A Cold Winter's Day 25 by Lynn Hagen Read Free Book Online Page B

asked as he stared at the steps.
    “Yeah, he did,” Chance said in stunned disbelief. “Pa has a mate, and he’s a man.” The words still wouldn’t sink into his brain. Since when was his pa gay? He had had a wife. His pa had raised seven sons.
    And he was gay?
    Why wasn’t he told about this?
    What fucking universe did they live in again?
    “Hot damn!” Chauncey whooped as he picked Curtis up and spun him around. “He won’t be lonely anymore.”
    There was that.
    “That means Cole is our brother,” Bryce pointed out. “No diaper duty!”
    “You can’t call that!” Curtis protested. “Everyone has to help.”
    “Says you,” Chauncey stated as he set his mate onto his feet. Curtis glared up at Chauncey as he slapped him on the chest.
    “Go get the baby stuff out of my car before I call no sex.”
    Chauncey paled as he ran from the house.
    “Pa has a mate,” Chance said as he stared at the ceiling. Things were definitely about to get crazy around the Lakeland household.
    Crazier than it already was.

    * * * *

    Malcolm continued to stare into Luke’s chocolate-brown eyes. He had to calm his temper. Seeing Luke leave with Cole had set his teeth on edge. Worry, concern, and downright anger wrapped around him as he saw his mate walk out the front door. He didn’t even want to think about the heart-wrenching desperation.
    He never wanted to feel that way again.
    The only thing Malcolm wanted to do was protect Luke and Cole. Well, there were other things Malcolm wanted to do to Luke. His eyes dropped to the small pout of Luke’s lips just an inch away from his.
    All he had to do was lean a little closer, and Luke would be panting.
    Neither of them moved.
    He forgot about tribes, and Maverick, about his sons downstairs, and the problems just outside his front door. All he could think about at the moment was Luke. How good he smelled or how stunningly handsome he was. Malcolm wanted to find out how good Luke would feel as his mate cried out his name.
    He wanted to hear his name fall from Luke’s kiss-swollen lips as he came for him. His cock began to fill in his pants as their eyes continued to stare at the other. Malcolm could tell Luke was waiting for him to make the first move.
    Was it that easy?
    With tortured ease, Malcolm closed the distance, ghosting his lips over Luke’s at first, and then his tongue battled to gain entrance. Luke whimpered as he fell back onto the bed, Malcolm following him down.
    Their limbs entwined as Malcolm cupped his mate’s face, his lips and tongue exploring every inch of Luke’s mouth. He reached between them, almost tearing Luke’s pants as he tried to get them unsnapped.
    He needed skin, wanted skin, had to have it now.
    Slow down, damn it, slow down.
    Malcolm slowed his pace, fearing that he would hurt Luke in his fevered rush to feel naked flesh against him. It had been so long since he had felt another body in his bed that he was praying for the patience Luke deserved.
    “Are you going to claim me, Malcolm?”
    Malcolm growled as he finally unsnapped Luke’s pants. His fingers were too large and getting in his way. For once, they were a hindrance. He pulled back, staring down at Luke’s disheveled hair and kiss-swollen lips.
    God, Luke was sexy as hell.
    Malcolm ran his hands over Luke’s chest before reaching the hem of his shirt. He pulled it up and over his mate’s head, taking in the small hue of his mate’s light brown nipples. He ran his calloused thumbs over the small peaks, watching them pull tight and pebble.
    It amazed him how well Luke’s body reacted to his touch. It stroked his ego in ways only Luke was capable of doing. Luke’s tousled hair covered one eye, sending Malcolm’s desires into overdrive.
    “Yes, Luke. I’m going to claim you.”
    His mate’s eyes turned an even darker brown as arousal so strong that Malcolm could almost taste it danced in the depths of Luke’s brown orbs. “You know everyone in my tribe is out to get their