Kieran held him tight as he thrashed about, not giving in to Lynk’s panic. Rough, callused fingers gripped his chin, pushing his head back on his shoulders. “Quiet,” Kieran commanded, his voice soft but firm, holding a velvet steel that made Lynk shiver from the base of his skull clear down to his toes.
Did Kieran see his trembling muscles? Did he notice how Lynk had calmed at once? Was he disgusted with Lynk’s reaction to him?
Whatever was going on inside his mind, his face gave nothing away.
“When is the last time you slept?”
“The night before last,” Lynk answered automatically.
Kieran traced under Lynk’s eyes with his fingertips. “When is the last time you really slept? I don’t mean closed your eyes for a couple of hours, but really, really slept.”
16 Gabrielle
Evans
Lynk bit the inside of his cheek and shook his head. He understood the question, but he honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a decent night’s sleep. This close to Kieran, he couldn’t think of anything but the heat pouring off of the man’s body, the hard muscles beneath his soft shirt, and how incredible he smelled.
“That’s what I thought.” Kieran’s voice was low, husky, and dripping with arousal. He shifted in his seat, and Lynk felt the evidence of that desire pressed against his ass.
His own cock hardened in response, swelling to strain against his zipper. When Kieran’s hand landed on his upper thigh and squeezed, Lynk thought he’d come right there in his jeans. The breathless moan that puffed through his lips embarrassed him, but he couldn’t stop it.
“Come on.” Kieran stood, still cradling Lynk in his arms as he stomped across the room and out into the hallway.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m going to put you in my bed, and you’re going to sleep.” Lynk started to struggle. As much as he’d love to be in Kieran’s bed, it was a terrible idea. “No. I’ll stay here. There has to be a spare room that I can use.”
“I imagine there is, but I said you’re coming with me.” The authority in his voice went straight to Lynk’s cock. His erection jerked, leaking pre-cum from the slit until he could see the small stain spreading across the front of his pants. Riding on the tail end of that lust was an overwhelming anxiety, though. Did Kieran know his secret? Could he see just by looking at him?
“Kieran, put me down.” He tried to be firm, to speak with conviction, but even to his own ears, he could hear the underlying plea. Maybe he should just haul off and punch his mate again. That had seemed to do the trick the last time—except that he’d felt sick about it from the moment it had happened.
He’d been given a gift, and not only had he forsaken it, turned it away, but he’d gone as far as to abuse it. What the fuck was wrong with him?
Flawless 17
* * * *
Kieran could feel the way Lynk trembled in his arms, but he didn’t think it was from fear. There was some anxiety there. Kieran could feel it as well as scent a slight trace of it on the air. Still, he didn’t think Lynk was afraid of him, but more that the man was nervous around him. He’d never say it out loud, but he kind of liked knowing that Lynk wasn’t as unaffected as he pretended to be.
Looking at Torren and Raith, anyone would expect Lynk to be just as big, just as brawny. They’d be sorely disappointed. While he wasn’t much larger than Aslan or any of the other mates in the house, Kieran could feel the hard muscles bunching under his palms, knew if he got his mate naked, those muscles would be sculpted and defined.
None of that mattered to him, though. The fact that Lynk was gorgeous from the tips of his shiny black hair to his smaller than average feet was just icing on the cake. The beauty he sought lurked on the inside. Beneath the veneer of cool indifference, there was a kind, giving soul just searching for someone to nurture it and bring it to the surface.
Kieran knew he was more than up for the job.
“Kieran, put me down.”
It was cute the way his mate argued with him, but it so wasn’t happening. “Have you ever just let someone take care of you?” Nope. He could see the confusion written all over Lynk’s face.
“I can take care of myself.”
“You’re adorable when you pout.” Kieran chuckled at the scowl on Lynk’s plump lips. “I have no doubt that you can do anything you put your mind to, but that’s not the point. Everyone needs to be pampered sometimes.”
Finally settling Lynk on his feet, Kieran checked to make sure the foyer was clear of any sun-allergic vampires and punched in the access code so that the steel plates covering the door slid away.
18 Gabrielle
Evans
Taking Lynk’s wrist, he pulled him out into the morning sun, closed the door behind them, and waited until he heard the door covering grind back into place.
“Where do you live?”
Smiling to himself, Kieran held his mate’s hand as he led him along the dirt path that would take them to the cabin he shared with his brothers. “It’s not far. Just around that curve in the road. Raina and Teegan used to share the cabin with us, but they moved up to the main house after the pups were kidnapped. Once things settle down, they’ll move to one of the cabins across the lake.” He just kept talking, keeping his voice low and soothing, offering idle chit-chat in hopes that it would calm some of Lynk’s nervousness. The grip on his hand remained steady, unflinching, so he took that as a good
