in justice being served than in worrying about
any broken hearts.
Three days into knowing his son, Ray had realized the
obvious, right there in his living room, and he"d been trying
to save himself ever since.
It didn"t help to be alone in his house now with the
scent of Cal all over him.
Ray"s “love cave” as Cal had repeatedly called it, was
just a house. A lair only in the sense that it was his, and
safe, but a regular house otherwise. Living room, kitchen,
bedroom, bathroom, and spacious closets because he was on
the large side. Fridge full of beer and steak which, though
pricey, was really the only thing that eased the cravings
between hunts.
Some Kind of Magic | R. Cooper
58
He thought about avoiding his living room, but with Cal
so close to him all day, after weeks without a glimpse of him,
he didn"t need the room to relive the memory of that first
painful moment.
The whole night was as clear as the water in a scrying
bowl, from the second the door had closed behind Lex and
Ray had crossed his arms and faced his uninvited guest, to
how he"d finally had to tell Cal to leave.
He remembered standing like that, stiff, his posture so
defensive that he"d known it. It had only left him more
agitated without even knowing why, and he shut his eyes.
He reopened his eyes at the memory that had been
taunting him all day, pulling himself back from the brink
and inhaling desperately as though any trace of Cal had
lingered in his home in the years since that night. He was
shaking when he exhaled, so very tired he knew he wouldn"t
be able to resist a little crutch tonight.
Not scotch, though a glass or two would have been nice.
He wasn"t meant to deny his nature like this. It wasn"t
right. But he had a beer and then went to bed without
finishing his book or that letter to his sister. He knew why he
was exhausted and also how to fix it, so he didn"t shower
either, leaving the scent of Cal all over him as he undressed
and slid into bed.
Then from his nightstand, he pulled out his last resort
for a good night"s sleep. He was still on edge from his arousal
earlier. It had taken forever for his erection to go down, with
Cal"s eyes on him nearly the whole time, knowing.
Desire like that was like being neither here nor there,
between being Wolf and Man, like being aroused with no
relief in sight.
Some Kind of Magic | R. Cooper
59
Ray shut his eyes and debated shifting before sighing
and shaking his head. Senses even more acute might be the
death of him right now, so he shut off the lamp by the bed
and stayed human as he put the towel up to his nose.
Cal had left it behind after a department softball game,
and his human male sweat had been all over it. Ray had felt
foolish picking it up, creepy taking it home, but there were
very few options when your mate wasn"t available, and this
was one of them.
It still shimmered faintly in the right light, but Ray kept
his eyes closed and stayed in the dark and just breathed it
in, relaxing enough to sleep.
AS THOUGH Ray once again somehow had traces of glitter
still on him—something that was seriously damn well
impossible—Parker"s gaze had been especially intense on
him all day. Cal couldn"t read minds, Ray had had to remind
himself, it just felt like he could.
Ray had detected Cal"s trail at the station before he"d set
foot inside, so at the coffee cart outside he"d bought four
coffees, one with extra sugar and full of flavored syrup. In
fact, it was mostly syrup. He"d handed it to Cal without a
word and then looked away before he could blush or do
something else stupid like admit to guilt over using Cal"s
scent to fall asleep.
Cal had gulped it down and then shared his sugar high
with most of the station, male and female, Being and
human, while Ray and Penn ran down locations on some of
their suspect pool. They"d even called a few in for interviews
that hadn"t gone anywhere.
Some Kind of Magic | R.
any broken hearts.
Three days into knowing his son, Ray had realized the
obvious, right there in his living room, and he"d been trying
to save himself ever since.
It didn"t help to be alone in his house now with the
scent of Cal all over him.
Ray"s “love cave” as Cal had repeatedly called it, was
just a house. A lair only in the sense that it was his, and
safe, but a regular house otherwise. Living room, kitchen,
bedroom, bathroom, and spacious closets because he was on
the large side. Fridge full of beer and steak which, though
pricey, was really the only thing that eased the cravings
between hunts.
Some Kind of Magic | R. Cooper
58
He thought about avoiding his living room, but with Cal
so close to him all day, after weeks without a glimpse of him,
he didn"t need the room to relive the memory of that first
painful moment.
The whole night was as clear as the water in a scrying
bowl, from the second the door had closed behind Lex and
Ray had crossed his arms and faced his uninvited guest, to
how he"d finally had to tell Cal to leave.
He remembered standing like that, stiff, his posture so
defensive that he"d known it. It had only left him more
agitated without even knowing why, and he shut his eyes.
He reopened his eyes at the memory that had been
taunting him all day, pulling himself back from the brink
and inhaling desperately as though any trace of Cal had
lingered in his home in the years since that night. He was
shaking when he exhaled, so very tired he knew he wouldn"t
be able to resist a little crutch tonight.
Not scotch, though a glass or two would have been nice.
He wasn"t meant to deny his nature like this. It wasn"t
right. But he had a beer and then went to bed without
finishing his book or that letter to his sister. He knew why he
was exhausted and also how to fix it, so he didn"t shower
either, leaving the scent of Cal all over him as he undressed
and slid into bed.
Then from his nightstand, he pulled out his last resort
for a good night"s sleep. He was still on edge from his arousal
earlier. It had taken forever for his erection to go down, with
Cal"s eyes on him nearly the whole time, knowing.
Desire like that was like being neither here nor there,
between being Wolf and Man, like being aroused with no
relief in sight.
Some Kind of Magic | R. Cooper
59
Ray shut his eyes and debated shifting before sighing
and shaking his head. Senses even more acute might be the
death of him right now, so he shut off the lamp by the bed
and stayed human as he put the towel up to his nose.
Cal had left it behind after a department softball game,
and his human male sweat had been all over it. Ray had felt
foolish picking it up, creepy taking it home, but there were
very few options when your mate wasn"t available, and this
was one of them.
It still shimmered faintly in the right light, but Ray kept
his eyes closed and stayed in the dark and just breathed it
in, relaxing enough to sleep.
AS THOUGH Ray once again somehow had traces of glitter
still on him—something that was seriously damn well
impossible—Parker"s gaze had been especially intense on
him all day. Cal couldn"t read minds, Ray had had to remind
himself, it just felt like he could.
Ray had detected Cal"s trail at the station before he"d set
foot inside, so at the coffee cart outside he"d bought four
coffees, one with extra sugar and full of flavored syrup. In
fact, it was mostly syrup. He"d handed it to Cal without a
word and then looked away before he could blush or do
something else stupid like admit to guilt over using Cal"s
scent to fall asleep.
Cal had gulped it down and then shared his sugar high
with most of the station, male and female, Being and
human, while Ray and Penn ran down locations on some of
their suspect pool. They"d even called a few in for interviews
that hadn"t gone anywhere.
Some Kind of Magic | R.
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