With Abandon: With or Without, Book 4

involved if Matt left and they both just pretended this hadn’t happened, but his conscience and sense of duty wouldn’t let him. “I offered you a place to stay while you go to school and that stands. I don’t want you to leave unless you really want to, but first we need to talk.”
    Matt nodded. “Okay. Yeah. We probably should, huh?” As if in a trance, he walked to the couch and
    took a seat. A zombie couldn’t have done it better. He stared off into space for a few seconds before
    looking up at Aubrey.
    Aubrey stood transfixed. He hadn’t registered Matt’s looks due to the shock of their bond, but now a
    whole other kind of shock hit him. Matt had short wavy black hair combed back off his forehead with a
    side part. His skin was tan, and he had the expected Native American high cheekbones. Not a single freckle or blemish marked his smooth complexion now that the blush was gone. He had thick arched brows and a
    long straight nose. Not too long though—it fit the rest of his features.
    With Abandon
    His eyes were lighter than the dark brown expected from a man with an Apache heritage, but Aubrey
    couldn’t determine the exact color with his own eyes shifted. He blinked, but it didn’t help. Instead his gaze landed on Matt’s mouth. Good God, his mouth was amazing. Aubrey’s cock jerked at the sight. The pull of arousal intensified and he began to ache with need. Matt had the most beautiful mouth he’d ever seen, a perfect cupid’s bow. They were a man’s lips though, nice and thick. It didn’t take much imagination for Aubrey to picture those lips swollen from use. He shook his head to clear it. “I need a drank.” He turned toward the bar. “You wont—ahem, want one?” Damn nerves.
    “Um, I’m not old enough…”
    Right. He would turn twenty in a couple of months. A little over ten years separated them.
    Technically, in werewolf culture, Aubrey was now responsible for Matt. No one in their right mind would challenge Aubrey’s guardianship of the younger wolf, not even Matt’s parents.
    “You can have a drink if you want one, because you aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.” Aubrey
    stepped behind the mahogany-and-granite wet bar and pulled a single malt glass out of the cabinet. He
    grabbed the Glenlivet 1972 off the shelf behind the bar and poured himself a splash, studied it for a second and poured more. Setting the bottle down with a thud, he tossed back his drink, or tried to. The rim of the glass hit his canines with a clink, but somehow the alcohol ended up mostly in his mouth. Only a few
    dribbles spilled on his shirt.
    Watching from the couch, Matt winced. “Stupid teeth.” The tips of his own canines peeked out from
    beneath his top lip.
    Squeezing his eyes shut, Aubrey let the scotch slide down his throat, savoring the burn. “Ahh.” His
    teeth shrank back to normal, and when he opened his eyes he saw pink. Matt wore a pink shirt? Gay.
    Aubrey nearly groaned at himself. Keaton had told Aubrey he was pretty sure Matt was gay when he’d asked if Aubrey would watch after Matt. It hadn’t mattered to Aubrey then and it didn’t now. Except it sort of did…
    Denying Matt made Aubrey even more of a jerk. A male mate would be no big deal to Matt. But
    maybe Matt didn’t want a mate at all because he certainly didn’t look like it was no big deal.
    Retrieving another glass, Aubrey splashed a couple fingers of whisky into it. Holding it out, he
    sloshed the scotch a little in invitation. “Here. This helps.”
    Cocking his head just a tad, Matt furrowed his brow, shrugged and stood. “Okay.”
    Aubrey poured himself some more. Matt was taller than him by a couple of inches, around Tara’s
    height. He’s just your type, ole man. Like he didn’t have enough problems without adding his sexual preferences into the mix. Matt was quite simply beautiful…and young and male and— Shit . There went his eyes again. He supposed it was an improvement though, because his teeth remained human.

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    19
    J.L. Langley
    Taking the glass, Matt sat on the barstool opposite Aubrey. He swirled the drink and frowned. A small
    shiver racked his lithe body. Matt’s heart rate galloped ninety to nothing, and the smell of unease
    overpowered the scent of both of their arousal.
    Aubrey tensed. “Go ahead, Matt. It’ll relax you.” Bowing his head, he rubbed his temples and waited
    for Matt to take a drink.
    Matt swigged the glass back and choked. His face turned