"It wasn't the first time I'd been taken for a ride on the phobic rodeo," Marly said glumly. Michael was a great guy to work with, and Marly would miss him if the man made good his threat to head back to small town Alabama. No matter how gay friendly a place might be, and Orlando was definitely that, there was always a couple of rotten apples who spoiled the place for everyone else.
A Nordic looking blond man stopped by the table, his bright blue eyes fixed on Cat. Marly got a quick glimpse of lean muscle, long legs, and a handsome face while the man whispered something in Cat's ear and then Cat beamed a smile at Marly. "Hitting the dance floor sweetie. Do you want to come?"
Marly shook his head and caught the flicker of relief on the blond man's face. That, combined with the faint whiff of arousal Marly got from the nameless man, was enough for him to know that Cat would be right for the night. Perhaps it was time for him to head home. It wasn't as though he was going to get lucky tonight, unless he was at home and even though he was now mated, Marly had no idea if his mate was even going to turn up at his place anytime soon.
"My fucking life sucks," Marly muttered as he threw back the last of his drink. Then he did a double take as an identical drink appeared on the table in front of him. Marly followed the line of a big hand, attached to a tattooed arm, and looked up into Trent's dark eyes.
"Having a pity party, mate of mine?" Trent asked, his voice barely audible over the noise of the club. He slid into the booth across from Marly holding a bottle of beer.
"You know, I haven't got the foggiest clue what to say to you right now," Marly said, not sure whether or not to be overjoyed his mate had come looking for him, or pissed off because they were out in public and he couldn't grind on the man's lap like he had a sudden urge to do. Somehow he figured Trent would more likely punch him, than grind with him even if they were in a club.
"What are you even doing here? Isn't this place a little out of your comfort zone?" He asked instead. Trent's dark eyes were studying his face like it held the secrets of the universe and Marly wasn't sure he liked that much attention. Especially not from someone he didn't really know and wasn't sure he even liked. Lust was one thing, living with and liking a guy was another.
"This is not my first time in a gay club," Trent said, his cryptic answers giving rise to more questions. Not to mention more frustration for Marly. When had the man been in a gay club before, what … Oh fuck. The club was hardly the place to have a conversation at all.
"I'm going home," Marly said, getting up from his seat. "Are you coming?"
"I thought I'd have a dance with you first," Trent said, standing up as well. "After all, you were the one who went clubbing, you must have hoped you would get lucky."
"There's still no guarantee I will," Marly muttered under his breath, but of course Trent with his Alpha ears must have heard him because all of a sudden Marly was grabbed from behind with two strong arms, he was turned around against a solid chest and seconds later Trent's mouth was on his. Marly's gasp was taken advantage of in a big way, as Trent's tongue plundered his mouth. The club, the noise, the smells of other men, all fell away as Trent consumed him and all Marly could do was hang on for the ride.
Somewhere in the far reaches of mind, Marly registered that they were in public, that Trent was kissing him without any regard for what anyone else might say or do. Admittedly it was a gay club, but someone might still recognize his man, and it was part of the mate bond to protect his mate. Carefully he disengaged his lips, even as a whimper escaped his throat.
"We can't do this here," he said, trying to be strong. But it was so hard when he could see the lust blazing in Trent's eyes and the evidence of their harsh kissing on the man's lips.
"I'm a fucking Alpha, and you're my mate," Trent growled, bending his head to take Marly's lips again. "I can do whatever the fuck I want, wherever I want and no human is going to stop me."
Oh okay, well who was he to argue with the frigging Alpha in their relationship. But even as Marly felt himself drowning in Trent's strength, his scent and his addictive tongue, that little voice inside of his head couldn't stop reminding him that not only was it Trent's men that beat him and Michael just days before, but Trent had left his bed that morning, to go to a woman.
"I don't seem to be holding your attention very well." Marly looked up and saw Trent was glaring at him. About the same time he noticed they had garnered quite an audience from others in the club.
"We have a lot to talk about," Marly said, a lot firmer than he meant to. "I'm going home now. Hopefully you will follow me, and I will see you there. But of course, being Alpha, you'll do what you fucking want."
Turning, so that Trent wouldn't see the dampness in his eyes, Marly stalked through the club and headed out to his car. Must be the freaking smoke, because there was no way his mate had upset him or anything. Nope. Not at all.
Chapter Nine
Stupid mating bond. Stupid mate. Stupid sexy mouth. Stupid hunky body built for sex. Marly grumbled to himself all the way out to the car, and all of the way home. He'd never felt so hopeless before. He knew how easy it was for shifters to fall in love and he was a romantic at heart. He ached to find his mate and fall in love, and just as importantly, have someone fall in love with him. Marly had read all of the novels, he listened to the stories his pack mates used to tell. Fated mates met, they had incredible sex, and then they never wanted to be parted. Marly had dreamed of that ever since his first shift, and he couldn't help but feel so incredibly disappointed in the mate he had been given. If the Fates had a complaints department, he'd use it in a heartbeat.
Since when did a male mate turn out to be in a human gang of gay bashers? Who willingly left a naked mate in bed to go and talk to a woman who wanted him in her own bed? Nothing made sense and Marly could feel his frustration erupt all over his body because he just didn't know enough about his mate to make a judgment call.
Talk, he told himself firmly as he watched the single headlight of the bike behind him. We have to freaking talk. Trent was close enough to his bumper that even in the dark, Marly could tell he cut a fine figure on that bike and for a brief moment he indulged in a fantasy that included him nestled against Trent's back, and the pair of them riding off into the sunset.
Not going to happen. Marly reminded himself that as far as he knew Trent didn't want anything to do with him out in public, and he refused to get his hopes up on something as pathetic as sitting on his mate's bitch seat. Yes, the Fates definitely needed a complaints department.
So caught up in his personal conversation with himself, Marly almost missed the car park entrance for his apartment building. A sharp toot of the horn from the bike behind him, brought him back to his senses, and Marly hastily got his car parked and locked up. Without looking at Trent, he headed straight for his apartment and had the door unlocked, as Trent came up behind him.
Scooting quickly Marly headed for the couch and sat down, facing his mate who was standing against the door. More like blocking the door so he didn't leave, Marly thought wryly. Seems his propensity for not being home, hadn't made his new mate too happy. Ignoring the glaring look on Trent's face, because Trent would never hurt him physically, Marly glared right back and said as confidently as he could, "we need to talk. I know nothing about you, or what's going on with you. If this is going to work between us, then as your mate, I have every right to know at least something about who you are, what you do and how often you plan to be around."
To his surprise, Trent's face smoothed, and there was even a glimmer of a smile on those devastating lips. "It would seem that my little Omega has some backbone. I like it," he said as he stalked closer before sitting fluidly on the floor, with his legs crossed in front of him. The movement shocked Marly. No Alpha ever put himself in the position of his head being lower than those around him, especially out of the bedroom. It was a canine thing – the higher the head, the more control a wolf, dog, coyotes or even foxes had over others. Marly was aware that Trent was giving him an unexpected gift and his heart gave a little leap.