Blood Brothers (Rocky Mountain Shifters) (7 page)

“Great. One puzzle solved. The missing piece to a far bigger one, Fin, is that you were at Howl. Why?”

His stomach churned as he regarded Tristen’s handsome face. How could he tell him he needed more when the man was drop dead gorgeous and a fucking beast in bed?

“To see and learn. And yeah, I wanted to scope out the place…for us. Stop crucifying me because of my needs. It’s unbelievably provincial. How closed-minded are you?”

“Where you’re concerned, very.” Tristen met his gaze, so fierce and fiery, Fin melted.

He rubbed his forehead. No. No. Fuck no! He wouldn’t fold. Scrubbing his hand down his face, he pushed forward. “You need to tune in or…I don’t want to give you an ultimatum.”

“Jesus. Can this day get any better?” Tris bit his cheek, then tunneled his fingers through his hair. Fin seriously thought his partner was about to say “Adios.”

“Talk to me. You’re not the one who normally clams up.”

Tris let go of a short laugh. Fin’s heart beat like a motherfucking drum. Tris cocked his head at him, the look on his face surprisingly tender. “And you shouldn’t have to. I don’t know why I’ve become a stogy bastard. Fuck. Let’s have a drink. All around?” Tristen pressed closer on the booth seat, placing the glass in front of Fin.

“After this, we all could use a stiff drink.”

“Wine? Or should we order something else?” Tristen asked as his fingers grazed Fin’s knee.

Santo pushed his glass toward Tristen. “Please, I enjoy a good wine.” Santo flexed his jaw, watching from across the table, seeming to study them. The vampire steepled his manicured fingers.

“Me too. I’ll stick with the wine.” Fin picked up his glass.

Tris lifted the bottle of wine, and slowly began pouring the burgundy liquid. He eyed Fin over the glass, his free hand moving up his leg. Tingling jolts erupted, spreading over his body. Nothing like being stared at by a vampire and an overreacting beta. Navigating enemy terrain filled with IEDs hadn’t been as tense. Tristen held out the bottle of wine toward Santo and Fin pulled his hand over his hard-on. God, his dick throbbed even harder as Tris gripped him possessively.

Tristen set the glass before Santo, and poured one for himself. He raised his glass. “Gentlemen, to our health and a relaxed evening.”

“And a long, prosperous life,” Santo held out his glass equal distance between Fin and Tristen. “May we know friendship.” He tapped his glass against both Fin’s and Tristen’s glass.

They all drank in silence. Fin rolled the dry wine around his mouth, over his tongue, and took a shallow breath of air. “Hmm. Delicious. More so after being allowed to breathe. Sherry said she picked this one especially for tonight.”

Tristen’s brow crinkled. “Apparently, I’m the last one to know about your friendship. What does Sherry know that I’m still in the dark about?”

“Santo is Sherry’s houseguest.”

“How’s that going over with Quinn?”

Fin turned to him. “What do you mean? Why would he even care?”

“Oh. Finally I know something you don’t. But, it doesn’t matter.” Tristen drained his glass of wine before he slid his gaze across the table. “How long are you here in Denver?” Tristen gave him one rough tug and then stopped stroking his cock, leaving him panting. He snaked his arm along the back of the booth, and Fin leaned his neck against Tris’s fingertips, curling his own hands into fists on the table. Electrical bursts erupted up and down his body. He’d be a hundred years old and Tristen’s touch would still set him off.

“That depends. I’m not certain where I’d like to settle. I was hoping to apply to the same company that employs you both.”

“Santo, Fin relayed that you were interested in finding a job. I’m not certain what your qualifications are and how you’d fit into this company. You understand you’d have to be flexible. Shawn’s businesses are varied and then there’s the Downtown Den. You must know from Sherry this is a private club strictly for shifters and their carnal needs.”

“You’ve this concern because I’m a vampire?”

“Don’t you people have strange hours?”

Fin laughed. “You sound like some old-timer…
you people
. There’s not a prejudiced bone in your body. Where’s this coming from?”

Tristen inhaled and ran his hand over his face. “I’m simply trying to get a handle on the facts. It’s been a long-ass day.”

“I meant what I said. I’m a vampire from birth, not from choice. I don’t practice the lifestyle. It’s been years. Not after being in the military and doing a tour in Afghanistan. Hence, the caps. The platinum keeps the canines from erupting spontaneously.” Santo opened his mouth and licked his crimson tongue over milk-white teeth, except for four shiny capped incisors.

“Excuse me. But what about your diet? We abide the laws in place for humans. We have our own code for shifters. You’re an entirely different breed of creature. How exactly would you do around shifters? Can you get along on a daily basis?”

“Literally, I am a different breed. But for all practical purposes, I live a human life insofar as jurisprudence. For ease of travel, I transform much like you. But I don’t need to return to primal roots as you all do for lunar cycles. Sex is different with us. We respond at a deeper level than most creatures and we share this way of perceiving with our partners.”

Fin jumped in. “Shifters, when bonded, communicate telepathically to some extent as well.”

Tristen sipped his glass of wine, peering over at Santo. His profile was the picture of serenity. Fin wasn’t fooled. Fire blazed behind those eyes, thinly veiled. A rim of red had formed around his irises. His military cut bristled over his scalp. “So you meld into the background against the human race while engaging in some form of mind-blowing sex. Do you have a preference between genders? Or species? Or do you just do it all? ’Cause sugar, you stick out like a pale sore thumb. Your saccharine voice and dark eyes aren’t human. Neither is that deathlike ice grip you’ve got going on. You’re here, you’ve been at Howl. What about run-of-the-mill venues. We’ve restaurants, art galleries, stores. You’d be expected to be ready to roll…day or night. How’s that going when you walk amongst the living?”

“I mirror them.”

“You what?”

Santo inhaled as though he actually consumed oxygen via a set of lungs. Fin kept quiet and watched the two men engage in verbal sparring. “I can mirror anything. Human, animal, inanimate. In living creatures, the term, I believe, is skin-walking. I meld by using the features around me. When I’m amongst humans, I look human to them. I can become a wolf shifter if you’d like. Do you mind?” Santo stared over at Fin.

“No. Let’s get this over. Tris, just watch with an open mind. This could be helpful in the field.”

Santo’s regard became a soft caress that relaxed him, and then a cool vapor enshrined Fin’s body. Santo’s features changed. The shape of his head, the color of his skin, his eyes flickered wolf amber to red, and his beard darkened, shadowy stubble appearing. The hair along his arms darkened and thickened. In turn, Fin had effortlessly begun to shift toward wolf.

Santo became another version of himself. The vampire housed a wolf, barely. His scent permeated the small space, making Fin’s own hair stand up while the skin at the back of his neck pulled and tensed. It was like being around a pack mate. Three betas in one small space was electrifying. The allure powerful.

Santo bared his teeth briefly. So familiar a wolf move. The illusion of Santo being pack heightened. Fin had to hold back. All his senses directed him to rub against Santo in greeting, lick him, and paw his dark face. The male pheromones coming off both Tristen and Santo were enticing. So much, his cock became fully erect.

Tristen’s growl filled the space. Loud and commanding. He slammed his hand down on the table. “Okay. I get it. Let’s take this down a notch.”

“Well? Convinced?” Santo shuddered as though releasing jolts of energy. He shifted back to vampire and Fin followed suit, only too happy after witnessing Tris’s forceful reaction.

Fin inhaled and lifted his glass of wine. The hazy fog of decadent desire still saturated his body. Sitting up, he took a long sip of wine, gazing from Tris to Santo.

“Is that a rhetorical question? You knew we would be. What are your qualifications for running security besides mimicking shifting? You’d be working with me, and I’m not down for fuck-ups. Things are starting to heat up in Denver. I’m talking about stone-cold killers if my connections are accurate. Gangs and turf shit.”

“I’ve worked as a bodyguard for many years. Both before and after my stint in active service. I’ve no problem with weaponry or driving. Tristen, I fully understand the parameters of working closely with an employer. Especially a powerful one.”

“You’ve a closed mouth. Well, you haven’t tossed any names around. That’s always a good sign.”

Santo nodded. Fin watched as he lifted his jacket off the seat of the booth and extracted an envelope. He slid it across the table to Tris. “My references.”

As a wolf shifter, Santo had lost that sensual allure that had captivated Fin. He was still a powerfully built man, but the fluid, seductive qualities that had fascinated him originally were gone. The wolf was earthy while the vampire was air.

Tris’s skin glowed and he appeared pumped, ready for action. Excitement lashed around Fin’s chest. Pulled tight. Tristen was fire, burning and blazing, his heat so consuming it was hard to be next to him without being overtaken and incinerated. It became easy to acquiesce to Tris’s suggestions.

It was also the reason Fin wanted to have a third for one session. Someone who’d make Tristen understand his needs that typically got shoved aside as his lover fucked him every which way except the way he needed. Now it was like being in a home pack, a very cagey clan that made him think of running up the valley and along the southern range, and he’d be low man. He had no desire to be a wolf tonight. He wanted seduction in his human form.

What he wanted was candlelight, hot oil, and chilled vodka shots while they explored each other’s bodies.

He glanced at his partner and did a double-take. Tristen casually rubbed his hands down the front of his body, over his very prominent hard-on, and a growl worked up his throat as he smiled that mesmerizing smile of his at Santo. Fin didn’t need to be a mind reader to know Tristen liked what he saw.
Goddammit
. His lover was actually excited. Now the condom might very well be on the other dick.

Without another thought, he stroked downward along Tristen’s crotch and sure enough, he was ragingly rigid. The man rocked against his fingers, their eyes snapping together. Fin didn’t know if he should laugh or punch him.

“Now who’s ready and willing?” Fin asked dryly.

“Hey, you brought him here. No insult, Santo. I’m not out seeking a one-night stand in a club. Look, I’m not going to deny that what Santo did in mirroring you was hot. But that was the point. Don’t get upset because the experiment worked. Shit,
you
were holding hands with him a second ago.”

“Well excuse me, I didn’t know there was a hands-off policy. Should I wear a nun’s habit as well? Maybe I should just stay at home, cooking and cleaning, waiting for you to return at night and tell me about your day.”

Santo cleared his throat. “Excuse me, I don’t want to do anything that will compromise my ability to get the job. I’ve my own issues and need to find a job. I don’t want to start trouble. I can see you both have things to work out before we ever get together.”

Tristen held up his hand. “No. Don’t mind us. This is just how we communicate. Excuse us. Fin, would you rather table this until another time?”

Fin couldn’t believe his ears. If Santo left, who knew when he’d have the opportunity to deal with Tristen’s refusal to turn up the heat in the bedroom in exploring the edge of kink. Hell no. “I think we all got off on the wrong foot tonight. How about we just enjoy dinner, talk, and see where this leads?” Fin turned to Santo. “Dude, you can see we really need some help.”

He wasn’t about to let go of his one chance at getting Tristen to understand what he needed. He was right about their form of communication. It was getting harder and harder to say what he needed to say. Tristen either shut him down or overreacted. It was a battle. If this didn’t improve, he didn’t see how they could remain together. He loved Tris, he’d always love him, but he couldn’t continue to deny his needs or sacrifice his nature. He’d done that in Afghanistan. The man he loved shouldn’t ask that of him.

Santo’s lips curled into a sexy smile. “Very well. It would be a pleasure. I’ll be right back. I want to speak with Sherry before she leaves.”

Fin released a breath he’d been holding, and tried to appear blasé, spreading out the menus. “Maybe we should order. Do you know what you want to eat?” he asked, running his hand down Tristen’s leg.

Santo’s smile broadened, and he laughed. His caps reflected the light. “A steak. As rare as they come. Thanks. I’ll be right back.” He got up and exited the room. The sound of a bass being plucked filled the room from the open door.

“The music sounds good tonight.” Fin caressed Tristen’s leg. He stopped, knowing they had to converse sensibly. He took hold of the menu, barely able to concentrate. He was hungry, so hungry, but it wasn’t food he imagined entering his mouth.

After Santo shut the door, Tristen took hold of his hand. “What do you want to do? The man is a turn-on when he comes off as wolf. Sounds like he’s willing to intercede personally.”

“Sounds like you’re more than impressed.”

“Sounds like you’re a little jealous.” Tristen stared at him and then laughed. “You are. Man, I never knew you were jealous. It’s the first time you’ve shown what you feel. A turn-on, baby.”

“Maybe to you, Tris. But there’s something bigger than who’s turned on by Santo. He’s right, you know. We suck at communicating anything relevant. Our working arrangement is smooth sailing. But at home, I don’t feel you hear me and I can’t stand being a nag.”

“Fin, it’s not that. We’ve both been through hell and then to return where nothing is right back home…I’m on shifting sand and I don’t want to live from anxiety attack to anxiety attack. That’s no way to mark the calendar.”