Encounters with Evil Pt. 09

"Want you, need you, love you Guy," Mel responded.

"Sal. My real name is Salvatore."

Before Mel had time to process that, Guy pushed into him, taking him slowly all the way to the hilt.

Mel's head fell back and a whimper tore from his mouth. He wrapped his feet around Guy's hips and thrust forward.

With a guttural groan Guy started up a slow, torturous rhythm. His large hands held him in place and he nuzzled along Mel's throat. "You're so fucking sexy," he growled into his ear.

Mel was immediately consumed. Guy's cock head found his prostate on every stroke and he spun into ecstasy, a cacophony of pleasure sounds coming from his throat. Soon his legs began to shake and he felt a tingle start in his balls.

"Not yet," Guy said, squeezing the base of his cock firmly.

Mel let out a pitiable sound as his orgasm eased off under the pressure of Guy's firm fingers.

"Slow and easy, Angel," Guy murmured as his hips continued their steady torture, and he held Mel still under his strong hands. If Mel hadn't been able to feel Guy's emotions, he would have thought Guy was in complete control. But he could feel what Guy felt. He knew his lover was just a hair-trigger behind him.

He squeezed his muscles together tightly on Guy's instroke, and Guy let loose with a howl. Mel felt his lover's control snap like a dry twig. Guy began to pound into him at a frantic pace. "Mine," he growled. "You're mine!"

Mel's answering cries were high-pitched and raw. Yes, yours! As he felt Guy's orgasm unleash itself, his cock began to spray like an errant fire hose, squirting hot, white jism all over the dark curls on Guy's chest. He felt Guy's cock pumping torrents of the same into his hungry channel, and the intensity of Guy's orgasm intertwined with his own, sweeping him away to paradise. When awareness returned the first thing he felt was the heat of Guy's seed seeping into him. It seemed as if he could feel his body absorbing the goodness of Guy's sperm.

Guy suddenly stiffened, pulling away from him and standing up straight. He felt alarm wash over Guy.

"What is it?" he asked.

Guy didn't answer immediately. He was busy pulling his cock out of Mel's hole and yanking his sweats up. Then he scooped Mel up into his arms and whisked him, at a world-blurring pace, into the bathroom.

As guy dumped him onto the bathroom floor, he said, "We have company." Then he slammed the door shut. Chapter Twenty-Four

Ed could smell the heavy scent of sex long before the elevator doors swished open. When they did she was hit with a tidal wave of masculine pheromones and semen.

Guy stood in the front hall, facing the elevator, his stance relaxed and alert. He was wearing nothing but a pair of black sweat pants, hanging low on his hips. His body was covered with a light sheen of sweat. He had a kitchen towel draped over his injured shoulder. The towel was liberally covered with fresh spunk that he must have just wiped off his chest.

She detected Mel in the bathroom, his heart rate elevated, but otherwise he was quiet and calm. Sated, her mind supplied.

Guy was calmer too than she'd seen him since—well, maybe ever. In spite of having been interrupted during their coupling, or immediately thereafter, he was serene.

She let Consuela and Jon precede her off the elevator. Jon was trying to play it cool, but she could tell he was impressed by the modern opulence of Guy's residence. His head swiveled this way and that, taking everything in.

She wrinkled her nose as she stepped off the elevator. "My God, Salt! I see you've finally claimed your mate—many times over, it seems."

Consuela's thin lips curled into a satisfied smirk as she disappeared into the kitchen.

"The doctor vastly exaggerated your sorry state," Ed continued. "He said you could barely make it to the bathroom on your own and that you weren't getting any better."

Guy folded his herculean arms over his chest. "I've experienced a miraculous recovery," he said dryly, obviously irritated by the interruption. "You could have let me know you were coming rather than just suddenly dropping in."

"Well, if you ever answered your phone or checked your messages, we wouldn't have surprised you. How did we surprise you, anyway?" Ed knew her own vampire-enhanced senses would have allowed her to hear if not smell a party of three coming long before they arrived.

"I was ... occupied," Guy said gruffly. "And my phone is dead. I didn't bother to plug it in because I really didn't want to be bothered by anyone. So here you all are—bothering me."

"Get over it," Ed said, fixing Guy with a steely-eyed glare. "We came by to check on you because we care about you, believe it or not." She knew her tone held no hint of caring or warmth. Even though her words were true, she didn't want Guy to realize the extent of her affection. He might start taking advantage of it.

"I'm fine. Good. Great, in fact," Guy said. "Now that you've seen me, you can be on your way again."

Jon gaped at Guy. Ed wasn't sure if he was shocked by his rudeness or by the tone of voice he was taking with her. She knew Guy wasn't serious. They teased each other like this quite often, but sometimes Guy needed to be reminded who buttered his bread.

"Doctor Abernathy is on his way. He should be here shortly to confirm your assertion. Meanwhile, we'll chat." She smiled at him thinly, daring him to disagree as she pushed past him into the living room. She took a seat on one of the large leather chairs, crossed her shapely legs, and looked back at Guy expectantly.

He harrumphed as he followed her into the room.

Jon trailed along behind and Ed noted that his attention was focused on Guy. His pupils were dilated and his heart rate was elevated. His gaze slid down Guy's perfectly sculpted back to where his muscular ass filled out his sweats. He licked his lips and then glanced up at Ed guiltily.

"Where's Tigger?" he asked.

Ed's enhanced hearing picked up the sound of the bathroom door cracking open.

"In here, Jon," Mel hissed.

Jon retreated into the hallway and Mel's whispered voice said, "Can you bring me my suitcase, please? It's right over there."

Jon laughed. "Well, look at you, naked-boy. I can guess what you've been up to. Actually your whole house smells like a brothel. I don't think you're keeping any secrets from anyone. How is he?"

There was a slight pause. Ed imagined the tiny blond blushing while he figured out what to say. "Amazing, of course. Now bring me my clothes, please."

Guy had obviously heard the whispered conversation as well. He had a satisfied smirk on his face, but there was also a hint of tension in his stance, and she could tell his attention was attuned to Mel and Jon. His mate is naked and talking to another man, she realized. She looked at Guy closely. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were narrowed. He was clearly trying to keep a tight rein on himself.

Jon was no threat to Mel. She knew that Guy understood that, but how much control he had over his vampire instincts, she wasn't sure.

They heard the suitcase roll across the floor and the bathroom door swing wider.

"So, you're not a virgin anymore?" Jon asked.

Guy took a step in the direction of the front hall, obviously warring with himself.

"Yeah ... not." Ed could hear the smile in Mel's voice.

Luckily the suitcase changed hands quickly. As soon as they heard the door snick shut and Jon's footsteps coming toward them, Guy relaxed and turned his attention back to her.

"I'm going to go put a shirt on. I'll join you shortly."

Guy returned a few minutes later, still in sweats and bare feet, but he had slipped on a clean T-shirt and his eyepatch and run his fingers through the tangled curls on top of his head. Jon stood at the sliding door, taking in the view of the lake and bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. Just as Guy perched on the edge of the couch, Mel came in, looking flushed and happy. He went immediately to Guy and snuggled in next to him.

The big man relaxed back against the cushions, pulling Mel closer and wrapping his arm possessively around the younger man's shoulder. They exchanged a smile that was gaggingly sweet to Ed's mind. A sharp pang of longing sliced through her. What the fuck? I'm getting soft in my old age. I don't need a damn mate.

She focused her attention back on the couple on the couch, who was ignoring her completely at this point. "I read over your report of the Valjevo Encounter, Guy. It's a bit thin."

Guy met her eye, no emotion showing on his face. In contrast, Mel looked decidedly hurt.

"I wasn't really feeling up to revisiting that whole fiasco," Guy said. "And I'm not used to dictating my report. I prefer to type, but of course, that was not an option."

Ed eyed his injured arm which was still around Mel's shoulders, his fingers lightly caressing the smaller man's arm.

"Looks like you've got function back in your fingers. I'll send you a copy of the report. I expect you to fill in the missing details and have it back to me by tomorrow."

Guy grunted and Ed suppressed a smile. Her number one operative hated to be told what to do almost as much as he hated doing less than a perfect job.

"Father Shubert has been taken into custody for is role in Father Henry's disappearance," she said. "He admitted lying to his superiors about Father Henry's whereabouts. He spun a story about Henry taking leave to care for his ailing mother, when all the while the poor man was being tortured to death in the subbasement of the church. At first I was afraid he'd been ensorcelled by the vampire, and that he himself was wholly innocent. We would have had to do some fancy footwork to get him released. However, it turns out that he acted on his own accord, motivated by the oldest incentives known to man: fear and greed.

"Valjevo apparently caught the two of them having sex in that small room in the basement. He then blackmailed Father Shubert into handing over Henry, threatening to provide proof to the bishop of their affair. He also apparently promised Shubert a substantial sum of money for each new victim he supplied. Shubert was planning on finding one more victim, then fleeing to the Caribbean with his reward.

"Valjevo would not have allowed Shubert to leave, of course. The man would have died a slow, horrible death. Shubert was completely distraught when he found out about the condition of Henry's body. They've got him on suicide watch, but I can't feel sorry for him. He made his own bed."

By now Mel's eyes were round and his face had whitened to an even fairer shade pale. Jon's jaw was set and his eyes were flashing. Such passion. He'll make a good agent if we can get him properly trained.

Just then Consuela came out of the kitchen carrying a tray laden with a coffee set and sticky buns, which she set on the coffee table.

Guy immediately reached for a sticky bun and took a huge bite.

Mel looked at him aghast. "How can you possibly eat again already? I'm still completely stuffed from breakfast."

Guy swallowed his bite and waggled his eyebrows at his young lover. "Exertion always makes me hungry." When Mel's face pinked, he laughed and tightened the arm he had around him lovingly, giving him a brief sideways hug.

"You treat my chico right, Salvatore," Consuela warned, slapping him lightly on the arm. "If I see any bruises on him, I'll give you twice as many."

"Yes, ma'am," Guy replied contritely while Mel's face deepened to a bright red.

Jon's eyebrow's shot up, disappearing behind his bangs. He was obviously surprised that this tiny old woman was threatening Guy with bodily harm, and he was apparently taking her seriously.

Mel turned to face Guy, his expression unreadable. "So, your real name is Salvatore?"

Guy nodded his ascent, looking slightly guilty.

"And Salucci's not your real last name either, is it?"

"No, it's not. I think it's better if you don't know my last name." Mel's face showed the hurt he was feeling, and Guy quickly pressed on. "I would love to tell you. I mean, I'm would be fine with telling you, except I think it is dangerous information for you to have, and I would not endanger your life."

"I agree," Ed said, quickly backing Guy up. "We went to a lot of work to have you disappear. The fewer people who know your real identity, who know you're still alive, the better."

Mel's jaw dropped open and he starred at Guy with huge eyes. "They've changed your identity for you? Kind of like ... witness protection?"

"Something like that," Guy said.

"Exactly like that," Ed confirmed. "The only difference is that EERIE was responsible for hiding him rather than some government agency. And, I'll say we do a much more thorough job than the FBI. No one will ever find you as long as you don't make contact or talk about your past." She narrowed her eyes at Mel and he squirmed uncomfortably. "The less you know about Guy's previous life, the better."

He nodded his ascent, but his eyes reflected his disappointment. Guy leaned over and nuzzled the top of Mel's head. He looked like he was about to say something, but thought the better of it.

She fixed him with a cold stare. "You know better than anyone what will happen if they find you," she said.

Guy stiffened, the movement so slight it would have been imperceptible to anyone else. "Yes, I know," he said quietly.

Ed's phone vibrated and she pulled it out of her jacket pocket to check it. "Abernathy's on his way up."

Ed watched Guy and Mel thoughtfully, while sipping on her strong, black coffee. They were obviously very close, seeming to communicate on a sub vocal level. That pair is inseparable now. I'll have to place them on jobs together. Maybe since Jon and Mel are such good friends, the three of them will make a good team.

Presently the elevator door swished open and Dr. Abernathy appeared, carrying a large black leather bag. He stopped short when he entered the living room and caught sight of Guy happily munching on a sticky bun with one hand, while his injured hand slid up and down Mel's arm.

Ed smiled at him, enjoying his consternation. "Your patient is not as sick as you made out, Dr. Abernathy."

He seemed to recover himself and moved further into the room, still staring at Guy. "How ... what?" He was clearly at a loss for words.

"I'm feeling much better, Doc," Guy said with a smirk.

"It appears so," the doctor said softly, as if talking to himself. "I'd like to examine you, if you don't mind."

Guy raised an eyebrow at him. "Actually, I do mind."

"Guy!" Ed barked. The man did not know the meaning of the word obedience. "If you don't let Dr. Abernathy examine you here and now, I will have you hauled into headquarters and he can do a much more thorough exam there."

Guy rolled his eyes. "Fine. But only my shoulder wound. My other injury is completely healed."

Mel's eyes widened and Ed realized he was putting two and two together. He had witnessed the rape, after all. He lifted his hand that had been acid-burned by the vampire's blood and examined it in surprise. "I'm healed too," he murmured.

Dr. Abernathy grabbed his hand gently and pulled it toward himself to examine it more closely. "Well I'll be a monkey's uncle!" he said in awe. "I could have sworn you'd have scarring from that burn. He ran his thumb across the back of Mel's hand. "There's no trace!"

Guy let out a low growl, and the doctor glanced up at him in surprise. The glare in Guy's eye was intense. Dr. Abernathy dropped Mel's hand and took a quick step backwards.

"Settle down, Guy," Ed said. "Take your shirt off so the doctor can see your wound."

Guy pulled away from Mel and removed his shirt, barely seeming to favor his injured shoulder while doing so.

Dr. Abernathy let out a gasp of surprise, and Ed was hard pressed not to gasp as well. Jon gasped too, but he was looking at Guy's sculpted chest and abs, not at where his massive wound should have been. There was a long, jagged scar that was deep purple in color, running from his collarbone around his rib cage, but there was no redness around the wound or any sign of other trauma. The injury looked months, not weeks, old.

"How the hell did that happen?" Dr. Abernathy cried, moving in close to examine the injury. He prodded it gently with his fingers, and when he got no response from Guy, he applied a bit more pressure.

Mel let out a small yelp, grabbing his own shoulder at the exact spot that the doctor had been poking Guy. His eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth.

He feels Guy's pain, Ed realized in surprise. It must go both ways. There is so much we don't know about the vampire mating bond. We'll have to study these two closely.

Guy had exhibited no outward response to the pain the doctor had surely caused him, but now he said tightly, "It's still a bit tender, Doctor. I'd appreciate it if you didn't reinjure it."

"Oh, sorry," the Doctor said, removing his hands from Guy. "I don't think you need me anymore, and you certainly don't need any more drugs. Perhaps some physical therapy would be in order. How does it feel?"

Guy moved his arm and shoulder, testing them. "It's mostly just stiff—and weak. Can I start working out again?"

"I think I can sign off on that," the doctor said. "I'll send Craig over tomorrow to supervise your first workout and give you some specific exercises to help. I'd say, 'don't overdo it', but with your remarkable capacity for recovery, I'm not sure it's possible for you to overdo."

The doctor finished his exam, quickly covering just the basics: blood pressure, pulse, temperature, eyes, ears, and mouth, and finishing up by listening to Guy's heartbeat.

"Hale as a horse, I'd say," was his proclamation.

*****

Mel watched Jon surreptitiously. There was something subtly different about him, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. His outfit, perhaps? No, it's different from his usual flamboyant self. That's part of it, but ... an outward manifestation of an inner change?

Jon's clothing was new and top of the line. He was wearing all black: tight designer jeans, high-top boots, a form-fitting, pullover shirt in some kind of high-tech, silky fabric, and a leather bomber jacket very similar to the one Guy wore. His shoulder-length hair was pulled into a tight braid down the back of his neck.

He's dressed for vampire hunting, Mel suddenly realized. He suppressed a smirk. He just couldn't picture Jon fighting vampires. Then he had a flashback to their captivity. Jon had been calm and brave—and smart about fighting Valjevo. If it hadn't been for Jon, he would surely be dead, or worse. Maybe Ed's right about him. Maybe he will make a good vampire hunter. That didn't eliminate his amusement at Jon's choice of outfit.

"So, are you thinking you'll run into a vampire on the way home?" he asked. He couldn't help but rib his friend.

Jon looked at him in confusion.

Mel waved his hands to indicate Jon's appearance. "Looks like you're dressing the part already."

Guy made a small noise and Mel thought he was suppressing a laugh. Ed's eyes glinted with mirth.

Jon tossed his head and put his hands on his narrow hips. "Hey, at least I'm dressed, which is more than I can say for you when we arrived."

Mel felt his face growing red. He had no response to that. He supposed he deserved it.

Jon relaxed his stance, already over his snit, but his eyes were still on Mel. "You don't like my new look?"

"I'm sorry for teasing you. I do. You look great Jon, as always."

Jon's eyes shone with excitement. "I can't wait to start!"

"Well, you've got lots of training to get through before we let you anywhere near another vampire," Ed said. "And our boot camp is much tougher than the U.S. Army's."