by Alana Timms
They didn’t stay on to work, instead returning home, where Noah grilled the steaks he’d marinated earlier. He kept expecting Trent to come to his senses and back out. But Trent just gave him a hand with getting dinner ready, throwing together a tangy carrot slaw and microwaving a couple of sweet potatoes, chatting about everything except the fact that they were starting their life as a pairing at gunpoint.
When Trent dragged the bags from the spare room into his own, Noah said, again, “You don’t have to go through with it. Alpha Logan has no right holding a gun to our heads this way. We can tell him we decided we’re not compatible after all, and I’ll find another co-op to join.”
Trent went over to his chest of drawers. “Firstly, he has the right—his co-op, his rules. Secondly, after everything I went through during that horrible countdown, we are doing this, Noah.” He crammed his socks in with his underwear, leaving his sock drawer empty. “Unless you’re getting cold feet?”
Cold feet? No chance. Trent was everything he wanted. He placed one of the bags on the bed and unzipped it. “We’re going to need a bigger chest of drawers.”
They’d also need a bigger bed, something longer than Trent’s queen. He started to unpack, Trent watching him from where he lay on the bed.
“It took courage, standing up to Alpha Logan like that.” Noah moved back and forth between the bed and the wardrobe, hanging his shirts up next to Trent’s. “He’s a mean son of a…I probably shouldn’t call my new Supreme Alpha a son of a bitch. What I’m trying to say is thank you for what you did. It’s a pretty big deal for me, getting Approval and…” he swallowed, glancing at the bed. “Trent?”
He was asleep. Curled up into a tight ball in self-defense.
A giant hand reached into Noah’s chest and squeezed his heart. Trent was no more vulnerable asleep than he’d been with Alpha Logan hulking over him, merciless stare piercing Trent’s petrified gaze. It had taken Noah every last vestige of his self-control not to launch himself at the old wolf. His heart had clenched then too, hammering at his ribcage. This, how he felt, it went beyond being protective of Trent. It went beyond admiring him for his determination to rise above the limitations placed upon him as an omega.
He switched off the overhead light, leaving only one bedside lamp on, and finished unpacking in the soft glow. Then brought the comforter from the spare room and spread it over Trent, who rolled across the bed and burrowed against him as soon as he lay down.
He smiled, running a hand gently through Trent’s hair. Inhaling that alluring scent Josh had warned him about. Be careful. Wrap your heart in steel. The advice had come six months too late for Noah.
And maybe a world of pain awaited him when Zach returned. Maybe the wise thing to do would be to run. But who ever said love was wise?
Chapter Five
Week 5
Trent
Trent had been waiting for the freaking-out to begin all weekend, but it was difficult to freak out with Noah kissing him, which happened a lot. Morning kisses after hitting the snooze button. Evening kisses stretched out on the couch, Sunday Meet over, Noah’s hair still wet from the shower to wash out red paint from yet another battle. Or snatched kisses like now, in the store room where Noah had him backed up against the door.
They came up for air when a knock sounded on the door, Kim asking from the other side, “Where are those club sodas?”
“We’ll be there in a minute,” said Trent, panting a little. He ducked under Noah’s arm, dancing out of reach when Noah tried to snag his wrist. “Maybe if you’d fuck me, we could get some work done without our boners getting in the way.”
Noah snorted, the soft sound part amusement and part frustration. “Maybe if you’d stay awake long enough.”
That was true. It was like his body was trying to catch up on sleep, zonking out the moment he and Noah got horizontal. He’d fallen asleep mid-kiss on the couch yesterday, woke up to the tap-tap of Noah working at the dining table. He’s stayed awake long enough to notice there was a pillow under his head, a throw over him; long enough to say a drowsy, “Thanks, Alpha,” before drifting off again.
He grabbed a crate of mixers off a shelf, Noah following him out with another crate. They had sectioned off part of the bar for a private party, and the staff gathered around the counter waiting to hear who’d be assigned to work where. With opening time in about fifteen minutes, he and Noah really shouldn’t have been fooling around. So much work to get through.
Trent quickly briefed the team, putting Kim in charge of making sure the private party didn’t run dry at any point during the night. He and Kim had been on shift together since their little showdown last week; he didn’t want to test their uneasy peace by working alongside her all night.
“All right, Team, let’s finish setting up in here. We’ve got about five minutes,” he said, injecting positivity in his tone.
“Uhm, before that, can I talk to you?” Kim centered her gaze on Noah. “In private, please.”
An ugly flush crawled over Trent’s body. She was undermining him, bypassing him to speak with Noah, the alpha, about whatever was bothering her. The rest of the team shuffled in place, the mood in the room shifting from excited to awkward.
Noah glanced between him and Kim. A little frown creased the space between his eyebrows. “What do you possibly have to say to me in private? If it’s personal, you should speak with Trent. If it’s work related, you should definitely speak with Trent. He’s the boss here.”
Trent could’ve kissed Noah right then, never mind they’d done nothing other than that all damn weekend. He locked eyes with Kim. “You don’t like answering to an omega.”
She didn’t deny it.
He glanced around the group. “Anyone else feel the same?”
They all shook their heads.
“Thanks for your service over the past year, Kim. But I think you and me have gone as far as we’re going to go. You’ll get paid whatever you’re owed, plus a month in lieu of notice.”
Her eyes bugged out. “You’re firing me?”
“With immediate effect.” He strode past her on shaky legs to unlock the main doors.
The rest of the staff leaped to work, and Noah sat on his usual stool. Kim stood where she’d been fired for several moments more, then stomped to the staff room. She swept out a few minutes later with her stuff clutched to her chest. It was a relief, a big boulder off Trent’s shoulders.
“Should’ve fired her weeks ago,” he said, bringing Noah a Rusty Nail.
Pride gleamed in Noah’s eyes, warmth softening his smile. His drink untouched, he came around the counter. He cupped Trent’s face and leaned down slow, slow, as if giving Trent the opportunity to back away. Trent slid his hands onto Noah’s waist, a flutter in the pit of his belly as the tip of Noah’s nose brushed along the side of his own.
Noah murmured and did it again, that tender brush down the side of his nose, a gentle nudge. The fluttering in Trent’s belly became something hot and liquid. He craned his neck, silently urging, and Noah touched their mouths together. Kissed him like he had an eternity to dedicate to the sweet pecks he pressed to Trent’s lips; like he had the rest of his life to drag the tip of his tongue along Trent’s lower lip. Trent parted his lips as ecstasy winged through him, and Noah kissed him like nothing existed but the two of them and this; the slow caressing of their tongues, the close press of their bodies, hearts thudding so hard Trent felt the drumming of Noah’s in tandem to his own.
He tightened his hold on Noah, tell-tale prickling at the corners of his eyes. He wasn’t broken. He could feel. He felt Noah’s kisses in every cell of his being.
But the real world had a bad habit of intruding, usually in the form of someone demanding a drink.
“Just a beer,” said their first customer. “That’s all I want. A beer, dude.”
Trent felt too overawed to be handling such mundane things like beer. He ducked his head, hiding his face against Noah’s chest.
Noah enve
loped him in a hug. “Take your time, I’ve got you.”
And the thing was, Noah didn’t even have to voice that. He’d demonstrated it from week one. Standing in, getting Trent to sleep, moving in, buying groceries so Trent wouldn’t forget to eat. And just now, refusing to give Kim permission to trample all over him. As much as Zach cared about him, he didn’t take care of him like Noah did. Zach didn’t kiss him like he was worth everything.
Noah’s warm palm settled on the back of his neck, thumb rubbing back and forth across his hairline. Tears prickled the corners of his eyes again at the soothing touch. All the time he’d had his gaze hopelessly fixed on Zach, Noah had been waiting at the other end of the bar. Patiently waiting. Take your time. For Trent to take two steps to the left and see him. I’ve got you…
He took a final breath of Noah’s scent and, stepping from behind his alpha shield, smiled at the first customer in line.
“What can I get you?”
A beer.
Two Hurricanes.
A Golden Dream.
The orders kept coming, Noah helping out as they were down a bartender after Kim’s departure. Loud music, hectic night. Even with all this going on, Trent was thinking about the future, about moving on. Trying to figure out how the licensing arrangement would work once Zach returned. Despite these uncertainties and despite Pop betrothing him and Noah by force, he was certain Noah was the only alpha for him.
And tonight had made another thing clear.
Inspired, he grabbed bottles from the shelves. A splash of this and a dash of that. A few cubes of ice, a few more ingredients finely balanced between heat, a touch of sweet underscored with a hint of sour, and the big punch of heady he always felt around Noah. At the end of it, he had a pale red liquid served in a lowball.
He held the glass out to Noah. “Try this, I just created it.”
Noah slung the towel he’d been using to wipe down the bar top over his shoulder. He took a sip of the cocktail and smacked his lips. “Mmm, pretty good. What’s it called?”
“Falling For You.”
Noah dipped his head in a kind of half nod, a smile playing about his lips. “I’m already there, babe. I already fell, hard.”
Crap, not again. What the hell was wrong with him tonight? He knuckled away the stinging at the corners of his eyes and, pulling out his phone, clicked on the email with the Red Lounge voucher.
He deleted the voucher. “Don’t need bite therapy. You kissed him right out of me.”
Noah laughed, the best sound ever.
EPILOGUE
Week 10
Trent
A trail of clothes led from the partly assembled bookcase Trent had been putting together, to the desk on which he braced his forearms as he sank onto Noah’s lap.
Pleasure radiated through him from where Noah was seated inside him, and from Noah’s slick, hot fist jerking him off. The chair creaked under their combined weight, squeaking to the steady rhythm of Trent raising his hips and sinking down again. Up and down, over again. His rhythm faltered, a groan rolling out of him as Noah’s dick slid over his prostate gland, sending sparks up his spine.
“Yeah, that’s it.” Noah swept a palm down his back and hitched his hips, pushing up into him deeper. “That’s it.”
“Fuck,” cried Trent at the intensity of it, the stretch.
His phone rang, vibrating next to the bottle of lube on the table.
“No, no, no.” He glared at the phone. “Every time.”
“You should really get that.”
He didn’t argue, not after what happened the last time he ignored a call. He grabbed the phone and leaned back though, turning his head so he could trade sloppy kisses with Noah while blindly swiping his thumb across the screen.
“Hey, buddy!” came the cheerful greeting.
Trent felt the tension ripple through Noah, who started to pull away. But Trent kept the kiss going and didn’t let up until they were both breathing hard again, hips rocking.
“I’m here, Noah,” he whispered, heart tripping because he needed Noah to believe him. He’d graduated from falling to fallen, completely gone for his Alpha. “I knew he was arriving today. I chose to stay home with you and set up your study over meeting him at the airport. You’re it for me. Okay?”
Noah gave him a searching look, the vulnerability in his dark brown eyes igniting Trent’s protective instinct. He lifted up and turned to straddle Noah so they were now face to face, their abs melded together by heat and sweat and the precum leaking from Trent’s hard cock. There’s nothing between them, not even the rubber barrier they no longer use since getting their test results back. Trent has never gone bare with any of his previous partners.
“You’re it. You. I don’t want anybody else. Okay?”
The brown of Noah’s eyes deepened to near black, causing Trent to suck in a breath as a shiver pebbled his skin.
“Trent?” Zach sounded very far away. On a whole other planet. “Hello?”
“H-hey, Zach. Welcome back. Can I…ah…” He lost the rest in a gasp of surprise as Noah wrapped strong arms around his middle and stood up, muscles rippling. His powerhouse of an alpha. “Call you back. I gotta…sorry, I’ve got to go.” He dropped the phone, choosing to wrap his arms and legs around Noah. “Better not fucking drop me.”
Noah laughed, a deep rumble, and walked them the short distance along the hall to their room. He lowered Trent onto the California king, and after some shifting, Trent had his legs draped over Noah’s shoulders.
“Now, where were we?” asked Noah.
He ran his hands along Noah’s broad shoulders, the skin hot and damp under his touch. “Gee, I don’t know. Let me think.”
“Here’s a reminder.”
Noah reached a hand down, and Trent tipped his hips up in anticipation as the slick, plump head of Noah’s cock nudged at his hole. Noah slid home in one smooth thrust. Groans vibrated in Trent’s throat. He set his lips against Noah’s, released those groans into his mouth. And Noah ate them up, jamming his hips flush against him and grinding up into him. Rubbing all inside him so that Trent’s toes curled at the pleasure winding through him.
“Trent.” Noah dragged his tongue along the underside of Trent’s jaw, leaving goosebumps in his wake. “Touch yourself. I want to feel you come.”
The hoarse command triggered an involuntary response, a torrent of tingles across Trent’s skin, hardening his nipples. He obeyed, and only then did Noah start to thrust. Building up the tempo, his gaze never leaving Trent’s, building the power, until Trent had to stop jerking off and use both hands to hold onto Noah because, god. Because if not, he’d fall off the world.
“Why’d you stop?” asked Noah.
“Gonna come.”
Noah made a sound, started as a laugh but morphed into a groan. “That’s the general idea.”
“Not yet.”
But his body didn’t agree, winding tighter under the steady pounding. He came, Noah’s name spilling from his lips in a hoarse cry. “Noah!”
Noah’s tempo stuttered. “Right here,” he said, his voice raw and his thrusts choppy. “Right here.”
He was; Noah was right there in oblivion with him, flushed throat working with silent groans as he came. They stayed that way for a moment, kissing before Noah eased away. Trent hated this part, the loss he felt immediately after they separated.
“Come here.” Noah bundled him into a hug, one hand splayed on the small of his back. “Shower?”
He ran his nose along Noah’s collarbone. “Not yet.”
****
Noah
Noah placed the box he was carrying in the bed of Trent’s truck and went back inside to water the plants while Trent took the last box out. The plants looked scrawny with all their dead leaves stripped away and the new leaves, bright green and full of promise, not yet established enough to hide their skinny stalks.
Trent came in and grinned at him. “You and your babies.”
“They’re doing
great. Bella’s sprouted two new leaves.”
Trent patted the plant. “Good job, Bella. Now can we go? Mason’s waiting.”
Trent had ended up going through all his stuff deciding what he didn’t want any more as he made space for Noah. They were taking the “To Donate” boxes to the Omega center en route to Pegasus.
If the plants were Noah’s babies, the truck was Trent’s. He hadn’t named it but threatened to on a daily basis and gave the evil eye to anyone who slammed its doors. Noah had fallen foul a couple of times; he made sure to shut the passenger-side door with a circumspect thud.
“Can’t believe it took you so long to get wheels,” he said, meaning: how did Zach not realize you needed your own car?
Trent gave no indication of catching on to his little dig at Zach. “I know, right?” His eyes sparkled.
He chatted all the way to the center, excited about being on the fundraising committee, talking about how they were going to increase the bed space by fifty percent within the next two years. Noah kept catching himself grinning at how happy and buzzy Trent was, his energy infectious.
Mason was waiting when they arrived at the center like Trent had said, seated behind the reception desk eating brightly colored candy.
“Hi, Trent.” He sprang to his feet and checked Noah out without shame. “Hey, you.”
Trent shook his head. “I thought you said you were spoken for.”
“Oh, hush. I’m just playing.” Mason added in a loud aside meant for Noah, “Not playing.”
“Mason, I can hear you,” said Trent.
Noah chuckled, placing the box he was carrying on the floor next to the reception desk. It was like this every time he dropped by, Mason flirting to get a rise out of Trent, who never disappointed, snapping at Mason with I will cut you eyes.
“I’ll wait in the truck, Trent. Great to see you again, Mason.”
Mason gave him a little wave, then turned to Trent, all business. “We’ve had a couple more runaways…”
Noah left them to it. This was a part of Trent’s life he had limited access to, and rightly so. Not only because Trent needed something of his own, but also because, as an alpha, Noah’s presence in the center made the runaways jittery. He checked his messages while waiting. There was one from his former landlord telling him his security deposit had been refunded and should appear in his account in the next few days.