Microsoft Word - Corey-Toni_Griffin.doc (3 page)

Corey stripped off his clothes and threw them in the direction of the washing basket. He didn't care at this point in time whether they actually made it in or fell short, his mind too occupied with other thoughts. He showered as if on autopilot and crawled into bed naked. Corey hissed when the sheets came into contact with his still-hard prick.

It'd been that way pretty much since he'd walked into Ben's and smelt the most wonderful fragrance of his

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life. The sweet, intoxicating scent had caused his stomach to do flips, his skin to prickle, and his dick to surge. It wasn't until Ethan stood staring at him with one brow cocked and a delighted grin on his face that Corey realised what it was he had scented. The fucking dimples had nearly done him in then and there. How fair was it to Corey to try and fight this man off when he had god damn dimples that made his entire face light up?

Just that memory of the younger man had him

reaching for his cock. As scared as Corey had been, he'd been mesmerised by Ethan as the guy stalked towards him.

Ethan had the most gorgeous strawberry blond hair Corey had ever seen. His fingers itched to reach out and touch—to find out if it was truly as soft as it had looked. Then Corey had been caught in the intense stare of a pair of stunning, imperial jade green eyes and for a moment, he'd been lost.

That was the only reason he could come up with as to why he'd let Ethan kiss him.

Corey's dick twitched again at the remembered taste and feel of his mate. He slowly stroked his shaft, replaying that kiss over and over again. If it was all he was ever going to have of his mate then he wanted to make sure he remembered everything. Corey ran his thumb over the flared head of his prick and captured the beads of pre-cum that escaped. He gently rubbed the liquid into his shaft then

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tightened his grip and started stroking from the base right to the head.

The moan fell unbidden from his lips and his hips bucked as pleasure raced through his body. Corey closed his eyes. He could almost feel Ethan's lips pressed against his own, their tongues duelling with one another. Then he remembered that small moan Ethan had made and it was just enough to push him over the edge. Corey cried out as his orgasm ripped through his body. He painted his chest, stomach, and hand with his seed and by the time Corey's hand fell limp beside him, his dick finally starting to go down, Corey was breathing hard with the exertion.

Sated, Corey slowly cleaned himself up then tapped off the light. He closed his eyes but sleep was a long time in coming that night.

* * * *

At nine forty-five the next morning, Corey

reluctantly saved his work and locked his computer. He picked up the keys to his car and locked the house as he left. To say he was not looking forward to this meeting would be an understatement. Corey knew his friend and Alpha was only trying to help, but really, he wished the man would just keep his nose out of his business.

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Knowing the man as he did, though, he knew that wasn't going to happen. Ben made it his mission to make sure every member of his pack was happy and Corey had always admired that trait in the man, until now.

The drive went by faster than he would have liked and before he knew it, he was pulling to a stop in front of the Alpha house. Corey parked his car and got out. He ran his hand through his hair as he readied himself to go inside.

Corey walked up to the door, knocked twice, and entered. Being one of Ben's Betas and also a close personal friend allowed him some leniencies. Where others would have to wait to be admitted, Corey could walk right in—not that this was a good thing today.

The second Corey opened the door and stepped

inside, he was hit with the scent of his mate. His dick hardened and his wolf sat up to take notice. Corey ignored both and closed the door behind him. He wandered through the house, wondering where Tommy and Ethan both were.

Standing outside Ben's office, Corey knocked again to announce his presence then entered. Two steps in and Corey stopped dead in his tracks. Sitting behind the desk was Tommy, not Ben.

"Sorry, Tommy. Didn't mean to interrupt. I'm here for a meeting with Ben," he said.

"You're not interrupting," Tommy said when he

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looked down at his watch. "In fact, you're right on time.

Take a seat." Tommy looked up at him and grinned then waved towards the chairs in front of the large desk.

"Fuck!" Corey swore. He replayed the conversation he'd had late last night over in his mind and realised not once did Ben say the meeting was going to be with him. If he thought Ben was going to be bad, Tommy was more than likely going to be worse. With the current state of the Alpha mate, who knew what was going to happen?

As much as Corey wanted to turn around and walk out the door, he couldn't disobey the Alpha mate any more than he could the Alpha. Reluctantly, Corey stepped forward, forgetting about the door, and took a seat in the indicated chair.

Tommy sat there and stared at him as he sat back looking relaxed as hell in Ben's large, leather chair, his hands resting lightly against his severely distended stomach.

"So, what can I do for you this morning?" Corey asked, feigning ignorance. It was worth a shot, he thought.

Tommy smiled sardonically at him. "You know why you're here." Corey just nodded once, refusing to say anything. They sat in silence for what seemed like forever.

Eventually, Corey got tired of waiting and stood.

"Well, it was great talking to you. Tell Ben I'll see

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him at the next poker game." Corey turned and headed towards the door.

"Sit down," Tommy said, his voice calm but still managing to covey all the authority of his station.

Corey stopped mid-stride but didn't turn and didn't sit down.

"You don't want to fuck with me on this, Corey."

Corey turned and looked at Tommy. The man stared daggers at him. "I'm really not in the mood for any bullshit.

This spawn of Satan I'm carrying"—Tommy waved in the direction of his stomach—"has been playing soccer with my bloody ribs all morning while it sits on my bladder. I'm tired, I'm fat, I'm hormonal, and quite frankly, I'm fucking
over
being pregnant."

Tommy paused for only a moment before he

continued. "Ben won't take me with the intensity he used to

'cause he's scared of hurting the cub and now, because of you, I have an unmated man, with his perfect bloody body and those god damn dimples, spending the majority of his day with my mate while I get to be fat, bloated, and moody.

What sane man wouldn't be tempted to turn to another in those circumstances?"

Corey couldn't have stopped the growl that ripped through him if he'd tried. No one was touching Ethan!

Corey paused at that thought. He couldn't really stop the

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man from finding companionship in someone else if Corey denied him.

"Ben would never touch another man, no matter how moody and bitchy you become."

"Bitchy… bitchy?" Tommy's voice seemed to go up a couple of octaves and Corey winced at his choice of words. "Who the fuck said anything about bitchy? You want bitchy, I'll happily show you bitchy."

"That's not what I meant." Corey tried desperately to backpedal. Tommy just sat there now, glaring at him.

"You know Ben loves you deeply. He would never do anything to jeopardise that." Corey tried again to soothe Tommy's ruffled feathers.

Tommy relaxed slightly and Corey sighed. "I know that. But it doesn't stop the thoughts from coming when I look like this." Tommy waved at his huge belly again.

"Tommy, you look beautiful and I know for a fact Ben thinks so also. That man is so in love with you and can't wait to start a family. You have nothing to worry about."

"Yes, I do," Tommy stated emphatically and Corey just knew where this was going. "I have you, and now I have Ethan to worry about as well."

"I'm fine," Corey tried to say, but Tommy waved his words away.

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"You most definitely are
not
fine. You met your mate last night and walked—actually, you practically ran—

out the door, dragging a lame apology behind you."

"My apology wasn't lame," Corey said indignantly.

"It most certainly was. Who in their right mind meets their mate, enjoys a powerful kiss like the two of you shared, then apologises, says they don't want a mate, and walks away? I want to know why, and I want to know
now
."

"It's none of your business." Corey crossed his arms over his chest and stared Tommy down.

"If it affects my house and my pack then it bloody well
is
my business. Start talking, Corey. I don't have all day. This baby is going to make me need to pee pretty soon and I would prefer this discussion to be over by then."

"I would prefer this discussion to be over right now," Corey muttered.

"Well, you don't always get what you want. I, on the other hand, am a completely different story." Corey glared at Tommy. As much as he loved the man, Corey had never seen this side of him and he was starting to wonder if he liked it or not.

"Look." Tommy sighed as he sat up. "You know what I went through, how messed up I was when I met Ben.

I wasn't ready to meet my mate when I did. But fate

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intervenes in mysterious ways. Ben didn't leave me or pressure me into doing anything I wasn't ready for. He held back and was exactly what I needed while I dealt with what had happened to me." Tommy took a deep breath before he plunged onward again. "If something's happened to you in your past, we're here if you need or want help. Just don't turn your back on your mate, Corey. You will regret that decision for the rest of your life."

Corey was a little stunned then shook his head.

"Nothing like that, Tommy. Just a promise I made to myself a long time ago."

"What was the promise, and why did you make it?"

Tommy asked seriously.

Corey sighed in resignation. He knew Tommy

wouldn't give up until he had the answers to all his questions. Corey slumped down in the chair he was sitting in and stared unseeing at the ceiling as he started to talk.

"I promised myself a long time ago that I would never fall in love again." He paused and waited for the inevitable.

"Again?"

"Yep, again." Corey stopped when thoughts and memories from an earlier time assaulted him. "Pulse pounding, heart racing, skin tingling, butterflies in the stomach, aching to be with him, love. Been there, done

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that. Never want to do it again. That's why I can't be with Ethan, because if I am then chances are good that I'm going to fall head over heels in love with him.

"And what's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing is wrong with that. It's what comes after that I have the problem with."

"What comes after? Eternal love, devotion—

someone to share your life? Start a family? Seriously, Corey, I'm not seeing why you would have such a problem." Tommy looked mighty confused.

"No, it's the heartache, the devastation, the barely being able to move because you feel like a piece of you has died. It's the not wanting to go on with life that I have the problem with."

Tommy whistled lowly. "Whoever the hell he was, he really screwed you over good, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did, and he was my university professor, William Knowles." Corey hadn't said or thought that name in years, but now just talking about it all with Tommy brought back the hurt he felt when he'd found out that everything William said to him had been a lie.

He'd been in his third and final year at Griffith University on the Gold Coast, getting his Bachelor of Information Technology degree with an emphasis on software development. Corey had had an affinity for all

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things computer since as far back as he could remember.

Corey could still remember the horror and devastation he had felt when he'd gone to surprise William one night, only to find him heading inside his apartment with another student from their class. They had been all over each other.

Corey stood there for the longest time, staring at where they had disappeared behind the closed door, unable to move.

He'd later found out that it wasn't just that one other student either. William Knowles had been trying to sleep his way through all the single, gay men in just about every class he taught. Corey had fallen apart at this news and had come close to failing not only William's class but also the other three he had been taking that semester as well.

He'd finally been able to pull himself together enough to attend class and complete his education, but he never stepped foot in William Knowles's classroom again.

Instead, he'd submitted the remainder of his work as an external student. Once he'd finished all course credits, Corey left and went back home to Atherton. He didn't even stay for his graduation. Instead, his degree was mailed to him. He was great at his job, but Corey was an even better hacker, and once he'd joined Ben's pack, the Alpha had put Corey's skills to good use.

Corey had sworn to himself then that he would

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never let another man have that kind of hold over him. He didn't want to ever love someone so much that it broke him when they walked away. So he'd contented himself with one-night stands ever since. So what if he got lonely sometimes? At least he would never have to feel that way again.

He opened his eyes, unaware that he'd even closed them, and looked at Tommy, who was sitting there staring at him like he had no idea who Corey even was.