by J. D. Light
He let go quickly, nearly making us both drop the thing when I barely had a good enough grip on the silicone dick.
When I finally had it wrestled back under control, I leaned down around Kendrick, trying to open the drawer. Unfortunately, the towel had wedged it a bit. Grabbing the towel closest to the drawer, I tried to give it a few good jerks, but the path of least resistance and all...
The towel budged, the drawer did not.
Kendrick gasped a gaspy gasp of maidenly outrage––which was a little dramatic for someone who'd just been fondling my purple dong––his big body scrambling to catch his towel before his goods were displayed to the world. He managed to catch a corner just as I jerked the towel free from the drawer, which of course sent flying my favorite butt plug right out of the jostled drawer, where it landed on Kendrick's feet. We both froze.
So, there we were, me still gripping the BPG and the edge of his towel and him standing there completely naked, barely covering his tent pole with the corner of the towel, and a butt plug lying on his foot.
He blinked down at me, his eyes wide. "Do. Not. Tell. My brother… About this."
I started laughing. How could I not? And once I started, Kendrick joined in. Before long, we were both laughing so hard we actually flopped down on my bed, probably looking just like a porno gone horribly wrong.
Finally, when my laughter had died down to occasional bursts of sound, I turned to look at him where he was doing the same while staring up at my ceiling. "I like where your mark is."
His eyebrows shot up and he let out a small snort of laughter before meeting my eyes. My body stilled.
He'd managed to cover all the important stuff by bunching the towel in his lap, but his naked self was still peeking out on the side facing me and all that glorious, pale skin was on display from his knee all the way up his side to his armpit. His arms were raised above his head on the bed, which left me with a way too tempting idea of reaching out and giving that stupid towel a quick jerk.
"Yeah," he said, rolling his eyes, apparently and thankfully, completely unaware where my thoughts were going. "Except it's inches away from being a tramp stamp."
He wasn't wrong about that, which made me chuckle. The mark was just a few inches off-center, to the left of his spine, just above his ass crack. I had no doubt most who saw it, probably thought the thing was a botched attempt at just that… if someone was inclined to burn it there.
Smirking, I sat up, doing a pretty excellent job at hiding the erection that was beginning to become pretty obvious, if I did say so myself, and turning to wave the BPC in the air. "Well, if you walk around with rubber dongs, you're going to make a name for yourself."
"Oh, God," he grumbled, chuckling as he put both of his palms to his face.
Laughing, I managed to not bury my head in his lap as I bent down to collect my butt plug off of his foot––even though his scent was strong and more than a little alluring––and deposit it and my purple dong back in the drawer, making a mental note to check everything for lint before their next use.
***
Mornings had never been a particular talent of mine. I was admittedly, not so good at being humanlike in the mornings. And of course, due to dong-related situations the night before, I'd failed to mention that at dinner, or after when we'd sat down and watched the depressing ass news.
Why the fuck did we watch that shit anyway?
I really felt I should have mentioned my particular intolerance of mornings and everything they represented, or everything that represented them when his happy, handsome, stupid, dick face popped up directly in front of me… and between me and the pot of coffee.
I glared up, looking directly into his face. "Yuck," I grumbled, actually making a gagging sound at the end.
If I hadn't been so ready to punch him in that dumb gorgeous face, I probably would have laughed at the completely shocked look on his face as his amazing idiot mouth moved around like a fish's. But laughter was for happy times, and there would never be happy times again. Happy times left my life when the alarm clock rang loudly enough to scare me awake when I was pretty sure I was about to indulge in my first ever wet dream.
And because the me that was reasonable, and had apparently had his stupid fucking thinking cap on back in college, knew that morning me was not to be allowed to hit snooze, logical me had put the alarm clock across the room, so morning me would have to get his ass out of bed and go all the way across the room to turn the motherfucker off.
If reports were true, there was no such thing as multiple personalities, but I would dare those assholes to tell morning me that to his face. Because, there was no way morning me and logical, rest of the day me were the same damn person.
"I'm sorry?" Kendrick finally managed to ask as I stepped around his big ass, and grumpily snatched a coffee cup off of the rack, then hunched over the coffee pot like a burning barrel in the middle of a cold night while I poured my coffee, before turning back and glaring up at his stupid, handsome face.
"I can already tell you're a morning person," I grumbled, using the hand that wasn't holding the cup to wave in the general direction of him while I glared at him from under my brows. "Just look at your face. It looks all sunshiny."
Said face did some kind of weird dance looking thing that I suspected meant he might be trying not to laugh at me, making my eyes narrow even further. "And you're not a morning person?"
I didn't answer. I felt like the eyelids that were so narrowed they were practically closed was answer enough.
"I made eggs…" he said brightly, turning away to grab a plate and start scooping food onto it while I glared at him as I sat down in the same seat I had the night before.
Maybe the coffee was starting to do its job, because I was suddenly feeling less pissed about the fact that there was life on earth and I slowly, suspiciously––because morning me had never gone away so fast––took another drink of the coffee, eyeballing the liquid as I did.
I vaguely heard the back door open and close, but I was too busy wondering if I'd be able to smell drugs in my coffee, or if the heavenly aroma would block the scent and flavor.
"You know…" he said, turning to put the plate on the table in front of me. "To make up for touching your dong."
Coffee flew from my mouth, showering everything within my spit range, including Kendrick.
"You guys move fast," Warren said from the doorway, smirking. Kendrick jumped slightly before meeting his brother's gaze in shock, then looking down at his coffee-soiled shirt, and then up at me.
"I thought you'd at least wait until after you told him everything before you started touching dongs." Warren said, sounding incredibly amused.
Feeling even less grumpy somehow, even though a great deal of my coffee was staining Kendrick's shirt, I met Warren's smirk with my own.
"Oh no." I shook my head. "You're brother is a sneaky dong nabber."
Kendrick's hand covered my mouth with an audible pop, making Warren's eyes go wide.
Kendrick cringed slightly, easing his hand away. "Sorry." When I just raised an eyebrow at him, he sighed. "Aren't you glad you asked me to come stay with you?"
I chuckled softly, sipping at my coffee. It was the best I'd felt in the morning in a really long time.
"Are you hungry, War?" Kendrick asked, moving back over toward the stove, pausing to look at his brother, waiting for an answer.
I knew before Kendrick even finished that question that the answer would be no.
I'm going to have to talk to Decker about his eating habits. It was just getting a bit too scary for me. I tried to remember the last time I'd actually seen him eat, but I couldn't.
"Nah," he said, giving his brother a slight smile. "I already ate." He glanced at me, frowning slightly, and I knew I was looking him over a little too intently. "I just thought it might be helpful if I was here for the talk."
I'd had just enough coffee to be somewhat civil, but not quite enough to be civilized. Sighing, I put my cup b
ack on the table and stood. "Okay, okay. Let's get this over with." I grumbled, jerking my shirt off and tossing it to the side.
Kendrick gasped and Warren snickered, watching his brother as his brother watched me.
And he watched me. His wide, dark brown eyes roamed my body from my shoulders to the waistband of my pants, and then right back up again. I would have found the whole thing a lot funnier if it wasn't for the way that look was starting to affect certain parts of me that I didn't really want Warren to see.
"Wait," Kendrick whispered before clearing his throat and glancing at his brother, but his eyes found their way back to me. "Is this a sex talk? Because I've already done this. We had to suffer together through mom's disturbing whiteboard drawings of actual birds and bees doing it, remember?"
Warren shuddered, making a face. "I'll never forget. Why does she think a bee penis looks like that anyway?"
Kendrick shrugged, glancing at his brother again, but those amazing brown eyes tracked right back over to me as I walked behind the center island, not wanting to flash my goods to the little brother of my mate when I dropped trou in the kitchen.
"Do not freak out," I said, calmly, kicking out of my pants while Kendrick's eyes just got wider and wider.
"Why?" he whispered, before clearing his throat. "Are you about to show me your bee penis?"
Warren snorted and I rolled my eyes. "Just know that I won't hurt you, okay?" Then I grumbled, "Bee penis," glaring as I braced both hands on the counter and leaned into them. "I'll show you a bee penis." I hadn't had enough coffee for all that shit yet.
"Okay," Kendrick said, watching my chest and shoulders intently enough to make me want to look down and see what the hell he was looking at, but I needed to get the shift over with so I could get back to my fucking coffee.
I winked at Warren, making Kendrick throw a glare at his brother, and then I shifted, my eyes laser focused on Kendrick as his head came back and his eyes widened.
"What the fuck?" He said, jumping.
I sank to the floor as my body shifted and within seconds Kendrick was running around the side of the island, falling on his knees next to me. "Are you okay?"
But then, he stopped suddenly, his hands poised like he was going to reach out and touch me, but he froze.
"Holy shit!" he said, falling backward onto his ass on the floor. "Is this for real?"
I chuffed at the dumbfounded look on his face. I'd never been a part of telling someone about shifters before. I'd never seen this reaction. It was actually pretty humorous. Even for a tiger who hadn't been fully caffeinated yet.
Kendrick leaned closer, narrowing his eyes at me. "Did you just laugh at me? It was a legitimate question," he defended, crossing his arms, still sitting on his ass on the floor next to me. "I've had some pretty vivid dreams before."
Moving closer… I licked his face with my super-rough tiger tongue, chuffing all over again when I pulled back and witnessed the clearly disgruntled look I'd left behind.
I was still laughing as I turned back, deep chuffs turning into… slightly fewer deep peals of laughter until I was sitting in front and to the side of him, completely naked on the floor, both of us cris-cross applesauce.
He continued to watch me, his eyes wide, but when I finally calmed down, I suddenly noticed just how white my mate was, and the swaying of his body didn't bode well.
"You can turn into a tiger," he choked out, hoarsely.
"I can."
"Huh." And then he toppled forward, his body reaching the limits of its flexibility, causing him to fall a bit to the side. I blinked in surprise when his head ended up in my lap. Like in my lap. Dick to eyelid, in my lap.
"Did he just pass out?" Warren asked, rounding the corner, his eyes wide.
"Either that or he's really bad at oral," I mumbled, trying to look down at the side of his face to see if he was still conscious.
"Holy crap, I will never let him live this down," Warren said, just as I heard the distinct sound of a camera.
I looked up at the smirking Warren and raised my eyebrow, giving him my most serious look. "I'm going to need a copy of that."
***
"No way," Kendrick said, shaking his head. "Prove it."
I glanced at Warren, and we both shrugged. "Do you want me to knock you up? Because other than that, I don't really have proof at the moment. Axel might be able to get you proof, but he's pretty stressed right now."
"I told you he would be like this." Warren said, smirking down at his phone. I was pretty sure he'd set that picture from earlier as his wallpaper, and a part of me wanted to protect my mate from the humiliation, but another part of me thought it was really, really funny and therefore needed to be shared.
I nodded, smiling when Kendrick reached over and snatched the phone out of Warren's hand where they were sitting side-by-side on the couch.
"Like what?" He asked, holding the device up out of Warren's reach when he lunged for the thing.
Warren jabbed a finger directly into Kendrick's armpit, making the giant man squeal, and then snatched his phone out of the guy's enormous paw. "That you wouldn't believe it."
Kendrick scoffed. "And you do?" he demanded, glaring at his brother. "You're just like, oh wow, you say I can get pregnant, so it must be true."
"It honestly doesn't matter if you believe it or not." Warren said, his anger quickly moving to the surface, proving that even though he'd been laughing and joking around with his brother, he still had that storm brewing inside. "The truth is, the people who kidnapped me believed it and that's why they did it. You're at risk too."
Kendrick looked ready to argue, but instead he looked over at me, frowning. "How the hell does a weird birthmark make a man able to have babies?" he grumbled, shaking his head. "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard."
"Well you better get to believing it!" Warren yelled, making me jump slightly. "Because you denying its truth isn't going to stop you from getting pregnant with Turner's baby if he mates you!"
Everyone in the room froze. It was like a Mexican standoff… with our eyes. Warren was looking at me with wide, apologetic eyes, I was looking at Kendrick with equally wide, nervous eyes and Kendrick was looking at Warren with narrowed––you put what where?––eyes.
I think that's a Mexican standoff. I'll be sure to Google it later.
"What?" Kendrick asked, finally breaking the stare-off.
"Oh, my God," Warren whispered, his eyes filling with tears. "I'm so sorry, Turner."
"It's okay," I said softly, rushing to his side, sitting between the two brothers, thinking they might be in need of a buffer in that moment. " I wasn't going to keep it from him or anything. I was just going to wait until I was sure he had at least kind of accepted the information for what it was."
"What does he mean, mate me?" Kendrick asked, a frown marring his lovely forehead.
Telling my skeptical mate about soulmates. That shouldn't be too hard.
Chapter Four
I stared at Turner, blinking repeatedly. "And that's what I am to you?"
He nodded, swallowing hard. "Yes."
They'd spent the last ten minutes of my life explaining mates and soulmates and mating to me, and quite frankly, I wasn't sure what to think.
Did the idea that someone like Turner could be mine forever appeal to me on some level I didn't understand? Absolutely. But I just wasn't sure how I felt about not having a choice in the matter of who I did or didn't fall for.
Yes, Turner was… wow. In so many ways he was wow, and I honestly didn't think there was a person in the world that would fit me better, but… what about him? He'd said and done a few things that made me think he might be attracted to me, but was it because I was his mate, or was he genuinely attracted?
And even more important, what about our personalities?
He clearly got nervous from time to time to time and started rambling… and it was freaking adorable, but I'd made a complete fool out of myself multiple times since I'd met the guy.
How was that not going to get annoying to him eventually?
And then there was the baby thing.
"And you can knock me up?" I asked, still completely incapable of wrapping my mind around that.
"Yes," my mate said, frowning slightly.
I wanted to believe Turner. Something about him made me want to trust every word that came out of his mouth. He just seemed so genuine in everything he said and did.
And he was fucking sweet. Yes, he seemed to enjoy teasing me and joking around with my brother, but even though Warren had definitely thrown his secret out there like that, Turner hadn't gotten mad like I probably would have. He'd immediately gone to my brother, comforting him and letting him know that it was all okay. He'd even positioned himself between us.
I'd probably always wonder if that had been for my benefit or Warren's. And maybe it had been for the benefit of our brotherhood. So, I didn't say something rude that would set Warren off and have him react in the way he had been lately, by completely flying off the handle.
I didn't think my little brother would ever forgive himself if he actually hurt me with the things he said while he was blowing up. Warren had always been pretty cognizant of how he'd spoken to others, because he'd never wanted to hurt anyone's feelings.
I couldn't imagine what he'd gone through, and I couldn't imagine what he still must be going through every single day. Someone like him who liked control having this thing that stole a great deal of it.
"What if I don't want to get pregnant?" I asked quietly, watching the man's gorgeous, golden face.
He smiled softly. "You don't have to. There's birth control you can take. Or we could––" His eyes widened, and he swallowed. "Not that I'm saying you're for sure going to mate me. I'm just trying to tell you that if you did decide to, you not having a baby wouldn't be a deal-breaker. I didn't know I was going to have a chosen mate, so I didn't even think kids would be an option for me outside of adopting. And we can still adopt. I'm not saying just because you can get knocked up that you have to if we decided to have kids. And that's if we decide to mate."
