by Stormy Glenn
“Because?”
Logan heaved a sigh. “Love was running from me because I lost my temper and scared him.”
“And?”
“And I gave into my impulses and chased after him, scaring him even more.” Logan sighed. “Right about now Love is probably wishing he never even met me.”
“Logan, I’m sure it’s not as bad as that.”
Logan’s shoulders slumped as he sat back down on the end of the bed and cradled his head in his hands again. “You didn’t see him, Reed. He locked himself in the bathroom. He ran from me. He was terrified, Reed, my mate was terrified of me.”
Logan felt the bed dip as his brother sat down next to him. He didn’t lift his head. He couldn’t. The thought of Love being afraid of him was bouncing around in his head like a cannonball. Logan squeezed his eyes closed to keep his tears at bay.
“Logan, you need to remember that our emotions run close to the surface. I know for a fact that you had no intention of scaring Love, did you?”
“No, but—”
“But, your natural dominance came out, and you needed Love to submit, didn’t you?”
Logan shrugged. Reed was right. Love had defied him, and Logan gave into his natural instinct as a male wolf to make the man submit. He just forgot to tell Love that he was a wolf.
“If Love had been a wolf, he would have understood what was happening and submitted to you. But he’s not. He’s human, and that means you have to go slowly with him. You can’t treat Love like you would someone else in the clan, Logan. He needs careful handling.”
Logan lifted his head and looked at his brother. “How do you know all of this stuff?”
Reed grimaced. “Barbara.”
“But Barbara was pack, Reed. She knew all about mating and submitting.”
A bark of laughter fell from Reed’s lips. “Barbara knew about mating in the clan. She knew nothing about submitting.” Reed suddenly looked very sad. His forehead wrinkles and a distant look filled his eyes. “Besides, Barbara wasn’t my mate.”
Logan’s mouth dropped open, and he could only stare at Reed for several minutes. Granted, it was twenty years ago or so, but he remembered how crazy Reed had been for Barbara. Logan hadn’t understood the attraction himself. The woman was crazy.
“Wait, if you’ve known all this time that Barbara wasn’t your mate, then why are you still single?”
“I’m waiting for my mate, what else?” Reed smirked. “Why do you think I let her go and never tried to track her down?”
“I don’t know. I’ve kind of thought you were nuts all of these years or heartbroken.”
“No.” Reed chuckled. “Barbara and I were dating. At first, I thought we were mates. By the time I figured out that it was just first time pheromones overloading, it was too late. When I told her I wanted to call things off, she suddenly showed up pregnant. I may not have wanted her, but I would never give up my child.”
“So, you married her?” Logan was shocked. “What if she hadn’t run off and your mate suddenly showed up?”
Reed shrugged. “I don’t know, but that never happened.”
“Reed.”
“Logan, Barbara was a conniving, spoiled, rotten bitch. You know it, and I know it. I wasn’t sorry to see her go, but I never would have let her leave with Matt. Luckily for me, taking care of a newborn cub took too much work, so she split and left me with my son.”
“Yeah, but—”
“I’ve never regretted it, Logan. I know that my mate is out there somewhere. There are times when I swear I can even feel him moving closer.”
“Him?”
Reed’s face flushed as he chuckled and looked away. “Yeah, I know my mate is male. Ever since I figured things out after Barbara left, I’ve always known I would be mated to a man.”
“Then how come I’ve never seen you dating one?” Logan tossed his hands up in the air, frustrated with his brother. “Hell, I’ve never even seen you kiss a man, let alone have a relationship with one.”
“Logan, if I dated someone that wasn’t my mate, I would be doing a disservice to them, me, and my mate. I won’t do that. Yes, it’s tough and it’s lonely, but I would rather wait until I find my mate.”
“I…damn!”
Logan couldn’t stand the sincerity and longing he could read in his brother’s eyes when the man looked back at him. He suddenly remembered all of the nameless men and woman he’d slept with over the years and realized his brother was a far better man than him.
“Logan, I know I will find my mate. I feel him getting closer every day. I know I won’t have to wait much longer before he will be mine. And the moment I have him in my arms, the last twenty years will feel like a heartbeat. Nothing else will matter.”
“You’re that positive?”
“Weren’t you positive when you held Love in your arms for the first time?”
Logan remembered how right Love felt in his arms, how the mere touch of the man’s lips against his had sent him up in flames. He remembered Love’s sweet smell, the laughter that filled the air around him and made everything better. He even remembered how cute Love looked with black wolf ears on top of his head.
“Fuck, I’ve made such a mess of things.” Logan groaned as he dropped his head back into his hands again. “Love is never going to forgive me.”
“Well, don’t count yourself out yet, brother. The mating bond goes both ways, you know. I’d be willing to bet money that Love is going out of his mind right about now. The only problem is that he doesn’t know why.”
Logan jumped to his feet and started for the door, visions of Love suffering and not knowing why filling his head and making his heart ache for his mate. “I’ve got to get to Love.”
“Logan,” Reed called out, “stop.”
Logan started to yank the door open when he felt his brother’s hand on his arm. He almost growled until he saw the concern in his brother’s eyes. “What?” he bit out through clenched teeth.
“You might want to slow down and make sure you’re calm before you confront Love. He ran from you once. You don’t want him running from you again. You go rushing in there like this and you’re sure to scare him.”
Logan leaned his head against the edge of the door. Reed was right, and he knew it. Again, he was thankful that the man was not only the clan enforcer, but also his brother. Reed knew him well and still cared about him.
Logan could only hope that Love would feel the same after awhile. He knew he needed to explain things to Love, to go slow and not frighten the man, no matter how much he wanted to bundle him up where he could never be hurt.
“Okay,” Logan said then drew in a deep breath as he looked over at Reed. “What do you want me to do?”
Chapter 5
Love came awake slowly, but as he did, he noticed a distinct difference in the cold temperature of his front versus the hot temperature at his back. He also became aware of the fact that whatever was warming him from behind was very solid.
Love reached down and felt warm flesh on his hip. He instantly jerked his hand back and cradled it against his chest. The tingle that shot up his arms when he touched the arm resting on his hip scared the crap out of Love.
Drawing upon courage he didn’t know if he had, Love glanced over his shoulder. His eyes widened, and his heart started pounding frantically in his chest when he realized who the man was that warmed him.
Logan Stone was in his bed.
“Ssshhh,” Logan murmured against the back of Love’s neck. Love shuddered, fear racing through him when he felt Logan’s cheek rub against the back of his neck. His hand patted Love’s hip. “Go back to sleep, Love.”
Logan’s voice was lazy, muffled. Love didn’t even know if the man was awake. He didn’t want to know. He just wanted to get away. He had no idea how Logan had found him, but he needed to leave before the man woke up.
Love waited until Logan’s body went slack and his breathing evened out and then slowly slid out from under his hand. He
Logan grumbled a bit but then he settled down. Love held his breath the entire time as he got dressed and limped toward the bedroom door. His ankle still hurt a lot. It was even slightly swollen. Luckily, it wasn’t a break, just a sprain.
Love grabbed his green backpack off the floor, thankful that Matt had gone back and gotten it for him, and then snuck out of the bedroom. He winced when the door clicked loudly as it closed behind him. When nothing happened, not even an enraged mountain of a man crashing through the door, Love turned and hurried down the hallway.
He started for the front door when sounds from the kitchen caught his attention. Love hoped it was Matt or Drea as he cautiously walked in that direction. He needed a ride.
Love paused in the doorway to the kitchen and looked into the room. No one was directly in the kitchen, but Love could see a couple of people sitting just beyond the kitchen in a small breakfast nook. One of them was Matt.
“Matt,” Love whispered loudly.
Matt’s head whipped around, his look of astonishment turning friendlier when he spotted Love in the doorway. “Love, what are you doing up? You should be resting that ankle. It needs time to heal.”
“I got to go, man.”
“Go?” Matt glanced over at the other man at the table before looking back at Love. “Go where?”
“Home.”
Duh!
“Why don’t you come sit down and have something to eat first,” Matt said as he stood up and pushed his chair back. “I imagine you’re pretty hungry right about now.”
Love was. He was starving in fact. But he was also afraid Logan would wake up before he could escape. He didn’t want to see the man again. The weird way Logan’s teeth had grown sharper and more pointed had scared the crap out of him. Love didn’t even want to think about the way Logan’s face had shimmered and seemed to change slightly.
It was just odd.
“Matt, I really need to go.”
Love had explained to Matt the previous night that he had made yet another bad hookup. He hadn’t gone into too many details. He thought at the time that Matt probably knew Logan. Well, now Love knew that Matt knew Logan. The man was upstairs sleeping in the guest bedroom. Someone had to let him in.
Love frowned and glanced over at the other man in the room. He seemed vaguely familiar. He winced when he remembered exactly where he had met the man. “How’s the shin?”
“Fine.” The man chuckled. “Thanks for asking.”
“Oh, Love.” Matt smiled and gestured to the stranger. “This is my father, Reed Stone.”
“Hi, it’s nice to—” Love swallowed hard as the hairs on his arms suddenly stood up. “Stone?”
Reed nodded, grinning right before he took a sip of his coffee.
“Any relation to Logan Stone?”
“My uncle,” Matt said.
Reed smirked. “My brother.”
Love swallowed again, wondering why he had never made the connection between his friend, Matt Stone, and Logan Stone. He should have seen it. He knew Matt’s last name. He just didn’t.
He rubbed his hands together, absently wondering why they had suddenly become so clammy. “Hey, you know, breakfast would be great, but I really need to get on the road. I’m sure Drea and I can just grab something along the way. Thanks anyway.” Love started backing out of the room.
“Love, wha—”
“You need to listen to Logan before you decide to leave, Love,” Reed said. “There’s more going on here than you realize, and I believe you’ll regret it if you don’t stay and listen to what Logan has to say.”
Matt looked confused as he glanced back and forth between them, but Reed seemed to know exactly what was going on. Love had to wonder how much Logan had told Reed about what occurred between them.
“Why don’t you sit down and let Matt make you something to eat,” Reed said. “I imagine Logan will be down soon enough.”
Love quickly glanced over his shoulder, imagining Logan standing right behind him. When he found the space empty, he heaved a sigh of relief and pressed his hand against his chest. He felt like his heart beat so fast it might jump right out of his ribcage.
“I need to go.”
“Love, what’s going on?” Matt asked.
Love shook his head. He wasn’t sure how to answer Matt, mostly because he didn’t know himself. The whole last twelve hours or so had been one big cluster fuck after another. Love was intrigued by Logan and had been from first sight.
Unfortunately, his history with gorgeous dominants seemed to once again play out. Logan looked like sex on a stick. He just didn’t have the personality to go with it. Or maybe the problem was that he had too much personality.
The man seemed overbearing, dominant, and unable to listen to reason. Add in the fact that he scared the crap out of Love and there didn’t seem to be much reason to stick around. Logan was turning out to be just like every other man Love was attracted to.
Just once, Love wished he could meet a nice guy that also revved up his engine. The more attractive they were to Love, the more of an asshole they seemed to be. Maybe Love should listen to his friends and start looking at guys that weren’t quite so hot?
“Love and Logan hooked up at the moon festival last night,” Reed said. “They mated.”
“Holy shit,” Matt whispered as he stared at Love with wide eyes. “Is Logan the guy you told me about?”
Love nodded.
“Holy shit!” Matt plopped down in his chair. He looked stunned. “You mated with Logan?”
Love frowned. He didn’t exactly understand what Reed or Matt meant by mated, but the look of astonishment on Matt’s face made him feel very wary. “You know what, I really need to get going.”
“Oh, but, Love, you can’t leave,” Matt said. “Not now.”
“The hell I can’t,” Love snapped as he swung around and headed for the door.
“What about your ears?”
Love stumbled, reaching up for the ears he knew weren’t there. He hadn’t seen them since the previous night and assumed he either left them in the room or lost them in his mad dash to get away from Logan. He felt naked without them.
“I have a brand new set of ears I can give you,” Matt said. “I’ve been keeping them as a surprise for you. I even have a cherry lollipop.”
Love suddenly felt Matt behind him and then a lollipop was waved in front of his face. Love groaned and reached for the lollipop. Matt snatched it away before he could grab it. Love growled and turned on his friend.
Love thought there was something wonderful about having a friend that looked out for him so much that he carried pockets full of lollipops at all times. However, there was also something horrible about the fact that Matt knew how much Love loved his lollipops. The man could be cruel when he wanted to be.
“Come sit down at the table, and you can suck on this while I make you something to eat.” Matt waved the lollipop in the air.
Love stumbled forward. He set his bag on the floor then reached for the lollipop. Matt held the lollipop out of reach until Love rolled his eyes and sat down. Almost immediately, Love heard the unmistakable sound of a wrapper being pulled off then a sweet cherry lollipop was popped into his mouth.
Love moaned and sucked hard. It seemed like forever since he’d savored the satisfying flavor. His eyes fell closed, and he concentrated on the lollipop until he felt something being placed on his head.
Love’s eyes flew open, and he reached up, a small gasp falling from his lips when he felt ears on top of his head. Oh, they were soft and fuzzy. Love didn’t even care what color they were. He quickly made sure that they were placed just right then looked up into Matt’s smiling face.
“I don’t suppose you have a tail, too?” He could wish, couldn’t he?
“I do, a matching one from your favorite store,” Matt said.
Love almost cried out when Matt turned and started walking away.
“And I’ll give it to you as soon as you’ve had your breakfast.”
Love could live with that. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. He grabbed the end of the lollipop and moved it around in his mouth, savoring the taste and enjoying the fact that once again he had ears on his head.
His world was starting to feel right once again.
“You’re really into that lollipop, aren’t you?”
Love didn’t even acknowledge that Reed had spoken. He was busy.
“Love is nuts about lollipops, Pop. Sometimes, it’s the only way to calm him down.”
“Isn’t he worried about cavities or something?”
Matt chuckled. “I don’t believe Love thinks that far ahead.”
“And the ears?” Reed asked.
“Love doesn’t go anywhere without them.”
“He does know they’re not real, right?”
“They’re real for him.”
Reed snorted. It was a very rude noise as far as Love was concerned. He stuck his leg out under the table and kicked Reed in the shin.
“Ow, fuck!” Reed shouted as he reached down to rub his leg. “What in the hell did you do that for?”
Love grinned around the lollipop then went back to sucking on it.
“What is with you, man?” Reed asked. “That’s the second time you’ve kicked me in the shin.”
Love heard Matt burst into laughter. “He’s kicked you before?”
Reed nodded and frowned at Love. “Back at the bar.”
“What did you do to him?”
“Nothing!”
Love rolled his eyes and snorted. Yes, the noise was rude but effective when needed. Besides, it came from him. Snorty noises were allowed when they came from him. Love did it with panache.
“You really need to stop doing that, Love.”
Love rolled his head and gave Reed a look that said what he thought about that suggestion. He tilted his head slightly, had one eyebrow raised, and a smirk on his lips.
Reed just rolled his eyes. “Oh, I can’t wait to see how Logan deals with you.”
“So not happening,” Love said as he pulled the lollipop from his mouth. “I’m eating my breakfast, getting my tail, then I’m out of here. Logan has nothing to say that I want to hear.”
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