Page 7 of The Storm Within

No kidding around.

“I’m glad you trust me, honey bear.” He purged the thought of ghosts from his mind. “Now, what do you say we try and find something on this ancient TV? I think I saw an ad for a channel that only plays bad Christmas movies.”

Ryker had seen no such thing and was grateful his mate hadn’t called him on the lie.

Nate’s laughter broke the tension. “Sounds absolutely dreadful. “Let’s see if we can find the worst one.” He moved his chair closer to the bed before sitting down, his eyes glued to Ryker in a way that said he felt their connection too.

Ryker snagged the remote off the nightstand then clicked on the TV, stunned when the screen came to life with a slight buzzing sound.

Color him impressed. The damn thing actually worked.

When he looked at Nate, Ryker saw the guy was fully focused on the screen, his posture relaxed. Unfortunately, there really was only one channel that would come in.

Just when Ryker thought things were looking up, they were stuck with some shopping network. He would rather chew his own arm off than watch it.

“Don’t!” Nate slapped Ryker’s leg when he tried to surf through the channels again, praying he could find some sort of movie. Any movie would do at that point.

“You seriously want to watch that?” Ryker settled on the bed, his back against the headboard, one leg dangling over the side.

“It’s not so bad,” Nate defended with a cute huff.

Ryker knew nothing about the human, yet the guy held his undivided attention. His bear had stopped snarling at the uneasiness of the motel to softly growl at Nate, urging Ryker to claim the human.

I wish.

Ten minutes in, Ryker was bored to tears, but his mate seemed engrossed in the tacky watch being showcased for a ridiculous price. “I’d give them five bucks for it.”

Nate whipped his head around, blinking like he’d just realized Ryker was still there. “You can’t be serious! The watch has diamonds,” he replied animatedly.

“Fake,” Ryker called out like a baseball umpire announcing a strike. “If those diamonds were real, that watch would cost a whole lot more.”

“I’m still ordering it.” Nate reached into his back pocket, like he was pulling out his phone, gifting Ryker with a quick view of his nicely flared ass. He chuckled when his mate fake-dialed his palm. The guy must’ve left his phone in his room, but the scene was still adorable.

“Too late,” Ryker said in his umpire voice. “Next item is already up for bid, honey bear.”

“Three hundred,” Nate shouted excitedly at the godawful handbag on the screen.

“But they’ll want six.” Ryker smirked triumphantly when the price was revealed. He’d been fifty dollars off. Not bad.

“Six fifty?” Nate scowled, swaying slightly in his chair. “How did you do that?” He glared at Ryker, exhaustion evident in his eyes. “You secretly watch this channel, don’t you? Admit it.”

“Not a chance in hell,” he replied with a grunt.

“That you’ll admit it?” Nate arched a brow.

“That I watch this channel.”

Nate’s weary smile was just as gorgeous as his bright one. Even so, the guy was clearly dog-tired. Ryker patted the spot on the mattress between him and the wall. “You look like you’re about to fall over at any second.”

Shifting his weight, Nate’s gaze flicked to the door as though it might spring open again. His hand hovered at his side, clenching briefly before releasing, the silent battle of stay or go written in the tension of his posture.

“I swear I don’t bite.” Ryker wasn’t ready for his mate to leave, not until he knew what was going on with that “friend” of his and this strange motel.

People had gut instincts for a reason, and Ryker’s hadn’t steered him wrong so far. Right now it was telling him Nate was in some kind of danger and not to let him out of his sight.

As the person on the television explained why the gorgeous—yeah, right—handbag would make a great addition to any wardrobe, Nate stood and performed a full-body stretch. Ryker suppressed a moan when his mate’s shirt rode up slightly, showing off a flawless patch of skin.

“Maybe for just an hour.” Nate let out a huge yawn. He crawled over Ryker’s legs even though there was plenty of room at the end of the bed to climb in without a six-foot-five obstacle in the way. His mate snuggled next to him, curling into the crook of Ryker’s arm and using his chest as a pillow.

---