However Long the Night

Chapter 1 The unmistakable sound of old-fashioned police sirens came from Jesse’s new iPhone, blaring through the house at an unnecessary volume. Jesse barely heard it; he didn’t even think about stopping to see what Derek wanted. He wasn’t exactly in a position to call for a time-out when the arm of the couch was hard against his stomach, and Gideon was plowing into his ass like he was making up for lost time. Even if he wanted to call a time-out, he couldn’t. The tie Gideon had shoved in his mouth just after bending him over effectively stifled any speech. The iPhone stopped, and for several seconds, the house was silent except for Gideon’s grunts and Jesse’s short, hard breaths. Gideon held both Jesse’s wrists in one powerful hand, and his shoulders were beginning to ache. Just a little bit. Just enough to remind him how strong Gideon was. From behind him, Gideon’s cell began to trill. Was that Derek’s set ring? Jesse thought so. There might be something wrong. Jesse pushed the thought out of his head. If there was something wrong, Derek O’Dell was a detective with the Chicago Police Department. He could find somebody to help him out until Gideon felt like letting Jesse answer the phone. As if Gideon could read his mind, he tightened his hold around his wrists and moved his hips in a punishing rhythm. The trilling stopped, and Jesse’s full faculties turned back to Gideon. His ass burned, and tremors moved from his lower back, down his thighs. He didn’t want Gideon to stop. He wanted to stay right where he was, shaking and sweating and making muffled begs for more. Always for more. The phone on the desk shrieked. The business line. The one that Jesse always tried to answer if he was in the house. The ability to teleport made it easier to do just that—though Gideon always went slightly sick when he saw Jesse pop out of the kitchen without warning or any obvious reason. He wanted to answer it. He did. And he could have stopped Gideon if he really, truly thought it was important. But the machine would catch it and his balls were throbbing, sending echoes of pleasure all the way up to his throat. The machine did, in fact, pick up after seven rings—which was the equivalent of about fourteen thrusts. Jesse wasn’t surprised to hear Derek’s voice over the roaring in his ears. “Jesus, where the f**k are you guys? Wait. Don’t answer that. Just call me back as soon as you can. Jonah’s in trouble. Well, he better be in trouble, because if I find out he isn’t and he’s just screwing around and making us crazy, I’m going to kill him.” Derek let out a long, exasperated sigh. “Just…please. Call me back.” Jesse spat out the tie. His tongue felt dry and thick. “Did…did you hear that?” Gideon’s fingers dug into his wrists. His rhythm never slowed. “No. And you didn’t, either.” “But he…” Even as the protest formed, a voice in his head screamed at him to be quiet. Or, if he had to speak, beg for Gideon to f**k him harder. “He sounded really worried.” Abruptly, Gideon leaned over his back. His free hand found the front of Jesse’s throat and squeezed over the bite marks on his neck. “And do I sound like I want to stop?” Jesse moaned, shivering as new pain flashed through him. Derek’s voice was already faded from his mind. “No, no, Sir.” The faint prick of Gideon’s fangs made his lungs seize. Gideon hadn’t been vamped out when they’d started. Silently, he urged Gideon to bite, even going so far as to tilt his head out of the way to give him more room. Gideon chuckled. “That’s my boy. Always want just a little bit—” Jesse’s iPhone started screaming again. “Damn it!” Letting go of Jesse’s wrists, Gideon reached across to the coffee table to snatch up the phone. He shoved it into Jesse’s ear. “Tell him exactly what we’re doing and that if he calls and tries to interrupt again, I’m going to chain him up and make him watch the next time I split your ass.” Jesse took the phone, even though it felt more than a little awkward to talk in his position. “Derek? This isn’t exactly a good time.” “I know. I’m sorry. If I wasn’t so worried, I wouldn’t keep bugging you. But Jonah’s been missing for three days now, and my sister is freaking out. Like calling me every ten minutes kind of freaking out. She’s convinced something’s happened to him, but nobody in London will give her a straight answer.” “That…really sucks, but…” Jesse bit back a groan as Gideon slammed into his prostate. A reminder that he was straying from the given script? Probably. “Jonah is an adult. And we’re not in London.” “But you could just pop over there, couldn’t you? Just check out his apartment, that’s all I’m asking. If he’s home, shove a phone in his hand and tell him to call his mom. Five minutes, tops, Jess.” “You’re not a babysitting service,” Gideon growled. “I heard that,” Derek complained. “Do you think I’d bug you if it wasn’t important? We tried talking him out of going in the first place, but he’s been obsessed with this stupid project ever since your housewarming party. I’m just worried he’s in over his head.” Jesse almost asked what the stupid project was, but decided it would be best to hold off on his questions. Especially since Derek sounded genuinely worried. Perhaps the latest call from his sister had sent him over the edge. “Okay. I’ll check it out.” Derek let out a long breath. “Thank you. Have a pen ready? I’ve got his address right here. You can just pop over, pop back, and then go back to whatever you were doing.” With a frustrated hiss, Gideon pulled out of Jesse’s body and abruptly let him go. “When we get back to it,” he warned, flopping down into the chair, “I’m putting a ring on you so you can’t come for hours.” Jesse put his free hand down to catch himself before he fell flat on his face. His legs shook a little as he straightened, and his spine popped and cracked. “Fair enough.” He crossed over to the desk and reached for the pen, his ass still flexing and relaxing. “Okay, Derek, tell me where I’m going.” He scribbled down the address, but he cut Derek off before he could launch into another round of gratitude. Disconnecting, he asked, “Are you coming with me?” Gideon arched a brow. “You’re teleporting to London instead of staying here to let me f**k you. What do you think?” “I think you probably want to sit right there and devise new and interesting punishments for me.” “Give the boy a prize.” Fisting his erection, he stroked himself slowly, deliberately, making sure Jesse saw every movement. “Now get out of here so we can get back to what’s really important.” There was no sense in arguing that Derek’s nephew counted as important—he knew where Gideon’s priorities were, after all. And it was difficult to claim that some kid who probably misplaced his cell phone was more important than what they had been doing. Jesse pulled on the pants and shirt that Gideon had practically torn from his body. The teleportation didn’t take any more preparation than that. One moment, he stood in his familiar library, staring with more than a hint of longing at Gideon’s c**k, and the next he was in the middle of a strange London flat. “Jonah?” If the young man were there, Jesse knew he would respond. Their paths hadn’t crossed often since they first met at the housewarming party, but when they did see each other, Jonah made it clear that he was still interested in whatever Jesse wanted to give him. “Jonah?” There was no window, and no light in the room. Wishing he could see in the dark, he felt his way to what he hoped was the door and felt along the wall to the light switch. He found one and flipped it off and on. Nothing happened. Was the light not connected? Power out? Had the light bulb simply burned out? Jesse found the thought more than a little unsettling. It wasn’t difficult to navigate around the flat, even in the dark. He followed the wall until he found what could only be a small kitchen nook. Despite his new abilities, his senses weren’t like Gideon’s. He couldn’t smell anything out of the ordinary. And he couldn’t see in the dark. Even so, something niggled at the back of his mind. Blood. That was the smell of blood. Faint and questionable, but once Jesse got the idea in his head, he couldn’t get it out. He found another switch, and this time, he flooded the room in low, golden light. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to see the c*****e he had missed before. Books torn apart, a broken television, shredded paper, shattered glass. And that blood that had teased the edge of his senses. Smeared across the walls and staining the carpet. He had seen enough crime scenes to decide two things. First, the attacker had probably been human. And second, whatever Jonah’s ultimate fate, he had suffered a head wound. Jesse had the sudden image of Jonah’s friendly smile smashed in, his teeth broken. His stomach rolled. A moment later, he stood in front of Gideon. “I need your help.” Gideon still had his c**k in his hand, but the look on Jesse’s face must have given him pause. “That was fast.” “I didn’t need to stay long. He’s not in his flat. The place has been wrecked. There’s blood everywhere.” Swiftly, Gideon tucked his c**k into his pants, doing up his belt as he rose to his feet. “You want me to call Derek?” “No. Not until we have some actual news to give. We need to ascertain if he’s still alive. And if he is, maybe there are enough clues around to figure out what attacked him.” He waited until Gideon was fully dressed again before taking his hand. “Ready?” “For having my stomach sucked out through my nose? Never.” But his grip was firm around Jesse’s, his gaze unwavering as Jess pulled him through space to the hallway outside Jonah’s disrupted flat halfway around the world. Though he looked a little green around the edges, his head snapped toward the door, his nostrils flaring. “There’s blood from at least two humans in there.” Jesse nodded, not really pleased that he had confirmation of what he suspected. He turned the knob until the lock snapped and the door drifted open. “Let’s see if you can go in and have a look.” Gideon waited until Jesse was out of the way before stepping forward. The moment his toe hit the threshold, his body jerked to a halt. The brown eyes he turned back to Jess were grim. “There’s your answer. At least he’s still alive.” “The lock wasn’t broken. Jonah knew them and let them in, or they knocked and pushed their way in. Either way, it’s difficult to tell if there was a struggle or if the ransacking happened after Jonah was knocked out.” Jesse peered into the flat, tempted to throw himself into an investigation. But that’s not what Derek had called them for. And they weren’t exactly in their own backyard. “We should get the local authorities started on this as soon as possible. You call Derek, and I can call 9-9-9 here with an anonymous tip.” “Did you grab your phone? Mine’s back at the house.” “Yeah, I put it in my pocket.” Jesse unlocked his phone, relieved to see that it had several reception bars. He gently shut the door, hoping that the busted lock wouldn’t harm the police investigation too much. Gideon watched silently as Jesse dialed the emergency number and waited for the firm, no-nonsense tone of the operator. He was vaguely amused to hear his own accent when he spoke—it was always thicker when he was in England. He kept the conversation brief, focusing on the task instead of the earlier image of Jonah’s broken smile. “Stay there until the police arrive, sir.” Jesse took that as his cue to end the call. “They’ll be here in a few minutes.” “We shouldn’t be here for that.” Gideon grimaced. “I can’t believe I’m suggesting this, but why don’t you just teleport us back, and we’ll tell Derek in person? He’s going to want to know what you saw anyway.”