A hammering sound sank past the frantic thumping of Ledger’s pulse beating in his ears from the lack of breath. He got his arms working to push feebly at Thorn’s chest. “Someone wants to use the bathroom,” he gasped against Thorn’s mouth when he kept right on kissing him.
A dazed-looking Thorn stopped and glanced about; a look of confusion appeared that didn’t hurt Ledger’s feelings, realizing that Thorn had lost track of where they were. “What?”
“We need to leave.” Ledger eased Thorn back so he could turn around to open the door. Thorn barely moved and plastered himself to Ledger’s back as he attempted to concentrate on sliding the lock open. Normally a simple task, except with the feel of Thorn’s arousal pressing against his back like a branding iron, it felt impossible.
It took two attempts to get the door open, only to be greeted by a grinning Rowen and a wall of sound.
“This explains where you got to,” said Rowan, smirking at them.
Ledger stood to his full height, going with a cocky swagger he didn’t feel. “It seems Thorn decided to follow us here.”
Rowan glanced past Ledger, his eyes alight with humor. “I wondered how long you’d last, boss man, before comin’ after ya mate.”
“Seriously?” Ledger asked, his head tilting. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the guys figuring Thorn would show up when Ledger hadn’t himself.
“Yep, I had a bet going with Costa. He reckoned an hour, I opted for two. Looks like Costa was closest.” The grin grewwider. “But I bet you’d end up…” he coughed and eyed the stall behind them, “here.”
Blushing at being so obvious, Ledger stepped out into the passageway and didn’t look at those milling around, showing lots of interest in the conversation. “Great,” he muttered under his breath, “just what I wanted to be gossiped about.”
Rowen must have heard him because he laughed hard enough his shoulders shook.
Ledger groaned internally and asked, “Still want that beer?”
Rowan looked at Ledger, seeming to hesitate, and then shook his head. Confused by the sudden change in demeanour, Ledger glanced at Thorn and caught the pointed look of warning he was giving Rowen. Suddenly the reason for his friend’s hesitation became clear.
This would not do.
Ledger might want to jump his mate but fuck it, he’d come out to have a good time, and he would not let Thorn stop him.
“I’m staying and you’re going home right now!”
And I wouldn’t argue unless you want a scene right here?
Chapter Eight
Thorn
Sun streamed through the window of Thorn’s office, and he distractedly watched the dust motes dance in the air, his sullen thoughts weighing him down.
A week.
A whole fucking week!
Ledger was acting standoffish and keeping him at arm's length since his brief visit to Ranch Down. And it was brief. He had left when Ledger had demanded it because he’d sensed how serious his mate was. Thorn’s concerns were a pendulum swinging back and forth. One minute, he decided he should have stayed and confronted the issue. Next, he felt leaving and hanging around outside like a complete loser, not willing to have a fight with his mate, was the wisest thing. In none of his musings did he consider that if he’d stayed home, he wouldn’t be dealing with a mate whose polite stiffness was worse than taking a cheese grater to his skin.
Ledger’s hurt feelings lingered, and though he had effectively blocked Thorn, he could tune into his thoughts when Ledger was asleep. The size comparison to Brigg and Louis kept Ledger fretting, especially at night.
Did it matter that they were fated? It seemed not.
Thorn wanted to have the conversation with Ledger about the actual cause of his insecurity, but didn’t know how to without possibly landing himself in yet more hot water.
He'd spent the last week going over everything his mate talked about relating to his past. His family had not wanted a divergent son. Thorn felt that was the root of everything, despite him having a type before Ledger. And yes, they looked nothing like his mate, but to Thorn it was a non issue. His dhampir was his everything. The second he’d seen him, there was no one who compared to him. He’d told him so several times. Yet worry dug deep and he couldn’t decide if Ledger actually believed him.
Fated mates couldn’t lie to each other. Did that help? He wasn’t sure, and it led to him going around in more circles, making him dizzy.
They hadn’t had sex. Ledger had allowed him to bite because Thorn needed to do that daily, and it was as amazing as ever. The connection, the bond, was unbelievably solid. Except…no sex.He wasn’t a sex addict, at least he didn’t think so, but it was all he could think about when he wasn’t having it.
“If you sigh like that one more time, I’m going to ram your head into a barrel of wine. You’re givin’ me a damn headache with all your broody thoughts,” grumped Dacian from across the desk, where he’d sat for all of three minutes. Honestly, maybe longer, Thorn had lost track.
