Chapter Six

The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee roused Milo from sleep. He lay there with his eyes closed and wondered if he could creep out of his bedroom and make a cup without Eric seeing him. As the fog of sleep lifted even more, Milo felt not only warmth radiating all around him but a hard body pressed into his back.

Colt.

The memory of last night resurfaced. He opened his eyes to the gentle sunlight filtering into the living room and saw that he was nestled between the back of the couch and Colt's strong body. Colt's arm was curled around Milo, and one of his muscular legs rested on top of Milo's lower half, sufficiently trapping him.

Milo glanced behind him and saw that Colt was still sleeping, a serene expression on his handsome face. Colt was a wolf. Milo still couldn't believe it. His mind kept trying to reject the idea because that shouldn't be possible.

But he'd seen it with his own eyes. It had burst free and fiercely protected Milo from that bear. The massive wolf had been breathtaking, and a part of Milo had wanted to run his fingers through the thick coat of fur as he admired its beauty.

The thought of Colt not being human should terrify him, but instead, he felt the safest he had ever been when he was with him.

Colt stirred slightly, his arm tightening like he was afraid Milo would leave him. Milo turned his head back around, only to feel something very hard poking against his butt. Now images of Colt's nude body flashed in his mind. The guy had stood tall, muscles rippling, his thick cock on full display.

If Milo didn't stop thinking about how fierce and gorgeous Colt had been, his hands might start wandering. He already had a hard enough time keeping them to himself whenever he was near Colt.

"Good morning."

Milo glanced over his shoulder at the sound of the deep, sleep-filled voice. Dark green eyes sparkled as Colt gazed down at him.

"Good morning," Milo replied as he turned over to face Colt.

"How did you sleep?" Colt slid his hand over Milo's back, his leg flexing, which made Colt's erection press into Milo's stomach.

"Comfortably." It had been the best he'd slept in a long time.

"I smell coffee, but I don't want to get up," Colt said with a smile. "I'm curled around the best body pillow I've ever had."

It wasn't easy to think when all Milo wanted to do was wrap his fingers around Colt's cock and feel the hard length throb in his hand. "I had a massive wall of muscles keeping me warm all night."

Colt tucked strands of hair behind Milo's ear. "How do you feel, hon?"

For a brief moment, Milo had no idea what Colt was talking about. But as soon as it dawned on him, his body started to ache and not in a good way. "I would kill to soak in a hot bath with some Epsom salt."

"My bedroom is a wreck," Colt said. "As much as I want to ease your aches and pains, I'm ashamed to let you see it."

"Like I was ashamed for you to see my house," Milo confessed. He doubted Colt's bedroom was as bad as he was making it out to be. More than likely there was a pile of dirty clothes and shoes strewn about.

"I was focused solely on you when I picked you up, Milo. I couldn't tell you what color your house is to save my life." Colt leaned back and did a full-body stretch, muscles popping. It was shameful how fixated Milo was with Colt's physique. There was more to a man than just his outward appearance.

"I'll let you blindfold me until we reach your bathroom." Milo couldn't stop himself from touching. He brushed his hand over Colt's chest, marveling at how the hard pecs felt under his palm.

"If I put a blindfold on you, it wouldn't be for innocent reasons," Colt murmured, curling his fingers around Milo's wrist and trapping his hand against his chest.

Milo looked up at him, his lips parting as he imagined all kinds of wicked things Colt might do with a blindfold. Ever since they'd met, Milo had thought about the guy nonstop. It was as if Colt had flipped some sort of switch inside of him.

"Full disclosure, I had a meltdown of my own." Colt sighed heavily. "I took it out on my room."

"Do you have a lot of meltdowns?" Uneasiness settled in Milo. Yet another guy with deep-seated issues. Only, Colt was huge, and if he wanted to hurt Milo…

"No." Wariness and shame filled his green eyes. "You're afraid of me now."

Milo swallowed roughly and licked his dry lips. "I haven't had an easy life, Colt. I enjoy spending time with you, but I can't be around someone who's prone to angry outbursts."

He already suffered at the hands of Eric. Milo needed Colt to be a source of stability, not pain.

"I've never put my hands on anyone smaller than me, Milo. I know what it's like to be at the mercy of an abuser." He placed his palm against Milo's cheek. "I swear on my life that you don't have to worry about me ever hurting you."

Everything in him wanted to believe Colt, but it wasn't easy to trust when you lived in fear, when every moment with Eric was a chance he might explode.

Colt untangled himself and sat up. "Let me show you my room. Then I'll explain something to you, something that will shed light on things."

Milo tried to get up, but his stiff body ached and throbbed in various places when he attempted to move. Colt eased him to a sitting position then helped him stand. He curled his arm around Milo's waist and kept him steady as they walked.

There was a hallway past the spiral staircase. Colt led him down it, soft light from the sun coming in through a window at the very end. There was only one door, and Colt opened it, keeping his arm around Milo as he was led inside.

Colt hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said it was a wreck. Despite the deep, velvety reds and calming creams adorning every surface, splintered wood was scattered across the plush carpeting, mixed with fragments of shattered glass twinkling dangerously amidst the chaos.

Milo also noticed some personal items strewn about.

"You did this?"

"When I thought my mate rejected me." Colt closed the door behind him then carried Milo—because his feet were bare—into a pristine bathroom, its white marble surfaces gleaming under the soft glow of overhead lighting. The space was at least four or five times the size of the bathroom at Milo's house.

At the far end was a large sunken tub with a single step in front of it. To the right stood a sleek glass-enclosed shower, inviting with its multiple shower heads and built-in bench. But it was the long counter to his left that caught Milo's attention, with its three mirrors above and elegant shaving lights, which illuminated every inch of the surface. It was like stepping into a luxurious spa.

"I'll get you settled in the tub so you can soak while I explain things to you." Colt opened a cabinet next to the shower and pulled out a bag of Epson salt. Milo simply stood there as Colt drew his bathwater, adding a large amount of the salt.

When it was filled, Colt got up and led Milo to the edge. "I can help you undress and ease you into the water, or you can try to do it on your own if you want some privacy."

As sore as Milo was, he seriously doubted he could undress himself and lift his leg over the side. That meant he needed Colt's help and the full extent of Eric's wrath would be even more visible in the white lights of the bathroom.

"I don't think I can manage on my own. Sleeping on the couch has stiffened my body."

With a nod, Colt gripped the hem of Milo's shirt and carefully eased it over his head, helping to gently extract his arms. A deep, primitive growl ripped from Colt as his gaze swept over Milo's torso. Turning his head out of embarrassment, Milo saw his reflection in the mirrors.

A sharp gasp escaped him, his eyes widening at the vivid, deep purple bruising that stretched from his shoulder, down his chest, and around his side. The dark hues were a stark contrast against his pale skin. It was a miracle he'd survived the beating.

Lowering to his knees, Colt unfastened Milo's jeans and slid them, along with his underwear, down his legs. Then he curled his arm around Milo to steady him as Milo stepped out of them.

"I…" His mouth was bone-dry as he fought back tears. "Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome." Carefully, Colt lifted Milo off his feet and eased him down into the water. The heat sank into Milo's bones as he lounged backward.

Colt sat on the single step. He placed his forearms on the edge of the tub then rested chin on them. "My wolf wants to hunt down the person who did this to you and return the favor."

The water felt so good that Milo didn't care that Colt could see his cock. He was also unsure how to respond to what the guy had just said.

"You don't believe in fate, but it's real." Colt dipped his hand into the water, moving his fingers in a lazy pattern and creating tiny swirls. "Humans call the person they feel they were meant to be with their soulmate. But for my kind, it's so much deeper than that."

As the aches began to ease, Milo watched Colt's fingers while he listened to the soothing richness of his voice.

"My kind have a mate. The person that fate handpicked for us. Someone who is our other half. But finding them can be difficult."

"You're saying that mates are real while soulmates are just a connection?"

Colt sighed. "I'm explaining this wrong. I should have never brought up the soulmate thing. I thought making the comparison would help you understand this better, but it's only confusing you. Now I'm a little confused."

Milo touched Colt's arm. "Let's start over and forget the soulmate thing."

"But you got the handpicked thing, right?"

"Yes," Milo replied. "Your kind has a specific person meant to be theirs because fate handpicked them." He understood that part perfectly, even if he was having a hard time believing it.

"Right." Colt nodded as his gaze fell on Milo's bruises. "We know when we find our mate. It's something called the pull. It's a connection so powerful that we're drawn toward each other."

"Like I feel whenever I'm near you." Milo put the pieces together. "I can't stop myself from touching you, like the night we met and I played with your beard."

That explained a lot, if Milo bought the whole fate thing. He was starting to, wanting to. Nothing else made sense.

Colt smiled. "I wasn't happy when Dan caused a scene. I was thoroughly enjoying what you were doing to me."

He didn't want to think about Dan. That only made him think about Eric, which Milo was trying hard to forget. "So, you're saying you've found your mate and it's me?"

"Let's be honest, Milo." Colt sat back a little. "If you didn't feel the pull, you wouldn't be sitting here right now. After Dan had a fit and you chewed me out, and then I snapped at you, that would have been the end of your interest in me. But even if it wasn't, seeing my wolf last night would have made you run as far away from me as you could."

"I kept wondering why, even knowing how much trouble I was getting into with Dan, I couldn't resist you." Milo touched Colt's fingers that were in the water. "After I chewed you out, I told myself to leave you alone. But when you approached me, apologizing and asking if we could have coffee, I was reeled back in."

Colt winked. "I'm going to let my charm take credit for that."

"You wish you were that charming." Milo smirked. "So am I your mate?"

"I thought everything I just told you would indicate a clear yes." Colt splashed a little water on Milo's arm. "As a backup, in case my kind are still uncertain, mates have a unique scent that only their other half can smell. For me, the strong smell of peaches hit me that night."

Milo frowned. "That confused me because we weren't serving any. I thought maybe you had too much wine."

"We can't get drunk off of human alcohol. Not even a little buzzed. It burns through our system too fast."

"That has to suck." Milo was trying hard to process everything, but his mind was struggling to believe any of it. The only thing he could cling to was the fact that Colt was a wolf. If that was real, then why couldn't the mate thing be real, too?

"We have our own kind of alcohol that knocks us on our asses." Colt lifted his hand, letting the water drip from his fingers. "I'm not sure how you're going to feel about the next thing I want to tell you." He rested his hand back in the water. "We're possessive and protective of our mates."

"Possessive, as in overly jealous?" Milo didn't like the idea of Colt being overbearing or trying to control who he could talk to. He'd seen men and women who tried to control every aspect of their partner's life, and it had never been pretty.

"Mates are precious. We only get one, and the connection after we seal our bond becomes a hell of a lot deeper." Colt glanced at him. "That doesn't mean I'd be an asshole if someone batted their eyes at you, but my wolf would turn lethal if someone made a move on you."

Milo liked the idea of being precious to Colt and their connection deepening. As long as Colt never disrespected him, Milo could deal with the guy making it clear that his mate was hands-off. "I still don't understand what any of this has to do with your bedroom."

Colt glanced away. "When you ghosted me, I thought you were rejecting me. It's the worst thing a mate can do. It's a pain you never want to experience, Milo."

"But I didn't—" It must have seemed that way. If roles were reversed and Colt had stopped texting him, then stood him up for their lunch date, Milo would have thought the same thing.

"I know that now," Colt said.

Milo was relieved that the destruction was due to Colt thinking he'd been rejected instead of violence being his default setting. If Colt had had an easy trigger when it came to his temper, that would have been a deal-breaker. No matter how much it would have hurt to walk away, Milo would have.

"I'd really like to finish this conversation later." Milo closed his eyes, a dull throb at his temples. For the past three years he'd been at Eric's mercy because Milo couldn't afford to live on his own. How many times had he wished he could get out of the situation he was in?

Now he had his very own wolf and someone who could not only protect him but wanted to bond their souls, and Milo was so damn confused about what to do.

"I'm going to take care of something, so just let the heat of the water relax you," Colt said, though Milo hadn't opened his eyes. "I won't be gone long."

As he listened to Colt leave the bathroom, Milo wondered if he was hesitant because this seemed too good to be true. Colt was offering him everything he'd dreamed of, but what did Milo have to offer in return?