“The admiral went all-out on our digs, eh?” Bas sat up, stretched, and bumped his head on the ceiling of the SUV. “Damn.”
“Just remember, inside, you break it, you bought it. And don’t even think of taking a step into the master suite. I’m not kidding.”
The way Gray talked about the place, he made it sound as if…
Bas followed him out the door of the vehicle and up the steps of the nearest building. Gray pressed a button on the keychain and locked the car door before using a different key to open the brownstone. “Wait here.” He slammed the front door shut after entering and then opened it a minute later.
“Had to deactivate the alarm.
Well, come on in.”
Bas blinked, amazed and excited to be able to see this more intimate side of Gray. “This is your place.”
“No shit, Sherlock. Well, come on. I’ll show you all the places you can’t be.”
Art from countries all over the world graced the walls. African masks, South American throw rugs, a German cuckoo clock. An eclectic mishmash that should have seemed thrown together instead looked sophisticated surrounded by dark brown woods and black leather furniture. On one hand, the place looked like a
friggin
’ museum, but on the other, Bas thought he could easily sink into the oversize furniture and not get up until the next morning.
He followed Gray around like a puppy, mentally thanking the admiral up and down.
Finally, some alone time with Gray.
One-on-one, in the man’s own home, where he’d feel more comfortable.
Where he might finally relax enough to let Bas in.
Except the whirlwind tour stopped scant minutes after it had started.
Gray forbade him from going down the hallway toward his room. “You can have the guest room.
Here.
” Gray nodded him toward a tasteful bedroom containing a queen-size bed and a dresser. “The bathroom is in there.”
A hall bath done in blues and browns.
Simple yet efficient.
Very Gray-like. “Kitchen’s open and stocked. Had a friend of mine fill it for me when we wrapped
Mexico.
”
The surge of jealousy that hit Bas surprised him. His beast didn’t like the thought of Gray with anyone other than him.
“Friend?”
He coughed to cover a growl and forced a laugh. “I’d love to meet the person you trust with the alarm code to your house.
A hot chick?
Some
smokin
’ dude?”
Gray flushed, and Bas found the blush more than attractive. His dick hardened, and he thanked the jeans that kept his erection contained.
“She’s a friend of my grandmother, dickhead.
Sixty-four and counting.
Is sex all you think about?”
“Um, yeah.
I’m a guy.” The surprising surge of lust that wafted from Gray urged him to take a step closer.
Until Gray set a finger tipped in a one-inch claw to his throat. “Let’s get something straight. I don’t have mating heats. I’m not like you manufactured Circs. I was born this way. I like women, not men. And if I catch you in my bedroom without an invitation, I’ll make you wish you’d never met me.”
“No way.”
Bas stepped closer, feeling the bite of pain as the claw bit into his neck. “I could never be upset I’d met you, Gray. You’ve been so gosh awful nice so far,” he said in a bad Southern accent.
Gray just stared at him, those hazel eyes unblinking. And then the bastard laughed. The smile on his face was the most beautiful thing Bas had seen in a long time.
“Christ. You’re a serious pain in my ass.”
Man, I wish.
Gray stepped back and wiped his bloodied claw against Bas’s neck. The touch felt like a caress. Gray must have seen the heat in his eyes because his own
narrowed,
and he backed away in a hurry. “I’m tired. I’m going to catch some shut-eye. We’ll talk about the mission tomorrow.”
“But the case file, how do you know—”
“I read fast. It’s all in here.” Gray tapped his forehead. “Towels are in the linen closet. ’Night, Decker.” Then he spun on his heel and disappeared down the hallway Bas had been forbidden to enter.
Bas heard a door slam. He glanced down at his cock, trapped beneath unforgiving denim, and swore.
“Another lonely fucking night.
Just you and me.”
He looked at his palm, then down the hallway again, wishing it might have been different.
His beast protested the entire time he showered and jacked off—twice—to images of Gray on his knees, sucking Bas to heaven.
All in time, guy. Your foot’s in the door now. Just don’t blow it—at least not until he asks you to
. His beast didn’t like the advice, but he took it all the same. And Bas slept a little easier, knowing the object of his affection lay just a short distance down the hall.
The following morning, Decker continued to repeat everything Gray told him in the form of a question. “So the file said this Al Ross has been gathering rogues together for months?”
“Didn’t I just say that?”
“But I don’t get it. How the hell do you remember all the info in the folder? You glanced through it for like thirty seconds, if that.” Decker took another sip of hot chocolate. So fitting, and so annoying that the scent merged with the sweet smell of the man.
“It’s a gift.
Eidetic memory.”
A skill, like Gray’s telepathy, but he’d yet to divulge that tidbit to Decker. Gray had trust issues. And he didn’t much care for the Circs outside of the Dawn Endeavor team. His sister and grandmother, he loved.
His parents as well.
The Dawn Endeavor Circs he tolerated, mainly because one of them had mated his sister. But the others fashioned by science? He couldn’t help it. They just weren’t right. Inferior creations made by imperfect humans.
Which didn’t explain why he couldn’t stop himself from constantly thinking about Sebastian Decker.
“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” Decker grinned, and his eyes brightened like sapphires.
“You have no idea.”
“Yeah, about that.”
Bas leaned forward and gave Gray a nice view of his square jaw that didn’t need a shave. Circs didn’t grow facial hair, an odd quirk that made Gray and Decker similar.
Almost.
“Something you said yesterday… What did you mean about being born this way? I thought all Circs were created in a lab.”
Gray cursed himself for revealing that much. Though he and Decker had worked together for nearly a year, something about the man constantly nudged him to caution.
“Oh, come on, hero. I’m not gonna tell anyone.” Decker leaned back from the kitchen table and grinned. “Don’t you trust me?”
“No.”
When Decker put on a wounded face and opened his mouth to speak, Gray beat him to it. “Shit.
Fine.
I was born this way. I’ve been in touch with my beast since I was five. It’s a part of me. No idea why, it just is.”
“Wow. No wonder you have such tight control.” Decker shifted, and a ripple of muscle caught Gray’s attention. Though Decker was Circ, he seemed more cut and defined with larger muscle mass than most Circs. And why Gray found that trait so appealing, he couldn’t say. He liked large breasts, a rounded ass, and womanly curves. Not the hard body of a man.
“Gray?” Decker’s smile faded. “Are we going to finally get this out of the way or what?”
“Huh?”
“You give me that look, and I sense a fight brewing. You want to hit me; I can feel it. I’ve tried to ignore it, but honestly, it freaks me out. Not me, my beast.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The way you—”
“And I don’t want to know. Let’s talk about Al Ross.”
Bas sighed.
“Fine, hero.
Have it your way.”
Gray gritted his teeth.
You
should
call me hero after all the times I’ve saved your ass.
Your tight, muscular,
biteable
ass.
The thought was decidedly feral, and Gray took a heavy grip on his beast and shoved the fucker back down.
Fine time for the creature to turn sexually aggressive.
“Al Ross,” Gray continued, hoping he didn’t sound as breathless as he felt. Thank God the table concealed his erection from sight, because for damn sure his sweatpants would only call attention to it.
“Seems Ross keeps calling others to him.
We’re not sure how he’s doing it, but he’s amassed at least half a dozen rogues who’ve gone off the grid. A few have been found dead, but we have no idea what happened to the others. We only know about the dead rogues because we’d been tracking the experimental soldiers from the Circ plant down in Ecuador. It’s the one we shut down last year.”
“Our first op,” Decker said with surprise.
“Yeah.
Apparently we missed a few rogues, because they resurfaced in Portland, of all places. One of our contacts spotted them and reported in before losing sight of them. Then more reports came in from an old friend of mine.”
“Name?”
“Jack Keiser. He runs a bunch of psychics in Bend, Oregon. The Cascades is near his area, and when he caught wind of a Circ in the mountains, he called the admiral.”
“Keiser.”
Decker frowned. “Why is that name familiar?”
“Jack was a part of the Dawn Endeavor project a while ago. Then some shit went down he had to take care of, and he left. He was also apparently part of the Psychic Warfare Program long before its funding was cut.”
Interesting how Decker’s scent changed. His expression remained intent, but Gray caught a hint of the man’s unease.
“You sure you can trust the guy? I heard some stories about the assholes in that program.” Decker snorted.
“A bunch of thugs with guns, forcing people to believe in ESP.
Gimme
a break.”
Gray raised a brow. “You’ve seen a lot of weird shit the past year. Circs aren’t normal. We change into creatures that look less than human. You know, claws and fangs and armored skin? Uh, not normal either.”
“Yeah, but genetics can be altered. I’m not into the mind freaks. The PWP was a total mess.”
Decker knew more about the psychic program than he let on. “What do you know about it?”
“Not much.
Just rumors.
Now about this Ross…”
“What are you hiding, Decker?” Gray had refrained from opening his mind and linking to Decker’s because instinct told him it would only bring them closer together.
That,
and he never trespassed without permission unless dealing with the enemy. But he was dying to know what Decker thought. “There are known psychics in the world today. For all you know, I can read your mind.”
Decker blinked,
then
broke into gales of laughter.
Full chuckles that eased the tension in his frame and made him more than handsome but downright beautiful.
“That’s rich.
Reading my mind.
If you could, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
Gray frowned. “What the hell does that mean?”
Before he could blink, Decker stood and rounded the table. He shoved Gray back against the kitchen counter and caged him between strong arms.
Holy shit
.
When the hell had Decker gotten so fast?
“How about I show you what I mean?” Decker kissed him with brutal force, mashing his mouth against Gray’s and groaning as he pulled Gray closer. The deep rumble of a purr vibrated through Decker into Gray, and the sensation of finding what he’d been missing for so long struck Gray hard.
Not used to being dominated by anyone, he pushed back. But Decker wouldn’t let go. Without thinking about it, Gray took charge of the kiss and
changed
in the same instant. He ripped through his shirt with claws that sprang out between one heartbeat and the next. Though he didn’t need to fully
change
like the man-made Circs, he’d been pretending to be one of them for so long he just naturally did it.
Gray’s body grew larger. Taller and with more muscle mass, his frame suddenly surpassed Decker’s for sheer brawn. His skin darkened to his mother’s natural brown, a fact that always pleased him, the connection to his African roots one he treasured. But he had no room now to dwell on family, not with his erection pushing him to find ease. When he stepped closer and muscled Decker so that his back hit the counter, he felt Decker’s answering hard-on.
He snarled and pulled back, pleased to see his partner’s bloodied lips, the hint of fangs and elongating pupils preceding Decker’s
change
. “Don’t ever try to push me around.”
Decker blinked, and Gray saw his beast, that beautiful animal he was so taken with, staring back at him. “Then stop being such a pussy and take what’s yours,” Decker growled.
Before Gray could stop him, Decker shoved a hand down Gray’s pants and tightly squeezed his cock. The firm grip promised pleasure Gray had only dreamed about. And then the pleasure turned to a hint of pain as long nails scraped the flesh of his belly. Decker eased into his
change
, growing out of a shirt that split open as he grew taller than Gray.
His skin color darkened but remained a few shades lighter than Gray’s. His eyes turned a dazzling light blue, the contrast of such bright eyes against his now nearly black and lengthening hair captivating. Decker continued to pump Gray while he grew, and Gray struggled to remain in control.