Hagen, Lynn - Murphy's Madness [Brac Pack 15] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (7 page)

A crazy person, that’s who.

“Don’t be nervous. They’re just normal everyday men.”

“You have no female relatives?”

“Melonee, she’s the princess running the house.” Ludo turned the truck off as he opened his door.

Murphy nodded, unbuckling his seat belt and sliding out. This was insane. The men in his family would probably take one look at Murphy’s scrawny ass and laugh him out of the front door. If they looked anything like Ludo, the possibility was real.

He watched Ludo use a fob to enter through the front door. Boy, talk about highfalutin. This place was fancy as hell. He felt terribly undressed walking into a crib like this. Although Ludo was casually dressed, Murphy wasn’t used to being around people with money.

“Come.” Ludo held his hand out, and Murphy took it. He recognized some of the men from visits to his bookstore. He didn’t know their names, but nobody could forget such handsome faces.

“Murphy?” Drew asked as he entered the hallway, Oliver following close behind.

“Hi, Drew, Oliver.” Well, this was strange. It seemed his loyal customers lived under the same roof. He nervously looked around. Would Maribel pop out on her broom at any moment?

“Murphy is my…boyfriend,” Ludo said to Drew and Oliver.

A knowing looked passed between the three. Murphy wondered what the word “boyfriend” meant in their lingo because it seemed a little too cryptic here, and he forgot his decoder ring in the box of cereal he ate twenty years ago.

“Glad to have you here.” Drew smiled at him. Yeah, like he trusted that smile. Drew was a little too smiley for him after that knowing looked he shared between them. He wasn’t falling for that damn innocent look.

“Yeah, welcome.” Oliver tapped knuckles with Murphy. Murphy lowered his hand, looking Oliver up and down. And to think he had thought Oliver was a nice guy. That shared look meant something, and Murphy was going to find out. Nobody got one past him. No siree, Bob.

“Okay.” Murphy glanced around the large home, wondering if Ludo owned all this. He really wasn’t into sugar daddies. He enjoyed his independence, and if Ludo were rich, he had a feeling this hot-ass-sex thing they had going on would come to an end.

“Hello.”

Murphy looked down at a cherub-faced little girl. This must be Melonee. She was cute as a button. “Hello, Melonee.” At least she didn’t have that knowing look on her cute little face.

Her eyes grew round. “How do you know my name?”

Murphy shrugged, pointing to his nugget. “I’m psychic.”

“Really?”

Murphy touched a finger to his forehead, scrunching up his face. “And you’re the only girl here.”

“Wow.” Melonee looked at him with wide-eyed wonder. “Can you tell me where my lion is?”

“In Oz?” Murphy looked over at Ludo for help. Did they really have lions here? No, they couldn’t have, must be a stuffed animal.

“Come,
rebenka
.” Ludo chuckled as he pulled Murphy along. He looked down once more at the little girl before allowing Ludo to lead him away.

The guy walked him into a large office with leather chairs and a leather sofa. He liked the bookshelves on the far wall. His eyes scanned the room, settling on the man sitting behind a desk with long black hair, big gray eyes, and dressed like he belonged in a biker gang. This guy was someone Murphy intended to stay as far away from as possible. He looked dangerous.

“
Rebenka
, this is Maverick.”

“Hello, Murphy.” Maverick nodded at him. Murphy would take Maribel any day over this man. He scooted behind Ludo, afraid the man would rise and the gates of hell would appear behind him.

Wait, how did the guy even know his name? Murphy bit his bottom lip. Did he shake the man’s hand or bow in front of him and worship the demon? “Hello.” That seemed good enough to him.

Maverick just chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t be frightened. I only eat the bad guys.”

Yeah, now was a good time to pee his pants. He tugged on Ludo’s arm, wanting to get the hell out of there. Thank goodness the man understood his whimper.

“I’ll just show my
mat
around.”

Once they were in the hallway Murphy rounded on Ludo. “What does
mat
mean?”

Ludo smiled at him, his fingers tugging at Murphy’s chin playfully. “It means mate, boyfriend, or friend. However you wish to translate it.”

Murphy liked this less and less. He shoved his hands in his front pocket only to wince. How had he forgotten about his wrist?

“Now you can tell me about your injury.” Ludo gently lifted his wrist and examined it.

Murphy sighed. He couldn’t remember the lie he had told, so the truth seemed the safest route. “I have a stalker. She hit my hand with a hammer.”

Murphy looked at him like he didn’t believe a word he said. “Liar, now tell me truth.”

“That is the truth. I swear.”

Ludo shook his head, looking at Murphy with disappointment in his eyes. “Maybe one day you will be comfortable enough to tell me.”

This was unbelievable. He finally broke down and told someone about Maribel, and they didn’t believe him, just fucking great. “Her name is Maribel. She wants me to write another book.”

“You’re an author?”

Well, that just chapped his khakis. He wasn’t sure if he should be offended by the surprised tone in Ludo’s voice or not. Murphy just shrugged. It was better to remain silent. He had done this to himself with the lies he had told. Now the man didn’t believe a word out of his mouth, and this time it was the truth.

Ludo gave a low growl. “Come,
rebenka
.” He tugged on Murphy’s good arm, leading him away once again.

Murphy wondered why his life always seemed to go fine for a moment then
bam
, all craziness broke loose and his life was no longer his own. First in the city with the wannabe mob boss, then Maribel with her cackling insanity, and now Ludo with his macho, “
come
,
rebenka”
. Murphy was going to have to look that word up. He was sure it meant crazy.

Why couldn’t he move somewhere crazy free? And why the hell was he letting Ludo pull him around without even asking where they were going?

Boy, you get some good dick in your life and all of the sudden you’re following the golden cock around like you traded your brain in for a few cosmic orgasms.

Which reminded Murphy, he forgot to tape his soap. Damn it, now he wouldn’t know what was going on. Did Derek forgive Marla? Shit.

Murphy dug his fingers under the bandage, scratching his dry skin. Maybe he needed to remove the bandage and let his skin breath for a little while. He struggled a little when his fingers got caught in the material. This just wasn’t his day.

Murphy screeched and jumped on Ludo’s back, trying to climb to the top of his head when a tiger came walking around a corner. Maybe that lion Melonee asked about was a real one. That meant there was a lion running around here as well.

“What the hell is going on here, Ludo?” Murphy yelped.

* * * *

Ludo cursed.

This wasn’t the time for Keata to take a walk around in his were form. He hadn’t even had a chance to explain to his mate about the wolves that lived here yet. Guess the cat was out of the bag now, literally.

Ludo sidestepped the small mate until he reached his bedroom then closed the door, prying Murphy from his head. “Calm down, mate.”

“Mate? Why do I have a feeling that doesn’t mean chum or pal?” Murphy climbed down his back and set his feet on the floor. His mate straightened his clothes then looked at Ludo with narrowed eyes and thinned lips. He was in trouble now.

“Have a seat.” Ludo waved his hand toward the bed. “I have some explaining to do.”

Murphy eyed him but sat on the edge of the bed. Ludo paced back and forth, trying to figure out the best way to explain everything. His mate was a half-breed. He should understand, right? It’s not like the paranormal stuff was new to him.

Ludo looked over at his mate as he pulled his black coated rubber band out and tied up his hair.

Where to begin? He stopped to look at Murphy once again. The man was stunning. His big, trusting amber eyes, those soft tendrils that curled around his face, and the sexiest body he had ever seen sat in front of him. Ludo shook his head. He was getting off track here.

“You know how you’re a half-breed, a wolf?”

Murphy cleared his throat and stared down at his hands. “Are we back to that again? I thought we were talking about the zoo here. Next you’ll tell me you have bears. That would complete the ensemble.
Oh my
.” Murphy chuckled nervously at his own joke.

Ludo sighed heavily. He wasn’t explaining this right. He walked over to his mate and knelt in front of him, grabbing Murphy’s hands as he made sure Murphy was looking him in his eyes. “I’m a wolf, too, only I’m full blooded.”

Murphy pulled back from Ludo, anger crossing his face. “You don’t need to lie. Stop making fun of me,” he snapped.

“I’m not.” Ludo released his wolf, his canines elongated, and his eyes shifted to crimson.

Murphy kicked back and scooted further onto the bed. “God damn it. Can shit stop getting crazy around me for once in my life? How the hell are you a wolf?”

“What do you mean, how? Wasn’t at least one of your parents a shifter?” Ludo couldn’t understand how his mate didn’t know. Sure, he had waited to tell his mate, but that was because he wanted to sit down and talk to him, not have him accept him in the heat of the moment. But not having any knowledge was baffling.

“I was orphaned. I learned who I was from a drifter that used to hang at my bookstore in the city. He explained about shifter tigers. That’s what I thought I was. Now you’re telling me I’m a wolf? Talk about identity crisis.” Murphy twisted his hands in his lap, looking lost and on the verge of tears. Ludo reached out, but Murphy batted his hand away.

“If you are a wolf, then why did I see a tiger in the hallway, hmm? Explain that one to me, buster.”

“Long story short, Keata and Kyoshi were kidnapped from Japan, brought here to be sex slaves, the warrior Storm saved them, and now they live here. When they mated, they found out they were tigers.” Talk about an edited version. Ludo didn’t want to spend the better part of his day trying to explain that long and sordid story.

“What’s going on, Ludo? I’m confused as hell,” Murphy whispered.

“I am a full-blooded wolf shifter. Fate has allowed me one mate, and you are it,
rebenka
.” Again, the edited version. He put all the facts out there. If his mate wanted details, then Ludo would give them to him.

Murphy looked around the room, his eyes misting with tears. “Who am I?”

Ludo crawled onto the bed. The desolate look in his mate’s eyes tore at his heart. How could he take the pain away? How do you give your mate what he never had? A sense of identity, or the knowledge of where he came from, or even what he was? “Look at me, love.”

Murphy wiped at the tears, sniffled, and then looked up into Ludo’s eyes. Ludo cupped his face and laid a gentle kiss on his lips. “It’s going to be okay.”

“You can say that. You know who you are.” Murphy leaned into his touch. Why was Murphy not mentioning the revelation of being mates? Ludo knew it was going to take a very long time to figure this adorable yet confusing creature out. He pulled Murphy into his arms, kissing him gently, trying his best to reassure him that he was there for him.