Hagen, Lynn - Maverick's Mate [Brac Pack 1] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Read online

  Maverick knew he would be back to that apartment even with Cody guarding his mate. The pull was a powerful force. He could feel the draw to the small human even now. Things needed to be taken care of first before he went back to stalk the guy.

  Chapter Two

  Why was he headed to Jeremy’s house? His boyfriend called and asked for him to come over, and stupid him said yes. He always said yes. The plan was for Cecil to head over there straight after work, but someone had called off. Lucky him. If Jeremy gave him shit over this…yeah right, he would take it like he always did.

  No sooner had he stepped through Jeremy’s door than he was snatched up and shoved into the wall, Jeremy’s fist punching the drywall inches from Cecil’s head. “Where the hell have you been?”

  Cecil couldn’t believe he was going through this again. His heart hammered in his chest, and his mouth went bone dry. He stood there cowering, wishing Jeremy would calm down.

  “Fucking answer me!” Spittle flew in Cecil’s face as Jeremy screamed at him. He didn’t want to be in this relationship anymore. There had to be a way out. Jeremy had promised no more violence. He even bought Cecil the gold chain that lay around his neck like a collar, as if he were Jeremy’s property. The chain felt like it was choking him. He didn’t want the roses or the dinners or even the expensive gifts. Cecil wanted out.

  “I-I had to work overtime. One of the guys called off, and I had to cover for him till someone else could come in.” Cecil ducked as Jeremy’s fist struck the wall again. He could hear the drywall crumbling by his ear. Fuck! He hated this.

  “I better see it on your pay stub, or your ass is mine. Now get dressed so we can go to Lucky’s. I need a damn drink.” Jeremy shoved Cecil’s shoulder back as he turned and grabbed his keys. Cecil dipped down and grabbed his jacket that had fallen to the floor when the jerk pushed him.

  “Wear those tight jeans I like so much.”

  Cecil mentally rolled his eyes. Not only was his boyfriend a real jerk, but he insisted that Cecil dress the way he liked to see him, not what Cecil was comfortable in. He would prefer to put on a pair of slacks and a button-down shirt. Instead, the moron had him painting jeans on and wearing netted shirts. He always felt like a slut when he wore those damn clothes. If it were up to him, he would burn every one of those hideous outfits.

  Unfortunately, the clothes at Jeremy’s were things Jeremy had bought. He said Cecil looked too prim and proper in his own choice of clothing.

  Jeremy followed Cecil into the bedroom and yanked his collar back. “Where the hell did that bite come from?”

  Cecil reached a hand up and rubbed his neck. He had no clue what Jeremy was talking about, but that answer wouldn’t be good enough.

  “Answer me, Cecil.” Jeremy knocked him to the floor. “How did you get a bite mark on your neck? Is that why you were late getting here? Cheating on me?” Cecil tried to crawl away, but Jeremy pulled him up by his hair.

  “No! I-I don’t know how it got there. Must have cut myself at work.” Cecil tried to pull his head free, but Jeremy yanked it back. This was bad. He hadn’t seen him this pissed, ever. Cecil knew he had to get away, or Jeremy was going to kill him.

  “Pull your pants down. I want to see if someone else has been in you.” Jeremy released him and grabbed at Cecil’s slacks. With every survival instinct in him, Cecil pushed Jeremy away then shot out of the bedroom. He slammed into the hallway wall but kept going.

  “You bitch.” He heard Jeremy shout out as raced to the front door. If Jeremy caught him, Cecil would suffer greatly. He grabbed the doorknob and turned, feeling panic grip him as the door stayed shut. The lock! Cecil twisted the lock and swung the door open, running through it and down the driveway.

  Cecil’s eyes grew round as saucers as he dropped to the pavement. A man the size of a semi truck stalked up the driveway. The truck went past him and into the house. He heard wood breaking and Jeremy scream. Glass shattered, and then it became eerily quiet.

  “Are you okay?”

  Cecil snapped his head around when he heard a deep, masculine voice. It was the man from the coffee shop. What the hell?

  Cecil nodded and the man took off into the house as well. Cecil didn’t know what to think, so he crept back in to see that the semi truck with multi-colored hair and the coffee shop man had Jeremy cornered. The man resembling the truck glanced over at Cecil, winking with a smile, and then turned back to Jeremy.

  “He is no longer your boyfriend. Come near him again, and I will tear you into so many pieces, identification will be impossible.” The coffee shop dude growled.

  “Fuck you,” Jeremy shouted, but Cecil could hear the tremor in his voice. He knew Jeremy was all bravado with him and only him.

  “Not even on a good day.” The semi truck guy laughed.

  The coffeehouse man backed away from Jeremy then turned his sights on Cecil.

  Oh, man. He didn’t like that look. Why did he feel like his life was about to tip upside down? The guy sauntered over to him and grabbed Cecil around the waist.

  “Mine.”

  “Yeah, whatever you say. Just, uh…yeah.” Cecil was at a loss. He peered around the broad body to see Jeremy staring daggers at him.

  “Follow me,” The coffeehouse man commanded.

  What the hell, he wasn’t staying here with Jeremy anyway. Cecil’s neck throbbed as he walked behind the stranger to the front of the house. He ran his hand over the area, wondering what his ex had seen and why it was making his skin burn just under the surface.

  “We need to talk.” The coffeehouse man sat on a motorcycle sideways, his legs extended and his ankles crossed. Man, why did Cecil have an urge to crawl into his lap and lick him from head to toe? His body vibrated at the thought.

  “I need you to trust me. I know that’s asking a lot since you don’t even know me, but I can tell you that you are safer with me than any other place on earth.”

  Cecil had been lured into a false comfort before by Jeremy. He didn’t want another macho man running his life, but somehow he knew the guy was telling him the truth. Somehow, he could feel it deep in his bones. He felt drawn to him.

  “Who are you?” Cecil tilted his head, fascinated by the commanding aura that seemed to just flow around the guy. The man had to be at least six eight or six nine. He was the largest man Cecil had ever seen.

  “Maverick, and you are my mate.” The giant watched Cecil closely, his hands crossed over his lap. “What is your name?”

  Man, things just kept getting more and more bizarre. Cecil looked around to see if his perception of reality was distorted. Nope, everything looked normal.

  “My name’s Cecil. Uh, right. Next you’re going to tell me you’re a wolf or something.” Cecil snorted. The guy didn’t laugh, not even a hint of a smile. No way.

  “Very perceptive.” He chuckled.

  “Look, I really do thank you for helping me with jerk wad in there.” Cecil tossed his thumb over his shoulder. “But I need to get back to earth, and you need to go back to whatever place you escaped from.” His head hurt, and he really didn’t feel like indulging this guy’s delusions.

  Cecil fell on his backside when the guy’s gray eye’s shifted to a crimson color and fangs grew from his mouth. He wasn’t lying. Crap. Now what? Should he run? Wait a minute, if Maverick was a wolf, then running would be useless. Fine, he would give into his hallucinations. Maybe he would have a bit of fun with it.

  “I’ll take you home.” Maverick stood, and Cecil got to his feet. There went that funky feeling again, the need to wrap himself around this giant.

  “Fine.” Whatever. How did he keep getting into these situations? Cecil scrubbed his forehead with his hand. Maybe he had idiot written there to attract these domineering men.

  He dusted his bottom off as Maverick handed him a helmet, cursing inwardly as he climbed on. His stomach knotted when Maverick rode directly to his house without directions. What did that mean?

  He showed Maverick into his apartment,
clearing the couch of yesterday’s laundry. He quickly stuffed the underwear into the basket that had been sitting on the floor and threw the rest of the laundry on top.

  “You can have a seat.” Cecil waved at the now cleared couch. The guy did save him after all. The least he could do was be hospitable. Deciding to see where his hallucinations led, Cecil sat next to him.

  They were sitting there silently when Maverick pulled Cecil toward him. He stared into Maverick’s beautiful gray eyes. They sparkled like diamonds.

  “Will you bind yourself to me?” He took Cecil’s lips in a slow, burning kiss, kneading his hip and clasping the back of his head. The look of arousal in Maverick’s eyes was turning Cecil’s head in a three-sixty hyper-horny direction.

  Cecil’s blood was on fire just from one kiss. Wrapping his hands around Maverick’s neck, he opened for him. Cecil pulled at the long, black hair, wanting more, needing to be closer. He pulled his leg up, readjusting himself to straddle Maverick’s lap. His hands played in the long, silken strands as they flowed through his fingers. He felt a strange familiarity with this guy, like he had been with him before. Comfort and contentment washed over him.

  Breaking the kiss, Maverick leaned his forehead against Cecil’s. “What does it mean to bind with you?” Cecil asked quietly.

  “You will be tied to me. Forever. It’s stronger and deeper than marriage between humans. It can’t be broken. It will be my responsibility to see to your health and happiness. You will want for nothing,” Maverick answered in a husky voice.

  Where was the down side in this? Cecil mentally slapped himself. He had to think rationally. He didn’t even know the guy. The man could be worse than Jeremy. And he couldn’t get out of this. Maverick said it was forever. But somehow he felt it was right. He felt something different. Cecil looked in to his eyes and saw home.

  “Yes. I’ll bind with you, Maverick. How does it work?”

  Maverick’s canines slowly extended. Cecil was fascinated and frightened by the sight. Something deep inside made him tilt his head to the side. He wrapped his fists in Maverick’s hair as the man scraped a tooth along his skin. Shivers broke out as the act made Cecil nearly come in his pants.

  Soft lips were a contrast to the large man. Cecil’s head fell back as Maverick kissed and nipped his way up his neck. Cecil’s hands clenched and unclenched in the soft strands as Maverick’s hands ran up and down his back.

  What was he doing? The war inside his head made him pull back slightly. He had said he would bind with the guy, but past experience with Jeremy kept popping up to smack his lust-filled brain around. He shouldn’t be doing this—Cecil moaned. His brain cells short circuited when Maverick reached between them and palmed his denim-covered cock.

  The only thoughts registering were of having this man inside of him. Shirt buttons started parting as Cecil realized Maverick was removing it.

  The urge to cover his exposed skin was making his arms cross over his chest. Compared to Maverick, he was undefined, and he had a few scars to remind him of his life with Jeremy. He resisted the tug until finally giving in and uncrossing his arms.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  Cecil felt weird sitting on Maverick’s lap half-naked when the man was still wearing his leather jacket, although the smell of leather was making Cecil’s cock hard. He never thought he would go for a bad boy image. Maverick wore the look. It radiated from every pore.

  “Come.”

  Cecil grabbed tight to Maverick as the giant stood, taking him to his bedroom. It wasn’t hard for the giant to guess which room it was. There were only two choices.

  Cecil’s hands fisted at his sides as Maverick laid him down and began to tug his jeans off. His mind screamed at him to make sure this is what he really wanted before committing to it. Cecil bit his bottom lip, the tongue gliding over his body making him forget the question that was just bouncing around in his head.

  He really wanted to believe that not all men were abusive and cruel. This man lavishing his body was trying to make him forget. Raising his hands above his head, Cecil became lost as he gave in to the sensations pulsing throughout him.

  “Let go,” was whispered into his skin.

  Cecil pulled his legs up as fingers entered him. He writhed, his body going up in flames as a soft cry left his lips. Maverick took him to new heights as another finger was added.

  When the giant pulled back, Cecil whimpered. His hole pulsed at the remembered fingers. Clothes rustled, and he watched as Maverick dropped all fabric as he pushed Cecil further onto the bed.

  Hands skimmed down Cecil’s sides, over his abdomen, and across his chest. A veil of midnight black hair fell around him as Maverick leaned forward, kissing each eye then his lips.

  “Mine.”

  All Cecil could do was nod. His voice was gone, and his throat was dry as a bone. He shivered as Maverick ran a single finger down the side of his face as if memorizing it. Cecil wondered if this god would still want him in the cold light of morning, still look at him with desire burning in his eyes.

  Would that flame fade to a flicker before going out as it had with Jeremy? Would Maverick start abusing him as well when the newness of exploring each other wore off? Pushing aside the fears he carried, Cecil concentrated on the hands and mouth making love to him. He knew he couldn’t live his life in fear, but when it had been punched, slapped, and kicked into you for two whole years, it was hard to set it aside and walk away. He felt pathetic giving in so easily at the first gentle touch to come his way.

  His mind came back to the present when Maverick slid his hands under Cecil’s body and pulled him up, Cecil’s arms fell away to the bed as Maverick sucked at the pulse beating rapidly under his skin.

  Chapter Three

  Maverick lay Cecil down onto the sheets. The scent his mate carried drove him to taste every inch of him. He could feel a slight tremor coming from the body clutched in his hands. The main thing Maverick wanted to do before taking Cecil was to relax him and make him feel safe in his arms.

  The fear in his mate’s eyes was Maverick’s undoing. He leaned forward, kissing each eye before tasting those heavenly lips again. The crown of his cock was leaking heavily onto Cecil’s abdomen, but he wouldn’t rush this. Even though his plans to have Caden befriend him first were shot to hell when Cody called him to tell him of Jeremy, he still needed to go slow.

  His massive body could crush the small frame below him. Reaching out, he brushed the hair from his mate’s eye. Tenderness flooded him as he thought of the life his mate must have lived.

  Maverick used his tongue to part Cecil’s lips, running it along his mate’s teeth. His arousal was so potent that his claws threatened to emerge. If only he had the power to make Cecil forget the pain he had lived, but that wasn’t in Maverick to do, so he would help his mate come back to life and be the man he once was.

  Grabbing the lube from the nightstand, Maverick slicked his cock. His hands shook as he lined himself up. The reality slammed into him that he was finally claiming his mate. He felt like a pup having sex for the first time again. Exhaling slowly, he breached the tight star.

  Maverick dropped to his forearms, the skin stretched so tightly around his shaft he was so close to losing it. In that moment, he knew he was nothing without this man. Only half a soul.

  “Do you accept me as your mate, Cecil?” He had to bind this soul to his, never wanting him to leave his side again.

  “Yes, Maverick,” came a moaned reply.

  Maverick struck, sinking his canines into his mate’s shoulder, his eyes rolling back as he felt the ribbons of their life forces untwining from their separate souls and realigning together, binding them. Their hearts synchronized.

  Maverick snapped his hips as his mouth pulled on his mate’s neck, the blood flowing onto his tongue and down his throat. He pulled harder at the wound, his eyes untamed from the essence entering him.

  Maverick’s head shot up, and he roared his release, his mate’s blood flowing from
his canines. He slammed his cock into his mate, riding the orgasmic storm. The binding was complete.

  Dropping his head, he sealed the wound, licking the escaped blood running down his mate’s shoulder. His hips slowed to a sensual grinding. Gasping for breath, he shook his head, small aftershocks bursting in his groin. They both moaned as his soft cock slid free.

  Maverick pulled Cecil to him, draping him across his chest, kissing him softly. “We are now bonded mates.”

  Cecil lay sated against the muscled chest. His sweet prince had rescued him from the dragon. His hand roamed over hard pectoral muscles, amazed at how turned on he was. It still surprised him how much Maverick affected him. Large men, and muscled men for that matter, had never appealed to him.

  Maybe it was the fear of the damage they could do to him, he thought as his hand ran over solid ridges that made up the man’s abdomen. Cecil kissed his nipple, his tongue licking at it as the round delight pebbled under his playful assault.

  Cecil moved over as Maverick cursed and reached over the side of the bed to answer his ringing phone.

  “Maverick.” The giant answered in what could only describe as the deepest, huskiest voice he had ever heard. His hand skimmed over Maverick’s back, not seeming to get enough of touching him. The giant leaned into his touch. This encouraged Cecil to explore further.

  “I’m not able to make it right now. You’ll have to handle it, Hawk.”

  Cecil wondered who this Hawk person was as he gathered Maverick’s long hair in hands, running it over his face. It smelled like menthol. He wondered what Maverick shampooed with.

  As Maverick turned over, Cecil released his hold on the black silk.

  “I’m sorry, baby.” Maverick sighed. “But we have to go.”

  Cecil’s felt his pulse quicken at the statement. It wasn’t a request. He frowned at Maverick’s words. His eyes roamed over his bedroom, his thoughts racing from one possibility to the next of what Maverick meant.