Luke's Surprise (3 page)

Outside, he stood on the porch for a moment to take stock of the situation. He felt numb. Tears began to trickle down his face. A wolf only ever got one mate and some were not lucky enough to
ever
find the person they were destined to be with. The pull to be with your mate once you’d found them was intense. Walking away from his mate was the hardest thing Luke had ever done in his life. The pain in his chest could have been a knife wound. It stung just as badly and cut just as deep.

Mark stood and watched Luke walk out of the house. He should be happy—after all this was what he said he wanted, wasn’t it? But watching Luke walk through the door and out of his life was the most agonising thing he’d ever experienced. He could hardly breathe through the pain in his chest.

Mark knew the pain he was feeling was only a result of the mating bond. He didn’t even know Luke, but he’d heard stories about severed bonds before and they hadn’t been pretty. If the anguish he was feeling now was anything to go by, he couldn’t imagine the sorrow of losing someone he had been mated to for a long time. He didn’t think he would be strong enough to live through it.

As the minutes passed, Mark began to wonder if he’d made the right decision after all. He was definitely attracted to Luke—hell, no woman he had dated had ever made his cock that hard. And Luke sure was pretty. His pale blue eyes were captivating and those soft, full lips…
Shit.
What the hell had he done? Without sparing a thought for the consequences, Mark raced out the door in search of his mate.

He spotted Luke walking just a little way from the house. He ran down the steps of the porch and across the yard.

“Luke!”

Luke stopped walking when Mark called his name but he didn’t turn around. Mark wasn’t sure but he thought he could smell tears.

Crap
.

“Is this what
you
want?” he called out.

He walked forward and put his hand on Luke’s shoulder.

“Please, Luke, I need to know.”

Luke shook his head but he didn’t answer. The sorrow radiating from Luke hit Mark hard. His mate was in turmoil. Luke didn’t need to say anything for Mark to know how he felt. He could sense his mate’s emotions with the utmost clarity, they mirrored his own.

Mark walked around to stand in front of his mate. The pain and sadness he found on Luke’s face nearly brought him to his knees. The fact that
he
was responsible for hurting Luke made him feel sick to his stomach. He reached up and brushed away a tear from Luke’s cheek. Even with bloodshot eyes and a snotty nose Luke was still the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

“I’m sorry, Luke. Please forgive me. I know this is not what either of us wanted or expected but I can’t let you go, not now that I’ve found you. I’m sure, somehow that we can make this work, if you want to try.”

Mark could see Luke was still wary but some of the tension left him with Mark’s speech.

“Do you really mean that?”

“Every word.
We’re mates. It’s fate, Luke. I can’t ignore that and I don’t want to.”

Mark reached out and held Luke’s face in his hands. He leant forward and tentatively pressed his lips to Luke’s.

Luke gasped when Mark’s lips met his. He wrapped his arms around Mark’s neck and pulled him closer until their bodies were touching from head to toe. When he opened his mouth in invitation, Mark moaned, his tongue finally slipping inside Luke’s mouth.

The kiss was gentle at first but soon built in intensity until both men were groaning, their tongues duelling with one another’s for supremacy. Mark couldn’t believe how incredible Luke tasted—no kiss with a woman had ever felt this good.

“Oh god.”
Luke whimpered when Mark pulled away to catch a breath.

“Wow. That was…”

“Kiss me again?”

“Fuck yeah.”

There was nothing gentle about the second kiss. Their mouths crashed together in
a frenzy
. Mark ran his hands down Luke’s sides and he slid them around to his ass to hold him in place while he ground their hard cocks together. They both groaned at the contact. Mark realised that Luke’s cock rubbing against his own didn’t feel awkward in any way, just the opposite in fact. It felt perfect. Like it was meant to be, which Mark supposed, it was. He wanted, no, he
needed
more.

“Oh, ‘m
gonna
come if you don’t stop that.” Luke groaned into Mark’s mouth.

Mark wasn’t turned off by the declaration. Luke’s words only excited him further. Shit, he was close to blowing himself and Luke’s whimpers and moans were pulling him closer to the edge with every passing second.

“What the
fuck
is going on here?” Mark and Luke froze when Joe Walker’s enraged voice boomed out behind them.

Chapter Three

Luke quickly broke away from Mark, his face colouring to a pretty shade of red. Mark turned to see Joe standing behind him, his expression a mixture of loathing and disgust.
Kelan
was walking towards them with Dan and Lyle at his heels.

Mark groaned. It looked as if he wouldn’t be working for the bad tempered, crusty ole fool after all. Even though he wasn’t that bothered about the job, he couldn’t believe his actions. He’d been practically humping Luke right here in the yard. Joe turned to him, and Mark was sure if the old man had a shotgun in his hand right about now, he wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.

“I want
you
off my land, now,” Joe spat. “And you! You were raised better than this, Luke. Your daddy would be turning in his grave if he could see you now.”

Mark felt a threatening snarl rip from his chest and could do nothing to prevent it. He pushed Luke behind him and crouched into a defensive stance in front of him.

“Don’t speak to him like that!” he growled.

“I told you to get off my land before I have you thrown off.”

Kelan
stepped in between the two men and looked at them each in turn. His brother stepped out from behind Mark, and for the first time
Kelan
noticed his blood-shot eyes and tear-stained face. No one messed with his baby brother. It was all he could do to stop from shifting on the spot and rip out Mark’s throat. He growled menacingly at Mark.

“What the hell is going on here? What have you done to Luke?”
Kelan
was barely able to control his anger.

Being alpha of their pack,
Kelan
exuded power. He rarely lost his temper but when he did, look out. Lesser men would be cowering at his feet by now but Mark stood tall.

“I didn’t do anything to him,” Mark said defensively. “Well, other than kiss him.”

Kelan’s
head whipped around to his younger brother, whose face had coloured to a deep shade of pink. Luke looked embarrassed as all hell, but he still stepped forward and took hold of Mark’s hand.

“It’s true,” Luke said quietly. “I tried to tell you before. Mark is my mate.”

Joe snorted and when they all turned to look at him, he was staring at Luke and Mark with contempt. Dan and Lyle shuffled their feet nervously beside him but they looked just as disgusted by Luke’s announcement as Joe did.

“Don’t be ridiculous. He’s a man. You can’t mate with a man.
Kelan
, you’ve got to do something about this. What would your daddy think? When he was alpha of this pack, he would never have condoned this kind of behaviour. They…” he said, pointing to Luke and Mark, “are an abomination. Your daddy was a good man, and this is how he gets repaid. Not one, but
two
faggots for sons.”

Kelan
rounded on Joe—he had heard enough. It was always difficult to keep from throttling the old man when he spouted his repellent and sickening comments, but when they were directed at
Kelan’s
family…

“Remember your place, old man.
I
am alpha of this pack now, and if you want to remain in it, you’ll keep your distasteful comments to yourself. I
never
want to hear you say another word about anyone in my family again, you hear me? My daddy was a bully. I’m glad he is not around to witness this because if he was, I would not be able to keep my mouth shut like I did the last time. And by the way, he has
three
faggots for sons, not two. Luke, Mark, we’re leaving.”

Luke trailed after his brother, tugging Mark along with him.
Kelan’s
parting comment had left him speechless.
Kelan
was gay?
Since when?
Luke had only ever seen his brother with women. He had to admit, he was pleased to see the effect it had on Joe and the hands, though. Joe’s face was puce—he looked about ready to blow a gasket—and Dan and Lyle didn’t look any better. Dan’s face was scrunched up in distaste and Lyle looked like he might fall over from the shock.

Luke didn’t know what to think. Was this a recent development, or had
Kelan
always been gay and only keeping up the pretence of being straight for their father’s benefit? Now that he thought about it, Luke hadn’t seen
Kelan
with a woman since their father had passed away eighteen months ago.

Luke stayed silent as he followed
Kelan
to the truck. Mark hadn’t released his hand, and the contact sent a thrill of excitement through his body. Every time he glanced at Mark the man smiled at him, almost shyly. It calmed Luke’s own nerves, making him realise he wasn’t in this alone. He couldn’t help but smile back. He felt happier than he could remember being just by looking at the man.

The ride back to the ranch was mostly quiet. The car was thick with the fury pouring off of
Kelan
. Luke knew his brother well enough to know he should leave him alone when he was all worked up like this. He noticed Mark glancing at him surreptitiously throughout the ride and he couldn’t help but flush at all the attention.

Mark was really something else. Dark blond hair hung loosely around his shoulders and he had a firm, chiselled jaw. Luke had never thought much about the attractiveness of men before, but Mark was the most perfect specimen of a man he had ever laid eyes on. And boy, could he kiss. Luke felt his cheeks grow hotter just thinking about that kiss. It had literally made him weak at the knees. He couldn’t believe he’d nearly come in his pants just from Mark rubbing up against him. Shit, he was hard now just being in the same car as the man.

When
Kelan
pulled up outside the ranch, Luke opened his door and made to get out of the truck.

“Luke, could you wait in the house please? I’d like a word with Mark,”
Kelan
asked.

“What for?”

“Could you just listen to me for once? Wait in the house. This won’t take long—I only want to talk to him.”

Luke glanced at his mate for confirmation. When Mark nodded at him, he turned back to
Kelan
, his mind made up.

“Fine.
But be nice, okay?”

Kelan
waited until Luke was inside the house and had closed the door behind him before he started to speak, apparently not trusting his brother not to eavesdrop. He sighed and began, “I know how the bond works between mated pairs, Mark, and I’m certain that you and Luke will become closer in time. But that’s my baby brother in there. If I
ever
see him crying like that again over something you’ve done to him, well, let’s just say he won’t be the only one crying. Do I make myself clear?”

Mark hung his head. He was ashamed at how he’d reacted to Luke when they’d first met and the pain he’d witnessed in Luke’s face felt like a slap to his own.

“You don’t have to worry about me hurting Luke again,
Kelan
,” Mark said quietly. “I was just shocked and surprised at first is all. I reacted badly. When I found Luke crying, it damn near broke my heart and I’d only known him five minutes. I never want to see that look in his eyes again.”

“Good enough.”
Kelan
opened the door of the truck. “I’ve said my piece, you won’t hear of it again. Welcome to the family.”

Kelan
reached out his hand and Mark shook it tentatively.

“Thank you,
Kelan
, that
means a lot.”

Kelan
entered the house with Mark on his heels. Luke looked up from his position on the sofa with an anxious expression on his face. He eyed Mark from head to toe as though checking him over for injuries.

“Don’t panic, I didn’t touch him. I told you I only wanted to talk to him.”

Luke let out the breath he’d been holding at his brother’s words and rose to greet Mark. He stood in front of him, eyes to the ground, blushing furiously.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Hey yourself.
You okay?”

Luke nodded and smiled at Mark, his blush deepening when Mark’s eyes fell to his lips and the smell of arousal filled his nose.