Glenn, Stormy - Scales and a Tail [Midnight Matings 2] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove)

by Stormy Glenn

  Beauregard unwrapped a piece and popped it into his mouth, chewing quickly. Once the gum had been sufficiently chewed and was soft enough, he started blowing a bubble. It grew and grew and grew and popped.

  Beauregard blinked as Sebastian went into hysterical laughter, rolling back on the bed. He wrinkled his nose when it began to itch from the bubble gum then groaned when he realized he had bubble gum over his entire face. It wouldn’t be the first time, and most definitely not the last.

  He started peeling it off, rolling it into a tiny ball between his fingers as he did. He cast a quick glance at Sebastian. The man was rolling back and forth on the bed as he continued to laugh. Beauregard frowned and stuck his little ball of bubble gum between the bed frame and the mattress. He’d get it later and put it in the garbage.

  “It wasn’t that funny,” Beauregard huffed.

  Really, it wasn’t.

  “Oh, bunny, you’re so cute.”

  “There you go with that cute thing again.” Beauregard crossed his arms over his chest and glared. “I want to be sexy, not cute.”

  Beauregard inhaled sharply when he was suddenly grabbed and rolled beneath Sebastian. The man pinned him to the bed, his heavier weight making it almost impossible to move. Sebastian’s face hovered right over his.

  “You are very sexy, Beauregard, never doubt that. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone that can arouse me as fast as you do.”

  Beauregard knew Sebastian spoke the truth. He could see it in the darkening of his silver eyes and the press of the man’s hard cock against his thigh. Beauregard’s breathing hitched as arousal swamped him.

  “How do you do this to me?” he whispered.

  “Do what, bunny?”

  Beauregard felt his face flush as he looked away from Sebastian’s intense stare. He wasn’t sure he wanted to admit to Sebastian how much the man affected him. It seemed like it would give Sebastian a lot of power over him, and that couldn’t be good.

  “I asked you a question.”

  “And?” Beauregard snorted as he looked back at Sebastian. “You may be my mate, but you are not my lord and master. I don’t have to answer you if I don’t want to.”

  “Beauregard, what in the hell is that matter with you?” Sebastian asked as he pushed away from Beauregard and climbed off the bed. “I asked you a simple question. I wasn’t demanding anything.”

  Beauregard sighed and sat up. At least his arousal was gone. His shoulders slumped as he silently climbed from the bed and started dressing. This roller coaster of emotions he kept going through was really starting to wear on him. One moment he was happy and horny. The next, he was sad and dejected. Surely there was some sort of middle ground?

  “Are you going to ignore me, Beauregard?”

  Beauregard stopped tying his neon green shoes laces and looked up at Sebastian. The man looked like he was on the edge of anger. His arms were crossed over his chest, but Beauregard could see his hands clenched in fists. The frown on his face drew the man’s eyebrows down into a deep grimace.

  Beauregard’s heart fell and the pit of his stomach began to roll. He didn’t want Sebastian angry at him, but he wanted to keep some things private. If he gave too much over to Sebastian, what would he have left for himself?

  “I don’t mean to ignore you, but I don’t want to answer.”

  “Why not?”

  Beauregard blew out a deep breath. “Because if I give you everything, there will be nothing left for me.”

  “Except me.”

  “And that will last just long enough for someone to make fun of the fact that you’re mated to a freaking bunny.”

  Beauregard knew it deep down in his heart. He was a rabbit mated to a dragon, and an odd rabbit at that. Sebastian might be enamored of him right now, but the moment someone made fun of their mating, Sebastian’s intrigue would turn away.

  “You’re my mate,” Sebastian said. “For me, that’s all I need to know. You belong to me as much as I belong to you. Our relationship may have started out a little on the odd side—”

  Beauregard snorted loudly. Sebastian ignored him and kept talking.

  “—of things, but it doesn’t mean we’re not mated. When I gave you my mating mark and accepted yours, that was me giving my full commitment to us being together. I don’t care if other people disagree with our mating. It’s none of their damn business.”

  Beauregard stared down at his hands, picking at one nail with the other. “It bothers me that I’m so affected by you,” he whispered. “It’s like I have no will of my own. I feel happy when you’re happy, sad when you’re sad. I smell you and get so aroused that it’s all I can think about.”

  When Sebastian squatted down in front of him, Beauregard still had to tilt his head back to look up into the man’s face. He was really tall.

  “You listen to me, love,” Sebastian said as he cupped Beauregard’s face between his hands. “The things you’re feeling, the rollercoaster that you’re riding? I’m riding it, too. It’s part of the mating ritual every mated couple goes through.”

  “Does it ever end?”

  “Not in the way you would hope, I’m sorry to say. Our shifted sides are getting used to each other as much as our human side. It’s kind of like having four of us in this two-person relationship. Things can get a bit confusing.”

  “I’ll say.” Beauregard snorted.

  “But it does get easier with time. Any relationship, shifter or not, needs time to settle. We need to learn about each other and get to know one another. The connection between us grows with each passing minute.” Sebastian chuckled ruefully. “I imagine with enough time, you’ll know what I’m feeling when I feel it.”

  “Is that why I get so aroused when you do?” Beauregard breathed heavy, nervously. “I feel like a complete slut. You breathe differently, and all I can think about is being naked with you. I don’t even care if someone saw us. I just want you.”

  Sebastian’s chuckle was laced with a slight tremble. “I can’t say I’m particularly bothered by that one, bunny. I like you hot and horny.”

  “Yeah, but does it have to be all the time?”

  “It’s only fair. If I get horny at the sight of you, you should be horny if I breathe.”

  Beauregard swallowed hard as the heat of arousal started filling him again. “How’s your eyesight right now?”

  Chapter 5

  Sebastian flicked a stray bit of hair off his forehead then chuckled when he watched Beauregard do the same thing in the bathroom mirror. “You look wonderful, love.”

  “I look like a doofus.” Beauregard tugged on the bowtie at his throat.

  Sebastian turned and straightened Beauregard’s bowtie. “You look perfect.”

  “I’ve never worn a suit like this in my life.”

  “The dinner tonight is strictly black tie, bunny. We have no choice.”

  Beauregard’s lower lip slipped out. “Well, I don’t have to like it.”

  “It will be fine, love.” Sebastian grinned. He was incredibly amused by the little snit Beauregard was working himself into. “We’ll go to dinner, mingle a little, then come home and have lots of hot bunny sex.”

  “Really?” That seemed to perk Beauregard right up.

  “We’ll have a blast.”

  Sebastian stuck his arm out. Beauregard grinned and wrapped his arm though it. Together, they walked out of the bathroom and then out of their quarters. Beauregard seemed much more at ease walking beside Sebastian until people started staring at them.

  “Why is everyone staring?” Beauregard whispered.

  “Because I’m with the most stunning man here?”

  “You’re so full of it.” Beauregard’s light laughter filled the hallway, causing more people to look at them.

  Sebastian knew that part of Beauregard’s charm was the joy that seemed to come so naturally to him. He made everyone around him happy, including Sebastian. The last few days being mated to the little bunny had opened Sebastian’s eyes to how u
ptight he had become. He was pretty sure that Beauregard would cure him of that in a matter of weeks.

  Sebastian had never been so intrigued with someone. He knew part of that intrigue came from the mating bond, but not all of it. He didn’t even think the council’s mandates had that much to do with it. It was Beauregard.

  Sebastian had forgotten about the envelope that Elder Burke had given them after their mating was recorded until he found it in his pants yesterday. As he read it, he had started to become angry at their complete gall.

  “All mates must physically claim each other at least once every twenty-four hours until the next leap year conference. Failure to do so will cause you to lose your ability to shift permanently. You will be put down for the safety of everyone if you go feral. Now that your mating has been recorded, this is the only mate you will ever be granted.”

  Then Beauregard walked out of the bathroom naked and all of his anger had left in the wink of Beauregard’s eye. If the council mandated that he had to mate with his bunny at least once every twenty-four hours, who was he to argue?

  “Is there going to be dancing?” Beauregard asked. “I love dancing.”

  “I’m sure there will be.” Sebastian liked the idea of dancing with Beauregard, swinging him around the dance floor in his arms. “Maybe we’ll take a spin on the floor after dinner?”

  “Yes!”

  Sebastian laughed when Beauregard grabbed his hand and started twirling around in circles under his arm. He spun around and around until he suddenly stopped. His eyes looked a little glazed over.

  “Whoa,” Beauregard whispered as he stuck a hand out to steady himself. “Dizzy.”

  Sebastian shook his head and pulled Beauregard back into his arms. “Come on, dizzy B, let’s go eat.”

  “They’re going to serve vegetables, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, love, they will have vegetables.”

  “That’s good because I can’t eat meat, you know. It would make me sick.”

  “Don’t worry, bunny, they have—”

  “Sebastian.”

  Sebastian stopped. His stomach clenched as he turned to see Derek standing in the doorway that he and Beauregard had just passed. He didn’t like the look on the man’s face. It held a hint of malice.

  “Hello, Derek.”

  “Who’s the cutey?”

  “This is Beauregard, my mate.” He arched an eyebrow at Derek. “Where’s yours?”

  “Oh.” Derek waved his hand in the air. “He’s around somewhere.”

  “Maybe you should go find him.”

  Sebastian really wanted Derek to leave before the man became catty, as he knew Derek could. It was one of the main reasons Sebastian had never pursued a relationship with the man. He could be a real pain if he didn’t get his own way.

  “I was hoping we could have dinner together.”

  In the past, Sebastian would have considered the smile Derek gave him as sensual, but not anymore. He’d seen sensual in a small little white bunny, and Derek didn’t even come close.

  “And maybe a little more,” Derek continued as his look turned steamy.

  “No, thank you, Derek.” Sebastian tightened his grip on Beauregard when the man began to fidget. “I’m mated now, and that means I will only be with my mate.”

  “Him?” Derek sneered as he turned his eyes to Beauregard. “You don’t need him, Sebastian. I can give you so much more than he can. You know I can.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Derek. I’m mated to Beauregard, and that’s the end of it.”

  “You owe me,” Derek growled.

  “I don’t owe you anything.”

  “Does he know about me?” Derek nodded toward Beauregard. “Does he know what we did together, what we meant to each other?”

  “I never made any promises to you or even hinted that there would be anything between us other than a few nights of sex.” Sebastian clenched one of his hands into a fist. The other one was wrapped around his mate, keeping him from running off. Beauregard seemed pretty upset. “Whatever went on between us happened before I ever met my mate and can’t be held against me. I trust Beauregard to believe me when I say it will never happen again.”

  “I trusted you when you said you’d take care of me, and you tossed me away for what?” Derek sneered. “A bunny?”

  “Careful, Derek, you’re crossing a line here that you don’t want to cross,” Sebastian growled. “Beauregard is off limits.”

  “Is he?”

  Sebastian felt a sliver of something akin to fear slither down his back at the cold, calculating glare Derek gave Beauregard. He pulled the little bunny closer to his side as if he could protect him from the hate glittering in Derek’s eyes.

  “Stay away from Beauregard, Derek,” Sebastian warned. “I mean it. If anything happens to him, I’ll hold you personally responsible.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of hurting a hair on your little bunny’s head.”

  Sebastian watched Derek for another moment then backed away, finally turning and walking down the hallway again. When he glanced back over his shoulder, Derek was still watching them.

  “Who was that?”

  Sebastian almost groaned. He really didn’t want to have this conversation with his mate, but he supposed, considering the confrontation they had just gone through, that Beauregard deserved some sort of explanation.

  “Derek and I fooled around a couple of times, long before I met you.”

  “You had sex with that man?”

  Sebastian sighed and stopped walking. He turned to face Beauregard. “I’ve been alive for a very long time, Beauregard. I’ve had sex with a lot of people, both men and woman. But the minute we mated, that all stopped. I won’t be having sex with anyone but you for the rest of my life. I promise.”

  Beauregard swallowed hard and dropped his eyes. “He said you did things together…things like you do with me?”

  Fuck!

  “Yes and no,” he answered. “Derek is into pain. I don’t believe you are.”

  “I—”

  “Beauregard, be honest here. You might be flexible as hell and like things a little rough on occasion, but you don’t actually like pain, do you?”

  Beauregard shrugged. “Maybe I do.”

  “You don’t, trust me on this.” Sebastian knew it deep down in his soul. “Derek is a pain slut. He likes to be whipped until he has welts on his back. He likes being submissive, being fucked by a lot of men at the same time. Hell, he’ll lick my boots if I tell him to. That is not who you are.”

  Beauregard shuddered. “He likes to be whipped?”

  “Yes, he does.”

  “And that’s what you did to him?”

  “Me and a lot of other men.” Sebastian drew in a deep breath as he tried to figure out just how much to tell his mate. “Derek was fun to play with on occasion, but we never played alone. It was always a group of us playing together. Why he’s chosen to single me out, I’ll never know.”

  Beauregard suddenly laughed, which totally confused Sebastian. “I know exactly why he singled you out. I don’t care what happened between you in the past. You belong to me now, and if he dares lay a finger on you, he’ll find out exactly how ferocious a bunny can be.”

  Sebastian blinked. “You’re not angry?”

  “Oh, I’m plenty angry, just not at you. He had no right to confront us the way he did, especially since he has a mate of his own, as do you. That was just plain rude, but he knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted me to know about you two.”

  “You think so, huh?”

  “I know so.”

  Sebastian was surprised. Beauregard actually made sense now that he thought about it. Derek was mated. He was mated. That should have been the end of it, but apparently, Derek had other ideas.

  Sebastian was still a little disturbed by the way that Derek had looked at Beauregard. It was pure evil. He knew that if Derek got Beauregard alone, the man would do something drastic, something that would harm his little bunny.
He’d have to talk to Galan about getting his mate a guard the minute they got home.

  “Come on, love, let’s go eat then do a little dancing.” Sebastian wiggled his eyebrows. “Then we can go back to our room and fuck like bunnies.”

  One of Beauregard’s eyebrows shot up. “Funny.”

  Sebastian chuckled. “I thought so.”

  * * * *

  Sebastian enjoyed diner much more than he thought he would. He usually hated the council dinners he had to attend as the representative of his clan. Beauregard’s constant chatter and delightful nature in almost everything made it seem so much more fun.

  “What’s in this salad?” Beauregard asked before putting another forkful in his mouth. He seemed to miss his mouth and started chasing the fork around with his lips until he caught it.

  Sebastian frowned. “I’m not exactly sure, but I suppose I could find out.”

  “It’s won-wonderful.”

  Sebastian’s eyebrows shot up. Was Beauregard slurring his words? He quickly glanced at Beauregard’s wine glass, but it was empty. An even quicker glance around them showed that Beauregard’s odd behavior hadn’t been noticed by anyone else—yet.

  “Beauregard,” Sebastian whispered as he leaned down close to his mate’s ear. “Have you been drinking?”

  “Nooo.” Beauregard giggled and covered his mouth. “I do-don’t dr-dr-I hate alcohol.”

  “Maybe someone slipped some wine into your glass or something.”

  Beauregard’s head seemed to roll as he turned to look at his glass. He picked it up and turned it upside down. “Nope, no wine.”

  Sebastian grabbed the glass and set it down on the table. He nearly jumped out of his chair when he felt Beauregard’s hand grab his groin under the table a moment later. He quickly reached under the table and grabbed Beauregard’s hand, but not before the man unzipped his pants and stuck his hand inside.

  “Beauregard!”

  “Oh, he’s mad at me.” Beauregard leaned his head against Sebastian’s shoulder. “Are you going to…to…” Beauregard frowned for a moment then a wide grin spread over his face. “Are you going to spank me?”