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"I was in the living room." He showed Zeke the cuts on the back of his hand from where the glass rained down on him. Zeke took his hand and rubbed the back, gently caressing the flesh, and oddly enough, it felt better. His crush on this man was building to an absurd level, and he didn't care. This was his new roommate, and a crush was inevitable, considering the man was gorgeous, kind, generous, and personable; he was everything. How the hell did he get so lucky?
Tanner knew he was grinning like an idiot, but he just sat there and soaked up the attention.
Zeke looked at the window first and then examined the opposite wall, where he found a bullet hole approximately ten inches below the crown molding. It was a bullet that shattered the window, and Zeke felt his gut begin to knot, realizing that his mate had been nearby and had suffered an injury.
The shot might have been deliberate or simply a random discharge, which was not unheard of, but Zeke was not going to take chances. He sent off a quick text to Cross explaining the situation and asking him to check it out.
"I asked for the day off and tomorrow." He said in explanation for being on his phone in the middle of their conversation. That got him a quick smile from his mate. "I thought you and I could spend some time together and get to know one another, that is, if you don't have other plans."
"No plans, but don't you need to rest? Didn't you work last night?" His mate was worried about him, and what a lovely feeling that was.
"It was a slow night at the club, so Cross let me leave early." It was a little lie he did leave, but it had nothing to do with his job. They sat and finished their coffee and polished off most of the dozen donuts while sharing snippets of information about each other. Zeke learned of Tanner's family. He and his older brother were raised by a single mother, and it sounded like he had a pretty solid upbringing. Zeke came from a fractured family of power-hungry felines, but he simply explained it as not being close to his family who live out of state.
It was the beginning, and they weren't going too deep into the information sharing yet. Zeke understood his mate's hesitancy to share everything, and Zeke was not exactly forthcoming regarding the truth of why he was sharing this apartment. The half-truths were not something that was setting well with him, but it was necessary for the moment.
"Where did you live before?" That was the question he didn't want to answer, but he had to, and he had to be creative.
“In an apartment space over the club.” He tried to leave it there, but Tanner continued.
“It must have been difficult living where you worked.”
“It was more the case the place wasn’t meeting my needs at this time.”
"Well, I'm glad you responded to my advert," Tanner said with true sincerity. Zeke reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed over his half of the rent and deposit.
“You don’t have to share the deposit.” Tanner balked at the extra money.
"Yes, I do." Zeke used a tone that was commanding but not domineering, and Tanner nodded and accepted the money. His mate was tuning in to him and making the connection that Zeke planned to expand upon over the course of this day.
“What’s it like working at a place like Zephyr?” Tanner changed the subject.
"Interesting most of the time, but sometimes it can become tedious."
“In what way is it tedious?”
"Some of the same people come back night after night looking for something but not sure what. Those people end up each night settling for what's offered as they wait to fulfill their dream, often an unattainable dream. It can be tedious seeing these people and knowing that they will never find what they're looking for because it does not exist." Zeke expounded with a shrug.
"They don't want to find it." Tanner broke in. "Their perfection is always a search, and every time they get close to finding it, they enhance their need and want more and better. Nothing is enough in their eyes. It's crazy, but I've met those people." Tanner chuckled, and Zeke wondered what his relationship had been to such people.
“Were you not enough, Tanner?” He decided to go ahead and dig a little deeper.
"Not even close, according to him." Tanner looked off to his right and, with a subtle head shake, brought himself back from the memories. "That was a long time ago, over a year now. He found someone better."
"I doubt that because, as you said, people like that are never satisfied." Zeke reached over and patted the back of Tanner's hand. "I'm glad you're here." Zeke saw the burning in the depths of Tanner's gaze and knew he was making progress. Then Tanner's phone rang, and he excused himself to answer. Damn.
CHAPTER FIVE
Tanner wanted to stay in the moment and see where Zeke was taking them, and then his fucking phone had to ring. It was Salem, and the man rarely called him, so he didn't feel right not answering. He excused himself to his room and took the call.
“Hello.”
"What's going on, Tanner?" He asked with just a hint of accusation, which Tanner did not appreciate.
"What do you mean? Nothing's going on. The new roommate just moved in, and thank God he brought furniture, so the place is looking pretty good again." Tanner tried to humor him with an answer to his strange and intrusive question.
“Did Blake speak to you?” Salem asked again with that same attitude.
“He stopped by last night for a few minutes to ask about the man he had suggested as a roommate.”
