Although I’d been lonely from time to time, I hadn’t felt any great compulsion to find a mate. My friends thought I should, especially my married/mated friends. Couples always thought everyone should share their joy or misery...whichever it was. And all my teasing of my daytime boss, Patrick Chen, DDS, had led him to turn my own words on me once he’d met his own omega. I’d laughed it all off and continued on my busy way. Working all day in the dental office and all night at the Moonlight Lounge left very little time for more.
But riding in my low two-seater sports car with my omega, an omega...hell, my omega at my side, I was starting to get an inkling of what all my couple friends were talking about. Just being in his presence made me feel more alive, aware, protective. And horny. Very, very horny.
“Hal…”
I snapped a glance at Kipling, whose clothing was still askew, his hair tousled, and a dreamy glaze to his eyes. I tried not to feel guilty about the pride that gave me. I put that look there. “Yes, omega?”
“I’ve never been with an alpha who didn’t put his own pleasure first.” He gave me a wavery smile. “I wanted to say thanks.”
Turning down my street, I gunned it, so anxious to get him home, and more than a little irked that anyone had treated him that way. And that anyone had touched what was mine at all even though we hadn’t met at that time. “Oh, I didn’t neglect my satisfaction, omega.”
Another glance showed a tiny furrow between his brows in a passing streetlight’s glow. “I don’t understand. You only...you know.”
“There is no ‘only’ in touching you. That’s actually how it’s supposed to work. When you feel good, I feel amazing.” Pulling into my parking spot, I turned off the engine and sat back.
“So you don’t need to umm, you don’t need me to…” For a counselor who I suspected talked about every subject under the sun with his clients as necessary, he was certainly tongue-tied with me. Kind of charming, really.
“Oh, I need you to. I need us both to.” I made my way around to his side of the car and opened the door before he could do it. “And I can’t wait much longer.”
“I want your knot.” With that, he scooted out of the seat and started for the door to my townhome, leaving me gaping.
Five minutes later we were stumbling up the stairs, undressing each other and kissing every inch of exposed skin as we went. Any hesitancy gone, the only reason we made it to the bedroom was my concern about us ending up falling down the stairs mid-coitus and breaking our necks. As the last bit of clothing fell away, I scooped him up in my arms and carried him down the hall.
“I’m way too heavy to be carried,” he protested.
“Yeah, I know.” Shifting him higher, I strode into the bedroom and tossed him on the bed. He bounced. “All that muscle. But I like doing it anyway.” In truth, he had the most amazing body I’d ever seen in real life or film. And I’d had the preview when I’d seen him on the ninja show on TV. But take those little shorts off and ka-bang! Not bulky, but tight. The man had an eight-pack! Not an ounce of fat, and while I did think I looked pretty good considering how little work I put into it, my omega put me to shame. The moonlight shone right down through the skylight to make his skin glow. Amazing.
After his bounce, he scrambled up to lie in the middle of the bed then propped up on his elbows and smiled. “How do you want me, alpha?”
Although my jutting cock showed how ready I was, I took another moment to look at him, in my bed, naked and waiting for me. If I had my way, he’d never sleep anywhere else. “Just like that, omega,” I said, moving in to give him what he’d asked for. “I want to see your face when I fill you for the first time.”
His gaze dropped to my groin and his smile faltered. While he had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in the dick department, my size could be intimidating. “Wow. I’m not sure…”
“It will fit, omega.” Pressing his legs wide apart, I knelt between them and leaned forward to steal a kiss. As I twined my tongue with his, our cocks bumped between us and I reached down and did my best to wrap a hand around them both, stroking and squeezing until I felt the tension seep from his body to be replaced by another kind. Breaking the kiss, I offered, “We could just do this, if you like. Does it feel good?”
He blinked up at me, nodding, hips already bucking against my grip. “So good...but I meant it. I want your knot. Just go a little slow?”
After jacking us a bit longer, I released our dicks and slid my fingers down to find him slick and hot. I worked one finger, two, then three inside. “I’ll go slow, but you’re ready for me. Just right.”
“Like Goldilocks?” he quipped, throat moving as he swallowed hard.
“Like the bears.” Removing my fingers, I replaced them with the swollen, aching head of my dick and paused. “Push down.”
He obeyed, letting out a deep sigh, and I gave a short thrust, submerging my tip in his slick heat. His eyes flickered closed, but I chided, “Oh no. Open them.” When he did, they were glazed again, and I took that as my cue to withdraw and plunge deeper. “You’re so tight, omega.”
He shuddered and rocked his hips. “I need you. Don’t wait. All the way.”
“What happened to slow?” But I wasn’t waiting to be asked twice. True, it was a tight squeeze, but I saw no trace of pain in his eyes, and his pants, his writhing torso all told me he was ready. I thrust in again and again, becoming lost in the body of the lover I’d waited my whole life for. Despite my attempts to hold back, my balls tightened far too soon and my cum poured out into Kipling. I had just the presence of mind to close my fist around his dick and bring him off, as my knot swelled, holding my seed inside him.
When my knot subsided, we rolled to the side, taking him with me, tugged a comforter from the foot of the bed over us, and spooned him, and we drifted off to sleep that way, bellies sticky from his cum, sweaty, messy, and without another word exchanged.
I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but I knew what I hoped for. I hoped he would feel the same.
Chapter Eight
Kipling
I intended to wake up and make my alpha breakfast, yeah, in my mind, he was already my alpha. The night before had been exactly what I’d needed and wanted for so long. I had an alpha who was attentive, and his desire for me matched mine for him.
Maybe I’d been waiting for my singing alpha all along.
But the fantasy burst when my phone rang in the middle of the night. I jumped out of bed and fumbled through my pants, now draped over a chair, courtesy of Hal, and finally found the damned thing after two more rings. “Dr. Taylor,” I barked into the phone. I listened as the foster parents of one of my patients cried at their foster son being taken back to his biological parents.
“Joseph, please calm down. Is Isaac in trouble? Should I go over there?”
He said Joseph was indifferent about returning home. It was he and his husband Erik who couldn’t stop crying and didn’t know who else to call.
I settled the phone between my shoulder and cheek and listened. That was 99 percent of my job, listening. If more people would listen instead of argue, judge, and overtalk, the world wouldn’t need to pay people to nod and hear.
Joseph and Erik had had custody of Isaac for three years, enough time to get really attached to him and at the same time, apparently, time for his bio parents to clean up their acts enough to get him back.
Sometimes life was a roller-coaster for these foster parents.
Hal was still fast asleep as I pulled on my boxers and sat in the chair nearest the bed and watched him sleep while Joseph carried on. I felt for them. I really did. Foster children would often get returned to their biological parents without much notice.
It was one of the heartbreaking parts of my job.
I stayed on the phone two more hours before deciding that on the phone in my boxers wasn’t really helping them as I’d thought it might. No, they needed a little bit more.
“Sure, Joseph,” I said, not happy about leaving
Hal at all. “I can be there in a few.” I avoided Joseph’s pleas to make me promise to help get Isaac back. Yes, I played a part in the well-being of every child who came into my office, but in no way did I make any decisions regarding placement, and it would be unprofessional for me to take sides.
I was on the child’s side, in every case.
I hung up and sighed, reaching over to push a stray hair from Hal’s face. My body was still aching in the best way possible from a few hours before.
“Hal?” I tried to coax him awake, but his deep breaths continued uninterrupted.
Finally, I got up and, after a quick shower, dressed and got ready to leave.
Except, there was no leaving this alpha high and dry. I had to do something.
I pulled a business card from my pocket and wrote a quick note on the back, telling him I was sorry, duty called, and that I would call him the next day. The note went on the bedside table and I kissed his cheek before going. The man slept like a rock.
“Good night, Hal,” I whispered in his ear and then left, going over to Joseph and Erik’s right away by cab. When I got there, they were no better than when we got off the phone. I sat in their living room and wrangled with being professional and removed. It was the worst part of my job. They were crying, so lost and shattered, yet I crossed my legs and nodded. My words spoke empathy and care, but how much that did, I would never know.
My mind drifted back to Hal. I glanced at my watch, mentally groaning at the long hand pointing to the four.
While we cuddled, his knot still deep inside me, he’d sung me to sleep. I could be myself with him. I could open up and simply be a human, instead of the obtuse doctor who scribbled notes, while other people practically opened their chest cavity and showed me their souls.
I looked at Erik who had clearly been talking to me. Shit.
“I’m sorry, what?”
He furrowed his eyebrow but then chuckled, his eyes still red with emotion. “It’s early. We won’t keep you any longer. Thanks for coming to listen. You can bill us for the hour. Isaac would’ve needed this week anyway.”
I waved him off. “No, it’s fine. But if you have trouble coping, please, call my office and I’ll give you a reference for a family counselor—someone who specializes in adults.”
When they closed the door behind me, I stood on the stoop, not knowing which way to turn. Before Hal, I would’ve gone to the lounge and relaxed with a few glasses of bourbon, but I didn’t need that anymore. What I needed was my alpha’s arms wrapped around me and his deep bass in my ear.
Except, I’d left when he was asleep and now felt awkward wanting to go back.
Again, the thought of Hal made me brazen, and I walked to my car, texting all the way.
Sorry about leaving. Want to come to my house to have breakfast? Maybe burn off the calories after?
I giggled at myself and how silly I’d become.
Two dates and I was a goner—big-time.
By the time I arrived at home, I’d received two texts, and I lit up inside when I saw they were both from him.
Missing you in my bed this morning.
Breakfast sounds great. I’m on my way.
Good thing I had eggs and bread and coffee. I would make my alpha French toast and coffee and then tell him about my night.
I hoped he knew how much having him meant to me.
I would make him know.
Chapter Nine
Hal
I woke up alone. That had not been the plan, and for a few minutes my mind raced with possible reasons my omega would have left. The obvious one, that our night was great only in my head stung the most, and was not the usual thought for a guy like me who’d rarely been accused of humility.
But I’d never felt so much at stake, either.
After torturing myself with unpleasant scenarios for a while, I rolled over to sit up and spotted the card on the nightstand. He’d had to work. I hadn’t considered that a counselor would be called out in the night, but now that I thought of it, it made sense. He couldn’t have had very much sleep, either.
A few texts later, I was on my way to his house for breakfast, determined that after we ate, I would get him to lie down for a rest. GPS led me to a small but neat house at the end of a cul-de-sac. A patch of lawn, probably green in the summer but dull now with a dusting of autumn leaves was broken by a concrete path to the red front door.
I’d always liked red doors. They said something about the personality of the homeowner. A certain joie de vivre.
Kipling met me there, opening it before I could knock and drawing me inside for a long, sweet kiss. When we drew back, I became aware of the scent of warm spices. “Smells amazing in here.”
“My cologne?”
I sniffed again. “Are you wearing nutmeg cologne? With a hint of cinnamon and ginger? Vanilla? If so, I approve.”
He thrust his lower lip out in an adorable pout. “I was joking—I never wear cologne when I plan to work out. But if you prefer French toast to me, come right this way.”
He took a step away, but I dragged him back, that lip too tempting not to nibble on. After a moment he jumped back. “My bacon. It’s about to burn!” Kipling fled across the cozy living room and through a narrow arched doorway. I followed slower, taking in the decor and the touches that made it his. Considering he was a jock and a psychologist, I’d had an image in the back of my mind of a living room crammed with psych journals and exercise equipment, probably lots of tech stuff, but I couldn’t have been further from the reality.
A white-brick fireplace framed a neat stack of logs, ready to burn, with a blue-and-green patterned love seat flanked by two chairs facing it. A low table held a bowl of nuts in their shells as well as a nutcracker. Sure, a small TV hung above the mantel—he was a guy after all—but I could imagine sitting there on a cold night, cracking nuts and talking, a roaring fire keeping the chill at bay.
“Hey, you coming? Breakfast is ready,” came Kipling’s voice from the next room. “Hungry?”
I shook myself free of the fantasy and headed into the kitchen, which had the same air of cottage comfort as the living room. All the makings of an excellent breakfast awaited me. Coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice—the freshness backed up by the “Starved.” I took the seat he waved me to and lifted my fork and knife, ready to dig in. “You know, I thought you athletes never ate anything good. That you lived on protein shakes and other miracles of modern chemistry.” I poured a drizzle of maple syrup over the triangular slices on my plate.
“And raw eggs in a blender?” He chortled, grimacing. “True, I don’t eat eggnog French toast and bacon every day of the week, but I’ve never been a believer in better living through chemistry. Don’t tell anyone.” He set the platter of bacon between us and sat opposite me. “Besides, we’ll burn these calories off in no time today.”
My eyes, half-closed in ecstasy as I chewed a bit of the custardy bread, popped wide of their own accord. Swallowing, I studied his grin. “Sounds fun.”
“Tsk. I’m not talking about sex, alpha. Although that is certainly something we can do after we get back from the gym.”
Uh oh.
“The gym...and you said ‘we’ will burn off the calories?”
Swallowing a big bite of syrup and butter-soaked toast, Kipling nodded enthusiastically. “I can’t wait for you to give it a try. You really do have the beginnings of a ninja body. I noticed that last night.”
“Uh, thank you?” Sure, it was a compliment, but I’d spent four years of high school avoiding gym class. I worked hard but I did not work out. I parted my lips to say as much then stopped. Kipling usually was on the quiet side, talking to the kids and the others at Thanksgiving, when I’d watched him at the lounge from across the room...even when interviewed by the TV announcers on the ninja show, he’d come across as very self-contained.
“I know just what to start you off on. Every ninja has to build upper body strength, so we’ll work on that today.” He downed hi
s juice in a single gulp.
I’d do anything to keep the sparkle in his eye. Even work out. Once. Because once he finished laughing at my ridiculous performance, I felt confident the subject would never come up again. He’d allow me to hold the pom-poms event-side and cheer him on to victory. Attempting to keep my hatred of all physical activity—when I was the active one at least—to myself, I gave him a smile and grabbed a slice of bacon. “Sounds like a plan although I warn you, I’m in even worse shape than you think.” And for once, I regretted that.
After we cleared away breakfast, he grabbed a gym bag by the door and off we went to the next town over where a gym I’d never even heard of had its door off an alleyway. Inside, I found myself facing an array of apparatus I’d never dreamed of. And it wasn’t like the TV versions with the bright paint and glitzy lights. This was bare metal, padded walls and floors, and lots of suspended things like rings. On this Saturday morning, there were at least a dozen young men and women in loose tank tops and tight shorts exhibiting a degree of physical prowess that made me want to run home and hide—not that I was in good enough shape to run that far.
As the alpha, I was used to being a leader in all things. I suspected I was in for a humbling morning.
“Okay, alpha.” Kipling led me to a piece of equipment that looked like the rings I remembered not swinging from on the playground. “Let’s start with something easy.”
Did I say humbling?
Try humiliating.
Chapter Ten
Kipling
Yeah, Hal was out of shape, but he was trying. I had always been into sports and running, not because I necessarily liked it, but because it was a good way to keep me emotionally fit.
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