Half-Blood Curse

Chapter 17 - Keeping Secrets

Lucas was planning on going to Sonia's room as soon as the meeting was over.

That was the plan, anyway. But that's not what happened.

Hearing the preparations being made in the meeting of alphas put Lucas on edge. Something inside of him was twisting into pretzels at the thought of the danger looming in Gabriel's future. He'd never felt more conflicted about what he should do. His logical mind insisted it would be safer to vanish into the night, but his heart and soul hated that idea.

The desperate, tight feeling in his chest constricted more and more as the meeting dragged on. So when Gabriel finally took Lucas to the elevator and turned the key for his personal floor, Lucas let him. They passed Sonia's floor and went up to the penthouse, holding hands, in silence.

Lucas felt like his skin was crawling. He felt twitchy and needy and he hated it, but he knew exactly who could help him.

The elevator door opened, and Lucas pulled Gabriel into the living room, spun to face his confused lover, and put his hands on Gabriel's shoulders.

"Lucas?" His mate asked, confused.

"I need you," Lucas said breathlessly.

"You have me, my love." Gabriel said sweetly, which was not at all the mood Lucas had in mind.

He gripped Garbiel's shoulders, twisted the shirt he was wearing, and ripped it apart. "I need you right now."

Gabriel only took a moment to take that in. Then he grinned, and it was sinful as hell itself.

"Fuck, Lucas, I love it when you do that." Gabriel helped Lucas finish pulling his ripped top off. "I'll buy a new shirt every day if you promise to rip them off me every night."

Lucas was too crazed to laugh. He gripped Gabriel by the back of his neck and pulled his willing alpha down for a searing kiss. They stumbled toward the couch together, neither willing to break the kiss to see where they were going.

Gabriel had magic hands, Lucas was sure of it, because the sexy alpha had him half undressed without Lucas even realizing it. He pushed Lucas back onto the couch, finally breaking the kiss.

"I'm getting lube. Be naked when I come back."

Yes. Yes, exactly that. Lucas complied, and Gabriel was back in a matter of seconds, also naked. He climbed onto the large couch, positioned himself above Lucas, and they met again with hot, desperate kisses. Lucas wrapped his arms around his lover, pulling tight, wanting to feel Gabriel all around him. Panic clawed at him; panic that he would lose Gabriel, either to the war, or because Lucas might leave him behind to keep his secret. He felt something shift deep within himself in response to that fear; something feral.

Lucas gasped and threw his head back when Gabriel wrapped one hand around his cock. When he looked back up at Gabriel, his lover tilted his head, as if intrigued.

"Your eyes have changed, Lucas. What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

Lucas pulled tighter on Gabriel, and they both felt Lucas's claws when they sprouted, scraping lightly against Gabriel's perfect skin. Lucas paused, worried he'd hurt his mate, but Gabriel shuddered in apparent pleasure.

"Yes, Lucas," he moaned. "Give me all of you. Show me you're as out of control for me as I am for you. Don't hold back."

He made the demand against Lucas's neck. He bit Lucas's skin, and unlike all the hickeys and love bites he'd given Lucas the night before, this time there was a sharpness to his teeth. He bit harder than he ever had, and broke skin. But just like when he healed Lucas's arm in the car, he used blood on his own lip to kiss the wound into healing. It was so fast Lucas barely felt any sting at all.