With Abandon: With or Without, Book 3 (11 page)

“Oh, damn.” Just the thought of using his mate’s come as he jerked off had his cock throbbing even more. He squeezed and tugged, racing toward his orgasm, never taking his eyes off Matt’s splattered stomach and his flagging erection. Moaning, he watched Matt watching him.

The lust-filled haze of Matt’s expression was as arousing as his spent cock and the streams of semen on his abdomen. Aubrey arched his hips into his hand. The sudden urge to mark his mate washed over him. Imagining his seed decorating that tanned skin was enough to send him over the edge. The overwhelming pleasure raced up his spine. His ass cheeks squeezed together, and he came with a drawn-out groan. The first spurt hit Matt’s hip. The second doused his prick. He leaned closer, making sure to mark his mate’s balls as well. Their scents mingled together, creating a new, more enticing smell.

Matt gasped and squirmed closer. He actually lifted up until his balls touched the head of Aubrey’s dick.

Matt would catch the significance of Aubrey coming on him, but at the moment he didn’t care. He’d deal with that later. He’d done it, and he couldn’t take it back now.

Flopping down on the bed next to Matt, he shucked his boxers and pants. He tugged his shirt off and mopped the cooling semen from Matt before tossing it on the floor. “I think we broke your no-sex rule.”

Pulling him close, Matt nodded. “Wait. Does that count as sex? I didn’t actually do anything.” The amusement in his voice said he knew it did. His leg and an arm slid over Aubrey, and his head nestled against Aubrey’s shoulder.

Smiling, Aubrey wrapped his arms around the slim body and dragged the covers up over them. “If I say no, can we do it again?”

Matt’s only answer was a giggle.

Aubrey’s heart swelled. That giggle was going to be the death of him.

Chapter Eight

Today was a good day. Matt turned from his lunch and the cement picnic table to pack his English lit book away in his backpack. The sun was shining, he’d aced his first math exam, and he’d gotten off the phone with his brother thirty minutes ago. Best of all, his mate had claimed him, in a roundabout way. Oh boy, had he claimed him. The intensity of last night hadn’t surprised Matt. It was why he’d wanted to wait to get to know one another, but he didn’t regret what they’d done. If given the chance he’d do it again, especially now that Aubrey had marked him.

“What’s that smile for?” Jordan murmured around a bite of pizza.

Abandoning his backpack for a moment, Matt sat up. He’d almost forgotten that he’d gone to lunch with Jordan. “We’re going to Reynolds Hall today. I guess my wolf side is just anxious for some fun. I’m ready to hunt. It’s been awhile.” Which was true, if not the whole truth. The pull of the full moon energized him. And he couldn’t wait to see the plantation and meet Aubrey’s parents and pack. He was also going to get to hunt with Aubrey.

Jordan nodded and picked up his Coke can. “I can relate. I’m feeling a bit restless myself. Nothing like a good run, is there? Is that why you’re skipping out early?”

“Yep. It’s about a four-hour drive.” He took a bite of his pizza and adjusted his sunglasses. Too bad he couldn’t ride the Ducati to Savannah. “I’m supposed to pick Aubrey up at work and we’re heading out.” Aubrey had gotten Matt to drive the Lincoln and drop him off at work this morning. He’d shown Matt what buttons to push to give him directions to Aubrey’s office. Matt got a warm glow thinking about how Aubrey had put his reading glasses on to fiddle with the navigation screen. Who would’ve thought that glasses were sexy?

“You’ve got that dazed look again.”

Matt chuckled. “Just thinking about the car. There are a lot of cool features. It will give you gas prices, the weather report and even help you pick a restaurant.”

Jordan swigged his Coke and laughed. “You’re a technology whore.”

There was no denying that. “You should see my color identifier.” Matt grinned, remembering how much fun he and Aubrey had had with it the night before.
Oompa-Loompa.
Matt giggled.

“Your what?” Smiling, Jordan raised his eyebrows.

“It’s a little—”

Matt’s phone chimed, indicating he had a text. He dug into his pocket for his iPhone, eager to see the message. It was either Aubrey or Logan. Matt was happy to chat with either. It was probably Logan. He’d been concerned about Matt having to hide his and Aubrey’s relationship, but he’d understood.

In his hurry to extract his phone, Matt didn’t get a good grip on it. As he pulled it free of his pocket, the phone flew right out of his hand. It hit the picnic table, skidded across it, flew onto the bench seat on the opposite side of the table and landed on the ground about a yard behind Jordan. “Oh crap.” To himself he mumbled, “Please don’t be broken,” hoping his phone listened.

Jordan’s eyes got huge. He bit his lip to keep from laughing. Matt didn’t blame him. It
was
funny and an everyday occurrence with Matt—well not the phone, but other random acts of clumsiness. No doubt if Jordan stuck around he’d get as accustomed to Matt’s butterfingers as everyone else.

“I got it.” Jordan set his piece of pizza on his plate and got up to get the phone. He bent and picked up Matt’s cell, hesitating just a moment before bringing it back. “It landed on the bottom. I don’t think it’s broke.” Handing Matt his phone, he climbed over the seat and sat down.

Oh damn. He’d probably broken it. Whenever a text came through the screen lit up and showed the text for several seconds before going black again. It should still be on, but it wasn’t. Matt took the phone. “Thanks.”

“Is it okay?”

Matt pushed the button and the screen lit up. No scratches or anything. It appeared okay. “I think so.” He read the text. It was from Logan.

ok, he’s your mate, u live together, y n hell havent u fucked him yet? whats wrong with u?

Uh-oh. Had Jordan seen this? Nah, the trip across the table and the phone’s subsequent landing on the ground had turned the screen off. Too bad he couldn’t just tell Jordan too. Something told him Jordan would understand his frustration over having to hide his mating. Maybe he should tell Logan to be careful about what he texted next time anyway, just to be safe.

“What?” Jordan asked. “You’re frowning.”

“I am?” Matt glanced up. “Sorry. It’s nothing. Nothing I can talk about anyway. No big deal.”

Nodding, Jordan smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I understand.” He went back to his meal.

Somehow he imagined that Jordan did. But he’d gotten to tell Logan and that made him feel good. Of course, now he also had to deal with Logan knowing. He didn’t know whether to be pleased or lecture his brother on morals. Logan had only found out and already he was working on getting Matt laid.

Matt typed,
What r u? my pimp? Not everyone is a sex addict. Seek help.
He stuffed the phone back in his pocket and looked up to find Jordan watching him with an odd expression on his face. “What?”

Jordan raised a brow. “You gonna be okay to drive? The pull of the moon getting to you?”

What?
“Oh, you mean the phone flinging. Nah. I’m good. My middle name is klutz. And speaking of the moon, I should hit the road. Thanks again for lunch. I’m buying Monday.” He picked up his backpack and shrugged it onto his shoulder.

Jordan stood up as Matt did. He held out his hand, and Matt slapped it and did the little clasp thing. He’d never had a friend he could do that with. Jordan smacked him on the shoulder. “You’re on. Take it easy, man. Have a good hunt.”

“You too.” Matt picked up his trash and deposited it in the can at the edge of the courtyard on his way to the parking lot. How many strange looks would he get if he jumped up and clicked his heels together or maybe even whistled? Only he couldn’t whistle. Or more specifically, he couldn’t whistle the correct way. He sucked air in instead of blowing it out and, well, that had led to tons of jokes among his brothers. The fact that he was gay did not help lessen the teasing. Matt grinned. He had a great family.

His good mood lasted all the way to the car, where a case of nerves bombarded him. What if Aubrey’s family hated him? What if the pack didn’t like him? Would anyone be able to tell that he and Aubrey were mates? Matt sniffed himself as he started the car. He didn’t smell any different.

“Sync has connected to your phone and is reminding you that 911 assist is set to on.”

“Holy cow.” Matt slapped his hand to his chest and chuckled. He’d forgotten all about the car talking. He scanned though the satellite stations and finally settled on the country one that Aubrey liked. Putting his seat belt on, he opened the moon roof and backed out. He set the navigation to Aubrey’s office and away he went.

By the time he got to the Atlanta Buchanan he was giddy about seeing his mate.

He pulled under the awning, past the valet parking attendant and texted Aubrey to let him know he was here. When Aubrey appeared, Matt jumped out of the car and ran around to the passenger side. It was all he could do to just wave and say hello.

Aubrey had already changed out of his suit and was in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. A tight black T-shirt that showed off the chiseled pecs and abs Matt had gotten to play with last night. He was absolutely drool-worthy, and Matt was beginning to think Logan was on to something with the whole sex thing. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Aubrey pushed the sunglasses on top of his head down over his eyes. “I take it this means I’m driving?” He popped the trunk and put his laptop bag and work clothes away.

“Yep. I’m going to play with the car.”

Aubrey headed around to the driver’s side. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? How late were you getting to class?”

“Only a few minutes.”

Aubrey waved to someone before he slid into his seat. “I knew you’d be tinkering with the computer.” He chuckled.

The sound went right to Matt’s groin. Good grief, his mate was sexy. “Only a little.”

After he shut his door, Aubrey rolled down Matt’s window and gazed over the top of his sunglasses at someone. “See you Monday.” He pointed his finger. “Stay out of trouble.”

Matt turned and noticed Carson, also in casual clothes, headed toward them. Matt’s stomach plummeted to his feet, and an icy chill went down his spine. Aubrey had said Carson worked in Macon and they rarely saw one another.

Carson walked over to the car and leaned down, placing his forearms on Matt’s door. “Me? Get in trouble?” He smirked at Aubrey, clearly flirting. “Would I do that?” He batted his lashes. Looking Matt up and down, he said, “Hi, Matt.”

“Hi.” Matt’s throat was suddenly dry. Why had Carson’s voice gotten husky?

“If you ever get tired of this bozo, give me a call.” Carson winked.

Matt barely suppressed a gasp. Carson was coming on to him?

Aubrey growled.

“What?” Carson feigned innocence.

Aubrey glared.

It was like watching a tennis match, looking back and forth between them.

“I was only playing.” Carson scoffed and lowered his voice to a whisper. “And you have to admit Matt and I would look pretty together.” He grinned at Matt. The mischief in his eyes helped put Matt at ease a little. Maybe he was just playing with Aubrey. It didn’t explain why he was here working with Aubrey though. “Think about it. I know you like to watch.”

This time Matt was unsuccessful at squelching his gasp. Aubrey liked to watch? Had Aubrey watched someone with Carson before? The butterflies in Matt’s stomach ramped up a notch. Would Aubrey expect him to be with other people? Could he even hold Aubrey’s interest with his measly lack of experience?

“Carson…” Aubrey warned.

Carson chuckled. “Oh come on, where is your sense of humor?” He sobered and tapped Matt on the shoulder. “Sorry.”

Matt nodded, not sure what else to do. What was proper etiquette when being teased by an ex-lover of one’s mate? At least Matt hoped they were
ex
-lovers.

Carson said goodbye, and Aubrey pulled out of the hotel parking lot and rested his hand on Matt’s thigh. “Just ignore him.”

The weight of Aubrey’s hand reminded Matt of last night, but he didn’t let it distract him. “I thought he worked in Macon?”

“He did. I hired him to be my executive assistant to get him away from the mess he got himself into. Boskie is giving him problems.”

“Oh.” Matt didn’t know how he felt about that. He shouldn’t be jealous, but— “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Aubrey caressed his thigh. “I just did.”

Home, finally.
The sense of relief and pride eased over Aubrey like a warm blanket. He’d known Matt wasn’t happy with him hiring Carson as his EA, but he didn’t know what to do about it. He wasn’t going to let Matt dictate his decisions. The sooner Matt understood how things were going to be, the better off they’d both be.

“Whoa.”

Matt’s admiration filled Aubrey with pride. Being here always brought forth a myriad of feelings. It pounded in the responsibility of caring for the mansion and its history, but more than that it soothed something deep inside him.

He glanced over at his mate as he drove through the iron gates. It weighed upon him too, because as much as he wished otherwise, Matt could not be the mansion’s chatelain.

“Whoa,” Matt repeated. “It’s amazing.” His voice took on the same timbre one used in a church or museum.

Pulling himself out of his musings, Aubrey nodded. He promised himself he wasn’t going to dwell on what couldn’t be. Instead he’d share with Matt what he could. “It is. It makes me feel insignificant and like king of the castle all at the same time.” The stately mansion had been here for almost two hundred and fifty years and would likely be here many more centuries after Aubrey was dead and buried.

As they drove up the oak-lined dirt drive, the house loomed in front of them with its big white columns.

The look on Matt’s face was priceless. His gaze darted everywhere, his eyes wide with wonder. “Is everything original?”

“What do you mean? Like the furniture and stuff? The actual house? The grounds?”

“Yeah.”

It wasn’t an answer. Aubrey chuckled. “The kitchen was added to the back of the house in the early nineteen hundreds, and a few of the outbuildings have been redone. The barn and stables out back are brand new, only about ten years old. Some of the slave quarters were torn down, but a few were saved for storage and guestrooms. Most of the main furniture is pretty old. Some of it’s been refinished, and other stuff has been updated. Like my bed. It’s almost two hundred years old, but I bought a memory-foam mattress last year. Obviously the claw-foot tub in my bathroom isn’t as old as the house, but it’s pretty old, like the late eighteen hundreds or early nineteen hundreds when the indoor plumbing was put in. I think the plumbing and electricity was majorly redone again in 1961. And we’ve had other things added, like the cable and satellite. My dad put in bigger water heaters a few years back. My mom is trying to talk my dad into installing a heated floor in their bathroom.”