Dalton wasn’t sure he wanted to answer that question. Sherman looked on the verge of murdering him.
“You bastard!” Sherman got out of bed and gathered his clothes from the floor, breaking Dalton’s heart at the rejection. They were mated, and there was no going back.
“Sherman, let’s talk.” Dalton got up and pulled his underwear on. “Please calm down.”
“Calm down?” Sherman glared at him. “Take me home.” He headed for the bedroom door. “On second thought, I’ll walk.”
It was too far for Sherman to walk. He would freeze before he got halfway there.
“If you know about shifters, why are you freaking out?”
Sherman walked away, heading into the hallway and down the stairs. Dalton followed, refusing to let his mate go out into the cold.
“Why am I freaking out?” Sherman whipped around. If looks could kill, Dalton would be dead. “Because I don’t even know you!”
With a deep sigh, Dalton said, “Let me get dressed and I’ll drive you home.”
So much for the perfect mating. Dalton had screwed up, big time, and he wasn’t sure his mate would ever forgive him.
Chapter Four
Why did Sherman have to start so early? He was dead on his feet as he grabbed a few orders from the window and took the dishes to the nearest table. He knew that The Diner Train in Maple Grove stayed busy, but he didn’t think Bent Spoon would be the same.
God, he was ready to fall over. He had gotten maybe an hour or two of sleep after Dalton had dropped him off. Now Sherman felt as if he was the walking dead, complete with zombie movements and grunted words.
As much as his brain didn’t want to work this morning, Sherman still thought about what Dalton had done to him. Not the sex part. That had been out-of-this-world amazing. No one had ever been able to lift Sherman up onto his lap, and he’d thought at the time that Dalton was a keeper.
Until Dalton had bitten him.
He rubbed where Dalton had sunk his teeth in, and Sherman suddenly had an overwhelming urge to cry. Why was he so damn emotional this morning? After he’d woken up and gotten into the shower, he had shed a few tears. God, he needed to get laid more often. He seemed to be a wreck without constant dick in his life.
“Hey, I need to talk to you,” Kennedy said from by the kitchen door.
Sherman groaned and walked like he truly was a zombie—shuffling feet, hunched shoulders, and a slack expression. Even his head was hurting from lack of sleep.
“Yeah?” he asked when he was close enough.
“My office.” Kennedy turned and walked away. If Sherman weren’t so freaking tired, he would have admired how gorgeous his boss was. Soft brown hair, blue eyes, and a banging body. He wasn’t better than Dalton, but—Sherman stopped those thoughts before they went any further.
Nope, he wasn’t going to think about the fireman. Dalton had mated Sherman, and according to Payton, that was for life. Did he really care that being mated meant Sherman would never want for anything? That his happiness and wellbeing were Dalton’s number-one priority? That Dalton would lay down his life for Sherman?
He couldn’t deny that shifters existed. Sherman had seen Miller change into a jaguar—which had been scarier than being kidnapped and nearly blown up. But Sherman had come to terms with their existence.
The fairy-tale crap? He wasn’t sure it was real since it sounded too good to be true. All of his past boyfriends turned out to be losers. None had put Sherman’s happiness above their own. Why would Dalton be any different?
“Did I do something wrong?” Sherman tried his hardest not to yawn, but it was a losing battle.
“Have a seat.” Kennedy waved at the chair by a filing cabinet.
Sherman was afraid that, if he sat, he’d fall right to sleep, but he didn’t want to reject his boss’s offer, so he sat.
“Chief Knowles vouched for you, Sherman,” Kennedy said. “But I’m starting to doubt my decision to hire you. You look like you’re gonna fall over at any second.”
Sherman was not about to tell his boss that he lacked sleep because he’d had sex for hours last night. Earth-shattering sex that still left him shaken and wanting more.
“I’m sorry.” Sherman covered a yawn with his hand. “I got only two hours of sleep last night. I think I was nervous about working here.”
“Well, as much as I’d like to believe you, Dalton called me and told me you would be dragging ass today.”
Sherman was going to kill him. Was the guy trying to get him fired? He palmed his face and groaned before letting his hand drop away. “Please tell me he didn’t do that.”
A smile tugged at Kennedy’s lips. “I don’t have to be a genius to know what kept you up so late.” He sat forward and rested his arms on his desk, twining his fingers together. “He also told me you two are mates. Newly mated, in fact. I’m giving you the next two weeks off.”
“What!” Sherman jumped from his chair, no longer ready to fall asleep. “But I need this job.”
His mother wasn’t charging him to stay at her house, but Sherman wasn’t a mooch. He wanted to pay his own way, including helping her with bills.
“Before you get all riled, you’ll get two weeks leave with pay.” Kennedy’s smile widened. “Not bad for just starting here, but I’m a firm believer in our tradition.”
Sherman wasn’t sure what to say. He was still angry and confused and feared his job would be taken from him if he left for two weeks.
“While I truly appreciate the offer, I’m gonna pass. I want to work.” He wasn’t going into any personal details. Kennedy didn’t need to know that Sherman was furious with Dalton, that he was so confused that his head should have exploded, or that he wanted to bawl his eyes out because he wasn’t with his mate.
His mate. God, he was now thinking of Dalton that way. He really did need to get some sleep.
Kennedy strummed his fingers on his desk. “I’ll talk to Dalton about this.”
Sherman tamped down his rising anger. He didn’t want to get fired for yelling at his boss, so he kept his voice low and clear. “Chief Knowles has nothing to do with my personal life or my decisions. It doesn’t matter what he thinks because I’m never going to see him again.”
Kennedy’s brows shot to his hairline. “I’m still going to talk to him.”
“Fine, I’m going to take you up on your offer, but only for today since I’m so tired that your office floor is looking pretty good. I’ll be back tomorrow morning, sir.”
Sherman tightened his jaw and thinned his lips as he stormed out, grabbing his coat before heading straight for the exit. Felix caught up with him before Sherman walked out. “What happened? Did you just get fired?”
“What? No.” Sherman stopped and turned to face his coworker. “What makes you think that?”
“Because you looked thoroughly pissed,” Felix said. He reminded Sherman of a timid mouse. A cute little green-eyed blond mouse.
“I just have a lot going on.” Sherman was careful not to take his anger out on Felix. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
“Okay, I hope you feel better.”