Fighting Temptation [Brac Village 11] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (3 page)

“Did he ever say why he wanted you to mate your uncle?”

Turi shrugged, embarrassed that his personal life was being forced into the open for everyone to see. “Prestige. Wood elves used to be a very peaceful race. But ever since the war, many turned selfish and self-centered. Even after the war ended, most had already shown their true colors. My father thinks that having his son mated to one of the elders will bring honor and status to our family.”

“I’ll never understand men like that, Turi.” Malcolm rested his strong and scarred hands over his stomach. “Family are the most important people in the world. You aren’t supposed to fuck them over, but watch over them.”

That’s how Turi felt as well. He didn’t agree with some of the Wood elf customs—like inbreeding and shutting out anyone who wasn’t of their race. To him, turning their backs on their very own people because fate gave a person a mate who wasn’t elf was totally selfish and ridiculous.

“Well,” Malcolm said. “You are more than welcome to stay here for as long as you like. Sterling could use the help with the animals since Abe has mated and left the ranch.”

Turi nodded, thinking about how he had risked a great deal going to Abe for help. It had paid off because he had met a great family who were willing to help him. Although Turi hated to bring them into this, he had no choice if he was going to save himself from mating his uncle.

When the screen door opened, Turi glanced up to see Riley and—he swallowed hard when Carmine walked in behind Riley. Turi wasn’t sure what to say or do. He prayed like hell he didn’t open his mouth and let stupid stuff come out.

He’d had enough of that for one day.

“Pa, this is Detective Carmine Bianchi.” Riley waved toward Turi’s mate.

Malcolm stood, shaking Carmine’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Malcolm Lakeland.”

Turi watched as the pleasantries were exchanged, feeling his heart beating faster as he stole glimpses at his mate. The man seemed so confident, so at ease with himself.

“He is the one who drove Turi here after he nearly hit him on the back road.”

Malcolm turned toward Turi, a thick brow arched. “Forget to mention that to me?”

Turi shrugged.

“He’s also agreed to take on Turi, to keep him safe.”

Turi’s head shot up, glancing between all three men. He didn’t want to go. Carmine’s body language had already told him the man didn’t want Turi. He knew he had made a bad first impression, but it wasn’t so awful that his mate should have shunned him.

“He has?” Malcolm asked as he returned to his seat.

Turi felt his palms begin to sweat. He didn’t want to leave here. He didn’t want to be with a man who didn’t really want him—help or no help.

“I can take him off of your hands,” Carmine said as he continued to stand by the door.

The guy didn’t say anything about how Turi was his mate and how he wanted to keep Turi safe.
I can take him off of your hands.
The guy said it like Turi was a freaking animal for sale. He would say pet, but Wood elves didn’t believe in pets. They felt all animals served a purpose, whether to feed or clothe their people, but not to become attached to.

“That would make it harder for anyone to find you,” Malcolm said to Turi.

Was Malcolm really going to make him go? Turi was starting to feel the stress twist him up again. “Sorry, I was offered a job here.” He bit back the rest of what he was going to say.

“But son, your mate has offered to take care of you,” Malcolm said to him.

Turi stood, balling his fists at his sides, feeling the anger mounting. “No, he offered to take me off of your hands. For all I know, he could be planning my demise. How well do we really know him, hmm? He could be some sort of mass murderer, waiting to get me alone so he can hide the body.”

“Uh, Turi,” Carmine began and Turi hated that he liked hearing his name on his mate’s lips. “We were already alone.”

Turi held his whistle up, shaking it at Carmine. “Come near me and I’ll blow it.”

Carmine leaned against the wall and Turi could tell the guy didn’t really want to do this. He felt obligated. It was in his posture, his facial expression, and the way he leaned there like he really didn’t want to be here.

“I’m pretty sure your mate isn’t a mass murderer,” Riley said. He could tell that Riley was confused at Turi’s reluctance. That’s because the guy couldn’t feel what Turi felt. Carmine didn’t want him.

“Why, because he’s a detective?” Turi asked. “I’m not dimwitted. My cousin told me that cops can be just as evil as everyone else.”

“That’s true.”

Turi was surprised Carmine had agreed with him. But would a bad cop really say he was a bad cop? In his heart, Turi knew Carmine wasn’t, but he still didn’t want to go with a man who didn’t want him. “I’m staying.”

“Why are you being so damn stubborn?” Carmine asked as he straightened from the wall. Turi could see the anger in the man’s café-brown eyes and it pissed him off.

“Why are you being so helpful?” he countered.

Carmine threw his hands up as he turned away and Turi wanted to go to the man, to tell him he would love for Carmine to help him. But his mate was still acting as if Turi were an obligation.

He was waiting for the guy to say something about them being mates, or about how he wanted to do this for Turi because he didn’t want to see anything happen to him. But all Carmine had said was that he would take Turi off of the Lakelands’ hands.

That wasn’t good enough for him.

He could see the frustration in Carmine’s shoulders. They were stiff and tense. When his mate turned back around, he could see the annoyance in the man’s eyes. “I’m not going to force you to go with me.”

“If you did, I would only shimmer—” Turi stopped midsentence when he remembered the bracelet on his wrist. He wouldn’t be shimmering to a damn place. “I would only kick you in the nuts,” he said instead.

“What is it with you and threatening my damn groin?”

Turi shrugged.

He had no intention of kicking Carmine anywhere, but he was feeling trapped with no way out. It was the same feeling he had when facing his father. Turi didn’t like feeling trapped.

“They found you once here already,” Malcolm pointed out. “They would never think of looking for you at Carmine’s.”

“I’ll take my chances.” Turi began to walk from the room toward the kitchen but Riley blocked his way.

“Why are you being so mean to your mate?” The question wasn’t asked in anger or snidely. Even so, Turi didn’t want to stand there and tell the Lakelands that his mate was doing this out of some twisted sense of duty.

If he spoke the words out loud, then they would be true. A tiny piece of him was praying that it wasn’t. Turi was naïve to a point, but he never once lied to himself. He might have been sheltered his entire life within the tribe, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t able to recognize when someone really didn’t want to be bothered with him.

Riley probably talked his mate into taking Turi when they were standing outside. Carmine had offered on the back road, but again, obligation.

He was really starting to hate that word.

Turi just wanted to escape, to get out from under all the scrutinizing eyes. No one here understood that Turi refused to be anyone’s burden. His father constantly reminded him his entire life that he should be grateful for their sacrifice. His father told Turi time and again what he had given up just to raise him.

He wasn’t going to let Carmine give a damn thing up. It only led to resentment and Turi couldn’t stand it if his mate resented him.

Turning his head, he glanced over at Malcolm, pleading with his eyes for the man not to force Turi to go. He was tired of people trying to make him do things he didn’t want to do. All Turi wanted was to be happy and have the choice of making his own decisions.

Carmine gave a disgusted sound, making Turi turn toward him. “You don’t have to beg Malcolm.” His tone was filled with offense. Turi didn’t understand why Carmine was acting this way. He would think that Carmine would be more than happy to be rid of Turi. He was getting confused by the mixed messages the guy was sending. “I’m not a fucking monster and I’m not going to make you go anywhere with me.”

Turi watched as Carmine banged his hand into the screen door and walked outside, the frame slamming back into place. Carmine was the one who didn’t want Turi, so why did Turi feel like a heel right now?

Carmine had him so damn confused.

“Go talk to him,” Malcolm said to Riley before he gave his attention back to Turi. The man looked like he was at his wit’s end. He knew how the man felt. “Care to tell me what all that was about?”

Turi’s eyes flickered toward the door and then down at the floor. Even in his own head it sounded stupid, even if it was true. “He made it very clear that he doesn’t want me, Malcolm.”

Malcolm’s features softened as he let out a long breath, placing his hands on his hips as he looked from the door to Turi. “Call me Pa.”

The invitation to be more familiar with Malcolm almost made Turi cry. Why couldn’t his father be this kind and understanding? Why had he grown up with a cold and distant parental figure? Life seemed so unfair at times, although Turi wasn’t one to wail at his misfortune. He was dealt the hand he had and he had lived it the best he could. “Why would I go with him, Pa?”

A big, beefy arm was slung over Turi’s shoulder as Pa walked him into the kitchen. Turi obediently followed, even if it felt like his heart was breaking. Carmine should have been the one person who Turi should have been able to rely on. Instead, his mate was treating him like a leper. He didn’t understand it. Was being mated to him so bad? Turi didn’t think so. He was a bit quirky, but not so much that Carmine should be refusing him. “Sometimes a man can be a very thickheaded person. It is a very rare thing when two people fated to be together refuse each other. I’d say this was a shock to Carmine and he just needs time.”

“But what if he really is refusing me?” That thought hurt like hell. Turi held back the true emotions that wanted to come out. He wasn’t going to cry and he wasn’t going to shout about how unfair this was. If Carmine truly didn’t want him, Turi would accept that. He wouldn’t like it, but he would accept that fact and go on without the other half of his soul.

Pa chuckled as he patted Turi on his shoulder. Turi nearly buckled under the man’s strong hand. “If he was really refusing you, Turi, he would have left you on that road and he sure as hell wouldn’t have offered to help. Bears—no matter their subspecies—can sometimes be as stubborn as the day is long. He’ll come around.”

Turi wasn’t too sure about that. Carmine had acted like Turi was a bother since laying eyes on him. Even though the guy had offered to help, he could still feel the reluctance coming from the man.

Turi’s life was already complicated enough. Why couldn’t being with his mate be easy? It seemed he was doomed to a fucked-up life with complications all around him. He should be used to that by now, but he wasn’t. He wanted Carmine, even if his mate didn’t want him. How screwed-up was that? The thought depressed the hell out of him. “Do you mind if I go find Sterling?”

Maybe he could throw himself into work and forget that his heart was broken. It was worth a shot. What did he have to lose? Oh yeah, his mate.

Pa moved his arm off of Turi’s shoulder and nodded toward the back door. “Just be careful out there. They found you once, Turi. I’m pretty sure this will be the first place they look.”

Turi was
pretty sure
that no matter where he hid, his father and uncle would find him. It didn’t matter if he stayed hidden in a room upstairs or ran around the ranch. If they wanted him, he was as good as caught.

And since Carmine was refusing him, Turi couldn’t muster up the feelings to care what happened to him.

“Fuck, he’s stubborn,” Carmine said as he watched Turi walk over to the corral. He had come inside once Malcolm came out to the porch and told him that his mate had gone out back. Carmine was currently glancing out of the back door in the kitchen, but not to where Turi could see him.

He was fighting the temptation to go to the man. Carmine knew he couldn’t handle having a mate. But hell if his body would listen. No matter where Turi was, he slowly drifted in that direction. As soon as he learned Turi was outside, Carmine was at the back door like a lost cub. What in the fuck was wrong with him?

He had been alone all this time. He should be used to his solitude by now. But no matter how much he inwardly lectured himself, Carmine was seeking out Turi.

“Coffee?” Malcolm moved over toward the counter, making a pot of coffee.

Carmine nodded. He stood at the back door, watching his mate as the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the kitchen. He was so damn confused that it wasn’t even funny. He knew he couldn’t allow himself to care about the man. That was too dangerous. Plus, Carmine wasn’t sure Turi could handle his sexual appetite. He leaned more toward the very dominant side and Turi seemed way too innocent for someone like him.

There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that this could ever work between them. Carmine was moody, quiet, and liked to be alone. Turi seemed to thrive around people, was chatty, and a little too perky for Carmine’s taste.