Silver Daddy

by Liam Kingsley

  “Greer…” I moaned hotly.

  He slid a hand over the front of my jeans, only ghosting over my thighs, never quite reaching the hard outline of my cock.

  “Every time I move, you’re gonna feel it. And I’m gonna learn every part of you. Work out exactly how deep I need to fuck you to get you melting—”

  “We’ve got to go to bed,” I said, shuffling up from the couch. “We’re going. Now.”

  9

  Greer

  It was amazing how quickly my life changed. Before the claiming ceremony, I spent my days helping out young families around the pack, be it fixing up houses, babysitting kids, or any number of other tasks they needed a hand with. I still did that when I had a minute, but now Keifer had spilled into every part of my existence, and I spent as much time with him and Stacia as I possibly could.

  I used to spend lunch at my place alone, or with whoever happened to be around. Now I regularly ate with Keifer and Stacia, all of us collaborating to put together a meal. I’d compete with him to decorate the plate in the most appetizing way for Stacia. More often than not, Keifer won, but seeing the delight on her face at my failed attempt at making a picture on a pancake or creating a smiling face out of fruit pieces made losing well worth it.

  Though I’d never felt purposeless, I now felt I had a new drive and motivation in my life that spurred me out of bed every morning. Well, metaphorically, at least. When I was sharing a bed with Keifer, then in literal terms it had gotten a whole lot harder to get out.

  Honestly, life for the last two weeks had been bliss. The only fly in the ointment was not having had a chance to talk things through with Jaxon yet. I knew firsthand how busy the life of a pack alpha was, and I didn’t want to load more onto his plate, especially with the issues of the dragon shifters going on right now.

  Anyway, judging from the phone call Jaxon made to Keifer, Jaxon was simply worried about us, and there really wasn’t a need. Everything was going swimmingly. In reality, he had every right to tell me “I told you so” after our conversation at the claiming ceremony. Unfortunately, I didn’t think that’d be his reaction, which was why I hadn’t sought him out, but honestly, as each day went by, I felt guilty. In a way I was lying by omission, so when I heard a knock on my front door and opened it to see him standing there, I grinned in relief, glad I’d get my chance to talk to him now.

  “Jaxon, good to see you. Come in. Get you something to drink?”

  “I’d take a nice cold glass of water. But really, I just wanted to drop by. Feels like we haven’t had time in forever. I’m not used to it.”

  “I’ve been wondering who you’ve been giving a hard time to in my absence.”

  He followed me through to the kitchen, and then leaned against the countertop. “Well, I haven’t been giving anyone a hard time. That’s my problem, Dad. Ribbing you is my main source of stress relief.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  I poured us both a glass of water from the filter. Even after all these years, I couldn’t help but feel a warm glow in my chest to hear him call me Dad. I felt we’d earned each other’s status as a family in a way that many people who shared blood with one another hadn’t. There was something really special about our bond.

  I hoped I wasn’t about to ruin that, even if only temporarily.

  “Actually, though, I’m gonna start off today a little differently. Maybe with a compliment. If you tell anyone I’ll banish you, obviously, but…you’re looking well, Dad. Really well.”

  “Thank you, son. I feel it. I do.”

  “I mean… I’m not asking what’s going on. That’s your business. I’m just glad you’re good.” Our eyes met, and I got the impression he didn’t need to ask, that he knew but didn’t want to talk about it.

  I nodded, even though I was disappointed. I’d been prepared to discuss Keifer, but if Jaxon wasn’t ready, I could respect that. I’d take avoidance over arguing, at least for now.

  “So, what else brings you here?”

  “Well, I was wondering if you could take Liam and Lori tomorrow night. Bryce and I, well, we um…” Jaxon turned bright red, something I hadn’t seen him do since I’d caught him eyeing up a cute omega just after Jaxon had turned fourteen.

  I almost laughed at his embarrassment. He was giving me a perfect opportunity to tease him the way he often teased me, but I wasn’t that cruel. Bryce was probably coming into heat, and I knew what being with your omega felt like when they were on heat. I certainly wasn’t going to demean that for Jaxon and Bryce by making some ribald comment.

  “Of course. Just drop them off when you’re ready.”

  “Thanks, Dad, I appreciate it. I also came here to keep you in the loop on the dragon shifters. We still don’t know where they’re hiding, but the pack is on full alert, and Steve has been keeping the local police informed, the ones who know about shifters anyway. The rest of the cops are treating the small fires in town as vandalism, but they’ve still got no leads.”

  “What about the two who were captured after they attacked Trevor?”

  “In jail, but not talking.” He ran a hand through his hair, sighing deeply.

  “Has Marco Shannahan come up with anything?”

  Marco was the alpha leader of the Spitfire Clan, who we’d been in touch with over the past year or so, ever since a dragon shifter had attacked Gavin and his son.

  Jaxon shook his head, brow furrowed. “No. He’s had feelers out, but he thinks the rogue dragons have come from out of state. No relationship to his clan or any of the others he knows of.”

  “It’s worrisome, for sure.”

  “Yeah. Do you think…”

  “What, son?”

  “Well, these dragons only showed up after I took over as pack leader. Do you think they might have thought I would be a weak leader and that was their opportunity to try to muscle in on our territory?”

  I heard a very slight tremor of uncertainty in Jaxon’s voice, one I hadn’t heard since before he became the pack’s lead alpha. I would have liked to have told him no, that it was just a coincidence, but to be truthful, it was a possibility. The dragons might have thought it was the perfect time to take over our lands, but they’d made a mistake if they thought Jaxon was weak. He was a strong leader, powerful physically and mentally, but like any leader, there would always be times of doubt. I’d had them myself over the years.

  “If they did, they were wrong,” I told him.

  “I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like I’ve got this, and then times like now, I’ve got no fucking idea what to do. How long is it going to take before I feel like I’m doing a decent job?”

  I shook my head. “It’ll come. In the meantime, the trick is not to beat yourself up about failing. You didn’t become lead alpha to make all the right calls all the time. You’re alpha because you’re capable of guiding the pack in the right general direction.”

  “Says who?”

  “Says the last lead alpha, whose judgment you seem to trust.”

  Jaxon chuckled. “Yeah, you could say that.” He finished his water then put his empty glass on the counter. He hesitated for a moment as if he wanted to say something more, but then he shook his head. I supposed that meant he trusted me to make the right judgment when it came to Keifer, and I couldn’t really ask any more than that.

  At my front door, I happened to see a familiar car pulling in to the homestead. My heart flipped. What did it think I was; some kind of teenager? I felt like one though, so much so I couldn’t help but watch as he pulled into Jason’s house. His car door opened, and I caught his eye darting my way—too quick for us to smile at each other, but I still felt a flash of fondness pass between us. God, this really did feel like a first crush all over again, and I couldn’t even claim to dislike it.

  When I turned back to Jaxon, I saw him glancing between Keifer and me. I didn’t say anything, trying to giving him the space he’d silently asked for. I guess it took a lot for someone to accept when their parent began dating, e
ven if Jaxon had encouraged me to do so.

  “I hope you’re taking care of yourself,” he said.

  “I am, I promise. Heard what you said at the claiming, and I’m hearing you now.”

  “Alright.” He knew I didn’t use the word “promise” lightly, and after a moment he inclined his head. “Thanks for having the kids tomorrow. You’d also better come for dinner sometime soon.”

  “Definitely. I will.”

  I watched him drive away, giving a small wave through the window. Once his car had disappeared from view, only then did I let my attention move back to where I last saw Keifer. He was still inside dropping Stacia off, but I figured it wouldn’t take long.

  I pulled out my phone. Though I preferred to call people and talk personally, this time I sent a quick text.

  Meet you at yours?

  He sent back a smiley face and a couple of hearts. That was enough of an answer for me so I climbed into my car and headed out his way, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel as I drove. It really didn’t feel good to have Jaxon so worried about me. I never wanted to be a source of stress in his life, but that was the price we all had to pay for loving someone.

  By the time Keifer pulled up behind me, I seriously wanted to see the smile on his face. To me, it was like a magic cure-all, and he didn’t disappoint.

  “Hey, handsome.” I smiled and felt the tension melt from my shoulders. “What do you want to do today?”

  “We’re going to Cove Brewery for their paint and beer night.”

  “Um…” It wasn’t something I’d ever tried before, and it didn’t seem like my kind of thing, but Keifer was so excited by the idea I couldn’t say no. An hour later, as I parked up at the brewery, he was still overflowing with eager energy.

  “It’s not even about what you paint.” He ran a hand down my back. “That’s what’s so great about it. You could make something totally ugly and you’ve still gone through the motions of creating something out of nothing. Just…paint, brush, art. It’s so therapeutic.”

  “You do know my drawings begin and end with a stick figure, yes?”

  “These classes aren’t designed for artists. They go step-by-step so you can just follow along. I’m not a painter either, but you’ll be surprised what you can do, honestly.”

  “Hey, I’m willing to give it a go. I just don’t want you running in the other direction when I accidentally paint a mutant or a pile of garbage.”

  He took my hand in his, squeezing up close beside me. It had become so normal for us to connect together like this now, no matter where we were headed. It made such a stark contrast from the lonely life I’d known before, I barely even minded when people stared at us. In fact, at this point, it just made me want to kiss him and piss them off even more. After all, our age gap was none of their business. If they wanted to gawp and gross themselves out, they could reap what they sowed.

  “Oh, look!” He pointed to the canvas at the head of the event space. “We’re painting a phoenix. That’s awesome; Stacia’s going to love it.”

  I had to admit it looked pretty cool, but at the same time, way beyond my skill level. It was sweet Keifer genuinely thought I was capable, and I just hoped he at least got a good laugh out of the imminent disaster that was my end result.

  We set up at our canvases, and I started early on my beer. When I put it back down, I turned to see Keifer smiling at me, softer and sweeter than I expected.

  “You okay there?”

  He grinned, and then leaned over to kiss my cheek. “I’m great. I’m just happy you’re here with me. I can tell you’re not into it.”

  “I’m into the fact that you’re into it.”

  His nose wrinkled as he smiled, and that smile only grew wider as the event began. As it turned out, he was actually right—the steps were pretty simple for me to follow. My painting definitely didn’t look as good as Keifer’s, but it wasn’t as terrible as I’d expected, and before long I had a passable phoenix emerging on the canvas.

  “See?” He nudged me with his elbow. “It looks great.”

  “Sure, it’s not bad.” I stood back, taking both our paintings in. “You can see you’ve done it before, though.”

  “That, and I really love the subject matter.” He stepped back and leaned into me, turning between both our canvases. It felt good to carry his weight, to know he trusted me enough to just put it all on me.

  “It feels kind of symbolic, don’t you think?” he asked.

  I hadn’t thought about it that way. Being a writer, Keifer was the arty, sensitive one between us. I tended to exist more in a concrete realm, full of practical things. However, now he’d mentioned it, I began to realize what he meant.

  “Actually, yeah. It does.” I reached out to touch the dry parts of my painting, feeling strangely connected to this thing I’d just splashed together. “A rebirth. A new perspective. I like that.”

  He kissed my arm, peering up at me from where his head was tipped against my shoulder. “You’re sweet.”

  “Take that back.” I enjoyed the sound of his laugh as I tugged him closer to me. “Nah. You’re sweet. And you’re changing pretty much every single part of my life for the better, so I guess that makes you my phoenix.” I tilted my head to the side. “Maybe that’s mixing metaphors. I don’t know. But you’re important to me.”

  His smile went a little watery, and I decided I’d give him a break. After kissing the top of his head, I picked up both our empty glasses. “Let me get a refill. Beer again, right?”

  “Actually, it’s just ginger ale for me,” he said, giving me a tiny smile. “I wasn’t really in the mood.”

  “Got it. One ginger ale coming up.”

  As I walked up to the bar, I had to admit I really wasn’t eloquent enough to get my message across to him properly. He was the romance writer, not me, but I hoped he understood what I was getting at. Hoped he knew how I felt a whole new lease of life blossoming around me now he was in it.

  I could only hope I’d bring him the same amount of happiness.

  Back at home, sitting on the couch with the blankets wrapped around us, and our two phoenixes propped up on the other side of the room, I felt the power of what I’d told him still hovering in the air. It wasn’t the same as those three little words. Not quite, but it came close enough, even in my ham-fisted way of talking about this stuff.

  I buried my face in his hair, drinking in his scent. If there’d been any doubt about him being my fated mate, it would have gone by now; he smelled just as tantalizing to me now as he had when he was on heat.

  “Thanks for tonight,” I said. “Wouldn’t have done that, if it was my call. But I’m glad we did.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

  He lifted his chin to kiss me, soft and sweet. We’d been together long enough I didn’t need to grab at him every second. I knew there’d be another night, and the night after that, and the night after that one. There were still moments where I felt rabid for him, and him for me. It wasn’t as though the fire was losing any intensity, but we could have moments like this, curled up together with the knowledge that I wouldn’t necessarily be working him open with my tongue in five minutes time.

  It was relaxing, more than lounging about by myself ever could be.

  “It was fun,” I said as he settled against me. “It’s good to know I can still be surprised at fifty-five.”

  “You always talk like you’re from the stone age,” said Keifer. “Honestly. Anybody would think you were old enough to head into a home.”

  “They do say you can’t teach an old wolf new tricks.”

  “Is that the phrase?” he asked, teasing. “Well, then, you’re proving my point. If you were old, you wouldn’t have learned how to paint tonight.”

  “Fair enough.”

  He sighed, wriggling down further against my body. It wasn’t on purpose, but the friction of his back against the lower half of my body stirred up thoughts of pleasing him. We were both a little too tire
d for the kind of rough action I’d just been thinking about, but maybe there was still time for something else.

  I smoothed my hand over his waist, stroking him with my fingertips, and then smiled as he hummed. “Feel nice?”

  “Yeah. Almost tickles.”

  I kept it up for a while, counting the beats of his breath, before sliding my fingers over his stomach, drawing light circles. “How about here?”

  He nodded in response, rolling his shoulders and stretching out to give me better access. As he tipped his head back, I took advantage of the space to kiss the bare skin on his neck.

  “Mm, Greer…”

  With his breathing growing heavier and his body language showing obvious approval, I snaked my hand over the front of his sweatpants. To my satisfaction, he was already half-erect, and as I watched he continued to harden under my slow, teasing touch.

  He shuffled back against me. Only from the pressure of his ass did I realize I was hard too, and I sighed at how good it felt. Right now, though, this was about the way Keifer felt. I kissed his neck again, and then bit gently at his earlobe while checking the progress of his cock tenting his pants.

  “You know how good you taste?” I asked him, my voice a quiet growl. “You know how wild your scent is making me right now?”

  His only answer was a moan, so I smoothed my palm right over his cock—the most direct, determined contact I’d made so far. He lifted his hips, moaning once more.

  “You’re already slick, aren’t you? You want me to touch you.”

  “Please. Please.”

  I took his hand and led him straight to his bedroom. He hesitated as we passed the bed, but I tugged him forward and into the bathroom.

  “You’re running us a bath?” He raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed. But I let out a snort.

  “I don’t have that kind of patience.”

  I turned on the shower then pulled him hard against me, kissing his neck as I undressed him, one piece of clothing at a time. I moaned when I pulled down his underwear and his hard dick flicked up and hit his lower belly. Keifer inhaled sharply as I ran my hand over the length of his cock, and he immediately squeezed my rod through my pants. Breathing in his cinnamon scent, I closed my eyes in pleasure. When I opened them again, he got me out of my pants. I took care of my shirt, and we were soon naked in the steamy bathroom.