“Don’t call me baby cakes,” Claybourne complained.
“Okay, Tigger,” Felix said, batting his eyelashes. Claybourne just sighed.
“You’re going to have your hands full with that one, Doc,” Emmett said, laughing.
“I knew you liked me. Sorry, Emmett, you’re too late, I’m mated now.” Felix placed a hand over his heart dramatically. Emmett gave a large, loud, belly laugh.
“If anyone could tempt a straight man it would probably be you, Felix,” Emmett said, grinning.
“Mine!” Claybourne growled and wrapped an arm around Felix’s waist, pulling him into his lap.
Felix patted Claybourne’s chest.
“Lord have mercy, this caveman thing is sexy as hell. Say it again, big boy.” Felix purred up at his mate. Claybourne’s face ignited. Around them everyone started chuckling.
“Behave, trouble.” Claybourne kissed the top of his head. Felix settled down in Claybourne’s lap, feeling happier than he had ever been in his life. Ma brought their dinner over and set it on the table in front of them. Felix was practically bouncing at the large plate of lasagna in front of him. He eyed the melty cheese and sighed. Perfect. He was about to dig in when Claybourne’s cell phone began to ring. Felix froze and looked up sharply to Claybourne.
“I’m starting to hate your phone. It’s never anything good.” Felix eyed the phone with worry.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Claybourne said good-humoredly until he looked down and saw the name. He closed his eyes and started muttering. He lifted Felix out of his lap and answered the phone.
“Claybourne here,” he said.
“Since when do you go by Claybourne? Honestly, Maddox,” a crisp female voice said. Felix perked up one ear and listened in. He saw Sebastian lean forward, along with Ashby and Nic.
“Nice for you to call. Anything wrong?” Claybourne asked lazily. Felix looked up at his mate, surprised. Claybourne was anything but lazy or laid back. His relaxed tone didn’t sound like him at all. In fact, the crisp female voice sounded more like Claybourne than he himself did at the moment.
“Anything wrong? Anything wrong! I find out that my baby brother almost died in a shifter plague and you ask me if anything is wrong!” The angry voice spoke with clipped, staccato-like words, easily conveying her exasperation without sounding hysterical. Wait. Baby brother? Felix scooted closer to his mate.
“I’m fine and it wasn’t a plague. It was a carefully altered living virus, manipulated by a witch’s spell,” Claybourne explained.
“Oh, that makes all the difference, I feel so much better.” Her sarcasm spoke volumes.
“I also felt that you mated. You couldn’t call and warn me? I was in the middle of working on a case with my team. I was going to wait for you to call me when I found out about your virus.” The woman’s voice softened a fraction when discussing the mating but then modulated back to anger when talking about how it affected her.
Claybourne dropped his head back and he sighed.
“Sorry about that, Madison. I forgot that it might affect you. Were you okay?” he said gently. She snorted.
“Of course, I am the best, after all. It actually added a sense of urgency to my closing remarks, since I wanted to get home and go to bed. Who is it? A tiger?” she asked. Claybourne looked down at Felix and Felix stuck his tongue out at him.
“His name is Felix. He’s a disorganized, loud, smart-assed, messy, flame-headed package wrapped in trouble.” Claybourne smiled gently at Felix. Felix could see the love for him in his mate’s eyes and couldn’t help the goofy grin on his face. The man just turned him inside out.
“Oh. Oh, Maddox, he sounds perfect.” There was a quiet sniffle before she continued.
“You needed a man like that in your life. I can’t wait to meet him. Did he manage to remove that large stick from your ass so he could fuck it?” she asked, laughing.
“Mad-i-son!” Claybourne exclaimed. Felix was laughing so hard he had tears running down his face.
“Oh is that him? Let me talk to him,” the woman ordered. Without introduction, Claybourne passed the phone to Felix who was still trying to catch his breath.
“Hello,” Felix said finally.
“Hello, Felix, my name is Madison. I hear that you are causing my baby brother some trouble,” she said evenly.
“I try to,” Felix answered. He heard a light, bell-like laugh and had to smile at it.
“Good. I can’t wait to meet you. I should be there soon for a visit,” she informed him. Claybourne’s head snapped up.
“You in Arkadia?” Claybourne snorted, knowing she would be able to hear him.
“I know, I know. I said I would never visit your country bumpkin town, but it’s my duty as oldest to check on you and meet your mate. Felix, be honest with me. There is electricity right? Running water?” Madison asked. Connor snorted from behind the counter laughing.
“Yes, but little else,” Felix confirmed.
“Oh god, that’s what I thought, I…hold on,” she said before they all heard her yell to someone in the background.
“I am too going to visit my brother. I don’t care, get someone else to take that case. You know what, you’re absolutely right. A couple days isn’t enough time away from here. I fucking quit! No. I don’t care if my name is on the building, I just gave you my resignation, and don’t forget to cut me a check for my unused vacation time. I believe I have several months’ worth accumulated over the years. I feel like buying my baby brother a present. The fuck you say? I wrote that contract myself, do you really think I don’t know I am entitled to vacation payout? I am the best goddamn lawyer on the east coast and you just pissed me off so much that I quit. Have fun explaining that to the other partners. Bye-bye now.” The sound of clicking high heels tapping across a hard surface echoed on the phone.
“Okay where was I? Oh yeah, I’m coming down for a few days. I’ll be settling things here before coming to visit,” she said as new sounds of car horns, people yelling, and street noise were clearly heard.
“New York?” Felix and Rian gasped at the same time.
“Please, please, please can you pick up some things for us?” Felix pleaded as Rian threw himself into the chair beside him. The musical laughter was heard again.
“Oh, you poor country babies, of course I’ll shop for you. Shopping is an art that I have perfected. Text me your sizes and pictures and I’ll surprise you,” she offered. Rian let out a loud squeal and grabbed the phone from Felix.
“I don’t know you and I’m not into women, but I love you!” he yelled into the phone before Felix snatched it back.
“Hey, she’s my sister-in-law, I call dibs!” Felix yelled.
“Now I really can’t wait to meet you guys. Bye, Maddox, see you soon,” she said and the call ended.
Felix turned to Rian.
“Clothes. Clothes from New York!” Felix yelled.
“Actually, it will probably be clothes from Milan and Paris. She has an affinity for European designers,” Claybourne said between bites of lasagna. Felix and Rian stared at one another before more squeals filled the diner.
“I didn’t know you had a sister,” Felix said after he and Rian calmed down.
“I have two sisters actually. Madison and Maddie, or Madelyne. We are triplets, Maddie is the youngest,” Claybourne explained.
“Wow. So you’re a doctor and she’s a high-power lawyer, what is Maddie, like an astronaut?” Felix asked. Claybourne’s eyes got a little sad.
“According to my parents, Maddie is a disappointment. She’s an artist. She works in multiple mediums. She’s actually an artistic genius. Madison and I are proud of her, but my parents disowned her when she refused to study business and keep with the family’s plan for her. Madison and I support her the best we can though,” Claybourne said.
“Maybe she should come visit, too,” Felix said, wanting to erase the sadness from his mate’s eyes.
“We lost track of her when she started t
ravelling in Africa to paint the wildlife. Madison has sent more than one Sentinel group over there to find her, but no such luck. I hope that she is okay no matter where she is,” Claybourne said, putting his fork down.
“How did your sister manage to send more than one Sentinel group to Africa to search for your youngest sister? They don’t take orders from anyone,” Gabriel murmured, sounding impressed.
Claybourne gave an evil grin. “No one can compare to my sister when it comes to persuasion and argument. She wasn’t exaggerating when she said she was the best lawyer on the east coast, however I think that statement is inaccurate. She is the best lawyer in this hemisphere. She only takes cases where she can help people, and has never lost. Not even when she first started. Not only was she able to get the Sentinel commander to agree to send search and rescue teams, but she has it so they constantly email her status updates. I don’t ask what she does, and she doesn’t tell. Very early in her career she explained the term plausible deniability. I only asked that she use her super powers for good.” Claybourne shrugged.
“I have to meet her,” Rebecca said, her eyes blazing with curiosity. Claybourne eyed Rebecca with trepidation.
“Maybe not the best idea,” he said.
“No,” Liam agreed.
“Definitely not,” Gabriel nodded.
“Hell no,” Aleks said.
“Y’all are mean!” Rebecca crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’d be scared to death at what the two of you could come up with,” Aleks said.
“Maybe she could explain some of the more complicated legal rhetoric to me,” Rebecca said.
“No,” Aleks repeated. Rebecca’s eyes narrowed right before she broke out in a wide smile.
“Okay, I won’t ask her,” she said sweetly. Aleks, Liam, and Bran stared at Rebecca for a second. Kate laughed.
“Y’all should know better.” Kate shook her head.
“Baby?” Aleks asked.
“Mmm lasagna! Yay! Ma loves me.” Rebecca ignored her mate and dug into the cheesy goodness. Felix sighed. Yup, he was going to watch her carefully, maybe slip Aleks some Xanax to steady his nerves.
“So, Doc. How have you been sleeping?” Liam asked, laughing. Sebastian reached under the table and Liam yelped.
“Perfectly fine. If Felix shifts in his sleep, I must sleep right through it,” Claybourne said, picking up a breadstick.
“Lucky bastard! I have a hard enough time with the small fuzzy mammals that Sebastian tends to shift into, like koala bears and marmosets. Watching Felix shift in the gym made me thankful for small and furry. Felix’s repertoire seems to run along the lines of scary and dangerous.” Liam shuddered.
“I made sure that my other forms were dangerous so that Alpha Devon wouldn’t get any ideas about hurting me when I was out of my cage.” Felix ate his lasagna and sighed happily. There was nothing better on earth.
“As bad as we had it, Peyton had it worse than all of us. He was around that asshole twenty-four-seven. Speaking of Peyton, how did he and Mojo fare during the epidemic?” Sebastian asked curiously.
“Neither of them eat chocolate, so we sent all the healthy kids to Mojo’s so that their parents could concentrate on their sick mates or their other sick children. Evidently the kids had a blast,” Liam reported.
“That man is so damn sexy!” Rebecca sighed. Kate echoed her sigh.
“He is!” Sebastian said. Ashby and Nic nodded.
“We need to find that man a mate.” Aleks growled.
“Why? It won’t make him any less sexy?” Felix asked. Claybourne’s head swung in his direction.
“Not you too?” he asked. Felix shrugged.
“That man is gorgeous, rocks this bad-boy-in-a-leather-jacket image. It’s like he’s wrapped in dangerous power and exudes confidence, yet is gentle and loves children. It’s like God took everything that would make a man desirable and put it in that one package.” Felix couldn’t help the sigh that escaped. He didn’t feel quite so bad when the other mates sighed with him. Aleks, Caleb, Liam, Bran, Gabriel, and Claybourne began a low, rumbled growl.
The bells on the diner door chimed as the man in question walked in. He was wearing a tight, black T-shirt and worn jeans. He looked around the diner and spotted the table they were sitting at and grinned. He was about to take a step forward when the men at the table growled again. Mojo stopped in his tracks.
“Uhh hello?” he asked, his deep voice carrying throughout the diner.
“Don’t mind the cavemen over there, sexy. We have just been discussing how mouth-watering you are, and the men here got a little upset. Come sit next to me,” Rian said, patting the chair next to him. Mojo walked up, grinning. He winked at Ashby, Kate, and Sebastian before ruffling Rebecca’s hair, sending her into giggles.
“Y’all need to stop doing that or one of these days they are going to skin my hide. Now. What’s for dinner?” he asked, sitting down to a beaming Rian.
Felix watched as Mojo reached across the table for a menu, revealing a toned and heavily muscled arm. Felix smiled at the sight.
“That is it!” Claybourne stood and pulled Felix over his shoulder. He turned to the table.
“Goodnight,” he said simply.
“That man is truly a genius,” Bran said before he scooped up Kate. Felix watched from Claybourne’s shoulder as the men snatched up their mates. He was laughing as Claybourne left the diner and headed to their car. Gently Claybourne put him in the passenger seat. Felix watched him walk around and get in.
“I still think you should get a papoose thing if you insist on carrying me so much,” Felix said, grabbing Claybourne’s hand on the center console. Claybourne looked over, a grin playing at his lips.
“Quiet, trouble,” he said and kissed his fingers. Felix shivered in anticipation. He loved it when his mate got bossy.
* * * *
“This place is a mess!” Claybourne yelled when they got into the house. Felix could feel his anticipation dying a quick and painless death. He watched his mate go to pick up clothes off the den floor but then reach for an empty plate. It seemed as if his mate didn’t know which he wanted to clean first. Felix sighed and rubbed his face.
“Is that a water ring?” Claybourne asked, gasping.
Okay, it looked like his mate was heading toward full meltdown. Felix grinned and began to remove his clothes. He waited until his mate went to the kitchen to put the plate away and threw his clothes on the sofa. He stood in the foyer naked. When Claybourne returned with rubber gloves on and Clorox wipes he saw more clothes on the sofa and his eyes began to bug out. He began to look around for more offending items. When he looked over and saw Felix watching him, naked, he dropped the Clorox wipes.
“Dirty is good, remember? Didn’t you like making me dirty, my mate?” Felix asked. He stepped forward and began to twirl his finger down his chest. Claybourne watched the trailing finger with rapt fascination. He nodded slowly.
“Haven’t you learned by now, that I’m always right?” he asked as he began to stroke his cock, fisting the head. Claybourne pulled his gloves off and began to pull off his clothing, watching Felix pleasure himself. Felix felt his mate’s eyes on him. He opened his eyes and saw that his mate was removing his pants. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, he walked past his mate to the dining room. He opened the sideboard and held up his hidden tube of slick. Felix had had more than one fantasy of his mate taking him on this large, dark wood table and tonight he was going to get just that.
“Do you know why I like this table?” Felix asked casually. Claybourne shook his head, his hand wrapped around the case of his cock.
“It’s the perfect height for me to bend over. The wood is smooth and the cool surface feels amazing on my hot skin.” Felix demonstrated exactly how well the table was designed for fucking as he bent over it, the cool wood caressing his chest. He reached behind him and pulled his ass cheeks apart. He heard his mate’s low growl. Time to move in for the kill. Felix opened the lube a
nd spread it on his fingers. He reached behind him and began to circle his hole.
“Oh no, I’m getting dirty,” Felix said, turning his head and pouting prettily up at his mate. Claybourne’s eyes were a sky blue as he stalked closer to his mate. Felix felt his heart begin to beat wildly. The look in his mate’s eyes meant only one thing. Hold on. Because he was about to get fucked to within an inch of his life.
“My dirty little baby.” Claybourne moved Felix’s fingers out of the way. He reached and plucked the lube from Felix’s hands. Felix watched as he slicked up his fingers and then gasped when not one but two fingers entered him.
“Yes. I’ve been bad and am so dirty,” Felix said, enjoying the dueling sensations from the heat of his mate’s skin and the cool wood.
“You were bad. You almost left me, my mate,” Claybourne whispered. Felix turned his head quickly to see tears standing in his mate’s eyes as he gently fingered his hole.
“I’m so sorry,” Felix said quietly. He stood carefully, Claybourne’s fingers still deep inside of him. When his back was flush against his mate’s naked chest he twisted his head and angled for a kiss. Claybourne thrust his fingers deeper and with his other hand held the back of Felix’s head so that he could mimic the thrusts of his fingers with his tongue. Gasping for air, Felix relaxed in his mate’s embrace and gave himself up to his mate’s mercy. Pulling back from his lips once before returning savagely, Claybourne added a third finger and stretched Felix, rubbing deep inside of him. Claybourne broke the kiss and stared into Felix’s eyes.
“I would have forsaken my oath to heal to follow you in death. I would have left those people to die to chase your soul into the hereafter.” Claybourne pulled his fingers free and reached between them to line up his cock.
“No you wouldn’t have. You would have made sure you had done everything you could have before coming after me. That is the kind of man you are.” Felix gasped as his mate’s thick cock pushed into his body, grazing every single hot spot. Only his mate could touch him like this.
“You give me too much credit,” Claybourne said, wrapping an arm across Felix’s chest, the other going around his waist to support him as he thrust again and again into his body.