Without Reservations

started going through the brown box, inside was a smaller white one—definitely a cake box—he inhaled again.
    Chocolate. And some towels and fruit and…had Chay gone shopping?
    “Bit, we have company.”
    Keaton turned as Chay came into the kitchen carrying Pita. He was frowning. Uh-oh. Keaton walked up to him, raised up on tiptoe and kissed his chin. He scratched Pita’s head and got puppy kisses on the hand. “Who is it?” He sniffed.
    His eyes widened. What the hell was he doing here?
    Chay wrapped an arm around him and hugged him, dropping a quick kiss on his lips. “I’ll put the food in the microwave so it will stay warm.”
    “Yeah. I’ll go and see…” Keaton rubbed his sweaty palms on his slacks. “What does he want?”
    “Says he came to see you.”
    Why? In a daze, Keaton went into the living room. He stopped in the doorway.
    Aubrey wandered around the living room, his back to Keaton. He looked a little broader through the shoulders and his golden hair was 174 www.samhainpublishing.com

    Without Reservations
    longer than the last time Keaton had seen him. Sensing his presence, Aubrey turned. One side of his mouth lifted up in a half-smile. “Hello, little brother. Looks like you’ve done okay for yourself. I have to admit, when you wadded up your trust fund statement and threw it in Dad’s face I really expected you to come running back in a matter of weeks. But it looks like I was wrong.”
    “How did you find me and what the hell do you want?”
    Aubrey’s blue eyes widened a bit, then he smiled, showing straight white teeth. “Is that any way to greet your older brother?”
    Keaton squelched the urge to scream and pull at his hair. He wasn’t going to let Aubrey get to him. It had been almost two years since Keaton had left Georgia for good and in that time no one in his family had made an effort to contact him. Of course, he hadn’t exactly told them where he was going. “I seem to remember you telling me I was dead to you.
    Therefore I have no brother. What do you want, Mr. Reynolds?” Yeah, it was juvenile, but what the hell? He’d just as soon make this short if not sweet and leave no room for doubt in Aubrey’s mind that Keaton didn’t want anything to do with him.
    Aubrey chuckled. “Still have an attitude problem I see.” He walked back to the couch and sat down. “Well, apparently you aren’t in a forgiving mood, so I’ll get right to the point. Mom and Dad want you to come home.”
    “Excuse me?” Keaton raised a brow, going for the “superior” look that Aubrey always hated.
    Aubrey’s gaze darted over his shoulder as Chay came to stand behind Keaton.
    Chay’s hand settled on the small of Keaton’s back. Pita growled.
    Keaton kept his attention on his brother but took comfort in the solid presence of his mate. “Why would Mom and Dad want me to come home?
    They disowned me.”
    Aubrey gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes. “Not exactly.”
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    J.L. Langley
    Interesting. “Not exactly?”
    “They hired a private detective to find you. They want you to come home. It’s a long story but no one expected you to take off and—”
    “I’m not coming home. If they want to see me so bad, they can come to me.”
    Chay rubbed between his shoulder blades and leaned in close. Pita licked Keaton’s ear.
    Keaton sighed and stepped out of reach of the puppy’s tongue. Yes, he knew he was being a dick but that was just too bad. Damn, he was getting a headache. Keaton pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is that all you want, Aubrey?”
    “I came to offer to take you back.”
    “Ah, how sweet… But no thank you. If I decide to go back, it will be on my own terms. Now, if that’s all you wanted…piss off.”
    Glaring, Aubrey stood up. “You know you ought to follow your boyfriend’s example. He’s much more polite than you are.”
    Keaton stalked over to the door and jerked it open. “Yes, well we can’t all be perfect. But he is my mate and I love him anyway.”
    Aubrey snorted and walked out. Turning back, he looked past Keaton to Chay. “It was nice meeti—”
    Keaton slammed the door shut, strolled up to Chay and took Pita.
    “Come on, pup. I brought you some French fries.” His food was getting cold. Arguing with Aubrey wasn’t worth eating cold hamburgers for.

    Chay bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing. Holy shit! He’d forgotten how cold Bit could be. Damn, his mate had a temper.
    He’d been surprised to