Isaiah (4 page)

Which was creepy, in a way. While Bae was far from being a virgin, he had never been a slut. He’d rarely ever slept with man a he hadn’t known, but staring at the handsome god across the restaurant, he knew talking wasn’t even necessary.

Bae’s leopard was definitely interested in a way it’d never been before. What was going on?

“His name is Isaiah Trujillo, and he’s a mechanic. You saw Cliff’s Camaro, didn’t you?”

“Saw it? I drooled all over it,” Bae joked, although he’d nearly done just that. “So Isaiah Trujillo is skilled with his hands, hmm?”

Sandy snorted. “Perv. He’s also, as I mentioned, volunteering at the shelter—and not just to teach the kids, but he offered to let the staff and other volunteers sit in on the auto shop classes. Interested?”

Bae quirked his brows at her. Did she really have to ask? “Oh, you meant in the classes!”

Her laughter rang out, loud and cheerful, and drew Isaiah Trujillo’s attention. Bae found himself staring into Isaiah’s eyes.
Rich, beautiful.
He needed more adjectives, better ones at least. He couldn’t describe the sensations bubbling to life inside him, anticipation, desire, an intense
knowing
he just didn’t understand.

www.total-e-bound.com

ISAIAH

Bailey Bradford

22

Until Isaiah’s eyes widened, his full lips parted and shock infused his features. Then Bae was stunned, and scared, and thrilled all at the same time. “I have to go,” he muttered, because the scared part of the equation was winning. “I-I don’t feel well all of a sudden—”

“Bae, what’s wrong?” Sandy reached for his hand but Bae needed some space, some quiet time to deal with the fact that he did, apparently, have the one thing he’d never expected. Hadn’t known he wanted, to be honest. Yet it seemed, considering the way his leopard yowled in protest and his chest burned as if the cat was actually trying to tear its way out of his body, that he, Bae Allen Warren, did indeed have a mate—fated, destined, or whatever it was called. And he didn’t know how to handle that.

Probably not by running from him, jackass.
Yet Bae hit the restaurant door at a sprint, ignoring Sandy calling him. He’d tell her he had acute intestinal distress or something tomorrow, even if that was a gross excuse. Chances were she wouldn’t ask him any questions after hearing that.

Bae rounded the corner of the building and heard the squeal of tyres. If he’d have been in his Amur leopard form, every hair on his body would have stood up. A jolt of alarm shot through him as the sound of a revving engine came from behind him. Bae broke into a jog.

He wasn’t parked very far away, just a few blocks behind the restaurant. Why was he freaking out anyway?

Then he heard footsteps. Bae wasn’t so sure about his human instincts, but his feline ones, those he trusted—even if he didn’t always like what they told him. He poured on the speed, not giving a shit if he looked the fool. Something wasn’t right.

“Hey! Wait!”

Bae stumbled, the deep, rough voice calling out to him spearing him with desire. He knew who the voice belonged to from the way his body reacted, from the way his leopard gave a happy purr, then a snarl when he didn’t stop or turn around.

Bae ignored the sounds behind him as best he could. When a black SUV sped by him, its tyres rubbing the kerb, Bae narrowly missed getting clocked by the big driver’s side mirror. Through the dark tint of the window, he made out the blur of a face, South Korean, like him, he thought. Hard to tell for sure considering the speed of the vehicle, the tint of the windows, and the shock and fucking fear of turning his head and seeing the big SUV right there beside him.

www.total-e-bound.com

ISAIAH

Bailey Bradford

23

It was all Bae could do not to shift, not to let his cat take over and keep him safe. He couldn’t. Secrecy had been drilled into him from the time it’d been discovered what he was.

“Goddamn it! What the hell are you doing?”

Was his surprise mate yelling at him or the driver of the Expedition? The licence plate of which was missing, of course. Bae had always been perceptive. He spotted the slight dent above the right rear bumper. Other than that and the missing plates, there was nothing remarkable about the Expedition. The vehicle turned and Bae put his attention and focus on reaching his car. He was small, and fast, and his pursuer, Isaiah Trujillo, was tall and thickly muscled, so probably not nearly as quick at a run of any true length.

But Bae was wrong, he found out as his body shrieked in alarm and his cat, the damn bitch, cackled in glee, if that was even possible. He felt the rush of air, the waft of breath on the back of his head, heard and smelt his mate. Bae’s cock, as traitorous as his leopard, swelled and made running fast dangerous.

This time when he stumbled, he thought he was going down. Bae grunted, already grimacing because the pavement was going to tear him up something fierce. He was saved by a pair of strong arms surrounding him. Bae was grabbed, squeezed, and lifted off his feet before he could process it.

One second he was plummeting forward and the next he was pressed to his mate, back to very broad chest. Isaiah’s arms were like steel bands holding him in place, and the rough heaves of his breath instantly sent Bae’s thoughts into musing over what kinds of erotic sounds Isaiah would make when he came.

“Stop running from me,” Isaiah growled in Bae’s ear, and that tone was like a stroke to his cock. Bae shuddered and, much to his mortification, whimpered, but the flood of arousal saturating his system was damn near mind-melting—yet he still struggled, kicking and wriggling. He just wasn’t sure if he was trying to get away or trying to make sure Isaiah was holding on to him for good.

“Why are you fighting me? You’re a shifter, I can smell the cat in you. You’re my mate.

Mate’s don’t run from each other.”

Isaiah nipped his neck, chastisement or something else entirely, Bae didn’t know. But Isaiah sounded so confused, and maybe even a little hurt. Bae closed his eyes. This was too much to deal with. He couldn’t think.

www.total-e-bound.com

ISAIAH

Bailey Bradford

24

“Bae,” Isaiah said so softly it was hardly a sound. “Bae Allen Warren. I’ve thought of you ever since Cliff accidentally gave me your card.”

Okay, that was weird enough to get Bae to open his eyes and crane his neck around to try to look at Isaiah. “W-what the hell are you talking about?” The angle he had to stretch at made his voice come out more like a squeak than not, which sucked, but he couldn’t do anything about it now.

Isaiah gave him a crooked grin, or at least Bae thought it was crooked. “Your card.

When Cliff came to pick up the Camaro, he asked me if I’d be interested in volunteering at The Heart. He gave me a card, your card, instead of Sandy Singh’s. I’ve carried your card with me like it was a good luck charm ever since.”

Which was oddly flattering. Bae wiggled and while Isaiah didn’t release him, he did loosen his hold enough to let Bae slide down his hard—and there was no missing the bulge at Isaiah’s groin, holy hell it was big—body until Bae’s feet were on the ground. Bae turned, needing to face Isaiah. His leopard was doing all kinds of happy things inside him, purring, mewling, begging for a touch. Maybe his leopard was his inner slut.

“How’d you know who I was just now?”

Isaiah’s off-kilter grin was absolutely adorable. “Besides Cliff telling me who you are when you came in the place? Sandy was hollering your first name. I figured there probably weren’t two Bae’s hanging around. Or running out the door.”

Isaiah’s irises darkened, Bae able to pick up the change despite the evening hour. Being a shifter had its benefits. As Bae watched, the tiny flecks of green and gold vanished to be swallowed up by the predominant warm chocolate brown.

“Why’d you run from me, Bae? I’ve been waiting for you, even though I didn’t know it, from the moment Cliff handed me this.”

Isaiah tightened one arm around him but let go with the other, obviously not taking the chance that Bae would haul ass again should the opportunity arise. Isaiah pulled something from his front pocket. Bae almost smiled seeing the business card. The creamy colour was smudged with some kind of mechanic sludge, maybe oil from the smell of it.

Isaiah rubbed the card between his thumb and two fingers. “I know now, something inside me, most likely my snow leopard, recognised you as my mate the moment Cliff gave this to me.” Isaiah’s smile was gone now as he frowned at Bae.

www.total-e-bound.com

ISAIAH

Bailey Bradford

25

Bae didn’t like seeing Isaiah unhappy, not at all, and that was part of why he’d run in the first place, because he knew the power of the pull, the attraction between mates. He knew it’d be irresistible, but he’d had to try.

“Why?” Isaiah asked, cupping Bae’s jaw, holding the card between his palm and Bae’s skin. “And what was that crap with the Expedition almost hitting you? Have you pissed someone off or something?”

“Always,” Bae quipped, his nervousness combining with his leopard’s eagerness, making him resort to being a smartass. It was either that or beg Isaiah to fuck him where they stood. Bae wasn’t all that interested in ending up in jail.

“Bae, I’m serious.” Isaiah looked around. “Where are you parked? Can we go talk somewhere?”

“Is that code for ‘can we go fuck somewhere?’” Bae hoped so, God did he hope so.

Running had been stupid. He should have known he couldn’t escape, and wouldn’t want to, not really.

Isaiah had gone rigid against him, not even breathing for several seconds before he sucked in a sharp breath. “It wasn’t, but it could be. After you answer my questions.”

“Aw, fuck.” So much for using sex as a very satisfying distraction. “I thought mates were supposed to be fucking like crazy as soon as they met.”

Isaiah snorted and gave him a squeeze that popped a squeak out of Bae. “I really don’t know much about mates. My family’s just finding out that we even have mates. And yeah, I want to fuck you so bad my body feels like I’m burning from the inside out. My cock hasn’t ever been so hard before.”

And he punctuated that claim with a thrust against Bae. “Oh, hell.” Bae clutched at Isaiah’s chest, his own dick aching, his body taut with need. “Isaiah, I—”

Isaiah slid a thigh between Bae’s legs and smoothed a hand down to cup his ass. “You?”

Bae whimpered as Isaiah tugged, encouraging him to ride his thigh. Stupid, they shouldn’t, not here, but Bae couldn’t quite find the willpower to stop from rutting. The friction, the hard muscle against his tender cock, was exquisite.

“Yeah, ah, Bae—we need to go somewhere else,” Isaiah panted, “this isn’t a good spot.

You almost got run over once already.”

www.total-e-bound.com

ISAIAH

Bailey Bradford

26

The reminder chilled some of Bae’s desire and his cheeks burned as he stopped humping Isaiah’s leg. “Sorry. I—you know it’s like this between mates.”

“So I’ve heard.” Isaiah took a few shaky breaths then eased Bae away a few inches.

Then he took a half step back himself as he frowned down at Bae. “Which confuses the fuck out of me as to why you ran.”

Because there were going to be some people very unhappy about him having a male mate, that’s why, but explaining it at this very moment was out of the question. Isaiah was right, they needed to get off the sidewalk and head to either his place or Bae’s.

“Where do you live?” he asked Isaiah. “I have to be up and in the portable vet clinic bus by eight. There are some appointments already set.”

Isaiah gave him a lopsided smile that sent a fluttering sensation off in Bae’s gut. “Then let’s go to your place. I have Dorso, my helper, opening the shop in the morning. Don’t have anything scheduled to come in until after noon, and Dorso can handle most emergencies until then.” He held his hand out to Bae and Bae took it. “And I live about twenty minutes away on Westbury, not far from my shop.”

“I’m not too far from there myself.” Not far at all, only a couple of streets over. “What are you driving?”

“Oh.” Isaiah looked over his shoulder then turned and pointed at a motorcycle. “I rode my bike tonight. It was nice out. You can ride with me or I can follow you.”

Bae tried not to let his fear show when he looked at the bike again. What could he use for an excuse?

“You don’t have to ride, it’s okay.” Isaiah didn’t sound mad, he sounded amazed. Bae glanced at him and Isaiah was indeed grinning loopily. “Geez, I can kind of feel what you’re feeling, just like my brother and cousins said they could with their mate! It’s so cool. I didn’t—”

Movement from the end of the block caught his eye and Bae gave a short shake of his head. “Someone’s coming,” he warned, even as he warned himself to be more cautious with his thoughts and emotions.

The mind link between mates could be strong or almost non-existent. He was guessing his and Isaiah’s would be the former, as they hadn’t done anything yet except chat for a few minutes and already Isaiah was picking up on Bae’s emotions. Could he pick up on Isaiah’s?

www.total-e-bound.com

ISAIAH

Bailey Bradford

27

Bae almost laughed. Like he needed to prod. Isaiah was obviously thrilled at finding his mate. The hurt he’d felt when Bae had run had either been forgotten or forgiven, or both.

Isaiah turned, his hand in Bae’s, tugging Bae to his side. Bae didn’t know whether to be relieved or run since it was Sandy approaching them.

“I see you two met.” Sandy stopped a foot away from them. The street lights were enough that they were decently illuminated and Sandy smirked as she tapped their joined hands. “Well, that was quick, but okay. Anne and I met on a Tuesday and I had moved in by Thursday. Sometimes it happens like that.”

“Like Cliff and Quincy,” Isaiah said, and Sandy nodded. So did Bae.

“He told you about that?” Sandy looked at each of them. “Huh. I heard about it right before I met Anne. Maybe he’s some magical matchmaker. Except I got to hear Quincy’s side of it too since this was three years ago.” Her chin quivered and she swiped at her eyes. “Well.