Zaiden canceled all of his appointments for the next three days, and they set to work cleaning the debris from the house and purchasing new furniture and clothes. Since the police could find no signs of forced entry, they also bought new locks and deadbolts for the doors.
The locks seemed sturdy enough, but Asher wanted more. He needed to know they were safe and his mate was protected at all costs. So, he’d had a home security system installed with all the bells and whistles that would automatically alert the police at the first signs of a break-in.
He’d tried to convince Zaiden to move back to Mexico with him, but the man refused to allow the incident to drive him from his home. So, Asher respected his mate’s decision and did all he could to support him.
By the following Saturday, they had cleared all traces of the vandalism from their home, and with no other uninvited visitors, Asher finally began to relax. He lounged on their new, black leather sofa with his feet resting in Zaiden’s lap as they laughed at the television.
“Did you still want to go to Nashville next weekend?” Zaiden asked out of the blue.
Asher considered the offer for a minute before bobbing his head. “Yeah, I think that sounds like a great idea. After this week, I wouldn’t mind getting away again.”
“Are you sure you want to leave the house?” Zaiden sat forward and cocked his head to the side as he frowned. “You know what happened last time. Do you really want to come back to something like that?”
Asher swung his feet to the floor and stood up, leaning over his mate with his hands on his hips. “You are the one that said you wouldn’t cower in fear or run away from our home. Why are you doing a complete one-eighty on me all of the sudden?”
Zaiden smiled as he reached out to grip Asher’s hips and pull him between his big thighs. “You’re absolutely right, baby. Gorgeous and smart. I hit the jackpot.”
Asher rolled his eyes and snorted. “Pretty words will get you everywhere.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Zaiden smirked as he tugged more insistently until Asher tumbled into his lap. Their lips met, sweet and gentle, and Asher couldn’t stop the smile that spread over his face.
Before things became too heated, a knock sounded on the back door, and they pulled apart, both looking toward the kitchen and frowning. Why would someone be at the back door at this time of night?
Another knock came, then a pause, then another knock. Though it didn’t sound like knocking really. It was muffled thumps, as if someone were throwing something at the door.
“Call the police?” Asher asked as he eased out of Zaiden’s lap and started toward the kitchen.
Zaiden grabbed him around the elbow to stop his forward progress. “Yes. Call the police. I’ll go check it out.”
“Zaid, I’m perfectly capable of going to loo—”
Zaiden cut him off by spinning around and placing his hand over Asher’s mouth. “Would you just cut the crap this one time? I’ve heard this song and dance before, and I don’t really need an encore. Just do what I asked. Please?”
Asher glared at him but nodded slowly as he wrapped his fingers around Zaiden’s wrist and removed his mate’s hand from his mouth. “I’ll stay here and call the police if you promise to yell if you need help. Don’t try to be a hero, Zaid.”
“I promise. If I need you, I’ll yell and you can come blow some shit up. Deal? I just need you to be safe right now.”
Though the idea of staying behind while Zaiden faced possible danger was not an appealing one, Asher’s heart melted at the concern and tenderness in his mate’s eyes. “Hurry,” he said as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and began dialing.
He spoke with the dispatcher, outlining the problem and giving their address as he watched Zaiden cautiously approach the back door and peek through the curtain. He flipped the light switch, bathing the back patio in light, and Asher saw the tendons in his neck tense and the muscles in his jaw twitch as though he were grounding his teeth together.
After the dispatcher assured him that a squad car was on the way, Asher slowly walked to the threshold of the kitchen and stopped, not wanting to break his promise to keep himself safe. It was so damn hard, though. His curiosity ate at him, and he wanted nothing more than to sprint across the room, shove Zaiden out of the way, wrench open the door, and confront whoever was trying to sabotage their relationship.
He would bet everything he owned—every penny in his substantial bank account—that Andrew George was behind it all. They didn’t have any proof, and his mate wouldn’t hear a bad word against the man, so there wasn’t really much Asher could do.
“Zaiden?”
“Stay there,” Zaiden called over his shoulder as he reached for the doorknob and turned it slowly before easing open the door and slipping out into the night.
Asher bounced from foot to foot, nervously waiting for his mate to return safely, which was completely ridiculous considering that though the smaller of the two, he was without a doubt the stronger. At least magically, anyway.
Creeping across the linoleum floor, he eased up to the door and peeked through the slit where Zaiden had left it ajar. He saw his mate standing just outside the door, his back muscles flexing, and a low, rumbling growl emanating from his massive chest.
“Asher, why can’t you just fucking listen to me?” he asked dangerously.
“For the same reason you wanted me to stay inside in the first place. I need to know that my mate is safe. Besides, I figure this has something to do with me or you wouldn’t be so upset.”
He slipped outside and stood beside his lover, scanning the yard for their intruder. “I don’t see anyone.”
“Whoever it was is already gone,” Zaiden growled. “They left us a little parting gift, though.”
Asher followed Zaiden’s gaze and grimaced. Three dead birds lay at their feet on the cement patio. He couldn’t really tell what kind of birds they were, though he would guess maybe crows. Each of them had been painted red, their wings dipped in something gold and sparkly. If that didn’t make a statement, he didn’t know what would.
“They know what you are, Ash.”
“It would appear that way.”
“We have to leave. We can’t stay here.”
“What the hell are you talking about? We just finished cleaning this place up and bought all new furniture. I don’t want to leave because some sicko is leaving dead birds in our yard.”
“Are we even looking at the same thing?” Zaiden turned and gripped Asher’s upper arms in a bruising hold. “Someone definitely wants you gone, and I will not come home to find you in the place of these crows. Do you understand me?”
Finally getting the full magnitude of his mate’s distress, Asher’s eyes softened, and he nodded slowly. “You wait for the police, and I’ll go start packing us some bags. We can get a hotel for a little while until we figure out what’s going on. I’m not running away, though. This is our home.”
Zaiden dragged Asher into a crushing embrace, burying his face in his hair and shuddering violently. “Thank you for not arguing with me, baby.”
Asher rubbed his palms up and down his mate’s sides, soothing him as best he knew how. “We’re a unit remember. Where you go, I go.”
Chapter Fifteen
As they crept into the third week of April, Asher began a downward spiral of outright depression. Though he loved the time he spent with his lover, he was beginning to find those times few and far between. Zaiden had been spending more and more time at work, not stumbling in until well after midnight and, just as often, falling-down drunk.
Several times he’d left Asher hanging until the mating heat had become so intense that Asher practically attacked him when Zaiden finally waltzed—or staggered—through the door.
No matter what he said, or how many times he asked, Zaiden would dismiss his concerns with some half-assed excuse about being tired and overworked. They ate breakfast together every morning, the sex was still earth-shattering, and Zaiden was still just as
attentive as ever—when he deemed it necessary to actually be present.
Asher missed his lover. He missed the easy camaraderie they shared. He missed waking up to find Zaiden sleeping on the floor because Asher’s core body temperature had chased him from the bed. He missed Zaiden’s teasing, the endearments, and even the little smirk his mate wore when Asher attempted to cook.
He saw the man every day and slept next to him every night, yet he felt as though an insurmountable distance stretched between them.
Pacing around the common room of the hotel suite, Asher wracked his brain to try to pinpoint exactly what had gone wrong in their already muddled relationship. He knew when the trouble had started, but he couldn’t put a finger on why.
Two days after they’d arrived at the hotel, he’d woken up to find Zaiden sitting at the little table in the corner of the room, staring vacantly into his coffee cup. It had taken him three attempts to gain his mate’s attention.
Things had gotten progressively worse since then, and he couldn’t count the number of times he’d found Zaiden staring off into space with the same lost expression. His brain still rebelled against the idea of him being in love with the man, but Asher’s heart knew the score, and it broke a little more each time Zaiden pushed him further away. Hell, he couldn’t even remember the last time they just sat and talked, or cuddled on the sofa to watch a movie.
Asher had never particularly enjoyed those things before, but he missed doing them with Zaiden. He needed to find a way to get through to his mate before everything crumbled down around them. They didn’t have an “out” clause in this mating, and he refused to spend eternity with a sullen, moody drunk.
He paused in his trek across the room when the front door of the suite banged open and Zaiden toppled in, falling to the floor and groaning miserably. Throwing his hands up in exasperation, Asher marched across the room and stood over his mate with his hands on his hips.
“Again, Zaiden? Really?” A sudden thought occurred to him, and Asher nudged Zaiden’s hip with his foot. “Did you drive?”
“Yep,” Zaiden sniggered.
Growling under his breath, his face contorting with rage, Asher slammed the door hard enough to rattle the windows.
“You selfish, arrogant, stupid bastard!” he screamed. “If you want to fucking kill yourself, that’s your business, but did you ever stop for one second to think of what that would do to me?”
“You’re immortal,” Zaiden slurred as he stared up at Asher with bleary eyes. “Even if I die, you’ll just burst into your little flames and be reborn.” He waved his hands around over his head like a lunatic.
“No, asshole, I won’t.” Asher shook his head sadly. How was he supposed to have a conversation with the man when he likely didn’t even know his own name? “If I die, yes, I will be reborn. Which means that you will always be safe from death in that aspect as well.”
“See? Told ya so,” Zaiden mumbled sleepily.
“If you die,” Asher continued icily, “you take my fire with you and shatter my soul. A phoenix cannot live with the absence of either.”
“You said you can’t die.” Zaiden pushed into a sitting position and laboriously climbed to his feet. He held both hands to his head as he swayed dangerously from side to side. “You can’t die, Ash.”
“I can’t be killed,” Asher amended. “I can die, however. That’s why most phoenixes will only take another phoenix for a mate.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Zaiden’s eyes narrowed, and he sounded angry.
Asher shrugged. “It never came up. I would have gotten around to it eventually.”
“Eventually?” Zaiden dragged the word out, as though turning it over in his head to find the meaning. “You lied to me.” Yep, he’d discovered the definition.
“I didn’t lie,” Asher said, defending himself. “I just didn’t think you were ready to hear all the facts.”
“I told you everything. I told you about my magic. About leaving my clan. I’ve never kept anything from you!” Zaiden’s voice grew in volume until he shouted the last words.
“Nothing except why you keep coming home drunk.” Asher spat the words as he took a step away from his mate. “That is, if you even decide to come home at all. If you don’t want to be around me, all you have to do is say so. My ass will still be available to you until the next gathering, simply because I won’t lose my bird over some pathetic asshole like you!”
He waited for Zaiden to reply, hoping he’d goaded the man into spilling what was really going on with him. When Zaiden merely continued to glare at him, Asher had had enough. He snorted and rolled his eyes as he pushed past his barely standing mate and hurried into the separate bedroom.
He’d start looking for his own place close by in the morning. He didn’t have a choice about being mated to the man, but that didn’t mean he had to live under the same roof.
* * * *
Zaiden shuffled around the sofa and plopped down on the cushions. He didn’t know what to think about what had just happened. Oh, he knew he’d fucked up…again. That didn’t give Asher the right to lie to him, though. Or withhold information, which was tantamount to lying as far as he was concerned.
If he’d known his actions could bring harm to his mate, he’d never have set out on his path of self-destruction. He thought he’d been protecting Asher by his actions. Could he do nothing right? It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he just kept getting it wrong.
Yes, and maybe he was being a filthy hypocrite. He’d been keeping things from Asher for weeks, but he’d only done it to keep his mate safe.
Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands. Why did everything have to be so fucking hard? He had never wanted any of this. Especially, after what had happened with Darkin at the previous gathering. No one deserved damaged goods, and that’s exactly what the witch had made of him.
He hadn’t been ecstatic about finding himself accidently mated to Asher, but the weeks they’d spent together had been some of the happiest of his life. He felt like he could tell Asher anything, rip open his wounds and leave them bleeding at Asher’s feet, and his mate would only pick up the pieces and mend them.
Then the craziness began, and Zaiden had freaked. He’d never allow what had been done to him to happen to his mate. Judging by the little gifts that had appeared on their doorstep, someone knew what Asher was, knew about his phoenix, and sought to harm the man. Zaiden couldn’t allow that to happen.
Lost in his thoughts, he tensed as a warm body slid in behind him on the sofa and slender arms wound around his chest, holding him in a tight embrace. “Are you ready to talk?”
Asher’s hand drifted over his chest in soothing strokes as he rested his cheek against the nape of Zaiden’s neck. Soaking up the offered comfort, Zaiden closed his eyes and sighed. He’d tried things his way, and he’d only succeeded in alienating his mate, his only willing friend and ally, and making himself miserable.
Lifting his face from his hands, he caressed Asher’s forearm with his fingertips, loving the silky feeling of his lover’s skin. The sex had been amazing over the last couple of weeks, but it lacked the closeness and intimacy they once shared. He missed holding his mate, listening to him ramble, or just simply lazing about the house on Sunday afternoons.
“I miss you,” he whispered softly, not even realizing he’d intended to speak the words until they’d already slipped through his lips.
“Funny, I’ve been right here this whole time. You just had to stop being a dick and open your eyes.”
His lips twitched, and Zaiden didn’t fight the smile that stretched across his face. “Yeah, I miss that, too.”
“Me being a smart-ass?” Asher chuckled softly and placed a soft kiss on the side of Zaiden’s neck. “Talk to me, Zaid. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Can I hold you?” He had no right to ask after the way he’d behaved, but he wanted nothing more than to have his man in his arm
s.
“Please,” Asher whispered, his soft breath fanning over Zaiden’s ear, causing him to shiver. He scrambled around Zaiden, crawling into his lap and snuggling close with his head resting on Zaiden’s shoulder. “I’ve needed this.”
Holding his lover tightly, Zaiden closed his eyes and breathed in the warm, sweet scent of his mate. Asher always smelled like spring, and Zaiden loved it. “Me, too, baby. Me, too.”
“Hey, Zaid?”
“Yes?”
“I miss you, too, big guy.” Asher skimmed his nose over Zaiden’s collarbone and his hand came up to rest on Zaiden’s chest. “Even when you’re here, you’re a thousand miles away. I need you to come back, okay?”
Squeezing his eyes closed, Zaiden fought back the emotions that threatened to drag him under. “Okay,” he managed to whisper thickly.
“Good. You can start with telling me what’s going on in that head of yours, and why you’ve been acting like you have multiple personalities.”
“Start some coffee.” He pointed toward the little coffeemaker that sat above the mini-fridge. “I’ll get some aspirin. This could take awhile.”
Chapter Sixteen
Setting a cup of steaming coffee in front of his mate, Asher slid into the chair opposite of Zaiden and clasped his hand together on the table. “Okay, start talking.” He didn’t want to be harsh or snippy with the man now that they were finally getting somewhere, but he still felt angry and hurt at Zaiden’s recent attitude.
“Okay, you know the birds we found on the patio?”
Asher nodded slowly, not understanding where the conversation was going. He thought they had moved past that. “What does that have to do with you coming home drunk and being a douchebag?”
“It wasn’t just the birds.” Zaiden sighed as he gripped a handful of his long locks and jerked on it hard. “Things started happening after that. Just little things at first.” He wouldn’t look at Asher, but stared down into his coffee cup. “My office would be neat as a pin when I knew I’d left it a total mess the day before.”
Evans, Gabrielle - Fire and Ash [Midnight Matings 3] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Page 10