Hidden Passions (20 page)

When the phone rang in Evina's office, he hopped up from the station's meal table. Evina wasn't at its head today. She was hanging with Nate's wolves. Maybe the call came from one of them.

"I'll get that," he volunteered. Aware the others were watching, he bounded up the open steps to Evina's loft at a swift but not overeager pace. The space was glassed to provide a view of the truck bay below. Though their alpha's desk was cluttered, he found the phone with no trouble.

"Company 5," he answered.

"Chris." Tony was on the other end. The sound of his voice put Chris's hormones into hyperdrive.

He glanced at the office door, which he'd left open. "Why are you calling? Is something wrong?"

"No." Tony was quiet for a moment. His exhalation was too close to a sigh.

Chris turned his back to the windows and held the phone tighter. "Something is wrong. Tell me what I can do."

"It's nothing. Or nothing important." He paused and Chris waited. "When we were together at my place, you said you wanted to be there for me. Does that include if I'm in a funk and just really want to see you?"

Chris hesitated and then hated himself for it. "Yes," he said, attempting to inject the answer with firmness. He didn't do it quickly enough to fool Tony.

"Crap," the werewolf said. "I shouldn't be asking this."

"You should. I want you to. I--" He thought quickly. "I know a place that should be okay. I'll text you the address."

"You're sure?" Tony asked, relief evident in his voice.

"I'm sure. I'll leave in a few minutes."

He hung up, using Evina's computer to send the directions. Deleting the message from the
sent
folder felt more two-faced than usual.

You'd think he wanted to be caught.

"Got to go," Chris said as he jogged down the stairs again. "Personal business."

"Must be a booty call," Vasur teased. "My spareribs are too tasty to walk away from for less than that."

Chris didn't answer. The cat's guess was close enough.

"You're in charge," Chris said to Jonah. "Station 12 is still covering our calls. If anything big comes in, notify Evina."

"Sure, boss." Jonah leaned back in his plastic chair, his big body confident and relaxed. Something in his gaze gave Chris pause. The cat didn't precisely seem suspicious, but there was an extra distance behind his stare, like Jonah was measuring him. Jonah was Liam's bestie. Had Chris's recent run-ins with the omega triggered something in the higher ranked tiger?

"Everything okay with you?" Chris asked.

"Sure," Jonah repeated. He lifted his water bottle for a swig. "Go take care of your business."

His tone was respectful--at least on the surface. Chris shrugged inside his head. He'd have to deal with this later. Right then Tony needed him.

~

Chris had a wait ahead of him. He'd sent Tony the address for the Downtown Grande's attached coffee shop. Meeting there was less conspicuous than the hotel's Versailles-like marble and gilt lobby. Because Tony had farther to drive, Chris arrived first. He'd finished a cappuccino by the time the wolf strolled in.

He stood up without thinking.

"Hey," Tony said, glancing around the gleaming place. "This is a coffee shop."

He sounded like he was disappointed but trying to hide it.

"We're going to the hotel," Chris said. "I thought we'd meet here first."

"Oh." Tony looked at him and then down, his cheeks becoming a little flushed. He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. "Good."

Chris smiled. Tony was so easy to read it was flattering. "Don't get too excited. I haven't booked the penthouse suite."

Tony cracked a grin. "A closet would do for me."

They'd spoken in low voices, the sort shifters used to be private. Chris had an overwhelming urge to take Tony's elbow--or even to hold his hand. Knowing that was reckless, he thrust his hands in his pockets too.

"Elevator's this way," he said.

They walked side by side down a back hall that led out of the coffee shop.

"You make a reservation?" Tony asked.

"Phoned it in." The elevator that arrived was empty, the music playing inside some peculiar Outsider pop. "The manager is a sort of friend. I resuscitated her significant other after an accident. She gives me half off room rates."

"And doesn't ask who you stay in them with," Tony guessed.

"Right." Chris jabbed the button for the tenth floor.

"You're blushing," Tony observed.

Chris rubbed his forehead. "If it makes you feel better, I wish I were taking you somewhere I'd never been with anyone else."

"Ever use this room before?"

"No," Chris said, though in truth he didn't remember.

Tony's silent laugh shook his shoulders.

"I'm glad you find this amusing."

"I find it
endearing
," he corrected. "It's nice that you're embarrassed. Heck, it's nice that you're meeting me."

The door chimed and opened, sparing Chris the need to answer. They walked down the corridor with a foot of carpet between them. The separation didn't matter. Chris's body tingled all along the side nearest to Tony. He was halfway hard and totally hot-faced.

He flubbed his first attempt to get the key card to work.

"Need help?" Tony asked archly.

"Shut up." Thankfully, on the second try the little lock light turned green. Chris swung the door open. The room was nice but small: a bed, a bath, a window--now nearly dark--overlooking Fifth Avenue and the park. Tony strode straight to it.

"Nice view," he said, peering out. "I can see the tiger carousel."

Chris shut the door and flipped the bolt. The sound turned Tony around. Sensation poured through Chris at knowing they were alone. Tony was so flipping gorgeous, standing there tall and serious. His face was sad, but that didn't lessen Chris's attraction. He loved how Tony's fingers curled into his palms with tension.

"I'm gonna sound like a girl," the hot wolf said, "but could you just hold me?"

Chris crossed the room quick as thought and wrapped his arms around him.

"God, that's good," Tony said, rubbing his cheek over Chris's shoulder.

His arms had circled Chris's back, his warmth and hardness better than a campfire. Chris stood there like that for a while. He was powerfully aroused--enough to be impatient. In spite of that, simply holding Tony was enjoyable.

"What happened?" he finally asked. "Even if it seems like nothing, I want to hear."

"My brother found his soulmate," Tony said.

Chris pulled back a few inches. "The girl he went on the run with? The half faerie?"

"That's her. We all went to high school together. She's a good person, and he used to have a crush on her. It's nice for him. Really nice. It's just . . ."

"A big change."

"Yeah." Tony smiled sheepishly. "Then there's the hero stuff."

"The hero stuff?"

"He and Cass kind of saved the world."

"Not really."

"Pretty much," Tony said. "The faeries they were on the run from, the ones they ended up killing, wanted to use the dragons' power to destroy the Pocket and everything in it. They viewed our mixed magic-mundane reality as sacrilege."

Tony let his arms drop and took a step away. Chris sat on the edge of the bed to absorb what he'd said. "There really are dragons?"

"There are. Rick and Cass hatched them, and they're adorable."

"Adorable."

"Well, they're only yea big at the moment." Tony held his hands a short span apart. "That information isn't for sharing, by the way. Adam and the others are debating if they should go public with the dragons' non-extinction. You could say the brood is in the closet for the time being."

Tony's mouth twisted sardonically. Chris reached to him and took his hands. He'd sat down with his legs apart. A gentle tug brought Tony between his knees. The other man looked at Chris, but he seemed distracted. Chris tried to figure out what was bothering him the most.

"You're a hero to me," he said.

Tony pulled a face.

"You are," he insisted. "You're out to the world. You don't get the respect or the credit you deserve, but you go right on living and protecting the city like you've sworn to. I think you underestimate what a big deal that is."

Tony smiled faintly. "Sometimes I think it's a big deal. Sometimes I feel damn sorry for myself."

"Fine. You're not a saint. I still admire you, Tony. Literal dragon slaying not required."

"Strictly speaking, Rick slayed a faerie."

"Whatever." Chris saw Tony was teasing him, his green eyes twinkling with mischief. Chris rubbed his hands with his thumbs.

Tony's amusement changed subtly. "I love you, Chris."

Chris's heart faltered, then started galloping.
Oh boy
, he thought. "I love you too," he blurted.

Tony's mouth stretched with pleasure, making him look about twelve years old. "All right then. I guess we're even."

"Tony--"

The wolf cut him off by squeezing his hands. "No. No warnings and no take-backs."

"I was going to say I stopped in the gift shop before you arrived."

Tony's expression turned puzzled. "You got me a present?"

Chris laughed. "Only if you count a toothbrush."

"Ah. Should I promise to treasure it?"

Chris got up to retrieve the bag he'd brought up here earlier. He dumped the contents out on the king size bed. Lube tumbled to the covers, a pair of razors, and the aforementioned toothbrushes.

"You
were
planning a sleepover," Tony said.

He sounded smug. Chris was suddenly illogically giddy. In that moment, he didn't care how impossible them being together was. "Say it again," he demanded.

Tony put his hands on his hips. "I think you ought to earn it."

Chris moved too quickly to be stopped, undoing Tony's faded jeans and whipping them down his legs.

"Shit," Tony gasped, trying not to fall over with denim bunched around his ankles. "You won't make me say
I love you
by pantsing me!"

Chris moved again, this time peeling Tony's long-sleeve T-shirt over his head.

"Chris!" Tony had managed to kick free of his jeans and sneakers.

"You're not really upset," Chris said. "Or why are your briefs bulging?"

They weren't bulging just a little. Tony had a super-size salami stuck in his black Calvins. Laughing and cursing at the same time, Tony shoved Chris onto the bed. Chris could have resisted but let himself topple. He felt breathless and excited even before Tony pounced and landed on both knees on top of him.

Tony noticed the reaction. "I see you're one of those gays who thinks wrestling is a turn-on."

Being called gay gave Chris a start, but it was also weirdly arousing. Tony pushed the hem of Chris's shirt to his underarms.

"Hm." He slid both palms up the skin he'd bared, then pinched Chris's beaded nipples tightly enough to thrill. "Why are you breathing so hard,
mon chat
?"

"I like you," Chris panted, giving in to his need to squirm.

Tony sat on Chris's crotch, exactly where his bulge pushed out his tan trousers. Because Tony was down to briefs, the muscles of his cheeks were easy to distinguish. He rolled like a dirty dancer up and down Chris's erection.

Chris had trouble speaking, but he tried. "That's an . . . interesting wrestling technique."

Repeating it, Tony grabbed his wrists and pinned them to the pillow.

Chris groaned at how sexy the restraint felt. "Undress me. I want to feel your cock on mine."

"Say please."

Chris arched up and nipped his shoulder. "Please."

Tony flushed at the love bite. Breathing harder himself, he swung off Chris's body and stripped him. His hands were hot and sure--gentle too, which Chris appreciated but also found frustrating. Tony pulled off his own briefs in quick motions, his erection hard and high. Chris rolled onto his side to watch, stretching out one arm to grip the bouncing length. Tony's cock was a good handhold. Chris tugged him back onto the bed with it.

Tony straddled him with his eyes glowing. "Where's the lube?"

Chris fumbled on the bed until he found it. "Do you want it?"

"Yes," Tony said roughly.

Chris gave it to him. The wolf opened it, squeezed some into one hand, then rubbed his palms together. Chris's cock throbbed longer, anticipating what was to come. The payoff didn't disappoint.

Tony wrapped his slippery hands around both their stiff penises.

"Fuck," Chris breathed as he pulled a snug grip up them. Tony's hold squeezed their shafts and heads together. Tony's veins throbbed next to his, his fingers rubbing and admiring. The fact that Tony was jacking himself as well made the whole thing that much more intimate.

"Mm," Tony hummed, his pelvis doing the booty roll again. "I want to kiss you, but this feels really good."

"I'll hold your weight. You keep your hands where they are."

He braced his palm on Tony's sternum as Tony descended. When he was close to kissing distance, he stopped. "I'm not too heavy?"

"No," Chris said simply. He needed only one hand to hold him up. He drew the other down Tony's spine, across the small of his back, and onto the slope of his taut butt cheeks. Tony shivered as Chris feathered his fingertips around their curves.

"I want you on top," the wolf confessed.

This wasn't a preference Chris would ever object to. Too eager to pretend, he flipped Tony under him. Tony's hands worked even better from that position, his double grip massaging both their cocks. Chris felt like a zillion fingers were stroking him. Without half trying, he imitated the other man's stripper-style hip roll.

"Oh yeah," Tony growled. "Your big hard dick is so fucking hot on mine."

The dirty talk got to him. Chris dropped his head to Tony's and French-kissed him. Tony welcomed the tongue battle. His body tightened, and he drove one thigh up between Chris's legs, compressing Chris's balls on the firm muscle. The pressure could have hurt, but instead it felt incredible. They were naked on a bed, and they had all night to play.

Chris drew out the kiss until the sense of imminence in his groin built too high to ignore. Tony's double hand-job was becoming a little too effective.