Let the Rain Come Down [The Moonlight Breed 6] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) by Gabrielle Evans (tools of titans ebook .txt) 📕

“Yes. I love cheese!”

Ah, there was that smile Demitrius had been waiting for. “Okay, then smother it in cheese. Hell, fill the whole skillet with it.”

The sweetest laughter echoed around the kitchen as Oscar emptied the bag of shredded cheese into the pan. The laughter cut off abruptly when he tried to move his finished omelet to the plate and accidently broke it into several pieces. “Crap! I told you I couldn’t do this.”

“Relax, Oscar.” Rising from his seat, Demitrius forked a bit of the mixture and held it to the man’s lips. “Maybe it’s not very pretty, but that doesn’t change the way it tastes.”

Oscar looked skeptical, but after a short hesitation, he opened his mouth and allowed Demitrius to feed him. The way his lips wrapped around the tines was probably not as erotic as Demitrius found it, but that didn’t stop him from being completely mesmerized.

“Oh, that is good.”

“See?” Coughing to clear the huskiness from his voice, Demitrius placed the utensil back on the plate and took a hasty step in retreat. “Uh, you should probably eat before it gets cold.”

“I’m not really hungry. You have it. You didn’t eat very much.” Taking the plate to the table, Oscar sat it down in front of an empty chair and indicated that Demitrius should sit. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did, but I guess you could ask another.”

Oscar waited until they were both seated before he spoke again. “Why won’t you take off your sunglasses?”

Shoveling a huge bite of eggs into his mouth, Demitrius chewed slowly while he thought over how to answer. The question didn’t bother him. He was used to people poking their noses into his business. Oscar was different, though. His opinion mattered, and for the first time in years, Demitrius was a little nervous as to the reaction he’d receive.

Oscar folded his hands on the tabletop in front of him and smiled shyly. “Does it have anything to do with why you always look away when you smile? Or duck your head when you eat?”

The guy was extremely astute, and it unnerved Demitrius a little that Oscar had picked up on the subtle behaviors. People in general didn’t pay much attention to him other than to gawk at his larger-than-average size. That, he could handle. This thing Oscar was doing was completely alien, and it made it hard for him not to fidget under the scrutiny.

“Don’t be scared,” he blurted, which would naturally ensure that was exactly what Oscar did.

Surprising him once again, Oscar just smiled and leaned forward over the table. “I’m not scared. Nervous, anxious, and maybe even a little jealous, but I’m definitely not scared.”

“Jealous?” Demitrius tipped his head to the side and frowned. “Why on earth would you be jealous?”

The shyness returned, and Oscar’s cheeks tinted pink again. “Because you’re mine.”

Chapter Three

Demitrius Accola was his, all his, and he didn’t have to share with anyone. It had taken a little while to figure out why the man made him so jumpy, but then his instincts took over, and Oscar understood perfectly.

“Your mate?”

Couldn’t Demitrius feel the buzzing between them? Good grief, the feeling had practically slapped Oscar in the face the minute he’d set eyes on the shifter. Of course, he hadn’t realized what it meant at the time, but he’d known right away that he’d do anything to belong to the man. The jealousy that rose up inside him when the twins had expressed an eagerness to get up close and personal with their new bodyguard was unfamiliar, and he probably hadn’t handled it well.

“I think so. I’ve never had a mate before, so I don’t really know. I feel something, like I want to crawl up in your lap and rub all over you so you’ll smell like me.”

A deep chuckle rumbled through Demitrius’s chest, and Oscar’s cock responded by perking right up and pressing hard against his zipper. The guy’s sheer size should have been enough to send Oscar screaming, but he kind of liked the idea of having a mate as big as Demitrius. Surely there wasn’t another place on earth that would be safer than by his side.

“I think you’re right, because I feel the same way. I want everyone to know you’re mine. I’d probably rip someone’s arm off if they tried to touch you right now.” Demitrius’s lips snapped together, and he breathed deeply through his nose before continuing. “I’m sorry, Oscar. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He was anything but scared. What Demitrius described sounded more than okay in his book, especially since he wanted the same things. It was a very uncommon feeling for him to covet anything, but maybe just this one time he could allow himself to be selfish.

Sacrifice was the name of the game when he was trying to keep the people he loved safe. He’d given up a lot, even before they’d escaped from The Hive, and now it was his turn to have a little something to call his own. There wasn’t anything wrong with that.

So, why did he feel so rotten?

“You’re going to be guarding all of us, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’ll keep my friends safe? You won’t let anything happen to them?”

“I’ll do my very best, Oscar. I can’t predict the future, and I won’t make a promise that I can’t keep. Whatever happens, though, I do promise to do everything in my power to make sure nothing happens to you or the people you care about.”

He really couldn’t ask for more than that, and he was impressed that Demitrius hadn’t tried to calm him with empty hope and meaningless vows. Oscar considered himself a realist, and realistically, he accepted the fact that bad shit was going to happen. No one defied The Hive and got away with it. Dodging them for as long as they had was, in itself, a miracle. They couldn’t hope to avoid discovery forever.

It would be easier for him to feel calm and safe if he could just see Demitrius’s