Page 7

Chapter 7

Storm

It was late by the time they all said goodnight. Storm knew the others would all wait to leave after he’d taken Nathan away, although he seemed to have made some headway in Talon and Malachi’s esteem. They weren’t glaring quite as hard by the end of the meeting, and if Nathan noticed their ire in the beginning, he hid it well. He might have been nervous before they went in, but he didn’t let it show in front of the others at all. Storm was pleased to have been privy to it. It felt like Nathan trusted him.

“I don’t think I said anything earlier, but thank you for driving me,” he said as they pulled out onto the highway.

Storm glanced over at Nathan’s handsome profile. “No problem. How are you holding up? Need another cup of coffee?” He didn’t mention how little of the first one Nathan drank.

“No, that’s okay. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Who are the other people Talon said weren’t there tonight? Halflings?”

“Not all of them. Xyra is a halfling. Shadrach is a leviathan, and there are two?—”

“A leviathan? What’s that?”

Oh, right. Alex said the guild thought Talon was a halfling. “Talon is a leviathan. The ones you guys call black-eyed halflings aren’t halflings at all. They’re leviathans—well, usually. Lots of demons have black eyes, actually.”

Nathan stared. “Seriously?”

“Yep. Different powers, different origins. At some point in history, the guild assumed the halflings were all demons who looked like humans. But that isn’t true. Leviathans look human, but they never were. There are a few others who also look human. Mozgorans try, but they always look off . Behemoths look relatively human. There are also things like kalmachs and the harbinger, but I haven’t heard of either of those being topside in centuries.”

“I’ve heard of mozgorans and behemoths, although I didn’t know the latter looked human. I don’t know anyone who’s ever seen one of those, and there’s very little about them in our archive.”

“As far as I know, only our little group of humans is aware that Talon and Shadrach are leviathans. We’d prefer to keep it that way.” It probably could’ve gone without saying, given that Nathan seemed to have no trouble keeping all their other secrets, but he’d rather be safe than sorry.

And to his credit, Nathan nodded at once. “Oh, absolutely. I’m giving Sloan the bare minimum. I don’t want to give him anything he might use against you guys.”

Storm cast him a pleased smile. “I figured. Just wanted to hear it.”

The rest of the drive passed in silence. Storm drove as slow as traffic would allow, savoring every moment in Nathan’s presence. When he pulled into Nathan’s driveway, neither of them moved for a moment, and then Nathan picked up his cup, fidgeting with the edge of the lid.

“Thanks again for the ride—and the coffee,” Nathan said.

Storm was loath to say goodnight. He wanted more. Would Nathan let him push? So far, he’d never told Storm no, never protested anything Storm told him to do.

He couldn’t resist trying. “You could invite me in.”

Nathan blinked at him, his lips parting in surprise.

Storm leaned in. “Maybe for a cup of coffee.” His voice was low, melodic. “Invite me in, sunshine.”

Nathan’s eyelids fluttered at the endearment. “Okay.”

A sense of power shuddered through Storm. This human was so incredible. So strong, and yet he yielded so prettily to everything Storm suggested. How far could he push? Nathan obviously felt the same pull that he did. He wouldn’t trust him so instinctively if he didn’t.

Invited beyond the threshold? Alone in Nathan’s house together? There was no better opportunity to explore what they might be to each other.

He crossed the walkway in long, easy strides at Nathan’s back, resisting the urge to lean in and smell him as Nathan pressed the key into the lock. He turned as he stepped inside, flicking a switch by the door that bathed them in light.

Nathan’s slate-gray eyes met his. “Come in, Storm.”

A shiver rolled down his spine at the sound of his name on Nathan’s lips. Storm pressed closer, and Nathan stepped back as Storm crossed the threshold.

Nathan set his keys in a ceramic bowl by the door, and Storm looked around with interest while he went to the kitchen.

It was sparsely decorated, which Storm might’ve expected from a rigid soldier boy, but there were some elements of his personality. There wasn’t much decoration on the walls, but colorful throw pillows decorated the couch. There was a row of movies in the entertainment console under the dark television. On the right, the polished, square dining table sat beneath a farmhouse-style chandelier made of weathered wood.

Beyond that, the pocket-sized kitchen was small but well-equipped, with a doorway to the dining room and another to the hallway, the walls open above the counters. Nathan was visible within, pouring coffee grounds into the machine and pressing the button to turn it on.

“Nice place you’ve got here,” Storm said, stopping in the doorway.

Nathan turned, leaning back against the counter while the coffeemaker gurgled. His smile was sheepish. “Thanks. It’s not much, but it’s all mine.”

“What time do you want to go to the morgue tomorrow?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “Midmorning, I guess. We’re patrolling tomorrow night, which means I’ll need to sleep in a bit to get enough rest.”

Oh, good. That meant Storm didn’t have to hurry out tonight.

“What happens on a patrol? You fight the big, bad demons?” He drifted closer.

Nathan’s mouth twitched with amusement. “Exactly.” Concern flashed across his face. “I mean. That doesn’t bother you, does it?”

Storm snorted. “No, sunshine.”

Nathan’s eyes softened again at the nickname, and Storm dared to get even closer, almost lining their bodies up.

“The monsters you hunt are like animals. They aren’t capable of higher forms of thinking. Just hunt, kill, eat.”

Nathan laughed, arching back with it. Storm wanted to touch that exposed abdomen. “You’re saying we’re the animal control of the supernatural world?”

That surprised a laugh out of Storm, too. “I’ve never thought of it like that, but I guess so.”

Nathan tipped his head back to look thoughtfully at the ceiling, putting the long column of his throat on display. He had no idea what these vulnerable positions were doing to Storm. “Ah, well. There are worse things to be.”

Storm wanted to push . Their shoes bumped together, and Nathan straightened, his gaze darting down Storm’s body and back up, as though just realizing how close they were.

“Mm. Tell me something.”

“What?” Nathan’s voice was breathless. Anticipatory.

“Do you feel it, too?”

His throat bobbed. “Feel… what?”

Storm brushed his knuckles against Nathan’s stomach. The muscles twitched under his touch, and Nathan’s breath stalled. Storm stretched his fingers out, flattening his palm against the thin fabric of his T-shirt. He expected to be rebuffed, but Nathan’s hands only tightened on the edge of the counter behind him. His chest heaved with quick, shallow breaths.

He wasn’t telling him no, so Storm slowly slid his hand up. The fabric bunched under his hand, dragging his shirt up to reveal a strip of skin and an enthralling trail of hair that disappeared below his waistband. At his neckline, he curled his fingers around bare skin, loving the way the pulse thundered below his fingertips.

“Storm,” Nathan murmured. The sound of his name, breathy and uncertain, rolled down his spine to pool in his belly. “What are you doing?”

“I asked you a question,” Storm said softly. “Do you feel it, too?”

“Feel what?” This time, Storm felt the bob of Nathan’s throat under his palm.

“The pull.”

Nathan moved then, wrapping a hand around Storm’s wrist—though he didn’t push him away. “No?” He sounded more uncertain than ever.

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

Nathan huffed. “It-It doesn’t matter.”

“Why not?” He was quite certain that nothing had ever mattered more—at least not to him.

“We can’t.”

“Says who?” Storm leaned in, pinning him to the counter with his body, and a quiet mewl left Nathan.

He squirmed, rubbing himself against Storm. There was a very telling bulge below his zipper. “The guild, of course.”

Storm shifted, pressing a thigh between his and giving him something to rut against, which he did immediately. His head fell back in abandon, exposing him further for Storm to claim. He raised his free hand to cradle the back of Nathan’s head. It was a powerful position; he could snap Nathan’s neck easily like this. Nathan either didn’t notice or didn’t care—or he just trusted Storm that much. Storm desperately hoped for the latter.

“Your body seems to be telling you something else,” Storm pointed out.

“My body is stupid,” Nathan said, his thighs clamping around Storm’s like he was trying to stop himself.

A possessive growl rolled out of Storm. “I think your body has the right idea.”

“This doesn’t—I’m not gay.” But his hands grasped at Storm’s waist like he was hungry for more, pulling Storm tightly against him. “I’ve been with women all my life.”

“It is possible to like more than one gender.” Did that mean Storm would be his first man? That sent a delighted, possessive thrill through him. He wanted to be his first and only .

“But I… don’t? Or at least I never thought I did. I don’t know what it is about you. You just make me feel…”

Storm understood. He felt the same. “Then why don’t you find out?” he coaxed. “Kiss me.”

Nathan stilled, his eyes falling to Storm’s mouth. “I… I can’t.”

How far could he push? “ Kiss me .”

Nathan lunged toward him like his strength to resist failed him, crushing their mouths together. Storm wanted to howl victoriously, lifting his fingers to Nathan’s jaw and prying his mouth open to press his tongue inside. They kissed long after the coffeemaker stopped gurgling, Nathan working himself against Storm’s thigh. His own erection pressed maddeningly against Nathan’s hip, but he ignored it for now. There would be time for him to take his pleasure.

He fisted his hand in Nathan’s shirt, dragging it up and over his head. Nathan’s eyes were heavy-lidded with lust as Storm kissed him again, deep and hungry. He begrudgingly released his jaw only to wrench open his fly. He would take him right there in the kitchen if Nathan would let him.

But no. If Nathan had never been with a man before, Storm wanted to be sure he enjoyed himself. Wanted to be sure he came back for more.

“Show me your bedroom,” he ordered.

Nathan must have forgotten all his reasons for not doing this, because he pushed into Storm’s body, guiding him backward without breaking their kiss. Storm chuckled, sucking Nathan’s tongue as he staggered through the doorway into the hall. Nathan pushed Storm’s shirt up and off, leaving it and his own sneakers in the hallway like breadcrumbs.

“Right here,” Nathan said, gesturing to his left, Storm’s right.

He turned them, backing Nathan toward the bed and pushing him down. Pausing above him, he braced one boot on the edge of the bed and pulled the zipper down. Nathan rose up on his elbows to watch as he did the second one. Then he focused on Nathan, hooking his fingers in his waistband and yanking his jeans and underwear off at once. His cock bobbed free, and he crawled up the bed, panting unevenly.

“Lube?” They would certainly need it for what Storm wanted to do.

“Um. Yeah. Drawer.” He pointed at the bedside table, his face and neck aflame.

Storm fetched it, then crawled onto the bed with Nathan, starting at the bottom and insistently parting Nathan’s hairy legs to make room for himself between them.

“Storm,” he started, uncertain.

“Yes, get used to saying my name,” he growled, nosing the hair on his inner thighs, less coarse than what was on his lower legs. Nathan might’ve been nervous, but Storm wouldn’t do anything he didn’t want. He kissed his way up Nathan’s pale skin to the hard cock twitching eagerly for him.

Nathan’s muffled moans filled the air as Storm mouthed a wet line up his length and planted a sucking kiss to the head. One hand stroking Nathan’s thigh and enticing him to keep them spread nice and wide, he raised the other to Nathan’s mouth, prying his lip from between his teeth.

“Let me hear you, sunshine.”

Nathan squirmed. “‘Kay.”

He wrapped a hand around Nathan’s base, pumping slowly as he took half his length into his mouth. Nathan moaned, long and low, pistoning his hips up and sliding deeper. Fuck, that was nice, the way his abdominal muscles rippled with effort. Storm’s free hand squeezed some lube into his palm. Nathan didn’t seem to notice, staring up at the ceiling with an exquisite frown on his face, his lips parted rapturously. Storm slipped his free hand under his hip, guiding him to thrust up again and again.

He wanted to ruin Nathan for anyone else. Wanted him to be absolutely desperate for Storm and Storm alone.