by Cree Storm
Ollie stepped closer, an evil smirk on his face. “First, I don’t wear underwear, so good luck with that. Second, how are you going to get a live lizard down my pants when those little things freak you out like spiders freak other people out, and three, your mate? Shit, brother, why didn’t you tell us? Now I’m hurt. I mean really. Why keep this very large, very gorgeous hunk of man meat to yourself? You should have told us, Pas.”
“I didn’t tell you because I only just found out like ten seconds ago, asswipe. And I may not be able to do the lizard or the itching powder, but I can go to Jett and get some pretty good ideas on what I can do,” Pascal threatened, then stuck out his tongue at Ollie as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Well, shit. You just found out now? Like now, now? And I came in and... fuck. I’m really sorry, Pas. I’m sorry, Zen. This is a moment for just the two of you. I mean this is the moment, right? Fuck. Okay, to make it up to you, I’m gonna help you. Zen, tell my brother, your mate, why you don’t think he would want you, and I mean, be honest. All the lying crap never gets a mating anywhere and only leads to senseless hurt feelings and a shit ton of tears. And, Pas, tell Zen why you don’t think he would want you. Pas thinks he’s too small and weak for someone like you to want him.”
Pas shot daggers at Ollie with his eyes. “Oops, sorry, I guess I told for you. Well Pas, Zen doesn't think you want him because he thinks he’s hideous,” Ollie announced and Zen’s face went white as a ghost.
“How do you…”
“Because I am a nosy motherfucker and saw you the night of the attack at the baby shower. When it was all done, you took off your torn shirt before you ran from the room. Plus, I like to spy on people, as you know, Pas. Helps me to get ammunition on them when I want to fuck with them. But even I would never give you any crap over what you hide, Zen.”
Zen looked down when he felt Pascal’s small hand on his arm, looked to where it sat, then looked up, meeting his mate’s gaze again.
“You’re beautiful, Zen, and if you think I only like you because of that, then you’re wrong. I’m not shallow. I know that you are a beautiful person inside and that’s what counts. Plus, you’re my mate. You’re supposed to be mine. I know we’re not in love yet and not ready to say those words, but I know I already like you and I want to get to know you better. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, short of you saying you work with Fallon or anyone like him, that would make me reject you. I want you, my mate.”
Zen was afraid of what he knew he had to do, but he knew he had to do it. He needed to literally rip the band aid off and expose himself to his mate and let him see for himself. Then if Pascal did reject him, at least they hadn’t fallen in love yet and the pain wouldn’t be so deep.
Zev swallowed hard, then took a step back and immediately grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and without hesitation, so that he didn’t change his mind, Zen pulled the garment up over his head in one fluid motion, held his breath, then turned his back to his mate.
Silence filled the room like a living thing, and all Zen could hear was the pounding of his own heart. Both Pascal and Ollie remained quiet, and suddenly shame and heartache filled him, penetrating his soul. Zen hung his head as his heart clenched. He knew he shouldn’t have…
Fingers touched him. A light, gentle touch that Zen hadn’t felt in almost two hundred years, stopping his thoughts. A small hand whispered over his back tenderly, then another, before Zen felt the softness of lips against his back and the rush of warm breath. “Someone hurt you, but you’re still so beautiful.”
Zen couldn’t believe his ears, and another soft kiss touched his back. There was no disgust in Pascal’s voice. No pity. Just concern and caring. His mate wasn’t repulsed by him and called him beautiful. Pas didn’t back away, but instead came closer and touched him, kissed him. His heart opened wide and filled with joy and the longing to take his mate in his arms and never let him go. And in that moment, Zen fell in love with his mate.
* * * *
The sleek woman dressed in a tight, floor-length, skin-tight dress stood at the window of her luxurious office, looking down over the twinkling of the city lights, as she twisted a lock of her fire red hair around one finger, thinking of the future of her business and hoping her risk of moving would pay off.
“Madam, we think we found him,” the voice of her man servant, Pickard, said as he walked into the room.
She turned from the window and met his gaze, lifting a perfectly shaped brow in question.
“It is as you said may be the case. With all the shifters moving to Maddox, Colorado, your men checked, and he’s there,” Pickard said happily.
“Perfect. With all the shifters leaving this area and some of the vamps, my client list has dropped exponentially. I think it’s time for me to meet with the others and make the move to Maddox. I think we will make a killing there.”
“I completely agree, Madam. Should I make the arrangements for your meeting and call the man in charge in Maddox? We hear that anyone wanting to start a business there has to go through a man by the name of Rhys Shadowfox-Abruzzo-Sutherlan.”
“Now, that’s a mouthful. Yes, make the calls.”
“As you wish,” Pickard said with a bow, then left the room.
She turned back to face the window, an evil smirk lifting the corner of her bright red lips. “I will see you soon, little man. Very soon.”
CHAPTER 4
Pas had to be the luckiest Santorini fox in the entire universe. Okay, there were only three other competitors in that area, but he knew what he meant. His mate had scars that were clearly from a burn and if they held, that had to mean the cause was when he was a small child. However, Pas didn't see anything hideous about them. Those scars told Pas how strong and resilient his mate was. The pain had to have been unimaginable, and Zen had to have fought to stay alive. Being prepubescent would have made that difficult, especially back in the time it had to have happened. "How old are you, Zen?"
"220, why?" Zen asked in confusion.
Pascal smiled up at Zen. "I was just thinking of how young you had to have been to be put through so much pain. How did it happen?"
Zen opened his mouth and the words seemed to stick in his throat. Pascal could tell that his mate was struggling to answer, smiling softly, Pascal replied, "It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have asked. Maybe when we get to know each other better, you'll feel more comfortable telling me."
"I'm warning you, secrets tend to get people hurt, then angry, then they take off, and the next thing you know, danger is knocking on their door and someone is about to die. Nope, secrets have a way of biting a person in the ass, and I don't mean like Jett does to Zev when he thinks no one is looking," Ollie insisted.
Pascal drew in a deep breath. "Why don't you go and bite someone in the ass and leave me and my mate alone?"
Shaking his head, Ollie replied, "No can do, bro. I came here because Dain asked for one of us to take this file to Wyndingo. So, I brought it here for you to do just that."
Pascal slowly took the folder Ollie held out to him. "Why didn't you just take it if Dain gave it to you?"
Ollie looked around, picking at his shirt, muttering, "I have other things to do."
Pascal could always tell when Ollie was lying or keeping secrets. Ollie could never look someone in the eyes when he was lying and he always had some type of imaginary lint on his clothing when he was trying to keep a secret. "What aren't you telling me, Ollie?"
Ollie drew in a sharp breath and looked at Pascal wide eyed, then turned to Zen. "Can you tell your mate I'm not hiding anything?"
"Ollie, you were never a good liar and you never could keep a secret, so out with it. What's going on?" Pascal asked with a huff.
Pascal could see pain and something else in his brother's eyes that he wasn't used to seeing. It took a second and then Pascal realized what he was looking at―fear. Ollie was afraid. "Did someone hurt you, Ollie? Are you alright?"
Ollie tossed his hands in the air, and eve
n though he sounded angry, Pascal could still see the fear. "Look, I need you to take this to Wyndingo. I have other things I need to do."
Pascal stepped closer to Ollie, not able to stand to see him so uncomfortable. "Okay, okay. I'll take this to Wyndingo, but if there is anything you need to talk about, I'm here."
Ollie smirked. "Always the savior of others. Pascal, it's time for you to focus on you and let your brothers take care of themselves for a change. I love you, bro, but this I have to take care of on my own."
Pascal was taken aback when Ollie leaned in and actually hugged him. He hadn't done this in so long, Pascal had forgotten what it felt like. "Congratulations, Pas. I'm really happy for you."
Ollie turned and then stopped, twisted around to look at Zen. "Secrets are never good, Zen. Whatever it is you're not telling my brother, I suggest you do. Because if anything happens to him, I would hate to have to find your ass and kill you. I actually like you." Snickering, Ollie replied, "And I like your ass, too."
"Ollie!" Pascal growled.
Ollie laughed until his phone rang. Pulling it from his pocket, Ollie answered, "What's up, Dain? Yes, it is being delivered. I said it was and it is, why don't you go see if you can play find the sausages with your mates and let me do my job. Shit, from what I hear, Rune has already found your sausage. Oh, and Pascal needs the rest of the day off. He is looking to purchase his own weenie."
"Ollie!"
Hanging up the phone, Ollie turned. "I'll tell Jagger you need the rest of the day off, too, Zen. Have fun, you guys."
Ollie walked out of the office, effectively leaving Pascal alone with Zen.
With nervous laughter, Pascal turned to look at his mate, holding the file up, stammering, "He...he takes a bit of…uh…getting used to. I…I guess I…uh…I should take thi…uh…this to Wyndingo."
Zen smiled. "It's almost lunch time."
Pascal blinked. He had no idea what Zen was talking about, it was ten thirty in the morning.
"What I mean is that I could go with you and we could go and find a place to have lunch," Zen asked with his own nervous smile.
Pascal blinked and then blinked again, trying to put his thoughts together. Zen was beyond gorgeous, but with that damn smile he was fucking edible. Pascal was thinking of every part of his mate's body he would like to lick and taste and not about what Zen was asking. Then the man bit his bottom lip and Pascal felt his chest rumble with a predatory growl he didn't even know he possessed.
Zen glanced into Pascal's eyes. "I just thought that maybe we might talk and…you know…get to know each other a little."
Pascal couldn't take his eyes off that damn plump sexy lip of Zen's. Each nervous bite had Pascal wanting to taste and nibble on it himself.
Zen gave a loud sigh and started to walk towards the door as he put his shirt back on, effectively snapping Pascal out of his thoughts.
"Where are you going?"
"Back to the club," Zen answered without turning around.
Pascal took a step towards Zen then stopped. "I…I thought you wanted to go for lunch?"
Zen turned in confusion. "I figured you didn't want to go out with me since you didn't answer me."
"Well, you figured wrong," Pascal replied aghast. "I didn't answer you because I was thinking of how many parts of your body I could lick before I got to the center of that tootsie pop."
Zen smiled and wiggled his brows. "Well now, that does sound interesting. However, I have a thought."
Walking up to Pascal, Zen looked down then suddenly had Pascal yelping when the behemoth picked him up and lifted him onto the chair. Pascal stood, still not eye level with Zen, but close enough. "Pascal, I really am happy to have you as my mate and I really want nothing more than to claim you as my own. However, I also made a promise to myself a very long time ago. I will not mate someone until the day they can tell me they love me and mean it. My father didn't do that and trust me, things turned out really bad. I won't make that same mistake."
Pascal looked at Zen feeling a sadness in his heart at the tone of hurt in his mate's voice. Pascal placed his palm on Zen's cheek saying, "I can wait, Zen. So long as I know you want me. I can wait. I can't say those words now, but I promise you this, I want to and with the man I see you are, I know it won't take me long to get there."
Zen smiled and leaned in, whispering, "Until that moment comes, this will have to do for now."
Pascal thought he was prepared for the touch of his mate's lips to his own, but he was never more wrong about anything in his life. The soft gentleness of Zen's lips on his own was like an electrical shock all the way to his dick. Pascal had no idea a cock could get so hard or that his balls could pulsate to the point of pain. Hell, he had no idea that someone could come with just a kiss, but Pascal knew that if his mate tou―Pascal threw his head back and with tightly closed eyes, screamed, "Fuck!"
The smell of his seed filled the room as it filled his boxer briefs. Humiliated beyond belief, Pascal jumped off the chair and ran to the nearest bathroom, slamming and locking the door.
Breathing heavily as he gripped the bathroom sink tightly, Pascal looked up into the mirror, tears of humiliation running down his cheeks. "You are such an idiot, Pascal. I can't believe you did that. No one comes from a fucking kiss. Now Zen is going to think you're the biggest fucking loser and a pathetic mess."
Angry with himself, Pascal pulled his pants down and removed his boxers. Sniffling as the tears continued to fall, he made rapid work of cleaning his seed from his legs and scrotum. Just as he was trying to decide what to do with his boxer briefs, a loud knock sounded making him jump and make a very unmanly sound.
"Pascal, please open the door," Zen's soft words sounded from the other side.
Looking at the underwear in his hand, Pascal yelled out, "I don't want to."
Pascal could hear the door move as Zen must have leaned against it, saying, "Precious, please. It's alright."
Pascal wiped at his tears, and through the knot in his throat, replied, "I'm so humiliated. I can't believe I did that."
"Pascal, I love what just happened. How many men can say that they made their man orgasm from just a kiss? Hell, if given half the chance I would try to do that again and again. You have no idea how beautiful you are when you come," Zen replied.
Pas unlocked the door, Zen falling forward when Pascal opened it. Without thought, Pascal grasped his large mate and once his mate regained his balance, he stood and looked down into Pascal's brown eyes, wiped at his tears, whispering, "Let's go get that lunch."
With a wobbly smile, Pascal replied, "You really think I'm beautiful?"
Zen snorted, "Precious, you are stunning and when you orgasm you are even more gorgeous. I am the luckiest African Elephant shifter in all the world."
Smiling wide, Pascal replied, "Well, let's take both our sexy asses out of here. We can give this to Wyndingo and then go have some lunch. Who knows what else we might do, we have the entire day."
CHAPTER 5
Zen was laughing so hard he almost fell off his chair. "He didn't!"
Nodding as he laughed, Pascal replied, "Oh, yes he did. Ollie is not shy in the least. I thought Toby was going to kill him."
"Well, if he replaced my lip balm with super glue, I might not be so happy either," Zen said with a smile.
Pascal looked down at his tea, saying, "He had the hardest time of us all after our family was killed. Ollie was always playing practical jokes on us. He was so carefree and fun. However, going into hiding like we did, being in our own style of prison, it took something from him that I still haven't seen really return." Looking up, Pascal replied, "Oh, he is finally laughing and joking around, but his smile doesn't quite reach his eyes, you know what I mean?"
Nodding, Zen replied, "Yeah, I do. When my mom tried to kill me, my dad and I changed a lot too. I know that we both kept looking over our shoulder, to make sure she hadn't found us. I don't know why she never came to Maddox, it wasn't that far from where we lived, but tha
nkfully, she didn't."
Illan walked in with Justice and Avery. The three men smiling and laughing. Twix yelled out, "I'll be with you in a minute."
"No rush, my mates and I are here to have some dinner," Illan called back.
Pascal gasped, "Oh my goodness, we've been here for hours."
Zen smiled. "My luck is holding. This means we can have dinner and that means two dates in one. So maybe I might get another kiss when I take you home."
Pascal giggled, and blushed thinking about how the last kiss turned out.
"Hi, Pascal. How are things going?" Avery asked, walking up to him with Illan and Justice beside him.
Smiling at the trio, Pascal replied, "I'm doing great. I see Timmy is keeping his word. Illan is getting home in time for dinner."
Justice laughed. "Oh yes, he is. Our mate is home every day by five thirty."
Avery smiled. "He grumbles about annoying gargoyles, but we just remind him how lucky he can be if he gets home at a normal time."
"Avery!" Illan gasped, then laughed and pulled his mate into his arms, kissing him for all he was worth.
Twix came out from the back, approaching them as he smacked Illan and Avery on the arms, "Hey! Hey! None of that in here, you two. The people come for dinner, not dinner and a show."
Illan snorted, "Then maybe you, Finn, and Marco might want to keep it down back there from time to time."
Twix blushed then looked at Pascal with a conspiratorial smile. "They do like to stuff the pixie buns."
