Talan's Treasure (3 page)

“One-oh-four, down the street. Kade loaned me a master key but I was supposed to check in to let Darren know we’re here.”

“After we talk to the sheriff we’ll head on down to the cabin.” Talan was glad when Adrian didn’t object. He didn’t want to start their vacation with a fight. “The sheriff will take care of the body, and we’ll be snug in another cottage making mad, passionate love before you know it.” Adrian appeared more shocked than tearful at the man’s death. Talan felt bad for the caretaker’s demise but he was more concerned about Adrian’s happiness than a total stranger.

“Yeah.” Adrian offered him a shaky smile. “You’re right. We’ll let everyone take care of their part and we’ll make wild animal love in the cabin.” Talan smiled back at his lover for trying. “I’d prefer wild human love then going skiing.” He’d really prefer to be by the fire but he could tell his wolf man needed a distraction.

“Sounds good.”

Talan smiled at Adrian’s tone. His wolf adored the snow as much as Talan hated the cold. Talan would be happier curled up by the fire, but he’d never tell Adrian that…not after he’d so carefully arranged the entire weekend. This one time, Talan had planned to let Adrian run everything, but a murder near their cabin had changed things. Now the most important thing was to protect and care for his man. The murderer might still be around and watching. Talan’s lion didn’t sense anything but if the killer was downwind and hidden he might escape detection.

The flash of lights drew their attention as a car marked ‘Sheriff’ pulled up beside the Hummer. Talan lowered his window as the vehicle stopped. A man in uniform emerged with a scowl a mile wide.

As he reached Talan’s window, Talan admired the long scar bisecting the sheriff’s cheek and reaching the lower lashes of his dark brown eyes. Shifters loved scars—they considered www.total-e-bound.com

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them signs of strength. Oddly, few shifters actually scarred but when they did, it was by overcoming a life-endangering experience.

“You the one who called in a murder?” The sheriff’s voice, abrupt and hard, held nothing but annoyance, as if they had interrupted his day with their petty complaints about a dead person in his territory.

Talan resisted the urge to growl at the man’s rudeness. “Yes, I called it in. Adrian says it’s the caretaker who was killed. We didn’t disturb anything or walk past the front door—”

“You shifters disturb me every time you come into town.” The sheriff peered inside at Adrian, and his expression softened slightly at sight of the wolf shifter’s pale face. “I take it you’re the one who found him?”

“Yes. He’s in there.” Adrian pointed a shaky finger back at the cabin.

The sheriff granted them both a long look. “Don’t go anywhere. I’m going to go and assess the situation. I’ll be annoyed if I find you gone when I return.” Talan rolled his eyes. “We aren’t going to run away. I’m the one who called you.” The idiotic man raised Talan’s hackles. The urge to rip off the sheriff’s head and use it as a bouncy ball almost overwhelmed Talan’s better judgement.

Adrian clasped Talan’s hand, the smart man. Better to keep him from attacking the sheriff.

Without another word to either of them, the officer turned on his heel and marched away from the vehicle.

“He’s kind of an asshole,” Adrian offered. “He doesn’t like shifters much.”

“Do you think he…?” Talan motioned towards the cabin.

“No. I said asshole, not psychopath. Whoever killed my cousin had a serious grudge.

Darren must’ve known him because you know how hard it is to catch a shifter off guard.” They both watched through windshield, tracking the sheriff’s movements. “How long do you think we’ll have to stay?”

Talan rolled the window back up to keep in the heat. “I’m sure it won’t be long, honey.

We just arrived and have people to vouch for us. I doubt we’ll be under suspicion, though I have to wonder about the timing.”

“What do you mean?” Adrian turned to face him.

“Did anyone else know you were coming up here besides your brother?” www.total-e-bound.com

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Adrian shrugged. “Maybe some pack members and of course your sisters. Everyone knew not to tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise.” Warmth filled Talan’s heart. Sometimes love for his wolf shifter filled him so completely it almost hurt. “I
was
surprised, sweetheart.” Adrian laughed. “I didn’t plan on the dead body. He wasn’t part of the surprise.” Talan smiled even though Adrian’s laugh had a hysterical edge to it. Leaning over, he kissed Adrian. Lost in the heat and passion of his mate’s mouth, he let everything else fade away. He could live off the flavour of Adrian’s lips forever…

Bam, bam, bam.

A hard rapping on the car door snapped Talan out of his passion-drugged haze. Adrian always had that effect on him. He lost track of time and place when his lips touched his mate’s. Whipping his head around, he faced the sheriff’s stern expression. He pressed the button to slide down the window.

The sheriff spoke as soon as the window cleared the halfway point. “I have the coroner coming to pick up the body. You two planning to stick around?”

“We’re supposed to be in cabin one-oh-four,” Talan said, pointing down the road towards where Adrian had told him the other cabin was located.

“Any dead bodies in that one?” the sheriff asked dryly as he pulled a notepad from his jacket and jotted down the cabin number.

“Not that we know of, but then we didn’t expect one here either.” Talan didn’t back down at the sheriff’s frown. He led an entire pride. He didn’t fear a human even if the man wore a gun under his jacket.

“Don’t plan on leaving town,” the sheriff said, pointing at each man in turn.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Talan said. “Any other questions or can we get going?” The sheriff shook his head. “No. I know who you two are and I doubt either of you would bother to stab someone, especially another shifter.”

“He was my cousin,” Adrian explained. He leaned around Talan to talk to the sheriff.

“We weren’t close. He kept mostly to himself and watched over the property.” The sheriff tapped the edges of his fingers to indicate what he meant. “His claws were partly out. I don’t know if that was because he was going to defend himself or reflexive from the stabbing.”

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“Do you think a killer is on the loose?” Adrian asked. He reached for the door handle to get out but Talan pushed the automatic lock.

The wolf shifter glared at his lover, his beautiful eyes glowing with annoyance.

The sheriff shook his head. “I doubt it. This is the first death I’ve heard of and it looks like a knife from the kitchen so I’d consider this an act of opportunity, maybe a vagrant hoping to get Darren’s valuables. I won’t know more until I can get my crime guys in here.

I’m thinking his attacker was human, otherwise claw and fang marks would be present.” The sheriff’s tone indicated he didn’t think much of shifters.

Talan didn’t care. As long as Adrian was safe the sheriff could dislike them as much as they wanted. He didn’t answer to the sheriff—he answered to his little wolf.

“Well, if you have no other questions for us, I guess we’ll go get settled in our cabin,” Talan said.

With a nod to the sheriff, Talan backed out the car. As they pulled away, he saw law enforcement vehicles heading down the road.

“Kind of unnecessary since he’s already dead,” Adrian said, looking at the flashing lights.

“Maybe they’re hoping for a resurrection.”

The two shifters laughed hysterically as they headed towards their cabin. Everyone knew there was no such thing as vampires.

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TALAN’S TREASURE

Amber Kell

20

Chapter Two

Luckily the second cabin was larger and lacked the dead body decoration of the previous cabin. Adrian admired the play of muscles as his lion lover slid closer. Sometimes he could almost see the cat right beneath the surface of his mate’s fluid movements. Adrian often felt like the ugly duckling beside his golden shifter, but luckily the insecurity never lasted long. How could it when Talan watched him as if Adrian were his favourite kind of catnip?

“Any word from your brother?”

Adrian shook his head. Kade had promised to call Adrian after he’d talked to the sheriff. “I’m sorry. I wanted us to have a relaxing getaway, not deal with a murder.”

“I’ve got the perfect way to get this mini-vacation back on track.” Adrian’s worries about his cousin receded beneath his lover’s hot gaze. Right now he had more important things to do. He let his body go lax as he accepted Talan’s dominance.

Although—if pressed—his lion would let Adrian be the dominant one, he had no real wish to be in charge. At this moment he longed to have all decisions taken from his hands and put his complete trust in Talan’s hands.

“I love you,” Talan’s deep voice filled all the empty spots inside Adrian’s soul. The parts that worried about killers on the loose and being an insufficient partner for a lion pride’s Alpha melted beneath Talan’s experienced hands.

The beauty of having a partner meant your lover knew all your special hot spots. Only Talan knew stroking the skin behind his left knee sent shivers through Adrian’s body or that a bite to his earlobe could bring him to orgasm if paired with playing with his nipples. He hadn’t even known the little nubs were sensitive until Talan pinched them the first time.

Deep down he loved that Talan was the sole keeper of the knowledge of what drove him absolutely ape-shit crazy.

“I l-love you t-too,” he stuttered as Talan’s massive hands slid across Adrian’s bare skin. He adored the lion shifter’s hands. Light calluses from running as a lion covered the www.total-e-bound.com

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pads of Talan’s fingers, and when he scraped them up and down Adrian’s spine it never failed to pull a whimper from his chest.

Talan let a low purr rumble up his chest. “I love knowing I’m the only one who can make you lose your composure.”

Adrian smiled at the vibration. He couldn’t resist his lover in a purring mood. He tilted his chin to accept Talan’s kiss. This was what he’d wanted when he planned his getaway with his mate. As much as he loved both pack and pride, the idea of a place where only he and Talan existed—with no nosy lion sisters or bossy wolf brother—thrilled him to his toes.

Talan kissed Adrian as if he were the most important thing in the universe. Adrian’s hips bucked as Talan worked his way down Adrian’s body and captured his leaking cock in his mouth with one quick swoop.

“Oh, hell,” Adrian said. He gasped at the warm, wet suction surrounding him. All his thoughts vanished under the tide of passion filling him until, in an embarrassingly short amount of time, he came and poured his seed down Talan’s throat.

Adrian blushed beneath Talan’s adoring gaze.

“No one is as beautiful as you are after you come.” Talan whispered into Adrian’s ear.

“How is it when you say stuff like that it doesn’t sound hokey?” Adrian pouted. If he tried to say something romantic he would come across as an idiot. Talan made it completely convincing.

“Because I mean it.” Talan cupped Adrian’s cheek. “It’s not the words—it’s the sincerity. When I say you’re gorgeous it’s because I think you are—not because I’m trying to flatter you.”

Adrian cheeks burned with embarrassment. “I know. I didn’t mean for it to sound like I thought it was empty flattery.” He couldn’t explain to his mate that he didn’t understand Talan’s fascination with him. Adrian didn’t normally suffer from low self-esteem. He had a good career, a loving family and the best mate he could hope for, but sometimes he did wonder if he deserved to be so lucky. He could just as easily have been the dead wolf on the floor of a vacation cabin if fate had played his life differently.

“Shhh. For all you know Darren was in trouble for tax evasion.” Talan lowered his voice into sombre tones.

Adrian laughed. “They now stab people for not paying their taxes?” www.total-e-bound.com

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Talan shrugged. “I guess you shouldn’t fuck with the IRS.” The bed shook with Adrian’s mirth. He wiped his eyes dry with the heels of his hands.

He sniffed and blinked back the rest of the tears of laughter. Adrian knew he didn’t need to tell Talan how he felt. The lion shifter could sense Adrian’s emotions through their mating link. He never had to explain if he had a bad day or if something upset him. Talan always knew.

“It’s wrong to laugh over a man’s death,” Adrian reproved. “We should feel some sympathy.”

“He almost ruined my vacation. He’s lucky I didn’t stab him again,” Talan growled.

Flipping their positions, he put Adrian on top. “Slick yourself up. I want you to ride me.” Adrian nodded. He could completely get on board with that plan. His heart pounded with excitement as he retrieved the bottle of lube they’d stashed in their suitcase. The scent of their need filled the air like an aromatic cloud of lust.

Talan took a deep breath as he pinned Adrian with his fascinated gaze. “That’s it. Fill your hole. Show me how you like it.”

Adrian pulled his fingers out, added more lube and plunged them back into his ass as he hardened again beneath the lion shifter’s attention. Talan could read the phone book with that voice and Adrian would find it sexy.

“On me. On me now!”

Talan’s husky demand made Adrian harder than stone despite the fact he’d just come.

Taking a slow breath and relaxing his body, he rose up on his knees and scooted until he lined up with Talan’s cock. In one slow, easy movement, he sank all the way down until Adrian’s ass brushed against Talan’s wiry pubic hairs.

He let out a low moan.

“That’s it, baby, let me hear you.” His mate’s voice almost sent Adrian over the edge.

Adrian glared at Talan. “Did you just call me baby?” Talan captured Adrian’s slim hips between his two large hands. “Nope, must’ve been someone else who doesn’t want to keep their balls,” he denied.