Too bad they didn’t have anyone in the house that could cook.
Lonny had been the chef, but since Maverick killed his assistant for trying to kill Cecil, it was every man for himself. He missed the sit-down meals they used to have. Maybe they could find a trustworthy human to cook for them. Cody dismissed that thought of a non-mated human at the Den. Frank knowing was enough of a risk.
He pulled the strips from the oil, laying them on a towel. His stomach grumbled, so Cody dumped the rest of the bag into the fryer.
The hell with it. A thought struck him.
“Can you wait to eat, Keata?”
“Why?” Keata sat up in his chair and stared at Cody.
“One word. Picnic.”
“One word. What that?” Keata leaned forward, his head tilted to the side.
“You’ll see. Go get our coats.” Cody grabbed two sodas, potato salad and some fruit. He snatched the picnic basket off the top shelf of the cupboard and began to fill it. When the strips were done, he put
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them in a container and grabbed a checkered tablecloth from the pantry.
He took Keata’s hand and led him through the kitchen door.
* * * *
“You see that over there?” Cody pointed out a deer in the distance. Keata nodded his head. “Deer.”
“Deer,” Keata repeated. Cody kissed Keata’s temple.
“Yes, Deer.” He tugged Keata’s hand they came to a clearing, then he spread the tablecloth on the ground and set the basket down.
“Look, Keata.” Cody pointed again. “Baby deer. It’s called a fawn.”
“Fawn,” Keata repeated once more.
“Very good.” Cody unpacked the basket and laid everything out.
Cody laid on his back and stretched his arms out for Keata.
Keata swung his leg over Cody’s body and straddled his hips.
Cody reached over and grabbed the grapes, feeding one at a time to Keata.
“Grapes.” Cody held one up then waited for Keata to part his lips.
“Grapes.” Keata opened his mouth to accept it. “Grapes good.” Keata licked his lips, and Cody moaned.
Food first.
Cody pulled a piece off of the chicken strip and fed it to Keata next.
“Chicken strips.” Keata beamed.
Cody chuckled. “I knew you would know that one.” Once he was done filling his mate’s belly, there was another place Cody had in mind to fill. He ran his hands up Keata’s chest, tweaking his nipples under his shirt.
“Cody.” Keata moaned and leaned back.
Cody quickly pulled his legs up and planted his feet, giving Keata something to lean against.
“Relax, Keata. Let Cody love you.” Cody unsnapped Keata’s
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jeans and fished his erect cock out. He began to massage it while he ground his cock into Keata’s clothed ass.
“I want you, Cody.” Keata moaned.
Cody smiled. “Very good. You remembered.”
“Yes, remember.” Keata pushed his ass down toward his hard cock, signaling to Cody that his mate wanted to feel it inside of him.
Cody had been working with Keata to teach him better English and, in turn, Keata had been teaching Cody basic Japanese.
“
Watashi was anata o aishite
,” Cody murmured.
“Very good. You remember.” Keata smiled. “I love you, too.”
“I got it right?” Cody was amazed he remembered. Keata had taught him only that morning.
“Yes. Now, no talk. Sex.”
Cody burst out laughing, lifting Keata from his waist. “Strip.” Keata and Cody got naked then Cody lay back onto his back.
“Ride me, Keata.”
“No understand.” Keata stood there with his hands clasped in front of him, shivering from excitement and the cold outside.
“Come here, I’ll show you.” Cody pulled Keata back onto his lap, positioning his legs.
“Oh, I see.” Keata leaned forward as Cody stretched him. He’d been shocked to find lube in his coat pocket. Keata must have put it there when he grabbed their coats. So his mate must be just as addicted to their lovemaking as Cody was. He was glad Keata had taken the initiative. His mate didn’t seem so scared of sex now.
“Glad you see.” Cody moaned as his third finger sunk into Keata’s tight entrance. He pulled his hand free and tapped Keata’s hip. “Lift.”
Keata lifted his ass, and Cody grabbed his cock, holding it in place as Keata slowly lowered. “So…so much.”
“You mean full?” Cody held Keata’s hips to help him steady himself.
“Yes, full. Like belly when too much food in.” Keata smiled down
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at Cody.
Cody chuckled. “Yeah, full belly.” He began to move Keata up and down on his shaft, thrusting his hips to meet him on every down stroke.
“I got.” Keata dug his nails into Cody’s chest and planted his feet, moving to the rhythm Cody had showed him.
“Fuck, you got all right.” Cody slid his hands under his mate’s small rounded globes as he locked eyes on him. Keata blushed at Cody’s intense stare. He had never seen anything more breathtakingly beautiful then his mate riding him. The ecstasy on Keata’s face drove him to the edge fast.
His hand reached up and pushed his mate’s gorgeous, silky, hair from his face. He tucked it behind Keata’s ear. Keata’s lips parted, and Cody grabbed his mate’s cock, pumping it until Keata stilled then cried out Cody’s name.
Cody took over the thrusting. His hands landed on his mate’s hips and pulled him up and down until Cody cried his name. Keata dug into Cody’s flesh as his cock throbbed its release in Keata’s ass. Cody was mindless with the raw feeling of protecting this little man.
“Cold.” Keata panted as he fell onto Cody’s chest.
Cody wrapped his arms around his mate, kissing the top of his head, never wanting to let him go. Reluctantly, he did. “Get dressed.” Keata climbed off and pulled his clothes on. Cody watched as his mate’s flawless skin was covered.
“Food.” Keata dropped down onto the blanket next to him. He grabbed another chicken strip and began to nibble on it.
He smiled at the basic needs his mate had. Keata wasn’t complicated. He wasn’t very hard to figure out. He showed Cody everything he was feeling and told him exactly what he was thinking.
Once he was dressed, Cody pulled his mate into his arms and hugged him close. He’d kill anyone who would try to take him away.
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Chapter Eight
Keata wandered around the game store in town. Cecil had pleaded with Maverick to bring them here, saying they had mastered all the other games and needed new ones. Keata picked up a magazine with Asian characters on the front. He flipped through, reading the story.
He would ask Cody to buy it for him. He never asked his mate to buy things for him because Keata wasn’t sure if his mate was poor like he and Kyoshi had been in Japan. The wolves didn’t seem to be, but you never knew.
Keata browsed through a few more, selecting three in all. He hoped it wasn’t too expensive.
“Excuse me? Cody needs you outside. He’s hurt.” Keata snapped his head up to see a stranger standing next to him.
He looked around but didn’t see any mates or warriors around. Keata rushed outside to find his wolf. If his Cody was hurt, Keata had to help.
A hand slapped over his mouth as Keata neared the parking lot.
He struggled, but the hand stayed firmly over him. He was tossed into a van, and then the door slammed shut. Keata began to panic. He wanted his Cody.
* * * *
“Keata!” Cody screamed at the top of his lungs. His mate had disappeared from the game store, and Cody was going ballistic. He tore the store apart, screaming over and over again for his mate.
“You have to find him!” he yelled at the warriors. He pulled at his
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hair as his chest felt like it was caving in.
* * * *
“We’ll find him, Cody.” Tank took off out the door, searching for any trail he could find. He was in a panic as well. Keata meant the world to him, and he was going to tear that damn world apart until the little guy was found.
“Anything?” Loco asked as he ran up to him.
“No.” Tank punched the side of the building, the concrete crumbling under his assault.
“We’ve got to find him, Tank. He’s too innocent. I don’t think I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to him,” Loco said.
“I know.” Tank breathed out deeply. “Who the fuck took him?”
“Vamps? Rogues? Humans? I just don’t know.” Loco scanned the area as Cody burst from the store, his eyes darting wildly, looking for his mate.
“You have to—” A sob tore from Cody. “You have to find him.” He ran off, shifting in the middle of the parking lot. Tank and Loco looked around to see if anyone had witnessed it, but the lot was empty.
“I think Cody will go rogue if we don’t find Keata.” Tank rubbed his hands over his head.
“No doubt.”
* * * *
Keata whimpered when he saw the ugly American that had stolen him and Kyoshi and brought them to America.
“I knew I would eventually get you back. I lost three good rent boys because of your friends. You’ll help pay for the lost money that all of you should have brought in.” The ugly American slapped Keata across the face.
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Keata held in a cry. He wasn’t going to let these men know how scared he was.
“You are a pretty one. Top dollar will be paid for you.” The ugly American lifted a piece of Keata’s hair in his hand, rubbing it along his face.
Keata yanked his head back, not wanting anyone but Cody to touch him.
“Feisty, too.” The man laughed. He yanked Keata closer, licking his tongue up the side of Keata’s face.
Keata dry heaved. His skin was on fire from the touch. He wanted to scrub his face with a harsh pad.
Keata pushed from the man’s arms as he felt the vehicle slowing down and then stopping.
“What the fuck are you doing?” The ugly American yelled at the driver.
“Not me. Someone’s blocking the road up ahead.”
“Well, go around them, dammit.”
“Kinda can’t.”
Keata watched in horrified awe as the driver cursed and then was yanked out of the window.
He tried to push away from the ugly American to hide but he wouldn’t release him, he struggled and was finally let go.
“What the hell?” The ugly American’s eyes widened as he looked all around. The doors on the van flew off the hinges, and the ugly man was pulled out.
Keata crawled under the seat and cringed. His whole body was shaking, fearing he would be next to get pulled from the van. Where was Cody?
“Do not fear me.” Keata heard a soft and reassuring voice.
“Come, beautiful. I will not harm you.” Keata peeked from under the seat to see the man from the club.
His fear skyrocketed. He knew this man wanted to take him from his Cody. Keata shook his head and pushed further under the seat. How
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did the ugly Americans find him, and how did the vampire find him?
“Come, precious. I will return you to your wolf. Promise.” The vampire held out his hand.
Keata peeked from under the seat as the vampire smiled at him.
He knew that look. It was the same one his Cody gave him when he wanted to have sex. Keata was terrified to leave his refuge.
The vampire knelt down. “You are truly breathtaking. I have never before seen a man so innocent. So stunning.” With a whimper, Keata reached his trembling hand out and laid it in the vampire’s. He knew he couldn’t stay under the seat. He knew Christian had him. Keata just prayed Christian was telling the truth and would return him.
“That’s right, beautiful. Come to me.” The vampire pulled Keata into his arms, hugging him closely. Keata didn’t want the man to touch him, although he did smell really good. “What is your name, precious?”
“K–Keata.”
“A beautiful name for a beautiful man.” The vampire carried Keata over to his car, sliding in the backseat with Keata still in his arms. “I will take you to my home—” Keata cried out and tried to push away. “Promise. You promise.”
“Settle, little one. Yes, I promised, and I will return you. I must have your Alpha come to me to retrieve you. I don’t want the wolves attacking me or my men thinking we had anything to do with this.” The vampire petted Keata’s hair.
“Promise?”
“Yes, little one.”
Keata relaxed a little. There went his stupid trust again, but the vampire seemed sincere.
Keata pulled until the vampire let him go. He slid onto the seat and pulled his legs up to his chest. His belly was starting to hurt. He had missed lunch, and now his belly was complaining. Keata stared out of the window as Brac Village began to disappear, his anxiety
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making him tremble.
He wanted Kyoshi and all the friends he made at his new home, and wondered if he and Johnny would ever be able to play another prank again. But most of all he wanted his Cody.
They pulled into a long driveway. Keata whimpered when the vampire opened the back door for him to get out.
“I will not harm you, little one.”
Keata slid from the back seat then turned to close the door. He was trying his best to be brave as he followed the vampire into his house. A sharp pain cut across Keata’s belly. He stumbled then fell to the ground crying out.
“What is it, little one?”
“Belly. Hurt.” Keata’s arms began to shake. He rolled over to his side, the pain tearing through him. He was vaguely aware of arms pushing under him then lifting him up.
* * * *
Christian paced in his manor. What was he supposed to do? He knew he promised Keata that he would return him, but he hadn’t expected the beauty to start screaming in pain.
His best bet was to call the Alpha, tell him where Keata was, and let him deal with it, but his heart was agonizing over the cries of pain coming from his bedroom. He had placed the little human in there when he started crying and holding his midsection.
To hell with it. He had to call. Maybe they knew what was going on.
Christina took a deep breath and flipped his cell phone open. This was going to be as fun as trying to suck blood from a corpse.