Gaping at the young man next to him, Caladon’s mind shut down. He watched in shock as the lithe African American shoved the woman’s hand back toward her, making her stumble back a couple of paces. Caladon could scent the man’s anger as he glared in disgust at the women.
Sarina growled, actually growled, as she said, “How dare you lay a hand on my sister. You’ll be sorry,” she vowed. “You’ll both be sorry!”
With that declaration, Sarina turned, placed a hand on her sister’s back, and stormed away. The other man watched them, but Caladon only had eyes for the interloper.
“Taolma?” Caladon finally whispered.
The young man turned and met his eyes. The disgust bled from his expression, giving way to uncertainty. He lowered his gaze and shuffled his feet. Glancing at him a couple of times from beneath his lashes, Taolma cleared his throat before awkwardly mumbling, “Uh, hi. Uh, Dad? Hope you don’t mind I came.”
Taolma’s greeting managed to yank Caladon out of his shock. Grinning widely, he grabbed his son’s upper arms and laughed. “Taolma. My son! Look at you!” Caladon cried. He ran his hands over his arms for a second, unable to stop grinning. “I am so very happy to see you,” he stated, joyfully. “All grown up!”
Smiling shyly at him, Taolma glanced around then met his gaze and said, “Pops showed me the email from you explaining everything. He never believed you left of your own free will.”
“Pops?” Caladon cocked his head. “Who is that?”
“Golren,” Taolma told him, glancing over Caladon’s shoulder. “He and momma told me stories about you.”
Caladon lowered one hand from Taolma so he could turn. He spotted his long-time friend standing fifteen feet away, a smile toying at the corner of his thin, dark lips. His mouth going dry, Caladon looked from Taolma to Golren. He held out his free hand, and the other shifter quickly crossed to his side. Unable to help himself, right there in the middle of the store, Caladon pulled both men to him.
Gasping, Caladon fought back tears. “Thank you,” he whispered, burying his face between the two men’s shoulders. “Thank you.” He felt the arms of the other men circle him and, when one of the men rubbed up and down his back, a few of the tears leaked out.
“You’re welcome, my friend,” Golren murmured. “I’m sorry we weren’t able to find you.”
“Does not matter,” Caladon replied, lifting his head. He smiled at Golren. “You did the important thing.” He turned his attention to Taolma, moving the hand he’d had around his shoulders upward so he could cup his jaw. “You cared for my son.”
Caladon’s heart thudded in his chest at the way Taolma smiled shyly at him. Hot damn, his son was right in front of him! He couldn’t wait to introduce him to Leroy.
“Uh, Cal? Is everything okay?” Raymond’s tentatively voiced question interrupted Caladon’s musings.
As Caladon yanked his focus away from the other two boa shifters, he lowered his hand from Taolma’s jaw to his shoulder, unable to release his son just yet. He did, however, manage to release Golren so he could face Raymond. “This is my friend, Golren Rabenau and my son, Taolma,” Caladon explained. “This is Raymond and his partner Marty. Raymond helped me locate you,” he stated pointedly.
Raymond’s dark face split into a wide grin. “Wow! Very nice to meet you!” He reached out and shook Golren’s hand. Caladon finally managed to release Taolma, so his son could shake both men’s hands.
“Will you follow us to the manor?” Caladon asked. “It is where I am staying right now.” He looked toward Raymond. “Is that allowed?”
Nodding, Raymond smiled. “We need to introduce them to the chief anyway.”
“Right.” Caladon agreed, knowing it was proper etiquette for paranormals to introduce themselves to the local leader when entering new territory. In this case, they needed to notify Chieftain Maelgwn. He turned and grabbed the dragon fruit he’d set aside when the women had confronted him. Caladon needed to remember to tell Leroy about the altercation. He certainly didn’t want his mate to find out from his sisters. “Let us go, then.” As the group started moving, he couldn’t keep his gaze away from Taolma for more than a few seconds.
Marty patted Caladon on the shoulder and gently took the bag of produce from him. After placing it in their cart, he focused on Golren. “You guys get a rental car? How’d you find us at the store?”
“We did,” Golren replied. “We were driving by the store, trying to figure out the GPS so we could find the manor, when Taolma spotted you.” He offered a crooked smile, then added, “We weren’t sure if it was you. It’d been so long, ya know? We figured it couldn’t hurt to stop and check.”
“I am glad you did,” Caladon told them.
“Why don’t we take care of this,” Marty offered, indicating their cart of groceries. “You can head to the manor with Taolma and Golren and show them around.”
Gus and Tible strolled up to them, pushing a cart overflowing with every kind of snack food imaginable, from chips and dip to veggies and hummus. Caladon even spotted chocolate drizzled popcorn.
Marty snorted at their overflowing cart. “Find everything you wanted, guys?” he teased good-naturedly.
Gus flushed a bit, but Tible grinned widely. “There are so many things to try!” the slender, white-haired gargoyle responded. In human skin, he stood about five foot ten, making him just reach his big mate’s shoulders, and had pretty androgynous features. “Did you know popcorn comes in ranch flavor? Crazy!”
Caladon just held in his chuckle when Tible pointed at the half dozen flavors of Kettle Corn in the cart. He’d heard the tale of how the gargoyle had been raised by reclusive shifters and hadn’t known too much about other paranormals, including his own kind. Once an adult, he’d begun his search to learn more and had stumbled upon Gus, who’d been staying with wolf shifters, recuperating from a mad scientist’s painful experiments.
The alpha of the wolves had been friends with a few vampires that traveled for the Vampire Council. Through them, they’d located Maelgwn and his clutch. Imagine their surprise when they’d learned that Tible had gotten Gus pregnant. Now, they had a bouncing baby gargoyle named Vaclar at home waiting for them and Tible loved exploring new things, sharing them with the couple’s bundle of joy.
It was something he wished he could have done with his own son.
If wishes were horses…
Caladon didn’t know how the rest of that went. Instead, he looked at his friend and his son. “Is that okay with you two?”
Golren nodded. “Yes. That sounds like a great idea.” He winked at Taolma. “Flying always sucks.”
Nodding, Caladon mentally seconded that. “Let us go then,” he urged, spreading his hand palm up toward the sliding glass doors. As they turned and headed outside, he waved and thanked the other men, then led the way outside. He paused, looking around the parking lot. “Your car?”
“The silver SUV over there,” Golren answered, pointing.
Caladon followed Golren, both he and Taolma falling into step behind him. He couldn’t keep from glancing at his son, again and again. It felt so surreal to finally have the boy—who was no longer really a boy—at his side, and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what to say.
When they reached the SUV, Taolma touched Caladon’s arm and smiled at him. “Dad, I-I’m glad to finally meet you,” he murmured. “I know it’s kinda awkward and, um, neither of us really know what to say, but—” He paused and rubbed the back of his neck with one dark hand. He shrugged. “I guess I just want you to know that I never blamed you. Mom and Pops told me about you all the time and—” Touching his shoulder again, Taolma smiled and said again, “I’m glad to finally meet you.”
Sighing, Caladon pulled Taolma into a hug, relieved and pleased that the young man didn’t fight. Over his son’s shoulder, he rested his gaze on Golren’s smiling visage as the other shifter watched them.
Thank you, he mouthed, knowing there was n
o way in this world he could ever repay his friend.
Chapter Ten
Swinging from his car, Leroy stretched his arms over his head, then twisted this way and that. He grunted when his back popped twice, letting out a relieved sigh as some of the tension eased from his spine. As he reached back into his vehicle and grabbed an overnight bag, he wondered if Caladon knew how to give massages.
Caladon.
Leroy smiled nervously as he thought about his lover. When he’d listened to Caladon’s message about running into not only Leroy’s sisters but his own son at the grocery store, he didn’t know which concerned him more. Why couldn’t his family just allow him to see who he wanted to see?
Hell, the least they could do is get to know a guy before condemning him.
His phone chirped, so Leroy slid the strap of his bag over his shoulder, shut his car’s door, and leaned against it before pulling the device from his pocket. He grimaced, seeing that his mother called. Knowing he shouldn’t put this off, he hit accept.
“Hey, Mom,” Leroy greeted.
“Hi, sweetie,” Whitney Wilde replied. “What’s this I hear about you dating someone your father says is beneath you? Even your sisters say he’s not very nice,” she accused, wasting no time to start in on her accusations. “It’s bad enough you want to date men, but couldn’t you at least find a nice young man?”
Leroy rolled his eyes as he listened to his mother’s condescending ramble. When she finally stopped for a breath, he struggled to keep the irritation from his voice as he stated, “Mom, Caladon is a very nice man. He’s sweet and funny and kind. He listens to me and we share the same interests.” That might be a stretch, but loving to have sex with each other was sharing an interest, right? “Not to mention he’s sexy as hell and a great kisser,” he decided to throw out there…just because.
“Leroy,” his mother chastised with just his name and her tone, just as Leroy knew she would. “If he’s so wonderful, why would your father and sisters not approve?”
Gritting his teeth, Leroy snapped, “Because they can’t get past the color of his skin. Why do you and dad hate anyone different than you?” It was a long-standing argument, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. “There are so many wonderful people that you refuse to associate with just because they don’t conform to your version of acceptable.”
“Now, Leroy,” Whitney murmured. “That’s not true. We just want what’s best for our children and being associated with certain kinds of people will do nothing to increase your standing. Don’t you want to rise through the ranks in your job?” she asked her tone calm and reasonable in a way that Leroy hated. “You can’t do that if you associate with people that will put you in a bad light.”
Frowning, Leroy snapped, “So, because Colin Powell is African American, I shouldn’t have lunch with him if ever given the chance, even though he became the US Secretary of State? Or how about our dear president?”
Whitney stuttered for a second, then mumbled, “Well, that’s different.”
Feeling on a role, Leroy pressed, “Is it? Is it because they’re in politics that it makes it okay? What about George Washington Carver? The inventor of peanut butter?”
“Well, he’s dead, so—”
“Also not the point,” Leroy cut her off. “The point is, my family takes one look at the man I’m dating and decides he’s not good enough. Hell, he could be a billionaire genius who donates half his money to breast cancer research and spends time as a volunteer at an orphanage, and you’d never know because you won’t give him a chance.”
After several seconds of silence from the other end of the phone, where Leroy struggled to get his heart rate under control, Whitney finally spoke. Her tone cold, she asked, “Are you done being ridiculous?”
Snorting, Leroy rolled his eyes. “Yeah,” he stated, realizing what he should have years ago. His parents would never change…which meant he had to. “I’m done,” he continued. “I’m done allowing you to control who I spend my time with. Tell dad to fuck off.” Even as he flushed and disconnected the call, Leroy grimaced.
I really shouldn’t have done that.
Cussing out his father was one thing, but his mother…yeah, bad form, Leroy. Something inside him had just flipped. Of course, he had no intention of apologizing unless his mom would accept his lover, which meant it wouldn’t be happening anytime soon.
Leroy shook his head, put his phone on vibrate, and shoved it back into his pocket.
“Gonna stand out here all night?”
Turning in surprise, Leroy spotted Matthew leaning against the other side of his car. He swept his gaze around the parking lot and spotted the electrician’s truck parked fifteen feet away. The dodge was a diesel and Leroy had no idea how he’d missed the man’s arrival.
Wait, sure I do. My family is still fucking with my head.
Returning his focus to Vane’s mate, Leroy noted that Matthew’s smile had slipped to be replaced by a look of concern. He gave the man he’d become pretty good friends with a wry smile. “My family is, well—” He sighed and shrugged.
“Damn, wanna talk about it?” Matthew asked, falling into step beside him as Leroy started toward the front door of the manor. “You never gave me the impression your family had a problem with you being gay,” he commented, bumping his shoulder into Leroy’s.
Shaking his head, Leroy admitted bluntly, “It’s not that I’m dating a guy. It’s that I’m dating someone who isn’t white.”
“Isn’t white,” Matthew repeated incredulously. He glanced toward Leroy, scowling. Almost instantly, the expression cleared and he grinned. “You finally got together with Caladon, didn’t you?”
Leroy couldn’t believe he flushed as he nodded, but couldn’t seem to control his fair skin. “He’s my mate.”
Matthew wrapped his arm around Leroy’s shoulders and gave him a one arm hug as they walked. “Well, fuck, man! Congratulations! I’ve heard he’s a really good guy.”
“He is,” Leroy confirmed.
“Well, we’re having a barbeque this evening on the patio we just finished,” Matthew told him. “Marty and I are headed to Oregon to visit Logan, so it’s kind of a going away party. We’re gonna help him build a workshop, so he can build furniture up there,” he explained with a grin. “You bonded with Cal, yet?”
Leroy nodded. “Yeah.”
“Sweet,” Matthew crowed. “Now we have something else to celebrate tonight. Come on. I’m hungry.”
Instead of walking into the house, Matthew led him along the wraparound porch toward the back. He noticed the smell of grilling meat almost immediately and his stomach rumbled in response.
Matthew laughed and grinned at him, obviously having heard it. “My sentiments exactly. Beer and steak, in that order. Let’s go.”
As his friend led him around the last corner and Leroy took in the dozens of people gathered under the spotlights, Leroy realized he still had his family…just not his birth one.
Leroy accepted the glass of white wine from Kort, appreciating that the red gargoyle remembered his preference. Next, he loaded his plate with a six ounce steak and a couple of pork ribs, unable to resist the hot, saucy meat. Pausing in front of the next table, he felt his brows shoot up at the massive assortment of available sides.
“We got a little carried away,” Gus admitted, stopping next to him.
Looking over at his friend, Leroy grinned at the big man. He put his glass of wine down and held out a finger to the gargoyle hatchling Gus held. “Hey, cutie. Tell daddy you can never have enough chips and dip.”
The babe laughed and grabbed his finger.
Ignoring the pinch of the tiny infant’s claws, Leroy laughed right along with Vaclar. When Tible stepped up next to Gus, Leroy gently disengaged and grinned at his friends. “I haven’t had French onion dip in ages,” he said, turning his focus to helping himself to a huge dollop of the creamy, fatty goodness along with a big handful of ruffled chips. “Than
ks.”
Gus grinned. “Enjoy.”
“Oh, I will,” Leroy assured. He picked his wine back up before sweeping his gaze over the milling crowd, trying to spot his lover.
“I think I saw Caladon on the south side with his guests,” Tible told him, pointing toward the gardens. “Congrats on your mating.”
Still unused to the paranormals’ openness about sex, Leroy felt his face heat. “Thank,” he mumbled.
Chuckling, Gus patted him on the back as Leroy moved in the direction of the gardens.
Caladon found Leroy first, appearing at his side a minute later. “Leroy, I scented you when you arrived, so I thought I would seek you out,” he told him, touching his elbow. “We have seats over this way.”
Leroy flushed with pleasure at his mate’s thoughtfulness. “Thanks, Stretch,” he responded, bumping his hip into his mate. “Tible said you were over this way somewhere.”
Cupping Leroy’s jaw in one hand, Caladon gripped his shoulder with the other. “First,” he rumbled, right before he leaned down and sealed his lips over Leroy’s own.
Leroy groaned as he instantly opened for Caladon. His lover pushed his tongue in deep, and Leroy hummed, sucking on it lightly. Never far from half-mast around this shifter, his cock swiftly thickened in his low-rise jeans. He wrapped his arms around his mate awkwardly, considering he had a plate in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. That didn’t stop him from pressing up into the kiss and twining his tongue with his mate’s though.
Wolf whistles sounded around them, along with some chuckles. Caladon sucked Leroy’s tongue lightly, which seemed to transfer straight to his cock and left him weak-kneed. Once Caladon released him, the boa shifter grinned down at him. “Missed you.”
Leroy grinned back. “You, too.”
“Come,” Caladon urged, releasing Leroy’s jaw and sliding the hand on Leroy’s shoulder around his torso. “Meet my son and old friend.”
Accepting Caladon’s Scales Page 8