by EE Silver
“Oh Kingston.” Mary sighed. Then she shouted for King’s dad, loud enough to make King flinch away from the phone. “Nate! Nate, get yourself in here. Our boy’s found his mate at last! We have to get to Vale Valley for the mating. Can we reschedule this week’s storm? No? Damn it, Nate, I told you we were front-loading the season too heavily.”
“Mama,” King said, and gods, his mother was going to be unhappy. “Mama, we already mated. Last week. We wanted something just for us.”
“Hmph,” she said after a moment of tense silence. “Don’t think we won’t talk about this when your father and I get there. Which won’t be for another few weeks, because someone wanted to buzz Cuba again. I swear, your father and his favorite tricks. You’d think he’d have gotten tired of them, but no.”
“It’s a classic!” Nate’s voice floated down the line. “Don’t knock the classics, darling. I seem to recall using more than a few classic moves to woo you, once upon a time.”
“Still,” Mary said. “It wouldn’t hurt to shake things up a little.”
“I should let you two go,” King said, hoping to get out while they were distracted.
“Oh no you don’t, Kingston.” He could feel the physical snap of his mother’s attention returning, and King flinched. “Tell me about this young man of yours. An alpha shifter, I assume? How did he get you to stick around long enough to figure out you were fated? Tell me everything.”
“Selkie blood, but he doesn’t shift,” King said, knowing his mother would be pleased about the heritage, at least. “And he’s in Vale Valley to open a daycare in town. He loves kids more than some omegas I’ve met – you’ll love his daughter, too. Sweetest, happiest little baby I’ve ever met.”
Mary hummed when King mentioned Anya, but didn’t ask details. Knowing his mother, all that mattered to her was that Anya was happy.
“He needed help getting his daycare ready to open, that’s how we met,” King said. “Katarina’s mother-in-law got me a job working for him.”
“Son,” Nate said, and King could hear the eyeroll in his father’s voice. “You don’t need to work. I don’t know why you insist on acting like a mortal in such inconvenient ways.”
“It’s what people do in the mortal world, Dad,” King said, for the hundredth time. “Besides, it would be a little difficult to explain my divine riches without some kind of verifiable income source.”
“But your boy knows about you, doesn’t he?” Mary asked.
“Yes, Mama,” King said. “I told Jonah I was a demigod before we mated. He took it pretty well, all things considered.”
“He didn’t,” Mary began, then paused. “He’s not like that other mortal, is he?”
“No,” King said, without having to think it over. “Jonah is good to me. He loves me. I trust him.” And he did. Jonah might be keeping something from him, but King had to believe it was most likely that the call with his parents hadn’t gone quite as well as King’s, and Jonah probably just didn’t want to unpack it in the middle of the festival when he needed to focus on wooing potential clients. “Even if we weren’t fated, I’d choose him.”
Mary cooed happily. “Good. I’ll set a blessing on the pair of you so you can work on getting me some proper grandbabies with your smile.”
“We’re still figuring out our relationship, we don’t need more kids right away, Mama,” King said, though it hurt to turn down his mother’s offer. A blessing from her would ensure King would have a child by the end of the year – something he wanted. Something that Jonah seemed to want to wait on for some reason. “We haven’t finished talking about it yet. But thank you.”
“If you say so.” Mary didn’t sound like she liked it much, though. “Listen, we were just working on a tropical depression I’ve been wanting to try a few things with for next season. And you should be with you mate, this Jonah.”
“We’ve got a few days of quiet at the end of the month,” Nate offered. “We’ll come visit and meet Jonah and his little one then. Maybe by then you two will be ready to start making those grandchildren your mother wants. Honestly, I don’t see what the point is in waiting. Have the little ones early, then spend your later years enjoying a mature romance.”
“Talk to my sister,” King said, hoping to derail the talk of whether or not he should start having babies. “Grace is the older of us and just as capable of giving you grandchildren. Or, you know, you two could just have another kid and I won’t have to worry about stretch marks until my new sibling goes off to join the school.”
“Don’t think I haven’t suggested another baby,” Mary said mournfully. “But your father is set on us wintering at the North Pole for the next hundred years or so before the humans melt the caps entirely. And you and Grace were both so unhappy in the cold when you were little…”
“We’ll talk about it again after King has his first baby, if you want to,” Nate said. “But for now, that depression might fail if we don’t get back to it.”
“True.” Mary sighed. “Baby boy, I’ll see you soon. Talk to you sooner.”
“I love you both,” King said, and closed his eyes as he leaned his head back against the building for a few long moments after his parents hung up. His parents had been in love a thousand years, and he wondered if he and Jonah would be the same after a millennium, too. He could only hope so.
“Well, time to go find out what’s bothering Jonah,” King said to no one in particular, opening his eyes as he stood up straight. For a moment, he swore he thought he saw a familiar face going around the far corner, but when King followed, he only found strangers, enjoying their funnel cake and warm beers.
It was unlikely that of all family members, King’s uncle Loki would be here at the Vale Valley 4th of July festival. Even if he really was in town, like Scott had warned last week, Loki had always been the one least likely to voluntarily spend time among mortals. Local rock bands and carnival rides were a far cry from the royal halls Loki always demanded. Most likely, King was just seeing things because he had family on his mind.
Still, he moved a little faster getting back to Jonah’s side. Just in case.
Chapter Fourteen
Jonah
Until King had brought up children for them, Jonah hadn’t known it was possible to be both ecstatic and terrified at the same time. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d told King how much he wanted a large family of his own, but as intense and high-strung as King was, Jonah had accepted that he was going to have to wait a good long while until King was ready. He didn’t like it, but Jonah was nothing if not patient.
But King had surprised him. Which was pretty much par for the course these days, but still Jonah hadn’t expected it, and all he could think about was how there was absolutely no way he could take that step with King with the truth of Anya’s parentage hanging over him. It was a stupid, pointless lie that had been harmless at first, but King’s trust had been so hard won. Jonah was an asshole for not coming clean weeks ago, but he’d be everything King hated in alphas if he took advantage of his mate’s body, his desire to give Jonah something he didn’t know he already had in Anya.
A child of his own line.
“I’m such a fucking asshole, baby girl,” he whispered in Anya’s ear as he cradled her slack, sleeping body against his chest. There were no other children around, no other parents to impress, and frankly Jonah was planning on teaching Anya she just wasn’t allowed to use swear words until she was old enough to pay taxes, because at least then she’d have something worth cursing about. “Find a man or woman better than me when you’re ready, yeah?”
“Not possible,” King said, wrapping his arms around Jonah from behind. “You’re pretty close to perfect.”
“How did it go?” Jonah asked around the stone of guilt lodged in his chest.
“Better than I thought it would,” King said, leaning into Jonah’s bulk for a moment. “Might just be the calm before the storm, but at least they’re too busy to come out before the end of the month.�
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“Too busy? I didn’t know that was a thing for gods,” Jonah said.
King hummed absently. “Hurricane season,” he said, like that explained everything. And in a truly terrifying way, it did. After a moment longer, King let go of him.
Jonah turned around and smiled down at his mate. Love washed over him, and Jonah could only pull King in closer for a kiss. “I love you so much,” he breathed against King’s mouth. “And I’m going to show you just how much when we get home.”
“Promises, promises,” King sing-songed, and Jonah couldn’t help but laugh.
By the time dusk started creeping across the festival grounds, Jonah was completely out of fliers. He also had three children officially signed up for the fall, along with a half dozen other families that would be coming by in a few weeks to look at the facility. It had been a stressful day in more ways than Jonah was really able to unpack at the moment, but it was still time well spent now that Jonah finally had his dream within reach.
He looked over at King. Jonah had more than one dream within his reach, actually. If he didn’t fuck things up first.
King smiled absently at him and slid the last of the tent supplies back in the SUV. “All set,” he said as he came back with Anya’s car seat. “Is she still asleep?”
Jonah nodded. “She’ll probably wake up the second we set her in her crib,” he said as he carefully settled the baby in the carrier and fastened the buckles. “I’m impressed with how fast you got everything broken down and put away. It took me twice as long to set it up.”
“Well, it’s almost always easier to take things apart than to build them.” King jingled his SUV keys. “Let’s go home; I believe you promised to show me how much you love me tonight.”
“A promise is a promise,” Jonah agreed.
By the time they’d gotten home and gotten Anya settled back down, though, all Jonah wanted was to sleep with his omega wrapped in his arms. He curled his naked body around King’s and sighed. “I’ll make love to you later,” he mumbled, already feeling sleep drag him down. “Sleep now.”
The last thing he heard was King chuckling.
Jonah was having an amazing dream.
It was about King, of course. They were swimming in the ocean, and King was using the water currents like extra sets of hands to touch and tease Jonah until he was a live wire of need from head to toe, desperate to have King under him, over him, in him, however Jonah could get him.
King only laughed at Jonah’s eagerness and ran his hands down Jonah’s body, his rough and calloused hands perfect and real. Jonah’s mind finally pushed to the surface when he realized he was about to sleep through all the good stuff.
“Baby,” he sighed.
“C’mere,” King said, his voice raspy with sleep.
Jonah rolled over, following the way King pulled him, settling between King’s legs a little awkwardly, his body more asleep than his mind. King was just as hard as Jonah, his cock pressed between their naked bodies, and Jonah fumbled a hand between them to stroke his lover’s length. “Was dreaming about you,” he mumbled, thrusting gently with his hips to get a little friction of his own.
“Yeah,” King moaned softly, and spread his legs wider in clear invitation. “Want you.”
Jonah let go of King’s cock and reached down to find his mate already leaking omega slick. Any other time, Jonah might have taken his sweet time pleasuring King. But this wasn’t the time for that. It took a couple tries to line them up, but soon enough Jonah was sinking into King’s hot, welcoming body like he belonged there.
“That’s the stuff,” King moaned, hitching his body up so Jonah went even deeper.
They moved together, slow and clumsy, but that didn’t slow the orgasm building low in Jonah’s gut. They rocked, trading sloppy kisses for a few long minutes until King worked a hand between them, jerking himself off. His knuckles brushed against Jonah’s stomach and he thought about taking over like a gentleman, but then King cried out and came, the fluttering of his ass around Jonah’s cock enough to make Jonah’s knot pop, the orgasm hitting him suddenly.
“King, baby,” Jonah gasped as he came so hard his scalp tingled. He shuddered, barely keeping himself from collapsing entirely under the weight of his ecstasy. Instead, he managed to gather King close and roll them onto their sides. He fumbled with the corner of the sheet to swipe King’s come off their skin and kissed the arch of King’s cheek, already falling back asleep despite the faint, nagging sensation that he’d forgotten something. “Love you so much.”
Please don’t ever leave me.
Chapter Fifteen
King
Shortly before dawn, King woke to the baby monitor playing the soft noises of Anya fussing in her crib. He grabbed the receiver and turned it off so Jonah could keep sleeping, and got out of bed. It wasn’t until he was slipping on his boxers and jeans that King noticed the mess they’d made of the bed and each other. And the distinct lack of a used condom. Guess it wasn’t a dream, after all.
Considering how much sex they’d had over the past week and a half, King was faintly surprised it hadn’t happened sooner. And it would force the rest of the conversation about children, at the least. But not until later, when Anya had a clean diaper and they all had breakfast in them.
By the time Jonah rolled out of bed and made his way to the kitchen wearing nothing but a pair of jeans hanging low on his narrow hips, King had an entire speech mapped out in his head, complete with counter-arguments for any objections Jonah might have to children of their own right away. King loved Anya, and while the omega yesterday wasn’t the first time someone had commented on the family resemblance between her and Jonah, King wanted a baby of his own. A baby from Jonah.
Which was mind-blowing when only a couple of months ago King had been sure he’d never feel that way.
Jonah smiled sleepily and poured himself a coffee, pausing to kiss the back of King’s neck before serving himself some corn porridge and taking the seat next to him at the breakfast bar.
“Morning,” Jonah said, voice still gravely from sleep. He grabbed his mug back up and took a sip.
“I want kids with you,” King said, completely blowing his own careful plans to hell. “If you don’t want them with me, you should probably tell me now.”
Jonah sputtered, spitting coffee everywhere. “Fuck’s sake, where the hell did that come from?”
King only stared him down. Jonah knew damn well where it came from, even if his delivery had left something to be desired.
“King, baby,” Jonah set the mug down and wiped his face clean before turning to face him. “Of course I want kids with you. I haven’t brought it up because I didn’t want you to feel rushed. I told you from the very beginning how much I want kids.”
“So then what’s—” The shrill ring of his phone’s default ring tone startle the both of them. King looked down at the device on the counter, confused. No one called any more unless someone was dead, dying, or mated. He saw Katarina’s name on the screen and groaned. When the family seer called, only an idiot would send her to voicemail. “Shit. Hold that thought. We are not done.”
“This had better be important,” he said by way of greeting.
“Rude.” Katarina laughed. “I was calling to invite you to brunch, but if you’re going to be a cranky bastard, you should stay home and miss out on Quintus meeting Scott’s side of the family.”
Despite himself, King snorted.
“Look, you and Mr. Muscles can finish your heart-to-heart later,” Katarina said. “Get dressed and join me in a little old-fashioned schadenfreude. You know they’re going to try to eat Quintus alive.”
“If only that were metaphorical,” King said, much to Katarina’s entertainment. “Also, who said anything about me and Jonah having any kind of conversation?”
“Really? You’re asking me that?”
“Trying to give you the benefit of the doubt,” King grumbled. “Now keep your seer nose out of my love life. You know
how I feel about that.”
“That would be like me asking you to be calm and quiet in the face of unpleasantness,” Katarina said airily. “Go get dressed and we’ll meet you at Scott’s in an hour.”
She hung up before King could say anything else, leaving King to sigh and look back to Jonah, who looked equal parts curious and terrified. “Looks like we’re going to a family brunch. The rest of our conversation is going to have to wait.”
The relief on Jonah’s face might have hurt, if Jonah hadn’t reached out and grabbed King’s hand. “We will finish this conversation,” he promised. “And soon. But please know that I can’t think of much I want more than to have children with you. There are things we have to talk about first, things I’ve been putting off and while they won’t change anything…”
Some of the weight lifted off King’s shoulders. “Okay.” He squeezed Jonah’s hand back. Whatever it was, Jonah thought it was important, but as far as King was concerned, very little could change his mind about spending the rest of time with this man. “Let’s go watch my cousin’s mate deal with a houseful of relatives.”
“I still say you owe me dinner at least for calling they were mates before they went public,” Jonah said as they gathered up Anya and headed back to the bedrooms. “I’m never wrong about sniffing out mated pairs, and almost never wrong about pregnant omegas.”
“Almost?”
“Yeah, so, the moral of that story is one should never talk to a stranger about their pregnancy unless they’re wearing a sign that says please ask me about my pregnancy,” Jonah said, blushing.
King snorted. “I could have told you that,” he said, unable to help the fond wave of love washing over him. Let’s get going. After brunch I want to check out the health center. Katarina’s been telling me about it since I got to town.”
They took turns showering and watching Anya, and soon enough their little family was bundled off in the car and heading across town to Scott’s apartment. King thought about maybe warning Jonah about Scott’s parents, but decided against it. Half the fun in his particular family was watching the dawning understanding as new people started to grasp exactly who they were getting involved with.