His Imperfect Mate 26 Read Online Free

D’s eyes. “One more chance, D. Betray me again, and there’s nothing on earth that will stop me from…” Sloane didn’t have it in his heart to finish the threat. He never wanted D hurt or even unhappy. It was a shifter’s honor to take care of his mate, to protect and nurture him. The threat felt like hot ash on his tongue.
    “I promise.” D stood, wringing his hands in front of him. His mate looked like he wanted to reach out and touch Sloane, but failed at his courage. Instead, he just stood there awkwardly as he gazed down at the blade of grass in his hand.
    Knowing he couldn’t resist, Sloane reached out and, with his thumb and index finger, lifted D’s chin. “I’ll come back tomorrow night so we can talk, Dudley.” Because Sloane would need that much time to think of what to say. He hadn’t expected to run into D tonight, but now that he had, he was at a loss for words.
    And that was a first for him.
    D nodded with a jerky little bob of his head. “I’ll take anything you want to give me right now.”
    Sloane released his chin as he studied his mate. The vampire was chewing on his bottom lip as his eyes flickered to Sloane’s groin and then glanced away, as if he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to outright gawk.
    He held back the low rumble in his chest, demanding that his cock not rise to the sensual look of his mate. Sloane knew D wasn’t purposefully trying to be seductive, and that made it all the more inviting.
    “Tomorrow.”
    D nodded quickly once again.
    “Now go into the house, and stop taking late-night walks into the woods alone.” His tone was displeased, letting the vampire know how much he disapproved of what D had done.
    “I won’t, I promise.” D stood there, unmoving.
    “Go, Dudley,” Sloane said a little more gently.
    D spun around, but Sloane could tell it was the last thing the man wanted to do as he crossed the yard and climbed the porch steps. He paused at the door, giving Sloane one more longing glance before he headed inside.
    Sloane sighed. D looked as though he was about to cry. The vampire had to be wondering if he’d ever see Sloane again. It wasn’t a ruse. Sloane fully intended to come back. He just wasn’t sure what he would say to the guy once he arrived.
    Shifting back into his timber wolf form, Sloane took off toward home.

    * * * *
    D watched his mate run away through the fall of the curtains. It hurt like hell to see Sloane leave. He had to trust the wolf on his word that he would be back, but with the way things were strained between them, he wasn’t so sure.
    “How’d it go?” Pa asked from the kitchen doorway.
    How did it go? Confusion surrounded him at the question. His mate said he would be back. “We’re supposed to talk tomorrow night.” That made D’s heart race and his head spin. He wasn’t sure what Sloane would say. The wolf had said he would give D another chance, but he wasn’t foolish enough to think that everything would be sunshine and lollipops tomorrow.
    It would take time for Sloane to trust him again, assuming that miraculous feat would ever happen.
    “It’s a start.” Pa walked into the living room, his large presence stopping next to D at the window. “Just don’t push him. Let it happen naturally, D.”
    That sounded like the perfect advice. “But I have a knack for screwing things up, Pa. You saw what a disaster I’ve made of things already. What if I do it again?” D could feel the anxiety building inside of him as he gazed at the empty yard—a yard that once held his splendidly naked mate.
    That was the first time D had seen his mate naked, and the sight was burned into his memory. Sloane wasn’t highly defined like the men in the Lakeland home. He wasn’t bulky or hairy like the bears.
    What Sloane was, was a magnificent specimen. His abdomen was lean, cut just right, his pecs muscled just like a man’s should be. The memory of Sloane’s little hairy happy trail was keeping D hard as a rock as he