Chapter 16
Dexter
“ Y our human saw you,” Corbin said when he meandered downstairs in the morning.
I stared at the crow on his shoulder. “Tattletale,” I muttered.
It cawed and then flew out the open window. I really hoped it didn’t understand me, because I did not want to get shit on again. I sighed and started ruffling through my cabinets for an appropriate offering to the birds.
Jude bounded into the kitchen humming under his breath.
“He does not think I’m a walrus,” I complained.
Jude laughed. “What did he think, then? Did you tell him?”
“He thinks I’m a werewolf,” I chuckled. “Or that he was hallucinating.”
Corbin smirked, and Jude gave an indignant growl. “Werewolf. Hah. We are so much better than freaking werewolves.”
I was about to reply when Corbin’s birds started making a fuss outside. Corbin was up and out before Jude and I, but we followed closely behind.
“Van coming up the driveway,” Corbin muttered. “Delivery, looks like.”
Jude and I both spotted it in the distance then as well. A white delivery van. Not at all suspicious or anything. Sure.
We all stood outside waiting, and when it turned into Toby’s driveway, I was the first to start walking over there. I looked up at his house, but his bedroom curtain was drawn. I thought I heard footsteps, and then the sound of pipes groaning. Good—he was probably hopping in the shower or washing up. That would give us time to investigate before he came down.
You could never be too paranoid.
The delivery guy smelled fine—not a bit of rot on his soul—but he was only the messenger.
“Oh, hey!” the guy replied, getting out of the van. Really, he was more of a teenager. “I’ve got a delivery for this address,” he said, pausing as he hauled out a colorful bouquet of flowers from the van’s side door.
I growled a little as the flowers came out. Yes, they smelled like flowers, but underneath that was something… metallic? And rotten.
Jude grabbed the flowers and Corbin had the kid pressed against the side of the van before he could blink. I looked up at Toby’s house again, and his window curtain remained drawn. Good.
“Umm…” the kid said. He looked more surprised than nervous as Corbin let him up but stayed in front of him so he couldn’t take the flowers back. Jude was reading the card.
“It’s for Toby, no signature—just a congrats on your newest release message,” Jude said.
We all looked at the kid, who apparently had some common sense, because he was starting to shift from foot to foot nervously.
“Where are you delivering from?” I asked.
“Flowers and Beyond. From Denworth,” the kid answered.
“Isn’t that right outside the city? Maybe a forty minute drive?” Jude asked. He’d obviously studied the area.
“Um, yeah,” the kid answered, looking between us and settling on Jude. He was probably the least scary, so I let him take over on asking questions.
“Kind of far to make a flower delivery. Aren’t those things usually sent to the local florist for delivery?” Jude asked.
“Yeah, I guess so, but the big boss said this was a special delivery,” the kid answered. He seemed to get some sort of clue then, because he started panicking. “Is this, like, trouble or something? Are you guys, like, FBI or DEA or something? I swear it’s just supposed to be flowers. I’m not, like, a drug runner or something. I didn’t check the flowers or the vase, because that’s not my job. I’m just a delivery guy!”
He was getting frantic, and Jude placed a hand on his shoulder while Corbin took the flowers and walked off toward the woods. Jude waited until he was out of sight before saying. “Of course you’re not a drug runner. Relax. We just have some questions for you, and then you can be on your way. You’re not who we’re interested in.”
Good. Jude let the kid think we were official. That made things so much easier. He wasn’t lying, either. He was a good soul, and we weren’t interested in him. If he knew what was best, he wouldn’t keep making “special” deliveries for his “big boss” though.
“Which boss asked you to make this delivery?” I asked.
“Kurt. Ugh, I don’t know his last name. Mandy is the manager and I usually work for her, but Kurt is the owner and stops in sometimes and has special deliveries. I swear it’s always flowers and gift baskets and stuff,” the kid answered.
“Maybe you should find another line of work,” I suggested.
The kid nodded his head vigorously.
“Don’t repeat any of this. Don’t say anything to Kurt or Mandy or anyone else at work. If you decide to go work elsewhere, which might be in your best interest, just tell them you got a better offer,” Jude suggested.
“Like, when should I quit?” the kid asked, eyes wide.
“Now,” I answered, and Jude gave me a look.
What? I wasn’t gonna waste time. The kid nodded his head nervously. “My grandma is sick. I should go visit her,” he said, looking at us.
I nodded my head. Jude took out his wallet and peeled off a few bills. The kid held his hands up, like he wasn’t willing to take it.
“A tip for your long delivery,” Jude answered, pushing the money into his shirt pocket. I knew it would be enough to help the kid out.
The kid stared at us, as if he was unsure what to do next.
“Off with you,” I finally grumbled.
That seemed to do the trick, and the kid hopped into the van and practically peeled out of the driveway. We watched him go, then turned our attention to the woods. We started walking to find Corbin and the flowers.
“Flowers and Beyond,” Jude mumbled.
When we got to Corbin, who had stayed well out of sight and hearing range, I could still smell the slight rot on the flowers. A hellbound soul had handled them recently, and for quite a long time for the smell to remain. Beneath that was the odd non-flowery smell. Corbin had dismantled the flowers and held up what he’d found.
There were two listening devices painted to match the leaves they were attached to. There were also three cameras made to match the decorative stones that filled the bottom of the vase. Corbin had been holding them in his closed hand so they couldn’t record anything, and after he showed us, he engulfed them in flame, destroying them.
They’d have gotten a bit of footage and sound, but Corbin would have been careful, and if we were lucky, the guy would just assume a malfunction or a range issue.
I was growling low in my throat and couldn’t seem to stop. Someone had tried to spy on Toby. His stalker was the most likely candidate, and obviously the asshole knew where he lived. That definitely complicated matters.
“I’m going to destroy this Kurt,” I snarled.
Corbin patted my shoulder and said, “Wait until dark when the kid is done working.”
“We’ll watch over your Toby, unless you’d like some assistance,” Jude added, grinning. As tempting as it was, I would rather have the two of them here to keep watch, so I shook my head.
“I have to see him,” I rumbled.
“You have to get yourself under control first,” Jude replied.
“I have to see he’s safe,” I growled, and with that, I loped off toward his house.
As I climbed his steps, I took a few deep breaths, getting myself under control before I knocked on the door. I wasn’t sure I was totally successful. My hellhound was a burn against my skin. Toby was in danger. Someone had tried to listen in on him and watch him. They had tried to invade his space and his home.
I had the stray thought that I would have done the exact same thing—I still would microchip him if I thought I could manage it—but that was totally different. Toby liked me, after all. We were boyfriends now. He had agreed to it.
That thought seemed to ease my hellhound a bit, and Toby opened the door at that moment.
He was freshly showered, his hair still damp, and he’d apparently hastily thrown on a t-shirt and sweatpants. He smiled at me, but that faded as I smelled his lust on the air. I moved forward until we were both inside, shutting the door behind me.
I suddenly understood the human fascination with sweatpants. As I unashamedly watched, his cock grew thicker through the fabric. I growled, fascinated, as it twitched at the sound.
I looked up, and Toby was staring at me, heat in his eyes. I don’t know who moved first, but our lips crashed together. Hells, he tasted so fucking good. I nipped at his lip, making him groan in pleasure.
I moved him up against the wall and lifted him up so our cocks were lined up, grinding them together as our mouths slanted against each other.
He pulled away from my lips, crying out, “Dex!”
“What, baby? What do you want? Tell me,” I murmured. “Anything.” Then I nipped at his neck. I wanted to bite down, to mark him with my teeth. I wanted to cover him with my cum. I wanted my scent covering him so everyone would know that he was mine .
I growled again, unable to help it, barely reining in my impulses. Toby whimpered, the scent of his arousal nearly overpowering my senses.
I set him down, dragging his shirt off and his sweatpants down. Fuck, he wasn’t even wearing underwear. I pulled my own shirt over my head but only had patience to unbutton my pants and pull my own cock out. I picked him back up, grabbing Toby’s ass in my hands and pressing his back against the wall. I lined our cocks up against each other, and he grabbed onto my shoulders, his hands digging in.
“Holy fuck, Dex,” he groaned, laying his head back against the wall and panting. His legs were wrapped around me and his hips were making little thrusts against me, our cocks bumping into each other.
It wasn’t enough. I held one hand under his ass and used the other to grab both our dicks in my grip. I leaned into his neck, smelling him. His skin was clean and soft, but underneath the soap smell I smelled the musk of Toby. It was like the forest after a rain—fresh and clean and just fucking good . His soul had not an ounce of rot on it. He was pure bliss, and I breathed him in like I could make his scent a part of me.
Our cocks were slick with precum, and I held them together and rubbed my hand up and down, gathering more precum at each pass of the heads.
“Fuck, Dex. Fuck,” Toby panted. “That’s too fucking good,” he moaned.
I kissed him again, my tongue darting into his mouth to lick at him, sweetness with a hint of spice in his taste. His tongue traced against mine as he groaned.
I wanted to devour him.
My hand moved faster against our cocks, his mewling sounds only driving me on. I broke away from our kiss and leaned into his neck again, biting down where his neck met his shoulder.
“Holy fuck, Dex!” he cried out, and I felt his cum spattering us both. I growled as my own orgasm rushed through me, and the thought of our cum mixing together on our skin made me spurt again.
The pleasure rolled through me, and only when Toby stopped twitching in my hand did I lower us both gently to sit on the floor. Toby crawled into my lap, leaning his head against my chest, and I wrapped my arms tightly around him.
We sat like that for a moment before Toby gave a light chuckle. “Guess I’ll need another shower,” he murmured.
“Don’t,” I rumbled.
He looked up, and his eyes flared at whatever he saw on my face.
“Yeah? You going all caveman on me?” he asked.
I grunted in response, then I grabbed my shirt to give us both a wipe down. There—no sticky cum, but still the nice scent of our mixed pleasure. I raised an eyebrow at him in question.
“Thank you,” he murmured, and then he gently leaned in and kissed me.
I kissed him back, laying back and pulling him on top of me so he wasn’t resting on the hard floor. Our legs were intertwined, and he pulled back from the kiss and rested his head on my chest.
We snuggled like that, laying on the hardwood floor of his entryway. My chest rumbled in contentment, and I had a moment where I realized perhaps that wasn’t the most human thing to do, but Toby only sighed happily and nestled closer.
My Toby was perfect. I wondered idly if it was too soon to ask him to move in with me. I supposed that was a question for Jude—he knew about human conventions. In the meantime, he could get to know Jude and Corbin today, and then later I would get to torture a flower shop owner for information and hopefully find and kill Toby’s stalker.
I smiled happily as I smoothed my hand down Toby’s arm. Life was good.