Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Clay
“You know,” Silver said. I looked at my brother over the rim of the coffee cup I was drinking from. “I didn’t expect you to come in today. Maybe I should have, since I came in the next day.” Silver moved closer, his eyes suddenly narrowing. “You’re not claimed.”
I shook my head. “Still haven’t even kissed him,” I told him.
Silver’s expression showed pure shock. “I don’t understand. He spent the night at your place. You moved him in already.”
I nodded as I took another drink of coffee. “Yes. But his home life was shit, and his roommates were terrible. He is better off moving in with me while we get to know each other.”
Silver stared at me for a bit before shaking his head. “Tell me what’s really going on.”
I shrugged and took another drink of coffee. “Nothing to tell. He’s my mate, and he is in agreement about that. But we’re not rushing into claiming each other.”
Silver tilted his head, then shook it. “Something else is going on. I won’t push, but I’m here if you need advice about anything.”
I finished my coffee and turned to refill it. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin asking for advice. I’m taking things slow because that’s what Duncan needs. I’d do anything for him, and that includes spending the next however many nights tossing and turning.”
Silver winced. “Do you want me to ask Charlie if he knows what’s going on?”
I shook my head. “I know. Duncan is quite inexperienced, and we’re taking things slow because it’s what he needs. My gorilla very much wants to have him claimed already. I’m going to see how this week goes, but I might be crashing at Mica’s for a night or two just to be able to get some sleep.”
Silver shook his head. “You’re forgetting something.
” I froze with my coffee cup halfway to my mouth again.
“He’s living in your house. He’s an omega who is around his fated mate.
How long do you think it’s going to take for him to go into heat?
We both know that once he does, there’s no way you will be able to stay away from him. ”
My hearing became muted and my breathing shallow. He wasn’t wrong. I’d not thought about that, and I was sure that neither had Duncan.
“You took time off to be with Charlie. How long before he did?”
“Charlie never really went into heat. Not that we noticed.” My brother cleared his throat. “We were incredibly active in the bedroom, and we think it stopped any heat before it could start.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what that meant. “All right. So if Duncan gets thrown into heat, I’m just in trouble and have to leave the house in a hurry. Got it.”
“Would you really leave your mate to have to deal with that alone?”
“Who would know how long we have?”
Silver shrugged. “You might try asking a clinic,” he suggested. “I couldn’t say for certain though, but I think it varies for each different species and person.”
“I need to go,” I said. I needed to go talk to Duncan because I’d been too busy trying to be a gentleman that I’d not thought about that aspect of things. What did he want me to do if he went into heat?
“Leaving?” Silver asked. “Are you coming back?”
“I don’t know,” I called out over my shoulder. Silver laughed behind me, and I flipped him off. It wasn’t too long ago that he was in the same position I was currently in. His was slightly different, though, because he showed up to work the next day already mated.
I left the office, and as soon as I was in the truck, I was on my way toward the house.
Duncan had my last spare key on his key ring, but he wasn’t due at the zoo until ten thirty.
It was just after eight, and that meant he should still be at the house.
Just to be sure though, I touched his name on the screen.
The call connected, and my gorilla felt relief when he answered.
“Clay? Is something wrong?”
“Hi, Duncan. Are you still home?”
“Yeah. I don’t need to leave until ten. Is that okay?”
“It is. I’m on my way back to the house, but I didn’t want to worry you when I pulled in.”
“Okay. Is something wrong? Did you need me to leave when you’re not here?”
I took a deep breath and, after a moment, let it out silently. “Nothing like that. I’ll be there in about fifteen, and I’ll talk to you then.”
Silence and then a quiet response. “All right.”
Duncan ended the call before I could say anything else.
I had a feeling that he had misunderstood the entire situation, and I needed to fix it.
I sighed to myself and drove through the streets of Whispering Pines toward my house as fast as I legally could.
I might have broken the speed limit a time or two, and what normally took fifteen to twenty minutes, I was able to do in eleven.
I saw Duncan’s car still parked where he’d left it yesterday and wondered again how quickly I could get him into something else.
I parked beside him and got out. I hurried into the house, touching the button on the wall to close the garage door behind me as I entered.
I found Duncan just on the other side of the laundry room with a worried look on his face.
That was exactly what I didn’t want, and I moved to him quickly and pulled him into a hug.
My gorilla calmed even more with Duncan finally in our arms.
“Nothing is wrong,” I told him again. “I promise.” I gave him a hug, squeezing gently just a bit before I let go and held on to his shoulders.
“Seriously. But I was chatting with Silver, and there’s something we really need to talk about.
Soon. As in now and not later. At least that’s what it feels like.
” I smiled. “We didn’t talk much last night.
” We’d watched a movie on the couch, and Duncan had become incredibly tired.
I could understand why because he was working entirely too hard.
“Okay.”
“Let’s go sit on the couch and talk for a bit.”
Duncan nodded as he let me lead him into the house and to the living room. I sat, pulling him down next to me. “I promise, it’s nothing terrible, but I was talking to my brother, and he brought up something that I didn’t really consider.”
“What?” Duncan asked.
“Your heat. How many have you had? I know some don’t ever experience them until they meet their mate. Others have them on and off.”
Duncan’s eyes widened. “I’ve had a few. Not every year though.”
“It’s a given that you’ll have one now that we’ve met,” I told him. “Even if we don’t claim one another, you will most likely go into heat.”
A myriad of emotions went across Duncan’s face. The final could only be described as terrified.
“Oh no,” he said. “I’m probably going to go into heat.”
I nodded and fought off laughter. “Yes, which isn’t an issue. I just need to know how you wish for us to deal with that situation. We’re taking things slow, which isn’t an issue for me. But a mate in heat might be a lot for my gorilla to not react to.”
Duncan looked at me with wide eyes and then laughed.
It took a moment for him to stop, and when he did, he shocked me.
“Well, I guess you could just claim me, and we could deal with it when it happens. But if I’m already claimed, there’s no reason for you to feel bad about what we do during it, right? ”
“We can, but we were taking things slow. We were going to date. Get to know one another. See if you could live with me. Things like that.”
Duncan rolled his eyes. “All right. We’ll continue to date. But maybe I should move back into my apartment for now. Especially if I’m going to be going into heat and you’re worried about your gorilla.”
“Why—”
“No.” Duncan stopped me with a hand on my knee. “I’m not afraid of your gorilla. Not even a little. Is it because I’m a virgin?” he asked. “I’ve watched videos, and I’m not not interested in sex with you. I can learn quickly if you’re willing to teach me what you like.”
I stared at him for a moment, unsure how to move forward. “I want you. Don’t ever think that I don’t. But I wanted to give you the patience that you deserve.”
“Would you be the same if I was experienced? Would you be this hesitant if I was older?”
I had to think about those questions for a minute.
It worried me a bit when I came up with the answer of most likely not.
“You being inexperienced is not an issue with me, but it does change the way I feel that we should go forward. You yourself said you weren’t ready for things, and I’m respecting that.
It’s no issue for me. Until you have a heat, that is. Then we’ll have to figure out things.”
Duncan sighed. “No we won’t. Just claim me, and it’ll be fine. You’ll take care of me during the heat, and it won’t be the first time we are together. I’d like to remember that if you can understand that.”
I was only a man, and my mate, who was still unclaimed, had just told me that he wanted me to claim him. I had to take several deep breaths to calm myself. Only that didn’t work because that just filled my body with Duncan’s scent.
“I can’t,” I told him finally after getting myself a bit more under control. The look on Duncan’s face said I’d messed up again. “You’re going to work in under two hours. Do you really think that if I were to take you to the bedroom and claim you, you would be ready to go to work in two hours?”
Duncan’s mouth dropped open. It took a bit for him to close it, and then he blinked at me. “It doesn’t take that long, does it? I mean, I know in videos it goes on and on, but that’s not real. They do multiple takes. And use…things to…” Duncan wobbled his head side to side. “Keep it up.”
I fought it as long as I could, but it was no use. I couldn’t help but laugh. Not at Duncan, but at what he’d said. He started laughing with me, and when he pushed hard on my shoulder, I fell into the arm of the couch.
“What? It’s true, and you know it.”