Chapter Five
Rusty felt like his heart would pound right out of his chest. Both arousal and embarrassment warred within him. He couldn't believe Korvyn's antics, and Acheron's actions were just as confusing.
After grabbing a cookie sheet from a lower cabinet, Rusty straightened and turned. His breath caught. Taking in Acheron's warm regard, he felt his blood heat for a new reason.
My mate's goal was to stop Korvyn from saying anything else that would embarrass me. That was very kind of him.
"H-Here you go."
"Thank you." Acheron took the item and placed it on the counter. "So, got a favorite barbeque sauce in the house?" he asked, turning his attention to carefully easing the pieces of meat out of the resealable bags inside the soft-sided lunch case. "If not, I brought some." Acheron pointed at a bottle tucked underneath. He then glanced over his shoulder at Korvyn. "And how about that beer? Plus, why would you make a joke about me sneaking you some if you have it in the house?"
Korvyn's scoff yanked Rusty out of his admiration of his short, lean mate. "Um, yeah, yeah." Rusty turned toward his brother. "We have a local favorite. Grab it from the fridge when you get those beers, huh?"
"Uh, sure. Yeah." Korvyn turned his chair and opened the fridge.
Slipping between Acheron and his brother's chair, Rusty couldn't resist sliding his hand along the smaller shifter's neck. He took a second to admire the differences between his bronzed flesh and his mate's much darker tone. Touching the divot at the base of the neck caused Acheron to hum softly as he offered him a pleased-looking side-eyed glance.
"Korvyn does take certain meds, so there is a limit to how much alcohol he can have on any given day," Rusty told him softly, unable to pull his hand away. Acheron's skin was just too smooth. Plus, his mate didn't seem to mind. "While we have beer in the house, we don't drink it much." Furrowing his brows, he added, "Especially in lieu of how Korvyn ended up in that chair."
"Ah." Acheron's lips curved into a wry smile. "A test." He glanced Korvyn's way before focusing on the food again. "To see how sensitive I'd be to you and your brother's needs. Interesting." After he completed laying out the meat, Acheron straightened and met Rusty's gaze. "I'm not familiar with family rituals. Did I pass?"
"Yeah, you passed," Rusty assured quietly, smiling at his mate. Realizing he still teased his fingertips over the back of Acheron's neck, he pulled his hand away and grinned. "You started the grill, then?"
Holding out his hand for the pair of beers Korvyn was holding out, Rusty watched him nod.
"Yeah. It's warming," Korvyn told him before reaching into the fridge to grab a drink of his own, choosing bottled iced tea. "Hey, what kind of steak is that?"
"Are you asking if it's something other than beef?" Acheron asked, turning and taking the barbeque sauce that Korvyn had grabbed along with his tea. Glancing at the label, he added, "Oh, spicy. Nice. Nothing wrong with a bit of zing on the meat." Acheron glanced at Rusty and winked, then asked, "Basting brush?"
"Yeah. Is it cow? Or some other exotic meat?" Korvyn rolled across the kitchen, barking a laugh. "You know that's how Rusty got me to eat moose. Didn't tell me. Just plopped a slab of grilled meat on my plate."
Acheron's lips curved into a half-smile as he met Rusty's gaze. His dark eyes twinkled. "I'll remember that trick."
Placing the one beer bottle on the counter and popping the cap off the second, Rusty grinned back at Acheron. "Well, he'd turned it down at our parents' house the week before, and I told him he was missing out. He'd glibly responded, bet not." Winking at Acheron, he placed the beer close to his mate, then picked up the second and opened that, too. "I won that bet."
"Oh, yeah?" Acheron took the brush from Korvyn, then set it on the tray. "So. What'd you win?"
Rusty opened his mouth, then paused. His cheeks heated a little. He exchanged a glance with Korvyn and saw his brother's lips twitch.
Acheron turned to the sink and quickly washed his hands. Then he picked up the beer and moved to stand in the space between the kitchen and dining room. After he'd taken a sip of his drink, Acheron rested his forearms on the bar. A soft chuckle escaped him as he glanced between them.
"Wow. Good story?" Acheron's lips twitched. "Or embarrassing story?"
While Rusty continued to struggle for a few seconds, Korvyn offered, "Hey, you brought it up." His dark eyes twinkled as he offered the mental jab, "What? Hiding your vices until later in the relationship?"
"Vices?" Acheron's brows shot up, and his eyes widened. "Are vices normally shared on the first date?"
"You're mates. Is this actually a date?" Korvyn asked pointedly.
Rusty cleared his throat. "When Korvyn lost the bet, he had to eat anchovy and spinach pizza with me."
Acheron's jaw sagged open. His expression one of clear shock. For an instant, he just stared.
"Anchovies and spinach... on a pizza?"
Holding Acheron's gaze, Rusty nodded. "I think it must be the cat in me. I love all fish."
"What kind of cat are you, anyway?"
"I'm a serval cat. The non-shifter variety hale from the African plains." Seeing Acheron's narrowed eyes and scenting his confusion, Rusty explained, "If some unknowing human spotted me out running, they might mistake me for a very small leopard, but my legs are longer and my ears are larger."
"I would love to see that, my se-sweet mate."
Seeing the way Acheron glanced discreetly at Korvyn, Rusty just knew that he had amended what he was going to say. He could probably guess, since his mate had already called him sexy on more than one occasion. His response to such a compliment--his chest warming and the feel of butterflies in his stomach--was far more confusing.
"I run often," Rusty told him. "I'm sure it'll happen soon enough."
"Good." Acheron took a sip of his beer. "Well, in the spirit of sharing vices, I have a hell of a time remembering to put the toilet seat down." He shrugged, twirling the beer between his fingertips. "Good thing you're not a girl, eh?"
For a second, Rusty's mind blanked. When Korvyn barked a laugh and stated, "Stay out of my bathroom, then." He waved at himself. "I don't stand to pee, so--"
Acheron's lips parted, and he darted a glance between them. "Oh, shit. Right." Grimacing, he mumbled, "That was thoughtless of me. Sorry."
"Don't sweat it." Korvyn grinned broadly. With the way his eyes creased, Rusty knew he wasn't the least bit upset. "Hell, it's kinda nice that you'd forget such a thing. Ya know?"
Nodding slowly, Acheron shifted from foot to foot, still appearing uncertain.
In an effort to reassure, Rusty reached over and touched his upper arm, teasing along the flesh until his fingers dipped under his sleeve. Immediately, Acheron's focus snapped to him, and his eyelids lowered to half-mast. He slipped out his tongue and slid it over his bottom lip.
The heady smell of Acheron's arousal flooded the space around them. Rusty's own body responded. His blood heated and flowed south. Staring into Acheron's hungry gaze, Rusty slid his hand around and gripped his mate's bicep with the intention of pulling his mate closer so he could smell him better.
"Aaaaand, I'm gonna go check on the grill," Korvyn cut in, mirth in his tone. "I'd say you should head out and cook, that way you could make out on the back deck"--he started rolling his wheelchair back through the mudroom--"but I'd be afraid you'd burn the meat, and I really want some of those ribs."
With that parting shot, accompanied by a few snorts of laughter, Korvyn left.
"Shit, I'm sorry," Acheron murmured before blowing out a harsh breath. He peered in the direction Korvyn had disappeared, then back at Rusty. "Lamar warned me that coming onto you in front of Korvyn would embarrass your brother." Waving his hand, he added, "And by extension, you. That wasn't my intention." Rubbing his lifted hand over his closely buzzed black hair, he muttered, "You're just--your touch is--"
After glancing toward the mudroom again, Acheron met Rusty's gaze fully. "I have another vice. Sex." The next look that he swept over Rusty was so hungry it felt almost like a physical caress. "I've been enjoying sex since I was fourteen--the endorphin release, the physical contact, the give and take of pleasure." For a second, Acheron's eyes glazed a little, and a shudder worked through his body. He blinked once, twice, then refocused on Rusty as he wrapped his free hand back around his beer bottle. "Having my mate near and not acting is... a strange sort of torture."
Rusty felt a surge of anger mixed with jealousy. For an instant, he tightened his hold on Acheron's arm. Then the image of Acheron with his arm around Louis entered his mind.
Growling low in his throat, Rusty fisted his hands as he glared at Acheron. "Were you going to have sex with Louis?" he demanded, his voice rising with every word he spoke. "Were you going to fuck him? Is that why you were holding him? Were you seducing him?"
Acheron's eyes narrowed just a little, then widened. His dark eyes seemed to spark with a light of their own. "If you must know, no, I wasn't, not that it has any relevance on us."
"What the hell do you mean it doesn't have relevance on us?" Rusty couldn't remember the last time he'd felt such jealous anger. "You're my mate. Of course, it matters. Everything you do matters to me!"
His nostrils flaring, Acheron straightened and took the step around the counter. He boldly entered Rusty's personal space and gripped his upper arms in a tight hold. Tipping his head back, he scowled up at him.
"You're attempting to cause a fight, and I don't know why."
The snarl in Acheron's tone made Rusty's cat uneasy. He swallowed hard, trying to understand the riot of emotions coursing through him. While Rusty still felt jealousy, it eased to a simmer. The close proximity of Acheron, the feel of his hands on his skin, caused Rusty to feel a wave of heat of another kind.
"Explain."
Clenching his jaw, Rusty fought against his more dominant mate's command. Hell, he didn't know what to say anyway. His mood swings were... he didn't understand himself.
Acheron slid his hands up Rusty's arms. Resting one on his neck, he massaged his nape lightly. He moved the second into Rusty's hair, using the hold to tip his head, forcing him to bare his throat.
Rusty sighed, relaxing in the smaller man's hold. He didn't scent any anger or annoyance from his mate. His cat purred in his mind at the petting sensations, and he lowered his eyelids to half-mast as he enjoyed the feelings his mate caused.
"Can you talk to me, my sexy kitty?" Acheron murmured soothingly. "Tell me what riled you."
Finding his tongue, Rusty whispered, "I didn't like hearing you talk about sex with others." He growled at his own words. "You're my mate."
"What we've done before meeting each other must be dismissed," Acheron declared. "I'm a lot older than you, but neither of us are virgins, even if you haven't ever been with a man." His tone changed, becoming husky. "Although that is something I intend to change... soon."
Swallowing hard, Rusty jerked a nod. He knew Acheron was right. Knowing it and getting his tumultuous emotions under control were two very different things.