"It never came up," T-Rex said. "I protect people for a living and live with bear shifters. You'll be safe."

"You knew I was a bear shifter?" Isaac asked.

T-Rex leaned closer, uncaring that Isaac smelled of the streets. He finally had the man in his arms, and he planned on never letting Isaac go. "I also know that you are my mate, and nothing short of the world ending will stop me from protecting you."

Isaac stood under the hot spray of water, washing away four days' worth of grime. Never had he enjoyed a shower so much. He washed his hair twice and his body three times before he felt whole again. He tilted his head upward, letting the spray wash over his face and down his neck. Isaac remained in the shower until his body grew heavy and sluggish from being exposed to the intense heat for so long.

After rinsing his hair one last time, he reluctantly turned off the water and stepped out. Isaac turned to survey his reflection in the mirror. He looked like death warmed over. Fatigued. Worried. Scared. Thinner.

There were a million descriptions that swirled in his mind to define how he felt and looked.

He closed his eyes and swayed slightly until he gripped the edge of the counter to steady himself. He was finally safe, even if he had no idea how T-Rex had known they were mates. Not even Isaac had known that. His mother had never taught him about mates, and all he knew was that T-Rex smelled wonderful.

But he was in a place where no one could possibly find him. Where even Jacob Newton wouldn't know where Isaac was.

A reprieve. For now. But he knew he couldn't hide out here forever. Sooner or later his father would find out that he was back in Bear County, and Isaac wasn't sure what the man would do then.

"Are you okay in there?" T-Rex asked through the bathroom door.

Isaac wrapped the fluffy towel around his waist and then opened the door to see T-Rex standing there, towering over him. There were clothes clutched in the man's hands. "I borrowed these from Gabe. He's the smallest in the house. Tomorrow we'll go and get you some clothes that fit."

Isaac took the offered clothes and then closed the bathroom door to dress. Once he had the pajamas on, he entered the bedroom. He was nervous about the sleeping arrangements. He'd never slept with a man before. Would T-Rex want to have sex? The thought excited and terrified him in the same measure.

"You need rest." T-Rex guided him to the bed. The man wore only underwear, boxers, and Isaac got his first eyeful of what the man looked like without clothes.

T-Rex was powerfully built, well proportioned, and his body seemed to go one for miles. Isaac felt like a shrimp next to the man. He gazed over golden skin and wondered what it would feel like to run his hands over the man's chiseled form.

After pushing the blankets aside, T-Rex crawled into bed and then patted the empty space next to him. "Let's get some sleep, and we'll work things out tomorrow."

Isaac hesitated and then crawled into the bed, curling into T-Rex's warm body. At that very moment, Isaac had never felt so safe and content. T-Rex pulled the blankets over them and then curled his arms around Isaac, cocooning him in.

"Tell me nobody bothered you on the streets," T-Rex whispered to him. "Tell me you were as safe as you could be."

"I was terrified," Isaac admitted. "The first night I slept behind a dumpster. After that, I found a shelter but couldn't find my way back after I'd left. And then Mildred befriended me. She was the woman you spoke to tonight. She took me under the bridge and watched out for me."

"But did anyone bother you?" T-Rex asked.

Isaac shook his head. "The people under the bridge were kind. They're sort of like a family, watching out for each other. A few punks had come through on the second night, trying to cause trouble. But they were chased away."

Isaac closed his mind to the past four days. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about his father casting him away. The betrayal hurt too badly. Isaac didn't think he would ever feel safe again, ever feel warm again. But as he lay next to T-Rex, the cold was finally seeping out of his bones.

"Robby came by the night it happened," T-Rex said. "He told me to tell you that he always knew you two were cut from the same cloth." T-Rex hugged Isaac tighter. "I've been looking for you since that night. I thought I'd never find you."

Isaac's throat tightened. Robby had known? Why hadn't he said anything to Isaac? It would have been nice to have someone to talk to about how he felt inside. Now more than ever he missed his younger brother. "If my dad ever finds out about Robby-"

"Your brother seems pretty smart," T-Rex replied. "I'm sure he knows not to say anything to your father about being gay."

"I've been told my entire life that it's a sin," Isaac confessed. "That it's wrong to lay with another man."

T-Rex's hand slid up Isaac's arm. The move sent shivers over Isaac's body. "Tell me how it's wrong to love someone? How is it a sin to give someone your heart? Gender shouldn't matter, only how you treat that person."

"I don't know," Isaac admitted.

"My parents adore each other," T-Rex said. "But I've seen volatile relationships between a man and a woman. I've seen the same between gay couples. I've also seen how two men can love each other so much that they would give their lives for each other. I live with men who have mated with a male. And to be honest, I'm envious of how much they love each other."

"How did you know we were mates?" Isaac asked. "We could just have a strong attraction toward one another."

"My scent," T-Rex replied. "The way I smell to you and how crazy I was going without you in my arms. A friend of mine clued me in to what was happening. But I've lived with bear shifters for so long that I would have figured it out."

"Are you sure?"

T-Rex's hand slid down Isaac's arm and then wrapped around his waist. "There's only one sure way to find out."

"How?" Isaac asked. He hated that he was clueless and that this human knew more about mating than he did. It only went to show him how truly sheltered he had been. His parents had kept him in the dark about a lot of things. And for the first time in his life, he resented them for that.

T-Rex turned Isaac over until they were staring at each other. Isaac had never felt so branded at the man's intense eyes. The blue sparkled like diamonds and had Isaac's breath catching in his throat. How could someone this handsome be interested in him?

"You would become pregnant with my child." T-Rex replied. "I don't understand how you don't know this."

Isaac was stunned by what the man had just said. Pregnant? He'd devoured every book he could get his hands on and listened to Simon talk about sex. Isaac was book smart, had learned a lot over the course of his life, but there were some things that weren't taught in a book. There were some things that weren't covered growing up. Bear shifter mating was one of them. T-Rex was worldly, sophisticated, a man's man, while Isaac grappled in the dark to find his way.

Pregnant.

Isaac wasn't sure what to say or do.

T-Rex placed a kiss on Isaac's forehead. "It doesn't matter. You're here now. Get some sleep."

Isaac closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being wrapped protectively in T-Rex's arms. He'd worry about his future tomorrow. There would be plenty of time to freak out over his situation once he got some rest.

Chapter Seven.

Isaac lay there in bed, looking around the darkened room. T-Rex had gotten up and gone to the bathroom, and Isaac looked at the clock to see it was nearly four the morning. He'd gotten some sleep but had tossed and turned most of the night. Isaac kept waking up, expecting to find himself curled next to Mildred.

But he wasn't. He was safe and in T-Rex's bed. The bathroom door opened, and even though T-Rex was human, the man moved with a predatory grace. He watched as the guy moved across the room toward the bed. Silent.

Isaac closed his eyes and pretended to be sleep when he felt the bed dip, but T-Rex must have known he was awake. "So small and so beautiful." T-Rex's head lowered, and his lips brushed against Isaac's ear. "Do you believe that you belong to me, Isaac?"

One hand gripped Isaac's hip and jerked him against the steel-hard wedge of T-Rex's cock beneath his boxers. His other hand cradled Isaac's head and made him turn. "Do you?" The man's lip brushed Isaac's.

Isaac caught his breath. He felt caught in a web of seduction and impending pleasure that felt right, yet Isaac had no idea what to do. "Yes," he answered. "I feel a bond growing between us."

T-Rex's lips pressed against Isaac's, parted them, sipped from Isaac as though arousal was ambrosia and T-Rex was dying for it. The man's tongue stroked over Isaac's lips and slid inside, caressed Isaac's tongue, lips, tasted. A hum of pleasure rushed through Isaac as he felt T-Rex's hands moving slowly up his back.

Isaac wanted to touch. He placed his hands on T-Rex's chest, over muscled flesh, tough, invincible, as T-Rex pulled Isaac closer and lifted him tighter against the man. The hard proof of T-Rex's erection nudged against Isaac's stomach. It pressed into him and reminded Isaac that he was alone, with a man, and naked.

Sexual need, excitement, and a rush of emotions that made no sense crowded in on Isaac. His flesh heated, burned. Wherever T-Rex touched, wherever the warmth of his body caressed Isaac, triggered such a rush of pleasure racing through Isaac that he felt dizzy.

A moan whispered from Isaac's lips as he pushed his hands into T-Rex's hair, gripping the strands, feeling the softness of it. So little in his life was familiar anymore. Isaac needed an anchor. He needed to feel loved and wanted. T-Rex's kiss was magic. There was just no other word for it.

"Tanner." Isaac whispered the man's name as T-Rex's lips slid down Isaac's cheek, the curve of his jaw, to his neck. Nerve endings tingled with a rush of pure sensation, white-hot and intense as it washed through Isaac's body.

T-Rex groaned. "I love when you say my name."

Callus fingertips moved over Isaac, caressed him. Isaac fought to hold on to a sense of balance as T-Rex slid Isaac's pajama pants off and tossed them aside before the man tugged his boxers off. When he settled back into place, the pad of T-Rex's thumb raked over the head of Isaac's cock.

The sensation was exquisite.

As Isaac arched against T-Rex, his legs parted for the hard thigh pressed between his, lifting him, forcing Isaac to ride the contours of T-Rex's leg as he ground his balls against the man.

Isaac ached as though sex were more than a want. He ached as though it were imperative to his very being. A cascade of heated sensations flooded his body, making his cock hard as he fought to breathe.

T-Rex's mouth found Isaac's nipple, and the lash of the man's tongue had Isaac's eyelids fluttering, had sensation shooting straight to his cock and beyond as a wild, ragged cry left Isaac's lips.

"Come for me, baby." T-Rex's voice was rough and raspy.

Isaac gasped for air as T-Rex took Isaac's lips in a kiss, the man's tongue licking along Isaac's as T-Rex's fingers slid down Isaac's ass, gripping him closer. Arcs of pleasure tore through Isaac as his legs tightened and he rode the man's powerful thigh.

"I've dreamt about this," T-Rex growled against Isaac's lips as the man gave Isaac a moment to breathe. "I want to bury my cock deep inside of you. I want to feel you quivering in my arms, calling my name."

Heat flushed Isaac's face at the explicit words. He wanted T-Rex to take him, to ease the hard knot of hunger tightening inside of him. His hips arched closer, the friction nearly shattering him.

T-Rex chuckled, a breath of male hunger in amusement, as his fingers rubbed over Isaac's ass. "You want that too, don't you?"

A shudder tore through Isaac. He wanted to feel T-Rex inside of him badly. It was all he could think about, all he wanted. "Make love to me, please."

He no longer cared if being with T-Rex was a sin. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered at the feel of T-Rex's hands, his kiss, his touch. Isaac burned for it. He twisted his body closer, feeling his canines elongating.

T-Rex lifted his head and gazed at Isaac as if Isaac was the most beautiful creature on earth. "I want you to bite me. I want to feel your teeth sinking into me as I fuck you."

T-Rex rolled, placing Isaac beneath his powerful body. The man's hands were everywhere, caressing, touching, learning every inch of Isaac's body. Isaac cried out breathlessly when T-Rex swallowed his cock. Spirals of sensation crashed through him, making his body shake as his fingers clutched into T-Rex's hair.

Isaac writhed, riding the waves of pleasure. He spread his legs farther apart, amazed that a man of T-Rex's caliber would even consider sucking another man's cock. The man devoured him as Isaac thrashed his head back and forth.

And then a wet finger slid inside Isaac's ass. A fiery aching pleasure centered in the very core of Isaac, convulsing through his body as he teetered close to the edge. The pressure was building inside of him, making his body jerk as T-Rex inserted another finger.

T-Rex's tongue was like a lash of pure sensation, licking, stroking, causing Isaac's body to arch as Isaac fought to get closer to the incredible agony of pleasure.

He never knew that sex could be this good. He ached deep inside and knew that once would never be enough. A hard growl tore from T-Rex's lips. His fingers delved deeper into Isaac's ass, scissoring, stretching him. The man stroked inside Isaac with tight, forceful thrusts.

And then Isaac shattered. His body convulsed as T-Rex drank him down. The man devoured him before he reared back and then drove his cock deep inside Isaac's body.

Isaac cried out. His fingers dug into T-Rex's flesh as his pleasure turned to pain.

"Breathe, baby," T-Rex said as he settled his body over Isaac's. "You have to relax."

Isaac felt something slippery at his backside and then turned his head to see a bottle of lube on the bed. He had been so lost that he hadn't even realized what T-Rex had been doing. But he fought to accommodate the man's sheer size, panting, gritting his teeth.

"You can take me," T-Rex whispered as his lips trailed down Isaac's neck. The man started to move his hips, and Isaac's world began to once again fall apart. Sensations lashed through him. T-Rex lifted his head, and his expression was tight with hunger, with sensual pleasure, as the man stared into Isaac's eyes.

Isaac became lost in the gaze.

"Your body is like pure ecstasy." T-Rex's voice was a hoarse rasp of complete pleasure that tore from his chest. Isaac wrapped his legs around T-Rex's waist and lifted his ass higher. T-Rex gave a low growl as his thrusts became more demanding.

Rapid-fire pulses of sensation raced through Isaac's body, tightening through his balls, and tore across his nerve endings as he fought not to come. He'd already had one orgasm, and he knew another would wipe him out. He didn't want this to end.

"Look." T-Rex's eyes lowered, and Isaac's gaze followed. His breath came out in a gasp as he watched T-Rex's cock slide in and out of him. "So beautiful," T-Rex said. "This could never be wrong."

Isaac became submerged in sensations that washed over him with the force of a tidal wave. His hand slid down T-Rex's shoulder and around the man's swollen biceps. He luxuriated in touching T-Rex. His mate. The man was right. Something this beautiful couldn't be wrong.

Heat surged inside of him, built around him. Isaac knew that he wasn't going to be able to hold back. T-Rex's thrusts deepened, and white-hot, blinding pleasure exploded inside of Isaac a force that had him arching hard against his mate.

"Son of a bitch," T-Rex shouted before the man's teeth clamped onto Isaac's shoulder. The bite was forceful, making Isaac scream out. He scented blood in the air and knew that T-Rex had broken skin. The man was like a beast unleashed as he pounded into Isaac's ass.

Isaac forgot about T-Rex's demand. He forgot about biting his mate, forgot about everything except the sensations bursting through him.

T-Rex lifted his head, and Isaac saw the sweat dripping down the man's face as he buried his cock inside Isaac to the hilt. Isaac collapsed against the bed, his legs falling from T-Rex's sides. He was exhausted.

"I've never done that before," T-Rex said as he kissed Isaac shoulder. "I've never bitten anyone in my life."

Easing his cock free, T-Rex stretched out and then stroked his hand down Isaac's side. "Did I hurt you?"

Isaac couldn't stop the smile from surfacing. He rolled and then curled into his mate's side. "You made me feel a lot of things, but pain wasn't one of them."

Okay, not entirely the truth. But Isaac wasn't going to ruin the moment.

Dipping his head, T-Rex placed a kiss over each of Isaac's eyelids. "Try to get a little more sleep. We have a full day ahead of us."

Isaac had no problem following the man's request. He was bone-weary and ready to sleep for the rest of the day. He closed his eyes and smiled to himself as he felt the heat of T-Rex's body surrounding him.

Isaac quickly realized that shopping was not his thing. He stood in the middle of the store feeling a mental numbness as he brought a shaky hand to his forehead and rubbed back and forth. His mother had always made his clothes. He didn't even know his size.

"Don't let this overwhelm you," Gabe said. T-Rex thought it would be a good idea to bring Gabe along. T-Rex had stated that he wasn't any good at shopping. Neither was Isaac.

"I don't know where to begin," Isaac said. He felt like a goober because he didn't know how to shop for clothes.

"What you like to wear?" Gabe asked as he searched a rack of shirts.