“Is he okay?” Snooke asked as he raced across the grass to Hondo’s side.
“He will be.” Hondo carried Chris into the house and took the stairs two at a time until he reached Chris’s bedroom. “I’ll call off the barbeque. You need rest, and I need to find a waiter.”
“No.” Chris grabbed Hondo’s shirt. “I don’t want to call it off. I’m okay.”
“No you’re not. You almost died behind the coffee house. How can you say you’re fine?”
“I’m healed.” Chris rolled to his side as he covered his face.
“Besides, I egged him on.”
Hondo’s brows pulled together as he stared down at his mate.
What the hell was the guy talking about? “How?”
“I thought that since I helped take down Gammy, that I could—”
“Take down the shifter,” Hondo finished for Chris. It seemed like that one harmless decision kept coming back over and over again to bite him in the ass. How was he going to get Chris to see that he hadn’t really taken Gammy down and that he was putting his life at risk every time he ran out there half-cocked? Hadn’t he already explained this to his mate?
“I was wrong.” Chris wiped the back of his hand over his eyes. “I tried really hard, but he kicked my ass.” Hondo wanted to tell Chris
I told you so
, but this was not the appropriate time. “I thought we discussed the matter of you thinking you have warrior powers.”
“I know. I guess I let it go to my head.” Chris twisted the comforter in his hands, looking dejected at Hondo’s words.
“I need you to promise me that you won’t try something like that again. Promise me you’ll call for help. It doesn’t make you weak to lean on someone else for your safety. It’s not only my job as your mate, but as your friend, as well,” Hondo whispered.
“But you make it look so easy.” Chris pouted.
“It’s not. Sometimes it takes the combined strength of a few warriors to defeat the bad guy. And you’re forgetting that I’ve been doing this for thousands of years. I’ve got skills.” He chuckled.
A small smile tugged at Chris’s lips as he stared at the comforter.
“That you do.” A sexy blush crept across his mate’s face. Hondo’s nostrils flared as Chris’s meaning sunk in.
“I’m glad you think so.” Hondo grabbed Chris’s hands to still them, bringing them to his hardening cock. “You have skills as well.
You can turn me on and inside out with just the touch of your hands.” Chris scooted across the bed until his body was molded to Hondo’s leg. “I can?”
“Oh yeah. Do you see what you do to me?” Hondo pressed the palm of Chris’s hand into his eager erection.
Chris’s fingers curled, giving Hondo’s cock a squeeze. “I can see.”
Hondo released his cock, taking Chris’s hand and wrapping the fingers around the base. “Show me what other skills you have, Chris.” Chris pulled up onto Hondo’s lap as his mate licked his lips and looked up at Hondo. “I have very special skills.” He grinned before swiping his tongue over the head of Hondo’s cock.
“That you do.” Hondo wound a hand in Chris’s hair. He touched Chris’s jaw, urging him to take more. Chris placed his hands on Hondo’s thighs, pressing his head further into Hondo’s lap, swirling his tongue around the head of Hondo’s cock.
“Baby,” Hondo groaned. He raked his fingers through Chris’s hair, pulling at it and brushing it aside. His fingers couldn’t stop caressing his mate as Chris sucked his cock to the back of his throat, sucking and using his tongue to run up and down Hondo’s shaft.
Hondo reached forward, snaking his hand down the back of Chris’s pants, running his finger down the crease of Chris’s ass. He pressed the tip into Chris’s tight puckered hole.
Chris pushed his ass against Hondo’s touch while he moaned around Hondo’s cock. “Fuck, you definitely have skills.” Hondo squeezed Chris’s butt, running his hand up and down the flared mound under his hand.
Chris pulled back, licking Hondo’s cockhead like an ice cream cone. Hondo’s eyes locked onto Chris’s mouth, watching the pink tongue move over and around in such delicate maneuvers.
“If I don’t fuck you, I’m gonna come in your mouth.” Reluctantly, Hondo pulled back and stood. He looked at his mate as Chris hung over the side of the bed, his mouth swollen from being wrapped around Hondo’s cock. Damn if that wasn’t a sensual sight.
Hondo quickly undressed, and his shaft jerked in anticipation of sinking deep inside his mate. Chris rolled over, pulling his clothes off with frenzy as Hondo walked across the mattress on his knees. Chris tossed his shirt aside as he got onto his hands and knees. “It’s about to get downright nasty and sweaty in here.” Hondo growled.
“I have skills for that as well.” Chris smiled seductively over his shoulder. Hondo placed his hands on Chris’s warm skin, running them over his mate’s body, taking his time to appreciate such divine beauty under him.
“You are more than I deserve.” Hondo leaned down and laid kisses down Chris’s spine. “You can’t know what you mean to me.” He lined his cock up to Chris’s hole and let the natural lube take care of the rest.
Hondo ran his hands over Chris’s shoulders, down his arms, and then held Chris’s wrists as he pushed inside his mate. His large body blanketed Chris’s smaller one as he worked his cock in until he felt Chris’s ass against his pelvis. “I can protect you.” Hondo kissed Chris’s neck. “I can love you with my heart, mind, and soul.”
Hondo trailed his tongue over the nape of Chris’s neck. He inhaled his mate’s scent as his body buzzed with electricity. “I can make your life so complete that you won’t ever want to leave my side.” Hondo rocked in and out of Chris’s ass as he rubbed his face over Chris’s back.
“I can be your forever.” Hondo thrust hard and deep, driving home to his mate his words of love. Chris’s fingers slid into Hondo’s, entwining together as he whimpered.
“You can protect me, love me, and be my forever. And I’ll be the same for you.” Chris rocked back, meeting Hondo’s rhythm with his own. “I love you, Hondo.”
Hondo wrapped his arms around Chris’s body, celebrating Chris’s declaration with his body. He pulled back and then let his cock rocket in and out of Chris’s ass.
“I love you, too.” Hondo grabbed the sheets under Chris and spread his knees further apart as he listened to skin on skin echoing throughout the bedroom. His hips jackhammered into Chris as he growled at the feeling of his cock being buried in Chris’s tight hole.
Hondo’s hips locked into place as ropes of cum were pulled from his body, shooting right into his mate’s ass. Hondo thrust a few more times before he pulled out, flipped Chris over, and devoured his cock.
Chris planted his feet on Hondo’s shoulders as Hondo rapidly moved his head up and down, bringing Chris to an ear-splitting release. His mate shouted as his back arched, fucking Hondo’s mouth in uncoordinated movements.
Chris collapsed onto the mattress, his chest heaving as Hondo fell beside him. “Skills.” He chuckled as he laid his arm over his eyes.
“Damn, I don’t feel like grilling now. Can’t we send them home?” When Chris didn’t answer him, Hondo looked over to see his mate fast asleep. He thought crossing that line from friendship to lovers would ruin what he had with the speedster. Hondo was realizing it only made their friendship that much better.
Hondo smiled and pulled Chris to his body, curving his around his mate’s, holding Chris as he took a nap.
* * * *
Chris laughed as Kane wrestled the rib bone from Einarr’s hand.
“I grabbed it first.”
“But who has it?” Einarr growled and yanked it away, licking the bone to deter Kane from taking a grab at it again.
“There are more over here,” Chris shouted to the two growling men.
Some of the neighborhood kids came by, asking if they could join them. Panahasi seemed to have a hard time saying no to such adorable faces. All the parents knew the kids were very safe when with the warriors and allowed their children to attend.
They threw Frisbees and ran around having a good time. Rainerio was at one of the tables arm wrestling a young shifter. Chris could see the warrior was letting the young man win.
“Is it always like this?” Snooke asked as he piled his plate for the second time. He turned around and stared out into the backyard at all the laughing faces and shouts from the kids when the warriors chased them around.
“Always.” Chris turned to face Snooke. “You’re welcome here anytime. You know that, right?”
Snooke looked down at his plate, shrugging his shoulders. Why did he look so guilty? “I do now.”
“Hey, babe.” Hondo ran up beside Chris and pulled him up into a tight hug. Chris laughed at the way Hondo was acting. Like he had to come over and touch Chris every ten minutes and then run off and play with the kids. It was adorable.
“Do you know why the waiter attacked you?” Snooke asked as he took a bite of his burger.
“He wants Hondo.” It amazed Chris that the shifter took to such aggressive measures. He had the demon realm and the human realm to find someone, so why was he poaching?
“I’ll be back.” Snooke set his plate down and walked into the house. Chris smiled after his friend.
“Where’s he going?” Kane asked as he grabbed a handful of chips.
“Don’t know.” Chris picked up his plastic cup as he sipped at his soda.
“Hmm.” Kane dusted his hands off and headed toward the house.
A few minutes later Kane walked out looking pissed as hell. “He fucking took off again.”
“Who?” Chris asked.
“Snooke,” Kane growled. “What did he say to you?” Chris ran his tongue across the inside of his lower lip as he thought about their conversation. “He asked if it was always like this.” Chris nodded at the backyard. “And then he asked if I knew why the waiter attacked me.”
“He went after the waiter.” Kane rounded the table, heading straight for Hondo and Takeo. Chris watched as Kane spoke to them quickly and then the three disappeared.
* * * *
Hondo, Kane, and Takeo walked into the Pancake House, looking around for Snooke or the waiter. They didn’t see either.
“Where could they be?” Kane asked in frustration.
Hondo walked over to the counter. “Excuse me. I’m looking for one of the waiters who works here. He’s about six one, heavily built, brown curly hair.”
“You’re talking about John. He clocked out already.”
“Thanks. Do you know where I can find him?” Hondo was getting frustrated. They needed to find Snooke before he suffered the same fate Chris had. Snooke was too small-boned to handle the waiter on his own.
“I may be the owner here, but when they clock out, they have their own lives.”
Hondo glanced over at his fellow warriors and then motioned his head for them to follow him. They walked around to the back of the building to see two bodies lying on the concrete, unmoving.
Kane cursed as he ran forward, dropping down next to Snooke.
“He’s dead,” Takeo announced.
Hondo’s heart beat faster until he realized Takeo was talking about the shifter. “How’s Snooke?” he asked Kane.
“He’s breathing.” Kane picked Snooke up and carried him into the shadow.
Hondo placed his hands on his hips and looked around at the scene. “Takeo.”
The Japanese warrior walked over to Hondo, scanning around before looking back at Hondo with a creased forehead. “What’s wrong?”
“Besides a dead shifter? Do you remember how Snooke was laying when we found him?”
“Yes.”
“Imagine him still there, and look really hard again.” Takeo turned to stand by Hondo’s side as he studied the area. “I see it,” he said as he walked back over to the shifter.
Hondo nodded.
“This was a setup. It was staged.” Takeo growled.
“I’m glad I’m not the only one to see it. The question is, who killed the shifter and knocked Snooke out?” Hondo wanted to get back to Chris but needed to figure out what was going on here. He circled around the dead body, and then knelt down.
“The shifter was placed here. There is a significant amount of blood loss, so where is the blood?”
“Exactly.” Hondo called their leader, informing him about the situation.
“Take his body to his family. I have a few phone calls to make. I want Takeo back here at the barbeque, and I want you to go see if Kane and Snooke are okay. But first, go see Torky and Ace boogey.” Panahasi hung up.
Why did he have to be the one going to see the two brothers?
Didn’t Kane say he wanted to hang in the shadows and watch the two jerks? Well, Kane had his hands full.
“Panahasi wants you to take the shifter’s body to his family and then get back to the barbeque. I have a feeling he wants you to guard Chris and those kids.”
Takeo nodded, pulling the shifter’s body into his arms as he disappeared.
“Now for the fun part.” Hondo walked into the shadow and out at the other end of the river. He walked the bank until he came upon two sleeping demons.
“What the hell are you two doing sleeping?” Torky was the first to open his eyes. He jumped up and looked down at his brother before facing Hondo. “We’re tired. What the fuck does it look like? If Panahasi wants us to guard this fucking place twenty-four-seven, then he needs to expect us to fall asleep a few hours here and there.”
Hondo rolled his eyes as the tip of his boot nudged Ace Boogey’s leg. “Get up.”
“Let him sleep.”
“You were supposed to take shifts sleeping. You know, one awake and one asleep,” Hondo explained to them like they were children.
“That’s dumb. We’d be bored out of our minds if we did that.” Torky snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. “Maybe the glorious leader should think about replacing us.”
“Yeah.” Ace Boogey chuckled as he got to his feet.
“I don’t think you want that option.” The three turned to see Panahasi himself walking down the bank.
“If I replace the two of you, it will be permanently.” Hondo knew Panahasi wasn’t referring to just watching the river, and by the brothers’ facial expressions, neither were they.
Hondo wanted to laugh at the terrified expressions the two had, but kept the chuckles to himself.
“You can go to Kane. I’ll have a talk with these two on the importance of doing as I requested.” Panahasi turned his head so only Hondo could see the twinkle in his eyes and the smile tugging at his lips.