Fully Fledged [Spirit of Sage 9] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Read online

  “Son,” Murphy husked, kissing the top of his tousled brown hair. He eased back a tad, gripping Freddy’s shoulders in firm hands, and studied the younger man intently. Freddy had always felt that Murphy saw too much and knew, even now, that the man was reading his soul. A gentle smile appeared on his dad’s face, and tears glimmered in his hazel eyes. “You’re back for good.”

  Freddy nodded. He was back.

  “Welcome home, Freddy,” Murphy said, his smile widening, and went in for another hug.

  “Thanks,” Freddy replied, with feeling. “I was a little nervous, since I haven’t, you know, called very often.” He shrugged uncomfortably, seeing his dad’s grin deepen and a drollness appear on the man’s face as they parted.

  “You mean the once a year you actually remembered how to use a phone? Or the one postcard we received from England? Or the Christmas card you sent three weeks late, two years ago?” Murphy hugged him again, chuckling, and then gave Freddy a noogie that had Freddy squirming helplessly.

  “Uncle, uncle!” Freddy squealed, laughing breathlessly. “Fine, I’m crap at communicating. Sue me.”

  “I’m sure that won’t be necessary,” a well-modulated British voice drawled mockingly. “We’ll just have you shovel snow for a few days…with a teaspoon.”

  Freddy finally extricated himself from Murphy’s grasp and turned to embrace John, who was grinning widely. “Hey, big guy,” Freddy said, and squealed again when the snow leopard shifter snorted and gave him a noogie, as well, then lifted him, throwing him over his broad shoulder in a fireman’s lift, and began carting him off down the street.

  “Hey!” Freddy shrieked, laughing hard at the man’s antics. John had a screw or two loose, and he’d never gotten them fixed. “Sheriff, I’m being kidnapped. Help!” he cried out as he saw Sheriff Pace sauntering along toward them.

  Pace shook his head sadly, high-fiving John, which had Freddy groaning. These two were incorrigible. “I’m afraid when we have miscreants who never write, or call, to let us know when they’re going to come home, there’s only one thing for it,” he said, sighing as he ruffled Freddy’s hair.

  “Dad?” Freddy begged, still laughing hard as John smacked his ass.

  “Son, you should know by now, I rarely get involved when the sheriff here puts his foot down,” Murphy said, chuckling. “Don’t you remember what we said when you left?”

  Freddy thought quickly and groaned again. “You told me to keep in regular contact, or you’d hose me down with ice water.” He saw that they were heading to a brand-new gas station, with four pumps and a little convenience store attached. On one side of the store was the air hose for tire fill-ups…and another that was dripping water. Oh crap!

  “Allow me to do the honors,” the sheriff said, with a little too much eagerness for Freddy’s liking. “For having your dads worried sick for three years.”

  Freddy closed his eyes in resignation and felt himself placed back on his feet, bracing for the inevitable impact of icy water, on an equally icy day, with snow thick on the ground and the chill factor way below freezing. This was gonna hurt.

  “No, let me,” John whined comically. “You always get the fun jobs.”

  Freddy raised his lashes to see his dad rolling his eyes at the pair. “Neither of you is going to douse my son,” he said and tugged Freddy toward him, admonishing Pace and John with a scolding finger. “I’d rather he didn’t leave town again because you two idiots can’t behave yourselves. Besides, it’s freezing. I don’t want him getting frostbite. We’re going to get a hot chocolate and a pastry each, while I phone Aiden and the kids and let them know that our prodigal has returned.”

  Murphy flipped off his friends when they groaned in dismay, grinned at Freddy and then linked arms with his son, ambling back toward Café Anglais.

  “You didn’t think I’d let them do it, did you?” Murphy arched his brow teasingly. “I’d sooner turn the hose on them, really.”

  “Hey, that’s really hurtful,” John called, falling into step a few feet behind, with Pace strolling beside him. “Bad parenting, that’s my thought. When you bring your children up right, they respect their elders.”

  Murphy snorted and leaned in closer to Freddy. “That’s why his children run riot every single chance they get,” he murmured, loudly enough for the pair behind to hear. “Only last week, Murray coerced Blue into absconding from school to go build snow people by the lake. They had to be rescued when they dared one another to ice-skate, and the ice cracked beneath them. Lucky they’re shifters, or they’d have frozen to death before anyone realized they’d gone.”

  “That was not Murray’s fault,” John protested vehemently. “Blue was the one to instigate the whole thing by telling Murray that the lake was frozen over.”

  “And who told Blue that the lake was frozen over?” Murphy asked, turning his head to look at the big Brit.

  John shrugged, flushing slightly. “I may have mentioned that there was ice,” he muttered.

  “John, you regaled everyone with how much fun it would be to go ice-skating on one of the lakes, and how the ice rink at the sports complex isn’t nearly so exciting.” Pace laughed, elbowing John in the ribs. “It’s definitely bad parenting, but nothing to do with Murphy.”

  John elbowed Pace back, knocking his beanie off into a snow bank. “My dear man, at least my little darlings don’t wander off ten miles away,” he shot back, dodging a fist. “Candy, Percy, and Priscilla are your adopted offspring, aren’t they?”

  Freddy burst out laughing and looked over at Pace, who flushed, brushing snow off his hat, which sported a sheriff’s insignia on the front. “You adopted Candy?” Freddy asked incredulously. “Did Murphy check you out before you decided? The girl’s a full-time handful.”

  Pace shot him a dry look. “Yes, thanks for the heads-up…three years too late,” he retorted, as the other two laughed heartily. “Candy is a sweetheart, with a mind of her own and a penchant for adventure. That’s why Zach suggested we adopt her…a sheriff and a kick-ass lawyer seemed the best option.”

  Freddy laughed again, imagining the conversation. During the tournament, they’d had many a scare when Candy, who’d been partially blind back then, got away from them and created many gray hairs. The little girl was a sweetheart though, but definitely a menace in miniature form. Freddy frowned suddenly, thinking that as well as abandoning his fathers, he’d done the same to his brothers and sisters.

  “Don’t sweat it,” Murphy murmured, and Freddy slanted a startled look his way. “You had your demons to slay and a world of wonder to explore. We understood.”

  The last comment hit Freddy the hardest, and he ducked his head, tears forming in his eyes. He was twenty now and had missed so much of life. The lab where he’d been taken as a boy had been dire and terrifying, and had left its scars on him, both physical and mental.

  “I didn’t mean to be gone for so long,” he admitted, wiping his eyes and sniffing back more tears. “I’m sorry.”

  He met his dad’s hazel gaze and saw the unconditional love and understanding there. Murphy had always just “gotten” him and his confusion about everything that he’d been through. Servicing the lab techs’ sexual needs had been just one of those things, as it had been for many of the older children. Mabel, Charlotte, and Kristoff had been subject to the same seedy demands. When they refused, they were beaten or simply forced to obey.

  Freddy had hated himself for a long time, feeling guilty that he had become a victim, that something he had done must have somehow encouraged their attention. He had been made to feel as though he had attracted those evil men, simply because he’d breathed the same air. It had taken him a long time to understand that the fault had lain with his captors, his abusers, and never with him.

  Murphy stopped and turned toward him, opening his arms again without speaking. Freddy let out a small sob and once again stepped into the security of his father’s embrace. He had been running for three years.

  “You once told me something, years ago,” Freddy said, feeling his tears soaking Murphy’s thick fleecy jacket. “You said that time is a healer. You were wrong, Dad. Time doesn’t heal, nothing can ever heal what those bastards did to me.” He looked up, staring fiercely at Murphy. “Time’s an anesthetic. After a while, you have the memories, but the pain is gone.”

  “Baby, you’re not done cooking yet,” Murphy said with a gentle smile, cupping Freddy’s face in his big gloved hand. “You’ve processed what happened. You’ve admitted that you hold no blame. That’s the biggest step, shrugging off the guilt and responsibility of an abuser’s actions.” He kissed Freddy’s forehead tenderly, then rested his forehead against his son’s. “The next one is finding something to make you whole again, because you wear that wound deep inside you, and it hasn’t healed properly, just scabbed over. Until you find that special salve, you’ll still feel a twinge of what you were. The old you was a survivor. The new you?” Murphy grinned at John and Pace. “I guess we have all the time in the world now to find out. And trust me, after dealing with these two bozos for this long, I can’t imagine you’ll turn out any worse.”

  “Hey!” Freddy’s laughing protest was echoed by the two bozos in question who began a pile-on, teasing Murphy relentlessly for some recent event. Something about elephants coming to town and circus performers. Freddy had no idea what they were talking about, but he had that overwhelming feeling of homecoming once more. He was more than glad to have stopped running.

  * * * *

  Evan sipped his hot chocolate, licking his lips and purring in satisfaction as the sweet, delicious goodness trickled down his throat. The door to the café opened, the bell above it tinkling merrily, and his attention was caught by the brown-haired stud who walked in, looking lithe and l
ickable in black leather pants and a black-and-tan leather biker jacket, carrying a black-and-tan crash helmet with a pair of fur-lined leather gloves tucked inside. The guy was laughing and joking with some guys Evan had met two weeks ago, just after he and his merry mixed herd of ex-circus performers had walked into town.

  The guy glanced around, and his gaze locked with Evan’s with an almost audible click. He saw the man’s beautiful dark gaze widen and witnessed the pink tip of his tongue peep out, licking at a pair of delectable lips before ducking his head shyly, smiling a little.

  “Hot chocolate for our prodigal son,” one of the man’s companions, Murphy, said to Callahan, the server behind the counter. The man let out a whoop of joy and came running, hugging the newcomer tightly and ruffling his hair.

  “Freddy, it’s good to see you, bro,” Callahan said excitedly, the studs in his ears winking brightly, and his piercings jiggling when he grinned.

  “You, too, Callahan,” the man named Freddy replied, returning the embrace enthusiastically. “I figured by now that you’d realize John was too much of a slave driver and deserted the place.”

  John cuffed Freddy upside the head as he passed the younger man, who yelped and rubbed his ear ruefully. “Never let it be said that I overwork my employees,” John drawled, gesturing pointedly to where the second server, brown-haired and blue-eyed Bryce, was leaning on the counter. The guy flipped John off, rolled his eyes, and turned to fire up the beverage machine behind him.

  “Nobody else would work with him,” Callahan said, dodging John’s hand skillfully as he released Freddy and fled past the big Brit, to man the cash register. “He says it’s his inimitable charm. I say we’re taking pity on the elderly.”

  He yelped and ran into the back kitchen as John leaped the counter in a show of agile power and easily caught Callahan, then gave him a noogie for his sass.

  Freddy laughed as loudly as the other customers at the pair’s antics, but his gaze kept returning to Evan. After a few repeats, Evan got to his feet, placing his drink on the table, and held out his hand to the younger man.

  “Hello, Freddy, I am Evan. Would you like to date?” Evan said huskily, in his usual direct style, holding out his hand for the man to shake.

  Freddy’s big brown eyes widened in shocked surprise, and he reached for Evan’s fingers almost without thinking. “Er, you see…wow, you’re fast!” he blurted out, flushing when Evan tilted his head quizzically.

  “Freddy, this is Evan,” Pace said, watching the introduction carefully, his beanie sheriff’s hat now in place on his dark-haired head. “He arrived here two weeks ago, from a now-defunct circus over in Siberia.”

  “Siberia?” Freddy asked, sounding startled. “You’ve come a long way.”

  “Indeed,” Evan said, nodding abruptly. “We may discuss the journey over a hot chocolate, yes?” He saw a quick grin light up Freddy’s sexy mouth, and the flush on his cheeks deepen entrancingly.

  “I’d love to, but right now I’m catching up with my dad. I haven’t been home in three years. Perhaps you’d like to join us?” Freddy stared at Evan, the dark depths of the younger man’s gorgeous eyes swirling with all kinds of mystery. Evan sniffed delicately, inhaling the scent of pine trees, lemon, and a musky, unique odor that could only be Freddy’s special aroma. It was a heady perfume.

  “If I am not intruding, I would love to join you,” Evan replied, reaching out to smooth his thumb along Freddy’s lower lip, wanting to touch that plump, lickable mound. It felt as silky as he’d hoped. He leaned a little closer, his mouth parting, and watched Freddy’s eyes shutter, going blank in a heartbeat before he stepped back, wrenching from Evan’s touch with a look of almost panic.

  “The offer was for hot chocolate and conversation, dude. Anything else may happen, but not until I say so, got it?”

  Evan’s smile was slow, but stretched his face as it spread. The man had fire in him and a sharp tongue. Good for him, not simply accepting a man’s touch. Nobody should have to be touched unless they wanted it.

  “I am sorry,” Evan said sincerely, moving back a little, as well. “I know what it is like to have another’s hands on me, without permission. I apologize. It won’t happen again.” A flash of disappointment scurried across Freddy’s face. Evan clarified his statement. “Unless you ask me to.” He nodded to each of the man’s companions and turned back to his table, sitting down. “Let me know when you would like to share that hot chocolate. I will be waiting.”

  He returned his attention to his beverage, licking at the thick dollop of cream that sat on the top, purring again as the smoothness hit his taste buds. He wondered what Freddy would look like covered in cream and chocolate sauce, laid out like a banquet for Evan to feast on.

  Listening without trying to appear that he was, he smiled to himself as he heard Freddy’s shaky sigh and the quick release of breath, then his footsteps as he walked past.

  Five minutes later, Evan looked up in surprise when Freddy sat down opposite him, looking nervous, and placed his crash helmet on the chair beside him. He unzipped his leather jacket, revealing a snug-fitting black thermal T-shirt that clung to his chest with loving clarity. Evan ate up the curving musculature of the man’s upper body, swallowing hard when Freddy removed his jacket entirely and placed it carefully on top of the helmet.

  “I’d love to talk about your journey from Siberia,” Freddy said, licking his lips and tugging nervously at a lock of his thick brown hair. Evan admired the shaggy do, reminding him of fallen leaves in the autumn, with a myriad of finer colors enhancing the hue.

  Callahan came over with a tray full of hot chocolate, and Evan watched as the table was inundated by John, Murphy, and the sheriff. He caught the intense looks that came his way and returned them in kind. He was fifth-generation circus cat, used to being whipped and intimidated by some of the meanest people on the planet. No way would he be cowed by these striplings.

  He bared his fangs in a sarcastic smile, acknowledging the subtle warning.

  “Where would you like me to start?” he asked, his tone soft and warm as he turned his gaze back to Freddy with the mesmerizing brown eyes. He could lose himself in that stare and never want to come back.

  Chapter Two

  Freddy sat, enchanted by Evan’s luxuriously rich voice, the hint of Siberia clear in each enunciation. He bit back a sigh, thinking that he had lasted for over twenty years without meeting anyone who got to his libido as this big, mysterious shifter was doing. Within five minutes of hearing his voice, Freddy was ready to roll over and let the man have his way.

  “Russia is a beautiful country,” Evan was saying, in reply to a question from Bryce, who looked just as enthralled as Freddy. “It is vast and has an incredible history to it. My friends and I studied as much as we could when we left the circus. Our trainers thought us stupid and didn’t have any clue that we taught ourselves to speak English, and to read, by watching television and examining books, newspapers, and magazines that were left around when we toured throughout Europe.

  “How long did it take?” John asked curiously.

  Evan shrugged. “Months. I don’t exactly know the date that we left our camp. But we are now in the winter months here in Wyoming, and we left in the spring of last year. Mazy, our matriarch elephant, was pregnant, unbeknownst to us, and gave birth on the way. We had to travel more slowly so her calf could keep up, and we traveled south to avoid the worst of the Russian winter. St Tropez was a blessing.”

  “Freddy!” a voice squealed loudly, interrupting Evan’s monologue, and everyone smiled as Alfie came running inside, dragging Freddy out of his chair by his armpits, and smothering the younger man in kisses.

  “You act as though you haven’t seen me in a while.” Freddy smirked, a twinkle in his eye as he teased his friend.