“Whoa! Easy, man,” Adam said, lifting his hand, palm out, in a sign of peace. “Skittish little thing, ain’t ya? No one’s going to hurt you here.” Adam touched the small of Land’s back and urged him forward. “Have a seat and eat. I’m sure Payson won’t be too long. He’s never been a late sleeper.”
An irrational spike of jealousy hit Land because this man knew more about Payson than he did, which was completely ridiculous because they were obviously roommates and he was a one night stand. A one night stand that needed to leave.
“I really need to go,” he said.
“Stay for breakfast,” the man seated at the head of the table said in a deep, gruff voice.
Land knew an order when he heard one. He slowly took his seat and set the bag of peas on the table. Adam placed the plate of food in front of him, then pushed the cream and sugar toward him. To his surprise, the big blond yanked a hand towel off his shoulder, wrapped it around the peas, and held them to his head.
“You really don’t have to do that,” Land said, piling the scrambled eggs and bacon onto his toast to make a sandwich. The sooner he could get out of there, the better. He took a bite. Oh, that’s so good!“What are in these eggs?” he asked after swallowing.
Adam chuckled. “A little milk and cheese, diced green peppers, and some secret spices all my own,” he said, winking. “And, yeah, I do have to do this. If Payson found out I’d hurt you, even by accident, he’d try to rip me a new one.” The words were accompanied by an eye-roll and an exaggerated shiver.
Land chewed and swallowed before letting out his snort of disbelief. “Right. Like anyone cares that much for a one night stand.” He polished off the last bite, then swallowed a sip of coffee. Good brand, dark rich and strong, it didn’t even need milk or sugar. “I’m sure Payson doesn’t really want to see me this morning,” he said, setting his now empty cup aside. “I really ought to go.”
A look passed between the four men, the group clearly communicating without words as only good friends or family could do. Adam once more put a hand to his shoulder and moved his shirt aside, again looking at the big guy on the end. “This says differently.”
Suddenly uncomfortable, Land shrugged. “It’s a fetish. Nothing wrong with that. Payson didn’t abuse me or anything,” he defended.
“We know,” Adam replied, sounding almost kind. He again looked at the big guy, as if looking for guidance. “I suppose we have a lot of explaining—”
The growl of an animal grabbed Land’s attention, and he jerked his gaze to the second doorway to the room. He’d noticed it led to a living room, but right then, what caught his attention was the large, snarling animal standing in the doorway. The beast’s gray eyes seemed fixed on him and Adam.
Land leaped to his feet and stumbled back a step, then the memory of reading something saying never run from predators made him freeze. Adam lifted his hands, palms out in placation.
“Payson, back off. I wasn’t doin’ anything and you know it,” Adam said softly.
Frowning, Land chanced a glance around. He didn’t see Payson.
The animal prowled forward a step, his head low, his fangs bared. Was that a hyena? It stood nearly four feet at the shoulder and around six feet in length and had greyish-brown fur with reddish spots. He’d never seen one except on TV, but that definitely looked like a hyena. What the heck was it doing in a house in San Francisco?
Adam scowled. “I’m not going to warn you again, Payson. All I did was give him ice for his head and breakfast, just like I’d do with any other mate. You need to calm down. We have a lot of explaining to do as it is.”
The hyena gave a yipping snarl, then leaped at Adam. Land never claimed to be brave, and took the opportunity to run to the other side of the table. When he turned around, his jaw dropped in shock. Adam was nowhere to be seen, but a massive white tiger grappled with the hyena.
The big goateed man stalked around the table and grabbed the hyena by the scruff in one huge hand. He actually shook the animal as if it were a recalcitrant pup. “Enough,” the man roared, sounding surprisingly like an animal himself. “Shift, now. You’ve done enough fucking damage. You want your mate scared of you?”
The hyena went boneless in the man’s grip, which was weird enough. What happened next made Land grab the back of the nearest chair to keep from collapsing. Once put down, the hyena’s body shuddered. Then a rapid twitching started at the base of his spine, worked through his legs, and finally up to his head. The sound of muscles popping, bones cracking, and tendons snapping filled the room, causing bile to rise in the back of Land’s throat. It sounded painful, whatever was happening, and his stomach threatened to lose the wonderful breakfast he’d just eaten.