To Have A Human (2 page)

“Nice.” Looked like he was getting lucky in style.

They crossed the street and Broden used his access card to open the main door.

Carey approved of the security even if he knew he could crack the code in a few seconds. It would keep most people out. He automatically checked out the exits as they crossed the lobby. Carey kept his hands to himself in the elevator as Broden pushed the number ten button. You never knew what people would do with elevator recordings. Carey wouldn’t put himself in a questionable position that he’d have to access later and erase.

Broden led Carey down the hallway. Doors were spaced a good distance apart so the residences must be quite large. Stopping halfway down the corridor, Broden unlocked the door. Pushing it open, he motioned Carey forward. “Here we are!”

Broden’s apartment surprised Carey. The place had an unused feel to it like, the man never really stayed there. High-grade leather furniture, polished wooden floors and pieces of art glass filled the condo. Carey wanted to take the gorgeous shifter to his house and show him what a real home looked like. The Victorian mansion his grandmother had left him held all the character and warmth Broden’s beautiful but empty living space lacked.

“I don’t spend a lot of time at home,” Broden said, as if reading Carey’s mind.

Carey shrugged it off. It wasn’t like they were picking out china patterns. If the man wanted to live in a cold personality-free abode, he wouldn’t point out the flaw. For their purposes, they only needed a nice bed and some lube. Luckily, shifters didn’t spread disease so a condom was optional.

Deciding actions were better than words, Carey stripped off his shirt.

“Not much of a talker?” Broden asked, amused.

“No I’m more of a doer. What about you? Want to do me?” Carey stepped closer until they were almost chest-to-chest.

“Oh definitely, honey,” Broden purred.

Bingo. Carey had the big kitty’s attention. “Don’t be shy, let me see what you’ve got.” It was probably the worst line he’d ever used, but when Broden stripped off his shirt and exposed miles of sexy muscle, Carey had to admit it worked.

Carey’s erection hardened against the fly of his extremely tight jeans until he worried about cutting off circulation.

Broden’s nose twitched and a wide smile crossed his handsome face. “Oh, honey, I want you, too.”

Carey let out an unmanly yip as Broden picked him up and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

“Hey,” Carey protested.

Broden slapped his ass. “Hush.”

“Hush?” Carey wished he’d brought his knife
—
Broden’s broad back would make an excellent target.

He didn’t have long to anticipate the shifter’s death. Broden rushed down the hall, then dropped Carey onto a large bed with a big fluffy mattress.

Broden’s eyes glinted with satisfaction. “Hmm, just as I suspected.”

“What?”

“You look amazing in my bed.”

Before Carey had the chance to make the smartass comment hovering on his lips, Broden yanked off Carey’s shoes, then tossed them over his shoulder.

“Not a neatnik, I see,” Carey said with a laugh.

“Not when I’ve got better things to do than lining up your sneakers.”

Broden took off his own shoes, then removed the rest of his clothes without fanfare. Carey would’ve commented on the lack of romance if lust hadn’t choked him.

“I must’ve been a really good boy in another life,” Carey said, his gaze focused on Broden’s erection.

“Come take your reward,” Broden coaxed.

“Mmhmm.” Carey made gimme motions with his hands, his mouth already watering over the thought of tasting the liquid beading the top of the large mushroom head. He’d never considered himself a size queen before. He might have to revisit that notion. After Broden, he might be ruined forever.

Broden stalked toward to the bed, traces of the animal inside rose to the surface as his eyes glowed with a predatory light. When he got close enough, Carey went to his knees and crawled to the edge of the bed.

Carey wrapped a hand around Broden’s thick cock. Peeking at Broden through his long lashes, Carey swallowed him down to the root.

“Oh Jesus!” Broden exclaimed. “I’ve never had anyone take all of me before. Yes, suck me!”

Despite Broden’s rough tone, he placed a gentle hand on the back of Carey’s head and slid careful fingers through Carey’s hair.

Carey increased his suction until Broden tightened his grip to hold Carey still. “Stop. I want to come inside you.”

After a noise of protest, Carey pulled off. “But I want to taste you,” he complained.

Broden groaned. “As much as I’d like to have you swallow me down, I want to fuck you even more.”

With quick efficient motions, he divested Carey of the rest of his clothing. It took a little effort to peel off his pants, but Broden applied himself to the job. When he was finished, he paused to admire his handiwork. “Nice. You’re pretty all over, aren’t you?”

“I’m glad you think so,” Carey replied. He got his fair amount of attention, but since his three best friends were drop-dead gorgeous, he never really thought much about his own looks. From the expression on Broden’s face, the man didn’t find any faults.

“There’s lube in my nightstand,” Broden prompted.

“I’m on it.” Carey scurried over to the drawer and ripped it open. He gave a shout of success. “Found it!”

Broden snatched it from Carey’s hand.

“Hey!” Carey exclaimed.

“That ass is mine tonight,” Broden insisted. “Roll over, beauty.”

Carey snorted. “I think I preferred honey.”

“And I think I prefer you on your knees and offering me your ass,” Broden countered.

Carey made a big production over sighing before he rolled over and wiggled his butt at Broden.

Broden slapped Carey’s ass, the sound echoing in the bedroom.

“Hey!” Carey objected.

“Sorry, I can’t resist smacking something that fine.” Broden grinned.

“Less smacking, more fucking,” Carey insisted.

“Patience, sweet.” Broden rubbed the red spot he caused.

Carey almost said something sarcastic, but the happy sound of the lube top popping open stilled his words. He didn’t want to discourage the man from taking action. He had the uneasy feeling that Broden had enough control to withhold sex just to teach Carey a lesson.

“Easy.” Broden circled Carey’s hole until he pushed back against the finger taunting him.

“In me now!” Carey insisted.

Broden didn’t answer. Instead he slid one finger completely inside and crooked it until Carey bucked beneath the attention.

“More!”

A second finger joined the first, then quickly a third.

“I need your cock,” Carey moaned.

“I’ll give you what you need, don’t you worry.”

Carey relaxed as Broden’s erection pressed against his hole. “Now.”

Broden sighed as he slid inside. “You feel so good. Better than anyone, ever.”

“Flatterer,” Carey groaned.

Laughter puffed air against his skin as Broden rubbed his face against Carey’s bare shoulder.

“Are you scenting me?” Carey asked.

“Damn straight. When you leave here you’re going to reek of me for days.” Broden gave a growl of satisfaction. The cat shifter pumped in and out of Carey as if his life depended on Carey coming without a touch.

“Keep that up and I’m not going to last,” Carey protested.

“Good. Come!” Broden bit Carey’s shoulder, sending him over the edge.

“Oh, crap!” Carey cursed as cum spurted from his cock.

Broden groaned and Carey felt wetness flood his hole.

With a sigh, Broden pulled out, falling onto the mattress beside Carey. “I knew you’d be a sweet fuck.”

“Glad I could prove you right,” Carey gasped. His heart hammered in his chest as he came down from his orgasm. His shoulder hurt from Broden’s bite, but his body ached deliciously.

“Give me some time and we’ll do it all over again,” Broden said.

Two hours later Carey only felt a little guilty for sneaking out while Broden slept the sleep of the well fucked.

Chapter Two

Broden looked up from his paperwork to find his second-in-command Isaac Graham standing in the doorway. “You vanished last night with that pretty singer,” Isaac teased.

“Yes, I did. He was tasty, too.” Broden grinned. His inner jaguar swished its tail in agreement. He suppressed his annoyance over waking up alone. He shouldn’t have expected a flirty singer to want to hang around until morning. At least he knew where he could find the man in a few weeks if Broden didn’t hunt him down sooner.

“Was he as sweet as he looked?” Isaac asked.

“I marked him as mine,” Broden confessed.

“You marked him? Seriously? But…but he’s human!” As a puma shifter, Isaac rarely showed concern over anything. People who bugged him tended to decide they had other places to be.

“I know.” Broden couldn’t help who his jaguar picked. The beast had never chosen anyone before and he couldn’t believe his animal half had chosen wrong this time. Memories of the taste and feel of Carey had haunted him all day. He couldn’t wait to claim his future mate again.

“You can’t bond with a human,” Isaac objected.

Broden growled. “I will choose whoever I want and I want this man.”

Isaac sighed. “You better hope he’s tougher than he looks.”

“Are you telling me you don’t think I can protect my mate?” Broden stared at his beta in amazement. A low growl rolled up his throat and he could feel his fangs beginning to lengthen.

“No. Of course not,” Isaac took two slow steps backward. “I just want you to be careful.”

“Is there anything else you needed from me? Or are you just goofing off?” Broden snarled.

“We need to hire a new computer hacker. Tony quit. He said our expectations were too high.”

“Damn it.” Broden slumped against his desk. It was difficult to find good computer people. They tended to be more willing to hop onto the next better paying job than stick around. Especially hackers. “Who’s taking over his position?”

“That’s the other problem. We don’t have anyone. Tony was our best security guy. The others aren’t anywhere close to him.”

“We’ll have to hire outside.” Broden didn’t like the sound of this. To have someone else just step in could be difficult. They’d have to get security clearance for any new employees and that took time. “Do you know of anyone who might be interested who already has top security clearance?”

If anyone could find someone, it was Isaac. He was a connector
—
the type of person who always knew someone who knew someone who could do a job. Which made him an excellent beta.

“I’ll call around and get back to you. I just wanted you to know about the situation,” Isaac reassured him before leaving.

Broden sighed, resisting the urge to pull his hair out by the roots. He needed a cut. It grew so quickly he should have his barber on speed dial. Idly he wondered if Carey would like it longer. Broden frowned as he considered his pride’s reaction to a human alpha mate. They’d better fall in line with his choice of mate, or there would be serious repercussions. Broden had no intention of dropping Carey. They might have only had one night together, but his Jaguar had decided on keeping this one human and he wouldn’t be denied.

Annoyed that his brain kept circling back to Carey, Broden returned his attention to his paperwork. He had to focus and break down the work to see how many people they needed to hire for all the extra jobs. With the increased sophistication of global hackers and thieves, they never ran out of work. Spotted Cat Security specialized in breaking into companies and exposing their security breaches.

They snuck through security systems both physically and electronically, with Tony being their main hacker. However, now that Tony had abandoned them, they were dead with their electronic surveillance until they found a new employee with mad hacker skills. Not necessarily an easy person to replace. However, if Isaac found a new hacker, this person could train others to help with some of the easier jobs. Unfortunately, hackers and security clearance didn’t always go hand in hand.

Broden plowed through his paperwork, trying to work out allocations of resources. He got lost in his calculations and looked up in surprise when Isaac rushed back into his office.

“I called around and heard some rumors about a guy who can hack into anything
—
apparently security is his specialty. My contact is checking to make sure it’s all right to give me his number. He sounds like the right guy if we can get him on board,” Isaac said.

Broden nodded. “Great.” He tried not to panic as he contemplated letting someone else into their system. Alphas didn’t panic, at least not where anyone else could see them.

“He’s human,” Isaac warned.

“Humans can be useful, just not usually as bodyguards or with break-ins. They’re just too weak to match a shifter if there’s a confrontation. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t be helpful with the computers,” Broden explained.