by Lynn Hagen
Layne closed his eyes for a second, asking himself if this was even real. For over a decade he’d longed to be with Nash. Now that he was pinned under the guy, he felt a bit overwhelmed, like someone who had been locked in a prison cell for a decade and finally set free.
His heart sang and his body quivered as they ate at each other’s mouths. Fuck. Layne needed air, but hell if he would be the first to pull away. Breathing was overrated, anyway.
Nash was more aggressive than Layne had imagined, more primal. His hand was still slowly stroking Layne’s cock, and the kiss had simmered, too. It was slower, less hostile, as if Nash realized he was being too rough and had calmed down.
Not that Layne was fragile. He’d had his fair share of romping around the bed during sex. He’d even let a guy handcuff him once. That had been fun, but Jake hadn’t been Nash.
None of Layne’s previous sex partners had been the man he’d held dear to his heart.
Layne arched his back and bucked. He was right there at the edge of his orgasm when Nash sank sharp teeth into Layne’s neck. Layne didn’t have time to be stunned. His climax rocked the shit out of him as ribbons of cum shot from his dick, coating his stomach as Nash licked the wound. A deep, rumbling purr vibrated Nash’s chest before he pulled back and stared wide-eyed at Layne.
“What the hell!” Layne shoved at Nash and rolled away, landing on his hands and knees before he got up and slapped a hand over his shoulder. “Did you just bite me?”
Layne could be as kinky as the next guy, but biting and breaking skin? He shoved his cock back into his pants and fastened them. Nash sat down, scrubbing his hands through his hair.
“Fuck,” he said. “What the hell have I done?”
Layne never thought Nash was into biting. What made matters worse was that Layne actually liked it. God, he was just as weird as Nash was.
“You…you…” Layne couldn’t think how to finish that sentence.
“Just started the conversion process.” Nash wouldn’t look at him. He kept staring at the floor, and then a humorless laugh bubbled up from his throat. “I’m a goddamn idiot. I should’ve never gotten that carried away.”
Layne had no idea what Nash was talking about. He started to ask until it felt like his wrist was burning. Layne’s birthmark burned bright before the mark faded back to normal. Only instead of being red, it turned black, with a more prominent outline of a panther appearing.
With all the insanity going on, he focused on Nash’s words.
Nash regretted what they’d just done.
Unable to stand the rejection, Layne raced for the door. He didn’t have his car and didn’t care. He wanted to get as far from Nash as possible.
Layne made it halfway down the block when Nash caught up to him. “I’m not talking to you,” Layne said.
“Then just listen.” Nash pulled him to a stop. “It isn’t safe for you out here.”
Layne gave him an exasperated look. “This is Kendall. Nothing ever happens here. How am I not safe?”
He was both angry and mystified. Why had his birthmark done that? Why had Nash bitten him? Why had Mr. Creegy attacked him? This was turning out to be one crazy fucking day. “Okay, I’m listening, but you better talk fast before I change my mind.”
Nash looked around like he was checking to make sure no one was listening. Aside from a few passing cars, no one was around.
“I’m a panther, and your birthmark is the panthera mark. It means you can get pregnant, but I just prematurely jumpstarted the process. Your body is gonna go through some painful changes readying itself to carry a child. If you keep walking around town, another panther is gonna smell what I’ve done. Fights are gonna break out between other panthers, some deadly, just to get their hands on you, Layne.”
The skin under Layne’s eye twitched as a nervous laughter escaped. Hadn’t his mother and grandmother said his birthmark was called a panthera mark? But they hadn’t said a damn thing about babies, pregnancies, or that actual panthers lived among them.
Even after thinking all that, Layne was still swooning over Nash. He needed his damn head examined. No amount of lust, love, or whatever was enough to convince him to go along with this bullshit. Layne didn’t care if Nash’s dick was made of gold. The lunacy was mind-boggling.
Layne’s mind overloaded. He glared at Nash as he jabbed a finger in his direction. “Stay the hell away from me, you lunatic.”
He wasn’t going to believe any of that was true. There had to be something in the town water to make everyone so kooky. But if that were the case, wouldn’t he be just as delusional?
He spun and had started down the street when Nash shouted, “You’re my mate!”
That stopped Layne in his tracks. His parents had used that same word. As badly as Layne wanted to believe it was all just a coincidence, a voice in the back of his mind told him that Nash was stating the truth.
Layne took another step, but he spotted Hartley’s rusted red pickup rambling down the street toward him.
Nash was at Layne’s side in seconds. “Come back to my house.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Layne snapped. “If I’d known you were this loony all those years ago, I never would’ve allowed myself to fall in love with you.”
Oh fuck! Had he just said that out loud? Could this day get any worse? Mortified, Layne took off, racing to get away from Nash and the humiliation. Hartley pulled to the curb and jumped out, heading right for Layne.
“I don’t need your shit right now,” Layne snarled. “Fuck off, Hartley.”
But Hartley didn’t back down. The guy never did, not even when Layne had made it blatantly clear that he wasn’t interested.
Hartley advanced toward him. Nash took off to catch up to them. Layne shouted when Nash barreled right into Hartley and knocked him on his ass, a deep, deadly growl rumbling in his chest.
Hartley got to his feet and rolled his shoulders. It was like watching a gladiator fight minus the swords and shields. And the scantily clothed men. Okay, so not a gladiator fight, but it was still heart pounding. Layne had never seen two broad men go up against each other.
“I see you got to him first, but I can smell the pheromones.” Hartley sniffed the air. “You haven’t impregnated him yet.”
What the fuck? Layne pressed a hand to his mouth. Hartley was a panther, too? His mind was blown. He was even reeling from the fact that Hartley just said that Layne could get pregnant. Had Nash really been telling the truth?
“Back off,” Nash warned Hartley.
Layne backpedaled then ran all the way back to Nash’s. It was closer than his own house, and he wanted away from the madness.
Chapter Five
Well, Layne had gotten the big buff stallion he’d dreamed of, only this was turning out to be a nightmare. He paced on Nash’s porch, refusing to go inside. He thought about taking off in the opposite direction, away from the two muscle-heads who were still arguing down the street, but with the way Layne’s luck was going, another snarling panther would find him.
God, this shit was unreal. Now he owed his mother and grandmother an apology. They hadn’t been spinning a fanciful story about his birthmark. They’d been telling the truth. Layne had been destined to be a panther’s mate. He pressed a hand to his stomach when he felt queasy. There was no way he could talk to his mom right now. Layne needed to talk to someone who would tell him none of this was real.
He pulled out his phone and called Stevie. “You’re not going to believe what the hell is going on.”
Layne didn’t believe it himself. But he’d seen firsthand what his birthmark had done and had felt the burning pain. He also couldn’t dismiss the two men arguing half a block away. He touched where Nash had bitten him, and the area was still tender.
Worse, when Layne touched his skin, every cell in his body wanted Nash. His cock hardened, and he was seconds away from running back to Nash and begging the man to fuck him.
“You and Nash finally had sex?” Stevi
e chuckled as if he amused himself. “Tell me it was worth the wait.”
“I need you to get over here.” Layne looked down the street. Hartley had sped off, and Nash was heading right for him. Panic set in. He gripped his phone tighter, unsure what to do.
“I can’t,” Stevie said. “I’m kind of tied up at the moment at the salon. Have you tried Horace or Stanton? You know they’ll run to your rescue.”
Now Nash was twenty feet away. “Never mind.”
Layne hung up and shoved his phone into his pocket. Nash grabbed his hand and hauled Layne into the house.
“Stop acting like a caveman.” Layne yanked his hand free as Nash shut the door behind them, effectively trapping him inside.
Nash paced like a caged animal, scrubbing his hand over his head. “Okay, we’re in a mess, but we can deal with it. I don’t run from my responsibilities.”
The guy was talking to himself as Layne pressed his back into the door. “What kind of mess?”
Nash stopped and stared at him, as though he just realized Layne was in the room. “I didn’t mean to do it. I swear. But there’s no going back now.”
His answers confused Layne only more. “Will you give it to me straight? Stop talking in riddles, damn it.”
“I already told you,” Nash said. “Your body is going to go through the change. I can’t take that back. You’re emanating a pheromone that tells other panthers your body is in the process of changing. That’s why Hartley was determined to get to you. Panthers can’t help it when that scent hits them. It’s a primal reaction.”
Nash pulled Layne into his arms and placed a blazing kiss on his lips. For a brief second Layne allowed himself to drown in the kiss, allowed himself to get wrapped up in the moment. Craziness rained all around him, yet he was still swept off his feet by a single touch from the man he loved.
Then logic kicked in, and Layne slapped at Nash’s hard chest. “Stop making me melt. I can’t think when you’re this close. It’s like your lips are an off switch to my brain.”
“Primal reaction,” Nash murmured. He walked a few feet away, rubbing his nape. “I can’t help it. My panther wants you.” He turned and looked at Layne. “I want you.”
“Because I can give you babies.”
“Yes.” Nash shook his head. “No.”
Layne folded his arms over his chest. “Which is it?” he asked. “Before the grocery store, you didn’t even know I existed. Now, because of this damn birthmark, you’re all over me.”
“I wish I could tell you that wasn’t true, but I can’t.” He closed the distance and took Layne’s hands. Layne didn’t pull away. As much as he wanted to tell Nash to go fuck himself, this was the guy he’d been in love with since forever.
His heart was torn. Layne didn’t know what to do. If what Nash said was true, whatever was going to happen to Layne couldn’t be undone. A baby. He felt lightheaded.
True, Layne adored kids, but he never thought having a family was in the cards for him. Not unless he adopted, and he wouldn’t have done that unless he’d had a partner to help him.
Layne bit his lip and looked at their hands. “Are you sure all of this is really happening?”
Nash brushed his knuckles over Layne’s cheek. “I’m sure.”
“What if we don’t have sex?” Layne had had plenty of hot fantasies about them fucking in every position known to man, and damn if those images didn’t make him hard. Gah! There he went again, ready to jump Nash’s bones. Layne needed to keep his head on straight and stop letting his dick do the thinking.
“The heat,” Nash said. “You won’t be able to resist.”
Layne snorted as he dropped Nash’s hand. “We’ll see about that.”
A smile curved the side of Nash’s mouth. He gave Layne a quick kiss that still had the ability to wreck him.
“I’m gonna buy the bar. I need to set down roots if we’re gonna start a family.”
“I never agreed to this,” Layne argued. It was as if Nash had made up his mind and now he was plowing forward. “Nobody’s starting a damn thing if I have anything to say about it.”
“I’ll have Quinn take care of everything for me since I don’t want to leave you alone and I can’t take you with me.”
Layne had heard enough. He whipped out his phone and dialed his mom. He had to get off the funny farm before he became a permanent resident. He trusted his mom, and if she’d been telling the truth all along, she’d know what to do.
“Hey, sweetie,” his mom said when she answered. “Are you having fun on your day off?”
He thought Nash would try to snatch the phone away, but he stood there staring intently at Layne. “Is there any way you can pick me up from Beatrice’s?”
“Is something wrong with your car?”
“No, I just left it at home. I had some things to take care of.” That way, if his mom picked him up, Layne could find out everything she knew about this crazy situation.
“Sure, sweetie. I can come get you.”
Hope blossomed in Layne until Nash did take the phone. “Mrs. Buchannan. This is Nash.”
Layne ran in a circle, trying to get his phone back from Nash as the guy dodged him. “Layne is my mate. Do you know what that means?” He listened as Layne stopped chasing him. He was out of breath, anyway. “Yes, ma’am. No, the process has started already.”
His mom let out a squeal so loud that even Layne heard it. Nash pulled the phone away from his ear and then pressed it back.
“I’ll be sure to tell him.” Nash hung up and handed the phone back. “She said we need to find a place of our own so she can make a nursery for her grandbaby.”
“I’m not finding anything with you.” Layne stormed to the kitchen. Before Nash could follow him, he took off out the back door.
Screw this craziness. Layne was going home. There wasn’t going to be any body preparation, no baby factory, and no…anything. He’d had it. Layne cut through the backyard and hurried toward the street. Fortunately his house was only two blocks from Beatrice’s.
He was in the downtown area, and Layne was getting some really strange looks. One guy who had just come out of the barbershop sniffed the air as Layne passed him by.
A few other guys turned their heads and stared at him. This did not bode well for him. Layne took a step back, his heart thumping wildly as he looked around for an escape.
Just then Stanton pulled to the curb and smiled at him. “Hey, where’re you heading, handsome?”
Layne didn’t bother answering. He jumped into the passenger seat and slammed the door.
“Careful!” Stanton petted his dashboard. “My car might be old, but you still have to respect it.”
The men who had been staring at Layne were closing in. “Just take me home, now.”
Stanton frowned. “Since when are you so rude? You didn’t get into a taxi where you can shout your destination and tell me to step on it. I’m doing this because I’m just that awesome.”
Layne gritted his teeth. The guy from the barbershop was almost at his door.
“Please take me home.” Layne had to think of an excuse to get Stanton moving. “I have the bubble guts. I really need to get home.”
Stanton crinkled his nose. “That’s more than I needed to know.”
Thankfully he pulled away. Layne checked the side mirror and was relieved when he didn’t see anyone following them. That was a freaking miracle.
“Why do you look all sweaty?” Stanton reached into the glove box and handed Layne some tissue.
Layne looked at his phone when text message chirps suddenly blew his phone the fuck up. Not only was Nash texting him but so was his mom. Then his phone rang.
Nash.
Layne couldn’t deal with this right now. He needed space and time to clear his head. Maybe in a year or two he’d be ready to talk to them.
They’d almost made it home when a stitch worked its way around his side. Layne winced and touched his stomach.
“Don’t you dare!
” Stanton sped up. “Any bodily fluids get in my car and you’re buying me a new one.”
If Layne hadn’t been in so much pain he might’ve laughed. Instead he doubled over, feeling like a hot knife was slicing through him. Stanton parked so fast that Layne jerked forward, nearly hitting the dash.
“We’re home. Get out, get out, get out!” Stanton jumped out and raced around the hood, yanking the passenger door open.
Layne slowly crawled out, his arm around his gut. He took two more steps before he dropped to his knees. This was ten times worse than when he’d eaten that bad sushi.
“Are you all right?” Stanton bent over and lowered to one knee. “Do you need an ambulance?” He patted Layne’s back. “Or should I call Nash for you?”
Layne’s body felt like it had caught fire. He shook his head as sweat poured from him. If what everyone was saying was true, then the hospital was the last place he needed to go.
After blowing out a few breaths, he said, “I need Nash. Get Nash for me.”
“Sure,” Stanton said. “We’ll go with your idea.”
Layne handed Stanton his phone seconds before he passed out.
* * * *
Nash put his truck in Park and slammed the driver’s door, moving swiftly to where Layne was lying on the ground.
“He started sweating and then passed out,” Layne’s friend said. “He said he had an upset tummy. I swear I didn’t do anything to him.”
Nash lifted Layne up and cradled his mate to his chest. The guy was burning up. He needed to get him home and soak him in a cool bath. “Thanks.”
He headed for his truck as Layne’s friend hurried to catch up to him. Nash didn’t have a clue what the guy’s name was. He just remembered him from the wake. “Is Layne going to be all right? Should I be worried?”
“I think he’s coming down with something,” Nash said. “I’ll take good care of him.”
The guy looked as if he didn’t want to let Nash take Layne. If the guy stood in his way…
Nash set Layne on the passenger seat and pulled from the parking lot. He still couldn’t believe Layne had taken off after all the warnings he’d given him. The guy was nothing if not stubborn.