Shadow's Pen [Rescue for Hire 10] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove)
Rescue for Hire 10
Shadow’s Pen
“I am Shadow. I am just a man, although some think I’m a chameleon, an animal, or a ghost. You on the other hand, will know me as your lover. The man who demands that your body give me everything until it can’t give anymore.”
Pen needs to find out the truth of his brother’s death after he becomes a victim of a serial kidnapper but the authorities aren’t talking. When Pen is mugged on the way to work, one of Rescue for Hire’s men is assigned to guard him. Betrayal fills the air when secrets are revealed.
This is a story of a one night stands that turn into so much more. Watch a man who lives in the shadows take on a spunky temperamental man who challenges him at every turn. What happens when the pain of loss turns to joy, but the truth turns to lies?
Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Contemporary
Length: 32,364 words
SHADOW’S PEN
Rescue for Hire 10
Bellann Summer
EVERLASTING CLASSIC
MANLOVE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove
SHADOW’S PEN
Copyright © 2015 by Bellann Summer
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63259-914-8
First E-book Publication: November 2015
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of Shadow’s Pen by Bellann Summer from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.
The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.
This is Bellann Summer’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Bellann Summer’s right to earn a living from her work.
Amanda Hilton, Publisher
www.SirenPublishing.com
www.BookStrand.com
DEDICATION
This one is for Stormy Glenn, who suffered through my nonstop jabbering about this story until she put me out of my misery and took a peek at it. Happy dance when she liked it.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
About the Author
SHADOW’S PEN
Rescue for Hire 10
BELLANN SUMMER
Copyright © 2015
Prologue
Welcome to Rescue for Hire. A company formed by Cade Miller to help people in life-threatening situations. Led by his brother, Shane, his team of specialists charges into weather and manmade disasters to rescue the victims.
As lives and situations changed, Cade’s original five-member team has grown to ten. Some of his men have taken on other responsibilities or have cut back on their duties, but all of them are, and will always be, a family.
Seeing an opportunity to enhance his team, Cade brings in team and family member number eleven.
Chapter One
Drew Powel scanned the three computer monitors in front of him. In his personal notebook, he added more facts to the outline of the Gregslist kidnapper. Things didn’t add up.
How could a scar on a man’s left hand disappear? The same question could be asked about a tattoo of an anchor. In one report, there was mention of a chipped bottom tooth, but not in another.
Drew brought up the only known image of the kidnapper from the surveillance footage taken at the hospital when the man tried to attack Tolliver Holliday. Splitting the computer screen, he attached a photo from the autopsy report next to the hospital image. The two images appeared to be the same man.
Pulling up the autopsy report, he saw that John Doe had no scar or tattoo. Listed under personal effects was a blued-faced gold watch.
Absently, Drew looked around the room filled with plain wooden desks, some holding computers Drew thought came from the age of the dinosaurs.
At one o’clock in the morning, The Granite City Chronicle was deserted. As one of the top reporters for the local newspaper, Drew had the keys to the building and could come and go as he pleased. That was one of his demands when he accepted the position at this smalltime newspaper.
A little over a month ago Drew’s whole world had been turned upside down. After researching the events of the tragedy, he made the decision to quit his lucrative position as an international reporter and move to where the authorities who had broken open the case was located. To his way of thinking, this was where he would find the answers he needed to be able to go on with his life.
Bringing his gaze back to John Doe, he stared at the image. Blinking back the tears that threatened, he whispered, “Was it really you who killed my brother?”
* * * *
Shadow needed release. He wanted down and dirty. But no one on the dance floor caught his attention. Granite City wasn’t that big, and since he’d been using the city as his home base for almost a year, the same old faces seemed to be playing the same old games.
Straightening from the murky darkness in the corner, Shadow made his way along the
perimeter of the large room toward the bar. Now that he was moving, more than one person jumped and looked at him with wide, startled eyes. From their perspective, his appearance was sudden.
Some would call Shadow a spook or a ghost. Unless he wanted them to, most wouldn’t call him anything at all, as they wouldn’t realize he was even there.
It had taken him a little longer to break away from the government powers-that-be than his teammates from his former military unit. When their commander was captured during a mission, the team had gone against orders and had rescued him.
The unit not-so-patiently waited for Synn, or Mr. Creole as the team called him, to recover from his injuries enough to hold a pen, and then they all signed discharge paperwork. What the team didn’t know was that Shadow’s request was denied. It seemed the feds didn’t want to let go of someone who could blend into the shadows like a chameleon but was deadly as a viper.
Last month Shadow fulfilled his duty and had gone on his last mission. Those who bothered to watch the news on television or read a newspaper would know only that one of the top terrorists in the world was no longer a threat. Now Shadow was free but was finding freedom boring.
Shadow paused in mid-step. Now that ass wasn’t boring. Senses sharpened by years of undercover military missions went on alert as the hunter in Shadow came out.
White jeans molded a firm, round ass that would spill over Shadow’s large hands and give him hours of playtime using his favorite toys. The man’s legs were slightly apart, emphasizing solid thighs. In Shadow’s mind, he imagined pushing those thighs wide before sinking his cock deep into the man’s hole and staying there for a few hours.
A black tank top accentuated a slim waist and lean, muscled shoulders. An arm raised a glass filled with something green. Shadow didn’t know what the drink was, nor did he care. He was more interested in arms that looked fit but didn’t contain bulky muscles.
Shadow wasn’t into small men, as some of his former teammates were. Before his friend Mr. Saint had met his partner, Shadow had made lots of money at bars betting that the giant of a man would go after the tiniest blond in the place. As intense as Shadow was in the sack, if he tried to bed a tiny man, he would break them before their night together was half over.
This man was more his style. As he walked up behind him, Shadow estimated his height at five-ten, just the right complement to his own six-four. Now if the man’s face didn’t look like his Aunt Mildred’s fat ass in black spandex, Shadow’s night could be looking up.
The three men clustered around his potential fuck did a double take when they spotted him.
“Hey, Pen, did you forget to tell us you were meeting someone?” a slim blond wearing too much eyeliner asked.
“What are you talking about?” The man in the white jeans glanced over his shoulder and froze, staring at Shadow.
At first, Shadow only saw big light gray eyes surrounded by thick black lashes and a wide mouth shaped like a cupid’s bow. After taking a moment to enjoy and imagine what he could do to that mouth, Shadow noticed the heart-shaped silver earring in the man’s right ear. Adding to the attractive picture was heavily styled dark brown hair that would have reached the man’s collar if he was wearing one.
Looking back at the three men he wanted gone, Shadow ordered, “Go away.”
Like leaves in the wind, the three scattered. The man they called Pen watched them disappear into the crowd before looking back over his shoulder. A frown now marred his handsome features. “That was rude.”
Shadow stepped forward and pressed his body against the man in front of him. His dick throbbed from the contact with that sweet ass. The man turned his head back around and looked forward while settling back against Shadow. And Shadow liked that display of submission.
Shadow spread his hand on the side of the man’s hip and caressed it. Leaning forward, he trailed his tongue up the side of the man’s smooth delcious neck until he reached his ear. “I want to spend time with you.”
* * * *
Holy fuck.
Pen had come to the hotel’s combination bar and restaurant to see if any of his friends were there and to drink enough to keep the nightmares at bay so that he could sleep through the night.
Now his friends had deserted him, and there was a huge-ass man behind him licking his neck.
Goosebumps rose along Pen’s arms when the man whispered against the sensitive skin next to his ear, “People call me Shadow. What is your name?”
“I’m Pen,” he answered, liking how this Shadow easily held his weight while he leaned against him.
Shadow began licking at the crease behind Pen’s ear. A shiver quaked through Pen’s body, and his jeans became a size too small.
“Come to the bathroom with me,” Shadow ordered.
Pen’s mind raced in circles. Should he take the chance with a stranger? They were in a public place. Hell, he had been so surprised by the stranger’s sudden appearance. He hadn’t even gotten a good look at the man yet. In the end, the hard-as-iron pole rubbing against his ass decided it for him. “Let’s go.”
The hand splayed across Pen’s left hip moved and grabbed onto his hand. The next instant Pen was being pulled away from the bar and around the dance floor toward the hall that contained the restrooms. Now he could see that the man who intrigued the hell out of him was tall, wide-shouldered, and had long dark hair. So far Pen liked what he saw.
As they entered the hall, Cade Miller came out of the men’s restroom. The successful businessman was highly respected in Granite City. What Pen had learned about Cade’s business practices during the short time he’d been in the city had him in awe of the man. When Cade saw Shadow, his handsome face lit up with a big smile, and he held out his hand.
“Hey, it’s good to see you.” Cade shook Shadow’s hand. “Are we still on for our meeting tomorrow?”
“I’ll be there at nine,” Shadow answered. His deep, low, rumbling voice made Pen want to start rubbing his body against Shadow’s like a cat in heat.
“Sounds good.” Cade clapped Shadow on the shoulder before giving Pen a long, measured stare. “How are you doing, Pen?”
Pen stiffened. Sympathy laced the question, along with something else that raised his hackles. “I’m keeping busy.”
“That’s what I heard,” Cade responded. “Well, take care.”
Pen watched Cade walk away, confused by the mixed signals. Before he could start to decipher the puzzle, Shadow was tugging him into the bathroom.
The man didn’t hesitate in leading Pen into the stall farthest from the door. The rest of the metal cubicles shook when Shadow swung around and pushed Pen up against the cool wall. Firm lips covered his. Fingers dove into his hair and pulled until Pen was forced to tip his head and give the man total access to his mouth.
Shadow’s talented tongue swept inside, bringing with it the bitter taste of hops. The hand in Pen’s hair tightened, and a huge thigh forced its way between his legs, making him spread. Pen tangled his hands into the soft material of Shadow’s T-shirt, unable to move anything else other than his tongue.
Their tongues duel, caressed, and explored, and Pen almost lost his mind. Waves of desire danced over his skin, and his world narrowed until only Shadow existed.
Shadow broke the kiss and loosened the pressure of his thigh against Pen’s dick. “Suck me.”
Pen bent his knees, ready to sink to the floor. Needles of pain exploded on his head when the hand tangled in his hair pulled tight. Pen was going to ask what was wrong, but all the words left his brain when he got his first good look at Shadow under the bright florescent lights in the bathroom.
Eyes the color of chocolate searched his face and seemed to be looking into his soul. Pen had the feeling they didn’t miss much. A straight nose and firm lips accompanied those eyes on a face that held sharp cheekbones and a chin that contained a deep dimple that called for Pen’s tongue to explore. Shadow’s hair was long, thick, and reached his shoulders. The shiny dark brown tress
es tempted Pen to sift his fingers through them.
“What do you want?” Pen tried to read Shadow’s face but didn’t know the man well enough to be able to judge if he was angry, happy, or just didn’t give a shit.
The hand in his hair jerked Pen’s head forward, and a quick, hard kiss bruised his lips.
“Just a second.” Shadow reached down and pulled out a long piece of toilet paper from the dispenser. Pen was stunned when the bigger man dropped the paper in a wide heap on the floor and said, “Kneel on that. We don’t want to mess up those fancy white pants.”
Pen couldn’t resist a little teasing. “So, you like my pants?”
A big hand squeezed Pen’s ass cheek hard and pulled him close for a moment. “I want to tap the ass under them. Now suck me.”
Pen’s knees landed on the toilet paper. Leaning forward, he covered the huge dick outlined by black jean material with his mouth. Pen caressed the hard-as-stone monster with his lips and pulled in air through his nose, heating the big cock with his breath.
Shadow tugged on his hair. “More.”
Pen opened the man’s jeans and pulled them down enough to expose Shadow’s package. The hand in his hair pressed his face against Shadow’s cock and balls. Pen loved the scent of musky male and began to rub his face against the turgent skin and soft sack, enjoying the coarse hair pricking his cheek.
He stuck out his tongue and licked Shadow’s sac, letting the unique flavor explode over his taste buds. Taking one ball into his mouth, he gently rolled it with his tongue before giving the other the same treatment. Pen’s dick throbbed, wanting in on the action.