Authors: Lynn Hagen
Cecil cleared his throat, looking around at the other mates as he felt his skin flush. “I’m gonna go find Maverick, later.”
Cecil ran from the library door, ready to shoot his load as he raced down the hall. Now he could see why Maverick had attacked him this morning. A part of his brain reprimanded him for invading the newly mated couple’s privacy. But the larger part of his brain was jumping with glee at the sight and couldn’t wait to find his mate. Yeah, he was twisted like that, who cared.
“Me, too.” Johnny spun around and ran up the stairs as all the other mates raced to find their warriors.
* * * *
“You can go with me,” Nicholas offered as he grabbed his lab coat. “I do need something to change into. Cummy pants aren’t in style.” He chuckled as he pulled his white coat on and then pulled his hair free from the collar.
Jason grunted. “I don’t like the fact that you’re leaving the house. It isn’t safe. We still don’t know who was at the hospital searching for you. I don’t like this. Tank goes with us,” Jason stated as he crossed his arms over his chest, looking like he wasn’t going to budge on this.
“Okay, anything you want. Are you ready?” Nicholas still didn’t know what he was going to do about his job. He knew he still had it.
But did he want it?
There had to be something better out there, something better than the long shifts in the overcrowded city.
It was too impersonal. He still dreamed of working in a small town clinic where he could get to know the families he treated. The bonus to that would be getting out from under his father’s thumb. That wasn’t why he wanted to do it, but it sure was a big incentive. Working with his father felt like he was being strangled more and more the longer he worked there.
Jason slid his hand into Nicholas’s as they walked from the bedroom. They descended the stairs and searched the estate for Tank.
They found him sitting in the kitchen, looking adoringly at his mate as George stood at the stove cooking.
Jason released his hand from Nicholas’s and then placed it on the small of his back. Nicholas had never been touched so much in his life, and he loved every minute of it. He would mourn that day Jason stopped touching him every five seconds.
“Will you go with us, Tank? My mate needs to retrieve his personal items,” Jason asked as his fingers caressed over Nicholas’s back.
“Sure.” Tank stood from the table and then narrowed his eyes at the two standing there. “But no sex, okay?”
Jason pulled his hand from behind Nicholas’s back and rubbed his chin. “I’m not sure I will be able to keep that promise. But I’ll try.”
Nicholas had never seen Jason playful before, and he absolutely loved it. A smile tugged at Jason’s lips, and Nicholas stood there spellbound. His mate needed to smile more often. It transformed his face from ruggedly handsome to fucking spectacular.
Tank sighed and tossed his hands up into the air. “I guess that’ll have to do. Where to?” Tank grabbed a few more pieces of fried chicken before following behind them.
“Nicholas?” Jason turned to him and smiled. Nicholas was busted watching his ass. He didn’t give a shit. Jason had one fine-looking ass worth worshipping. He could feel his cock getting hard just staring at it.
“Uh, oh, my condo.” Nicholas walked up behind his mate and slid his hands into Jason’s back pockets, feeling like he was a teenager again. His cock stayed hard, which was incredible considering he was thirty-five years old. His stamina seemed to have tripled since being with his wolf.
He hadn’t come so many times since he hit puberty, but Jason amazingly brought him to the edge so many times that Nicholas feared his body fluids were going to dry up.
Jason reached behind him, lightly manacling Nicholas’s wrists, acknowledging Nicholas’s need to be close. That was another thing Nicholas loved about his wolf. Jason always made sure his emotional needs were met. A man would have to be insane to give Jason up. Not only was he fine as hell, he was the whole package, scars and all. He could eat crackers in Nicholas’s bed any time.
Nicholas sighed as he pulled his hands out of Jason’s pockets once they reached the truck. Jason turned and circled his hands around Nicholas’s waist as he gently lifted him into the backseat of the extended cab.
“Oh, no, you are
not
sitting back there with him. No porno today,” Tank protested as Jason began to climb in back.
“My mate will not sit by himself, Tank.” Jason climbed into the back, shutting the cab door on Tank.
“Damn it,” Tank grumbled as he made his way around the front, sliding into the driver’s seat. Jason watched as he pulled his cell phone out and stabbed at the buttons. He glared at Jason from the rearview mirror. Jason stuck his tongue out at Tank before looking away.
“George, get your hide out here. You’re riding with me.”
Jason looked down at his mate, seeing Nicholas curl his lips in as he fought the laughter. Jason grinned. He loved when his mate smiled or laughed. It was the next best thing to making love to his man.
* * * *
They made it to the city without giving a free show. Jason wanted to take his gorgeous mate in the backseat, but Nicholas had refused to give the pair up front a reason to complain. Jason settled for groping his mate instead. Jason could see that George was flushed by the time they pulled into Nicholas’s underground parking garage.
Being with Nicholas was like a whole new learning experience for Jason. He saw things that he had never seen before. His mate opened his eyes to a slew of things, and Jason soaked it all up like a pup learning how the human world worked. Only Jason wasn’t a pup. Nicholas never made fun of him or belittled him while he taught Jason how the world worked.
The four took the elevator up as Nicholas pulled a small plastic card out and swiped it, opening the door, and letting them in. “Make yourselves at home while I grab a few things,” Nicholas said as he walked toward a back room.
Jason stood by the door, looking around his mate’s home. It was luxurious. He could see that Nicholas was used to nice things. Jason wasn’t sure he could give him that. It wasn’t that he didn’t have the money. Jason just wasn’t sure he could get used to all of it. It felt overwhelming. He lived his whole life in a sparse environment, living off of the basics. Nicholas had anything but the basics in his apartment.
There was a leather sofa and matching chair. Nice rugs lay throughout. Everything shined and glittered around him. Jason shoved his hands into his front pockets, feeling a little lost in this expensive place.
He spun around and growled when a woman came barging through the front door. His first instinct was to protect his mate, even from this female. Jason eyed the door Nicholas had gone through before looking back at the woman.
“Oh shit,” she cried when she saw the three men standing there. “I don’t have any money on me.” She dropped her purse, holding her hands up.
Jason reached down, plucking the pink thing from the floor and handing it back to her. He noticed her hands trembling as she accepted it. Was she cold? He sniffed the air and smelled fear pouring off of her.
Why would she fear them? They had done nothing to make her uneasy. He gave a low growl when it dawned on him why she feared them. Jason was insulted that she would make assumptions. He knew he was an ugly duckling, but she didn’t have to automatically assume he would harm her.
“I–Is Nicky here?” She clutched her purse to her bosom, her eyes darting between the three.
“Who are you?” Jason asked in irritation. He looked her up and down, disapproving of her judgmental ass.
“His fiancée.” Her hands went to her hips, glaring at Jason. “You know, his soon-to-be wife.” She challenged Jason’s glare, taking on a pissed off look. He no longer smelled fear. It had turned to anger. Jason could give a shit less if she was mad.
Jason cocked his head, searching the human phrases and customs he was familiar with. His nostrils flared, and he could feel the shift fighting to change him. “His mate?” he roared. This couldn’t be, Nichols was his, and
no one
was going to take his doctor from him.
“Jason,” Tank called his name in warning as he stepped closer. George moved an inch closer to the woman in a protective manner.
“I’m his mate!” Jason slammed his fist into his chest, coming to his full height. Rage like he had never felt before rolled over him. He didn’t care if she was a female. He would fight to keep his mate.
“Oh, you must be the hottie.” She laughed as she stuck her hand out. “I’m Becky.”
Jason was thrown by her quick change in mood. Now she smelled happy. Damn if women weren’t a confusing lot. “What is this hottie?” Jason sneered at her hand.
“Becky?” Nicholas called as he walked out of the back room.
“Uh, Nicky, what’s going on here?”
Becky
asked as he eyed Jason.
Jason pulled his eyes away from the female and watched his mate cross the room. He growled when his mate hugged this Becky woman. If Nicholas didn’t release her, there was going to be some serious problems in this luxurious apartment.
“It’s a long story and I don’t have time to sit down and tell you about it.” Nicholas introduced Becky to everyone. Jason wasn’t impressed. Jealousy had his hackles raised, and his claws were itching at his fingertips to come out.
Nicholas was the first good thing to happen in his life, and Jason felt threatened. He didn’t like feeling this way. He had an urge to push the woman right back out of the apartment. Jason knew he was acting childish, but his fears of Nicholas finally seeing him as the ugly duckling and leaving him had his nerves wound tight.
The woman was beautiful and Jason knew it. Obviously so did his mate. Jason inched closer to his doctor, wanting to pull the man into his arm and stake his claim.
“I need to pack a few things. Can we visit later?” Jason calmed some when his mate wrapped his arms around
Jason’s
waist. Jason pulled him tight to his chest and felt like giving this woman a raspberry.
“Sure, we’ll do lunch, call me.” Becky waved to everyone as she left.
“Will you please explain to me why she said she was your mate?” Jason snarled.
His mate sighed. “Have a seat.” Nicholas waved the three over to the leather sofa and chair.
“You don’t have to explain anything to us.” Tank took a seat on the chair and pulled George into his lap.
“No, no, you deserve to know I’m not cheating on Jason.” Nicholas poured them all a drink then passed the tumblers around to everyone.
“My father has mapped my life out for me.” Nicholas began to explain as he took a sip of the brandy. “Since I was a small child, he had everything planned down to who I was going to marry and where I would work.”
Jason growled, but Nicholas didn’t acknowledge it. Instead, he slid into his Jason’s lap, running his hand up and down Jason’s leg. “I told him I was gay, but he said that didn’t fit into the plans he made. ‘Suffer through it and forget about it,’ he told me.”
“That’s harsh,” Tank offered.
“That’s Dr. William Sheehan.” Nicholas snorted and then took a sip of his brandy. “Anyway, Rebecca knows I’m gay. She wears my ring but knows that it signifies nothing but friendship. We are trying to figure a way out of it. Her father is the director of the hospital. He can close a lot of doors for me if I break the engagement. My dream is to work in a small town clinic. I know it sounds silly, but I want to know my patients on a personal level.”
“You could always work at the Medical Center. It’s on the opposite end of town, nice folks there.” George sat forward. “I’m sure they could use the help. Probably won’t pay for all this.” George waved his hand around Nicholas’s condo. “But you’d be living with us anyway being mated to Jason. We got humans at the Den that could use you. To be honest, the wolf physician is good, but he’s a little backward when it comes to us humans.”