Page 9 of Bound to Two Bears

“I hope you can find what’s yours while here,” Royce said cryptically before doing an about face and walking out the front door.

Jared sauntered by, staring. “Call if you need anything. Anything at all.”

When the door clicked closed, he nearly jumped.

He was brought back to that feeling of closure when the door had shut behind him, ending one relationship.

Now, it felt as if he was letting an opportunity slip through his fingers. An opportunity for a new beginning.

A new beginning? With two men?

Carson shook his head, his troubling reaction making him feel even more out of sorts. He palmed his cock, willing it to go down. The crushing loneliness settled in again soon after, gnawing at him. Only this time, it was a true physical ache he’d never sensed before. He rushed to the door and swung it open. When he’d been in their presence, he hadn’t felt it.

The ATV was already gone. He turned and looked over his shoulder at the phone on the kitchen counter. All he had to do was dial seven. But they needed time to get back down to the office. It had taken a while to get to the top of the mountain.

You came here to be alone. Plus, there’s the fact that you’re not gay. Get your head on straight, man.

Straight with a capital S.

He closed the door and pressed his back against it, taking in the view of the luxury cabin once more. He’d lucked out likea bandit. So— he was alone. Who cared? There was plenty of house to explore to keep him busy.

With a grin, he set out to do just that.

3

Jared sat silently behind Royce, not sure what to say. He stared at the cabin getting farther and farther away, the impulse to jump off the back of the ATV and run back to the cabin urging him to move. He didn’t. His head was spinning and he needed a moment to calm down.

“Couldn’t put him in the Larchmont, hmm?”

Royce grinned as looked over his shoulder. “Why would we put our mate in that shitty cabin?”

Our mate.Jared struggled for his next breath, especially when Carson’s scent lingered around them. “It’s not shitty.”

“For him it is.”

Jared eyed Royce as they continued to descend. “So you sensed it, too?”

Royce nodded, never taking his eyes off the gravel road. “I did.”

“He’s going to figure out he’s in our cabin.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“Dude, I have a pile of dirty laundry at the end of my bed.”

Royce snorted. “I can’t help it if you’re a mess.”

Jared was quiet a moment. “What if he finds the secret room?”

Royce shrugged. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

“Where arewesleeping tonight?” Jared knew the answer, but he wished he’d be sleeping with Carson in his arms.

“The Larchmont,”Royce replied, just as expected.

“We should’ve stayed. At least one of us,” Jared said.

Royce eyed him over his shoulder a second. “He was overwhelmed. He needed to catch his breath.”

---