Some Kind of Magic (25 page)

hard, staring down at little old me. Can you blame me for

following you in here? And you leaving all those
marks on that

poor human….” Cal was back to that again, and Ray didn"t

think he was dreaming the longing in Cal"s voice. “I bet the

sounds he made scandalized the neighbors… not that I

remember hearing anything as I walked up.”

Ray was losing his mind. He couldn"t argue, or summon

up the strength of will to ask Cal to stop talking. “Tsk,

Branigan. You know, if you did that to me, it wouldn"t hurt

much… or at least… not for long. You could bruise me as

much as you want.”

“It wasn"t a tryst.” Ray was biting out words, but he was

speaking again at least. “Lex and I aren"t like that.”

“Really?” Pure pleasure drifted over the steam from the

shower, mingled with it. “Not romantic at all? Just filthy, dirty

Ray Branigan sex?” Pleasure and pulsing want. Too much

want for such a short acquaintance when Ray had been

nothing but rude to him. It must be in his head. Wishful

thinking.

“The case?” he rasped.

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173

“In other words, they can be nasty buggers. Especially

when they feel you"ve wronged them somehow. They"d

probably be serial bombers if they had the patience for the

mechanics. Well, I"ve never met one who did, but I"m sure it"s

possible. Not exactly relevant to this, though.” Cal switched

back to the other topic with enviable ease.

Ray abruptly felt an overwhelming desire to ask what

else Cal knew about serial bombers, and why, and if his

name was Calvin, too, like his father. And if it was true, about

the bruises not hurting much.

He realized he was just standing there, listening.

“At that scene before you kicked me out—”

“You left. I didn"t kick you out. And you don"t listen to me

anyway. You haven"t, not once in three days.”

“Aw, is that why you"re mad? I"m listening now, Detective

Ray Branigan. Detective. Not much else I can do until you

come out of there and let me get a good look at you.” Cal

paused, and Ray shuddered at the thought. “Detective…. That

wasn"t easy
for you, was it? Earning that rank? Earning that

respect, and there I was, up in your face in front of

everyone….”

“I don"t care about that.” Because he didn"t, anymore,

though now that Cal said it, he could hear himself barking for

Cal to take this seriously, to take
him
seriously, when that

was stupid because Cal was Fairy. They couldn"t take

anything seriously, or didn"t like to. But just the same, Ray

hesitated. “I didn"t mean to yell at you.”

Cal ignored him.

“No,
I"m
sorry, Branigan. I shouldn"t….” Ray imagined

Cal biting that lip and slid a hand over to the wet glass of the

door. “I know what it is to need to be taken seriously. God

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174

knows when I was a kid my dad was always careful with me

at the department picnics, you know, only half-human and all.

Sparkly, wings, no one expecting me to have an interest in

football.”

“It….” Ray
did
know, and it had been beyond difficult for

him, at first. He
still
had bad days. He hadn"t expected Cal to

understand that. He wondered if Cal
did
have an interest in

football, but couldn"t ask, too aware that the answer would

probably be, “I have an interest in football
players
.”

“Goblins,” he said instead, drawing Cal back to the case.

“
So
. I was out, drowning my thwarted desires and sense

of pique at being so rejected at a bar when I remembered that

letter you showed me. The latest one sent to Prescott

Industries. The language in it, the rejection reminded me

and—you"re taking a long shower. Can"t get the smell off or do

you need a hand in there?”

“Thwarted….” Ray exhaled heavily. He was so hot he

shivered. “This could have waited. Even
you
know that.” He

put his mouth to the water, lapping it up before turning away.

Fairies, he reminded himself. No impulse control, even if Cal

was
understanding and apparently, slightly, temperamental.

Cal would probably quit the case again tomorrow, then vanish

forever.

“I know, but I wanted to tell you. Because I might have to

ask my friend Benny in on this. He knows more about them

as part of his wizard training. Anyway, I wanted to see your

lair.”

Ah, generic curiosity about Weres. Ray had encountered

that before. It had never made him want to get wasted and

tear something to pieces before, however. “Now you"ve seen it.

You can go.”

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175

“But I haven"t seen
everything
. You wouldn"t deny me the

floorshow, would you? Or are you going to stay in there until

you"re wrinkly like a bulldog?”

Ray turned off the water with a vicious jerk. He didn"t let

himself think about it before he opened the door and stepped

out with the growl thick in his throat.

He was hard and naked and dripping onto the floor, but

he was in his own bathroom and no half-fairy, mate or not,

was going to scare him anymore. If anything, Ray wanted it.

He wanted to see Cal Parker"s face.

He felt hot, burning to his ears, the urge to shift a lot like

the urge to come, sudden and strong. He thought he might do

both, right then, with Cal Parker"s eyes traveling all over him,

up and down and back again. His mouth open. His expression

starving.

“Whoa,” he said, and didn"t seem to notice that he got to

his feet. “What a good puppy you are,” he breathed, and Ray

met his gaze.
Want/want/want
the air said, as bright and

clear as a solar flare.

The scent was Ray"s, needy and obvious, calling,

reaching.

Cal Parker couldn"t seem to decide where to look. He

licked his lips for everything, humming for Ray"s cock, his

hips, his chest, even his face, and Ray was
impossibly
hot

now, embarrassed, smug, aroused. This was what it should

be to have his mate look at him. It was how he would look to

behold Cal naked. Everything he"d ever want right there,

everything that was good in the world displayed for him.

His. He took another step forward, aware on some level

that he wasn"t
that
attractive to have this fairy looking so

spellbound, but standing straight just the same, letting him

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176

look. Sounds escaped him, dark and pleased, and Cal lifted

his head to look into his face. His mouth moved again, but his

eyes remained spun and shining, hypnotized.

“Goblins… aren"t. Benny knows… human spells. I…

Brani… Ray. Ray Ray. Look at you. Look at you. You can…

just drag me… anywhere. Anywhere you want to take me,

and I"m there. There you are, and here I am. Just take me.”

With a fairy lack of shame, Cal finally blinked, and then put

up one hand, stopping just short of touching Ray"s chest. The

other he put down to the front of his jeans over his hard on,

the hard on Ray could smell, and pushed down with his palm.

He gave one loud, hungry gasp, and the
want
spiked brighter,

sharper.

Ray opened his mouth, sticky with the heat, soaked to

the skin, and watched Cal"s eyes swirl with need.

He was breathing rapidly, and Ray licked at the air,

heard Cal groan.

“What are you waiting for, Rover?” he demanded quietly

but without moving, either, and right before he frowned, Ray

had the passing thought that he"d never imagined Cal would

hesitate. Then he was just trembling at the brief all-over ache

of shifting, of not quite enough, so close, so close, as he

partially changed to a form that allowed him to bare his teeth,

flash his claws.

He felt larger, heavier, massive for every shocked second

of Cal"s silence, and then just nervous all over again when Cal

backed up and put his head to the wall. He thought it was

fear, fear like he"d expected, because this was all implied

strength and violence and fairies lived to seek out happiness

and pleasure, but then Cal gave a body-long shudder and

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leaned back. He couldn"t know what it meant to expose his

throat like that. He couldn"t.

Ray wanted him anyway. A half-human. A child of man

and fairy. Someone who wouldn"t want any part of him or the

life he offered.

“Yes?” He purred it, growling, maybe knowing the little

butterfly was seconds away from screaming in terror and

fleeing, no matter how much Ray"s soul would pine for his. It

wasn"t fair, wasn"t right.

He stopped short at the touch of a hand, blinking as he

looked down and saw graceful fingers sliding slowly up his

chest, weaving through his fur.

“Soft,” Cal exhaled, startled somehow, and when Ray

looked back up at him, breathing hard, he angled his head

back further without seeming to be aware. He was staring at

his hand, watching himself pet Ray, desire all over his face.

“You"d think you"d be scary. But you"re soft.”

Ray felt a tug, felt himself moving closer. His mouth was

open, his skin prickling with sparkles, butterscotch on his

tongue.

“Ray,” Cal started, only to stop and pull his lip between

his teeth. He wasn"t biting, it wasn"t hard, but Ray wet his

mouth, grunted, and watched that full lip turn red. Cal"s eyes

went round.

In Ray"s changing perception, the lights seemed to flicker,

Cal"s glitter bursting into an impossibly bright halo. Cal made

a noise, shocked, and then the world dimmed, went back to

normal except for a scent made of lilies and caramel popcorn

and the unmistakable tang of pre-come.

“Rover.” Cal"s words buzzed like bees around their

honey. “Ray. You. You"re….”

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“A wolf?” Ray knew rejection was coming. It had to be. If

not before they fucked then after. His soul already cried for

being abandoned, howling when Cal"s teeth sank into his lip

again.

“I was going to say incredible. Shiny. Perfect. Beautiful.

But yeah, wolf will do.”

Ray"s claws clicked against the wall by Cal"s head, their

breath mingling before Ray realized that he"d stepped in

closer. “Do you know what that means?” He had to ask,

barely getting out the desperate question.

Fairies couldn"t lie, or wouldn"t. Cal slowly shook his

head. Then, confusingly, he nodded.

“Going to show me, big man?” he teased, but Ray barely

heard it. He shut his eyes. It had been too much to hope. He"d

known that, but with it all so new, exposed, his cock stiff and

the tip wet, he hadn"t been able to resist trying.

Cal still wanted it, but it wasn"t enough. He wasn"t a

Mate. He didn"t understand. He was Fairy and he would

leave.

Ray tore himself away and faced the mirror over the sink.

He shifted, quick and harsh, back to all man where the loss of

a partner was minutely less painful.

He was panting, tongue lolling out for those pearly, salty