With Abandon: With or Without, Book 4

by J. L. Langley

  Tears filled his eyes at what greeted him. In the dark oppressive cabin, Matt stood out like a beacon. He knelt on the floor with his head in his hands, rocking back and forth. The despair tugged at Aubrey’s heart, mixing with the subsiding panic. Several feet away from him, Jordan lay in a puddle of blood with half his face gone. Splatters covered the wall and a gun lay on the floor next to Jordan.

  Afraid to trust his eyes, Aubrey inhaled deeply. No, the blood wasn’t his mate’s. He’s okay. Jordan didn’t kill him. Staring at Matt, he took another breath, but it did nothing to calm him. Jordan shot himself? Aubrey shook his head to clear it. It didn’t make any sense, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was that Matt was alive. Sweat dripped from Aubrey’s forehead and his vision whited out. He’d thought he was never going to see his mate again.

  Someone caught Aubrey’s shoulder, steadying him. “Breathe,” Jake whispered.

  Heavy footfalls raced past, and Gadget gasped, “Matthew,” much more calmly than his scent proclaimed.

  “Dad?” Matt’s voice shook.

  Aubrey sagged, dropping his hands to his knees. He wanted to go to his mate, to hold him and never let go, but his feet were rooted to the floor. Over and over in his head he kept repeating, he’s all right, he’s all right. Aubrey wasn’t sure if he believed it, but he willed it to be true.

  Someone touched Aubrey’s back. “Aubrey, you okay?” Rhys asked.

  Aubrey nodded, but it was Jake that answered. “Yeah, too much adrenaline. He’ll be fine in a second.”

  When Aubrey’s vision began to clear, he ran a shaking hand down his face.

  Matt stood. His father looking him over from head to toe. Making a fuss over him like Aubrey longed to do, if he could just get his legs to cooperate. His entire body was numb.

  “Aubrey, you and Gadget get Matt out of here. Rhys and I will see to getting this cleaned up.” Jake holstered his gun and grabbed his phone from his belt.

  “Au—Aubrey?” Matt met Aubrey’s gaze from across the room, and time stood still. He let go of his dad and walked slowly toward Aubrey. Matt was a bloody mess, but he’d never looked better. And he was in one piece. Nothing mattered but that.

  Matt stumbled forward, stopping in front of Aubrey. He turned his head toward his father, and back to Aubrey with his brow furrowed. With all the dark splotches running down his cheeks his eyes looked a lighter blue. They were also bigger than normal. He was without a doubt the most wonderful thing Aubrey had ever seen. “Aubrey?”

  Aubrey had never felt so much uncertainty in his life. He wanted to take Matt in his arms, to touch him…to beg his forgiveness. Would Matt want anything to do with him? Not only had Matt left Georgia mad at Aubrey, but this whole thing was Aubrey’s fault. If it hadn’t been for him, Matt would have never been in danger in the first place. Come on, Aubrey, you can do this. He had to try. Aubrey held out a trembling hand.

  Just like that, Matt stepped into his arms.

  Aubrey sighed in relief, feeling much older than his years. Burying his nose in Matt’s neck, he inhaled and reveled in the warm embrace. The tension left his body, making him feel so heavy. He was going to spend the rest of his life trying to make up for all the wrong he’d done his mate.

  “I knew my dad would look for me, but— What are you doing here? I mean in New Mexico?”

  “I came to take you home.” Not even caring that his voice wavered, Aubrey kissed Matt’s cheek and nuzzled his jaw. “When I realized you’d been taken…”

  “You came after me?” Matt stepped back, cocking his head a little.

  “I’ll always come after you.” The tears finally spilled over, but Aubrey didn’t care.

  “But people will know…” Matt glanced around at his dad, Jake and Rhys. None of them were paying attention. He started to turn his head back to face Aubrey, but his gaze landed on Jordan and his shoulders slumped. His entire posture sort of collapsed.

  “Oh, darlin’. Come on.” Aubrey tugged him outside. He opened the door to Chay’s truck and urged Matt to sit. “Are you all right?”

  “Jordan wasn’t a bad guy. He didn’t hurt me. He was just— His mate is the guy who attacked Keaton.”

  “I know.” Grabbing Matt’s hands, Aubrey squeezed them, needing to touch his mate.

  “He was my friend.” A tear streaked down Matt’s cheek.

  “I thought he’d killed you.”

  Matt frowned and rubbed his thumbs over the backs of Aubrey’s hands.

  Touching his cheek, Aubrey asked, “What is it?”

  “You thought he killed me, but you came rushing in here anyway? Are you crazy? You could’ve been killed too.”

  Aubrey nodded. “That was the plan.” He cupped his mate’s precious face in his shaking hands and stared right into his beloved blue eyes. “I love you so damned much. I couldn’t live without you. If you’d died, I wanted to die too. I could never be happy in a world without you in it.”

  Silent tears streaked down Matt’s face and he swallowed hard.

  “Please forgive me. I’ll do anything… I’m never letting you go again.”

  Matt threw himself against Aubrey. “Promise?”

  “Cross my heart, sugar.”

  Epilogue

  Aubrey woke to the sensation of being watched. Call it a sixth sense, but someone was staring at him and it wasn’t Matt. Speaking of… Matt was no longer nestled against Aubrey’s chest as Aubrey had positioned him last night. Nope, this was someone else. Aubrey blinked his eyes open and came face-to-face with an angel, or maybe he was a devil for rousing Aubrey into consciousness.

  “Hi, Bree.” Eddie sat cross-legged in front of Aubrey only about a foot away. He tilted his head to the side and a black curl tumbled over his forehead. As he grinned, two dimples appeared on his round cheeks. His wispy little brows drew together in a cute expression of confusion. “Why are you still asleep?”

  “Is he awake?” another small voice asked from across the room. Seconds later the bed wiggled and Darren was there beside Eddie. Darren was most definitely a devil. He was the spitting image of Matt, but unlike Matt, Darren was full of mischief. There was no mistaking the glint in those dark blue eyes.

  Aubrey smiled at the devil and angel. After staying in New Mexico for a couple of days, he and Matt brought the two youngest Mahihkans back to Savannah with them. Matt thought it would take their minds off their mother being gone. The boys were going to fly back to New Mexico with Keaton and Chay at the end of next week.

  “What time is it?” When the announcement earned him two identical frowns, he added, “Is everyone else awake?”

  That gained him a set of beaming smiles—Darren’s minus a front tooth—and bobbing heads.

  Eddie pointed to Darren. “He said we should wake you, but Matthew said we shouldn’t.”

  Darren nodded his agreement and immediately shook his head. “Matt said we shouldn’t ’while ago. He didn’t say nothing about waking you up now.”

  Mirth bubbled up inside Aubrey, but he managed to hold it back. He wasn’t sure if the imps would appreciate being laughed at. “And where is Matt?”

  Eddie blew the curl off his forehead. “Downstairs wiff Keaton and Chay. Matthew made us pancakes. But we’re done eating. Last night, you said we could go ride the horses after we ate breakfast.”

  Darren sighed and his shoulders slumped. He looked so much like Matt at the moment Aubrey had to work really hard to contain his outright laughter. “Chay ate the last piece of bacon.”

  Aubrey bit his bottom lip. “Chay is probably starving since he and Keaton haven’t had anyone to cook for them.”

  Darren’s brow furrowed and his bottom lip pooched out. “So wha—”

  “What did I tell you two?” a familiar voice interrupted.

  Eddie slapped a hand over his mouth and Darren’s eyes widened.

  Aubrey peered past the boys and nearly swallowed his tongue. “Hi.”

  Matt leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his ch
est and a smirk on his face. His hair was damp and he had that just-showered look. Fresh and…yum.

  “Good morning.” Matt’s smirk turned into a full-fledged grin, and his gaze went to the two magpies on Aubrey’s bed. He hitched his thumb over his shoulder. “Out.”

  “Bye, Bree.” Eddie kissed Aubrey’s cheek and slid off the bed.

  Darren leaned in close to Aubrey and whispered, “Don’t forget about the horses, ’kay?” then followed his younger brother.

  “Keaton and Chay are taking the two of you riding. Now get out of here and leave Aubrey alone.” Matt walked farther into the room and sat on the bed, but looked over his shoulder. “Behave.”

  “We will,” the dynamic duo parroted and ran out of the room with excited squeals.

  Aubrey chuckled. “No wonder your dad didn’t protest much when we decided to bring them back with us. They’re a handful.”

  “And then some.” Matt lay down on the bed and scooted closer. “I owe Keaton and Chay. I had to promise to cook them three meals a day the remainder of their vacation to get them to take the kids horseback riding. I think they played me though because Keaton mentioned taking the kids out way before Chay started bartering with me.”

  “Mmm…probably.” Aubrey leaned forward, his entire focus on those luscious lips. “They both love kids, your brothers in particular. It’s totally worth it though. I’ll help you.”

  Matt leaned forward those last few inches, pressing his lips to Aubrey’s. “We have the house to ourselves for at least an hour.”

  “Yeah?” Aubrey nipped his mate’s bottom lip and tugged him closer until their lower bodies touched. Oh yeah. Matt was already hard for him. It didn’t take Aubrey’s body long to catch up. They hadn’t been alone together for more than a few minutes since they arrived home. Darren and Eddie kept sneaking into bed with them in the middle of the night.

  “Yeah. And I don’t think I’m going to be very patient.” Matt slipped his hand under the covers beneath the waistband of Aubrey’s pajama bottoms and grabbed his prick.

  Bucking into Matt’s hand, Aubrey kissed his chin, then his lips, and his nose. “No?”

  “No.” Matt licked Aubrey’s lips.

  “Thank God.” Slanting his lips over Matt’s, Aubrey moaned and rolled to his back.

  Matt’s tongue stroked inside as his hand squeezed Aubrey’s dick. His erection nestled against Aubrey’s hip and he whimpered. When he pulled back, his eyes had shifted. He shoved at Aubrey’s pajamas. “Get these off.”

  Aubrey lifted up and shoved the pants to his thighs with Matt’s help. With his hand still under the covers, Matt began to stroke him and dove right back into the kiss.

  “Ahem.”

  Matt moved away so quickly, he nearly fell off the bed. Fortunately, he let go of Aubrey’s cock first.

  Catching Matt’s arm before he plummeted to the floor, Aubrey met his father’s amused gaze.

  “Matt?” Aubrey’s mother skidded around the doorframe, bumping into his father. She didn’t stop until she reached Matt.

  With his eyes once again human and all traces of arousal gone from his scent, Matt sat on the edge of the bed.

  Aubrey’s own excitement vanished. There was nothing like getting walked in on by your parents to kill the mood. Aubrey gave a quick thanks to the fact that Matt hadn’t pulled the covers off him.

  Mom grabbed Matt’s arm, tugged him to his feet and caught him in a huge bear hug. “Are you hurt? What happened?” She kissed his cheek and looked him over.

  Dad strode toward Matt too. “We got here as soon as we could, son. We had to get a helicopter to pick us up from the ship and take us to the airport.” He hugged Matt too. “It took awhile to coordinate. We would’ve been here sooner if we could’ve.”

  While their attention was focused on Matt, Aubrey pulled his pants up, sat and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “Why did you leave your cruise?”

  They looked at him like he was stupid, but Mom finally answered. “Keaton called us and told us about Matt being kidnapped.”

  Completely dumbfounded at the concern and affection in his mom’s tone, Aubrey blinked. They already cared for Matt enough to rush home and check on him. Aubrey smiled. He shouldn’t be surprised, his mate was a very lovable guy.

  Turning back to Matt, Mom grabbed his cheeks, making his face look like a Cabbage Patch Kid. “I was so scared something was going to happen to you. I just kept thinking I’d never get to throw you an engagement party or watch you graduate college, or—”

  “Howard told you?” Matt asked.

  “Yes, darling.” Mom nodded and wiped off the lipstick she’d just left on his cheek. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She began fussing over Matt, making Matt blush.

  “We didn’t interrupt anything, did we?” The expression on Dad’s face said he knew darn well that they had.

  Aubrey growled at him. Geez, he and Matt had better luck having sex when no one knew about them being mates…wait. He hadn’t told his parents yet.

  The surprise must’ve shown on his face because he got a response from all three of the room’s other inhabitants.

  His mom said, “Congratulations, honey.”

  His dad shrugged.

  And Matt bit his bottom lip. “Oops.”

  Aubrey’s heart soared. He’d wondered if his parents would accept that Matt was his mate eventually, but he never dreamed that they already knew and were okay with it.

  “Okay, then.” Dad cleared his throat again. “We’ll just go downstairs and find Keaton and Chay.” He grabbed Mom’s arm and started dragging her from the room.

  Matt shot a glance toward Aubrey’s retreating parents. “I’ll show you where they are.” He headed toward the door.

  “Matt?”

  Turning around, Matt cocked his head to the side. “Yes?” His voice squeaked.

  Aubrey tried not to smile, but he just couldn’t help himself. He strode past his befuddled mate and locked the bedroom door. On the way back he caught Matt’s hand and led him to the bed. “Are you keeping secrets?”

  Matt’s only answer was a giggle.

  Aubrey finally let out the chuckle he’d been holding in since he woke. He was one lucky man.

  About the Author

  J.L. Langley was born and raised in Texas. Which is a good thing considering that Texas is full of cowboys and there is nothing better than a man in a pair of tight Wranglers and a cowboy hat. She is fortunate to live with four of the most gorgeous males to walk the earth…ok, so one of those males is canine, but he is quite beautiful for a German Shepherd. When not writing, she can usually be found with a book in hand and chocolate in the other.

  To learn more about J.L. Langley, please visit www.jllangley.com. Send an email to J.L at 10star@jllangley.com or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as J.L. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_yellow_rose.

  Look for these titles by J.L. Langley

  Now Available:

  With or Without

  Without Reservations

  With Love

  With Caution

  With Abandon

  Sci-Regency

  My Fair Captain

  The Englor Affair

  Innamorati

  His Convenient Husband

  A temporary arrangement? Don't bet the ranch on it…

  His Convenient Husband

  © 2009 J.L. Langley

  Innamorati, Book 1

  At the tender age of seven, newly orphaned Micah Jiminez lost everything—and got lucky. The Delaney family opened their hearts and their home, treated him like one of their own. One Delaney in particular, though, became more than a brother to Micah. The handsome and protective Tucker is the man to whom he wants to give his love.

  But after a single passionate night together, Tucker rebuffs him and hightails it to Dallas to pursue his dreams. Leaving Micah to pick up the pieces of his broken heart—and feeling like a fool.

  The impending death of the Delan
ey patriarch brings an unsavory relative out of the woodwork, threatening Micah’s beloved adopted family. They’re going to need all hands in the fight to keep The Bar D from being pulled out from under them all—including Tucker. Micah steels himself to convince the man he can’t forget to come home.

  To his everlasting surprise, it’s Tucker who comes up with the perfect solution: a marriage of convenience—to Micah. His gut tells him Tucker’s motivation involves nothing more than saving the ranch. Now he just has to convince his fragile heart.

  This title has been revised and expanded by more than 10,000 words from its original published version.

  Warning: This book contains threatening emails, imaginary sex, excessive use of antacids, non-homophobic cowboys, a bed being misused as a trampoline, male bonding during a gynecological examination of a pregnant mare, steamy manlove and a very hot-tempered Latino.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for His Convenient Husband:

  “Okay, okay…” Tucker held his hands out in surrender. “Make noise.” Pushing himself up off the bed, Tucker locked the door and checked it by turning the handle. “I’m going to take a shower, but I’m not done discussing this.”

  More like he wasn’t done trying to boss Micah around. Wait. Did he say—? Ah, dios mio. Micah closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Tucker in the shower, naked, dripping wet, right in the next room— “What? Make noise?”

  “Moan and grunt.” Tucker crossed the room and pulled the curtains, before going into the adjoining bathroom.

  “Ugh.” Trying to get his heart to slow, Micah sat on the bed. What was Tucker doing?

  “Micah…”

  Micah opened his mouth to ask why, then snapped it shut. Why not just turn on the radio? Did Tucker really think Duncan was listening to them? Micah glanced at the door. There wasn’t that much space under the door, probably less than an inch. It was doubtful anyone was standing outside it. Micah went to the door, lay in front of it and looked under. His glasses shifted when the frames touched the floor but he could still see through them. It didn’t look like anyone was there.