Read The Seahorse Who Loved the Wrong Lynx Online
Authors: Scarlet Hyacinth
Tags: #General Fiction, #Romance MM, #erotic MM
pretty sure his father was one of the strongest shifters in the world—
maybe even the strongest—but Byron had not yet been tested against
magic.
Thankfully, Rhys came with them, eager to help now that he’d
seen Layton keep his promise. Morgan had explained that incubi had
a thing about respecting boundaries and not abusing their powers. It
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must be why Rhys had decided to tell them about the magical
signature and his father’s involvement in the spell.
“There are wards around the mansion,” Rhys told them as they
watched the distant mansion from their cars. “Even if you snuck past the guards, those things will still feel you.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Byron arched a brow.
“I’m afraid I don’t have any suggestions, Mr. Cunningham,” Rhys
replied. “I was only pointing out what you could
not
do.”
“And I appreciate that, Rhys.” Byron’s smile was feral. “But who
said we plan to sneak past the guards?”
Byron turned the car around, and no more was said until they
reached their own home. The first trip had supposedly meant to be for reconnaissance purposes, which was why Layton had been allowed to
come along in the first place. But now, Layton wondered what his
father was thinking.
“He always has a plan,”
Preston said through their bond.
“It will
be fine. You’ll see.”
Layton agreed, but he couldn’t help but continue to muse over it
all throughout the drive back. When the car slipped into the courtyard of their own mansion, he felt marginally better, but not by much.
Layton’s parents owned private residences in capitals all over the
world, but this particular one belonged to Layton’s grandparents,
Skye and Lark Pierce. It was also the current base of operation of
their “task force.” It was not the first time Layton had been here, but in the past, he’d never had the urge to go out there and kick
someone’s ass.
His father parked the car, and Layton shot out of it, followed by
his mate. His father walked ahead of them, seemingly lost in thought.
Layton somehow doubted that was the case.
The first thing Layton noticed was that there were unfamiliar
people on the premises. Two cars were in the driveway, and men
wearing dark sunglasses stood by them, their spines ramrod straight.
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They weren’t shifters, though. No, these guys reminded Layton of
Ysanne. Sidhe.
Once inside, his father led them unerringly to a receiving room.
And just as Layton had begun to suspect, his dad was there, together with Preston’s parents, talking with a Sidhe woman. She looked
somewhat like Ysanne, but Layton guessed it was only because they
shared a species.
Layton’s dad got up as they entered the room. “Oh, honey, come
here,” he told Layton. “I’d like you to meet someone. This is Elder Adele Mercier. Elder, this is my second son, Layton, and his mate,
Preston. You remember my mate Byron.” Always the gracious host,
he didn’t forget to mention Rhys. “And this is our good friend, Rhys Whitaker.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Layton.” She pronounced his name
Lei-
ton
, which for whatever reason, struck Layton as funny. “Your sire has explained the unpleasant situation we find ourselves in.” Her gaze went to Rhys. “Alas, such things
happen when
more…unpleasant species mingle with our own.”
“With all due respect, Elder, it was your kind who forced my
father’s hand,” Rhys said bitingly. “He only wanted to be with his
mate. If Ysanne’s father hadn’t stood in his way, he’d never have
gone along with it in the first place.”
“So you say,” the elder replied. She waved a hand, as if physically
waving away his protest. Suddenly, Layton saw the snobbishness
behind the angelic façade and no longer saw any resemblance
between her and Ysanne.
“At any rate,” Skylar piped up diplomatically, “we’ve agreed that
the people behind this are not Rhys’s father and his mate. And we
have reason to believe Ignace Girard was involved.”
The elder nodded. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised,” she replied as
Layton and his companions sat down. “He’s always been
somewhat…rebellious regarding the norms of our society.”
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Rebellious, huh? How about a hypocrite?
Consorting with an incubus seemed just fine for dear old Ignace when he needed to use
them. But when the same person wanted to marry into the family, he
was a filthy demon. It made Layton sick to the stomach, more so
when he realized his own family had acted much like Girard when
they’d first met Alexis.
Layton knew his father well and he realized Skylar felt the same.
Unpleasantly enough, though, they needed this woman if they were
going to get to the bottom of things. “I will help you, Mr.
Cunningham,” she said. “And I’m sure this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
She gave Rhys a long look, as if to suggest his presence there was
a threat to that supposed friendship. But Skylar just beamed, ignoring the cue. “Certainly, Elder. And you simply must call me Skylar.”
Layton hid a smile as his father worked his magic. Truly, he
supposed he should have figured out what his parents were going to
do before they actually did it. Whatever the Girard family had done, Layton’s dads couldn’t engage them in an open conflict, not without risking an outright war between shape-shifters and magical creatures.
With all the effort Skylar had put in reaching out to other
paranormals, it would suck tremendously if it all went down the drain because of Layton.
Fortunately, Elder Adele finally decided it was time to go. She
excused herself with polite farewells to everyone except Rhys.
Apparently, she’d decided to ignore the incubus altogether. Did she
know Rhys’s brother was Morgan’s mate? It seemed unlikely, and
perhaps something better left for a later conversation.
In spite of the unpleasantness, the result of the meeting was quite
profitable. The elder promised to arrange a meeting with Ignace that very evening, using any pretext she could come up with.
“Do you think she’s on the level?” Preston asked as soon as she
was gone.
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“Oh, I’m quite certain she despises anyone that isn’t a Sidhe.”
Skylar shrugged. “As long as she gives as a hand with this, I don’t
care.” He turned toward Layton. “Go and get some rest, honey. All
this excitement can’t be good for you or the baby. We’ll let you know when it’s time to go.”
Layton opened his mouth to protest but then decided that he did
indeed feel quite tired. He was tired of intrigue and spells and never-ending hatred and prejudice. He was tired of trying to figure out
which way was up in a life he’d once thought so clear. He just wanted to take a break and enjoy his mating. Had his parents felt like this? It must have been so hard for them to continue their attempts to control the brave new world where humans knew about shifters and, at the
same time, take care of their relationship and have a family. Layton supposed that compared to that, he was whining for no reason.
“You can whine all you want, lovely,”
Preston whispered in his mind.
“Everyone deserves a break from time to time. I assure you
even your parents took them.”
Probably, since there had been those days when Layton and
Morgan had slept over at Garth’s, much to Corbin’s great dismay.
“Okay,” he told his father. “But promise you won’t go anywhere
without me.”
“Of course, Layton,” Skylar replied with a smile. “Didn’t I say
that already?”
Layton might have pressed his point further, but then, Preston was
dragging him out of the receiving room and upstairs. Truly, they
hadn’t had much chance to spend more time on their own since they’d
found out about the spell. It had all been such a rush, what with flying from the States into France, tracking Romaine in his reclusive
farmhouse, then coming here and scoping out Ignace Girard’s place.
There was so much going on that they’d neglected their relationship.
“Not exactly,” Preston responded to this last thought. “We just
neglected our sex life.”
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That was true. Alexis was almost jealous of his brother. Morgan
had returned to the United States earlier that day since he couldn’t leave his mate on his own for long periods. The feeding on sex thing still creeped Layton out somewhat, but as long as they were happy,
Layton was fine with it. And Morgan got to be with his mate often,
without anyone asking questions or bursting in with problems.
Layton sighed. He was being an idiot. His friends and family had
dropped everything just to come here and help them. It was his
problem waiting to be solved. Even Morgan had sacrificed his time
together with Alexis to stand by Layton’s side. Layton felt like an
ungrateful bastard for even thinking such thoughts.
It was just that…He felt fucking horny. Trying to find out where
their enemies were put a damper on his spirits, but only temporarily.
His body demanded Preston’s touch. His libido had gone straight
through the roof, which, given the fact that Layton had been a virgin before his mating, was quite a change.
Preston took him to their room and led him to the bed. “It’s
normal, lovely,” he said. “We’re recently mated, and you’re months
into your pregnancy. Don’t beat yourself up over things that are
natural.”
As Preston pushed him on the mattress, Layton found himself torn
between arousal and awe. What had he done to deserve such a mate?
He had no idea, but he wasn’t selfless enough to investigate it further.
Instead, he pulled Preston down with him. His mate released a
sound of happy surprise as he fell over Layton. Their bodies came
into contact, and through the material of their clothing, Layton felt his mate’s cock, already hard and demanding attention. Layton’s own
prick was throbbing, aching for Preston’s touch. Why were they still dressed? For crying out loud, they should be skin to skin already. The material of his quality clothing suddenly seemed scratchy, his flesh unable to bear anything else except Preston’s caress.
Probably catching onto the thought, Preston wildly started to work
on Layton’s clothes and, thank God, his own. He moved with a fierce
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determination that Layton couldn’t help but admire. Layton forced
himself to remain still and not try to help because, given the trembling in his body, he’d just get in the way.
Fortunately, Preston didn’t take long in getting rid of the material.
For all he’d said Layton’s libido was completely normal, his own
seemed quite similar, something for which Layton felt quite glad.
Preston was practically broadcasting his emotions through their bond, and the lynx’s arousal increased Layton’s, so much so that Layton
thought he might come before he could even have Preston inside him.
And God, he needed it so badly. He needed to feel Preston’s cock
pounding inside him, filling him up, completing him. Only Preston’s
touch could eliminate that void inside him, an emptiness that Layton had always been aware of but mistaken as caused by Corbin’s
rejection. Instead, it had been the separation from Preston that had tortured him, keeping him up in the dim hours of the night, sometimes making him fall asleep on a wet pillow when no one was around to
see him cry. But now, he didn’t have to weep anymore. Now, he had
his mate and his family, and no one would separate them ever again.
Preston’s motions grew desperate, Layton’s emotions feeding
their bond, nursing their need for each other. At last, Preston finished removing their clothes and brought their nude bodies together. The
lynx crushed their mouths together, the kiss greedy and frantic and oh so good. Preston’s tongue fucked Layton’s mouth, exploring the wet
cavern, no, plundering it, making Layton’s head spin with passion. He rubbed against his mate, his cock already leaking copious amounts of pre-cum.
The need to breathe urged Preston to break the kiss, much to
Layton’s dismay. He wanted it to go on forever. He wanted to lose
himself in Preston’s taste, in his scent and his strength. Another image flashed through his mind. He didn’t know if the idea was his own or
Preston’s, but it certainly had potential.
He imagined himself kneeling in front of Preston, taking the
lynx’s cock in his mouth. If Preston’s mouth tasted so good, he could
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only imagine how Preston’s prick would feel on his tongue. He licked his lips, and Preston followed the motion with his gaze, as if
hypnotized. Layton took this as encouragement. Even pinned down by
Preston’s larger bulk, he had no doubt that he could push Preston off of him if he so desired.
True enough, a bit of maneuvering changed their positions, and
Preston ended up on his back on the bed, with Layton on top of him.
Layton already missed Preston’s weight pressing him into the
mattress, but he would not be deterred from his goal.
His mouth watered as he took in the expanse of Preston’s naked