Federal Paranormal Agency 6 - Leannan (8 page)

Duncan grabbed the lube, slicking up his cock. He held the base of his shaft and lined up the head with Thomas’s virgin hole. Duncan slowly eased his way past the tight ring of muscle.

He took his time, gently thrusting forward until he was buried deep within Thomas’s body. Duncan stopped then, waiting for Thomas to relax and accept him fully. The young man’s internal muscles fluttered around Duncan’s cock, squeezing him tightly before finally easing up. He paused, waiting for Thomas to open his eyes. Duncan pushed his hand through Thomas’s short hair, holding firmly.

“Look at me,” he ordered, and Thomas’s eyes flew open. “Don’t look away.”

Thomas stared up at him in wonder, his
eyes
wide and glossy.
I’m his first.
He knew he was a bastard, but Duncan couldn’t help but feel as if he owned part of Thomas. He would always be Thomas’s first. The young man would always remember him.

“Give me more,” Thomas whispered breathlessly.

Duncan moved slowly. Swiveling his hips, he thrust forward, burying his length deep into his lover’s body before pulling back. Every time Duncan pushed into Thomas, a look of pure bliss flashed across the man’s face. Duncan divided his attention between Thomas’s expressive eyes and the point where their bodies connected. He loved watching his shaft disappear inside his lover. As soon as he was buried deep, he looked up to see Thomas’s eyes. It was mesmerizing, but soon it wasn’t enough.

He moved faster and harder, adding more pressure to his thrusts. Thomas’s moans grew louder. The sounds spilling from the young man’s lips told Duncan everything he needed to know. Thomas was getting closer to his orgasm. Duncan increased his speed and pressure. He lost control, fucking Thomas with reckless abandon. When Thomas shouted his name, Duncan kept going. Hot jets of spunk shot between them, and Thomas’s entire body jerked wildly.

Duncan
pushed himself deeper into Thomas’s body as he came, filling Thomas, and marking his territory. Thomas belonged to him.

Lifting his head, Duncan looked down at Thomas. His eyes were shut and his jaw clamped down tight.

Thomas couldn’t believe how close he’d come to marking and claiming his mate. When he climaxed, Thomas forced himself to turn away from
Duncan
before his teeth pierced the man’s shoulder. Thomas was still surprised that he had so much self-control, especially when his fox was so close to the surface, pushing him to follow his natural instincts. Finding a mate was supposed to be a blessing. In this circumstance, Thomas wondered if it was more of a curse.

Taking a few deep breaths, Thomas gave himself a moment to collect his thoughts. With Duncan’s comforting weight pressing him down into the ultra-soft bedding and the man’s scent surrounding him, Thomas was at peace. When he finally opened his eyes, Duncan was hovering above him, concern creasing his brow. Thomas lifted his head and placed a chaste kiss on Duncan’s lips.

“Wow,” he breathed out.

When Duncan said he was going to take care of him, Thomas never expected to have his mate claim him. Even if he couldn’t actually bite Duncan, having the man’s seed buried deep inside him gave Thomas the connection he needed.

“I wanted to make your first time special.”

“You did. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before,” Thomas told him honestly. There was so much more he wanted to say, but Thomas refrained, barely. It went against all his beliefs. As his mate, Duncan deserved the truth.

“Me either,” Duncan said. He kissed Thomas’s forehead before slowly inching backward. “I’ll be back.”

Thomas felt the loss immediately. He sat up, watching as Duncan strode into the adjoining bathroom. Duncan returned a few minutes later with a
washcloth
balled in his fist.

“Lie down, love. I’ll clean you up.”

Thomas fell back onto the bed. Duncan stood beside him. He wiped the warm material down Thomas’s stomach and cleaned his crease, removing the lube and spunk. The gentle care from his
mate
made Thomas realize how special he was. It was a feeling he’d never experienced with anyone before. When he was finished, Duncan dropped the cloth onto the
floor
and climbed back onto the bed beside Thomas.

Wrapping his tattooed arms around Thomas’s waist, he pulled him in close. Thomas pressed his face against Duncan’s throat, nuzzling his neck as he breathed him in.

“I trust you, Thomas.”

You shouldn’t. You should kick me out of your bed and make me leave. I betrayed you, my mate. And I’m going to continue to deceive you until you’re in jail. You’ll never even know my real name.

Thomas closed his eyes tightly, trying to fight off the burn of tears. He pulled his lower lip into his mouth and bit down, preventing the
sob
that was building in the back of his throat from breaking free. He wouldn’t cry, not now. Maybe later when he had some time to feel. This was his punishment. He would have to
suffer
the loss of his mate. He didn’t want to lose Duncan, but what could he do?

“Would you ever consider leaving Ireland?”

“Why would you ask that?” Duncan’s fingertips drifted up his back, swirling around, leaving goose bumps in their wake.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged, hoping he sounded nonchalant. “I guess…I
thought
that maybe we could leave Ireland and go somewhere else.”

“Where do you want to go?”

Where could they go? He knew of a few countries where the United States wouldn’t be able to reach them, but he didn’t know anything about the extradition laws in Ireland.

“Never mind,” he murmured. “I’m not really making sense.”

“Get some sleep.” Duncan kissed the top of his head. “We can talk in the morning.”

“Okay.”

Blowing out a heavy breath, Thomas closed his eyes. He leaned into Duncan, trying to soak up the man’s strength. He needed it now more than ever. His mind was a mess, thoughts and questions spinning
around
until he was dizzy. Duncan was his mate. That alone should encourage Thomas to tell him the truth, but he couldn’t. He didn’t know how Duncan would react.

Thomas was torn. It came down to the FPA and Duncan. He would have to make a choice. Once he started helping Duncan, he couldn’t be able to consider himself an agent any longer. Taking an oath to uphold the law meant something to him. If he couldn’t follow the code—fidelity, probity, and audacity—then he shouldn’t be allowed to carry a badge.

After several minutes of going back and forth inside his head, Thomas finally realized that Duncan’s hold on him had loosened and his breathing had changed.

Thomas wished there was a way for him to shut his brain off. There was no way he would fall asleep, at least not
anytime
soon. Slowly extricating himself from Duncan’s arms, Thomas carefully rolled away. He held his breath, hoping that he wouldn’t wake the other man. As he inched away, Thomas was conscious of each move he made. He slid off the side of the bed. When his feet hit the floor, Thomas rose
gracefully
and tiptoed out of the bedroom without making a sound.

Walking down the hallway, Thomas made his way down the stairs. When Lucky saw him, he barked, wagging his tail wildly.

“Shh, you have to be quiet. Duncan’s sleeping.” Leaning over the side of the portable playpen, Thomas picked Lucky up.

Making his way toward the overstuffed couch, Thomas dropped down. He felt something hard underneath his thigh and quickly retrieved it. Staring at the device, he knew instantly that it was Duncan’s
cell phone
.

“Shit,” he whispered. He was being tested by his conscience.

Leaning forward, Thomas put Lucky on the floor and Duncan’s cellphone on the coffee table.

He needed to talk to someone. This whole mission was more than he could handle. Thomas got up and grabbed his discarded jeans from the floor. He rummaged through the pockets until he found his cellphone. Although he was tempted to call Bruno, he wasn’t really sure if the leader of the FPA would help him, so Thomas called the only other person who would give him honest advice.

Graham Bingham picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Graham, it’s me.”

“Toby?”

“Yeah,” he whispered.

“Are you okay?”

Thomas unlocked the sliding glass door and stepped outside underneath the overhang. The cool, moist air wrapped around his body, sending a shiver down his spine. Lucky joined him, bouncing out onto the patio.

“I need some advice,” he said as he closed the door.

“Is this about the mission?”

“Yeah.”

“Listen, kid, you can’t tell me the details of your mission,” Graham told him, and Thomas sighed in disappointment. “But you can tell me about a hypothetical situation.”

“Okay.” Thomas’s brows drew together.

It took him a couple of minutes to get the right words together in order explain his predicament without giving too much away.

“Hypothetically speaking...you go out on a mission and meet your mate. Would you follow through with the case if it turned out that your mate was involved in some way?”

“I guess it would depend on how much my mate was involved.” Graham paused for a moment.

Thomas started pacing back and forth along the patio, and Lucky stayed at his heels, following him. Lifting his thumb to his mouth, he nibbled on the nail as nervous energy rushed through his system, making him jittery.

“As an agent, it’s our job to protect and defend. We’re supposed to uphold and enforce the law. That being said, having a mate involved can change everything. Let’s say
my
mate is a criminal. This excludes felonies including, but not limited to, murder, rape, kidnapping, arson, and robbery. It’s my job to make sure my mate gets the appropriate punishment. By law, since the person in question is my mate, nobody can kill him or take him away from me. If he’s human, that changes things a little bit.”

“Why?”

“Paranormal laws are different than human laws. The FPA
polices
the paranormals, not humans. Hypothetically speaking, is my mate a human?”

“Yes.”

Graham cursed. “Did my mate commit a felony or misdemeanor?”

Thomas knew that trafficking weapons
wasn’t
considered a misdemeanor. Hell, three separate human agencies wouldn’t be involved in this operation if Duncan had stolen only a candy bar.

“Felony.”

“I would call Bruno.”

“What can he do? You just said that we police our own.”

“As the leader of the FPA, Bruno has a lot of power. He can make sure that
my
mate is safe while facing his consequences in custody. Or he might petition the authorities to punish my human mate as a paranormal.”

“Thanks, Graham. I appreciate you taking the time to go over this hypothetical situation with me.” Thomas was surprised that his voice remained calm and
strong
when he felt as though his whole world was slowly falling apart.

“One more thing, I’m the dominant partner in my relationships, Toby. I wouldn’t necessarily ask my mate’s permission before making a decision that could affect both of our lives. If I wasn’t so dominant, I would be upfront and honest, but in this case, I don’t think that would be a good idea. I don’t want you to get into a situation where you could get hurt or killed.”

“I understand.”

“If you need me, I’m here for you. If you get into a bind and need
backup
, call me. You aren’t alone.”

“Thanks.”

Graham growled, and Thomas knew his friend and mentor was worried about him. Having grown up around the FPA agents, Thomas considered the guys more than coworkers. They were family.

“You better make it home safely, or I’m gonna kick your ass.”

Thomas scoffed. “Yes, sir.”

“Take care of yourself, kid.”

“I will,” he promised.

Thomas ended the call before Graham could say good-bye. Those two words were way too final for him.

Even though he was a shifter, Thomas knew that Duncan was the dominant partner in their relationship. Could he really be upfront and honest? At this point, Thomas didn’t think their relationship was strong enough to handle the truth. Saying too much, too soon could easily ruin everything.

A rumble of thunder rang out, and the sky opened up, sending down a heavy shower of rain. Thomas took a few deep
breaths
of the fresh air, clearing out his chaotic mind, before heading back inside the house with Lucky. Closing the sliding glass door, Thomas clicked the lock into place. Leaning down, he picked Lucky up and started walking toward the playpen. As he passed the coffee table, Thomas’s eyes landed on Duncan’s cell phone, and he stopped in his tracks.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

Grabbing Duncan’s phone, Thomas clicked the home button on his gold iPhone, and the face lit up. He slid his thumb across the screen, and the device opened.

No passcode? What kind of idiot doesn’t have their phone password protected?
Thomas rolled his eyes heavenward, shaking his head.
Why did this have to be so easy?
Thomas was actually secretly hoping that he wouldn’t be able to look through the device. At least, then, he could tell Agent Palmer he’d tried.

Before he could talk himself out of looking through Duncan’s phone and respecting his mate’s privacy, Thomas pressed his finger against the envelope icon, and the mailbox opened. Duncan had four different accounts listed with different names associated with each one. He touched “all-inboxes” and quickly started scrolling, looking for anything that might seem pertinent.