Accepting Caladon’s Scales

by Charlie Richards

  As he followed his lover’s urging, Leroy couldn’t help but ask, “You sure they’re gonna be okay with you mating a man? I mean, you were married to a woman and all.”

  Caladon chuckled, his eyes twinkling. “I have told them about you already. There will be no problem,” he stated confidently.

  Leroy prayed Caladon was right, but his mate’s assurance did ease his nerves a bit. Of course, that could also be because he’d drunk half his glass of wine on an empty stomach, too. Still, he went where Caladon urged and prayed his mate was right.

  When they finally reached the table, Leroy swept his gaze over the pair of men who were gaining their feet. Both were tall, nearly seven feet, like Caladon. The younger—who clearly had Caladon’s dark eyes and square jaw—appeared nervous, glancing between Caladon and Leroy. The older shifter sported an open, welcoming smile as he held out his hand for Leroy.

  After introductions were made, everyone sat. Leroy’s stomach grumbled and he tried to decide if he could actually eat or if he were expected to answer questions.

  Fortunately, Golren put him out of his misery. Chuckling, the man leaned back in his chair, beer bottle in hand and balanced on his thigh, and waved toward his plate. “Eat. We were going to wait, but Taolma’s stomach waits for no man,” he teased, using that same free hand to grip Taolma’s nape and shake the young male a bit.

  “Pops,” Taolma whined, pulling away after a few seconds.

  That broke the ice. Leroy ate, drank, and found the two men’s stories of living in the Caribbean absolutely fascinating.

  An hour and a half later, Leroy and Caladon headed away from the party. Taolma and Golren had already said their good nights, claiming they were going to turn in since they’d had a long day of traveling. Caladon squeezed Leroy’s hand, then brought it to his lips as he gazed contentedly at him.

  Leroy smiled. “Happiness looks good on you.”

  “Thanks,” Caladon replied softly. “It feels good.” Scoffing, he stated, “Just a month ago, I never would have guessed how my life would change.”

  Nodding, Leroy grinned up at him. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “Us,” Caladon corrected. “I am happy for us.”

  “Yeah.” As they entered the arboretum, Leroy peered around at the trees, bushes, and walkways. “So, um, you probably figured out by now that your boa makes me nervous.”

  Caladon gave him an understanding smile. “My boa makes most people nervous.”

  “Can I see you again?”

  Cocking his head, Caladon smirked. “You are seeing me now.”

  Snickering at Caladon’s teasing, Leroy stepped into his path, pivoted, and rested his palms on the shifter’s chest. Caladon immediately stopped and wrapped his arms around Leroy’s shoulders, rubbing his shoulder blades with his fingertips. His expression sobered.

  “Are you certain that you wish to see my boa again?” Caladon asked quietly. He slid his right hand up to his collar bone and traced the mark he’d left on Leroy’s neck. “I do not wish to upset you.”

  Leroy smiled and rubbed his hands over Caladon’s chest, using his thumbs to gently tweak the hardened nubs through the fabric of his shirt. “Your snake is part of you,” Leroy whispered. “I-I don’t want to be uncomfortable a-around you or any part of you.” He met his gaze, unease filling him. Fighting it, he gave Caladon a saucy wink. “Besides, what better way to get you naked so we can use this lube in my pocket, than ask you to shift?”

  Groaning, Caladon leaned down and kissed his neck. “All you ever need to do is ask,” he rumbled gruffly, his voice muffled.

  Leroy shivered, loving how Caladon’s kisses felt. Still, he knew he needed to come to grips with his lover’s snake first. Easing back a step, Leroy met Caladon’s gaze when he lifted his head. “Please.”

  “You are certain?”

  Nodding, Leroy had to add, “I can’t promise I won’t freak out, but I’ll do my best to overcome it.”

  Caladon nodded slowly. “Very well.” He lowered his head and pecked a kiss to his lips. “If you freak out, I will curl up in a tree until you are ready for me to come back down. Fair enough?”

  After swallowing hard, barely able to contemplate that he was doing this, Leroy nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

  Cupping Leroy’s jaw, Caladon lowered his head and captured Leroy’s mouth in a punishing kiss. He thrust his tongue in deep, swirling it around, allowing Leroy to taste a mixture of beer, meat, and man. Caladon tilted his head, using his hold on Leroy’s hair to position his head so he could seal their mouths more fully.

  When Leroy felt his lungs were about to burst and his mind grew light-headed, Caladon eased the kiss to an end. Caladon smiled grimly, his dark eyes dilated with lust. Reaching between them, Caladon rubbed Leroy’s erection as he whispered, “Remember, even as a snake, I am still me.”

  Leroy moaned, bucking into his hold. “Damn. What a thing to talk about while stroking my dick.”

  Caladon winked and massaged Leroy through his jeans. “You mean while I am stroking your snake?” he asked with a grin.

  Snorting, Leroy rocked away from him and stepped backward. “You’re so bad.”

  “As long as I am yours, I can live with being bad,” Caladon stated, gripping the hem of his shirt and yanking it over his head. He folded it and laid it on a nearby stone bench, before kicking his loafers off of his bare feet and positioning them under the same. He paused with his fingers on the fly of his jeans. “You are certain?”

  “Yes,” Leroy encouraged. He smiled. “And you are mine.”

  After jerking a nod, barely more than a sharp jut of chin, Caladon shoved his jeans down and off. He folded the fabric, laid them on the bench, then met Leroy’s gaze. After several seconds staring deeply into Leroy’s eyes, Caladon began to change. His arms seemed to sink into his body, his legs melded together, and his torso and neck stretched. His head changed last, his mouth opening in a silent cry as his skull twisted and contorted.

  Leroy couldn’t help but back up a couple of steps as he watched the process, something that probably only took around fifteen seconds. Finally, a large green and brown boa lay coiled on the pathway.

  Just as the snake started to move, Leroy’s heart pounding in his chest as he watched, the soft click and hiss of one of the arboretum’s doors caught his attention. He heard Sapian shout his name. Scowling, Leroy glanced from Caladon’s snake to the direction of the gargoyle’s call.

  “I’m at the center fountain,” Leroy called, wondering if someone was injured.

  Caladon moved, lifting his head and flicking out his tongue.

  Is that how snakes scent the air or something?

  Instead of heading toward Leroy, Caladon just focused on him for an instant before slithering quickly into the underbrush.

  Just in time, too, because—to Leroy’s horror—Sapian rounded the bend, and Leroy’s father followed him. Scowling, Leroy completely ignored the gargoyle in human skin. He planted his hips shoulder width apart, crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the man who’d sired him, Colin Wilde.

  “If you’re here for any other reason than to apologize, get lost,” Leroy snarled.

  Colin’s eyes narrowed as his chin came up. He took in Leroy’s combative stance and shoved his hands into the pockets of his perfectly pressed dress slacks. “Now is that any way to address your father,” he replied, sounding bored. With only the barest flick of his gaze in Sapian’s direction, he stated, “That will be all. Thank you.”

  Sapian’s left brow rose and his lips thinned. Instead of responding to Colin, he looked at Leroy and asked, “You all right there, Leroy?”

  Leroy dismissed his father for the moment and smiled warmly at Sapian. “I’m all right,” he assured, then added, “If you don’t mind waiting a few minutes, I’m certain my father will need to be escorted out shortly.”

  That did get Leroy’s father’s attention. Colin scowled as he snapped, “Now see here, Le
roy. I—”

  “Of course, Leroy,” Sapian replied, cutting off Colin and completely ignoring his outraged expression. “I’ll be waiting just outside the door. Holler if you need anything else,” he told him, spinning on his heel and heading back down the trail. Before he disappeared between the bushes, he tilted his head, flicked out his tongue, and gave a nod. Leroy guessed it was directed toward Caladon.

  “Well?” Leroy drew out the word drolly.

  Chapter Eleven

  After returning Sapian’s nod, Caladon focused on his mate, taking in Leroy’s combative stance. His little mate had never struck him as the confrontational sort, but he could see the lines of tension vibrating through his sweet human’s body. Leroy did not want to face off against his father, but he would…for Caladon.

  Heart swelling with an emotion he couldn’t name, Caladon tried to figure out the best way to help his mate.

  “You were rude to your mother,” Colin accused.

  Leroy jerked a nod, not even trying to defend himself. “I was.”

  “That’s inexcusable, boy. You will apologize to her in person…tomorrow.”

  His eyes narrowing, Leroy remained quiet for a moment. Finally, he shook his head. “Tit for tat, Dad,” he stated, his hands clenching, nearly hidden by his elbows where he’d tucked them. “Are you going to apologize for trying to break up me and my partner?”

  While Caladon’s heart thudded at that proclamation, Leroy’s father sputtered. “Partner,” the man sneered. “You wish to take some unknown negro as your partner. I’ve looked into his past,” he claimed.

  Leroy didn’t respond, just lifted an eyebrow.

  Caladon tried to remember what Raymond had kept in his available past. He didn’t have long to wait, because Colin only too happily told all about it.

  “He’s divorced with a son, who lives in another state with a foster parent. His wife died, and he was such a horrible person that the state wouldn’t even give him custody,” Colin snapped. “It doesn’t take a genius to know why his own son hasn’t spoken to him in years. I can hazard a few guesses about why that’d be.”

  “And you’d be wrong,” Leroy replied, his tone quiet, cold.

  Colin scoffed. “Why? Because your partner said so? He hasn’t been to college. He has no income. He’s using you!” With each word, Leroy’s father’s voice rose in volume until he practically screamed the last accusation.

  Leroy snorted. He uncrossed his arms and rested his hands on his hips. He curled his lip as he looked his father up and down. Then, his beautiful brown eyes glittering under the greenhouse lights, Leroy stated, “You wanna know why he hasn’t spoken to his family in so long? Why he missed his wife’s funeral? His son growing up? Because he’s a fucking POW. Almost two decades as a captive in some godforsaken land the rest of us aren’t even allowed to know our country is fighting in. As for his son—” He paused and smirked. “His son and the foster father are right here in this mansion, come to resume ties.” Finally, he stalked forward and poked his father in the chest. “My partner is a fucking hero.” He lowered his voice and growled his last few words. “Are you ready to apologize now?”

  Shock and pleasure at his mate’s imagination filled Caladon. He watched with interest as he waited to see how Leroy’s father would respond.

  For several seconds, Colin gaped, looking uncertain and confused. Then, he snapped his mouth closed with an audible click. His jaw tensed and he threatened, “If you don’t discontinue on this destructive path, I will make certain you lose your job. Then who will be the breadwinner?”

  That got to Leroy. Caladon knew it by the change in his scent, and while he couldn’t see much color in his current form, he could scent Colin’s smug satisfaction, telling him that his mate’s father knew that he’d upset Leroy, too. Caladon really wanted to shift and go to his mate, stand beside him, but his clothes were on the bench right next to Leroy.

  Caladon decided to do the next best thing…all the while praying their mating bond was strong enough not to send Leroy running right along with his father. Yes, he knew he was a fucking scary looking snake.

  Uncoiling from the low-hanging branch he’d been curled around, Caladon headed down the trunk and between the shrubs. As he moved, he listened to Leroy gasp out, “You’d cost me my job because of who I’m involved with?”

  “No,” Colin replied coolly. “You would cost yourself your job because of who you’re involved with. I warned you. I warned him!”

  “Fine,” Leroy snapped. “I won’t work at the hospital anymore. Caladon won’t work in town. Are you done here?”

  “That’s it?” Colin roared. “You’d throw everything away for some negro!”

  “No,” Leroy replied.

  The harsh retort stopped Caladon in his tracks.

  “Not some negro,” Leroy continued. “But I would throw everything away for Caladon.”

  Once again, that warmth Caladon hadn’t recognized crashed through him. This time, though…he knew what it was. Love. Caladon loved Leroy, loved his human, his mate. He’d do anything for him, and he’d make losing his job worth it to him.

  Caladon started forward once more, moving into view as he slithered along the pathway.

  “Leroy, see reason,” Colin began, only to have his words end in a screech.

  Seconds later, Leroy gasped.

  Yep, Caladon knew he’d been spotted.

  “What the hell is that?” Colin screamed.

  Leroy chuckled roughly, and Caladon actually found himself impressed with his mate’s acting abilities. “It always surprises me when I spot him, but he really is quite magnificent.”

  “Spot him? What the fuck is that?”

  Caladon could hear Leroy’s derision as he replied, “Please, Dad. It’s a boa constrictor. Didn’t you see the sign before you walked inside the arboretum? This is where he lives.”

  Pleased that Leroy said he instead of it, Caladon changed directions and moved between the two men. He lifted his head and flicked out his tongue in Colin’s direction, perversely pleased by the scent of fear encompassing the human.

  “Shit. I’m out of here,” Leroy’s father muttered, backing slowly. “When you get your head on straight, you call me.”

  Leroy snorted. “That’s never gonna happen,” he replied. Caladon took in both men and just knew that Leroy was more focused on him than on his father.

  Still, Caladon couldn’t help but watch with satisfaction as Colin raced down the pathway and out of sight. Feeling the vibrations, Caladon knew the second the human male shoved open the arboretum door and walked outside. Then, he turned and took in Leroy, seeing that his human managed to keep his arms and hands loose, while tension strained the tendons of his neck.

  Caladon moved very slowly toward Leroy, hoping the movements would get him to relax. Instead, they were interrupted by Sapian, who came jogging toward them. “Geez, are you okay, Leroy? I heard what your father said and he just hauled ass outta here!”

  Sapian skidded to a stop, took in the scene, and then snickered. “Right. That explains the hauling ass,” he said, grinning. After a few seconds of amusement, Sapian crossed to Leroy and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Like I said, I heard your dad. If you lose your job, you should know you have a full time position right here. Perseus respects you. He trusts your judgment, and with Maelgwn’s clutch growing, I’m certain he’d more than appreciate the help.”

  Leroy smiled at the gargoyle. He nodded. “Thanks. I’ll keep you posted.”

  Nodding, Sapian released Leroy. He stepped over Caladon’s snake for a second time, this time patting him on the head as he went. Unable to help himself, Caladon hissed at the gargoyle and snapped at him, but the male just smirked. Caladon contracted the muscles of his back end and flicked his tail, smacking the gargoyle on the ass just hard enough to sting.

  Laughing, Sapian hopped forward. Half turning toward them, he flipped Caladon off, then disappeared amidst the foliage. Wi
thin seconds, the hiss and click of the door once again sounded.

  Caladon found himself alone with his mate…just how he wanted it.

  Returning his focus to Leroy, Caladon slithered toward Leroy. His mate’s breathing accelerated and his Adam’s apple bobbed. He lifted his hand, palm out. “Okay. Stop there,” he whispered.

  Caladon obeyed, waiting.

  Leroy fidgeted, his weight shifting from foot to foot. He twisted his fingers together, wringing his hands, and nibbled his bottom lip. Finally, Leroy huffed out a breath. “Okay, I know it’s you, Stretch, just in a different form. You, uh—” He swallowed and licked his lips. “You stay there and I’m gonna, uh, I’m gonna come to you.”

  The scent of Leroy’s nervous sweat permeated the air, but his mate still managed to slide forward one step, then two. Goose bumps had broken out on his arms and his eyes dilated widely as his gaze skittered over Caladon’s form. He lowered to one knee a couple of feet away and extended one trembling hand toward him.

  Caladon turned and tilted his head just a bit, offering what would essentially have been his neck. He hoped that would make it easier, and maybe it did. For in the next instant, he felt Leroy’s sweaty, shaking fingers tap his skin before settling firmly on him and sliding across his scales.

  “Holy shit,” Leroy mumbled. “I’m touching you. You’re a huge snake, Cal.”

  If Caladon could have smiled in that form, he would have. He liked the awe in his mate’s voice. He knew he was a pretty impressive damn snake. It was why, as far as treatment in the curiosity shows had been, his had been pretty reasonable. They wanted to keep him healthy, for him to continue growing as normal snakes did until they died. He, on the other hand, had capped out at about seventeen feet eight inches.

  Not that the carnies ever figured that out.

  Caladon stayed still for several long minutes as Leroy petted him. He waited until he felt his mate had settled. Leroy’s heart rate slowed and he seemed more enthralled than nervous.