Stevens-Journey [Brac Pack 20] (6 page)

Steven’s Journey

43

“So do you want to tell me why you care so much?” Steven asked before taking a bite of his burger.

Roman wasn’t ready for the question. He chewed his food, trying to think of a way out of this conversation until he could figure out a gentle way of telling Steven that they were mates. Roman stared up at the trees, watching the breeze dance through the leaves as he contemplated his next move.

“We’re mates.” Roman moved his cup around in a circle, listening to the ice and drink slosh around as his eyes went from the trees to his boots.

“I’m not sure I follow.” Steven set his burger down.

Roman wasn’t sure how he should proceed. His mate’s expression made him want to laugh, but this was serious, and he needed to keep the chuckles at bay right now. “In the shifter world, as in the wild, we have one mate that is chosen for us by fate. You are my mate.” Steven’s green eyes looked Roman up and down. “How do I know you’re not trying to get into my pants with that line?” Roman felt his claws protruding from the anger he felt at that question. Didn’t his mate know how serious shifters took mating?

Okay, maybe not, but it still made him feel upset. Steven stared at Roman's clawed hands for a moment. The skin under his eye began to twitch, and then his eyes rolled back as he fell to the floor.

Roman stared at his mate in disbelief. Did he really just faint? He pulled himself to his knees, hovering over Steven. “Steven?” he tapped his cheek a few times in hopes that his green-eyed beauty would awaken.

Roman began to worry when Steven lay there unmoving. Maybe showing his claws was a bit much, but his temper had overtaken him quickly at Steven’s mistrust.

“Steven.” Roman picked his mate up from the floor and held him in his lap. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Steven’s eyelids flutter.

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Lynn Hagen

“Come on, tiger. Come back to me.” Roman ran the knuckle of his index finger down the side of Steven’s face. “Show me those green beauties.”

“What happened?” Steven looked up at him in confusion. It was an adorable look for his mate. Roman cupped Steven’s face, smiling down at him.

“You fainted.”

“Why?”

“Too much ketchup on your fries?”

Steven’s brows pulled together as he licked his lips. Roman groaned at the act. Now was not the time to have sexual fantasies of where he would love Steven to lick.

“No.” He shook his head. “Your, your hand grew. No.” Steven rubbed his eyes. “It was your nails.” Roman moved his arms aside as Steven laid his hands on Roman’s chest and pushed himself up. “We’re mates?” Roman knew he should have waited to explain all of this at home.

This was going to be a long afternoon.

Steven’s Journey

45

Steven sat at the dinner table, stabbing his macaroni and cheese as he stole glances at Roman. How could they be mates? He wasn’t sure he was ready for a big commitment like that. Roman had explained to him after he’d come around that it was a bond that couldn’t be broken and it was for life.

Although he had seen were-creatures shift, he had never been told anything about mates. And those claws? That was some creepy stuff.

Roman openly watched Steven, giving him a tight smile every time their eyes met. Steven opted to sit opposite him instead of sitting next to him. To be honest, the idea of Roman being a shifter didn’t freak him out as much as the lifetime commitment he wanted.

Steven sat next to Chauncey. The man may be large, but he was friendly and funny, and wasn’t trying to get a commitment out of Steven. He picked his glass of iced tea up, watching Roman from over the rim as he took a sip.

“How’d it go in town today, Steven?” Mr. Lakeland asked.

Steven nodded as he swallowed and set his cup down. “It went real well. My counseling went fine.”

“That’s good to hear. I don’t believe in all that psychobabble, but if it works for you, then good.”

Chauncey looked down at Steven, his eyes darting all over Steven’s head. “Your head don’t look any smaller for being shrunk.” He howled as his hand hit the table. “I crack myself up.”

“Then you’re the only one,” his dad said and then chuckled.

“Okay, it was funny.”

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Lynn Hagen

Steven smiled as he chewed his food. The more he got to know the Lakelands, the more he liked them. They were down to earth and comical at times.

“If I had a tomato, I’d throw it at you,” Bryce added with a lift to his eyebrow.

Steven laughed as he set his fork down. It was funny to see such large men tease each other. From what he learned, the brothers were very close. “Only if you want me to kick your ass.”

“Boys,” Mr. Lakeland warned.

“Sorry, Pa,” Chauncey and Bryce said.

“This is a very good dinner, Mr. Lakeland,” Steven complimented. He hadn’t gotten back in time to cook, but Mr.

Lakeland’s culinary skills were excellent.

“Call me Pa. Mr. Lakeland was my father,” Mr. Lakeland said.

Steven liked that. It made him feel like he had a father again.

Although no one could replace his real father, Mr. Lakeland reminded Steven of his dad. He had wished he had siblings growing up. Maybe he could get to know the Lakeland men a little better. They did treat him as one of theirs.

“How’s work coming along?” Pa asked Roman.

This made Steven look across the table at the bear. “It’s coming along.” Roman smiled.

“That’s good to hear,” Pa said as he stood. “Now for dessert.” Steven noticed these men loved their sweets. It seemed there were more sweets served than food. Pa laid a large plate of sticky buns and an apple pie on the table. “Steven gets his first before you boys devour it.”

Chauncey reached over and laid a bun on Steven’s plate. He wasn’t even finished with his food yet, but it looked like the brothers couldn’t wait. Steven held his hand up when Chauncey grabbed the pie. “I don’t like apples.”

The entire table stared at him like he was an alien. “How the hell did that happen?” Bryce asked.

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Steven stole a glance at Roman. “I don’t know. I just never acquired the taste.”

Roman winked at him as he grabbed the apple pie. “I’d love some.”

The men around the table began to clear the dishes when they had eaten all the sticky buns and devoured the pie. Steven grabbed his plate, but Chauncey took it from him. “Why don’t you go relax on the porch? It’s beautiful out here at night. It’s something you have to see for yourself.”

“Okay.” Steven let Chauncey take his plate as he walked through the house, opening the screen door, walking out into the night. He inhaled the country air, listening to the crickets chirp as he sat on the swing. Steven removed his shoes and then kicked his toe out, making the swing go into action, starting a slow back-and-forth motion.

He tossed his arm onto the back of the swing, laying his head against the chain as he stared out into the darkening night. It was beautiful here. If he had to start his life over, this town was the perfect place.

Steven heard the screen door open and knew who it was. Roman crossed in front of him, taking a seat next to him on the swing. They swung in silence. Steven had a thousand questions, but none of them would leave his lips.

“It’s a gorgeous night.”

“Yeah, it is.” Steven curled his legs under him as Roman kept the swing going. He wrapped his arms around his waist, looking at the trucks in the drive, the driving mower parked by the barn, and anything else his eyes landed on, ignoring the handsome man next to him. The news that Roman was his mate was messing with his head.

How could they be mates?

“I didn’t mean to scare you earlier,” Roman said quietly from beside him.

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Lynn Hagen

Steven had all afternoon and evening to think about it. It’s not that he wouldn’t mind being mates with Roman. The man was a hunk after all, and he did have a great personality. But for life?

“If you’re worried that I’ll hurt you, that won’t happen.” Roman leaned forward, placing his arms on his knees as his hands dangled in between. Steven could see the wheels in Roman’s head turning.

“How can you guarantee that?”

“Because I won’t,” Roman stated firmly Steven glanced down at his hands. He wasn’t sure what to say to that. Mates? “You’re not going to change into a bear, are you?”

“No. I wouldn’t want to scare you again.”

“Thanks.” This was the craziest conversation Steven had ever had.

“Fainting isn’t my favorite pastime.”

“You did it like a pro, if that helps.” Roman turned his head, smiling at Steven.

“Gee, thanks. Did I drool?”

Roman chuckled. “Nah, but your mouth was hanging open.” Steven laughed quietly. “I bet that was a pretty sight.”

“Stunning.” Huskiness lingered in his tone. Steven looked away.

Roman was flirting with him again. At least now he knew why. He was human and Roman…wasn’t. His thoughts compressed, making his head hurt. He reached up, massaging his temples.

“Hey.” Roman removed Steven’s hands, pulling Steven close to him and laying his head on Roman’s lap. His fingers began to massage Steven’s temples, making his skin prickle with pleasure.

Steven shuddered. “Relax, tiger.”

Steven closed his eyes, letting Roman’s fingers soothe away his worries. “Can a human and a bear be together?”

“Most definitely.”

“But doesn’t that go against nature?”

“I’m human. So I would say no.”

“But—”

“I’m human, Steven. Focus on that.”

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Steven quieted down. He mulled Roman’s words over. He was human right now and his hands felt wonderful. David never did anything like this for him. If Roman kept this up, he was going to spoil Steven. Roman’s fingers traced the side of Steven’s face before going back to his temples.

Steven rolled to his side and then onto his belly, looking up at Roman. “I find it hard to trust people now.” Roman’s hands lingered in the air, his brows rising then lowering as he nodded. “I expect you would after what’s happened to you.”

“I still can’t understand what I did wrong to make David act that way.” Steven couldn’t understand why he was telling Roman this. He had discussed it with Thomas, but the counselor’s answers didn’t make him feel like he was any closer to figuring it out. “I lied.” Roman sat back and rubbed his hand across his chin. “About what?”

“The counseling didn’t help,” Steven confessed as he sat up and tucked his legs under him once again. His fingers played along the chain, wondering what Roman thought of him now. “I tried, but it just doesn’t make sense to me. None of it does.”

“Are you talking about what David did?”

“Yes.” Steven laid his left elbow in the swing, rubbing his index and middle finger across his forehead, trying to figure out what he had done so wrong to deserve what had happened to him. He listened to the leaves rustle in the trees as he tried to make sense of everything.

Roman’s hand cupped the back of his neck, his other hand grabbing him around the waist as he pulled Steven into the crook of his arm. His hand lay on Steven’s head, making it rest against his body. “There is no logical reason, tiger. You’d have to be in David’s head to know what he was thinking. I can tell you that it wasn’t anything that you did. You can’t control his actions.” Steven didn’t object to what Roman had done. “I keep thinking that if I had kept quiet or just agreed with him, it wouldn’t have happened.”

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Lynn Hagen

“And I decided that I wanted you next to me. That was my decision, not yours. No matter what you said, I was going to pull you closer. It’s not a good analogy, but I’m hoping you get the point.”

“So you’re saying no matter what I did, he was going to hit me anyway? That doesn’t make sense.”

“It probably never will. Just keep telling yourself that it wasn’t your fault, tiger. Because it wasn’t.” Roman emphasized his words, driving home his message.

Steven rested against Roman, wondering if it would ever make sense. “How do you trust again?”

“That’s a hard one. I guess you have to believe that not all people are like that. You have to be willing to open yourself up again.”

“That’s scary, Roman.”

“I know, tiger.”

* * * *

Steven woke in a better mood after his talk with Roman last night on the porch. He was feeling a lot better. It was odd to him how Thomas had said the same thing. Well, he didn’t use those exact words. But it didn’t sink in when the counselor had said them, but when Roman had told him it wasn’t anything he did, Steven believed him.

He made his bed, excitement running through him to see Roman this morning. Steven took a quick shower and dressed in a hurried manner. He pushed the thought of Roman being his mate out of his head as he slid his sneakers on and tied his laces.

Steven closed his bedroom door and headed down the steps. It was Saturday, and he didn’t have to go into town.

“There he is,” Pa said as Steven entered the kitchen. “I thought you were going to sleep half the day away.”

“It’s only six in the morning. That’s way too early.” Hell if he was used to these early hours. David had lived the night life, so Steven
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51

was used to sleeping in until noon. He covered his mouth as he yawned.

“Lazy bones,” Chauncey teased him.

“Morning, tiger.” Roman saluted a cup of coffee at him. Steven blushed and slid into the chair next to Roman.

“Good morning,” he said as he watched Roman pour some coffee into a cup. Steven’s lips were already stretching out to take a sip of the hot brew. Roman chuckled as Steven grabbed the mug and brought it to his lips. His eyes rolled at the heavenly taste. There was nothing like a fresh cup of coffee to start your day.

“Damn, if a cup of coffee makes him look like that,” Chauncey teased.

Roman grunted. “Mine!”

“I’m not touching your mate. I’m just saying how—”

“That’s enough, Chauncey,” Pa warned.