Drawing Out His Wolf
Charlie Richards
On the Road: In order to come home, first you must leave it.
Deke Sommers knows staying with his boyfriend is a bad idea. Michael enjoys ménages just a little too much and often tries to get Deke to share someone with him. Deke is not interested. He gives Michael permission to occasionally enjoy them on his own as long as he's safe and honest about it. Unfortunately, that's not enough for Michael, and he surprises Deke by inviting a couple of friends to his apartment to play with him.
Deke does the only thing he can … he flees. Calling up his life-long friend, Dirk, who is traveling with his vampire lover, Deke asks for help. Dirk tells him to meet him in Stone Ridge. There, Deke once again sees Luther Caldwell, a wolf shifter he met over lunch in Las Vegas months ago and hasn't been able to get out of his mind since. Except, Luther is straight, or in the closet, isn't he?
When Luther is neither shy nor reticent upon their meeting, claiming they are mates, can Deke trust another dominant male?
Wolves of Stone Ridge: Book Twenty-Five
Chapter One
Pain erupted through Deke Sommers' temple. He stumbled sideways, his hip slamming into the end table. Crying out, Deke attempted to angle around the table and away from the hands reaching for him.
"Get away!"
Deke slapped ineffectively at the men reaching for him with one hand while clutching the towel around his waist with the other. A heavy hand gripped his upper arm, stopping him from further retreat. Deke twisted, but he couldn't pull free. Pressure from the hold sent pain ripping through his shoulder and arm.
"Let go!" Deke howled. "Leave me alone!"
"Deke! Hey, easy! You're okay."
The sound of someone's soothing words filtered into Deke's mind, and suddenly everything seemed a bit fuzzy. He twisted away from the hands holding him, again. Then, he froze, realizing they weren't trying to hold him down. Instead, they petted his arms and back.
Deke pried his eyes open, uncertain when he'd closed them. Instead of seeing a brightly lit apartment foyer, he found himself in a dimly lit bedroom. Deke squeaked, fear riding him. When had they managed to drag him to a bedroom?
Then, light flooded the room, making Deke squint.
"Easy, Deke," a soft, melodious voice urged. "You're okay. You're safe."
Peering around the space, Deke's chest heaved as he tried to calm his racing heart and get enough air into his lungs. He lay in bed. The sheets twisted around his body felt damp and cold against his sweaty skin. Looking at the man who sat on the bed near his hip, who gently petted his shoulder, Deke flushed, this time from embarrassment.
Deke's best friend, Dirk Lemans, rested his hand on his shoulder. His expression held concern as the skinny redhead gently rubbed Deke's chilled flesh. Sebastian Russo, Dirk's vampire lover, stood behind Dirk.
"Shit," Deke hissed, groaning. "Did I wake everyone?"
While Dirk grimaced, Sebastian offered him an understanding smile. "You're staying in a house full of paranormals with super-sensitive hearing. I'm going with yes."
Groaning, Deke pushed to a sitting position and rubbed his hands over his face. Paranormals … right. A couple of years before, Dirk had gone on vacation and ended up kidnapped by dingo shifters. He'd escaped and fled home to Sacramento. It'd taken Deke weeks to get his friend to open up and share the story-or most of it-with him. That had been their first introduction to the paranormal world.
Fortunately for Dirk, it hadn't been the last.
A couple of months ago, Dirk had gone to a convention in Las Vegas. Sebastian had approached him on the plane, then hit on him at the convention. Dirk had freaked out when he thought Sebastian was a shape shifter and contacted Deke in a panic.
When Deke had arrived, he'd found Dirk had kissed and made up with Sebastian. Then, his friend's new lover had sat them down and explained the paranormal world to them. Deke had found himself introduced to a number of vampires and shifters that day.
The image of a blond haired, broad-shouldered male pushed into his mind. Luther Caldwell. Blond, bronzed, sexy, built big and broad with compelling blue eyes that Deke would love to get lost in. Luther had also been quick to point out that he had a daughter.
Oh, well. He's still great masturbation fodder.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Deke turned to look at Dirk, remembering where he was and why. Too bad. It was much nicer thinking of the sexy but straight wolf shifter rather than his current predicament.
Not that I need to worry about shit like that right now, Deke mentally chided himself.
"No," Deke grumbled. "I don't want to talk about it." He would have lied and said he didn't remember, but he'd tried that once … and Sebastian had caught him. Evidently, paranormals could scent a lie. Damn inconvenient. "It's the same shit anyway," he muttered.
After getting an ass-reaming-and not the kind he enjoyed-from Sebastian, Deke had shared why he'd left California in the middle of the day in a bath towel. He sure didn't want to think about that now, either.
"You want a cup of tea?" Dirk offered.
Deke nodded, glancing toward the window. He spotted the pale rays of the sun just beginning to lighten the sky. "That'd be nice," he conceded. Returning his focus to his friend, he forced a tight smile. "Shower first, though."
Sebastian nodded where he stood behind Dirk. "I'll get it started for you."
Before Deke could state that he could start his own damn shower, Sebastian patted his lover on the shoulder, then turned and left. Dirk squeezed Deke's shoulder, then let go and rocked to his feet. "Herbal or black?"
Deke shoved his blankets off and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Resting for a few minutes, his muscles still trembling from the nightmare, he rubbed his face. "Mmm, Earl Grey if you have it," he mumbled between his fingers.
"I do. See you in the kitchen."
Deke nodded absently, but didn't bother watching his friend go. Instead, when he heard the water start in the bedroom's attached bathroom, he turned his head and watched Sebastian stride from the room.
"Wait a couple of minutes for the steam to build," the vampire advised softly. "The heat will help clear the pressure in your head."
His brows lifting, Deke muttered, "You don't get sick, so how would you know?"
Sebastian winked. "I've had my share of hangovers," he quipped before exiting the room, closing the door softly behind him.
Deke nodded absently, unable to help but watch the man's ass until the door blocked his view. Damn fine sight in those sleep pants. Rubbing his face again, Deke mentally rolled his eyes at himself. While he knew Dirk wouldn't begrudge him a look, no way would he ever try to poach his best friend's man … even if he didn't know that bonded vampires never strayed from their beloveds.
"Too bad I don't have one of my own," Deke muttered, finally rising from the mattress. Shoving his sleep pants down and kicking them off, he grumbled, "As if I want to get involved with another overbearing, controlling alpha male."
Deke shuffled across the room. Pinching his bottom lip with his top teeth, he used the bite of pain to keep focused and moving. His head hurt, the edges of his vision hazed with black spots, and his muscles ached as if he'd run a marathon.
When he opened the door a wall of steam hit him. Breathing deeply, he took in the hot, moist air, immediately feeling the effects on his headache. It was like breathing in the steam from a massive cup of tea. Hell, the steam even seemed to be scented. Deke glanced around and spotted the small bowl of heated rocks on the shelf.
Lavender.
That explained the smell.
Sighing, Deke made his way to the shower and stepped inside the large stall. He turned down the temperature just a smidge. No sense in burning his nearly hairless skin off his hide. Deke settled on the built-in seat and tilted his head back, leaning against the wall.
The pulsing spray pounded at just the right angle to hit his lap, legs, and lower chest. Enjoying the massage-like feeling, he spread his legs and moaned as the water cascaded gently over his cock and balls. His head lolling against the wall, he hummed at the pleasure trickling through him, replacing the stress, and cleaning away the sweat.
Smiling, Deke peered through half-lidded eyes at the ceiling as he took thorough advantage of the shower's benefits. Without much interest, he took in the tile work lining the walls. Someone had done an intricate job of alternating white, brown, and tan squares in no pattern Deke could discern.
So pretty.
Deke finally felt the chills that had permeated his bones ease to be replaced by the warmth of the steam. Tension that he hadn't been aware taxed his muscles, eased from him. He felt boneless, relaxed, almost … peaceful.