The man stood only about five ten, but he had such a large presence about him, he seemed to take up more room. He’d pulled his red hair into a tail at his nape. It looked soft, and Wiley wanted to touch it so badly.
Shaking his head, he grabbed all his meds and went into his bedroom to find Queenie back in the suitcase. He gently took her out and since she snuggled into him, he carried her into the living room toward her carrier. She quickly figured out what he was doing and screeched, clawing at his arms. It took some doing to get her into the thing, but he finally closed the little door and latched it.
“Is she scared of the carrier or something else?” Wiley asked. There were some advantages to knowing a guy who could talk to animals.
“Not scared, exactly. She doesn’t like change and knows the carrier means just that. She’s picturing what’s probably her vet’s office. Hates shots. Plus, she has an irrational fear of being too far from her food bowl.” Baer’s low chuckle sent skitters of warmth down Wiley’s spine.
Wiley went into his bedroom and took a moment to stand, running his hands through his hair. His attraction to Baer wouldn’t do him any good. He needed to shut that shit down before it got him into trouble. There was no way a man like that would be interested in someone like him. At least, he was like eighty percent sure Baer was gay. Something about his smile and the way Baer had looked at him in the bakery parking lot had said he might be interested. But that was before all hell broke loose.
Even if Baer was gay, he probably went for the bigger guys. The ripped guys. A skinny geek couldn’t get his attention.
Plus, Wiley had his other problem. He looked at all the meds in his suitcase and shook his head again. That was never a pleasant conversation whenever he tried to date someone, and the dating usually stopped not too long after it.
But Wiley wanted him with a need that felt deep somehow—like just getting to know Baer would change his life.
He looked at his skinny arms and sighed. He worked out, had some small muscles, but nothing like Baer’s muscular frame. He was more interested in drawing his comics and playing video games.
Speaking of which, he walked into the living room and unhooked his Xbox to put it into his suitcase. He caught Baer’s grin out of the corner of his eye and couldn’t help but mimic it. Yeah, he had his priorities.
He also grabbed all the computer gear he needed for his current comic project. Luckily, he could draw just about anywhere.
“Do you work with a writer or do them all yourself?” Baer asked as he picked up one of the comics.
“Mostly myself, but I do occasionally draw for other people.” He walked to the shelf and pulled down a few comics. “I can bring some if you want to check them out.”
“I do. I’m interested in what you do.”
Wiley nearly did a dance of joy at Baer’s eager tone. It wasn’t often he met someone truly interested in his work. He’d discovered that if he didn’t work for one of the big names, he didn’t matter.
“Sorry you got caught up in all this, and I’m having to take you out of your world. Hopefully, it’s not for long,” Baer murmured as he placed a figure back on the shelf.
“I could use an adventure,” Wiley reassured him. He meant it. Not only would being around magic users refill his creative well, but he wanted to be there. Wanted to see what they did and how they were saving the world. He grabbed a bunch of comics and his laptop to shove into an additional backpack. He went for the controllers and a few games. “You play?”
“I do. We can set up some battles, if you’d like. The other guys don’t play, so it’ll be fun to have some competition.”
Wiley would love having someone to game with in person. All his interactions with other players were always online. “Do you guys have Wi-Fi all the way out there?”
“We do.” Baer picked up another one of Wiley’s favorite action figures and turned it over in his hand. “You don’t leave these in boxes?”
Heat filled his cheeks. “I buy two of each and keep one in the box. I barely have room for my clothes in my closet.”
Chuckling softly, Baer put the toy back.
Wiley couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking as he grabbed a couple of his favorite action figures and walked to his bedroom. It was kind of silly to bring them, but they gave him a feeling of home and security.
Fuck, Wiley is cute.
His living room looked like something out of a teenager’s dream, yet he was definitely not a teenager. How old was he? Midtwenties, maybe. Not too much younger. Baer had just turned thirty-one in September.
Guilt swirled in his stomach about dragging Wiley into his mess, but a part of him was happy he was bringing the man back to the plantation to stay. Wiley intrigued him with his enthusiasm and adorable, tight body. He had a flawless little ass that would fill Baer’s palms perfectly. He pulled his mind from that direction.
Queenie meowed low and long, and he couldn’t stop his laugh. Images of her shitting in Wiley’s shoes filled her head as she plotted her revenge for being cooped up in the carrier.
“Soon, you’ll have the run of a much bigger place, so just cool your jets,” he told her while using his powers to send an image of safety and wide-open space.
All she did was give him the stink eye through the little slats.
With Wiley in the bedroom packing, Baer took a moment to snoop just a little bit. He wanted to know a little more about the man who’d so unexpectedly caught his attention. It was clear Wiley was somewhat of a slob, but he knew very few people who weren’t when they were left on their own. Not dirty so much as drop it and pick it all up later.
Besides the plethora of comic books, he had an entire bookcase filled with DVDs. The majority were action movies or comic-book-based movies. There was another bookcase of comics and novels. Explosions and fantasies at every turn. His furniture was worn and comfortable. Bright colors sprung from every surface.
If anything, Wiley’s apartment showed the same exuberance Wiley seemed to feel about everything in life.
The only thing that didn’t seem larger than life was the small framed picture that sat on a bookshelf. It was Wiley and an older woman. Wiley looked about three or four years younger than he did now. This must be his grandmother. But there were no other pictures of family or friends.
Baer eyed the posters and couldn’t help but smile. He and his brothers were probably like candy to someone like Wiley. He’d called them a dream come true. He’d have to take Wiley out to the clearing and show off his shapeshifting abilities.
Just knowing he wanted to show off for the man made him catch his breath. He couldn’t deny he wanted Wiley, wanted that slender body underneath him. Baer nearly groaned at the direction of his thoughts—he was no better than a randy teenager.
Wiley didn’t seem like the hookup type, and Baer couldn’t be after anything more permanent. Eventually his soul mate would show up, and that would be that. Hooking up with Wiley couldn’t happen.
He walked to the window and looked out to make sure no pestilents were outside waiting for them. He couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but he still used his powers to reach out to the animals in the immediate area. They were good about steering clear of the pestilents because of their strange otherness. The animals showed nothing to be concerned about.