Yuri reached down with his left hand and stroked Joe’s cock as Yuri continued to drink, filling Joe with a tingling sensation that had him coming again time in less than a few minutes. He was exhausted, but he didn’t want to stop. Yuri licked the wound and kissed it before trailing languid kisses across Joe’s shoulder.

  Joe wasn’t sure what came over him, but when Yuri pulled out and turned Joe around to face him, it was as if someone else took over. Joe jumped on him, wrapping his legs around Yuri’s waist and his arms around his neck and bit him. Joe sunk his teeth into the hard muscle of Yuri’s shoulder, drawing in a taste of blood and didn’t stop until he was sure the mark was deep enough to scar. Then, like Yuri, he licked the wound until it was healed. Joe didn’t understand any of it, but he couldn’t stop himself.

  Yuri groaned and tensed, coming again spreading his seed onto the bedspread with Joe’s it was so wild and so rough but also overpowering in the force of their connection. Joe felt Yuri in the depths of his being as if they were now one.

  He dropped his forehead to Yuri’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t stop myself.” He said, truly distressed by the pain he caused. Yuri held him with one arm around his back and one arm under his ass, and Joe felt him chuckled softly.

  “Don’t be sorry, I bit you too.” He rubbed the side of his face against Joe’s hair. “Your lynx claimed me just as I claimed you. I will wear your claiming scar with pride and honor.”

  Joe rolled his head to the side so he could see Yuri’s face. “Really?”

  Yuri glanced down at him with heat and something else in his eyes. “Really.” He echoed with conviction. “Come, let’s clean this up and relax. I want to cuddle you for the rest of the night.”

  Joe could not help the giggle that slipped passed his lips. He wasn’t a giggler, but there it was in all its glory. Yuri kissed him thoroughly before setting him back on his feet. Yuri grabbed the bedspread and rolled it into a ball and set it aside and pulled back the blanket while holding his hand out to Joe.

  “Come, Joseph.” He said, and Joe almost flew into his arms. He was laid out on the bed, and Yuri got in beside him, covering them both with the blanket and turning out the bedside lamp before pulling Joe into his arms.

  Joe was in dreamland. This was the lover he’d fantasized over, and now here he was bigger and better and badder than anything he’d conjured in his mind. He was bonded, their lives spiritually connected, as Eddie called it, for all time. “Sleep, my love,” Yuri told him, and Joe fell blissfully to sleep in the arms of his Master.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Yuri lay awake most of the night, just reveling in the nearness of his beloved and feeling the strength of their connection. The lynx was powerful, more so than Joseph knew and was making himself known pushing for Joseph to acknowledge and perhaps be released, time would tell. It was something they would explore together.

  Joseph’s bond with Yuri provided the animal with the strength to come forward, and it continues to get stronger. Joseph would need to learn more about himself and learn to control and harness his cat at some point. But right now, all they needed was to cuddle and bask in the light of their first morning as a bonded couple.

  He loved this little man, and that was saying a lot, because Yuri had never spoken those words to anyone, not in his entire seven hundred and eighty-three years on this earth had he told anyone he loved them. He respected, honored, valued, and cared for people but never had love entered his life until yesterday at the gas station. One look from those honey-colored eyes and Yuri was captured. Joseph was everything he had hoped for in a beloved he was humble, kind, and quirky besides.

  He ran the pad of his thumb across Joseph’s bottom lip so soft and tantalizing. Joseph lay with his head on Yuri’s shoulder, and his leg tossed across Yuri’s thigh. It was lovely holding this man and knowing they had a lifetime ahead of them. “I want you to return with me to France, to my home, and to my coven.” He stated, knowing that his beloved was awake.

  “When?”

  “I leave tomorrow.”

  “But I have things to arrange, I can’t just up and leave,” Joseph remarked.

  “Why can’t you just up and leave? You’re not close to family, your job is not a career position, and you live in a rental home. What’s keeping you?” Yuri pulled him tighter and dropped another kiss to the top of his head. “You are the Master’s beloved. I must return to my Coven, and I cannot leave without you.”

  He felt the wheels in Joseph’s brain, turning as he considered it. “I can’t just go, can I?”

  “Yes, you can,” Yuri told him.

  “I need to think, okay.” Joseph leaned up and kissed Yuri on the shoulder.

  “Okay, but I’m not leaving you.”

  “I don’t want you to.”

  “So, you understand?”

  “I understand.” Joseph turned and looked at the small clock on his side table. “It’s almost eight. I should get up and get dressed for work.” He began to pull away.

  “You don’t have to go.” Yuri once again pressed the fact that Joseph’s life had changed, and the gas station was no longer his priority.

  “I can’t do a no show, and besides, I’ll have to put in my resignation.” Joseph smiled, and Yuri rolled him onto his back and pinned his hands above his head. He then kissed him until Joseph was gasping for breath. He nipped Joseph’s bottom lip and then pulled back and rolled to the edge of the bed and stood.

  “My coven has acres of gardens for your pleasure and acres of land begging to be developed.” He sweetened the pot considerably, and he knew it. “Go shower, while I make a few calls,” Yuri told him and grabbed his pants before he walked out of the room.

  …

  Joe watched Yuri walk naked from the room, his hard ass a picture of perfections. He still couldn’t believe that Master Yuri wanted to be with him, but he wasn’t going to fight it. Last night he’d shown Joe a night of wild debauchery and total satisfaction. He didn’t mock, and he didn’t judge and did not hesitate to give Joe what he wanted.

  He sat up and stretched, there was a little stiffness, but nothing that wasn’t completely worth the pleasure he’d experienced. He sat for a moment and focused on his lynx. It still seemed like an impossibility, but gradually he was coming to recognize a force within him that seemed to be him but also separate from him. The feeling was base and instinctual, and the longer he focused, the more he sensed that something was indeed there.

  He stood and gathered his things and went to the bathroom to shower. He never wore the lace panties to work, he just went with his usual briefs. You never knew what was going to happen at a gas station convenience store.

  Thoughts of last night ran through his mind and thrilled him all over again, and he was hard in seconds. He thought about relieving himself in the shower but was in too much of a hurry to get back to Yuri. He then thought about the gardens of the Loire Coven and the acreage that Yuri told him he could develop as he saw fit. Was it too good to be true? Was all of this too good to be true?

  He’d give Eddie a call when he went to work and talk it out with him. Eddie always gave good advice. With that settled, Joe hurried and got ready for work.

  …

  Yuri called Louis and informed him that a supporter of Aldessa’s movement may have followed him to Michigan. He also told him of the break-in at Joseph’s rented home. “Nothing was taken, and he didn’t want to call the authorities.”

  “The Sheriff’s department here leaves a lot to be desired so I can understand Joe’s reluctance,” Louis informed him of the issues with the cougar shifters. Louis advised him to return to the Palace, and they would get the video feeds from the airports and downtown Mt. Pleasant and see if he recognized anyone.

  “Bring your beloved with you, and we’ll have lunch on the terrace,” Louis told him, and Yuri would have loved to have brought Joseph back to the Palace, but the man had a sense of duty that although admirable was really getting in the way of Yuri’s plans.

  “We bonded last night, and Joseph will be returning with me to France, but he insisted that he go to work today. He doesn’t want to leave them shorthanded.” Yuri heard Louis laugh.

  “That sounds like our Joe, never wanting to put anyone out.”

  “I’ll definitely have to work on that irritating trait.”

  “Good luck.” Louis continued to laugh.

  “Thanks.” He closed the call just as he heard the shower cut off.

  They were both showered and dressed and, in the kitchen, drinking coffee when there came a knock to the front door. “May I?” Yuri asked as he started walking towards the door. Joseph nodded and stood back.

  He moved the chair and unlocked the door, opening it to his guard Andre. “The night was quiet, sir.” He reported. “A black SUV drove by the place several times. Once at twelve-ten, again at two-fifteen and then again at four forty. They didn’t stop but looked the place over each time they passed by.”

  “Did you get a license number?” Yuri asked, and Andre handed him a piece of paper with the number on it. “I’ll have Louis’ people check it out.” It was definitely suspicious behavior. “I’ll be returning to the Palace shortly, but Joseph will be going to work at the gas station. I want Baylen to stay with Joseph and bring him to the Palace at the end of his shift.” Andre looked surprised but made no comment.

  They had a light breakfast over which they discussed a variety of things from the move to France, the gardens of Loire, to Joseph’s job at the gas station. Yuri attended to Joseph’s apprehensions with assurances that Joseph would love it, and he promised to let him visit Mt. Pleasant any time he felt homesick.

  Yuri could feel the excitement for the chance of adventure and growth coursing through Joseph. Their bond was solid and getting stronger by the minute. Now that Yuri could get a good read on him, he was surprised by the depth and complexity of his man. He may look like an open book, but it was a book that possessed a thousand chapters, and then you figure in the lynx, and he had a beloved like no other.

  “Baylen is going to take you to work and stay with you. He’ll remain out of sight, but you must be protected, don’t fight me on this.” He stated, and Joseph nodded. He didn’t look happy about it, but he accepted that Yuri was not going to leave him unprotected.

  …

  Joe sat in the back of a sleek black sedan with Baylen at the wheel. They’d had another vehicle delivered at some point that morning because last night there was only the SUV and Joe’s car. When Yuri told him that he was to have a bodyguard for the day, he had a hard time visualizing Baylen guarding him. He’d wanted to rip his head off a couple of days ago, and now he was ordered to protect him. The man must be ready to explode, and Joe pitied the next poor clerk who got in his way.

  He looked out the side window and wondered why he’d been so adamant about completing his shift today. It had only been a few minutes since Yuri kissed him so deeply, he felt it in his toes and watched him with eyes filled with so many possibilities and yet he missed him as if they’d been separated for days or weeks even. His heart ached for him, and there was a rumbling in his mind that demanded that he return to the handsome vampire. This was shaping up to be the longest shift of his life.

  “Joseph,” Baylen spoke to him for the first time since the dinner party. Joe turned from the window and gave him his full attention.

  “Yes.” He said and waited, not sure what to expect from this man who clearly saw him as one of the unwashed masses to be ridiculed and discarded.

  “I am very sorry for the way that I treated you at the gas station. It isn’t an excuse, but let me just say my anger was not at you, but unfortunately, it was you who felt it.” He spoke clearly, and it sounded sincere. Joe wasn’t one to hold grudges, but he was cautious with this one. He remembered the near choke out and the mess he made just for kicks.

  “I will tell the Master of my behavior towards you. He should know.” Baylen finished and put his attention back on the road ahead.

  “No, this isn’t about Yuri.” Joe wasn’t about to have Yuri deal with issues like this. He could handle it himself. “This is between you and me, and no one else.” He stated and then added. “I accept your apology, and I believe that you are sincere. I can’t tell you that I trust you completely, but I think we can get there if you want it.”

  Baylen caught his gaze in the rearview mirror and held it for a couple of beats before saying. “I want it, Joseph. I want your trust.”

  “Okay, the past is in the past; we go forward from here, Baylen.” Baylen nodded, and his expression was one of relief.

  Baylen stayed outside unseen mostly, but Joe knew he was there, and oddly enough, it was reassuring. Having his place broken into even though nothing was taken was enough to put anyone on edge, and he was still getting that weird feeling of being watched. He looked over his shoulder several times since he arrived sure that someone was there or close by.

  He put together his resignation letter and left it for the morning manager. With that done and suddenly thinking about all the changes that he was about to undertake, his anxiety began to rise. Rather than try and talk himself down, he called Eddie. He was on break, but since he was working alone, that meant he could make personal phone calls, but he couldn’t leave the counter. He leaned his elbows on the counter and made his call.

  “You’re a shifter, Joe,” Eddie exclaimed and then chuckled. “If we’d known that when we were in school, we could have had a real good time. Especially with those bullies who always seemed to think pushing us around was funny.”

  “Yeah, but I guess he was too scared to come out, so how much help would he have really been?” Joe laughed.

  “It would have been fun, regardless.” Eddie defended. “Do you think your parents knew?”

  “No, they would have given me back to the agency if I’d turned into a kitten at any point during my infancy,” Joe said more solemn then moved on with his reason for calling. “I need someone to talk to, Eddie.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “Yuri said I’m his beloved, and we bonded last night,” Joe stated and then stopped when Eddie let out a string of expletives.

  “That’s why he was treating you like his date and had asked me to allow him to escort you inside. He’s your beloved, wow, that’s fantastic.”

  “Yeah, it is, isn’t it?” He knew Eddie would get him thinking straight. Yes, this was fantastic. They talked about life as a Master’s beloved, and Joe told him about moving to France probably tomorrow, and again he was hit with a string of excited expletives.

  Eddie made him see just how amazing this really was and that he had nothing to fear or stress about. He touched the scar on his neck and felt it pulse with sensations making him think of the amazing night he’d had with Yuri.

  “He’ll make sure your life is as perfect as he can make it. You know this is true, you’ve witnessed it at Coven DuCane. And now I have an excuse to visit France.” He added.

  They continued on in that vein for a few minutes, and then Joe commented on leaving his job at the gas station. “I’ve worked here for five years, and I can’t wait to walk out that door knowing that I don’t ever have to come back.”

  “Yeah, you’ve had some strange and even dangerous encounters in that place over the years.” Eddie agreed.

  “Yesterday these two guys in a black SUV both dressed like they were working covert ops, or something came in like they were casing the joint. They gave me the chills as they walked around and then just bought two meaningless items.” Joe gave a shiver.

  “What’d they say to you?”

  “Nothing much just asked if I knew the deputy on patrol out on Highway 48. He said I smelled like him. How creepy is that?”

  “That’s creepy. What’d you tell him?”

  “I told him the Sheriff’s Department has had a lot of new hires and that I don’t know them. I didn’t want to get anything started with those two, I just wanted them to leave.” Joe explained further.

  “You can say goodbye to all the creeps now, Joe, because you are the beloved of the Master.” Eddie reminded him.

  “And I’m moving to France.” Joe piped in excitedly.

  …

  Yuri met with Louis and his second Ismael, along with Ismael’s beloved Easton in Easton’s office. He had a variety of tech devices present along with a large screen monitor on the North wall.

  “I collected CCTV footage from the airports and from the gas station since you stopped there on your journey here. The cameras at the Gas Station only show the pumps and the entrance, nothing inside. I’ve also collected feeds from various points throughout the town. I thought we could play some of the footage and see if you recognize anyone.” Easton explained, and it seemed like a good place to start as far as Yuri was concerned. He knew his people, all of them, and he would recognize the traitor if there was one.

  As they sat and watched, Yuri kept a close eye on every person present in the video feed, but he couldn’t help his mind wandering back to Joseph. He hated being away from him so soon after bonding with him. The need to care and nurture that bond was a powerful drive. He decided that he would not wait for Joseph’s shift to end, and as soon as he was finished here, he would head to the gas station. He needed to be near his beloved.

  They finished with the airports and then switched the video to the gas station. The feed was not available for the interior, but they could see Baylen entering and then exiting, but he recognized no one in the area. Except, he leaned closer and saw something familiar.

  “That SUV parked by the street on the edge of the pavement.” He said, and Easton zeroed in on it and brought it in closer. There were two men inside, but the tint on the windows made it impossible to make out any features.