Take My Hand [Brac Pack 28] (12 page)

“ Let’s go, Sterling,” Darcy said as he pulled his brother toward the door. He had to get out of this crazy place. If he didn’t, he just might end up as crazy as everyone else. Just that one battle and Darcy knew he couldn’t handle living here.

These people were fucking nuts.
And the biggest nut of them all was Raven.
“But I don’t want to go, Darcy,” Sterling said as he covered

Darcy ’s hand with his.
“What do you mean you don’t want to go?” Darcy asked as he tugged on Sterling’s hand, trying to get his brother moving.“You saw what it was like there. Can you honestly tell me that you don’t want to leave? We just saw men change into animals. How could you not want to leave, Sterling?”

Darcy narrowed his eyes. “You don’t want to leave Riley, do you? Is that it? You don’t want to leave this madhouse because you have some crush on a guy? He’s not even a guy, Sterling. Riley is a bear.” How could he make his brother see what Darcy saw? Staying here was only asking to be attacked again.

Sterling shrugged, his expression petulant.
Was the man seriously pouting?
He so didn’t need this right now, because if Darcy admitted the

truth to himself, he didn ’t want to leave either. But he couldn’t risk Sterling’s life. His brother meant more to him than all the craziness in the world.

Or in Brac Village.
“Listen to me.” Darcy released his brother’s hand, cupping Sterling’s face.“We stick together. Where I go, you go, and vice versa. Remember that?” Darcy asked as he smiled weakly at his baby brother, the pressure in his hands becoming firmer on Sterling’s face. “What if the next time you get hurt, or worse? I can’t live with that, Sterling.”
Sterling looked on the verge of tears, but nodded, placing his hands over Darcy’s.“Okay.”
Darcy was relieved that Sterling wasn’t going to fight him on this. He grabbed Sterling’s hand, and got the hell out of that place. As much as he hated the darkness, Darcy was willing to face his fear in order to get Sterling out of this town.
What if the next time Sterling didn’t make it?
The thought made Darcy feel physically sick.
The further they walked toward town, the heavier Darcy’s heart felt. He thought it would be easy to walk away, that it would be easy to leave Raven behind. It wasn’t. Darcy hadn’t realized how much he had come to care about the man. In a short amount of time, Darcy had fallen in love. He blew out a slow breath, trying his best to hide his inner misery of being separated from Raven. This was for the best. And knowing he was getting Sterling away from the craziness didn’t make leaving Raven hurt any less.
He thought of how Raven held him like he mattered. Like he was the only one in the world Raven cared about. Darcy thought about the man’s gorgeous smile, the way Raven touched him with such care. The way the man’s kisses drove Darcy to the edge every single time.
Fuck, he needed to stop thinking about Raven.
If he kept thinking about how Raven made him feel, or what Raven did to his heart, Darcy would never leave. He would run back to Raven like a moth drawn to a burning flame. Turning so Sterling couldn’t see him, Darcy wiped away the tears that had started to fall.
Gods, why was leaving Raven so damn hard? It was like his heart was chained to the man, and he couldn’t get free no matter how much distance he put between them.
“We could always go back,” Sterling said quietly next to him.
Yeah, they could. But where would that leave them tomorrow night, or the night after? He just prayed he was strong enough to stay away. It was killing him. Darcy wanted to leave, and he wanted to stay. He was so confused. It was such a hard choice. He wanted the pleasure he knew his mate could bring him, the happiness he knew he could find in the man, but he couldn’t deal with the pain of knowing Sterling was in constant danger.
It also dawned on him that Raven was in constant danger as well. Could he live with that knowledge? Could he deal with the fact that he could lose the man? Gods, he didn’t know what to do. He just did
not
know what to do.
“Darcy, listen to me,” Sterling said as he laid a hand on Darcy’s upper arm. “We should go back. Running away never solved anything.”
“We’re not running away,” Darcy snapped, trying his best to hide the fact that he had been crying.
“Sounds to me like you’re trying to convince yourself of that fact,” Sterling replied.“You care about Raven. Why are you running from him?”
Because.
Goddammit.
Darcy knew why he was running.
He was running because he couldn’t trust his heart in Raven’s hands. He was too terrified to let go and love the man. He was a worrier, a pessimist. And lord knew Darcy was the biggest overanalyzer on the planet. He had flipped his relationship with Raven over and over again, but couldn’t make any sense of it.
Shit.
Darcy stopped walking, running his hands through his hair as he cursed under his breath. The guy thrilled him and scared him at the same time, and Darcy just didn’t know how to handle that.
“Because, Sterling, he scares me,” Darcy confessed.
“Why?” Sterling looked surprised.“Why does Raven scare you?”
“Because I have his heart.”
Darcy spun around to see Raven standing behind him.
How the hell did Raven do that?
“Oh,” Sterling said as he looked between the two. “This is awkward.”
If Darcy wasn’t so damn confused he would have laughed. Sterling hit the nail right on the head. Raven always managed to hear the things Darcy didn’t want him to know about. Darcy knew he should just walk away, just leave Brac Village and never return. But his body betrayed him. He wanted nothing more than to run into Raven’s arms.
But he was scared.
So many what-ifs ran through his mind that Darcy didn’t know what direction to turn to.
“Are you really that afraid that I’ll hurt you?” Raven asked as he took a step closer.
Darcy glanced over at Sterling, biting his bottom lip as he shoved his hands into his front pockets and shrugged.
“Give the guy a chance,” Sterling said.“You’ll never know if you don’t at least try.”
Yeah, but trying entailed trusting. Did he dare?
“Darcy.”
Darcy turned toward Raven, getting lost in the man’s beautiful black eyes. He could drown in them, and Darcy knew it. He saw the fear in Raven’s eyes and knew for the first time that Raven was just as scared he was.
Was the man afraid of being hurt as well?
“Darcy, just take my hand,” Raven said as he reached for Darcy. “Whatever it is, we’ll walk through it together.”
“
Awww
,” Sterling said as he pushed at Darcy’s shoulder.“You better give him a damn chance.”
“I’ve found that sometimes little brothers know what they are talking about,” Raven said.
Darcy glanced at Raven’s extended hand and knew he couldn’t walk away. He knew he couldn’t leave his heart behind.
He was terrified.
Terrified of it all.
He was not only scared of loving Raven, but of putting his heart out there and trusting it with someone else. He’d never been in love before, and it scared the shit out of him. He saw how his mom was never the same after their father died. How she mourned his loss until the day she died. He used to hear her crying in her room at night for him, and there was nothing Darcy could do to comfort her.
He didn’t want to know what that aching hole in his heart felt like.
Through the craziness that he had witnessed here in this sleepy little town, or of the fear that had wrapped its claws around him when he thought Sterling was in trouble, or when Raven had disappeared and he had no clue if his mate—
Gods, my mate.
Darcy knew without a doubt that trying to leave Raven had been the dumbest move of his life. He had nearly thrown away what could amount to a happy life, crazy as hell, but happy.
He couldn’t let his fear of losing Raven to death stop him from living.
Darcy lifted his arm, placing his hand in Raven’s. His mate gave a small tug, and Darcy, god help him, fell into Raven’s arms. He rolled his eyes when Sterling started clapping and whooping behind him. The man had no damn sense. He could feel Raven chuckling from the vibrations in his chest.
“Come on, babe, let’s get you home.” Raven’s breath tickled Darcy’s ear.
Home.
Darcy liked the sound of that.
“And as for you,” Raven said,“there is one angry bear looking for you.”
Darcy turned to see Sterling with the biggest grin on his face. The smile damn near split his face in half.“Then I say we get moving.”
Darcy rested his head on Raven’s chest, inhaling the man’s musky, manly scent, and feeling like he was already home.

Raven ran his hands over Darcy ’s bare back, relieved that his mate was safe and lying in their bed. He had used the blood call more in one damn day than he had in his entire life. The house was back in order, the cubs back where they should be, and the shifters had wiped out most the wolves that had attacked—although Maverick had to tackle Tryck and stop him from setting the house on fire. Raven had never seen Malcolm that pissed either when the big bald-headed guy aimed the bazooka at one of the wolves on the porch.

From what Raven had heard, the timber wolves had the remaining grey wolves and were taking care of the little problem. Thank fuck the house hadn’t been set on fire or blown to pieces.

“ Am I boring you?” Darcy asked as he pushed at Raven’s shoulder, bringing him out of thought.
Raven chuckled, grabbing Darcy around the waist and pulling his mate back into bed.“You can’t escape me that easily.”
Darcy laughed as Raven straddled his mate’s hips.“You’re not letting me go, are you?”
Raven leaned forward, pressing his lips to Darcy’s cheek, caressing his skin more than kissing it, and then whispered in his mate’s ear,“I want you to breathe me in every time you close your eyes.” His tongue slowly descended down Darcy’s jaw, feeling his mate shiver as he kissed the other cheek, again, whispering,“I want you to crave me like an addiction, sweet, sweet Darcy.” Raven brushed a kiss over Darcy’s forehead, each eyelid, and then dipped his head to his mate’s neck, inhaling the now-familiar scent of the man he loved. He leaned back, placing a kiss over Darcy’s heart.“But most of all, Darcy, I want you to love me.”
Darcy cupped his face and drew Raven’s mouth to his, his mate’s lips warm and sweet as the gentle massage of their lips sent currents of desire through Raven. His emotions whirled and skidded as Darcy took the kiss deeper, sending a shockwave through Raven’s body.
When Darcy released Raven’s face, Raven’s head was spinning from such a passionate kiss.“I already love you, Raven.”
Raven reached out, caressing his knuckles down the side of Darcy’s firm jaw. A hard, rough breath shuddered through him as Darcy looked up at him with sexual heat glittering in his copperybrown eyes.“Then why do you fear me, Darcy?”
Darcy gave a light shrug and then kissed Raven’s palm.“You already know.”
“Because I have your heart.”
“Don’t sound so cocky.” Darcy softly chuckled.“But you have to admit, you scared the crap out of me last night.”
How had Raven forgotten about that?“That’s because your blood smelled so damn sweet that I was afraid I’d jump you right there in the hallway.”
“Really?” Darcy asked, sounding surprised. “You chased me away because you liked the way I smelled?”
“No,” Raven said as he slid his hands under Darcy’s shirt, luxuriating at the feel of his mate’s soft skin, and then pinched Darcy’s nipples. He smiled when his mate moaned.“I didn’t like the way you smelled. I
loved
it. It was driving me crazy. It made all of my senses come alive.” Raven nipped Darcy’s neck, giving a small growl. “And it still does.”
“So I have what you desire,” Darcy teased.
“I crave all of you, Darcy, not just your blood.” Raven was so tightly wound right now that he felt like he was going to shed his own skin. It was tight and achy.
“You just want me for body.” Darcy chuckled and then jackknifed, taking Raven by surprise and putting him on his back. “Two can play at that, my addictive vampire.”
Raven was stunned. He never would have pegged Darcy as aggressive, especially not in bed. He lifted his head, placing his hands on his chest as he watched Darcy unsnap his jeans and then peel the zipper down. Damn, the man was sexy as fuck when he was in charge. Raven could live with that.
Darcy tugged at Raven’s jeans until Raven lifted his hips. Slipping his jeans off, Darcy went for Raven’s shirt next.“Now you’re the one who is naked while I’m still dressed.”
“I’m at your mercy,” Raven said as he spread his arms wide.“Do your worst.”
“I sure as hell hope I don’t do badly,” Darcy said as he dipped his head and pulled Raven’s cock into his mouth.
“Darcy!” Raven saw stars as Darcy worked his mouth down Raven’s shaft. Slowly, Darcy’s hands moved downward, skimming either side of Raven’s body until he reached his inner thighs. Raven gasped in sweet agony as Darcy cupped his balls, his fingers playing over Raven’s tight sac as his tongue swirled around Raven’s cock, making Raven moan his approval. His mate explored Raven’s body as he tightened his lips around Raven’s shaft and then pulled upward.
“Gods, Darcy.” Raven threaded his fingers through Darcy’s hair, tugging on the strands as Darcy took Raven’s cock back down his throat.“D–Darcy.”
Darcy leaned back and began to suckle at the head of Raven’s shaft. Raven shattered into a million glowing stars as his seed shot to the back of his mate’s mouth. Raven breathed in soul-drenching drafts of air as he slowly came back into his body.
He felt boneless, unable to move as Darcy straightened, smiling down at Raven.“Ready?”
Raven only had enough energy left in him to quirk a brow.
Darcy chuckled and then pushed from the bed, undressing. Raven’s jaw dropped when Darcy tossed his shirt aside and then pinched his own nipples, moaning like a harlot. His soft cock jerked, trying its best to come back to life.
His mate licked his lips and groaned, and then pushed his jeans down his legs, palming his cock, stroking it a few times before kicking his pants aside.“Don’t look so surprised.” Darcy crawled across the bed on his knees, and then slid his hand under the pillow, pulling out the tube of lube.
Oh. Hell.
Was Darcy…
Oh. Hell.
“My turn,” Darcy said as he popped the cap, lubing his fingers. Raven swallowed hard as Darcy set the bottle of lube aside and then dipped his hand down between Raven’s legs. His eyes crossed when Darcy rimmed his hole. His legs began to quiver as he breathed out slowly, trying his fucking best to relax.
“Trust me, Raven. You are going to love this.”
“I trust you,” Raven said as he glanced back down, feeling Darcy’s finger pushing inside of him.“I’ve just never—D–Darcy. Oh, gods, Darcy.”
Raven could hear his mate chuckling as he slowly inserted a second finger, scissoring them apart. Raven raised his legs, and then planted his feet on the bed, letting his legs fall to the sides.
“That’s right, just turn yourself over to me.”
Raven lifted his head, his eyes narrowing.“Who are you, and what have you done with my mate?”
Darcy laughed…and then plunged a third finger into Raven’s ass.
“Um, oh, yeah, shit.” Raven was making absolutely no sense, and he could care less. What Darcy was doing was fucking fantastic! Raven sucked in a quick breath and then let it out slowly as the burning eased and the real pleasure spanned over his groin, making Raven hitch his hips, wanting Darcy’s fingers deeper inside of him. “I told you.” Darcy grinned.
Raven would forever be dazzled by his mate’s smile. He reached up, running the pad of his thumb over Darcy’s lips.“There it is.”
Darcy’s grin wobbled as he looked confusedly at Raven.“What?”
“The shine,” Raven said. He smiled when Darcy blushed deeply. “Don’t ever lose it again. It’s stunning.”
Darcy pulled his hand free, and then leaned over Raven, taking his mouth in a sweet and devouring kiss. Raven felt as if he were being lifted up to heaven as the taste of his mate spilled into his mouth. Darcy licked over Raven’s teeth, nipped his lower lip, and then pulled back.“Ready?”
Raven nodded.“Have your wicked way with me.”
Darcy’s copper-colored eyes sparkled as he grabbed the lube, coating his cock before settling between Raven’s legs. Raven couldn’t tear his eyes away from Darcy’s. His mate finally looked happy. He was smiling like a loon, which only made Raven smile.
Raven spread his legs open as the head of Darcy’s cock probed at his hole. Raven wrapped his legs around Darcy, planting the heels of his feet on his mate’s ass, and then shoved, plunging Darcy’s cock all the way to the root.
“Raven,” Darcy whispered as he lowered his head, closing his eyes.
“Don’t close your eyes,” Raven said, although he had to admit, that fucking hurt. He had to remember not to do something that stupid again. Taking a cock all the way into his ass the first time was a very dumb move.
Darcy opened his eyes, the brown bleeding out to smolder like liquid heat. Raven reached up and pulled his mate down, pulling his hair as he took Darcy’s lips with his. Darcy began to move his hips, and the pleasure was pure and explosive.
Raven curled his fingers into Darcy’s hair as his mate’s hands landed on either side of Raven’s head.“Raven,” Darcy whispered into Raven’s mouth.“I love you, Raven.”
Raven’s head fell back, his lips parting as his back arched. Darcy thrust deeper, with longer strokes, making Raven feel as if his body was half ice, half flame.
“You are so damn breathtaking,” Darcy said as he pulled his cock almost all of the way out of Raven’s ass and then shot his hips forward.“I want to grow old with you. I want to love you so much that I can’t live without you.”
Raven growled and rolled, placing Darcy underneath him. He straddled his mate’s hips, which made Darcy’s cock go deeper into his ass.“I’ll never let you go, Darcy.” Raven dropped forward, planting his hands on the bed. He rocked back and forth, picking up the pace. He had held out as long as he could.
Raven bit into Darcy’s neck, the taste of his mate’s blood exploding in his mouth as Darcy cried out. Raven growled, slamming his ass down on Darcy’s cock, pulling every damn last seed from Darcy’s dick.
Raven grunted when he felt Darcy’s fingers curl around his cock, tugging on the skin until Raven was drinking in Darcy’s blood and coming at the same time. He licked the wound closed, breathing heavily as he slowly pulled from Darcy’s flagging cock.“Damn.” Raven panted and then fell sideways, wishing there was a fan in the room because he was sweaty as hell.
“Mmm,” Darcy murmured as he curled up next to Raven.
Raven turned his head, kissing his mate on the top of his head as he closed his eyes, smiling as he drifted off to sleep.