For more than a year, Gabe Callan has known Riley Irving is his mate, but Riley isn’t ready. He stumbled into Gabe’s bakery one night after having left his abusive ex, and he’s still dealing with what he’s been through. Gabe knows he needs time, but he doesn't know how much longer he can wait.
All Riley wants is a safe, slow, boring life. He doesn’t want any adventures other than those he reads about in romance novels. But maybe he’s read too many paranormal books because he’s imagining the guys at the bakery growling, and sometimes he believes he sees their eyes shift color. Maybe he’s going insane.
Gabe is scared to tell Riley the truth about what he is. If he waits too long, Riley will feel betrayed. If he tells him too soon, he will run away, and Gabe isn’t sure he can survive without Riley. How do you tell your skittish human mate you’re a bear shifter?
His entire being shook as he pushed open the door to Callan’s, and the scent of cinnamon and coffee engulfed him. If he hadn’t been such a moron, this could’ve been his happy place.
“Riley!”
Riley jumped at Raphael’s call. He never got loud, but now he practically shouted. A second later, the swing door to the kitchen pushed open, and both Gabe and Quillian spilled out of it.
“Riley.” For a moment, Riley feared Quillian was about to faint or something, but then he gave him a relieved smile. At least, he believed it was relieved. Gabe was glaring, not at Riley, but at Quillian.
“Goddammit, Riley. I was dying.” Quillian increased the distance between him and Gabe.
Riley stared. “You were ill?” He looked fine, if a bit pale. Maybe he had a fever.
“Gabe would’ve made sure I got ill if you hadn’t shown. One more day, and I think he’d have skinned me alive.”
Riley looked at Gabe, then at Raphael. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but since they appeared to be more focused on Quillian than on him, he was counting his blessings. Maybe he could get through this day without embarrassment, and then they’d forget all about his aversion to blowjobs and lack of poly bone. He groaned and three pairs of eyes homed in on him.
“You want a cup of coffee, Rye?”
Riley was glad Raphael wasn’t shouting anymore. “Ah, no.”
“No?” Raphael looked disappointed, and Riley winced. He didn’t want to let anyone down, but on the other hand, he couldn’t see why Raphael would want him there.
“I have to be at work, but I figured ...” He took a step forward. “I need some sugar-infused courage.”
“Manly cookies?” Raphael studied him intently.
“No. I think more ... unifying cookies.”
Raphael frowned. “Unifying?”
“Yes, something to build team spirit and boost the morale.”
Quillian chuckled, but Raphael did a good job ignoring him. “Are we talking something big, like cake, instead of cookies? Something that’s an ... entity instead of singular pieces?”
Riley beamed at him. “Yes, exactly. You’re getting better at this. Soon, you’ll be able to have a bakery.”
Quillian’s chuckle grew louder, and Raphael scowled. “You watch it, brat, or you’ll walk away from here with eclairs.”
Riley pursed his lips. If he could be sure Douglas Fucking Collins wouldn’t show, he’d take the eclairs. “How about braided cake?” He pointed at one with cinnamon and pearl sugar. “It’s gender-neutral, right? Can’t be interpreted as a come-on?” He looked first at Raphael, who stared at him as if he’d lost his mind, then at Quillian, who was going red from his efforts not to laugh, but this was no laughing matter, so he took a steadying breath and looked at Gabe. Gabe gave him a slow shake of his head.
“No, as in not a come-on?”
Gabe nodded, and Riley smiled.
“I’ll take some braided cake then.” He nodded his decision to Raphael.
Raphael grabbed a small paper bag with the Callan’s logo on it. “And this is for work?”
“Yeah, figured the girls need something to make the day better, too. I bet Hadley has had her meeting now.” He frowned. “He wouldn’t demand a blowjob from a married woman, would he?”
Raphael stilled for a second. “I have no idea.”
“I hope not. I’m sure she can stand up for herself, but ...” What if she couldn’t? Douglas Fucking Collins was a creep.
“If he did, you should report him.” Raphael held out the bag for him. “You should report him. It doesn’t matter if he did or didn’t do anything to her.”
“I don’t want to cause any problems. It’s not like I’m irreplaceable there. Anyone can shelf books and give highlander recommendations.” He glanced at Gabe. “Have you had the time to listen to any?”
For a second, he feared Gabe had turned into a statue, but then he gave a slow shake of his head.
“No? You’re getting up in the middle of the night to bake, right? It’s the perfect time to read. I do my best reading at night.”
“Don’t you sleep?”
Riley looked at him for several seconds. Gabe had come a long way. Maybe he was super shy, and it had taken him a year to deem Riley as safe to talk to. His heart warmed at the thought. He was one of the least threatening persons on this planet, but maybe Gabe didn’t see it that way. Maybe he only talked to Raphael, Rook, Quillian, and Laura, and if it was the case, it was a huge step for his silent, tortured hero.
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