Connor nodded.
“Well, then, I am formally asking your permission to bite you, and I want you to bite me. That will take care of any infidelity worries you might have, and it will keep my wolf calm enough when we are around other people. You’re not the only possessive bastard in the room,” Leyden said with a grin.
“But what about sex?” Connor said, thinking fast. He would happily tie himself to Leyden for the rest of his long life. Hell, he wasn’t stupid. A mate was a gift from the Fates and in Connor’s eyes Leyden was perfect. An alpha, strong, gorgeous to look at, and the caring way Leyden helped Matthew clean up the spilled tray showed Connor that the man was thoughtful and was clearly a good alpha for his pack. Connor had noticed the really positive vibe around the pack from the moment he arrived. Everyone was happy, hardworking, and there wasn’t a hint of fear anywhere.
“I do want sex with you Connor,” Leyden said, and Connor found himself getting lost in those gray eyes. “I’m not going to lie about it, or say that sex doesn’t matter, because it does. But I truly believe that eventually, when you come to know me, you will start to feel something toward me, and whatever those feelings are, we will deal with them together.”
Connor didn’t know what to say. Leyden was so full of confidence, so self-assured, and Connor would have to be blind to not realize how sexy the man was. But he felt no stirring in his cock, no tugging in his groin.
“What if I never feel the way you want me to?” There, he’d said it. He’d voiced his biggest fear to his mate. His mate who still looked amazing, even as he laughed, the loud joyous sound bouncing around the room. Connor didn’t know if he should feel pleased or insulted.
“If you don’t feel that way about me,” Leyden said at last, wiping his eyes. “Then you will just have to watch me jack off a lot.”
“Listen to me carefully,” Leyden continued, and Connor could tell the man was serious this time. “I want to bite you and claim you as my own. I want you as my alpha mate. I want you to sleep in the same bed as me at night. I want you working with me during the day. I want to protect you and keep you from finding others.”
Connor snorted at that. He had never been interested in anyone in that way.
“Mating isn’t just about sex. It’s about finding the other half of your soul. I have found mine, and I am not giving you up,” Leyden said earnestly, catching one of Connor’s hands with his own. Connor’s first instinct was to pull back - he really didn’t like people touching him. But Leyden’s touch didn’t make his skin itch like someone touching him usually did, so Connor left his hand where it was.
“Okay,” Connor said simply, feeling a huge sense of relief as he said it. Connor knew he wasn’t anywhere near ready to have sex with Leyden. He had to trust the Fates that if he was going to feel desire for anyone it would be his mate, eventually. But his own instincts to be near, to protect his mate, were really strong and they were never going to go away. Once claimed, the two men would have a lifetime to get to know each other, and Connor just prayed that Leyden proved to be as patient and understanding as he was being right now.
Chapter Five
Connor cursed as his big fingers fumbled with his tie. He barely ever wore one, preferring his T-shirts and jeans to a shirt and formal pants. But Leyden was taking him out to dinner, on an actual date. If the dinner went well, then Connor was going to allow the man to bite him, and they would be bound together for life.
After Connor had given his acceptance to the mating, and Leyden had recovered from his lack of argument, the two men had called in Matthew and started going over the applications that Leyden had received from possible beta contenders. Leyden had explained that while he would prefer that someone have the position from his own pack, because the pack didn’t have a lot of strong males in it, Leyden had opened up the opportunity to enforcers from other packs as well. Connor could appreciate the idea, even if he didn’t like the thought of strangers coming into what would soon be his territory.
“Damn and blast it.” Connor cursed again as the tie once again ended up in an appalling knot.
“Here, let me,” Leyden said from behind him, two strong arms coming over Connor’s shoulders and taking hold of the ravaged tie. Connor could smell the heat of his mate, the scent of freshly showered man cascading over his senses. Leyden definitely smelled delicious.
In the mirror, Connor watched Leyden’s fingers as they efficiently tied the errant tie. When Leyden had finished, his fingers grazed over Connor’s chest just lightly, before dropping his hands away. For the first time in his life Connor wished those fingers had stayed on him for just a moment longer, but he shrugged it away. The last thing he wanted to do was tease his mate.
Leyden strolled across the room, dropping his towel into a hamper and pulling open his closet. Connor couldn’t drag his eyes away from all of that delectable skin. The man truly was a chiseled god. In clothes, Leyden was a controlled powerhouse. Out of them, he was living perfection, and while Connor still didn’t feel any sexual desire, he wasn’t going to ignore the show that Leyden was putting on for him. The man was too gorgeous to ignore. Long muscled legs sliding into tight pants, a tailored shirt that was eased over broad shoulders, Leyden flicking his long hair back so that it didn’t get caught in his clothes. When Leyden bent down, legs straight, back arched, to slip on his shoes and socks Connor saw poetry in motion. He decided then and there he could watch his mate for hours.
“Ready?” Leyden said, and Connor didn’t miss the self-satisfied grin on the man’s lovely face. Connor couldn’t blame Leyden for being as gorgeous as he was, or trying to flaunt that in front of his mate. He just felt a pang in his heart that he couldn’t respond the way he knew he should.
As Leyden drove them to the restaurant he had picked out, Connor tried not to let his mood get him down. In himself he accepted that while he yearned for a connection with somebody, he knew it wasn’t something that was going to spring up overnight. Of course, being a wolf shifter, it would happen more quickly than it might between humans, and given that Leyden was his mate, Connor fully expected to fall in love with the man. It was what wolf shifters did.
Instead of getting bogged down in a sea of self-hatred, Connor let his mind wander back over the day. The first thing that had struck Connor about Leyden, apart from his looks, was that Leyden was basically a happy person. All day people had waltzed in and out of the alpha’s office, mostly pack. Leyden had dealt with every concern, big or small, with a calm manner, and asmile on his face. It made Connor smile too, especially when Leyden had introduced him to everyone as the alpha mate.
The only downside was when some young punk named Lonnie had bounced into the office and straight onto Leyden’s lap. Connor couldn’t stop the growl from bursting from his chest, his hands shifting into claws ready to tear the interloper from Leyden’s body.
“Who’s the big scary dude with the attitude?” Lonnie had asked Leyden.
“That’s the alpha mate,” Leyden said, and for the first time that day, Connor could see that his mate was angry. Lonnie didn’t help matters by sniffing first at Leyden and then at Connor who was standing by the desk.
“You don’t smell like each other,” the young man said pertly, jumping off Leyden’s lap. “Not much of a mating for you, Alpha, if your mate’s not going to put out. Still you know where I am when you need me. I’m always hungering for your cock inside of me.”
Connor’s growl was so loud that it rattled the office windows. It was only Leyden’s hand on his arm that stopped him from shifting and tearing out the young man’s throat. Now, in the quiet of the car, Connor’s original misgivings about the mating resurfaced. The pack would know that he and Leyden hadn’t had sex. Shit, one of the most possessive things a wolf could do was ensure that his mate was covered in his scent, inside and out. Connor hadn’t even allowed Leyden to hug him, and he hated the thought of how that was making Leyden’s wolf feel.
“Stop thinking like that,” Leyden’s voice pierced the gloom in the car.
What? His mate was a mind reader now?
“No,” Leyden said with a small smile. “I’m not a mind reader, but your scent changed. You’re thinking about Lonnie in the office earlier and now you’re worrying about how the wolves in the pack will react when they notice we don’t smell like each other.”
“Leyden, that could seriously weaken your position,” Connor said. “I don’t want to see your position threatened because other wolves perceive you as incapable of leading the pack.”
