Hidden Passions (17 page)

"I'm not questioning your word," Tony said to Liam. "My alpha's wife--" he inclined his head in the direction of a petite woman with spiky red and platinum hair "--is a human Talent. Ari can shield the locator chips in your phones from being traced magically."

Liam's expression struggled. He knew this was reasonable but didn't want to back down.

"Give him your phone," Chris said in his deepest voice.

Liam turned partway to him but wouldn't meet his eyes. Maybe he suspected Chris's authority would override his will. "I'll give my ePhone to
her
," he countered childishly.

The alpha's neo-punkster wife rolled her eyes. Her small stature notwithstanding, she didn't seem intimidated by the rising testosterone. Then again, considering she was a human with naturally occurring magical abilities, she might have nothing to be afraid of. Depending on their particular gifts, human Talents could be more dangerous than supes.

"You okay with holding Kelsey?" Ari asked Tony. She made it a question and not an order, giving the baby she held a soothing bounce.

"Of course," Tony said. Smiling fondly at them both, he traded the plastic Holy Foods bag he'd been holding out for the wriggling child. Kelsey went to him like she'd done it before and knew that he was safe. Chris saw phones already in the sack. He prayed at least a couple belonged to his tigers, but that turned out not to be the case. Thankfully, Ari collected the rest without getting any lip.

"Thank
you
," he made a point of saying to the alpha's wife as he dropped in his own offering.

"Thank you," she responded with a mischievous little smile, obviously aware of the diplomatic nuances. "Our entire pack is grateful for your help."

"It's our pleasure," Evina said. She leveled her gaze on their recalcitrant underlings. "Maybe you guys could pull up your fangs and pretend you're civilized while Chris and I consult Tony on setting up watches."

Her words startled Chris. He was glad she was showing the young wolf respect. What made him less happy was that
all
his men's teeth had lengthened, rather than just Liam's.

That development didn't bode well for the near future.

~

Chris didn't think he or Tony had maneuvered the situation, but they ended up assigned together as part of the first watch team. Neither could protest when Evina suggested they pair up. Pushing Tony on someone else would cause problems.

Of course, Tony and Chris spending time together could be problematic too.

"There's a room on the second floor," Tony said. "It has good sightlines for monitoring rear approaches."

There was a joke to be made but Chris refrained. He was thankful no one else was near enough to pipe up.

"That's the poker room," he said, trying to match Tony's seriousness. "I'll grab some food and water so we can settle in."

The layer of dust on the floor of the upstairs room was pre-marked by Tony's sneaker prints. The wolf had explored the building apparently, doing the job he'd been sent to perform no matter what anyone thought of him. A different sort of admiration rose inside Chris for that. Tony might not like being treated the way he was, but he was no whiner.

The wolf preceded Chris into the room, fingers trailing across a large round table where old playing cards lay scattered. His hand dirty then, he smacked it on the side of his faded jeans. God, his butt was cute--not little exactly but tight and muscular. Chris watched it helplessly from his stance a few feet inside the door.

The straps of Tony's shoulder holster drew attention to his back's nice wedge shape. Probably it was immature of Chris to find his armed status arousing.

Unaware he was being ogled, Tony examined the plywood that covered the one window. He must have pried the side loose on his previous visit, because the nails didn't resist his pull. "If you turn out the light," he said, "it shouldn't matter if I remove this."

Chris smacked the switch and the overhead light went dark, leaving them with the overcast morning's dull sunshine. Tony yanked the board off and leaned it on the adjoining wall. He scanned the area outside like a professional.

He sniffed suddenly. What scent had caught his attention Chris didn't know.

"Magic," Tony threw over his shoulder the same as if Chris had asked. "The bars on this window have an old spell on them.

"Probably an anti-cop warning. I doubt the poker that was played here was legal."

"Mm." Tony pulled two chairs from the card table, knocking the dust off their wooden seats. He set them to either side of his chosen watching post.

As gingerly as if the chair might bite, Chris lowered himself to one. "You're wondering why I didn't tell my crew I owned this place."

Tony smiled, the curve of his lips transforming his features to true beauty. "I'm wondering how you kept it secret. They seem like a nosy bunch."

"I guess I'm good at keeping secrets."

"I guess you are." Tony's smile still crinkled his eyes, but their expression had gone sad. "You crew really is a bit macho."

"Sorry about that."

Tony shrugged. "It is what it is."

Chris had leaned closer without thinking. When his and Tony's gazes flicked together, the skin of Chris's face grew hot. Other things too. Things that had a hard time relaxing around this wolf. Before he got into trouble, Chris leaned back and looked away.

"I have a confession," Tony said.

That brought Chris's attention back to him. Tony wet his lips. Chris didn't think he was being deliberately seductive, though his cock couldn't help stirring in response. The wooden chair creaked as Tony's weight shifted. "I think I know how you got this pool hall."

Chris's brows went up. "You do?"

"I--" Tony grimaced. "I looked you up on Oogle. Elfyunk used to be Naegel clan territory. I'm guessing this was the settlement for what Mark Naegel did to your family."

A cold wave washed through him at the name . . . and at Tony uttering it. "You know about that."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snooped. I'm not even sure why the search engine spit it out. I know your last name was different then."

Chris looked down at his hands. They were dangling between his knees: not clenched, not angry, almost relaxed in fact. He lifted his eyes to Tony's. The wolf was watching him intently. "It doesn't matter. You of all people seem to see me as I am. Going through a tragedy like that changes you forever, but it's never everything you are."

Tony reached over to squeeze his knee. Despite the topic, the nerves in Chris's leg tingled deliciously. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What, now?"

Tony smiled crookedly. "I am a wolf. My big ears can multi-task. Naegel had Tomcat Syndrome, didn't he?"

"Yes," Chris said, weirdly relieved to be nudged into the tale. He rubbed his right eyebrow and decided. "Mark really liked my mom. She was pretty and sassy and a bit of a party girl. She tried to encourage us to like him and vice versa, but it never took. Since it's not
that
weird for a single mother's boyfriend to be more interested in her than her children, we didn't see it as a sign. We were the offspring of other men. He wasn't invested.

"One night, Eddie--my youngest brother--was in a play at school, and she wouldn't skip it to go out with him. Mark snapped. It's a genetic thing, doctors say. Mostly anyway. My mom tried to stop him from attacking. Tigresses are strong, but he was a big guy. He grabbed Eddie and Justin by their legs and swung them like they were toys. He bashed their heads into the walls and floor until they couldn't heal the injuries anymore. He swung them and swung them until they were dead."

Chris pressed one fist to his chest where his lungs had gone tight. The nightmare felt very close, the knowledge of how determined a person had to be to kill supe kids.

"You saw it happen?" Tony breathed.

Chris shook his head, his vision blurred by tears he couldn't force back. "I was out with a bunch of friends. We were . . . robbing a convenience store. I was seventeen and big for my age. If I'd been there, I could have stopped him."

"You don't know that," Tony said softly.

"I do." He dragged his forearm across his eyes. "I'd clashed with cats his size before. God knows I had practice fighting. I knew my nature was dominant. I could have beaten him. My brothers were six and nine. They'd have taken a while to die. They'd have had time to be terrified. I could have saved them. My mom as well, chances are. She never got over her guilt at letting Mark into our lives. She committed suicide."

This information didn't surprise Tony. "So now you save strangers. That's why you became a fireman."

Chris pulled his hands down the wetness on his cheeks, stubble rasping on his palms. He let out a shaky breath. "That's why. I'd probably have been a hooligan otherwise."

Tony sagged back in his chair, long legs stretching out until his tatty running shoes knocked Chris's. "That's a hell of a turning point."

"Yeah," Chris said. He didn't move his feet away. He liked the contact with Tony's.

"You're a tough mother-effer," Tony observed. "Most people would have curled up in a ball after that."

Chris didn't feel tough. He'd done what his conscience demanded, what he'd had to so he could live with himself. Unexpectedly, a little grin broke through his dark feelings. "Fortunately, I like being a fireman."

Tony snorted. "If you'd stayed a hoodlum, I could have arrested you."

That idea had a certain entertainment value--possibly too much of one. Chris shook it out of his head.

"So . . ." he said, feeling a need to let the subject go. "When your brother turned up again, did you see the dragons?"

"I wish. Adam sent me straight to guard duty. I'm not sure what's going on with Rick. Hey!" He sat straighter. "You're not supposed to know about the you-know-whats."

"The last time I was at Nate's place, I noticed he'd been watching the cubs' collection of mini-dragon DVDs. Evina said we're on the lookout for pureblood fae. They'd have to be here for something big. I put two and two together."

"And I just confirmed your guess," Tony said ruefully.

"Sneaky is my middle name."

Tony nodded absently as his mood shifted. He drew in a long breath like he needed bolstering.

"What?" Chris asked.

Slowly, as if he thought he might be stopped, Tony reached across the space between them to Chris's face. His touch was like oxygen, allowing the grief that had risen in him to ease.

"I miss you," Tony said. "I respect your right to make your own choices, but I want you to know that."

Chris's throat thickened. Tony was everything he'd never dreamed of finding in a partner: sweet, brave, fun to be around. Even Evina wasn't this easy to talk to. Time and again, the wolf's simple decency blew him away.

Chris could be real around Tony.

"The other day," Chris said, not letting himself second-guess what he was about to share, "I struck Liam. It seemed unavoidable: a disciplinary thing."

"I've paddled Ethan a time or two," Tony said. "You wouldn't believe what that kid gets into."

Chris knew a swat on the bottom wasn't the same. "I'm the clan's enforcer. I try to keep physical stuff to a minimum, but sometimes I don't know how else to keep order."

"Are you saying you're afraid you're like Mark Naegel? Chris, I don't think you have that in you. Naegel wasn't even related to you by blood."

"I'm a shifter. Half animal. Don't all of us wonder what we'll do now and then? Add being dominant . . ." He trailed off, unable to continue.

Tony clasped him over the ears, forcing Chris to look at him. "Not you. You're not one of those dominants who always has to be on top. If you recall, I've had firsthand proof of that."

Tony's slanting smile invited Chris to smile back. He managed a choked laugh. "You're a good person, Tony Lupone. Even if I were out, I wouldn't deserve you."

"Feel free to call me Saint Anthony," Tony joked.

"
Anthony
," Chris repeated, loving saying his full name. He loved Tony, he realized. He'd be an idiot not to. Tony's expression turned inquiring at the kindling of Chris's eyes. So full of emotion he couldn't speak, Chris rubbed the wrists with which Tony had clasped his head. He wished he had the right to say what he was thinking.

He bent forward to claim Tony's mouth instead.

Tony welcomed his kiss with a hungry moan. His lips were smooth, his answering licks and sucks passionate. As bad as Chris had felt before, now he felt twice as good. He hardened in one long surge, his cock so tight against his zipper it seemed ready to rip through. Tony's hands shifted to his back, roaming up and down Chris's muscles like he intended to push compassion into each one.

Compassion was hardly all Chris experienced. He ached with a desire so strong it seemed impossible to sate. Tony's touch, Tony's heat healed the heavy sadness inside of him. He wrapped his hands around Tony's thighs and pushed the grip up his thick quadriceps. His thumbs found Tony's erection first. He folded their joints around it, teasing Tony and himself with how hard the long ridge was.

What he really wanted was to grab the whole thing.

"We can't do this," Tony whispered against his lips, fangs brushing him sexily as he did. "I want to, but not here. Not with all the sharp ears and noses in this building."

Chris groaned deep inside his chest. He longed to tear off Tony's clothes and take him, to enjoy the comfort of being intimate with a person he truly cared about. Unfortunately, the wolf was right. Not only was that idea crazy, it was irresponsible.

When Tony rested his brow against his, Chris closed his eyes. Unable to let go completely, he traced the shape of Tony's hard-on with all his fingertips.

"Chris," Tony whispered. "You're killing me."

Chris pulled his hands back, followed by the rest of him. Tony's green eyes were glowing, his mouth red from their kisses. His gaze searched Chris's for a long moment.

Tony broke the eye lock first. Clearly struggling for composure, the wolf turned to stare out the grime-hazed window. The cloud cover outside was thicker, the commercial area still quiet at that hour. A shopping bag blew across the rear parking lot, the plastic rattling over cracks in the old asphalt. The cast iron security bars were black silhouettes against the gray light.