STORY EXCERPT

“Are you all right?” Jax asked.

Stefan rubbed the center of his forehead before pinching the bridge of his nose. “I think so. I don’t know why I feel so dizzy right now. Maybe it’s the wine.”

Austin shook his head. “It’s not. Your magic is affected by the darkness that the painting emits. This is horrible magic. It feels like a thick sludge of sticky oil all over me, and it’s almost as if some of it is present in the back of my throat. It’s hard to breathe, and at the same time, I want to vomit.”

Jax seemed fascinated. “Have you any idea what we’re dealing with?”

Austin didn’t respond immediately. The magic was familiar, but he couldn’t be one hundred percent positive about it. Not without touching the painting itself. He requested for Jax’s permission to take the painting down. Naturally, Jax immediately and eagerly agreed to it. Then he climbed up onto the couch that was placed right below the painting before removing it from the wall and handing it over to Austin.

“Shit!” Austin exclaimed when the dark magic burned his fingers, and instinctively, he shoved the painting back to Jax.

“What is it?” Jax and Stefan inquired almost simultaneously.

Austin darted his eyes back and forth between the two men before staring at the painting. “I’ve experienced this once. This is a form of entrapment spell.”

“Entrapment?” Stefan repeated.

Austin nodded. “Whoever this sorcerer is, he really wants to keep something or someone within the painting.”

“Can you undo the spell?” Jax asked.

Austin hesitated. “I don’t know. I also need to make sure that nothing evil is inside the painting. Can you take the painting out from its frame?”

“Of course,” Jax replied before doing so in a hurry.

To Austin’s disappointment, there was no further clue that he was able to discover, and he informed Stefan and Jax about it. He also clenched his fists because his fingers were still hurting from the impact of the dark magic. Then he was taken aback when Stefan abruptly grabbed both of his hands, and almost immediately, there were weird visions that passed through him out of the blue. Most of the images revolved around a man. The face was quite unclear, but Austin definitely noticed the man’s brown hair and amber eyes over and over again. Toward the end, he saw the back of yet another man casting some kind of spell and banishing the first man into the painting. After that, he gasped in shock as he returned to reality. He gazed into Stefan’s widening eyes.

“Were those—”

“I think they were memories,” Austin interrupted Stefan. “Bits and pieces of someone’s memories.”

“Oh!”

“Your magic is much stronger than I thought,” Austin complimented.

“What is it?”

Jax’s question quickly reminded Austin that he and Stefan weren’t alone in the room. “There’s a man inside the painting. We have to get him out.”

Austin was about to mutter the first spell that came to him when Jax stopped him. He raised his eyebrows in bewilderment.

“What if the man inside the painting turns out to be an evil person?”

“He’s not.”

“Are you sure?”

Austin shook his head at Stefan. “Not one hundred percent, but I didn’t detect any negative vibes from him.”

“What if he’s a terrible person who’s being punished for his crime?”

“What if he’s an innocent man?” Austin countered, and Jax looked stunned. “I can’t, in good conscience, allow him to remain inside the painting. Neither of you have to worry about a thing. I have a plan. Just let me get him out from inside the painting first.”

Jax stared at Austin for a few seconds longer before nodding. Stefan followed suit almost immediately. Austin smiled at Stefan and Jax before raising his hands and hovering his palms over the painting. Jax was still holding the painting in his hands. His facial expression was neutral, but Austin could tell that Jax still wasn’t one hundred percent positive about it so he arched his left eyebrow at the man. Jax sighed.

“Fine. Let’s get this over with. I can’t deny that my curiosity is much stronger than my common sense right now.”

Austin chuckled. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be okay.”

Stefan snorted. “I hope so.”

Austin snickered for a second or two. Then he focused his magic in his palms as the magic swirled all around them before muttering one of the most powerful spells he could remember off the top of his head. His vision whited out, and he knew his eyes must be glowing brightly at the moment. His magic enveloped the painting, but the dark magic resisted. The clash between two different magics resulted in a mighty wind blowing everywhere inside the office, but Austin ignored it. He also scoffed silently. The sorcerer’s dark magic was strong indeed, but Austin knew he was a lot more powerful. He called forth more of his magic, and within seconds, the dark magic imploded.

ADULT EXCERPT

Jax didn’t appear to suspect anything was amiss as he climbed up onto the bed. “All of our carry-on bags should be in one corner of the room somewhere. I got two of my men to bring them up here earlier.”

“Did they come up through the staircases?” Owen asked while he rummaged through his bag.

“Yeah, they did,” Jax answered. “What are you searching for? Make it quick. I’m getting rather lonely up here on the bed all on my own.”

Owen winked in what Austin thought was a seductive manner in Jax’s direction. “It’s a secret.”

Jax chuckled. “Is it a portable drive with a shit ton of porn in it? Are we going to watch something like that for the entire flight? Because I’ll be down for it. Or up as the case will surely be.”

Owen laughed. “You’re a naughty boy. I’ll have to punish you later.”

Jax grinned. “Anything you want, my love.”

Owen snickered in response, and Austin envied the man’s ability to remain so provocative while continuing to conceal their surprise for Jax. He wouldn’t be able to do that. He was too honest. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but he would never be able to blatantly flirt like Owen even if his life depended on it. Then he glanced at Stefan. He noticed that Stefan’s facial expression was completely neutral, and he sighed under his breath. He couldn’t even be as calm and collected as Stefan. He was a messy bundle of nerves inside, and he had a strong feeling he probably looked it, too.

“Go to Jax,” Stefan whispered next to Austin.

Austin jumped a little. He had no idea when Stefan had managed to get so close to him, but he didn’t think about it any further. He swept his gaze across the large bedroom before glancing up toward the mirrored ceiling for a moment in order to regain control of his nerves. Then he reacted instinctively, getting up on the bed slowly before crawling on all fours toward Jax. He gulped a little when he discovered that Jax’s pupils appeared rather dilated now. Or maybe it was all in his imagination. Jax’s lips were also parted slightly, and he seemed to be breathing in and out shallowly. Austin trembled a little when he was mere inches away from Jax.

“May I t-take your c-clothes off?”

Jax gasped softly. “W-what?”

“You l-look quite t-tense,” Austin replied. “I’m o-offering you a m-massage.”

Jax was quiet for a few seconds, and Austin grew even more embarrassed. He didn’t know how to be seductive, and he was worried he had ruined the plan for everybody. Then he was startled when Jax cupped his right cheek tenderly.

“Yes, please. I’ll be honored.”

Austin beamed at Jax. He quickly got to work on the buttons on Jax’s shirt. After that, he removed it before focusing on the man’s shoes, socks, and pants in that particular order. Jax was gazing at him in such an intense manner, he didn’t have the courage to meet the man’s eyes head on. When Jax abruptly moaned out loud, Austin raised his head. Owen was now kneeling on Jax’s right side and kneading the mobster’s shoulders. Meanwhile, Stefan was doing the same to Jax’s left arm. Austin hurriedly divested Jax of the man’s remaining piece of cloth, which was a pair of fitted trunks.

He gaped when he saw Jax in all of the man’s naked glory for the very first time. He had no clue how much time Jax usually spent at the gym or doing some other forms of exercises at home, but the results definitely showed. Jax had muscles everywhere. Even his thighs and calves were huge, powerful, and firm. He had hair in all the right places, but Austin was most in love with the trail of thick growth of hair that started from the center of Jax’s chest all the way down the man’s muscular stomach. Then he was stunned by the sight and size of Jax’s dick. It was obviously not fully hard yet, but it was already so much larger than most of the actors in the porn industry. Austin was mesmerized when Jax’s erection continued to chub and extend until it was straining and leaking against the man’s stomach. He couldn’t be one hundred percent positive what its size was in inches, but he would bet both of his balls that it must be somewhere between ten and eleven. Maybe even longer. It was obscenely massive to say the least, especially with that incredible girth that made Austin drool at the sight.

“Holy fuck!”

Stefan’s voice startled Austin out of his reverie. He noticed Stefan was staring at Jax’s throbbing manhood. Jax chuckled, but he sounded nervous.

“It’s a little big.”

Owen darted his eyes back and forth between Jax’s face and dick. “A little? That’s an understatement. Bloody hell! I’d never seen a penis as gigantic as that before, and I used to think that I was very well-endowed. You outgunned me by at least two inches. Maybe three.”

Jax looked even more apprehensive now. “Quite a few of my previous partners complained about it, but some of them eventually learned to enjoy it.”