Fighting Temptation [Brac Village 11] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (7 page)

“I don’t think this black will come off of the counter.” Turi wiped harder, but Carmine already knew it was toast.

“I’ll have to replace it.”

“I can help,” Turi said as he tossed his towel aside. “I’m great with my hands.” The man held them up and wiggled his slim fingers.

The statement made Carmine immediately glance at the man’s delicate hands and all kinds of wicked images came to mind of what the guy could do with those fingers. He quickly shook his head, trying to dispel those images.

He was
not
going to let Turi in.

“Why not?” Turi asked. “I really am pretty good with wood.”

Carmine swallowed.

The man had mistaken Carmine’s head shake for telling him no. How in the hell was he supposed to keep his distance? Turi’s scent was invading his lungs, pulling Carmine closer, making him want things he should be running from.

“I wasn’t saying no.”

“But you just shook your head,” Turi pointed out.

Fuck, he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t keep pushing his mate away. Carmine pivoted on his heel, walking out the back door and pulling in a lungful of fresh air. Images of his father came to mind, the lost look, the pain and suffering. There were pieces of his father that the man had lost—a part of the man that had died with his mate—yet he had no choice but to move on, to live without the one person fate had given him.

Carmine didn’t want to live like that. He never wanted to know what it was like to love someone so deeply, so unselfishly, only to lose that person and have to live without them. His father was proof that someone could live when their heart stopped beating.

“What is it?” Turi asked from the doorway, his arms crossed over his stomach. “Is it the counter? I’m really sorry about that.”

Carmine gazed into Turi’s twin emerald gems and knew he couldn’t keep a shield around himself. The wall that he had built, the promise that he had made to never love anyone the way his father had loved his mother was crumbling, falling down around him, shattering at his feet.

He wanted to tell Turi the reason he didn’t want to love, but the words were caught in his throat. “I need to go for a run.”

“I’ll finish cleaning up,” Turi said as he pointed over his shoulder. They stared at each other for a moment longer before Turi dipped his head and walked back inside.

Carmine let out a long sigh before stripping down and shifting. He needed to clear his head, get away, and run before he gave in and went to his mate, claiming the man. The temptation to give in was so powerful, but Carmine was fighting it. He had to fight it or risk his own heart.

He went for a long, hard run, making it back to the house around midnight. Carmine let himself in, cradling his clothes in his arms. He stopped in the kitchen to see that not only was the mess cleaned up, but aside from the burnt counter, the place was cleaner than Carmine had ever had it.

He quietly moved through the house, wondering if Turi had fallen asleep on the couch. He hadn’t told the man where to sleep. Everything had happened so fast earlier that he hadn’t had a chance to let Turi know that there was a guest bedroom.

When Turi said that he didn’t have modern things, Carmine was dying to ask how Turi had lived, fascinated that anyone could live so modestly. But he hadn’t asked. Carmine had been trying too hard to shut down his feelings that were growing for Turi.

Carmine wanted to reach out to Turi and keep away from the guy at the same time. Never had he dealt with something so complicated before, so conflicting. His head was spinning and his heart was terrified of ending up like his father.

Glancing into the living room, he spotted Turi fast asleep on the couch. The man was balled up inside the blanket, his face serene. Carmine stood there for a moment, able to take in his mate’s features without Turi knowing he was watching.

Maybe they could be friends. Carmine didn’t like being evasive and he didn’t like being a prick. That wasn’t him. With the resolve to be nicer toward Turi, Carmine walked down the hall and went to bed.

Maverick stared at the newspaper. He couldn’t believe what he was reading. It seemed the CEO of Kenyon Corporation had gone missing and a full-scale investigation had been launched.

“Do you think he left any clues lying around that might lead the cops to Brac village?” Kota asked as he relaxed in the chair in front of Maverick’s desk.

“The paper says that they have no leads, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.” There was no telling what Kenyon might have at his home or in his office. For all Maverick knew, there could be files that would expose them all.

They needed a way to search both places without being caught. His first and foremost priority was keeping the existence of nonhumans secret. He wasn’t sure what was going on with Kenyon, but an investigation was something none of them needed.

“The Demon Warriors are your best bet,” Kota said, as if reading Maverick’s mind. He had been working with the man too many damn years. His beta was starting to know what Maverick was thinking before he said a word.

“They can go in through a shadow, check the place out, and be gone before anyone is the wiser.”

Maverick set the paper down and leaned back, kicking his feet up onto his desk. “Why does my gut tell me that Kenyon isn’t missing? He’s up to something, Kota. We know that he sent someone after Abe.” He glanced at Kota. “Why did he just give up his attempt at capturing a fey?”

Kota smiled. “Maybe he found out it was impossible to catch those shimmering men.”

Maverick pulled at his soul patch and then shook his head. “A head Vampire Hunter does not give up so easily, Kota. No, there’s something going on here.”

Maverick was just afraid to find out what that something was. If Kenyon’s agenda was to expose the nonhuman world, why would he fall off the face of the map? Was he gathering intel someplace else?

“I need to meet with the
Ultionem
and let them know what’s going on. We need to keep our eyes and ears open.”

Kenyon was a very smart man. He was the first human that Maverick truly worried about. Kenyon was well funded, determined—and from everything the man had done so far—very well informed.

He would be a fool to underestimate the man. Kenyon hadn’t disappeared in something as simple as foul play. Maverick would stake his life on that. The man had something up his sleeve and he was determined to find out what that something was.

* * * *

Carmine held the door open as Turi walked past him. It had been years since Carmine had gone bowling. He had tried to think of an innocent enough thing to do with his mate and since the bowling alley had just opened up, it was the perfect place to spend some time. Sitting around the house with Turi wasn’t an option. That would only make Carmine dwell on the things they could do there—more intimate things. He wasn’t going to claim Turi, so he had decided to get out of the house.

“So you just throw a ball and try to knock some pins over?” Turi asked for the thousandth time. “But that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Let’s go pay for our game.” Carmine led Turi over to the counter where he paid for a lane and some rental shoes. As he waited for the attendant to get their ugly shoes, Carmine could hear the sounds of crashing pins and blaring music overhead.

The sights, sounds, and smells brought back nostalgic memories. Carmine’s dad always took him bowling. Not just for fun, but it seemed his father thought a good game of bowling was needed when he had something serious to talk to Carmine about.

Carmine smiled when he remembered the time his dad had taken him to the lanes to talk to him about sex. That was the most awkward game he had ever played. Carmine still winced when he thought of how his dad had used words like
penetration
and
mutual satisfaction
. The man had sucked at the birds and the bees, but Carmine loved the guy for trying.

Once Carmine had their shoes, he led Turi over to their lane.

“I’m supposed to wear shoes that everyone else has worn?” Turi didn’t look too happy.

Carmine pulled out a pair of socks from his pocket. “That’s why I brought these.”

“Oh, I thought the lump in your pants was…never mind.” Turi hastily grabbed the socks. He sat down and slipped his sandals off, pulling the socks on.

What had Turi thought—Carmine couldn’t believe he was actually blushing. It had been forever since that had happened. He rubbed at his jaw as he watched Turi put his shoes on.

“Aren’t you going to put yours on?” Turi nodded toward Carmine’s bowling shoes that were sitting on the floor.

Pulling his eyes away from his mate, Carmine pulled his boots off and donned the ugly green-and-yellow bowling shoes.

“Okay,” Turi said as he stood and clapped his hands together. “Show me how this all works.”

Carmine went to the small console and showed Turi how the score was kept. He then found the ball Turi was most comfortable with and the one with the weight he had always played with. “Now watch me.”

Turi’s eyes raked up and down Carmine’s body and he couldn’t mistake the look for anything but interest. Carmine cleared his throat as he walked to the end of the lane. He had to take a few moments to compose himself. His cock was threatening to grow hard at the way those green eyes had practically caressed his body.

Carmine took his turn, knocking all of the pins down. “Strike!”

“That doesn’t seem so hard.” Turi got up and grabbed his ball. When his mate walked to the end of the lane, Carmine had to quickly show the man how to stand. His mate was turned sideways, like he was about to throw the ball instead of roll it.

“You don’t heave it, Turi. A gentle roll will do just fine.”

Carmine took a few steps back, watching. When Turi’s arm cocked back, Carmine moved out of the way, fearing that the fey would let the ball go at the wrong time. He did not need his nuts smashed.

When Turi’s arm was high up in the air, the ball fell. Carmine had seconds to pull his mate out of the way before the bowling ball came down on Turi’s head. The ball hit the floor with a loud thud and rolled a few inches away.

“It looked a lot easier when you did it,” Turi mumbled.

Carmine grabbed the ball and handed it to his mate. He stood behind Turi, helping him with a few mock arm tosses. The closeness was affecting him. Turi’s small ass kept tilting back into Carmine’s groin as his mate swung his arm forward.

He was trying his best not to notice, but Carmine could only ignore so much. There was no denying that he wanted the man, sexually. Turi was a very gorgeous guy. But Carmine knew that once he bedded Turi, there would be no going back.

A bear didn’t have to bite in order to claim his mate—although biting was something he loved to do. But the process was much simpler. All he had to do was sleep with the guy. As tempting as that was, Carmine didn’t plan on fucking Turi.

“Okay, try now.” This time Carmine moved further away.

After a small running start, Turi let the ball go. Thankfully it went down the lane this time instead of up in the air. A few pins fell, but Turi was jumping around and whooping like he had bowled a strike.

Carmine chuckled at the man’s enthusiasm.

“I think I like bowling.” Turi grabbed his ball when it came back to him. He did better this time, leaving only two pins standing. The smug look on Turi’s face was adorable.

“You’re getting the hang of it.” Carmine reached for his ball at the same time Turi tried to move out of the way. His mate’s body brushed Carmine’s and they both stilled. Big green eyes stared up at him as Carmine felt his cock getting impossibly hard. His heart was beating faster and his skin was breaking out into a sweat.

“Excuse me,” Turi said softly, but the guy didn’t move.

Carmine forced himself to step to the right, his thoughts becoming scrambled as he grabbed the ball and forgot what he was supposed to do with it. He just stood there like an idiot, his eyes riveted on Turi.

“Your turn.” Turi finally broke the spell, taking a seat at their table.

Right. His turn. Carmine had lost focus as he stared at the lane. The pins were set up, waiting for him to take his turn. He just had to remember how to bowl. Had a look like the one Turi gave him ever affected Carmine’s brain before? Sure, he had both men and women flirt with him over the years. Carmine had taken some of them up on their offer.

But none of those people had ever made Carmine’s mind turn to mush.
You are not going to sleep with him.
Clearing his throat, Carmine took his turn. He didn’t even pay attention to what he had bowled. His mind was someplace else.

Images of what Turi would look like on his knees, wearing Carmine’s handcuffs as he sucked Carmine’s cock kept filling his mind. His dick was hard as a rock and he didn’t want to turn around.

“You have more points than me,” Turi complained, pulling Carmine from his sexual thoughts. “No fair.”

Carmine headed toward the snack bar, refusing to let Turi see his erection. “Take your turn while I get us something to eat,” he called out over his shoulder. Maybe bowling hadn’t been such a great idea after all.