yeah, it might have looked like he was going for an outdated
1980’s look, better seen on a girl. But Terry didn’t think it looked
that bad. Zander’s pride at his wearing it, more than made up
for it.
“It’s Zander’s if you must know. I had an accident with my shirt
earlier so he loaned me one of his.”
“Accident, what accident?”
“What happened to your shirt?”
“Where the hell have you been, your landlord said you’d moved
out of your apartment?”
“Who the hell’s Zander? I thought you were going out with
Richard.”
“I’m going out with Richard.”
“You went out with Terry’s boyfriend, you slut!”
Stunned, all five men stopped talking. Joel, Charlie and Max were
looking between Roy and Terry as though none of them could
work out what to think. Charlie’s face was bright red. Not
surprising given that he was responsible for the slut comment.
“We need coffee,” Terry said decisively, moving through his
friends to the couches he had in the corner. “Clearly we’ve all
got a lot to catch up on.”
Sitting them all down, Terry explained how Richard had just been
taking him out as a friend, and that he knew Roy had gone on a
date with him, the same night he went out with Zander. He
reminded Roy of who Zander was, and while his friend could
remember all of Zander’s attributes and described them in great
detail to the others, he didn’t look very happy. Terry finished up
by saying that he had moved in with Zander after Zander had
asked him too and that they had been spending all their time
together, getting to know each other.
“Terry, sweetie,” Max said quietly. “Surely it would have been a
better idea to get to know the man first, before you moved in
with him.”
And see, this was the problem with having human friends. No
matter how much Terry could explain how Zander was so much
more than his hard exterior, he couldn’t explain about them
being mates. Damn, he should have given his situation a whole
lot more thought before he had opened his mouth. But his
friends were like family and they deserved to know at least some
of the truth.
“I don’t know what to tell you guys,” Terry said. “Zander is the
one for me. I know he is, so I didn’t see the point in waiting.”
Okay, that sounded lame, even in his head, and he could see his
friends were geared up to let him know what he’d done wrong.
“He might be great in the sack honey, and I’m sorry but you
don’t have the experience to even judge that, but you don’t go
moving in with someone just because they took your virginity,”
Joel said seriously. “I thought you wanted to trust someone to
be your first.”
“But that’s it,” Terry said, standing up and pacing the floor. “I do
trust Zander. I can’t explain it but I know he won’t hurt me.”
“The chances that he’ll stray on you are pretty high, Ter, you
know that. I mean a man like that, straight as a die. Richard told
me he usually dated women.”
“Richard had no right telling you anything about Zander,” Terry
said, flashing a cold look at Roy. “I didn’t ask him about your
date, or dates, because I trust you to tell me things yourself, if
you want me to know. Zander has dated women, and been with
other men, but he’s with me now, and we’re a committed
couple.”
“You can’t know that,” Charlie said, coming over and giving Terry
a hug. Terry let himself be drawn back to the couch even though
his thoughts were jumbled and he didn’t know whether to lash
out or cry with frustration. “Sweetheart, this isn’t some romance
novel. A man used to sampling a smorgasbord isn’t going to
settle for one type of meat, no matter how good it is.”
“I can’t explain, but Zander wouldn’t cheat on me,” Terry said,
giving up on his anger. His friends were just worried about him,
and from a human perspective, Terry couldn’t blame them.
“He’s like my soul mate,” Terry continued. “I know you think
that’s rubbish that can only be found in fiction, but Zander and
I have a connection – I can feel it every time he looks at me. My
skin tingles as though waiting for his touch. My body hums until
he gets closer. My heart leaps every time he walks into the room,
and I can’t help but smile at him. He’s such a caring man in every
way, I couldn’t see my life without him.”
“Sounds like a strong dose of lust to me,” Max said, adding
quickly, “not that I can blame you. I’m sure this guy is really
good looking, charming and everything else you say. But Terry,
you don’t know him and he’s the first bloke you’ve been with. To
give up your apartment and just move in with him…”
“It’s just a bit irresponsible, and that’s not like you Terry. I
suppose he told you he loves you and he’ll never look at another
person again. It’s a common con, hon, and you can’t tell us that
he hasn’t done that.” Joel finished his boyfriend’s thought and
then added his own.
“No, he hasn’t told me he loves me. I know it’s too soon for that
and I’m not stupid.” Terry remembered the feelings he had
experienced when he’d been with Zander earlier and knew they
weren’t all from him. But Zander hadn’t used the “L” word, and
Terry was just too shy to say it first. He knew his own heart
though. He was just waiting for Zander’s to catch up.
“I do hope you know what you’re doing sweetie,” Charlie said,
patting his hand. “There are so many predators out there who
would snap up a sweet young thing like you in a flash. I know
you think you are doing the right thing, but no one can know a
person in such a short space of time.”
“I’m getting to know him, more and more every day. I know he
seems all hard and stuff on the outside, but inside he’s just really
lonely. He wants me, I know he does and despite what you all
might think, he’s not the type to play around.”
“These big guys will control you, they’ll pull you away from your
friends and before you know it you’ll be homeless crying in the
gutter because you’ve got nowhere to go. You have to take a
tough line with these older guys sweetie, and make sure that he
doesn’t cut you off from the people who love you.” Roy wasn’t
happy, but surely he knew enough from Richard to know Zander
wasn’t like that. Terry made a mental note to talk to his friend
privately later. He didn’t want Roy having a hate on for his mate
before he’d even had time to get to know him and he didn’t have
a clue what Richard might have said about Zander.
“That’s a good point, Roy. We haven’t met him, and even though
your already cohabitating, I do think we need to check him out.
Let him know that you do have friends who care for you and
won’t let you be bullied or controlled,” Joel said firmly. “Why
don’t you bring him down to the Watering Hole tonight? We’ll
have dinner, and a few drinks. Have some laughs. It’ll be fun.”
Terry wasn’t sure what to say. It was one thing for Zander to
say he wouldn’t hide their relationship. It was a whole different
scenario going out with a group of men who were out and proud
and didn’t care who knew it.
“He might be working, but I’ll ask him,” he said. That was the
truth at least. Zander could be working – drug dealers didn’t just
operate between 8 am and 5 pm. Although Zander had already
told him he would be home by 6 pm.
“If he’s working, you can tell him to meet us there,” Joel said,
and Terry could tell his friend wouldn’t be dissuaded. “Get
changed and we’ll see you down there in an hour. No later, or
we’ll send out search parties.”
Terry wanted to explain that he had a dress to finish, and he
didn’t even know if he should text Zander in case the man was
busy. But he smiled his agreement, seeing his friends out of the
studio and then sat down on the couch again with a thump. Why
did life have to be so complicated? Zander was going to hate
this, he just knew it.
Chapter Nineteen
Zander refused to tug at his clothing like a teenager, as he stood
just inside the doorway of the Watering Hole, looking around for
Terry and his friends. But for the first time in longer than he
could remember, he felt uncomfortable, and that wasn’t a feeling
an Alpha wolf could ever get used to. When he’d gotten Terry’s
text explaining about the dinner and drinks invitation with his
friends, Zander’s first instinct had been to beg off, citing that he
had work to do. But Zander had been getting some pretty weird
vibes from his mate through the afternoon, and guessed that his
little Omega was finding it difficult explaining their bond to the
nosy humans who shared his life.
Zander had never been an overly sociable man or wolf. When he
had lived with his home pack, he’d been a strong Alpha, next in
line to lead the pack. Most of the other wolves weren’t
comfortable being around him too often. The same thing had
happened when he’d joined the Police Academy. There was
something in his nature, in the way he held himself, or the sheer
power that he knew emanated from his body, that seemed to
make humans wary around him. Only Sully hadn’t been bothered
by it and that was why the two had become such fast friends.
It wasn’t just his innate nature that was causing him problems
now. Oh, his wolf wanted to find Terry. In fact his wolf never
wanted to be apart from the man, no matter how impractical
that might be. That was a shifter thing. No the problem was the
venue and the fact that he’d dated two of the women that
worked there. The potential for awkward confrontations, and
that was without taking his relationship with Terry into account,
was huge. Zander squared his shoulders, reminding himself that
an Alpha never ran from anything.
“Hey, you got here, I didn’t think that you’d show up.” Terry’s
voice came at him suddenly, and Zander turned to see his mate
standing to the side. Terry had obviously been home and
showered, as his dark hair still seemed a bit damp on top. His
tight green t-shirt was in direct contrast to the shirt Zander had
loaned him and showed off every inch of Terry’s trim physique.
Zander felt his body respond and acting on instinct he took the
two paces to stand in front of his mate.
Don’t I get a kiss hello? He felt the mind link gave them some
modicum of privacy.
I didn’t think you’d…I didn’t want you to be…
Oh fuck. Right there. That was the reason Zander was so blessed
to have Terry in his life. His little Omega was worried about him,
putting his needs first. Worried about how he’d cope with openly
gay friends in a very public situation. Worried that Zander would
react badly to basically being “out” with a capital O. The
realization settled Zander in a way he couldn’t explain and he
had no hesitation in leaning down and brushing his lips across
Terrys’.
“Lead me to your friends, precious,” he said quietly. “We’ll do
this and then we’ll head home and I can do all the delicious
things I’ve been thinking about all afternoon.”
“Do they involve me?” Terry said, arched brow flashing along
with a quick grin, as he turned and treated Zander to another
look at tight ass muscles flexing in tight jeans. Without doubt,
Zander’s favorite sight in all the world. Actually second favorite,
he amended. Naked would be better.
Terry led the way to a booth in the far corner of the room. No
wonder Zander hadn’t seen them when he walked in. The
Watering Hole was a large open bar, with tables well-spaced
apart for patrons and waiting staff alike. Along one wall was the
bar itself, lined with gleaming bottles of every shape and size,
the glasses hanging from a rack above the serving space. It was
clean, bright and welcoming to everyone as Terry’s friends
looked right at home.
Terry slid into one side of the booth, scooting over so that there
was room for Zander. The only man Zander recognized was the
met. Roy and, well, look at that, Richard Thorne sitting beside
him looking like the cat who’d got the cream. Or a wolf sizing up
a steak. Didn’t take long for that Alpha wolf to change his
affections but Zander was pleased. He really didn’t want to fight
Richard for the right to be with his own mate.
Terry rattled off the names as Zander sized them all up. He
hoped he was being discreet about it, but it was second nature
to him. He didn’t stop being a police detective when he clocked
out of the office. Roy was dark, pretty and semi-hostile as he
shook Zander’s hand. Richard just smirked at him and told Roy
that they had already met. Max, the only other big guy at the
table was smaller than both Richard and himself and looked like
a decently muscled boxer. He took Zander’s hand in a strong
grip, just beyond the bounds of politeness. Okay, someone to
watch out for.
Joel, Max’s partner was almost as small as Terry, blond where
Terry was dark, with a thin face. Max clearly adored him, had no
problem in showing it, and from what Zander could see, the
feeling was mutual. Charlie was quiet, another dainty man who
seemed to have a love for purple shirts, and jeans. Zander
couldn’t resist and peeked under the table. Nope. Not purple, the
man’s sneakers were bright yellow. Maybe Charlie was making a
fashion statement he didn’t know anything about, or maybe he
was colorblind.
Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Zander rested an arm across
Terry’s shoulder, encouraging the man to snuggle into him and
looked at Richard. “So how’s life as a big criminal lawyer.”
He and Richard had met throug
h one of their cases. Richard had
his own practice and occasionally defended big name clients
although Terry had said he’d met the man through his contract
with Houston Pride week. But given as he really didn’t have
anything in common with anyone else at the table, Zander felt
he had to say something. Unfortunately it didn’t look like the
others were happy to let him get away with any social chit chat.
“Oh no,” Roy said, breaking in firmly before Richard could
answer. “You guys are not going to talk about work. We’re here
to make sure this big Detective is good enough for our friend.
So spill Zander. Family, likes, dislikes, dating history – men and
women, and why you felt the need to have Terry living with you
after only three days. God, you only went out on one date.
Should we be worried that we’ll find Terry’s decomposing body
in a landfill somewhere sometime in the future, or are you just
some kind of a control freak?”
Beside him Terry giggled and then laughed out loud. “Really
Roy? If you’d been any taller you should have been a cop. And
if Zander was a serial killer do you honestly think he would admit
that to any of us?”
Roy glared at Terry but didn’t say anything. Zander covered
Terry’s hand that was warm on his thigh, and Terry entwined
their fingers. He was grateful for the support. Looking around
the table, Zander figured he could give them the potted version
of his life – the one he normally trotted out for humans.
“I was born just outside of New Haven in Connecticut, my mother
died at birth. I was raised by my father. When I left home I
wandered around a bit then went to the Police Academy. I moved
to Houston after I graduated and have worked my way up to
Detective. I phone my father once in a blue moon. There are no
siblings that I know of. When I’m not working, I watch sports on
television or go out for a drink, usually with people I work with.”
“I don’t have a dating history,” he continued when he saw Roy
open his mouth. “I used to go out to get laid. Sometimes it
meant dinner and dancing first. Sometimes it didn’t. Men or
women, didn’t bother me. I was a heartless bastard and I’ll be
the first one to admit it. I’ve never lived with anyone, never been
on a date that lasted longer than twenty four hours and no one