Ethan came into view, and the stupid bastard was barely panting. He had a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, though his dark brown hair was still completely dry. The little bit of gel that spiked the short strands even held. Ethan didn't look like he'd been taken for much of a run at all.
"How did you even manage to throw this at me? I didn't even see you carrying it!" Jamie snapped, and he immediately started to struggle, searching for a way out of the damned net. He thought it would be easy, but with the weights on it, it was hard. He was stuck.
Ethan didn't answer him, instead he walked right up to where Jamie was lying.
Ethan was six feet and two inches of solid muscle. He had wide shoulders and a lean waist, with the kind abs that Jamie envied and loved touching, but could never get for himself. The man was gorgeous, and though he wasn't bulky, he was definitely strong, and he could really hurt Jamie if he wanted to.
The gun in Ethan's hand, which was pointed right at Jamie, was enough to make him want to be compliant. "Okay, whoa, you don't need to do that. I'm not going to try anything."
Ethan reached behind him, grabbed onto something metal that had been clipped to his belt, and then tossed them at Jamie.
They landed on the net, and Jamie was able to grab onto them and see what they were. His stomach dropped out of him. He wanted to be sick.
Shackles with spells engraved on them that would suppress Jamie's powers. He looked up at Ethan, searching for any shred of empathy, any small amount of something that meant the man cared enough about him not to destroy his life like this.
"Come on, please, don't do this, I never hurt anyone."
"Several city blocks lost power because of you," Ethan said, still pointing his weapon. "That's not the behavior of someone who's innocent. You also attacked me when I chased you."
Jamie couldn't tell if it was a real gun, or something that would just shoot a dart with a drug in it. Didn't matter, he was scared shitless.
"So I have to be picked up for that?" Jamie asked.
"Yes...I'm sorry."
"Sorry? Ethan, come on, please, you know me. That thing with the power back in the city...I was just stressed out because one of my friends is missing. I'm not dangerous. I don't hurt people. I don't do that. You know me," he said again, hoping it would resonate.
"I don't know you," Ethan said, but the man closed his eyes briefly, as if he didn't want to be reminded of what they'd done.
"You know me well enough to know I'm not a killer! Christ, we slept in the same bed! Twice!"
"Put the shackles on, right now," Ethan said, and his tone brooked no argument. His face softened just a little, but his eyes remained cold and heartless. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."
The problem was that Jamie knew if he put the shackles on he would totally helpless. There would he no chance to escape. He would be done. Game over. No more continues. That was it.
And Ethan was the one who was doing this to him. Ethan.
Clearly, he and Ethan didn't know each other, because this cold man who stared down at him with unfeeling eyes was not the same man Jamie had laughed with over drinks or danced with back at the club.
He had to get out of here. If Ethan had his way, then Jamie was going to go into a box before he was shipped off to a lab.
Jamie had almost no energy left inside of him, but he wasn't going to just play dead either. He was not about to put these goddamned shackles on his wrists. He was going to do something, and it was worth the risk of whatever was inside of that gun.
He powered up and fired off a shot, so fast that he was positive he caught Ethan before he could fire.
Ethan's entire body went tight, as if he was in the throes of a bad cramp. His eyes widened with pain, and then he fell over, right beside Jamie.
At first Jamie could hardly believe it, and then he laughed as he stared down into Ethan's unconscious face. "That's what you get," he said, but then realized how thick and heavy his tongue felt inside of his mouth.
Jamie tried to move, tried to get the damned net off of him, but even his fingers fumbled and felt numb. He could hardly move an inch of his body, and all he wanted to do was sleep.
Jamie looked down at the tiny dart that was sticking out of his chest, right above his heart, and he wanted to laugh again, but he was already going under.
For some stupid reason, the first thing Jamie started to dream about, in the hazy way that people dreamed when they were still half awake, was the early morning after his and Ethan's second night together. It was before everything went to shit, when Jamie still got butterflies in his stomach when Ethan had kissed him. That's what he was softly doing in dawn's light, right before Ethan escorted him to his car, and then gave him his phone number with the request that he call as often as he liked.
Jamie's eyes slid completely shut, despite his best efforts to stay awake, and all he could think about was what would happen to him if Ethan woke up first.
# # #
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About Mandy Rosko
Mandy Rosko lives as a hermit with her scared of everything dog, and she works in Ottawa, Ontario. Every once in a while she peels herself away from writing and Internet surfing to socialize with real people. She loves videogames, Sailor Moon, and her dog.
Other Paranormal Romances by Mandy Rosko
Things in the Night Series
The Vampire's Curse Book 1
The Legend of the Werewolf Book 2
The Dragon and the Wolf M/M Novella
The Shepard's Agony Book 3
Others
The Princess' Dragon Lord
Just One Touch
My Angel Lover, Have Mercy on Me M/M
Mate of the Wolf
Night and Day Book M/M Book 1
The Calm Before the Storm M/M Book 2
All Hell Breaking Loose M/M Book 3
Medieval Romances by Rizzo Rosko
Lady Thief Book 1
Lady Deception Book 2
Excerpts from Mandy Rosko Books
If you would like to read more by Mandy Rosko, she recommends The Princess' Dragon Lord. Here is a short excerpt:
The Princess' Dragon Lord
Mandy Rosko
A dragon's desire will burn for a thousand years...
Timid Diana Winters doesn't get much excitement, until she goes for a hike in the woods and is attacked by the trees.
Like out of a fairytale nightmare they uproot themselves and go on the offensive, and she is chased through the forest before tumbling down a waterfall, only to wake up in the bed of the most gorgeous man she's ever seen, who claims to be a dragon lord, and her husband who killed her a thousand years ago on their wedding day!
Lord Azoth Dracamire vows to never have meant her any harm. Someone put a potion in his goblet on the day of their marriage, and he has paid for it every day since for a thousand years.
Although Diana struggles with the physical pull she feels towards him and Azoth's obvious lust for her, one thing is certain: someone sent those monsters after her in the forest, and they still want her dead. Now she must decide if her new and conflicting emotions towards her husband, a man she doesn't know, are worth risking her life.
Excerpt
Diana awoke to the lingering, warm tingle that came from being kissed. A lot. Her lips and tongue were being caressed, the smooth glide of another tongue inside of her mouth, lovingly licking her deep, made her arch forward for more. Her breasts were being squeezed, her body caressed. The scent of arousal was in the air, thick and musky, which drove her body wild. Hotter and hotter until she could hardly stand it.
Her heart pounded like it was in a race, and her legs and arms, her whole body, trembled from the warm release of pleasure that usually came after making love. It rushed through her and bloomed in a release that made her shudder and moan.
She sank back into her pillows and sighed, catching her breath with a smile on her swollen lips. That had been the most intense sex dream she'd ever had. That had been the most intense orgasm she'd ever had. Too bad she didn't get a lot of either.
Diana released another breathy, satisfied, exhale, and then opened her eyes to look around. Her buzz left her as she took in her surroundings, and the fact that she was on a bed that wasn't hers. It didn't look like something the park had for first-aid either.
She sat up again, ignoring the twitch in her still sensitive sex as her survival instincts kicked in. Uh, where was she?
There was a roughly carved red stone wall all around her. There was no light bulb or fire anywhere that she could see, but the cave that she was in, if it could be called a cave, was as bright and dry and warm as her own living room. Minus all the rock, of course. The domed ceiling stretched high above her. Like, several stories high above her, and it didn't seem to be connected with any of the four stone walls around her.