To Catch A Croc (8 page)

Isaac raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to heal me?”

“No,” Denton replied, his eyes still glowing their reptilian sheen. “I want you to remember that you’re mine with every breath you take.”

“I don’t think it’s something I’m going to forget,” Isaac soothed. He could feel the crocodile’s yearning to bite and bite again. Fortunately, Denton didn’t give in to his inner animal’s compulsions.

“Fuck me, Isaac!” Denton demanded. “Make me yours.”

“Babe, you’re already mine.” Isaac grabbed the lube sitting on the table beside Denton’s bed. The tube was slightly crushed and half full but when Isaac squirted some on his fingers, he found plenty still inside.

Denton grinned. “It’s my jack off lube.”

“Good quality,” Isaac mused, spreading it across his fingers.

“My cock deserves only the very best,” Denton replied, grinning.

“Mm, I can’t argue with that.” Isaac scooted back and spread Denton’s legs wide. Denton’s sweet ass beckoned to him. “Turn around. I want to fuck you hard and this way I won’t have you pull a leg muscle or anything.”

Denton laughed, a loud joyous sound that grabbed Isaac in the gut. He’d never get tired of hearing that particular noise. If he could make Denton happy for the rest of his life, then he’d have a life well lived.

With more care than necessary for a shifter, he prepped Denton. Circling Denton’s rim, he coated it with a generous supply of lube before dipping in one finger.

“Yesss,” Denton hissed.

“You sound more snake than crocodile,” Isaac teased.

“You’re lucky I’m not a snake—I’d strangle you with my tail.” Denton shook his ass. “Now show me how well a pussy can fuck.”

Isaac slapped Denton’s ass, pleased at the handprint he formed on the pale skin.

“I don’t think you’re doing that right,” Denton mused. “I know I’m not super experienced and all, but I’m pretty sure you are supposed to fuck my ass, not slap it.”

“I’m multi-talented. I can do both.” Isaac shoved two lubed fingers inside before slapping Denton’s other cheek until both sides were flushed pink.

“You’re a kinky bastard, aren’t you?” Denton didn’t sound overly worried about the prospect.

“Not usually,” Isaac admitted. “You bring out the kink in me.”

He coated his erection with enough slick for four men and lined the tip of his cock to Denton’s opening. With a slow push, he squeezed inside.

“Oh, fuck, you’re so tight you’re strangling my dick.” Isaac worried he’d come before he even got halfway inside. The heat and silky smoothness surrounding his erection yanked a whimper from his throat.

Never had anyone wrapped around him with such perfection, filling him with comfort as if he were coming home after a long arid trip across a lonely desert. Isaac’s heart ached as he realized what he’d missed all this time. No one would ever be good enough again. After sex with Denton, he was ruined for anyone else. This mating, this bonding would last him for the rest of his life as he lived in a state of complete perfection.

“If you don’t fucking move soon, I will fucking kill you,” Denton snarled.

Isaac bit his lip hard enough to draw blood in order to hold back the laughter since he didn’t want to die from a crocodile mauling. Gripping Denton’s hips tightly enough to leave bruises, Isaac pulled out slowly before snapping his hips back inside, making sure to hit the spot that sent Denton scrambling for purchase on his soft comforter.

“Was that good enough?” Isaac froze halfway inside Denton as he waited for his answer.

Denton slammed his body back until his ass met the root of Isaac’s erection. “Lazy cat. Do I have to do all the work?”

The sarcastic tone would’ve worked better if Denton didn’t gasp between words or finish off with a long, low moan.

Isaac placed a wet kiss in the middle of Denton’s back, then between his shoulder blades and finished with wet lick across the bite mark on his neck.

Denton whimpered.

“Easy, babe, we aren’t running a marathon, we’re making love. Good sex takes time and commitment. I’ve got plenty of both.” In fact, Isaac planned to spend the rest of his life proving to Denton how good things could be between them.

“You’re going to be committed if you don’t get on with it,” Denton muttered through gritted teeth.

Isaac gave more kisses as he moved slowly in and out of Denton’s body, making sure to bump the perfect spot each time. He slid his hands across Denton’s luscious skin, mapping out every inch until he knew, if blindfolded with twenty men to pick from, he would still know which one was his, even without the divine scent of his mate distracting him.

Denton clenched his ass, yanking a gasp from Isaac. “Tricky croc,” he scolded.

“Fuck me!” Denton insisted.

Isaac gave a mock sigh of frustration while grinning madly. The plus side of Denton being face down was he couldn’t easily see Isaac’s expression.

“I know you’re grinning. Now do your duty to your mate.”

“I am. I’m worshipping you.” Isaac tentatively pumped his hips just enough to tease Denton.

“I’m more of a hands-on deity. I prefer to be fucked until I can’t remember my name,” Denton instructed.

“Ahh. Well, your wishes are my dirty fantasies.” Isaac slammed into Denton, forcing the croc shifter to brace with his forearms or be shoved face first into the mattress.

Isaac continued his brutal rhythm, carefully monitoring Denton’s comfort level. When the croc shifter’s passion flared hotter than a beach bonfire, Isaac bit Denton’s neck again.

Denton shouted out his release. The sound echoed in the room and shattered Isaac’s concentration. Satisfied he’d pleased his mate, Isaac gave in to his needs and pumped his seed into Denton before collapsing against his back. It took all his remaining strength to pull out carefully and roll over to lie beside his lover.

Gasping, he turned to meet Denton’s satisfied expression with one of his own. “What’s your name?”

“Could be George.” Denton frowned. “Or Barney.”

“Barney was a dinosaur, not a crocodile,” Isaac corrected.

“If I don’t know my name, how should I know my species?” Denton’s eyes glowed with a teasing light.

“Hmm, good point. I rescind my correction, Barney George.”

Denton laughed.

The bedroom door slammed open.

“Guys, have you seen Marty?” Eaton’s concerned expression threw cold water on the warm ashes of their desire.

“He was going to check out the container ship after he went to the bar to retrieve his bike,” Denton said.

Eaton nibbled his bottom lip. “How long ago was that?”

Denton’s gaze went to the alarm clock on the table. “Shit! Five hours ago. He should’ve been back by now. Did you try calling him?”

“Five times. He’s not answering.” Eaton frowned. “You don’t think he’s ignoring me, do you?”

“No.” Denton sat up completely, his entire focus on his friend. “He’s completely in love with you. Trust me on this. We’re going to take a shower, then we’ll go after Marty. Call Aden and see if he knows anything.”

Isaac watched, fascinated, as Denton went from melted lover to take charge leader. Denton’s strong personality appealed to Isaac. People always thought he wanted to be in charge because of his size, but if Denton ever wanted to take control of their lovemaking, Isaac would easily give up control.

“I’ll call Aden.” Eaton left the bedroom without another word, apparently confident Denton would take care of everything now.

Although the shower involved dripping naked bodies, Isaac resisted the urge to pin Denton to the cold tile wall. If he tasted Denton’s mouth again, they wouldn’t get out of there and Eaton would probably march into the bathroom to demand where they were.

“Have you and Eaton ever fooled around?” From previous discussions, Isaac knew no one else had ever breached Denton anally, but there were a lot of things to do in between.

“No. Eww.” Denton’s disgusted expression made Isaac laugh.

“What? He’s cute.”

He knew he’d said the wrong thing when Denton froze and his eyes took on an inhuman shine. “You think he’s cute?”

“For a blond,” Isaac rushed to say. “I prefer my men darker and not feathered. I don’t think a puma and a bird would make good mates.”

Denton reached for his clothes without saying a word. Isaac slowly dressed, not wanting to add to the unnerving silence filling the room. Apparently the crocodile didn’t have a sense of humor about anyone but Denton touching Isaac.

“We should see if Eaton learned anything from his phone calls,” Denton said, still not turning to look at Isaac.

He had to see Denton’s face. Isaac reached out and spun Denton around. “Don’t make more of this than there is. I was concerned about anyone else touching what is mine. I’m not interested in Eaton. In case you didn’t notice, I’m interested in you.”

“Okay.” Denton didn’t look convinced but he nodded and tried to pull away. He frowned when Isaac didn’t release him.

“I didn’t buy Eaton a house with a fucking pool when I don’t like to swim. Understand?” Isaac’s heart leapt to his throat as he waited for his words to sink in.

Joy filled Denton’s face. “You bought that house for me? Wait, what pool?”

“The house is your mating present. The atrium has a sandy-bottomed pool with heat lamps.”

“When were you going to give it to me?” Denton asked, his eyes troubled.

“When life stopped being such a crisis. The way things are going, apparently when you turn fifty. You do want to live with me, right? I know this is your home…” he trailed off because he didn’t know what to say from there. If Denton preferred the Queen Anne mansion to Isaac’s house, he couldn’t blame him. It was a beautiful place that Denton had called home for years.

“No! I want to be with you. This place is great, but I can always come visit. The best part of this house is the people inside it and they’ll always be my family.” Denton’s expression didn’t show any regret. Isaac hoped Denton would always feel that way.

“Good. Let’s go talk to Eaton and figure out what happened to Marty,” Isaac said.

“That’s a good idea.” He could tell from the excited expression on Denton’s face that the living together hurdle had been bypassed successfully.

They finished dressing and found Eaton curled up on the couch, his cell phone clutched in one tight fist.

Chapter Seven

One look at Eaton’s expression and Denton knew everything wasn’t all right.

“What happened?” he asked softly. Eaton looked like he might break apart if he had to deal with one more thing.

“The gang said Marty came and got his motorcycle but then disappeared. No one has heard from him since. They said it was four hours ago. He should’ve been back by now.”

Denton wanted to say something nice and reassuring but he came up dry. Eaton was right, Marty should’ve returned. “Maybe he found something interesting and is waiting for us to come. He knew we’d be there later.”

Eaton and Isaac both gave him looks that said they knew he was an idiot but they cared about him anyway. He wondered if they practiced their synchronicity.

“Something has happened, I can feel it,” Eaton persisted.

“Can you think of anywhere else he might have gone?” Denton asked. He didn’t know if Eaton and Marty had a connection or not. Was it possible for Eaton to really know something had happened or was he just projecting?

“Isaac and I will follow his footsteps and see if we can find him, okay?” Denton said.

“I can’t reach Aden either. He’s not answering,” Eaton said, shaking his phone at them. “I can’t get hold of anyone.”

“You didn’t try Carey, right?” Denton glared at his friend, daring him to confess.

Eaton shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that. Carey doesn’t like Marty and I don’t want to ruin his honeymoon. Broden would never forgive me.”

Denton thought Eaton’s assessment was probably right. When it came to upsetting Carey, Broden didn’t forgive much.

“Okay, keep your phone close by and we’ll go investigate,” Denton said.

“But I want to come too,” Eaton whined. “I can fly overhead and see if I can spot Marty’s bike.”

“And what will you do then?” Denton asked.

Eaton hung his head in defeat. “I could come in human form and watch your back.”

“If we need a sharpshooter, we are past the surveillance stage. We’re just going to explore whether the salties are at the port. If they aren’t, we’ll come back home and try to find them elsewhere. If they are, then we discover how many are hiding out and plan accordingly.”

“If they took Marty, I will get him back.” Eaton’s pretty face took a hard edge. Denton knew from experience that Eaton might be a mild-mannered genius, but if he needed to protect his family, he did so with lethal force.

Somewhere along the way, Eaton had chosen Marty as his. If anyone was responsible for taking the hawk shifter, Denton hoped they had their will in place and their papers all in order.

“I’ll call,” Denton assured his friend.

Eaton nodded. “I’ll be waiting.”

Now that he knew how much Eaton cared for Marty, Denton knew his friend was placing a great deal of trust in him. He followed Isaac out of the house. A black SUV squatted on the drive. “Let’s take your car. It will blend a little better,” Denton said.

“You just love me for my heated seats,” Isaac teased.

“Yep.” The first time he’d ridden in the SUV, Denton had discovered the beauty of heated seats. He thought about having them added to his Jeep but for now it was cost prohibitive.

Denton climbed into the passenger seat and quickly fiddled with the settings until his ass turned toasty. Sighing, he leaned back his head and soaked in the comfort.

“You look like a happy reptile,” Isaac observed.

“It’s like a heated rock,” Denton smiled.

“Crocodiles don’t bask on rocks,” Isaac said.

“How do you know? I’m the crocodile.”

“Because I did my research. You’re a freshwater croc. You like murky water and lying in the sand to heat.”

“I could lie on a rock.” Denton folded his arms and looked out the window. Now wasn’t the time to tell Isaac about his basking rock. He wondered if he could swipe it from the mansion to take it with him to Isaac’s house without the inquisitive kitty noticing.