Things That Go Hump In The Night (49 page)

Ezra

Mate
. The word sent a shudder down my spine.
He called me his mate
.

There was no way. No how. Uh uh. I didn’t do “mating”. I banged, I screwed, I fucked. End of story.

I mean, yes, I’m a shifter. In fact, I’m one of the rarer shifters. There is only a handful of tigers on the planet, and we all come from the same ancient lineage. And, yes, tigers mated. But to each other. And even then, that was rare. We were more attached to our freedom than we were to procreating and extending our bloodlines.

There was no way that I could be Matt’s mate. There was no way I could be a
bear’s
mate. The thought alone was preposterous. Interspecies sex, not to mention
mating
was taboo in most cultures. Most people - myself included - considered it impossible. Yes, I had loose standards. Like all tigers, I wanted the freedom to explore and enjoy myself. And if that meant fucking a human, no harm done. It isn’t like we can impregnate anyone besides our mates, after all. And we only mate with other tigers.

I ran the thoughts through my head at a breakneck pace, trying to will myself into believing them.

But I couldn’t.

I knew, somehow, that the word applied here. I knew that Matt was right. I knew that, somehow, his bear and my tiger were connected. It didn’t make any sense, but it’s also a fact that Fate rarely does. Try as I might, I just couldn’t deny it. I couldn’t deny this unmistakable feeling in my chest. I couldn’t deny the sudden well of emotion that I was experiencing. For the first time that I could remember, I felt like I
needed
someone.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. It’s why I hadn’t been able to screw around with the college kid from the night before. My tiger wanted Matt and Matt alone. It wouldn’t
allow
me to have anyone else.

“Oh hell,” I muttered, realizing that I was still leaning over Matt on the bed.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked, concern obvious in his eyes.

“I don’t think we’re done talking yet,” I told him, then grabbed his hands and helped him sit up.

Once Matt was seated upright, I grabbed my clothes off the floor and started pulling them on, much to my tiger’s dismay. If the beast had it his way, I’d be ravaging Matt from one end to the other. After I finished dressing, I took a seat on the stool again, pulling it up so that I was parallel with Matt’s position on the bed.

“Look,” I started, “This whole mating thing. I get it. I understand it. But I can’t accept it. Not now.”

I can’t even begin to explain the look of hurt that flooded Matt’s face.

“What?” he stammered. “I don’t understand. I thought you felt…”

I shook my head, “I do. I
do
feel it. But I can’t. I’m a tiger. Being alone is intrinsic to my nature. It’s encoded in my DNA.”

“What does that mean?” Matt barked, a scowl taking shape on his face. He was a bear, I remembered, and bears angered easily.

I spent a few seconds collecting my thoughts, trying to find the best way to explain it to him. “I’m a transient. I move from one place to the next, no attachments. I don’t have the time or desire to lay down roots, to raise cubs.”

Matt threw up his hands. “Is that all? Seriously? We can’t do this…this - whatever this is - because you don’t want to stay where you are? Because you have a need to move from one place to the next?”

I nodded. He’d pretty much nailed it.

Matt laughed. Deep and long, a laugh that had him shaking and in tears.

“Fate is cunning,” he finally managed between chuckles, and I stared at him in confusion. It was my turn to get an explanation.

“What are you talking about?” I asked flatly.

Matt stood and walked toward the door, his hands planted on his head. He turned back to me and smiled. “
I
can’t stay here either.
I
need freedom. Freedom to roam, and run, and just
be
. I left my home, my family, my clan. And I’m not turning back. I hadn’t planned it all out, but I knew that I’d be moving from one place to the next, never staying anywhere too long. If I do, they’ll find me, and I can’t go back.”

There was a sudden tightness in my chest and I felt myself being drawn toward him. If what he was saying was true, there really was no reason for us to be apart. There was no reason for us to
not
be mates. Fate, for whatever reason, had decided to bring us together, at this exact moment, because I was the escape that he needed. I shook my head in disbelief.

“Okay then,” I said, standing up and walking toward him. “Let’s do this then. Let’s go, let’s run. Let’s get you as far away from here as possible, and let’s be together. God knows I can’t convince my tiger to stay away from you.”

Matt smiled at me, his eyes sparkling in a way that sent shivers down my spine. For as long as I could remember, I never wanted to be with anyone. Never wanted to be tied down or connected to anyone. But here, now, it didn’t seem like I had a choice.

Matt was my mate, and that fact was at least worth exploring.

Matthew

I was more than a little excited when Ezra offered to drive. For starters, as much as I loved my car and loved the feeling of driving, sometimes I just wanted to sit back, watch the scenery, and relax. And besides, it was kind of hot watching him handle the stick.

Ezra said that he’d spent some time in Europe a few years back and had done some sports car racing over there. He’d driven an orange Ferrari for some uber-rich Italian guy that he’d seduced. The last part I didn’t necessarily need to know, but that didn’t stop me from being a little impressed. Apparently, he’d been globe-trotting for the better part of his life. Which, honestly, made sense.

While I didn’t know much about tiger shifters, I did know something about tigers themselves. Tigers were solitary creatures, often spending their time wandering alone. They rarely, if ever, settled down in one place or with one person. It made sense that tiger shifters would be similar. After all, I was more like a bear at times than I cared to admit. Fortunately, Ezra didn’t seem to mind that. Not yet anyways.

And hopefully never,
I thought.
All things considered.

To be honest, I hadn’t expected him to let me join him on the road. I half-expected him to dismiss my declarations of Fate, but he hadn’t. He knew, just as well as I did, that this feeling was unmistakable. It was raw, primal, and
real
, and there was nothing that could stand in its way. That’s how fated mates worked, after all. Or so I’d heard.

Back in Black Canyon, fated mates weren’t even considered. There’d been a time, sure, long ago when the bear clans mated by choice, rather than through prearranged ceremonies. At some point, however, the wealthier clans had decided to play God, and the rest was history.

I sighed, thinking back on it. My father, I imagined, would be furious if he knew what I’d been up to. If he’d known that I’d found my
actual
mate, rather than the one he’d decided that I’d have. Not to mention the fact that I was performing all sorts of “abhorrent” behaviors.

Ouch. The memory of him saying those things to me still stung, even now, a few days after having abandoned my ancestral home. It was one thing to disapprove of my sexual preferences, it was something else entirely to tell me, to my face, that I was behaving the same way an abomination might. I couldn’t help it, couldn’t change it. I was who I was. And he’d never understand.

I shook my head, dismissing the thoughts and turned my attention to the world outside my Mustang.

We were driving north, still east of the Appalachian Mountains and nearing the northern Virginia border. The scenery was beautiful, complete with wondrous green hills and trees that seemed to go on forever. It was the furthest I’d ever been from home, and the further we drove, the more at ease I was with my decision.

“Are we headed anywhere in particular?” I asked after a while, my stomach starting to growl.

Ezra smiled at me, “Why, you got plans?”

I chuckled. “As if. Just curious as to whether or not I’m going to be eating anytime soon. I’m a bear, remember? Crackers aren’t going to cut it.”

“Point taken,” Ezra started. “It won’t be much further now. We’re getting pretty close, actually.”

I sat up at that, searching the horizon for any sign of where we might be headed. Taking notice of my scanning, Ezra reached over and put a hand on my leg, rubbing my upper thigh gently, and sending my little soldier to immediate attention. It was insane how my body reacted to his touch. I still barely knew Ezra, but I absolutely
craved
him. I needed him. Needed his touch, his presence, his breath, his kiss, his love. All of it.

After a few more miles, I saw a small outcropping of buildings on the horizon. It was a small development, maybe a few houses centered around a larger structure. From what I could tell, there was really nothing there at all. That couldn’t be where Ezra was taking us, could it?

“There it is,” Ezra said, as if in answer to my thoughts. “Good ol’ D and D.”

I looked at him, puzzled. “D and D?”

“Darrel and Darla’s. It’s a bed and breakfast. Very cozy.” He winked at me. “And the beds aren’t half bad either.”

I blushed at that. “You’re taking me to a bed and breakfast?”

Ezra nodded. “There’s a diner inside that serves lunch and dinner too. Best brisket this side of the mountains.”

After a few minutes, we pulled up in front of the larger structure - which I could now tell was the bed and breakfast proper - and parked. I climbed out of the car and did my best to stretch, easing out the muscles that had been so cramped up from the long drive. Ezra, I noticed, was doing the same thing.

I stared at him, half-gawking, as he stretched his arms above his head, pulling his shirt up to reveal the lower set of his rippled abs and the perfect “V” they hovered just above. My eyes trailed even further down, tracing the outline of his cock inside the tight pair of jeans he was wearing. The memory of what I’d done to him at the hotel played again in my head and it was all I could do to keep from quivering with lust.

Maybe I’m hungry for something besides food.

Ezra caught my eyes as he turned, cocked up an eyebrow, then reached down and grabbed the bottom of his shirt. “You looking for these?” he asked coyly, lifting his shirt to show off the rest of his rock-hard core. Then, with a roguish grin, he dropped the shirt back down. “There’ll be plenty of time for that later.”

Before I could gather myself to respond, Ezra waved a hand at the bed and breakfast and started toward it. I followed him, deliberately leaving enough room for me to check out his ass as he all but sashayed forward. I bit my lower lip, still staring at him, and just shook my head. This guy was exactly the right kind of trouble.

***

I sat across the table from Ezra, my eye pouring over the menu in my hand. My stomach growled in time with my bear as I tried to decide between the steak and the burger. Part of me wanted to just order both, but the sensible part - the part that recognized the fact that I now had very limited funds - was trying to make the decision for me. Ezra was adamant that I was missing out on the best brisket around, and that I’d regret not ordering it. I just ignored him. I mean, who the hell wants brisket when steak is an option?

By the time the waitress - a stick figured beach blond with a too-huge smile and a pair of barely-there tits - made her way to the table, I’d decided on the steak. So I was more than a little surprised when Ezra cut her off halfway through my order.

“Ignore that,” he told her. “He’ll have the same as me. Two of the barbecue brisket sandwiches. With hot chips.”

The waitress jotted down the order and walked off before I could protest.

“What the hell?” I shot at him, more than a little annoyed.

“You’ll thank me.” Ezra waved a dismissive hand at me, then took a sip of his iced tea.

I shook my head at him. “No, I won’t. I’m a grown-ass man, and I can order whatever I damn well please.”

Ezra sat his glass back down and stared across the table at me, his liquid blue eyes piercing me with an already familiar ferocity. I expected a lecture, some aggression, something
volatile
. Instead, all I got was a flat, “My treat.”

I just stared at him, dumbfounded. If he thought that he could buy me off to get around my annoyance, he had another thing coming to him. I’d never heard of fated mates brutalizing each other, but I was pretty certain that’s what he was in for if his air of superiority kept up.

“I don’t give a shit if it’s your
treat
,” I growled at him. “I can pay my goddamn way.”

Ezra snorted. Just… Just snorted. Mockingly so.

“How’s that?” he purred. “We both know daddy’s probably already cut your money flow off.”

I’d told him, in detail, about how I’d abandoned my family during the car ride here. I thought I’d been opening up to my mate, trying to let him get to know me, maybe in exchange for some information about him. But he’d been guarded. Even if he’d accepted that we were mates, he still didn’t seem one hundred percent keen on the idea.

“You don’t get to use my family baggage against me, Ezra,” I told him, cold and annoyed.

I didn’t know why he was trying so hard to get under my skin - not when everything was going so well - but it seemed like he couldn’t stop himself. I understood that he was a tiger, that tigers could be…difficult, personality-wise, but this was ridiculous. All I wanted to do was order my own food.

Ezra only rolled his eyes at me. Fortunately for him, the waitress returned with our food just then. And, as much as I hate to admit it, the food on the plate was the best smelling
anything
I’d ever come across. As she sat the plates on the table, my eyes absolutely bulged at the site of the massive, succulent sandwich in front of me. It was thick, far thicker than I could possibly squeeze into my mouth, and a good six inches in diameter. The meat was stacked loosely on the toasted sesame seeded bun, and a smoked hickory smelling barbecue sauce oozed out on all ends. My mouth watered at the sight of it, and my bear grumbled his approval.

I shot a glance toward Ezra, who sat there, staring at me, with a stupid told-you-so look plastered on his face. It was both adorable and despicable at the same time, but I chose to ignore him and dive into my food instead.

“Holy shit,” I moaned after taking my first bite. “This is like Jesus being baptized in my mouth.”

The waitress, who was still standing nearby, shot me a look that screamed both disdain and pride at once. Apparently I’d nailed what the place was going for.

“Told ya,” Ezra snorted before scarfing down his own food. He ate like a ravenous, well, tiger, wasting no time. By the time I’d finished my sandwich, Ezra’s plate was clean and he was chugging along at his third glass of tea. The man had an appetite, that much was clear. But you couldn’t tell it with that body.

When I’d finished and the waitress had cleared off the table, Ezra drew out his wallet and dropped a few high-value bills on the table, and gestured for me to get up. Grudgingly, I obliged, and we left the small diner and headed toward the exit.

“Wait,” I told him. “I thought we were staying here?”

Ezra arched an eyebrow at me, then looked over my shoulder toward the rest of the diner-slash-bed and breakfast. “Fuck that. Now come on.”

Bewildered, I followed him out of the building and back toward the car. Ezra grabbed the passenger door and held it open for me. Something that I found both charming and out of character all at once. He was up to something, I could feel it. Oddly, though, I trusted him.

Ezra slammed the door behind me once I’d climbed in and he made his way around the front of the car, slid across the hood, and hopped in the driver’s seat. I was still laughing at his antics when he keyed the ignition, revved the engine to life, then abruptly floored it.

I jerked back against my seat and watched the speedometer rise rapidly into triple digits. My bear roared to life, surprising me, and I adapted to the weird adrenaline rush that Ezra’s erratic driving had kick started. He was either going to get us killed or drive my bear into a frenzy, and I still wasn’t entirely sure that the first option wouldn’t be the more accurate one.