Micah would say yes. That was great. But what about the shifter thing? Should Trevor tell him right away, or should he wait like Nysys and Keenan had told him to? What if Micah felt hurt by the fact that Trevor waited, though? What if it made him break up?
“Trevor?”
Trevor looked at Micah. “I...”
“Look, I can ask you out if you want to. We don’t know each other, but I like what I see.”
He looked at Trevor from head to toe and Trevor blushed. “What about Casey?” Trevor asked.
“What about him?”
“Well, he’s your best friend. How is he going to take it?” Trevor already knew the answer to that question. After he’d found out Casey and Micah were friends that morning, he’d gone to talk to him, and of course Casey had already known Micah was Trevor’s mate. The fact that Trevor left cupcakes on his mate’s porch was well known in the pride, and Casey wasn’t stupid. He’d made the connection.
He’d been happy for Trevor, something Trevor hadn’t expected. They weren’t very close, even though they tried. Trevor was so quiet it was hard to get to know him. He knew that. But even though they didn’t talk much, Casey was family, and he’d told Trevor he didn’t have problems with Micah being his mate, and that he wanted both Trevor and Micah to be happy. That was all.
“I don’t know. I haven’t exactly talked to him, but I bet you have.”
Trevor frowned. “You do?”
“Oh, come on. You’re his uncle, and you’ve been leaving cupcakes for me for months. I bet Casey already knows.”
Trevor sighed. “He does.”
“And what does he think about it?”
“He’s fine with it, or at least that’s what he told me.”
“Casey isn’t a liar.”
“I know.”
“So you also know he really is fine with it.”
“Yes.”
They were both silent for a few moments. Trevor fidgeted, hating himself and his shyness. Why couldn’t he be bold enough to reach out and kiss Micah? To take his hand, to ask him out instead of having to wait for Micah to do it?
“Trevor?”
Trevor looked at Micah. “Yes?”
“Will you go out with me?”
Trevor swallowed. “Yes.”
Micah beamed. “Great. When are you free?”
“Uh, whenever you are. I don’t go out much.”
“I’m flattered you chose to accept, then. How about tomorrow night?”
“That’s good.”
“Want me to come pick you up?”
“Please.” That way they could come up to Trevor’s room after the date, if Micah wanted to. Trevor blushed at the thought, and from Micah’s smirk, he probably knew exactly what Trevor was thinking about.
“So, what do you think of kissing on the first date?” Micah asked.
“I, uh, it’s fine. Why wait, if both parties want it?”
“And do you want to kiss me?”
Trevor’s cheeks heated and he felt the sudden need to run and hide. Or maybe just to hide. His bed was close enough that he could grab his comforter and hide under it. It would look immature, but he wasn’t ruling out anything at the moment.
Micah took a step closer, and Trevor took a step backward. He couldn’t go far, though, so when Micah stepped forward again, Trevor’s back hit the wall, effectively stopping him from going anywhere.
“Trevor? Would you like to kiss me?”
“I, uh, well...”
“You can say no. I’ll back off.”
“No!”
Micah’s smile dimmed, and Trevor realized what he’d sounded like. “I mean, no, I don’t want you to back off. I want to kiss you. Really. I’m just not good at all this.” He chuckled. “But I guess you’d already noticed that.”
“So you’re sure? You want me to kiss you?”
“Yes,” Trevor whispered. At least he knew how to kiss. He’d done plenty of that, because it didn’t require him to talk. It was getting to it that was the problem.
Or maybe not, because Micah was moving toward him again, cupping his cheek and tilting his head up, lightly pressing their lips together. Trevor pressed back, and Micah opened his mouth. The kiss wasn’t long, but it was enough to leave Trevor feeling flustered and a bit lost.
He looked down as soon as Micah stopped kissing him, but Micah wasn’t having any of it. He was still cupping Trevor’s cheek, and he used his hold to make Trevor look at him again. “What are you doing to me?” he asked in a whisper.
Trevor didn’t know how to answer that. He knew Micah was feeling close to him because of the mate bond, but how could he tell Micah that? He’d have to tell him about shifters first, and now wasn’t the moment.
“I don’t know. What you’ve been doing to me for the past few months, I guess.”
It was more like years, really, but Micah didn’t need to know that now. Trevor didn’t want to come out as a crazy stalker. He’d seen Micah the first time when he’d lived in Orston, and when he’d had to leave, Dominic had made sure Micah found a good job in Whitedell, a job he couldn’t refuse. He’d moved on since then and started his own company, but he hadn’t left Whitedell.
There was no way Trevor could tell him he’d known him for years, though. He didn’t know if he’d ever confess it, although it might come out when Micah thought a bit more about Trevor coming from Orston, just like him. Trevor didn’t want to worry about that at the moment, though, not when he still was in his mate’s arms after all the time he’d imagined how it would be, what it would feel like.
He relaxed, and Micah took his weight without complaining. Micah kissed Trevor’s temple in a surprisingly tender gesture, and Trevor’s cheetah purred in his mind. It was just as happy as Trevor was. Trevor had kept them away for so long, and his cheetah had been very patient with him. Now they finally had their mate, and Trevor knew his cat half wouldn’t let Micah go, not without a fight.
Trevor did what he’d been wanting to do for a long time and touched Micah’s blond hair. “I love your curls.”
Micah rolled his eyes. “They’re a pain to deal with.”
“Why don’t you cut them short, then?”
Micah touched the hair that brushed his shoulder. “Because I don’t like them short, and they’re actually easier to deal with at this length.”
“Yeah, well, I love them.” Trevor pulled again, wrapping the curls around one of his fingers.
“Is it already lunch time?” Micah asked, smiling.
Trevor shivered and looked at his watch. “No, not yet. We still have about half an hour before Casey calls us. He said to go to the kitchen at half twelve to help him with the meal. We, well, we won’t eat with everyone else, but he still has to prepare for all of them.”
Micah leaned backward. “How many people live here?”
“Mmm, about fifty, I think. But there are more of us in the other wing. We just don’t really count them as family members.” The mansion’s inhabitants didn’t have much contact with the enforcers, except for the ones who worked directly with them. Trevor couldn’t really explain that to Micah, though.
“I’m very curious to know more about this house and the people in it.”
Trevor chuckled, fear gripping his heart. “I bet.”
* * * *
Micah looked around as Trevor led him back downstairs. He was curious about the people who lived there. He especially wanted to know how they could stand living together. Sometimes it felt like Micah and his dad walked on each other’s toes, and there were only two of them. He couldn’t imagine living with forty-nine people, even though the house was huge.
They passed a few people as they went, but apart from a wave to Trevor and a curious glance to Micah, they didn’t say or do anything. When they finally got to the kitchen, Micah wasn’t surprised to see it half full of people. Some were going back and forth to the dining room, carrying plates, glasses, and everything
else needed to set the table. Casey was in front of the stove, Nolan on his right and a blond guy peering inside the pot on his left.
There was a pink-haired guy sitting at the counter and talking with a serious-looking guy sitting by his side. By the way they looked at each other and touched every so often, Micah would bet they were together. It kind of surprised him, because the serious guy didn’t seem like the type to get with a pink-haired, full-of-tattoos-and-piercings guy, but who was he to say anything? Love was blind and all.
There were other people milling around, but Trevor went straight to Pink Hair and whispered something to his ear, his cheeks going red as he did. Pink Hair looked up, straight at Micah, and beamed. “Micah!”
Micah frowned, because he didn’t know the guy, but the guy sure seemed to know him, probably from Trevor.
The guy hopped from his stool and hurried toward Micah. “Hi, I’m Nysys.”
That got the attention of the blond guy who’d been peering into Casey’s pot, and he walked closer. “And I’m Keenan.”
The serious guy who’d been talking with Nysys rolled his eyes and gestured at Micah to sit in front of him. “Ignore them. I’m Morin.”
“Uh, Micah. Nice to meet all of you.”
Keenan and Nysys sat with them, and Micah felt surrounded. Almost everyone was either staring at him or sneaking peeks as they went. He wasn’t sure what to make of that, so he looked at Trevor in question.
Trevor blushed and shrugged. “They’re not used to seeing people they don’t know around the house. They’ll get over it.”
“Especially since you’re going to be around so much,” Nysys said.
Micah arched a brow at him. “I am?”
“Well, yes. I mean, aren’t you and Trevor dating now?”
Casey turned away from the stove and stared at Micah. “You’re already dating?” he asked.
Micah raised his hands. “Should I have asked your permission?”
Casey snorted. “Hardly. I’m just pointing out how fast you went. You met Trevor, what? Half an hour ago?”
“So? When it’s right, it’s right.”
Trevor sputtered. “Right?”
Aww, Micah had let his mouth run too much. Even if he knew very little of Trevor, he could tell Trevor wouldn’t want him to tell everyone about what was happening between them. “Well, it feels like it is.” Micah wanted at least to tell him that. He wasn’t going to make Trevor chase him, or to deny that he felt drawn to Trevor in a way he’d never felt for anyone, not even for Erik. Especially not for him.
He thought Trevor might get scared, but instead he gave Micah a gentle smile and walked by his side. He hovered there, looking at the people watching them. He seemed to shrug away the self-consciousness and leaned forward to kiss Micah on the lips. It was light and very short, but it left Micah feeling stunned.
Everyone around them was smiling when Trevor moved away, his face red, and Nysys patted Micah’s arm. “Welcome to the family.”
“The family?”
Nysys gestured around the room. “You know. All of us.”
“That’s a big family.”
“More than you can imagine.”
“I know most people live here because their birth family didn’t want them,” Micah said carefully. He didn’t want to look like he was fishing for info, even though he was, and he didn’t want to hurt anyone.
“Yup. My family hates me,” Nysys said as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
“Why?” Micah couldn’t imagine his dad hating him. He still remembered how nervous he’d been when he’d come out to his parents, but neither of them had reacted badly. His mom had been sad because she thought his life would be harder and that she wouldn’t have grandkids, but those were her only problems with it. They didn’t care, and Micah loved them more for that.
“Because I’m different. I’m gay, and loud, and colorful.”
Micah looked at Nysys’ tattoos. “I can see that.”
“They don’t like anything that’s different from them, from the traditions.” He pointed at Morin. “Morin’s father’s an asshole and he’s in jail.” He moved his finger toward Keenan. “And Keenan and his brother Jamie are alone in the world, or at least they were until Jamie met Ward and fell in love with him.”
Nysys turned around in his stool and pointed at Nolan, Casey’s boyfriend. “You probably already know Nolan is one of the few who has a loving family.”
Nolan rolled his eyes and waved at Micah. “Stop gossiping, Nysys. He doesn’t need to know all that.”
“Of course he does! He’s Trevor’s... boyfriend. He’s going to spend a lot of time here, especially after Trevor tells him about his little furry problem. He should know these things.”
“Furry problem?” Micah asked, looking at Trevor, who looked like he wanted to disappear from the surface of the earth. “Do you have a pet?”
“Umm, you could say that,” Trevor told him, still not looking at him.
“What kind of pet is it?”
“A big cat,” Nysys answered. “But I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough. Leave a bit of mystery, huh?”
Micah wasn’t sure he wanted mystery right now, but Trevor looked incredibly uncomfortable, and that was the last thing Micah wanted. “Sure. It doesn’t really matter, right?”
Keenan snorted and Micah looked at him, but he looked away innocently. It really didn’t matter. Micah and Trevor had known each other for all of an hour, so it was obvious they didn’t know much about each other. Besides, Micah did like a bit of mystery. Mystery was so satisfying to uncover, and it made Trevor even more intriguing in his eyes.
Casey turned the heat off under the pot and gestured at everyone to leave. “Come on, it’s ready.”
Keenan slid down from his stool. “Where are you guys eating?”
“I thought the living room.”
“Can we eat with everyone else?” Micah asked.
Everyone turned to look at him. “You want to eat with everyone?” Casey asked, disbelieve in his voice.
Micah shrugged. “Why not? Like Nysys said, if I’m going to be Trevor’s boyfriend, I’ll have to meet everyone sooner or later. I already know you and Nolan, and we can talk later. I have a work appointment at two, but there’s plenty of time before that to talk.”
Casey looked at Trevor.
“If he wants to eat with everyone...” Trevor said.
“Did you tell him?” Casey asked.
“Not yet.”
“Make sure everyone knows to keep their mouths shut, then.”
Nysys left his stool and hurried to the dining room. “I’ll do it!” He closed the dining room doors behind himself, and Micah wished he hadn’t. This was becoming even more intriguing as the minutes passed.
Morin patted Micah’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to the madness. I did, and I’m married to Nysys.”
Micah laughed. “That can’t be an easy thing.”
“Believe me, it’s not. But I love him, and I wouldn’t exchange him for anyone else.”
Morin was so calm, so obvious about his feelings, and Micah couldn’t help but glance at Trevor, who was helping Casey fill the plates. Would Micah ever feel that way toward Trevor? He had the feeling he could, and while it scared him, he decided love wasn’t something to be scared of. If he and Trevor ended up together, well, Micah wasn’t going to resist.
At least Trevor was human, and it was more than Micah could say about his last boyfriend.
Chapter Three
Trevor looked at his reflection and took a deep breath, then another. It wasn’t helping.
He unbuttoned his shirt, deciding a T-shirt would be better. Once he’d put his favorite on, though, he thought it looked too shabby for a first date, so he pulled it off and threw it on his bed. It joined the growing pile of clothes Trevor had already tried on and discarded.
He turned toward his closet to see what he had
left in there and cursed the fact that he was so boring. He’d known about Micah for years, yet he hadn’t made an effort to buy nicer clothes. Why?
“Oh, Boo,” Nysys said from behind him, making Trevor jump.
He pressed a hand to his chest, his heart beating way too fast. “Nysys! What are you doing here?”
The worst part was that Nysys hadn’t come alone. Keenan was there, his arms full of clothes. He looked at the bed, arched a brow, and dumped his pile next to Trevor’s. He put his hands on his hips and looked at Trevor, making Trevor realize he was still half-naked. He looked around for something to wear that was more than just a pair of boxers, but before he could grab the sweat pants closest to him, Nysys said, “We came to help you, of course.”
“Oh, of course.” Trevor reached for the sweats again, but Nysys came closer and batted his hand away.
“Don’t put anything me and Keenan haven’t chosen on.”
“Aww, come on. I’m naked!”
Nysys looked at Trevor again, an appreciative glint in his eyes, and Trevor blushed. “Believe me, you have nothing to hide,” Nysys drawled.
That didn’t make Trevor feel better, but he knew he wouldn’t win. He never did, not with Nysys. He didn’t think anyone ever won with him, except maybe Keenan. “Right. So you’re here to help me?”
Keenan pointed at the pile of clothes he’d dumped on the bed. “Yup, we’ll help you get dolled up for Micah.”
Trevor swallowed. “Dolled up?”
He had a vision of himself wearing make-up and pink. He wanted to run away as fast as he could.
“Nice clothes, nice hair. That’s all, I promise.”
Trevor knew he could trust Keenan. Not that he couldn’t trust Nysys, but Nysys was more of a wild card. One could never know what he’d do, and that was the scariest part.
Trevor gave in. He knew he was getting nowhere on his own, and Keenan and Nysys probably knew what they were doing better than he did.
He slumped his shoulders. “Fine. What should I wear?”
Nysys beamed at him. “Did Micah tell you where he was taking you?”
“Uh, no.”
Nysys rolled his eyes. “Fine, we’ll have to work around that.” He stood in front of Trevor, eyeing his boxers and making Trevor want to hide his crotch with his hands, as if he were a virgin.
Trevor Page 4
