A Perfect Moment

by Lynn Hagen

  Ben chuckled, and the sound went straight to Trey’s cock. “It always smells good at work, and I can make my own hours, though I like being hands-on and spend much of my time there.”

  Trey wished he owned his own business. That would have made his life so much easier. He wouldn’t have to worry about kissing his boss’s ass or calling off when his migraines assaulted him. Plus, he would hire whoever he wanted and wouldn’t have to be stuck working with jerks, like he had at Cresting Moon.

  He didn’t know Nando, so only time would tell what kind of guy he was.

  “Tell me about your headaches.”

  Ben caught him off guard. Trey didn’t want to talk about them, but Ben looked at him with genuine curiosity and a touch of sympathy. At least his expression wasn’t pity. Trey hated pity.

  He shrugged. “I got into a car accident right before I moved here, and ever since then I’ve gotten them. At first they were few and far between, but lately they’ve been getting a lot worse.”

  If only Trey had health insurance. He would have gone to a doctor by now, and he knew he was gambling with his life by not seeking out professional help, but he couldn’t afford a doctor bill.

  “Haven’t you seen a doctor about them?” It was as if Ben had read his mind.

  “Can’t afford to.” Trey took a sip of his water, wishing he could have a soft drink, but caffeine always seemed to trigger his migraines, so he stayed as far away from caffeine as possible. Which sucked since Trey used to love his morning coffee. Even decaffeinated coffee still had slight amounts of caffeine in it.

  Trey had learned that the hard way.

  He tucked his hands between his knees, stopping his habit of rubbing his temples. He was pretty sure Ben didn’t want to eat dinner with someone as pathetic as him.

  “There’s nothing you can do about them?” Now Ben looked worried. His brows were knitted as he gazed at Trey.

  “Nope, just suffer through them and hope they don’t last long.” He curled his lips in when Ryan returned to take their orders, giving Ben the googly eyes.

  Trey settled on a Reuben and fries. He could save the other half of his sandwich for breakfast since his cupboards at home were bare. Thankfully it didn’t take a lot to fill his stomach.

  “You know what?” Ben set his menu aside. “That sounds good. Make that two orders of Reuben and fries.”

  Ben seemed oblivious to Ryan’s outright flirting. And the server was flirting. Trey was surprised the guy wasn’t drooling all over himself.

  By the time they were done eating and the check had arrived, Trey’s head was killing him. He fought hard not to rub his temples, but in the end, he caved.

  “Here, let me help.” Ben reached across the table and cupped Trey’s head, pressing the pads of his thumbs against Trey’s temples. In a slow, circular motion, Ben performed magic.

  Within minutes Trey’s pain started to let up. He sighed and leaned into Ben’s hands. “You’re not human,” Trey teased. “You can’t be with those fingers.”

  He refused to think about those men who had changed into Rottweilers.

  “Interesting thought.”

  God, Ben’s voice was deep and hypnotic, the kind that drew in listeners on a late-night radio station. Trey didn’t blame others for flirting with Ben. The guy was that good-looking.

  And the way he smelled? It was like dark oak and tea, masculine, earthy. Trey wanted to curl up on Ben’s lap and sniff him for the rest of the night.

  “Better?”

  Although Trey didn’t want Ben to stop, he sighed. “Much. Thank you.”

  “My pleasure.”

  Trey opened his eyes and found Ben giving him the most seductive smile he had ever seen. It was a combination of naughty and boy-next-door.

  “Want to take a walk?” Ben slid from the booth.

  Trey had already tucked the rest of his food into a container and grabbed it before joining his date.

  What the hell. Why not? Trey didn’t want his evening to end. The only thing he had to go home to was a busted television and an eviction notice.

  When Ben placed his warm, strong hand on the small of Trey’s back, Trey shivered at the contact.

  “How was your meal?” Ryan asked as he batted his thick eyelashes. Trey noticed Ryan writing something on the receipt. It was his phone number. What a freaking rude jerk.

  “It was good. Keep the change.” Ben walked away without taking the receipt that Ryan held out for him.

  If Trey had to pick one thing from his date that impressed him the most, it was the fact that Ben acted as if Trey was the only person in the diner he had eyes for. Sadly, none of Trey’s previous boyfriends had ever made him the center of their attention.

  It had usually been the other way around.

  “I think Ryan is in lust with you,” Trey said as they exited. “If he flirted any harder, he would have pulled a muscle.”

  “Really?” Ben looked over his shoulder. “I hadn’t noticed.”

  Was the guy that dense or just a gentleman? Trey refused to believe Ben was imperceptive. The guy seemed worldly and knowledgeable. He just had that look about him.

  They’d walked about a block before Ben’s phone rang. Once he was done with that call, his phone rang again.

  As badly as Trey wanted to spend time with the handsome man, he knew it was time to say good night. Clearly Ben had a busy life, and Trey didn’t want to interrupt it.

  “I guess I should head home.” Trey stopped and smiled up at Ben. “Thank you for dinner and for the wonderful company.” He touched his temple. “And for the rescue.”

  “Can I see you tomorrow?” Ben asked.

  “Um, sure.” That was if Trey wasn’t homeless by then. He still wasn’t sure why Ben was so interested in him, but if the guy wanted to see him, who was he to say no?

  Chapter Three

  It had taken every ounce of will Ben possessed to let Trey walk away. Even so, he followed his mate at a distance, making sure the human made it home. All he had to do was follow his mate’s scent. It led him to the third floor of the apartment building Trey had gone inside.

  His apartment was 3C.

  Once he knew Trey was tucked safely inside, Ben left, stopped a block over, and called one of his pack members. “Hey, Lee, I need a favor.”

  “Sure, boss. What’s up?”

  He had asked Lee many times not to call him boss, but the bald son of a bitch never listened.

  “I need you to keep watch over my mate.”

  “Your mate?” Lee hooted. “I had no idea you found him. Wait, it is a guy, right?”

  Ben rattled off the address and apartment number, ignoring Lee’s jibbing. He also gave Lee a description of Trey. “No contact. I just want to make sure he stays safe until I see him again. I don’t care what you’re doing. Right now this is your only job.”

  When Lee spoke again, he sounded more serious. “I won’t let you down. I’m on my way over there now.”

  As soon as Ben hung up, his phone rang again. He was going to change his fucking phone number. He’d told his pack to call Rourke with their lesser needs, but since Rourke was busy with Jimmy Raton, the calls were coming in droves to Ben’s phone.

  This time he looked to make sure it wasn’t Rosa calling him. It was Lee. “What?”

  “Is your mate supposed to have company? I was already in the neighborhood, so it took only a few seconds to get here, but just as I arrived and entered the building, some dark-haired guy knocked on 4C.”

  Ben whipped back around and headed toward Trey’s apartment. The truth was, aside from knowing about his headaches and his mate’s first day at work, he knew nothing about the guy. “I’m not sure. I’m on my way.”

  “Hold on,” Lee said. “I can handle this assignment. I just needed to know if that was something normal considering what’s going on with Manny.”

  “And that’s exactly why I’m coming over.” As far as Ben knew, Jimmy was the only sleazeball in town. But there could’ve been
more shifters who’d infiltrated Fever’s Edge.

  If Lee had been watching anyone else, Ben would have let him handle this, but they were talking about Ben’s mate.

  “Boss, I got this,” Lee said. “You trusted me with watching over… What’s his name? I never asked, and you didn’t tell me.”

  That just told Ben that his head wasn’t on straight. “Treyvon.”

  “You trusted me to watch over Treyvon, and that’s what I’m going to do. I swear nothing will happen to him.”

  Ben once again found himself waffling. He didn’t want Lee thinking he was incompetent, because the guy wasn’t, but Ben was dying to know who was visiting his mate.

  “Gotta go,” Lee said. “I need to check this newcomer out.”

  Ben snarled when Lee hung up on him. He started to go over to Trey’s anyway, but a patrol car pulled to the curb and Sheriff Greeley got out. The bear shifter tipped his hat to Ben as he closed the distance and joined him on the sidewalk.

  “Mitch,” Ben said with a nod. “Was there something you needed?”

  Ben had been the one who’d had Mitch take over as sheriff after Powell had disappeared.

  More like killed, since the demon warriors had found out that Powell was a hellhound. Ben had known that, but at the time, Powell had been too well protected. Too bad Ben couldn’t hire one of the demon warriors to live in his town. That would have made his job a hell of a lot easier.

  Ben looked in the direction where Trey lived and wished that Mitch would get on with whatever he needed. Ben wanted to know who was at Trey’s door.

  “Not really sure.” Mitch scratched at his jaw. “I got a complaint that someone’s nephew was snatched off the street. Goes by the name of Jimmy Raton. His aunt is beside herself, demanding I find him.”

  Ben cursed. “He has relatives here?”

  That shocked him. He thought Jimmy had just shown up in town, doing whatever it was he had come here to do. It had been Rourke who had spotted him and hauled Jimmy into the floral shop.

  Mitch held up his hands. “That’s what Ms. Raton claims. You know I’ve only had this job for a few months, and I’m still getting to know the residents, but I’ve never heard of her having family, so that’s why I’m coming to you.”

  Ben knew a lot of people wondered why he’d made Mitch the town’s sheriff. The guy was kind of young, even for a shifter, but Ben was confident Mitch would grow into his job, and he had a keen eye for trouble. He’d come highly recommended by Malcolm “Pa” Lakeland, a bear shifter who Ben owed his life to. Ben had no problem agreeing with Pa’s recommendation. He was the kindest, most intelligent guy Ben knew, and if Pa Lakeland asked you to do him a favor, anyone would be hard-pressed not to oblige.

  “Rourke has Jimmy,” Ben said. “We’re trying to gain intel to stop an attack.”

  Mitch’s brows dipped as his gray eyes took on a curious gaze. “What kind of attack?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to find out.” Ben really wanted to get moving. “Placate his aunt for as long as you can until we get what we need, but I have to tell you, I doubt Jimmy will walk away from this.”

  Ben didn’t doubt a damn thing. He was dead certain Jimmy would meet his end when they got the intel they were after.

  Why hadn’t Ben known about the aunt? She had the same last name, but he honestly didn’t know who she was. Did it matter? Not really. Her nephew had committed some heinous acts, and for that Jimmy would pay with his life.

  “Look.” Mitch sighed. “I really appreciate you going to bat for me to get this job, Ben. I really do. But I swore I’d uphold the law in this town. How sure are you that Jimmy’s your guy?”

  Ben’s jaw flexed as bitter memories from that night assailed him. “He works for the guy who massacred my village. Jimmy is the one who killed Rourke’s parents. I’m one hundred percent sure he’s our guy.”

  Mitch studied Ben for a long moment before he gave a short nod. “Then I have no leads on where Jimmy is, but I’ll keep looking for him.”

  “Thanks. And when I find out what’s being planned, I’ll pull you into the loop.” Ben wanted Mitch to know what was going on in Fever’s Edge, to be aware of any trouble. After all, he was the town sheriff, put in place by Ben, and the only way Mitch would be effective was to make sure he knew what was going on at all times.

  “Until then, I’m heading to Cresting Moon for dinner. Got orders to pick up and deputies to feed. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Ben stood there a moment longer as he watched Mitch walk away. He knew the deputies were still adjusting to a new sheriff, and some of them resented the fact that someone so young had taken over for the former sheriff, but Ben was confident everything would work itself out.

  With a shake of his head, Ben started walking, determined to find out who was visiting his mate.

  * * * *

  Rourke wiped his bloody hand on a rag, pissed that he still hadn’t broken Jimmy. After he’d told Rourke to do his worst, the guy hadn’t spoken a single word. He simply stared at Rourke with defiance, as if he’d rather be beaten to death than betray his boss.

  This interrogation was personal to Rourke. If Ben didn’t need the information Jimmy possessed, Rourke would have killed the bastard already.

  He walked across the room and leaned his hands against the table, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to control his beast. His wolf wanted out, to exact its revenge, to make Jimmy pay for taking what was so precious to Rourke.

  It had been five years since he’d lost his parents, and the pain hadn’t lessened with time. Rourke still saw his mother’s dead body on their living room floor, still saw his father lying by the front door in his wolf form, his innards spilled on the carpet, gutted like a fucking fish.

  It had been Jimmy who had tried to escape through the back door. Rourke had nearly caught the guy, but Jimmy was fast. He’d escaped before Rourke could kill the son of a bitch.

  No, he hadn’t seen Jimmy do the actual killing, but he’d been there, and Rourke knew in his gut that Jimmy was his guy. Why else would he have been at their home? Why else would he have fled the scene of the crime?

  Rourke clenched his jaw, shoving the memories back down so he could do his job. Ben was counting on him, but… Rourke blew out a breath. He was vicious when he needed to be, could take down an enemy without losing any sleep.

  But this wasn’t who he was, not really. He wasn’t a vengeful guy. He didn’t purposely set out to torture people, to let out that darker side everyone had but kept at bay. This interrogation was taking its toll on him. He wanted Jimmy dead, to get closure and move on.

  He needed a break, some fresh air and time to compose himself so he didn’t gut Jimmy and be done with this.

  Making sure Jimmy’s restraints were tight enough and secure, Rourke walked from the backroom and headed outside to suck in some much-needed air.

  * * * *

  “What are you doing here?” Trey moved aside and allowed Nando to enter. “How do you even know where I live?”

  “It’s in your file.” Nando entered and looked around at Trey’s apartment. “You seem like a decent guy, and lord knows I don’t have enough of those in my life.”

  Trey was baffled. He and Nando hadn’t exactly become besties at work. He hadn’t invited the guy to hang out or even hinted at it. He’d done his job and had clocked out.

  Nando dropped onto Trey’s sofa as Trey closed his door. “So you decided to invade my privacy by looking into my file and just showing up out of the blue?”

  “Oh my god. Don’t have a heart attack. I’m not stalking you.”

  Nando kicked his feet up on Trey’s worn coffee table. One side was a bit wobbly, and he had a folded piece of cardboard under one leg to stop it from rocking. Trey might not own decent furniture, but he took care of what he had.

  “Get your feet down.” Trey sat in the mismatched chair across from Nando. The couch was a weird green color. Trey had purchased it from a thrift store when he’d first
moved to town. The chair was dark red velvet, and it had taken him a month not to think of Christmas whenever he entered his living room.

  “Sorry. My ma swears I have no home training.” Nando lowered his feet, and then wiped where they had been. “I guess she was right.”

  “Was?”

  “Got anything to eat around here?” Nando glanced around as Trey tried to figure the guy out.

  “No. I haven’t been to the grocery store.” Trey couldn’t afford the grocery store. Even when he got his first paycheck, he would have to use it to move. His electricity was in danger of being disconnected, and thank goodness it was warm outside because his gas had already been shut off.

  It truly sucked taking showers with cold water. Trey had started boiling water to make warm baths and to clean dishes.

  If water and sewer weren’t included, they would have probably been shut off, too.

  “Okay, so here’s the deal.” Nando sat forward. “I got no friends. It sucks having no one to hang out with, and I know I’m being creepy by just dropping by, but I figured we could hang out. You’ll like me once you get to know me.”

  Trey wouldn’t mind someone to hang out with. He’d made friends the first month he’d moved to Fever’s Edge, but they’d dropped off, no longer calling him or coming by.

  “I don’t think this is the way to go about it,” Trey said. “We’re supposed to build a report, to get to know each other before becoming buddies.”

  Nando waved Trey off. “That takes too long. Besides, I have a proposition for you.”

  Trey wasn’t sure he wanted to know what it was. Nando was a strange guy, and if he didn’t see a problem thrusting himself into someone’s life, there was no telling what was going on inside his head.

  “We both work at a sucky job that doesn’t pay much. I kept thinking about this all day, and I thought maybe we could do each other a favor and become roommates.”

  “I don’t even know you,” Trey pointed out.

  “Do people know each other when they get a roommate from an ad?” Nando asked. “Do people really know each other when they go out on their first date?”