Being(s) In Love 03 - A Beginner’s Guide to Wooing Your Mate (25 page)

Zeki blinked. “What do I do now?” he asked Theo’s aunt, and the patio pack, without turning from the sight of Theo displaying himself for him. The wet striptease didn’t feel fair, but maybe it wasn’t supposed to be. Theo was wooing him too, after all.

Ramona gave his shoulder a pat. “Whatever feels right.”

“Did you just ‘instinct’ me?” Zeki demanded faintly, with a mere trace of anger. He took another bite of brownie without thinking. He didn’t know what he was doing. He hadn’t intended any of this to happen, but he was still in this chair, and he couldn’t look away.

His dad would be pleased, Zeki thought, but absently. He took another bite, not stifling his moan at the flavors of chocolate and need.

He had a date. He considered it, anxious but warm.

Zeki had a date to woo his mate.

And it felt right.

Chapter 10

H
OW
TO
Tell if Your Courtship is Successful (and what to do if you aren’t sure)

Theo assumed the knock at the door was his parents. They were supposed to be back in town about this time, although he’d thought they would go home first to unpack and clean up from the long drive. They had deliberately taken longer to return home than they normally would have, probably to give Theo space to settle things, but now that they were back in Wolf’s Paw, they were done being patient. They must have been more worried about him than they’d let on in their phone calls. The reason for their concern made Theo wipe his hands on a towel and hurry to the door, although he hadn’t decided what he was going to tell them.

That wasn’t true. He knew what he was going to say, but he wasn’t sure how they were going to take it. If they’d taken longer to return, another week possibly, he might have known by then, one way or the other. Now he had a feeling that the second he saw them, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from telling them everything. After that, he had no idea what would happen. There was probably no good way to tell your parents that you were still in the process of wooing your mate, or that your mate did magic and might not stay in town, or that your mate had quite obviously stayed the night in your house but hadn’t stuck around to meet them.

He took a second to try to calm himself before opening the door, then stopped in happy confusion when he saw Zeki on his doorstep. Zeki had left early that morning, claiming he wanted to get out of Theo’s way while Theo readied himself for his family’s return. His racing heart had said something else was bothering him, but Theo hadn’t called him back to ask about it, not wanting to push. After all that disguised panic, he hadn’t expected to see Zeki again today.

He inhaled a mix of Zeki-scents: Zeki himself and all the feelings Theo attached to him,
Zeki/home/mate/Zeki,
and a collection of surface scents as well, like soap and deodorant. Then he exhaled his mate’s name and smiled when Zeki swept up his long eyelashes to meet his gaze. Like that morning, he caught the faint taste of nerves on his tongue along with all that mate scent, but this time he also noticed the way Zeki was pulling the sleeves of his cardigan over his hands.

Zeki looked away, and Theo’s stomach twisted into a knot. His blood froze. He hadn’t felt this cold since before Zeki had come back to town. It wasn’t right to feel it again. But that’s why Zeki was here, to say he’d changed his mind, that he didn’t want to try with Theo after all, that he couldn’t find work or the town was too small and he was going to leave.

Theo grabbed the door to stay where he was, although his legs tensed with the urge to run and run far. Then Zeki swallowed and turned to him before lunging forward. He pinned Theo to the doorjamb, his hands at his shoulders, and barely slowed when they both fell against the door itself. Zeki moaned before he even licked Theo’s lips apart for a kiss. Theo bent his head and let him do it, only to be left gasping when Zeki groaned in frustration and stepped away.

Zeki ran his hands through his hair before turning his face from Theo. They’d only been courting, dating, for a short time, but Theo had already learned this was something Zeki did when he felt he had to regain his composure. Since he didn’t need composure to kiss Theo, Theo was confused.

He discreetly sniffed the air between them again and found more sweat that indicated anxiety, and then the homey, spicy scent of his mate, alluring and comfortable at the same time. Zeki had shaved very recently, and taken a shower. He had dressed up a little as well. He was wearing his usual cardigan, but the T-shirt underneath was plain black and seemed new, and his purple skinny jeans were the pair without any signs of fraying.

Theo hesitantly closed the door, then approached him. Even after what they’d done together, how close they’d gotten, he wasn’t sure it was what Zeki wanted at the moment. Humans could be puzzling, and Zeki confused Theo more than any other human in the world. He also understood him better than everyone he knew, except possibly Violet. This was strange and new for both of them. Theo had to remember that.

Although, Theo had a very sharp memory of Zeki suggesting they ought to take it slow, and of himself agreeing, during their walk home after their first official date. They had talked before then, of course. Theo had spent the full moon howling in the street in front of Zeki’s apartment until Zeki had called him inside with a fond exasperation in his tone. But those things could not be considered real dates, at least not according to town gossip. So they’d had dinner. They’d strolled through town, with Theo feeling proud and nervous and happy all at once. He’d walked Zeki back to the apartment he shared with his father, and Zeki had again suggested they do their courting right and wait to go any further with each other. That seemed foolish when Zeki already knew Theo’s body and Theo was dying to learn more of his mate’s scent and taste when he was aroused. But Theo hadn’t wanted to make a mistake any more than Zeki had, so they’d parted.

Only then, once there was distance between them, Zeki had seemed extremely unwilling to walk upstairs and leave Theo in the street below. Maybe it was because he’d seen Theo wait for him in the street a few nights before. Or maybe because he’d heard the sheriff howling too, and shuddered to think of how an unrequited mating must feel.

He’d invited Theo up for coffee, something Violet, who had dated humans, had been tremendously amused to hear about later, but Theo would swear Zeki had meant coffee when he’d asked. But whatever Zeki had intended hadn’t mattered, because the moment they were off the street and alone in the dimly lit apartment, Theo had been able to hear nothing but his mate’s breathing, his mate’s heartbeat. Then Zeki had hovered close to him, one hand still on the door, his breath warm when he’d whispered, “Theo?” as if he’d forgotten why he’d invited Theo up.

Then Theo remembered turning and reaching for Zeki, and Zeki pressing himself against him, and a kiss so heavy Theo hadn’t been able to breathe. He hadn’t wanted to if it meant separating himself from his mate for another second. They’d bumped into furniture. Zeki pushed him onto the couch and then sank down after him, on top of him, both of their feet still on the floor although Theo had been panting and Zeki’s hands had disappeared beneath his clothes. As though they’d spent weeks apart, Zeki had settled over him and kissed him again and again.

Theo was still aroused at the memory of how Zeki had whispered, “I don’t want it to be rushed for you. We rushed last time,” before popping the button on Theo’s fly with his thumb.

Theo had liked it the last time, their first time, though they had gone fast, with that same sudden need to get closer. He’d enjoyed it, and knew he wouldn’t have been able to take much else anyway, not after years of nothing. He still couldn’t, as they had discovered on Zeki’s dad’s couch. Zeki had settled over Theo at last, knees on either side of him, and then taken Theo’s face in his hands before kissing him again, with care. Theo had arched up by the second soft, teasing press of his mouth, and Zeki had forgotten all about going slow and started grinding down into Theo’s lap. He’d kept lamenting his control, breathlessly wondering where his discipline had gone, but he continued to mouth at Theo’s neck and ride his lap until Theo had been mindlessly clutching at him and trying not to come.

Which was when Zeki’s father had walked in, home to grab something before he returned to work, and Zeki had flung himself to the other side of the couch with the guiltiest expression Theo had ever seen.

Theo would have laughed, although he’d been the one so distracted he hadn’t heard Mr. Janowitz’s approach. He still might have, if he hadn’t been achingly hard in chafing jeans and about to meet his mate’s father.

He had said hi to Dov Janowitz a few times over the years, always awkwardly because Mr. Janowitz had looked at Theo as if he knew Theo was his son’s lost mate. Until recently, Theo had assumed Zeki had told him.

But those early measuring stares were nothing to how the man had considered the two of them in the sudden echoing silence. They were in his mate’s father’s living room, which to Theo had smelled like
passion
and
want
and the enticing scent of precome—not his own, and a blur of mate scent, like
mate/mate/yes
. Theo had never scented anything so overpowering that he blurred its name in his own thoughts before, and he’d never thought acceptance had a smell of its own. But that was what Zeki had smelled like before the familiar scent of his nervousness had returned. He’d smelled like
yes
.

Then Zeki had sprung into action. “Dad!” He jumped to his feet, partially in front of Theo, which gave Theo time to zip up his pants. “This is Theodore. I’ve told you about him.”

Before Theo could ask what Zeki had said about him to his father, Mr. Janowitz had finished stepping into his own apartment. He smiled widely. “Ah, of course.” He nodded at Theo as though this was nothing, although Theo and Zeki both had racing hearts. “Theo Greenleaf. I’m an admirer of your work.”

Theo had never seen Zeki around his father. The sight was unexpectedly sweet. Zeki had started to look less embarrassed and more determined, but when he’d tried to explain, his father had raised a hand to silence him, and Zeki… his mate, his powerful wizard mate, had begun to shuffle his feet like a scolded kid. He’d lowered his voice, pleading this time, for what Theo didn’t know. “Dad, this is Theo. He’s my… boyfriend, I think.”

Boyfriend was good. It wasn’t mate. But it was good. Theo had still been happy to hear it.

Boyfriends got to calm their nervous significant others down. They got to touch them. Theo reminded himself of that, then stepped over to place a hand at Zeki’s back. Zeki lifted his head and turned, flicking his gaze to Theo’s face in indecision before he came close enough that Theo could touch him properly. “I have no control anymore,” Zeki whined to Theo’s shoulder, and curled his hands to Theo’s sides. “Not for you.”

Theo shivered with an inappropriate urge to press his advantage when Zeki admitted things like that. He wanted Zeki to lose control. It was Zeki’s fear of doing that kept him from claiming Theo. Theo didn’t really know much about mating beyond the Seventh Grade health class basics, but Zeki smelled of them together, even after a shower, and he kissed Theo whenever they were alone, and confessed things like this, that what he felt for Theo scared him, right before he frowned and tried to compose himself again.

So of course he didn’t claim Theo now. He let Theo hold him and inhale all his anxiety and uncertainty, and then he took a breath and he was himself again.

It was funny, in a strange way that wasn’t funny at all. Not two weeks ago Theo had been the exact same way. But the wilder Zeki’s feelings got, the calmer Theo was. He thought it was instinct urging him to be patient, but he didn’t tell Zeki that, because Zeki would rant about the word, and because Theo still wasn’t as steady as he appeared. The other day he’d cried in the grocery store at the price of walnuts. He’d growled at Violet for getting too close to Zeki—and then immediately offered a horrified apology to his startled best friend and his mate. Theo wasn’t stable yet, and he knew it. His emotions were taking a while to find their balance after years of Theo denying them.

The two of them were actually in the same situation. Maybe that’s what Theo found reassuring about it. Zeki would probably say they needed an outside voice of reason. But he’d hardly gone looking for one, except for his father.

Zeki peered at Theo, carefully, a lot like his father had done, then gave a small huff. “I’m tired, sorry. You’ve been baking,” he noticed aloud, dusting flour from Theo’s elbow. “For fun or profit… or?” He trailed off and narrowed his eyes, probably trying to figure out how nervous Theo really was about his parents coming over. If Theo didn’t hurry, Zeki was going to make him talk about his feelings.

“A pie,” Theo explained quickly. “My dad is fond of pie. I thought, if they came over, he’d like that.”

Zeki wasn’t fooled. But instead of pressing the point, he hunched his shoulders. “You’re softening him up. That’s what you’re doing. It’s a Please Like My Human Ma—it’s a Please Like Zeki pie.”