by Lynn Hagen
“Smells good in here,” Chey said as he took a seat at the table. “You gonna share?”
“Yep, I made enough for an army, and the way those soldiers eat, that might not be enough.” Jasper chuckled as he pulled the bacon from the frying pan, and then added some raw pieces to the heated skillet. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you that I liked your hair.”
“That’s because it matches yours.” Tristan laughed.
“I am partial to redheads. I tried to get Toby to dye his, but he just pouted for a few days, something about trying to change him. As if. I just wanted to see how he would look.” Jasper smiled at Tristan, his eyes full of mischief.
Toby growled and grabbed Jasper around his waist. “Mine.”
“Isn’t he cute? Ever since mates started showing up here, he’s gone all possessive on me. It must be a human thing.” Jasper chuckled and kissed Toby. “He even growls better than a wolf.”
“I’m standing right here.” Toby pouted, sticking his bottom lip out.
Although Tristan had met the couple and had lived here for a week, he was just now getting to know them, and he liked them. “I know what you mean, Toby. I feel the same way about Hunter and Quinn, so it must not be a human thing but a mate thing.”
“Don’t encourage him.” Jasper set Toby aside and brought breakfast to the table. “I suggest you get your portion now before the mass of wolves comes in and sucks the kitchen clean.”
“We heard that,” Memphis quipped as he came into the kitchen and grabbed a plate. “I still say my cooking is better.”
“Not even on a good day, buster.” Jasper pointed his spatula at the soldier. Tristan was enjoying the friendly bantering. He hadn’t been around a lot of people before, not like this, under one roof, and he was having fun.
“Hey, squirt.” Sidney patted Tristan on the back as he grabbed a plate and filled it. “How are you holding up?”
Tristan chewed his bacon and swallowed before answering. “Good.”
The soldiers sat at the table as they ate and talked. The laughter and camaraderie made Tristan smile. It was loud and filled with wisecracks and chuckles. It felt like a home. Like the home he had grown up in, and the feeling made him nostalgic.
His only dark spot in life was Xavier. Tristan’s home life had been wonderful with loving parents and good friends. One wrong decision and his life had taken a wrong turn.
Tristan brushed the thought away, not wanting his good mood hampered with thoughts of that bastard.
He wasn’t sure what he was going to do today while Hunter and Quinn worked, but he was glad to be here.
“Psst.” Sidney leaned over as the others around the table ate and talked.
Tristan looked up just as he shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a Red Bull on you, would you?”
Hunter pulled into the jobsite, waiting for Quinn to get off of work. He closed the hardware store early so the three could have a nice evening together. They left the decision up to Tristan to choose what they were going to do. The wolf seemed to bask in the glow of making decisions on his own, and Hunter liked the way it made his rainbow’s cheeks color.
“I have the sketches.” Hunter walked over to Quinn and Dino, handing Dino Tristan’s rendering and then grabbing his mate and planting a kiss soundly on his lips. He didn’t care who was watching, he missed his mates today.
Quinn grabbed Hunter’s arms and wrapped them around his shoulders as Dino looked at Tristan’s drawings. “Have you shown these to Zeus?”
“No, I wanted to see what you thought of them first,” Quinn answered.
“They’re fantastic. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Alpha decided to go with these. Why haven’t I hired him yet?” Dino looked at Quinn, amusement flashing across his face.
“Because we haven’t caught the man trying to kill him,” Hunter gruffly reminded the foreman. “Until we do, he stays in the Alpha’s home while we work.”
“When he’s gained his freedom, I’d like to talk to him. These are just…wow.” Dino flipped through the drawings, mumbling to himself as he studied them.
“I guess our man is a hit.” Quinn chuckled, entwining his fingers in Hunter’s.
“I’d like him to work for us. It would give him self-confidence and a feeling of accomplishment, something I think he sorely needs,” Dino said as he continued to stare at the drawings.
“That decision has to be his, Dino. I won’t force him into anything he doesn’t want to do. Though I doubt we’d have to tempt him into working, I think he really likes being an artist.” Hunter inhaled his mate’s scent as he held him. “How are you holding up through all of this, babe?”
“I’m good. Working helps. You?”
Hunter loved that Quinn asked about him. It showed his mate cared. “All right. I missed you guys during the day. I wish there was more to do at the store so Tristan could spend the day with me, but I can’t in good conscience have him sitting around while I sell wood.”
“Something tells me he’d sit there while you sold cow dung.” Quinn laughed.
“I know he would. That’s why I wanted him to stay at the Alpha’s home during the day, gives him something to do.”
Quinn followed Hunter to the truck, both ready to start their evening. Hunter pulled out of the jobsite and headed back to Zeus’s house.
“I have a pressing problem that needs immediate attention.” Hunter grinned as he watched the road. “Think you can help me out?”
“I can see your pressing problem from here.” Quinn slid across the seat and unsnapped Hunter’s jeans. “And I like what I see.” He reached into Hunter’s jeans, freeing his heavy cock.
“What are you going to do with that?” Hunter noticed his voice had dropped. It was husky and strained from want. He lifted from the seat, allowing Quinn to pull his pants down to his thighs.
“You’ll see.”
Hunter pulled the truck to the side of the road once he got the vehicle back under control. The instant contact of hot lips to his shaft made him swerve. Thank goodness the road was clear of traffic.
He threw it into park and moved the seat back, grabbing Quinn’s hair as his mate sucked his dick. Quinn’s tongue made a path down his cock, lapping at his balls. Hunter groaned, wishing his jeans were off.
“Suck it, baby.” Hunter ran his fingers through Quinn’s hair, his canines descending as Quinn sucked him like a treat. When Quinn got onto his knees on the seat, all Hunter wanted to do was fuck him. He wet his finger and then shoved his hand down the back of Quinn’s pants, probing at his tight hole. When Quinn moaned around his cock, Hunter pushed his finger into the snug space.
Quinn’s hips moved around as he took Hunter down his throat. He slid a second finger in, grabbing Quinn’s hair as his mate swirled his tongue around the head of Hunter’s prick. He wanted to bite. Fuck, he wanted to bite Quinn in his shoulder. His gums ached to do so.
“I have to fuck you, baby.” Hunter pled. Quinn rose up and kicked his boots off, pulling his jeans down and off.
“We better not get caught out here.”
“We won’t. Take the shirt off, too.” Hunter pulled his shirt over his head and pushed his jeans to his ankles. “Get on.”
Quinn squirmed around until he was straddling Hunter’s lap. He gasped as bare chest met bare chest. Hunter reached behind Quinn and held his cock as Quinn impaled himself and sank down inch by slow inch. “No lube. It kind of burns.”
“Do you want to stop?” Hunter took deep breaths, preparing himself for Quinn to climb off. His cock jerked in protest, but he wouldn’t have his mate in pain.
“No, just give me a minute.”
Hunter spread Quinn’s ass cheeks apart, hoping that helped. Hunter closed his eyes. It felt like, skin to skin, they were as one. They weren’t just connected by body, but by soul. He could feel it.
Quinn cupped the back of Hunter’s head as he seated his twin mounds on Hunter’s groin. Quinn’s lips f
ound his, and Hunter gave himself freely to the passion of Quinn’s kiss. His tongue explored the soft recesses of his mate’s mouth, and Hunter was lost to the delicious sensation.
Quinn gasped into his mouth, rising up and then coming back down, thoroughly enjoying the ride. Hunter’s hands ghosted over Quinn’s bare back, exploring the hard lines of Quinn’s body.
“Baby, I’m close.” Quinn panted into Hunter’s mouth. “Take over, fuck me, please.”
Hunter sunk his fingers into Quinn’s sides and shoved his cock up into his mate’s tight star. He repeated the action over and over again. Every time was a little harder, a little more forceful. Hunter could feel his cockhead plunging in and out of Quinn, his sensitized skin turning his body into a vessel of exposed nerve endings.
Hunter’s callused hand pushed between their joined bodies and grabbed Quinn’s cock, holding it tight as he thrust repeatedly. Hell if he knew where his coordination was coming from considering his brain was melting from craving his mate’s body to come all over him.
He leaned forward, lapping at his mate’s neck and then sinking his teeth into Quinn’s shoulder. The rush shot through Hunter at lightning speed, Quinn crying out as he bathed Hunter’s hand with his seed. The tight grip Quinn’s ass had on Hunter’s cock took him over the edge, and his body shattered as he filled Quinn with his cum.
Licking the wound closed, Hunter’s head fell back on the headrest, trying desperately to catch his breath. Quinn laid his head on Hunter’s chest, his breathing just as erratic.
“As much as I want to stay just like this, we have to get back to our mate.” Hunter ran the tips of his fingers down Quinn’s spine, hating the fact that they had to move.
“I know. Five more minutes, Ma.” Quinn chuckled, his laughter vibrating Hunters chest.
“Come on, troublemaker. We have to go.” Hunter gave Quinn a tight hug and then released him. “Get dressed. I don’t want you walking in there naked, or I’ll have to carve everyone’s eyes out, except Tristan’s.”
“I’m moving,” Quinn grumbled, pulling his leg from the other side of Hunter’s hip. “In the rulebook of sex, it clearly states that a man is entitled to a nap after unloading his balls.”
“As soon as we get back, you nut.” Hunter laughed, straightening his clothes out and waiting for Quinn to get dressed and buckled in. Quinn had a point. A nap was in order.
Chapter Eight
Quinn leaned against the counter, Tristan’s back pulled to his chest and his arms wrapped lightly around his jellybean’s waist as he threw his head back and roared with laughter. Tristan was covering his mouth, trying his best to cover his giggle.
“I’m serious, man. You have to see Sid at bingo on Red Bull. It’s not a pretty sight. I thought those women were going to beat him with their bingo cards. Missy had to pull him out of there.” Dino held his side as he tried to speak and laugh at the same time. He dried his eyes, after-giggles bubbling up from his chest. “Poor Sidney was running down the street with Missy, trying to hide from Missy’s grandmother who swore Sidney dabbed each space on purpose.” Dino held his chest as he gave in and laughed out loud.
“She had a lethal handbag.” Sidney pouted. “I couldn’t help it. I got overly excited and began dabbing everyone’s card.”
“Are you banned from bingo now?” Tristan asked with merriment.
“No. They agreed to let me come back if I stayed sugar-free on Wednesdays.”
Quinn held onto Tristan as he laughed until his sides and cheeks were sore. He didn’t fail to notice how relaxed and happy Tristan appeared. His jellybean was even more gorgeous when he smiled. The word sir was almost nonexistent now. The only time he heard Tristan use it was when he was nervous. Which, these days, was rare.
“Don’t pout, baby.” Dino pulled Sidney into his arms. “At least they let you come back.” He laughed again, Sidney punching him in his arm.
“Thanks to Missy calming everyone down and promising that I would behave.” Sidney’s lips curled in, and then he began to laugh as well. “And I have to sit at my own table, away from everyone else’s cards.”
Tristan wiped his face, his smile lighting up the room as he laughed.
“That’s like the time my mom had to rescue me from the neighbor’s poodle. My cousin convinced me that Mr. Fluffy Bottom liked to be handfed sausages. He omitted the part where the dog always thought your fingers were the sausages. Mrs. Gladstone ran around in circles with her arms in the air, screaming for Mr. Fluffy Bottom to let my fingers go as my mom tried to distract the dog with a can of tuna.” Tristan laughed. “What dog eats tuna?”
Quinn listened closely as he chuckled. This was the first time Tristan talked about something from his childhood. “How old were you?”
“Believe it or not, seventeen.”
Dino and Sidney roared with laughter. Quinn could see how pleased Tristan was with the feeling of belonging. All his baby needed were good friends and two loving mates to help him through the murky waters. “My cousin was grounded for a week after that. But every once in a while, he would leave a can of tuna by my bedroom door and run away, swearing it wasn’t him when I asked.”
“Did you throw the cans away?” Quinn asked, kissing his man on the cheek.
“No, I became very good at making tuna salad, tuna casserole, and feeding the neighborhood cats.”
Quinn couldn’t remember the last time he laughed this much. What really got Quinn to thinking was the fact that Tristan had a family. “Have you tried to call your mom or cousin?”
Tristan shook his head, lowering his eyes as the laughter died on his lips. Quinn hated that he was the cause of this but needed to know about his mate’s family. He couldn’t imagine not talking to his family.
“No, I’m too ashamed to call them. The last time I spoke to my mom I wasn’t very pleasant. Xavier had convinced me that I didn’t need family and friends, and I believed him.”
Quinn hugged Tristan close, giving his jellybean the comfort he needed while thinking of a way to get mother and son back on speaking terms. He usually stayed out of family business, but family was what Tristan needed in his life right now. “I’d like to call her and talk to her, if you don’t mind.”
“I can’t face her, Quinn. I was terrible. I even lost touch with my cousin, Justin. He was my best friend growing up and even into my adulthood. He’ll probably never forgive me either.”
“You’d be amazed at what family will forgive. I was fortunate enough to have a very cool mom who didn’t care that I was gay, but hated the fact that I wouldn’t go shopping with her. I mean, come on, what guy likes shopping, gay or not?”
Tristan cocked his head, staring at Quinn with furrowed brows. “What does that have to do with being mean to your family?”
Quinn snorted. “It’s being mean in my mom’s book when you don’t want to help her host her garden parties. She was a little too pro-gay. Do I look like I host any kind of party that doesn’t involve beer and football? She thinks gay equates with shopping sprees and gossip.” Quinn chuckled. “I finally convinced her that the only gay thing about me was my preference. She got the point when I went to work for Dino.”
“Most people do have a big misconception about it. My cousin helped me through my coming out. I thought my mom would disown me, but she just shrugged and said as long as I remembered to put the toilet seat down, she didn’t care who I dated.”
“That sounds so cool.” Sidney spoke, reminding Quinn that they weren’t the only ones in the kitchen. “I grew up with an adoptive family, but they loved me like their own. It was my mom who helped me accept who I was, along with Chey.”
“What did I do, Sidney?” Chey asked as he came into the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge. Quinn had met the guy, but felt it bad manners to ask why he wore leather gloves.
“Picked on me growing up.” Sidney teased, winking at Quinn and Tristan.
“Liar.” Chey grinned, closing the fridge and opening the bottled water. “I saved
your ass when you tried to convince the cheerleaders that the football team was gay and that they could be convinced to switch sides if the pompom girls baked you cookies every Friday.”
“Did it work?” Quinn asked.
“Hell no.” Chey laughed. “They shoved Sidney in his locker and left a note on the outside stating, ‘The noise you hear is a locker ghost, stay away if you don’t want to be haunted,’ with every cheerleader’s signature on it. I happened to have a late class and heard his dumbass yelling that he would take the cookies twice a month if that sounded better. Talk about stupid moves.”
“Hey, Mom cut my sugar, I was desperate.” Sidney laughed. “They forgave me. It was the football team I had to hide from my senior year. That was a decade ago. Stop telling everyone that story.” Sidney popped Chey on his chest.
“You’re not afraid to touch him?” Tristan asked. This got Quinn’s attention.
“Nope, I made my peace with myself a long time ago,” Sidney stated proudly. “The only thing I get when I touch him is irritated.”
“What exactly happens when people touch you?” Tristan pointed to Chey’s covered hands.
“Later, I need to speak with you and Quinn,” Zeus announced as he stepped into the room. “Can you come to my office?”
Quinn took Tristan by the hand and walked to the Alpha’s office. “What’s up?”
“Have a seat, gentlemen. I wanted to talk to you about Tristan’s drawings. I like his ideas and had the blueprints reworked. Do you have any other thoughts before the project is complete?” Zeus sat on the edge of his desk, picking up the tumbler half filled with amber liquid.
“Maybe I can go back to the site and look at it again,” Tristan suggested excitedly. Quinn wanted to hug Zeus for making Tristan light up like a Christmas tree, only he liked having all his teeth, which he was sure Zeus would knock out if he tried to tackle-hug the big guy.