Cry Wolf

Chapter 3

They headed south, running through the forest, their booted feet moving noiselessly against the moist earth.

They'd only been traveling a few minutes when the sounds grew louder and more obvious--the soft nicker of a horse, heavy boots on the forest floor making no attempt at stealth.

Rei stopped and crouched behind a felled log, and Sin sank down next to him.

"Your eyesight's better than mine," Sin said. "Do you see them yet?"

Rei stared out into the dark woods. "No...they're near, though. Sounds like they're headed directly toward us, moving northeast."

"Parallel to the camp that means. You might be right that they don't realize it's there. How big is the detachment, based on what you hear? Can you tell?" Sin guesstimated it to be around thirty men, but was curious what Rei's senses said.

"I'd say thirty to forty. Still no sight of them, though. Damned sneaky bastards, aren't they?"

Sin nodded. He'd trained many of Raul's foot soldiers himself.

"They're going to come up over that ridge any second now," Rei said. "We need to get out of si--"

On cue, a line of soldiers breached the forest ridge.

"They're already here," Sin whispered fiercely.

They were coming straight at him and Rei, and it was too late to escape the way they'd come without being seen since they'd have to cross the open clearing the soldiers were about to enter.

Sin stared at their surroundings and spied a dark opening in the rocky, tree-strewn hillside that rose to their left. He patted Rei on the shoulder. "Quick! This way," he hissed.

As they ran, Sin realized his heart raced with fearful adrenaline. Odd, since the men they ran from were his own. Yet he ran as if they were after him personally.

Perhaps it was his own self protection to keep his identity hidden and not be found and recognized, thereby losing his cover should the men see him.

Or perhaps, he thought with a troubled tightening in his chest, he ran because he felt guilty. Guilty for allowing himself to sympathize with the human cause he was supposed to be helping shut down.

Or, perhaps, guilty that he'd allowed himself to feel friendship and desire for the draegan who ran at his side.

They sprinted and reached the shallow opening in the hillside just as the front soldiers filtered down into the clearing.

Rei entered the small cave first, with Sin moving in behind him. Sin turned to pull vines and branches in front of the narrow entrance to hide it from view.

As he worked, he heard Rei moving around, but not far away...probably scouting the shallow cave. And then he was behind him, his slim, hot-from-the-run body pressed close to Sin's backside. Sin dragged in a slow, deep breath, trying to quell his sudden upsurge of desire and stay focused on what was happening outside their hideaway.

"They're stopping," Rei whispered, peering over Sin's shoulder through the tangled vines into the moonlit clearing.

"The question is...are they stopping to rest or are they setting up camp?"

Sin studied the men clustering together some forty paces from the cave. They were led by a lieutenant he didn't recognize, and their structure, though similar to that used in the High Guard, had a faintly foreign feel to it.

They did wear Raul's golden chalice seal on their black uniforms and shields, however. They must have been trained and sent from one of Raul's field outposts. Still...their procedure was familiar enough.

"A rest stop," he whispered to Rei. "Although judging from the gear they're unloading, an extended one...probably to eat dinner and rest their horses. I suspect they'll move on in a few hours. We should be safe enough in here until they leave."

"And if they don't...we could be trapped here for an extended period of time."

"No, it'll be a few hours at most. They'll try to make for a more secure location before daylight. They likely know they'd be too exposed in this clearing once it's light out."

A sudden silence. And then Sin asked, curious. "Why does Raul hate your people so much?" The question was out before he could think. Though, he's really really curious about that.

Raul always says that humans were useless and weak. A little rebel group will not be able to become a threat to the Great Clan Leader, with his overwhelming dominance globally. So why he's hell bent on eradicating the leftover humans.

"Because we know the truth."

"The truth?"

Rei leaned in close. One of his hands moved up to cup the back of Sin's head, while the other slid around his waist. The heat of his breath caressed Sin's neck, making his pulse roar.

"That he's the one planned the war thousands years ago."

And then the damp heat of Rei's tongue burrowed into Sin's ear. His legs went numb. He staggered back a step, glad for the support of the cool rock wall against his back. A low groan escaped him and he buried his hands in Rei's hair, tugging free the bit of leather holding it, and savoring the soft, thick feel of it sliding through his fingers.

A deep ache throbbing in his groin, Sin pulled Rei's mouth toward his and, at long last, tasted what he'd craved since he'd first met this man.

Their mouths and tongues moved together with desperation, as if each had been starving for the other much too long. Rei tasted of the spicy wine, of earthy passion, and of something powerful and mysterious that filled Sin's body with a tingling energy.

Their bodies notched together perfectly and Sin wasn't surprised to discover that, in spite of their current situation, trapped in a tiny cave with the Clan Leader's troops nearby, Rei was as turned on as he was.

The man pulled away first, but not far. "I've wanted to do that since I first met you," he whispered against Sin's lips.

"As have I."

"Was it worth the wait?"

Sin chuckled softly. "You have to ask?"

"Not really, no."

He heard the smile in Rei's voice. It was too dark in here to see anything at all. At least for him. Perhaps Rei could.

Sin almost yelp by surprise when he felt Rei's hand grasped his erection and balls through his leather pants. He wasn't gentle, but not rough enough to hurt either. His fingers began to stroke in the same firm manner, sending a flood of heat through Sin's veins and bringing forth a low groan from his throat.

"Shhh," Rei said, his mouth once more hovering near Sin's lips. "Though the Clan Leader's fools outside make enough noise to wake the dead, we can't risk them hearing us."

"They're not getting their c***s massaged by a horny man either, are they?" Sin rasped.

This time it was Rei who chuckled, the sound soft and low and filled with playful l**t. "You have a point there."

Sin's hand did some seeking itself, coming to rest on the bulge at the human's groin. He smiled in satisfaction at Rei's instinctive, appreciative grunt.

"Ah, not so silent yourself now, are you?" he asked, giving as good as he was receiving.

"c**k tease."

He unfastened Rei's belt, letting it and the items attached to it slide to the floor, then jerked open the laces on Rei's pants, pleased but not surprised to find nothing but bare skin beneath them. He freed the hot, firm, velvet-skinned monster, fisted it, and squeezed, wresting a soft, strangled moan from the man.

"Did you just call me a tease?" he asked, biting Rei's lower lip even as his hand continued to stroke the magnificent c**k. "Poor daft man. That was so unwise."

He jerked Rei's pants down his hips, sank to his knees on the hard cave floor, and, holding Rei's shaft at the base, lightly tongued the smooth, helmeted head.

The man sucked in a hissing breath. His hands burrowed into Sin's hair and grasped the back of his head.

"A tease," Sin murmured again, reaching around to cup a firm cheek of Rei's a*s and pulling him closer. "You'll pay for that comment," he promised.

The Great Clan Leader, the ongoing conflict, the detachment of troops outside, and his own loyalties faded into the shadows. Right here and now, he wanted nothing more than to lose himself in the uninhibited joining of flesh with this man.

When Rei's shudders had at last ceased, Sin was surprised to realize the human was still hard. He himself had always been unusually resilient, shocking more than one lover with his ability to have two or sometimes even three orgasms before growing soft.

But he'd never met anyone else with a similar constitution. It was yet another sign to him that Rei was the lover he'd longed for all his life.

He rose, and Rei immediately pulled him into a deep, appreciative kiss. Their tongues stroked in an erotic dance, and it almost seemed as if Rei were savoring his own flavor in Sin's mouth.

"You like how you taste on my tongue?" Sin asked softly against Rei's lips. "Do you like knowing my mouth just sucked your c**k and swallowed your seed?"

"Yes..." Rei breathed. "I like knowing I f****d you there. And before we're done, I plan to f**k your sexy a*s as well."

Sin's breath caught. Gods....he could so easily fall for this man. Could so easily spend the rest of his days nude and tangled together in an erotic dream where he and Rei f****d each other to exhaustion.

His c**k ached, squashed as it was inside his tight pants. And Rei seemed to know it. His hand slid back down to Sin's erection where it had been earlier and resumed the firm stroking.

"Still exuding heat, I see," he murmured, his whisper little more than a sultry purr.

"Not all of us have had a chance yet to relieve some of the pressure."

"We can't have that. Check to be sure none of our unwanted guests are wandering nearby while I get rid of these damnable clothes. I want to feel all of you with no barriers."

Shuddering with arousal, Sin turned in the cramped space and peered through the branches across the clearing at the troop of men reclining, eating, and talking.

Rei's hands slid around to unfasten Sin's belt, then set to work untying the laces on Sin's pants.

"They seem preoccupied with their own business," Sin whispered, starting to turn around to face Rei. But the sound of voices drawing closer halted him.

He looked out again, still not seeing anyone nearby, yet the sound of at least two men talking was unmistakable. And it was getting nearer.

Rei's hand stilled as he heard it, too, and Sin felt him reach to the floor for what he knew was a weapon.

Two, as it turned out. Even as Rei's long-handled knife appeared in his hand, he pressed Sin's dagger into his and recognized the comfortable shape and weight of it in his palm.

"Where?" Rei's barely audible whisper brushed against Sin's ear, exciting him even now.

He shook his head, still searching.

And then he saw them. Two soldiers, moving in from the left. They'd been walking just out of sight, thanks to the thick vegetation.

They paused only twenty foot-lengths away from the cave.

Sin drew in a slow breath, forcing his body into a fully alert state. He felt Rei do much the same behind him, muscles tense and ready for action.

Sin was already planning the attack should it become necessary. It would have to be a quick thrust of the blade, a hand over the mouth to muffle the cry, then they'd have to drag the bodies in here to keep anyone from finding them.

Rei tapped his left shoulder. "Yours," he whispered.

Sin nodded, understanding, as if he and Rei had worked together in a situation like this a hundred times before, that Rei meant for him to take out the man on the left, while he took care of the one on the right.

A brief flicker of thought crossed his mind that these were actually maybe his own men--well, Raul's men--but still he was casually plotting to kill them. Why did he feel no guilt over that?

The taller, thinner man on the left looked up at the sky, his actions almost fearful.

"Will you stop doing that?" his companion growled. He was older than the other by a few years, and heavier-set.

He brought a long, thin roll of paper to his lips, took a drag on it, and Sin could see the red glow at the end of it brighten and flicker as he did. The pungent scent of kellow leaf wafted into the cave.

"But the lieutenant said we're almost there. Those humans were probably watching even as we speak."

Sin could have sworn he felt a soft snort from Rei, yet not a sound emerged from the other man's mouth. It was more like he'd felt it in his mind. Or perhaps he was just imagining that would be Rei's reaction.

"The humans aren't going to show their faces to us, you i***t. They know The Great Clan Leader won't tolerate 'em and will have 'em killed on sight."

He passed the smoke to the other man, who took a puff of it.

"You ever see a human, Lugh?"

"Once. After I'd left home as a youth and was working for a rhum runner. We were delivering a shipment to New York. It came up on us near one of the mountain passes as we were crossing into the outer-realms. It suddenly dropped down on us from above the trees. Wanted to ambush us, I've no doubt. We fight him but he's as slippery as f**k. And it took two days until it finally gave up and run away."

Now Sin was certain he felt waves of annoyance rippling off Rei. And he couldn't help but roll his own eyes at the story.

And it seemed to have worked. The thin man had gone quiet.

"What's the matter, Frange?" Lugh gave a coarse laugh. Then he elbowed his companion. "Eh, don't fash yourself. The humans wouldn't want to kill someone as skinny and dumb as you anyway. Best you get your mind back on our job. We have to be across the forest and meet up with Ragnar's troops by sunset tomorrow so we can escort them and the special cargo they're carrying to DC. The Clan Leader doesn't want to take the risk of any more human raids, so he's doubling security on this load and all the rest crossing the Greatest Plain."

Sin mulled over this bit of news. What kind of cargo might the Clan Leader be transporting across the Great Plain?

"I'm not ready to join the others yet," Frange said. "Bub and Jaston are drinking again and they always get mean when they do. I don't know why the lieutenant lets them have rhum when they're on duty," he grumbled.

"You gotta toughen up, kid. Don't let Bub and Jaston push you around."

The words were surprisingly kind, considering moments before Lugh had been trying to scare the younger man.

Lugh put a hand on Frange's shoulder, but the young man shrugged it off almost as if he were embarrassed. He stalked a dozen paces away and sat on the fallen tree Rei and Sin had crouched behind when the soldiers had first entered the clearing.

"Little brothers," Lugh muttered under his breath, then followed.

Brothers. That explained the teasing torment followed by kind words.

As Sin and Rei watched, he sat down next to Frange. They were far enough away now Sin couldn't hear their whispered words.

Far enough away for the first time in several minutes he felt like he could take in a full breath.

He felt Rei relax behind him and lower his knife. He did the same, reaching down in the dark to find his belt and slide his vrieg back into its case.

Sin hadn't realized how tense he was, but his adrenaline was still surging at how close they'd come to discovery. And with the surging adrenaline came a hard-on so stiff, his balls throbbed in agony.

Rei's strong, callused hands were on him almost before he could finish the thought, turning him back to face the entrance and the clearing full of soldiers beyond.

"Keep watch. Just in case they come back or someone else approaches," he whispered.

"And what exactly are you going to be doing?" Sin asked.

"Finishing what I intended to do before we were interrupted."

A ripple of pleasure surged through him as Rei dragged his pants down his hips and thighs and pulled them and his boots off. A hint of cool breeze from the cave opening stirred against Sin's damp, aching, and now fully exposed c**k.

Sin's vest disappeared and his shirt was pulled up and over his head. A warm hand slid around to stroke his c**k, while the fingers of another toyed with one of his n*****s.

And then Rei's voice was low, gravelly, and hot against Sin's ear as he spoke. "I'm going to f**k you. Right here. Right now."

Raw l**t shot straight to Sin's groin.

He felt Rei move in close to him and it was only then, when the swollen heat of the human's shaft pressed against his a*s and the warm skin of bare chest brushed his back, that Sin realized the other man was a nude as he, and obviously had been the entire time the two soldiers had been talking outside.

Rei ground his d**k against Sin's c***k. "It's payback time for teasing me."

"Now who's the tease?"

The human's soft laughter only made him harder and ache more.

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