The Seahorse Who Loved the Wrong Lynx (12 page)

pretty sure his father was one of the strongest shifters in the world—

maybe even the strongest—but Byron had not yet been tested against

magic.

Thankfully, Rhys came with them, eager to help now that he’d

seen Layton keep his promise. Morgan had explained that incubi had

a thing about respecting boundaries and not abusing their powers. It
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must be why Rhys had decided to tell them about the magical

signature and his father’s involvement in the spell.

“There are wards around the mansion,” Rhys told them as they

watched the distant mansion from their cars. “Even if you snuck past the guards, those things will still feel you.”

“Then what do you suggest?” Byron arched a brow.

“I’m afraid I don’t have any suggestions, Mr. Cunningham,” Rhys

replied. “I was only pointing out what you could
not
do.”

“And I appreciate that, Rhys.” Byron’s smile was feral. “But who

said we plan to sneak past the guards?”

Byron turned the car around, and no more was said until they

reached their own home. The first trip had supposedly meant to be for reconnaissance purposes, which was why Layton had been allowed to

come along in the first place. But now, Layton wondered what his

father was thinking.

“He always has a plan,”
Preston said through their bond.
“It will
be fine. You’ll see.”

Layton agreed, but he couldn’t help but continue to muse over it

all throughout the drive back. When the car slipped into the courtyard of their own mansion, he felt marginally better, but not by much.

Layton’s parents owned private residences in capitals all over the

world, but this particular one belonged to Layton’s grandparents,

Skye and Lark Pierce. It was also the current base of operation of

their “task force.” It was not the first time Layton had been here, but in the past, he’d never had the urge to go out there and kick

someone’s ass.

His father parked the car, and Layton shot out of it, followed by

his mate. His father walked ahead of them, seemingly lost in thought.

Layton somehow doubted that was the case.

The first thing Layton noticed was that there were unfamiliar

people on the premises. Two cars were in the driveway, and men

wearing dark sunglasses stood by them, their spines ramrod straight.

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83

They weren’t shifters, though. No, these guys reminded Layton of

Ysanne. Sidhe.

Once inside, his father led them unerringly to a receiving room.

And just as Layton had begun to suspect, his dad was there, together with Preston’s parents, talking with a Sidhe woman. She looked

somewhat like Ysanne, but Layton guessed it was only because they

shared a species.

Layton’s dad got up as they entered the room. “Oh, honey, come

here,” he told Layton. “I’d like you to meet someone. This is Elder Adele Mercier. Elder, this is my second son, Layton, and his mate,

Preston. You remember my mate Byron.” Always the gracious host,

he didn’t forget to mention Rhys. “And this is our good friend, Rhys Whitaker.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Layton.” She pronounced his name

Lei-
ton
, which for whatever reason, struck Layton as funny. “Your sire has explained the unpleasant situation we find ourselves in.” Her gaze went to Rhys. “Alas, such things

happen when

more…unpleasant species mingle with our own.”

“With all due respect, Elder, it was your kind who forced my

father’s hand,” Rhys said bitingly. “He only wanted to be with his

mate. If Ysanne’s father hadn’t stood in his way, he’d never have

gone along with it in the first place.”

“So you say,” the elder replied. She waved a hand, as if physically

waving away his protest. Suddenly, Layton saw the snobbishness

behind the angelic façade and no longer saw any resemblance

between her and Ysanne.

“At any rate,” Skylar piped up diplomatically, “we’ve agreed that

the people behind this are not Rhys’s father and his mate. And we

have reason to believe Ignace Girard was involved.”

The elder nodded. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised,” she replied as

Layton and his companions sat down. “He’s always been

somewhat…rebellious regarding the norms of our society.”

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Rebellious, huh? How about a hypocrite?
Consorting with an incubus seemed just fine for dear old Ignace when he needed to use

them. But when the same person wanted to marry into the family, he

was a filthy demon. It made Layton sick to the stomach, more so

when he realized his own family had acted much like Girard when

they’d first met Alexis.

Layton knew his father well and he realized Skylar felt the same.

Unpleasantly enough, though, they needed this woman if they were

going to get to the bottom of things. “I will help you, Mr.

Cunningham,” she said. “And I’m sure this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

She gave Rhys a long look, as if to suggest his presence there was

a threat to that supposed friendship. But Skylar just beamed, ignoring the cue. “Certainly, Elder. And you simply must call me Skylar.”

Layton hid a smile as his father worked his magic. Truly, he

supposed he should have figured out what his parents were going to

do before they actually did it. Whatever the Girard family had done, Layton’s dads couldn’t engage them in an open conflict, not without risking an outright war between shape-shifters and magical creatures.

With all the effort Skylar had put in reaching out to other

paranormals, it would suck tremendously if it all went down the drain because of Layton.

Fortunately, Elder Adele finally decided it was time to go. She

excused herself with polite farewells to everyone except Rhys.

Apparently, she’d decided to ignore the incubus altogether. Did she

know Rhys’s brother was Morgan’s mate? It seemed unlikely, and

perhaps something better left for a later conversation.

In spite of the unpleasantness, the result of the meeting was quite

profitable. The elder promised to arrange a meeting with Ignace that very evening, using any pretext she could come up with.

“Do you think she’s on the level?” Preston asked as soon as she

was gone.

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85

“Oh, I’m quite certain she despises anyone that isn’t a Sidhe.”

Skylar shrugged. “As long as she gives as a hand with this, I don’t

care.” He turned toward Layton. “Go and get some rest, honey. All

this excitement can’t be good for you or the baby. We’ll let you know when it’s time to go.”

Layton opened his mouth to protest but then decided that he did

indeed feel quite tired. He was tired of intrigue and spells and never-ending hatred and prejudice. He was tired of trying to figure out

which way was up in a life he’d once thought so clear. He just wanted to take a break and enjoy his mating. Had his parents felt like this? It must have been so hard for them to continue their attempts to control the brave new world where humans knew about shifters and, at the

same time, take care of their relationship and have a family. Layton supposed that compared to that, he was whining for no reason.

“You can whine all you want, lovely,”
Preston whispered in his mind.
“Everyone deserves a break from time to time. I assure you
even your parents took them.”

Probably, since there had been those days when Layton and

Morgan had slept over at Garth’s, much to Corbin’s great dismay.

“Okay,” he told his father. “But promise you won’t go anywhere

without me.”

“Of course, Layton,” Skylar replied with a smile. “Didn’t I say

that already?”

Layton might have pressed his point further, but then, Preston was

dragging him out of the receiving room and upstairs. Truly, they

hadn’t had much chance to spend more time on their own since they’d

found out about the spell. It had all been such a rush, what with flying from the States into France, tracking Romaine in his reclusive

farmhouse, then coming here and scoping out Ignace Girard’s place.

There was so much going on that they’d neglected their relationship.

“Not exactly,” Preston responded to this last thought. “We just

neglected our sex life.”

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That was true. Alexis was almost jealous of his brother. Morgan

had returned to the United States earlier that day since he couldn’t leave his mate on his own for long periods. The feeding on sex thing still creeped Layton out somewhat, but as long as they were happy,

Layton was fine with it. And Morgan got to be with his mate often,

without anyone asking questions or bursting in with problems.

Layton sighed. He was being an idiot. His friends and family had

dropped everything just to come here and help them. It was his

problem waiting to be solved. Even Morgan had sacrificed his time

together with Alexis to stand by Layton’s side. Layton felt like an

ungrateful bastard for even thinking such thoughts.

It was just that…He felt fucking horny. Trying to find out where

their enemies were put a damper on his spirits, but only temporarily.

His body demanded Preston’s touch. His libido had gone straight

through the roof, which, given the fact that Layton had been a virgin before his mating, was quite a change.

Preston took him to their room and led him to the bed. “It’s

normal, lovely,” he said. “We’re recently mated, and you’re months

into your pregnancy. Don’t beat yourself up over things that are

natural.”

As Preston pushed him on the mattress, Layton found himself torn

between arousal and awe. What had he done to deserve such a mate?

He had no idea, but he wasn’t selfless enough to investigate it further.

Instead, he pulled Preston down with him. His mate released a

sound of happy surprise as he fell over Layton. Their bodies came

into contact, and through the material of their clothing, Layton felt his mate’s cock, already hard and demanding attention. Layton’s own

prick was throbbing, aching for Preston’s touch. Why were they still dressed? For crying out loud, they should be skin to skin already. The material of his quality clothing suddenly seemed scratchy, his flesh unable to bear anything else except Preston’s caress.

Probably catching onto the thought, Preston wildly started to work

on Layton’s clothes and, thank God, his own. He moved with a fierce

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87

determination that Layton couldn’t help but admire. Layton forced

himself to remain still and not try to help because, given the trembling in his body, he’d just get in the way.

Fortunately, Preston didn’t take long in getting rid of the material.

For all he’d said Layton’s libido was completely normal, his own

seemed quite similar, something for which Layton felt quite glad.

Preston was practically broadcasting his emotions through their bond, and the lynx’s arousal increased Layton’s, so much so that Layton

thought he might come before he could even have Preston inside him.

And God, he needed it so badly. He needed to feel Preston’s cock

pounding inside him, filling him up, completing him. Only Preston’s

touch could eliminate that void inside him, an emptiness that Layton had always been aware of but mistaken as caused by Corbin’s

rejection. Instead, it had been the separation from Preston that had tortured him, keeping him up in the dim hours of the night, sometimes making him fall asleep on a wet pillow when no one was around to

see him cry. But now, he didn’t have to weep anymore. Now, he had

his mate and his family, and no one would separate them ever again.

Preston’s motions grew desperate, Layton’s emotions feeding

their bond, nursing their need for each other. At last, Preston finished removing their clothes and brought their nude bodies together. The

lynx crushed their mouths together, the kiss greedy and frantic and oh so good. Preston’s tongue fucked Layton’s mouth, exploring the wet

cavern, no, plundering it, making Layton’s head spin with passion. He rubbed against his mate, his cock already leaking copious amounts of pre-cum.

The need to breathe urged Preston to break the kiss, much to

Layton’s dismay. He wanted it to go on forever. He wanted to lose

himself in Preston’s taste, in his scent and his strength. Another image flashed through his mind. He didn’t know if the idea was his own or

Preston’s, but it certainly had potential.

He imagined himself kneeling in front of Preston, taking the

lynx’s cock in his mouth. If Preston’s mouth tasted so good, he could
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only imagine how Preston’s prick would feel on his tongue. He licked his lips, and Preston followed the motion with his gaze, as if

hypnotized. Layton took this as encouragement. Even pinned down by

Preston’s larger bulk, he had no doubt that he could push Preston off of him if he so desired.

True enough, a bit of maneuvering changed their positions, and

Preston ended up on his back on the bed, with Layton on top of him.

Layton already missed Preston’s weight pressing him into the

mattress, but he would not be deterred from his goal.

His mouth watered as he took in the expanse of Preston’s naked