“‘Kay,” Keeley said, his eyes closing almost immediately.
Reece watched him for a few more moments before laying his hand down gently on his chest. He pulled the blankets tighter around him, tucking him in before turning to look at Devlin, who was still on the phone.
“Tell Chase and Donovan to find a man named Nate. They’ll know who he is. I want them to bring him with them when they come home.
“And in the meantime?” Devlin asked.
“In the meantime, I want the entire house locked down. And Douglas stays here. I don’t care if you have to tie him up and throw him in a broom closet. He’s part of this, and he is not leaving,” Reece growled.
“What about Keeley? Shouldn’t we clean him up a bit and see if he has any other injuries or something?” Devlin asked in concern, looking over at the blood still covering Keeley.
“We’re vulnerable right now, and will be until Chase and Donovan get here. After everything is all locked up and Douglas is taken care of I’ll take care of Keeley. No one, and I mean no one, is to get into this room without my say-so.”
Reece left Devlin to finish his phone call to Chase while he went and locked up the house. He was just coming out of the kitchen when Douglas opened the door to the study and looked out.
“Alpha Reece? Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I was just going to finish cleaning up in the kitchen since Keeley fell asleep on the job. I’ll be just another moment and then Devlin and I will be in to join you. I think he stopped off to use the bathroom.”
“Oh, okay,” Douglas said as he started to turn back towards the study. He paused, looking back over his shoulder. “You know, if Adrianna were here, you wouldn’t have to be doing woman’s work.”
It was all Reece could do not to leap across the room and rip Douglas’s throat out at his comment, but he knew that right now, he needed to control his temper. It was more important to get information out of Douglas than to take his anger out on him.
“I’m sure you’re right, Douglas, and maybe we can talk about that. Now, why don’t you go back into the study and have another drink while I finish up? Devlin should be down in just a moment to keep you company.”
Reece clenched his teeth together as he watched Douglas nod his head and walk back into the study, shutting the door behind him. Oh, he so wanted to tear a piece out of that man. He knew his temper was holding on by just a thread.
As a consolation, he promised himself a piece when this was all over. Until then, he was going to have to keep some space between them. He needed information that only Douglas could provide at this point. He’d have to keep him alive.
Hearing the bedroom door open, Reece looked up to see Devlin coming out, quietly shutting the door behind him. It was a relief when Devlin gazed down at him and nodded his head. Chase and Donovan must be on their way home.
Good! That meant Devlin could deal with Douglas while he took care of Keeley. Reece crossed the room and started for the stairs when he heard a voice coming from the study. He stepped closer to the door and listened, curious, as Douglas should have been the only one in the room. Who was he talking to?
“Yes, yes, I know what you’re saying and no, I didn’t say anything to him, but I still think he suspects something,” he heard Douglas say. There was a small pause then Douglas spoke again.
“No, he took the little shit upstairs. Said he fell asleep on the job.” Another pause. “I don’t know. He told me he was cleaning up after the party.”
Since he didn’t hear any other voices, Reece figured he was talking on the phone. He just hoped it was a house line. He motioned to Devlin to guard the door as he walked over and carefully picked up the phone, covering the mouthpiece with his hand.
“Well? What else did he tell you? Did he say anything about Adrianna?” A strange voice on the other end asked. Reece was pretty sure he had never heard the voice before. It didn’t sound familiar.
“No, well, yes. He said he’d be willing to discuss it with me. If we could just get rid of that little boy toy he’s so fascinated with, I think we could get him to see things our way,” Douglas said.
“If you and Adrianna hadn’t fucked things up so bad, we wouldn’t be in this fix in the first place, Douglas.”
“It’s not my fault that the alpha chose to hunt for humans. If he had just stuck with the program, none of this ever would have happened,” Douglas replied. “You were supposed to keep him in line, not me.”
“I can’t watch him every second of every day. It was your responsibility that night to keep an eye on him. I can tell you no one was happy about that. We needed the alpha to keep the rest of the pack in line.”
“In another few weeks, what’s it going to matter? The rest of the pack will be turned over to them and we’ll be rich. Who cares who the alpha is then? He’ll be dead anyway.”
“Because, you imbecile, the deal was that we keep providing them with werewolf blood if we want to get our money. No blood, no money. And personally, I don’t particularly want to be one of that bloodsucker’s donors,” the voice yelled.
Reece raised his eyes to look across the room at Devlin, wondering if he had heard the same thing that he had. Devlin looked to be in shock and he nodded his head, telling Reece that he had.
“So, what do you want me to do?” Douglas asked.
“Look, you have to convince him to get rid of that toy of his and mate with Adrianna. She has to be in control before our plans can continue. Once they’re mated and she’s pregnant, we can turn Reece over so they can do whatever they want with him.”
“This plan is sounding more complicated by the minute. Why can’t we just take him out now and put one of our people in his place?”
“Because, you can only become alpha through a challenge. No one we know can challenge Reece and live. He’s too strong for that. But if Adrianna is mated to the alpha and pregnant with his child, when he dies we can have someone take over as guardian of the child until the child is old enough to rule.”
“That’s going to take too long, don’t you think?” Douglas asked.
“No, not really. With Adrianna being half werewolf and half bloodsucker, it will speed up the gestational period. She could whelp the kid in five months. Once she’s in power, we can continue with the plan.”
“So, how is he going to get her pregnant if he’s already mated?” Douglas asked.
“If his mate is dead, it breaks the bond between them and he’s free game. I think that was Adrianna’s intentions tonight when she attacked him. I just wished she had finished the job. Then, we wouldn’t be in this fix.”
“Okay, so do you want me to kill Keeley then?”
“No, no. Adrianna acted in haste tonight. She shouldn’t have attacked him, not yet. It’s only going to put Reece on alert and now she needs time to heal. The little shit stabbed her with something. Just act like your usual dumb self and he should never be the wiser.”
“What if he saw her?”
“He didn’t. Besides, I doubt he’ll remember a thing. If it begins to look like Reece suspects too much, excuse yourself, go to the bathroom, and call us. We’ll come and deal with him. For now, I want you to stay there and learn everything you can about what the alpha knows. Just act naturally and play along.”
“Okay, but you owe me for this. I hate acting like the town idiot,” Douglas said.
“You are the town idiot, Douglas. Now hang up before he catches you on the phone.”
Reece waited until Douglas hung up the phone before hanging up the one in his hand. He gestured to Devlin to go in and keep Douglas busy while he went upstairs and took care of Keeley. He just hoped that the reinforcements got here in a hurry. They were all in a lot of danger.
Part of Reece wanted to get Keeley and run. Anything to keep his little mate out of danger. The other part, the alpha part, needed to stay and gather as much information as he possibly could. The more he knew, the more he had to fight with.
Quickly going up the stairs, Reece made his way back to the bedroom. Now that the house was all locked up and Devlin was keeping Douglas busy, it was time for him to see to his baby.
Reece went straight to the bathroom and turned on the water, making sure it was warm but not too much. He added a bit of Epsom salt and gathered some supplies to clean Keeley’s wounds.
He pulled his shirt over his head and laid it on the counter for later. If Keeley wearing his shirts made him more comfortable, Reece was all for it. Turning off the water, he walked back into the bedroom to get Keeley.
“Keeley? I’m going to take you into the bathroom and clean you up now, okay, baby? You just hold on and I’ll do all of the work,” he said softly as he pulled back the covers and lifted Keeley into his arms.
Reece had no idea why he was talking to Keeley when he was passed out, except that it made him feel better. Maybe there was just one small part of him that hoped Keeley heard him on some level and that he wouldn’t be frightened.
Once in the bathroom, Reece dropped the towel wrapped around Keeley onto the floor and lowered him into the tub, keeping one arm around his neck to keep him supported. With the other hand, he grabbed a clean wash cloth and began cleaning him.
It was slow, tedious work trying to get every last cut and scratch without causing Keeley too much pain. By the time he was done, the water was red and Reece had tears in his eyes. He was just grateful that Keeley had slept through the entire process.
While he didn’t seem to be gravely injured, it was hard on Reece when he had to wash every little cut and scrape. He felt like he was just creating more pain with each cleaning. Except for the puncture wounds in his neck and some bruising around his eyes and left cheek, Keeley looked just as he always did—gorgeous and adorable.
Lifting Keeley back into his arms, Reece carefully dried him off then grabbed the shirt off the counter and pulled it over his head. Carrying him back into the bedroom, Reece laid Keeley on the small settee while he changed the sheets, then placed him in the bed.
Once the covers were pulled up to Keeley’s chin and he was all tucked in, Reece finally let his emotions go. Lying down next to Keeley, he wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in Keeley’s neck, weeping quietly.
Unexpectedly, he felt a hand stroking his hair. Softly murmured nonsense words were crooned into his ear. Lifting his head, he was surprised to see Keeley’s pale green eyes looking back at him.
“Hey, baby, how are you feeling?”
“A little tired and a lot sore, but I’m okay,” Keeley said as he reached up and wiped a stray tear off of Reece’s cheek. “I told you I wouldn’t leave you.”
Reece dropped his eyes, embarrassed to be caught crying. “I know, but—”
“No buts, remember?” Keeley said.
“Keeley.” Reece only stopped
crying when Keeley lifted his hand and placed a finger over his lips.
“No buts, Quilliam,” Keeley said firmly.
“Okay, Keeley, no buts,” Reece chuckled weakly. There really just was no arguing with Keeley when he got into one of his stubborn moods. As adorable as he was when he was like this, he could also be a real pain in the ass.
“You know, I meant what I said earlier,” Keeley whispered.
Reece smiled down at him. “I know you did, baby. I meant what I said, too.”
“Even though I’m a man?” Keeley asked uncertainly.
“You being a man is just an added bonus,” Reece assured Keeley.
“Oh? So you’re into gay men now?”
“Let’s just say I’ve developed a strong obsession for all things Keeley.”
“All things Keeley, huh? Could you be more specific?” Keeley groaned as he pressed himself against Reece’s muscular body.
“Keeley, I don’t think—”
“Good, don’t! Just kiss me,” Keeley said as he leaned up and pressed his lips against his.
Reece tried to resist Keeley for all of about two seconds before he was returning his kiss, pressing his lips against Keeley’s as he moved his tongue in to stroke his, groaning when their tongues met.
He wanted to go on kissing Keeley forever, but he knew if it continued too much longer, he wouldn’t be able to stop with just kissing. He wanted to sink his cock deep into Keeley, but Keeley just wasn’t up to that.
“Quilliam,” Keeley moaned as he tore his lips away from his. “Make love to me.”
Reece groaned, dropping his forehead down against his. “I can’t, baby. You’re too injured. I don’t want to hurt you any more than you already are.”
“I need you, Quilliam. I need to feel you claim me again and get the feeling of that woman biting me out of my mind. I need to replace it with you. Please?” Keeley pleaded.
Reece looked down into Keeley’s desperate eyes for a moment before nodding his head. “Alright, but you’re not to move, do you understand me? I’ll do all of the work. You just lie there. But if I hurt you, say something.”
“You could never hurt me by loving me, Quilliam,” Keeley assured him, sighing with satisfaction a moment later as Reece moved over to lie down between his legs, his large body blanketing his.
Reece started at the top of Keeley’s body, laying little kisses along his jaw line before moving to his neck. He paid special attention to the small puncture wounds in his neck, noting the bitter taste there. He knew he’d remember that taste when the time was needed.
Pushing Keeley’s shirt up to his neck, he kissed his way down to his nipples, stopping to nibble on each. He paused to look up at Keeley’s face. “Would you ever consider getting these pierced?” Reece asked as he pulled on one nipple with his finger.
“Would you like that? Would that turn you on?” Keeley whispered to him.
Reece looked back down at where his fingers where gently pulling on the stiff little nub. “Yeah, I think it would,” he said, his voice shaky as he imagined the nipple pierced with a little golden loop. “I think that would be very sexy.”
“Then I’ll get them pierced,” Keeley responded.
Reece looked up at Keeley again, giving him a big grin. “I’d like that,” he said before returning his attention to Keeley’s nipples, leaning down to put one into his mouth again.