Phoenix Arizona (11 page)

Not hours.

Valentine pulled into Matt’s drive and parked the car, leaving the motor running. He hadn’t said a word on their drive to Matt’s house. He knew his partner was mulling the situation over. Hell, Matt couldn’t get the look on Phoenix’s face out of his mind. His mate had looked so damn helpless, so defeated when he showed up. Had it been that bad to be separated from his mate?

“Be right out.” Valentine nodded and Matt hurried to grab a few T-shirts. He could see now that he would have to buy more. The one he was about to put on would end up with his mate snuggling it after he left him for the night. He pulled a red one on then grabbed some more. Locking his door, he climbed back into the beat-up Ford.

“Got enough T-shirts?” Valentine asked as he stared at the stack of shirts in Matt’s hands.

“This should be.” Matt tossed the shirts in the backseat as Valentine drove them to the station. As a light rain began to fall, wetting the front windshield, Matt sat back and watched the scenery go by. His thoughts were on his mate as Valentine turned the wipers on. It didn’t matter if there was a light drizzle or a heavy downpour. Nothing was going to spoil his time with Phoenix today.

He wanted to show Phoenix a good time, whether out in the fields or in the car. The outing he planned wasn’t going to be spoiled, even if they had to enjoy each other in the backseat of Matt’s car. All he wanted to do was spend time with his mate, away from the club, and away from Armando.

His mate’s friend was all right, but Matt wanted some alone time with Phoenix. He couldn’t stop thinking about that gorgeous smile that lit up Phoenix’s face, or the sparkle in his pretty blue eyes that made Matt’s heart pick up in beat every time he gazed at Phoenix.

The man was simply amazing, and Matt wanted to spend every waking moment with his mate. It seemed Phoenix wasn’t the only one feeling the separation anxiety, but Matt’s anxiety wasn’t as bad as his mate’s.

Not yet, at least.

They pulled into the lot at the station, and Matt, along with his partner, ran to the door to avoid getting soaked. The drizzle had turned into a downpour, sheets of rain soaking everything in its path. Matt brushed his hand over his head, dislodging any water that had been trapped as he walked inside.

He stopped at his desk and grabbed the file on his latest case. He needed to go back over it, hoping he’d missed something. Now that his mate was at risk, Matt needed to comb through the file for any clues he may have missed.

Matt sat back in his creaking chair and flipped the file open. He saw that the preliminary report was tucked in the file from the coroner’s. His eyes scanned the pages until he saw that the same knife was used in both crimes. Frustrated, Matt tossed the file on his desk. That was not going to be Phoenix’s fate. For all Matt knew, Phoenix wasn’t even on the man’s radar and would never be.

But the similarities were too coincidental. Phoenix fit the killer’s profile to a T. If the man killing young, blond males even thought about going anywhere near Matt’s mate, he’d dissect the bastard one limb at a time.

“Hey, he’ll be fine,” Valentine said from across their adjoining desks.

“There has to be something I’m missing.” Matt closed his eyes and pulled to mind his mate’s face. His damn heart hurt and his stomach knotted at even the thought of someone harming Phoenix.

But then Matt thought about Phoenix and the way he looked in the throes of passion. His mate had been positively breathtaking. His little brows had shot up as his eyes closed, his face in deep erotic pleasure. Matt groaned as his dick began to harden. He remembered how Phoenix made cute little whimpering noises when he was close to his orgasm. Matt wanted to hear those noises again…and again, and again. Would Phoenix agree to come home with him tonight? Matt sure as fuck hoped so. He wanted a little more privacy than Armando gave.

“Hey, come back to earth,” Valentine teased him.

“Fuck you. I like where I’m at. It beats being here.” Matt smiled while his eyes were still closed. He didn’t want to let the image of Phoenix’s face go.

“Yeah, but if that erection goes any higher, all the females, and some males, around here will take notice.” Valentine tossed a paper clip at Matt from across their desks, grinning from ear to ear.

“Fucker.” Matt sat forward and opened his eyes, instantly missing his vision of beauty.

“You only have half an hour until you can run and play. Tell me you can’t handle that.”

Matt flipped him off as his side buzzed. He grabbed his cell phone and flipped it open. “Calico.”

“Hi.”

“Hey, baby.” Matt turned his back to a smiling Valentine.
Bastard.

“I–I just needed to hear your voice. Is that okay?”

Matt stood and walked to the men’s room. He checked the stalls to make sure he was alone.

“Matt, are you mad?”

“No, pup. I was just finding someplace private to talk to you. Do you have my shirt?” He leaned against one of the sinks, tucking his right hand under his arm and crossing his ankles. He wanted to run to his mate and pull Phoenix into his arms. He hated the fact that his little pup was suffering needlessly when all Matt had to do was drive over there. Never in his life had Matt wanted someone as badly as he wanted Phoenix. He was almost certain his captain wouldn’t give the okay for Matt to leave work early so he could cuddle with his mate. But damn if he wasn’t tempted to ask.

Phoenix sighed. “Yeah, I’m lying on it.”

Matt grinned, kicking his toe into the linoleum, feeling like a complete goober as he stood in the middle of the bathroom grinning like a loon. He was in love and he liked the feeling. Phoenix made his palms sweat and his heart race every time he heard the man talk. “Put it under your nose.”

Matt could hear a deep inhale then an
ah
.

His grin grew wider. Matt felt like a teenager with his first crush. All he could think about was Phoenix. He wanted to be by the man’s side every second of every day. Too bad he couldn’t really do that. “Feel better?”

“Yeah, but I also feel foolish. I’ve never been this needy. What’s happening to me?”

Matt knew he had some explaining to do. His mate had been patient enough, but Matt wasn’t going to explain what they both were going through over the phone. “I’ll explain it all on the ride.”

“’Kay. I–I love you.” He could hear his mate’s breathing hitch. Fuck it, Valentine would have to cover for him. He was out.

“I love you, too, mate.” He gripped the phone harder to his ear as Matt closed his eyes, wondering why he felt so damn desperate to see Phoenix. He exited the bathroom, heading straight for his desk, phone still pressed to his ear.

“I’m going to head out. Cover for me,” he mouthed to Valentine. His partner nodded, and Matt descended the precinct steps to his car. He started it and pulled out, needing his mate just as desperately as Phoenix needed him.

“You there?”

“I’m here, baby.” He swerved around slow-driving cars and hit a few side streets to cut his time down.

“Is it too soon to tell you that?”

“Wasn’t soon enough in my opinion.” Matt meant that. He had hoped one day to hear those words, even prayed his mate would love him. There was nothing worse than being mated to someone you couldn’t stand. He knew a pair that had a relationship like that. Thank fuck it wasn’t his.

“You sure? I’ve never been in a relationship before. I’m not sure about time spans and all. When should I have told you?”

“Last night,” he teased.

Phoenix laughed. “Really? But we just met last night.”

“So? Will you say it again?” Matt parked his car outside the dilapidated building and climbed the stairs.

“I love you.”

Matt could hear those three words for the rest of his life and never tire of them. He knocked on his mate’s door as he scanned the hallway. No one was around, but he still was uneasy about his mate living in such a fucked-up building.

“Hold on, someone’s at the door.”

Matt closed his phone as soon as Phoenix opened the door. He pulled his small mate into his arms and closed his eyes as Phoenix’s body heat soaked into his heart.

“Don’t you ask who it is before you open the door?” Matt chastised him lightly.

“Sorry. I usually do. You have my head all mixed up.” Phoenix swirled his hand around his head as if to illustrate his meaning.

“You ready for our drive?” Matt asked as he closed the door behind him, still holding Phoenix in his arms.

* * * *

“It’s raining out,” Phoenix protested as he ran to the car. This was so not to his liking. It had taken Phoenix twenty minutes to get his hair just right as Matt waited impatiently. Now it was all going to be for nothing. The gel and spritz would be washed out. Didn’t Mother Nature care about good grooming? A man had to look good for his boyfriend, even if it was just a drive in the country.

“You won’t melt.” Matt closed Phoenix’s door then ran around to his side.

“But I see you will,” Phoenix muttered as Matt jumped into his seat.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” Phoenix smiled up at him. He didn’t like what was happening to him. It upset him that he didn’t have a choice in the matter. He should be able to decide when he wanted to see Matt, not some damn bonding thingy. The more he had thought about it, the sourer his mood had gotten until Matt showed up at his door. His traitorous body leapt at the man. He couldn’t believe he needed to call Matt just to calm down. This wasn’t him. This wasn’t how he acted.

Phoenix clasped his hands between his legs and watched the rain fall over the city. He once loved living here, walking the neighborhood and enjoying the sights.

Now?

Well, now he was too chicken to go anywhere by himself. A cop had changed all that, and now he was dating one, mated to one, whatever that meant. He hated Matt for doing this to him and at the same time loved the man. God, he was so screwed up. Now that he knew Matt, Phoenix couldn’t go back to his old life. He was positive about that. His feelings were running from hot to cold faster than he could keep up. Tears fell at the thought of being controlled by a force he didn’t even understand.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Matt pulled over to the side of the road and unbuckled Phoenix, pulling him into his strong arms.

“I don’t know if I’m coming or going anymore.” He sniffed into Matt’s neck. God, he was such a pussy. He had been reduced to a crying mess.

“It takes time. You’ll adjust.” Matt tried to sound positive, but Phoenix wasn’t so sure he would ever get used to being clingy. He was an independent man, not some slobbering, needy, pathetic creature.

“What if I don’t want to adjust?” he snapped. There went his runaway emotions again.

“You don’t mean that,” Matt snapped back, taking Phoenix by surprise. Matt hadn’t been anything but a sweet and caring man since Phoenix met him…last night. Fuck, he was such an idiot. How could he trust a cop? A cop of all fucking people!

Okay, he needed to calm down. Phoenix knew it was the emotional wreck he was experiencing that made him all wacky in the head. But he wondered if they were having their first fight. And so soon? What about the honeymoon period Phoenix had heard that love-struck idiots basked in? Maybe Matt didn’t love him after all. Maybe he said it just as a response to Phoenix’s declaration.

Oh god, he was losing it!

Phoenix squirmed out of Matt’s arms. He needed his space. He needed to think. Hell, he needed a damn sedative at the moment. His emotions were all over the board. “Maybe I do. You didn’t give me a choice, did you?”

“No, I didn’t.” Matt sighed.

“Maybe I want to make the decisions concerning us and not some fate crap dictating it.” Phoenix could feel himself losing his grip on reality. He couldn’t shut up. He knew he was overreacting and couldn’t stop the dam from breaking.

“Phoenix, that’s enough,” Matt barked.

This only added fuel to Phoenix’s insane railing. He turned to face Matt and pointed his finger in the man’s face. “No!
I
want the choice to say, ‘Hey, Matt, I want some me time today.’ Is that asking too much? But I can’t because my freaking body will try and implode.” He had gone into full-blown hysterics.

“Maybe we should do this drive another time. When you’ve calmed down.” Matt was clenching the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white and his teeth gritting. Phoenix could see he was pushing the guy, but couldn’t seem to shut the fuck up.

“Oh, so this is my fault?” He threw his hands around animatedly. “You’re placing the blame in my lap?”

“I didn’t say that, Phoenix.”

“Fine. Just take me home.” He didn’t want to go home. He wanted to calm down. Why was he acting this way? What in the hell was wrong with him? Matt did this to him, and a part of Phoenix resented Matt for it. He crossed his arms over his chest, breathing in slowly. It wasn’t helping.

“Fine.” Matt growled as he pulled in front of Phoenix’s building. Rage was etched across Matt’s handsome face, and Phoenix wasn’t sure what to do. He should have known better than to trust a cop, especially with his heart. He was devastated, but refused to show it.

Phoenix’s irate state only heightened when he had to ask Matt for his shirt. He wasn’t stupid. Pride be damned when it came to that pain. Matt yanked it over his head and shoved it into Phoenix’s hand.