How to Howl at the Moon (18 page)

He walked Tim to the car and opened the passenger door. “Just give me one second.
There’s something I need to tell my mother.”

“No problem,” Tim smiled. “I’ll just….” Lance waited for him to complete the thought. “Hang. Here. I’m good!”

Lance shut the door as Tim rolled his eyes at himself. He went into the cabin, smiling stupidly. It was sort of nice to see awkward Tim back again. It meant he cared what Lance thought, right?

“Is everything ready to go?” he asked Lily.

“Oh goodness. It’s all arranged, Lance. Not a thing for you to worry about.”

“Give me ten minutes at least to get down the hill.”

“Yes, dear. Gus and Winston have everything loaded, and they’ll bring it over when I call.”

“And whatever you do, be careful with those plants. Do not drop the trays!”

Lily looked heavenward and sighed. “Nothing will happen to Tim’s plants. My goodness. Your protective streak is turning into the Nile River over that boy.”

Lance ignored that. “And don’t forget Roman will be here around seven to check the plants, so try to have everything set up in the greenhouse by then.”

“You know my opinion on that,” Lily’s scolded. “I think it would be a nice gesture of trust if you told Roman he wasn’t needed. You know Tim’s not growing any drugs!”

“I just want to finish this once and for all,” Lance said firmly. “Besides, I mentioned it to Roman awhile back, and he keeps bringing it up. I think he’s eager to use his skills, and I’d feel stupid telling him I changed my mind.”

“If you say so,” Lily said with a martyred sigh.

“He won’t find anything, so no harm done. And remember, when we get back, neither of us is going to mention the plants. Just let Tim discover them in his own time. It’s probably for the best if he finds them in the morning when we’re not here.” Although Lily was a consummate liar, Lance didn’t trust her not to look obnoxiously pleased with herself. And Tim would be looking for some kind of answer as to why his seeds had turned into one and two inch plants overnight. Best if he and Lily weren’t around as obvious targets of suspicion.

Lance would love to tell Tim what really happened, but that story made no sense without the concept that Lance equals Chance. And that was a little more strain than should be put on a first date.

“My, how you do go on,” Lily said dryly.

“Yeah? Wonder where I got that from?”

“As if I weren’t scheming long before
you
were born.”

“Believe me, I’m aware. I’ll keep Tim out until at least ten.”

Lily’s face smoothed into a knowing smile. “You stay out as long as you like. You two have a wonderful time!”

Lance huffed and headed for the door.

“Just relax and do what comes naturally, Lance. Even if you’re a prude, your dog isn’t. I know you have it in you!”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mother.”

“You’re welcome.”

*                          *                         *

As they drove down the hill toward town, Tim had the thought that this was the first actual date he
’d ever been on in his life. Dillon, in high school, was more fuck buddy and video game opponent than boyfriend. He’d had a few gay bar hookups when he’d lived in Santa Barbara, but it was always a frustrating experience. His body lusted after the alpha males in the clubs, the rougher the better, but he always ended up with some
frail-looking
twink swapping hasty blow-jobs in the bathroom
. H
e was too afraid of getting in over his head with an aggressive guy. And afterward, he’d hate himself for being a coward.

This, though, this was something new. This was a real man who was good-looking, still had all his teeth, wasn’t married, was responsible, employed, and seemed genuinely interested in more than getting into Tim’s pants for the night. Even better, there was a connection between
them, some emotional undercurrent linking them, and it made Tim feel warm and tingly when Lance was next to him. He wasn’t sure when that had happened or how, but it had been there at least since the party. He’d never felt this
way
before. Was it mutual?

Tim told himself not to get his hopes up, but they were already so far up there, they were like the speck of a helium balloon in a clear blue sky. If only he could get past this residual niggle of fear. Lance was so… masculine, authoritarian, intense. Tim told himself Lance would never hurt him, and he believed that, consciously. But deep down inside, there was a voice that refused to be optimistic.

You’re alone in a car with him, at night. He could do anything to you. And why wouldn’t he? You’re weak, a loser.

Tim told the voice to shut the fuck up and stop being a killjoy.

“It’s a nice night for a drive, so I thought we’d go to the Mountain Place,” Lance said as they pulled onto Mad Creek’s Main Street. “It’s about forty minutes away. I hope that’s all right?”

“Sure,” Tim shrugged. “I’m not in a hurry. It was nice of your mom to offer to puppy sit.”

“She has her uses.”

“It’s awesome that she… that she doesn’t have a problem with this.” Tim gestured back and forth between him and Lance.

Lance gave him a warm look. “Lily has good instincts. Well, that may be going too far. She can have incredibly
bad
ideas, but she’s good at reading people.”

Tim thought that was a compliment.

A car trying to catch the end of a yellow light ran out in front of them, and Lance braked hard. He automatically reached over to place a hand on Tim’s chest as if to secure him, even though he was wearing a seat belt. But at the sudden move, Tim flinched.

“Sorry,” Tim mumbled, when Lance dropped his hand.

Lance didn’t say anything, but Tim knew his reaction had been weird and he felt like there was a big, flashing “
L
” on his forehead. Lance was going to think he was a basket case. But Lance drove on.

Just before they left Mad Creek, there was a craft store on the right that was closed for the night. Lance pulled into the driveway and drove the car to the back of the parking lot near a row of trees. He parked.

It was a lonely spot. Tim felt himself tense up again. A warning voice in his head said Lance was angry with him, that he was going to yell or worse. Tim wished he hadn’t accepted the invitation to come tonight. He should have stayed home with Renfield. He should have—

Lance shifted in his seat and took one of Tim’s clenched and stiff fists into his. His blue eyes were soft. “Tim?”

Tim let out a shaky sigh. “Yeah? Sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I guess it’s just been awhile since I’ve been out. Or, ever. Like this I mean. It’s not you, it’s me. Just ignore me. It’s fine.”
Please ignore me. Please don’t be mad or want to take me home.

Lance ran his thumb back and forth over Tim’s knuckles until his fist unclenched.

“I know it’ll take a while for you to get used to me. You don’t know me, really, and you’re smart to be wary of people you don’t know. But I just want to say this: I would never hurt you.”

Lance spoke calmly and with unwavering conviction. Tim looked down at the gearshift, unable to maintain eye contact. “I know that.”

“You
don’t
know that, not yet, but in time you will. And I know it’s easy for someone to say they won’t hurt you, or to promise never to do it again, and then do it anyway. But I’ve never hit anyone in my life. That’s not my way. Don’t get me wrong—if someone were a threat to me or mine, I would do what I had to do. But I would never hit someone I know, someone I care about. Any more than… any more than Chance would have bitten you. Do you understand what I mean? When someone has my loyalty, they have it absolutely.”

Tim took a deep breath. He made a decision to be honest, because maybe if Lance knew there was a reason behind this he wouldn’t think Tim such a spaz. But Tim had to look out the windshield while he said it.

“It’s not that I distrust you specifically. I know it’s not normal, that most people don’t hit other people. It’s just… my dad did. He hit me. Out of the blue sometimes. I wish I could get over being jumpy about it.”

Lance touched Tim’s chin and gently turned his head so he was forced to look at Lance.

“Someday you will. Someday you will know, down in your deepest heart, that I would never lift a hand to you, that I would protect you from anyone else who would try to hurt you with my dying breath. Until then, you won’t scare me off or annoy me if you feel unsure. Okay?”

There was a thread of emotion in Lance’s voice that was…
God
… more affection than Tim had ever hear
d directed at him in his life
, m
ore
than he deserved.
Someday.
Lance saw a future for them. Tim wanted that future to be real.

He felt so much—gratitude for Lance’s understanding, wonder at finding such a good guy, a desire to show Lance he believed him—that his tongue just quit in defeat. So instead
of ta
lking
Tim clutched Lance’s jacket with one hand, pulled him in, and kissed him.

*                          *                         *

Lance sank into the kiss, happy to have an excuse to touch. He
’d wanted to touch Tim that night at the party, wanted to touch him when they’d kissed in the greenhouse, heck, longed to hold him close with two strong arms when he’d been lying next to him on the couch as Chance. And now, with his protective instinct aroused, there was no way he wasn’t giving in to that urge.

He wrapped his arms around Tim and pulled him close. Tim came willingly and even helped by removing his seat belt and scrambling over the console. Somehow, between Lance’s narrow hips and Tim’s long, lean legs, they ended up with Tim straddling Lance’s lap in the driver’s seat. Good thing Lance liked to drive with his seat as far back as possible.

Tim kissed Lance for all he was worth, his tongue warm and soft. He tasted like sunshine and sweet earth, like boy and mate, like the essence of love and the swamping lust of sex. Lance had never been looking for a mate, but right then he couldn’t imagine how life had any color without this right here—this living, warm creature in his arms.

Tim broke the kiss, and Lance pressed him even tighter so he could feel Tim from his shoulders to his lap. He buried his face in Tim’s neck and breathed in the delicious heat. Tim’s heady scent curled around his nostrils and soaked into his brain. It should have lowered the
arousal level, going from a kiss to a hug, but it didn’t. Having his mate this close, close enough to feel and smell and taste, was like having the most delicious morsel imaginable held just before his nose. Lance wasn’t feeling disciplined enough to resist. But he didn’t want to push Tim either.

“Hey,” Tim whispered, “I know we just talked about me being, well, wary of violence? But I want you to know there’s another part of me that really wants you to push me up against a wall someday,
Officer
. As long as there’s no
actual
pain involved, and you’re not actually mad.
I
t’s just—
y
ou don’t need to handle me like glass. I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

“That so?” Lance felt another gush of heat in his groin at the images that conjured up.

“Yeah.”

Tim wiggled closer, and Lance pulled him even tighter. The ridge of Lance’s erection met the softness of Tim’s sack while a throbbing heat pressed into his own stomach.

Tim groaned. “Oh my God. I feel that, and I want to touch it so much. I have zero
will
power.”

“Saves me a lot of effort having to talk you into it then, because I don’t have any either.” God, no. His dog nature saw no reason to be coy about what he wanted or the fact that he wanted it immediately.

Tim leaned back so he could look at Lance. There was a red flush splashed across his throat, and his eyes were dark and dreamy. He bit his lip, uncertain. “Don’t we have dinner reservations?”

“Nope. We’ll get seated whenever we show up.”

“Oh. Isn’t it illegal to do stuff in a car in a craft store parking lot?” He smirked, teasing.

“I won’t tell the sheriff if you won’t,” Lance said seriously.

In all honesty, being caught getting hot and heavy in a parked car with a man would make Lance a lifelong butt of jokes and/or piss townspeople off. But right then, Lance cared less about that than he’d ever cared about anything in his entire damned life.

“I see. You have the justification thing down, huh?” Tim cocked a sly eyebrow and trailed his fingers down Lance’s chest. He popped a few buttons, teasingly, and seemed delighted at the
dark hair that was revealed. He popped a few more and ran his fingers over Lance’s chest with a mesmerized look.

“Oh, God. Your hair is so soft and so black. It’s really hot.”

Lance swallowed, not trusting himself to speak. He did have pretty thick hair on his chest, and he was glad Tim didn’t mind. The pleasure of Tim running his fingers through it made his eyes go half-lidded and his dick throb.