Interrogation Techniques by Charlie Richards

Chapter Four

“He must think I’m an idiot,” Miggs muttered as he stood under the spray. “Couldn’t even make a simple decision.”

Even though the feel of the hot water cascading over his body felt beyond exquisite, Miggs’s chaotic thoughts made it difficult to enjoy. He hadn’t experienced such wonderful water pressure since... before. Before he’d blushed at the wrong comment. Before his father had demanded answers. Before he’d been enslaved by his own muddle.

Just before.

Sighing, Miggs forced his thoughts to the present. He couldn’t change the past. Instead, he needed to look to the future.

If my muddle has their way, I won’t have one.

“Can Delanrue really stop Alpha Shaun?” Miggs wondered out loud as he reached for the soap. Scrubbing over his body, he dared to hope. “Del.” With a sigh, Miggs whispered his mate’s name. “Fate brought me my mate, and he’s a badass.”

That thought drew a smile to Miggs’s lips. Closing his eyes, he rubbed his soapy hands over his chest. For a few seconds, he imagined he’d agreed and invited Delanrue into the shower with him. He could have felt his mate’s hands rubbing all over him, washing him, soothing his tired limbs.

The direction of his imaginings had a predictable reaction on his body. His blood flowed to his dick, and he began to harden. Having been at half-mast just from Delanrue’s wonderful masculine scent, despite the stress of the situation, Miggs ended up rock-hard in no time.

Groaning softly, Miggs stared at his erection. He reached for himself, then paused. Nibbling his bottom lip, he peered through the glass toward the door.

Delanrue would undoubtedly be able to smell his release the second he left the bathroom.

And I’d much rather have him touching me than doing it myself.

With that thought in mind, Miggs hurried through the rest of his wash. He didn’t know if Delanrue even wanted to bond right away, but he wanted to be prepared. With that in mind, he scrubbed at his skin, cleaning everywhere.

Once Miggs felt squeaky clean, he turned off the water and grabbed a towel. He rubbed himself dry as he peered around the bathroom. Spotting the robe hanging on the back of the door, he smiled.

Miggs didn’t know when Delanrue had slipped into the room to hang it there, but he appreciated it none-the-less. Shivering in the steamy air—his body devoid of enough fat to keep him comfortable even in the warm space—he pulled on the robe. He tucked the too-large garment around himself and stood for a moment, enjoying the plush, soft fabric.

Pressing his nose against the collar, Miggs inhaled deeply. He nearly moaned, enjoying the delicious aroma of his mate. His still-hard dick twitched beneath the confines of the voluminous fabric.

Smiling to himself, Miggs hung up the towel, then tied the robe’s belt. He opened the door and eased from the room. Feeling the cooler temperature of the suite, he tucked his hands into the opposite sleeves, doing his best to keep in his body heat.

Miggs scrunched his toes into the thick carpet as he paused and peered around. Spotting Delanrue relaxing at the small, round, dining room table, he smiled as he swept his gaze over the man. Delanrue had his head bowed as he looked at his phone. His other hand rested on the table, his fingers wrapped around a mug.

Perhaps Delanrue felt Miggs’s focus on him or maybe he scented him. Either way, Delanrue lifted his head and pinned his intense hazel-eyed gaze on him. Even as his eyes narrowed just a little, a warm gleam filled them. His lips curved a bit at the corners.

“There is something absolutely ball-tingling about seeing you in my robe,” Delanrue rumbled, his voice holding a note of smugness. “So much so, that I’m damn tempted to never buy you any clothes of your own.”

Miggs felt a mixture of pleasure and unease. “Um...” He really wasn’t certain how to respond to that.

Delanrue chuckled huskily as he rose from his seat, leaving his drink behind. “Almost, my little mate,” he told him with a wink while stalking across the living room toward him. “Come. Time for you to eat.”

Pulling his arms out of the opposite sleeves, Miggs gripped Delanrue’s hand. The warmth of the man’s rough palm trickled up his arm. When they reached the table, he didn’t want to let go, but he did it anyway, settling in the chair Delanrue had vacated.

“Do you like coffee, Miggs?” Delanrue asked while pulling open the oven.

“Mmm, not really,” Miggs told him.

At least he hadn’t felt deprived when his alpha had refused to allow him to have the beverage when he was forced into servitude. Evidently, Alpha Shaun had thought it would be some kind of punishment.

Delanrue brought a covered dish to the table and set it before him. “I think the only other beverages I have here are water and alcohol.” Straightening, Delanrue rubbed the back of his neck as a wry smile curved his lips. “I don’t entertain much.”

For some reason, Miggs liked hearing that. Plus—”I haven’t had a glass of wine in years.”

When Delanrue’s smile morphed into a grin, Miggs knew he’d made the right choice... even if whatever wine his mate had on hand sucked.

Delanrue removed the cover from the dish, revealing a wealth of fragrant foods.

As his mate moved away from the table, Miggs found his attention riveted to the food before him. There were several strips of bacon as well as sausage links. A pile of fried potatoes filled part of the plate. The eggs looked cooked over-easy to perfection. There was even a heavily buttered English muffin.

Unable to resist the grumbling of his hungry stomach, or the way his mouth watered, Miggs picked up one of the English muffin halves. He pressed it against the egg, breaking the dome. The yolk spilled from the cooked white portion, and Miggs soaked some up with the muffin.

Miggs took a big bite and moaned when the flavor of the toasted bread soaked in warm yolk hit his tongue. For a few seconds, he closed his eyes and just savored the taste. Then his control broke.

Snapping open his eyelids, Miggs soaked up some more yolk and ate another bite. He finished the English muffin half in three bites. Then he picked up a slice of bacon and shoved half of the salted pork goodness into his mouth.

A moment later, a fork appeared next to his plate, followed by a glass of wine.

Yanking his focus away from the delectable meal, Miggs looked up at Delanrue. No censure was in his gaze as he met his eyes and smiled while placing a bottle of ketchup on the table, too. Before Miggs could come up with something to say, Delanrue rounded the table and stopped next to his chair and bent down.

Miggs barely managed to hold in a squeak of surprise when Delanrue lifted him into his arms. Same as in the interrogation room, the huge man sat, then placed Miggs on his lap. After cuddling Miggs to his chest, he grabbed a sausage link and held it to Miggs’s lips.

Obeying the silent command, Miggs opened his mouth and took a bite of the juicy link.

Delanrue smiled, his hazel eyes gleaming with pleasure. “When I took your hand, I realized how cold you were,” he told him as he continued to feed Miggs the rest of the sausage. “This way, I can help keep you warm while providing for you.”

Nodding a little, Miggs swallowed his food. “Have you always been the one taking care of others? Like a little brother or sister or something?”

Miggs figured he needed to know a little about Delanrue before they discussed bonding.

Picking up the fork, Delanrue hummed, his eyes narrowing. His expression turned a little vacant, as if he were deep in thought. Even as he did that, he scooped up some of the yolk-covered egg white before stabbing a couple of pieces of crispy potatoes.

“I suppose you could say that,” Delanrue told him, lifting the fork to Miggs’s lips. When he’d dutifully accepted the food into his mouth, his mate continued. “I have two brothers. Both younger. Dane and Dakota respectively.” As Delanrue prepared another forkful, he asked, “Would you like some ketchup?”

“Just for the potatoes, please,” Miggs replied. “I don’t like ketchup on my over-easy eggs. Only on scrambled ones... if there’s cheese.” Upon seeing Delanrue nod thoughtfully, clearly tucking that information away for future reference, before accepting the next bite of food, Miggs hurried and admitted, “I don’t like scrambled eggs without cheese.”

“Any particular kind of cheese you prefer?” Delanrue asked while putting down the fork. He grabbed the ketchup bottle and created a pool on part of the plate that wasn’t near Miggs’s eggs.

Miggs shrugged. “I’ve always just bought a block of medium cheddar or that bag of pre-shredded cheese that has a couple of different kinds in it.” He searched his memory, remembering. “Um, I think it’s a taco blend or something like that.”

Delanrue was already nodding. “If you’re interested, we can try other things,” he told him as he handed him the wine. “Let me know if you like it.”

At least Delanrue didn’t try to help him sip it.

Miggs knew that would have been taking the whole caring for and feeding thing too far, and refusing could have turned things awkward. Of course, if that would have happened, maybe his arousal would have waned. As it was, sitting on Delanrue’s lap, warm and comfortable, enjoying not just the food but the rich aroma of his mate, Miggs’s body was in some serious need.

Taking a small sip of the wine, Miggs swallowed quickly to clear his palate. He waited a heartbeat, then took a larger mouthful, which allowed him a much better taste. The dark liquid had a hint of a bite, but the robust flavor quickly mellowed it.

“It’s good,” Miggs claimed before drinking some more. “Thank you.”

Delanrue smiled faintly, having a forkful of potatoes dipped in a bit of ketchup on hand. “Glad you like it.” As he eased the food into Miggs’s mouth, he told him, “And to finish answering your question, I guess I do have a caregiver gene, but only to my brothers... and now you.” Smirking, Delanrue told him, “Everyone else probably thinks I’m a cold, heartless asshole.”

Miggs couldn’t imagine it, but he didn’t say that. His mate’s scent told him the big shifter spoke the truth. Fortunately, Delanrue didn’t make him come up with a response.

“Anyway, after my parents died young, I took on the role of provider for my brothers,” Delanrue admitted. “I was always big with a dominant animal, and as long as I stayed out of the alpha and the inner circle’s way, no one messed with us.” Growling softly, Delanrue grumbled, “Until Dakota turned eighteen and one of the lower enforcers decided he wanted Dakota’s cherry, if you get my meaning.”

Miggs cringed. “Ugh,” he mumbled around his mouthful of food. “We had one of them in our muddle. When Alpha Shaun found out, he banished him.”

“Wish ours had,” Delanrue replied with a growl in his voice. “But he was a dumb fuck even if he was strong.”

The way Delanrue’s lips curved into a hard smile as his hazel eyes took on a glacial glint made Miggs appreciate that the man was his mate.

That means he’ll never direct that look at me... right?

Miggs surely hoped so.

When Delanrue began rubbing his cheek against his neck, whispering words of reassurance, Miggs realized he hadn’t kept his thoughts to himself.

“You’re my mate, Miggs,” Delanrue purred softly. “I’ll always put you first. Protect you. Care for you.”

Nodding, Miggs whispered, “Sorry. Just had some bad experiences with, um, those kinds of expressions.” He lifted his hand and touched Delanrue’s lips, stopping him from responding so he could reassure him. “I know you’ll never use your size and strength against me. Fate says we’re perfect complements, so she would never give me to someone who would do that.” Miggs believed that with all his heart, and he smiled warmly at his mate, even though there was still an angry tightness around his eyes. “I’ll just need a little time to control certain automatic reactions.”

Delanrue’s cheeks darkened just a smidge as he nodded slowly. “Who in your muddle?” he asked gruffly.

Miggs knew exactly what Delanrue meant, and he didn’t pretend otherwise. “My father. Beta Koin.”

Growling under his breath, Delanrue took a long deep breath. “Bastard,” he snarled.

Then Delanrue tucked his face against Miggs’s neck and inhaled slowly. He instinctively tilted his head, offering the bigger shifter more room. When Delanrue let out the breath on a soft groan, obviously reacting to the move, his warm breath caused the hairs on Miggs’s neck to stand on end.

The warmth spread swiftly throughout the rest of his body, too. His dick flexed beneath his bathrobe, and he shifted restlessly. When Delanrue exhaled a second time, he even felt a bead of pre-cum bubble up from his slit.

Delanrue groaned softly against his flesh, causing even more goose bumps to break out on Miggs’s skin.

Miggs barely managed to hold in a moan of his own by trapping his bottom lip between his teeth.

“You smell fantastic,” Delanrue growled softly. “The scent of your arousal—” He cut off his sentence on a hum. “Delicious.”

Tightening the arm around Miggs’s waist, Delanrue slid his fingers between the folds.

Anticipation ratcheted through Miggs, and his stomach tightened for a new reason. When Delanrue skimmed his fingers across the flesh of his belly, Miggs shuddered. His breath caught in his chest, and he could no longer stop his whimper of need.

“Oh, my sweet little mate,” Delanrue purred into his ear. “I wish to take care of all your needs.” As he spoke, he skimmed his fingertips down his abdominals. When the backs of his digits slid across the crown of Miggs’s erection, drawing a gasp of pleasure from him, Delanrue rumbled, “All your needs.”

Then Delanrue began a soft, teasing touch to his erection, skimming up and down, up and down, with just the backs of his fingers.

After the second pass, Miggs whined, “D-Del.”

“Anything you want, little mate,” Delanrue murmured into his ear. Then he nipped at his lobe before adding, “After you finish eating.”

Then, to Miggs’s utter shock, Delanrue stabbed the fork into more potatoes, coated them with ketchup, and brought it to his lips.

Miggs gaped, and Delanrue took advantage, sliding the fork inside.

Does he really expect me to eat while he’s fondling my dick?

As Miggs chewed, Delanrue continued to touch him... while scooping up some eggs.

Holy shit! He does.