Mrs. O’Reilly stepped aside as Orlando came in, feeling as if he’d nearly frozen to death from the small trek from his car to the house. She had a fire lit in the fireplace, and he smelled the alcohol on her breath.

  “I swear I’m not making this up,” Mrs. O’Reilly said. “I watched him from my front window. He was a tall guy, and he pulled a rifle from the backseat before he tore into the woods. You have to believe me.”

  Orlando gave her a warm smile as he removed his hat and looked around. “Have you eaten today?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

  “I really want to,” he said. “But I can smell the booze, Mrs. O’Reilly.”

  “I had one drink,” she argued. “Do you blame me?” She turned and walked toward her kitchen, Orlando following. “It’s that time of year, and my sweet Harold is no longer with me.” She looked at him with unshed tears in her sharp blue eyes.

  “Maybe you should consider The Village Inn.” He’d brought the subject up to her before, but Mrs. O’Reilly always shot him down.

  “That retirement home the mayor had built a year ago?” She scoffed. “Do I look like I need senior living?”

  “You’re seventy-two years old,” he said. “I heard they have bingo night, aquatic aerobics, and every Friday there’s a dance with some kind of theme.”

  “Those places are where you’re sent to die.” She glared at him “So, do you believe me or not, Sheriff? I didn’t call you to talk about my living arrangements. I called because someone suspicious left their car in front of my house.”

  Orlando didn’t think he’d ever win this battle. He cared about Mrs. O’Reilly and wanted only what was best for her. He gave her frail hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ll look into it.”

  “Then we have nothing else to discuss.” She looked pissed, and Orlando hadn’t meant to upset her, but living alone at her age could be dangerous, especially since she’d broken her hip already once this year.

  He walked out, placing his hat back on his head, and sighed. He wasn’t going to totally dismiss her suspicions. He strode to the car and wrote the plate down before he slipped back into his cruiser, pressing his hands against the vents.

  Orlando pulled away from the house and headed back to the station. He’d run the plate from there while he drank a hot cup of coffee.

  Chapter Three

  Mack was still disturbed by the phone call from his former brother-in-law. Craig Pierson was relentless in his pursuit to gain custody of Joshua, though Mack knew it hadn’t been Craig’s doing. Belinda’s parents had put their son up to this, the harassing phone calls, the threats, and Mack was at his wit’s end.

  They’d never been a part of their daughter’s life, had shunned her for getting pregnant by a guy she’d met one month and married the next. But Mack had been taught to always do the right thing, and when they’d found out they were pregnant, he hadn’t hesitated to marry her.

  He’d cared deeply for Belinda but, in all honesty, hadn’t loved her the way a husband should’ve loved his wife, and that guilt had always eaten away at him. But in his defense, he’d gone on only a few dates with Belinda.

  She’d been sweet, funny, and made him laugh, but if she hadn’t gotten pregnant, would he have married her? He already knew the answer. No, he wouldn’t have. But it was the guilt that made him hesitate with Kyle. Although Belinda hadn’t been the love of his life, she’d given him a precious gift, and he hadn’t wanted to dishonor her memory by jumping right back into the dating pool.

  But this was different. Kyle was his mate.

  She hadn’t even known Mack was a shifter. He’d planned on telling her when their child was born, but… He looked over his shoulder as he cleaned up the dinner dishes and saw Joshua was still fast asleep.

  Kyle was curled up on the dark suede couch, his hands tucked under his cheek and his eyes closed. Those two fellas were the most important people in Mack’s world. He would do whatever he had to in order to protect them. He’d like to see Belinda’s parents try and take Joshua from him.

  Mack was a doctor, a great career, and he had the means to take care of his son. No judge in their right mind would take him away from Mack. They were only fighting for custody because they were pissed that their daughter had died giving birth, as though that had somehow been Mack’s fault.

  Belinda had told him about her parents, how controlling they’d been, how they’d tried to use their money to make her do as they wanted. He also knew she would never want Joshua raised in that family.

  If they’d behaved better, he might’ve let them get to know their grandson, but Mack couldn’t trust anyone in the Pierson family, and he would be damned if he allowed Joshua to become their pawn. This wasn’t about wanting to raise their grandson. This was about Joshua having Pierson blood in his veins and their need to control his life.

  Mack finished cleaning up and then turned the light off. He moved to the living room, sat on the end of the couch, and placed Kyle’s feet on his lap as he used the remote to find something to watch. He heard the wind gusting outside and branches scraping against the house.

  Too bad he hadn’t been able to make it to the store for diapers. Luckily he had a few cloth ones tucked away in one of Joshua’s drawers. There was also plenty of baby formula in the cupboard to ride out this storm.

  If it didn’t last more than a week.

  Kyle stirred, yawned, and turned over to face the back of the couch as he burrowed himself into the cushions. Mack could definitely get used to this. He liked having Kyle here. It was a change from being by himself. Not that Joshua wasn’t great company, but adults needed other adults to talk to.

  He rubbed his thumb over Kyle’s calf as he flicked through the channels, but Mack couldn’t shake the feeling that trouble was close by. He’d met Craig only once, but that was all he needed to figure the guy for a jackass who would do whatever his daddy told him to do.

  Mack smiled when Kyle wiggled his toes. His mate stretched—the kind of stretch that made the back bow—then settled back down. Kyle’s eyes were still closed, but Mack knew he was awake.

  “I see dinner knocked you out.” He worked his fingers into Kyle’s calves, unable to stop himself from touching his mate. “Glad you liked the chili.”

  Kyle turned his head to look at Mack. “The best I’ve ever tasted.”

  “Your compliment is appreciated.” Mack stretched out next to Kyle—chest to back—and curled his arm around him. His mate was slim enough that they both fit on the couch without the threat of Mack falling off the edge. “Did you fall back to sleep?”

  “Yep.” Kyle sighed. “I’m talking in my sleep.”

  Mack grinned as he slid his hand over Kyle’s hip. He kept the petting to a minimum, intending on easing his mate into their relationship. They were in no rush, and Mack was content to just lie there and soak up his presence.

  Kyle wiggled until he turned over and faced Mack, cuddling into him as he let go of another sigh. He studied Kyle’s features—his soft lips, his thick lashes resting against his cheeks, his cute button nose, and his heart skipped a beat. The kiss they’d shared earlier had only whetted his appetite.

  Mack wanted another one. He also wanted to hear that seductive moan Kyle emitted when their tongues were tangled. He wanted to eat that sound up as he explored every inch of Kyle’s body with his hands.

  So much for not wanting to rush things.

  He caressed his mate’s cheek with his knuckles. Kyle stirred, his thick eyelashes fluttering as he opened his eyes. He stared at Mack with those pale blue eyes as the fire crackled behind them.

  “You’re so beautiful,” Mack murmured right before he lowered his head and captured Kyle’s lips. His mate stiffened and then relaxed, melting into Mack as he pressed his hands against Mack’s chest.

  With a slight growl, Mack wound his arm around his mate, pulling him impossibly closer as he tasted the chili and tea on Kyle’s tongue. He also scented a hint of lavender and assumed it was the shampoo Kyle must’ve used when showering this morning.

  His mate broke the kiss and slid his tongue over his lower lip. Mack moaned as he watched, images of Kyle sliding his tongue over other body parts filtering through his mind.

  “We can’t do anything,” Kyle whispered as he pointed over Mack’s shoulder. “The baby is right there in his playpen.”

  Mack grinned, touched that Kyle was so considerate, although he hadn’t planned on mating Kyle with Joshua in the room. He stood and scooped Kyle into his arms, casting a glance at his sleeping son before he carried his mate to his bedroom.

  “Now we have all the privacy we need.” When he set Kyle on the bed, Mack eased the door closed but left it slightly ajar so he would be able to hear if Joshua woke up.

  He turned and faced Kyle, and his heart kicked up a notch. His mate lay on his side, his hands tucked under his cheek as he stared intently at Mack.

  He strode across the room and stopped at the edge of the bed. “Change your mind?”

  Kyle pushed himself into a sitting position. “All kinds of thoughts are going through my head.” He reached out and unfastened Mack’s jeans, peeling the material down his thighs. “But changing my mind isn’t one of those thoughts.”

  Mack simply stood there, hissing as Kyle curled his fingers around his shaft. He’d been without sex for nearly a year, and the feel of Kyle’s fingers sent shivers of need through his body.

  It wasn’t as if he’d wanted to be celibate. Three months before Belinda had given birth, her appetite for sex had diminished. When she’d died, Mack couldn’t bring himself to sleep with anyone else. His sole focus had been on raising his son.

  But this was his mate, and Mack wasn’t a monk. He ran his hand through Kyle’s toffee-brown hair and groaned as Kyle took the head of Mack’s cock into his mouth.

  He raised his arms and pulled his shirt over his head and let it fall to the floor. Kyle pulled back and looked up at Mack, his lips swollen, his pale blue eyes sparkling.

  Mack took a moment to remove his jeans and then slid onto the bed, taking Kyle with him. He stretched out next to his mate on the soft down blanket, propping his head on his hand as his elbow dug into the pile of pillows. “I just want to drink you in.”

  A fine blush moved across Kyle’s body. “I’ve never had anyone want to just look at me.”

  “Really?” Mack found that hard to believe. “You’re such a sexy guy. I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to.”

  Kyle’s desire permeated the air as Mack inhaled deeply, his wolf whimpering for him to do something besides stare at their mate. But Mack couldn’t help it. He was still in awe that Kyle was there, that he’d actually found his mate, which, in the preternatural world, was rare.

  Yet here Kyle was, naked and looking so good, so gorgeous, that Mack wanted to commit this moment to his memory.

  Kyle leaned forward and took one of Mack’s nipples between his lips, gently biting down and making him a quivering mess as Kyle slid his hand down to curl around Mack’s cock.

  He swallowed tightly as Kyle slowly stroked him, using his tongue and teeth to bring Mack so much pleasure. If Kyle didn’t stop, Mack wouldn’t last much longer. It had been too long, and he wanted Kyle too badly.

  With a shaky hand, he gripped Kyle’s wrist to stop his mate before pulling in a deep and steady breath, closing his eyes as he tried his damnedest to ease back from the edge of his impending orgasm.

  “What’s wrong?” Kyle’s brows knitted together.

  “Nothing.” Mack took his lips in a searing kiss. “Nothing at all.”

  He turned over, pinning Kyle on his back, his knees on either side of Kyle’s hips. Mack kissed his way across his mate’s jaw as Kyle groaned and slid his hands down Mack’s back.

  Without moving his lips from Kyle’s body, Mack reached into the nightstand drawer and pulled out a bottle of lube. He coated his fingers and inserted two into Kyle’s tight ass.

  “Oh god,” Kyle groaned as he arched his back, his fingernails digging into Mack’s skin.

  Mack continued to kiss his way across Kyle’s jaw, down his neck, and over his shoulder as he stretched him. His cock throbbed with anticipation, with the need to bury himself inside his mate.

  But Mack took his time, enjoying the feel of Kyle writhing beneath him as he added a third finger and nipped at his mate’s ear. “You like how I make you feel?”

  “Yes,” Kyle hissed as he wiggled his bottom. He curled his fingers around Mack’s nape and pulled his lips in for a sloppy, sensual kiss. Mack found himself growling, just as excited and needy as Kyle clearly was.

  “I have to ask you something,” Mack said against Kyle’s lips.

  Judging by the wild expression in Kyle’s pale eyes, he was seconds away from an explosive climax. Mack eased his fingers out of Kyle and lubed his throbbing cock, hissing at just how sensitive his flesh was.

  “Ask me.” Kyle glided his hand over Mack’s chest.

  Mack’s gaze met Kyle’s. “You have to be totally honest, or the binding won’t work.”

  Kyle furrowed his brows. “Okay.”

  Placing one hand next to Kyle’s head, uncaring that he was making his bed a lubed mess, Mack lined the blunt head of his cock to Kyle’s stretched hole. “Do you accept me as your mate?”

  Kyle’s eyes shimmered as he nodded.

  “Say the words, sweetheart.”

  “I accept you as my mate, Mack Fargo,” Kyle breathed out.

  That was all Mack needed to hear. He drove his cock deep until he was buried balls-deep inside Kyle. He stilled, taking in a deep breath as Kyle slid his legs around his waist.

  “You okay?” He looked down at Kyle, and his chest constricted. This little human was it for him. It was a miracle that he’d found his mate in the first place. In the back of his mind, Mack had always feared that would never happen, yet Kyle lay there, staring up at him as if he couldn’t believe this was happening either.

  “I’m okay.” Kyle tapped his fingers against Mack’s hip. “You can start moving any day now.”

  Mack chuckled. “Smartass.”

  Kyle’s eyes rolled to the back of his head as he arched his back, moaning when Mack pulled back and then punched his hips forward. God, he’d missed sex. The feel of Kyle wrapped tightly around his cock, the moans, the sweating and grinding, the sensation of electrical currents racing up his spine were enough to push him close to the edge.

  He lowered his head, sniffed along Kyle’s flawless shoulder and then sank his canines deep, sealing the bond between them. Their heartbeats synchronized as transparent, colorful ribbons shot from their bodies—Kyle’s was white while Mack’s was blue. They intertwined, as if dancing with each other’s, and then Kyle’s smoky white ribbon slammed into Mack’s chest as his blue ribbon raced into Kyle’s.

  His mate cried out as he came, his hole clamping tightly around Mack’s cock. His seed painted their chests as Mack continued to thrust deeply, growling into Kyle’s shoulder.

  He pulled his canines free, licked the wound, and then reared back, pistoning into Kyle until his orgasm shook him to his very foundation. Mack rocked gently inside Kyle, pressing his forehead against his mate’s.

  “What just happened?” Kyle gazed into Mack’s eyes as he gasped for breath.

  “We just bonded on the deepest level, sweetheart. You’re it for me, and I’m it for you.”

  The kiss he gave Kyle was slow-burning, more sensual than sexual. He wanted to spend the rest of the evening making love to Kyle, but he heard Joshua babbling in the other room.

  Kyle smiled. “I guess our fun is over.”

  Mack gave him a quick peck on the lips as he eased out of Kyle’s body. “Time to get back to parenting.”

  “This all still feels overwhelming,” Kyle said. “I mean, I want this, but…” He closed his eyes and then opened them.

  “I know.” Mack caressed Kyle’s cheek. “I told myself to take things slow with you, but my wolf had other ideas.” He kissed the tip of Kyle’s nose. “Thank you for not freaking out and running away, which I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had.”

  Kyle shrugged as he ran his hand over Mack’s chest. “What am I going to run to, my empty apartment? My lonely life? Like you said, we’re it for each other, and I’d rather be here trying to work all this out than sitting on my couch bored, alone, and eating a grilled cheese sandwich.”

  Mack chuckled. “How did I get so lucky?”

  “I keep asking myself the same question,” Kyle said.

  Mack started to get up, but Kyle shook his head.

  “I’ll go.” His mate wiggled his way from under Mack. “You can rest. You probably could use a break, and I’d like to get to know Joshua better.”

  Mack lay on his back and tucked his hands under his head as he watched his mate dress and then exit the room. He must’ve dozed because, when he woke, the room was completely dark.

  Mack yawned as he threw some clothes on and padded to the living room. He stopped at the entrance and leaned his shoulder against the wall, folding his arms over his chest as he watched Kyle with Joshua.

  They were sitting on the floor, watching some cartoon on the television as Joshua tried to eat Kyle’s fingers. The sight of his two favorite guys made Mack’s chest tighten. Kyle looked like a natural caregiver as he laughed and pulled his fingers away, tickling Joshua on his tiny belly as Joshua curled into a ball and laughed.

  Mack started to join them, but his preternatural hearing picked up on the sound of something popping. He didn’t register what it was until he saw a tiny hole in the bay window seconds before the glass shattered and a hot, searing pain exploded in his shoulder.

  Chapter Four

  Kyle shouted as he curled himself around Joshua and dropped to the floor, covering the infant’s body with his own. “Mack!”

  “Stay down!” Mack was on his back with his hand pressed over his shoulder, and Kyle saw blood seeping between his fingers. His mate had been shot!

  The frigid air whipped through the living room as Kyle got to his knees, Joshua wrapped in his arms, and crouched down so he could get to Mack.