He huffed and then wiggled again until Nash placed him on his feet. “We’re not mates.”
“Repeating it won’t make it come true.” They were mates. Nash knew for a fact that they were. He didn’t need his sense of smell to know who Abi was to him.
Abi turned to leave the foyer.
Nash wanted to dog his heels, make him see reason, but he fought the urge. “Suppressants aren’t necessary.”
Abi stopped and turned, meeting his gaze. “Well, you’re here, claiming mate status like all the rest have.”
“It’s not your scent, Abi.”
He growled. “It’s always by fucking scent.”
“Not for me. I’m a misfit too.” Broken was a better term for it. Michael Mallor had torn him to pieces when he was so young he hadn’t even shifted for the first time yet. But Abi didn’t need to know the reason. Not if rejection was in their future. Nash tapped his nose. “No sense of smell.”
Abi turned without responding, but it was clear Nash had given him something to think about.
Chapter Seven
You’re swearing off men, Abi Price. No falling for sexy dragon shifters with huge muscles.Abi looked at his dick, which had hardened upon remembering what Nash’s arms holding him had felt like.You are not getting any, so calm yourself, mister.
Abi leaned against the wall out of sight, but he heard Nash in the foyer, waiting for Law to escort Nash to the meeting.
Abi channeled an owl, and his hearing became more acute. He heard Nash breathing and him shuffling. Nash whispered Abi’s name as if testing the sound of it rolling off his tongue.
He smelled cinnamon even from where he stood, feet away in the dark shadows. It made his eyes shift in a continuous, dizzying motion. He had experienced nothing remotely close to it before.
What are you doing, you idiot?Grappling for even the smallest information about Nash defeated the new resolution to denounce every mate who came along. It didn’t matter how hot Nash was. He was just like all the other mates. Just another fake. He’d leave Abi after a couple of weeks, when the mating pull wore off. He’d ditch Abi at the first realization.
What about your reaction to him?The ever-changing eyes weren’t a coincidence, and neither were Abi’s fangs dropping. And Nash’s scent drove Abi wild. Abi had kneed men in the balls for sniffing around him like a sex-crazed idiot, for doing the same damn thing Abi wanted to do to Nash.
Law shuffled into the foyer. Abi knew it was him because he had a distinct way of walking. He resembled Lurch in some ways. If Lurch were a sexy, blond man with a crew cut who could kill someone with the snap of his fingers. He was tall and leanly muscled underneath his gigantic suit.
Law addressed Nash, asking him to follow him into Peter’s office.
“Thank you,” Nash said.
They left the foyer, and Abi came out of hiding, only to find Peter standing three feet from him.
Abi clutched his chest as he gasped. “You silent-footed shithead.”
Peter chuckled and kept his hands in his black slacks. He wore a black button-down shirt that made him seem sophisticated and timeless. He’d undone the first few buttons, showing off a hint of bare chest.
Peter’s gaze softened when he offered Abi an arm. “Come with me.”
Abi didn’t want to, but no one told Peter no. So Abi threaded his arm through Peter’s, and they walked together through the foyer and down the hall where Abi had just been.
Abi sighed and laid his head on Peter’s shoulder. “Why do I get the impression you know something I don’t?”
Peter smiled. “I know a lot of things you don’t. I’m two hundred and thirty-four years older than you, and I have the entire world’s population in my head.”
Abi rolled his eyes. “So your argument here is that age and access to every person bring wisdom. Am I getting that right?”
Abi wasn’t sure how Peter stayed sane with the internal link. That was just one question Abi would never get answers to. Throughout the years, Abi had learned to live without knowing all of Peter’s secrets.
Peter was the type of guy who held his cards to his chest, even with family. Abi didn’t tell everyone he met that he was a skinwalker, or that it made his scent appealing to people, either. That had been his life almost since the day he hit puberty. So yeah, Abi understood on some level. But Peter’s magic made him too unique. So unique was he that he was one of two known witches who possessed his type of magic. “Is having that many people in your head difficult?”
“I’ve learned to shut out a lot of the noise.” Peter smiled at him. “I love talking to you. And the rest of the family.”
