“Can we not talk about this?” Olin asked as his face and ears heated to volcanic levels.
“Why don’t you want to talk about it?” Ollie smirked at him. “Sex is a very natural thing.”
“Says the guy who’s never had it,” Olin bit out.
Karidon’s head snapped up.
Ollie turned seven shades of red, and Olin cursed under his breath for blurting that out. He felt guilty for putting Ollie’s business out there like that, but his twin had been goading him, purposefully embarrassing him.
“Whoa.” Uncle Fester held his hands up. “Now is not the time to argue. Now is the time to celebrate! I’ll go get the liquor—”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Aunt Mya admonished her brother. “Eat.”
“At least I’m not torturing anyone,” Ollie shot back. He waved a hand at Coop. “Anyone with half a brain can see the guy is suffering.”
Coop chuckled as he continued to eat. Olin wanted to find a hole and crawl into it. After this dysfunctional-ass dinner, maybe Coop would change his mind about joining into this family.
Olin shot from his seat and hurried out the back door, slamming it behind him as he sucked in lungfuls of fresh air. What in the hell was wrong with his family? Olin had never been more embarrassed in his life, and if Coop decided he wanted out of this mess, how could Olin blame the guy?
* * * *
Coop glanced around the table and then stood. “I thank you for your hospitality, but the next time anyone embarrasses my bonded mate like that, you’ll be dealing with my leopard.”
The last thing he wanted to do was disrespect Olin’s family, but it had enraged him to see the tears gathering in Olin’s eyes right before the guy raced out the door. He snarled at everyone before he went after Olin. The little wildcat wasn’t his bonded mate, not yet, but tell that to Coop’s leopard.
Olin was seated on a set of stone steps that lead to a vegetable garden. Coop sat one step behind the guy and took in the beautiful backyard.
“I’m sorry,” Olin murmured as he curled his arms around his legs and rested his chin on his knees. “My family is a bit nuts.”
Coop smiled. “I like them.”
Olin turned and gaped at him. “You’ve got to be joking, right?”
Coop bumped his leg against Olin’s side. “Family will drive you batshit crazy. I know all about that.” Boy did he ever. The little leopard had no clue, but Coop’s family was just as insane as Olin’s.
“Yeah, but has your family ever embarrassed you like mine did me?” Olin asked, and his voice wasn’t as strong as it usually was. The guy sounded as though he’d been kicked.
Coop let a bark of laughter escape. “You met them, right?”
Olin nodded. “But they seemed so nice. Your sister is sweet, and your mom appears to be a kind woman. They aren’t insane like my family is.”
“That invitation to dinner was to interrogate us. Don’t let her charming smile fool you. My mom is as nosey as your aunt, if not worse. I’m sure your mom would have at least—”
“Don’t,” Olin said as he shrank back slightly.
“Don’t what?” Coop asked. “Why can’t we talk about your parents?”
“Because.” Olin hugged his legs tighter, and all Coop wanted to do was pull the man into his arms and hold him.
“Why are you so protective of their memory?” Coop moved in behind Olin until he had the man nestled between his legs. He encouraged Olin to rest his head on his thigh as he brushed his hands through the little leopard’s blondish-brown hair. The soft strands glided through his fingers as he asked, “Do you trust me?”
Olin twisted his head until his amazing green eyes were locked with Coop’s. “Why do you ask that?”
Coop brushed his knuckle over Olin’s soft cheek. “I want to know if you trust me enough to share those memories with me so that I can have a chance to love your mom and dad as much as you do.”
Coop curled his upper body around Olin as the little leopard began to cry. He held him close, rocking him gently as the dam burst free. Olin hugged Coop’s leg as his shoulders shook. Coop knew this was a long time coming. Although he’d seen Olin crying in his car, that was short-lived. This was not. He pressed his cheek into Olin’s hair as he rubbed the man’s back.
He couldn’t fathom what it would be like to lose his parents. Coop loved them with every breath he took. If they’d been murdered in cold blood the way Olin’s parent’s had, Coop would have hunted down the ones responsible and tortured them for years. There wouldn’t have been anywhere on earth the murderer could have hidden.