ChoosingHisChristmasMiracle by Charlie Richards Page A

peeling out of his fencing suit.
    Standing, Raul followed Jared’s example and took off his own suit. “You’re going to think this is sooo funny,” he grumbled.
    “Probably. I think a lot of things are funny,” Jared acknowledged. “Especially if most people don’t.”
    God, wasn’t that the truth. His buddy had an odd sense of humor, which probably served him well since Jared had spent the better part of eleven years working as an assassin. Now, Jared had settled down with a man named Carson who happened to be able to turn into a wolf.
    Rubbing his hands through his hair, Raul scratched his scalp, easing the itch caused by the helmet and sweat. “I’m attracted to a man,” he muttered, staring at the floor.
    Jared snickered. “You’ve been dancing with gay men for over a year and this is the first time you’re admitting that?”
    Raul looked up and glared at his grinning friend.
    Jared lifted a brow. “Is it that cute twink Bobby? Are you banging Bobby?”
    “No,” Raul snapped. “I am not banging Bobby! The guy has a boyfriend. An asshole firefighter, but he’s still the man’s boyfriend.” He’d met Bobby the first night he’d moved to Stone Ridge with Jared over a year ago. Bobby knew he was straight, and the pair had a good time dancing together whenever they met up at a club, but that was as far as it went for them. A couple months ago, Bobby had taken up with a firefighter, Seth Remington. Raul had met him once and didn’t like the guy, but he’d held his peace since Bobby had seemed happy.
    “Yeah, I don’t like Bobby’s boyfriend, either,” Jared said off-handedly. “He abuses Bobby. I think we should find a way to split them up.”
    “He what?” Raul roared, leaping to his feet. Thinking about a friend’s problem was so much easier than worrying about his own.
    Jared frowned and shook his head. “Don’t think I’ll let you off the hook that easily, old friend. Who are you attracted to and why does it have you bent out of shape?”
    Raul growled and spun away. He paced the room, his stride short and choppy, expressing his agitation clearly. Jared waited for an answer with the patience ofJob. Knowing he couldn’t get out of an explanation now that he’d spilled the beans, so to speak, Raul sucked in a breath and started talking.
    “When we went to Idaho to get Vee,” he said gruffly, referring to a human who was mated to one of the wolf shifters in their pack. “I met a guy. A wolf shifter. We talked for all of two minutes.” He glared at the floor, remembering. “But I can’t get him out of my head.” By the time he finished talking, his words were a low growl rumbling from him as if the admission tore something inside him. And it did. Raul had never vocalized his thoughts about Sean before, and now, now it was out there . He couldn’t take it back.
    A moment went by and Jared didn’t respond. Raul turned to look at him. To his surprise, a frown creased his friend’s brow. Not liking that reaction, Raul scowled. “You asked,” he snapped.
    Jared’s eyes narrowed and his lips thinned with displeasure. “You’re attracted to a wolf shifter that helped kidnap Kyle’s mate and send him on a merry chase in the mountains, endangering not only the human’s life, but those of several of our pack-mates?”
    The cold, soft tone would have chilled most men, but Raul had lived and worked with Jared for over a decade. He didn’t fear him, but indignant rage tore through Raul. “Don’t pull the holier-than-thou attitude with me, Jared.” He lifted a hand and pointed at his friend. “I know all your dirty little secrets. Every skeleton in your closet. How is what Sean did, following his alpha’s orders, any different from what we do? Breaking into facilities, assassinations, destroying buildings?” Raul scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Hell, we’ve done more illegal shit than Sean ever could.”
    “Well, well,” Jared murmured, his expression slowly