“Where to start?” Lionel paused, then placed the bottle down, only to reach for the wine and fill his glass. “I have lived in this house for ten years. I bought it after I started up my own business.”
Brad reached for his fork and used it to break open the flaky pastry, releasing a stream of steak-scented steam. His mouth watered, and he wiggled on the soft cushion, getting a little closer to the table, not thinking about how he was naked under the T-shirt.Getting to know my mate first—that’s what’s important.
The fingers entwined with his didn’t let go, and Brad glanced from his plate to Lionel, who had reached for his fork. “Cool. I have a house near here.” Brows arched as Lionel munched on a mouthful of pie, so Brad continued, “It’s three blocks away, I bought it when I took over the family business.” Brad glanced around the kitchen, liking what he saw. “Do you have an office?”
Chapter Nine
Lionel
What are we doing?his lion hissed as Lionel was trying to keep his mind on track—staying focused on his mate as a person, rather than someone naked under a huge T-shirt.
We are getting to know our mate.
Getting to know him?His lion, rather uncharacteristically, was having a bit of a fit.He was clinging to you like a sloth. He was rubbing against your abs. His neck was right there. Why haven’t we bitten him?
Because we’ve got a bit more finesse than that,Lionel sent back.
Smiling—hopefully, he was still smiling. Gods, Brad was gonna think he was an absolute idiot. “Office? Yes, yes, I do have one in town. I arrange mortgages for people who get refused by the banks for various reasons. I have a network of third-tier lenders, second-tier lenders, that sort of thing, that I can call on. Not very interesting, I’m sure. What is it you do again? You know, when you’re not delivering baked goods to hungry lions.”
He already told you. He’s Brad, the construction worker. His lion was having a positive meltdown. Lionel kept smiling—he was sure he was starting to resemble one of those scary clowns.
“I’m a construction foreman,” Brad said, and there was a definite twinkle in his eye as if he could hear what was going on in Lionel’s head. “I usually run a number of different jobs, at different sites, but at the moment my focus is on your friend Hector’s building. He needs two teams to get all the renovations done before the little one comes. I oversee the projects and lend a hand with different tasks that need doing. You’ll find I’m quite skilled with my hands.”
He winked.
He actually winked. Lionel mentally groaned. All he could think of was that Brad was naked under his shirt. Naked with a capitalN. Lionel had tasted his mate’s lips, he’d had his hands on those tight ass cheeks. He’d…
“That all sounds really… er… er… er… physical,” he said, then realized how that might sound. “Not that I don’t think you can do it, because clearly you can. I’m sure you’re very talented with your hands, and… and…”
Tweaking my nipples, wrapping those fingers around my cock, teasing my…Gods, stop thinking about what he can do with his hands.
Brad laughed. “We’re not doing very well with this getting-to-know-you stuff, are we? Should I have put those pants on?”
“It wouldn’t have made any difference,” Lionel muttered.No pants—he’s just freeballing there. Fuck. Stop. Pull yourself together, man.
“I think it’s important to talk first,” he added. “Not that anything you tell me is gonna change my mind about you. And I’m going out on a limb here, but I imagine you feel the same way about me. It’s just, I’ve heard of people when they meet their mates, they immediately jump on them and start humping. I feel you deserve more than that.”
There, hopefully, that’ll make me sound a little less than a complete idiot.His lion didn’t think so if the snort was any indication.
Brad took another bite of his pie, and Lionel lost himself watching how the man’s lips were moving, the sexy way he chewed his food. The cute way his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. Then there was the sensual arch of his unmarked neck, the hint of shoulder showing from the neckline of a shirt too big for Brad’s frame…
I’m torturing myself. Think of something else.“Have you ever dropped a hammer on your toe?” Lionel wanted to slap his hand over his mouth the moment the words left him. “I mean… er…”
“Yes, I have, actually.” Brad nodded, grinning wildly. “And I wasn’t wearing boots at the time, so yep, that hurt bad. I have also hit my thumb with a hammer so many times, it’s a wonder it’s not all swollen and misshapen.” He held up the thumb on his free hand.
Nope. Lionel wasn’t going to think of swollen appendages, nor was he trying to work out if the adage about a man’s penis length being three times longer than his thumb was true. Because if it was…
“Do you want to tell me what happened last night?” Brad asked, derailing the sexy thoughts. “You mentioned you wanted to explain when my poodle was trying to bury his nose in your T-shirt.”
That was the last question Lionel wanted to answer, but it was the one he should answer above all others. To be fair, he had said that he would. Brad was looking at him with such innocent eyes, as if he were someone important. Lionel really didn’t want to spoil that.
Inhaling sharply, he said, “I don’t do well in the dark. There. I’ve said it. I know that probably sounds ludicrous. I had a terrible experience when I was a child. I’m fine going out where there’s lots of people and lots of light, but I don’t like the dark.”
Brad was nodding, but Lionel hadn’t finished. “I also don’t like spiders, rats, lizards, basically anything that crawls in the dark.”
“Hey, having fears like that is perfectly normal,” Brad said supportively. “Lots of people have them. I just don’t understand, with you being scared of anything that goes bump in the night, what were you doing at a ghost hunting event? That must’ve been torture for you.”
“Thank you! Yes, it was hell.” Lionel took a quick swig of his wine. “But I had to go. Events conspired against me. Gods, I’m so embarrassed about the way I behaved.”
