Page 25 of Back to You
Ronan didn’t move away this time.He hooked his arms around Vincent’s waist, and when their lips met, he kissed Vincent back.
It was a strange kiss.It felt familiar, but at the same time, it was also new.Vincent recognized the shape of Ronan’s mouth, but Ronan smelled different now.He also felt different.His shoulders were broader, his body harder.Vincent couldn’t help but wonder how many scars he had under his clothes.
He forgot about all of that and stopped thinking when Ronan’s tongue met his.He groaned and pressed closer, but there was nowhere for him to go.He was already in Ronan’s arms, a place he never should have left.
Someone giggled, startling Vincent.He blinked to see two teenage girls walking past them.He felt his cheeks flush, and Ronan didn’t help when he kissed the corner of Vincent’s lips again.
“I forgot we were in public for a moment,” Vincent confessed.
“I’m glad we are.This isn’t exactly taking things slowly.”
Vincent wrinkled his nose.“Do we really have to?”
“No, but I don’t want to regret rushing into this.You’re my second chance at forever, Vincent.I don’t want to do anything that could ruin it.”
“I don’t think anything you could do would do that.”But Vincent was willing to wait.He’d already waited years, thinking he’d lost Ronan.What would another few days or even weeks change?
Chapter Five
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RONAN WASN’T SURE WHYhe’d been invited to meet with Braden, but he was glad he was there.He wanted to be involved in everything regarding Vincent.He trusted that Cam wouldn’t do anything to his mate, but he understood that not all pack members might believe that Vincent was innocent of what his father had done.
That was where Braden would come in.Once they had his report, they could point to that if anyone tried to raise doubts and start trouble.Hopefully, Fulton wouldn’t manage to continue ruining Vincent and Ronan’s lives from the grave.Ronan wouldn’t put it past him, but he hoped that Braden would dig deep if he did find something.Considering he worked with Remington, there was a good chance that he would.
“I have to admit that I’m a bit confused,” Braden said.
He was sitting in front of Cam’s desk, looking from the alpha to Ronan.Ronan wasn’t about to explain.It wasn’t his place.
“Ronan is here because the man I want you to look into is his mate,” Cam said.He leaned back in his chair and took a sip of coffee.“As well as Fulton’s son.”
Braden whistled.“I see.”He looked at Ronan.“How does that make you feel?”
He didn’t know the entire story.Hell, he didn’t know the story at all.“Vincent and I met ten years ago.We were together for six years, and we were happy.Vincent’s father wasn’t, though.He hated me, which wasn’t a problem because Vincent only saw him once or twice during that time.They never got along, and Vincent didn’t have any love for the man.”
“Did anyone?”
Ronan snorted.“Not that I know of.”
“So you want me to, what?Make sure that Vincent wasn’t involved with anything his father did?”Braden asked as he turned to Cam.
“I have to know for sure,” the alpha explained.“I don’t think Vincent was involved, both because Ronan trusts him and because he didn’t give me that impression when we talked.My pack might have questions, though, and since Ronan is a pack member, there’s a good chance that Vincent will become one, too, and people need to be able to trust him.”
“I can do that.I’ll need some info, but it shouldn’t be a problem.”Braden hesitated.“You want me to tell you everything I find?”
He wasn’t asking that to Ronan, but Ronan wanted to answer anyway.He pressed his lips together, though.It wouldn’t be right to ask Braden to tell him what he found.Ronan had always trusted Vincent, and that hadn’t changed.No matter what had happened over the past four years and what Vincent had done, Ronan still trusted him.Besides, he was sure that whatever he wanted to know, he could ask, and Vincent would tell him.This report would be for Cam, not for Ronan.
“I do,” Cam confirmed.“Please put everything into a report you’ll send me, and only me.I don’t need you to find every detail of Vincent’s life, so don’t dig too deep into his private life.I just need to be sure that he wasn’t involved with his father and that he won’t be a danger to the pack and Ronan.”
“I can do that.”
Ronan forced himself to relax in his chair.This was going the way it was supposed to.Braden would look into Vincent, and he wouldn’t find anything.If he did, he’d dig deeper, and he’d see that Vincent didn’t have anything to do with his father.Cam and everyone else would be able to relax, and Ronan and Vincent could finally leave Fulton and what he’d done behind and focus on their future.
“How are things going with him?”Cam asked.
Ronan blinked back to the present situation.Braden was still there, but he was typing something on his phone, which was probably why Cam felt comfortable having a semi-private conversation with Ronan.
“Things are good,” Ronan said.He could feel a smile spread on his lips like every time he thought of Vincent.“We’re taking things slow because we’ve both been hurt, but knowing that Fulton is out of the picture helps.He can’t hurt us anymore.”
