Shadow Of A Mate (9 page)

Kyle was standing in the magazine aisle pretending to look at a car magazine and listening to Logan expertly talk the owner into giving them their stuff for free. He never stopped being surprised at what the wolf could talk men and women into with just a pretty smile and a few compliments. It was only partly down to the attraction enchantment.

Something hit his foot and he looked down to see an orange. Another one rolled past, heading straight for the shop’s front entrance.

He closed his eyes and counted to three, hoping that nothing was wrong, but knowing he wasn’t that lucky.

Another orange smacked into his foot and he heard Mack and Tryst arguing in a whispered tone. Kyle opened his eyes, meeting Logan’s across the shop. He shrugged and mouthed
I’ll handle it.

Logan made a show of laughing at something the owner said and manoeuvring the guy skilfully around so his back was to the mess Kyle knew was behind him. The owner gestured over his shoulder as if offering to go and fetch something, but Logan countered the movement by running a hand through his hair and showing off a bulging bicep.

Gotcha. The owner didn’t stand a chance.

Biting the bullet, Kyle turned around.

Tryst was holding a door that had come off its hinges and Mack was standing by what used to be a tidy pile of oranges, but was now an empty shelf with the oranges spread out over the floor.

“This is why we can’t go to nice places,” he commented sardonically, taking in the scene around him.

“I—”

“Save it,” he said, holding up a hand to stop whatever weird and wonderful tale Tryst was going to jump in to.

His betas ducked their head, looking embarrassed and ashamed. Kyle knew better. They were dying to laugh at the situation.

Of course, trying not to laugh and desperately needing to is quite possibly one of the most difficult things to do and Mack and Tryst managed admirably for all of about a minute before Kyle started piling the oranges back on the shelf.

Muffled cries escaped them even though they both had a fist in their mouth to block it and tears running down their faces.

“Get out.” Kyle pointed to the back door and tried to look stern, but his own supressed humour was starting to build.

The beta’s scrambled out of the back door, abandoning him to grab the rest of the wayward fruit.

Logan was still pissed at them when they loaded everyone into the van around the corner from
Veggin It Up.
But glaring at Tryst and Mack in the rear-view mirror was like adding fuel to the flames and the two leopards were nudging each other, daring the other to laugh.

Deke had tried to run when Merrick and Rogo were on babysitting duty so now the human was tied up and secured to the bar in the van that separated the back from the front. Logan was driving and everyone else was piled in the back. Surprisingly the empty produce crates turned on their ends made pretty comfortable seats.

Merrick as usual had found something to complain about, but Kyle blocked him out for the most part. He really wasn’t interested in the lynx getting splinters up his ass or the fact that he didn’t like Tryst and Mack laughing. It was all giving him a headache.

“Betas should behave like adults, not children trying to eat playdough.”

“Hey! I love playdough.” This came from Mack and the leopard sounded offended at the thought that Merrick didn’t. “You don’t like it?”

Merrick grunted, sounding exasperated, but didn’t answer with a negative and that was as good as giving the talkative betas the green light. Both betas shuffled along the floor until they sat closer to Merrick and Kyle smothered a grin at the lynx’s apparent misery. It may be a long drive ahead of them but at least now he had some entertainment for the ride.

The sweltering sun couldn’t be normal. In the city it had been dreary and the sky full of hail. But the minute they’d left the city limits the metal bodywork of the van had heated to uncomfortable temperatures under the powerful rays of the sun that seemed way too close to them. No wonder people turned back at this point.

They’d been driving for about two hours before they got stuck in the sand. The van’s engine sputtered and the tyres wheezed as they sank deeper into the soft terrain as Logan pumped the accelerator.

“It’s no good, we’re stuck,” the wolf growled thumping the dash with his fist.

Weighing up their options, he wondered if it would be faster in the long run to dig the van out so they could continue with the protection of some shade and air conditioning or make a run for it on foot and risk exposure to the elements. Kyle grabbed one of the wooden crates, emptied out the contents on the van floor and started dismantling the crate itself.

“What are you doing?” Rogo looked confused as he watched Kyle rip the wooden slats apart.

Glancing up at Rogo, he nodded to the back doors. “We need to give the tyres some traction if we want to get moving again. If we wedge these under the tyres, it should give us enough grip to get out of the groves dug when the wheels were spinning.”

Nodding, Rogo started to help, grabbing the other crate and dismantling it the same way Kyle had.

Kyle passed some of the wooden planks to Tryst and Mack. “Check for any nails. I don’t want to be stuck out here changing a tire. If we pop it, we’re ditching the van and going on by foot.”

Tryst pursed his lips at that and took the wood held out to him. Mack on the other hand groaned, but he, too, began searching for any nails or sharp protrusions that could puncture the tyres.

“Watch him,” he instructed Merrick, gesturing at Deke with the pieces of wood. Without waiting for a response, he opened the van doors and jumped out. He, Mack, Tryst and Rogo each took a wheel, securing the pieces of wood under the tread, tapping the side of the van to signal for Logan to slowly try and go forward.

At first when the wheel moved, the wood tried to slide off to the side, but he carefully held it steady. Another rock forward drew the wheels fully onto the first piece of wood and Kyle quickly lined up another plank in front of the first.

It took some clever manoeuvring and slower driving, but they managed to get the van free of the particularly treacherous soft patch of sand. He was drenched in sweat by the time they got to a firmer stretch where the tyres didn’t need assistance and he picked up the other slats.

“It should be fine now. Load up,” he called to the others, opening the back doors for them to get inside where the air was cooler and the sun didn’t beat down on them.

He got in last, shutting the doors and stowing the wood in a pile safely away from the door in case they opened by accident. They couldn’t afford to lose them if they were to complete the desert leg of the journey with the van.

Kyle wiped his dripping brow with the bottom of his shirt and let his head fall back to the cool metal of the rear of the driver’s seat. It would be at least a couple of hours drive until they got to the swamp by Logan’s reckoning so he might as well get comfy. His eyes drifted shut and he stopped hearing the argument going on around him.

Kyle opened his eyes and elation filled him when he realised he was back in this dream world with Jay. Again the only colour or substance in place were those soft plush cushions Jay had made appear last time.

Jay stood next to him, looking nervous and worried, but Kyle was too pleased to see his mate to care about the troubles they had outside this world. Just for a moment.

Kyle tackled Jay, taking his mate down to the floor, laughing as they bounced on the awesome cushions and pillows.

“Umph...Ky...Ky,” Jay moaned clearly trying to speak, but Kyle didn’t relent in the kisses until Jay growled and bit his lip.

He drew back, pouting. This was his dream, why didn’t he get to decide how it
went?

Jay rolled his eyes, swatting at Kyle’s hands as he tried to undo the silver skull buttons on Jay’s sleek black shirt.

“We’re supposed to talk here and plan. Not fuck like bunnies,” Jay said quickly, gasping when Kyle tore off his own clothes.

Kyle snarled and reached out, ripping Jay’s t-shirt off in strips before starting on the black jeans. The silver chains hanging from the belt loops impeded his entry, but Jay quickly started to help, untangling Kyle’s fingers from them before Kyle lost patience and broke them.

“We will...after,” Kyle assured Jay, not even listening as he licked a line up Jay’s neck. His mate tasted so good. He could spend hours or even days just licking Jay all over and making his mate crazy with lust. He palmed his own cock as he pictured bringing Jay to pleasure over and over again until neither of them could move and people started to think they’d killed each other.

“Crap, Ky. You’re killing me here,” Jay whined, but didn’t pull away.

Jay got rid of the jeans and Kyle rewarded his well-behaved mate with a purr. Jay loved it when he purred. His mate sighed heavily, arching up into Kyle’s touch when Kyle pushed him down flat and wriggled between Jay’s legs.

“Cheater.”

Kyle simply purred louder in answer and smiled to himself when Jay’s body melted under him.

Out of nowhere a devilish thought struck him.

Kyle kissed up the long line of Jay’s neck, paying particular attention to the faded white scar from the mating bite. “Remember the first time, when we mated?
”

Jay snorted. “How could I forget?”

“So you remember how you almost freaked out that you were aroused when I was in my jaguar skin?” He didn’t stop his kissing assault as he spoke, only pausing long enough to say the words clearly.

Jay blustered and blushed prettily as he argued. “I was not!”

“I didn’t want to say anything after I shifted back in case you were too weirded out. But mates do that, you know. Sometimes they get a little...adventurous.” Kyle didn’t want to lay it on too thick. He didn’t think either of them would do that, at least not anytime soon but it would be funny to test the waters.

Kyle whined as Jay pulled back to peg him with a cautious stare. “Where are you going with this?”

He tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn’t quite manage it. Kyle gave up and smirked playfully. “Just seeing what’s what,” he said.

“That’s a semantically null sentence. And what’s what is something you shouldn’t hold your breath for,” Jay droned, glaring at Kyle to make sure he got the message.

Kyle nodded and tried to look suitably rebuked.

The fact that Jay’s scent revealed his mate wasn’t as dead set against the idea as it appeared was unexpected though. It would probably be best if Kyle didn’t point that out. He liked his balls where they were...and apparently so did Jay’s hands.

Like before, Jay had made a mound of cushions appear and Kyle took advantage of all the glorious skin laid bare before him and pounced. He urged Jay closer and trailed teasing kisses along Jay’s jaw. He smiled when Jay hissed at him. Since shifting, Jay had become more aggressive in bed. It was very, very hot.

Kissing his way down Jay’s neck, his breathing hitched.

Jay had chosen to retaliate with teasing touches of his own. Jay’s hands manipulated his balls expertly, applying enough pressure to gain Kyle’s full attention.

In return, Kyle licked a wet line up Jay’s throat and nipped the tasty skin.

Taking control, Jay pushed him to his back. Kyle didn’t fight it when Jay arranged him into position on his hands and knees. When Jay tapped his thighs, Kyle obediently spread them.

This wasn’t a time for gentle and slow. There was a pressure building inside both of them, Kyle could feel that it made everything seem more urgent and desperate.

He reached back and tugged Jay to him again, pushing back to feel more of Jay’s perfectly sized cock running along the seam of his ass.

Jay didn’t keep him waiting long.

One minute Jay trailed a finger around his ass and the next something magical and overwhelming burst over his senses. His back bowed as tingling warmth spread from where Jay touched him to the rest of his body and even up inside him.

“A-Ahh! Oh my God. What the hell is that?”

Jay cackled behind him, running a soothing hand up and down his back and Kyle continued to shake and curse. “I’ve been learning a few more tricks,” Jay told him.

Holy hell. What other kinds of new things had Jay picked up on his stay here? If they were anything like this, it might just kill him.

When he could breathe calmly again and his heart rate began to return to normal, he was about to ask Jay what he had in mind next, but Jay beat him to the punch.

“Ready?”

“Ready for what?” He licked his lips and forced his muscles to relax. He hoped Jay was going to fuck him. Even his alpha cat wanted Jay to claim them like this. Both parts of Kyle needed the reminder that Jay was his—theirs. The need to mark was almost all-consuming.

“This,” Jay announced a split second before he put both hands flat on his back and Kyle was overtaken by another flood of sensation. His very core shook under the power washing over him. It was pure light and energy rolled into one excruciatingly sensual caress that lapped at every erogenous zone on his body at the same time.

Kyle came so hard he didn’t just see stars, he saw a whole galaxy.

“I love you, Ky. Always.” Jay kissed him slowly, gently and Kyle started to drift away from the white landscape.

“Jay,” he sighed sleepily.

Kyle entwined his fingers in Jay’s soft blond hair and breathed in his mate’s scent. And froze. His mind jolted and started running at a hundred miles an hour. This wasn’t Jay kissing him.

He pulled back, opening his eyes. His instinctive reaction was to hiss and punch Deke in the mouth but he restrained it.

“Not Jay,” Deke argued softly, leaning down for another kiss.

Kyle swallowed the bile rising in his throat and let the man kiss him, feeling like all kinds of scum. But he let it happen because he needed confirmation of his worries. Deke’s lips sealed over his again and images of the two of them getting a lot closer and very naked filled his head. Only this time he was ready for the visual invasion and recognised where it had come from.