Fighting Dragons
Fighting Dragons
Dragons 3
Loose Id
M/M Paranormal Fantasy
[Ebook]
Sergeant Bailey Stevenson and Captain David Wellmine keep dancing around their attraction to each other. Bailey is more than willing to take their friendship in a more intimate direction, but David can’t climb out from under his father’s thumb long enough to take the next step.
On St. Patrick’s Day, when Irish magic is strongest, a meddling elf gives Bailey and David a chance to step beyond their doubts and fears to embrace the love simmering below the surface between them.
But when the spell is over, will David break the chains of his father’s plans for him and give Bailey his heart, or will he break Bailey’s?
Publisher’s Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Male/male sexual practices.
Excerpt:
Soft gasps filled the early morning as cotton sheets brushed over flushed skin. Murmurs turned into low moans and rustling movements sped up. A voice pleaded for release.
“Please, David. I want –”
The words cut off in a sharp cry.
Bailey Stevenson grunted as warm liquid splashed over his hand. Opening his eyes, he stared up at the beige ceiling of his bedroom.
Yes, he was truly pathetic, jerking off by himself instead of going out and finding a warm body to be with. He shoved his clean hand behind him and levered himself off the bed.
It took a minute or two to find his balance before he lurched his way to the bathroom to clean off. After coming, his muscles responded even slower than usual to his requests. He flicked on the light and managed to get the water in the shower turned on without falling over.
Now that would be embarrassing. When he didn’t show up at AngleLow Labs, someone would come looking for him, and they’d find him unconscious and naked in his bathroom. If he didn’t drown himself first.
Bailey rinsed his hand off and shook his head. He should be out looking for some “no strings attached” sex and fun, but that was the problem. Actually, it presented two problems.
He liked having strings attached to his sex. Oh, not in the kinky “tie me up” way. No, he wanted the sex to mean more than two guys getting their rocks off with each other.
Plus he didn’t want just any guy. He wanted a specific tall, gorgeous army captain who blew hot and cold in his actions toward Bailey. Captain David Wellmine probably didn’t see him as sexy considering how often the man had to catch Bailey when he tripped, which happened a lot when he was around the captain.
Holding on to the stainless-steel bar he’d installed in his shower, Bailey eased into the tub. The hot water pounded down on his strained muscles, forcing a sharp burst of air from his lungs. His chronic pain flared, and he let out a groan.
He’d have to talk to Kael about getting more of that tonic his friend had made for him. Would asking for it mean that Mordred would come to the lab to deliver it?
Mordred was George St. Albans’s lover and an elf who had lived in the Realm of Dreams before the barrier had been compromised. When George returned to the mortal world to stay, Mordred came with him, and the mortal world had gotten a little more beautiful.
With the barrier repaired, dragons stopped showing up, along with other mythological creatures. There were a few holdouts in the more remote areas of the world, but slowly Bailey’s unit, the Dragon Slayers, was weeding them out. What would happen to the unit once the creatures were gone? It would only be a matter of time before Bailey was offered a medical discharge since he wasn’t even much help sitting behind a desk.
His balance was off more than usual today, but he managed to clean up and get dressed without falling. Having to explain the bruises was getting embarrassing, though for the most part his fellow soldiers didn’t ask him anymore. Having gotten ready without calling for help was a major accomplishment for him.
Someone banged on his door as he exited his bedroom.
“Just a second.” He yanked the door open just as Maksur raised his hand to knock again.
“You ready to go, Bailey?”
“Yeah, let me grab my keys and wallet.”
Bailey snatched them up from the table in the hallway and tucked them into his back pocket. Settling his sunglasses on his face, he shut and locked the door behind him before following Maksur down the hallway to the stairs. Taking his time, he made it down to the ground floor without a mishap, and Maksur flashed him a smile.
“I’m running behind, man. Can’t be late again or Captain Wellmine will chew my ass but good.” Maksur unlocked his car and slid behind the wheel.
“Tell him I made you late.” Bailey fastened his seat belt.
“Nah, man. It’s my fault. I didn’t hear my alarm clock go off this morning. You would think I’d be used to getting up at the butt crack of dawn.” Maksur scrubbed his hand over his chin.
“Maybe if you didn’t stay out so late, you wouldn’t have a problem waking up.”
His fellow soldier flashed him a bright smile. “Where’s the fun in that? You need to get out more, Stevenson. All work and no play makes for a very dull boy.”
He laughed like Maksur expected, but he wasn’t agreeing to hit the town with the man. Maksur trolled the pubs with single-minded determination to get laid every night. He didn’t care if he knew his partner’s name or not. He simply wanted a warm body, and he wasn’t picky about the sex of his partner either. Maksur swung both ways, and while not bragging about it, the lieutenant wasn’t the type of guy who was ashamed either.
Entwining his fingers so his hands wouldn’t shake, Bailey stared out the car window at the blue Irish sky. Before the bomb that injured him in Iraq, he’d probably have been right beside Maksur, searching for willing bed partners, only his would all be male. Yet the bomb did happen, and Bailey was left picking up the pieces of his life and hoping that someday he found a guy who could overlook the fact that he stumbled when he walked and shook like he was sitting on a washing machine during the agitation cycle.
His fingers traced the face of his watch, and a smile crossed his face. God, Jake would be yelling at him to quit his whining. He’d been injured, but it didn’t mean he was dead. He was different, that was all, and he’d have to learn how to live with those changes.
They pulled into the parking lot at AngleLow Laboratories with a few minutes to spare.
“Meet you for lunch, Bailey?” the lieutenant asked as he climbed out of the car.
“Sure.”
Bailey took his time getting out, trying not to rush because that’s when he got clumsy. Captain Wellmine wouldn’t yell at him if he was a few minutes late. It was the other team members who got chewed out, and Bailey didn’t know if he should be honored or embarrassed that Wellmine didn’t single him out.
“Hey, Sergeant Stevenson.”
He glanced up and smiled at Monica, Dr. Hugh Price’s assistant. “Hello, Monica. How are you today?”
“Wonderful.” She swept up several file folders and grabbed the door leading to the labs before Bailey got there. “You go on ahead.”
“Thanks. Is Dr. Hammerson in yet?”
Monica screwed up her nose while she thought for a second. “Yes, I saw him come in about an hour ago. He should be in Lab Three.”
He nodded his thanks as he walked past her. All of the employees of AngleLow had developed a strategy to help him out without damaging his ego. Bailey appreciated it, but it didn’t mean he’d let them see him hurting.
After waiting until Monica disappeared down one of the other corridors, he leaned against the wall for a few minutes, breathing deep and stretching. The cramp dug its claws into Bailey’s calf muscle, and he closed his eyes, concentrating on working it out. Easing on his feet, he tested his movement and nodded as the cramp dissolved. He wandered down the corridor to Lab Three and checked to make sure there weren’t any warning lights on. Kael tended to get crabby when people interrupted his experiments. No lights, so he knocked.
“Come in,” a voice called from the other side of the door.
Bailey winced as he tripped over the threshold into Kael’s lab. Kael and Irene, his lab assistant, glanced up, and he shook his head at Kael’s inquisitive look.
“Had a cramp in the hallway. Takes a little time to work out.”
Kael nodded, and understanding lit up his dark brown eyes.
“I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment?”
Irene grinned as she stripped her lab coat off. “I’ll g-go and s-see if Alan has m-made it in t-this m-morning. D-do y-you w-want me to b-bring you some c-coffee, D-dr. H-hammerson?”
“No. I’m fine, Irene. I grabbed a cup on the way in today.” Kael waved his assistant out of the lab.
“Okay. C-call me w-when you n-need m-me.” She walked past Bailey and patted him on the shoulder. “G-good to s-see you again, B-bailey.”
“She doesn’t stutter as much as she did when we first met,” he observed after Irene left the room.
Motioning to a chair, Kael laughed. “No, she doesn’t. Guess dating Larkin has given her more confidence. When you’re not worried about getting hit every time you open your mouth, you’re less likely to stutter.”
Bailey understood that theory. The more he worried about tripping or knocking stuff over, the more damage he tended to do. Yet sometimes, if he didn’t watch what he was doing, he could be even clumsier.
“What can I help you with?” Kael jotted down a few numbers before giving Bailey his full attention.
“I wondered if you and Hugh needed help with your party. If you make up a list, I can go and get everything for you.”
“You’d be willing to do that?”
He smiled at Kael’s relieved expression. “It’s no big deal once I know what you want. It won’t take too long for me.”
“Thanks, Bailey.” Kael rested his hip against his desk. “This wasn’t my idea. Mordred is feeling homesick, so George suggested we throw a party, and St. Patrick’s Day is actually a special day in the Realm of Dreams.”
“The Realm must be a marvelous place if Mordred used to call it home. I’ve never seen anyone quite as beautiful as Mordred.”
“It’s a completely different world than ours,” Kael muttered, glancing down at the floor.
Bailey chuckled. “Just looking at the man tells me that. How long have he and George been together?”
“I’m sure it feels like forever for them sometimes.” Kael rolled his eyes and grimaced.
“Most relationships get that way after a while. Of course, I’m no expert. I haven’t been in a relationship for years.”
“How are things going between you and Captain Wellmine?”
He shot Kael a surprised look, not realizing anyone noticed how attracted he was to the captain.
“There isn’t anything going on between us. We’re just colleagues.”
“Uh-huh.” Kael pulled his glasses off and started polishing them. “I might wear glasses, Bailey, but I’m not blind. Neither are Hugh and George, and if both of them noticed something between you two, there has to be something there.”
Ducking his head, Bailey stared down at his feet. “Yeah, well, nothing’s happening. I don’t think the captain would be interested in someone like me.”
“Someone like you? What’s that supposed to mean?” His friend replaced his glasses and sat next to him.
“No guy would find me attractive anymore considering I can’t walk without stumbling or tripping over things. I can’t even stop my hands from shaking long enough to shave my face. I have Maskur do it every other day, or else I’d probably slit my throat.”
He clenched his hands, but they continued to tremble slightly.
“Plus you’re in constant pain,” Kael observed softly. “Even with the tonic I give you.”
Closing his eyes, he nodded, feeling rather pathetic at the moment.
“I think David sees beyond those outward issues. He knows how you got them. They’re battle scars, and any man who’d turn his back on a man like you, Bailey, is an idiot.”
“You’re a nice person, Kael.” Bailey reached over and patted the slender man’s knee. “But not everyone is like you. I’ve given Captain Wellmine plenty of opportunities, but he’s never acted on them. I take that lack as a clear sign.”
He shoved to his feet, teetering for a moment before straightening, appreciative of the fact that Kael didn’t try to help him.
“The other thing I wanted to ask you about was the tonic. I’m out.”
Kael pursed his lips and nodded. “I’ll get more for you.”
“Thanks. E-mail your list and I’ll start getting the stuff tomorrow.”
He made his way to the door and left, heading toward his little office where he ran the supply part of the unit. After shutting his door, he leaned back against it with a low groan. It was still early in the morning, and he was already sore.
St. Patrick’s Day was coming up, and the party Hugh was throwing sounded like fun. Maybe he could get Captain Wellmine to go as his date.
Bailey laughed as he pushed away from the door and went to his desk. Wishful thinking because David would never do anything that Bailey might see as an opportunity to start a relationship.
He brought up the order forms he needed to fill out for supplies. There was work to be done, and nothing would come of longing for the captain.
