Valentino's Cowboy [Brac Village 10] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (9 page)

But now he knew that someone was watching him.

Valentino finished Whiskers’s chart and sat it on the desk for Damon to file. Clicking his pen and shoving it into his lab coat, he went looking for Abe. He felt like his relationship with Abe was disjointed and he wanted to figure out how to bring them together, not only physically, but emotionally as well.

Something was holding Abe back and Valentino wanted to know what that something was. Their future together didn’t stand a chance unless he could figure out why Abe was keeping him at arm’s length.

Valentino came up short when he noticed a stranger standing in the hallway, peeking around the corner to the holding area. “What do you think you are doing?”

He blinked a few times when the stranger shimmered away. That told him the guy was fey, but that didn’t explain what he had been doing spying on Abe. Valentino walked briskly down the hall, needing to check on his mate.

Abe was cleaning out Roger’s cage, oblivious to being watched. His mate had no clue that a fey had just been standing there spying on him. Valentino leaned into the wall, watching Abe for a moment.

Why would anyone be spying on the man? Was there something going on in Abe’s life that Valentino needed to know about?

“Roger spilled his water.”

Abe hadn’t even turned around. He knew Valentino was watching him. If he knew Valentino was there, did he know about the fey? It could be their bond. Although they hadn’t consummated things yet, that didn’t mean it wasn’t growing stronger. He decided to keep the information about the peeping fey to himself right now.

Abe had been through enough already. “It’s his way of getting your attention.”

“It worked.”

Valentino moved further into the holding room, wagging his finger at the lab. “Watch yourself, bub. Abe is mine.”

His mate arched a blond eyebrow.

“He tends to attach himself quickly,” Valentino explained as he winked at Abe. “I know how he feels when it comes to you.”

His mate looked as if he were grappling for words. His lips parted and then he glanced back at what he was doing. Valentino could see Abe’s ear turning a dark shade of red. The man was easily rattled.

“So, since we didn’t get to have that dinner date, I was thinking about having a nice, romantic dinner at home tonight.” He threw the invitation out there and hoped Abe caught it. Squatting down next to his mate, Valentino said in a low tone, “My sweet tooth is kicking in…hard.”

Abe dropped the bowl he had in his hands, scrambling to pick it up before all the water spilled. Valentino patted Roger on his head when the dog barked and tried to lick Abe’s face. “What did I tell you about flirting with my mate?” he asked the dog.

The water was quickly running toward the small drainage hole in the center of the cage, but his mate went for towels anyway. Valentino helped Abe clean up the mess.

“You don’t have to help,” Abe said. “This is my job.”

“And there is nothing wrong with me helping you.” Valentino dropped a few rags onto the water, watching as they soaked the wetness up. Abe was wiping, his movements jerky. Valentino watched, noticing his mate’s set jaw.

He was angry.

But why?

“I don’t need any help,” Abe replied, his voice wooden.

Valentino’s hands clenched as he moved back, studying the hard lines on Abe’s face and wondering where all this anger was coming from. The man squatting next to him was not the same man he had met in the Lakeland barn. “What’s going on, Abe?”

His mate finished wiping up the mess and then took the towels to the dirty linen bin. Valentino closed the cage door, waiting for his mate to answer him. Abe just stood there, staring down at the soiled towels.

After a long stretch of silence, Abe spoke. “I don’t know where I fit in.”

Valentino
walked forward, stopping in front of Abe. His
fingers curved under the small man’s chin, tilting Abe’s head back until he was staring into pretty blue eyes. “Where is this coming from?”

Clearing his throat, Abe asked, “What was your home life like?”

The question caught Valentino from left field. That wasn’t what he had been expecting to hear. “Challenging,” he answered honestly. His answer seemed to gain Abe’s interest. He was no longer looking down at the towels, but gazing right at Valentino.

“How so?”

This was not something Valentino cared to talk about—especially in the holding area of the damn vet clinic. He crossed his arms over his chest in a defensive move as he leaned against the nearest cage. “You first.”

The man cocked his head to one side as he shrugged, playing with some invisible string on the laundry hamper. “Bryce just reminded me that I never really was a part of the Lakeland household.”

Valentino curled his hands into fists, keeping his anger under control. The fury almost choked him, but he remained silent.

“My parents died when I was young,” Abe continued and Valentino caught Abe’s sorrow before he could conceal it. It was in his voice and eyes. “The tribe made sure I was taken care of, my basic needs”—he poked his finger at the fabric of the hamper—“but emotionally, I was neglected.”

“So you always feel as if you don’t fit in,” Valentino surmised. “You’re always looking for someone’s attention, someone’s approval.”

Abe glanced up at him. “You make me sound so dang needy.”

Valentino gazed down the hallway, past Abe as the memories slipped into his mind and took over. “Not really, Abe. I grew up with cougars constantly challenging each other, always trying to prove their worthiness and manhood through brute strength.”

And he had hated it. Valentino was a nonviolent person. Oh, he could be very violent if the situation called for it. His father made sure that he possessed great fighting skills. “My father constantly pit me against other cougars. On the occasion when I lost, he would fight me himself to ‘improve’ my techniques—at least that’s what he told me.”

“You fought your own father?” Abe asked in astonishment.

“And my uncles, brothers, cousins, or whoever else thought I was too weak to fight the other males in our group.” That was one hell of a way to raise a child. Valentino had gotten out of there as soon as he was old enough to attend college. He swore that he would make a life for himself just so he would never have to return home.

Valentino had always wanted more out of life. He wasn’t really a pacifist, but he wasn’t an angry cougar who felt beating on the innocent was a good way to teach them how to survive.

“Is that why you joke all the time?” Abe asked. “Some sort of shield?”

Valentino chuckled, even though the memories had turned him solemn just moments before. “I would like to think that my humor is a part of who I am, not a defense mechanism.”

“I–I like to laugh,” Abe admitted.

Pushing away from the cage, Valentino stood in front of his mate. “And I’ve seen your smile. It’s prettier than hell.”

Abe’s face soured. “Pretty?”

“What? You think men can’t be pretty?” Valentino asked, needling Abe. “Roger is damn pretty, don’t you think?”

Abe’s head turned toward the cage where the lab was housed. His brows crinkled as he gazed at Roger. “He’s a dog.”

“Be careful insulting him. Roger has feelings.”

Abe gave him a pretty smile before sobering. “Do I fit in with you?”

Ah, hell. Valentino felt his chest tighten at the sincere expression on Abe’s gorgeous face. He wrapped an arm around the man’s shoulder, pulling him close. “Us misfits have to stick together. It’s you and me, my little cowboy.”

Valentino’s heart melted when Abe beamed up at him. Since the accident, this was the first time he had seen that handsome smile on Abe’s face and Valentino realized just how much he had missed it.

“I’d still like to hang out with Bryce once in a while.”

Valentino dropped a kiss on Abe’s head. “You don’t need my permission for a damn thing, hon. Although I do need to make amends with Malcolm.”

Abe’s brows shot up. “You yelled at Pa?”

The side of Valentino’s mouth pulled back as he made a sucking in of breath noise. “
Well
…maybe.”

Abe did not look happy. “Pa is a very nice man. The nicest man I have ever met.” His mate began to chew feverishly on his bottom lip. “What if he’s mad and won’t let me visit?”

Valentino was still pissed beyond belief at Gavin, but he didn’t have a problem with the rest of the bear clan. “I’m pretty sure he understands where my anger was coming from.”

“I guess,” Abe said. “I need to go over to the Den after work. Dr. Sheehan wants to check my hand.”

A ploy to change the subject. “Want me to come?”

It was Valentino’s turn to be shocked when Abe turned crimson. The little imp! He was having very naughty thoughts at the moment. Valentino burst out laughing, hugging his mate close. He could feel Abe jerking against him and knew the man was laughing as well.

“Dr. Prayze?”

Valentino glanced down the hallway to see Damon standing there, looking unsure as his eyes flickered from Valentino to Abe.

“What’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you know I was heading out for lunch. I’ll lock the front door.”

Lunch. Damn. Valentino had totally forgotten about that. He glanced down at his mate. “Are you hungry?”

“Famished,” Abe admitted.

Just as they were walking from the holding area, the same fey who had been spying on Abe reappeared, his eyes wild as they settled on Abe. “You have to save me.”

* * * *

Abe grabbed Valentino before his mate could attack.
Whoa.
The man had his canines out and was baring them at Turi. If the cougar wasn’t his mate, Abe would have been scared shitless of the feral look on Valentino’s face. “I know him, Valentino.”

Valentino gave an irritating grunt, but his canines didn’t retract and his stance was still intimidating. Was it wrong of him to be turned on by the power Valentino was exhibiting? His well-honed muscles rippled under the tight black shirt he was wearing. Right or wrong, thoughts of licking every available inch on Valentino raced through Abe’s mind.

“I caught him spying on you before I came in here.” His mate wasn’t backing down.

Abe pivoted toward Turi, his expression unfriendly. Although he had never had a problem with the Wood elf, it wasn’t like they were buddies or anything. Why would Turi risk coming to see Abe? He was shunned by his tribe. If they found out that Turi was here, they just might shun the man as well. “What are you doing here, Turi?”

The man audibly swallowed, his dark-green eyes flickering all through the hallway. “I need help and I didn’t know where else to go.”

Abe snorted. “You do remember that our tribe shunned me.” He sure as hell couldn’t forget that fact. Although Abe had never planned on returning, it still hurt like hell that his very own people wanted nothing to do with him. He missed how they used to be before the war between the Shadow and Wood elves.

Although the war was over, the Wood elves were still very selfish and petty.

Turi tossed his hands into the air. “I don’t care about you being shunned. It’s a stupid law if you ask me.”

“Stupid or not,” Abe began, “if you are caught talking with me, you’ll be booted off the island.”

Turi didn’t seem to get his reference to
Survivor
. “What island?”

Valentino let out a low chuckle behind Abe. The sound only reminded Abe that he wasn’t alone any longer and that he had a mate. It didn’t matter to him why Turi was here. The man had to go. “Just tell me why you came here so you can leave.”

“You used to be so nice,” Turi stated.

“And I used to be run over by people thinking me too nice,” he reminded the fey.

“Well,” Turi said as he began to pace, his long black hair fanning out behind him. “You know that Iam took over as tribe leader, right?”

Abe nodded. Ahm had named Iam Shanta’s successor. No one argued with the leader of the Shadow elves, but not all were happy from what he had heard.

“Iam is trying,” Turi continued. “He really is. But the elders are giving him a hard time. They won’t relent when it comes to ancient laws.”

Abe wasn’t surprised. The elders were pompous men full of hot air and thought too highly of themselves. They were vain, self-righteous, and god he hated them. “Go on.”

Turi seemed to be getting agitated. His pacing became manic as he passed by the cages over and over again. “My father has promised me to one of those old scraggly men.” Turi looked ashamed. “And the elder he promised me to is my uncle.”

Well damn. That was truly fucked-up. Abe shuddered at the thought of an elder putting their wrinkled hand on him. The thought grossed him out. “So you ran?”

Turi shook his head. “Not at first. I thought I had time. My father insisted I make our household proud by presenting myself to Egon by the next full moon. But Egon wouldn’t wait. He kept coming around”— Turi swallowed hard—“touching me.”