Four-Letter Words by Evans, Gabrielle (top 10 books of all time .txt) 📗

and squeezing them with bone-crushing, invisible bonds until the assholes passed out from the pain. Once the threat was neutralized, Lynk rushed to his lover’s side, gently cradling his head while he petted and cooed to him.

“It’s okay, love. You’re going to be okay.” Lynk continued to talk, letting the tears flow unrestrained down his cheeks.

“Lynk—” Torren began in placating tones.

“No!” Shaking his head violently so that his dark hair whipped around his face, Lynk refused to even look at their eldest brother. “He’s not dead. He’s going to be just fine. You’ll see.”

The sight was heart-wrenching, but Thane still held to his hope that Kieran’s bond with Lynk would save him. Deciding his presence would not be welcome, Thane turned away from his twin and hurried to find his own mate.

Zasha was slumped on the ground, unmoving, and panic seized Thane like a lightning bolt to the chest. “Zasha?” Storming across the room, he pushed at the Enforcers rounding up the prisoners, shoving them out of the way with no thought in mind but reaching his lover.

Mere steps from his goal, he stumbled to a stop when Raven appeared at Zasha’s side and offered his hand, pulling the vampire to his feet with a chuckle. “You did good, angel. You scared the shit out of me there for a minute, but you did good.”

“What was that?” He saw no good reason another man should be calling his Infinity by such an intimate endearment. Holding both hands out at hip level, he channeled his energy to his fingertip, smirking when electricity sparked and crackled across his skin. “Would you care to repeat that?”

Raven shook his head once and held his hands up in front of him. “Nope. I’m good.”

“Thane, it’s not what you—”

Thane silenced his mate with just a look. “Come here, lieveling.”

Releasing the energy in his hands, he pulled Zasha into his arms, crushing him close to claim his lips. He had no fangs to bite his lover with like a vampire, no scent to saturate him in like a werewolf, but he marked his mate in the only way he knew how—with a scorching kiss designed to brand Zasha’s very soul.

“You were amazing,” he whispered. “I’m proud of you.” Then he let the bass seep into his voice and narrowed his eyes. “If you even suggest coming with me on another assignment again, I will redden your ass and tie you to the bed. Got it?”

“Promise?” Zasha batted his lashes while his eyes danced with mischief.

“Mmm, promise.” Dipping his head, Thane rubbed their noses together and sighed. “I love you, Zasha. I think you took ten years off my life, though.”

“It wasn’t like I planned for any of this to happen.”

“I don’t care.”

“You’re being unreasonable.”

“Probably.”

Zasha huffed dramatically and rolled his eyes. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Love me,” Thane suggested.

“I do.” Zasha pressed his lips together into a thin line, and he must have realized what he’d said, because his eyes rounded almost comically. Thane had to give him credit, though. Instead of falling apart, Zasha swallowed twice, wetted his lips, and pressed his palm to Thane’s cheek. “That wasn’t how I intended to tell you, but that doesn’t change the truth in it. I love you, Thane.”

“I know.”

“You know? That’s all you have to say? You know?”

“What else do you want me to say? I said it first. It would be silly to say it again. Then we’d be standing here all night in a perpetual loop of I-love-yous.” Gods, he adored this man, and he would stand there all night telling Zasha just how much, but it was too fun to tease him. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I have better things—Raven, don’t move.”

“I was just going to help the other Enforcers.”

“In a minute.” Thane wanted to hear more about this endearment. “Since when did Zasha become your angel?”

“Dude, it’s not like that. It’s just a joke, like a stupid nickname. That’s all.” Raven looked like he’d rather be facing down a firing squad in that moment. “It’s nothing. Really. It won’t happen again.”

Zasha groaned and rubbed both hands over his sweaty face. “We dated about three years ago, and I use the term ‘dated’ loosely. It lasted a little over a month, and it was weird and awkward. Seriously, that’s all there is to tell.”

There were two viable options. Thane could accept that his mate hadn’t been a monk before they’d met, and he had no right to pry into Zasha’s past. The other choice was to bend Raven in half until he could lick his own asshole. While the latter was more appealing, it wasn’t necessary. Viewing Raven as a threat to his relationship was laughable.

“Raven?”

“Yeah?”

“Go away.”

“On it.” Raven wasted no time booking it across the room to help gather up the prisoners.

“You’re not mad?” Sucking his bottom lip between his teeth, Zasha pressed in closer, rubbing his cheek against the side of Thane’s neck.

“No, I’m not mad.” A little jealous maybe, but he’d get over it. Besides, he was the only one who’d been able to capture Zasha’s heart, and that was the real prize. “Maybe we just won’t tell me about any other ex-boyfriends, though.”

“Thane!” Torren called to him from the recess that housed the cages of prisoners. “Raith, you, too.”

The Enforcers from the local pack who weren’t escorting witches to the surface were busy coaxing the children from their cages. It was a strange sight to see such large men trying to appear small and unintimidating while they whispered, cooed, and made silly faces. Enforcers, werewolves in particular, had a reputation for being hardened and uncaring. Obviously, that was far from the truth.

The paranormal world was often times at odds with the different races warring for power and dominance. In hard times, they all came together in common interest, though. There was a special place on the other side reserved for those who abused children, and it appeared as though every person milling about the mines agreed