The Lynx Who Claimed the Sun (2 page)

In spite of his reluctance, Garth ended up calling his contact, a man named Byron. Apparently, he was the brother of the individual Garth suspected of being involved in the killing, Heathcliff Cunningham. When the conversation ended, Byron had agreed to meet up with Soren the next day.

As expected, Daniel insisted on coming along, but Soren refused.

“You’re only coming to The Grinder over my dead body,” the werewolf told Daniel.

Nicolas agreed with Soren. It was too risky for his friend to go to a club reputed to be a hang-out for the worst carnivores in existence.

“Dani, I hate to say it, but he’s right,” he told his friend. “It’s too dangerous.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll go with him,” Garth added. The offer was very generous, but at the same time, it unsettled Nicolas.

Unexpectedly, the idea of Garth going into the proverbial lion’s den—

even if he himself might be a lion—made Nicolas exceedingly anxious.

Of course, Daniel looked relieved that his mate wouldn’t be heading off into danger on his own. “You have my thanks, Garth,” he said. “I’m relying on you.”

A few more arrangements were made, and a meeting was decided for the next day at Nicolas’s apartment. Finally, the time came for the guests to leave.

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“Be careful, all right?” Nicolas told Skylar and Daniel as he led his friends out of his apartment. “Drive safely.”

“Thank you, Nico,” Daniel replied absently, seeming lost in thought.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Daniel’s wolf mate, Soren added.

Skylar offered him a small smile. “We’ll get here bright and early.

Don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Nicolas smiled back, even if he didn’t feel very optimistic about the situation. Skylar had that effect on him, and on everyone for that matter. Nicolas couldn’t be happier that he had the other man on his side, and not just because Skylar was filthy rich.

They said their good-byes, with Nicolas still musing over the day’s events. As he closed the door behind his friends, he found himself hesitating. He didn’t want to go back to the living room.

Garth was there, and Nicolas really didn’t know how to deal with him. He’d only just met the man, and yet, he already felt the attraction between them.

Nicolas cursed himself for his stupid anxiety. He didn’t fear anyone. He refused to fear a stranger his body responded to. He didn’t even know why Garth stayed behind, but he’d figure it out and then he’d show Garth the door.

Decision made, he returned to the living room and found Garth waiting there. “Skylar, Daniel, and Soren are gone.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “So, you wanted to talk to me, I take it?”

Garth nodded. “I hope I’m not bothering you. I promise I won’t stay long.”

Garth sounded quite apprehensive, and Nicolas’s resolve began to falter. “It’s fine. Just go ahead. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

The other man crossed the space between them and reached for Nicolas’s hand. He seemed to change his mind at the last moment and let his arm fall. “Look, Nico…”

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Nicolas bristled at the familiarity. “Nicolas,” he corrected. He immediately felt bad about his bitchiness when he saw the carnivore wince, but he needed to draw some boundaries.

“Nicolas,” Garth repeated, taking a deep breath. “I’m not going to lie. Both of us are adults and can deal with a simple truth. I think you’re my mate.”

Nicolas gaped at the other man. “Your mate? We don’t even know each other.”

“No, we don’t,” Garth answered. “And I don’t expect you to accept me, just like that. But… If you’d give me the chance, I’d love to get to know you.”

Nicolas frowned. “Why would you? I’m not the nicest person in the world, as you probably figured out.”

“I just think we could have something special, if we tried.”

Garth’s voice turned earnest. “Will you at least think about it? You don’t have to give me an answer right away. With this thing with Daniel and Soren, it’s the worst time ever for it. But just…think about it.”

Nicolas couldn’t deny the other man the simple request. “All right. I will.”

Garth smiled at him. “Thanks.” This time, Garth took Nicolas’s hand and squeezed it. “Thanks a lot.”

Their eyes met once again. Nicolas couldn’t tell who reached for whom first. The next thing he knew, they were kissing, Garth’s mouth crushing against Nicolas, devouring him. Garth’s tongue licked at the seam of Nicolas’s lips and, with a delighted chirp-sigh Nicolas almost didn’t recognize as his own, he opened up to Garth’s exploration.

His body responded to Garth’s proximity, and his cock went rock hard. A burning need to let everything go emerged from inside him.

He wanted to surrender to Garth’s passion, to find freedom and completion in being taken by the other man.

Nicolas had never been particularly submissive, from what years he could remember at least. He’d always preferred to be on top in his
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rare one-night stands, even when he bottomed. And yet, with Garth, he found himself imagining something different. Sinful pictures of extreme pleasure flashed through his mind’s eye. He could see the light shining off their sweat-slicked bodies, hear the slap of flesh against flesh, and feel the burn inside his anus when Garth invaded him.

Alas, the image began to fade when Garth broke the kiss, allowing Nicolas to breathe. For a few moments, they just stood there, staring at each other. All the while, Nicolas was acutely aware of the hard-on pressing against his hip and his own erection still straining in his jeans. What would Garth say? Would he insist on staying the night? If so, how should Nicolas answer?

The solution to his little dilemma came faster than he’d have liked. “Right,” Garth said breathlessly. “I should be going. Long day tomorrow and all that.”

He released Nicolas from the impromptu embrace, and all of a sudden, Nicolas didn’t want the other man to go. In fact, he couldn’t think of any better idea than have Garth stay, preferably in Nicolas’s bed. However, he somehow found the strength to nod. “That would probably be best.” Garth was right. There were too many problems now for Nicolas to make an informed and rational decision. He needed to take his time and think about this.

Garth kissed his hand, and Nicolas began to lead the other man out. As Garth stood in the doorway, he turned toward Nicolas one more time. “Take care of yourself tomorrow, okay?”

It was a bit silly that Garth felt the need to say such a thing, since they would meet the next day anyway, at least according to the plan.

Garth and Soren were supposed to come to Nicolas’s, together with Daniel and Skylar. From there, the two carnivores would leave to the club. Still, Garth’s concern touched Nicolas.

“I will,” he replied.

In silence, he led Garth to the exit. For a few moments, both of them stood in the doorway. Nicolas might have actually told the man
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to stay, but finally, Garth stepped outside and, with another look back, left Nicolas’s apartment. Nicolas had the sudden urge to just stare at the man until Garth disappeared out of the building altogether. Just because of that need, he closed the door as quickly as he could. He would not follow Garth with his gaze like some mooning maiden. He refused to make a fool out of himself like that.

His anger spiked half out of self-disgust, half out of suppressed arousal. He stalked to his bedroom and opened his secret stash of weapons. He needed to pick one for tomorrow anyway. He might as well do it now. Perhaps it would make him forget about blue bedroom eyes and soft blond hair.

* * * *

Garth opened his apartment door with a tired sigh. The entire day had drained him more than he’d have thought possible. It was hard to face his past once again, and hearing about the crimes Heathcliff Cunningham committed against the werewolves made all sorts of unpleasant memories stir in his head.

As he stepped into the living room area, he heard the distinct sound of small feet thumping against the hardwood floor. He turned, just in time to be jumped by two tiny bodies. “Dad!” the two children shouted in delight. “You’re late.”

Garth hugged his sons tightly, already feeling a bit better. “Had an important meeting,” he explained. “And how have you boys been?”

Preston and Corbin broke away from him and grinned wordlessly.

Garth could only imagine what that expression meant. Indeed, moments later, the babysitter, Gina, ran toward him. “Mr. Mckenna, I can’t do this anymore.” She huffed, her eyes wild, her clothes wet, and her hair sticking out oddly.

Garth groaned. He didn’t need this after the day he’d had. “Gina, just… Not now. I’ll give you a raise. How’s that?”

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He was already paying her more than any babysitter ever earned, but his kits were hard to deal with. Very few people were willing to try now. The only person Garth could trust his boys with was Skylar.

Unfortunately, Skylar had an agency to run and could not spend his days watching over Preston and Corbin. Gina might not be the ideal choice, but Garth didn’t have any other solution.

Gina huffed. “Fine. Can I go now?”

Garth nodded. “Be here bright and early tomorrow. I have an important issue to attend to, and I need you to watch over the kits.”

The woman took off, grumbling under her breath. Garth ignored her, knowing the promised sum of money would pacify her. This happened regularly, and Garth made a mental note to put some more effort into finding a replacement. He didn’t like Gina, and not only because of her hissy fits. Perhaps he should take his kits along to his workplace more. He used to do it, but of course, back then, the boys had been younger and more likely to fit in with the other children in the agency nursery. Garth would have to discuss the issue with Skylar again.

For the moment, he focused on his two sons. “Do I even want to know what you did to her?” he asked, arching a brow.

“Probably not,” Corbin answered, still grinning.

Garth secretly found their behavior endearing, but he knew they deserved a reprimand. “Boys… What did I tell you about being respectful to elders?”

“That we should,” Preston replied. He gave Garth a quizzical look. “Dad, why do you smell like that?”

Garth hadn’t even thought that his sons might smell Nicolas on him. He and Nicolas hadn’t done more than hug and kiss, but lynxes had very sharp senses. “Like what?” he asked, curious as to what his kits thought about the change.

“I don’t know,” Corbin answered. “Strange. Like you’re you and someone else.”

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Garth was startled by the answer. Himself and someone else, indeed. Having a mate was like being one with another person, or at least so he thought. It felt so strange that his children could sense it, especially after just one day.

He couldn’t hide Nicolas’s existence from them, but at the same time, it was too soon to venture into explaining the circumstances of a possible relationship. Hell, Garth himself couldn’t understand it too well. Lynxes weren’t monogamous beings. They didn’t take lifelong mates. And yet, the moment Garth had seen Nicolas, he’d known there was a bond between them, something that just waited to be explored. How could he make the children understand that? He probably couldn’t.

Still, they were waiting to hear what he had to say, and Garth needed to tell them something, to assure them nothing had changed. “I met someone,” he said vaguely. “Someone I’m fond of.”

“Someone you’re fond of?” Preston repeated. “Oh, you mean like Mr. Pierce.”

Garth shook his head. “No, not like Skylar.” He considered his approach, feeling a bit frustrated when he realized he didn’t have any couples around him he could compare himself with. In the end, he went with the one thing his kits would understand. “Remember when you visited the agency and there were families around, daddies and mommies with children?”

The boys nodded. “Well, I found someone like that, a special person. I’m not sure yet what will happen, if he’ll accept me, but if he does, I would like to introduce him to you.”

Corbin frowned. “But, Dad… You already have a family.”

Garth knelt and hugged his kits. “And I love you both to bits.

We’ll just make our family a bit larger. It will be the four of us, instead of three.”

The children still seemed puzzled, but not completely opposed to the idea. Garth decided to drop the subject for the moment and allow them to process it. “Come on. Have you had dinner?”

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When the kits nodded, Garth smiled at them. “Lessons?”

His boys were already looking more enthusiastic. “Finished,”

Preston answered.

Garth believed him, since he had excellent reports from the tutors he hired for his kits. “All right, then. Playtime!”

He grabbed both his sons and draped them over his shoulder.

Lynx kits loved to play, and Garth made it his business to spend time with them as much as possible.

Later that evening, after the kits were worn out and in bed, Garth retreated to his own room. He hadn’t brought up the issue with Gina again. It could wait. Nicolas, however, couldn’t. The kits’ reaction encouraged him, and he thought that maybe, with time, they would come to accept Nicolas.

But before that could happen, Garth still had a lot of problems to deal with. Sighing, he collapsed on his four-poster facedown and fell asleep as soon as he hit the pillow. That night, he dreamt about Nicolas’s dark eyes, so full of mystery and sensuality. And when he did wake, it was with renewed decision. He would not lose his mate, and his chance at happiness. He would make Nicolas see how good they could be together. There was simply no other alternative, because Garth wasn’t willing to live without Nicolas.

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Garth sat on the benches outside the emergency room in the agency hospital, his heart beating a million miles an hour. By his side, Soren fidgeted, looking as nervous as Garth felt. Garth couldn’t blame the werewolf. Their plan to catch Heathcliff Cunningham had gone to shit. While Soren and Garth had been away trying to find Byron, the damn shark attacked Skylar, Nicolas, and Daniel and nearly killed them. In fact, if not for Byron’s opportune intervention, they would probably be dead, and Garth and Soren would have joined them.