Page 19 of The Return
“Yeah, sure.”
I went into the bedroom and found him flipping shirts on hangers, a scowl on his face. I stepped over to him and put a hand on his back. “What are you doing?”
“Honestly? Stressing. I want to make a good impression on your friends.”
His slumped shoulders showed I need to explain the way the world worked. I took his arm and tugged him close. “You don’t need to impress anyone. You are the Alpha Mate, and they’re going to love you because I do.” I leaned down and nuzzled his hair. “Plus, you know most of them. They’ve been your neighbors—your friends—for years.”
“Yes, but that was before you came back and told me you were their leader, and I was your mate, and I was responsible for them too.” His body shuddered. “I’m not good with stress.”
“Okay, we both know that’s a lie. You thrive on that shit.”
He tilted his head up, and I could see the watery eyes, the stooped shoulders, and the tremor in his lips. “Not anymore. Not when it’s important. Like you were—are. After your dad took you away, I stressed all the time. I thought I’d done something wrong and that was why you all moved. Eventually it got to be too much. Every night after dinner, I went out to see if I could find out anything. Now I get why no one gave up any information.”
“Yeah, that’s why.” I pulled him to me, hoping to stave off the trembling. “Listen. You are pack, and tonight everything we do and say will concern you, like it should have from the start.”
“If humans weren’t supposed to be allowed in the town, why were we?”
“As I said before, somehow your family ducked under every obstacle.” I cupped his cheek, loving the feeling of his skin beneath my fingers. “Wanna know what I think?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions.”
“I believe, all the way to my core, we were fated to be together. I think the reason you and your family got into town was because it was our destiny to meet and fall in love.”
He snorted. “You have a very high opinion of yourself.”
I stepped back and flexed. “Hey, when you look like this, it’s just being honest.”
He snorted, then went back to the closet and pulled out a stunning gray shirt. “What about this? With like a pair of slacks?”
“Jeans,” I informed him, my voice getting husky. “They show off your ass better.”
He shook his head. “I’m not trying to show off my butt.”
“Oh, but I’m trying to see it.”
That got me a sigh. He unbuckled his belt, then turned away. A quick flick of his wrist, and he yanked the pants and underwear down, leaving his creamy cheeks there in front of me. “Happy?” he asked, wiggling that beautiful plump rump.
“Y-yeah, happy.”
And fucking hard as a rock!
“So you were explaining to me about mates earlier,” Corey said, pulling up his pants, which was a true shame. Those pillowy globes should be on display in a museum of perfect asses. A light dusting of bronze hair against pale skin was every fantasy I’d ever had rolled into one. And me without a tube of lube in sight.
“None of us really understand it fully. My mom isn’t my dad’s true mate, but Dad had a couple people he knew who were. Dad said he could feel an energy that flowed between them that no one else had, even if they’d been married thirty years. When you and I met, that same energy wrapped around us, enveloping us, connecting us together. He didn’t know what he was seeing, but he accepted you were my mate.”
“Well, that’s one good thing, I guess,” he replied, his voice brittle.
Ouch. Dad was going to have to do some serious groveling if he wanted to get back in Corey’s good graces.
“What can my dad do to make it right?”
“He can’t.”
Oh, this wasn’t how I wanted things to go. “But—”
“He didn’t do anything wrong. He did what needed to be done, in his mind. I’m not a wolf, and I’m not really part of your group, so he had to tread a fine line. I don’t like it, but I do understand. I think I’m more hurt than anything else.”
“I wish it had gone differently. If I had stayed in your bedroom, holding your hand, none of this would have ever happened.”
