Page 9

Chapter 9

Storm

Storm’s phone rang as he was pulling into the parking lot outside the main entrance of the hospital where the morgue was located. He hoped it was Nathan, and a sharp pang of disappointment hit him when he saw Ira’s name instead. With a sigh, he parked and answered, glaring at the cheerful sunlight beaming in through his windshield.

“What’s up?”

“ What the hell is the matter with you? ”

Storm blinked, taking the phone from his ear to double-check that the high-pitched voice screeching at him was indeed Ira. “What? What are you talking about? What’d I do?”

“ You had sex with Nate and then left before morning? What are you, stupid? ”

“Uh, yes I did, and no, I’m not.”

“ Are you sure? Because that sounds like something an asshole would do, not someone who wants demonic dibs on the nice human. ”

Storm huffed. “Listen, I didn’t think he’d want me there when he woke up. He said he’d never had sex with a man before, so I figured he’d want to have a nice little freak-out in the morning. It’s not like he invited me to spend the night.” He’d spent the night anyway, of course, but he’d assumed it would be best to make himself scarce when the sun started to rise.

“ Ohhh my God, you’re an idiot. He’d never been with—you know what? I can’t even do this. Wolf—Wolf, here, take the phone .”

“ What? Why? I don’t want this. Seidhr? Seidhr, where are you going? ” Wolf called, his voice gruff with sleep. A moment later, he said into the phone, “ What’d you do? ”

“I had sex with Nathan, which was apparently a terrible thing to do.” He didn’t like the way his stomach curled with unease. Ira was acting like he’d royally fucked up by leaving, but he’d known before Nathan even fell asleep that he was going to have some complicated feelings about what they’d done in the morning. Wasn’t it better to let him work through them alone?

“ Oh, I see. Yeah, you’re a dumbass ,” Wolf said.

“What? Why?”

“ I don’t know, humans are emotional. ”

“ Wolf, that’s not helping! ” Ira shouted from somewhere farther away, his voice barely audible.

“ Take the phone back, then !”

Storm sighed. “Will someone please just tell me what I did wrong?”

There was a sigh, and then Ira, closer again, said, “ He’s never slept with a man before, Storm—and I hate that I now know that about him, because it’s way TMI. The thing to do was not to leave him alone to sort through his complicated and upsetting emotions on his own. The thing to do would’ve been to let him wake up with you, show him how much you still want him, and don’t leave him with any doubt about what you want from him. Right now, he thinks that was a one-night stand that he can’t allow to happen again, and you disappearing before morning only reinforces that. ”

Shit.

“ One night isn’t all you want from him, is it ?” Ira asked pointedly.

“No. Of course not.” He wanted everything. Last night proved exactly how good they could be together. He’d never felt such a sense of rightness with another person before. He hadn’t slept at all last night after Nathan drifted off, just held the man and listened to him breathe, drinking in every moment with him that he could. If he’d known leaving would jeopardize that, he’d have stuck to Nathan’s side like glue. Maybe even cooked him breakfast. Sucked him off before they had to leave for the hospital.

Yeah, that was what he should have done.

“ You’re gonna have a hell of a time convincing him of that now. He’s decided he can’t let it happen again. ”

“Fuck.” He carded his fingers through his hair.

There was a shuffling sound, and then Wolf asked, “ Are you still meeting him at the hospital ?”

“Yeah. I’m waiting in the parking lot now.”

“ Good. There’s your chance to talk to him. And then bring him to the Rink after you get done at the morgue. We all want to know what you find. ”

“ Yes, good idea ,” Ira agreed. “ Above all, be honest. Let him know what you want from him. He’s going to be resistant, though, so be patient with him .”

“ Make him happy ,” Wolf said. “ Focus on doing whatever makes him happy. That’s what the rest of us did. If he’s happy, he won’t want to leave. ”

“ Aww ,” Ira simpered. “ Is it really ?”

“ Yep. Worked, didn’t it? Three times now, according to what the others have said about their methods. ”

“Okay. Make him happy. I can do that.” How hard could it be?

They said their goodbyes, and in the quiet cab of the truck, Storm blew out a breath. He supposed he deserved the dressing down Ira had given him. If Ira heard about it, it meant Nathan reached out to him, and he wouldn’t have reached out if he didn’t care.

Storm hadn’t wanted to leave, but he’d assumed the holy man would need time to come to terms with what they’d done. He’d never been with a man before, never been with a demon before, and Storm worried his presence in the morning might’ve made Nathan shut things down before they even began. He’d expected Nathan to need time to come to terms with how good last night had felt. But maybe giving Nathan that much space was the wrong approach. He’d responded very well to a firm hand the few times Storm had used one. Maybe he needed to be a little pushy.

He decided to send a text, just to feel Nathan out.

I’ve been told I’m an ass for leaving. I wasn’t sure you’d want me there when you woke up.

He left the truck and went to wait near the front entrance, just to be certain he wouldn’t miss Nathan’s arrival. While he waited in the shade of the awning, he lit a cigarette. The familiar rush of nicotine calmed his anxious mind. He smoked all of it and lit a second one waiting for Nathan to arrive. Soon enough, he saw a familiar gray sedan pulling into the parking lot, and anticipation sparked down his spine as it passed him and found a parking spot a couple of aisles over from Storm’s truck.

Their eyes met through the windshield, and Storm flashed back to last night. The heat of Nathan’s body squeezing his cock, their eyes locked, Nathan’s chest expanding with rapid pants and his quivering thighs flanking Storm’s sides. Goddamn, it was perfect. Storm had been around for centuries, had had hundreds of sex partners, but no one else compared. Nathan ruined him for anyone else. No one else would do.

Nathan squared his shoulders before he emerged from the car, and Storm fought down a smile. He was as brave as he was beautiful, his human.

A lesser man might’ve strode past Storm and into the building to get on with the job, but Nathan came to a stop in front of him, waiting.

“You didn’t text me back,” Storm said.

Something hot flashed in Nathan’s otherwise cool gaze. He was angry . That was good. It meant he cared enough to be offended. “You didn’t stick around.”

Storm lowered his gaze. “I thought you might’ve wanted to have a private freak-out.”

Nathan crossed his arms, shaking himself. “You know what? It’s okay. It’s better that you left, really. We should leave things as they are. We had a fun night. It doesn’t need to be more than that.”

Storm scowled. The fuck it didn’t. He opened his mouth to say exactly that, but Nathan continued doggedly.

“I have to go inside and look at this body. That has to be my priority right now. If you can let me focus on my job, you can come. If you’re going to press the issue, you can wait out here, and I’ll call Ira to send another —” he paused, glancing around to make sure no one could overhear them, “—demon here to help me.”

Storm’s jaw ticked, and he folded his arms. He didn’t want another demon coming here and helping Nathan. He was the one Nathan should turn to for help.

The stubborn set of Nathan’s jaw suggested that pushing him right now would just get him ejected from the morgue visit altogether, and being sent away would make it that much harder to get back in Nathan’s good graces. This wasn’t his Nate, his submissive ray of sunshine. This was Captain Accardi on a mission. After they saw the body, he’d have his chance to speak his mind. He could be patient.

“Okay,” he agreed, unfolding his arms and inclining his head. “Let’s focus on the job. Ira’s requested you come to the Rink when we’re done here to give them an update on what we find.”

He wasn’t giving up, but he could play by Nathan’s rules for now.