“Me too. But, you are the sheriff, and we do what we have to do.”
“Are you going to be okay here alone?” Joe asked, sounding concerned.
Nate turned his head to look up at Joe. “I’ll be fine. I’ll probably just lay around all day and dream about you. If I get really bored, though, I can always just go upstairs and play with myself in your bed.”
“Our bed,” Joe growled before he leaned down swiftly to kiss Nate.
“Okay, our bed. Now go. You need to get ready for work, and I need to clean up breakfast.”
Joe looked over at the table, regret in his eyes. “Oh, Nate, I’m so sorry. You worked so hard on making me breakfast, and now I don’t even have time to enjoy it.”
Nate pushed Joe towards the kitchen archway. “Oh yes, you will.
I’m making you a waffle, bacon, and egg sandwich to take with you.
You just don’t get my scintillating company. Now, go get ready for work.”
Joe started out of the room, stopping just inside the door. He bent his head to the side, not looking back but asking anyway, “Nate, you will be here when I get home, won’t you?”
Nate turned away from the table in surprise to look over at Joe.
“Yes, Joe, I’ll be here when you get home.”
Joe nodded, trying not to show how relieved he was at Nate’s answer, and hurried out of the room and upstairs to get ready for work.
52
Stormy Glenn
Nate just shook his head as he went back to making Joe’s lunch.
He was so engrossed in what he was doing he didn’t hear the light footsteps coming into the kitchen until he heard a voice from behind him begin speaking.
“So, you’re the reason big brother didn’t answer his phone.”
Nate jerked around like he had been shot, quickly making sure the table was between him and the small woman standing in front of him.
He didn’t say anything as he just stared at her, waiting for her to talk.
“I’m Tosha.”
Nate nodded at her.
“Not much into conversation, are you? I like that, a man who doesn’t have a lot to say. Bet it drives Joey crazy, though.”
Nate shrugged his shoulders, taking a small step farther along the table as she began to walk around it. He was just about to dash from the room when Joe walked into the kitchen and instantly went to take Nate into his arms.
“Stop terrorizing Nate, Tosh. He doesn’t know you or your penchant for shenanigans.”
“He doesn’t talk much, does he?”
“He doesn’t have to if he doesn’t want to. Be nice, or I’m going to tell Mom. She likes Nate.” He pointed towards the living room.
“Now, go wait for me in the living room.”
Tosha raised an eyebrow at Joe, then turned and walked out of the room as Joe turned back to look down at Nate.
“My little sister, Tosha. She’s harmless, baby. She drives me crazy, but I wouldn’t trade her for anything.” He gave Nate a quick kiss. “Now, I have to go to work. I’ll be back as soon as I can, but probably not for a few hours. Make yourself at home, because as far as I am concerned, this is your home now. If you want it to be, that is.”
All Nate could do was smile at Joe’s statement. So, this was one decision that he got to make? He doubted it. He knew Joe was
Full Moon Mating
53
probably going to do everything in his power to tip the scales in his direction.
Joe grinned as Nate handed him a small brown bag off of the table and pushed him out of the kitchen. “Here, your breakfast. Now, go to work before you get fired. You’re the breadwinner in this relationship.”
54
Stormy Glenn
Once the kitchen was cleaned up, Nate roamed around the house, acquainting himself with the layout. It really was a beautiful house.
Granted, it needed a lot of work, but Nate could see the beauty it was going to be once Joe was done with it.
Nate especially loved Joe’s office. All along the north wall were wooden bookshelves filled with books, and Nate loved books.
Centered between two large windows on the east side of the room were a solid antique oak desk, two oak filing cabinets, and two wingback chairs in front of the desk. He could see that someone had taken a lot of care with the refurbished desk. It was stunning.
There was also a large river rock fireplace that graced the south wall with a carved oak mantel. Sitting before the fireplace was a small, soft-brown loveseat and a small table. It was the perfect little sitting area.
Nate could see late nights in the winter curled up on the loveseat, reading before a roaring fire or listening to soft music, maybe even dancing with Joe. Did Joe dance? Something else he would have to ask him when he got home.
Still, he could see where the room needed a special touch. The loveseat needed pillows, maybe a throw, a vase of wildflowers on the side table, basically all the things he had seen in magazines and dreamed of having in his own home someday.
The same could be said for the living room. It also had a large river rock fireplace with an oak mantel. A large, soft-brown sectional sofa sat in front of the fireplace, with a tatter rug on the floor between them. That was pretty much it, very simple and very sparse.
Full Moon Mating
55
Nate went upstairs and took a quick shower. He changed into one of Joe’s long button-up shirts, rolling up the long sleeves. He laughed as he looked at himself in the mirror. On Joe, it probably fit just right.
On him, it came down almost to his knees. He swam in it.
Oh well, it would do until his stuff was brought by. It wasn’t like he had much, just a couple changes of clothes, a few personal belongings, and whatever could fit in the saddlebags on his motorcycle. It wasn’t much, but it was his.
He had never had much more than what he did now. The Teacher didn’t allow it. He said that the less Nate had to carry around, the less there was to distract him from his true calling…working for the Teacher.
Nate wondered how long it would take the Teacher to find him this time. He always did, not matter how hard Nate tried to hide. Nate had begun to suspect quite some time ago that the Teacher was using the other students to find him.
He had no defense against that. They would do whatever the Teacher demanded. It truly was a matter of life or death…for all of them. But he also knew that those who were truly his friends would lead the Teacher on a merry chase before giving in.
That, at least, gave him some time to plan his next move. Nate questioned why he was even considering sticking around when he knew that the Teacher was looking for him. On the other hand, he wondered why he was having such a hard time considering the possibility of leaving Joe if the Teacher showed up. The two ideas did not mix well.
Joe was just so…so…well, he just was. Nate got a tingling feeling throughout his entire body just thinking about him. He was so tall, so sexy, so powerful, so very breathtaking.
He couldn’t wait until Joe got home. He had only been gone a couple of hours, and Nate was already missing him like crazy. He had no idea when he met the good sheriff that he would become so attached so fast. Being away from him was almost a physical pain.
56
Stormy Glenn
Just to keep himself busy, Nate went into the kitchen and dug around until he found an old cookbook. And it was old. The pages were worn and faded. Some of the recipes even called for lard instead of butter or shortening. Lard? Yuck!
Gathering together the ingredients, Nate got about making a couple loaves of homemade bread. After getting away from the Teacher, he had quickly learned that homemade bread was his downfall. He couldn’t get enough of it.
Setting the dough in a couple of pans to rise, Nate cleaned the kitchen, then went upstairs to take a little nap. He started to head towards his room, the guestroom, but stopped himself just inside the doorway.
He looked around the room for several moments, his lip caught between his teeth as he considered where his thoughts were leading him. He really wanted to stay with Joe. He liked it here. Was it an option?
Knowing that Joe was a shapeshifter changed things a bit. He might actually be able to keep the Teacher away from him. This was an usual feeling for Nate, knowing he might actually be safe.
Of course, this also opened up a whole other can of worms. Nate knew that in order for Joe to keep him completely safe, he would have to tell him everything. He was not looking forward to that. It was sure to be a real party.
With a little shake of his head at his morbid thoughts, Nate quickly gathered what stuff he had here, which wasn't much, and carried it into Joe’s room. Joe had said this was his house too, and he preferred this room, mostly because it was Joe’s room.
Nate went back to the guestroom. He quickly changed the sheets and made the bed. According to Joe, he never knew when he might have overnight guests. It would be rude to leave the room a mess.
Nate ran downstairs to check on the bread, then decided to take a nap. He set the alarm clock to wake him in two hours. The bread
Full Moon Mating
57
should just about be done by then. Carefully folding his clothes and putting them on the chair in the corner before he climbed into bed.
He sighed deeply at the feel of the soft cotton sheets against his naked skin. He couldn’t remember the last time that he had felt sheets this nice. It had definitely been a while.
The best part of it all was Joe’s pillow. It smelled just like him…
all dark musk and man. Nate buried his face in the pillow and took a deep breath, letting Joe’s heady scent sink into his lungs.
Damn, that
was good
.
With a little giggle at how silly he was being, Nate rolled over onto his back and closed his eyes. His mind instantly went to thoughts of Joe. A little smile playing across his lips, Nate went to sleep within minutes.
* * * *
Joe opened the door and walked into the kitchen, looking around for Nate. “Baby? I’m home,” he called out. Walking into the living room and then his office, he still couldn’t find Nate.
He was starting to get worried as he bounded up the stairs. What if Nate decided that having a shapeshifter for a lover was more trouble than it was worth? He knew he was asking a lot of him, but was it too much?
“Nate?” he called, nearly running down the hallway to the guestroom. He stopped in the doorway, noting that the bed had been made up with clean sheets. It was all he could do to keep from crying out when he saw that Nate’s stuff was gone. Joe’s heart hurt. Had Nate actually left him?
His hand went to his chest to push against his heart as he made his way slowly back down the hallway, stopping at the doorway of his room. He had a sharp stabbing pain where his heart was supposed to be.
58
Stormy Glenn
Joe’s breath caught in his throat when he turned to go sit on his bed and saw Nate sleeping there. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Nate’s stuff had been moved into the room. Inhaling deeply, he realized that his heart had started beating again.
Nate hadn’t left. He was still here. And he was in Joe’s bed…naked! All Joe could do was stare at the sexy body in his bed as Nate moved around in his sleep under the sheet. He was suddenly so hard that the buttons on his pants nearly burst.
Trying to be as quiet as he could, Joe pulled his boots off and set them down on the floor before pulling his socks off and putting them in his boots. He walked around the side of the bed, his eyes never leaving Nate. He slowly unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it on the floor.
As slowly as he could, he climbed onto the bed and lay down next to Nate. Leaning his head on one hand, he reached over with the other one and softly caressed the side of Nate’s face until his eyes began to flutter.
“Hey, baby, when you said you were going to come up to our bed and play with yourself, I didn’t think you were serious.” He chuckled lightly.
“Well, that’s what you get for thinking,” Nate murmured as he opened his eyes. He looked up into Joe’s face without lifting his head.
The moment Nate reached for his arm, Joe knew that Nate was reading his chaotic emotions.
He could tell Nate knew what he was feeling. There were so many emotions that he felt, hesitation, anxiety, confusion, relief. It was almost more than Joe could handle. He couldn’t imagine how Nate must be taking them.
“What’s wrong, Joe? Did something happen?” Nate asked.
Joe shook his head. “No, baby, nothing happened.”
“Then why are you so upset?” Nate asked as he leaned up on his elbows.
Full Moon Mating
59
Joe closed his eyes briefly before opening them. He gave Nate a wry grin as he looked at him. “This sempath thing is going to take some getting used to.”
“Sorry,” Nate whispered, his eyes dropping down.
Before he could pull his hand back, Joe grabbed it and held it against his cheek. “It’s okay, Nate. You are who you are, and I accept that. It’s just a little—”
“Weird?”
Joe laughed. “Yeah, weird would describe it. But it’s not like I can cast any stones here. I can turn furry pretty much whenever I choose, except one day a month when I have no control over it. At least you can usually choose to not touch people.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. The full moon can be a real bitch. That’s probably something we need to discuss, too. During the full moon, if I mate you, I won’t be able to stay away from you. You think I’m obsessive now? Just wait.”
“What happens?”
“I’ve never really experienced it before because I have not mated.
But I’ve heard stories. This is something you might want to talk to my mother about. She’d know more about it than I do.”
“So tell me what you do know.”
Damn! Joe had been hoping not to have to discuss this with Nate, hence, suggesting he talk to his mother. He was sure he was going to mess it up and scare Nate away.
“Joe?”
“Okay, but understand, this is just what I have heard. I could be wrong. You know we can change, and you know that we get possessive of our mates. On the full moon, the feelings we have for our mates are intensified like, by a hundred.”