With Abandon: With or Without, Book 4

his regret.
    “Besides, I’m going to give you hell about it whenever you piss me off until the day you die. I love
    guilt trips.”
    Aubrey laughed. This was more like they used to be when they were younger. Could they rebuild
    what they’d had as kids? Aubrey hoped so. “I’m never going to hear the end of it, am I?”
    “Nope.”
    “I can live with that.” Opening his eyes, Aubrey rolled his head to the side to look at Keaton. “Every
    Christmas I have to hear about the go-kart I wrecked when we were little.”
    Keaton smiled. “You dick. I didn’t even get to drive it. The tag clearly said to Aubrey and Keaton from Santa. But did I get to drive? Oh no.” He changed the pitch of his voice. “ Just one more time around and you can drive. Stop being a baby and wait your turn. ” He sighed, and a huge grin curved his lips. “I still say you wrecked it just so I couldn’t drive.”
    “I have never sounded like that, and you drove like shit. Remember the dirt bike we got a couple
    Christmases before the go-kart?”
    “I was five, you asshole.” Keaton chuckled and used the hand he had on Aubrey’s arm to pinch him.
    “You did wreck it to keep me from driving it.”
    Laughing even harder, Aubrey shook his head and jerked his arm away. “No I didn’t.”
    They lay there quiet for a few moments, and Keaton turned his head again. “I don’t advocate hiding
    your sexuality.”
    “I’m very well aware of your feelings. Hell, that’s one of the reasons I’ve never told you, but you
    better than anyone know my reasoning. We can’t all go marching in pride parades.”
    Keaton snorted. “I’d never march in a pride parade.”
    Aubrey raised a brow and bit back the word liar .
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    With a smirk, Keaton closed his eyes. “Well, it depends on how long the parade route was. You know
    how lazy I am.”
    That was true. Keaton loathed anything that remotely resembled exercise. Aubrey shoved his
    shoulder. “You know what I meant. And I’m going to talk to Chay about getting you to work out. You’re
    out of shape.”
    “Don’t even go there. I’m allergic to exercise, and even if I wasn’t, Chay thinks the butt crack of
    dawn is workout time. You know damn well I don’t do mornings. So don’t even think about getting Chay
    started back on the constant hounding for me to work out. I’ll kill both of you and tell Mom the two of you died.” He groaned and looked back at Aubrey. His expression softened. “I do understand why you don’t
    want to let everyone know about Matt, but I’m never going to agree. And I’m going to annoy the shit out of you about it.”
    Aubrey sighed. “I figured as much.” In a way, it was nice to know his baby brother hadn’t changed all
    that much.
    “Um, hey, guys?” Chay stood on the back veranda looking down at them.
    Lifting his head, Aubrey glanced up at his brother-in-law and nudged his brother with his foot. “What
    does your mate want?”
    “Whaaat?” Keaton yelled from his sprawl without rising up.
    “I’m glad you guys are getting along and all, but I can’t find Matt,” Chay replied. “He went upstairs—
    ”
    “What?” For the first time he realized he hadn’t seen Matt on the porch with Chay the whole time he
    and Keaton were fighting. How long had they been out here? Twenty minutes? Thirty? Oh gawd. That look
    in Matt’s eyes when he’d compared Aubrey to his mother had nearly killed Aubrey. He sat up so quickly
    his head spun. Whoa. He grabbed his head and steadied himself with the ledge of the fountain, already pushing to his feet. With his head still swimming, Aubrey raced to the house. “Where is he?”
    “No clue.” Chay shrugged. “His phone rang after you and Bit started fighting. I told him I’d watch the
    two of you and to go get it.”
    Aubrey sniffed the air, trying to locate his mate. Matt’s scent was faint, almost nonexistent. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach. Where are you, Matt?
    “Is he outside?” Keaton asked, sniffing audibly.
    Aubrey shook his head and hurried past Chay into the house. He’d driven Matt away, and now
    another of his secrets had put Matt in danger without his knowing. Fuck! He took the stairs two at a time.
    He should’ve told Matt about the pictures and Boskie’s disappearance.
    The bedroom looked just as it had when he and Matt had left it to go downstairs and talk with their
    uninvited guests. The bed was rumpled, and the balcony doors