Phoenix Arizona (8 page)

Phoenix wiped his face again and then nodded as he smiled. Matt’s chest clenched at the innocence of that one dazzling smile. His mate was giving Matt his trust, placing his safety in Matt’s hands, even after what had happened to him. Matt didn’t take that trust lightly. He knew what a big leap of faith Phoenix was putting in him, and he would make damn sure to never lose it.

Matt covered his mate’s hands with his own. “Promise me you’ll be careful at work. Watch yourself and your surroundings. Call me if anything frightens you or looks out of place.” Matt couldn’t even think of something happening to his heart, and Phoenix was just that, his heart. They had only met last night, but Matt felt as though he had known Phoenix for an eternity, and had cared for him even longer. It was an odd feeling, considering twenty-four hours hadn’t even passed since the club, but Matt knew they were mates.

He just hadn’t expected to feel this overwhelming protectiveness kick in so quickly.

Phoenix pulled one hand free, slid it down Matt’s arm, and then tightened it on Matt’s wrist. “I promise. Armando is a pretty big guy, and he watches my back.”

Jealousy reared its ugly head, but Matt squashed it. The guy was Phoenix’s best friend and nothing more. Besides, he would feel better knowing someone was watching after his mate when he couldn’t. And Phoenix was right. Armando was one big-ass guy. Hopefully that deterred the killer from considering his mate. The killings were happening in this area, so Phoenix was at risk. The thought made Matt’s back molars grind together. He couldn’t even think of the possibility of something happening to Phoenix.

“Come on, babe. I need to get you home and get back to work.” Matt released Phoenix’s hand, giving it a small pat. “I need my keys.” He extended his hand, and Matt could tell that Phoenix reluctantly handed them over.

“Are you afraid to tell me where you live?” He turned the motor over and waited for Phoenix’s answer.

Phoenix let out a long sigh. “Kind of.”

This was going to be an impossible mating if Matt didn’t get Phoenix to trust him. The man was willing to take a drive with him, but still had reservations about letting Matt know where he lived. It was a little confusing to Matt. “I understand. So how do I get you home without peeking?” This got a laugh from his mate, and Matt thoroughly enjoyed seeing the smile. Phoenix was so damn handsome when he smiled. Matt never wanted to see a worried face on his mate again. It killed him when Phoenix looked scared.

“Doofus, take me home.”

Matt chuckled, thoroughly enjoying his drive as Phoenix showed him where to go. When Matt pulled in front of the building, he shuddered. The damn place needed to be condemned. It didn’t sit well that his mate lived in a dump like this.

The exterior used to be white, maybe, but now it was an ugly stained yellow. Some of the windows were either missing or broken, and it looked like hoodlums were hanging out front on the steps or leaning against the building. Matt wanted to lock his mate in the car and drive back to his place, vowing that his mate would never step foot in that building again. Unfortunately, he knew Phoenix wouldn’t go for that.

Matt got out of the car, making sure all saw his badge around his neck and his holster around his shoulders. It had taken a quick second to put both on, and he was proud that he was a cocky guy. His build was slightly muscular and well defined. Matt even liked the fact that he had a way of intimidating thugs. He had that cop look through and through as an old lover had once told him. It also helped amplify his badass persona when he eased back on his wolf and his eyes shifted.

As hard-core as thugs liked to act, no one fucked with Matt when his eyes were wolf eyes. Sure, he had a guy or two test him in the past, but the results hadn’t been in their favor. The guys standing by Phoenix’s building watched Matt closely as they stepped back, uncertainty clear in their eyes. Matt gave them a tight grin…and then showed the tips of his canines as he escorted Phoenix to the door, glancing at each and every one of them, and then walked his mate up the steps.

“You don’t have to walk me to my door,” Phoenix halfheartedly protested as he dug his keys out from his front pocket.

“Yes, I do.” He could tell Phoenix was embarrassed about where he lived, but Matt didn’t give a shit. He was going to make sure his mate made it safely inside. Matt wasn’t so much worried about the men hanging outside as he was with a serial killer on the loose. Besides, he had a feeling Armando put the fear of god in most of those men hanging around. From the way the tall and muscular man had acted last night toward Matt, he knew Armando protected Phoenix, which eased his mind, slightly.

Phoenix slid the key into the lock, and then opened the door as Armando came running toward them. “How was—why is a cop bringing you home, Nix?” Armando lost his girly voice, and the masculine tone came out full force. He snatched Phoenix behind him and glared at Matt. Matt couldn’t have been happier. He knew this man would protect his mate. But it pissed him off that Armando grabbed his mate from him. “I wasn’t paying attention last night because I was too busy trying to get laid, but now that I look at you, you have cop written all over your damn face.”

That was more than Matt wanted to know.

“Calm down, Armando,” Phoenix said as if he’d been through something similar to this before with his best friend.

“Calm down? Calm down! Since when do you date a fucking cop, and since when do you bring them home?” Armando snapped at Phoenix and Matt growled.

He grabbed Phoenix back into his arms. He wasn’t going to stand there and listen to Armando yell at Phoenix. Best friend or not, the man was about to get his ass handed to him. “I’d watch my tone if I were you,” Matt warned in a low and even growl.

Armando pulled his lip back in a snarl, glaring at Matt as he pulled Phoenix back to his side. “He’s
my
best friend. What the hell do you want from him, cop?” He said the last word with a sneer, letting Matt know that Armando hated cops just as much as Phoenix did. Great, and here he had been proud of the profession he worked. Armando made it seem like Matt was a damn crime boss or something as insidious.

Matt reached out and grabbed Phoenix, wrenching his mate back into his arms. “Not that it’s any of your damn business, but I want to date him. Is that a problem?”

Armando grabbed Phoenix by the scruff of his collar, and Matt pulled his arm back and punched Armando square on his jaw. He hadn’t meant to hit the guy, but seeing his mate manhandled had pushed Matt over the edge. Armando fell into the wall, and then got to his feet and tackled Matt. Matt flipped Armando around and placed a choke hold on the man. It wasn’t easy. Armando really was a very big guy.

Armando rolled to the floor, making Matt’s arm slip free, and then they both jumped up at the same time, Armando sucker punching Matt. It had happened so fast that Matt hadn’t seen it coming. He was knocked straight into the living room.

Matt rushed in and headlocked Armando. “Enough!”

“Fuck you, cop.” Armando landed an elbow to the kidney, but Matt didn’t release him.

“You know, you can go to jail for assaulting a police officer.” Matt locked his arms around the guy’s head tighter. He wasn’t going to be rolled off of the guy this time. He was anticipating the large man now.

“Not if the cop in question struck me first, jackass.” Armando fell backward, taking Matt with him. Fuck, the man was good. Matt rolled, jumping to his feet, his canines punching down as he crouched and growled.

Phoenix’s jaw dropped as his eyebrows shot up to his blond hairline.

“What the fuck?” Armando squeaked as he grabbed Phoenix and backed into the living room, grabbing a lamp and throwing it at Matt. He ducked in time as the lamp crashed into the wall and then thudded to the floor. Armando pulled Phoenix along as the man hauled ass into what Matt assumed was a bedroom.

“Damn it, bring my mate back here.” Matt had had enough. Truth was going to be told, and they would have to deal with it. Phoenix’s life was at stake. And if Armando threw one more damn thing at Matt, he was going to bite the bastard. He knew he had to not only explain things to Phoenix, but his mate’s best friend as well if he wanted Armando to know how grave the situation was.

But hell if he didn’t want to deck the man again.

“Fuck you, cop…dog…whatever the hell you are!” Armando yelled through the door. “Stay the fuck away from us!”

Matt growled, his wolf fighting to get free and pull his mate back into his arms. He was not about to stand out in the hallway and have a debate with an overexuberant flame queen. Phoenix was his, and Matt wanted him back. He raised his leg, kicking his booted foot into the flimsy bedroom door, but quickly ducked when an alarm clock sailed by his head. “Will you stop throwing shit at me!”

“Not likely, doggie.” A hardcover book was next. Matt ducked, seeing that Phoenix was tucked behind Armando’s back, his eyes wide as he glanced from Armando to Matt. Matt could tell his mate wanted to come to him, so he extended his arms and Phoenix ran from behind Armando, but Armando grabbed Phoenix before he could get any further than the nightstand. Matt was getting really tired of this man.

“Nix, get your love-struck ass back behind me.” Armando stooped to pick up the small nightstand.

Really?

A nightstand?

“Whoa, don’t do it,” Matt warned as he pointed a finger at Armando. “You’re only going to fuck your own furniture up, jackass.”

When Armando ignored Matt and tried to lift the small piece of furniture, Matt was at the end of his patience rope. He shifted into his wolf form and watched as everyone froze.

“I–I think my hair dye has finally eaten my brain cells.” Armando swallowed hard as he straightened, abandoning his idea of throwing the nightstand, and took a step back.

Phoenix dropped to his knees and stared directly at Matt. His face was riddled with shock and disbelief. Matt lowered his head for a moment and only a moment since Armando was prone to throw something else at him.

Phoenix crawled across the floor on his hands and knees. Armando looked too stunned to stop him. He was just standing there with his mouth hanging open, his eyes wider than twin moons. If Matt hadn’t been in wolf form, he would have laughed, and then probably would have decked the guy for throwing half the house at him.

Phoenix pushed to his knees, raising his hand up, and then stopped, as if he were too afraid to touch Matt. Matt solved that problem by licking Phoenix’s hand. Damn, even the man’s palm tasted good. Matt couldn’t wait to see how the rest of his mate tasted.

“Is that really you?” Phoenix whispered the question.

Matt nodded his head.

Phoenix’s brows shot up in surprise. “You can understand me?”

Matt nodded again.

With a trembling hand, Phoenix reached out and ran the tips of his fingers across Matt’s muzzle. He stayed perfectly still while his mate explored his wolf form. Matt wasn’t stupid. He was enjoying every single touch his mate placed on him. If Armando wasn’t standing there in shock, Matt would shift and kick the guy out and then let his mate pet any part of his body the man desired. Phoenix leaned closer, his nose scrunching up as he stared straight into Matt’s eyes.

“It is you, isn’t it? You have the same eye color as Matt.”

“That fucking dog ain’t white. What in the hell are you talking about, Nix? And get your skinny little ass back over here.” Armando finally snapped out of his stupor, his winning personally shining brightly. When the man made a move to grab Phoenix, Matt gave a warning growl. He liked his mate right next to him, and he liked to feel Phoenix’s hands glide through his fur. If Armando snatched Phoenix away, Matt really was going to bite the man.

“Don’t you growl at me, fleabag. If you hurt Phoenix, I’ll neuter you, cop or not.”

Damn, Matt was actually starting to like the prick. The guy had balls. He was the perfect bodyguard for Phoenix. Just as long as Armando stopped throwing things at Matt, they might actually get along.

Matt scooted back from Phoenix and then shifted back into his human form. His mate scrambled backward. Matt reached down and picked Phoenix up from the floor, holding him tightly in his arms. He nuzzled his mate’s neck and inhaled his scent. God, the man smelled good as hell. Matt wasn’t even bothered when Armando’s brow shot up as he stared at Matt’s naked body. The only thing Matt cared about in that moment was his mate. Phoenix was right there in his arms, where Matt always wanted his mate to be.

Armando snorted. “Okay, I
guess
you can stay. But remember my warning, fucking doggie cop,” Armando muttered as he pushed past Matt and left the room.

Matt watched Armando leave and then chuckled, looking down at his mate’s stunning face. “Is he always that bitchy?”

“And that’s on a good day.” Phoenix laughed.

God, the laugh sounded like liquid sunshine to Matt’s ears.

Phoenix didn’t know what to think. His boyfriend was a wolf? And a cop? Talk about a Prozac day. He wasn’t sure which fact freaked him out more.

“What did you mean by mate?” Phoenix had briefly wondered what Matt had meant when the guy had shouted the word out in the hallway, but after the little trick Matt had performed in front of him and Armando, that was the last thing on his mind. It couldn’t mean the same as real wolves, could it? Phoenix was no expert on wolves, or even dogs, but he knew a little something and he knew what a damn mate was, in the wild.