MATE AND HIS LOVER 9

#1 In a pickle

The chubby brown cat jumps down from the wall at the curb. It gets inside one of the piled up cardboard boxes adhered with black tapes with "Amazon" printed on them. The driver of the car passing by rolls down his window, feels the hot air slap his face, and quickly rolls it back up and turns on the AC.

Inside the run down Poshkey's Cafe, there's no one save for the two customers, and the four-eyed, pimple-faced staff who is back in the rest room reconnecting with his weed.

It's not a popular place, and its air conditioner sounds ready for the appliance graveyard any day.

But the two patrons don't mind the lack of cooling, or how sticky the chairs and tables are, or how no one else is here despite the peak temperature outside. Since that's exactly why these two chose this place — to talk privately in a public place. Not for the muddy coffees that neither of them have touched.

The searing rays of the afternoon summer sun strikes the table between the antithetical mates.

One of them aspires to be an Alpha; the other is already an experienced criminal;

One is big, muscly and tanned, and the other is small and washed out.

One is honest and straightforward, and the other... not so much.

Daisy can tell, by the look on Nate's face, she has a rejection coming towards her. Nate's inscrutable eyes give away more of his mind than he thinks to Daisy.

In a different time, Daisy would take this impending rejection in stride, since she is not the kind to cry, especially over a boy — even if that boy was her outstandingly good looking mate with deep set dark eyes, broad shoulders and larger than life biceps.

Today, however, is not an auspicious day for a rejection — Nate is not only her mate but also her ticket out of the trouble she got herself in recently.

By now Nate has had enough of the staring contest. As he briefly glances at his mate's rosy pink lips, he's afraid he wants to do more than just look at the slender girl sitting across him a little too assertively.

But he can't cave into what his body wants, not if he doesn't want to screw up what he's worked for his entire life. Finally, he opens his mouth to say something.

Daisy jumps in. "I know who you are. I know what you're going to say. I've no objection to your rejection."

Nate crosses his arms and leans back, preparing himself for what's coming next. It's clear enough to him she won't accept the rejection.

"Unfortunately though," Daisy says. "I'm in a pickle and need a safe place to crash in, which I'm hoping is yours. If you take me in, till I make other arrangements, I'll accept your rejection before I leave. More importantly, no one will ever find out a rogue was your mate. What do you say?" she says, leaning over the table and tucking her long brown hair behind her ear.

"What sort of pickle are you exactly in?" Nate asks. Daisy's eyes briefly catch some of his hair strands slip down his forehead as if a gentle breeze blew on them.

"You don't have to know," Daisy says. 

The chair gives off an abominable metallic creak as Nate slides it back and gets up.

Reaching over, Daisy quickly grabs his hand. "Wait!"

They feel as if every node in their nervous system is getting tickled with a feather. Nate bites his lip trying not to focus on the fingers seized by his mate, from where heat seems to be radiating to the rest of his body.

And Daisy realizes how large Nate's hand is as she managed to clasp only three of his fingers.

What they both want is to feel more of this. Much more.

But Daisy lets go of his hand as quick as she caught it. "I'll tell you. Don't leave, please."

Nate pockets his hand and sits back down with a little more confidence. He won't let her get her way with him that easily. He's above falling for his mate's charms, he thinks to himself.

Daisy says, "I used to be with the Stantons."

"You're a criminal?" Nate asks, knowing full well most rogues are.

"Technically, I was a criminal. Only mild crimes, mind you. Never hurt anyone in my life. Lately, however, the Stantons became a bit... darker than usual. Way out of my comfort zone. Especially since the son, Ian, took over. I tried to leave them peacefully. But, as you know, they are not exactly a reasonable bunch. So I stole some money from them and escaped."

"Of course, you did," Nate says.

Ignoring his comment, Daisy continues, "For months I arranged for a perfect hide out for my escape. Unfortunately, I made a tiny slip, and now they know about it. While thinking about where to go next, lucky for me, I came across you!" she says, stabbing her finger in the air towards Nate.

"Why should I trust a thief and give her a place to stay?"

Daisy's patience begins to crack like a frozen lake in spring. She's not used to being polite, especially to guys. "Stop acting like I'm asking you a favor. I'm only being nice because you're my mate. If you don't help me, I'll let everyone in your pack know about us. Whether you reject me or not, let's see what your chances are at the title with someone from the Stantons for your mate."

The stuttering and wheezing air conditioner starts to offend Nate even more. So does the sharp sun and the tacky table. He grinds his teeth.

Nate had never imagined he'd one day get a mate he would even think of rejecting, let alone a thief who would be blackmailing him.

He says, "You're going to regret this one day. For now though, we have a deal. You keep your mouth shut and I'll let you stay at my place. Don't get any wrong idea though: I want you gone as soon as possible."

"I will not overstay my welcome. I promise."

"And no..." Nate tries to find the right words. He doesn't want to sound like he was thinking about such possibilities, and yet he wants to be sure. "Don't try to take advantage of our bond to get close to me."

Daisy softly laughs and leans back.

Nate finds the sound more beautiful than the wind chimes he and his friends once hung over the trees in his grandfather's farm when they were kids.

Daisy says, "Your chastity is safe with me. You are not my type."

Nate smiles for the first time since he met Daisy. Well, it's more of a smirk. He has always been confident about his appeal to the opposite sex, and a plethora of girls vying for him back home can attest to his unrivaled sexual magnetism.

"Whatever you've to keep telling yourself," he says, "and one last thing: if I catch you doing anything illegal, you're out. I don't care if you tell anyone about us."

Daisy nods. He said if he catches her, not if she does anything illegal.

She can manage that.

🗳 Please vote on chapters, and leave feedbacks when possible, it helps me write better