Mason could, and he’d been stupid for allowing it to happen, all by themselves as they’d been. “We should get out of here.”
“Sure, just give me a sec. I’m filthy.”
Mason watched as Derek stepped into the pond, carefully at first, adjusting himself to the cold temperature, and then diving in.
Mason could hardly deny him the quick wash, not with the way they were both covered in dirt and dried-on cum.
Derek came up for air, shaking the water out of his hair. It was the most gorgeous sight Mason had ever seen in his life. “Aren’t you coming?”
Mason clenched his fists, and then he carefully sniffed the air. He scented nothing that that should concern him. No other foreign scents, aside from Ivan’s, but that had long ago faded.
Why not?
Mason went in after him. They swam around for a bit, enjoying the water and each other, and then they lazily made love again on Mason’s rock before getting back into the water to wash off one more time.
The only thing that was a factor in making them leave was how hungry they were both getting.
That, and Mason didn’t want to risk that some of the omegas and pups came to spend the day here and saw two men having sex. Werewolves were pretty good with nudity, but he didn’t want to teach any young kids about the birds and the bees.
“I’m never going to fit into these jeans,” Derek complained when it came time for him to dress.
The best he could do was put on his boxers, wearing them like shorts, and force his T-shirt over his head before sticking his feet into
his shoes, still damp from the night before.
90 Marcy Jacks
“You could always just go au naturel,” Mason suggested, wiggling his brows.
“Not in this lifetime,” Derek said. “Just because you have no shame doesn’t mean I don’t either.”
Mason was both looking forward to and dreading the day when Derek broke free of that shy nature of his.
“Let’s head back.” They’d dawdled long enough, and Mason was beginning to get antsy without really knowing why. Those were the worst feelings to have. It meant his instincts were going crazy, but whether it was danger, some of the pups playing pranks, or an animal coming onto his territory, he wouldn’t be able to identify it until he saw it or smelled it.
Mason made sure to hold Derek’s hand tightly in his, and Derek just had to notice that they were power walking the way back.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing, just hungry,” Mason lied.
He heard the growl in Derek’s voice and noticed right away the way the other man’s hand tightened in his.
“Mason,” Derek warned.
His wolf didn’t like the challenge, but for the sake of some immediate peace, Mason decided to let it go. Derek wanted honesty, and Mason had to remember to treat him like an adult when it came to
these things if he wanted to keep him.
This was going to take some getting used to.
“My senses are going a little crazy. I’m worried and scared, and that only tends to happen when there’s something to be worried about lurking nearby.”
Derek shivered, but his grip on Mason’s hand never wavered. If anything, it tightened reassuringly. “Okay.”
That…had been so much easier than Mason had thought it would be. They kept right on walking and were another couple of minutes away from the safety of the pack when Mason jerked the both of them
to a stop.
Mason Returns to His Mate 91
His ears twitched, and his bare feet registered the feel of footsteps coming toward them from far away.
“What is it?” Derek asked.
Mason turned to him and put his finger to his lips then motioned toward the shrubs just before pulling them into the safety of them.
What are we doing here? Derek mouthed once the thick branches and leaves were hiding them.
Then he froze as the sounds that Mason had heard came close
enough for human ears to pick up on.
“The pond is this way. Little far out, but the kids like to go swimming there,” James said.
“I hope you have life jackets,” said another voice that Mason did not recognize. It was authoritative, though, and considering what they were talking about, the owner of that voice could only belong to one profession.
Cop. Someone had finally come to check out DeWitt’s pack and see if Derek was anywhere over here, hiding.
“No, but they’re not allowed to go without at least four accompanying adults, and they all know how to swim.”
Mason watched between the leaves as James and the officer, who
was in full uniform, passed by.
As the officer spoke, asking more questions about this and that, James’s eyes looked down toward the shrub where Mason and Derek were hiding. Their eyes met right before he went back to his conversation, both passing on by, heading toward the pond.
Mason waited a minute, until his sensitive hearing couldn’t pick up on the sounds of his brother’s and that cop’s voices or their footsteps crunching in the twigs and leaves on the trail.
Then he and Derek stepped out from their hiding place. “They’re making sure you’re not hiding here,” Mason said.
“For the first time I’m glad I didn’t come with any personal possessions,” Derek replied.
That was right. If Derek had a whole load of things back at the
92 Marcy Jacks
guest cabin where he was staying…
He didn’t. There was no clue for the cop to see that Derek was with them. Hell, for all Mason knew, James had said that only Mason was staying in that cabin.
Which, for the last couple of days, had been true.
“We need to get back,” Mason said. He and Derek hoofed it back to the houses.
They didn’t know what to expect when they got back, which was why Mason slowed them down and they hid behind some more of the larger pines and shrubs.
There was a cop car. Parked smack dab in the middle of the drive,
blocking any other cars or trucks from coming or going.
There was another man leaning
