“What?”
“I’m going home. It’s been a long day.”
Frustrated, and annoyed because feelings of frustration weren’t normal for me, I stood firm and held my hands out in a questioning gesture. “I’ll try again. I’m your mate. You’re my mate. I think you already know that, but there it is, a verbal declaration.”
Matt moved around me and opened the door waiting for me to exit. “I’m not your mate,” he said quietly.
Something in my chest ached painfully, something other than the healing gunshot wound. “That’s not funny.”
He growled and pointed at the door gesturing for me to leave. “Look, I’m sorry that you’re mistaken. You’ve been through quite a trauma, but I’m not your mate, and I’m not gay. Go home. Your sister’s probably worried sick about you.”
I growled back and moved to his fucking doorway, but stayed on the threshold. “Bullshit. What’s going on?”
His brown eyes flashed in anger as he raised his voice. “There’s nothing going on. I’m not gay or your mate. You’re mistaken. Go home. You should still be resting.”
Between my bear roaring in my head and my own body fighting against his words, I lost a little bit of my control. I’d somehow gotten close enough to him that I could touch him and that was all I wanted to do in that moment. I caught his face in my hands and pressed my lips to his.
There they were. Fireworks. As my eyes drifted shut, I felt all the pain and frustration slip away instantly. Home. Right there, against his mouth, I’d found it. Soft, inviting lips, firm jaw dotted with the sparse beginnings of a beard under my fingers. I tilted my head to deepen the kiss and felt his arms wrap around my waist. I stroked the seam of his lips with my tongue and just as his mouth was opening for me, I forced myself to pull away.
My bear growled and pouted, but I had to figure out what was going on with Matt before I pushed it too far. I didn’t want to hurt my mate, just let him know that he was mine. I slipped out of his arms and stepped out of the clinic walking stiffly around the steel rod in my pants.
I glanced back at Matt when I got to my truck and smiled. “You’re mine and I’m yours. I’m not going away, mate. We belong to each other. You know it, I know it, our bears know it. We could save ourselves a lot of trouble if we just skipped denial and went straight to mind-blowing fucking.”
Mabel whined at his feet, drawing his glowing eyes away from me. When he looked back up to me, his eyes had dimmed slightly and he’d regained some of his control. He seemed annoyed. “You can’t just…”
I raised my eyebrow. “I can. Shall I show you again?”
He quickly shook his head and turned to lock the door. I took that as my cue to leave and climbed into the truck. A low moan escaped me once the door was shut and I thought he wouldn’t be able to hear me. I turned the ignition and backed out of his parking lot.
I couldn’t help looking back at him as I drove away. My mate. He clearly had some issue he was struggling with. Denying we were mates, pretending to be straight. I sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy, but lucky for us, I was a man with a tremendous amount of patience.
Normally.
6
Matt
I sat at the bar with Presley next to me and sighed again. I couldn’t seem to help myself. My bear was miserable and I wasn’t much better. Confusion weighed heavily on my shoulders.
“Matt! Jeez, you’re sighing more than you’re breathing. What is wrong with you?” Presley looked up at me, concern clearly evident on her features. “You’ve been acting strange for days. Is something going on that I don’t know about? C’mon, big guy, spill.”
She’d quickly become my closest friend and one of the only two people in town who knew the truth about my sexuality, but I wasn’t ready to share Cannon with anyone else. I already knew what she would say. Stop being an idiot and go get the man, already. It’s what my bear was saying. It’s what all of the authors of all of the gay love stories I read would say. Yet, there I sat, choking on the knowledge that I’d told my mate that I wasn’t gay and that I didn’t want him.
I’d wished my entire life for him and when he showed his face, I was too much of a coward to take what I wanted.
“Well?”
I sighed again and looked over at her. “I… I don’t know, Pres.”
Sam, her mate and my cousin, popped his head in between ours and grinned. “Honey, I’m home.”
Presley’s eyes lit up and she practically threw herself at him. With her arms and legs wrapped around his body, she kissed him. It was deep and intimate and made me yearn for Cannon with every fiber of my being.
His kiss had floored me. It was soft and gentle, but there was a hunger in it that promised so much more. So much more than I’d ever experienced before, I knew. The feel of his strong waist under my hands was burned into my memory and I could still taste a hint of him on my lips. The man tasted like a vanilla cupcake. Not just a vanilla cupcake, but the best, with vanilla beans instead of extract and fresh ingredients that made you feel just a bit more alive than before you tasted it. I loved cupcakes. Cannon had just ruined them for me with one little taste. He was better than even the finest gourmet cupcakes, yet there I sat, a lump on a barstool, sighing incessantly instead of tasting more of him.
It’d been two days since the kiss. Two long days of my body being tenser than I could ever remember it being, while I waited for the moment I might see him again. He’d left me holding my breath, an air of unfinished business in his goodbye, but he hadn’t come back around. I was feeling a little feverish in my need to see him.
Crazy ideas had started flooding my normally sane brain. I’d even considering going by his house under the pretense of being his doctor and checking on my patient’s healing. I wasn’t his doctor, though. Unless he was in his bear form, I wasn’t qualified to administer care to him. I just wanted to see him.
Being unwilling to give up the career and the life I’d worked so hard to build didn’t mean I didn’t feel the mate pull. I did. So much so that I was drawn to The Cave more and more on the off chance that I might run into him. I was usually exhausted by the end of the day and just wanted to go home with Mabel, microwave a quick dinner, watch some TV and crawl into bed. Instead, I followed Presley to the bar where she waited for her mate to get off his shift at the fire station every night and I sat and nursed the same whiskey all evening. All this in the hopes that I’d catch a glimpse of Cannon. Pathetic.
What would I do if I saw him? I had no clue. Run away? Probably. Unless he kissed me again. Shit, what if he kissed me again in front of everyone in the bar? My thoughts got stuck on him kissing me again, though. I couldn’t help the way my bear told me it would be worth it.
Presley had removed herself from Sam and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Sam, I think something’s wrong with Matt. He won’t tell me, though.”
Sam looked down at me and shrugged. “If he wanted to talk, he would. Leave him alone.”
I couldn’t help smiling at the shocked and pouty look she shot him.
Sam looked away and then grinned. “Finally! Did you get lost?”
I started to turn to see who he was talking to, but I already knew. My nose filled with his scent, a smell of wilderness and leather. God, he smelled like freedom. I willed myself to be still and groaned when I kept turning anyway, desperate to get a glimpse of the man standing next to Sam.
Cannon was hot as hell standing there broad shouldered, with his hands shoved into his pockets, his chin tucked into his chest as he shrugged casually. His eyes danced over to me and then back to Sam. “I had to stop and read a bedtime story to my niece. She won’t go to sleep until I do and pesters the heck out of my sister.”
Presley put her hand over her heart. “Aww, that’s so sweet!”
I was suddenly self-conscious. What I’d wanted was happening, yet I hadn’t actually expected it to. I became aware that I reeked of a horse barn and probably looked worse than I smelled. It’d been a long day
and I’d had to wrestle a few different species of livestock to the ground to treat them. My clothes were dirty and wrinkled and I probably had dirt on my face.
I turned back to the bar and rubbed my face roughly with a drink napkin, feeling like a fool. Here I am hanging out at The Cave trying to get a glimpse of a man I shouldn’t want, and when he finally shows, I look like a steaming pile of dung.
“This is my mate, Presley. Presley, this is the new guy on the crew, Cannon. And this burly-but-brainy dude is my cousin, Matt.”
Cannon reached out and patted my shoulder, his fingers dipping lower on my back as he did, lightly stroking out of the view of the others. “We’ve met. He actually saved my ass, as did your mate. Thank you again, Presley.”
I glanced back at him and roughly nodded, feeling the effects of his touch more than should ever be allowed.
“Hi Cannon. You look like you’re feeling better,” Presley smiled broadly.
He held my gaze. “I am. Thanks to Matt. I’ll have to find a way to make it up to him.”
Presley’s eyes moved back and forth between us and then stayed on Cannon. “He’s been a cranky bear. Something’s got him agitated lately, that’s normally not my best friend’s demeanor. He’s normally really friendly, super funny, laid-back and so charming.”
I growled. Was she trying to market me to the man? There was the reason I should’ve kept my secret to myself, been more careful. How could Sam not pick up on the tension in our little group?
“Oh, you seem perfect to me, Matt.” Cannon said with a slow smile. “Matter of fact, I’d love to join you for a drink if you don’t mind the company. It’s time I start repaying you for saving me.”
Sam slapped me on the back and nodded. “Maybe you can get him out of the funk that my lovely mate swears he’s in. We can talk about work tomorrow morning. Seven sharp.”
Cannon nodded and slid onto the stool beside me. “Sounds good. See you there. Great to see you again, Presley.”
Her eyes were wide and dancing. She nodded wildly and grinned. “Nice to meet you, too. Take good care of my best friend here. He’s one of a kind.”
Sam tugged her away, looking at her like she was crazy. “What’s wrong with you, little one? Did you snort something while I wasn’t watching?”
She giggled and smacked his arm. “Shut up.”
7
Matt
I turned back to the bar and found a fresh whiskey sitting in front of me.
“They seem so happy together. Enjoying each other as mates. Sure looks fun.”
I jerked my head to face Cannon and frowned. He looked too good. He’d shaved and his clean, chiseled jawline just added to his face’s devastating quality. I wanted to lean in and taste his mouth again. Shit.
“So, I’ve decided to stay in town. Carter is determined to move and start fresh somewhere new, but I feel like I’ve finally found a home here.” His eyes moved to my mouth as he spoke. “It’s a nice place, huh?”
I tore my gaze away from his mouth and found that looking him in the eyes wasn’t any better. Anywhere I looked, super charged my libido. Damn, I felt like I was in heat or something. I just wanted to lean in closer. “Sure.”.
“I’d like to talk more about it.” He hesitated and then his knee brushed against mine under the bar. “Someplace quieter.” He raised a brow at me questioningly.
I sucked in a sharp breath and tried to think over the pounding of my heart. Going somewhere quiet with him was a bad idea. He would kiss me again and I wouldn’t be able to stop him. I wouldn’t want to stop him. Hell, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. I’d devour every inch of him until we were both left naked and spent. Bad idea.
Yet, for some reason, when I opened my mouth, I found myself agreeing with him. “Okay.”
He tossed his whiskey back and stood up. “Any good spots around here for a… um… quiet chat?”
My heart raced as I stood and nodded. “I have a pond behind my house. It’s beautiful and tranquil on a clear moonlit night like this one.” And secluded, I thought.
His fingers brushed over my lower back as he gestured for me to walk ahead of him. A low growl emanated from his throat and I didn’t stop to worry about anyone hearing it. I just wanted to get us out of there. The funny thing is, I wasn’t sure if it was to avoid the prying eyes of the town, or to have him all to myself.
Halfway to the door, Sam waved Cannon over with a couple comments about work. Cannon easily reached out and caught my arm, keeping me at his side while he answered. Sam’s eyes moved to his hand a couple of times, but Cannon didn’t act like it was anything out of the norm, so Sam must’ve just let it go.
Presley, on the other hand… Her eyes were damn near bulging out of her head. She was also grinning so wide that I could see almost every tooth in the woman’s head.
Thankfully, before she could say anything, Cannon politely excused us from the conversation and practically pushed me through the growing crowd and out of the bar. His large hand was planted firmly in the middle of my back, urging me to walk a little faster.
Once we were outside, he led me to his truck and tried to open the door for me, but I shot him a look when someone walked by. “Stop,” I hissed.
“Stop being polite?”
I glared at him. “Would you open the door for any other guy who was a passenger in your truck?”
He grinned and edged closer to me. “Maybe I would. Maybe, just maybe, I’m a goddamn gentleman.”
The look on his face didn’t say gentleman. In fact, for a self-professed gentleman, his expression looked as though his intentions were anything but noble. I knew that if I was going to back out of whatever was happening between us, now was my chance. I hesitated only a moment before I stepped into his truck and slammed the door shut.
Everything about him was throwing me off. On one hand, it was exhilarating to have someone around who was interested in me for a change, and I could easily find myself addicted to being treated like I was important enough to deserve it. Since being back in Burden, I’d opened doors for women, bought flowers for them, paid compliments, been on faux dates, even been a faux boyfriend. All while getting nothing in return. Which was fine, really. Hell, I hadn’t wanted anything in return. But, damned if I didn’t appreciate being on the receiving end.
On the other hand, the whole thing was like slap in the face to the farce of normality I’d built around myself. I was terrified.
Cannon slid behind the wheel and looked over at me while starting the truck. “Where to, boss?”
I gave him directions to my house. We rode in silence, me alternating between holding my breath and nearly hyperventilating from breathing too fast. Him, calmly watching me from the corners of his eyes. I was a wreck, my mind completely confused, but my body on autopilot, being driven by my bear. My bear wanted his mate, damn the rest.
Too soon, we were pulling into my driveway. Cannon parked near the back porch, his hands tight on the steering wheel as he turned to face me. His eyes were practically glowing when they met mine. “Show me the pond.”
My nerves tingled and I somehow managed to get the door open and step out. I stopped on the sidewalk up to the porch and looked back at him. “Give me a second to let Mabel out.”
Cannon was already coming up the sidewalk behind me, closing in on me. He moved like a predator and I barely had time to suck in a breath before his hands were on me, pulling me against his firm body.
His mouth slanted against mine and our chests crashed into one another as I stumbled backwards. Our teeth clicked together and his strong arms snaked around me to catch me as I stumbled. I tried to right myself before we both fell to the ground. Laughing slightly, he waited for me to get my feet back under me before pressing his lips to mine again.
I sighed as the anxiety I’d been carrying around faded into a different kind of tension, a tension that begged to be released by the sexy man in front of me.
He laughed lightly and leaned back to look at me. “Damn,
I was trying to be smoother than that.”
We were about the same height, and looking into his eyes that closely, I could see flecks of silver in them, bursting from around his pupil like a star. My breath caught in my throat as I watched his pupils dilate. I licked my lips and my arms tightened around him of their own accord.
Cannon growled and shoved his hand into my hair, gently tugging on the thick mass. “You’re so fucking sexy. I’ve never felt this hot for anyone ever before. Lick your lips again.”
My tongue came out and wet my lips again, lingering at the corner of my mouth, wanting to make him burn up with desire. I tilted my head as his hand tightened in my hair and urged me to expose more of my neck to him. In such a vulnerable position, I held my breath as his mouth descended and his soft lips pressed against my throat. When his tongue tasted my pulse, I moaned and went weak in the knees.
He trailed hot, open mouthed kisses down my neck and then sucked the skin at the base into his mouth, marking me without ever sinking his teeth into me.
I called his name in a rough voice when he did it, my body shifting into a higher gear, desperate to feel his teeth sink in. My brain shut off completely and I felt every sensation with a clarity I’d never before known. Every place his skin brushed mine sent a searing heat rocketing to my groin. Every brush of his lips had my pulse soaring higher.
I needed him. I pushed my hand between us and cradled the hard bulge in his pants with the palm of my hand.
“Need you.” My growl was barely human.
8
Cannon
I shivered at the feel of Matt’s fingers caressing me through my jeans. We needed to get inside or I was going to have him bent over in front of his neighbors, which, even in my lust filled haze, I knew he wouldn’t appreciate very much. I nipped his neck, harder this time, and then pulled away. “Inside.”
Bears of Burden Complete Series Box Set Page 51