Sailing Deep (18 page)

              “They merely wish to see my mate.”

              “We both know that is not true.” She said.

              “Perhaps, but they do enjoy an excuse to have a party.”

              “That, I understand. What I do not understand is why you insist on … mingling with them.”

              “They are my people. I am responsible for them. I lead them. Should I not know them?” He asked.

              “No, you are their Alpha. You should rule as king. Kings do not bow to the needs and wishes of their subjects.”

              “That is not how it works, Lyphnia. That is not how it has worked for centuries.”

              “It is how it should be.”

              “We have already had this talk.”

              “And we shall continue to have it until you come to your senses. Do not think I do not see what you are doing. You force me to be among these … lesser shifters. You hope I will see they are happy with their pitiful lot in life.”

              “Is happiness not a worthy reason to live?”

              “Not when they could have so much more.”

              “They are happy here, Lyphnia.”

              “They are hiding.”

              “It is for the best.”

              “It is for cowards
,
Arulean.”

              “Humankind is not ready to know of our world.”

              “This is our world, and humanity only thinks they own it.”

              “For now, they do.”

              “We should rule them, Arulean. We are more powerful. They are worms compared to us.”

              “We should live alongside them as equals.”

              “That is why you are a fool. They will never see us as equals. They will fear us.”

              “Which is why it is not our time to reveal ourselves.”

              “You wait for a time that will never come, Arulean. We must act.”

              “We have agreed, with the other paranormals, that we will wait.”

              “I am tired of waiting. I am sick of hiding.”

              “Lyphnia.” Arulean snapped. He didn’t raise his voice, but the intensity of it was enough to make Dylan jump. He and Blake exchanged looks. Lyphnia was silent. “You will restrain yourself. Now is not the time to speak of this.”

              Lyphnia was silent for a long time, and Dylan was beginning to think she might have left. “Do not believe this is over, Arulean.”

              “I would not dream of it.” Came the male dragon’s calm reply.

              Their conversation died out for a while, and only pure force of will and extreme curiosity kept Dylan’s attention on the static in his ear. When they did speak again, it was because some people had joined them on the dais. Several of the higher ups in the pack hierarchy, it seemed. When Arulean spoke with them, his voice actually showed some emotion. They even heard him laugh sincerely. Lyphnia’s comments were dry and held a bitter superiority, but they dealt with her coolly and respectfully.

              “I don’t think we’re going to get anything more right now,” Blake said, sighing. He pulled the earbud out of his ear.

              “How do you know?”

              Blake smirked, closing the app on his phone and wrapping it up in his headphones before putting it back in his pocket. “I’ve been at this monitoring thing for a while, remember? They’re not going to give up any more secrets while others are there, and no doubt they’ll be around for a while. Plus, you heard when Arulean said it wasn’t the time to speak of things. She shut right up. I have a feeling there’s more to their relationship than we realize. But either way, they won’t talk any more about anything important until they’re alone. Which is why we bugged Arulean’s study.” Blake turned to Dylan, taking a step closer. Dylan, already leaning against the wall, had nowhere to go. “We’ll keep an eye on them. When they leave, so do we. Until then …”

              Blake’s hands slipped past Dylan’s open jacket, settling on his hips. He leaned forward, trailing kissing along Dylan’s jaw.

              “Blake …” Dylan said, trying to keep his voice even, but the man was slowly grinding their hips together, and it was making it hard to focus. “We shouldn’t … while we’re working.”

              “There’s nothing we can do besides wait anyway …” His hands found the front of Dylan’s pants, unbuttoning them with ease. “Besides … you look irresistible-”

              Blake cut off the rest of his protests by firmly kissing him. He kissed him until he managed to elicit a small moan. It was Dylan’s way of telling him to keep going, and Blake knew it. He eagerly tugged his shirt out from his pants, and his hands roamed under it, feeling his stomach and chest, sides and hips. Dylan’s hands moved with just as much fervor as they tugged Blake’s shirt loose. His hands roamed up Blake’s back, feeling every inch of him and holding him close.

              Blake made quick but thorough work of preparing him. His fingers loosened him while his lips devoured his lips, his jaw, his ear, his neck. Meanwhile, Dylan loosened Blake’s pants and freed him, working him with his hands. When Dylan was ready and practically dripping, Blake tugged down his pants to the knees and surprised him by grasping him firmly from behind and lifting him off his feet. He used his body to pin him to the wall; his legs pushed up against his chest and his feet on either side of Blake’s body. Dylan clung to his shoulders.

              “Make some noise for me, love,” Blake whispered against his lips. He pushed against Dylan’s entrance, teasing him. Dylan quivered.

              “No, someone will hear.” Dylan hissed, trying not to sound breathless.

              “I want them to hear.” Blake bit his bottom lip, sucking on it gently as he slowly pushed into him. Dylan gasped and let loose a soft moan as Blake filled him completely. Blake chuckled, the sound rumbling between them. “That’s more like it. I always did love your sounds.”

              Dylan tried, through sheer force of will, to hold himself back. It was okay in the safety of their room. But here, they were exposed. Hidden in an alcove maybe, but surrounded by the voices and music of the party. And they weren’t all downstairs on the main floor of the great hall. Some of them were walking by their alcove in small groups. He tried, squeezing his eyes shut and burying his face in the curve of Blake’s neck, breathing heavily as Blake thrust into him again and again. The stone of the wall was cold against his exposed flesh.

              “Bite me,” Blake whispered when he noticed Dylan’s struggle, his voice rough and growling. “I change my mind. Only I get to hear your sounds.”

              Dylan did as he was told. He sunk his teeth into the curve of Blake’s neck, clenching to keep the louder sounds at bay. He still moaned in his throat and whimpered through his teeth, but hopefully, only Blake could hear. Blake’s fingers curled into the flesh of his hips and thighs. “Mine.” He whispered, sending shivers down Dylan’s spine. His movements became more erratic and his breathing more ragged as he neared orgasm. He grunted as he thrust deep, and Dylan felt the shiver that racked his body in the wake of his orgasm. Dylan wasn’t far behind. He clenched down on Blake’s flesh to keep his scream muffled.

              They rocked together, riding out the waves of their orgasm. Then they stood a moment longer, catching their breath. Dylan’s legs were shaking and stiff from the awkward positioning, and he knew he was only being held up by Blake’s body pinning him to the wall. When they finally managed to collect themselves enough to move, they both laughed at how awkwardly their legs moved.

              They adjusted their clothes, helping each other look presentable in the dim lighting of the alcove. Then Blake helped him discreetly waddle to the nearest bathroom to clean himself up. Blake checked himself in the mirror before leaving the bathroom. Dylan cleaned himself up and adjusted his hair in the mirror, straightening his jacket and tucking in his shirt.

              When he exited the bathroom, Blake was nowhere in sight. Dylan looked around, taking several steps into the great hall. He didn’t see anyone he knew. Checking his watch, he saw it was an hour to midnight.

              Then a hand grabbed his arm and dragged him aside. His reflexes kicked in, and he turned around and nearly attacked the man before he saw it was only Blake.

              “We need to leave.” He hissed, practically dragged Dylan along the wall of the great hall.

              “Why? What’s happened?” Dylan recognized the urgency in his voice and the hardness in his eyes.

              They reached a side entrance to the great hall. The doors were opened, but the traffic through these doors was significantly less than the main doors. Blake pulled him through, glancing over their shoulders. “They’re making the final sweep of the room before they go to Arulean’s study.” He said in a muted voice.

              “How do you know?” Dylan still wasn’t sure what they were doing, but he trusted Blake enough and recognized the urgency of the situation. So he kept pace with Blake as the man half jogged through the hallways of the castle. They slowed when they passed others, but then sped up to a near run when alone.

              “Reggie told me they always retire to his study before the pre-moon run.” He paused to look at the elevator, they decided against it and instead made for the rarely used back stairs. “Or in their case, flight.”

              “What’s the rush then? You have his jacket bugged. We can hear them from anywhere, right?”

              “Arulean took his jacket off. He left it on his throne as they started their final sweep. We need to hear what they say.”

              They took the stairs two at a time. To Dylan’s surprise, they stopped at their own floor and Blake dragged him to their room. Once the door was shut, Blake wasted no time. “Take off your tux, it makes too much noise and it’s too stiff.” He already had his jacket off and was unbuttoning his shirt with lightning speed. Dylan was impressed to see that his hands didn’t even shake. He was in complete control.

              Once they were stripped of their tuxes, Blake had them dress in outfits that were surprisingly similar to the shadow guard uniforms. The pants were made of a light and breathable material, not too tight and not too loose. Their shirts were long sleeved, and their shoes were athletic, bendable, and had firm traction on the bottom. Lastly, he handed Dylan a tube of fabric to wear around the neck and be able to pull up to a half mask. They kept them loose around their necks.

              When Dylan was finished dressing, Blake was already reaching into the back of his wardrobe and pulling out a spray can of some kind. He held his breath and sprayed himself all over. From head to toe, he coated himself. Dylan was surprised to recognize what it was. It was the same kind of scent masker that his team used. It suppressed their scents for several hours so they couldn’t be smelled by enemy shifters while they were undercover. He tossed Dylan the can, and Dylan shook it firmly before spraying himself. Before they left, Blake pocketed a small device from his desk.

              The whole process took maybe five minutes. Dylan was used to changing in limited time, and so was Blake it seemed. Dylan was pleasantly surprised. The man never ceased to impress him. Few words were exchanged during the process. When they opened the door, Blake glanced out in the hall to check if it was clear before stepping out.

              “Follow me,” He said as he locked the door. “I know where all the camera blind spots are.”

              The first day Blake had led Dylan through the castle, they had done so while trying to avoid anyone’s attention. Blake had dragged him along lesser used corridors and ducked into side passages when he heard people coming. But even then, it wasn’t a bad thing if they had been seen. It was mostly for Dylan’s benefit until he could be debriefed on the situation. Every day since, they had moved through the halls as nonchalantly as possible. Even when they snuck into the great hall to plant the camera, they acted casual. The facade of an innocent couple wandering the halls was the best disguise. They didn’t draw attention to themselves that way.

              Tonight was completely different.

              They slunk around the hallways, creeping to make as little noise as possible. Dylan followed Blake’s lead. Blake continually glanced up at the corners, and Dylan could see the calculating look in his eyes as he figured out the camera’s blind spots. Blake peeked around every corner before proceeding. As ridiculous as he looked as he took odd paths and pressed himself against walls, Dylan mimicked his steps as best as he could. He trusted Blake knew what he was doing. He kept his wolf close to the surface, using his sensitive hearing and sense of smell to detect anyone who might be close.

              Dylan easily fell back into his element. He had been trained to infiltrate by air, land, and sea. He knew how to crawl through rivers and forests undetected. He had never tried doing the same thing through a castle, but the concepts weren’t much different. He felt more comfortable in those moments than he had since he had arrived.

              Blake led him up to the floor below Arulean’s study and out onto a balcony that lined one of the residential corridors. The cold night air brushed against Dylan’s face, and he shivered. Not because of the chill, but because of the nearly full moon. It was bright, with no cloud cover, and called out to him like a siren’s song. The wolf inside him was eager to rise. He turned his back on it, set his face firmly, and faced Blake. “What now?”