Arrow Inferno
Chapter 89: Jeremy Stanton vs. Ryan Hicks ~ Feral attraction in the midst of hatred… The jackal!

***

The albino looked at the photo in his hand, his face etched with grief. The love of his life. His wife. The woman he'd been with for over a century. She was no more. Killed by the bloody wolves of Stanwood Pack during the battle that saw the collapse of his clan. That little girl had no idea what she and her savage bunch had taken from him. If she did, she wouldn't have made a deal with him. His thirst for vengeance was definitely more intense than the need to live. The Jackal had been given an assignment. An assignment that was supposed to be very simple and easy. An assignment that was going to give him a second chance at life. A second chance? Really? Who said he wanted to live? How could he, after everything had been taken away from him? In any case, he was not fooled for even a second. Definitely not by some arrogant little bitch. The Jackal knew that the silly girl didn't have any intention of allowing him to live. He didn't need to consult zoltar to know that she was going to kill him immediately after he was done. He knew her kind. Well, he no longer wished to live anyway. All that he had was gone with the defeat of his clan. What better way to go out than to stick it to his enemies. At least he could make up in his own small way for causing the collapse of his clan by not being diligent in his duties. He couldn't wait to see the look on the bitch's face when he made his move. The Jackal always had the last laugh.

***

"Oh my god, I can't believe I'm actually laughing at that." Ryan gasped, clutching at his stomach. "It hadn't been funny at the time, Paige." He laughed.

He'd changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt when they'd gotten to the suite. Then he'd gone to the adjoining room that was now his study, to work on his lecture notes. Of course, Paige had joined him with a bottle of whiskey, insisting he indulged even though he'd told her he wasn't a good drinker.

"As I said, we're getting shit-faced." She'd purred. "I've been known to do some pretty good job whilst under the influence." She'd said, making Ryan laugh.

Well, they'd gotten into it. And at that very moment, Ryan was feeling no pain. In fact, from the way he was sprawled lazily on the plush couch, he sure as hell wasn't going to get any work done. Damn Paige.

The last time Ryan had gotten slightly drunk was when he'd spent time with Jeremy in the Jacuzzi. And he couldn't help but miss him. If Jeremy had been around, he would have taken him into his arms and comforted him in his time of great grief. He'd lost a friend and despite all that Gloria and Deloris had drummed into his head, he still felt guilty as hell. He would give anything to feel Jeremy's strong, heavenly arms around him that very moment. Thinking about Jeremy's arms was causing a delicious tingle to pass through Ryan. He thought about how Jeremy had taken him to heights that he hadn't even known existed. He remembered the amazing feeling when Jeremy hit that sweet spot inside him and how his eyes always rolled back in his head at that exquisite feeling. It was hands down the best feeling in the world. He remembered when Jeremy had given him so much pleasure he'd begged him for mercy, whimpering, 'no more'. And he remembered Jeremy's sexy voice when in response to his pleading, he'd rather spread his legs further apart and husked, 'one more'. That response... Ryan had come so hard, he'd almost passed out.

"Oh fuck, this wasn't a good idea, Paige." Ryan groaned when he realized how hard he'd gotten. "Why did I have to listen to you?" He whimpered, turning his head to look at Paige who was lying on her back on the rug, with her legs crossed at the knee. She didn't even look drunk. "Lady, are you even drinking with me?"

"I am." She sounded very sober. "I just have to take in a hell of a lot to get to your current level."

"Oh fuck off," Ryan growled groggily, hurling a throw pillow at Paige and covering his groin with another.

Paige wasn't fooled even for a second. When Ryan heard her laughter, he threw an arm across his eyes with a groan, wishing he had the energy to flip her a well-deserved bird. He felt too lax to even manage that. When he felt his eyes drooping sleepily, he wasn't surprised at all.

"Ryan?" Paige called out softly.

"Yes, Paige." Ryan sounded drunk and sleepy.

"You know I love you right?"

"I know," Ryan responded in a hoarse voice. "And I love you right back."

"Thanks," Paige said. "You can sleep now. I'll be right here."

Ryan hadn't been able to have a good sleep since the day of the battle with the Wyatt Clan. The booze had its advantages, after all, he couldn't help but acknowledge. Ryan didn't fight it when he felt himself drifting enticingly toward sleep. He needed it.

***

Ryan felt warm lips moving against his neck in a sensuous caress. He felt a hand moving under his t-shirt, gently stroking his skin. Jeremy? Ryan opened his eyes and lo and behold, his Jeremy was lying on top of him on the couch.

"Oh god, Jer..." He breathed. It all felt so real, Ryan thought. But it was obviously a dream and nothing more. How else would Jeremy be there with him that very moment? When his gorgeous mate smiled at him, Ryan's heart literally missed a beat. "God, I've missed you." He gasped.

Ryan couldn't believe it. He'd thought and fantasized about Jeremy so hard he'd managed to conjure him up in his dreams. Finally! He'd wished to see his mate in his dreams since his departure but had never dreamt about him. He'd finally given up, thinking he would never get that privilege, thanks to whatever the council had done to him. But from what was going on at that very moment, wishes did come true when a person wished hard enough. He had a lethargic feeling in his limbs though, which was rather strange but hey...in dreams, anything could happen, right? The most important thing was that he'd gotten his wish.

Before he'd slept after downing all that booze with Paige, his thoughts had been filled with Jeremy. He remembered it being so intense, he'd popped a boner. Well, all that sexy thought had clearly resulted in his mate coming to him in his dream. And Ryan planned on staying in that dream for as long as he could.

Ryan moaned when he felt Jeremy's fingers lightly caressing his stomach. That felt good. He arched his back and gave himself up to the sensations. He didn't close his eyes even once because he couldn't tear his gaze off his gorgeous mate. When Jeremy began to drop tiny kisses along his jaw, Ryan began to tremble in anticipation of the kiss that he knew was coming. He wanted to move his hands up and grab Jeremy's head so he could take that kiss that he craved but he couldn't move his arms. Once more it crossed his mind how weird that was but again, he ignored it.

"Kiss me." A whisper. But the desperation behind it was so intense it was palpable. "Please..."

Jeremy raised his head and looked down at Ryan. He had an odd look on his face...almost as if he didn't want to. But then he leaned down and began to kiss Ryan. Ryan thought he heard someone... Paige? Well, it sounded as if the person hissed, "don't", but Ryan ignored it. Although he couldn't feel the usual heat that was always present in his and Jeremy's kisses, he wasn't bothered because it was only a dream after all. One couldn't possibly expect a kiss in a dream to be as intense and real as it usually was in reality...right?

Again he thought he heard Paige hiss, "enough" but it was so faint, he thought he'd imagined it. Then Jeremy broke off the kiss and raised his head to look down at Ryan. For a split second, Ryan thought he saw a sinister look on Jeremy's face. "Jeremy?" Ryan breathed. "Why are you..." But he never got to complete his sentence because, in a swift move, Jeremy leaned down and bit into his mark.

The pain slammed into Ryan so fast and so hard, he felt dizzy. What the fuck! And he'd thought that the bite Jeremy had given him on his first night in Stanwood Pack was agonizing? That was nowhere near what he felt at that very moment. The pain was so excruciating his entire body felt as if he'd been thrown into a tub filled with hot needles. And his chest felt as if it was going to explode. It was like no pain Ryan had ever felt. Ryan screamed!