Keir was waiting for Xander when he finally made it into work. “Dude, you’re never here this late. Did you have trouble leaving your bed this morning?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did, but not from what you’re thinking. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
Keir frowned, confused. Join the crowd, buddy. He turned to follow Xander. “So what’s got your balls wrapped so tightly they’re past blue and in the purple stage? I thought since you found your true mate, you would be in a much better mood than this.”
“It’s not that. My mate is a goddess in every way.” She was an absolute beauty, and he could tell she was even lovelier from her personality thus far. “I’m irritable because I knew she was down the hall. I could smell her arousal and hear the moans and whimpers she let out as she slept.” He grumbled. “I wanted so damn bad to run in there and take care of her myself.”
Keir’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “Are you sure she was asleep?”
He groaned and sat down with a sigh. “Don’t go there. I can’t even think that. My bear wants her too badly to make jokes about it.”
“Just your bear?” Keir laughed.
Xander growled. “No, of course not. I can control myself, but I’m quickly losing control of him. Part of me wants to give in and tell her she is mine and damn the consequences.”
“But?” Keir waited patiently for Xander to finish his sentence.
“I can’t handle it if she leaves or rejects me. I’ve never felt like this before. It’s like suddenly my whole life has meaning, and I haven’t even kissed her yet. I’m not the kind to worry about that shit. I’m an alpha bear. I get what I want. But when it comes to Josie … I’m lost.”
Keir frowned and shook his head. “The more I hear you talk, the less and less I want a mate.”
Xander chuckled. “When you find her, you won’t think that way, I guarantee it. All of a sudden, she’ll be there in front of you when you least expect it, and your world will never be the same.”
He picked up a stack of papers and glanced through his messages. “By the way, my grandmother is coming to town earlier than planned. She’ll be here tomorrow. Also, Ally came to town to finalize some things. It would seem she is moving here to run a branch of her family’s business.” He crumpled up some papers and tossed them in the garbage. “Though I’d really like her to come work for us instead.”
“Tomorrow? No offense, but are you sure your mate is ready to meet her that quickly?”
Xander rolled his eyes at Keir’s question. “What would you have me do? Tell my grandmother to wait, that my hired mate hasn’t learned enough yet?”
“Sarcasm really doesn’t become you. I still don’t get why I never knew about Ally, either.” Keir flopped onto the couch in Xander’s office and gave him an arched stare.
“I told you, she was away at school. It’s not like she was a secret or anything.” He raised a brow at Keir’s frown. “I did not date her, if that’s where your mind is going. She was a good friend. Stop distracting me, that’s not the point. As I was trying to say before you so childishly interrupted to complain is that she is moving to town in a couple days, she wants to meet for dinner this Saturday. I would like you to attend as well. We will be doing business with her company, so it’s a good idea for you two to meet and be on friendly terms.”
“A business meeting, then?” Keir questioned with a lopsided grin.
“No, this is informal, so the company won’t be paying, you cheap ass, besides, you’re loaded. You’re going to have to be on your best behavior, though. I’m bringing Josie, as well.”
Keir sat up and looked gravely at Xander. “I have one question before I have to get to a meeting.”
Xander quirked an eyebrow and waited with a scowl on his face. Knowing his friend as well as he did, the question would be one of snark and sarcasm.
“Did she see your guest bathroom?” Keir chuckled as Xander’s face paled at his words.
Ah, shit. He didn’t even think of that. Bringing Josie to his place might have been the biggest mistake of his life.
The next few hours dragged on. What he really wanted was to call her and make sure she hadn’t been scarred for life by the bathroom. He counted the ticks of the clock as each second went by. At one point, it really looked like the minutes were playing jokes on him and going backward.
His thoughts centered on nothing but seeing Josie when he got home. He wanted to look into her beautiful eyes again. Each minute felt like an eternity, and he was slowly going insane.
Keir stormed into the office and slammed the door shut. “Bro, go home. I swear if one more employee comes out of here crying because of something you said or threw at them, I’m going to kick your ass. I don’t have time for this shit.”
The tension in the room slowly escalated as Xander rotated his chair from his position staring out the office window. He cocked one eyebrow. “What did you say to me? Have you forgotten I’m your boss while in this building?”
“You can take your job and shove it up your growly ass. I’m coming to you as your friend to warn you. Your secretary, you know, the one who has been here from day one and dotes on you and treats you like her grandson, she’s ready to stage a mutiny, and if that doesn’t scare you, she threatened to call Julia on you.
“As your friend and closest thing you have to a brother, I offered to come in here and save you that fate.” Keir paced, shooting Xander glares as he raked him over the coals verbally. “Now you have two choices. You can pack your shit and go home and fix whatever has you so out of it, or you can deal with your grandmother. Which is it going to be?”
Xander sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I didn’t really throw the balled-up paper at her. I merely passed it to her.”
“Right. From way over there, while she was way over here,” Keir said with a raised brow. “You’re lucky it was your secretary and not one of the other employees. She knows you well enough to let it slide this time. What has gotten into you? I have never in all these years seen you so unglued and disheveled.”
He didn’t know what to say for himself; he had never felt like this either. His whole body was on fire, and all he could think about was Josie. How to make her his, what her luscious body would feel like under his.
He wanted to know everything, her dreams and fears, her favorite color and scent. Hell, even how she liked her coffee. There wasn’t a thing about her he didn’t crave to discover, and it was driving him mad to sit here and hope she would be at his place tonight.
“It’s Josie. I can’t get her out of my mind. What self-respecting woman would want a man with an apartment like mine at my age? I barely know anything about her, I don’t even know where she lives. All I have is her name and phone number, but even that is useless. How desperate would I look calling her in the middle of her workday?”
Keir stared at him wide-eyed. “Bro, get it together. The more I see of you acting like this, the more convinced I am that my life is perfect the way it is. A nice warm willing body in my bed and no complications. You, my friend, are a serious wreck, and as you said, you haven’t even kissed her.”
The idea of Josie’s lips on his drove his bear wild. He wanted his mate. Mating heat. He groaned and slapped a hand over his head. Of course. Now that his bear knew she was his mate, he wanted her as soon as possible.
Keir frowned. “You better get straightened out before Julia arrives tomorrow. She sees you like this and it’s going to raise questions you may not be ready for.”
Xander groaned in frustration. “Don’t remind me. The last thing I need is her figuring out that I’m a lost cause.”
Keir sighed. “Just go home, fix dinner. Have flowers and music playing. Sit down and talk to the woman, get to know her and, if at all possible, try to make it to second base if not a full home run.” He gave him a sad shake of the head. “Trust me, you both will feel better tomorrow if you do.”
“You really are like a preadolescent boy, aren’t you? Bases, home runs? No wonder you only have one-night stands.” Xander stood and grabbed his briefcase. Not that he minded hitting a few home runs tonight. Maybe it would help the bear calm down. “I’m leaving, hold down the fort and apologize for me, please. I’ll see you later and thank you for this.”
Keir smiled. “That’s what brothers are for. Now, get some of that hot mate of yours.”
He had a few hours before Josilyn was due to return to his apartment. It was time to make a good impression. Hopefully, he could still do that without screwing anything up. A few phone calls, a couple pit stops, and he should be set to go.