“And when Ben Anderson used a spell that didn’t have the power to do more than annoy me, I blew up a big chunk of a downtown street. I acted like a child when I saw him getting your attention, and I’m not even going to try to defend myself. Hell, that ugly suit I wore today? I bought it to get you to look at me.”
“I like that suit,” Kavon said.
Darren gave a dark laugh. “Figures. Back then, you hid that well. But I didn’t panic today because only one of us can freak out at a time, and you have the right-of-way this time.”
Kavon rubbed a hand over his face. “You’re the one who nearly died.”
“Exactly.” Darren sat next to him on the bed. “ That’s why you get dibs on the freaking out. When you nearly get killed, I plan to freak the shit out. Besides, I tend to schedule my panic attacks around things that matter more to me... you know, like whether people like me. Christ. I can be a twelve-year-old with no social skills.”
“Darren.” Kavon stopped. He carried as much blame for that as Darren. And Coretta and Rima carried a tiny percentage for not listening when Darren said Ben Anderson had targeted him.
“Yeah, I know. It was unprofessional and a little pathetic. But my point is that we lose it on different stuff. And Dave. That shit was big, and clearly Angel’s comment about you cut a little close to home, but you are awesome. He was trying to hurt you, and I think he has a lot of shamanic Talent with emotions because he zeroed in on the wound Dave had left.”
Kavon sighed. That all sounded like excuses.
Darren shifted. “I like to tell people that back when I was a probie, I reported my bosses for mishandling that Talent case because I was a badass. I acted like I was all about defending the victims. And I do hate it when agents pick and choose who to protect. However, I will admit that part of my anger of that was the fact they treated me like I was the weird kid who needed to shut up and stand in the corner. I don’t handle rejection well. Not even a little.”
Kavon pulled Darren close and embraced him. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. Standing up against experienced senior agents is no small feat. You risked everything because you believed those assholes were wrong.”
“You’re assuming I’m noble as opposed to insecure,” Darren said.
“When I showed up, I assumed you were a junior agent trying to show off how much you learned at the academy and earn brownie points. I used my Talent to check your motives, and all you felt was indignation and fear, and you still spoke up. Give yourself credit.”
Darren took a deep breath, and some of his more negative emotions faded. “Only if you give yourself credit. Any mistakes you make, you make out of a desire to protect your people. You’re a good man, and the only reason the FBI rules ban you from investigating a case involving your own people is because any agent would lose their shit in the same circumstances. Hell, I think Dave might have set up that confrontation to set you off.”
“He wanted to turn me into a charging bull?” Kavon wanted to believe that, but he feared it was wishful thinking on his part. He knew better, and he’d let his emotions override his good judgment. Darren ran his hand up Kavon’s back, and a shiver of lust followed the warmth of his touch.
The sharp shift in his emotions startled Kavon but he realized that Darren had opened the bond and pushed lust and affection through. “That’s manipulative,” Kavon said.
“Yep,” Darren agreed cheerfully before getting up. He moved to stand between Kavon’s knees, his arms resting on Kavon’s shoulders. “I’m using the tools available to remind you that you have an overprotective lover who won’t let anyone beat up on you, not even yourself.”
Kavon rested his hands on Darren’s hips. “Is that so?”
“Yep.” Darren popped his p.
“I feel like it would be rude to continue my self-flagellation when you’re right here.” Kavon slipped his hands under Darren’s shirt. Maybe he was being a coward, but Kavon wanted to escape the maelstrom of emotions and feel something purer, something real.
“Oh, definitely.” A tremor went through Darren, and he leaned closer. His breath came quicker, and Kavon tugged Darren closer with a hand behind his neck. Their lips met, and Kavon ran his fingers through Darren’s thick hair. Darren leaned into Kavon, tilting his head to the side and deepening the kiss. Kavon fumbled at Darren’s buttons with one hand.
Kavon grabbed Darren by the waist and pulled him down to the bed. Their teeth clacked together, and then Darren was laughing and squirming. “We aren’t teenagers to rip each other’s clothes off. Let me get rid of the shirt.”
“I thought you were a tween,” Kavon said. He regretted the words when the joy Darren radiated dimmed. Darren shifted to sit on the edge of the bed. Kavon rested his hand on Darren’s back. “I’m sorry.” He relaxed his hold over the bond so Kavon would know how much he regretted his careless words.
Darren gave him a lopsided grin. “None of us are perfect. I won’t let my issues define me if you’ll do the same.” He tossed his shirt at the side chair.
“Deal.” Kavon pulled Darren close. He buried his face in the juncture where Darren’s neck and shoulder met. He’d intended to pepper the skin with soft touches, but Darren’s lust poured back into him, overriding all thought. Kavon humped Darren’s hip.
“Kavon.” Darren’s spoke in a ragged tone, and then he gasped and reached for his own cock.
Kavon pushed Darren’s hand away and cupped Darren’s bulge himself. When he squeezed, Darren cried out. In seconds, Darren was writhing and gasping. Kavon was mesmerized by the sight of Darren pressing his head back into the pillow, his neck arched and his body stiff. Erotic moans slipped out, and Kavon unzipped Darren’s pants, allowing his weeping cock to slip free.
Leaning down, Kavon placed a kiss on the tip . Darren cried out, and for a moment Kavon was lost in one of those moments where he existed in both bodies at once. He tasted the salt of pre-cum on his lips, but at the same time he felt the lingering tingle in his cock from the kiss. The bond mark burned brightly and shivers of lust raced up Kavon’s spine.
Darren reversed their positions and straddled Kavon’s hips. When Darren waggled his eyebrows, Kavon laughed. Joy flowed through the bond as Darren unbuttoned Kavon’s shirt, running a fingernail over the skin. When he leaned up to nibble Kavon’s pulse point, Kavon’s brain whited out with an overwhelming need to come. But Darren teasing touches weren’t enough.
Kavon flipped Darren to the side and then pinned him to the bed before kissing him again. This time, Darren got more aggressive. He ran dull teeth over Kavon’s lower lip. Lust slammed into Kavon as he was caught in that double existence of the bond. Kavon pinned Darren to the bed, but he also felt hands on his wrists, pinning him down.
Darren ground his erection against Kavon’s hip, and Kavon made an undignified half-strangled cry as the lust wound around them, tying them together. Kavon pulled his shirt over his head and sent it flying. Kavon hurried to get his pants undone while he toed off his shoes. He felt Darren’s anticipation under his own skin, and raw, animal lust twisted Darren’s expression into something hungry... demanding.
