18. EION
Chapter eighteen
EION
I was meeting a boyfriend’s—we hadn’t discussed it, but I was pretty sure that was what we were—mother.
This seemed incredibly important. I knew they were close, and I wanted her approval, which was difficult to accept in itself.
This woman was way above my status, and now that I thought about it, Angus, as her son, was too.
Even though I had twenty million dollars worth of land, it wasn’t solvent.
I could feel the panic rising. This was a terrible idea.
We pulled into a beautiful cottage. It was certainly not small, but not the mansion I would expect someone like Amelia MacGregor to live in.
I knew that this was Angus’s house and that his mom lived here.
It felt like I was way over my head. “Hey.”
I turned and looked at Angus. He smiled at me, and I relaxed. This was going to be scary, but with Angus next to me, it would be fine. “Sorry. I’m nervous.”
“No reason to be nervous, and I am glad to have you here. My mom is a normal person, and she is going to be thrilled I brought someone home.” At the front door, he laced our fingers, and I brought them to his lips, then placed a gentle kiss on the back of my hand.
In the foyer, Ramsey greeted us. He bounced and wagged his tail like we hadn’t seen him in years. “Mom? We’re here.”
When Mrs. MacGregor walked around the corner, I nearly passed out.
Immediately, I could see the family resemblance; like her son, she was beautiful.
Dark hair fell past her shoulders, and she smiled brightly.
She wore jeans, fluffy slippers, and a Metallica T-shirt.
“My baby. I’ve missed you the last few days. Who is this handsome man?”
She was warm and casual, which made me relax. The look Angus gave me before he answered made my skin tingle, and my heart flip-flopped. “This is my boyfriend Eion.” He looked at me, obviously realizing we hadn’t talked about labels, and he had introduced me with one. “Actually, he is—“
I interrupted him because I knew he was about to correct himself, but I liked the label. Offering my hand, she shook her head.
“If you’re his boyfriend, then you are family. I’m a hugger.” She pulled me into a warm hug, then pulled back and looked at me. “You are adorable. I can see why Angus likes you. I can’t believe he has a boyfriend, and he brought you home. He’s never brought someone home.”
I looked at Angus. He shrugged one shoulder, which didn’t seem like a denial. It was hard for me to believe he had never introduced someone to his mother. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. MacGregor.”
“Oh, please call me Amelia or Mom. I’m so excited to get to know you more. Please come in. I made pot roast.”
“You made pot roast?” Oh god, that was rude. I didn’t mean to question her cooking skills—it sounded like I was. It was just a surprise that this woman, who could easily have every meal made for her, took the time to cook a pot roast that the three of us would sit down to eat like a family.
She chuckled and looked at Angus. “What did you tell this man about me that he would think I couldn’t cook?”
“I didn’t, I promise.” He smiled at her affectionately. “The fact that you are… you? Surprises people when you do the cooking.”
She turned to me, and I knew my face was red. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to imply, but it was a surprise that you would take the time out of your day to cook for me.”
Putting her hand on my arm, she gave me a serious look. “Angus is my greatest life achievement. Cooking for his boyfriend is my honor.”
My throat grew tight, and for some reason, there was a stinging in my eyes.
Was someone being kind to me simply because their son cared about me?
I suppose it didn’t help that my feelings for him were getting more complicated by the hour.
As a mother, she loved him that much. I couldn’t help but be amazed by it.
“Well, thank you. I managed to croak out.” Angus looked at me, his eyes soft, but there was heat there too.
Was he always so hot? Had I missed it? Because right now I wanted to pin him to any surface and do very, very dirty things to him. Christ. What’s wrong with me?
We touched on the Sanctuary and the things I needed from the fundraiser.
Amelia spent the remainder of dinner telling me stories about Angus as a child.
From what I could tell, he was a quiet kid who stayed close to his mom and didn’t have many friends at school.
One of the best stories was when he dropped his favorite book in the mud and came home hysterical.
It took them ten minutes to realize it wasn’t him or someone else who was injured.
I gave Angus a kiss and hoped to soothe his embarrassment.
I didn’t think about what his mother might think about this public display.
Briefly, I panicked, then froze and looked at him, but the smile he gave me was all happiness.
“I want to protect little Angus and his books,” I said as I looked at him.
His eyes got big, and that lustful look was still there. His hand that was on my leg slid up my thigh and then rested against my balls. Something I said made him happy and horny.
“Why don’t you two go into the living room? We can have coffee or tea, and I made dessert.” Amelia was as sweet as her son.
When we went into the other room, Angus pulled me against him and kissed me. “She likes you.”
I still carried a little tension and hoped I made a good impression.
“I really hope so. She is really nice.” He kissed me again, and it was barely a whisper against my lips.
What it conveyed were hopes and dreams. Yeah, I read an awful lot into a kiss, but this was different than the ones that came before it.
“Well, I haven’t ever brought someone home before, so I didn’t have anything to compare it to, but I know my mom. She’s enamored with you.”
Just then, Amelia walked in carrying a tray with cheesecake and mugs. She left, and when she returned, there was a coffee carafe and a teapot. Shit, she brought both, and I was sure she knew what her son preferred. “Coffee? Tea?”
I didn’t mind being awake for a while. I hoped Angus felt the same way. “Coffee, please.”
Angus made us both a cup and wiggled his eyebrows at me. “A little extra caffeine tonight, I won’t mind at all.”
“Boys, I don’t need to hear about those things.”
Unable to help myself, I snorted. “Mom. Why must you embarrass me?”
She laughed. It sounded similar to Angus when he was completely relaxed. “You are my son. It is my right to make you squirm. Speaking of which.”
I watched as she walked over to the bookcase and picked up a photo album. “Mom. No.”
Angus looked at her, clearly horrified. “Angus, your boyfriend, should know everything about you. The good and bad.”
They looked at each other, and I was pretty sure neither of them blinked. I realized they were communicating something I wasn’t privy to, but it was important. I considered excusing myself. “Yeah. You’re right, I want him to know everything about me.”
She gave him a smile only a mother could give her child, then kissed him on his cheek. She sat down next to me on the couch. “This is Angus throughout the years. Prepare to go on this wondrous journey with me.” She giggled at her own comment.
There were all the standard pictures, including an adorable one of Angus as a little boy in the bathtub, his hair pointed with shampoo. Every mother has that picture, I swear, but Angus was particularly adorable. His hand was on my thigh, relaxed, his thumb gently rubbing the muscle.
“This was Angus as a teenager.” His hand latched onto my thigh hard.
The teen on the page looked nothing like the man whom I’d gotten to know over the last few months.
The kid in the picture was uncomfortably skinny and looked physically small.
You could sense his insecurities when you looked at the picture.
In family photos, Angus was in the background, clearly not part of the group.
The photos from high school included graduation day.
Angus still looked underweight; his eyes were sad, with none of the brightness that I could see now.
“Angus struggled after we lost his dad.” She looked at him. He squeezed my leg so hard it hurt, so I slipped my hand over his, lacing our fingers together. I had no idea whether this was something they had planned, but it was clearly something his mother thought I should know.
I whispered in his ear, “We can stop this if you want, but you can tell me anything.”
“It’s okay. You need to know.”
His mom gave him a closed-mouth smile. Her eyes lit up when she looked at her son. “Eion, you bring out the very best in Angus. You make him really happy.”
“He needs to know Mom because he is just that special.”
Her eyes got soft when he said the words. I wasn’t sure what was coming, but this was obviously a sensitive subject. “Like I was saying, Angus struggled after his father passed. Thirteen-year-old boys shouldn’t be without a father, and losing him was sudden.”
I didn’t know what to say. I was already uncomfortable. “I’m sorry that you both had to live through that.”
“Thank you, Eion. It was a long time ago now. My son was hurting, but I was too busy grieving myself to notice.”
Angus spoke up. “Mom, you were doing your best.”
“I know, but I am the mother, and you should have been taken care of better. I’ll never forgive myself.”
I didn’t interrupt them, but the love these two had was palpable.
When I looked at Angus, he was emotional, and I squeezed his hand.
What he needed now was my strength. Amelia looked over at me.
“I’m sorry, Eion. This is something he and I will continue to disagree about.
That being said, Angus took his frustration out on his body. ”
I looked at Angus, and he lowered his eyes.
“I had anorexia. It was paired with depression, and I pulled away from everybody. Because I was skinny and awkward, I got bullied.” My heart broke for him, and I really wanted to fix the hurt he obviously went through.
I’d never felt the pain he probably did losing a parent.
I could only imagine the hurt, and even though it wasn’t intentional, it probably felt like he didn’t have his mother either.
I knew it had sucked. I lifted the back of his hand to my lips, wishing there was something I could do to make him not have those memories.
“I passed out in a lecture hall the second week of university. The following day, I woke up in the hospital with a feeding tube and complications from the disease. I was put in a program for six weeks, and I still go to therapy.”
It felt so good to know he had gotten proper treatment for this disorder. He appeared to be physically and mentally healthy, which I hoped was a good sign. “I’m proud of you for getting medical help. I wish you hadn’t had to go through that.”
“I’m still a work in progress, but I am physically healthy, and mentally it's always a little wobbly.” He smiled at me.
“He did all the work and hasn’t struggled for years. We have even gone to therapy together, covering the things that created the storm he got swept up in.” Amelia added.
“It seemed important for you to know because it affects how I see myself, and sometimes how I handle myself. I still have anxiety and depression, but it’s controlled pretty well with meds.” He gave me a little smile.
“Well, if my math is right, you started your journey about fourteen years ago. Personally, I really like the person you are now. Looks like your hard work has helped some.
He cocked his head, which was too adorable, making me want to grab him like a caveman and claim him as my own, making him forget all he went through. “Only some?”
“A lot. Very much. I’d love to show you how much as soon as possible.
” After the words left my mouth, I realized his mother was sitting on my other side.
Oh God, what had I done? The things I said were not appropriate, especially since I was in my thirties and certainly shouldn’t have made those comments in front of the man's mother.
Fuck. I knew my face was bright red, and by the way Angus was holding back his laugh, I knew I needed to now face Amelia after I had just said I wanted to dick down her son.
I looked at her. “That wasn’t appropriate. I am genuinely sorry.”
She smiled and laughed. “Well, at least I know you like him. I think, though, that is my sign to head to bed and leave you two alone.”
When she stood, I did too, and she pulled me in for a hug. “I’ll give you the shovel talk next time I see you. He really likes you.” She said when she pulled back. “It was a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to getting together again soon.”
“You too. Thank you for dinner.”
“You are most welcome.” She patted my hand, then hugged her son. “You two have fun.”
Angus was laughing before she was out of the room. “That was smooth. You’re saying you wanted to have sex with me while sitting with my mom.”
“If you keep picking on me, you won’t get to enjoy the things I offered.”
“Oh. Damn. Did I laugh?” He was still grinning. “Let me take you to my lair.”
“Oh, your lair? I can’t wait.” We walked up the stairs hand in hand, and when he got to the top, I found myself pressed against the wall.
His lips were on mine, his tongue delving into my mouth, making me shudder.
This man could kiss, and it lit me on fire.
When I felt his hard body against mine, it made me instantly steel solid.
I felt the desire to claim him surface again.
“I want you,” I said against his lips.
“How convenient that I want you too.” He kissed me hard, and we stumbled our way into his bedroom. “Can your mother hear us in here?” I kicked the door closed.
“Not a peep.” He said with a huge smile.
“Oh, that’s very good because there will be screaming.”
“From who?”
“Both of us, I hope.” I chuckled, thrilled to be right here right now with this incredible man.