Chapter Ten
Ian
It all seemed so easy this morning. So logical. He had to go home because that’s where his computer was. It was where his files were sitting on his office desk. Only for the first time in his life, he didn’t want to be logical. He hated logic when he was alone, at home in his office.
The three wonderful days they had spent together just weren’t enough.
Ian rubbed at the center of his chest, where there was a lingering sense of separation, like he’d lost a limb and was having fantom pains.
It was the only way he could describe it.
Silly really, when he’d never been clingy.
Yet here he was resisting the urge to ring Rick and insist that he come and get him and see what surfaces were left to christen in his lovely home.
To forget the world outside and hibernate.
Ian found himself staring out the window unseeing, daydreaming about what it would be like to live in that gorgeous house—together, doing all the wicked things his mate was capable of. It felt naughty to take a weekday off when it wasn’t true vacation time.
There is absolutely nothing naughty about taking a day off. Now, what our mate did to us over his kitchen table, that was deliciously naughty.
I do not need reminding, Ian snapped at his animal side, his ass shifting on the seat as he worked not to think about how frisky his mate’s tongue was or just how deep… no not thinking about that.
He shivered with desire and was grateful he didn’t have a secretary to walk in and wonder where his thoughts were traveling with how it smelled.
It was better to think about why he was feeling out of sorts. They hadn’t talked much about the future. How could they when most of the time, they’d been using their mouths for other, more interesting things?
He shifted once more, readjusting his cock to get it into a more comfortable position. His cheeks were hotter than a furnace when the phone at his elbow rang barely a second later, and he gave it a guilty look. This is a workday, behave yourself.
He hadn’t checked the answer machine messages despite it flashing to advise he had some. Was it wrong to want to keep the real world at bay and treasure the bond he’d formed with his mate just for a little while?
That blinking light and the knowledge that there were several engagements Mom had mentioned to him when he’d canceled for Saturday, meant he knew some of those would be from his mom.
One glance at his wristwatch said this call was personal.
He loved his family deeply, and they would be pleased as punch that he’d found his mate, it was just that there was always this expectation that he would fit in with everyone else’s plans first—that his weren’t as important as theirs.
He swallowed the groan of worry and reached for the phone reluctantly, forcing himself to add cheerfulness to his voice, “Good morning, Machin’s Risk Assessor, how can I help?”
The girlie laugh identified his sister, Maisie, and Ian felt a little of the tension in his shoulders release at it not being Mom.
“Where have you been hiding? I tried calling you yesterday and left several messages, didn’t you get them?
I need you to babysit tonight as Rupert has made dinner plans for us. ”
Now came the sigh, not that his sister noticed.
How did one tell a sister he didn’t want to babysit, despite how much he loved his nephew Alfie?
He wanted to spend all his time with Rick.
Not that she was giving him a chance to tell her that.
His sister didn’t even ask if he could, she just assumed and used the same tone as Mom did and expected him to fall in with their plans.
She continued talking, not once giving him the chance to reply.
To say ‘no’.
Our mate comes first, his pushy honey badger insisted, feeling him weaken as she plowed on.
“—it’s going to be so romantic, and as he was never one for romantic gestures, I’ll take this.”
Ian missed what the romantic gesture was and shook off the desire to automatically say ‘okay’ when it was there on the tip of his tongue. “I’ve met my mate,” he interjected when she took a breath.
“I need you here by… what… hang on, what did you say?”
“I’ve met my mate,” he replied, chuckling at how long it took her to register what he’d said. He didn’t hold it against her. He was used to it.
“Holy badger! When? Where? Who is it? Have you told Mom and Dad? Told Winston or William?”
Ian ran through the questions and answered in order.
“On Saturday at the dude ranch experience I canceled Mom’s plans for.
His name is Rick, an alpha,” he made sure to state emphatically, so there would be no shock.
Mom had been angling for more grandchildren and expected him to find a nice omega no matter what he said.
It didn’t matter how many times he’d tried to explain that it wasn’t who he saw himself with, she’d never really listened.
Why else would she keep going on about cute twinks?
Ian didn’t see an issue when his sister and both brothers had all given his parents grandchildren, they would need to be enough.
“He’s a beautiful bear shifter. No, I’ve not told the boys or Mom and Dad, I’ve just met and claimed him, I wanted to have a little time to get to know him before I introduce him to everyone. ” Overwhelm him…
He felt a buzz against his hip and reached into his trouser pocket for his mobile while his sister was back to asking questions. He heard none of them, too busy reading the message from Rick, grinning.
Rick: Earnest and Toby have invited us to dinner this evening, you up to meet my friends? I could come and pick you up, and maybe you could pack a bag and stay over at mine?
His face ached from how wide his smile was.
He wants to introduce me to his friends.
Pack a bag. His belly quivered as he put his sister on speaker to free up his hands.
Her voice was more white noise at this point.
His fingers clicked clumsily at the screen.
He’d never enjoyed texting, but he considered this could be fun to tease his mate.
Ian: I would love that. All of it. Should I pack my toys too?
Ian read the last bit and considered deleting it, then pressed send because he had a wide and varied selection of things he’d used over the years when he often struggled to find an alpha to pin him down and do…
“Are you still there… Ian… Ian.” Maisie’s voice increased in volume bringing his gaze back to the phone on his desk as he placed his mobile down so it wouldn’t distract him.
“Yes, sorry, I was distracted by an email. I’m sorry, sis, I can’t help tonight, I’ve got plans with my mate.”
“W-what?” she stuttered, “I always rely on you. Mom and Dad have a committee meeting for one of the many charities they help with.”
He nodded in agreement, even though she couldn’t see him, he’d always dropped his plans to fit in with his family, just not this time.
And probably not so much in the future either, now that he had someone special to spend his time with, though he didn’t say that.
“I know, but Maisie, you’ll have to find someone else, sorry,” he tagged on, feeling upset at having to deny her, except he was also a little miffed that she didn’t understand he was newly mated.
She didn’t have a fated mate, but a chosen mate, so maybe she didn’t get it?
“Right… well, I suppose I can’t change your mind?”
It sounded more like a huffy question. “No, Rick is my first priority, you have to understand that, just like your family is yours.” He was begging, his shoulders slumped.
“You are my family, Ian.” She added enough guilt to the statement that he felt the weight of it. She had learned from the best.
She was right; they were family, and it was hard to change old habits, he dithered, then his gaze went to his mobile as it flashed with a new message from Rick.
Rick: Toys… I’ll look forward to playing later. I’ll be there at 6 o’clock.
The message came with a winky face bringing back his smile. He recalled the sexy kiss he’d shared when Rick had dropped him off. He hadn’t had nearly enough of his mate to satisfy him—if he would ever get enough.
He sat, rolling his shoulders like preparing to fight, and answered, “I’m sorry, sis, but you’ll need to ask Rupert’s family to see if they can help, as I said I have plans,” he stated more firmly than usual for him.
The call ended a few seconds later with a stiffness in his sister’s tone he wasn’t used to. Then, he seldom denied her—as in he never denied her.
He flopped back in his seat, feeling dejected. He sat for so long that his phone started ringing again, and the itch at the back of his neck said it was Mom. His sister, he was sure, would have rung her.
He reached for it with shaky fingers as he braced. “Good morning—”
“What’s this about a mate? Why didn’t you ring us Ian? Or, better yet, come around and tell us your news.” His family were all up in everyone’s business. Why hadn’t he remembered that? They were a close bunch, and they loved him, except they didn’t always see him clearly.
“I take it Maisie called.”
“Don’t take that tone with me, Ian, your sister rang because she thought I would be interested in knowing my youngest son has found his true mate.”
“Sorry, Mom.” He took a deep, calming breath to get his nerves under control then continued, “But as I explained to Maisie, it was all so new it only happened three days ago, and I’m still a little shocked to find myself with a gorgeous alpha bear in the first place.” That was the truth.
“Did you say alpha?”
He rolled his eyes, there was absolutely nothing wrong with her hearing. “Yes, Mom. Rick is a beautiful alpha bear,” he preened because, seriously, his mate was hot. Not a staid business owner like Ian, he was a hunky, alpha god. He was so damn lucky.
“What… what about children? You were so keen on having babies like your brothers and sister.”
No, you were Mom. He didn’t say it aloud, what was the point? Ian loved children, but he’d never seen himself as a father figure. Being an uncle was more than enough for him. He could have all the fun and then give it back. A perfect situation for him. Would Rick want children?
“I have nieces and nephews,” he muttered, feeling uncomfortable at knowing so little about what Rick wanted in life. That was going to be top of the list, before sex—okay, he wasn’t sure it was top, maybe in the middle.
“But there is nothing like having your own—”
“Kay, leave the boy alone. He has a true mate, how wonderful for him. It’s a special occasion,” Dad interrupted in the background. “Ian, when will we get to meet him?”
“What about the weekend if Rick doesn’t have plans? We could all go out for lunch at the Italian restaurant you both like? I could book it.”
He could hear Mom muttering as Dad had taken the phone from her. He had always been the peacekeeper, and Ian had learned to be the same. “That would be lovely, can you book it for Sunday as we have plans Saturday.”
“Of course, let me run it by Rick when he picks me up this evening, and I’ll confirm later.”
“Great.”
Mom called out, “Don’t forget that William is expecting you on Friday to have the girls, as Bianca is away on business and he has plans with friends.”
Crap, crap, crap! He had forgotten he’d agreed to that. He released a disheartening sigh, running a hand through his hair, his mind running through his mental calendar of things his family wanted him to do. The next two weeks were going to be busy with everything he’d agreed to.
He inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly before saying, “I’m not sure Mom, I have a mate to consider too, you must see he has to come first for me?
” Back was the begging voice, and he hated himself because it came layered with guilt.
“I’ll call William and Winston, explain why I’ll be less available to help with the children. ”
The silence that followed left him with a heaviness on his shoulders. He’d been brought up to always put family first, and for thirty-six years he’d been happy to do exactly that. Wasn’t it his turn now to do what he wanted, just for him?
“Fine, we’ll see you on Sunday where we can talk some more about this.”
“Okay, Mom.”
After the goodbyes, Ian’s head thumped down onto his desk. It wasn’t selfish to want to be with his mate when they were only in the ‘getting to know each other stage’. It wasn’t.
He clung to that, grumbling and groaning, reaching for the paperwork from his conference call. There were only a few tweaks required in the assessments, which was good news as he had a pile of other work to be getting on with, that he hadn’t done the day before.
Work, work was the best way to stop himself from worrying. It always worked in the past, and he clung to that by his fingernails.