With Abandon: With or Without, Book 4

by J. L. Langley

  As the doors slid closed, Boskie cleared his throat and pushed the number one on the control panel. He focused his attention past Aubrey to Carson. Boskie was quiet for several seconds. His gaze strayed downward, lingered slightly and ambled back up. “How do you like being assistant manager here at the Macon Buchanan, Lopez?”

  What the—? The hair on the back of Aubrey’s neck and arms stood up, making him suppress a shiver. The air was suddenly way too thick to breathe, and Aubrey cleared his throat. It’s coincidence.

  “I like it very much.” Carson fidgeted, rustling the fabric of his suit. “The staff here is fantastic, a pleasure to work with.”

  Aubrey rolled his shoulders to release the tension in them. Boskie may have his offices here, but he couldn’t possibly know about Carson’s sexual preference. Carson was as careful as Aubrey was.

  “It’s always been my favorite of the chain as well.” Boskie brought his briefcase in front of him, holding on to it with both hands.

  Shifting his laptop bag to the other shoulder, Aubrey took a deep breath. Inside the closed area, werewolf sense of smell was more of a curse than a gift. Katchum had applied a little too much aftershave this morning and Carson’s nervousness reeked in the small space. There was also a hint of arousal…and it wasn’t coming from Carson. Aubrey swallowed hard, trying to keep the surprise off his face. Good grief, he’d stepped into The Twilight Zone.

  Somehow, Carson ended up right behind Aubrey. The heat of his body radiated against Aubrey’s back and a breath of warm air flowed over his neck. Boskie stared at them, but when he noticed Aubrey watching him, he looked away.

  Why was Boskie acting strange? Aubrey’s palms grew sweaty, and his throat clogged up. Had he given himself away? He put distance between himself and Carson. This uncertainty wasn’t like him. All that talk about Dennison being forced to resign had him jittery. He tugged at his tie. He had to do something to cover the scent of his unease. “It’s hot in here.”

  Katchum nodded. “It is.”

  Aubrey glanced at Carson. He wore a blank expression and outwardly no one would know he was uncomfortable.

  Stepping forward, Aubrey nearly mashed himself against the control panel. He needed space.

  Finally the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

  Aubrey couldn’t leave soon enough, but he allowed Katchum and Boskie to exit first. They moved aside for Aubrey and Carson to follow. Before the execs left, both turned and offered their hands to Aubrey to shake.

  After Katchum made his escape, Boskie slapped Aubrey on the shoulder and stretched his neck, baring it slightly. The move was nearly imperceptible. No one watching would think anything of it, but Aubrey noticed the sign of respect. As Boskie left, he called over his shoulder, “Tell your old man I said hello and to give me a call. We should plan an outing of golf.”

  “Will do.” Aubrey gritted his teeth. The asshole had just cut Carson, pretending like he didn’t even exist.

  Carson sidled up to Aubrey again. “Let’s do golf,” he mocked quietly.

  God, Aubrey hated golf. “Let’s not. Why do old men think golf is the end-all be-all to business associations?”

  Laughing, Carson started them moving. His unease had evaporated entirely. “No clue. What is it you’re dying to get back to Atlanta for? You seem distracted.”

  “I have to meet a friend.” Aubrey should ask Carson about what happened back there, but he wasn’t quite sure how to bring it up. Would Aubrey have even noticed Carson’s anxiety if not for his werewolf senses?

  “Uh-huh.” Carson’s smile widened.

  “Not that kind of friend.” Of all people, Carson should know Aubrey didn’t have those kinds of friends. It was safer that way. All the rest were one-night stands. No names, no ties. Aubrey liked it that way. Carson was an exception, but still he was only an acquaintance. They didn’t hang out or anything.

  Aubrey’s phone chimed, indicating a new text. He pulled his reading glasses from his jacket pocket and put them on before taking his phone out.

  The text read, OMFG! He’s gorgeous.

  “Tara.” Aubrey had no idea what Matt looked like, but odds were good that since he was from Aubrey’s brother-in-law’s former pack Matt was Apache.

  “Are you really going to marry her?”

  “What?” Aubrey lowered his phone and gave Carson his full attention.

  “Every time you mention her you get this huge grin on your face.”

  He did? Aubrey shrugged. “Tara and I—”

  His phone chirped again. He pulled it up and read it.

  I really really like him. He’s a sweetheart. Which Aubrey had already figured out from the texts and Keaton’s glowing praise.

  Aubrey rolled his eyes. “I have to go rescue Matt from Tee. She thinks he’s gorgeous.” He stuffed his phone back in his pocket and took his glasses off, doing the same with them.

  Carson followed. “Ah. Don’t want someone honing in on your girl, eh?”

  No, that wasn’t it at all. Aubrey waved to Carrie at the front desk and headed out the automatic doors. He wasn’t jealous. Was he? He didn’t think he was. What if Tee and Matt dated? It wouldn’t mean they wouldn’t want him around. “No seriously, I need to rescue Matt.”

  Carson shrugged. “Oh, so it’s the other way around. Don’t want her honing in.” His voice held a hint of amusement.

  Aubrey gawked at him.

  Laughing, Carson smacked him on the shoulder. “I’m kidding. Oh man, you should see your face.”

  Aubrey groaned. “Asshole.”

  Carson laughed harder.

  Stopping at the trunk of a black Jetta, Carson fished in his jacket pocket. The trunk of the car opened, and he turned his back to Aubrey to stow his laptop case. He shut the trunk and stepped closer to Aubrey. “Have fun with your friends. Maybe we can get together next time you’re in town.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Aubrey waved and headed to his car. Jealous of Tee? Aubrey snorted. That was ridiculous. He didn’t even know Matt. He had an odd affinity with Matt, but they’d only talked through text messages. Aubrey couldn’t pick Matt out of a lineup or recognize his voice. Just because a person clicked with someone didn’t mean they knew them. Technically, he and Matt weren’t even actually friends yet. Not really…

  “If you don’t fuck her, I swear I’m disowning you.”

  Clutching the phone to his ear, Matt stared out the bedroom window at the city below. He had the urge to bang his head against the glass. Here he was, way out of his element, in an apartment that cost more than his dad made in a year, with a woman who was his newly discovered mate, and the one person he’d called for help couldn’t be serious. “Logan—”

  “She’s fucking hot. I’m looking at a picture of her when she was Miss Georgia on the internet right now and—”

  Sterling, Logan’s best friend, said in the background, “You’re an idiot, Logan. Give me my phone back and stop surfing the net on it. He’s gay for crying out loud. It goes against his nature.”

  “Nature? What’re you talking about? It has nothing to do with— That is fucked reasoning. He’s a wolf, and his nature is to be with his mate. The whole wolf-mate thing overrides the gay thing.” Logan groaned like he was put out at having to explain it to Sterling. “Matt? Listen, just go with it, okay? I mean, if she’s your mate, then she’s your mate, what can you do about it?”

  Matt nodded, before realizing his brother couldn’t see him. “Yeah, I know it’s just—” Now he wasn’t sure. He had an inkling his situation may be a lot more complicated than he’d first thought.

  When he’d walked into the apartment, the scent of his mate knocked his breath out of him. His eyes blurred for a moment, threatening to change, but he blinked the shift away. Why did his reaction to her keep fading and strengthening? Any time he was in an enclosed space with her his reaction to her scent intensified.

  “No, no, no,” Sterling interrupted again. “That isn’t right. He’s gay. Period. End. Of. Story. He should have
a guy for a mate.”

  A horn honked in the distance and Logan let out a long, dramatic sigh. “That doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t work that way. We don’t get to choose. And believe me, I’m not exactly thrilled with that either. I swear…if you two jinx me and I end up with a male mate, I’m going to— Well, never mind, the point is you can’t choose your mate. No one can.”

  “Of course not, but you wouldn’t have a mate who didn’t suit you.” Sterling sounded outraged.

  Matt nodded his agreement with Sterling and turned toward the bed, putting his back against the floor-to-ceiling window. His suitcases sat on the floor by the elaborate iron footboard, and his bag lay on top of the blue comforter. Should he unpack? Would Aubrey want him to stay after Matt told him about Tara?

  There was a rustling, some cussing and Sterling asked, “Matt?”

  “I wasn’t done talking,” Logan shouted. “Give that back.”

  There was more rustling. “Piss off.” Sterling’s voice held a hint of amusement. “Matt?”

  “Yeah, I’m here. What’s up, Sterling?” Matt plodded to the bed, shoved his bag aside and sat down, gazing out the window again.

  “Is there any way you could be mistaken?”

  “Sterling, you aren’t helping,” Logan groused in the background.

  Turning back around, Matt lay on the mattress, staring at the pristine white ceiling and recessed lights. “I don’t know. My sense of smell has always been pretty good. But my reaction to her is on-again, off-again. Is that normal? I mean, my dad doesn’t walk around with his eyes shifted all the time. Remi and Jake don’t either.” Come to think on it, Matt’s eyes hadn’t actually shifted. Matt got up and paced to the window again. He couldn’t sit still.

  “Yeah, the more you’re around them the easier it is to control your body. Man, this sucks. It just doesn’t seem right.” Sterling sounded sad. “Even when Remi tried to convince himself he wasn’t gay, the fates, or whatever, knew otherwise. They gave him Jake. And there’s me and I got Rhys. And—”

  “And Chay got Keaton,” Logan stated in his I’m always right tone. “You can’t choose. Now give me the damned phone back.”

  Matt grinned despite the situation. His younger brother was so overtly dominant it was ridiculous. Matt half-expected him to beat on his chest and grunt instead of talking. God help Logan’s mate when he found one. It was surprising Logan hadn’t ripped the phone from Sterling’s hand already. He must be driving.

  Matt pulled the phone away from his ear and checked the time. Noon. He’d forgotten to change to Eastern Time. Matt changed it and put the phone back to his ear. This move was proving to be an adjustment in more ways than one. He wasn’t just going to have to adjust to living in Atlanta and going to school. He was going to have to adjust to having a female mate, because Logan was right. Destiny may have given Jake to Remi and Rhys to Sterling. One could even argue that Keaton got Chay, but there was Chay. Chay wasn’t gay and he’d ended up with Keaton.

  “Hey, bro? You okay?” Logan’s voice softened.

  “Yeah, I’m good. I guess I just needed to hear it from someone else.” Chay was content. Keaton may not be his preferred gender, but he loved Keaton and Chay was truly happy. Matt crossed the room and flopped down on the bed again. “Don’t tell anyone about this. Tell Sterling to keep quiet too. I don’t want anyone to know yet.”

  For several seconds only the sound of wind rushed over the phone speaker—they must have the top down in Logan’s car—then Logan asked, “What’s it worth to you?”

  “Logan! I swear I’ll kill you.”

  Logan cackled, and it was downright evil.

  He might’ve laughed too, but his brother’s mirth was like having the rug jerked out from under him. Matt hadn’t had a prayer of beating Logan up since he turned fifteen. “I mean it, Logan. I’ll tell Dad about you sneaking out last year to meet that girl in Sandoval County.”

  “All right, you win. I won’t tell.” Logan sounded amused rather than threatened. Which probably meant he’d had no plans on telling Matt’s secret in the first place.

  A soft, floral scent drifted into the room and a knock came from behind him. Pushing up on the mattress to his elbows, Matt turned to find Tara standing in the doorway.

  “Bree is on his way up now. I’m going to head out so I can get in the elevator when he gets here. Maybe I can get out without him realizing I stole his Falcons cap again.” She adjusted the cap, pulling it lower over her forehead. “I just wanted to say bye.”

  “Holy shit,” Logan interrupted. “Is that her? She has a sexy voice.”

  Matt’s stomach plummeted. She was leaving? “Hold please.” As he stood, Matt pulled the phone away and covered it with his hand. He made his way around the bed to Tara.

  She hugged him and kissed his cheek. “I’ll call later to check on you. Maybe we can get together and do something before you go to school on Monday. I think Bree took off work tomorrow to help you get settled in, but maybe we can go do something Saturday?”

  Yeah, if I’m still here. Matt forced a smile and hugged her back. “I’d like that.” He was reluctant to let her go, which was odd, but the space would do him good. He needed time to think.

  “Okay, I’ll let you finish your conversation. Aubrey should be here in a few.” She waved and strolled out the door.

  Matt pulled the phone to his ear. “I should go.”

  The front door of the condo closed.

  “Don’t do anything yet,” Logan said. “I have money put away for college. We can use that to get you an apartment over there if need be.”

  “No way. I’m not taking it. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll come home or maybe look into another student loan.”

  Logan sighed, sounding put out. “Just don’t do anything yet. Try and get a feel for Aubrey before you say anything.”

  “I’m not. I’m going to sleep on it and get my bearings.”

  “Good. Call me before you spill the beans to anyone, and let me know what’s what.”

  The front door clicked open.

  “I will. I’m gonna tell Tara before I tell—” The alluring woodsy scent he’d detected off and on all day sucker-punched him. Matt’s eyes shifted, his canines exploded through his gums and the breath whooshed from his lungs. His cock hardened and his head spun.

  “Matt?” an unfamiliar masculine voice called. “I’m— Oh shit.” The smell of arousal carried through the open door of the guest bedroom.

  Matt stumbled to the door, his brain trying to process what had just happened.

  “Matthew?” Logan asked hesitantly.

  A man in an expensive-looking business suit, his tie hanging loose around his neck, his jacket and a laptop case over his right arm stood in the living room. He held keys in his left hand. They dropped to the floor as his lupine eyes met Matt’s.

  “Matt, talk to me,” Logan persisted. “What’s wrong?”

  It snapped Matt out of his daze somewhat. “I’ll have to call you back, bro.” He hit end on his phone. It slipped right out of his numb fingers, clattering onto the hard wood. “Aubrey?”

  The man nodded, seemingly as shell-shocked as Matt. “And your mate, apparently.”

  Chapter Three

  Disconcerting as it was, it would seem Aubrey’s body was no longer his. Instinct had taken over as soon as he’d stepped into his condo and gotten a good whiff of Matt. Aubrey’s eyes had shifted, his canines dropped and his damn prick was hard as a rock. The one thing he never wanted to happen had just happened. He’d found his mate. He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. The breath didn’t help, it only overwhelmed his senses more. His ab muscles tensed, making it hard to breathe. His insides hurt, his stomach flip-flopped and his whole body broke out in a fine sweat. He’d connected with Matt too fast, but he’d ignored the warning sign.

  “Hi, um, I’m mate—” Matt gulped air and his eyes widened so big Aubrey feared hyperventilation was imminent. His face grew blotchy, and even in black and
white the blush was obvious. “I mean Matt.” Slapping a hand to the side of his forehead, he dropped his gaze. “I guess you figured that out already, huh? I mean, I doubt you come home to strange men in your place all the time. Not that I’m strange or anything… You did invite me but…never mind.” He shrugged and turned toward the guestroom. “I’ll just shut up and get my things and—”

  “Wait.” Aubrey’s chest tightened painfully, overwhelmed with despair. His body didn’t care what his mind wanted or didn’t want. He tossed his jacket and laptop on the couch in his hurry to get to Matt. Grabbing Matt’s arm, he swung him around. “You cain’t go.” Good God. Not only did he sound desperate, but the Southern accent from hell that he worked hard to contain had put in an appearance. Swallowing the knot in his throat, Aubrey released Matt. It’d be better for all involved if Matt left and they both just pretended this hadn’t happened, but his conscience and sense of duty wouldn’t let him. “I offered you a place to stay while you go to school and that stands. I don’t want you to leave unless you really want to, but first we need to talk.”

  Matt nodded. “Okay. Yeah. We probably should, huh?” As if in a trance, he walked to the couch and took a seat. A zombie couldn’t have done it better. He stared off into space for a few seconds before looking up at Aubrey.

  Aubrey stood transfixed. He hadn’t registered Matt’s looks due to the shock of their bond, but now a whole other kind of shock hit him. Matt had short wavy black hair combed back off his forehead with a side part. His skin was tan, and he had the expected Native American high cheekbones. Not a single freckle or blemish marked his smooth complexion now that the blush was gone. He had thick arched brows and a long straight nose. Not too long though—it fit the rest of his features.