"Speaking of sex," Sparrow said as he turned to T-Rex. "Gonna hit that Amish boy's ass?"

Shott and Sparrow chuckled.

"First, he's not a boy," T-Rex corrected Sparrow. "Second, he's not-well, maybe he could be Amish from the way he dresses."

That only made Shott and Sparrow laugh harder. Shott leaned on Sparrow's shoulder as he hooted, holding his side.

"You both are idiots," T-Rex groused.

Sparrow wiped at the tears in his eyes. "By the way, he's a bear shifter, T-Rex."

T-Rex froze, gazing at Sparrow in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I'll be damned," Shott said. "Gonna knock the guy up?"

T-Rex narrowed his eyes at Shott. He had seen plenty of births since his mission to Columbia to rescue Milo, Bryson's mate. Most of the men he lived with had children. And although T-Rex longed for a family, he never thought to have one since he was gay, and human.

He inwardly smiled at the possibility of having a family of his own. Maybe there was more to Isaac Newton than met the eye. The guy was straight-laced from the way he dressed, but for all T-Rex knew, there could be a wildcat under those unflattering pants and puke-green shirt.

"We need to head back," Shott said as T-Rex started his motorcycle and slid his glasses into place, trying his best not to think about the straight-laced Isaac. "Stripper said he needs you to help him with some of the equipment."

"Catch you guys later." Sparrow walked into the station.

"Seriously though," Shott said. "You gonna hit that piece of tail?"

"Let it go," T-Rex warned. "He's just a guy with an infatuation for bad boys. It'll pass." He didn't want to let Shott know that he planned on investigating further into this Isaac Newton situation. Shott would never let him hear the end of it.

"I don't know." Shott rubbed his chin. "Seemed like he was drooling for a piece of you."

T-Rex revved his motorcycle, drowning out anything else Shott might have said.

He headed home and drove up the winding path to the ranch. He parked next to the multitude of vehicles and cut the motor before Shott parked next to him. T-Rex had gotten his bike last summer and loved the feel of the Harley under him. He used to ride years before but had given the thrill up when he'd stared Executive Bodyguards. He hadn't had the time.

But now that he was going on thirty-five, he'd decided life was too short to pass up the things he loved. Shott had bought one as well, and the two took many trips up through the mountain. It was days like this that T-Rex enjoyed the most. He felt revitalized after riding for most of the day and was ready to tackle whatever came his way.

Walking into the house, he heard Stripper shouting at someone from the communications room. The guy was more than likely playing his video games. When T-Rex stuck his head into the room, a wide smile spread across his face.

Stripper was playing his video games all right. But he was wearing a pair of boxers and had his son, Abriel, strapped in one of those baby carriers. Abriel was dangling from Stripper's chest, his eyes flickering over the television screen.

The boy was close to a year now, and he gave T-Rex a smile that showed off his three teeth. Abriel began to kick his arms and legs. Stripper paused the game and turned. "Give me a sec to annihilate this snot-nosed braggart."

The guy's cursing seemed to be curbed whenever he was around his son.

"I'll be in the kitchen." T-Rex walked out of the room, uninterested in watching the man play his game-though he was glad that Stripper no longer walked around nude. Boxers were his new fashion statement when at home.

"Hey, I got something I need you to taste," Sam said as he stuck his head out the kitchen door.

"That sounds wrong on too many levels." T-Rex headed toward the kitchen. He didn't mind being the guinea pig for a new recipe. Sam was one hell of a cook.

He took the ladle Sam held out to him, the brown sauce steaming as T-Rex blew over the delicious smelling concoction. He took a sip and then handed the ladle back to Sam. "Needs more something."

Sam frowned and used a clean spoon to dip into the pot before bringing the sauce to his lips. He tasted it and then nodded. "More beef stock."

Fuck if T-Rex knew. The most he could come up with in the kitchen was burnt toast and runny eggs. "Sounds about right."

"T-Rex has an admirer," Shott said as he entered the kitchen, snatching the spoon from Sam to take a taste. "The Amish boy was eye-fucking T-Rex like nobody's business."

"Amish boy?" Sam asked. One eyebrow rose higher than the other as he stared strangely at T-Rex. "Tell me he's at least eighteen."

"He's not a boy," T-Rex reiterated once more as he gave Shott a withering glare. "And let the fucking subject go."

Sam and Shott chuckled before Sam grabbed the spoon from Shott when Shott tried to dip it back into the pot. "Unsanitary, numbnut."

Stripper walked into the kitchen, Abriel still dangling from his chest. "I need a drink box. Ab is getting thirsty watching me play."

"In the fridge," Sam said. "The boxes are in the vegetable crisper."

T-Rex headed to the fridge as well for a snack before dinner. He tried to stifle the image of what Isaac Newton's balls looked like, but to his dismay, his mind wouldn't shut down. He didn't want to get hard while in the kitchen.

After grabbing an apple, T-Rex headed into his office. Stripper was going to have to wait. He had some recon work to do on Isaac Newton.

Isaac barely managed to get the truck to the side of the road before it died on him. He wasn't sure what was wrong with it, but steam was coming from under the hood. That was never a good sign.

The truck wasn't new. Not by far. The beat-up Chevy had been in his family since Isaac was a small kid. He remembered his father working on it all the time. Back then, Isaac thought his dad just liked using his hands to tinker with things. Now he could see that this vehicle was being held together by his father's expert hands and pure luck.

Even though Isaac had no clue what he was doing, he got out and walked to the front. He stared at the hood as if he could magically make the thing repair itself.

Nope. That didn't work. There were still ribbons of steam coming out the side as if the truck had turned into a dragon that was puffing smoke at him. Town was five miles away and home was seven in the opposite direction. Isaac wasn't sure what he should do. This was the first time this had ever happened to him.

His folks didn't believe in anything modern-except for this truck-so Isaac had no cell phone, and even if he did, there wasn't a phone at home for him to call. He was just stuck here on the side of the road, staring at the wilderness around him.

He placed his hands on his hips and glanced up and down the road, willing someone to drive by. He was kicking himself in the backside for taking a shorter route. Unfortunately, that shorter route was a road less traveled, and there was no telling if anyone would come by.

He still had to go in town to pick up groceries. Maybe once he was there, somebody would give him a ride home. As a last resort, he could always ask the sheriff. Not that Sheriff Sparrow would mind, but he knew the man was busy and Isaac really hated to bother anybody, but he might not have a choice.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he set out on his five-mile walk. At least he had the weather in his favor. The heavy rains had moved out last night, and now the sky was sunny and clear. There was a slight chill in the air, but nothing Isaac couldn't handle.

He made it about a mile down the road when a truck came barreling around the bend. Before Isaac could get his arms up to wave the person down, the truck blew through a large puddle of water, soaking him from head to toe.

This was not his day.

He stood there like a drowned rat. The taillights on the truck beamed a bright red, and then the truck began to back up. Isaac tried to wipe as much water from his face as he could. It was dripping from his hair into his eyes. What made things worse was the fact he now had glops of sooty mud clinging to his hair and clothes.

The truck eased to a stop. Isaac was still trying to work the mud from the front of his hair when he heard someone approach. He glanced up, and his heart froze in his chest. His lips parted, and Isaac found himself staring into the handsomest blue eyes he'd ever seen. So pretty. So mesmerizing. They reminded Isaac of winter ice.

"I didn't see you," T-Rex said. "What are you doing on the side of the road?"

Isaac opened his mouth to tell the man why he was walking, but he couldn't remember. He couldn't concentrate on anything but the man's pretty blue eyes. It was as if he was falling into them, being sucked under by their spellbinding allure.

"Are you all right?" T-Rex's dark brows furrowed as he cocked his head to the side. "I didn't see you fall and hit your head."

Isaac shuddered as the water that had soaked through his clothes began to cool his skin. His bear whimpered as Isaac stood there staring like an idiot. He ran his hands up and down his arm. The cold was growing, and the sun didn't seem to warm him.

Isaac's eyes widened slightly when a heady dry cedar and leather scent surrounded him, gripping him in a fierce sensual pleasure as he shivered and almost moaned. There was so much power emanating from this man that Isaac felt drawn to him, and to his surprise, he felt safe being near T-Rex.

"Isaac?"

"I'm fine," he managed to say, although he was still lost in how good T-Rex smelled. His bear wanted to curl up next to the tall man and inhale his fragrance for hours. "Just cold."

T-Rex glanced from Isaac to the road behind him. "I thought that was your truck back there. Do you need a ride into town?"

Isaac nodded.

"Let me get you a blanket so you can get a little warmer." T-Rex turned, and Isaac watched the human walk back to his truck. His face heated when his eyes dropped to the man's backside. Isaac quickly glanced away. As much as he wanted to stare at the guy's butt, he knew it was wrong. His father had said on more than one occasion that being gay was a sin.

Isaac felt dirty for wanting T-Rex, for desiring another man. He might have talked trash with Simon, but Isaac knew he would never be able to live his life on his own terms. All he had was his family, and they would turn their backs on him if any of them knew he yearned to be held by this guy.

But dang if he didn't smell good.

T-Rex waved for Isaac to come over and then wrapped the small blanket around Isaac's shoulder. Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be T-Rex who had driven down this road? Why did it feel as if fate were testing him?

With his arms tucked over his chest, Isaac strode to the truck and climbed in. T-Rex helped after Isaac nearly fell backward. The blanket had gotten tangled around his feet.

The interior smelled like cinnamon. There was a freshener clipped to the air vent. But Isaac could scent T-Rex's leather and cedar fragrance clinging heavily inside the truck. It was bold, spicy, and the smell had him inhaling deeply.

Isaac tried to fight what he was feeling. He didn't want to be different. That was okay for Simon. The man could be as carefree as he wanted to because he had no one to answer to.

Isaac did.

T-Rex got in and closed the door before he turned to Isaac. "Where were you heading?"

Isaac dug the grocery list out of his pocket and then groaned when he saw that the ink had bled. He remembered a few things that had been written down, but not all of them.

"To the grocery store." Isaac curled the list in his hand as he glanced out the window. "Thank you for giving me a ride."

"It's the least I could do after getting you soaking wet." T-Rex pulled from the side of the road and headed toward town.

Isaac gritted his teeth as T-Rex's scent became stronger and made it impossible not to breathe him in. He dug his nails into the palms of his hands and concentrated on trying to remember what was on the list. He had looked it over quickly when his mother had handed it to him. But for the life of him, Isaac couldn't recall everything he needed to purchase.

"What are you going to do about your truck?"

Isaac continued to stare out of the window as he said, "My dad is gonna have to pick it up."

"Do you know what's wrong with it?"

Isaac shook his head and wished the man would stop talking. Hearing T-Rex's voice was doing strange things to his body, wicked things, delightful things-things that Isaac shouldn't want, let alone crave. "No."

T-Rex switched hands, placing the left on the steering wheel as he rested his right arm on the console between them. This brought the man closer. Isaac forced himself not to turn and look.

"I tell you what. As a peace offering for drenching you, we'll grab the groceries, and then I'll bring you back to your truck and take a look at it. I'm a pretty good mechanic."

That's the last thing Isaac wanted to happen. He didn't need to spend any more time around T-Rex. Now that the man was this close, Isaac's attraction to the human had grown stronger. He needed to get away. But he couldn't find it in himself to turn down T-Rex's offer.

The man turned his hand over, showing Isaac his palm. "I'm Tanner Rexford."

Isaac glanced at the man's hand. He didn't want to be rude and not shake it, but Isaac feared contact. He was afraid of what would happen when their skin touched. So he settled for a smile. "I'm Isaac Newton."

T-Rex chuckled. "So I heard."

Isaac bit his lower lip and then turned back to stare out the window. He wasn't going to allow himself to be charmed by this man. His fascination with the human needed to end, and it needed to end now. The guy was a lot older too. That should persuade Isaac to leave T-Rex alone, but to his chagrin, it only made the man more appealing.

What the heck is wrong with me?

"My friends call me T-Rex."

"Nice nickname." Isaac cursed himself for indulging the man in conversation.

"I'm glad you like it."

Isaac inwardly groaned. T-Rex was not making this easy. But at least Isaac had solved the puzzle of why the human had been called T-Rex. He just wished that he could solve the puzzle of why he had been born broken.

Chapter Three.

T-Rex had never worked on a truck a day in his life. He wasn't even sure why he'd told Isaac that lie. The only reason he could think of was that he wanted to spend more time around the man. But it wasn't like T-Rex to be so deceptive.

He started to tell Isaac the truth, but held the words back. He'd just have to get one of his friends to help him. T-Rex couldn't think of leaving Isaac stranded. The man was slight, almost dainty, but that wasn't the right word, even though there was no denying that Isaac's bone structure was small and the guy was underweight.

It was Isaac's golden eyes that mesmerized T-Rex. They were enormous in the man's otherwise small face. A brilliant shade of amber and gold, they were startling against his jet-black hair.

T-Rex pulled into the parking lot and put the truck in park, turning to Isaac. "You go inside and shop. I'll take care of your car. Call me when you're finished."

Isaac released the blanket and rubbed his palms down his pants. "I don't have a cell phone."

T-Rex grabbed his from inside the console and removed the security lock on the device before handing it to Isaac. "There's someone named Shott in my favorites. Press his number and ask for me and I'll know you're done."

Isaac stared at the phone as if he'd never seen one before. T-Rex reached over, his hand brushing over Isaac's. He noticed right away just how much larger his hands were compared to Isaac's. "Let me show you."

He gave Isaac a brief lesson on how to use his phone and then handed it back. "Got it?"