Nick tapped his fingers on the table. “As much as I want to run and help him right now, I don’t think a day or two will make a difference. He’s been in trouble for a while, and even if I wonder why he didn’t come to any of us, we have to wait until we get back.”
Xavier didn’t look happy about it, and neither was Andy, but there was nothing to do. Xavier set the table and served lunch, all three of them silent as they ate and thought about the situation.
Nick left soon after and Xavier started doing the dishes, so Andy grabbed a towel and dried the plates. He noticed that Xavier kept on peeking at him, only to blush and look away when their gazes met. It was cute as hell, and it made Andy think about what he would have to do to woo his mate. Flowers? Dinner? God, he hoped he wouldn’t have to cook it himself, because burned stuff wasn’t the best thing for a first date.
He waited for Xavier to finish before he grabbed him and pulled him in his arms, cradling his mate’s soft body against his as he slanted their lips together. Xavier squeaked a bit, but he soon opened his mouth to Andy’s tongue, and Andy was free to lick and suck and just kiss Xavier for a while. Xavier wound his arms around Andy’s neck, and Andy took it as the permission to pull his mate even closer. He wanted so much more, but he knew Xavier wasn’t ready. He just hoped that the fact that Xavier hadn’t slapped him or stormed out of the kitchen was a good sign that it meant that the man was starting to accept what they were to each other.
Andy released Xavier’s mouth only when he felt his mate’s knees buckle, but even then he didn’t let him go. He just leaned their foreheads together and waited for their breathing to calm down.
“What... what was that for?” Xavier asked, his voice trembling.
Andy smiled and kissed his mate’s nose. “Well, your apron does say kiss the cook, so I complied.”
Xavier blushed and moved away from Andy, just enough to see that his apron really did say that. “I hadn’t even noticed. Besides, it’s your apron, not mine.”
“Considering I can ruin boiling water, I’m happy to give it to you. It suits you.”
Xavier snorted. “It’s an apron. I don’t think it suits anyone. You’re just saying that so that you can use the excuse to kiss me again.”
Andy chuckled. “Maybe I am, although I would rather be able to kiss you without having to rely on an apron. I want to be able to kiss you whenever I want to.” He hoped he hadn’t pushed too much, but when he saw Xavier’s small smile, he felt his heart beat harder in hope.
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
“Yeah?” Andy asked, his breath hitching when Xavier rose on his tiptoe and pressed their lips together again.
“Yeah. I think that I would love it if you kissed me whenever you want to.”
Xavier’s mouth opened again, and Andy dove in, twining their tongues together. The kiss became more heated as Xavier’s hesitant hands slowly made their way down Andy’s back to stop just above the swell of his ass. Andy knew Xavier was shy and that just that small movement had taken him quite a bit of courage, and he couldn’t help smiling in the kiss. He let his own hands wander until they reached the small of Xavier’s back, but he didn’t stop there.
Going slowly so that Xavier could stop him if he was going too fast, Andy cupped Xavier’s ass cheeks and groaned. The soft flesh filled his hands perfectly, as if they had been designed to fit there, and maybe they had been. They were mates, after all.
Xavier moaned, and Andy pushed a bit more, grabbing his mate’s ass and hauling him up. Xavier squeaked and had no other option than to wound his legs around Andy’s waist. “Wait, wait! I’m too heavy!”
“No one told you that shifters are stronger than humans, sweetheart?” Andy asked with a chuckle before plastering their lips together once more. He walked slowly to the wall and leaned Xavier against it, his hands still supporting his mate while Andy started to grind their groins together.
The first touch of their cocks, even through the denim and fabric, was heaven. They were both hard, and Andy knew it wouldn’t take long for him to come in his pants like a teenager. He didn’t really care, though. This was his mate, the only man who would ever be able to make him react like this with barely a kiss.
Andy moved one of his hands to the small of Xavier’s back and was about to dip it into his mate’s pants when someone started pounding on the door and yelled his name. Andy wanted to ignore whoever it was, but the noise was too much, and the mood had been broken. He was worried that Xavier wouldn’t want to do it again, that he would think it had been a mistake, but as he put his man back down on his feet, Xavier softly smiled at him and kissed him lightly on the lips.
“Go see who it is.”
Andy was a little stunned, but it didn’t take him long to get back to reality, especially as the pounding became even louder. “Andy! If you don’t come out right now, I’ll come in!”
Andy groaned. He recognized that voice, and he had hoped he would have had this conversation later on, but obviously it wasn’t meant to be. He reached the door and opened it, facing the man behind it. “Hello, dad.”
Chapter Five
The pounding stopped, and Xavier nearly wished it would come back, because the silence that followed it was so much more ominous and scary.
Xavier was tempted to go there and try to peek, but he didn’t know who was there, so he didn’t want to risk it. But what if whoever it was hurt Andy? Not that Xavier could help him in any way if someone tried to hurt him, but still, it felt wrong to leave Andy alone out there.
“—can’t be serious! There are so many wrong things with him that—” Oh. It sounded like they were talking about Xavier, unless there was another important man in Andy’s life, and he surely hoped not, not after deciding to give the man a chance and give a try at the whole mate thing.
“I don’t care!” Xavier heard Andy yell, and he got up from the chair he had been sitting in in the kitchen. Maybe he should just go and walk outside a bit, just to give the two men time to talk.
Before Xavier could reach the door, a man burst in the kitchen, and he froze. It was obvious the man was Andy’s father, although he didn’t have the pretty boy vibe Andy gave off. His father was a little more rugged, rough around the edges, a few days’ stubble on his cheeks and a plaited shirt with the first buttons open to reveal a hairy chest.
“This is him? Are you kidding me, Andy?” the man hissed at Andy, and Xavier didn’t think he had ever been so humiliated. It made him rethink his decision to give a try to being with Andy, because obviously Andy’s family didn’t think he was good enough. It wasn’t even the fact that Xavier was a man, or at least he didn’t think so. It was the whole Xavier package.
“Yes, that’s Xavier, and I really don’t care what you think about him, dad. He’s my mate, and if you ever talk about or to him like this again, I’ll make you regret it.”
The man’s face would have been funny in any other situation. His eyes rounded and his mouth hung open as he processed what Andy had just said. “You’d pick a stranger over me? And what would you do, boy? Beat me up?”
“Gosh, I had this conversation with Lea only a few hours ago, I can’t believe I have to say this again.” Andy took a deep breath and let it out before continuing. “I know you never accepted the fact that I’m gay and that you thought that my mate would be a woman and would cure me of my gayness. I know it’s going to be hard for you to accept Xavier because he’s a man. I just don’t care about what you think, dad. I know you’re not okay with it, and I don’t care. Xavier is my mate, and I couldn’t be happier. He’s the sweetest, most caring man I know, and he doesn’t deserve to hear you spout your poison at him, so if you have nothing nice to say, you can leave. You know where the door is.”
Andy came to stand beside Xavier and reached for his hand before winking at him and making him feel a little better. Until his dad opened his mouth again.
“Good god, you could have any... man yo
u want, son. Why settle with... ” The man gestured at Xavier, making it obvious now that Xavier wasn’t much.
Xavier felt his heart stop in anger and sadness. He was truly humiliated, and the only thing he wanted was to run to his room and hide in there until he could finally go home. He would rather face Andrew’s stalker than stay here and face Andy’s father.
He waited for Andy to finally see the truth and accept it, his heart already breaking when he felt Andy’s hand leave his, but Andy’s reaction wasn’t what he had been expecting. A loud growl filled the room, making him look around to see if he could find the wild animal that was making it. He knew that the two men in there with him were shifters, but he hadn’t known they could make that kind of noise in their human form.
He finally realized that the growl came from Andy, and that the man’s fists were clenched at his side and his upper lip was curled in a snarl. He could also see a fine, light fur growing on his face, and that scared him more than anything. He knew Andy wouldn’t hurt him, not even in wolf form. He hadn’t the day before even when Xavier had literally jumped on him. He just didn’t want Andy to fight with his father. Even if the man was a prick, he was always Andy’s father.
“What are you going to do, pup? You want to fight me to defend that?” The man’s voice dripped disdain, but Xavier wasn’t really listening to him, not anymore. Andy was, though, and his reaction wasn’t pretty.
When Andy’s eyes flickered to yellow, Xavier knew he had to do something. Scowling at Andy’s father, Xavier placed himself in front of his mate, trying to block the eye contact between the two men. He didn’t succeed, of course, since Andy was a lot taller than he was and just had to look over his head to see his father.
Xavier stood on his tiptoes, as tall as he could without grabbing one of the chairs and standing on it, and he cupped Andy’s face with his hands. He could feel the soft fur under his palms, tickling him, and he briefly wondered if Andy would shift into his wolf if he asked him to. He wanted to see more of the powerful animal. But first, he had to avoid Andy shifting in the middle of the kitchen and jumping on his dad to rip his head off, which he seemed to be about to do. Not that Xavier would blame him, since the man was still laughing at Andy as if he wasn’t scared in the least.
Xavier pushed everything away, and concentrated on Andy, trying to get the man to look at him and not at his father. “Hey, babe. Look at me.”
Andy’s eyes widened a bit at the endearment and he looked down. Xavier let out a relieved sigh. He knew he wasn’t out of the woods yet, though, not with Andy’s father still there with them. “I don’t care what he says, and you shouldn’t either. I just want you to like me. Everyone else can take a hike for all I care.”
Now, that wasn’t true.
Xavier had always been shy and self-conscious. He always felt as if people were looking at him and judging what they saw, but maybe it was time to let go and stop caring so much. It hadn’t done him any good until now, and it obviously wouldn’t in the future either. “So, why don’t we show your father where the door is and spend a little time getting to know each other? Maybe you can explain to me how mating works exactly, because while Jeremy did tell me some stuff, I’m not sure I have everything, and I want to before agreeing to mate with you.”
“You want to mate with me?” Andy’s voice was still growly, but Xavier could see the fur receding. Good.
“After we get to know each other at least a little, and if you really want me, yeah, sure.” And he was telling the truth. He had never been opposed to mating with Andy, not really. He had seen how the mated couples were during the short time he had spent in the mansion in Whitedell, and he longed for that kind of connection. He just had thought he wasn’t enough, but as Zach had told him, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and if Andy wanted him, really wanted him...
Sure, they might break up some day, if that was even possible, or Andy might stop liking him, but it was worth a try. Xavier didn’t want to be alone anymore, and he felt a real connection toward Andy, as if the man really was something he had been missing all along. He still wasn’t sure about the whole his-family-hates-me thing, but they could talk about it.
The fur on Andy’s skin finally disappeared and his jaw went a bit slacker. His eyes were still burning, although from what Xavier could feel, being plastered against the man’s body and all, it might just be with lust instead of anger. Go him! He’d managed to take Andy’s attention away from his father and direct it onto him and their mating.
Xavier moved only a bit, just enough so that he could look at Andy’s father. He felt Andy’s arms move around him as if the man was making sure he wouldn’t bolt, but he had no intention of doing that. “I think you should go, sir. I’m sorry you don’t approve of me as your son’s mate, but there’s nothing much we can do about that, and if it’s me your son wants, I’m not going to push him away.”
The man looked ready to start shouting again, but Andy let out another, louder growl, and the man changed his mind. He scowled one last time at Xavier and stomped away.
Xavier stayed still until he heard the door slam close. Only then did he relax, letting Andy’s body support his. He hadn’t known he was so scared about the whole situation, but now his hands trembled and his knees buckled. Andy was there to catch him though, and it made Xavier feel a lot better.
He yelped when Andy moved faster that he would have thought possible, putting an arm behind his knees and the other at his shoulder and pulling him up as if he weighed nothing. Xavier’s hand grabbed Andy’s neck and the man leaned closer, his voice rumbling into Xavier’s ear, “Now, what were you saying about mating with me?”
* * * *
Andy liked the fact that while Xavier did blush and look away, he didn’t try to get down and away from him. They were making progress. “So?” he prodded, anxious to have an answer from his mate. Maybe he shouldn’t have been pushing like that, but he would have to leave in only a few hours to help Kameron plan the raid, and after the little chat he had had with his father, he needed something to enlighten his life, because it was going to be so much worse very soon.
Who knew what horrors they were going to find in the lab in Lewistown? That was why Andy needed something good, something bright and genuine to help him get over the otherwise crappy days that were coming.
“I-I, umm. I did tell you I might mate with you, but I want to know more about it before.”
Andy settled down on the couch, but he didn’t let Xavier go. Instead, he turned his mate around, smiling at the squeak that escaped Xavier. He manhandled Xavier until the man was straddling him, enjoying the way his mate blushed when he felt that one part of Andy’s anatomy was very happy to have him that close. Andy pulled Xavier closer, he took the hint and laid his head down on Andy’s shoulder. Only then did he answer Xavier’s question.
“Okay, so what do you know about mates and claiming?”
“Only what Jeremy told me, really. I know that shifters believe Fate has chosen one mate for them, someone who will complete them perfectly and make them happy. I know you have to, uh, bite your mate to claim him, and that I would have to, uh, drink your blood to complete the bond.”
“You have everything pretty much covered, sweetheart. Jeremy is right. We have only one mate, and giving up on that mate for something like my family not approving of him is not something I would do.”
“But—”
“No buts, babe. I haven’t had a good relationship with my father for years anyway, not since I came out. My mother is way more accepting, as are the twins. But my father and Lea... they’re more difficult, I guess. They thought my mate would be a woman, and that I would stop being gay. Now they know for sure it won’t happen, so they’re not happy. I hope they’ll come around. They’re not that bad, you know, although I’m so angry at them right now that I don’t care if they never come around.”
“Don’t be angry on my behalf. It’s not worth it.”
A
ndy tightened his arms around his sweet mate. “Of course it’s worth it. You’re worth this, and a lot more. I won’t push them away if they try to make things better, but only if they apologize and never say those things again.”
Andy felt Xavier nod on his shoulder and he turned, kissing the man’s soft blond hair. “Was there anything else you wanted to know?”
“Will it... will it hurt? You know, the biting thing?”
Andy chuckled. “I wouldn’t know since I never mated anyone before, but from what I heard the pleasure of the new connection totally overcomes the pain.”
“And that’s it? Once we bite each other, we’re mated?” Xavier’s fingers were moving on Andy’s shirt as Xavier played with the seam.
“Yes, that’s it. We’ll have a soul deep connection, which means we’ll be able to feel each other’s feelings. You’ll know for sure how attractive I think you are and how I already care for you.” Andy felt Xavier open his mouth, probably to talk, so he quickly went on, “I know it’s weird because everything is so fast. We met only yesterday. Shifters have a different opinion on love at first sight than humans have, though. You have to remember that we know all our life that someday we might meet our mate, and we know our mate is perfect for us. That’s what makes it so easy to fall in love. Add to that, that from the little I’ve seen you’re sweet, caring, completely unselfish and always ready to help someone in need, and it really makes it too easy to fall for you. I’m not saying this is already love, but... I definitively have a big crush on you.”
Andy could feel the heat emanating from Xavier’s face, which meant the man was fiercely blushing. “I’m not expecting you to already be in love with me, you know? I just hope you like me.”
“Oh, I definitively like you, Andy.” The heat increased. “I just feel that I already know I could fall for you if only I gave you the chance, and it’s weird. It’s... not something I’m used to. Everyone always tells you that you should wait, that it’s not possible to fall in love so fast.”
Xavier Page 8
