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Cabal caught his gaze again as he moved in the doorway, indicating the connecting room on the other side of Tanner’s. Cabal’s room.
Tanner tucked the blankets around Scheme, keeping her warm as she slept, before rising from the bed and pulling his jeans on.
Barefoot, he followed Cabal into the other room, moving instantly to the small refrigerator his brother kept in his suite and the sandwich meat there. A loaf of bread sat on the tray on the small side table beside the bar, as well as small packages of condiments.
Pulling a paper plate from beneath the table, he piled the bread with sliced meat, squeezed several packs of mustard onto it and then bit in with relish before pulling a beer free.
“I don’t think so. ” The beer was snatched out of his hand and replaced with water.
Tanner frowned.
“The alcohol only increases the mating heat,” Cabal explained. “Listen to me for once or you’ll exhaust her more than necessary. ”
Tanner shook his head, but he didn’t argue. He took the sandwich and the water and moved back to the doorway to check on Scheme.
“You’ll know if she wakes up,” Cabal commented behind him. “We have to talk. ”
Tanner finished the sandwich in silence before polishing off the water and turning back to Cabal.
Ten years. He had spent the past ten years making certain his brother knew he was part of something. Not just a family, but an integral part of something. For years Tanner had assumed they would mate the same woman, continue on as they had started when Tanner had brought Cabal his first woman. Cabal had been twenty-five, and he had never known a woman’s caress or her soft kiss. Had never spilled his pleasure or given himself up to the erotic, exotic scents of a woman’s desire.
“Stop regretting, Tanner. ” Cabal sighed. “I don’t. This is right, and I’m not feeling left out. ”
Tanner’s lips quirked.
“I would have felt very left out,” he admitted. “I would have been pissed, Cabal. ”
Cabal grunted on a soft laugh. “You’re too spoiled, Tanner. First Callan and the girls spoiled you; now the world spoils you. You haven’t heard the word ‘no’ since you left the labs. ”
“Sure I have. ” Tanner grimaced. “Scheme tells me no every chance she gets. ”
“Oh yeah, she counts. ” Cabal chuckled as he moved to his dresser and pulled free a clean shirt.
“What happened to your shirt?” Tanner knew he had been wearing one when they entered the bedroom.
“It’s in shreds. ” Cabal shrugged. “Restraint isn’t my strong suit. ”
Tanner shook his head. “Why did you stay and watch then?”
“You need someone to watch your back. ” Cabal flicked a look over his shoulder. “Because both our scents needed to be in that room to make this work. ”
“Ely’s tests will prove the mating,” Tanner pointed out. “There’s no way to keep it a secret from her. ”
“Ely doesn’t have to do our damned tests,” Cabal retorted. “Not on us. Just on Scheme, and just enough to create the hormonal supplement she’ll need to function through this. If we’re going to keep her alive, Tanner, then we’re going to be careful. ” Savage fury flashed in Cabal’s eyes. “I won’t lose you, Tanner, and I won’t allow you to lose her. We’re going to catch the bastard this time. I can feel it. ”
“I don’t want to lose you any more than I want to lose my mate, Cabal,” Tanner warned him.
“No danger. ” The confidence in his brother’s voice never failed to amaze him. “I didn’t survive that damned pit that long, Tanner, just to eat an assassin’s bullet. My senses are sharper than yours, especially now that you’re in mating heat. With the spy believing both our senses are dulled, my job will be made that much easier. While the two of you are in the cabinet meeting later, I’ll begin checking a few things out, and watching to see who comes upstairs. They won’t expect that. ”
Tanner pushed his fingers through his hair as he stared back at Cabal. It made sense. There were rumors about the brothers, suspicions that their animalistic abilities went much deeper than anyone suspected. And they were right. Tanner’s were sharper, a hell of a lot sharper than most Breeds, but Cabal’s were even stronger. So strong that sometimes he worried about what his brother actually sensed from those around him.
Tanner breathed out tiredly. “That doesn’t fix the problem that you aren’t in mating heat. ”
Cabal’s lips quirked. “Doesn’t matter, the scent is all over me. Only a Bengal would know the difference, and since there are no other Bengals here, we won’t have a problem. ”
Tanner inhaled sharply, separating the scents in the room and narrowing his eyes. The scent wasn’t just on Cabal; it was a part of him.
“What’s going on?” he asked the other man. “And don’t lie to me, Cabal. You’ll just piss me off. ”
