Vying for his Affection (A Loving Nip Book 19) Read online

  “Thanks, man,” Rhyme commented as he checked the time on his phone. He winced, seeing he only had a little over an hour before he’d told Max he would pick him up, and he had a few things he needed to get done first. “See you later.”

  Rhyme took off, jogging down the gravel road to the office where there was a small gift shop. Unfortunately, they didn’t sell nail polish remover. He headed to the main house.

  While a few who were bonded had chosen to build small homes of their own deeper on the property, most vampires stuck together... especially since Master Jaymes’s ranch home was huge with plenty of spacious suites. Stopping in the main lounge, he spotted Madilyn, their coven’s doctor. When he called her name, she lifted her focus from the e-reader she’d been perusing.

  “Hey, Rhyme,” Madilyn greeted with a smile. “I hear congratulations are in order.”

  Rhyme grinned as he nodded. “The grapevine is alive and well, I see.”

  “You know it.” She winked.

  “I was hoping you could give me a hand,” Rhyme admitted, stopping beside the sofa.

  Madilyn put her reader down. “Sure. What’s up?”

  Appreciating her instant agreement—hell, finding your beloved was the most important moment of any vampire’s life, and most would do whatever they could to facilitate it—Rhyme explained that he was looking for nail polish remover.

  “I don’t think I have any, but I’ll check.” Madilyn rose from her seat, grabbing her reader and heading toward her suite. As she moved, she called over her shoulder, “But I bet Doris has some if I don’t. I’ll find some for you.”

  “Thanks, Madilyn.” Rhyme headed toward his own suite.

  After a quick shower and shave, Rhyme pulled on his clothes. He slid his feet into his dress boots. Another glance of the time showed him he had ten minutes.

  Rhyme took a couple of those to focus on deep breathing. The anticipation filling him caused his blood to heat and his nerves to sizzle. He needed to calm down, or he would be sporting an uncomfortable erection for the entire evening.

  “Shoulda jerked off in the shower,” Rhyme grumbled, but he’d been in a hurry.

  A knock at his suite’s door drew his attention, and Rhyme crossed to it. To his pleasure, he found Madilyn standing on the other side of it... and she was holding a bottle.

  “Sweet. Thanks!” Rhyme took it and headed out to fetch his date for the evening.

  Chapter Seven

  “You’re as nervous as a cat in a room full’a rocking chairs,” Jerome commented from his seat on the sofa. He sported a smirk as he watched Max pace, sit on the sofa for a few seconds, then pop up and begin pacing again.

  Max had been surprised to find that Stanton had a neat streak in him and had ordered George to put his bed away for the day. To his even greater shock, George had bobbed his head in a nod while saying, “Was gonna anyway.”

  While Max didn’t know if that was true, at least they had a place to sit other than the desk chair. Taking a seat on the edge of the sofa again, he rubbed his palms over his thighs. “He’s really attractive, and he helped me, but I—” Max paused and shook his head.

  “If you like him, why are you so worried?” Stanton asked from where he sprawled on the desk chair. “Attraction is important if you’re going to date someone. Even when it’s two guys, right?”

  Glancing between the two men, Max felt relieved that George had already left. The man had met a woman there with a couple of lady friends, and for some reason, she was attracted to George. He was on his way to escort her to the wagon.

  Kinda like what Rhyme is doing for me.

  “Attraction is important,” Max replied slowly. “But what I feel for him is...” He wasn’t certain how to describe it.

  “Overwhelming?” Jerome offered helpfully. The black man grinned when Max met his gaze. He winked, adding, “The only reason to get so pissed off at someone teasing you is if you’re attracted to him, and you think they’re making fun of you.”

  Groaning, Max covered his face with his hands. “Was I that obvious?”

  “Not to me,” Stanton told him.

  Unfortunately, that didn’t reassure Max much. He liked the huge bricklayer, who could design some of the most exquisite things with stone, but Stanton missed a lot of social nuances. His brain just didn’t work that way.

  “I still don’t understand the problem.” Stanton scowled as he rubbed his huge palm over his buzzed blond hair. “You like him, so you date to get to know him.” Then something must have occurred to him. “Unless you just want to fuck. Is that what you want? A vacation fuck and he said you weren’t doing that tonight?”

  Max’s body flushed hot with arousal, and his cock thickened in his jeans. Groaning, he cupped himself. Just thinking of getting fucked by the huge piece of meat that he’d seen jutting from Rhyme’s groin caused his body to nearly erupt with need.

  Jerome laughed, shaking his head. “God, man.” He stared at Stanton and told him, “I think Max’s trouble is he wants to be fucked by Rhyme, but he doesn’t want to look easy on the first date.” Then he waggled his eyebrows as he focused back on Max. “But you would love to be that easy, wouldn’t you, Max?”

  “Oh, god, yes,” Max admitted on a groan, pressing the heel of his palm against the base of his prick. “I want his dick in me so fucking bad, I—” Realizing what he’d just admitted to his coworkers, men he didn’t really know all that well, his face erupted in flames as he muttered, “Sorry.”

  Shrugging his lean shoulders, Jerome glanced pointedly at Max’s fly. “Maybe you oughta jack off before he gets here. You’re a little primed there.”

  Max groaned as his embarrassment grew by leaps and bounds. Fortunately, that caused his erection to flag. He glared at Jerome.

  Jerome just smirked.

  “Doesn’t taking something as big as a guy’s dick up your ass hurt?” Stanton shifted in his seat, as if he felt discomfort upon only thinking about it. His eyes narrowed. “I mean, your ass is really small, and Rhyme is really big, so—”

  Unable to help himself, Max felt his jaw sag open.

  Even Jerome’s dark eyes had widened by the time Stanton’s voice trailed away.

  Obviously realizing what he’d just asked, the man’s cheeks darkened to a bright shade of pink. “Um.”

  A hard knocking sound interrupted them.

  Whew!

  Max bounced off his seat and crossed to the door. After a deep breath, he opened it. His breath left him in a whoosh upon seeing the handsome cowboy standing on the other side.

  “Wow,” Max whispered, unable to help taking in the man before him.

  Rhyme’s gray and brown boots appeared to be made of some kind of snakeskin. His long, muscled legs were encased in form-fitting, faded jeans. The red, pearl-snapped shirt fit his torso like a second skin, leaving nothing to the imagination.

  Yep. Six-pack. Delicious!

  When Max’s gaze finally landed on Rhyme’s face, the cowboy sported a crooked smile, and his eyes appeared to glitter in the shade of his black-brimmed cowboy hat.

  “Oh, sweetheart,” Rhyme rumbled, his voice thick and husky. “As much as I love the way you’re looking at me right now, I’m not certain we have time for that.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Jerome drawled from behind them. “Pull him onto your lap on the sofa, get your dicks out, and jack ‘em.” He snorted as he leaned a forearm on the doorframe and swept his gaze up and down them both. “I bet neither of you would even make it ten strokes.”

  Max gaped at Jerome.

  Rhyme snorted. “You’re awfully comfortable with talking about gay sex,” he pointed out while holding out a small bottle to Max. “Somethin’ you want to share with the class?”

  Listening to Jerome chuckle as he moved past them, it took Max a second to realize what Rhyme was giving him. Upon recognizing the polish remover, he grinned widely. “Thank you so much!” he cried, taking it and placing it on the stand just inside the door.

&nb
sp; “You’re welcome, Max,” Rhyme replied, looking pleased with himself. Then he winked at Max before returning his focus to Jerome and lifting a brow in question.

  Jerome shrugged. “My little brother came out as gay when he was sixteen. I was twenty-two.” His expression sobered as he added, “He moved in with me because my parents disowned him.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Jerome glanced between them. “I ended up doing a lot of research to help him stay safe and take care of himself.”

  “You’re a good brother,” Max whispered.

  Upon hearing the tale, Max thought about his own older brother. He hadn’t been nearly so understanding. In fact, he’d helped their father not only kick him out of the house but drive him out of the county. It was a good thing he had Lilibeth to turn to. She’d allowed him to surf her couch until he’d found a job and got his feet under him.

  “Hmm, I get the feeling something in that story reminded you of your own coming out,” Rhyme commented, picking up his hand and threading their fingers together. “And your big brother didn’t help.”

  Squeezing Rhyme’s hand as he met his understanding gaze, Max shook his hand. “No. I had Lilibeth.”

  Rhyme used his hold to reel him closer, releasing him so he could slide both arms around him. “I’m glad you had her.” Hugging Max to his chest, he pressed a nuzzling kiss to his temple.

  “Sorry to ruin the moment,” Jerome murmured, shifting his weight uncomfortably.

  “It wasn’t you,” Max assured, pulling away so he could smile at the framer who could very easily become a good friend. Then he smirked as he glanced around at the other guys. “At least now I’m not going to be uncomfortable on the hayride.”

  Jerome barked a laugh, his relief filling his expression. “Right.” He rolled his eyes. “So glad I could help.”

  “Actually, me, too,” Max admitted.

  “I’m hungry,” Stanton commented, closing the cabin door. “We going?”

  “Definitely.” Rhyme released his hold on Max and took his hand again. “Come on.” As they walked, he dipped his head and told him, “And you look amazing, too, handsome.”

  “Too?” Max didn’t remember complimenting Rhyme.

  Rhyme waggled his brows, perhaps reading his mind. “You gave me a hell of a compliment with your expression when you opened the door.”

  “Oh.” Max felt his cheeks heat, and he knew he blushed.

  “So gorgeous, Max,” Rhyme purred huskily, reaching over to trace a fingertip down his neck. “Can’t wait to see more of it.”

  Max’s shaft began to thicken anew, and he groaned. Pushing Rhyme’s hand away, he grumbled, “Behave.”

  “For now,” Rhyme agreed with a cheeky smile.

  Max enjoyed the hayride, and Rhyme behaved the perfect gentleman. He helped Max into his seat, even draping one of the provided blankets over the hay bale for his comfort. With his arm around Max’s shoulders, Rhyme kept him from being jostled too badly while the team of draft horses pulled the wagon.

  “I’ve never been on a hayride where it was pulled by horses before,” Lilibeth commented from where she sat on Max’s other side. “It’s always been pulled by a tractor.”

  “We do have a tractor that can pull this. We use it when we load hay bales onto this from the field,” Rhyme admitted. “But we thought having it pulled by horses for the dinner would be more authentic.”

  “You have your own hay fields?” Lilibeth glanced around, but all around them were sparse copses of trees and rolling meadows. “Where?”

  “We do,” Rhyme confirmed, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. “When you first enter the ranch, there’s a gate into the left pasture. Cross that to another gate, and there’s a dirt road which leads to them.” Smiling, he told her, “You should come back during October. We use the hay bales to form a haunted maze out there. People park in the pasture, then take a hay wagon to the maze.” Shrugging, he added, “Although that’s pulled by our tractor. Unless people want to walk, anyway.”

  “Oh, wow! You guys do a maze?” Stanton cut in from where he sat on Rhyme’s other side. “That’d be fun.” Then his brows furrowed. “Or would I be too tall and could see over the side?”

  Rhyme patted Stanton’s knee good-naturedly. “Nope. Don’t you worry about that. We make our walls seven feet high. You won’t be able to see over it.”

  Stanton turned to Jerome. “You wanna go, J?”

  “If you want. Sure,” the laid-back friend replied.

  “I’ll get you tickets,” Rhyme assured, nodding.

  Lilibeth leaned forward and grinned at Rhyme. “Me, too?”

  “Absolutely.” Rhyme then turned and brushed his lips over Max’s temple. “You, too, little”—he cleared his throat—”uh, beloved?”

  To Max’s surprise, he didn’t feel the least bit of offense at Rhyme’s near slip. In fact, he sort of missed the endearment.

  Max swallowed hard before offering Rhyme a shy smile. “You, um, you can call me that... if you want to,” he murmured, trying to keep breathing slowly so he didn’t blush. “I-I didn’t understand before. Didn’t listen to... how you said it.”

  “I’d like that very much,” Rhyme murmured, cradling his face with his free hand. Tracing his thumb along Max’s jaw, he stared into his eyes. “And I am sorry that the first words you heard me speak were something that offended you. I didn’t mean to. I”—Rhyme paused, grimacing—”I joke and shit, but I never mean to hurt.”

  Max nodded, hearing the sincerity in Rhyme’s tone and reading the truth in his eyes. “Sometimes misunderstandings happen.”

  “Then going forward,” Rhyme began slowly, “we should try to avoid misunderstandings. Hmm?”

  The way Rhyme continued to tease the pad of his thumb over Max’s skin caused the hairs on his neck to stand on end.

  “Y-Yeah,” Max responded, struggling to focus on Rhyme’s words. “Asking and answering questions would be a good thing.”

  “Right.” Rhyme held his gaze, his voice turning husky. “Communication.”

  “Yeah. Communication.”

  “Then we’re gonna communicate that we’re here,” Lilibeth cut in with a giggle. “Just let me slip past you here, and I’ll walk with Jerome and Stanton.” Lilibeth patted Max’s shoulder as she eased by him. “You take your time. I’m sure Rhyme knows the way.”

  Max nodded absently, but he couldn’t seem to take his focus off of Rhyme, and Rhyme stared right back at him. When the jostle of the wagon stilled and the murmur of voices disappeared, Max held his breath.

  Will Rhyme really kiss me?

  “I had planned to wait until after our date, Max.” Rhyme slid his hand up Max’s jaw and into his hair. “But you are so damn irresistible.” He groaned softly as he lowered his head. “If I kiss you now, will you think less of me?”

  “Never,” Max breathed against Rhyme’s lips, praying he would close the distance. When the big man still hesitated, appearing conflicted, Max ordered, “Kiss me.”

  With a groan, Rhyme obeyed.

  Seconds later, Max felt his head swim as pleasure assaulted his senses in a wave of desire beyond anything he’d ever experienced. He opened his mouth wider, rested his hands on Rhyme’s wide chest, and gave himself up to the exquisite sensations.

  Chapter Eight

  Bliss. Ecstasy. Delicious rush of flavors.

  Rhyme lost himself in the sweet taste of Max’s mouth. His beloved tasted better than anything he had ever tasted, could have ever imagined tasting. He swept his tongue deep into Max’s mouth again and again, learning the shape of him and reveling in his sweet responses.

  Unable to resist, Rhyme nipped a fang over Max’s bottom lip. The well of blood almost had him shooting off right that second. Max’s iron-rich life-fluid caused his senses to sing and his breath to catch in his throat.

  On a groan, Rhyme tore his lips from Max’s own. He heard his beloved’s whimper and felt his trembles against him. Panting harshly, he rubbed his hands up and down Max’s back,
attempting to soothe his human even as he struggled to regain control of himself.

  “Goddammit, beloved,” Rhyme muttered, a rasp in his voice he couldn’t help. “Much more of that and I woulda laid you over this hay bale and mounted you, consequences be damned.”

  And Rhyme knew there would have been consequences. Not only were they way too close to others, but he still needed to explain so much to Max. He needed to explain that vampires and paranormals existed, and that he was one. Plus, Rhyme had to share the fact that Max was his beloved—the other half of his soul.

  Gods, bonding with a human is so damn complicated.

  “Y-Yeah,” Max responded roughly. “That’d probably be bad.” His cheeks were flushed, causing his freckles to stand out in stark relief. “I don’t wanna get fired, after all. And you probably wouldn’t like that, either.”

  Rhyme chuckled as he nodded, although he knew that wouldn’t happen. His master would be pissed at his carelessness if they were caught. That was mostly due to the number of people’s minds the vampires would have to alter.

  It was a pain in the butt.

  “Come on,” Rhyme urged, rising to his feet. He held out his hand, offering it to Max. “Let’s go find something to eat.”

  Max nodded, taking his hand and allowing Rhyme to draw him to his feet. Rhyme began leading him toward the flip-down stairs they used for hayrides. When Max muttered under his breath, Rhyme nearly fell off the wagon.

  “If for nothing else, it’ll give my dick a second to relax.”

  Rhyme knew Max hadn’t meant for him to hear his whispered grumble, and it took all his self-control to keep from betraying that he’d heard. Just hot damn. As Rhyme descended the stairs, he carefully adjusted his erection.

  Good thing I decided to wear a nice shirt that could be left untucked.

  There was something to be said for planning ahead.

  Once Rhyme had reached the bottom, he helped Max descend the staircase, which barely moved under his diminutive human’s weight. He didn’t mention that, however. His sweet beloved had quite the complex about his size, and Rhyme wondered from where it stemmed.