With Caution: With or Without, Book 2 (30 page)

Jake set the sponge back on the ledge and knelt. His hands went to his mate’s ass. “Let go of the nozzle and put your hands flat against the wall.” Once Remi complied, Jake snaked his tongue through Remi’s crease and probed his hole.
Mmm… Rich, tangy, completely Remi.
His eyes blurred and his fangs pushed through his gums.

Remi moaned and mashed himself back onto Jake’s face.

Continuing the exploration, Jake didn’t let up. He laved, circled and even stabbed his tongue at Remi’s hole. His cock jerked at the long, drawn-out mewling sounds Remi made. If that wasn’t the sweetest…

Remi pressed back and his breath sped up slightly. “Oh God yes, please…”

Tracing the tight pucker with his tongue, Jake slipped his hands down and rubbed his thumbs against Remi’s balls. They were close to his body, testifying to his arousal as loudly as his scent and sounds.

Cupping his hand around them, Jake pulled them closer and licked his way down to the taut sacks before lightly sucking on them.

“Please…I need you to fuck me.” Remi’s legs shook.

Jake could no longer bear it. He wasn’t just torturing Remi, he was torturing himself as well. He was dying to be buried in his mate’s body. Snagging the shower gel off the ledge, he coated his cock with it and dripped some down Remi’s crease. He pushed one finger into Remi’s ass then another.

Remi whined and pushed back, impaling himself further as Jake replaced the bottle on the shelf.

Extracting his fingers, Jake lined up his cock and thrust. He clutched Remi’s hips and sank all the way into Remi’s greedy body with a hiss.

Nodding, Remi whined and arched his back. “Please…”

Jake growled, feeling his mate’s need as keenly as his own. He slipped one hand around Remi’s chest and clutched Remi’s hip with the other as he shoved in. He fucked Remi hard and fast. The wet slap of skin grew louder than the water hitting the shower floor. The steam made it harder to breathe, or was that exertion? Jake hammered into his mate and Remi was with him the whole way, pushing himself back on Jake’s cock. It was the best proof he was okay that Jake could ask for. He was never going to let Remi go.

“Mine.” Jake was so close, his balls tight, he had to make sure Remi was with him. Sliding a hand down Remi’s chest, he gripped Remi’s cock and pumped a few times.

“Yours.” Panting, Remi nodded. “Bite me. Please bite me.” His voice was hoarse, strained, as he continued to writhe.

Just the thought of Remi’s blood flowing over his tongue catapulted Jake over the edge into orgasm. He thrust forward one last time before his body tensed and tingled. A shiver raced up his spine, taking his breath. Not even bothering to move Remi’s hair, he bit into the top of Remi’s shoulder.

Remi’s cock jerked then he arched forward. His ass gripped Jake’s prick and he moaned as the musky aroma of spunk pierced the air.

Jake wasn’t entirely sure how it happened but they both ended up slumped against a shower wall staring dazedly at one another.

Blood trickled down Remi’s chest. Even as exhausted and sated as he was, Jake had the urge to lick it off. God, Remi was handsome with his hair plastered to his face, sprawled in the shower and… He was sound asleep.

I love you, pup.
Grinning, Jake got up and turned off the water. He was pretty damn exhausted too. Remi and Sterling had taken years off his life tonight. But at least now the hard part was over. Dirk would soon be out of the picture, and Remi and Sterling were safe.

Remi woke when Jake opened the shower door. Blinking heavy-lidded eyes up at Jake, he smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Jake helped Remi up and dried him off before allowing him to stumble into the bedroom.

When he got to the bedroom, Jake found his mate sprawled out on the bed. Gathering Remi to his chest, he covered them both up. He loved how Remi fit in his arms.

Jake was nearly asleep when Remi raised his head off Jake’s chest. Jake cracked open one eye to see what his mate was up to.

Inhaling deeply, Remi turned his head. “Jake?” Remi whispered. “Do you smell that?”

Jake sniffed. He did smell an unusual scent. Unusual for his house anyway.

“It smells like alcohol.” Remi’s nose wrinkled and his brow creased.

It
did
smell like whiskey. But now there was something else…something stronger. Smoke.

Chapter Twenty-One

Jake was right, there
was
smoke. Remi hadn’t first smelled it. Where was it coming from? He hurried into his pants, not bothering with a shirt, as Jake hopped and skipped toward the door while putting on his jeans. “Don’t open the door without feeling.” Racing to the bedroom door, Remi felt it for heat. There wasn’t any. Touching the doorknob to check it first, he opened the door.

Jake stepped beside him into the hall, inhaling through his nose. “The backyard.” Hurrying toward the back door, he reached for the knob, but Remi got there first and knocked his hand away.

“Check it.”

“It’s outside.”

“Fires happen outside too. How do you know you aren’t opening the door and walking into flames? Besides, it’s a fire-rated door. It will help keep it from spreading if it’s closed.” Remi touched the surface and didn’t feel anything so he opened it.

Heat fanned his face immediately. The glow of flames came from beside the door. The back deck had not yet become an uncontrollable blaze. How had it started? “Get me the fire extinguisher.”

“Let go of me, you son of a bitch.” A hoarse yell came from the back fence line followed by a canine yelp.

Jake brushed past Remi and ran out the door.

What the—?
People were fighting. No, not people. Dirk was trying to fight off a couple of wolves.
Fuck.
Remi frowned but didn’t have time to think about it right now. He had to get this fire under control before it grew too big. Where in the hell was the fire extinguisher?
Garage.
He’d seen one on the wall next to the big toolbox.

Running to the garage, he located the extinguisher and yanked it off the wall. He pulled the pin out and had it ready to use by the time he got outside. Luckily, since most of Jake’s house was stucco but for some wood railing and the back deck, the fire hadn’t gone any further and Remi was able to get it out without much difficulty.

Confident that the fire was out, he ditched the extinguisher and turned his attention to the yelling and cursing going on in the backyard.

“Call these fucking dogs off and get that little bastard out here,” Dirk yelled at Jake and charged him.

The wolves let out a deep, rumbling growl and bared their teeth.

Jake sidestepped and faced Dirk as he rushed by. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The wolves hurried to flank Jake, still snarling, then two more came over the fence and joined them. What were they doing here?

Remi ran into the foray with his adrenaline already high from the small fire. He guessed he had his answer as to how the fire started. Jake had been right in sending Sterling with Rhys. At the moment all he wanted was a little revenge for his brother. “What the fuck do you want?”

Dirk turned on him, his face red and twisted. He looked like hell. His clothes were all over the place, his white, blood-splattered shirt half tucked in, half not. His long hair was tangled, sticking up in all directions, and had leaves clinging to it. “You little fucker, this is your fault. All of it.”

Expecting Dirk to lunge, Remi braced himself. But Dirk didn’t move forward. He stood there, a blank look on his face. “You killed her just like you killed that fucking faggot.”

What? Killed her? Who?
Dirk had finally gone completely mad
.
He was blaming Remi for Billy’s death? The odd realization zapped the energy right out of him.

Jake rushed to Remi’s side, as did their other four pack members, but Remi remained focused on Dirk.

He appeared every inch the madman. Remi almost pitied him…almost. Then it occurred to him what else Dirk had said.
Her. Oh God, no.
It felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to his stomach. “What did you do to my mother?”

“If it weren’t for you, none of it would’ve happened.” Tears streamed down Dirk’s face and spit flew from his mouth. “She would have been happy if you’d never been born. She blamed me for running you off. I tried to help you. I tried so hard to make you do right. It worked for awhile, then you got caught up with this”—he raised his hand, indicating Jake—“loser.” Dirk shook his head and the volume of his voice lowered. “You made me do it. You made me kill that little fag. Just like it’s your fault Sterling got what was coming to him. He upset your mother, telling her he wanted to live with you. Then she started talking about leaving and how she’d lost you boys. Like the two of you meant more to her than me.”

“What are you talking about?” Remi’s stomach sank. It felt like he’d swallowed rocks and they’d gotten caught on the way down. What had Dirk done? “Where is she?”

Dirk reached under his un-tucked shirt. “Gone. You killed her.”

Tears stung Remi’s eyes. No, she couldn’t be. Not now, when they were so close to freedom. She’d survived too many beatings to be dead.

Jake stepped in front of Remi, knocking him down, then a blur of black fur jumped at Jake.

A loud pop sounded.

Jake roared and leapt forward over a black lump.

Remi blinked, trying to focus. A wolf lay on the ground. The smell of blood slammed into him. Crawling forward, he grabbed his pack member.

Another wolf had Dirk’s hand in his mouth, and was growling and shaking. Something fell and Dirk ran. Jake took off after him. As did three of the four wolves.

A gun, Dirk’s service revolver, lay in the grass several feet above them. No. Remi glanced down at the wolf in his lap. Zack. It was Zack. He didn’t know how he knew, but he did…he could feel it.

Tracing his hands over Zack’s fur, Remi found the blood right dead center of the chest where the heart was. “Hang on, Zack.” He put his hand over the fur and willed it to heal. He’d helped Rhys and Eddie. He’d made Keaton’s cut close. He could do this.

Zack’s heart was still pumping, Remi could feel its beat. The rhythm grew slow and the blood felt as though it was gushing out, but there was still a heartbeat. Zack’s chest rose and stuttered back down several times. More and more time passed between each breath. Blood continued to soak Remi’s hands.

Remi pushed harder. Wolves could heal anything, couldn’t they? Why wasn’t the bleeding slowing? Remi’s eyes blurred. Tears streamed down his cheeks, but he brushed them away with the back of his hand. He was aware of the other wolf, and that the yelling had stopped, but he kept his hands on Zack. Closing his eyes, he pictured Zack well.
Heal, damn it.
It had to work.
Please be better.
The inconsistent thud against Remi’s hand stopped and Zack exhaled.

No.
Remi moved his hands, bringing them up to look at them. They were covered in blood. It dripped down his forearms into the grass with the rest of Zack’s blood.
This couldn’t be happening.
Shaking his head, Remi wiped at his eyes again with the back of his wrist. Zack couldn’t be dead. He’d saved Jake. He couldn’t— Remi shivered, freezing all of a sudden in spite of the fact he was sweating. A sense of emptiness overwhelmed him and took his breath away.
Zack is gone.
Remi could feel it. A connection had been severed. Not only was Zack a friend, but Remi’s body seemed to know he was also pack. He could feel where all the men were, at least his mate and their immediate pack. It was strange and he hadn’t been aware of it until now, but he had a bond with the six men who made up their core pack. It wasn’t like he was psychic or anything, but he was always aware of their presence…their feelings.

The wolf that stayed in the yard with Remi and Zack shifted. Remi didn’t know him.

“Remi?” The muscular, dark-haired man tugged him away. “We have to take Zack away. The police will be here soon.”

“He’s gone. I couldn’t help him, I tried but—” He shook his head. Zack was dead, his mom was dead. Dirk was— Remi tried pulling away from the stranger, even though his senses told him the man was pack.

The other wolf who’d been there from the beginning, Nick—how could he have ever thought all wolves looked alike?—was standing over Zack. He lifted his head skyward and let out a mournful howl. Somewhere in the distance another wolf howled back, then another and another.

Jake came through the back gate followed by the wolves he’d left with. “We lost him.”

Remi looked at the unknown pack member lifting Zack into his arms. He had tears in his eyes. Remi started forward and two strong hands pulled him back.

“It’s okay. Bambi is Zack’s brother.” Jake wrapped one arm around Remi’s chest and addressed the others. “Shift and get dressed. Did someone call the police?”

Bambi?
Remi stood there feeling numb all over and stared at Zack’s lifeless body.

Gadget nodded, watching Bambi carry Zack out of the yard. “The police are on their way. So are Rhys and Sterling.” He followed Zack’s brother.

* * *