With Abandon: With or Without, Book 3 by J. L. Langley Read Free Book Online

His back popped, and he winced. “What time is it? I had a bout of insomnia last night and came in here to work. I must have fallen asleep.”
    “Yeah. I followed your scent.”
    Aubrey patted the sofa next to him.
    Matt shook his head. “I hated to wake you, but there’s someone here to see you. I didn’t know what to do. I wouldn’t have let him in except he said it was important. He said his name is Carson.”
    Aubrey stopped in the middle of rolling his shoulders. His face went blank, and the last remnants of sleep fell away as he met Matt’s gaze. “Carson?”
    Uh-oh. “You don’t know a Carson? Did I mess up? I can make him leave. I’m sorry. I—”
    “No, it’s okay.” Standing, Aubrey clutched Matt’s arm and squeezed. “You did fine, Matt. I know him. I was just surprised.” Aubrey let go of Matt and stretched some more. As he turned his face toward the open door, his nose twitched. He was a typical wolf, scenting the air. “Did he say why he was here?”
    “No. Should I go ask?”
    “I’ll talk to him. Come on.” They walked together to the end of the hall, and Aubrey stepped into the bathroom. “Go ahead and tell him I’ll be there in a few minutes.” He closed the door, leaving Matt to wonder if he’d done the right thing. His mate didn’t seem mad, but he didn’t seem like he wanted to speak to Carson either. Hmmm…
    Carson turned to look at Matt as he entered the big open space that consisted of the kitchen, den and dining room.
    “Aubrey will be right out.”
    Carson nodded. “Thank you.” His gaze traced up and down Matt again.
    “You’re welcome.” Matt headed to the kitchen, trying to put Carson out of his mind for now. Should he offer Carson a drink? Would Aubrey want the man staying long enough to finish a drink? Matt decided to wait and take a cue from Aubrey when he arrived.
    Matt opened the fridge. Apparently Aubrey didn’t share his brother’s legendary aversion to cooking because the refrigerator was fully stocked. Next, Matt located the pantry. It too was loaded.
    He searched through cabinets for the things he needed to make homemade cinnamon rolls. If he could find some yeast… There. Yes. All the other ingredients were normal stock kitchen items.
    The bathroom door down the hall clicked open, and within a few moments Aubrey appeared.
    Despite his pep talk about not caring, Matt found himself watching the living room out of the corner of his eye. Carson stood as Aubrey came into the room.
    “Carson?”
    “I’m sorry for turning up like this, but I needed to talk to you. I have a problem.” Carson waited for Aubrey to come to the couch before resuming his seat.
    Matt pulled the mixer out of the bottom cabinet and plugged it in, trying to pretend like he wasn’t eavesdropping.
    “What’s wrong?” Aubrey asked.
    Carson lowered his voice to a whisper. “Is it okay to talk in front of him?”
    It didn’t take a genius to guess that “him” was Matt. Which piqued Matt’s interest. He opened the refrigerator door in search of eggs. It dawned on him that Aubrey was hesitating. If Aubrey wanted him to leave…
    “Yeah. Matt’s cool. What’s going on?”
    Matt let out the breath he’d been holding, knowing full well that Aubrey could hear it.
    “I did something stupid.” Carson hesitated. “I slept with Boskie.”
    “You did what?”
    Wincing at Aubrey’s cutting tone, Matt assembled all the other ingredients he’d need for cinnamon rolls. After a few minutes Matt learned that Carson worked for Aubrey in some capacity, and Boskie was a CEO with Reynolds Inc. Carson had tried to break the affair off, and Boskie threatened to fire him. Boskie was apparently married with three children and old enough to be Carson’s father. Ouch. Matt didn’t envy Aubrey having to deal with the situation, but it took a load off Matt’s mind. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but the truth of the situation had him feeling more at ease. While letting the bread