort from Quinn’s comments and Wally’s trust, doing his best to be hopeful. “Let’s clean up and see if we can find a movie,” he suggested, desperate for a distraction.
After they put the boxes in the hotel’s small refrigerator, Dan started toward the couch, but Quinn took his wrist and tugged him in the direction of the bed.
“I can think of better distractions than TV,” Quinn said in a voice like sin and whiskey. “I’d like to blow you. Would that be okay?”
“More than okay.”
Quinn sat, putting his head at crotch level as Dan stayed standing. “Don’t worry about anything. I’ve got you,” he encouraged as he undid Dan’s belt and unzipped him.
Quinn pushed Dan’s jeans and underwear down and gave his package an appreciative once-over that made Dan shiver. Dan was already half-hard and stiffened immediately when Quinn licked a stripe up his cock.
“Mmm,” Quinn murmured, nuzzling into Dan’s pubes and inhaling his scent. He nudged Dan’s thighs farther apart and started to explore his balls and taint, taking his time to taste and explore.
“Not gonna last long.” Dan felt his arousal surge despite the earlier anxiety.
Quinn just kept going, returning his attention to Dan’s leaking cock.
“So good,” Dan groaned.
Quinn brought one hand up to cup Dan’s balls and stroke his sensitive groin while the other squeezed his ass. He started to hum around Dan’s prick, and that taxed the last of Dan’s control.
Dan caught his breath as his orgasm roared through him. He tried to pull back to save Quinn from a mouthful, but Quinn tightened his grip on Dan’s butt and just kept licking and sucking, taking it all.
Quinn finally released Dan’s over-sensitized cock and gave a cat-that-caught-the-canary smile as he licked his lips.
“Oh. My. God,” Dan moaned, not sure his knees would support him. “That was amazing.”
“Good.”
“Let me do you now,” Dan said, now that he could form sentences again.
Quinn gestured to the damp spot on the front of his own jeans. “Too late. You were deliciously responsive. My mind was on you, so I couldn’t count backward from one-hundred or any of the other ways to make it last.”
Dan leaned in, tasting himself on Quinn’s lips, which sent a thrill through him. “Next time, I do you first.”
“Sounds good to me.” Quinn helped Dan pull up his pants. “I’ll take a rain check for the morning.”
They found another action movie that they had both already seen, and sat close, thighs touching and shoulders bumping.
Throughout the movie, they kissed and fondled, making out like teenagers without trying to take things further. Dan appreciated the contact and realized he had been pretty touch-starved. Wally stayed tucked into the back of his thoughts, always present but respecting Dan’s privacy.
“We’ve already figured out who sleeps on which side,” Dan noted as they got ready for bed. None of his previous flings had repeated enough to stake out territory. He took it as another good omen that Quinn might be the one.
“Yep. Just like an old married couple,” Quinn joked as he stripped down and climbed under the covers.
I like the sound of that, Dan thought. He let his head rest on Quinn’s shoulder, and Quinn wrapped an arm around him.
“How are you doing?” Quinn murmured.
“Better,” Dan said. “Having you near helps.”
Quinn turned to meet his eyes. “I plan to be near for a long, long time. I care about you, a lot.”
“I care about you too.” Although Dan mentally substituted “love” for “care” and wondered how soon they would be up to making that admission. We haven’t been together very long, and there’s been a lot going on, he told himself.
He’s our mate, Wally supplied helpfully. Can’t you tell by his scent? He’s ours.
Wrapped in Quinn’s arms, feeling Wally’s protective presence in his mind, Dan fell into a deep, exhausted sleep and didn’t wake until morning.
He made good on his promise when the alarm went off, mouthing his way down Quinn’s hard cock through his underwear before Quinn had completely awakened.
“This okay?” he asked with a lascivious grin.
“Oh yeah,” Quinn groaned. “Don’t stop.”
Dan tasted the residue of last night’s orgasm and breathed in his lover’s scent, both of which just made him achingly hard.
He went to work, licking and sucking, hoping he made up for his lack of experience with enthusiasm. By the time he brought Quinn to release, Dan had already rubbed himself out against the covers to relieve his own erection. He inched up to kiss Quinn, who plundered Dan’s mouth with his tongue.
“Shower?” Dan asked breathlessly when they finally parted.
“Definitely,” Quinn agreed. “That was…a very nice way to wake up.”
Dan smiled. “Good. You know what they say: practice makes perfect.”
They managed to fit into the shower together, and while they used the soap as an excuse to touch each other all over, they weren’t expecting another round right now.
They ate a hurried breakfast of cereal and toast from room service before Quinn had to leave for work.
“Stay close to the hotel, like we discussed,” Quinn warned. “I’ll be back for dinner. Call me if you need me.”
“I just have to go to the Fox Institute to meet with Dr. Jeffries and his witch,” Dan replied.
“Maybe Liam’s hacker friends have a breakthrough for us,” Quinn said. “Until then, lie low, and I’ll be here as soon as I can.”