Attracting Anthony (5 page)

made sure he swiped his tongue across his mate's mouth,

growling a little at the amazing flavor exploding across his

taste buds.

Anthony broke away first, earning a tightening grip

from the alpha.

"You don't back away from me."

To Silver's surprise the smaller man's eyes flared

bright gold. "I might like to be controlled inside the

bedroom, but I'm in charge of my own life." He held up his

hand at the sound of protest bubbling from the alpha's

throat. "I don't know about this mate thing. I just wanted a

one night stand to help get over Drew."

"Trust me, we're mates." Silver couldn't let the

challenge stand. Especially with Parker waiting there,

poised to lure his new love away. It was against the rules to

force someone to be your mate; however, nothing

prevented strong-armed persuasion.

He slid his arms around Anthony letting the other

man feel the heat of his body. "Do you want me to be alone

for the rest of my life?"

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Attracting Anthony/Amber Kell

Anthony gasped. "You only get one mate?"

Silver nodded. Sliding his cheek across the human,

he spread his scent across the younger man, marking him to

let other werekin know this beautiful boy was taken. "I

don't want to lose you, baby. What do I need to say?"

He heard Parker snort behind him.

Anthony's hands came up to stroke his head, the

touch tentative, but affectionate. "I don't want you to be

alone. I… I know what it's like to be alone and I wouldn't

wish it on anyone."

Sweet, sweet boy. Silver almost felt bad for his

manipulation.

Almost.

He stood still, letting his mate pet him.

"We'll work something out," Anthony said.

Damn right.

Silver hid his smug expression in the nape of his

mate's neck, nuzzling gently. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I was just surprised. I…" He felt Anthony swallow

against his cheek. "I didn't expect to be someone's mate."

* * * *

Anthony's phone rang, his assistant's ring tone loud

in the silent room. With one last pat he slid out of the

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Attracting Anthony/Amber Kell

werewolf's arms and pulled his phone from his pants

pocket.

Ten wolves watched the movement with feral

anticipation. He tried not to let it unnerve him.

"Hey, Poppet," he said into the receiver. A

childhood friend since the age of six, Ellen was one of the

few people he trusted to watch his back in the business

world. With the fierce competition of building design he

needed people he could depend on.

"Hello, sir," came Ellen's perky reply. It was a bit of

a contest between them of how quirky his pet names

became and how formally she countered them.

"Those men are here for your morning meeting

about the property on Sanders street."

Anthony cursed softly, earning a growl from the

large were beside him. "Stall them, sweetheart. Give me

twenty minutes. I'll drive over and get ready quickly."

"Hmmm. Must've been a good night." Ellen purred

into the phone. "Still aren't dressed and I know you're not in your room. Congratulations on getting laid. You could just

teleport over, you know."

He could feel the heat in his cheeks, but he kept his

tone level. "I don't think they're ready for that. I'll see you in a little bit. Stall for me." He hung up trusting she would take care of everything until he showed.

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The fact that his father was half god, half fae was

not something you dumped on a new love interest.

Anthony's magical heritage had been the one point of

contention between him and Drew. His parents popping in

and out of his life was another. And 'popping in' was not

used figuratively.

A large hand reached out and gripped him firmly at

the back the neck. "Is there anything you want to tell me,

mate
?" Silver's low growl raised the fine hairs across Anthony's body.

He stroked the werewolf's arm, taking away his

aggression with one gentle touch. "I have to get to work. I

forgot about a meeting." It was best to avoid any further

discussions when he had to race to the office. He knew any

discussion about his heritage would be long, involved, and

frustrating.

Still gripping his nape, the large man devoured his

lips in a powerful kiss. "I'll see you tonight," the alpha said.

It wasn't a question.

Silver released him, allowing Anthony the freedom

to nod in agreement.

"What is it you do?" Parker asked.

He was about to answer when one of the other

wolves piped up. "You're Anthony Carrow," Shara said, her voice rising with excitement. "I saw your picture in one of

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Attracting Anthony/Amber Kell

those glossy architectural magazines, I forget which one.

You designed that new hotel downtown didn't you?"

Anthony nodded. "I was the chief architect. It was

one of my favorite projects." He didn't mention he was also

the owner of the architectural firm. He had amassed a large

fortune and now spent the time indulging in pet projects.

Mostly he used his time mentoring younger architects but

occasionally he got to design a building on his own. The

hotel was his latest work.

Silver flashed him a brilliant smile. "Smart and

beautiful."

"I've gotta go. I'm already late for a meeting. I'm

hoping to buy some land for a boutique hotel I've been

planning."

Silver gave his cheek a kiss. "Bye,
mate
."

Anthony wasn't sure if the emphasis was for him, or

the other wolves in the room, so he just smiled and left as if

the hounds of hell were on his heels. For all he knew they

were.

* * * *

Silver watched his lover walk out the door, satisfied

he would see the man later.

"I thought you didn't like pretty boys," Thomas said,

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Attracting Anthony/Amber Kell

raising an eyebrow.

"My boy isn't pretty," Silver smiled smugly, "He's

beautiful." He stopped smiling as he remembered the

panicked look in Anthony's eyes. If he saw the other man

that evening he would be surprised. His gorgeous mate

looked ready to run.

That was all right. Silver liked hunting things down.

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Attracting Anthony/Amber Kell

Chapter Four

Anthony rushed to the back entrance of the

building, taking the private elevator to his penthouse suite.

The building was a mixed use of offices and apartments.

He had a place on the top floor with the architectural

offices several floors below. It wouldn't do for his

employees to see him in his party clothes. They talked

about him enough without seeing him coming into the

building wearing leather pants instead of his usual designer

suit.

In just a few minutes he was dressed and taking

another elevator down to the meeting room. As soon as he

stepped through the doorway he sensed something was

wrong. The men who stood when he entered put off an

uneven vibe; a vibe that told him they weren't human.

There were three of them; all wearing sunglasses, all

exuding danger.

Ellen handed him the file. "Thanks Peaches. Why

don't you take the rest of the day off?"

"Don't you need me to take minutes for this

meeting?"

"I think we'll be all right. This is just going to be an

informal chat to get the ball rolling. Go on now, go spend

some time with your family." Giving him a strange look

she let him escort her to the door and close it behind her

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Attracting Anthony/Amber Kell

when she left. He knew there would be questions later, but

for now the problem of getting Ellen to safety was solved.

"Very smooth." The tall man in the middle strode

forward. "Alesandro Delora at your service." They shook

hands, each sizing the other one up with a look.

Alesandro waved to the other two men. "These are

my associates, Mikel and Darian."

"Nice to meet you," Anthony said, nodding to them.

"Please have a seat." He slid into a chair on the opposite side of the conference table. "Is there a particular reason

vampires are selling real estate?"

Alesandro looked at him, surprised. "You know

about vampires?"

"Yes."

Alesandro shrugged. "We have to do something.

Even though we all have investments, in this economy it is

best to have other things to fall back on. Together we own a

lot of property from years of acquisition. What better way

to make sure we get the best return than to sell it

ourselves?"

"True." Anthony dropped the questioning and

opened the folder on the table. It wasn't really his business

if vampires wanted to dabble in real estate as long as they

had a good deal and got the property legally to start with.

The vampires sat opposite him around the table.

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Attracting Anthony/Amber Kell

"What are you, exactly?" Alesandro asked.

"What?" He looked up from his papers to see the

vamps staring at him. It was reminiscent of the werewolves

that morning.

Alesandro took a deep breath. "You're obviously

not human. You're not werekin. I sense a bit of the fae and

witch, but something else is there too."

"Nothing you need to worry about," Anthony

assured him. He hated going over his genetics with

strangers. It wasn't really any of their business, not to

mention people rarely believed him. It was difficult to

explain when you were the grandson of a god.

He got a long look before the vampire shrugged his

shoulders. "Fair enough."

They were in the middle of negotiations when the

door burst open and two werekin rushed in. One was dark-

haired, in a leather jacket and pants, the other a dirty blond

dressed in jeans and a t-shirt; both bared their fangs as they

entered. Alesandro and his blood mates stood to meet this

new enemy. To Anthony's surprise the vampires shoved

him protectively behind the trio.

"Step away from the alpha mate," one of the

werekin growled. Anthony didn't recognize the voice but he

had no doubt his new lover sent them; confirming his belief

that Silver was the alpha in the pack hierarchy. Not to

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Attracting Anthony/Amber Kell

mention the wolf last evening had bared his neck to his

lover, indicating a lower rank.

"We aren't going to let you harm him." Alesandro's

voice broke into his thoughts.

"I don't think they're here to hurt me." He

remembered the two werekin from breakfast earlier, even

though they hadn't been introduced.

"Silver sent us to protect you," the blond insisted,

trying to talk around the vampires to Anthony.

"You know these two?" Alesandro looked over his

shoulder to get confirmation.

"We haven't been introduced but I'm almost positive

they belong to my boyfriend's pack."

"Boyfriend?"

The two wolves glared at the vampires. "I'm Callen

and this is Scott. Anthony is Silver's mate," the blond said.

"If you hurt him, blood will run in the streets between our

clans."

"That's a pretty visual," Anthony said in a dry voice.

Tired of the posturing he walked around the vampires to

confront the two werekin. "As much as I appreciate you

coming to my rescue," he made sure his tone indicated that

he didn't appreciate it at all, "You interrupted a meeting I

was having with these gentlemen."

"We were sent to protect you," the blond insisted.

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Attracting Anthony/Amber Kell

The werekin glared at the vampires. He didn't know if they

were more frustrated he was alone with three vamps or that

they didn't need to save him.

Anthony let out a put upon sigh. "As long as you

don't protect me from lucrative business deals you can stay.

Over there." He pointed to some seats at the far end of the

table. "Sit."

"If you belong to such a powerful werewolf, where's

your collar?" Alesandro asked. His sharp gaze zeroed in on

Anthony's bare neck. "I can't believe he'd let you go around

unmarked. You're too beautiful to wander around free."

He bristled at the vampire's remark. "You'd be

surprised at how long I've been wandering around without

someone to look after me."

The werekin responded as if Anthony wasn't there.

"Silver will see he gets one," Callen said.

"All I wanted was a nice business meeting. Not a

supernatural soap opera," Anthony grumbled. "I don't have a collar. Silver and I are still working on our relationship."

"He's newly mated," Darian offered.

Alesandro sucked in his breath. "Why is he allowed

out on his own?" he demanded of the two werewolves.

"Silver is the most powerful wolf in the states. His mate

would be a blank check if captured." The vampire glared at

the two men like they had any say in whether Anthony was