There was a word written on the picture, a very simple yet so telling one, and Andrew didn’t know if he was more scared of the picture itself or of the word. Mine.
“He thinks I’m his?” God, how he hated to hear the fear in his voice.
“Since he’s a shifter, I’m guessing he thinks you’re his mate.”
“Why? I thought shifters knew from scent, but if you’re my mate how can I be his? And why hasn’t he tried to contact me directly?”
Soren shrugged, seemingly unconcerned, but Andrew could see the worry in his eyes. “I have no idea. We could talk with a shifter psychologist or something, if those even exists, but does it really matter?”
“Are you sure I’m your mate and not his?”
Soren growled a bit and leaned over Andrew, skimming his nose on Andrew’s jaw and pulling a shiver out of him. “I’m very sure.”
Andrew had never felt so impotent and out of control. There was nothing he could do but wait and hope they would catch his stalker before the man did anything rash. And he didn’t like it.
Soren must have seen the feelings Andrew was experiencing reflected on his face, because he suddenly grabbed Andrew’s shoulders and hauled him close. Andrew found himself surrounded by warmth and strength, and he felt oddly safe even though he had met Soren only the day before. He knew deep inside that the big tiger would never do anything to hurt him, and it eased something inside him.
Soren hugged him tight, his chin resting on the top of Andrew’s head and his arms surrounding him. “You’ll be fine, babe. You’re mine, and I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
As much as Andrew knew he should push away and insist that he could take care of himself, he knew he needed Soren and the reassurance the man was giving him.
So he surrendered. Most of his life Andrew had insisted on walking alone and making it with his own forces, refusing help from anyone, but if Soren really was his mate, he didn’t need to be so lonely anymore. He had someone he could rely on, always.
Andrew moved his arms around Soren and hugged the man back, finally letting go and giving in to his desire. “What are we going to do?”
“About what?”
“Everything. You’re my mate, but I have a boyfriend.” Andrew realized that he shouldn’t be doing this even if there was nothing sexual in the way Soren was holding him. The man was offering comfort, but Andrew knew he should have gone to Xavier for it, but their relationship was not like that, and it wouldn’t have felt so...right.
Soren sat down in Andrew’s chair and pulled him until he was sitting on his lap. Sure, he could feel Soren’s erection poking at him, but the man was still trying to comfort him. He wasn’t making one move that said he wanted more. “We both know what a mate means for a shifter, but I won’t push you to break up with Xavier and mate with me. You can decide if and when you want to do those things.”
“You’d give me time?”
“Of course. What, you thought I was going to throw you on the desk and bite you?” Soren sounded more amused than upset, but Andrew could feel he had made him a bit angry.
“Sorry, it’s just...everything is a mess right now, and I don’t know what to do or even what to think anymore. I don’t know where to begin.”
“Are you in love with Xavier?” The tiny bit of doubt and hurt in Soren’s voice made Andrew ache to reassure him.
“No. I don’t think I’ve ever been in love with anyone, and when we decided to get together I made it very clear to him I wasn’t looking for anything serious.”
“Things change, though.”
“Yeah, I know he’s starting to care for me, but I still don’t feel anything more than friendship for him.”
“What are you going to do, then?”
* * * *
Soren held his breath as he waited for Andrew to answer. He was amazed that Andrew was letting him see such a vulnerable part of him, and he knew it couldn’t last long, but he needed to know if he had a chance with his mate. If he didn’t...
“I’ll talk to Xavier. Besides, it’s probably better for him. That way he can be out of sight of the stalker. I might not love him as I should, but he’s still a friend, and I want him to be safe.”
“Of course.” Soren sounded calm, but inside he was anything but. His heart was jumping around his chest and he felt the need to jump up and do a happy dance, because yeah, he had never been so happy. He knew this didn’t mean they would mate, but it was a step in that direction.
Soren didn’t want to get up, but he knew it would be better to do it now rather than to wait until Andrew felt uneasy, so he tapped his mate’s hip. “What do you think? Lunch?”
Andrew nodded, his face still buried against Soren’s chest, but he didn’t make the move to get up. Instead, he moved his face and looked up in Soren’s eyes, his hand reaching for Soren’s neck. Soren hadn’t been expecting this, so he was stunned when Andrew pulled him down and pressed their lips together.
It wasn’t a sexual kiss. Andrew just kept them like that for a little while, the kiss neither deepening nor ending, before moving back. “Thank you.”
It was the only thing he said before getting up. He seemed to leave everything that had just happened between them behind. Soren was a bit confused, but he played the game as if he knew the rules. “I’m going to call Dominic and tell him about the picture. Maybe Isaiah can find something, or Gabriel. He’s a photographer, so he might find something in it.”
Andrew shook his head. “I don’t think there’s anything to find. It’s obvious the man was spying on me last night, probably to check how I reacted to his flowers and to the fact he had entered my house.”
Soren followed Andrew outside and held his face up to the spring sun. He wanted to grab his mate’s hand and make it clear to the stalker that Andrew was his, but until Andrew talked with Xavier and decided to give them a chance, he could do nothing like that, and Soren’s tiger was being a bitch about it.
“Come on, kitty. Let’s go eat something.”
Oh, Soren could see the making of a pet name for him. He didn’t actually mind, but this allowed him to call his mate Andy, right? “Sure thing, Andy.”
Andrew stopped. “Don’t call me that.”
“Why not?”
“I hate it.” It didn’t actually look like he really hated it, but if he didn’t want that one...
“Okay, baby-cakes. I won’t call you that.”
The way Andrew narrowed his eyes at him was hilarious. “Call me Andrew. Only Andrew.”
“Aww, babe. I want to give you a pet name. What about sugarplum? Or honey-bunny?”
“I hate you!” Andrew stomped away, but not before Soren noticed the small smile on his face. It seemed he wasn’t the only one loving their banter.
Soren quickly followed his mate to the diner. It was nearly full, but they managed to find a table.
“So, how did you get stuck with me?”
“I wouldn’t know. I sure hope Fate knows what she’s doing, ‘cause—”
“I meant why did Dominic ask you to stay with me, smartass? Did you do something to make him angry?”
“And you would be the punishment? Then I really should try to make him angry more often.” Soren grinned at Andrew, liking the smile he gave back even if he tried not to make it obvious. “I’m the only one both with training and without a mate, so I was the most obvious choice.” Soren realized that if Dominic hadn’t needed him with Andrew he might have lived so very close to the man without ever meeting him. Andrew had been at the mansion a few times, since he was Dominic’s friend, but Soren had never met him until the day before.
Their plates arrived while they were both immersed in their thoughts and Soren dug in. “I’m going to call Xavier when I go back to the office. I’ll ask him to come by my house tonight.”
Soren put his fork down. “That’s fast.”
Andrew shrugged. “Why wait? I know I don’t want to be with him anymore, a
nd even if I don’t want to hurt him, it will, and it’s going to be worse if I wait. It doesn’t mean I’m going to jump you as soon as he steps out of the door, though.” He narrowed his eyes at Soren in what was quickly becoming a habit.
“I never said that.” Although it was an option he really liked. He could already feel Andrew’s long legs wrapping around him, or maybe the man was going to pin Soren to the wall with one hand and explore his body with the other while Soren was helpless to fight back. Soren could feel his cock growing stiff, and he didn’t want to walk around with a boner, so he quickly put a lid on his erotic thoughts. He would have all the time in the world to enjoy them tonight in Andrew’s bed. Maybe Andrew would want to act on some of them...
“Hey, mind out of the gutter, tiger,” Andrew said, snapping his fingers right in front of Soren’s face.
“How do you know it was there in the first place?” Andrew arched a brow and looked down at Soren’s crotch, where his erection was obvious in his jeans, since he was leaning back against the back of the bench he was sitting on. Yeah, it would have to go down before he could get up, or he would flash the thing around and scare people. “Okay, it was there. Sorry.”
Andrew snorted. “You’re not sorry in the least, but okay.”
Once they were back at the office, Soren settled back on the couch near the entrance. Claire was looking at him funny, probably wondering what the hell he was doing there, but if Andrew hadn’t told her he sure wasn’t going to. He did call Dominic to tell him about the flowers and the picture, and the Alpha said he was going to send someone to retrieve it later that day.
After that, it was just a matter of waiting for Andrew to finish work, but he was still at it when Claire left at six PM. By then Soren was bored out of his skull. The lights were all out except the one in Andrew’s office, so when someone stopped on the opposite sidewalk and looked straight at Andrew’s office, Soren didn’t have to hide. He tried to see more of the man, but his face was in the shadows.
Soren rushed to the door and got out, but the man—shifter—ran away as soon as he saw him coming. He could only be a shifter to run that fast, but they already knew that. Soren went up to the spot where the man had been waiting and sniffed the air, confirming that the stalker was indeed a bear shifter, but he didn’t find anything new. He could have run after the stalker, but he hadn’t wanted to leave Andrew alone.
Soren had to find a way to solve this, because he didn’t want Andrew to be with him just so that he could be protected, not that Andrew had said anything like that, but still. Soren needed his mate to be safe.
Turning, he moved back to the darkened office, smiling when he saw Andrew still leaning over the stack of paper he had been reading for a few hours by now. It was time to go home.
Chapter Three
Andrew didn’t know why he was nervous, but he was. Soren had insisted on going home earlier than Andrew usually did when he was alone, so he had called Xavier and he had asked him to come, too. Andrew knew breaking up with Xavier was the best option, the only option really, but it made him feel guilty. The man was sweet and kind and Andrew didn’t want to hurt him. He knew Xavier already had a low self-esteem because he was often picked on for carrying around a good thirty pounds in excess, but honestly, Andrew didn’t find it that bad.
He actually thought Xavier was cute, and the extra weight made him look a little like a cherub. It suited him, really, because he was sweet and caring.
Anyway, Andrew didn’t want Xavier to think he was breaking up for that motive, but he knew he would. Could he tell him the truth, though? Well, not that Soren was a shifter, but maybe that he had fallen in love with someone else.
Not that Andrew was in love with Soren, but he knew it wouldn’t take much. Even when the man was calling him sugarplum, he couldn’t bring himself to be angry with him, even though he would have killed anyone else who dared give him pet names. The only one who could do it was Dominic, and only because Andy was the nickname the man had given him when Andrew was still a kid.
Soren made Andrew wait outside while he checked the house, but it seemed no one had gotten in while they were gone. He barely had the time to close the door when he heard Xavier’s car stopping in his driveway, so he just waited for him in the doorway.
“I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me,” Soren said. Andrew saw him hesitating as if he wanted to say more, but then he just left, and Xavier was there.
“Your bodyguard is still here?”
“Yes. I don’t think he’ll be going away anytime soon, because we have no idea who the stalker is.”
“Oh, sure.”
Xavier looked unsure, probably because Andrew hadn’t kissed him like he usually did. He leaned a bit toward Andrew, but Andrew ignored it. There was no point in prolonging this, so he gestured toward the living room and waited until Xavier was sitting on the couch. He was thinking about the best way to do this without hurting his friend, but Xavier stopped him.
“You’re about to tell me we’re over, right?” Xavier’s eyes were sad but resigned.
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I always knew this wouldn’t last long.”
“Xavier, there’s nothing wrong with you.” How could he explain to him that he had met his mate? “I really like you, but the spark isn’t there.”
“I know. It’s okay, really. I told you, I was expecting this.” The loneliness and resignation in his eyes made Andrew want to hug the man, but he wasn’t sure Soren would accept it.
“I mean, you’re you, and I’m...” He gestured down to his body, and Andrew wanted to tear through whoever had made him think he wasn’t good enough.
“There’s nothing wrong with your body, Xavier. You’re hot. There just wasn’t enough chemistry between us.”
Xavier didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. “Sure.” Andrew wanted to tear his hair out. How could he make Xavier see what he was seeing when he looked at him?
“Oh, hey. The cutie is back,” Soren said from the door. Andrew turned to look at him and Soren winked.
Xavier looked around as if wondering who Soren was talking about before blushing when he realized he was the only one there. “Hi.”
“You know, if I wasn’t already spoken for, I would definitely have a go at you,” Soren said before flopping down next to Xavier. He made a show of looking up and down Xavier’s body, and while Andrew knew he was doing this on purpose and that there wasn’t anything between the two, he couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous.
Xavier blushed and looked away, but Andrew saw the tentative and incredulous smile on his face. It made him feel marginally better and made him like Soren a tiny bit more. Not that he disliked the man, but he was endearing when he did stuff like that.
“I think I’m going to go.”
“Oh, sure.”
“I’ll...I’ll see you around.”
Xavier rushed to the door, but Andrew caught up to him. “Look, I know this isn’t what you want, but I’d really like for us to be friends.” God knew Andrew didn’t have many of those. Maybe he should have become Xavier’s friend instead of his boyfriend. It would have been easier.
“Okay. I’m going to need some time, but yeah, okay. I’d like to be your friend.” Xavier smiled before opening the door, blushing when Soren yelled “See ya, cutie!” from the living room.
Andrew closed the door behind Xavier and leaned against it, wondering what was going to happen now. What was he ready to give in to Soren? He knew he liked the man, but it wasn’t love, obviously. Maybe he could ask him how exactly this mating thing worked. Sure, he already knew some of it, but he hadn’t really paid attention when Dominic had explained it to him, since he hadn’t thought it was something that would ever concern him.
“So,” he asked, entering the living room. “How does this work?”
Soren smiled. “You mean mating?”
“Yeah.”
“I bite you and drink your
blood, you do the same to me but without the biting, and we’re bonded for life. I can’t ever be with anyone else unless I want to be mauled by my tiger. You get to live as long as me, more or less. You’ll heal faster, you might become a little faster too.”
“What do you get out of it? It seems to me that I get all the good things.”
“I get love. You have no idea how long a shifter’s life can be when we’re alone. Sure, we can still have relationships with humans, but we eventually have to leave them if we don’t want to be discovered, and we’d lose them anyway because they get old. We can also choose to be with another shifter, but the fear that one of the two could find his mate anytime makes it hard.”
“How old are you?” It seemed Soren had been lonely for a while from what he said.
“Fifty-three.”
“Oh.” Okay, not that old for a shifter but plenty old still. “Can I think about it?”
Soren smiled. “Sure. I already told you, I’m not going to bite you right away. Of course, I’m still going to do my best to win you.”
“I have no problems with that.” Andrew really didn’t. He felt a pull toward Soren, and he had no intention of resisting it. He might make things a little hard for Soren though, make him work for it a bit.
So Andrew started to unbutton his shirt, oh so slowly. He took care to expose his chest, smiling when Soren licked his lips as if he was planning to eat him up. Once the buttons were all open, Andrew let his hands hover over the button of his dress pants, but he didn’t open them. Instead, he turned around and walked away. “I’m going to take a shower. I’ll see you once I’m done, and I hope dinner will be ready by then.”
“Tease!” Soren yelled from his place on the couch, and while Andrew knew it was the truth, he also knew Soren wasn’t sorry for it. He could hear the smile in his voice. He briefly wondered if he would be able to give in to his little kinks with Soren, though. Andrew liked to be in charge in bed, which was why he usually was with men smaller than him. Soren, however, was definitely bigger, and he looked like he was used to being the one in charge in a relationship. Andrew knew appearance didn’t mean anything, but he was a little worried. He could be the one to surrender, but not always. Well, one way or the other he was going to find out, and he hoped Soren liked to be tied up, because he definitely wanted to try that.
Andrew [Whitedell Pride: 9] Page 4