“As you should be,” Willow said softly. Reaching Hope’s room, she looked in through the open door, catching her breath. Her friend was standing, unassisted, in the middle of the room. “Oh my gods… Hope…I can’t believe it!”
Peering over Willow’s shoulder, Sofia smiled broadly at Hope. “Has Mac been in yet?”
“Not yet,” Hope answered.
“Good.” Nudging Willow into the room, Sofia asked, “Did you tell anyone else?”
“No, I wanted to surprise Willow first.”
Giving a snort, Willow walked slowly over to her friend. “Well, lady, you certainly accomplished that with me. How long have you been able to…to…?”
“Stand up?” Hope finished the question. “For a week or so now, but my balance took a little more time.”
“But how?” Willow asked.
“Sofia offered to work with me after dinner, when everyone was gathered in the great room, to keep it a secret from Mac. You know howheis, and, well, his insistence on taking it slow was becoming very irksome. I wanted to get out of here and start to live again. It’s been so long…”
“Oh sweetie,” Willow whispered, wrapping her arms around Hope, holding her close.
“You aren’t upset I kept it from you?”
“Not in the least, hon. I’m happy for you. It’s been a long journey.”
“And one that started the day you saved me, getting me out of the hell we found ourselves in. I don’t remember a lot about that night, but I do remember how you dragged me to safety. And for that, I can never thank you enough, because if you hadn’t, I would never have ended up here with my children, their mates and my grandpups.”
“No thanks are needed, sweetie. You would have done the same for me,” Willow murmured, brushing away a couple of tears and stepping back. “So…you ready to get out of jail?”
“Oh, yes,” Hope giggled. “Sofia and I came up with a plan…after Mac heads up for dinner, she’ll come and get me so I can join everyone at the dinner table…but we need your help.”
Willow chuckled. “Absolutely…count me in…this is going to be so much fun.”
“Okay. So, this is what we need you to do...”
~/~/~/~/~
Choosing to distract Alex with a light kiss wasn’t exactly the best choice Sawyer could have picked, but after his mate’s reaction, any doubts about it flew out the window. Regardless of what happened that morning when his mate locked himself in his trailer, apparently Alex wanted him now. Sliding his hand down his mate’s bare back, Sawyer felt himself pulled in until he felt he could never back away again.
Lost in the lust raging through his body, Alex clung to Sawyer, wanting his whole body touching his mate’s. He’d never felt this hot with any of the guys he met on the road and, while his fear of being owned was still on his mind, his heart was clearly ignoring it. Sucking on his mate’s tongue, his low moans were swallowed by Sawyer, and all he wanted was to be filled by the thick hard cock pressing against his.
Only when Alex was forced to break off the kiss to gulp in some air, did he realize they were not alone. Glancing around, his face grew bright red as he heard a woman make a crude remark about the public display of affection between two men, far worse than the homophobic slurs he was used to back east. Dropping his arms, Alex stepped away from Sawyer, looking down at the sand. After spending so many years avoiding people and fading into the background, this was just too much for him to handle. Bending down, he scooped up his towel, shoving it in the bag holding his phone and other belongings.Rising, he gave a quick glance at Sawyer, before heading for his SUV.
“Alex, wait!” Sawyer grabbed his mate’s arm, holding it. “Sweetheart, please, wait a second, okay? Please!” Relieved when Alex paused, Sawyer thought for a moment everything would be all right. But he quickly took a step backward, dropping Alex’s arm when he saw the fury in his mate’s face.
“What do you want from me, Sawyer? I told you this morning I didn’t want to have a mate. But did you listen? No, not that it matters…I knew I wasn’t meant to have a mate, but did I listen to myself? No, I let my animals tell me I was wrong. And look what happened when I let them control me…someone calling me names…again. This…this thing between us can’t happen. I will never be owned by someone, not even a fated mate. So, do me…and yourself…a favor…leave me alone.” Forcing himself to ignore the anguish he saw in Sawyer’s eyes, Alex turned and began running back to his SUV so he could escape.
Quickly grabbing his towel, Sawyer sprinted after Alex while silently cursing the woman for her tirade. And while it was nasty, he knew it wasn’t the only reason Alex rejected him again. As different possibilities ran through his mind, Sawyer suddenly came to a full stop.Alex is still in the closet!Holy shit! Why didn’t I realize that? We could’ve gone somewhere private. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
When Sawyer was at college, Mac told him that lots of men were still hiding their sexuality. He should have seen the signs earlier, especially the biggest one. But he never thought to question why Alex was traveling alone, though now it all made sense.Shit! Fuck! Shit!This wasso far out of anything Sawyer ever experienced, he was at a loss for what to do. He desperately needed to talk to Mac but that would have to wait.
Reaching the vehicle just as Alex started the engine, Sawyer yanked open the door, jumping in before slamming it closed. There wasn’t any way he was about to let his mate leave without him. Throwing his stuff on the floor, he turned to look at Alex, intending to tell him it didn’t matter whether he was out or still in the closet. But he wasn’t prepared for the despair etched on his mate’s face as tears streamed down his cheeks, and Sawyer’s need to comfort Alex made him forget everything he was going to say. Instead, he reached over, turning the engine off before tugging Alex onto his lap.
Cuddling him against his chest, Sawyer murmured, “Let it out, sweetheart…let it all out. I’ll still be here for you.” Listening to his mate’s soul-wrenching sobs was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, but was worth enduring if it helped his mate with whatever was troubling him.
Alex curled up, making himself as small as he could, just like all those years at school when he sought refuge in his secret place as he hid from the world. But instead of a cold, cement floor beneath him in a musty janitor’s closet, he was sitting on his mate’s muscled thighs, surrounded by his delicious scent and his comforting heartbeat.
Slowly, the deep loneliness that was part of him ever since he could remember, began to ease for the first time in his life. It was such a strange feeling that, at first, he couldn’t figure out what was happening, but as warmth filled his cold soul, and his animals sighed in contentment, he finally understood. He was wrong. Andwhen Alex realized what he’d almost thrown away, a whole new set of tears fell as he buried his face against Sawyer’s neck.
Humming softly to Alex, Sawyer rested his cheek against his mate’s soft hair. Slowly the tears subsided, but he wasn’t letting go of Alex…not now…not ever…inhaling sharply when he realized that. No matter what it took, Sawyer would be there for Alex, through good times and bad, his mate would always be able to count on him. Sitting there, holding Alex in his arms, Sawyer finally knew what his purpose in life was, and joy and happiness flooded his soul. Then, calm enveloped him as he smiled at the tiny snuffles his mate occasionally made.
