“Is not,” he shot back.
“It’s a little creepy,” Connal admitted.
“Okay, fine!” He hopped off the treadmill. “Let’s lift, War.” He sure wouldn’t want to think too loud.
“Stop it. It’s just—we haven’t met him. You know, it’s uncomfortable.”
Okay, he wasn’t ready for Warrick to be logical and shit.
“Yeah. Okay, yeah. I’m sorry.” He sighed, getting on the weight bench to do a chest press. “He’s just so special. I can already tell. And I would introduce you, but he’s already a little spooked. I think he knows we’re meant to be too, but he had some kind of bad alpha, I think.”
Con growled. “That fucking sucks. They’re ours to care for when we find them. Not to abuse.”
“Too fucking right.” War moved into place to spot him. “Fucker.”
“I know. Thanks, bros.”
“You know we have your back. Always.” That was Con, who’d raced a little on the bike and was now having water.
“So, when are we going to get to meet him?” Connal asked, moving to the pull-up bar. “I really want to meet him. Also, I think we should make BLTs. I’m craving bacon.”
“We’re working out.” He started lifting, the weights going up and down and up and down, the burn suiting him to the bone.
He had to admit he wanted this meeting between his brothers and his nascent mate to go well. He wanted it badly. Badly enough he worried that, if he screwed this up, he was going to regret it for the rest of his life
Nonsense. You’re allowed to be nervous, sure, but we’re not going to do anything to hurt him. And he’s going to adore us, because we’re good guys.Warrick winked down at him, catching the bar as his arms began to shake. “Careful, we don’t want to squish our middle brother.”
“I detect no lies. So does he look like Race?” Connal asked, hanging off the bar, almost swinging.
Ryder shook his head. “No, not really. To me, Race looks like just another bear. Nolan is more attractive, smaller, a little more tense, but beautiful.”
“Can you get more tense than Race? And I’m jealous. I want to have a mate.” Connal gave him the big eyes. “Do you think he could hook me up with Race?”
“I think Race would eat you alive.” And that was no question. Race was a hard man, for a black bear, and not one to suffer fools lightly. Not that Con was a fool. But he was a sensitive soul for a grizzly.
“That’s okay. I don’t mind being eaten one spoonful at a time.” Connal did a little twirl, jumped down off the bar, then grinned at them and bowed. “I’m gonna go make food.”
He tried to sit up, but the bar was in his way, and then War stood and blocked him on the other side when he tried to heave up off the damn weight bench.
“Oh, let him go,” War said. “I mean, God, he’ll be the best brother to just bounce out there and meet little Nolan. He’s such a puppy dog himself. For a bear.”
Con did have a certain amount of ADHD charm, he guessed. And he knew Nolan was just kind of hanging out there on the couch. Rye’s awareness was such that he could feel it, that Nolan hadn’t moved to go back to his bedroom or anything.
“I still don’t want him out there with Nolan alone for too long. I don’t want him to scare him off or whatever.” Ryder grabbed a towel and mopped sweat off his face and neck. “Butthanks for spotting me. Come on, we might as well go join him and make BLTs. He’s never gonna give up on that idea now, is he?”
“Nope. Not only is he going to meet Nolan, he’s going to make BLTs. And he might well burn your kitchen down.”
They exchanged a grin, and then both of them trotted out to the front room because God knew they didn’t want anything terrible happen to the stove.
To his pleasure, Rye found Nolan and Connal standing in the kitchen, Connal hanging out of the refrigerator with his head in there and Nolan giggling.
Nolan’s eyes widened when he glanced back over at him and Warrick as they walked into the room. He hoped it was because of Warrick, not him. Warrick was gigantic.
“Connal is looking for bacon,” Nolan told him.
“And lettuce and tomatoes.” Ryder winked at Nolan, playing along.
“Tomatoes don’t belong in the refrigerator,” Connal informed him loftily. “And I’ll have you know that our new friend here likes BLTs. I know this because when I mentioned them to him, his belly growled.”
