Samhain Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Fireborn Publishing Copyright Statement

  Dedication

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  About the Author

  Titles by Pelaam

  Fireborn Publishing Copyright Statement

  Samhain

  Copyright © 2014 by Pelaam

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-941984-21-5

  eBook Publication: October 2014

  Cover Artist: Alison Cassatta

  Proofreader: Alison Todd

  Logo copyright © 2014 by Fireborn Publishing and Allison Cassatta

  Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNDER INTERNATIONAL AND PAN-AMERICAN COPYRIGHT CONVENTIONS: Payment for this title grants the purchaser the right to download and read this file on any/all personal electronic devices personally owned by the purchaser, now or in the future, and to maintain backup copies of the file for the purchaser's personal use. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or electronic storage and retrieval, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. File sharing, with or without payment, is an international crime, prosecuted by the United States DoJ, Division of Cyber Crimes, in partnership with Interpol. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is punishable by seizure of computers, up to five years in federal prison, and a fine of $250,000 per offense.

  Please remember that authors are paid per legal purchase. We thank you for your support of author’s rights and their earnings. If you spot illegal cut-rate or free copies of this work being passed on peer-to-peer or other pirate sites, even those masquerading as legitimate retailers, please let us know at [email protected] or via the author’s personal email.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is strictly coincidental.

  This book is written in Australian English.

  PUBLISHER

  PO Box 5216

  Haverhill, MA 01835

  Dedication

  To my friends for their support.

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  Subaru: Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Aka Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd

  Chapter One

  "I don't believe it. I don't fucking believe it."

  The sound of Robert's angry voice reached Leander from the hallway. He looked up from where he'd busily assembled cream cheese and smoked salmon topped bagels for breakfast. The plates, glasses of orange juice, and a pot of coffee were already out on the table.

  "What is it, love?" He headed towards the door, and met Robert on his way in. His lover's normally smiling visage scowled darkly. Whatever was in the crushed piece of paper that Robert held in his hand had genuinely upset him.

  "This." Robert shook the paper. "My bloody sister."

  Leander stood frozen in shock. Lucy, Robert's sister, hadn't contacted him in over a decade. This couldn't be anything good. He shook himself into action. He had to take care of his lover. He urged Robert to sit at the table, and poured him a mug of coffee.

  "Do you want me to read it or will you give me the abridged version?" Leander sat close, and pushed the coffee toward his lover.

  Robert sipped at the coffee and peered, frowning, over the mug's rim.

  "My dear sister, who hasn't so much as spoken to me for the last twelve years, wants me to look after her daughter, Aimee. Lucy's having surgery, needs recovery time afterwards, and wants us… me, to look after Aimee. "

  "What?" Leander couldn't stop the squawk of outrage. "The niece you haven't been permitted to see in over a decade, since she was… what, three years old?"

  "Oh, that's not the best of it. She's invoked the Bound by Blood Oath. I can't refuse to take Aimee as she's my blood, my kin. Equally, I'm bound not to reveal to her I'm gay, or that I live with you. That's part of the deal."

  "She expects you to honour the Blood Oath yet deny yourself at the same time?" Leander couldn't help his voice rising in pitch as his anger also rose. That was a mean trick, even for Lucy. The oath meant that Robert couldn't refuse his sister's request, bound by their relationship as brother and sister, to care for his niece. He was also bound by whatever terms Lucy imposed, such as silence regarding their relationship, which she had never approved of.

  "Aimee hasn't been told anything about me other than I'm eccentric, I like to live away from the city, and I have a log cabin out in the woods. She doesn't know about you at all."

  Robert sounded so defeated that Leander went to him and rubbed against his lover until Robert pulled him into his lap and wrapped strong arms around him.

  "I'm not surprised." Leander sighed heavily and stroked Robert's hair and shoulders. "She's never accepted your position or that you're gay. But to give you a fifteen-year-old girl raised in the big city, who's had no contact with you for all these years… Well, it's a recipe for disaster."

  "Lucy thinks I can send you away, not have you in the house for the three weeks Aimee will be here. No fucking way. This is your home as much as mine."

  "You couldn't manage without me for that long, even if I was close by. She should know that. When does Aimee arrive?"

  "The day after tomorrow."

  "What? Seriously? That woman is such a bitch. Samhain is an important and potentially difficult time for us."

  "Lucy won't have given that a second thought. Not surprisingly, Aimee assumed she'd stay with friends, so Lucy left it to the last minute to tell her too, and Aimee's already on her way. She's stopping off at our parents' on the way here but that won't be much of a delay. This is going to be a nightmare." Robert covered his face with his hands.

  "Come with me." Leander grasped Robert's hand and led him back upstairs to their bedroom. He shrugged off his robe, then removed Robert's. "We'll have to be really careful with a fifteen-year-old around the house. But for today, you can have me as you want."

  Leander lay back on the bed, his arms over his head. Robert grinned, pushed Leander's legs apart and knelt between them. Leander looked up at his lover. Compared to Robert's broad, muscular physique, Leander felt decidedly like a scrawny schoolboy in comparison. Fortunately Robert loved his skinny, pale body.

  Leander sighed as Robert kissed his way down his chest to graze his teeth over already peaked nipples, and Leander arched into the touch. Robert grinned and moved lower to nip at his prominent hip bones while he thumbed Leander's achingly hard nipples.

  A moan of Robert's name slipped past Leander's lip as his lover enveloped his cock in wet heat. Robert was an expert in teasing. He sucked, licked, even nibbled at Leander's dick, keeping him hovering on the edge. Finally Robert took pity on Leander's pleas and begging.

  Increasing the intensity of his suction, Robert took Leander's hard cock fully into his mouth, and stroked over Leander's entrance with his finger. With a soft cry of his lover's name, Leander came. Robert kept sucking until Leander had nothing left to give.

  Snagging the lube from the bedside table, Robert grinned down at Leander. Returning the smile, Leander spread his legs wide as Robert prepared him. By the time Robert was ready to enter him, Leander was already fully erect once more.
br />   "I love how quickly you can recover, Lea," Robert whispered. "I'm so lucky."

  "We were meant to be. You are mine, every bit as much as I'm yours." Leander reached to caress Robert's cheek.

  "I still feel lucky, and I always will. I love you."

  Leander sighed his happiness as Robert eased inside him. Leander's body stretched to accept Robert's solid shaft. As often as they did this, Robert was always so careful, treating Leander with such love and tenderness that his heart ached with love for Robert. Leander relished the feeling of accepting his lover into his body. Robert didn't rush, but kept a steady pressure as he pressed forward.

  A reverberating purr of pleasure escaped Leander as Robert's sac pressed against his ass cheeks.

  "You have me, love," Robert whispered.

  "I love having you inside me. That's when I truly feel complete." Joined together, Leander could feel the steady, rhythmic throb of Robert's heart. He smiled then clenched his inner muscles. "Love me," he said, using the husky tone Robert loved.

  "Always."

  While Robert thrust gently, Leander ran his hands over Robert's shoulders and down his arms. They kissed and touched, expressing their love in every way possible. Leander tilted his pelvis, urging Robert to thrust deeper, and his lover obeyed. He gasped as the head of Robert's cock grazed over his prostate.

  "Like that, my love?" Robert nibbled his way up Leander's throat.

  "I like every way we share our bodies." Leander clenched his inner muscles again and delighted in the deep, drawn-out groan of pleasure it elicited from Robert.

  He smiled as Robert gazed down at him, his beautiful green eyes shining with love. Robert's thrusts slowed as they kissed deeply then, as the kiss ended, Robert increased his pace to a hard, fast, deep rhythm. Leander moaned his approval, and clung to Robert's upper arms.

  The air surrounding them shimmered, and Leander saw golden lights flickering as he soared towards a joint climax with his lover. He arched his back to ensure his aching shaft rubbed against Robert's solid abs.

  "Nearly there, lover. Nearly, nearly—" The words became a low, deep moan of Leander's name as Robert reached his zenith.

  Leander held him tight as Robert's release pulsed deeply inside him. His own climax hit hard, his second release every bit as powerful as his first. He wrapped his arms around Robert as his lover collapsed on top of him, panting heavily.

  For a few moments they simply lay in the afterglow. Leander petted Robert's thick, blond hair, and smiled each time his lover lazily kissed the shoulder on which his head was pillowed. He sighed contentedly. Things will be difficult with Robert's niece here, but nothing we can't deal with.

  With a grunt, Robert shifted and licked at Leander's shoulder, then across his chest. Leander moaned and writhed gently as he watched. There was always something so incredibly erotic in the way Robert licked him clean. His sated shaft twitched with interest but Leander ignored it. This had been for Robert, not himself. Even if he had enjoyed every moment.

  Robert knelt over him and gazed down at him with such love that Leander whimpered softly before Robert kissed him. The kiss was slow, tender, and expressed the love they shared in silent eloquence.

  "I love you." Robert sat back on his heels and smiled down at Leander.

  "Love you too." Leander stroked Robert's jaw, his fingers rasping against his lover's stubble. "Okay, here's the plan. You make sure the guest rooms are clean and I'll get cooking and freezing food. I have today and tomorrow to get as much prepared as I can."

  "Then what?"

  "Then this, of course. After all, what's a witch without his familiar?" Leander closed his eyes. His body became molten, fluid, and he shifted until he was in his feline familiar's shape. He stretched luxuriantly, re-familiarising himself with his cat form. He purred as Robert petted him.

  "So you'll stay here like this while Aimee's here?"

  Leander turned so he could rub his head against Robert's cheek. "This way I can still be in the house and near you. I'll only revert back to human form when she's in bed and asleep. After all, I can't maintain this shape indefinitely."

  "You're my world, Leander." Robert's voice was choked and tears glistened in his eyes.

  Shifting back to human form, Leander held his lover in a tight hug. "And you're mine. We'll manage Aimee, and our commitment to Samhain. Everything's going to be fine."

  Chapter Two

  Thankfully, Lucy had included a photograph of Aimee for Robert to be able to identify her. Instead of meeting her at the luggage carousel or arrival gate, he opted to have her paged to come to one of the reception desks to prevent him somehow missing her. It also gave him a few more precious seconds to ready himself for the meeting.

  As she came into view, he gasped softly. He could easily have recognised her without the photo, which didn't do her justice. They shared the same thick, golden hair and green eyes, and she looked much as his sister had as a teenager.

  His heart constricted painfully. The rift was not of his making and there was nothing he could do to mend it. The mystery was why, after all these years, Lucy would permit Aimee to have contact with him. However, now wasn't the time to try and work out what had been behind his sister's sudden decision.

  Aimee's expression was that of every stereotypical, grumpy teenager, and Robert bit back a groan. Almost three weeks with a surly young woman in the house was going to be incredibly difficult, especially with Samhain in the middle.

  He took a deep breath and forced himself to smile as she neared. "Aimee, how nice to see you. Let me take one of your cases."

  "I can manage."

  The clipped tones were as terse as Aimee's face was sullen and Robert held up his hands in surrender. "Fine. Follow me."

  Without so much as a backward glance to see if she was following, Robert walked ahead. He saw no reason to try to make friends with Aimee at this point. She would be tired from her flight and if Lucy had been true to her word, Aimee would not have heard his name mentioned in twelve years. From the corner of his eye he saw her jaw drop, probably in surprise at his impersonal greeting, but she followed.

  Without another word, he loaded her cases into the boot of his Subaru and indicated for Aimee to take her place in the passenger seat. She sat, arms folded, face fixed, and stared straight ahead as Robert drove. After half an hour, Aimee finally turned slightly towards him.

  "Just where do you live?" Her voice was still sharp with annoyance.

  "Didn't your mom tell you I have a cabin in the woods?" Robert glanced briefly at her.

  "I didn't think she meant literally in the woods. I don't even know why she sent me here. I hate the country. I'm going to hate being here. I didn't even know you existed. What did you do to upset Mom so much?"

  The sudden outburst was unexpected, and, glancing briefly at her, he thought Aimee was about to burst into tears of either frustration or self-pity. He wished Leander was with him. Even just the distance of the airport away from his lover made his heart ache. Plus Leander had such a gentle nature, he was sure Leander and Aimee would have made friends easily. He muted his sigh. Never gonna happen.

  "Look. Your mom was nearly thirteen when I was born. She didn't take my appearance easily. The age gap alone was a huge barrier. By the time I went to kindergarten, she was already dating your dad. You arrived when I was fourteen years old. I babysat you up until you were three. At that point, my life took a very specific turn that your mom wasn't happy with. But in truth, it was as much fate as my decision to take that path."

  Lapsing into silence, Robert waited to see how Aimee would respond. He really didn't want to go into any more details. The silence stretched across several minutes before Aimee spoke again.

  "If that's true, why didn't you keep in touch with me? Why doesn't Grandma or Pops ever mention you?"

  "I sent you cards and gifts several times a year. They were returned unopened to me. After three years, I saw little point in continuing. As for Mom and Dad, the price they pay for you
being a part of their life is that they don't mention me."

  "Mom would never be so mean." Aimee shook her head. "It must have been you."

  "There's a room at your grandparents' house you can't go into. My dad's den." His dad kept all the photos of himself and Leander hidden in his den. "Our parents didn't disown me. I still visit, and that room's where Dad and I hang out. And when all's said and done, your mom sent you to me. Do you honestly think that if I'd done something really terrible, your mom would have sent you here?" Robert glanced at Aimee again and saw her open her mouth to speak then shut it quickly.

  Although he was sure Lucy had a reason, he couldn't answer why he was being made to look after Aimee. I'll figure it out eventually. We have three weeks. I just hope Lea's right about sorting Samhain around Aimee's presence.

  As his beloved forest came into view, Robert finally relaxed and smiled. As he passed one particular high-walled home a few minutes before he turned right, he glanced quickly over at it and shuddered. He was glad to get past the place. The vibes he felt from it were darker than normal. Samhain comes.

  He negotiated his way expertly through the trees until his home came into view. Robert grinned with delight. He loved coming home, he just wished Leander was there to hug him. But at least he would be there to welcome him.

  The cabin veranda had a comfortable swing to the right of the front door and around the back was a spa bath that could easily take six people in comfort. His home was both luxurious and harmonised with its surroundings.

  "You live here? In this? A log cabin in the woods?" Aimee voiced her scorn expertly but Robert didn't care. This was his home, in his forest, and he loved them both.

  "Yes. This is my home, and I expect you to respect it and the forest while you're here. Do you want a hand with your cases now?"

  "No. I can manage," Aimee snapped angrily. "Just show me to my room. You do have internet access and Wi-Fi? At least I can chat to my friends on my laptop, despite being in the middle of nowheresville."