An empty home. A place not even Payton had visited often. Pyke had liked his solitude, had reveled in it. Sure, he’d gotten lonely just like anyone else who lived alone, but not enough to invite anyone to live with him.
Now, with Nester here, he couldn’t imagine going back to living by himself, to roaming the halls to the deafening silence. Seeing Nester sitting there, knowing this guy was his forever, Pyke started to hope that his future wasn’t so bleak.
“Thanks.” He waved toward the door. “Care for some coffee?”
Nester slid from the stool, nearly tripping. His arms spun like a windmill, and Pyke rushed forward to catch him.
“My foot got caught on the rung,” Nester said breathlessly as he stared up at Pyke, his palms pressed into Pyke’s chest. “Thanks for not letting me embarrass myself.”
Pyke’s arms were curled around his mate, holding him for the first time, and he didn’t want to let the man go. He liked the heat radiating from Nester’s hands, as if his mate was branding him. “Can’t have you hurting yourself before your job even starts.”
“God forbid I can’t keep your spotless house clean.” Nester visibly swallowed before he pulled away.
“Hey, I do have dust lying around somewhere. I’m pretty sure you can find it.”
“Maybe I’ll walk around kicking up the corners of rugs so I’ll have something to do.” Nester’s smile was heart-stopping. “I might even dirty some dishes, too.”
Pyke pressed a hand to his chest. “Just don’t go overboard. I’m not sure if my OCD heart can take it.”
The tension was there, the desire they both felt like a warm caress. A spark between them. A need. But Nester walked through the door, leaving Pyke standing there half-hard and breathing heavily.
It was Nester who went to the coffeemaker and started a fresh pot. Soon the aroma of coffee beans filled the room.
“I think I might need a list of things you want done,” Nester said, keeping his back to Pyke. “Just until I can get a routine down pat.”
“I never understood why it’s down pat. Shouldn’t it be down packed. Who the hell is pat?”
Nester snickered at Pyke’s attempt at humor. His mate even turned around to face him, gracing Pyke with his gorgeous face. It had been the lamest thing Pyke had ever said, but Nester didn’t seem to mind.
“Clearly important enough to have an expression named after him.” Nester’s eyes sparkled as he grinned.
Pyke made himself busy by grabbing two cups and setting them on the counter. The act also brought him closer to Nester. Pyke’s bear snarled to get closer, to taste those plump lips, to have Nester’s legs curled around his waist while Pyke carried him to his bedroom.
“You’re staring so hard at me that I’m expecting laser beams to shoot out of your eyeballs,” Nester said, giving a nervous chuckle. “You’re not going to eat me, are you?”
Now new images popped into Pyke’s head. Images of Pyke eating Nester in the most pleasurable way made his dick throb. “My bear likes you.”
Fuck. Had his voice really faltered? Was that a squeak he’d heard in his voice? What was he, twelve and going through puberty all over again?
Pyke cleared his throat and went to the fridge to grab the cream.
“I’m not so sure about your bear,” Nester said. “He’s huge and intimidates the hell out of me.”
Pyke understood his mate’s fear. They really didn’t know each other and coming across a three-hundred-pound bear could be frightening. Nester was the only person on the planet that didn’t need to fear him. Pyke would never do anything to hurt his mate.
“Nah. Look at him as a teddy bear.”
A bark of laughter escaped Nester. “A teddy bear? Are you kidding? I seriously doubt I’ll be cuddling with him anytime soon.”
He would if Pyke had anything to say about it.
They made their coffee and moved to the living room. Pyke started a fire in the fireplace and dropped onto the couch. In truth, it was odd having someone there. Whenever Payton had come around, they’d gone straight to sex, no wooing, no chill time.
Why the fuck did he keep thinking about his ex, comparing him with Nester? Pyke shook his head, trying to dispel thoughts of Payton. It wasn’t like he missed the guy. It was running into him so much in the past twenty-four hours that made him think about the guy.
As if reading his mind, Nester said, “I don’t mean to be nosy, and you can tell me it’s none of my business, but who exactly is Payton?”
Pyke rested his head on the back of the couch, staring at the ceiling as he groaned. “A mistake I wished had never happened.”
“So he’s an ex?” Nester sat on the recliner and curled his feet under him.
Don’t be brutally honest.
“Yep.” Pyke reached for the remote and turned the television on, something he rarely did. He preferred to read or stay busy in other ways besides in front of a TV.
Nester turned his head to look at the television. Apparently the simple answer was enough, though Pyke wanted to explain why things had ended with Payton.
He gritted his teeth, forcing the words to stay trapped in this throat. Pyke knew why he had that unfavorable trait. When he was growing up, his father had been a stickler for the truth. Pyke would get his ass kicked whenever he was caught in a lie.
Since shifters stayed with their parents for an unusually long time, the lesson stuck, and undoing the lesson was a lot harder than Pyke thought it would be. Of course he’d told lies to strangers. Who didn’t? That nasty trait only came out with his partners.
He noticed how Nester kept sneaking glances at him, and Pyke was dying to know what he was thinking. “What?”
“Nothing.” Nester curled his lips in.
Pyke tapped the spot next to him. “Why don’t you come over here?”
One of Nester’s brows rose. “Why?”
Instead of answering him, Pyke got up, walked to the recliner, and lifted Nester into his arms as a wave of possessiveness washed over him. His mate yelped, but he instinctively slid his arms around Pyke’s neck.
“What the hell are you doing?” But there was no anger in Nester’s voice. Curiosity, but no heat. “You’re like seven feet tall, and being held this high off the ground is making me dizzy.”
Pyke chuckled. “I’m not that tall, and you’re not that far from the ground. I promise I’m not going to drop you.”
“I’m becoming oxygen deprived, Pyke. I’m too high up in the atmosphere.”
Pyke rolled his eyes. “Dramatic much?”
“I just have a healthy dose of self-preservation.” Nester’s arms tightened. “Now that you have me trapped against you, what do you plan on doing with me?”
Chapter Five
Nester must have lost his ever-loving mind. What had gotten into him? He should be demanding that Pyke put him down. Nester shouldn’t be breathing shallowly, and his pulse shouldn’t be skyrocketing with excitement.
He kept telling himself that having sex with Pyke was a bad idea. They were just getting to know each other, and if it didn’t work out, Nester was screwed.
And not in a good way.