Forever Mate: Mikhail & Jace (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 8

  Mikhail had known there was something special about Jace from the very beginning. He just never thought he would be lucky enough to have a mate like him, and now Jace had agreed to stay. That was the thought Mikhail held close as he cuddled his mate in his arms and allowed himself to fade into sleep.

  Mikhail groaned as a wonderful wet heat enveloped his cock, rousing him from his sleep. The mouth wrapped around his cock pulled back and licked and sucked until Mikhail’s toes curled. It didn’t start out slow. It went to hot and insane in one swallow.

  “Shit!” Mikhail shouted when Jace began to hum around his dick. The vibrations wrapped around Mikhail’s balls and shot down to his toes. Jace’s tongue flickered over the very tip of Mikhail’s cock, his lips creating a vacuum seal around Mikhail, nearly making him come. Mikhail was going to die a very happy man.

  “Damn, baby,” Mikhail groaned, his hands sliding through Jace’s hair, holding on as he shuddered and savored every second of what the man was doing to his cock.

  Jace murmured Mikhail’s name around his cock, ripping away Mikhail’s control. He began to fuck Jace’s mouth in earnest, his dick sliding down Jace’s throat as he thrust over and over again. His thigh muscles quivered, his toes curled. His balls drew up so tight to his body that they actually hurt.

  Mikhail shouted as his back arched, his cock lodging in Jace’s throat as hot jets of seed shot from his cock in pulse after pulse of pure pleasure. He felt Jace’s satisfaction creep over him like fingertips along his hypersensitive skin. The ability to feel Jace’s emotions was something he was in awe of. It was deepest bond a shifter could feel with a forever mate, one Mikhail had almost thought a myth until now. He cupped Jace’s face when the man pushed up and settled on his chest, pulling it toward his. His eyes locked onto Jace’s luscious and tempting lips. They were perfectly made for kissing. They were made for him. Mikhail claimed Jace’s mouth, his hands pressing into Jace’s back, keeping him close as he tried his best to devour the man. He wasn’t about to lose the chance to taste heaven.

  Mikhail slid his hands up Jace’s sides, tilting his head for better access. Jace opened, allowing Mikhail’s tongue to do whatever the hell it wanted to. Unfortunately, Mikhail needed to breathe. And he was pretty sure Jace did, too.

  His lungs were burning for oxygen, Mikhail reluctantly pulled back to stare up into his mate’s face. “Thank you, baby.”

  “I love you.”

  Mikhail’s breath caught as Jace handed him his most wished for dream. “I love you, Jace. I always will.”

  “Good. Then get me coffee.” Jace’s beautiful baby-blue eyes promised revenge if he didn’t get what he wanted, and soon. “Now.”

  Mikhail grinned at the unspoken threat. “Yes, sir.”

  Jace growled.

  Mikhail wrapped his arms around Jace and rolled him to the edge of the bed. He covered Jace’s naked body with the sheet then picked him up, heading for the door.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Taking you to get coffee.”

  “Not naked, you’re not.” Jace wiggled until Mikhail rolled his eyes and set the man on his feet. He waved his hand toward Mikhail’s groin. “Those are my goodies and no one gets to see them except me. Put something on.”

  “I thought you wanted coffee now.”

  Jace’s eyes narrowed. He crossed his arms over the sheet and started tapping his foot. “I’ll wait.”

  Mikhail quickly turned to grab for his jeans before the little spitfire saw the smile on his face. He was pretty sure he would get his nuts handed to him if that happened, at least before Jace had his first cup of coffee.

  The moment Mikhail had his jeans pulled up his legs and the first few buttons done up, he swung Jace up in his arms and carried him out of the bedroom, sheet and all.

  “Mikhail!”

  “Yes, my love?”

  “Put me down.”

  “Nope.” Mikhail grinned when Jace’s jaw dropped. His mate would probably get his way in a lot of things merely because Mikhail wanted to make him happy. That, and Mikhail had learned to pick his battles. But every once in awhile it would be good to rock Jace’s world a little.

  Mikhail carried his mate into the kitchen and set him on the counter. He watched Jace’s eyes light up when he spotted the espresso machine in the corner. “Is there a flavor you prefer, mate?”

  “Um, hazelnut?”

  He could do that.

  “Froth?”

  Jace’s eyebrows drew together in an offended frown. “Of course.”

  “One hazelnut espresso with froth coming right up.” Jace gasped when Mikhail opened the cupboard above the coffee machine and he saw all of the bottles of coffee flavoring. Mikhail winked at his mate over his shoulder. “I fully admit it. I’m a coffee whore.”

  Jace’s eyes rounded. “Marry me?”

  Chapter Eleven

  Jace groaned as he sipped his espresso. He couldn’t believe how good it was. It was even better than his own. Mikhail had a knack for knowing just the right amount of coffee, milk, and flavoring to put into an espresso. Each cup was heaven.

  In the last three days he had tried several different cups of Mikhail’s delicious coffee. He knew he was overdoing it with the caffeine, but he couldn’t seem to help it. Each cup was better than the last one.

  “Keep that up and I’m going to ground you from the espresso machine.” Bay plopped down in the seat next to Jace. “I shouldn’t hear sounds like that outside of your bedroom.”

  “So says the man that broke in the dining room table with his lover.”

  Bay’s face flushed as Jace knew it would. He tried to hide the fact that he and Stefan had fooled around on the table, but just about everyone in the house knew they had.

  “We need to think about heading home in the next day or so. We have clients depending on us.”

  Jace carefully set his coffee cup down on the table then placed his hands in his lap. He was less likely to reach over and wrap them around Bay’s throat that way.

  “Bay, I’m staying.”

  Bay sighed dramatically, flopping his hands out onto the table. “I know this, Jace, but we still need to head home and pack our stuff, let our customers know we’ll be working remotely.” Bay waved his hand around the room. “And god, this place needs an Internet update like now. They are still using dial-up.”

  Well, that explained why Jace couldn’t get his laptop to connect for more than two seconds. “I’m sure after the pride meeting we could get the guys to drive up with us and help us with all the furniture and stuff.” Jace winked wickedly. “They can do all the heavy lifting.”

  Bay’s lips spread into a big grin. “No shirts allowed.”

  “Oh god, right?” Jace laughed. “Maybe we should make them work in tight little shorts.”

  Bay patted Jace arm, his face animated, filled with amusement. “Better yet, swim trunks.”

  “Butt floss swim trunks.” Jace and Bay were both laughing, clutching at each other when Rue and Liam walked into the kitchen.

  “What’s so funny?” Rue asked as he slid into a chair across from Jace and Bay. Liam sat down next to him.

  It took Jace a moment to stop laughing so that he could reply to Rue’s question. “We were just discussing the work uniform for the guys when they came to help us with all the heavy lifting and packing.”

  “Jock straps,” Rue replied without missing a beat, sending both Jace and Bay back into fits of laughter. Liam just sat there with a very confused frown on his face.

  “So.” Rue’s expression turned serious. “We’re all in agreement then? We’re packing up and moving here?”

  “Stefan said they would design us an office attached to the house anyway we want it,” Bay said. “We work from home anyway so having an office to work out of would kind of be a step up.”

  “I’m not leaving,” Liam said. “I’m never leaving.”

  Jace’s eyebrows rose. “Not even to go home and pack?”

  “No.” Liam
’s lower lip slid out in the cutest pout. “Yuri likes me.”

  Jace couldn’t help but smile. Liam was the shyest of them all. He didn’t make friends outside of the four of them. Jace was pretty sure the man had been a virgin before Yuri. While he usually would have worried about Liam falling for the first guy to screw him, Yuri seemed devoted to Liam.

  “You could bring Yuri with you, you know.” Jace knew that Liam hadn’t considered that before now when the man’s face lit up. “We’re going to need all of the muscle we can get to help lift stuff.”

  “I’ll go if Yuri goes.”

  God love Liam, he was glued to Yuri’s side.

  “Okay then.” Jace took another sip of his coffee. “So, we—”

  Jace’s words were cut off by the shattering of the front window. Bay and Rue were the first to their feet, running toward the living room. Jace and Liam followed, reaching the large room just as it began to fill with smoke. As they stood there trying to figure out what was going on, a silver canister leaking smoke came flying through the window.

  Jace rolled his eyes and pick the canister up, tossing it right back out the window. “Tear gas? Really?”

  Rue grabbed the other canister and tossed it out the window just as Jace had. “What freaking idiots.”

  Even Liam rolled his eyes.

  “It’s that Ezra guy,” Bay said as he stood by the wall and peeked out through the broken glass. “He has friends with him this time.”

  “How many, Bay?” Rue asked.

  “I count about seven out front, but I can see at least four going around the side of the house.”

  “We should probably call Mikhail and the others and let them know what’s going on.” Jace pulled his cell phone out and dialed the number Mikhail had programmed into his phone days ago. He understood that Mikhail and his brothers had a job to do just as much as anyone else, but maybe one of them should have stayed home until this Ezra business was settled. Jace promised himself he’d feed Mikhail his head over that one later. Right now, he had bigger things to worry about.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, babe,” Jace said calmly, “just thought you’d like to know that Ezra and his boys are back. They are currently tossing tear gas canisters through the front window.”

  “What?” Mikhail shouted. “Get the hell out of there!”

  “Oh please. We’ve been to more gay rights protests than I have shoes in my closet. Tear gas doesn’t bother us.”

  He laughed when Rue shrugged and said, “Makes my mascara run.”

  “I’m not leaving.” Liam blinked rapidly as he crossed his arms. His eyes reddened around the rims, a few tears streaking down his cheeks. He was a little less used to tear gas than the rest of them. “And they can’t make me.”

  Jace knew Liam was the least able to fight out of the four of them. He had just a little more experience than Liam, but just enough not to have his head handed to him—most times. Bay could hold his own in a fight, and Rue could pretty much wipe the floor with anyone that attacked him. Just because they had been taught to try and defuse a situation before it got to the point of throwing fists did not mean they didn’t know how to fight. They just preferred not to.

  And they had been known to have their heads handed to them when attacked by more than one jackass.

  They needed a plan.

  He held his cell phone out. “Liam, take this and go upstairs. I need you to keep Mikhail informed of what is going on and the second floor window at the front of the house is your best spot for watching the show.” He shook a finger at Liam after the man took his phone. “Lock the door after you.”

  Liam nodded and hurried from the room. A moment later, Jace hard his light footsteps running up the stairs and then the sound of a door slamming.

  “Rue, do you have your knives?”

  Rue’s head cocked to one side, and the man just smirked. Jace waved a hand. “Forget I asked.” Where Rue put the deadly weapons, Jace had no idea, but he always had them when he was dressed. It was just too bad he didn’t have hidey holes in his pajamas or Stefan might not have been shot before. “Bay, let’s raid the kitchen. I’m sure we can find something in there to defend ourselves.”

  Bay just stood there, staring. “Am I the only one here that understands that we are being attacked by a bunch of people that can shift into tigers?”

  “No, I got it,” Jace replied. “I just don’t care.”

  “They can kill us,” Bay insisted.

  Jace waved his hand back toward the shattered front window. “They are no different than the bigots back home that call us names and try to beat us up when we walk down the street because we have more fashion sense then they do. I, for one, refuse to allow them to make me leave, especially now that I’ve found someone that loves me just as much as I love him.”

  Bay’s eyebrows rose in a single line. “You’re in love with Mikhail?”

  “Yes.” He frowned as he looked at the flush on Bay’s face. “Are you in love with Stefan?”

  The red on Bay’s face deepened, moving down beneath his collar. If Jace continued this line of questioning, the blush would probably go right down to Bay’s toes. “Maybe.”

  “Okay, maybe is a start, but wouldn’t you like the chance to find out if there is something more there?”

  Jace knew he had his friend when Bay sighed heavily. “Fiinne,” he said as he started for the kitchen.

  Jace hurried to catch up with him. He stopped in the kitchen doorway and scanned the room for possible weapons. Of course, his eyes first fell on the knives in the knife holder. But then he spotted a nice round cast iron flat skillet.

  Perfect.

  He grabbed that as well as a few of the sharp knives from the holder. Walking back into the other room, Jace placed the knives in several different places where he could grab them if need be—between two books, behind a vase, under a hand towel.

  He held the skillet with both hands and swung it like a baseball. Grinning, he turned to Bay and Rue. “I’m ready.”

  Bay shook his head. “You’re insane, that’s what you are.” He waved his hand toward the front window. “They have guns and claws and shit. A cast iron skillet is not going to give you the upper hand.”

  “Bay, we have one thing on our side.”

  Bay cocked an eyebrow.

  “We’re human.”

  “And that gives us the upper hand how?”

  “They think we’re idiots.”

  “You mean we’re not?” Bay scoffed.

  Jace knew the man was only trying to point out the holes in Jace’s plan. Bay liked to look at things from every direction before acting. Jace tended to just close his eyes and jump.

  “They think we’re going to be cowering in the closet frightened out of our minds. They are not expecting us to fight back.”

  Bay’s eyes were wide and round as he nodded. “The closet is sounding pretty damn good right about now.”

  “Bay.”

  “Fiinne.” Bay walked over to stand beside the front door, his rolling pin raised in the air. He was ready to pummel whoever came through the door.

  “I’ve got the hallway,” Jace said as he headed for the bottom of the stairs. He pressed himself against the wall leading into the kitchen. Rue had spotted guys going around the side of the house. Jace had no doubt that they would try to come in through the front and the back of the house.

  Rue took up position near the front window. “Here they come, guys.”

  Jace said a quick prayer that he survived this and could see Mikhail again then raised his skillet into the air and waited. He heard someone cry out and turned in time to see Rue throwing knives through the broken window.

  The front door opened. The man coming in made it in two steps before Bay brought his rolling pin down. The guy dropped like a rock. Bay reached down and tore his facemask off and tossed it back out the doorway before stepping back into his original position, rolling pin raised over his head.

  Jace’s heart skippe
d a beat when he heard a noise from the kitchen. He took a step back and waited. Despite what he had said to Bay, Jace was terrified out of his mind. They were facing shifters, deadly shifters that wanted them gone even if they had to kill them to do it. Jace actually thought the people attacking them would prefer it if him and his friends were dead.

  It wasn’t going to happen if he had anything to do about it.

  Jace tightened his grip around the handle of the skillet and held his breath as a shadow appeared. A moment later, a man with a gasmask on his face stepped through the archway, gun in his hand.

  Jace swung with all of his might. The edge of the skillet hit the guy right in the goggle piece of his mask. The man shouted and dropped his gun as he grabbed for the mask, yanking it off his head. Blood was pouring down his face from where the broken goggle piece had sliced into his face.

  His eyes were enraged as he turned to glare at Jace. “You—”

  Jace brought the skillet up as fast as he could. Pain racked his hands as the skillet connected with the man’s chin, the sudden vibration going all of the way up Jace’s arms. The man didn’t even cry out before he dropped to the ground.

  Jace grabbed the gasmask and tossed it away. If the guy woke up, Jace wanted him to suffer from the same tear gas he was supposed to suffer from. He wished he had duct tape.

  Jace froze when he heard a low growl from behind him. His heart pounded so loudly he was sure they could hear it all the way back at the bar in town. Gripping the skillet in a death grip, Jace slowly turned.

  Damn.

  He tried to remember if he wasn’t supposed to run from a tiger or if that was a bear. His instincts screamed at him to hightail it out of there just as fast as his feet would carry him. He just didn’t think he would get very far. He was being stalked by a predator much faster than him.

  “Nice kitty.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Mikhail slammed on the brakes and jumped out of his truck before it even came to a complete stop. He shifted as he raced toward the house, intent on killing anything and everything between him and his mate. No one except those in his immediate family was safe. At this point, Mikhail didn’t even trust those in his pride.