Touch of Gray 4 - Runaway Moon Page 6

  “Whoa,” I said, looking wide eyed between the two men, just realizing what Bastian was asking for. “Have you two talked about this before?”

  “Yes,” Sebastian confirmed. “And he said, if you were willing, he’d do it.”

  “Well, I’m not willing,” I said firmly. “Like he said, I won’t risk hurting you, no matter how much pain you like mixed in with your pleasure. When we get home, we’ll all talk about it together. Deal?”

  “Okay,” Sebastian agreed. He dropped to his knees and crawled back over to Bryce, his ass swaying seductively at me as he moved. Bryce lowered himself to the ground so Sebastian could stay on all fours.

  “Fucking little tease,” I muttered, sliding my palm over my aching shaft.

  I watched as Bastian ran his hands up Bryce’s thighs then wrapped them around Bryce’s thick cock and guided it between his full lips. I groaned, walking over to them and dropping to my knees, positioning my hips even with Bastian’s ass.

  I’d forgotten how fucking sexy it was to see my lover go down on Bryce. Last time, we’d both tried to hold off on climaxing as long as possible, but I knew this time would have to be hard and quick. Danger still lurked out there somewhere, not to mention two dozen shifters who would most likely be able to hear every sound we made out here. Next time, if there was a next time, we’d make it last. For now, we just needed to be together again.

  I reached up to run my palm over Bryce’s face. He leaned into the touch, his eyes closing until I pushed two fingers into his mouth. Bryce sucked the digits, swirling his tongue around and between, slicking them up with his saliva. With a pop, I pulled them back, leaning forward over Bastian’s body to kiss Bryce’s slightly swollen lips. His gaze was amazed, and I couldn’t help winking at him before moving my hand to Bastian’s ass.

  My fingers pressed against Sebastian’s tight opening, and he shifted his hips to give me better access, bearing down on my hand before I’d had a chance to ease into him.

  “Greedy little bastard,” I muttered. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

  “Not,” he argued around Bryce’s shaft. “Fuck me.”

  With a sigh, I spit into my hand, running it over my cock to slick it as much as possible then placed my tip against Bastian’s tight ring of muscles. He started to move himself backward, but I caught his hips, holding him steady.

  “Bastian,” Bryce growled. “Beha—”

  The rest of Bryce’s words were cut off in a groan as Sebastian swallowed him down to his base, distracting him from the scolding he was about to give.

  “You naughty kitten,” I murmured, pushing forward into him, slow but steady until his body shook around me and I was buried to the hilt in his tight heat. “Fuck, you feel so good. It’s so hard to control myself when I get inside you.”

  “Don’t,” Sebastian said, coming off Bryce’s cock for a minute. “Just let go. Both of you. Use me. You won’t break me, I promise.” He looked from Bryce to me. “I want you to. Please.”

  I caught Bryce’s gaze, and he shrugged then nodded once.

  It was difficult for me to let go with Sebastian. He was so into pain play I always worried I’d actually hurt him, damage him in some way, and I’d never forgive myself if I injured him. Still, I knew he wanted it. He always wanted it. The one time he’d convinced me to use that belt on him, I’d ended up crying by the end of it, watching his poor little ass turn red and a few blisters form. But he’d wanted it, and he’d sworn I’d done it perfectly. I’d never forgotten that sight and hadn’t been able to bring myself to do it again, no matter how many times he’d begged for it.

  But this, we could do this together. Bryce and I could keep each other in check enough to refrain from hurting Bastian in a way he wasn’t really asking for. If I could kiss Bryce to make him happy, I could certainly fuck my boyfriend raw if that’s what he wanted.

  Digging my fingers into Sebastian’s hips, I wrenched him backward, drawing a sharp hiss from him that was instantly cut off by Bryce shoving his cock roughly back between Bast’s lips.

  Together, we moved, slamming into both ends of him, hard and fast and violent, just as he’d asked for. I reached around him, gripping his shaft in my palm, and before I could even jack him once, he sprayed his release onto the leaves below us. His body shuddered, but Bryce was buried so far down his throat, he couldn’t make any sound.

  As Sebastian came, his muscles tightened around me, and it drew my orgasm as well, my muscles clenching and jerking as my balls emptied inside my lover’s ass. I slid out of him just as Bryce cried out, pulling his own cock free and letting his cum splash over Bastian’s face and chest.

  “You’re not going to freak out now, are you?” Bastian asked. Still covered in Bryce’s release, he sat back on his heels and looked at me.

  In answer, I moved forward, meeting my lover’s gaze for a moment before leaning in and licking a trail of Bryce’s essence from Bastian’s cheek.

  “Jesus,” Bryce hissed. “You two are going to be the death of me.”

  “I thought this was what you wanted?” Sebastian’s tone was accusatory.

  “I’m not complaining,” Bryce assured him. “In fact, I think I’ll quite enjoy it.”

  “Look, kids,” I said, fighting a sigh. “As shifters, you should probably already know this, but the sun’s about to set, and there’s a hella moon show about to go down, and possibly a big bad out here with us. As much as I’d love to enjoy the afterglow, we should probably get back to Pops and check on everyone.”

  They groaned together, but both got to their feet. I pulled on my jeans, but before I could grab my shirt, Sebastian handed me my gun and took my tee, so he could use it to clean himself up.

  “Thanks,” I said sarcastically. “You’re really going to make me walk back topless? That’s not going to look suspicious, at all.”

  “The shifters are going to smell us all over you anyway,” Bryce said, with a shrug. “Are you ashamed?”

  “No, but as most of them are still under the impression that we’re blood related, I’d prefer not to spend what’s left of the day defending myself for something that’s no one’s business but ours,” I said, trying to remain patient.

  Bryce stood with his hands on his hips, glaring at me with his lips parted as if he were about to say something, but Sebastian beat him to it.

  “That’s fine,” Sebastian said, holding up a hand in Bryce’s direction. “Let’s get back.”

  “What’s your problem?” I asked Bryce, hands on my hips.

  “You are my problem,” he snarled, and his eyes flashed. His beast was riding pretty close to the surface, and I could tell he was about to shift. “We didn’t even… You and I haven’t… Fuck! You’re already trying to hide, and nothing has even happened.”

  “Do you want me to fuck you now?” I shot back. “I could slam you against that tree and bury my cock in your ass dry, right now. Would that convince you I’m trying? Until about an hour ago, I thought you were my brother, dude. I’m sorry if I’m not handling all of this as well as you’d like me to.”

  “Cole,” Bastian groaned. “Why do you have to antagonize him?”

  But he was too late. With a roar, Bryce shifted, his beast howling its anger into the rapidly darkening forest.

  An answering cry went up from the east, in the direction of Pops’ cabin, and I knew without a doubt, without even looking at Sebastian, that Bryce had caused all the cats to burst free early. A fuzzy head knocked my hand, and I looked down, with a sigh, to see Bastian glaring up at me with his bright blue eyes blazing from his furry face.

  “I didn’t even fucking do anything!” I yelled. I clenched my hands at my sides and struggled to keep my anger in check. Lashing out at Bryce now wouldn’t do either of us any good.

  “You hurt his feelings,” Sebastian hissed.

  “I’ll hurt a lot more than that if he doesn’t stop being a fucking drama queen,” I shot back.

  “Fuck off, Cole,” Bryce growled. “Just sto
p talking. Please. You’re not wrong, but I can’t take any more right now.”

  “Any more what?” I asked, raising my hands in confusion.

  Before Bryce could answer, the sound of other shifters running toward us broke the argument, their paws beating hard on the earth in their zeal to reach their alpha. With a grunt, I turned away from Bryce and Sebastian and walked back toward the cabin, figuring the whole pack would want to run and play and whatever, now that the moon was pretty much in control.

  “Cole,” Sebastian called after me. “Don’t run off.”

  “I’m not running,” I said as I continued through the woods. “I’m just leaving.”

  Chapter Eight

  When I got back to the house, Pops was sitting on the porch, shotgun to his left and a very pretty lady on his right. I went into the house to clean up and put on a shirt then got my own sawed-off before I went back out to sit with them.

  “You and Bryce make up?” Pops asked. I glared at him, but he just gave me a half-smile then introduced his friend. “Cadence, this is my grandson, Cole. Cole, this is my friend, Cadence.”

  “Nice to finally meet you,” she said, holding out a hand for me to shake. “I’ve heard so much about you from Jack and Bryce.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I promise I’m not as big a jackass as they tend to think I am.”

  “Not at all.” She smiled and shook her head. “They’re obviously very fond of you.”

  “Especially, Bryce,” Pops mumbled. “Where is he? All the cats shifted and took off. I assume he called them?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Should be full dark any minute, but I guess with the moon so close, it doesn’t really matter. What time does the eclipse start?”

  “Midnight,” Cadence answered. “Jack and I are going to head down to the beach and watch. Do you want to come with us?”

  “Maybe.” I shrugged. “Wear shoes. Bryce broke a couple beer bottles earlier and didn’t get a chance to clean up after himself.”

  Honestly, I wasn’t sure what else might be going on by then. I’d wanted to do a sweep of the woods to see if I could figure out what Bryce had been sensing. I wasn’t too keen on going out alone but I couldn’t ask Pops to leave his girlfriend behind to come with me.

  I got to my feet and went back in the house, filling my pockets with various types of ammunition, hoping I’d be ready for anything that might be out there. I didn’t want to weigh myself down with a whole pack, so random bullets would have to suffice.

  “I’m gonna do a perimeter check,” I told them as I headed down the steps toward the woods.

  “There’s nothing dangerous out there,” Cadence said. “It’s just a few ghosts. They can’t hurt anything.”

  “I beg your pardon?” I turned and looked up at her.

  She had gotten to her feet and was leaning on porch the railing, looking down at me with a wry smile. A pentacle swung on a chain around her neck. A witch. Pops was dating a fucking witch.

  I raised my shotgun, not pointing it at her, but making sure she understood the threat. Her hands went up in a defensive motion which caused Pops to get up and glare down at me.

  “Cole, put that away,” he snapped.

  “Are you a Sister of the White?” I asked her, not lowering the weapon.

  “No,” she answered. “Just a wiccan. I know of them, but I’ve never been swayed. I swear to you. I believe in peace, not violence.” She laughed. “Look at me. Do I look like I’ve eaten a lot of souls? I look every bit of my fifty-eight years, Cole.”

  “Sorry,” I said, lowering the gun. “I’ve had run-ins with them. They weren’t pleasant.”

  “I know,” she said. “They’ve told me. Or their spirits have.”

  “What do you mean?” I took a step forward, and she froze, eyes on the shotgun, but I was careful to keep it at my side.

  “I meditate, and sometimes, souls—or ghosts if you prefer—will find me. I’m powerful enough to draw their attention. They come to me, and we talk. They share stories, and I tell them of life here. And then they go. But tonight, I think they’ve been drawn here, too. The moon is a powerful force that brings all dark things together.”

  “You’re telling me,” I said, through clenched teeth, “that there are ghosts out there who used to be witches? Out in the woods with my family?”

  “Cole, they’re specters. They can’t hurt anything.”

  “Jesus, Pops, haven’t you taught her anything?” I brought the gun up to rest the short barrel on my shoulder.

  “I didn’t know she was communicating with the dead,” he said, his tone hard. “Come on, woman. Let’s get some salt and have a talk.”

  “I’ll be out there,” I called after them. “If you see Bryce…”

  “Yeah, I’ll tell him.” Pops took Cadence by the elbow and led her into the house.

  “Shit,” I muttered as I headed out into the forest. I didn’t need this right now. Or hell, maybe, I did. A good old-fashioned ghost hunt might be just the thing to get my head back together.

  The cats were still to the east, as far as I knew, so if I could draw the specters west, I could keep our clan and the others safe. I’d have to take care of it quick. If Bryce and Sebastian got wind of the fact there were witches out here, even dead ones, they’d come running in a heartbeat.

  I walked toward the water, remembering what my brother had said about the witches harnessing power from the lake. No, not my brother. Not really. Though ghosts generally didn’t like to be around running water at all, maybe being witches would be enough to make them risk it.

  Bryce and I used to love to swim in Lake Superior when we were kids.

  To be honest, I had no idea which preternatural powers would take precedence with these particular nasties. If they really were former Sisters of the White, they’d been damn powerful in life.

  Bryce is so strong. How long has he been hiding his feelings for me?

  It would stand to reason they’d remain so in specter form.

  I’ve felt dead and powerless without him the last couple months—

  Christ, I had to stop this and focus. My mind had been wandering so badly it took a while for me to realize it was suddenly freezing and the hair on my arms was standing up.

  Shit.

  The blood-red moon came into full view, reflecting in the still water of the lake as I exited the tree line and hit the beach. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and I saw faint white lights blinking in and out of focus about a hundred yards down the coast. Ghosts.

  They appeared to sway in a circle, not fully formed into human shapes, just shimmering blobs. I checked the ammo in my shotgun and walked slowly toward them. So far, they hadn’t noticed me. With luck, I’d get close enough to spray them with the rock salt rounds I’d loaded. The spirits would reform, but I had plenty of ammunition, both salt and iron. It would at least weaken them.

  “Cole Grayson.” A woman’s voice sounded behind me.

  I spun around, bringing up the gun and firing at the first flash of white from the corner of my eye. The specter dodged the shot, her lilting laugh causing gooseflesh to break out over my skin.

  “Morgana,” I said conversationally as if I hadn’t just shot at her. “I suppose I should have known it would be you.”

  “Yes, I suppose you should have,” she agreed. Her body formed as if pulling mist together into a corporeal female shape. Even in death, she was beautiful. More so, actually, than the last time I’d seen her. Of course, on that occasion, she’d been trying to kill us and had gotten her throat ripped out for her trouble. “You didn’t think something as inconsequential as mortal death would keep me from you, did you?”

  “Well, I can’t say I haven’t hoped,” I admitted. “What are you doing here?”

  “Look at you, acting all civilized. What a nice change. To answer your question, I knew you’d come,” she said, with a delicate shrug of one shoulder. “You stole my great prize, my true shot at immortality. Now, I’ve come to take what’s most
important to you.”

  “You will not touch them,” I growled, raising the gun and firing again. This time my aim was true, and the rock salt blasted through her.

  With a primal scream, she blew apart, the breeze that had sprung up making her disperse in white, phosphorus wisps. I turned, loading more rounds into the barrel as I did. As expected, I was met with a blaze of angry poltergeists charging me. I fired into them, blasting a few of them but needing to reload too often to be effective against so many.

  Roars split the night as a leap of panthers broke through the tree line and rushed the beach, snapping and snarling at the specters. Desperately, I looked around for Bryce and Bastian, but in the sea of black fur, there was no way for me to discern who was who.

  I couldn’t be sure if the panthers’ attacks would do anything but piss off the ghosts, but if they were willing to try holding them back, I wasn’t in the mood to argue.

  “I will eat their souls, exterminator,” a voice whispered on the wind. “You belong to me, Cole.”

  “He is ours!” Bryce cried out from the center of the pack. His large frame became visible once he pushed past the other panthers. “You should have stayed gone, bitch.”

  I looked around for Morgana, but I couldn’t see her form mixed with the other specters reshaping around us. This wasn’t good. I was running out of shells, the cats didn’t seem to have much effect on the ghosts, and I didn’t doubt Morgana’s ability to eat our souls, even in death. She’d been a seriously powerful and old sorceress. It made sense that she would have made sure she could come back just as powerful.

  Cadence obviously knew nothing of ghosts, if she thought they couldn’t harm people. Specters were as dangerous as any other monster we’d faced, and this bunch would be even more so.

  “There’s my big, strong alpha,” Morgana’s voice purred. It seemed to be coming from multiple directions. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  That sounded ominous.

  “I came to find you before sunset, but you and your brother were quite busy with your runt. Tell me alpha, what is the proper etiquette for fucking a sibling? Do you top or bottom for him?”