Vagrant Wolf [Leopards of Leopold 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  “It wasn’t on purpose.” Nix steered the conversation back to why he was really in the city. “I need your information on the Blue Bastards.”

  “Got them all on file. It’s back at the apartment though, didn’t think you were going to show up this fast. Hey.” Lex gripped his arm, as if she knew he was about to suggest they go there now. “The Blue Bastards aren’t going anywhere and you look beat. Why don’t we go over it tomorrow?”

  Nix snarled, about to argue otherwise when Eli’s voice interrupted them. “Sorry to disturb your reunion guys, but Jen’s asking for Nix.”

  All the anger Nix had summoned evaporated. “Asking for me? Why?”

  Fuck. Why did he sound so hopeful?

  “I don’t know why either. She gave birth to a baby boy, named him Graham. Come on, Nix. Let’s go see the cub.”

  There was no refusing Eli, especially when he looked so excited. Besides, Nix had been there when Jen went into labor, wasn’t he? Nothing wrong with seeing how it turned out.

  “Why the fuck are you smirking?” Nix asked Lex as they walked back in.

  “Nothing.” Still, Lex’s smug smile grated on him.

  Nix forgot about it the moment he caught sight of Jen in the hospital bed cradling a pink, bawling baby boy. The imagine of Georgina when she gave birth to Maddy unexpectedly sprung up, and age-old grief nearly drowned him, but Nix shoved it back down. This was Jen’s happy moment and the last thing he wanted was to spoil it.

  The werecats in the room stepped aside so they could pass. The looks Nix got were a mix of curious and suspicious, but he didn’t give a damn about them.

  “All right, everyone. Clear out and give them space,” Lex said.

  Some grumbled, but everyone obeyed. Nix guessed Lex must’ve some authority in the pard, and he was thankful for her interference. Eli and Nix came on either side of Jen’s bed. She looked tired, but no less beautiful.

  Nix reached out, tucking a stray strand of her strawberry blonde hair aside. Some part of him wondered why she allowed him, a stranger she just met, to do such an intimate gesture. Eli didn’t stop him either.

  If Jen’s huge brown eyes filled with relief at the sight of him didn’t hit him like a sledgehammer, Graham’s tiny eyes, so like his mother’s, hit him twice as hard. Graham was crying when they arrived, but he fell silent when Eli and Nix drew close to the bed.

  “Aw, I think he likes you, Nix,” Lex commented.

  Eli snorted. “This cub’s going to be a wild one.”

  “Oh, Eli. Don’t say that,” Jen said, and then looked at Nix. “I haven’t thanked you yet, for coming with us. How can we possibly repay you?”

  “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” Nix replied, suddenly embarrassed.

  “I have a suggestion,” Lex said brightly. Nix glared at her, looking so casual and leaning by the wall with her arms crossed.

  He knew that tone. Hell, whenever he heard her speak in that tone, he knew mischief was just around the corner.

  Lex went on, unperturbed by his glare. “Eli, Jen, Nix’s in town for a while and he doesn’t have a place to stay. You’ve seen him keep his cool when shit hits the fan. He’s good with kids, too, despite his appearance, and you get a badass bodyguard to boot.”

  “What the fuck are you, my pimp?” Nix growled. “Besides, I think Eli and Jen have enough on their plate.”

  “I think it’s a good idea to have some extra muscle around,” Eli said, surprising the hell out of them.

  “Why? Someone bothering Jen and you?” Nix asked abruptly. Natural protective instincts came over him again. Who in the world would want to hurt a sweet woman like Jen or a defensive, caring man like Eli? Remembering the way Eli was when he first met him, Nix asked, “You were expecting someone. From the way you reacted in the garage.”

  Eli bit his lip, but nodded. “My asshole brother, Diego. He called a few days ago, saying he was suddenly interested in getting his cub back after hearing nothing from him for months.”

  Nix looked back at Jen, who had suddenly grown stiff at the mention of her mate. Graham began to cry again, but she crooned to him and pressed him against her chest until he calmed down.

  “Well then. I’m glad I no longer need to find a motel to sleep in,” Nix said, ignoring the hopeful look Jen gave him.

  “My work’s done, so I’ll leave it to you three to settle things,” Lex said cheerfully, exiting the room.

  Nix caught sight of a few eavesdropping werecats outside the room, and heard Lex telling them to bug off.

  Fuck. He felt like he’d been outmaneuvered, but Nix knew Lex meant well. Besides, she was right. The Bastards weren’t going anywhere and he couldn’t just leave Eli and Jen alone.

  “Is Diego dangerous?” Nix asked after Jen had fallen asleep. Eli was holding Graham against him, and it was obvious his nephew meant a lot to him.

  “Normally, I wouldn’t say he is if he’s up against someone like you, but while he was gone, I’ve heard he’s fallen in with some bad company. I don’t trust his words,” Eli said.

  Nix rose from his chair and patted him on the shoulder. “You made the right decision.”

  “Want to carry him? He seems to like you,” Eli asked, nodding to Graham.

  “I’d…rather not,” Nix confessed, remembering Maddy’s lifeless eyes. Eli frowned, but didn’t push the subject.

  “It’s going to be an interesting next few days, huh?” Eli commented.

  “Oh yeah,” Nix agreed.

  Chapter Four

  “Jen and the baby all tucked in?”

  Eli jumped at the sound of Nix’s quiet voice.

  He was peering through the half-closed door leading to Jen’s bedroom when Nix came up behind him. After growing up without parents in a bad neighborhood with Diego, Eli didn’t like anyone creeping up on him.

  Somehow though, he didn’t feel threatened by Nix, although every inch of him told Eli the man was danger with a capital ‘D’. Eli’s leopard was more composed. It lazily opened its eyes to assess the big werewolf with apparent interest.

  “Uh-huh. I’ve fed and changed Graham’s diapers only a while ago and now they’re both sleeping,” Eli answered. He tore his gaze away from Jen’s curled up form with Graham tucked securely in her arms to face Nix.

  Nix craned his neck and nodded when he spotted Jen. “She’s had a damn busy past few days. We should let her sleep.”

  “Yeah. We should,” Eli said in a strained voice, trying to compose himself.

  Nix looked like he’d just come out of the shower. He was barefoot, toweling his wet dark brown hair and only wearing a pair of jeans. Suddenly, his own jeans felt tight. He could feel his cock straining against them, demanding attention.

  Oh God. Nix is walking bad-boy man-candy.

  As if Nix knew he was being appraised, his dark brown eyes seemed to change to a playful, wolf-like amber in his tanned face, and it was accompanied by a slight tilt of his tempting lips.

  There was slight stubble around his chin and a little scar just on the right side of his jaw that seemed to mock Eli, tempting him to lick it. Eli’s gaze dropped to Nix’s hard body, which rippled with firm muscles and ink—a tempting landscape for Eli to explore and nibble.

  “The past few days have been hell for all of us, with Graham crying through the night, and none of us has gotten much sleep…”

  Gods be damned, he was babbling and both Nix and he knew it. The right thing was to take a step back and retreat to his bedroom.

  “The little cub sure has a pair of lungs,” Nix agreed and Eli realized he was stalling, too.

  Animal instincts nearly made Eli want to approach Nix and rub himself all over the large biker just to show how much he wanted him. Maybe Nix would even let Eli put his tongue to work.

  What the fuck? Eli shoved the urge back down.

  He’d never reacted this way to another shifter, with the exception of Jen. Despite how much as Eli wanted Jen, though, she was off-limits to him, until Diego left anyway.r />
  The spiritual mate bonds linking Jen to Diego were fading and the other cats in the pards, even their king, had nudged and hinted at Eli to make the first move. Diego certainly didn’t deserve Jen, but Diego was still his brother. Diego was still the same asshole brother who supported and raised Eli when their parents died in a car accident.

  Nix might be a werewolf, but he wasn’t off-limits, a voice whispered inside his head.

  “Like what you see, kitty?” Nix drawled.

  “No.” Eli’s denial was at odds with the way his legs were taking him forward.

  While his human half was telling him this was a mistake, his leopard was stalking forward, undeterred and determined to mate the wolf in front of them. Eli knew he was standing on the edge of cliff and if he took the fall, he wasn’t sure he was going to recover.

  Take the leap. See where this goes.

  “Let’s stop the pretense, Eli. From the moment we saw each other in the garage, we both knew what we wanted.” Nix watched him with lean and hungry eyes. “Tell me I’ve made a mistake and I’ll back away. Tell me you don’t want me, Eli.”

  “I can’t,” Eli whispered.

  Only inches separated them now and he could feel the heat radiating between their bodies, his leopard and Nix’s wolf reaching out for his each other, rubbing, caressing, mewling, and growling.

  “No?” Nix ventured.

  “No. Because I want you, too, even though it’s wrong and eludes all logic. Wolves and cats don’t go well together.”

  Eli gasped when Nix impatiently pulled him to him, eliminating the distance between them. Just the feel of Nix’s large, callused hands on him made him groan and grind his body against Nix.

  He’s just touched me, and I’m reacting like this, like my entire body is on fire. What happens if he does more than touching?

  Come find out, his leopard seemed to say.

  Eli shivered when Nix buried his face in the side of his neck, sniffing him, memorizing his scent, gauging where to place his mark. He nearly went limp in Nix’s arms when Nix bit down on his earlobe, hard.

  “Why is it wrong when it feels so good and right? Who gives a fuck about logic and the natural order of the universe?”

  “Nix, I’m…” Eli didn’t know what else to say and Nix knew it, too.

  “Ran out of excuses already, kitty?”

  Eli managed to regain some measure of control. “Don’t call me kitty.”

  “I can call you whatever I want. You won’t resist me.”

  The bastard was right and they both knew it. Eli groaned when Nix licked the side of his neck. “Let me see you, Eli. Come on, let’s head to your bedroom,” Nix said, a determined look in his eyes.

  “Yeah,” Eli replied, satisfied to hear Nix following him.

  The apartment technically belonged to Diego and Jen, but after Diego left, Jen couldn’t bear to sleep in the master bedroom so Eli had taken residence there while Jen slept in the guest room just beside it.

  “Nice room,” Nix commented. Eli noted he didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed about walking around the apartment naked. Then again, if he had a body like Nix’s, he wouldn’t either.

  “This room used to be Diego and Jen’s.”

  Nix eyed the room critically now and growled at the bed at the center of the room. Eli continued. “Don’t worry, we’ve thrown out everything that reminded Jen of my brother. Their marriage bed went first. The process was therapeutic for Jen.”

  “Good,” Nix said with obvious approval.

  Eli felt like he was in a trance as he let Nix undress him as if he was child. The way Nix was looking at him, like he was something delectable, was all adult though. Eli hooked his fingers into Nix’s jeans, tugging at them impatiently.

  “Pants off, big guy. I want to see what I’m getting.”

  A laugh rumbled out of Nix, but he let Eli help him out of his jeans. Nix wasn’t wearing anything else, and his cock sprung, thick and long, pointing skyward.

  “Will I do?” Nix teased.

  “Will do,” Eli agreed, surprising Nix by kneeling in front of him.

  He curled his fingers over Nix’s base and finally put his tongue to work. Eli delivered tiny licks at first, running his tongue from Nix’s tip to base, teasing him relentlessly. Licking off the pre-cum that had gathered, Eli opened his lips to take him in.

  “Fuck, Eli. You’re so good at this.” Nix groaned, sinking his fingers into his hair.

  The painful but delicious tug on his hair sent another bolt of desire right down Eli’s cock, encouraging him to dive in deeper. Eli gagged three-fourths down Nix’s length, so he took a second to regain his bearings.

  He couldn’t stop now and do a half-assed job, not when the big wolf above him was making growling and happy noises. With newfound determination, Eli reached Nix’s base, then slid out only to take him again.

  “Fuck.” Nix looked down at him, his eyes dark with possessive hunger.

  Eli slowly covered the thickening hard rod between his lips, savoring Nix’s taste. Nix groaned, tightening his grip on Eli’s hair. Eli surrendered his control, letting Nix thrust his way furiously into his mouth. It wasn’t long before Nix let out a loud, shuddering growl and unloaded his cum into Eli’s waiting mouth.

  There was too much of it to catch, so some dribbled down the sides of Eli’s mouth, but Eli licked at Nix’s salty taste.

  “Damn.” Nix panted.

  He agreed. Eli’s leopard was pleased, but getting Nix off was just the tip of the iceberg. By the end of the night, Eli wanted to be taken and have his soul stripped bare. For the first time in his life, he understood what it meant to truly expose his vulnerable parts to someone, to gamble with his heart. Nix wasn’t a wereleopard, but it didn’t matter, not tonight at least.

  “So.” Eli sat at the edge of the bed. “What next?”

  He wanted to be coy, to seduce Nix, but he was terrible at flirting. Any relationship he’d had turned out to be a failure, mostly because he hadn’t bothered putting much work into it.

  As a wereleopard, Eli fell on the mediocre scale and wisely kept out of the way of the more aggressive cats. Perhaps that was the reason why unmated females sought him out, because he was safe, but they knew the rules. Eli wasn’t interested in finding a mate. The only person he’d truly desired was his brother’s mate, as fucked up as that was, and now this werewolf.

  “Eli, stop looking at me like that,” Nix voice sounded strained. “I’m trying very hard not to push you against the bed and take you.”

  “How am I looking at you?” Eli asked curiously.

  He spread his hands on the bedspread, aware of his throbbing cock. God. Eli wanted Nix so badly and it took every ounce of his self-preservation to appear nonchalant, but he didn’t want to appear easy.

  “You like playing games with this old wolf, kitty?” Nix neared him, and Eli was suddenly wary of the large man as he approached him.

  “You’re not old, and I’m not interested in playing games.”

  Nix smiled, showing him the slightly sharpened ends of his teeth. “What are you interested in?”

  Eli swallowed his pride. “I’m interested in you fucking me senseless.”

  “Then tell me how badly you want me in you.” Nix leaned down, palming his thighs, and then suddenly curled one hand around his hard cock. Eli whimpered, but Nix went on, idly rubbing the pre-cum that had gathered on his tip. “Your prick doesn’t lie at least.”

  “Please,” Eli pleaded, looking up at him. “Nix, I want you to fuck me.”

  “Good answer.”

  Then Nix pushed him back against the bed, slid on top of him, and pinned his arms above his head. Before Eli could piece what just happened, Nix slammed his mouth against his, his tongue pushing for entry. Eli eagerly let him in and began sucking on it. He was aware of Nix’s cock pressed against his belly, growing hard again.

  “You taste so fucking good,” Nix muttered after they parted from the kiss.

  He left Eli’s body
quivering with frustration as he began leaving kisses down the column of Eli’s throat and collarbone. Nix bit hard into Eli’s left nipple as Eli gripped his hair. Nix was a rough lover, but Eli liked that just fine. Nix nibbled and bit his way down, and when he reached Eli’s cock, he began to fist it, watching Eli’s reactions intently.

  “Come for me, Eli. I want to fucking see your expression as you lose all trace of control.”

  Nix’s movements increased momentum and it wasn’t long before the pressure building inside Eli spilled like an overflowing dam. Eli let out a ragged breath as waves of pleasure assaulted his body and his cum sprayed all over Nix’s chest and stomach.

  “Well done, kitty,” Nix coaxed, stroking his inner thigh. Eli groaned, still unable to think. “I’ll be right back.”

  Deprived of Nix’s warm skin, Eli mewled in protest, annoyed when Nix only came back chuckling, lube in hand. He comfortably lay flat on his back, crossing his arms.

  “My cat likes the attention, doesn’t he?” Nix asked, breaking the foil of the condom and smoothly sliding it over his thickening cock.

  “Fuck you, Nix.” Eli was almost terrified Nix was offended, but Nix only slapped his thigh, making him jump. “You can be such an asshole sometimes.”

  “True, or maybe I just like discomforting you.” Any other smart comeback died when Nix nudged his legs apart and began rubbing lube into his puckered hole. “Like that, kitty?”

  Eli let out a moan of assent. Nix’s fingers felt like heaven as they massaged the rim. When Nix slid one finger and then a second in, Eli practically begged Nix to fuck him. His first time with an older man hadn’t gone smoothly, and since then, Eli made sure he knew who he was dating well enough to have sex with. Nix had been different from the start though.

  Eli trusted Nix without question, despite having only known the man for a short while. It defied logic, but it was true. The only feasible explanation was that their beasts seemed to possess knowledge, a deep and primal instinct, their human halves did not.

  “Ready for me?” Nix teased. Eli gasped when Nix lifted his legs above his shoulders. At Eli’s growl, he slowly inched his way in.

  “That’s it baby. Breathe easy for me and relax. I know you can take me.”