by Jill Haven
We all turned as the house Seth and I had been violently held in lit up with orange and blue fire. Someone had transformed into their dragon and was having a great time blasting the old building with flames while the others yelled and laughed and encouraged him. Mason grinned from his spot near us. He looked wild with his black hair everywhere and dirt and blood smeared across one cheek. His shirt had been torn and hung off him, and his hazel eyes glimmered eerily in the fire light.
Carlisle stood and turned toward Seth. “Who is worried about you? You’re a Divine Omega as well, unless I’m mistaken.”
Seth stood tall and rested his hands on his pointed hips, blinking toward the starry sky. “Um, I don’t know where they stashed him, but they… I watched Vladimir slit my father’s throat.” He blinked his eyes fast, but a tear still rolled down his cheek. His hair seemed blonder and redder as the firelight played on his body, and I didn’t miss the way Mason turned to study him. “It’s not the sort of wound anyone comes back from. No one else is around to care about me.” Seth tried to smile at Carlisle but sniffed.
“Were you injured?” Carlisle scowled and gestured at what he was wearing.
“Shit. I’m a doctor. Let me check you out.” Mason shook himself and seemed to come out of a trance to step toward Seth.
Seth laughed and refused to look anyone in the eye. “I’m fine.” But his voice broke and Carlisle put a hand on his shoulder and gently moved him toward me in the car. I slid over to the other side of the back seat and Seth crawled in until he was pressed against my side. His skin was too cold, and he shook. His face was red like he was trying to hold back tears. I couldn’t leave him that way, so I opened my arms and pulled his solid body closer. He clung to my shirt and buried his face against my shoulder as sobs rocked him. I stroked his hair, hoping that would help somehow. Carlisle nodded at me and closed the car door. Some time passed. He was out there yelling to a few people, and then, when he was finished dictating what should be done with the survivors—I got the impression there shouldn’t be any—he got into the driver’s seat. Mason dropped into the passenger seat and Carlisle drove us away from the burning ruins like this was all a freaky bad dream.
The road to Muscogee was quiet, we didn’t even pass any other cars. Seth cried and didn’t show any signs of slowing down. When I held him tighter, it only seemed to make him sob harder.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I can’t stop,” he whispered at one point.
I patted his head and shushed him. “You’re fine. You were great and brave when you needed to be. It’s okay. I promise.” It was good to be helping someone else who was falling apart for once, especially since I understood how it felt.
He nodded and buried his face against my shoulder again, and all the bad stuff simmering in my stomach eased up.
Carlisle drove us to Jade’s. I was happy to see her old, familiar house come into view. The lights were on, but she didn’t rush outside the way I expected when the car came to a stop. It took me and Mason to get Seth out and onto his feet.
“I’m a physician for the Blood Clan,” Mason said to Seth when we were both shivering in the chill of the driveway. “Let me examine you?”
“Fuck that, I’m fine,” Seth said. He shook his head fast.
“I would really prefer—”
“Now’s not the time,” I said, “but you can look at me if you need to check on someone.”
Mason stared at Seth and then me and then he nodded. “Fine.” He rushed ahead of us and opened the front door to let everyone into the house. The warm air was nice, the fire in the grate to the right of the large main room was still going, though it was only red embers, and Seth visibly drooped a little once we had the door shut behind us.
“Where’s Jade?”
“In the woods somewhere,” Mason said, but he was still staring at Seth. “Did you think she wouldn’t be out hunting around for you?”
I elbowed Mason on our way past him, just enough to let him know that he was being too much. He smiled at me but didn’t seem like he could tear his gaze away from Seth.
“I could use, like, twelve showers,” Seth muttered. I showed him where the bathroom was, which he was happy with, and left him to it. Mason went to my apartment and brought back some of my clothes that we thought would fit Seth, jeans and a T-shirt and hoodie. I’m pretty sure Mason brought Seth his own socks, and there were also new toiletries in a plain white grocery bag when I opened the bathroom door to hang the new stuff there. Seth stayed in the shower a long time—I was able to eat two sandwiches, three bananas, and an entire bag of chips from the kitchen—but he eventually emerged dressed. There was no way to hide his flinch when he spotted me, and that made me sad. I knew what it was like to worry that an attack was coming around every corner, even in a place that was supposed to be safe. His split lip was starting to turn purple around the edge. I’d been waiting in the hallway outside the bathroom for him while Carlisle took care of wrapping up my rescue party, which I still hadn’t really thanked him for.
“Come on,” I said, snagging his hand. I don’t know why I felt so comfortable with Seth, but it didn’t bother me to touch him in the same way other people usually got to me. He tensed but then smiled and let me tug him along the hallway back to Jade’s guest room. I flipped on the light and he hummed in approval. It was a simple little room done up in greens—blankets, curtains, and walls. “The bed is comfortable. This house belongs to my best friend, Jade. She’s really nice and she’ll help you. We all will.” I turned the blankets back for him. He hugged me fast, just a quick grab and squeeze, and then dove under the blankets fully dressed. I laughed and tossed them over him.
“You’re sure she won’t mind?” he asked, still a lump with blankets over his head. He didn’t even bother to pop his head out.
“No. She’s used to watching out for me, so I’m sure she would do the same for you.” He nodded and pushed the blankets down as he yawned.
“Carlisle and I will be back in the morning,” I whispered. Seth’s eyes were already closed.
“Thank you. You’ve been really nice to me, dude. Nicer than anyone I’ve met in a long time.” He curled the corner of his lips up in something resembling a smile.
“No worries. Get some sleep.” I backed out of the room and closed the door after myself. Mason stood blocking the hallway. He still looked rough, his hair everywhere, dirt all over his clothes. His hazel eyes still had something dangerous around the edges, and I realized his pupils weren’t human yet, instead slits like a dragon. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt like he was thinking about peeling it off.
“The omega’s okay?”
“Yes. Seth. His name is Seth Preston.” I stared at him, and was fairly sure I knew what he wanted. “He’s tired, Mason. We’ve both been through a lot tonight.”
“I want to check on him.”
We stared at each other and finally I conceded, waving a hand at the door. “If he kicks you out, you go.” I firmed up my jaw. “Or else.”
Mason coughed and it sounded too much like a laugh for me. “Okay. You’re going to kick me out?”
“No, I’ll have Carlisle do it.”
He smirked and opened the door. The room was dark inside. “Hey, you all right?”
“Yeah.”
“Can I check on—”
“No.”
Mason went to go in the room anyway. I snagged his shoulder and used all my strength to pull him out. He spun on me and laughed. “I get it. All right. Come out in the living room.” He closed the door and that’s how I ended up getting my belly stared at very carefully for about twenty minutes while Carlisle paced around near the fireplace. At the end of it all, Mason pressed his ear to my stomach while Carlisle growled under his breath. I was feeling so relieved to be home, or at least at Jade’s house, that I found it all funny and caught myself smiling, rather than being annoyed.
“You’re good to go,” Mason said, and then got to his feet. “Your little one’s in there, mov
ing around.”
“Really?” Surprised, I lifted my shirt back up to stare at my mostly flat stomach.
Jade collapsed onto the couch and scared the shit out of me. I yanked my shirt back down. “You’re ba—”
She glared, and I stopped talking. Her hair was singed. Her face was black with soot. The green dress she wore was ruined and her leggings had large holes in them in strange places. I shrank away from her. “Back. You’re back.”
“Yep.” She flopped sideways against me and I gave her a hug.
“Mason says the baby is okay.”
“Good.” She patted my stomach and sat up to stare right into my eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about me sooner. I wanted you to know I’m actually sorry because sometimes I’m a shit, but I mean it. This shitty fucking night has made me realize how much I… well, I love you. Like family. You are my family.” Her eyes teared up and then mine did, and we ended up laughing and hugging again.
“I love you like a brother,” she whispered.
“Same,” I said.
She smacked me and laughed.
Mason crouched next to us and batted his eyelashes at Jade.
“What?” she asked. “You’re not cute. Whatever you want, no.”
He flashed her a brilliant white smile, complete with sharper than usual teeth. “Can I stay here tonight? I have a reluctant patient who won’t let me check him over.”
“Huh?” She wrinkled her nose at him. Mason leaned forward to pick a twig out of her hair and tossed it toward the fireplace.
“There’s another Divine Omega in your guest room.” Mason looked far too pleased with himself for dropping that bomb on her.
“Wait, what?” She stared around at us with wide yes.
Carlisle walked over and took my hand. I allowed him to tug me to my feet. “I’m going to take him home. Mason, you can plead your case to the lovely Miss Turner. If you’ll excuse us.”
Jade sort of wiggled her fingers goodbye in my direction, but she still stared severely at Mason. “There’s a what in my what, and you want to what?” Her nostrils flared. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Come on. Before this gets painful to watch,” Carlisle stage-whispered. His warm breath ghosted in my ear and I shivered, smiling up at him.
“Okay.”
We held hands on the drive to my apartment, and it was a shock to realize I felt good. I didn’t have that strange, heavy sensation of being watched. The electricity in my chest buzzed, but was, for lack of a better word, content with Carlisle close by. We went inside the apartment together, and I fumbled with the lock to the door. There wasn’t much room for both of us in the stairwell climbing to the second floor and I ended up laughing when Carlisle wrapped his arms around me and stepped down onto the next step instead of just letting me go so I could get us through the door at the top of the stairs.
Once we were in my efficiency and the lights were on, Carlisle urged me through toward my bathroom. It was a small fit for both of us, the room wasn’t meant for more than one person, like the rest of the place, but he wasted no time stripping off my clothes. He slid his hands over my belly when he lifted off my shirt. Shyness had me ducking my head, but then I had to watch him unbutton my jeans. I held my breath while he did that and pushed everything from my hips. “You smell like them,” he said under his breath. “Let’s shower?”
“I’d like that,” I murmured. “I’m tired, though.”
“I’ll wash you,” he whispered with a sweet smile. My chest flushed warm and my stomach got light like I’d swallowed balloons with butterflies inside. His borrowed clothes hit the floor fast. He adjusted the temperature for the water, and I stood there while he fiddled around with it until he must have decided it was just right. He turned and held my hand while I stepped into the bathtub under the spray from the showerhead, and then he followed me in. We laughed and knocked elbows.
He took his time lathering his hands up with my shower gel. He started with my face. I closed my eyes and he soaped up my cheeks, my jaws, stopping to caress the scar there. I sputtered when I inhaled a bubble and turned to rinse my face. The steam gathered around us and made him seem somehow even sexier than his cut abs or muscles alone could when I opened my eyes.
“Sorry,” he laughed. I wiped the water from my face so I could see him better, and his big blue eyes were scared, almost like he thought I would kick him out.
“It’s okay.”
He ran his soapy hands along my shoulders, arms, chest, and finally had me turn around so he could massage my back.
“So good.” The last of my tension drained away. My dick decided it liked what was going on, and I sighed, resting back against Carlisle’s chest when he ran his hands around my front to rest them on my belly. He got more soap and stroked circles there. He rested his chin on my shoulder so that he could watch the soap foam and swirl away down the drain. I felt well-loved and lazy. He turned me around so that the warm water pounded on my back and bent to run his hands along my thighs. He even soaped up my toes while I laughed and held onto his shoulders, but a heat was building between us. He was hard and had been for a while, and I was tired, but definitely interested as my dick perked up and ached with pleasant anticipation.
He went to his knees and wrapped his arms around my waist while he pressed his cheek to my stomach. His stubble was rough and tickled a little as he rubbed his cheek there. I laughed and hugged him as best as I could, and we both groaned when my hard-on brushed against his chest.
“I was more scared than I’ve ever been in my life,” he said.
“Me too.”
He looked up and I was shocked by the fierce gleam in his blue eyes. “I love you. I never want to lose you again.”
Leaning down, I took his face between my hands and kissed him. “I love you, too. Will you take me to bed?”
He growled and surged to his feet. The next few minutes were taken up by us nearly slipping and dying as we both tried to get out of the shower at the same time, him using all of my towels to dry me so I wouldn’t be cold while he dripped water everywhere himself, and then Carlisle scooped me up into his arms. It was a real trick for me to open the bathroom door for him while being held. By the time he lowered me gently to the futon, we were both snickering together. He crawled under my blankets with me and everything was just about perfect.
We kissed and fooled around, and I was so comfortable that I began to drift off even when his hand closed around my very happy dick. He nipped my throat and I hissed.
“Yes,” I sighed.
He ducked down beneath the covers.
“What are you—Oh!” I shifted my hips as Carlisle’s hot, wonderful lips slid around the head of my dick. I moaned. This was so much like the dreams I’d had in the cave. I felt the same, my body heavy, and a nice trapped sensation with his weight pinning my legs. I gasped and shifted my hips, pressing deeper into the fiery warmth of his mouth. He slid up my shaft and sucked on the head, and I arched hard, not wanting to lose that wonderful feeling. I flipped the blankets off of him so that I could see what he was doing, the sight was amazing.
The sight of his beautiful, plush pink lips around my hard shaft was enough to send sparks into my groin and clench my stomach. I slid my fingers into his hair, and he pulled back to lap at the slit. I shivered and cried out but didn’t close my eyes. I wanted to see him do this. My balls pulled up close to my body with another wave of pleasure that rushed me.
“Yes, I’ll get you there, sweetheart,” Carlisle whispered, and wrapped his lips around the head again. He sucked hard and I shivered and came with a gasp. My skin tingled hot and spikes of pleasure knotted in my groin and flowed out into the rest of me. The orgasm went on for a long while because every time I thought I was coming down, he would bob his head and massage my balls and use his hand to play with my taint, pressing firmly. Finally, there was nothing else left in me to pump into his mouth, and I fell back to the futon, completely wrung out. “I’m, oh, my gosh,” I whispered, un
able to open my eyes.
“I love you.”
“Love you.”
He kissed me and arranged me so that I was laid out on top of him with my cheek resting over his thudding heart. His hard cock dug into my hip, but he grasped my hand when I went to halfheartedly search it out.
“Tomorrow is soon enough for me. Rest.” He slowly rubbed my back.
I floated on happiness until sleep tugged me under.
27
Carlisle
I woke to Haiden nestled between my thighs sweetly repaying the favor of last night. I loved it, especially the way that he swallowed my seed down and licked his lips when he was finished, grinning like a Cheshire cat with his glasses tilted crazily. My enjoyment almost didn’t equal the sharp flash of pleasure that overwhelmed me at seeing the satisfaction on his face.
We took our time getting ready for the day after that, showering again, kissing in between tasks as we made ourselves a quick breakfast and then got dressed to go back to Jade’s and check on Seth.
“He’s all alone. I know how that feels. I want to make sure he knows that we’ll be his friends, at least,” Haiden said, chewing on the knuckle of his thumb absently while he stared out the window of the car during the short trip to Jade’s.
My heart swelled. My omega would make a good clan leader at my side. He cared so much for everyone already. If there was such a thing as fate, it had chosen well for me. “We will. Things will be fine, love.”
His eyebrows flew up and he let his hand fall to his lap. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of him smiling while I drove. But when we got to Jade’s house, it was only to find Jade nearly ready to throttle Mason, and Mason in an uproar.