18. Toby

Iwas at the club, waiting for the loser who was stalking Lucky to appear. My gaze was constantly sweeping the crowd, attempting to identify anyone who looked out of place.

I didn't know what'd happened between Lucky and his mates, but given he'd taken one look at where they were sitting and asked to switch ends of the bar, I guessed it wasn't good.

Thanks to a summons sent out in the group chat by Dimitri, I knew the others would be joining us. But as Cal, Mori, Harlow, River, Oscar and Bailey began to cut a swathe through the crowd, I realised someone else was with them.

Blaise.

I knew he'd been added to the group chat, having messaged Harlow to thank him after I'd noticed. I hadn't expected him to come along tonight though.

Fuck, was I glad he had.

He obviously wasn't comfortable, his face tight and hands in fists at his sides. But he was here. He'd entered the club alongside the others and was prepared to fight for us. Sure, he'd fought before, but that had been to save his brother. Him being here would go far when it came to integrating him into the group.

I wanted to grin at him. To grip the back of his neck and tell him how fucking proud I was of him. To kiss his full lips until they relaxed and?—

Nope. I slammed the brakes on. Kissing was off the table, I had to remember that. None of the other stuff was appropriate either, given what was happening, but I couldn't resist giving Blaise a smile when he met my eyes, promising him with my gaze that he'd be rewarded later for taking this step.

From the way the tips of his ears reddened, he knew exactly what that look meant. He relaxed slightly, ducking his head as if that would somehow hide his grin.

Dagon had been filling them in on what him and Dimitri had learned about the guy stalking Lucky. I'd known our human bartender was hiding shit from us, but a stalker? One who'd apparently been terrorising him since he was seventeen?

Fucker was about to die. Painfully.

"Sebastian has been tracking his number."

"Sebastian?" Harlow's dismay was echoed by his brothers. "But he's the fucking worst."

The familiar pang hit me. If I hadn't failed Sebastian, maybe he wouldn't behave the way he did. And if the demons knew about Sebastian's past, they'd treat him with more compassion. That wasn't an option though. My cousin had emphasised enough times how he'd permanently end me if I dared share it with the others. As an assassin, he had the skills to do it.

"Yes, he's a prick, but occasionally a useful one. He's already pinpointed the number to Southampton, and he's working on running down a more exact locat?—"

Dagon cut me off, jumping from his seat. "Lucky's on the move."

While the others tried to persuade Dagon and Dimitri to wait for a minute, to give the stalker a chance to show his hand, I turned my attention to Blaise. Was he comfortable? Was this too difficult for him?

Like he sensed me watching him, he turned towards me. A smile tugged at his lips as he met my gaze and then looked down in an obviously submissive move.

Fuck, that boy was getting so rewarded tonight.

Fortunately, the situation with Lucky's stalker was quickly resolved without the rest of us needing to intervene. Unfortunately, Dagon and Dimitri had left the mess in the alley for me to clean up while they chased down their understandably terrified mate.

"This is why you should be upfront," I muttered to myself as I got a message from Mori asking me to sort it. He'd gone after them to see if he could be of assistance. "No one ends up hurt or upset if they know where they stand."

"Need some help?"

Blaise's quiet question made me jump. "You're very light on your feet for such a big guy."

His answering smile was bashful. "It's loud in here."

I nudged him in the ribs as we walked outside. "One of these days, I'm going to get you to accept a compliment."

With Blaise's help, the mess was cleaned up in minutes. A flash of his fire reduced the body to nothing more than a pile of ashes. Meanwhile, I hosed the area down with bleach, erasing all the blood spots Blaise's fire missed. We used the stuff so often that we bought it wholesale.

While Blaise was finishing up, I shot River a quick message.

Taking a break. Cover the bar for me please?

River

Is this a sex thing? Are you kidnapping my brother for kinky times?

I rolled my eyes.

Boundaries are a thing you know.

River

Nah, we don't do boundaries. We do over-sharing. Way more fun.

Are you gonna cover the bar or not?

River

Duh. Who'd you think has been looking after it while you've been dealing with the body?

Pocketing my phone, I smiled up at Blaise. "You did great tonight."

He gestured down the alley at the little pile of ash that was Lucky's former stalker. "It was nothing. Barely used any of my powers. Good thing they aren't playing up tonight."

Like all supes, our powers had been behaving oddly in recent months. The prevailing theory was that it was tied to the ghasts, but exactly how remained to be seen. Sometimes we would go to pull on our powers to find they were lower than they should have been. Or when meaning to release a little, we'd release far too much.

"Yes, that's also great, but it wasn't what I was talking about." I prowled closer to Blaise, loving how he grinned at my approach. "I meant you did great by coming here."

The fucking brat not only huffed, but threw in an eye-roll for good measure. "That was nothing. Besides, River and Mori would've dragged me here if I'd said no."

"Hmm." I palmed his crotch, delighting in how fast he grew hard for me. "So what I'm hearing is that you don't want a blow job as a reward?"

Blaise's eyes widened comically as he realised his error. "Fuck, no. I'm sorry, Master. I do want that."

"Tell me why," I commanded him, squeezing his shaft through his jeans. "Why are you getting this reward?"

Blaise whimpered, grinding his hips forward. I purposefully loosened my grip, denying him the relief he sought. "Because…because I came to the club. I came here knowing everyone else would be here too."

"And that makes you…?"

He pouted, falling back against the wall. That a man of Blaise's height and stature could look so fucking adorable while pouting was truly a skill. "I dunno."

I decided to take pity on him. "Brave. It makes you brave."

While I spoke, I unbuttoned his jeans and eased his erection free. "And before you decide to argue or brat, remember that this reward can be taken away at any moment."

I cast a compulsion net to keep any prying human eyes away, but given eighty per cent of the club attendees were supes, I had to be quick about this. Not too quick though. Our discussion of potential kinks was fresh in my mind. Although Blaise hadn't tried most of them, there were a few that had had his pupils dilating.

"You need to be quiet," I said as I went to my knees. "Anyone could walk out here at any moment."

As I'd predicted, Blaise's breath quickened. "They might see us. Compulsion nets don't work on supes. What if they catch us?"

"What if they do?" I freed Blaise's cock, stroking it firmly. "They might stay and watch. Would you like that? Having an audience?"

His dick twitched as his head hit the wall behind him. "Yes."

"Hmm. Maybe we could arrange something." I'd promised him a blow job, but I was having fun edging him with my words. "I have some friends who might be interested. I could tie you up in front of them and tease you for hours. Work you over until you lose all sense of self-consciousness. Until you're begging me to let you come."

Blaise's response was a garbled moan as his hips thrust forward. His balls were drawn up tight already, my hand working him over as I spoke.

"I want you to imagine someone catching us. Standing in the shadows. Staying to watch. They're so turned on by what I'm doing to you that they start to touch themselves." I brushed my lips over the head of his cock. "Come whenever you like, boy."

It only took a few sucks before Blaise was releasing into my throat with a bellow. I swallowed him down hungrily.

If this is how good he tastes, imagine how much better his blood would be.

I pushed that thought away immediately. As tempting as it was to discover if he tasted as good as he smelled, to do so would mean one of two things. Either his death, or him becoming my mate.

Neither of those options were on the table.

Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I tucked Blaise's softening cock back into his boxers before buttoning his jeans. Getting to my feet, I grinned at the mage. He was leaning against the wall, eyes glazed, with a goofy smile on his face.

"Colour?"

"Green. I think…I think I liked that idea."

"Good," I said softly, putting my hand around his throat and holding him gently. "We can talk about it later, if you want."

Blaise's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Really. I don't say things I don't mean, Blaise. If the thought of someone watching us turns you on, then that's something I'd be delighted to explore with you."

I caught his bashful smile before he could duck his head and hide it. It warmed something in me that had no business warming.

Trying to redraw the lines in my mind, I squeezed his throat once more before letting go. "Come on, let's go back in and practise being in their presence. Goddess knows, it won't be long before the next load of drama hits and we're summoned once again."

Never had a truer word been spoken.

A few days later, we were at Blaise's place building yet more furniture when Cal asked us to go to his flat for a meeting that evening. The message had been sent to both of us, but Blaise had a habit of not checking his while I was with him. I knew that wasn't the case usually—he responded to my messages and calls within seconds.

Was that because I was the one person he wanted to speak to? The one person whose notifications he didn't want to miss?

Knowing he hadn't seen the message, I decided not to tell him straight away. The longer he knew about it, the more time there was for his anxiety over it to grow.

It was a good thing I wasn't expecting him to roll over and accept it when I finally did break the news. I'd barely finished telling him before he made his feelings known.

"Do I have to?" Blaise whined, throwing his screwdriver down in a petulant manner. "It's so awkward."

I twisted my lip ring in amusement. "Are you saying you don't want to help?"

He huffed, crossing his tree-trunk arms over his chest. "No, of course I wanna help. I don't see how me going to the meeting is necessary though. Can't you just go for me?"

Some might have thought Blaise's bratting was a step backwards, but actually his pushing at my boundaries like this was an excellent sign. Like a toddler who behaves most poorly with his parents, it meant he felt safe with me. He wanted to push my limits because he wanted me to remind him where the line was. Because he knew he could and it wouldn't have a long-lasting impact on our relationship.

Dusting off my hands on my knees, I turned to face my sub. "Knees, boy. Now."

He fell immediately, unconcerned with the fact he was surrounded by boxes and bits of wood. After I'd caught him reading Roman by Grae Bryan one morning (a book choice that had thrilled me, given its subject matter), I'd decided he needed a bookshelf to make his house more homely. Once we'd dealt with whatever calamity was brewing, we'd finish it and then I'd take him to Cal's bookshop. With Oscar's help, I was sure we'd have the shelves full in no time.

Shoving a box to the side, I moved closer to him. "You have two options."

He didn't speak, just peered up from under his eyelashes. Fuck, Blaise might've been the one on his knees, but there was little I wouldn't do for this man. If I thought it would genuinely make him happy in the long run, I'd let him hole up in his house forever. I'd bring him whatever he needed to be content and bask in the knowledge that he was happy.

That wasn't the case though. From what he'd told me during our late-night conversations, he missed his clan. He'd grown up with not only his twin at his side, but a whole group of people who'd cared for him. Loved him.

Now, apart from River, they were all gone. And even his twin wasn't just his anymore, not now he was mated.

"Option one," I said, petting his hair the way I knew he liked. "You stay here."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. Smart boy. "Really?"

"Yep, but you'll do so in the knowledge you've disappointed me massively. You'll also be letting down the others. Mainly River, who you know would be thrilled to see you there."

"You don't play fair."

"Nope, and I'm not done. You'll also be forgoing any orgasms for the next seven days."

His jaw dropped. "Wait, I'll be punished if I don't go?"

"Yep. This is good for you, Blaise. You need to step outside of your comfort zone, even Dr. Tyler said so."

Blaise grumbled, but I already knew he was going to come with me to Cal's. We were just doing this little dance to remind him that I truly wanted the best for him. That I would give him boundaries and insist he stick to them.

"Option two, you come with me. You don't have to participate, just be in the room. Then, when we get home, I'll tie you to my bed and ride you."

Despite the fact that his cock was now pushing at his joggers, Blaise still took a minute to consider it. Sex wasn't the only incentive I used with a sub, but it was one hell of a motivator for Blaise. While I'd fucked him a few times, he hadn't topped me yet. I knew he was vers, so hopefully this would be enough to convince him to let go of his bratting for a while.

"Fine," he said finally, blowing out a breath. "But don't expect me to talk much."

"I don't," I reassured him, bending down to kiss his hair. "Come on, let's get going before they start blowing up our phones."

Cal had been vague in his message, telling us nothing other than to meet at his flat this evening. There were various group chats containing different groups of people, so we'd created one just for situations like this. That was the one Cal had messaged, which was basically as serious as it got.

Blaise was still grumpy by the time we got to Cal's. Hearing everyone upstairs, I went ahead and let us in. From the amount of people up there, it sounded like the entire cavalry had been called, but when I opened the door, I came to a sudden stop.

Blaise collided with my back, grabbing my shoulders to steady himself. "Toby? Everything okay?"

I nodded, not taking my attention off the vampire leaning against the wall opposite. He'd barely shown any reaction at my arrival. Sure, he was sneering, but that was all he seemed to do these days.

My gaze raked over him. Was he thinner than the last time I saw him? His colour was good, and there were no bags under his eyes, so he had to be feeding regularly. That was something.

"Tobes?"

Blaise's quiet whisper had me jolting. I shot him an apologetic smile over my shoulder. "Sorry. I'm fine. Looks like I need to introduce you to my cousin."