couldn’t grasp the conversation on the other end of the line. He tried to pull himself closer, but Klein noticed.
“Get back to work!”
“Yes, Master.”
Klein shook his head and went back to his call. “Did you hear that? He calls me Master. How fucking awesome is that? Hm? Oh, no. Ryker did that.” … “Yeah, he trained this one up real good. Kid can take it like a pro from either end.” … “What? No way, man. It’s not gay at all! He’s the one who’s the fag.” … “Listen, have you ever had a guy’s mouth on your cock? I never did either, at least not until this one. Lemme ask you, how often do chicks blow you?” … “Yeah, that’s what I thought. This one, though? He’s always ready, ain’t that right, bitch?”
Deke gritted his teeth. He would not let this bastard break him. “Yes, Master.”
Thoughts about how to kill Klein filtered into Deke’s mind. He made most of the food. He could poison it and kill all of them at once, but he doubted he could find enough toxic material in the house, or that it would take out the wolves. Damn them and their healing. A gunshot wound to the head would do it, but no way it wouldn’t be heard. Even if only seven other people followed Klein, that was still more than Deke could handle at once.
He returned to his task but did his best to listen in on the conversation. Try as he might, though, his mind was wherever Quinn was. It had been a week since he’d been able to see his mate. He trusted Gareth and Lyram to keep Quinn safe, but he still wanted to do it himself. Each night he dreamed that he was taking Quinn in his arms as the two of them snuggled in bed. There would be light kisses, gentle caresses, and hours spent simply being together. Deke didn’t mind if they never had sex, so long as he got to hold Quinn.
Quinn, I miss you so much. I have a list of things I want to say to you, to tell you.
Deke?
Deke jolted like he’d done when he stuck something in an electrical socket as a kid. It had to be wishful thinking. That was all it could be. No matter how much Deke wanted it to be true, there was no way.
He swiped a hand over his cheek to brush away the tears, and if Klein said anything, Deke would swear he was chopping onions.
QUINN SAT upright and looked around the dark room. Unease unfurled in his stomach as he recalled the dream that had woken him. He was in bed with Deke, and they were lying together, clutching each other desperately. It wasn’t a sex dream—Quinn never had those—but it was profound in that Deke wasn’t pressing Quinn for something he didn’t want. Instead, he was giving him more than Quinn ever thought he could have.
The door opened, and a shaft of light from the living room swept in. Sean entered, and Quinn relaxed.
“I’m awake.”
He didn’t say anything, simply slipped through the room and lay down beside Quinn. He reached out and slid an arm over Quinn’s chest and pulled him close. Quinn knew Sean was using his calming abilities, and he appreciated it. The clench in his gut eased.
“Wanna talk about it?”
Did he? What could he say? “I dreamed of Deke. He…. Goddess, Sean. How did I never see that he loved me?”
“Let me ask you something, and take your time to think on this. Have you ever known love before? I mean, our parents obviously didn’t much care. I know for certain Ryker didn’t. So has anyone ever loved you?”
“You,” Quinn replied softly. “It was why I always wanted to hang out with you. I felt normal when I was with you.”
“Oh?”
Quinn grinned. “Yes, because compared to you, I was.”
He tapped Quinn lightly on the chest. “Oh, you are such a brat.” Sean let out a deep, shuddering sigh. “I’m sorry I ran away.”
No, this wasn’t going to happen. Quinn sat up and flicked on the light, then turned to face Sean. “Don’t do that. Please. Do you know how happy I was when you got away? I was so afraid that Ryker would get you back and I’d never see you again. At least when you were out there, I had hope that one day we’d be together again.”
“We are, and I swear we’re not going to be separated again. I