Chapter Two
I couldn't smell him at all, which was really driving me crazy. My deficient nose could usually get a hint of someone's scent, just enough to help identify human or shifter. But the only thing I could scent off of sweet Edmond was the minty flavor of a muscle rub.
His occasional twinge told me he'd hurt something, and I had to admit my curiosity was driving me crazy. In more ways than one. Could it have been the ex? His fear of seeing him would definitely lead me to believe that the man had possibly hurt him, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions.
I'd honestly never in my life been more attracted or intrigued by another person. From the very first moment I'd seen him, stumbling out of that SUV and frantically looking around like he was waiting to be attacked, my attention returned again and again to him.
Trying not to let the frustration of the situation show in my voice, I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye before giving my attention back to the road. "Did you injure yourself, Edmond?"
"No!" He said suddenly, his eyes wide as he spun slightly in his seat to face me. "The relationship sucked––pretty much from the beginning––but I'd never cut myself."
That wasn't exactly what I'd meant, but I was starting to think Edmond's brain just worked differently than others. It was quite endearing even if it could be a bit frustrating when you were desperate for information like I was then.
"No," I said softly, smiling over at him. "I just meant because you're wearing a muscle cream."
"Oh!" There was a long pause where emotion after emotion flitted across Edmond's face as he watched mine. When I thought he'd just ignore the question altogether, he sighed. "That's what I didn't tell my mom and dad. Or my brother or sister. It's why we weren't together long."
We might not think exactly alike, but I knew exactly what that meant. Growling, I pulled over on the side of the road, more than thankful for the slightly deserted stretch of road leading from the town of Purdy to its outskirts where the leap was located.
When I slammed my old truck in park and slung off my seatbelt, Edmond's surprised eyes met mine, but he didn't flinch when I reached for him, and that brought me a sense of pride as I grabbed the bottom of his shirt and started lifting it, revealing the side I knew he was favoring.
"What are you doing?" He asked, surprise but not fear in his voice as he lifted his arms, allowing me access.
"Let me see," I growled. I didn't want to scare him, but I was having a hard time controlling my temper in that moment. Some bastard had hurt what was mine and I couldn't even go back and sniff him out and murder him.
His mouth opened in an O and then closed as he pursed his lips in a pout. Rolling his eyes, he reached down to undo the seatbelt so we could lift the shirt higher, flinching slightly when he moved too fast.
"Wishful thinking," he grumbled under his breath.
What was wishful thinking? "I'm sorry?" I asked, looking up at his face.
Damn, he's beautiful. Even when his face was all squished in on itself in a pout that I didn't understand.
"Nothing," he grumbled again, his eyes moving from where my hands hovered just inches from his exposed skin to my face and back again. "It's really not that big a deal."
The big, dark bruise that covered the side of his rib cage made my stomach roll. He was just a human. A bruise like that wasn't going to heal quickly like it would on me. "Oh, Edmond," I whispered, sorrow and rage mixing in my gut.
Whoever had done that to him, would have had to hit him with something fairly hard, or kicked him repeatedly. Either way, the thought that they could do it to someone as sweet and precious as Edmond Aldridge said everything anyone needed to know about that person. They were evil. "And you said he was there?"
I reached out and brushed my fingers lightly over the skin, not wanting to hurt him, but needing to touch him, wishing I had the ability to take the pain on for him.
He gasped at the contact, and I jerked my hand back, looking up at his face, worried even the light touch of my fingertips on his skin had caused him pain. His eyes were wide, but there was no pain hidden in that green gaze. He looked hungry, and it was a look that went straight to my dick.
Everything about Edmond left me in a state of semi-arousal. I'd spent every day since I got to Purdy trying to avoid the guy who seemed to be everywhere because I couldn't stop wanting him. I couldn't stop craving him. Every day was spent keeping him at a distance, so I didn't do something stupid and every night was spent doing all those stupid things in my dreams.
The more time I was around him, the worse it got. It probably wasn't my best idea in the world to volunteer to spend an afternoon with him doing date type stuff, but I'd been helpless to my need to make him happy. And I couldn't say I regretted it.
Not only had I gotten to know the man a little better, but I'd been there to ensure that the man who'd hurt him didn't get another chance.
"I don't know." He didn't put his shirt down, and I couldn't keep my fingers from reaching back out and caressing his skin. "I once thought a trash bag was a dog." I glanced up to catch him rolling his eyes. "I almost wrecked my car."
Had he seen a trash bag in the road and thought it was a dog, swerve to miss it and almost cause a wreck? I could see the logical train of thought. He wasn't just saying random stuff. It all made sense if you followed a thought process. And it was pretty freaking cute.
"Are you saying you might need glasses or that you see things that aren't there sometimes?" I asked, smirking, my hand sliding further across his skin, long off the track of the bruise.
He shuddered as my palm moved across the slightly bronzed, completely smooth skin just below his pec and I marveled in just how different we were.
"Yeah," he answered, making me chuckle.
I would give anything to make him mine. If only I could smell him. I had a sneaking suspicion he meant more to me than the average gorgeous human. There was a definite connection there, and I had a feeling I knew what it was.
"Do you have anything of his?" I asked, bringing my brain back around to the situation. "Like a shirt or something with his scent on it?"
I pulled my hands back reluctantly, wanting to touch every inch of his sweet skin, but knowing the longer I touched him, the harder it would be to focus.
Edmond dropped his shirt when my hands were safely back on my side of the truck, again pouting. "Are you going to track him like a bloodhound?"
Regret slammed through me. I would give anything to be able to do that for this man. I desperately wanted to be the one that trailed him for Edmond and made sure he wasn't capable of hurting him again, but I knew that was impossible. "I'm afraid I can't do that," I whispered sadly. "My sense of smell isn't like other shifter's."
"Oh," he said, his face going thoughtful for a moment. I could see the wheels turning, so many thoughts until finally, his eyes lit up and he reached out and grabbed my forearm excitedly. "That's great."
Oh, Edmond. I did my best to hide a smile. "It's great that I have a deficient sense?" Sure, I didn't like having a deficiency, especially when it meant not being able to recognize my mate if I had one and having a weak spot that meant I might not be able to protect him, but I knew he hadn't meant it the way it sounded.
"Shit!" Edmond blurted, pretty green eyes wide as he squeezed my arm. "No. I just meant." Pointing back and forth between us frantically, he waved his hands around in obvious panic. "All hope and all that."
Pride swelled in my chest again, this time centered on the fact that Edmond had smoke signaled that he wanted to be my mate. And he was so fucking cute doing it.
Leaning across the console, I cupped his face, bringing it closer to mine, "But why would you want to belong to me?"
There were a million reasons he should be running the other way. But he genuinely seemed to want me. Was it possible this was the mate pull? I sure felt drawn to him, even without having his scent to guide me. There was nothing I wanted more than to drag him over that console and touch what I wanted to be mine.
"Is it because you're straight?" he asked after a moment spent watching my mouth, and I had to chuckle.
Letting my lips rest against his, I rubbed my thumb along his temple. "I'm definitely not straight, Edmond. Not even close," I growled against his mouth.
He nodded, his mouth brushing mine. "I can't even think straight," he moaned, making my lips tingle. "It's not just your beard."
Good Lord, he was adorable. "That makes me look like a redneck?" I asked, too turned on to try to follow his line of thought.
"That makes you fucking gorgeous."
I pressed my mouth harder against his, rubbing our lips together almost punishingly. I need him. I needed to taste him. I slipped my tongue inside, finding his and sliding them together, loving the way his tried to follow mine as I drew back and then plunged in again.
When I swiped at the roof of his mouth, he whimpered, and I pulled back to look at him. "You taste amazing," I growled, loving the lust look on his face and the way his swollen wet lips glistened from our kiss and the way his eyes looked almost too heavy to hold open.
It was a sexy, addicting look that I wanted to put on his handsome face every day.
"Mate amazing?" he asked on a whisper, swiping his tongue over his swollen bottom lip.
Yes! But I knew I couldn't say that out loud yet. I had to know for sure before I got either of our hopes up and my tiger, though interested enough to perk his ears and lift his head enough to sniff the air, hadn't confirmed yet that Edmond was mine.
I chuckled when his eyes met mine, obvious hope in those beautiful green orbs. "God, you're cute."
He smirked, an eyebrow wagging. "Fuckable cute?"
"Definitely." I pulled him back into a kiss, my dick already full and cramped in my jeans. I needed to touch him, to press our bodies together, but I was afraid to hurt his ribs.
I pulled from the kiss again, dragging my lips down along his jaw. "Can you climb over here without hurting yourself?" I asked when my mouth was pressed against the soft skin just below his ear.
He pulled back fast and attacked the buckle to his seatbelt, slinging it so hard when he finally got it unfastened that the metal clanked against the window. His eyes widened, and he cringed, but when it was proven that it hadn't broken the glass, he quickly climbed over and into my lap, straddling my hips and pressing his dick to mine as best he could.
We both groaned, and I latched on to his hips, rocking him forward while leaning forward and latching on to the skin of his neck, nipping and sucking and rubbing my beard against the pretty flesh until it was red and marked while he continued to grind against me.
He felt so perfect in my arms, I wasn't the least surprised when I was on the edge in less than a minute, my body frantic for release. Sliding my hands around to his ass, I groaned at the feel of his globes slightly overflowing my big hands as I lifted my hips, pressing up against him as he pressed down.
He gasped, his muscles tightening up and his head falling back, looking like the most perfect fantasy, and then he keened out a beautiful sound that pushed me over the edge, causing me to empty into my pants while growling his name.
Slumping against me, he nuzzled his face against my neck, breathing hard against my skin and making happy little goosebumps dance across my flesh.
I wanted to stay there forever, holding my little ball of sunshine, but we needed to get back, and I needed to ask a favor of Green in regard to an abusive asshole named Kelso.
Sighing, I tapped the sweet swell of his ass. He grumbled against my neck, making me smile. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's get you back to the leap so I can make sure you're safe." When he reluctantly climbed back into his seat, cringing a bit when he twisted funny, I waited until he was securely fastened into his seatbelt before I pulled back on the road. "Everyone is going to smell us on each other," I said, not at all repentant about it.
When I glanced over at Edmond, he had his head leaned back against the seat, a satisfied smile on his face. "I know."
***
"Oh good!" I heard from the other side of the door as I raised my hand to knock. "Maybe now you'll stop staring at that homophobic redneck like he's a fucking Christmas cookie."
Dropping my hand, I frowned. Moore really was convinced I was some kind of homophobic asshole. All because I couldn't stop staring at his brother when we all first met. Could I help it that Edmond was all the things I'd ever wanted in a man? He'd probably looked just as stupid staring at Carpenter when they first met. Hell, he still did most of the time.
"Axel isn't a homophobe," Edmond groaned, sounding put out. "Not all rednecks are homophobes. And how could I not stare?" There was a pause where Edmond hummed, and the sound went straight to my dick. "I bet he looks delicious in boots and shorts."
I snorted, rolling my eyes. What was it with this family? Sure, I knew people who wore them…together. "I don't wear boots and shorts," I grumbled.
Carpenter laughed, and I cringed, knowing he'd heard me.
"What are you giggling about, GI Jokester?" Moore demanded, his voice holding a hint of amusement.
"Axel said he doesn't wear boots and shorts," Carpenter said, ratting me out.
I could have sworn I heard a why, I never from the other side and I imagined Moore standing there with his nose in the air and a hand pressed to his chest dramatically.
The door opened, and a smiling Edmond greeted me, beautiful happiness on his face. Somehow, I'd put that there. "Are you lurking?"
Rolling my eyes, I leaned into his space, "I was coming by to check on you, but realized you had company."
"So you decided to listen to our conversation instead?" Moore asked, not at all trying to hide his immense dislike of me.
"I'll handle this, Moore," Edmond threw over his shoulder before moving even closer into my space. "Would you like to come in and hang out with my bigoted brother?"
"I'm not a bigot!" Moore yelled dramatically. "All my best friends are rednecks."
"We both know you don't have any friends," Edmond said dryly, continuing to look at me. Winking, he stepped aside, letting me through.
I tried not to laugh when more crossed his arms over his chest like a petulant child, pouting. "I'm not a bigot."
I wasn't sure who he was talking to because he was glaring at the dresser.
"Are you intolerant of another being because he's different or because of stereotype? Edmond asked, batting his eyes at his brother who was still blatantly not looking at anyone. "Keep in mind, hypocrite, we're from Oklahoma. Most of our hometown was rednecks, and Big Max would have done anything for you."
"That's because Big Max wanted to feed me his little Max." When Carpenter growled, Moore smiled, slinking over to him and pressing his chest to the bigger man's. "Don't worry. I wouldn't let Big Max or Little Max anywhere near the goods. The guy showered like once a month."
"He was pretty disgusting," Edmond said, cringing. "But he would have done anything for either one of us and he was redneck and proud of it. Not all rednecks want to kick our ass. And just so you know how bad a judge of character you are, Axel actually kisses boys!" Edmond froze, turning his wide eyes on me. "Oops. Did I just out you?"
I chuckled, capturing one of his T-shirt and dragging him to me. "No, sweetheart. I've been out for almost sixty years."
He came easily, laughing softly when I put my arms around his waist, careful not to squeeze too hard and hurt his ribs. His scent wafted up to me, and I felt the throb in my body as my heart rate picked up slightly.
"You would think he'd figure out how to dress then," Moore grumbled, making me chuckle, and Edmond stand on his tiptoes to glare over my shoulder at him.
His scent was stronger at his neck and I involuntarily squeezed him when I got a better whiff. My tiger perked up, lifting his giant head and sniffing the air.
Edmond grunted softly, and I immediately loosened my grip on him, not wanting to hurt the precious man. I never wanted to hurt him. I only ever wanted to make things perfect for him.
"I showered," He whispered, eyes wide and soft as he looked at me, probably feeling the strange energy traveling through my body.
I smiled, but I knew it was strained. "Are you wanting me to sniff you?" He nodded. Would it be rude to start kicking people out? It wasn't even my room, but if my failure of a nose was giving me the correct information, the man who was staying in it was. "I have a better way."
"How the hell did you learn to follow that so quickly?" Edmond demanded, and I could see him out of the corner of my eye looking back and forth between his brother and me. "A better way to what?"
"Go away," Edmond said, face and expression of awe, his eyes never leaving me.
"What?!" Moore's voice squeaked. "I'm not leaving you alone with him. He looks like one of those guys who thinks he's straight if he's the one getting sucked off." The grown man stomped his foot. "Then he'll beat the hell out of you for making him want you."
My head swung around so I could look at Edmond's brother, feeling actually offended by his words that time. "That's what I look like to you?"
People could say a lot of things about me and I usually didn't care. I wasn't emotionally invested in much. But I never would have thought I looked like that.
"He's not," Edmond growled, pulling away from me to turn and glare at his brother. "Trust me. I know what those look like now."
"What?" Moore's breathless reply as he looked at his brother in horror was almost completely drowned out by Carpenter's growled, "what?"
"You heard me. That ex-boyfriend you were so happy followed me to Purdy and everyone thought I was crazy to break up with?" Edmond reached for the hem of his shirt and I almost felt sorry for his brother when my man lifted the material, showing them the black bruise around his ribs.
I was actually surprised Edmond could move at all with the color that vivid.
"Kelso did that to you?" Moore looked devastated as he looked at the abused flesh of his brother's side, reaching out to touch, but getting shut down when Edmond dropped his shirt and took a step back.
"He showed up at my house a couple hours before you got there, pretending he was happy to see me." Edmond turned back to me, burrowing under my arm and pressing the side of his face to my pec as he wrapped his arms around me. "He was nice for all of like twenty minutes. Until I refused to tell him where I was moving to and that I didn't want to be contacted by him anymore. I probably should have known better than to do it while I was alone, but I really wanted him to leave, and I knew you guys were going to be a little longer."
I stroked his back, again stirring his scent into the air around us. With every new whiff, I was more and more convinced Edmond was mine. But it was hard to trust this nose. Even if every part of my body was convinced that he belonged to me, my messed up fucking nose hadn't convinced my tiger fully yet.
"I got ahold of Green after we got home from the plaza," I said, after clearing my throat. "Kelso Rogers took a short leave from work stating the cause as needing to spend time with his boyfriend due to a traumatic incident. His credit card was scanned for fuel and snacks in Kansas."
Edmond's eyes were moist when he looked up at me and my chest constricted in pain for the sweet man. "It wasn't a trash bag," he whispered, and I knew that wasn't relief I saw on his face.
He'd been hoping it had been a fluke.
"No, sweetheart." I pulled his head to my shoulder and pressed his face to my neck, needing to comfort him. "I think you probably really did see him today."
"Wow." Moore came around to stand behind his brother, so he could look me in the face. "Well, you deserve some leeway if you understand him when he cuts out and you did take care of him this afternoon––"
"He sure did," Carpenter mumbled under his breath at the same time I blinked down at his mate in indignation. "Cuts out? Are you comparing him to a cell phone?"
"What?" Moore demanded of his mate, ignoring me completely as he leaned around my person to look at Carpenter while Edmond shrugged in my arms, saying, "that's kinda what it is."
We all looked around at each other, the moment getting kinda awkward before Moore finally spoke up. "Emo, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I didn't know Kelso was such a bad person."
Edmond waved a hand in his brother's direction, his eyes focused on mine. "Water under the bridge. Will you please leave now?"
Moore gasped, making Edmond roll his eyes and Carpenter chuckle. As his mate grabbed his arm and started dragging him out of the room, he pointed a finger at me, glaring. "You better not hurt my brother!"
As Carpenter dragged his cranky mate out of the bedroom, he caught my eye, his expression one of question and I had a feeling I knew what that question was. He wanted to know if Edmond was mine.
Everything in me screamed to answer yes, but I needed to be sure.
He frowned when I shrugged, no doubt confused as to why I wouldn't know. Aside from a select few members of my streak, Edmond was the only person I'd ever willingly told about my faulty sense of smell.
My alpha and my doctor knew, obviously. And of course my parents knew. They'd all been there when the hunter had shot me in the back of the head.
I could only imagine what he must have been thinking when he went out hunting deer and saw an adolescent tiger prowling through the woods. He'd probably been scared shitless.
His gun hadn't been strong enough to go in and out of my tiger's thick skull, which meant a bullet lodged inside my brain. Thankfully, my shifter healing had started immediately repairing the damage, and it hadn't even gotten close to my brainstem, so my body continued to function, but it had meant surgery to remove the bullet––which we later found out had damaged the part of my brain that processed scents––and a few days in recovery.
Carpenter nodded just before he shut the door with him and his mate on the other side, but I could tell he'd be asking many, many questions later. I thought maybe I could answer them for this group. I definitely trusted them more than I did some of my streak. Sad since I'd only known them for a few days.
"Cut out?" I asked again, looking down into those pretty green eyes, trying to be stern.
"It's a good way to describe the way I am," he defended, shrugging. "It's like when you're talking to someone, and you only catch a sentence here and there. Sometimes I forget to say all the sentences. It's just sadly the way I am."
I leaned down, pecking a kiss to the side of his mouth, brushing my lips over to the middle. They parted for me, letting me dip my tongue inside just enough to lick at the soft, skin.
"I like the way you are," I whispered, letting my breath ghost against his mouth.
Shuddering, his eyes dropped closed, and he went pliant and soft in my arms. "That's because you know I get like that because you mess with my head."
"I like everything about you, Edmond." I pressed our mouths together more firmly licking between his lips and sliding my tongue along his. For the second time that day, his flavor exploded across my tongue, and my tiger rumbled its approval.
He might not be ready to claim this man as my mate, but he was definitely warming up to the idea. In my heart, I had no doubt that Edmond was the one for me. But until I got my tiger on board, I couldn't claim him. It was time to wake the beast.
Edmond groaned as I pulled away from the kiss. He melted into my body like hot wax, and I growled my approval against his neck, rubbing my beard against his sensitive skin and leaving the most beautiful whisker burn
"Do you think I'm your mate, Axel?" he asked on a gasp when I pressed my dick against his stomach, putting friction on both our cocks and his pressed against my upper thigh.
"I still can't believe you actually want to be," I pulled my head back slightly, needing to look into his eyes when I laid out for him the truth. "You're so gorgeous and sweet and perfect, and I'm a gruff, redneck with brain damage and failing streak."
"Axel!" he gasped, this time in horror. "Look at you. You say gruff like it's a bad thing." His eyes were wide with awe as he moved them over my face. "It's a delicious thing." His hand came up to my face, the tips his fingers sinking into the hair at my cheeks. "Your beard is soft and messy, and I just want to run my fingers though it all the time." His grip , and his voice dropped seductively. "Or grab ahold of it and pull you into a kiss. You're big and strong and manly and what the fuck do I care if your nose doesn't work like every other shifter's in the world?"
Releasing my beard, he smoothed the hair back down into its unruly place. "As for your leap, did you know that I actually have a degree in Entrepreneurial Studies?" His face was hopeful as his voice became unsure. "I bet I can do a lot to help. You know, if you wanted to take me to live with you."
My body seized, my whole being freezing in that moment. I'd been scared to hope. I knew if this man was my mate––and I honestly had zero doubt in that moment––I was going to have to figure out a way to balance my duty to my streak and my need for my mate. I hadn't even considered that he'd want to move nearly a thousand miles from his family to be with me.
"You would do that?" I asked, my throat tightening. I never cried. But I could already tell, being mated to Edmond was going to upend my life completely. In the best fucking way possible. "If you turned out to be my mate, you'd move to Tennessee with me? Leave your family?"
"Of course," he said, like it was absolutely obvious. Like it was the stupidest question he'd ever heard. "A mate is everything. I look around this leap, and I see all these couples and how happy they are, and I have no doubt I'd live at the bottom of the sea for my mate." He smiled radiantly. His face nearly too fucking beautiful to look at. "For you. Because I might not be able to sense it with my nose, but I know you're mine. I sense it with my heart."
"Shit," I whispered, my voice filled with the emotions I was feeling so hard right then. "It's going to be so easy to fall in love with you." When his eyes widened, so did mine. "Shit! I shouldn't have said that."
It was way too soon to be talking about love. Even if every bit of my statement was true. I shouldn't be saying it to him. Humans freaked about stuff like that all the time.
"Yes, you should have," he said with a happy laugh, wrapping his arms around me and squeezing. It had to hurt his ribs, but he didn't stop. And even though I slid my arms completely around him, wanting him to feel me over every inch of his body I could reach, I didn't tighten my arms very hard.
I just couldn't stand the thought of hurting my precious mate. And he was right. I could feel it with my heart too.
"Now," he said, pulling back and biting his lip. "Show me how you'll know. Do we need to perform some sort of ritual.? I'm not really a virgin, but I bet we can find one."
I forced myself not to think about the fact that he'd been with someone else. The possessive bastard in me didn't like it, but I was hardly a saint. Unless you counted the last two or three years, but that was neither here nor there.
"Take your clothes off, Edmond," I growled, stepping back so I could watch the show. "Slowly."
His eyes widened, and he licked his lips nervously, glancing down at his sleep pants and T-shirt. "Are you going to take your clothes off too?"
"Definitely," I said huskily, toeing off my boots and then reaching down to pull off my socks.
I slid my open flannel off of my arms, tossing it aside. I reached for the hem of my shirt but stopped when I realized that Edmond hadn't moved. When I raised an eyebrow, eyeing him pointedly, he rushed to grab and lift his shirt.
"Slowly," I reminded him gruffly. "I want you to reveal what's mine slowly."
He shuddered, his eyes closing as he bit his lip. "Fuck, Axel. I'm going to come just standing here doing nothing."
I smirked, loving how beautifully my mate responded to me. I'd never wanted anything in the world like I wanted Edmond Aldridge.