Hagen, Lynn - Snooke [Demon Warriors 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (5 page)

Kane opened his eyes, and disappointment filled him. He wasn’t in his apartment, and Snooke was nowhere around. He pulled his jeans closed and walked into the shadow of the room, hearing the short man call him a cocksucker as he left Diablo’s and entered his bedroom.

* * * *

“How do you not know where he lives?” Kane asked in frustration.

“I have his cell phone number, but it keeps going to voicemail. Do you want that?” Chris asked nervously.

“Calm down or I’m going to take you outside and kick your ass,” Hondo warned as he pulled his mate into his arms. “Don’t take your frustrations out on Chris.”

Kane stopped pacing and looked over at Chris. “Oh god, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be a prick. It’s just that…” How did he explain what Snooke was doing to him? He didn’t want to sound like a punk whose nose was wide open and sniffing behind the guy.

Kane knew he had been horrible to Snooke. He could see the hesitation in Snooke’s eyes. He should have been more understanding. But like an ass, he had thrown a fit. Snooke probably didn’t even want to talk to him anymore.

“You really like him.” Chris had mercy on him and gave him a way out.

“Yeah.”

“Take his phone number. You can repeat dial him all night long if you want, and nobody will know.” Chris smiled at Kane as he wrote the number down. Kane was grateful for a friend like Chris.

“Thanks.” Kane grabbed the piece of paper and headed for the back door.

“Kane?”

“Huh?” he looked back to see Chris pulling out of Hondo’s arms and crossing the kitchen.

“He seems to have a lot going on. Don’t pressure him.”

If only Chris had said that two weeks ago. “I won’t.” He waved at the two as he walked into the backyard.

* * * *

Snooke rolled over and wondered where the loud music was coming from. It took a moment to realize that it was his phone. He winced as he reached over and grabbed the vibrating thing before it slid from his nightstand.

“Hello?” Was that his voice? It sounded dry and cracked.

“Snooke? It’s Kane. You sound off. Are you okay?”

Kane? Why would Kane be calling him? Didn’t he blow his only chance he had? He had to still be sleeping. Snooke winced again when he pushed himself up to a sitting position. The covers fell and his bruised chest was exposed. “I’m fine.” Why couldn’t he get his voice to work properly?

“Stop lying. Tell me where you’re at.” Kane growled and then his voice softened. “I can help.”

Snooke hissed when he ran his hand over his sternum and touched the sore spots. With his pale skin, it looked worse than it was. His chest resembled that of a human who’d been bit by a truck. The blues and purples blended together to form a macramé of ugly colors. The greens and yellows didn’t help either.

The only thing that worried Snooke was the pain he experienced when he breathed. Going to a human doctor was out of the question. And a demon realm doctor…Snooke shuddered.

Snooke finally gave in and told Kane where he could be found. He knew the warrior wouldn’t tell anyone. Okay, he hoped he wouldn’t.

Snooke dropped the phone on his bed and slid back down very carefully. This was so messed up. He pulled the cover back over his shoulder and tried to lie there comfortably, but it wasn’t in the cards. Every move he made was extremely painful.

He opened his eyes when he heard, rather than saw, Kane enter his bedroom. Snooke closed his eyes again, too ashamed of the way he had acted the last time he saw the warrior. Silence hung in the room. Snooke was starting to believe Kane had left.

“Are you hurt?” Kane said quietly from across the room.

“Yes,” Snooke whispered back. His hands fisted under his cheek as he waited for Kane to approach. He could feel the air stir in front of him and knew Kane was standing beside the bed.

“Where, shorty?” A hand brushed the hair from his forehead.

Snooke had to swallow a few times before he could answer without tears in his voice. “My ribs.” His eyes opened when the blanket was pulled back, Kane studying Snooke’s face. The warmth in Kane’s eyes was nearly his undoing. Those beautiful brown eyes searched Snooke’s for a moment and then glanced down at his chest.

Kane let out a curse. “Who did this?” he asked as his face pinched and he inhaled sharply. “You have some internal bleeding.”

Snooke knew it was bad, but he didn’t know it was that bad. Kane knelt down beside the bed as he reached for his phone. His eyes shot up to stare at Snooke’s. “Phoenyx. I need your help.” Kane gave the warrior their location. Just great, soon everyone would know where he lived.

When Kane sat his phone on the floor, Snooke looked away. He wanted Kane, but was afraid to let him in. His life was a complete train wreck at the moment, and Kane didn’t need to be onboard. He didn’t need to be, but Snooke couldn’t seem to turn him away. No matter how hard he tried.

Snooke watched Kane’s lean, dark body rock back on his heels as he studied Snooke’s chest quietly. Neither spoke until Phoenyx appeared in the bedroom doorway. The warrior had a commanding air about him that made Snooke watch him warily as Phoenyx drew close to the bed.

“What are you going to do to me?” Snooke asked hesitantly. He pulled the sheet up to cover his body as he looked from Phoenyx to Kane.

“He’s going to heal you. Just lie back. I’m right here.” Kane spoke with such gentleness that Snooke obeyed without question. He slid down and pulled the sheet away, his eyes locked onto Kane’s as Phoenyx leaned over Snooke.

“I have to make a small incision, a gateway for my tear to enter your body,” Phoenyx informed him.

“Kane,” Snooke whimpered as he pulled the sheet up once again. A gateway. That sounded pretty painful to him. Snooke wasn’t sure if he wanted the warrior cutting on him.

“I can make it to where you don’t feel a thing. Do you want me to do that for you?” Kane asked as he sat on the side of the bed. “I can freeze time. You won’t know what’s going on. He’ll make the incision and do what is necessary, and then I will unfreeze it.”

“I want that option.” Snooke scooted an inch closer to Kane. Although Snooke had been getting his ass kicked a lot lately, he wasn’t into pain. He actually hated it.

“Lay back.” Kane pressed the palms of his hands to Snooke’s shoulders and made him lay back on the mattress. “Ready?”

“You won’t leave?”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Kane leaned forward and whispered a kiss across Snooke’s lips, and that’s the last thing he remembered until he blinked and Phoenyx was gone.

“Is it over?”

“You did beautifully, although I had to freeze time continuously. Hondo told me you’re a neutralizer.” The side of Kane’s mouth pulled back into a smile. “You kept trying to move.”

Snooke took a deep breath, immediately noticing how easy it was to breathe again. He pulled the sheet aside and saw that his chest was back to being the pale complexion he was used to seeing. The ugly bruising was gone. “Thank you.”

Kane nodded. “Now I want to ask you about how you sustained your injuries in the first place.”

Icy fear twisted around Snooke’s heart. If Kane found out who he was, the warrior would not only kick him to the curb, but probably want to choke him. Snooke tossed the sheet aside and got out of bed, grateful that the pain from just the slightest move was gone. “I have to use the bathroom.”

* * * *

Stall tactics. Kane recognized what Snooke was doing, and he didn’t like it. He wasn’t going to push him though. Kane hoped that the white-haired beauty would eventually trust him enough to let him in and confide in Kane about what was really going on.

Kane leaned back on one elbow and waited for Snooke to come out of the bathroom. Getting beat up seemed to be a habit of late with Snooke, and Kane wanted to get to the bottom of it. Seeing the slim man lie in the bed with bruises angered Kane more than anything he could remember. Snooke was too gorgeous to be marred with such ugly marks.

Snooke walked out of the bathroom and straight to his closet, grabbing a shirt and avoiding Kane’s eyes as he walked across the room to his dresser. “I want to thank you for helping me.” Snooke’s eyes remained on the dresser as he buttoned his shirt.

“You’re welcome. Now will you tell me who did this?”

“I’d rather not.” Snooke grabbed a pair of Doc Martens and slid his feet in. Kane watched the man look nervously at the door and then back at the dresser he was standing in front of.

Kane sighed. Maybe one day Snooke would tell him. “Why don’t you come with me to Chris’s? Hondo is making lasagna tonight.”

Snooke glanced over at Kane, his cheeks turning a bright red. “Are you sure I’m welcomed there?”

It took several moments for Kane to figure out what the demon was talking about. He stood and crossed the room to stand mere inches from Snooke. He leaned forward, his lips touching the beauty’s ear. “I haven’t said a word to anyone about us. No one knows about that night but you and me.”

Kane thought the admission would relax Snooke. Instead, his rigidness increased. “I’m not mad about it. I’ll have you in my bed. It’s only a matter of time.” Kane kissed Snooke’s ear before he backed away. “Now, are you coming?”

Snooke’s head nodded in short bursts as he looked up slowly at Kane. “I wasn’t trying to be a tease,” he whispered before he grabbed his cell phone to join Kane at his side.

“I hope not.” Kane smiled as he grabbed Snooke’s hand. “Close your eyes. It helps when crossing through the shadows.”

When Snooke did as Kane advised, he pulled the smaller demon through the shadows with him. They emerged in Chris’s backyard. Kane pulled on the demon’s hand when Snooke started walking toward Chris’s back door. He lifted his hand and grazed Snooke’s lower lip with his thumb before taking those luscious lips in a blazing kiss. He’d been dying to do that since he stepped into Chris’s house.

Snooke slowly wrapped his arms around Kane’s waist and opened for Kane’s exploration. The kiss was tantalizing and soft. For a reason Kane couldn’t explain, the way Snooke was kissing him made Kane think Snooke was trying to convey to him everything that was going on in the demon’s life.

Kane held him close, letting Snooke know without words that he was there for him. His tongue traced Snooke’s teeth, feeling every ridge as Snooke’s tongue played with his. His cock was getting rock hard, and Kane knew he had to back away or take the beauty in the backyard.

He broke the kiss, staring down into indigo eyes that were a shade darker from need. Kane smiled and gave Snooke a quick kiss before pulling from the embrace and leading them both in through the back door.

“You made it.” Hondo smiled over at Kane. “And I see you found the disappearing demon as well.”

Kane could feel Snooke tensing. He reached his hand behind Snooke’s back and rubbed the small of it as he smirked at Hondo. “I’m starving. You better have my food ready.”

Hondo snorted and flipped Kane off. “Go help Chris set the table. I’m just finishing up in here.”

Kane chuckled as he walked out of the kitchen in search of his long-time buddy. “I hear you need help.”

“Hey, Kane.” Chris looked past Kane as a big grin spread across his face. “Glad you’re back,” he said to Snooke.

“Hey, Chris.” Snooke gave a short wave as he walked over and helped Chris set the table. Kane watched the two, wondering to himself about having a relationship with Snooke. If they weren’t mates, he’d still like to be with him. A lot of demons had happy lives together with others that weren’t their mates. He would just be monogamous. Kane knew he was getting way ahead of himself. A guy could fantasize about having a good home and someone to come home to though.