I found an empty glass for him to ash in and sat on the coffee table directly in front of him, babbling about nothing in particular and periodically ordering him to ash or drink, which he did when told.
Eventually, he interrupted my ramblings with a grunt, still staring over my shoulder, and said with perplexity, “That, I never would have expected in a million years.”
I nodded once. “Me either.”
He blinked.
Blinked again. “It also sounded as if this wasn’t a new love, but my mom, my dad’s mate, died only a little over a year ago, and I know this is the first time they’ve been together in the past year.” Another blink. “They said they had never stopped loving each other.”
Yeah, I had caught that.
He glanced at me, lifted the lighter from my hand and lit another cigarette, then stared back over my shoulder, his eyebrows puckered. “Does this mean he loved Elder Farrar while he was mated to my mom?”
My lips pinched, not really wanting to answer that one, but I ultimately sighed and began to explain the best way I knew how. “I’ve been mated before—”
“So have I.”
“Well, being mated didn’t stop you from loving your dad, did it?” I didn’t think I needed to say anything else. Being mated didn’t mean you lost all emotions for everyone. All it did was physically keep you sexually faithful to your mate.
Ezra grunted. “Never in a million years…” He went completely still a second later, his heart rate doubling. “Wait. If they get married, then you and I…” His eyes rounded and he choked on his smoke. “Oh hell, maybe I can stop this somehow.” He actually began lifting from the couch, his attention on the flap to Antonio’s bedroom.
Using a quick hand, I shoved him back — hard — onto the couch, staring into his surprised, wide gaze. “Ezra, calm down. Antonio is like a dad to me. Not technically my dad. He never adopted me.” I pointed between us. “We wouldn’t be step-siblings.” I patted the air. “Find your calm place and try to breathe.”
Ezra stared. He breathed in heavily through his nose, then slowly out through his mouth. “I’m freaking out a bit.” No shit. “I didn’t expect this.” No shit. “How are you so calm?”
I shrugged. “Antonio wasn’t mated to my mom, so it’s not so hard to take the news.” Plus, I’m having to take care of you. “Your situation is a wee bit different.”
He nodded instantly. “That’s gotta be it.” Arched eyebrows furrowed. “I have nothing against same-sex relationships, but I never expected…” He cleared his throat, running a hand over his face, then his eyes narrowed on me. “You aren’t going to tell them I freaked out, are you?”
It was damn hard not to laugh. “Nope.” Seriously, men will be men. “Scout’s honor.”
He grunted. “Now, that’s f**king funny.”
“I live to amuse.” I slapped his knee as I stood. “We need to come up with our game plan for King Collins and Queen Cooper.”
He peered at the bedroom tent flap. “They’re probably going to be…”
“Busy,” I muttered, grabbing his hand and hauling him to his feet. “Yay, for them.”
Ezra suddenly appeared like himself as he appraised me. “Maybe they’ve got the right idea.” He towered over me, and if I wasn’t mistaken, peered down my shirt. “Getting busy sounds enjoyable.”
I pointed a finger at the tip of his nose, whispering, “Discretion.” I jabbed said finger against the tip of his nose a few times to make my point. “We need to think about the other King and Queen. We’ll have plenty of time to get busy, just not today.”
He tilted his head up…and bit my finger gently, licking over the tip with his tongue before releasing it. “I’ve got it.” Slowly, he bent, nuzzling his face against my neck, his warm lips caressing my skin softly, barely breathing, “We’ll be the very souls of discretion.”
“Exactly,” I sighed, leaning into the strokes. “Complete control over the situation.”
He hummed quietly. “Exactly.” He pressed his lips once more against my throat before straightening — I wobbled a tad — and smacked my ass none too gently, pushing me toward the tent flap to the outside. “Duty, then pleasure.” A pause. “This is definitely one of those times I hate my position, because I would much rather be deciding what position to do.”
I paused, grinning, before lifting the flap. “It’ll give us something to look forward to.”
“Yes,” he purred. “Yes, it will.”
Chapter Fourteen
We began our travel to King Mile in the dead of night.
I was driving my Hummer, and my nostrils kept twitching.
My wolf growled softly as I glanced in the rear-view mirror. I glared directly at Antonio on my back seat. “You two f**king reek!” They smelled so badly of the sated it was suffocating.
Ezra even had his window rolled down for the fresh air.
Antonio had the courtesy to blush. “Sorry, Lil.”
Cahal merely grunted, grabbing my attention. “I’m not sorry. That was long overdue.”
Antonio instantly amended, “Precious, I didn’t mean that I’m sorry it happened.”
Precious…fucking hell.
Cahal’s smile was private as he gazed at Antonio. “I know, honey.”
Honey…Jesus Christ.
They stared intimately into one another’s eyes. They weren’t sitting directly next to each other as Elder Merrick and Elder Jacobs drove directly behind us, their headlights shining through the back windshield. But they were holding hands, their joined fingers resting on top of Isa’s legs where she slept between them in her back-facing car seat. And…they stank so badly.
“Good God, quit looking at each other like that!” I grumbled, waggling a finger back between the seats. My wolf growled again. “There will be no funny business happening while we’re in this car.”
This time, it was Ezra who grunted — in complete agreement.
“I mean,” I continued, completely exasperated, “did you two have to spend the entire damn day doing that?”
Antonio gave a satisfied grin as he altered his attention to me, staring into the rear-view mirror. “Yes, we did. Precious was right. It was a long time coming.” He paused a moment when I scowled. “No pun intended.”