Spencer swallowed around the grip on his throat, the pressure not tight enough to choke, but the threat of it was there. He drew in a breath because he still could, a flush heating his face that had nothing to do with lack of air and everything to do with being turned on when he shouldn’t. Takoma arched an eyebrow, some of that icy anger bleeding out of his gaze. He stepped closer, digging his thumb into the sensitive flesh beneath Spencer’s jaw in a way that came off as teasing.
Takoma leaned in, his cool lips brushing over Spencer’s ear. “Your government will bury you when you are no longer useful. Someday, you’ll take a case and won’t solve it, and that will be their incentive to lock you up. Adhering toclassified, following their rules, will not save you forever.”
“I’m not asking to be saved.”
“A pity, because I would save you if that’s what you wanted. I know worth when I see it.” Spencer swallowed thickly at his words, trying to ignore the way his cock twitched in the too-tight jeans Takoma had picked out for him. Takoma’s fangs grazed his earlobe, and Spencer nearly strangled himself on his next breath. “I won’t see you dead, so tell me.”
Spencer knew he shouldn’t. He had a field team he was working with and an entire federal agency that backed him—but for how long? Deep down, he knew Takoma was right, even if he knew he couldn’t fully trust the master vampire. But leaving Takoma in the dark would put him in more danger if he didn’t know what the risk was. The Cascade Coven goingthe enemy of my enemy is a friendroute with the Spokane Night Court only made the stakes higher.
Vampires had fought against the hells and the Dominion Sect at the behest of their mother. Spencer didn’t think Takoma would have use for the Ouroboros Mirror if he got his hands on it other than to sell it again. He couldn’t say the same thing about Rufus.
Spencer reached up and grabbed Takoma’s wrist, grip loose, the tips of his fingers pressed over the space a pulse would be if a vampire’s heart beat like a human’s. He couldn’t feel any hint of life beneath his touch, but he saw it in Takoma’s eyes when the master vampire pulled back just enough to meet his gaze.
“The Dominion Sect stole some artifacts from the Repository sometime during the Thirty-Day War. The Ouroboros Mirror was one of those. It supposedly makes it easier for demons to cross over and possess people. We think it was sold on the black market and that the Cascade Coven has it.”
“In their museum?”
“We don’t know. We don’t have proof yet, and I couldn’t locate it at the museum when I visited.”
“And you think the poltergeist was brought through the veil using this Ouroboros Mirror?”
“It’s a possibility. Doesn’t explain why it’s not acting like a typical poltergeist.”
“Is that why you were at Adler’s home?”
“Fatima followed it there after its first appearance at the hotel when she got a piece of it. It’s not enough evidence for a warrant.” He couldn’t stop the frustration from leaking into his voice, prompted by what had happened tonight. “There’s a lot of possession and attempted possession going on in Seattle right now, and I don’t want you to be a victim of that.”
Takoma’s long hair fell against Spencer’s chest as his lips brushed against the corner of Spencer’s mouth. “So you do care.”
He wanted to deny it. They didn’t know each other all that well, but they could remedy that with time, and Spencer remembered how Takoma had never left him on the battlefield two years ago. Yeah, Spencer had no illusions the master vampire wanted him for his magic, but he thought maybe Takoma wanted him for himself, too.
“You’re making it hard not to.”
It was easy, then, to turn his head to catch Takoma’s mouth in a kiss that stayed careful for all of two seconds before Takoma deepened it in a commanding way that Spencer could only give in to.
Spencer was pulled up against a hard, cool body, an arm snaking around his waist to keep him there. He gripped Takoma’s upper arms, not wanting to move as he was kissed with an intensity that got a little bloody. Takoma’s fangs scraped over his bottom lip as he eventually pulled back, and Spencer swallowed the faint coppery taste of it, panting in the scant millimeters of space between their mouths.
The hand around his throat slid down his chest, fingernails scraping over the sheer fabric of his shirt to tease the skin beneath. Spencer’s breath hitched in his lungs when Takoma cupped his cock with a sureness that made him grind down into the touch.
“I have a full night and meetings I can’t miss because of Adler’s and Rufus’ actions, but I’m going to have you, right here, before I leave,” Takoma murmured, tightening his grip.
Spencer didn’t even try to stop the whine that escaped his throat. “So I rate a couch but not a bed?”
Takoma snorted, walking Spencer backward to the couch in question. “My bed is too far away. I’ve been wanting to peel you out of your jeans since I first saw you tonight.”
“You were the one who picked out the outfit.”
“I’ll pick others out for you.”
Spencer’s cock twitched at the casual authority in Takoma’s voice before he found himself falling backward onto the couch, one leg slipping off the side. He braced his foot against the floor, thinking of sitting up, but he didn’t get very far. Takoma put a knee on the cushion, settling between his legs with a sureness Spencer found stupidly hot and made his gut clench.
“If someone walks in on us, I’m blaming you,” Spencer said as Takoma batted his hands away from his belt.
Takoma smiled down at him, his hair falling around his face like a curtain as he leaned down to kiss Spencer. “The only other people here know not to interrupt me.”
Spencer was glad for that because Takoma’s hands and mouth weredistracting. Takoma got his pants undone in seconds, and Spencer lifted his hips so his jeans and underwear could be pulled down far enough to free his cock. The constricting confines of his jeans were no longer an issue, and he groaned when cool fingers wrapped around his cock and stroked him with a firmness that had him pressing his head back against the cushion.
He shoved his left knee against Takoma’s ribs, swallowing against the rush of saliva in his mouth as Takoma stroked him again, the friction a drag of heat. It’d been months since he’d last had sex, and a one-night stand in a bar was definitely not on the same level as this.
