by Erin M. Leaf
“We just fucking met, Theo,” Guy said, voice low and strained.
“Soulmates,” Theo replied, rolling his balls around his palm. “I wish you were here, Guy. I’d let you fuck me, and it would be so fucking good.”
The only response on the phone was a strangled groan. Theo closed his eyes and stroked himself once, twice, and then his breath caught as his climax shot through him. Long, sticky jets of spunk hit his shirt and groin, but he didn’t give a shit. When he was finally able to relax, he sighed. “Damn.” He stretched out an arm for some tissues, then dabbed at the mess on his front. “Guy? You still with me?”
“Yeah, I’m here,” Guy said, but his voice cracked.
“You okay?” Theo hoped to hell he hadn’t scared the man off. He couldn’t sense Guy’s emotions, but he knew Guy needed the release as much as he did.
“I don’t know.” Theo heard rustling over the phone. “I’m a mess.” Guy sighed.
“It’ll wash off,” Theo murmured. “It’s okay.”
“Yeah.” Guy didn’t say anymore.
Theo bit his lip. “I’ll text you before I show up on Friday.” He’d be damned if he’d let Guy get away, especially now. He wanted his soulmate, but he had the feeling that Guy needed him.
“Okay,” Guy finally said.
“Goodnight.” Theo waited.
“Night.”
The connection went dead. Theo carefully put his phone down on the nightstand before heading to the bathroom. When he flipped on the light, he winced as his eyes adjusted. The man staring back at him in the mirror appeared tired and worried, which wasn’t a good look for a man who’d just had an orgasm. “Don’t fuck this up,” he told his reflection, and then turned on the water. Ten minutes later, he was back in bed. He drew the covers up to his waist and repeated his new mantra. The rest of his life depended on it, after all.
“Don’t fuck this up.”
Chapter Five
Guy woke up with an erection on Friday morning, same as he had for the past several days. He hadn’t had this problem since before Pamela had died, but here he was, unable to take a morning piss until he either jacked off or managed to will his cock down. This is Theo’s fault, he thought, exasperated. The sound of the younger man groaning his orgasm over the phone haunted his dreams. “Get a grip, old man,” he muttered, shoving down the covers and heading for the bathroom.
He splashed water on his face, then looked down at the erection tenting his sleep pants. Sighing, he pushed them down and took himself in hand. It didn’t take him long to get off: the image of Theo shoved up against the oak tree sped the process up considerably. Theo hadn’t texted or called since Tuesday night, but it didn’t seem to matter. Guy’s libido had well and truly woken up after years of dormancy, and there didn’t seem to be a damn thing he could do about it, no matter if he wasn’t ready to face the idea of it. He didn’t want a soulmate, and he really didn’t want a man to fill the position. It was too much, too soon. Guilt pricked at him. He felt like he’d cheated on Pamela by letting Theo talk him into masturbating over the phone right after he’d just described what his dead wife looked like. His wife’s memory didn’t merit that treatment. This is Theo’s fault, he thought again, and then he shook his head. His cock twitched, even though he’d just jacked off. Dammit.
“Not that Theo had to try very hard to convince me to do it, because I’m a perv and I’m going to hell,” he muttered, turning on the shower. He still missed Pamela. And oddly, he missed Theo, even though they’d just met on Tuesday. What kind of insanity was that? He stepped into the shower, and then he cranked it over to cold. He deserved it, after all. Gasping, he soaped up, and then groaned when the thought of Theo made his cock perk up again, despite the frigid water.
“Fuck my life,” Guy said to himself as he rinsed shampoo out of his hair. He ignored his erection, and eventually, it subsided. After his shower, he headed for the kitchen. Maybe caffeine would help. As he stared at his coffee pot, waiting for it to finish up, the sound of the back door opening had him grimacing. Only one person had a key to that door.
“Hey, Dad,” Jonathan said, heading into the kitchen. “Thought I’d stop by and see how you’re doing.”
Guy made a face. “Didn’t get my coffee yet, so if you’re expecting me to be cheerful, you’re in trouble.” He glared at the windows. He used to like the way the morning sunlight shined into the cheerful yellow kitchen his wife had decorated, but not today. He wished he could go back to bed and hibernate. He wasn’t ready for lunch. He wasn’t ready for Theo and sex and bonding, but it seemed like fate had other plans.
“You can’t scare me away.” Jonathan laughed. “I’m used to your moods.” He got two mugs out of the cupboard and set them on the granite counter. “So, you ready for your lunch date? Remember I’ll want all the details at dinner.”
Guy scowled. “Don’t remind me.” He went back to staring at the windows. They needed cleaning. It was a task Pamela had done, and it’d never occurred to him to do it once she’d died.
Jonathan smirked. “I’m enjoying your misery.” When the coffee pot finished the brewing cycle, Jonathan held out the two mugs. “When am I going to get to meet this dude?”
Guy rolled his eyes. “I only met him once, Jonathan. Give me time to get used to this before you have me paired up with the man.” He filled the cups with coffee. Jonathan added milk to both, and Guy grabbed his mug. He inhaled half the cup before he realized he’d burned his tongue. “Dammit. Ow.” He walked to the freezer and fished an ice cube out of the tray.
His son snorted. “Do you even remember how to date, Dad?”
“It’s not a date,” Guy replied stubbornly, sucking on the ice. “It’s lunch. It’s no big deal.” Even as he said it, he knew he was being ridiculous. Judging from the kiss and the phone sex and his unrelenting erections, he and Theo would be lucky if they managed to actually eat any food. The memory of Theo with his head thrown back against the tree flashed into his brain. Dammit. He bit down on the half-melted ice and cracked it in half, then chomped at the rest until it was gone.
“I read that soulmates have a hard time staying away from each other until they bond, and even then, they prefer not to be separated. I mean, I’m not sure if all of that is true, but that’s what I heard,” Jonathan said, sipping at his drink. “It’s not like there are a lot of them around to talk to, but seems to me that separation would be difficult, given the whole bonding thing.” He eyed his father over the top of his mug. The twinkle in his gaze told Guy that his son knew very well what happened when soulmates met. Hell, everyone knew what happened. There were enough books and stories about it to fill up an entire library.
“What exactly do you think is going to happen?” Guy set his cup down and contemplated breakfast. The slow roil of his stomach told him he would probably be skipping that meal today. “Your mother has barely been gone three years. I’m not up for any big life-changing thing, Jonathan.”
“I think you’re going to do what Mom said, and let love find you,” his son said, suddenly serious.
Guy went still as his son’s words punched him in the gut. “She was sick, Jonathan. She had no idea what she was saying at the end.” He, too, remembered the words she’d said just before she went into hospice. He remembered her making him promise to be happy. He hadn’t been able to do that, yet. He didn’t know if he ever would be able to. And there’s that guilt again. He hated to disappoint her, but he had no idea how to move on.
Jonathan shook his head. “She knew exactly what she was saying, and I hope you listen to her, Dad.” He set his cup down. “She knew you were going to live without her for a long, long time, and she wanted you to be happy. I want you to be happy.” He smiled wryly. “Sometimes I wonder if maybe Mom knew that you had a soulmate out there somewhere.”
Guy swallowed, willing the lump in his throat to settle down. “Shit. You don’t play fair.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. Was he being stubborn? Yes. He didn’t know any other way
to live.
Jonathan shrugged. “What’s fair? Sometimes life sucks, and sometimes it throws you a bone.” He walked over and hugged Guy hard, then let go. “Don’t drop the bone, Dad.” He smiled. “I’ll let myself out.”
Guy watched his son head off to work, and then he sighed and put the empty mugs in the sink. No way was he going to be able to eat breakfast today.
****
“And this day just keeps getting better and better,” Guy muttered several hours later, staring down at the sign he was supposed to be making for the bakery on Main Street. The crooked strip gouged out of the surface told him that he’d be re-sanding the entire damned thing this afternoon. He looked around to make sure there were no stray customers in the shop, and then he tossed the carving knife across the room. It made a satisfying thunk as it lodged in the thick log of the wall. His log-cabin workshop and house sat on one of the side streets of a little artisan town in southern New York state, close enough to the main drag to get some foot traffic during festivals, but far away enough for some privacy. Today was one of the days he needed the privacy, because he had a feeling he might be throwing more knives at the wall this afternoon. He sat up on the stool and cracked his back. It was nearly noon, and Theo would be here any moment. He smoothed his hair down, once again wondering if maybe he should change out of his work clothes.
“Hello, Guy. How are you this fine day?”
Fuck. Of course she would stop by today. Guy swung around to face the older woman who’d just walked into the shop, and plastered a professional smile on his face. “Gloria. I didn’t expect you today.”
“You know I stop by almost every Friday,” the older woman said. She glanced around the shop, then pursed her lips. “I see you have a few of the wine bottle holders finished.” She walked over to his in-progress shelf and looked down at the cheeseboards and small wine holders.
“I only have three ready, Gloria. You got my email, right?” he asked her, wishing she wasn’t such a busybody. She owned a curio shop on Main Street, and he owed her five of the bottle holders. He’d told her he wouldn’t have the order ready until Monday.
“I see you have Johnson’s sign ready, though,” Gloria said, gathering up the three holders and two of the cheese boards. She brought them over to the register counter. “I’ll take these, since they’re done.”
“Johnson’s sign isn’t anywhere near finished,” Guy said, making his way to the register.
She frowned at him. The sour look on her face didn’t do her any favors. “There’s been talk, Guy.”
Talk? What the hell does that mean? Guy wondered as he punched in the prices, but he didn’t ask her. Asking her what she meant only led to trouble. “Thirty dollars,” he said. Gloria handed him her credit card, and he slid it through the machine.
“Someone told me they saw you hiking the other day.” Gloria took the card back and bent down to sign the receipt he slid across the counter.
“So? I used to go hiking all the time. Before,” he said repressively as his stomach knotted up into a snarled ball of tension. Had someone seen him with Theo?
Gloria straightened back up. “And they told me they saw you kissing a man, in the woods.” Her tone told him she was horrified and she expected him to refute her words. “I didn’t believe it. You were married to a woman for years, and I told them so.”
Well, shit. This is a hell of a way to come out of the closet. Guy stared at her as his brain struggled for an acceptable response. He wasn’t homophobic. However, he knew that a handful of other people in their small artisan town were. He didn’t want to lose business, and Gloria consistently bought small items for her shop from him, but he also wasn’t in the habit of lying about his life. He thought he’d have more time to come to grips with things before he had to defend himself.
“Gossip is never a good idea, Gloria,” he finally said, hoping that would end the conversation. He bagged her purchases and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t know who’d seen him with Theo in the woods, but that last kiss hadn’t been far from the trailhead. Any number of people could’ve seen them. I’d bet five bucks it was her son, Jimmy, who saw us. And I’d bet another five bucks that she’s gossiped about it to her entire card club.
She made no move to take the bag. “That wasn’t a denial, Guy.”
Guy breathed out a sigh of relief when the shop door opened. Two young women entered, and fortunately he didn’t know them, so he could legitimately give them his attention. “Hello, can I help you?” he said, trying to fend off Gloria’s judgmental stare.
The taller of the two women smiled and headed for the counter. “I was wondering if you Craft soulmate rings. My wife and I are looking for someone who can make them, and I saw your shop, and, well…” She broke off, smiling shyly. “I was hoping that you would be able to make them.” She looked around. “I had a good feeling about this place.”
Guy blinked. He looked the two women over, and something told him that they were bonded. Their body language, or energy, or something gave it away. What were the odds that they’d come in just as Gloria was railing at him for kissing Theo? A rare, mated same-sex couple? Talk about a one-in-a-million coincidence. He opened his mouth to give her his standard spiel about not being mated, but then he paused. His Craft energy prickled at his spine as he looked at her. She wasn’t anything special, just a young woman with light brown hair. Her wife was blonde, and both wore jeans and faded concert t-shirts. Nothing in particular about them screamed “bonded,” but he could still sense … something. He flexed his fingers. As much as he denied it to his son, he used his Craft power all the time to smooth out edges or to help him with a stubborn piece of wood, but he rarely felt that surge of Crafting energy. When it happened, he knew enough not to ignore it. But a soulmate ring set? he asked himself. He’d never been able to do it before. Before Theo.
“Oh, my.” The woman tilted her head. “You can,” she breathed, eyes sparkling. Abruptly, she turned. “Jeannie. Come here! I think we found someone.” The blonde woman turned away from where she had been inspecting Guy’s workbench and headed towards them.
Gloria glared at the woman. “Guy here is a widower, and he certainly isn’t going to make you and your wife—” she snarled the word. “—rings. As if. Are you even legally married?”
Wincing at the old woman’s rudeness, Guy interrupted her harangue. “Gloria, I’ll have the rest of your wine holders ready on Monday,” he said, trying to encourage her to leave. “Just a moment,” he said to the two women. He was already turning towards the cabinet where he stored the odds and ends of wood too valuable to toss on the scrap heap, but too small to make anything useful. There was no way he could turn these two women away if he was at all able to Craft them rings. He could try, right? Trying never hurt anyone. He grabbed a selection of the pieces and set them on the counter, ignoring Gloria.
The young women smiled at him, and Guy felt static run up his arms. He inhaled sharply.
“I’m Wanda. This is Jeannie.” The brown-haired woman held out her hand.
“Guy Keaton.” He shook hands with her, and then with the other woman. “I’m not sure if I can Craft rings for you, but I can try.” He felt the weight of Gloria’s attention as every word he said took him further out of the closet. “Why don’t you look over these raw pieces?” he told the women.
“Guy!” Gloria sounded shocked.
Guy frowned at the older woman. “Gloria, you’re still here? I thought your shop reopened at twelve-thirty?” He heard his shop door open again, but he held Gloria’s gaze, despite the increased flare of energy in his bones. Somewhere between the initial tingle of his Craft power and shaking the women’s hands he’d made up his mind to try to create rings for the two women. He wasn’t about to lie to anyone, and he wasn’t about to pretend nothing had changed in his life. Being able to Craft soulmate rings was a gift, and if he could do it, that meant that Theo was truly his mate. He didn’t know how he’d face the repercussions of that just yet, b
ut he couldn’t deny his instincts, not with so much power pushing at him. He might be stubborn, and he still missed his wife, but sometimes even he had to follow where fate led him.
Gloria glared at him. “You can’t Craft rings for them. It’s unnatural. Who ever heard of lesbian soulmates? Not me, that’s for sure. And you can’t Craft soulmate rings at all! You’re not bonded.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Guy said softly.
Gloria sucked in a sharp breath, but before she could speak again, his new customer spoke.
“I’m here for our lunch date, Guy, but I see you’ve got a full house.”
Guy looked up, not at all surprised. Theo stood near the two women, eyes bright with … lust? No, that was a hell of a lot more than lust. Like usual, Guy felt Theo’s presence like a punch in the gut. “Theo,” he said, voice almost cracking. From the look on the younger man’s face, he didn’t have to say anymore. Guy noticed one of Theo’s bodyguards standing near the entrance. He smiled. “Only one keeper today?”
Theo grinned. “I didn’t think I needed the others for a private lunch.” He looked over his shoulder. “And Julio here will be heading to the car in a moment, right?”
Julio sighed, then nodded shortly.
“Who is this?” Gloria demanded shrilly.
Guy’s smile dropped away at the tone in her voice. Before he could speak, Theo smiled jovially and held out his hand to her. “Hello, I’m Theo Fraser.” He flicked his gaze at Guy as if asking what the hell?
Guy took a deep breath. He wasn’t going to throw Theo under the bus. He was going to man up, because he couldn’t live with himself, otherwise. He wasn’t that dishonorable. “Gloria, this is the guy Jimmy saw me with the other day. I have nothing to hide.” There. He’d as much as admitted that he’d kissed a man. Let her chew on that. I hope she chokes on it.
