Jasper Read online

  “I love them. I asked for them every year when I was little, but my mother said they would mess up the vacuum cleaner.” Trevor placed several smaller sets in the cart. He was amazed at all the toys Jasper was buying. “It’s probably a good thing you don’t have kids of your own. I have a feeling you’d spoil them rotten,” he said jokingly.

  Jasper didn’t say anything. If Trevor hadn’t been looking, he’d have missed the sadness that crossed the detective’s face. Trevor grabbed his arm before he could walk off. “Do you have kids?” he whispered, holding his breath while waiting on the answer.

  Jasper shook his head. “No, and I probably never will.”

  Trevor let it go. If Jasper wanted to talk about it, he would when he was ready. Trevor hadn’t ever really given it any thought. He never expected to find someone to spend the rest of his life with, and even if he had, he didn’t have a clue about taking care of babies. He let the thought go as they paid for their purchases. Jasper surprised him by letting him pay for his own toys. He figured the Goyle would go all badass on him and insist he pay for all of it.

  They dropped the toys off, and by the time they got to the house, Jasper was out of his melancholy funk and back to his usual spunky self. Jasper rolled up to the gate, rolled the window down, and spoke Trevor’s name into the security box. “You don’t have to punch in a code?” he asked, confused.

  “Nope. Voice recognition. When you move in, I’ll have Julian set it up for you as well. You have to be present when he does it though. That’s why you only have a punch code for now.”

  When. Jasper said when, not if, like he knew Trevor would be living here sooner or later. Even though Trevor had been there before, Jasper still showed him all the spare rooms, telling him to choose whichever one he wanted. Trevor chose the one directly across the hall from the master suite. They returned downstairs, and Jasper went to the kitchen. “Beer?” he asked as he pulled one out of the fridge.

  “Yeah, sure.” Trevor was ready to ask about the photos of Jasper and Craig, and he needed some liquid courage to hear the truth.

  “Jas, I need to know. You said the photos of you and Craig had been manipulated. I need the truth. I’m ready to hear it.”

  Jasper handed him a beer and grabbed his empty hand, leading him to the living room. The feel of this man would be his undoing. If he was ever going to avoid the mating bond, he couldn’t allow Jasper to touch him. That was easier said than done, though. The need to have contact was like needing to breathe. Trevor had a feeling if he was a Gargoyle, his claws would be out twenty-four seven. They both took a seat on the sofa, and Trevor turned toward Jasper.

  “I probably should start at the beginning, but I think this will be easier.” Jasper picked at the label on the bottle as he spoke. “I met Craig at the fire department. He transferred in from another company and immediately took an interest in me. At first, he just wanted to hang out as friends. I was okay with that, because I didn’t have many. Even in the Clan, I didn’t hang out with anyone unless we were patrolling. Unholy are more scarce on the West Coast, so my duties to the Clan weren’t very demanding.

  “Anyway, Craig and I would go out for beer and wings after work. He asked me to come over to his place one weekend, so I did. I thought we’d be watching the game and kicking back. The moment I walked in the door, he was all over me. I thought it was strange, because he never hit on me before that night. I wasn’t in the closet, but I didn’t announce my sexuality either. It felt forced instead of natural. Like he was trying too hard. He never kissed me, never said the things lovers are supposed to say to one another. We got into a routine, and our relationship evened out. I won’t bore you with the details.” Trevor was thankful for that. Hearing about Jasper having sex with another man, even though he’d seen the evidence, wasn’t something he wished for.

  “Keeping my true nature from him was pretty easy. Even during sex my shifter wasn’t clawing to be released. I was able to drive to the desert and fly fairly often. That kept my beast at bay. After we’d been together a while, I wanted to go out with him, like on a date out. Craig freaked, saying we couldn’t be seen together that way. As firemen, we’d lose our jobs. That was complete and utter bullshit, but he wouldn’t have it. We still went out for beer and pizza, but hardly ever were we alone. Not once did he even remotely act like we were anything other than friends. I had no idea he was filming us in the bedroom. Now that I’ve had time to think on it, I’m pretty sure our whole life together was a lie. The photos taken from outside my house took a lot of work on someone’s part. My house was on a hill, surrounded mostly by trees. I often thought it odd that Craig would pull back the curtains before we went to bed. Now I know why he did it. He was aiding whoever was outside.

  “Trevor, I swear to you on all that’s holy, every single one of those pictures is at least a year old. When I got the call the night I was cooking spaghetti, it was Deacon needing help with Unholy. With Dante, Nikolas, and Gregor out of the country, they were short-handed. Normally I would have walked out my back door and flown to where they were, but you were here, and I couldn’t tell you what I was. I wanted to, though. As soon as I knew you were my mate, I wanted you to know the truth of my nature. Instead of flying, I got in my car and drove to the parking lot at Kingsley. It was close to the area where I needed to patrol. After we got the Unholy under control, I was walking back to my car, and Craig was waiting on me. He and I had words, but he still grabbed me and kissed me. I pushed him down on his ass and left him there. Since you know I was there, I’m assuming someone called and filled you in?”

  “I got a text. Somehow, whoever it was had my cell number and texted me that you were with your lover.” Trevor hated knowing his privacy had been compromised. He planned on getting a new number, but if they could figure out the old number, they would figure out the new one as well.

  “And you walked up right as he was kissing me. My back was to you, and I had no idea you were there. I should have known, though. I was so furious at Craig that my attention wasn’t on my surroundings as it should have been. If you had stuck around, you’d have seen me threatening to kill him. Someone caught that on video. It was one reason it took so long for me to be taken off suspension. Even though I was on a stake-out at the time of Craig’s death, that video was pretty incriminating.

  “All I wanted to do was wash off Craig’s stench and get back home to you. All the while I was fighting Unholy, I thought about you wandering through the house, getting familiar with it. While I was driving home, I couldn’t get the taste of your lips out of my head. I wanted nothing more than to return to you so I could kiss you again. Properly. When I got there, you were gone.”

  Jasper downed the rest of his beer and stood. Trevor didn’t need Gargoyle senses to know Jasper was upset. He wanted to comfort him and tell him everything was going to be okay, but that would be a lie. Even if he gave in to the mate bond, Jasper’s past would still be out there. He could at least apologize for not hearing Jasper out. He followed him to the kitchen where Jasper was looking out the back window. It amazed him how still the Gargoyles could sit and stand. Like the stone creatures someone had created all those years ago, the real Gargoyles were just as solid. Keeping watch over their cities.

  “Jas, I’m sorry. I should have at least given you the benefit of the doubt and heard your side of the story. When I saw the two of you together, my worst fear was coming true. Your good-looking ex was back in the picture, and you had decided you would rather have someone like him than someone like me.”

  Jasper whirled on him, grabbing his upper arms. “Someone like him is a lying, back-stabbing manipulator. Someone like you is kind, caring, funny, sexy as hell, and the most beautifully handsome human I’ve met in all of my long life. Don’t you roll your eyes at me; I’m being serious.” Jasper’s grip eased, but only minutely. Trevor would probably have bruises.

  He made the mistake of glancing up at Jasper’s face, his eyes landing on his lips. Jasper let out a chest rumbling
growl right before he clamped his mouth down on Trevor’s. Trevor gasped in surprise, and Jasper took advantage of his parted lips. His warm tongue sought out Trevor’s as he slanted his head for better access. Before he realized it, Trevor was kissing him back with everything he had. He wrapped his arms around Jasper’s body, bunching his shirt in his hands. Jasper moved his hands down Trevor’s arms, snaking around to his ass. Jasper grabbed his ass and lifted him so Trevor had no choice but to wrap his legs around Jasper’s hips. He felt as if he was having an out of body experience. Never had he felt such a deep-seated need to become one with another person. Trevor knew he had to get control of what was happening before Jasper got the wrong idea, yet he didn’t have a clue how to do that.

  Chapter Eight

  Jasper was no longer in charge of his body. His beast had taken control the minute Trevor looked at his lips. He was currently enjoying the taste of his mate’s mouth, the feel of his body. Evidenced by the hard cock rocking against his own, Trevor was as turned on as Jasper. He needed to get his shifter in check. Jasper didn’t want to scare Trevor away by being too aggressive. The mate pull was a powerful force, and he wanted Trevor to want him on his own, not because the fates decided he should. He set Trevor on his feet, holding his hips so their hard-ons were no longer touching. He didn’t release Trevor’s mouth, though. He slowed the feeding frenzy down to a soft nibble. When he managed to pull back, he placed his forehead to Trevor’s, not yet able to look him in the eye.

  It took a little longer for Trevor’s breathing to return to normal. When they both had their bodies under control, Jasper apologized. “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, I can see why you wouldn’t want that to happen,” Trevor said and walked out of the room.

  “No, you misunderstood. Trevor, come here.” When his mate didn’t return to the kitchen, Jasper followed him. He was staring out the front window. Against his better judgement, Jasper pulled Trevor’s body against his. “I promised you I would go slow. I’m not sorry I kissed you but that I got a little carried away.” Jasper’s cock was still hard and aching, and he nestled it between Trevor’s cheeks. When Trevor leaned his head back against Jasper’s shoulder, he kissed his temple. “I want that to happen more than you could ever know.” He kissed behind his ear, then his cheek, down to his jaw. Trevor tilted his head, offering Jasper access to his neck. Jasper dropped his fangs and scraped them along the pale skin. Trevor shivered as the sharp canines got close to his shoulder. Jasper wrapped one hand around Trevor’s throat. Not tight, just holding enough pressure to be sensual. He would never make his mate feel dominated unless he asked for it. Even then he wasn’t sure he could.

  Jasper retracted his fangs, the temptation to bite his mate too great. Trevor moaned as Jasper continued working his neck and jaw over with his mouth and tongue. When Trevor pushed his ass back against Jasper, he nearly came in his pants. Trevor grabbed Jasper’s hand that was on his hip and pulled it to the hard-on he was sporting. Jasper massaged the hard cock through Trevor’s jeans while rocking his dick against Trevor’s ass.

  He applied more pressure, alternating between stroking Trevor’s shaft and fondling his balls. Jasper slid his tongue up Trevor’s neck, taking his earlobe between his teeth. He breathed his warm words into Trevor’s ear, “I want to taste you, Trev. I want to drop to my knees and rip your pants to your ankles so I can slide your glorious cock into my mouth. I want to suck you so hard until you shoot your load down my throat.” His words had a bigger effect than he intended. Trevor’s breathing became even more ragged. Jasper worked his dick through his pants, encouraging him to let go while Jasper rocked his cock even faster against Trevor’s ass. “That’s it Baby, come for me.”

  “Jas, aw…fuck…” he cried as he came beneath Jasper’s hand. Jasper released Trevor’s neck but continued sucking and licking his skin. Trevor let out a deep sigh. “Well, that was embarrassing.”

  Jasper turned him around so he could see his beautiful face. “Getting off is embarrassing? How so?”

  “I came in my pants like a thirteen year-old looking at porn for the first time.”

  “Is that right? I guess I should be embarrassed, too.” Jasper stepped back so Trevor could look down.

  “You…” Trevor looked up then back down.

  When he looked up again Jasper said, “That’s what you do to me. You are so godsdamn sexy, Trevor McKenzie. Part of it might have something to do with me thinking about sucking you off. I wasn’t lying when I said I want to taste you. What do you say we take a shower?”

  Trevor nodded. Jasper linked their fingers together and led his mate to his bedroom. Once Jasper turned the water on to heat up, he placed his hands under Trevor’s t-shirt and slid it over his head. His cock started swelling again at the sight of Trevor’s bare skin. With his earlier words in mind, Jasper dropped to his knees and unbuttoned the jeans covering the object of his desire. He eased the zipper down and pushed his pants down to his ankles. Jasper placed his nose at the base of Trevor’s cock and inhaled. The curls were matted with come that was beginning to dry. Jasper touched his tongue to the tip of Trevor’s cock that was coming back to life. He wrapped his hand around the base and slid his tongue through the glistening tip. Trevor was just as ready for round two as Jasper was. Jasper sucked his mate’s shaft into his mouth while he took another deep breath. The moan Trevor released added to the other senses as he became acquainted with the man he hoped to spend the rest of his long life with.

  With his free hand, Jasper released his erection from its confines, the cool air doing nothing to abate the need in his dick. He then reached around and massaged one globe of Trevor’s pert ass. He couldn’t wait for the day he got to sink his cock between those cheeks. Jasper alternated between rubbing Trevor’s ass and rolling his balls while sucking his shaft slowly. He only had a small taste of Trevor since most of his release was drying on the jeans pooled at his feet. Jasper wanted the taste on his tongue, down his throat, the scent embedded in his nostrils. He released his hand from around the base so he could get his wish sooner. Trevor’s hands that had been holding onto the vanity were now threaded through Jasper’s hair. Tight.

  Jasper pulled off and said, “Use me, Trev. Fuck my mouth.” As soon as he had Trevor’s dick on his tongue, he got what he asked for. Trevor pumped his hips, not letting up until he was coming. If Jasper had been human, he was pretty sure his scalp would have some thin places. Trevor grunted through his release, stopping only when Jasper had swallowed every last drop. Jasper looked up at his mate, cherishing the sated look on his face. His eyes were closed, and his lips were curled a little on each side. Jasper stood and placed a soft kiss on those lips. His cock was still hard and needy, but he could wait.

  Trevor opened his eyes. “Can I…” His flush skin blushed even pinker.

  “Can you what? There is nothing you can’t ask me.”

  “Will you kiss me?” he whispered.

  “You don’t have to ask permission to kiss me. Ever. Know this now; I am yours in every way you want me. If you want to kiss me, you grab my face and kiss me. You want to hold me, you wrap your arms around me. You want to fuck me? You push me down on the bed and have your way with me. You want to make love? You look at me like you are now, and I’ll happily oblige.”

  Trevor placed his hands on the side of Jasper’s head and pulled him down for a kiss. He licked Jasper’s lips before sliding his tongue inside, seeking Jasper’s heat. He let Trevor lead the kiss since he was the one searching for his taste in his lover’s mouth. They might not have had horizontal sex yet, but they were lovers in the truest sense of the word. When he pulled back, Trevor said, “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Now, let’s actually get in the shower before all the hot water’s gone.”

  They stepped in under the still hot water. Jasper popped the top on the bodywash and poured a generous amount in his hand. When he handed the bottle to Trevor, his mate said, “Do you want me to return the favor?” Jasper thought it was a
dorable that Trevor wouldn’t talk dirty to him. One day he would crack that outer shell wide open, and Trevor would feel comfortable saying whatever was on his mind.

  “I appreciate the offer, but I’m hungry. I want to bathe and get dressed so we can go to Giovani’s, if that’s okay with you.”

  “Sounds good. I could go for some Italian.”

  Jasper couldn’t believe he’d turned down head from his gorgeous mate, but he was hungry. His erection would deflate. Eventually. Jasper kept his eyes averted. If he started looking too closely at Trevor’s tattoos, he would want to get closer and study each and every one. With his tongue. He had already seen the ones on his arms, but his back as well as part of his legs were covered, too.

  When they were both dressed and in the garage, Jasper made a mental note to buy Trevor a helmet. He knew it would be a test of wills to keep his beast in check with Trevor wrapped around him riding down the road, but he wanted to feel his mate against his back as they took to the wind. Jasper didn’t have an expensive sports car like some of the other Gargoyles did. Having spent the last half century living close to the beach, Jasper opted for a two-door jeep that rarely had a top on it. Now that he lived somewhere that a top was required more often than not, he was thinking of trading.

  Thirty minutes later, they were seated in the private back room of Giovani’s. Jasper had called ahead and reserved the room so they could have privacy. It was times like this that he was thankful for Sixx. Michael “Sixx” Gentry had taken Jasper’s money and multiplied it significantly in the short amount of time Jasper had been in New Atlanta. He’d had quite a bit to start with. When you’ve lived for hundreds of years, you tended to amass great wealth if you had half a brain. Jasper was no Julian or Sixx, but he was good with money.