Coming Back Home

by Megan Linden

  “Very well,” the Alpha said. “It is a preliminary ruling and the details will be stated in the following hours…”

  She went on about the scheduling and closing procedure and Jack stared at the back of Connor’s head, grinning. One less thing to worry about.

  The moment the Alpha announced the end of the tribunal, Connor turned to him right away and answered his grin with his own. Jack sprang out of his seat and in the next second they were staring at each other from a close distance—probably too close for a public place.

  Jack’s breath caught as he glanced from Connor’s eyes to his lips and back. He felt frozen, unsure what to do, but Connor didn’t. He stepped even closer to Jack, put both hands against his neck and kissed him like Jack hadn’t been kissed in nineteen months.

  He answered the kiss with all he had. Today was, hopefully, the day of new beginnings.

  Chapter Twelve

  Connor spent the next week and a half in a Jack-induced daze and only Rosa could pull him out of it.

  During the center’s work hours, Connor brought Rosa to the playground. He helped Jack and Susan with the other kids when they needed it, but he would be the first to admit that he was more a spectator most of the time than actually helping. Thankfully, Jack didn’t mind—if his beaming smiles and flushed cheeks were any indication. They barely touched during that time and definitely didn’t kiss, but they were together and that was enough. Seeing Jack interact with kids was great, but watching him with Rosa was…something else.

  Then, after work, Jack came straight to Connor and Rosa’s room and stayed until nine or ten, when Connor reluctantly let him out of his arms. It was getting harder and harder to see Jack leave. They kept touching each other, sharing their scent more and more, and they relearned how to just be together. They were free to kiss then and they shamelessly took advantage of that, but Connor couldn’t wait until he could get Jack to himself, alone, and touch him everywhere, scent him everywhere, make him come.

  He had to be patient, though. This weekend he and Rosa were moving to the house, which thankfully hadn’t needed more than fixing a sink and decorating the nursery. With the money Connor had gotten in the settlement with his father, he wouldn’t need to worry about his finances for a long while, so, in the future, he would definitely want to change certain things. For now, though, he just wanted to have his own place, make a home for himself and Rosa and—Moon help him—Jack.

  Connor’s every plan for the future, every dream scenario, now had Jack in it—every single one. And he thought he should freak out, should be filled with doubts and worry, but he just…wasn’t. It was as if he’d used all that doubt and all that worry when they had been avoiding each other, and now, ever since that first real conversation in Jack’s office, Connor had finally found the right way to live his life. The only thing left to do now was to go for it and not mess it up.

  “You seem deep in thought.” Tamara sat next to him on the bench. It was Thursday morning, too early for the school kids to come out, but Rosa had been fussing since she’d woken up, so he’d taken her out earlier than usual.

  “A lot of stuff to think through,” Connor said and she nodded.

  “I bet. Kind of a crazy month for you, huh?”

  It was still weird sometimes how everyone seemed to know his business, now that he wasn’t hiding and keeping away from most of the pack. Before he’d left, he’d barely interacted with anyone outside his or Jack’s family, so even if people had talked, he hadn’t been aware of it. Now he was very aware, because people had no problem commenting on his life to his face.

  “Yeah. But I hope the move will finally calm things down.”

  Tamara smiled, looking at Rosa in the sandbox. “We’ll miss you around here.”

  “Oh, I will come by. The house is close enough that I can bring Rosa to the playground. She likes it here.”

  “I bet she does.”

  Connor didn’t let himself be embarrassed by Tamara’s teasing. “We both do.”

  “Good for you. And I’m glad we’ll be seeing you. But since you are moving out, I thought that maybe you’d like to take me up on that offer to babysit Rosa. It will be your one last chance for a free evening in the nearest future, I’d guess.” She shrugged. “I’m free tonight and tomorrow, so just let me know.”

  “Thank you.” Connor didn’t have to think twice about it. “I’d love to take you up on that. Is tonight okay?”

  Tamara grinned. “It’s okay. Go get your man.”

  “Please, stop.” Connor grimaced, feeling the back of his neck warm up.

  “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” Tamara got up. “I will see you at six? Seven?”

  “Six should be fine. She woke up early today, so she should be out by then.”

  “Okay. I’ll be waiting.”

  Connor watched her go before turning to Rosa, who was staring at him with her head tilted to the side. He wondered if she could somehow know he was planning to give her away for a few hours so he could have sex. Hopefully not.

  * * * *

  Connor was at the door the second he sensed Jack approach. He yanked it open and had to restrain himself not to grab Jack to get him inside faster, but the second the door closed, any restraint went out of the window. He put his hands on Jack’s neck and brought him in, opening his mouth as soon as his lips touched Jack’s. The kiss was frantic and needy, and Connor wanted to crawl under Jack’s skin, wanted to get closer and never leave.

  Jack tightened his grip on Connor’s hair and pulled him back, panting onto Connor’s lips.

  “We should get naked,” he whispered before leaning in to lick inside Connor’s mouth once again.

  Connor hummed in agreement and started to drag Jack’s shirt up, roaming his hands over Jack’s stomach and chest, but he had a problem separating from Jack’s lips, as well. Finally, they were completely out of breath, so they moved back enough to lose their clothes. Connor promised himself that one day he was going to do it slowly, strip Jack one piece of clothing at a time and map out every inch of his body with his tongue and teeth, but he had no patience for it tonight. Tonight was going to be fast and hurried.

  Once they were both naked, Connor pushed Jack on the bed and crawled over him. They kissed again, but when Connor rolled his hips down and their hard cocks rubbed against each other, they both moaned, breaking the kiss. Jack grabbed Connor by the ass and brought him closer and Connor had to bite Jack’s shoulder to stop himself from moaning again. It had been a long time since he’d had sex at all and even longer since he’d had it with Jack. He wasn’t going to last very long.

  He shifted his weight onto one side and used the other hand to reach down and clasp his fingers over Jack’s cock.

  “Oh, fuck,” Jack whispered, lifting his hips up from the bed to push into the hold as Connor moved his hand up and down, thumb rubbing under the head, the action he remembered never failed to drive Jack crazy.

  “Come on,” Connor mouthed at the skin of his neck. “Come on.”

  Jack’s grip on his hair was almost painful, but it made Connor shudder, breaking the rhythm. He attacked Jack’s mouth again, licking inside, and tightened his hold on Jack’s cock. Jack reached out to grasp Connor’s erection, and Connor almost bit him as it sent shocks through his entire body. Every one of his senses was sharper, every sensation amplified.

  When Jack came, he moaned right into Connor’s mouth and tightened his hold, pushing Connor over the edge, as well.

  It took Connor a moment to register anything other than the rush and the satisfying wave of pleasure spreading all over his body. He fell onto Jack as his muscles relaxed and he rubbed his nose over Jack’s shoulder while he listened to their harsh breathing.

  Eventually, Jack rolled them over so they would lie on their sides, and he leaned in for a kiss, smiling. They weren’t in any hurry anymore, so they kissed slowly, almost lazily. If it weren’t for the lack of clothes and the smell of sex, it wouldn’t differ much from what they’d
been doing for the last week and a half. But it felt different to Connor—as if another thing had fallen into place.

  He cleaned them both with baby wipes, taking his time with Jack’s cock until Jack pushed his hand away with a laugh.

  “Don’t start what you won’t be able to finish,” he told Connor with an obvious challenge in his eyes.

  Connor threw the wipes away and grinned slowly, tracing circles with his thumb over one of Jack’s nipples. “Oh, I’m gonna start something in about ten minutes.”

  Jack pressed into his touch and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Connor kissed him. He couldn’t get enough of Jack now and he wanted to taste him all the time. After a while, he moved to Jack’s jaw and neck, enjoying the feel of stubble against his lips.

  “I don’t think it’s been ten minutes yet,” Jack told him, but he tilted his head to the side, giving Connor more room. Jack ran one of his hands up and down Connor’s spine, dipping his little finger in and out of the crease of Connor’s ass.

  “Oops,” was Connor’s only answer before he rolled them over again so that he was leaning above Jack. Then he started his journey down Jack’s body, kissing and nuzzling his chest. He grazed Jack’s nipple with his teeth and Jack gasped and clutched his shoulders. Still so sensitive there. Connor closed his lips around it and sucked, earning an accidental kick in the shin as Jack squirmed under him.

  “Sorry, sorry,” Jack said with a laugh and Connor bit him in retaliation, turning the laugh into a breathless moan.

  He moved lower, kissing over Jack’s stomach, but he pulled back at the soapy taste of the wipes. He ignored Jack’s cock, which was slowly getting hard once more, and instead, he moved lower, pushing Jack’s legs farther apart so he could lie between them comfortably. He brushed his fingers lightly over Jack’s balls then his thighs, watching the goosebumps appear. He was tempted to tease Jack for longer, but the need to be inside him won out.

  Connor scrambled back onto his knees and looked down at Jack, naked and spread before him like there was nothing between them anymore—like he trusted Connor and wasn’t afraid to give him everything.

  Before Connor knew what he was doing, he’d covered Jack’s body with his and hid his face in Jack’s neck, nuzzling lightly.

  “You okay?” Jack whispered, his fingers finding their way into Connor’s hair again.

  And between one breath and another, the word slipped out from Connor as if it had always been there. “Mate.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mate.

  Jack froze and inhaled sharply. His heartbeat was suddenly twice as fast as usual, and thoughts were scrambling in every direction and he didn’t know how to—

  “Jack?” Connor looked him in the eyes and, damn, it seemed even worse now, because Connor could see him. He could see everything on his face, and Jack just…Jack just couldn’t.

  He pushed Connor away, then shoved harder when he resisted. Jack scrambled to sit up against the headboard, bringing his legs to his chest, and Connor moved to sit at the bottom of the bed, facing him.

  The silence was heavy and Jack wanted to say something, to explain, but the word rang in his head. Mate. Mate. Mate. His heartbeat was still going way too fast.

  “Breathe, Jack. Come on,” Connor told him quietly. “Exhale. Inhale. Slow down your breathing and you’ll be fine.”

  Jack finally managed it after a few tries. He closed his hands into fists on the sheet he’d pulled over himself when he’d pushed Connor away. I pushed Connor away. Damn it. He closed his eyes.

  “Breathe, Jack, you’re doing good. You’re safe.” Connor paused. “Do you need me to leave?”

  No! “No,” he said quietly.

  “Okay, that’s good. That’s good. I didn’t really want to leave. I was just making sure you’re okay with me staying.”

  “I want you to stay,” Jack forced the words out, opening his eyes to look at Connor. “I’m sorry, I—”

  “You don’t have to apologize. You did nothing wrong.” Connor glanced away for a moment. “If I did something—”

  “No! No, you didn’t.” Jack was getting his sense back and he took another deep breath. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I freaked out, but I don’t really know why.”

  “I think we can both guess what triggered that,” Connor said, bringing the bed cover over his lap. There was no trace of happy, playful Connor now.

  Jack wanted to reach out and touch him, pull him back. Damn, what a mess. If he’d ever told Connor he’d thought about him like that and Connor would have freaked out like this, Jack would have been gutted. And now he had gone and done it himself.

  He searched for the right thing to say, to explain, and every second felt like an hour.

  “It’s not that I don’t want that,” he finally said. “I guess it’s… I guess it’s that I’ve wanted it too much for too long.”

  Connor frowned but he looked up at Jack, so at least that was something. “You wanted it so much that you freaked out when you got it?”

  Jack nodded. He moved away from the headboard a little and leaned forward. “Yes. I didn’t… I didn’t expect you to say it. Not now, maybe not for a long time.” He shrugged. “Sometimes I was afraid you’d never say it. So, when you did, I just… I wasn’t prepared.”

  Connor twisted his hands. “It didn’t look like a positive reaction.”

  Jack called himself every name in the book in his head. “Listen, I… Can you come here, please?” he asked, tilting his head to the space next to him. He needed to touch Connor if he was going to talk about this and not make terrible mess out of it. Well, a worse mess.

  Connor hesitated for a moment, but he moved to sit against the headboard next to Jack and reached out his hand to him.

  Jack shifted closer and grasped Connor’s hand tightly, needing something to ground him here and now.

  “I’d spent years pushing that word down my throat, pushing it out of my head, too,” Jack started talking quietly, gaze trained on Connor’s collarbone. “I always felt this way and I just… I’d learned to hide it. First, I thought we’d just needed more time, then I didn’t know if you even wanted this. Then you left and”—Jack tightened his grip on Connor’s hand—“I had to try and forget it, because if I’d thought about you as my…” He swallowed. “If I thought about you that way and you left, then what was I going to do next, you know? What if I was screwed for the rest of my life? What if nobody ever made me feel this way?”

  “Hey, shh. Come here.” Connor yanked him closer. Jack landed in his lap and it didn’t feel sexual at all. It just felt…good. And right.

  Jack put his forehead against Connor’s neck and let out a shaky breath. “Maybe there’s a part of me that still can’t believe you’re back.”

  Connor nodded. “Maybe it’s difficult for you to trust that,” he said quietly, one hand running up and down Jack’s back and the other cradling him close. “Maybe it’s difficult for you to trust me.”

  “No, no, it’s like… Well, maybe it was, but I think that’s why I freaked out. Because you said what you said and it was like…like the last wall fell, you know? Like there was nothing to hide anymore, but I’m not the only one in this. I’m not the only one open and exposed, and”—Jack closed his eyes and tried to burrow closer into Connor—“I love you so damn much.”

  “I know.” Connor’s embrace tightened around him. “I love you so damn much, too.”

  Jack snorted and lifted his head to look at Connor, who was smiling down at him. It was easy to reach out and pull him into a kiss, easy to push everything he’d been feeling into it. And Connor gave everything back. If Jack had ever doubted Connor’s feelings, he couldn’t doubt them now, because they were all there. The last wall really had come down.

  At some point, the comforting embrace turned into a sensual one and Jack straddled Connor’s lap. They kissed and touched and tried to crawl into each other, but Jack needed more.

  “I want you inside me,” he whi
spered when they stopped to catch their breath, and Connor nodded toward the nightstand. Jack leaned over and retrieved the bottle from the drawer. “Give me your hand.”

  He spilled the lube onto Connor’s fingers then lifted his hips to give him better access. He was tight and it took a while, but when he finally pushed down, taking Connor’s cock in slowly, Jack couldn’t hold back a moan. Tears prickled in the corners of his eyes, but he blinked them away when Connor brought him closer, trapping Jack’s hard cock between their bodies.

  Jack was full and happy, surrounded by the man he loved. He closed his eyes and made the leap. “My mate.”

  He could feel Connor shiver and whisper, “My mate,” against Jack’s cheek.

  The heat curled and exploded in his stomach, running hot bursts in every direction and Jack was floating in sensations, not one thought in his head. Then Connor started moving inside him, slow at first, then faster, and Jack’s body responded. He knew he was answering Connor’s thrusts, but it was all happening without his conscious decision. He just let go of everything, because he didn’t have anything to hide now. He could give it all, the way he’d always wanted to—the way he’d always dreamed of.

  They came seconds apart and Jack had to blink back the tears again, but he whispered, “I love you,” to Connor and Connor whispered the words back, almost like an echo. For that suspended moment in time, they shared everything.

  * * * *

  Each was reluctant to let the other go, but after a while, Jack couldn’t hold himself like this any longer. Connor pulled out slowly and they rolled to the side to lie facing each other, free to touch, kiss and scent even more. Connor cleaned them up again then brought Jack closer and Jack went, tucking his head under Connor’s chin and inhaling deeply. The way their scents mingled together settled him in ways that he wouldn’t be able to describe if anyone ever asked. It was different then back in the past, too—as if somehow acknowledging each other as mates had unlocked something new.