"Not at all, it was just unexpected," Ethan replied, fidgeting with his hands. "I meant my reaction to it."
"Yeah, I like watching them kiss too," Ryder said, then laughed. I glanced at him, confused until he gestured to the bulge in Ethan's slacks. "He's gay. And who wouldn't think the two of you kissing is hot?"
"Again, I'm sorry," Ethan replied, his face flushing bright red. He moved his briefcase over his lap and suddenly needed to look anywhere but at us. "Mr. Payton thought it would be better to send a representative to speak on his behalf instead of sending an email."
"When were you told to come out here?" Ryder asked, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees. "Spencer sent these changes weeks ago, why come now?"
"I just do what I-I'm told," Ethan stuttered, looking very nervous as his forehead broke out in a sweat.
"Try again," Dean answered. "I'm not buying your bullshit, Ethan."
"I should go now that we've discussed our business," Ethan said quietly. He stood so fast that the contents of his briefcase spilled all over the floor, including a nine millimeter. Dean was on him in an instant, hand wrapped around Ethan's throat.
"You brought a gun into our home!" Dean yelled in his face, and I thought Ethan was going to pass out. "Explain yourself before I crush your windpipe, Ethan."
"Back down, big guy," Ryder said carefully as he stood and rubbed his hands over Dean's back. I went and retrieved the gun, tucking it in the back of my jeans. "He can't answer if he can't breathe."
"Right," Dean replied, releasing Ethan. The man's eyes were wide as he turned and tried to flee. Instantly I moved across the room and blocked his way. He ran right into me, and I grabbed his shoulder to balance him so he didn't fall.
"How did you move that fast?" Ethan gasped, not even trying to pull away.
"Doesn't matter," I answered firmly. "Why are you here with a gun?"
"I told him I couldn't do it, I've never even used a gun," Ethan said quickly. "When he said he'd take care of all my medical bills so my family didn't have to, he didn't tell me what he wanted me to do. But he did pay them and I was trapped and he didn't seem to care if I got killed in the process even if I'm already dying…"
"Ethan, calm down," I replied gently, cutting off his ramble. "No one's going to kill you; I simply need to know what's going on."
"I'm so sorry, I didn't want to do it," Ethan sobbed, his legs collapsing so fast I barely caught him in time. "I didn't know what to do."
I pulled him into my arms and hugged him without even thinking about it. Dean and Ryder both looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. Who hugs the guy that came there to kill you? But there was no way Ethan was a murderer; I just didn't know what he was yet.
"Did Greg Payton send you here to kill me?" I asked when he finally started to calm down.
"Yes," he whispered, burying his face in my shirt. "I was supposed to get you alone and shoot you. He figured someone might kill me in the process, but I'm already dead anyway. I swear I didn't want to do it, but he threatened my family. He said he'd already paid my medical bills and would go after them when I was dead if I didn't do this."
"It's okay, we're going to figure this out, Ethan," I answered, trying to soothe him. Every protective instinct I had was triggered by the smaller, shaking man in my arms. Besides lusting after him, I wanted to take care of him. I glanced over to Ryder. "Call Max and ask him."
"You can't be serious!" Dean yelled, catching on to what I was getting at. I wanted to know if we turned Ethan would the cancer be cured. We'd read through the manual Max had given us, but it didn't say anything about cancer.
"Let's just find out," I replied, trying to defuse the situation. "I'm not agreeing to anything yet, but it's a good question."
"What is?" Ethan asked, looking up at me as he started to pull away. "What are you going to do with me?"
"Right now, I'm going to get you something to drink and sit you down in the kitchen." I smiled down at him as I took his hand and led him through the hallway. Once at the kitchen table I helped him sit down before he fell over. Ethan looked incredibly ill and was still shaking. I grabbed a couple of glasses and poured us some orange juice before sitting down next to him.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered, staring down at his lap.
"I know that," I answered, reaching out and lifting his chin so he had to look at me. "I don't think you would have gone through with it. How about we start over and you explain everything to me? We'll see if we can't help you, okay?"
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
"Because I know what it's like to feel trapped and desperate," I answered. I saw Dean join us out of the corner of my eye as he sat across the table from us. "No one's going to hurt you, Ethan."
"Okay," he said, glancing between me and Dean. I turned his face back to focus on me as he took several deep breaths. "I applied at Fallon Industries a little over a year ago and got an entry level position. When I applied for insurance, I had to go get a physical. That's when they discovered I was sick. Of course I didn't get the insurance, and the treatments they tried started putting me in serious debt. It started affecting my job; I kept calling in sick from the chemo and radiation."
"How did you end up talking with Payton?" Dean asked, the tone of his voice changing drastically.
"He called me into his office one day," Ethan answered, pausing to take a few gulps of juice. "He said he'd gotten my medical records and asked if I would be willing to do some special assignments to pay off my bills. He knew I was beyond any help at that point and said he felt bad for me and wanted to help."
"What type of special projects?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"At first I acted as tour guide for a few investors," Ethan explained and gave a shrug. "Kind of like arm candy for the gay clients the company wanted to wine and dine. It wasn't like I was told to have sex with them or anything, mainly just look after them."
"Hang on one second, Ethan," I said, seeing Ryder standing in the doorway. I got up and went over to him, giving him a quick kiss on his cute frown.
"Max says yes, turning him would cure him," Ryder whispered in my ear. "As long as his organs haven't started failing it should work. He's asking the council for approval on our behalf in case we decide to do it because we're crunched for time depending how bad off Ethan is."
"Thank you, baby," I said, before giving him another kiss.
"Spencer, I'm going to be honest here," he replied as he reached out to touch my face. "I don't like the way you look at him, it's making me jealous. I swear it's taking me everything I have not to walk around naked right now so you'll fuck me in front of him and he'll know you're mine."
"Would that really make you feel better?" I asked with a smirk, feeling myself getting hard at the idea. "Because that sounds really hot to me."
"Spencer!" Ryder exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "I don't want to be replaced here!"
"What?" I gasped, pulling Ryder up into my arms. As always he wrapped his arms and legs around me. "Did you not hear me earlier today, Ryder? No one could ever replace you, not ever! And I will never, ever let you go, baby. I love you. It would kill me to not be with you."
"I'm sorry, I know that," he said as he licked along my neck. "I shouldn't be so quick to get jealous, but I always feel like this is a dream I'm going to wake up from one day."
"Never, Ryder, I swear it," I groaned as he started leaving me love bites. "We will always be together."
"Okay, then you can turn him," Ryder replied, tightening his legs around me. "As long as he doesn't cut in on my one-on-one time with you."
"I don't know what I want to do yet, baby," I answered, pushing him against the wall of the kitchen. "I think maybe I see in him what you instantly saw in Dean. Everything in me is screaming to help him."
"It doesn't hurt that he's hot," Ryder moaned as I rubbed our erections against each other.
"Yeah, he is," I said, seeing the wariness in Ryder's eyes. "But no better looking than you are, just different."
"We're going to need a bigger bed," he replied.
"Maybe," I answered with a shrug as I lowered him down to his feet.
"I've seen that look on you before, Spence," Ryder said quietly.
"When?" I asked, confused by the way he was acting.
"When you talked about changing me," he whispered before turning and walking out of the kitchen. I stood there shocked, letting his words sink in slowly. Had I already decided that I was going to save Ethan? And if so, what would that mean for our family?
CHAPTER 4
"Are we going to turn him?" Dean asked softly. I jumped, surprised I hadn't heard him leave the table and approach me. "What are you thinking about so hard?"
"Ryder," I answered, running my fingers through my hair. I glanced over at Dean, turning away from the doorway that Ryder had just walked through. "Can you tell me that you can let Ethan die knowing we can save him?"
"No, I guess not." Dean sighed, hugging me to him. "I just don't want to fuck up our family; we work as a foursome."
"I feel the same way," I replied, hugging him back. "Will you stay with Ethan and get the rest of the story? I need to give Ryder some one-on-one time; he's worried I'm replacing him."
"Of all of us, Ryder is the one who has to worry the least of that happening," Dean said as we parted.
"I'm never getting rid of any of you," I whispered against his lips. Reaching behind his head I pulled him to me, immediately thrusting my tongue in his mouth. We both groaned as our tongues slid across each other's, raising the passion level of the kiss. Several moments later we parted, panting heavily. I caught Ethan's look of lust out of the corner of my eye.
"Go take care of our baby, I'll speak with Ethan," Dean said, releasing me.
"Thanks, Dean," I replied, turning to leave. I sniffed out my man, finding him in the dining room playing with Gilbert. He barely had time to put the piglet down before I was on him. I pushed him down on the hardwood flood, inserting myself between his legs. "Do not ever doubt my love for you, Ryder. I need you so badly it's like nothing I've ever felt."
"I'm sorry," he whispered turning his head away. I quickly grabbed his chin with my right hand and moved it so he was looking at me again. "I'm scared and I can't help the way I feel."
"I get that, I do, baby," I answered more gently. "But I have never given you any reason to doubt me or think you are replaceable in my life. I know you have insecurities, we all do. Sometimes you have to fight them and see what's really there instead of what you're afraid of."
"I'll try, please don't be mad at me," Ryder said, tears forming in his eyes.
"I'm not mad, Ryder," I whispered, grinding my erection against his groin. "I'm just going to have to spend the rest of our lives proving how important you are to me. How much I need you, always."
"I need you now, Spence." He moaned, pulling off my shirt. Seeing Ryder desperate and full of lust for me snapped whatever control I had. I almost shredded his jeans trying to yank them off of him.
"How do you want it, baby?" I asked before latching onto one of his hard nipples. He hissed and squirmed under me as he unzipped my fly.
"I want my wolf," he whimpered, pulling out my cock. "I want my loving wolf to fuck me and claim me again."
"What?" I gasped, raising my head to stare at him. "You want me to bite you?"
"It can't hurt me," Ryder replied, taking my face in his hands. "I'm immune to the venom now; I want you to mark me as yours."
"Luc and I were just talking about this," I whispered, searching his eyes. "I think we should get matching tattoos marking us as belonging to each other."
"Fuck, that's hot," he moaned, pulling off my pants. "I want that too. Now shift and fuck me as only my wolf man can."
"Whatever my baby wants," I purred, letting the change roll over me. "I'm going to lick every inch of you, Ryder."
His eyes went wide as a huge grin went over his face. I started at his ear, slowly licking all around it before working my way down his neck. Then I went along his jaw line and up to his other ear.
"I'm so going to come just from this." He panted as I licked along his collar bone. I smiled as I worked down to his nipples. Licking each individual muscle in his stomach, then his belly button, down to his hips. "I can't take anymore teasing!"
"I've still got to stretch you, baby."
"No, no you don't, I've been wearing the plug," Ryder whimpered. "I liked how you and Dean kept needing us so bad you couldn't hold on long enough to stretch us. So I thought I'd still wear the plug."
"That's my dirty love," I growled my approval. I leapt to my feet, taking Ryder with me as I moved to the dining room table. Flipping him over on his stomach, I had a perfect view of his ass with the pretty blue plug. I flicked the end of it with my finger, watching as Ryder went ballistic. "This is the most perfect ass ever, baby. I love seeing a plug in your tight little hole, just waiting for me to take you."
"Please, no more teasing," he begged, spreading his legs wider for me. The dining room table was higher than most, made with thick wood. So Ryder could barely touch the ground with his toes when he was bent over it like this.
"That depends," I said, running my clawed hands gently over his firm ass.
"On what?" Ryder gasped, looking over his shoulder at me.
"Do you still think I'm getting rid of you?"
"No, I know you love me, Spence," he answered softly. I smacked him hard on the ass, harder than we normally played.
"Don't ever forget that," I snarled, partially pissed that he doubted not only me, but us. I spanked him a few more times before leaning over and licking along the crack of his sweet ass. Flavors burst along my tongue; the strawberry lube he used to get the plug in, the soap from his shower that morning, and something completely Ryder. "How special are you to me, Ryder?"
"Very?" Ryder replied, sounding more like a question than a statement. I swatted each cheek three times.