Breaking the Play boy′s Curse(15)

Vail’s brows shot up, his fork pausing halfway to his mouth. “Huh?”

Kontra snorted. “What, with the way our first introduction went. Land’s sister bringing a couple cops here as if we were holding him against his will.”

“Well, we kinda were,” Vail pointed out.

“Eh,” Adam said, dismissing the notion.

All three of them chuckled.

Vail felt bad for how Payson’s human mate had been introduced to shifters. Seeing his one-night- stand turn into a hyena would be traumatizing for anyone. The group had rallied around Payson and helped Land understand. Fortunately, the human had been well in the thrall of the mate-pull and it hadn’t taken too much for him to accept their world.

“When is Draven coming back?” Kontra asked.

“Supposedly tonight,” Vail replied, tossing the empty container in the trash. “I gave him the codes to the gate and a key to the garage door,” he admitted, praying his alpha wouldn’t mind him doing that without asking permission first.

Kontra just nodded.

Relief filled Vail.

“Tomorrow is soon enough to find out if he’s willing to travel with us.” Kontra clapped him on the shoulder. “Enjoy tonight. We’ll get down to business tomorrow.”

He nodded and watched his alpha head toward the doorway. “Kontra,” Vail called.

The big grizzly bear shifter paused and turned to look at him.

“I’d like to go back to see my family,” Vail admitted. “To tell them the curse is broken. Any chance we can head toward Oregon next?”

Kontra crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. “Were you kicked out because you’re gay? I don’t want to put my people in danger,” he pointed out.

Vail smiled, memories of his family flooding him. Yes, on occasion they’d been sad—living under the threat of a curse—but just as often they’d been happy. They’d banded together, accepted each other for who they were, and looked past the little problems faced by everyday living. Funny how knowing you couldn’t have a mate and always living alone put being gay into perspective.

“I wasn’t kicked out,” Vail told the men. His smile saddened as he remembered the true reason. “A young human became a little too attached to me,” he admitted. “He was in his early twenties. I was in my late forties, not that he knew that.” Vail grimaced, remembering warm, steamy nights. He hadn’t meant to lead the guy on, but the human had been flexible, hot, and viral. “I sought him out one too many times. When he asked me to move in with him…” He shook his head. “I explained to my father and left town. I always figured I’d go back, ya know?” Pushing the memories away, he added, “But after meeting up with you guys, well, ya’ll were more fun.”

Adam threw his head back and guffawed. He slapped him on the shoulder. “That we are,” he said.

Kontra rolled his eyes, chuckling. “Nice. Yeah. We’ll head up that way,” he agreed. Still snickering, he left the room.

“Well, I ain’t dancing tonight,” Adam told him. “How about—” The beep of someone at the front gate interrupted them. “Ha-ha! Pizza!” he crowed, hustling from the room.

Vail snickered and followed him. Pizza sounded pretty damn good right then. The leftover sweet and sour pork had only scratched the surface of his hunger. Shifters as a whole had an accelerated metabolism, which—while helping them easily stay in shape—also required them to eat more.

He followed Adam to the front of the house.



Vail knew staring at his phone or checking for texts every ten minutes wouldn’t make Draven contact him any sooner, but that didn’t stop him from glancing at it between each hand of poker.

“You know if you stare at it long enough, it will grow wings and fly,” Sam teased.

Rolling his eyes, Vail frowned at the big bull shifter. “Very funny.”

“Relax,” Lamar cut in, staring at his cards. “He’ll return soon enough.”

Vail nodded. “I sure hope so.” Grimacing, he muttered, “Damn, when was the last time I wanted a lover to come back? Normally, I’m trying my damnedest to find a way to make certain I never have to see him again.”

Lamar reached over and patted his shoulder, still looking at his cards. “Your mate makes everything different.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. Grinning at the peacock shifter, he asked, “What do you want in a mate?” It’d be nice to get the attention away from him.

That finally got Lamar to look at him. The blond blinked, as if just focusing on him. “I want what everyone wants. A guy who accepts me for who I am, who doesn’t mind my quirks.” He actually grinned lasciviously. “Being good in bed’s always a plus,” he said, snickering.