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“Aaron, babe? Are you okay? Do I need to get Doc?” Marshall rushed over to him.
Aaron shook his head, still struck mute. His mate wore a dark green shirt that did wonders for his coloring, along with slim-fit gray dress pants that showcased his strong thighs. Aaron knew the second Marshall turned around, he’d be treated to the sight of the fine material hugging his tight ass.
Warm hands cupped his face. “Talk to me. You’re scaring me.”
“Sorry. You look amazing, and there are so many things I want to do to you right now,”. He pulled Marshall into his arms, groaning as he took in the spicy toffee scent that was strongest right on Marshall’s pulse point.
“God, yes,” Marshall moaned, wrapping his arms around Aaron. “The last few days have been torture. I want you so bad.”
Aaron took his mouth in a blistering kiss, his tongue plundering Marshall’s mouth. He tightened his grip, not wanting to let go for a second. They’d not done more than frotting and mutual hand jobs over the last two days. Aaron felt they were ready to seal the bond, and the heat from his mate confirmed that.
“Um, guys. You need to… ah… break it up and come for dinner.”
Josh’s voice broke through the haze, and they reluctantly broke apart, breaths sounding harsh in the quiet of the room.
“Aaron? Did you hear me? If you don’t come now, Mom’s going to come and get you.”
“Yeah. Give us five minutes,” Aaron called out. His brother snorted in amusement and Aaron heard him close the door behind him.
He leaned back and took in Marshall’s flushed face, his eyes dark with desire. “You take my breath away.”
“You do the same to me,” Marshall told him, stepping away and brushing his hands down his thighs. “Is this normal?”
“Normal?”
“This unrelenting desire for you. I only have to catch sight of you, and it’s all I can do to stop myself from touching you. Taking you. Is it normal, or is it the soul bond talking?”
Heat flared through Aaron at Marshall’s words. “You do the same to me. I know there’s a heightened desire between mates as their animals recognize each other. As the soul bond is a deeper connection, it probably is amplifying things.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Marshall said with a sigh. He ran a hand through his hair and Aaron could see the agitation in the movement.
“Hey, we can talk to Alice tomorrow and see what she thinks, okay? We need to go and greet your parents before my mother is on the warpath.”
“Okay. Come on, Saint messaged that they’d be here in fifteen minutes, fifteen minutes ago, so we’d better go now.”
As they reached the door, Aaron stopped Marshall with a hand on his bicep. “Marshall, regardless of the mating bond, soul bond, and whatever other thing fate is throwing out, I would still want you as intensely as I do now.”
Marshall gave him a small smile and nod before leading them from the room. Aaron stared after him, a little disappointed that Marshall hadn’t returned the sentiment. He shook it away. Let’s get through tonight and then they could discuss it further.
Marshall smiled as his mother and Anna chatted like old friends rather than two people who had only met for the first time an hour ago. They were sitting at a long dining table in a room Marshall hadn’t been in before. He’d been a little surprised they weren’t sitting in the less formal family room, but he supposed that the Wests were treating his parents as honored guests rather than family. He presumed that would change after he and Aaron officially mated, but what did he know? He believed Aaron when he’d told him that even without the soul bond, he’d want him, and for Marshall, the feeling was mutual—to an extent.
He wasn’t sure if what he was feeling was true or whether it was the bond pushing them together. He knew he’d never felt like this for anyone before. His libido had returned with a vengeance, and it had been all he could do not to pin Aaron to the nearest flat surface and devour him.
His skin itched, and he tugged at his collar before picking up his glass of water. He’d politely refused the wine offered. The thought of alcohol had turned his stomach. He wasn’t sure if it was a symptom or just nerves that his parents were here.
“Oh, we’re very proud of Marshall,” his mother said in response to something Anna had said. “It was hard when he and Saint signed up for the army, but we knew they would look out for each other.”
“He’s going to be a wonderful addition to the West Pack,” Anna said with a smile in Marshall’s direction.
“Oh! I hadn’t really thought of that,” Claire said, turning to Marshall, eyes wide. “How is that going to work?”
“We haven’t worked out the details yet,” Marshall admitted. “We’re waiting until things are… um… settled with the bond before making any final decisions.”
His mother nodded, but he could see the curiosity and uncertainty in her eyes. There was going to be a big conversation in his near future. All in all, his parents had taken the news of their son being the soul mate of a wolf shifter in their stride. They’d been relieved when they’d learned that his illness was a result of the bond and that the more time he spent with Aaron, the better he became.
His father, Richard, had been happily surprised that there was a shifter somewhere back in the family tree and he promised to pass on the information that Kyr had found to Aunt Lisa to further her research.
Across the table from him, Aaron fidgeted in his seat. He frowned in askance, and his mate gave him a tight smile in return. Something was off, and a wave of anxiety washed through Marshall. Was Aaron feeling ill again? He did a mental check of his own body. He was warmer than normal, and there was a faint buzz under his skin, but nothing like what he’d experienced in the past. He stretched a foot out and gently tapped Aaron’s under the table.
