Loving Styles [Brac Village 12] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) by Lynn Hagen

to penetrate this deep in the forest. When he stepped fully inside, the only thing in the one room place was a cot, a small table, and a chair. There was also a very small potbelly stove that stood in the middle of the hovel.
    Since it was midsummer, Robby knew Styles wouldn’t be lighting it. His mate dusted off the chair and then waved for Robby to take a seat. “I own some of this land. Since I didn’t ask Maverick for a business loan, he gave me rights to his little shack and twenty acres. He said something about head time.” Styles grumbled the last part.
    “That was really nice of him,” Robby said conversationally. “This seems like a nice area.”
    Styles shrugged. “I was thinking of tearing this down and building a small cottage. The place is pretty secluded and there is plenty of land to run.” The man grimaced and he knew the guy was thinking about Robby’s wolf. Sooner or later Styles was going to have to deal with Robby’s beast. But for right now, he was opting for later. They had to work on them first.
    “Would I be invited to live out here with you?” Robby had to ask. Just because they were mated now didn’t mean that Styles was going to pronounce to the world that he had claimed a wolf. The man seemed to have a hard time accepting that still. He accepted Robby, but his wolf was a whole other kettle of fish.
    “Of course,” Styles said without hesitation, making Robby’s heart lighter. “Would you really want to live out here? It’s pretty damn far from town.”
    Robby wiggled his brows playfully, trying his best to ease the tension lines on Styles’s face. “Then I’ll have my secluded spot where the FBI won’t find you.”
    He finally took a seat in the chair and started imagining what kind of cottage they should build. Whatever they came up with, Robby was going to insist that they have a huge walk-in shower like Styles had at the Manchester place.
    Robby hadn’t wanted to get out of the damn thing last night.
    “Why?” Styles asked as he pressed his back into one of the walls and shoved his hands in his front pockets.
    Robby was confused. “Why what?”
    The man looked like he was mulling things over, his dark-brown brows drawn down as he chewed on the side of his lip. His eyes darted over to Robby and then he lifted his head. “Why did you come after me? Why did you keep pushing after I went apeshit in the bakery?”
    Ah, the guy wanted to know why Robby cared so much without directly asking the question. The shifters Styles lived with were probably good friends, but outside their little group, had anyone extended a caring hand toward this man? If not, that was a damn shame. Robby knew deep down that Styles was a good guy. He had just been fucked over royally by life. “Because I wasn’t giving up on my mate. The odds were already stacked against me, but I’m not a quitter. Things that should tear us apart are only going to make us stronger.” It was the honest truth. “You deserve a shot at happiness, Styles. Your happily ever after, if you will.”
    Styles scowled at Robby. “This isn’t a fairy tale.”
    Robby’s heart hurt for Styles. The man just didn’t see himself as someone a wolf could truly love. “It could be.” He stood, walking over to his mate and cupping Styles’s face. “We could make it our very own fairy tale. All you have to do is let go of the pain and hate. Just let me in and shed your coat of anger.”
    “It isn’t that easy.”
    “Yes”—Robby ran this thumb over Styles’s bottom lip—“it is. You are staring down at your mate right now. We are going to be together for a very long time. Will you ever trust me fully, Styles? Will you ever let go of enough hate to love me?”
    Styles didn’t answer him. The man dipped his head and pressed his lips against Robby’s, fighting with his tongue to get Robby to respond. He knew in the shadow of the room that this was the only answer he was going to get.
    His mate wasn’t ready to let go,