His eyes were lighter than the dark brown expected from a man with an Apache heritage, but Aubrey couldn’t determine the exact color with his own eyes shifted. He blinked, but it didn’t help. Instead his gaze landed on Matt’s mouth. Good God, his mouth was amazing. Aubrey’s cock jerked at the sight. The pull of arousal intensified and he began to ache with need. Matt had the most beautiful mouth he’d ever seen, a perfect cupid’s bow. They were a man’s lips though, nice and thick. It didn’t take much imagination for Aubrey to picture those lips swollen from use. He shook his head to clear it. “I need a drank.” He turned toward the bar. “You wont—ahem, want one?” Damn nerves.
“Um, I’m not old enough…”
Right. He would turn twenty in a couple of months. A little over ten years separated them. Technically, in werewolf culture, Aubrey was now responsible for Matt. No one in their right mind would challenge Aubrey’s guardianship of the younger wolf, not even Matt’s parents.
“You can have a drink if you want one, because you aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.” Aubrey stepped behind the mahogany-and-granite wet bar and pulled a single malt glass out of the cabinet. He grabbed the Glenlivet 1972 off the shelf behind the bar and poured himself a splash, studied it for a second and poured more. Setting the bottle down with a thud, he tossed back his drink, or tried to. The rim of the glass hit his canines with a clink, but somehow the alcohol ended up mostly in his mouth. Only a few dribbles spilled on his shirt.
Watching from the couch, Matt winced. “Stupid teeth.” The tips of his own canines peeked out from beneath his top lip.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Aubrey let the scotch slide down his throat, savoring the burn. “Ahh.” His teeth shrank back to normal, and when he opened his eyes he saw pink. Matt wore a pink shirt? Gay. Aubrey nearly groaned at himself. Keaton had told Aubrey he was pretty sure Matt was gay when he’d asked if Aubrey would watch after Matt. It hadn’t mattered to Aubrey then and it didn’t now. Except it sort of did…
Denying Matt made Aubrey even more of a jerk. A male mate would be no big deal to Matt. But maybe Matt didn’t want a mate at all because he certainly didn’t look like it was no big deal.
Retrieving another glass, Aubrey splashed a couple fingers of whisky into it. Holding it out, he sloshed the scotch a little in invitation. “Here. This helps.”
Cocking his head just a tad, Matt furrowed his brow, shrugged and stood. “Okay.”
Aubrey poured himself some more. Matt was taller than him by a couple of inches, around Tara’s height. He’s just your type, ole man. Like he didn’t have enough problems without adding his sexual preferences into the mix. Matt was quite simply beautiful…and young and male and— Shit. There went his eyes again. He supposed it was an improvement though, because his teeth remained human.
Taking the glass, Matt sat on the barstool opposite Aubrey. He swirled the drink and frowned. A small shiver racked his lithe body. Matt’s heart rate galloped ninety to nothing, and the smell of unease overpowered the scent of both of their arousal.
Aubrey tensed. “Go ahead, Matt. It’ll relax you.” Bowing his head, he rubbed his temples and waited for Matt to take a drink.
Matt swigged the glass back and choked. His face turned blotchy again.
Aubrey winced. The urge to do something was strong, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Watching Matt’s distress made his eyes go back to normal though.
When finally the coughing died down, Matt took a deep breath. He had tears in his eyes, but they were human and his teeth were no longer visible below his lip. “Man. What is that stuff?”
“Good ole scotch whisky. Cures what ails you,” Aubrey poured himself some more. He grabbed Matt’s glass. “Maybe you should switch to water or something.”
Matt frowned. Rather than seeming fierce, he looked like an annoyed puppy. It was cute and brought to mind Keaton’s dog, Pita, tugging on someone’s pant leg. “No. Give me some more. I’m not a complete puss.”
Chuckling, Aubrey added some liquor to Matt’s glass. “Try sipping this time.” He snagged a barstool and brought it behind the bar so he could sit facing Matt. He propped his arms on the bar and watched the glimmers of sunlight filtering in through the spaces between the closed vertical blinds. The silence stretched for several moments as Aubrey lifted his glass and sniffed the deep, crisp smell of alcohol. After taking a sip he set the glass down.
“I thought Tara was my mate.” Matt frowned at his scotch and swished it side to side. He glanced up at Aubrey, making eye contact. Matt’s eyes were a deep blue, the color of a night sky in the country.
“Boy, did you get screwed.”
Matt shrugged one shoulder. “I was afraid to tell you. I thought you’d hate me.”
“I wouldn’t have hated you.” The tightness in Aubrey’s chest eased but his conscience cringed. He didn’t want to hurt Matt. “I’m just sorry you got gypped. The truth sucks, huh?” Matt and Tee would look great together. Black-haired Barbie and Ken.
“Nah. Not really. Tara would’ve made a whole other set of problems.” Matt took a sip and gave Aubrey a goofy little lopsided grin. It was endearing as hell. “And not just because you’re engaged to her.”
He should just lie and tell Matt the reason there could never be anything between them was because of a commitment to Tara. Matt would probably be relieved, and he’d never have to learn that Aubrey was gay. He nodded, but what came out of his mouth was, “Tee, isn’t my fiancée.”
“What?”
“Tara is my best friend, but there’s nothing and never has been anything between us. Everyone just assumes, and we’ve never felt the need to correct the assumption.”
“Well, there is still the fact that she’s a girl.” Matt wrinkled his nose. “That would’ve been weird.”
“Keaton said he thought you were gay.”
Matt tilted his head. “He did?”
“He wasn’t sure, but given our past he thought it best to mention it.”
“Your past?”
“It’s a long story, but Keaton thinks I tried to beat him up because he’s gay.”
Matt’s eyes widened. “Oh no. I forgot about that.” He slapped a hand over his mouth and wilted. “I didn’t think my being gay would even come up, and Chay said that you’d gotten over it and—”
“It’s not true, Matt. I don’t know what you heard, but I didn’t beat my brother up for being gay. For crying out loud I ripped another wolf’s throat out for him. Does that sound like something a person would do if they hated someone?”
“Um…no. You killed someone?” Matt asked with avid interest.
“I had no choice. He shot Chay and wouldn’t have stopped until Chay and Keaton were both dead.”
“Oh. I’m glad. I like Keaton and Chay. That was very brave of you.”
It hadn’t been bravado, it had been terror. “I guess.”
Looking down, Matt bit his bottom lip. He ran his finger around and around the rim of his glass. Finally, he picked it up, finished it off and met Aubrey’s gaze. “Where does that leave us?”
Aubrey hated himself for what he had to say, but he couldn’t give Matt false hope. He tossed back the rest of his drink, hoping it would lend him strength. “I don’t know, but I want you to stay.” He wanted to lick that full bottom lip Matt had held between his teeth too. “Other than that…” He shrugged. “I can’t afford a mate in my life, Matt, but I’d love to have another friend.”
A phone rang, startling Aubrey out of scrutinizing his socked feet. He glanced up and around from his position on the floor. The phone rang again. Odd, the sound came from floor level, not up high. Extracting his shoulders from the front of the couch he’d been using as a backrest, he peeked under the coffee table. Where the hell was that ringing coming from? It sounded like an old dial telephone with real bells. His home phone made more of an electronic ring sound and his cell played, “You Ain’t Just Whistlin’ Dixie”.
“I got it,” Matt said from his sprawl on the
couch but made no move to get up. Instead he turned his head, which slid off the cushions, nearly taking the rest of him with it.
Obviously, Matt wasn’t used to alcohol. Maybe he should’ve been cut off after the third one. Oh well, it wouldn’t last long with werewolf metabolism being what it was. “What is it and where is it?”
The bells stopped only to start up again a minute later.
Aubrey pushed Matt’s dark head back onto the cushions, unable to resist giving him a quick scratch behind the ear. Matt wouldn’t remember it anyway.
Matt’s shoulders ended up next to his ears, and his right foot kicked a couple of times. “Ooh ooh ooh…”
The lupine reaction was just too cute but not conducive to getting answers. Pulling his hand away, Aubrey turned his attention to the floor between the couch and the bar. “Matt, is that your phone?”
“Yep.” Matt lifted his head off the sofa and slapped around his waistline in a halfhearted search before letting his head fall back down. “No clue where it is though.”
It wasn’t anywhere in the vicinity of the couch, TV or coffee table. “Okay, this shouldn’t be that hard. We’re wolves, for crying out loud. Pinpointing sounds isn’t difficult.” Aubrey heaved himself up from the floor.
The phone stopped.
“Drunk wolves.” Matt giggled. The sweet, innocent melody echoed through the apartment. Was Matt always this uninhibited or was it the booze?
Aubrey shook his head. “I’m not drunk.” He never let himself get so wasted that he was careless anymore. At one time he’d been a party animal, trying to drown his problems, but that was years ago. He envied Matt the ability not to care, not to have to keep his guard up. Aubrey would give just about anything to have some of that innocence back.
The ringing started up again.
Aubrey wrenched his brain out of la-la land and followed the sound to the phone in the middle of the floor between the couch and the front door. Now he remembered. Matt had dropped it when they’d first seen each other some three hours earlier.
Swooping down and retrieving the cell as it rang for a third time, he hit the call button before whoever it was hung up or the call went to voice mail. “Hello?”
“Who’s this?” The voice was a little surprised, gruff—like whoever it was didn’t appreciate Aubrey answering Matt’s phone—and male.
Aubrey ground his teeth together and his right eye twitched. Who the hell was this and why was he calling Matt’s phone and acting all possessive? If Aubrey had been in wolf form, his hackles would’ve risen. “Aubrey Reynolds. Who’s this?”
“Oh hey.” The caller’s tone lightened immediately. “This is Logan. Can I talk to my brother?”
Ah, Logan. Aubrey relaxed marginally. Which one was he? Aubrey needed to learn which of Matt’s brothers were which. That was something he should know about his mate even if they weren’t really mated. But he had the next several months to figure that out.
Sprawled on the couch, Matt wiggled his fingers in front of his face. What was he doing?
Aubrey suppressed a chuckle. “Yeah, just a sec.” Taking the phone away from his ear, Aubrey headed toward Matt. “It’s Logan.”
Matt blinked up at him and flopped his hand out, palm up.
Aubrey gave him the phone and Matt put it upside down to his ear. “’Lo?”
“Matthew?” The concern in Logan’s voice came through loud and clear.
No doubt Matt heard his brother, but Aubrey took the phone and turned it the right way.
“What?” Matt scrunched up his brow and gave Aubrey a heart-stopping grin. “Thank you.”
Sitting on the arm of the couch over Matt’s head, Aubrey smiled down at his mate. “You’re welcome.” It would be easy to bend down and kiss him. What would he kiss like? Would he throw himself into the kiss? Or would he be shy and reserved, willing to follow Aubrey’s lead?
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” Logan demanded.
Nodding, Matt kept his eyes on Aubrey. “Yup.”
Before he realized what he was doing, Aubrey brushed a lock of black hair off Matt’s forehead. His soft skin was such a striking color. Not many people had as smooth a complexion as Matt. He was amazing, and Aubrey’s fingers itched to touch him everywhere. Keeping his hands to himself was going to be harder than hell.
“Why didn’t you call me back? And why do you sound weird?” The younger Mahihkan—Matt was the firstborn—sounded more like an older brother.
“Had a few drinks. It’s all good.” Matt nodded again, dislodging the phone from his ear.
“Give the phone back to Aubrey.”
“’Kay.” He held the phone out and wiggled it at Aubrey.
Frowning, Aubrey took the phone. “Hello?”
“What’re your plans?”
“I beg your pardon?” Aubrey clenched his teeth again.
“Matt doesn’t drink.”
That much was obvious. Matt fiddled with something near Aubrey’s leg, grabbing it with his thumb and forefinger.
“I want to know he’s not going to end up dead in an alley.” Logan paused for a few seconds. “Let me be more specific. If something happens to Matthew—”
Aubrey squelched down a warning growl, fighting the surge of adrenaline. He couldn’t tell Logan to butt out. Officially, Aubrey wasn’t in the position to say what Matt could and couldn’t do without acknowledging to the world that Matt was his mate. He wanted to beat his head against a wall and maybe Logan’s too. He was going to have to control the possessive tendencies toward Matt. Matt’s brother was only looking out for him. Aubrey would be the same way if it were Keaton. Of course, Keaton would get all pissed and give Aubrey hell for it, but still… “Your brother is fine. He’s not going anywhere. I’m taking care of him.”
The leg of Aubrey’s gray slacks pulled tight and puckered over his knee. What the hell?
Matt held a string, still attached to Aubrey’s suit pants, in front of his face. His eyes crossed as he stared at it and continued pulling.
“If you are trying to undress me, there are easier ways to do it.” Swatting Matt’s hand away, Aubrey chuckled and got up from the arm of the couch.
Giggling, Matt rolled to his stomach, surveying Aubrey like a puppy about to pounce.
“O—kay…” Logan commented, with a trace of humor in his voice. “We should’ve sent him away to college earlier. It’s nice to know he’s cutting loose some.”
Oh shit. That hadn’t sounded good at all. What if Logan suspected something? An icy tingle plunged down Aubrey’s face and neck. “Sorry, there was a loose string on the knee of my pants that Matt decided to pull.” As a save it was kind of lame.
“Well damn. I hoped he was turning into a real wild child.” Logan snickered. “Seriously…just take care of him, okay? Getting him drunk is a good start, but while you’re at it why don’t you see if you can get him laid too.”
Freezing halfway to the kitchen, Aubrey tightened his hand on the phone. The image of Matt spread out on Aubrey’s big sleigh bed, naked and flushed with arousal, speared into his mind. His cock hardened, his throat went dry and his eyes blurred. “Yeah. Well, I’ll see what I can do.” Aubrey blinked. When he opened his eyes everything was monochrome.
Logan’s laugh taunted him. “Later. Tell Matt I’ll call him tomorrow.”
The line went dead.
Jerking the phone from his ear, Aubrey rubbed his eyelids with his finger and thumb. When he opened them again the rich burgundy of the candle on the kitchen bar and the soothing beige of the backs of the barstools greeted him. Logan was going to be a problem. How close were he and Matt? Would Matt tell his brother that he was Aubrey’s mate? Once upon a time Aubrey might have told Keaton, if things hadn’t changed drastically between them.
A shuffling came from behind Aubrey as he set Matt’s phone on the cold granite countertop. He ignored it and headed to the fridge. As he reached for the handle a fuzzy reflection appeared in the stainless steel, and Matt’s scent teased him.
Aubrey yanked the door open. “Let’s get you something to eat to absorb some of that alcohol.”
“I think it’s wearing off because I’m getting a headache.”
Yeah, he would. Aubrey took out the deli ham, roast beef, mustard and Swiss cheese. “In my bathroom, in the medicine cabinet above the sink, there’s aspirin, Motrin, Tylenol and anything else you might want.” He retrieved the lettuce and tomatoes.
“Are you mad at me?” Matt asked.
After setting the stuff for sandwiches on the counter and closing the fridge, Aubrey turned. “No. Not at all. I was just thinking. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
Matt nodded and wobbled a little. “Yeah, I guess it’s not every day you find out you have a mate, huh?”
Aubrey steadied him, relieved at having something to do rather than explain himself. “Whoa. We need to get some food in you.” He marched Matt backwards without letting go of him, kicked a barstool out from under the bar and urged Matt into it. When Matt sat, Aubrey turned to go back to fixing them food, but Matt caught his hand. Glancing down at their entwined hands, Aubrey stared in fascination. Matt’s hands weren’t any bigger than his, but his fingers were longer. His hand was warm, the grip loose, hesitant.
“What were you thinking when I was talking to Logan?” Matt’s head tilted a fraction. “You had this look on your face…”
That you were beautiful. That I wanted you. That it’s going to be hard to keep from touching you. Aubrey thought all those things, but he didn’t dare admit them. He squeezed Matt’s hand, reluctant to release it. For several seconds they just stayed there staring at each other.
Matt’s scent changed, taking on a muskier, lustful smell. He licked his lips, drawing Aubrey’s attention to them. They were so prettily shaped and pink.
Aubrey leaned forward, and Matt followed suit. His moist, slightly alcoholic breath tickled Aubrey’s chin as Matt closed his eyes. He feathered a caress over Aubrey’s other wrist and slid his fingers down to twine with Aubrey’s. It was like a moment out of time. Aubrey’s body, which had never completely recovered from the image of Matt in his bed, craved stimulation. Everything but Matt ceased to exist. His warm, exotic scent laced with the spicy sent of arousal. His body heat, the thrum of his pulse, were all like a siren’s song.
With Abandon: With or Without, Book 4 Page 3