Chapter Three
Soren
Hunger gnawed at his belly, making him wish there had been some place to stop for a bite to eat before he’d gotten comfortable in his hotel room.
At least the rain had stopped, and the sun was starting to peek out from between the clouds.
He’d left several voice messages regarding the apartments and rooms for rent he’d come across online, but he had found no job listings for a cook or even a dishwasher.
Knowing that he’d never be able to sleep with his stomach making so many noises at him, he decided to get dressed and venture out to see what his options for a meal were.
On foot and picking his way past the puddles on the damp sidewalk, Soren took in the beautiful cottage style houses, evenly spaced not to be too close together.
Cookietown was quiet too, unlike the chaos of some of the larger towns and cities he’d passed through to get here.
Bees buzzed around flowerbeds, birds chirped, and the wafting scent of something absolutely amazing permeated the air, drowning out the lingering essence of rain.
His tummy grumbled angrily, trumpeting complaints about him having waited so long to seek sustenance, so he gave it a little rub.
Oh man, that smelled amazing.
He’d stopped paying attention to the buildings he’d passed, he would explore after his belly was full.
Later, he could walk off the meal he planned to pig out on, not that he was a big eater.
He preferred nibbling throughout the day, which was why he’d invested in an assortment of hard plastic containers with lids that sealed tightly, so he could divide up the meals he made and freeze some.
Once I have a kitchen, he reminded himself.
His stomach rumbled again, so he quickened his steps, eating up the distance between himself and the door to what he’d thought was a restaurant, until he stepped inside.
Aside from the food scent, he was hit with a waft of leather and lust. Shaken, he took a step back and smacked into a solid wall of muscle that immediately reminded him of the man who’d helped him with his tire.
“Whoa there, I’m sorry about that, I didn’t mean to almost trample you.”
The voice was deep; the scent was rhino, and he got smacked with a pang of homesickness and regret.
Stepping away, Soren turned to see a massive male standing beside a much smaller one who was tucked into his side. He smelled like a rhino too, and Soren’s heart gave a little leap, because that meant the information he’d received was at least somewhat accurate. There were rhinos here.
“No, it-it was my fault, I-I-I thought this was a restaurant, I didn’t know it was a, um, a, err, what is this place?”
“A club,” the big rhino said. “But there is food here, you’re welcome to join us at the bar where you can order.”
“I-I don’t drink.”
“They have smoothies and juice and tea blends that are amazing,” the smaller rhino said.
He was still a little taller than Soren, who felt like a child in their presence. He also felt safe in a way that he hadn’t since his family had been slaughtered.
“I’d love to join you,” Soren said. “Thank you for your kind offer. That’s the second act of kindness I’ve been the beneficiary of. I’m feeling like maybe I landed in the right place after all.”
“Oh, are you new to town, too, I haven’t been here all that long either,” the smaller rhino said, his cheeks pinking up a little. “And please excuse my manners. I’m Romy and this is my mate, Bash.”
“I’m Soren. It’s very nice to meet you both.”
As he walked with them to the bar, he thought about asking if they knew the man he’d met on the road, the one who’d smelled faintly of rhino, only he’d never even gotten the man’s name.
Silly, stupid oxpecker couldn’t even manage to do that right.
Seemed like it would take a bout of luck, or another unfortunate situation, for him to run into the man again.
“So, how’d you get to Cookietown,” Romy asked as they got comfortable at the bar.
“In my car,” Soren replied, hoping for sassy instead of sarcastic.
He hadn’t really interacted much with people outside of the ones he’d spent his whole life around. Making friends was going to be a whole new experience, especially since he’d be doing it on his own.
Romy giggled while Bash just shook his head, the corners of his lips lifting a little, like he was trying hard not to laugh along with his partner.
“I mean, how’d you even find it?” Romy asked. “Everything here is so secluded. I’ve heard people say they got lost, even with a GPS.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Soren admitted. “I went the wrong way a few times and had to backtrack and try again, but I sort of had an idea of where it was supposed to be, because one of my brothers had passed through with a friend and they spent the afternoon here. He always wanted to come back, but he never got the chance to.”
Soren appreciated him not asking what happened, or maybe Romy just assumed it was associated with the violence that had rocked their community.
That was the other reason he’d headed to Cookietown.
He hadn’t even remembered his brother’s stories until he’d heard a reporter talking about Cookietown on the news.
That’s when it had clicked, and he’d started planning his trip.
“Were you planning to stay, or were you just checking out the area?” Romy asked.
“I’m not sure yet. I need to find an apartment and a job, but the car I have is a rental, I don’t have a vehicle of my own, so wherever I work and live will have to be within walking distance of one another.”
“What if they were right upstairs?” Romy blurted out, before turning to look at Bash with a sheepish grin.
“Didn’t Nomad post an advertisement for help in the kitchen?” Romy asked. “And there is an apartment for rent upstairs now that Cosmo, Nomad and Harley have moved into their new house.”
It couldn’t be that easy, or that perfect, nothing ever was. Trusting the wrong people could get him exterminated, like his family. Soren still didn’t have a clue what kind of club this was, though he could kind of guess with how it smelled, except he didn’t like to jump to conclusions.
“I’ll have to look into it,” Soren said, hoping they would leave it at that.
“Someone is always in the office,” Romy persisted. “We can introduce you.”
“It’s okay. I’m not sure living over a club or a bar is the thing for me,” Soren said. “Loud noises kind of get to me, so I doubt it would be a good fit.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Thank you, though,” Soren rushed to say, not wanting to hurt his new friend’s feelings.
“You’re welcome.”
“I’m going to go exploring tomorrow,” Soren stated, hoping to change the subject. “Are there any sites I should check out?”
“If you like movies, there’s an outdoor theater with the hugest screen I’ve ever seen,” Romy suggested. “There are picnic tables to sit at if you want to eat while you watch, and the grass is super thick and comfy. I love to take a blanket and lie on it when we go.”
“Do they have movies every night?”
“Just about,” Romy said. “You just have to check to see what’s playing.”
“I can do that,” Soren replied. “It might be fun.”
“Oh, it really is.”
As Soren tried to focus on the menu, he was reminded of the scent of rain that had filled the air on his walk over and the way the puddles had shimmered on the sidewalk.
After the long car ride he’d had, Soren longed to shift and splash around in one, as a reminder of better days, and to join the bluejays he’d seen playing in one.
He never felt freer than when he was flying, so in the morning, he was going to wake up early, bring everything into his motel room, turn in the rental and take a nice, long flight to see the town from the best vantage point he knew.
And check out the giant movie screen for himself.
Sitting in the grass might be fun for a rhino, but if he went to the movies, Soren intended to have a completely different view than the one from the ground.
Arlo
“Come ‘er Darlin’, that’s right,” Arlo murmured, gently coaxing Taggart back into his lap. “Finish getting those clothes off and come on up here.”
His body felt like melted caramel, and badass enforcer that he was, he struggled to lift his arm to draw his mate forward, with how sated he was.
Fortunately, Taggart was eager to be in his arms, and scampered up naked, snuggling against his chest with much more care than he’d shown earlier.
Still didn’t make the reminder of the way his boy had hurt himself any easier.
Seeing those tears in his eyes had left him wanting to do everything in his power to make sure he never shed one again.
Carding his fingers through Taggart’s hair, he reclined against the back of the couch and took the time to just hold him and enjoy the way they fit together.
“I haven’t felt this good in, well, I can’t remember.
In fact, I've never felt as good as you just made me feel,” Arlo praised.
“Gonna make you feel just as good and put my mark on you where everyone can see it.” He nuzzled at his neck, murmuring sexily, “Anyone ever touches you, if they so much as glare in your direction or are mean to you in any way, they are gonna have one hell of a reckoning coming, so they best heed my mark.”
“Y-you’ll protect me?”
“With everything I am, even if that means trampling them to bits and stomping the bits until there’s nothing left but the dust of bones.” It might not have been romantic words, yet it held true for Arlo.
The way Taggart clung to him, hold tightening, body melded to his, let Arlo know Taggart believed him.
It also gave Arlo a sense of Taggart’s relief.
It wasn’t complete though, and he knew it wouldn’t be until they were both wearing mate marks.
But before that, there was something else Arlo longed to give him first. Nudging his leg, Arlo got him to move, opening his legs to allow Arlo access to Taggart’s weeping cock.