Dark and Deadly - Lynn Hagen Page 0,8

complex, Ash had to explain his world to Warren, to make him believe that mates were real and that he belonged to Ash and Ryan.

As soon as he walked into Antonio’s Pizza, Ash knew he had a battle on his hands. Warren was there, standing in front of the counter, wearing shorts that cupped his ass nicely. Ash’s gaze was instantly glued to his butt, and his cock went from limp to pounding hard in zero seconds.

Jesus Christ. Ash’s thoughts went in every direction, and he forgot why he was even there. All he could think about was sinking his cock into—

“Ash? What’re you doing here?”

Ash ripped his gaze away and focused it on Warren’s face. His surprised, gorgeous face. Ash cleared his throat and waved toward the counter like an idiot. He could feel how hot his face and neck were. No doubt Warren saw Ash’s redness, but Ash didn’t think Warren had a clue about his thoughts because his mate didn’t blush in return.

Warren toyed with his bottom lip with his teeth as he turned, and fuck, his front was even more appealing than his ass. Someone needed to tell Warren about wearing looser shorts. Ash could see his bulge, and it was making his wolf go completely nuts.

And now Ash was thinking about Warren being completely naked, about being squeezed between him and Ryan. He grabbed a menu off the nearest table and held it casually in front of him before Warren saw his rock-hard cock pushing at his denim jeans.

“Came to eat.”

“Hey, Ash!” Antonio emerged from the back with a huge smile on his face, his thick mustache resting on his upper lip like a ferret had crawled up there and died. It needed some serious trimming.

“Hey, Tony.” Ash gave a nod. “Smells good in here.”

Ash moved to the counter and rested his arms on it, shielding his dick so Warren didn’t see how he affected him. Ash was leaning heavily, his shoulder almost touching his mate’s.

As Tony talked, Warren was eyeing Ash, a suspicious look in those gorgeous jade-green eyes. Warren moved a few steps to his right, putting more distance between them. Ash had to stop himself from grabbing Warren and hauling the beautiful human against him.

“Do you know what you want?” Tony asked.

That was a loaded question. What Ash wanted was standing five feet away from him. He pictured bending Warren over one of the tables and fucking him until they were both too sore and out of breath to walk. Those erotic images weren’t helping his cock to soften.

“I’m gonna look over the menu.” Ash showed Tony the one he had in his hand. “Don’t let me stop you from what you were doing.”

Ash was trying to drop a hint for Tony to return to the back of the pizza parlor.

“Let me know as soon as you decide.” Tony turned and walked away.

“I’m gonna see if he needs help.” Warren tried to round the counter, but Ash wasn’t going to let his mate run.

“Wait.” He held up his hands but kept leaning toward the counter, concealing his boner. “I think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday.”

Ash had never had to struggle for words. Not when it came to closing a deal with a guy. He knew how to be smooth, how to lay on the charm, but damn if he wasn’t at a loss when it came to this tiny human.

He could already feel Warren’s walls coming up, a rejection sitting on the tip of his tongue. “Ash—”

“I know you just dumped someone, but—”

“How do you know that?” Now Warren looked afraid, as if Ash was a crazy stalker like Ryan was. Ash knew he was screwing this up because he had to tiptoe with Warren.

Ash wasn’t used to tiptoeing, and it was grating on his nerves. Fuck it. He was just gonna spell this out, and if Warren freaked out, Ash would deal with it.

“Do you feel a connection between us?” Ash tried to start off as delicate as he could before he had to reveal what he was, as well as the nonhuman world right under Warren’s nose.

Warren palmed his face and made a weird nose, and Ash wasn’t sure if his mate was aggravated or choking. He really was getting worried.

“Not you, too.” Warren dropped his hand, and holy fuck, his eyes were filled with fire so hot that lasers should’ve shot out of them. Pissed was an understatement. “Do I have a sign over my head