Page 46 of Matched into the Mob

“Your family are readers.” Snuggled up with the blankets around him, Matt was studying the shelves, containing hundreds of books, lining two walls.

“Don’t sound so surprised. We can read.”

A knock at the door interrupted our discussion, and my uncle brought in coffee and cookies. He mentioned not going into the kitchen as he used a drain cleaner to unclog the kitchen sink and the smell was potent.

Matt made a face. If he thought rotten eggs were stinky, he should get a whiff of them as a shifter. Maybe Uncle should use the eucalyptus oil.

“Thanks, Uncle Arnie.” Matt gave my uncle a big grin.

“You’re welcome, great-nephew-in-law. Flint might have reservations about you, but I see the Matt that Ranger loves. The funny, honest, and loyal Matt.” He mouthed to me, “I really like him.”

“Me too,” I whispered in return.

“Did I just say that?” Matt sat up.

“Ummm, you’ve said a lot of things. Many of them insults.”

“I called Arnie Uncle.” He giggled. I loved his laugh, loved everything about him, but we were no closer to being true mates. We’d been circling one another for two days, similar to wrestlers,or perhaps boxers, keeping a distance between us, before one swung at the other’s head. That was usually Matt.

“Yeah, let me count the ways.” He took a bite of a cookie and crumbs tumbled onto his purple jacket. “Like accusing you of being a murderer and breaking the law, being an asshat, and a stalker. Though they were all kinda true, so is that a real insult?” He pointed to the bookshelves. “But just now I insinuated you were uneducated and couldn’t read. Sorry.”

“Don’t forget a shitter.”

He caught my eye, and we burst out laughing.

“I have to remember that so when you piss me off, I’ll call you a shitter.” He cackled, an adorable sound that had my heart swelling with love.

When Matt spoke of the future, he’d mentioned Dane threatening his life. He’d never spoken of me being part of it, so that was different.

“And I made fun of your wolf.” His hand froze halfway to his mouth. “But that’s a lot to take in. Meeting a man who had an animal inside him feels like a fairy tale.”

There were so many upheavals in Matt’s life. But whether I liked it or not, he didn’t have to make a decision about us immediately. I could wait. Forever if I had to.

My wolf groaned in frustration. But I had to consider Matt’s safety, and the focus was what to do about Dane, which reminded me of a game show title. But the situation was anything but amusing or lighthearted.

Matt sat up and flung part of the blanket off. He patted the couch, and I sat beside him. He covered us both and rubbed his shoulder against mine.

“I’m part confused, part terrified, and part excited about what’s ahead.”

“Can you give me the deets on the excited bit?” I figured the terror was the idea of Dane hanging over his head, the confused bit about shifters and the mafia.

“It’s all you, Ranger. You confuse me. One side good guy, the other… well, I’ve never seen that person. The terror is associated with the fear of the unknown. You come from a line of shifters who originated in ancient times, and me? I’m an ordinary human in my mid-twenties. How does my life compare to your lineage?”

“Still waiting for the excitement.” I was halfway there, my cock rock hard, and I longed to place my hand on Matt’s thigh and ease it over his body to his dick.

A light pink flush graced his cheeks, and his tongue poked out between his lips. It would have been so easy to lean over and capture the tip with my mouth or teeth.

Matt swallowed, and I brushed his unruly hair off his brow. “Thinking of the future, with you… ummm, in the picture somewhere?” It came out as a question.

I had to control the urge to grab my mate, plant kisses over his face, strip off his clothes, and plow into him. For the first time, we weren’t on opposite sides but inching closer together. One of us fell for the other at first sight, while the other had given an inkling that he liked me.

But he had to spell it out. This wasn’t a guessing game. “What are you saying?”

Matt rested his head on my shoulder and both me and my wolf inwardly cheered, but before I could wallow in my happiness, he jerked away and sat upright. We were so close, I could almost taste it, but I also sensed his inner struggle.

“I’m saying… what I’m trying to say… is…” He took a deep breath. “You annoy me, piss me off, scare me, and make me crazy, but there’s another emotion that is stronger than all of those combined.”

“Matt, do you always drag every important decision out until the listener is about to scream?”

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