Falling for Tripp [Milson Valley 7] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove)

by Jo Penn

  “Whoa! Yeah, I’ll download this to my computer, maybe print it for a private album and then delete.” Edward frowned at Tripp’s alarmed expression. “What?”

  “We need to talk about that, cutie. If you really want to take a few photos, we can go Polaroids. I wouldn’t mind a few of you, but as I said, that’s personal, just between us.” Tripp lightly caressed Edward’s lips, making him tingle. “I have a few ideas of how I want you displayed. But, more importantly, we’re still on a date, and I want more. So bring up your schedule and let’s book tonight, seven o’clock. I’ll pick you up.” Tripp frowned. “You don’t drive, do you?”

  “I do!” Edward exclaimed snappily. “That cop was out of line when he said I couldn’t drive worth shit.”

  “Okay, we’ll come back to that.” Tripp caught the finger jabbing into his chest. “Who did the court assign for your anger management and therapy?”

  “What?” Edward saw red. What was the man saying about him?

  “Calm down. I’m your mate, I want to be there for you. I’m not perfect, Eddie. I have issues, a lot of people and creatures do. But as my mate, I want to make sure you’re going to the very best and helped to deal with that anger you’ve got bottled up inside.”

  “Fine.” Edward would have rolled off, but Tripp held him tight. He humphed. “And stop calling me Eddie.”

  “Sure, but I like Eddie. So who do you see?”

  “Lord Sebastian Sanchez.”

  Tripp whistled. “Okay, he’s the best.”

  “You whistled.” Edward squinted at the shifter. “Now you think I’m a whack job.”

  “No, no. Settle down.”

  Edward struggled and when Tripp didn’t let him go, glared at the man. Tripp let go and held up his hands. Sitting up, Edward smoothed down his hair and picked up his phone that had fallen during the dispute.

  “I’m free Thursday—”

  “Hang on. Our agreement was two dates per day. Today is Tuesday. Don’t try and wiggle out of it, mate.”

  “Fine, fine.” Edward was secretly pleased the man didn’t want nudie photos of him out on the internet, and he was still interested in dating despite them having sex already. “I can do dinner tomorrow night.”

  That sounded good, actually. Usually, he ate bar food with work colleagues, or sat by himself in a restaurant until he felt too out of place to do it anymore. It would be nice to go out with someone and have dinner.

  “Good, lock it in. I’m off work for the next few days. It’d be good if you can take time off.”

  “I can’t,” Edward said flatly, eying the bear for his reaction.

  “Disappointing, but okay. We can talk about that during one of our dates. You’re a bit aggressive, cutie, tone it down. I respect you’ve got work and commitments, though I hope when the dating is over, I’m the biggest commitment.” Tripp tapped Edward’s nose. “Now, two dates a day, that’s what we agreed to. Dinner and what else?”

  They negotiated. Tripp retrieved his phone from his pants pocket and stunned Edward with the number of appointments and events the creature had on his calendar. Where the hell did the man get the time? Once they locked in the dates, they took turns cleaning off in the bathroom and migrated to the combination living room and kitchen.

  “These are amazing.”

  Edward glanced over to see what Tripp was referring to and saw the man at the window overlooking the street. Along the window sill were the teacups Edward had gently sanded and painted, then used as pots for his herbs and spices.

  “Thanks.”

  “Did you do these, as well?” Tripp pointed to a few items around the place.

  Shrugging, though pleased the bear liked his projects, Edward placed the round tray on the coffee table. “Sorry, I guess I didn’t have any tea. I made you coffee.”

  “You’ll have me bouncing off the walls, Eddie.” Tripp sat opposite on the sofa, Edward taking the armchair. “I stick to two coffees a day, otherwise excess energy.”

  “What happens now?”

  “Well, we’ll chat, you can show me all these creations of yours, then I’ll go home, change and come back and pick you up for our date tonight. Tell me about your recycling.”

  Edward closed the apartment door half an hour later and leaned back against it. He’d gone from seeking out a lawyer to agreeing to a date. And a lot in between the two. He wasn’t sure he’d chosen right or not, but he wanted to see where the next two weeks led. This meant he should pop down the corner store and stock up on tea. Grabbing his coat and scarf off the hook by the door, he hurried out.

  Chapter Six

  “Smells like your lunch went well.”

  Tripp glared at Trekk and slapped the back of his brother’s head. “Aren’t you meant to be working this afternoon?”

  “Actually…” Trekk paused as Tredd walked into the kitchen. “What happened to you?”

  Growling, Tredd stomped over to the fridge and jerked the door open. “Kids were egging their principal’s house.” Tredd sniffed and glanced over at Tripp, brow raised. “You and your mate patched things up, hey? That was a quick turn around.”

  That explained why his brother was covered in bits of raw egg and shell. Tripp bit his lip to stop from laughing, sure Tredd wouldn’t appreciate it.

  “That’s how it happens when you’ve got the mating pull on your side.” Trekk grinned, picking shell out of Tredd’s hair.

  “We’re dating,” Tripp said, and grimaced as his triplets stared at him. Both grinned.

  Yeah, they were going to laugh it up for a while at his expense. Tripp didn’t mind. He had his mate’s attention, and that was a beautiful thing. Now he just had to navigate Eddie’s defensiveness and sharp temper. It was fairly clear his mate had some anger issues but was working on it. Still, Tripp wondered how many landmines he’d accidently stand on before Eddie trusted him.

  After their dismal initial meeting this morning, Tripp sure hadn’t expected to end up in bed with Eddie by the afternoon, but he wasn’t going to complain. Nope, in fact, he felt pretty damn chuffed and wouldn’t mind shifting and strutting, maybe even puff out his chest and roar. He hadn’t been a horndog before Eddie, but he’d gotten around and enjoyed himself, now though, he saw what came before finding his mate as living and having a bit of fun. Whereas what he shared with his Eddie was special, amazing and so much more than anything he’d ever felt. No wonder Tredd was so freaking screwed up over Trent. Not being close to your mate would be pure hell.

  He had the mate pull to thank for Eddie even letting Tripp near him. Trekk was right. The mate pull helped with the natural inhabitations and caution most creatures and humans held. The pull to be with your mate was overwhelming, often consuming. Tripp wanted to connect in every way possible. He wanted to fuck, claim, and bond for all time, and if he were fortunate, they would have a link that would let him sense what his mate felt, maybe even a mind bond and they could share thoughts. The mate pull would draw them closer faster, wanting to feel, and it would help with any trust issues.

  “I heard your mate is in anger management classes after threatening a police officer a few weeks ago.” Tredd popped the lid on a bottle of soda and downed half in a few gulps.

  “You need to cut back on the sugar before you rot your teeth,” Tripp admonished. “My mate is dealing with his issues head on. Are you?”

  Tripp had listened today when Eddie spoke a little about his past, his anger over life altering events, and how he was going to classes and counselling. He had seen his mate’s raw need hidden behind the layers of pain and bitterness, and he’d seen how truly beautiful his mate’s heart was, his creativity and sensitivity. It seemed to Tripp there had been a lot of shit in Eddie’s past, and yeah, he was caught up in a well of pain and anger right now. But he was fighting his way out, had been for a while, and was doing great. Eddie had future ambitions with work, and his apartment was filled with color and light. He took something old and what others may have discarded, and made them shine with new life.
Wolves and bear shifters were environment advocates and took care to recycle and reduce their impact on the environment, but Eddie showed a whole new level and respect that Tripp was awed by.

  They had a lot more talking to do to get to know one another, and Tripp guessed a lot of the anger and bitterness was focused on the ex-husband who was a paranormal. Yeah, Tripp had to deal with that. Everyone had a past. He wasn’t a saint or a monk, and if he wanted to make his mateship really work, he needed to hear everything from Eddie, understand and accept.

  And he may work out a bit more in the gym and run as his bear, because hell, he didn’t like that his mate had been married before…and twice! Still, it had shown a yearning deep inside Eddie to grab onto life and love, one that Tripp could fulfill.

  Tredd’s eyes narrowed, and he growled. “What are you saying, brother?”

  “Tripp’s saying you haven’t dealt with any of the issues going on between you and Trent. And before you lose him completely, you need to get your head out of your ass and really listen to what your mate is, and isn’t, saying. Stay here a week, then get your big bear ass back over to Zurich, and try actually being sweet to your mate because, brother, you’ve forgotten to look beneath the surface.”

  Tredd snarled, showing a bit of fang, but it was without heat. “You should take Eddie to that Tibetan restaurant.” Tredd sighed. “Tre likes that one.”

  “The one down by the old industrial park?” Trekk asked. “Wasn’t that closed down when rats were found in the fridge?”

  “Nah that was the bar across town. They were draining rats of their blood, thinking they could swap it for human blood to feed their vampire clients.”

  Trekk snorted. “Dumbasses. Sorry I wasn’t there to help rescue your mate, bro. Hope he’s okay.”

  Tripp shrugged. “He’s dealing. He can talk to Sebastian or me when he’s over the initial shock and is ready to deal with it. Is this Tibetan restaurant for carnivores?”

  That did concern Tripp. He liked his meat, particularly salmon and beef. He also liked berries and yogurt, honey, and lots of natural grains. Tibetan sounded good, he’d tried it before and found he liked it a lot, and tried a lot of different foods after that. But Tre rarely ate meat, which left Tripp cautious about this particular Tibetan restaurant, and he had no idea what Eddie liked to eat.

  Shit! Tripp should have asked. Okay, no need to stress, bears didn’t like stress, made them damn irritable and closed off, which could be a good reason why Tredd looked like death warmed over and was such a grumpy asshat lately.

  “Yeah.” Trekk gave him a weird look. “Oh! You think your mate won’t like it. What did he eat for lunch?”

  Tripp grinned. “Everything.” He frowned. “But it was a BLT, chips, and salad. I should book where they have the standard fare—”

  “Live a little, bro. He’ll find out soon enough you like to try new things all the time. If you were a real gentleman, you’d ring and ask what he likes. Then again,” Trekk mused, tapping his bottom lip. “He might like to be surprised. Yeah, go with surprise. I love surprises!”

  Tredd snorted a laugh and stomped off. Tripp wondered how he’d gotten lumped with a constantly happy go lucky brother and a grouch. He guessed he evened them out. Taking out his phone, he started some searches on restaurants. He wanted somewhere not too quiet, and not too noisy, with a variety of foods to suit most—hell, he sounded like Goldie Locks. Not too hot, not too cold. He rolled his eyes at himself.

  “This is like the most important date of your life, bro.” Trekk grinned happily. “And after sampling the goods this afternoon, you need to go all out to show you’re not going to—”

  “Yeah, I think you’ve helped enough,” Tripp grunted.

  “Yo! Bears!”

  Tripp glanced up at hearing the Alpha mate’s snobbish voice. Finn Finnlandson skidded into the room and bounced on the balls of his elegant feet. Uri ambled in after his gorgeous mate and looked a mix of pleased, happy, and exasperated. That was normal for Urian in regards to his adored mate.

  Uri sniffed, a big grin spreading across his ruggedly handsome face. “Well, well. Seems Edward came around. When can we expect him here at the pack?”

  “Uri! Give Tripp some time to coerce the human into tolerating him,” Finn chided, waving a hand dismissively. “Best news ever! I finally got to tell Uri everything! Expect visitors, and do you know how to find a sun bear? Should we put out a berry trial? He can’t be that hard to find, he usually has an entourage.”

  Sometimes, Tripp was left feeling like he’d walked in during the middle of a conversation with Finn. He rarely knew what the hell the seer was talking about! And right now was no exception. Visitors? What sun bear?

  Uri went to the coffee machine and flicked it on. Finn was fun and a smartass, and kept Urian very happy and on his toes, which the pack alpha needed as he was smart, resourceful and had a lot to give. Since they mated months ago now, Finn had kept a lot of himself and his past a secret. As his mate, and a wolf shifter, plus an alpha, Urian found that difficult at first, and for a few months there was friction. Uri even contemplated running more than the basic searches, but Trekk managed to get the wolf to settle down and give Finn time. And that worked out well. Finn opened up to Urian, telling him that as part of a vow to his family and kind, Finn wasn’t allowed to speak of his past for an entire year. If he did, he and Urian would be cast through space and time to where Finn was from, and wouldn’t be able to leave. That made Uri pause and the couple became close. Tripp thought it must have been extremely hard for Finn not to tell his mate everything, especially when holding back caused friction between him and Urian. It showed a great deal of integrity, and Urian, though he didn’t like the secrets, respected the reasons behind Finn’s vow. Protecting your kind and sticking to your word were excellent qualities, especially in a mate. During the last two months, Finn had been working to get the vow reversed, and often seemed distracted, and at times tired. Tripp hoped whatever was going on could be dealt with quickly.

  “That’s so cool!” Trekk exclaimed excitedly. “So, are you one of the angels? Or maybe Zeus’s kid?”

  “Puh-leeze! He’s got too many kids running around.” Finn grinned and winked. “They’re my cousins.”

  Tripp wasn’t sure he wanted to know, and what was true. Finn was a shit stirrer. Urian smirked and led them out to the living room where Trekk hollered for Tredd, who ambled out and grabbed the coffees before joining them. The brothers had sprung for one of those real expensive, newfangled machines with the pods as they all enjoyed their coffee. Tripp normally only had two a day, and after having a sip of the coffee Eddie gave him, nudged the cup of instant away. Eddie had teased Tripp of being a coffee snob. Tripp preferred coffee connoisseur.

  Their living room was large and filled to the brim. Tripp and his brothers had wanted a few reminders of where they came from. Though they may have lost their sleuth, they hadn’t forgotten where they were from. This was home now, with the pack and others they considered family, including the Sanchezes’ and the Astons’. Tripp and his brothers had each taken a few things from their home in Canada, and incorporated them here when Uri gave the bears their own section of land within the pack. They built a large two story home, brick to keep the cold out during winter and the heat out in summer, and made sure it had a basement for storing food and wine.

  The living room they filled with big comfortable brown suede sofas, cushions embroidered with motifs that reminded Tripp of designs he’d seen in caves and museums from the people who had once roamed this great land freely. The walls were covered in pictures, some his mother had painted many years ago. In all, it was comfortable and homey, and had a huge-ass television that very nearly covered one wall. The brothers liked their ballgames.

  “So, I’m the son of the great oracle, King Cyrus of Seers. I can’t go into detail about that too much for the safety of my kind, but suffice to say, I inherited a lot of his power. None of that matters, though,” Finn declared beside Uri
on one of the sofas. “What—”

  “So you’re a prince?” Tredd asked. “The attitude makes sense now.”

  Finn’s aqua blue eyes narrowed. “That’s Your Highness, to you, bear.”

  “Anyway,” Uri cut in. “The reason we’re here is to let you know Finn has a few siblings, two of which are very nearly identical—”

  “For real? And you’ve spent six months teasing us about being poor substitutes for each other, and saying that’s the problem with triplets?” Trekk grinned. “Dude, expect payback.”

  Finn took on a pious expression and flicked imaginary lint from his vibrant purple T-shirt. “Bears are very different from seers.”

  “So, as I was saying.” Uri glared them all into silence. “Two identical siblings. Triplets. One nutso and loose in the world hunting the other and coming for Finn—”

  “Hey! Don’t talk about my brother like that!” Finn exclaimed, slapping at Uri’s arm.

  Uri sighed. “What would you have me say, babe? One of your triplets is a tad possessive and wants to kill you and your other triplet, so you’ll be together forever? And he just needs a few therapy sessions to get over it?”

  If looks could slice a creature to pieces, Uri would be scattered across the floor in a bloody mess. After glaring at his mate for a good few minutes, Finn jutted his chin up and looked at Tripp and his brothers.

  “We know what it’s like to feel that bond of triplets. I may not be as connected as you guys are with my brothers, but I still have visions of them. Through those, I feel, for a brief time, what they do. Bastion may not be quite…mentally stable, and he may have murderous inclinations, but he’s still my brother, and I’d rather he was caught and safely back with my pop and family, than wandering around yearning for what can’t be.” Finn looked sad and tired suddenly. “I love my family. Once he’s home, Pop will help Bastion and make the bad feelings go away. Pop’s done it before, he can do it again.”