After another moment of rubbing against me, Bear chuffed in agreement and started up the clearly marked trail, occasionally rubbing against me as he paced his movement to stay beside me as we walked.
I could definitely get used to having them both at my side.
~*~
“You’re sure you want to go out?” I wheedled as Dane walked toward the entrance of The Lair, my hand wrapped in his larger one. “If we stay in, we can be naked.”
Dane snorted. “You know, I’m starting to think I might not be the horndog, after all,” he teased me. “I really would like to hang out for a bit,” he said, pausing our progress to look down into my face. “Or are you trying to tell me that you’re not ready for us to go public?”
Dane’s voice was calm but there was a tightness in his face that told me he was hurt.Way to be a dick, I chided myself before answering him. “That is absolutelynotit,” I said firmly. “Even though I am not looking forward to another round ofI told you sofrom the guys, I want everyone to know we’re together.” I was momentarily distracted when I caught sight of a familiar sedan from the corner of my eye. “Oh, crap. Looks like Myke just left and I definitely owe him an apology.”
Dane glanced around and looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. “He did?”
I nodded. “That beat-up sedan of his just turned the corner.” I took a step forward, tugging Dane along with me. “Come on. Let’s get in there so Dex can start razzing us.”
“Okay.” Dane shrugged his confusion off and led the way to where Dex and Taylor were throwing darts. He stopped suddenly and I bumped into his solid back. “Look.”
I followed his nod and felt my brow furrow. “How the hell did Myke get in here before us?”
Dane gave me a searching look. “Honestly, I was confused when you said you saw him in a sedan. The last I heard he was driving an F250.”
“I’ve seen him in it too many times in the last few weeks for it not to be his,” I disputed. “Unless he was borrowing it? Let’s go ask.”
Dane shrugged again and switched directions, slipping between the patrons until we were standing next to the high-top table Myke was at. “Hey, man.”
“Hey!” Myke greeted Dane warmly but seemed to freeze a little when he saw me. “Oh, hi, Mitch. Did you guys want the table?”
“What? No,” I assured him. “Well, we had a question for you,” I said, trying to seem as friendly as possible. “And I owe you an apology for going wacko on you the other day. It’s just,” I sighed, “someone overheard you and Dane talking about Omegas in heat and completely misconstrued the situation.” I sighed. “By the time the gossip got to me, I was told that Dane had pawned me off on you because he didn’t want to be my heat buddy anymore.”
Myke’s jaw dropped. “Oh, hell.” His eyes widened. “And then I kept running into you..” he trailed off. “I am so sorry.”
“No need,” I assured him. “In fact, I owe you a big apology and I hope we can still match you with a goat or two.”
Myke’s eyes lit up and he nodded emphatically. “Absolutely. I can come by the refuge any time it’s convenient.” He glanced over at Dane. “You said you had a question. What did you want to know?”
“Do you have any other vehicles? Or maybe borrow one recently? An older sedan with some light body damage?”
Myke shook his head. “Sorry, man. I haven’t driven a sedan in years, even for a day. Why?”
“No reason,” I said quickly. “I just somehow had it in my mind that you drove a car I’d noticed before.” Quickly changing the subject, I gestured over to where Dex and Taylor were taking a break. “Want to come throw some darts?”
Myke glanced up at the sports show he’d been watching and then shrugged, sliding from the stool and grabbing his half-full beer bottle. “Sure. Show me what ya got!”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Dane
Saturday was as close to a perfect day as I could ever remember having.
Waking up with Shelly in my bed, making love to my Omega through the morning, and then shifting to spend the early fall afternoon winding our way through the fall foliage in the Colorado foothills was amazing and peaceful.
Then, when we’d reached the small overlook that Shelly had deemed to be our picnic spot, he’d handfed my beast plump berries and thinly sliced pieces of broiled salmon as the bear cuddled with his head in our Omega’s lap. When I’d finally coerced the damn bear into switching places, Shelly and I dug into thick roast beef and cheese sandwiches on crusty French bread and shared a bottle of wine before lying back on the blanket in the sun.
My relaxation from the earlier part of the day was gone and replaced with a low-level anxiety that had the bear growling in my mind once we entered the bar.
“Hey, are you okay?” Shelly’s mouth was close to my ear, ensuring that only I could hear him.
“Yeah, fine,” I assured him, managing a weak grin. I could tell from his furrowed brow that he didn’t believe me but he played along.
