Blazing Glory (3 page)

Hold
on a second, his Blaze?
How could Blaze be even his when the man was
practically terrified of Levi?

“I don’t have time for your
bullshit drama, Blaze. We’re leaving. Right this damn second,” Levi growled.

His hand reached out, but what he
caught wasn’t smooth, inked skin. Shocked at the coarseness he was touching,
Levi stared at the deep burn scars practically coating most of Blaze’s left
arm. His hood had fallen off, and a lean, angry, scarred face snarled back at
him.

“Happy now that you’ve unearthed a
monster?” Blaze asked hoarsely, taking back his injured hand with his able one.

“What monster? The only monster I
see are those undead monsters waiting about in the cemetery, planning gods
knows what,” Levi pointed out, making Blaze blink.

“Can’t you see what I’ve become?”

Blaze’s cold, unerring beauty was
gone, replaced by a lean, feral aggressiveness Levi found more alluring. Three
jagged scars ran from beneath Blaze’s left cheekbone to the side of his neck.
More fine lines trailed underneath his hoodie, making the ink that marked him
as a pyromancer even stand out.

Levi saw the scars as marks of
battle and nothing to be ashamed of, but did Blaze see them as marks of shame
and failure?

“What does it matter? I took you
for a vain man, Blaze, but I didn’t take you for a useless coward who’d stand
by and watch his city burn and let more innocent people die.”

“Fuck you, Levi,” Blaze spat, about
to turn away into the room again, but Levi grabbed his shoulder.

“You’re not going to walk away from
me again, pyromancer.” Levi and his bear growled as one.

The fury in their voice startled
Blaze and made him look at Levi warily.

“You’re supposedly the damn best
firestarter
in the city, so act like it,” Levi snapped.

“I’m not the only
elementalist
in the city, Levi,” Blaze said softly, looking
a little shaken.

“You know why I hunted you down,
Blaze?” Levi challenged, trying another tactic.

Blaze was partly right. Levi
could’ve scouted a more inferior pyromancer, but the city councilors were
particular. Either the original fools who let out the Biter deal with their own
mess, or they’d lose their heads. Neither Levi nor his bear liked that
ultimatum. Blaze was their mate, and Blaze was going to help him whether he
liked it or not.

“You want the best. You said so
already, but I’m no longer the best. I’m useless.”

“For fuck’s sake, shut up,” Levi
demanded.

The ghost of familiar defiance
whirled in Blaze’s eyes, but Levi grabbed a handful of his sweatshirt. Trusting
Blaze was too surprised, Levi did what he’d wanted to do ever since he parted
ways with Blaze before Blaze’s instincts took over and Levi became a roasted
bear.

He kissed Blaze.

For months the waiting firestorm
whirling inside of him was unbearable. It stung, burned, and chafed irritably
against his skin. Even changing shape and running through the nearby woods
couldn’t ease that ache one bit.

Finally unleashed, his desire
recklessly coursed from his hungry mouth into Blaze’s. Levi ground his body
hard and relentlessly against Blaze, expecting a fight and some resistance.

Instead, Blaze leaned into his
mouth, meeting warmth for warmth. His hands, at least his good one, ran across
the length of Levi’s back. Blaze’s response was that of a hungry man, deprived
and desperate for touch, and Levi was only eager to feed him.

Running his tongue eagerly against
Blaze’s bottom lip, Levi rubbed himself against Blaze, making sure Blaze felt
his erection. Not disappointing him, Levi felt Blaze’s own rising erection.

Blaze pulled his mouth away and
whispered, “What the fuck, bear? What the hell are you doing to me?”

“You’ve made me wait, Blaze. You
know how long I’ve waited, to have you? I’m not going to wait a second longer,
and you’re not stopping me.”

“But… even like this, you want me?”
Blaze asked, uncertainty creeping into his voice.

“There’s nothing fucking wrong with
you. Get that in your thick skull.”

To shut him up, Levi mashed his
lips roughly and forcefully against Blaze’s lips. Blaze met the force of his
passion with his own. Levi was glad the tension was gone from Blaze’s body and
he was finally relaxing in Levi’s arms.
Blaze was relaxing,
melting, and slowly being undone.

Knowing he was the source of
Blaze’s undoing only made him harder, made his yearning twice as bad. Levi
wasn’t leading Blaze to his downfall. He was only hoping that by showing Blaze
how much he wanted him, Blaze would realize he was someone worth desiring and
get back his sense of self-worth.

With or without his scars, Levi
wanted him badly enough to claim him.

Their tongues crossed, tangled, and
dueled. Sucking at the soft press of Blaze’s lips made his entire body rigid,
spurring it forward to quickly pull off Blaze’s clothes.

“Wait.” Blaze’s pained voice made
Levi growl impatiently.

“That’s the second time you’ve
interrupted me, pyromancer, and I’m not patient man.”

Blaze shuddered, his resistance
sizzling to nothing. Levi insistently tugged off the thick sweatshirt,
revealing a pale inked skin raked with a crisscross pattern of scars. By the
gods, the Biter didn’t just severely injure Blaze. It had tortured him and made
him suffer.

When Levi looked at Blaze, he
lowered his gaze, awaiting harsh judgment.

When Levi had asked around the
local magic circuit about Blaze, he’d encounter cocky smiles and private jokes
he’d didn’t understand.
The proud,
all-powerful Blaze got what he deserved.
Hell, what Levi wouldn’t give to
punch the loser who said it to his face. No one deserved this. All Levi could
do was make sure the monster
who
did this to Blaze got
what it deserved too.

“Didn’t I tell you not to look away
from me, Blaze?” Levi
said,
his voice harsh and
demanding.

Blaze flinched but obeyed.

“I’ll promise you this. We’ll hunt
down this fucker like an animal, and then hurt it until it’s screaming and
begging for death.”

Surprise crossed Blaze’s face, and
then he frowned. “I don’t understand why you’re so angry.”

“I’m downright angry it hurt you
like this, but it doesn’t matter, though, not at this moment. At this moment I
plan to have you.”

Confusion continued to ripple
across Blaze’s features. “Why doesn’t it seem like you’re lying or playing a
joke?”

Laughter boomed its way out of
Levi’s chest, and before Blaze could misunderstand, he continued. “I don’t have
time for lies or jokes, Blaze. When I want something, I take it.”

“Okay,” Blaze whispered.
 
“At this rate I’ll give anything to be able
to feel again, even if this is a fling.”

“Damn it, Blaze. Don’t you
understand? I’m a bear shifter. We bears mate for life. Fuck explanations.”
Levi lowered his head and sucked at the tender, unmarred skin on Blaze’s neck.

Blaze sighed, and Levi ran his
tongue across the length of his neck, eager to show Blaze he appreciated every
inch of him.

“In my clan, the more scars you
have, the better. They’re marks of honor.”

He continued holding Blaze tightly
against him.
 
Levi licked his way
downward and circled one nipple. He took the sensitive flesh into his mouth,
liking the startled sound Blaze made.

“Fuck, Blaze. Your scent, your
taste, every inch of you drives me bad.” Levi licked his lips. Above him, color
rose to Blaze’s cheeks, and Levi moved on to Blaze’s other nipple.

“These marks, what do they mean?”
Levi pressed his tongue over the nipple and then suckled it suddenly just so he
could hear Blaze cry out above him.

“Every
elementalist
gets inked once they come of age. The more you have, the more it shows how much
you can control your element,” Blaze murmured. His eyes were shut, and he
fisted his hands in Levi’s hair.

“The sight of them on you only
makes me hornier.”

At that, Blaze opened his eyes, and
a ghost of an arrogant smile appeared on his lips. “You always talk when you
fuck, bear?”

Levi grinned and sunk his teeth
into his nipple in response. Blaze cried out but didn’t push Levi away even as
he bit hard enough to leave a mark and draw blood.

“I like telling my lover all the
dirty things I’ll be doing to him, so you better live with it.”

Blaze sighed against him in
response, his grip on his hair tightening. Levi went on his knees and began
sliding down Blaze’s jeans. He was afraid of what he’d find, afraid the monster
damaged more than Blaze’s self-worth and most of his gorgeous body.

More thick scars ran across Blaze’s
thighs, but his cock remained long, thick, and untouched. Levi panted, licking
his lips in anticipation.

“Fuck, bear. Why are you looking at
my cock like its edible?” Blaze asked. Although he sounded confident, Levi
could still sense his uncertainty and fear of rejection.

“Don’t you know, Blaze? Bears love
sweet things, and I can’t wait to taste your sweet cream on my mouth.”

Blaze’s cheeks colored slightly and
he pushed at Levi’s head, but didn’t resist when Levi’s tongue darted out to
press against his cock head.

“You won’t let me taste you,
Blaze?” Levi flicked his tongue over the
precum
that
had gathered. He used his fingers to spread it like a lubricant across Blaze’s
quivering hard length. “See how hard you’re getting? Your cock seems to like me
enough.”

“Fuck you, Levi,” Blaze said
weakly.

It was the first time Levi heard
his name on Blaze’s lips, and he took it as a sign of encouragement.

“Here’s what’s going to happen,
Blaze. I’m going to suck you until I’m satisfied with tasting you. Then I’m
going to bend you over and fuck you senseless.”

Blaze shivered, delighting him
more.

Chapter Four

“Don’t you ever shut up?” Blaze’s
voice came out as a squeak when Levi began using his tongue to explore the
length of him.

Licking and sucking, he tongued
Blaze’s hardening shaft eagerly while Blaze moaned and nearly buckled above
him. Levi’s hand worked the base of Blaze’s balls, kneading them. He liked the
sounds comings from Blaze’s mouth and intended for Blaze to make those sounds
only for him.

A pinch at Blaze’s left ball had
Blaze saying, “Damn
you,
bear.”

Stealing a quick look, Levi
cheekily met Blaze’s gaze and opened his mouth to take his shaft in. Levi
didn’t usually take other men’s cocks in his mouth, and though he’d had his
share of other men and women who’d willingly provided the service, Blaze was
different. He wanted to show Blaze just exactly what he’d be missing.

His mouth hungrily and easily
covered Blaze’s long length without any problems. Once Blaze’s cock hit the
back of Levi’s throat, Levi withdrew, working his mouth to give the other man
pleasure.

“I’m coming,” Blaze confessed,
nearly tugging Levi’s hair out.

Levi withdrew and dove in a few
times before the first burst of cum hit his mouth. Damn. He was right. Blaze
tasted sweet.

Blaze’s entire body shook and
shuddered as pleasure took hold of him. Levi gripped his thighs, keeping him
balanced. Despite the euphoria that crossed his features, Blaze watched him,
his eyes resting on the bulge on Levi’s jeans.

Smiling, Levi stripped without
being asked. He liked how Blaze’s eyes never strayed as he peeled each piece of
clothing. His coat, his holsters, his two handguns, wrist sheaths for his
hunting knifes, his shirt, pants, and boots came off.

“Still want me inside you?” Levi
asked, leisurely stroking his cock.

Desire, clear and heavy, was
evident in Blaze’s eyes as he devoured the sight of him. “Yes,” Blaze said
hoarsely, softly.

****

“Yes, what?
If you don’t tell me what you want I can’t give it to you.”

“What?” Blaze asked with disbelief.

Was this man for real? Blaze stared
at Levi Black. Muscles padded every line of his gorgeous.
sun-kissed
flesh, tightening things inside of him. Gods, Blaze never wanted any man as
much as he wanted Levi.

Over the past few months, all he
ever associated with Levi was pure,
undistilled
hatred—hatred for abandoning him and not convincing him harder to leave the
Biter and his minions alone. Blaze knew it was an unfair thought. It was
entirely his fault for insisting to stay and fight a battle he knew he’d lose.

Hating Levi was the only solution
to making the hurt, scars, and burns he’d endured bearable. But that was before
Levi said he wanted Blaze, even with his scars. It was a selfish thought, but
Blaze wasn’t kidding himself. He was one selfish bastard, and he knew it.

After the accident, he couldn’t
stand to look in any mirror. He knew no one would want him. The guys at Havoc’s
did their best around him, but he couldn’t face his brothers, the only family
he’d ever known after his foolish mistake of unleashing the Biter. Not even
Havoc, who was father and brother to them all.

Now Levi came out of nowhere,
asking him the impossible. Did Levi know how much he was demanding?

Night after night, Blaze relieved
the nightmare of the Biter raking its claws across his mangled body over and
over again while the room around him burned. In each of those nightmares, Blaze
always emerged the loser. He’d wake up in the morning, screaming and scratching
at his scars, knowing it wasn’t all just a terrible dream.

Levi didn’t budge. He crossed his
arms, comfortable in his splendid nudity.

“You’re really going to make me
beg?” Blaze asked. He knew he would do it in heartbeat. Desperation clawed at
him, and so did the need to be able to touch and feel another human being
without judgment. Men like Levi were few and far between, and he knew he’d
never get another opportunity like this again. “Fine,” Blaze snapped, surprised
when a large hand lifted his chin.