Page 21 of Primal Bonds 1
“I hope you like steak and fettuccine,” Adam said, looking over his shoulder at me with that slight humorous look in his eyes I found so damn hard not to like, not to mention the very subdued teasing tone in his voice. I wondered if he realized he was doing it. That slight crinkle at the corner of his eyes and the one-sided smile that made him look so rouge and dangerously hot.
“I like all types of food,” I said, licking my lips. “And steak especially.”
He snorted. “I bet you do,” he said. “You’re a foxkin, aren’t you?”
I nodded. “Yeah,” I said. “The wolfkin love steak, too. Actually, they love all sorts of meat. They’re pretty ravenous when it comes to meat.”
“You’ve met many wolfkin?” Adam asked.
I shook my head. “Only a few back at the institute when we were small. They kept us separate when we grew up. But wolfkin get into all sorts of trouble because they’re pretty energetic and…”
I trailed off, thinking about the wolfkin and the institute.
Lan.I wondered what happened to Lan after they separated us. Shit, I missed him, that sassy wolf boy who always had my back.
“Shiro!” Adam’s voice made me jolt, my eyes large and body tense.
Adam moved over and patted my head. “You go tense quite easily, don’t you?”
I was about to say sorry but, once again, caught myself in time. I said, “Yeah.”
“I know you have trouble because of your past, but around me, you can relax. I won’t hurt you so you needn’t be afraid of me. I’ll keep telling you that until you believe me.” He smiled then, and I felt my heart skip. Fuck, he was hot, and so nice.
“Sneakers,” he said. “Do they fit?”
I nodded. “I tried them on earlier and they fit perfectly and the other clothing, too. Thanks, Adam. But how did you know my size?”
“I checked your old ones,” he said. “Before I threw them out.”
“Oh,” I expressed.
Suddenly, there was a ding-dong.
“Can you get that for me? That’ll be Chase,” Adam said, turning around to continue with his cooking.
“Okay,” I said.
As I walked to the front door, I felt nervous as hell. I had never answered a door before so…
Shit! What do you do? How did one greet a guest? I had no fucking clue.
Hand slightly shaky, I turned the knob and then opened the door.
A man—tall and muscularly lean with scruffy dark hair and steel-gray eyes—stared down at me through his square-shaped glasses. The moment he saw me, his eyes widened and he leaned forward to look at me closely. “Hello,” he greeted. “You must be my new patient.”
I swallowed hard and mutely nodded my head.
“Holy fuck, you’re beautiful,” he said, chuckling in amusement as he grabbed my chin into his hand. Then he inspected me by nudging my face this way and that. “Fuck, your skin is so translucent. Women would kill to have skin like yours.” He drifted his gaze to my neck next and must have spotted the bruises—the ones from Tony’s hand when he had strangled me—and said, “Unfortunately, that beautiful skin of yours also bruises very easily, too. You poor boy.”
“Chase!” Adam’s hard, firm voice came from behind me, which made me jolt. “Stop loitering there at the door and get your ass inside. And stop making Shiro feel uncomfortable,” he snapped.
“Ah, sorry,” Dr. Chase said, chuckling merrily as he let go of my face.
“You should be, idiot,” Adam said, heading back toward the living room.
“Please, come inside,” I said.
Chase stepped in, and as he passed me, he patted my head. “So your name is Shiro, eh?” He winked at me. “Looks like Adam is taking a liking to you. I’ll let you in on a little secret. That bastard never takes a liking to anyone. Well, except me, his brother Nolan, and their adopted father Calum. We’re an exception. But you…” He reached out and tapped a finger on the tip of my nose. “You’re the first outsider he’s taken a liking to.”