His nose quivered because that raspberry jam smelled so good, and his mouth was still watering even though the soup was the best soup he’d ever had. “I know that, but I don’t understand why.”
“He’s worried about you. He thinks you’re not going to be safe just staying at his place alone, believe it or not. So you’re going to come stay with me.”
“But I don’t even know you.” Nolan didn’t mean to sound offensive, but he had to admit he was kind of scared. He didn’t want to end up going from the frying pan into the fire, even if Race trusted this guy. And even if he made Nolan want to curl up with him and sleep for days.
“I know, but you’re just going to have to get to know me. I can keep you safe no matter what’s coming after you. You need to believe that. And if I can’t do it alone, my two brothers will help. They’re also grizzlies like me, obviously, and together we’ve never lost an omega.”
“Well, that’s good. I mean, neither have I…” Nolan dared to tease and wink. If the big guy growled at him, so be it. He wasn’t in the mood to pretend to be somebody he wasn’t.
“Well, good. Then we should be well-suited. I know that this has to be incredibly unnerving, and if you’re more comfortable with more people around for safety, I can do that. But I swear to you on your brother’s name, I have your back.”
How was Nolan supposed to argue with that? “Well, I came all the way here trusting in Race.”
He believed in his brother, even if their relationship was complicated. Race had his best interests at heart.
So he guessed he would do this.
Chapter
Three
They ended up staying at the bar for another half an hour while they finished up their soup and sandwiches, and Rye ate yet another order of fried cheese.
Ryder knew he was doing that thing where he was feeding a different need in himself, not the one for food, but it didn’t matter. Little Nolan wasn’t ready to hear that right now. Whatever he was on the run from had him scared and exhausted, and Ryder felt pretty damn bad for him.
And if Race was this worried about whatever was chasing Nolan, then Ryder needed to be on his guard and not be caught up in the physical and mental stuff Nolan engendered in him.
So when Nolan started dozing off in the booth, Ryder grabbed his hand gently, making him catch his breath and look up, his eyes wide and startled.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to scare you. You ready to go? We should head back to my place so you can get some sleep.”
Nolan licked his lips, which were probably dry from breathing through them in his pre-sleep mode and nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Are you okay with riding on the back of my bike, or do you need a ride share so you can have a car? I can come back and get my bike tomorrow.”
“I can ride. I’m not frightened. I know about bikes. I used to build Race’s for him.”
Okay, well that was a surprise, a pleasant one to be honest. “Good deal. I’ve got a little cabin in the woods, which is way less terrifying than it sounds. I share a huge piece of land with my brothers, and we live in this weird triangle so that there’s plenty of room in the middle for us to have our own space.”
Nolan blinked at him, following him toward the door with his bag. “It has to be pretty big for the three of you to have territory there.”
He nodded. “Yeah, it’s a huge piece of land. It’s got water, it’s got trees and foliage, it’s got everything we need when we want to go out and wander. And it’s very quiet.”
He could almost feel Nolan’s bear reaching for him, needing him.
No, not him specifically, despite his own feelings.
For peace and quiet.
Poor guy. He really seemed to have had it rough, whatever was going on in his life.
Ryder hoped at some point he would be able to get Nolan to talk to him about it, but he wasn’t going to push. Not yet.
Instead, he gave Nolan the helmet off his bike and strapped the bag to the back. Then climbed on.
“Come on, get on, and I’ll take you out to my place. It’ll be great.”
“Okay. Thanks. I appreciate it.” Nolan got on and clung to his waist, cheek against his back, and it was wonderful.
