Chapter Three

  Maynard pulled up Luke’s driveway and parked. It had been two weeks since their first dinner, and they’d spent nearly every night eating together. Diablo didn’t even react to Maynard anymore. Either he was no longer interested or was resigned to the fact that he couldn’t have Maynard as a snack.

  When he got out of his car, Diablo came around the side of the house. He saw Maynard but turned and went back to whatever he’d been doing. Maynard breathed a sigh of relief before walking to Luke’s porch. Before he could knock, the door swung open. Luke stood there looking too damn good in his jeans and white T-shirt.

  He hadn’t been able to talk Luke into going to the festival last week, but Maynard was fine with that. There would be other festivals they could enjoy together if he could just get Luke used to the idea of hanging out in town and being near crowds. But Maynard would never push his mate to do anything he didn’t want to. He just wished Luke would open up to him and tell him his backstory. It would help Maynard better understand Luke’s needs.

  “How does meatloaf sound?” Luke grinned as he stepped aside and let Maynard into the house.

  “Wonderful.” Maynard inhaled the aroma and worried he’d gain twenty pounds from all the home-cooked meals. “How does warm apple pie sound?”

  Luke took the bag from Maynard’s hand. “Like the perfect ending to a great meal.”

  Maynard followed Luke into the kitchen. Luke touched him a lot, little subtle touches that made Maynard wild, but they’d yet to progress past that. He was dying for his mate to kiss him, but Maynard guessed it would happen when the time was right.

  “How’s your shed problem?”

  Luke set the bag on the island then removed the store-bought pie. “I’ve only found the lock opened twice since that night. I still don’t know what’s going on since nothing is taken or even disturbed.”

  Maynard had tried to follow the scent one night but lost it in the nearby creek. Then Diablo had bounded through the woods, chasing Maynard’s impala for some distance before the dog had given up.

  He had a feeling that Diablo knew the impala and Maynard were one in the same. The dog was always eyeballing him, sniffing him, as if trying to work out that mystery in his head. Luke was oblivious to it all.

  His mate pulled the pot of sweet peas off the stove and placed them in a serving bowl. Maynard washed his hands then helped Luke set the table. Halfway through dinner, Maynard placed the pie on a cookie sheet and slid it into the warm oven so it would be ready when they were finished.

  After dinner, they took their dessert into the living room and relaxed on the couch. Luke set his right foot on the coffee table, stretching his leg, the same thing he did after every meal they shared. Maynard had a feeling stretching the leg helped with the pain. And there was pain, though Luke tried his hardest to fight it.

  This time, Maynard sat closer to Luke. He was dying to cuddle up next to his mate but wasn’t brave enough to make that move. Maynard might be nearly two hundred, but that didn’t mean he had a lot of experience under his belt when it came to the fine art of flirting.

  In fact, he was horrible with it, too shy to say what he wanted and to make the first move. That was his impala’s nature.

  “How was your day?” Luke took a bite of his pie and moaned. Maynard’s cock perked up at the sound and wished Luke was making it for other reasons.

  “Gave out two speeding tickets, settled a heated argument between two elderly gentlemen over a game of chess in Marc’s barbershop, and helped a very pregnant Mrs. Patterson put her groceries in her trunk when she looked to be struggling with her bags.”

  Luke smiled. “Your job is so dangerous.”

  Maynard rolled his eyes. “You haven’t lived on the edge until you come between too old men yelling at each other while their hands are balled into fists. I was afraid for my life when one raised his cane in a threatening manner.”

  That got Luke to laugh, which made Maynard give the guy a goofed-up grin. If Luke only knew the real dangers out there. Nonhuman dangers that truly were threatening and were no laughing matter. But Maynard wanted to keep things light, so he shoved those thoughts aside.

  He set his plate on the coffee table, his pie only half eaten, as Luke used the remote to turn the television on. They’d gotten into the habit of watching movie reviews on YouTube since Luke was averse to going into town to the local movie theater.

  One particular channel was their favorite. Something about some guy named Joe, who was angry. Three men went on about the latest movie as Maynard side-eyed Luke, who had thrown his arm over the back of the couch.

  Maynard stretched, secretly moving closer to Luke’s side. He wanted to cuddle but wasn’t sure if he should jump right in. So far Luke had treated him like a good friend, and Maynard wondered if his mate felt the pull, if he was just as attracted to Maynard as he was to Luke.

  Luke’s fingers brushed over Maynard’s shoulder, playing with his shirt. Maynard bit his lower lip as he moved even closer. Moments later, he took a chance and curled into Luke’s side.

  His mate didn’t object. He didn’t say anything, which Maynard took as a good sign. Maynard pulled his legs up and tucked them under him as he sank farther into Luke, placing one hand on his mate’s chest as they watched the review.

  Diablo was lying on the floor on the other side of the coffee table, seeming content for the moment. This felt so domesticated, and Maynard could become quickly addicted to evenings like this.

  When he looked up at Luke, his mate was staring down at him. The moment felt intimate as Maynard waited to see what would happen. Luke’s gray eyes were darker and, if Maynard wasn’t mistaken, filled with need.

  Luke slowly lowered his head, and Maynard held his breath. Their gazes never wavered from each other as Luke closed the distance and gave Maynard a tentative, closed-mouth kiss. Luke leaned forward just a bit, turned slightly, and cupped the back of Maynard’s head as he deepened the kiss, their lips devouring each other.

  When they broke apart, Maynard was panting, his cock at full attention from what they were doing.

  “I’ve been dying to do that since I first laid eyes on you,” Luke murmured.

  “I’ve been dying for you to do that since first laying eyes on you,” Maynard said. “I thought maybe the attraction was one-sided.”

  Feared it was more like it. Every nonhuman, so far as Maynard knew, feared being rejected by their mate. Luke was Maynard’s one shot at happiness, and he wanted forever with the handsome man.

  Luke pulled back slightly, breaking their eye contact. “There are things about me that are dark, Maynard. I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

  “I’m not afraid,” Maynard said. “I can handle whatever demons you carry.”

  Because Maynard had dealt with actual demons. He’d also come face to face with vicious vampires and had fought creatures that would send a human running and screaming. Yes, he was an impala, and his kind tended to run from danger, but there were times when running wasn’t an option and you had to stand and fight. Maynard might be docile in nature, but he did have a backbone and wasn’t afraid to stand up for what he believed in.

  Luke blew out a breath and pulled completely away. Maynard was afraid he’d pushed things too far, that his statement of being able to handle Luke had put up some kind of wall between them.

  Luke settled back, slid Maynard into the crook of his body, and they went back to watching TV. Maynard wasn’t sure what was going on in Luke’s mind, but he considered this a win since Luke hadn’t asked him to leave. It was as if the kiss and confession had never happened.

  * * * *

  Luke was struggling internally. He was insanely attracted to Maynard, but he carried a lot of regrets inside of him. Maynard seemed too sweet to handle the things that haunted Luke. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to tell Maynard anything, so he’d opted to avoid the subject of his past and pretend everything was normal.

  Something he did too damn often. The flight response. When those memories forced their way to the surface, Luke shoved them down and pretended they didn’t exist.

  But he had to say he liked having Maynard cuddled up next to him. He liked the warm body pressed into his side, liked listening to Maynard’s sighs, and liked the way the guy kissed. Luke couldn’t recall a hotter kiss.

  Maynard’s lips were rapidly gaining Luke’s full attention. Again. As the video played on the television, Luke gently chewed on his lower lip, wondering how far he should take this. They’d only been hanging out two weeks, and the kiss had been the first physical thing they’d done together. His natural instincts were telling him to go all in, but his gut told him to take things slow with Maynard. Most guys would have been all over Luke after that kiss, begging to get fucked.

  Maynard was staring straight ahead, although Luke could tell his attention on the television was forced. Maynard was waiting for Luke to make another move and, from the coiled way he was pressed into Luke’s side, ready for whatever Luke wanted to do.

  Luke shifted his body slightly, turning more toward Maynard. The guy looked up at him, uncertainty in his eyes. Luke would never claim to be the master of seduction, but he wasn’t so rusty that he didn’t recognize the signs of Maynard’s quick breaths and dilated pupils. His lips parted just enough to invite Luke to taste them. He might have a past he wanted to bury for all eternity, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t scratch Maynard’s itch. Luke had heard the term “friends with benefits,” but he’d never had one of those before. He was either a one-night stand or committed.

  The last real relationship he’d been in was over six years ago, and it had lasted only four months. He wasn’t looking to cuff Maynard or be cuffed—a term he’d heard a younger guy use when the dude had been talking about his girlfriend trying to trap him in a relationship.

  Luke was still trying to figure shit out in his head, and he didn’t want to pull Maynard into his dark moods when they struck. The thought of keeping things light and friendly appealed to him, though there was no denying how attracted he was to Maynard.

  Desire, sharp and raw, flooded him. Luke slid his arm around Maynard’s waist and pulled him until Maynard was facing him, and then Luke cupped his smooth cheek, searching his dark green eyes.

  “Are you going to kiss me again?” Maynard licked his lips, and Luke’s gaze followed the move. He wanted to suck on that pink tongue, to feel it as Maynard slid it up the side of Luke’s cock.

  “Do you want me to?”

  Maynard placed his hand on Luke’s thigh. The muscles in his thigh jerked at the touch. “I can’t think of anything I want more right now, but we should talk first.”

  Oh no. Luke wasn’t going to let Maynard pull any kind of sob story about his past from him. Luke had refused to talk about it moments before, and he refused to talk about it now. “We can talk afterward.”

  Not that Luke intended to.

  He slid his hand up Maynard’s side then around his back as their lips met. Luke felt drunk off the kiss and greedy for more. He pulled Maynard onto his lap, and the guy came willingly, pressing closer into Luke’s body as he slipped his arms upward, twining them around Luke’s neck.

  Then Maynard pushed away. Luke had no idea why, but he sat there panting as he searched the guy’s green eyes for some kind of reason.

  “We really need to talk, Luke.”

  Diablo got up and growled then trotted from the room. Luke was dying to find out why Maynard had stopped, but he also wanted to see what his dog was so agitated about.

  “Stay right here.” Luke pulled Maynard off his lap and set him aside.

  “I’m the cop, remember?” Maynard jumped up and followed, his steps muted by the carpet. “Move out of the way. I’ll handle this.”

  Maynard might be a cop, but hell if Luke was sending him out there to investigate. Call it whatever the fuck you wanted, but he wasn’t sending the twink and wished Maynard would go sit back down in the living room.

  “Seriously?” Maynard looked incredulously at him. “I’m ordering you to stay inside.”

  Luke narrowed his eyes. “I’m ordering you to sit your cute ass at the table and let me see what’s going on.” He looked down Maynard’s body. “You don’t even have your weapon.”

  Luke reached on top of the fridge, to the cupboard above it, and retrieved one of the many handguns he kept in the house.

  As soon as he opened the back door, Diablo raced out. Luke was right behind him, his gaze going right to the shed. But no one was there. The night air was cold against his skin as Luke moved silently through his backyard, following Diablo toward the woods.

  His jaw clenched when he felt Maynard on his six. He could be a cop however he wanted when on duty, but when at Luke’s, it was Luke’s job to keep Maynard from harm. That was just ingrained in him, to protect.

  Diablo disappeared past the tree line. A gunshot rang out. Luke’s heart seized in his chest seconds before he bolted toward the woods. If a hunter had shot his dog, Luke was going to kill the bastard.

  He entered the woods, and Diablo came running back toward him. There was blood under one of his eyes, and Luke dropped to his knees, looking around before he concentrated on Diablo.

  His dog seemed okay. Luke pushed from his knees and moved farther into the woods but didn’t see anyone. With a frustrated grunt, he headed back toward the house. He would have Maynard call this in. It was one thing to fuck with his shed, another to shoot at his dog.

  When Luke had cleared the woods, his heart stopped. Maynard was lying in the grass, blood coating his shoulder. It hadn’t been Diablo who’d been hurt by that gunshot.

  It had been Maynard.

  Luke took off at breakneck speed, racing toward the fallen man. Luke dropped to his knees once he reached Maynard and checked his wound. Maynard had been hit on the shoulder, inches above his heart.

  “Hang in there. I’m getting you help.” Luke reached for Maynard, ready to scoop the man into his arms and carry him inside, ignoring the pain of fire in his leg from running, when Maynard changed into the impala Luke had seen in his backyard weeks ago.

  He scrambled backward, staring down at the creature, trying to figure out how in the hell that had just happened. It didn’t make any sense. Men didn’t just change into animals, not literally. Now Luke wasn’t sure what to do. He couldn’t call an ambulance and say My friend has been shot, but by the way, he’s an impala at the moment, so maybe send a vet instead.

  Diablo kept circling the impala, sniffing at him. Luke finally made a decision. He used his strength to lift and carry the creature inside. Whether he could figure out what was going on or not, it still wasn’t safe to leave Maynard outside.

  By the time Luke set the impala on his living room floor, he was sweating and his leg buckled. He dropped, crying out as he rubbed his thigh, gnashing his teeth at the excruciating pain before he passed out.

  Chapter Four

  Maynard was disoriented when he woke up. It took several seconds for him to even recall where he was. He pushed himself off the floor, brushing strands of hair from his face, and then he was looking into large brown eyes.

  Diablo cocked his head to the side, staring at Maynard.

  “Um, good boy?”

  A groan caught Maynard’s attention. He looked down to see that he was naked and Luke was lying next to him, almost in a fetal position, clutching his leg. His eyes were closed, but Maynard noticed how sweaty Luke was. He was grimacing, his teeth gnashed together.

  “Luke.” Maynard moved closer. “What’s wrong?”

  Had he been shot? Maynard checked his leg, but he didn’t see any blood or bullet wounds, though Luke’s fingers were digging into his leg.

  “Do you have pain medication?” That would make sense with a past injury this painful.

  “I don’t take them,” Luke gritted out. “I don’t like the way they make me feel.”

  Maynard could think of only one thing. He got up and ran to Luke’s bathroom then searched the cabinets, thankful when he found Epson salts. He drew Luke a hot bath, adding the salt before he hurried back to the living room.

  “Come on.” Maynard was thankful for his strength. His build might look like a twink, but he had the strength of ten men thanks to his shifter genes. He helped Luke up from the floor and half carried the guy to the bathroom before helping Luke get undressed.

  Luke grunted. “You do realize we’re both naked.”

  Maynard hadn’t even thought of that. He’d been too worried about Luke to think of his nudity from shifting or the fact he’d just stripped his mate naked.

  “Just ease into the tub.” Maynard kept him steady as Luke stepped in then sank down. It would take a moment for the hot water to help his leg, so Maynard wanted to take his mind off of the pain. “I know you know what I am.”

  Luke’s eyes were pain-filled as he turned and looked at Maynard. “Not what I was expecting. Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

  Maynard reached into the water and started massaging Luke’s leg. There were hella scars on his thigh, and the skin felt puckered and rough. “That was part of it.” He refused to look at Luke, afraid of what he would find on his mate’s face. Repulsion, fear, anger? “How’s your leg?”

  “Getting better. Do you know why someone shot at you?”

  Maynard shook his head. “Unless someone is pissed I gave them a ticket.”

  He wasn’t going to say that he’d transferred to Willow Point because he’d blown the whistle on the last cops he’d worked with. Not many people held compassion for snitches, but Maynard hadn’t been able to stomach the corruption. It had been wrong, and many lives had been affected by their rampant disregard for the law.

  Could one of the men who’d gotten fired come after him? Was it Carl Moody? It couldn’t have been Maynard’s boss, Sheriff Tom Moody, because Tom was currently serving time for his crimes. The others had simply been fired because there wasn’t enough evidence against them to convict.