Chapter Five
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NICO WAS NERVOUS. IT was one thing to meet Mackenzie at the coffee shop to talk about Mackenzie’s brother, but it was an entirely different thing for them to meet at Mackenzie’s house for dinner.
Because Mackenzie had a house now. He’d been hesitant to move after what had happened to Jasper, but Mackenzie had kept his word. His entire family had moved into fox territory, and Mackenzie had his own house.
Going there made Nico nervous, and not only because he was about to spend the evening with Mackenzie, a man he was attracted to and enjoyed spending time with. He was also about to sneak into fox territory.
There was no way he could tell Jerome he was here for a date—not that he and Mackenzie had agreed it was a date.
Mackenzie had asked Nico to come over so they could celebrate him having his own place, and Nico had been more than happy to say yes.
They hadn’t defined it, but he suspected they both knew it was a date, which was one more thing that made Nico nervous.
He really hoped no one would notice him coming into fox territory.
His father was friendly with Jerome, and Nico didn’t think that the fox alpha would kick him out or anything like that, but at the very least, he’d demand to know why the future bobcat alpha was there without telling him about it, and that wasn’t a conversation Nico was ready to have with Mackenzie.
Mackenzie still didn’t know that Nico was his father’s heir, and Nico hoped to keep things that way for a bit longer.
He’d have to tell him eventually, and he would, but it was nice to be with someone who didn’t care about anything but him as a person.
He wasn’t sure how Mackenzie would take it when he found out, but he was going to enjoy the time they would share until then.
He glanced at the passenger seat of his car.
He’d asked his mother to prepare something, just so he wouldn’t show up empty-handed, but it had been complicated to convince her without telling her exactly why he needed it.
He’d eventually had to tell her he had a date, but he hadn’t told her with whom, and he wasn’t planning to.
She was way too happy about it, but she wouldn’t push until he was ready to tell her.
He wasn’t sure he ever would be. It all depended on how Mackenzie reacted when Nico told him who he was.
But for now, Nico was headed to Mackenzie’s house with two pies he was eager to share. He’d overcome the first hurdle of telling Mackenzie that he was a carrier. He was sure he’d find the right moment to tell him who his father was and what it meant eventually.
He had to be careful when he entered fox territory.
He took a back road so he wouldn’t have to pass by the guards, relieved to find it was unguarded.
It probably wasn’t the smartest idea since Silas was around, but it played to Nico’s interests.
He wasn’t sure that Silas knew about the secondary roads.
Besides, it wasn’t as if Silas couldn’t find a weak spot in the patrols that Jerome had no doubt set up.
The territories in the forest were vast, and it was impossible for the alphas to cover every inch of them.
Nico felt like he was about to crawl out of his skin by the time he parked his car in front of Mackenzie’s house.
It was exactly where Mackenzie had told him it would be, and just like he’d said, it was cute—two floors, but not too big.
Nico knew it had three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs.
Mackenzie had mentioned giving him a tour, and Nico couldn’t wait.
Mackenzie’s door flew open before Nico even reached the porch. He was still taking out the pies from the passenger seat when Mackenzie appeared, grinning widely. He looked excited, which made Nico’s stomach flutter.
He was the one doing that. Mackenzie was excited to see him, no one else.
“You made it,” Mackenzie said when Nico reached him.
“I did.” He raised the pies. “As promised, I brought dessert.”
Mackenzie’s eyes widened. “Did you bake those?”
“God, no. My mother did. I’m decent at cooking, but that’s because I don’t have to measure stuff. Ask me to bake you a dessert, though, and I’ll probably end up blowing up the kitchen.”
Mackenzie was still smiling, and God, was he handsome.
His hair was darker than Dean’s, but he still had some hint of red in it.
His brown eyes were gentle when he looked at Nico, and freckles dotted his skin.
He was a bit taller than Nico, and everything about him looked soft in a good way.
Nico wanted nothing more than to snuggle up to him.
Instead, he followed him inside the house. Mackenzie closed the door behind them, then gestured ahead. “Kitchen’s that way. I’m cooking, so I’ll give you the tour later, all right?”
“I’m not in a rush.”
“I thought we could finish cooking together? Unless you don’t want you. I know not everyone likes cooking.”
To be honest, while Nico could cook, he didn’t particularly enjoy it.
He found it bothersome to have to do it every night, and he was glad that his mother took care of feeding him and his father.
He was pretty sure they would have starved otherwise, or limited themselves to eating sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
“It smells good,” he said with a smile.
Mackenzie beamed. “Let’s hope it tastes as good as it smells.”
“I’m sure it will.”
It did smell good, of garlic and something else that Nico couldn’t identify.
“It’s nothing much,” Mackenzie said as he put down the pies and rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought lasagna would be a good idea. That way, we won’t have to spend half the evening in the kitchen.”
“It sounds perfect.”
“You can help me if you want, although there’s not much to do. We just need to put everything together.”
That was what they did. Mackenzie had everything laid out on the counters already, so it wasn’t hard.
They talked as they cooked, and Nico found himself leaning closer and closer to Mackenzie as the minutes passed.
He could feel the warmth of Mackenzie’s body against his, and their elbows kept knocking against each other.
Every time they did, Nico sucked in a breath and waited for something to happen.
He could tell that Mackenzie kept glancing at him.
He did the same thing, but when their gazes caught, they quickly looked away.
Nico was going to have to take the next step if Mackenzie didn’t because if nothing happened between them by the end of the evening, he’d do something stupid, like ask Mackenzie why he didn’t want him that way when it was obvious that he did.
One of them just needed to be brave enough, and if Mackenzie wouldn’t do it, Nico would.
* * * *
THE SMELL OF GARLIC and herbs filled the small kitchen as Mackenzie slid the lasagna into the oven. Nico leaned against the counter beside him, a dishtowel slung over his shoulder since he’d insisted on starting to clean up already.
“Forty-five minutes,” Mackenzie said, closing the oven door and turning to face Nico.
“Perfect timing.” Nico’s smile was soft, and it made something warm unfurl in Mackenzie’s chest.
“I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about helping me. You’re not a bad cook, though.”
Nico’s cheeks flushed slightly. “My mother insisted that both Chris and I know our way around a kitchen. Said we’d have to take care of ourselves someday, and maybe our family, too.”
Something in his tone, in the way he was looking at Mackenzie, made his breath catch. Before he could second-guess himself, he stepped closer and kissed him.
It was meant to be gentle, a soft press of lips, but Nico’s hands came up to cup Mackenzie’s face, and the kiss deepened, their mouths moving together with a hunger that didn’t surprise Mackenzie. They’d been dancing around this almost since the day they’d met.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Nico rested his forehead against Mackenzie’s.
“Mackenzie,” he whispered.
Mackenzie should have said something romantic—he’d been planning to—but instead, his brain-mouth filter decided to break down. “You’re a carrier.”
The words hung between them, making everything awkward. Nico’s hands dropped from Mackenzie’s face, and he took a step back. Mackenzie wanted him back to where he’d been, but he didn’t dare reach for him.
“Yes,” Nico said. “Is that a problem?”
“No. I mean, yes. I mean—” Mackenzie ran his hands through his hair, frustrated. “Not the way you think. It’s just unfamiliar. Even with Dean, I’ve only just learned what it means. The idea that you could—” He gestured at Nico. “That we could have children together. It’s overwhelming.”
Nico’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “I understand.”
“My family and I don’t really understand this,” Mackenzie admitted. “We know Dean’s dating Jasper, and they’re trying to be supportive, but we don’t understand the politics, the biology, any of it. It’s just going to take a while to wrap my mind around all of it.”
“I’ll give you as much time as you need. I didn’t come here tonight with expectations.”
Mackenzie snorted. “Please. We both expected this to happen.”
Nico was smiling again. That was good. “Okay, maybe I did expect we’d at least kiss. I get it, though. Shifters have kept the carriers secret, so you didn’t know it was a possibility.”
Mackenzie nodded, relieved. “And I’m gay, so I’ve never had to worry about this kind of thing, you know? There was never a possibility of a pregnancy, but there will be if we continue this.”
Nico cocked his head. “Is that a bad thing? Heterosexual couples make it work.”
“It’s not a problem. You aren’t a problem.
It’s just a lot, especially when you consider that it means we could have a family together one day.
I never thought I’d have that, not in the way we could.
” Mackenzie had thought he’d adopt. He’d never imagined he could have children related to him, and while that wasn’t the most important thing when it came to kids, he couldn’t deny that the thought of children sharing his DNA and Nico’s made his knees go weak. He wanted it so much it scared him.
“We don’t have to start planning our future right now,” Nico pointed out as he slid closer to Mackenzie. “In fact, we probably shouldn’t just yet. But I want to be with you.”
Mackenzie hooked an arm around Nico’s waist. “I want the same thing.” He had no idea where it had come from—where Nico had come from—but he knew a good thing when it was right in front of him, and this had so much potential it scared him, but in a good way.
Nico would change Mackenzie’s life, and Mackenzie couldn’t wait.