Page 39 of From the Shadows
Then there were the three times he’d woken Shay up by sucking on his cock until it got hard, then flipped Shay over and took him again. These weren’t as pounding or driving, but they were still incredible. The most surprising thing came when Diego woke him up at five.
“Shay….”
“Not again,” he whined. “I’m tired, my ass is sore, and I have to start breakfast soon.”
“No, you need to see this. Please. I’m serious.”
And Shay could tell from his tone it was. He sat up and flicked on the light, then turned to find Diego staring at his arm.
“What’s wrong?”
“The vein. It’s gone.”
“What?” Shay grabbed his hand, then pulled it up. He couldn’t see a trace of the vein. “Are you sure you’re not hiding it again?”
He shook his head. “This isn’t right. At all. I haven’t been able to completely get rid of that damn thing since not long after I was turned. Even when I slept for weeks, a faint trace of it was still there, serving as a reminder I wasn’t whole and never would be. Now, it’s totally gone. I know I should be overjoyed, but there’s that whole gift horse thing going on.”
They discussed it with no resolution until Shay had to get up. He did, however, extract a promise that Diego would go to see Dr. Oliver. That didn’t go over so well, but he did say he would, so Shay was happy.
A quick shower, a lingering kiss, and Diego’s hands sliding down to his ass and pulling him in and licking his shoulder before he put Shay on his feet again. He had to remind himself that he had people who’d want food soon, or he’d probably end up facedown on the bed once more. Not that it would be a hardship of any kind.
After he finally made it to the kitchen, he pulled out the food he’d need to feed the troops and was starting on the fruit cups. Then she showed up.
“Since you’re fascinated by the paranormal world, let me tell you a fun fact. Did you know that a wendigo’s sense of smell is, like, eight to ten times stronger than a werewolf? The hairy asses like to think they’re the best trackers of the supernatural world, but they’re wrong.”
And now Shay was thinking about putting a wendigo into his next story. A man, alone on a mountain, is attacked by an animal and found by a wendigo, who nurses him back to health and proceeds to?—
“Shay? Where’d your mind go?”
And that story idea was gone now. Hopefully he’d get it back later. “And you’re telling me this, why?”
Ranna smirked. “Another interesting fact: no matter how much soap you use, I can smell the cum that’s still inside your body. Now, I can only assume it’s not yours. I mean, unless you’re insanely gifted, so that leaves me to wonder who you’ve been messing around with.”She took a deep sniff. “I don’t smell anyone out of the ordinary that has been in the house, so that means it was one of our people.” She snickered. “Why, Shay. You naughty boy. Who’ve you been getting into it with?”
Shay’s nerves were jangled. He hadn’t thought about someone knowing he’d been with Diego. Not that he cared, but he worried Diego might.
“I don’t think it’s any of your?—”
“It was Diego, wasn’t it?” she blurted out.
“What?”
“He walked by me in the hall a bit ago, and he smiled at me. Diego hardly ever smiles.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong there. “Again, I don’t think it’s any of your?—”
Suddenly she was gripping his hand. “Shay, please. If you want, I’ll beg, but keep this Diego. I mean, I love the man to death, but he’s way too broody. Even with Jeremy, he’s always so… tight-lipped. About the only humor I ever hear from him is when he calls Jeremy ‘Jerm.’ It’s his weird little teasing, but Jeremy likes hearing it and he loves Diego, but he also loves you. It would be great if you could….” She stopped, her eyes wide. “I am so sorry,” she muttered, turning to leave.
Shay grabbed her shoulder. “About what?”
She turned back to him. “We all love Diego, and we want to see him happy for once. In all the years he’s been leading the team, he never seemed to… I don’t know. Fit? And I let my desire to see him smile more get the better of me. It’s not my business if the two of you are off doing a little knob-polishing. Keep in mind, though. We want—need—you both here, so you don’t get to break up or stop talking or whatever. Got me?”
“I’m neither going to confirm or deny it’s Diego, but yes, I got you.” He hugged her then, and when he let go, she looked so surprised.
“Between us, it’s Diego, right?” she asked, almost desperately.
Shay nodded, and Ranna—big, bold, brassy she-hulk that she was—squealed. “I knew it!” She grabbed him and pulled him to her. “Please, make him happy. He hasn’t had nearly enough of that in his long life.”
And now it was time to put to question what had been bugging Shay. “What if this is all just fun for him?”
