by Stormy Glenn
“Boone, I don’t know—”
Boone held his cell phone out. “Call your father, baby.”
Chapter Eight
Boone held his breath as he watched Jackie dial. He could only imagine what his mate was going through. He was hoping if he could get Jackie back with the father he loved, maybe that would prove to his mate how much he cared.
He was still reeling from the fact that he was sitting across the table from his mate. When they first met, he had been overjoyed. That had quickly turned into his worst nightmare. Now that he was allowed back into the world Jackie lived in, he felt as if he were walking over broken glass—hopeful he didn’t get hurt, but willing to endure the pain if it meant Jackie was on the other side.
“Hello? Dad?”
When Jackie’s eyes filled with tears, Boone couldn’t stand it. He got up, walked around the table, and lifted Jackie into his arms. He delighted in the fact that he could hold Jackie in his arms as he carried him into the living room and sat on the couch, settling Jackie on his lap.
Despite whatever was going on between them at the moment, his mate needed him. The one thing Hugh had impressed upon him was that no matter what it was, you found a way to provide for your mate, even if it was hard for you.
Boone would do whatever he had to do to make sure Jackie was taken care of, even if this was all he could have with the man. He knew he’d done the right thing when Jackie leaned against him and laid his head on Boone’s shoulder.
“Yeah, Dad, I’m okay,” Jackie was saying. “I was just going through some shit I’d rather not talk about right now. Maybe later.”
Boone rubbed his hand up and down Jackie’s back, trying to comfort the man as best as he could. He tried not to listen in on their conversation, but sitting this close, it was kind of hard not to. He was a shifter, after all.
“Where are you?” a man with an older version of Jackie’s voice asked.
“A small town out west called Potter’s Creek.”
“Never heard of it.”
Jackie let out a little chuckle. “Like I said, Dad. It’s a small town.”
“What are you doing there?”
“Um, well, I set up a shop here. JJ’s Crafts.”
“I take it that means you’re not coming home?”
Boone held his breath when Jackie glanced up at him. He didn’t want to influence Jackie in any way. This needed to be his choice.
Oh hell, who was he kidding? He wanted to influence Jackie until the man chose him. He never wanted Jackie to leave.
“I’m not sure yet, Dad,” Jackie finally said, “but it’s not looking that way.”
“Then I’ll come to you.”
“No!”
Boone’s eyes rounded when Jackie shouted. There had been pure panic in that sound.
“Jackie?” the older man asked. “What’s going on?”
“I’m just… I’m not set up yet. I don’t want you to see the place until I’m all set up.”
“Jackson James Lee, you know none of that matters to me. I just want to see you, to make sure you’re okay.”
“I know, but—”
“Tell him,” Boone whispered. “If he’s as great as you say, then he has a right to know what’s going on with his son.”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t what?” the man on the phone asked. “What’s going on, Jackie? Who’s there with you?”
Boone held out his hand. Jackie gave him a strange look before handing the phone over. Boone kept his eyes locked with Jackie’s as he put the phone to his ear.
“Mr. Lee? My name is Boone Marshall.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m the sheriff of Potter’s Creek.”
“The sheriff?” the man shouted. “What—”
“I’m also Jackie’s fiancé.”
Jackie’s mouth dropped open.
“His fiancé?”
Boone lifted one eyebrow as he reached over and closed Jackie’s mouth with his finger. “Yes, his fiancé. Jackie and I met when I answered a call about some vandalism. It turned out to be just a couple of teenagers with too much time on their hands. I have them doing community service right now since no real damage was done.”
Jackie’s eyes rounded further with each word out of Boone’s mouth, but he didn’t interrupt. Boone took that as a win, especially the fiancé stuff. He’d been sure Jackie would smack him for that little fib, even if it wasn’t much of a fib. Being mates was more like being married. He figured, until Jackie fully accepted him, they could be engaged.
“Do you know what’s going on with Jackie, Sheriff?”
“I do, but it’s not my place to say. Jackie will tell you when he’s ready.”
“Is he in any danger?” the man asked, as any good father would.
How to answer that?
“I’ll protect him.”
“Then he is in danger?”
“There are things that need to be resolved, but Jackie’s in the best place he could be for that. My family is pretty powerful in this area. We’ll keep Jackie safe.”
“That doesn’t exactly answer my question, Sheriff. Is my son in danger?”
“Maybe.” Boone answered as honestly as he could. He really didn’t want to get on this guy’s bad side, not when he was trying so damn hard to win over his son. “We haven’t determined that yet. There have been a few incidents I’m still investigating.”
“Is it because…”
“Because?”
“I don’t know how long you’ve known Jackie, but he’s a little different.”
“Oh.” Boone clued in just that quickly. “No, we don’t believe Jackie’s colorful personality has anything to do with it.”
“Colorful personality.” The man chuckled. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“Look, Mr. Lee, I—”
“I guess if you’re engaged to my son, you’d better call me James.”
Boone blinked in surprise. “Yes, sir.”
“James, not sir. I work for a living.”
“Yes, sir…I mean James…sir.”
James chuckled.
“As I was saying, I won’t let anything happen to Jackie. He’s my number one priority now.”
“How does your family feel about that?”
“They understand and are in full support of us.”
“Good, that’s good. Jackie has faced too much crap for the things he likes. It’s about damn time someone understood just how special he is.”
Boone smiled when Jackie rolled his eyes. Apparently, he had heard his father. “I’m fully aware of just how special Jackie is. I won’t abuse the gift given to me.”
“Good, because sheriff or not, I’d have to kick your ass.”
Boone laughed at the picture that formed in his mind. He was pretty sure he was going to like Jackie’s father. “Why don’t I text you directions to Potter’s Creek from the airport? It’s not more than a few hours’ drive from the city. He might not say it, but I know Jackie’s been missing you.”
“I would appreciate that. I haven’t seen my son in almost six months. I’m used to him going off on his own every now and then, but he’s always kept in touch. I was starting to worry that something had happened to him.”
Something had happened to him. Boone just hoped the guy was understanding when it was explained to him. He knew it would devastate Jackie if his father rejected him.
“When can we expect you?”
“I’ll pack and catch the next flight out.”
“Text me when you know you’ll be coming in. We’ll have a room ready for you.” If not at Jackie’s place, then the pride house. One way or another, there would be a place for James.
“Thank you, Sheriff.”
“Boone, call me Boone.” The man was going to be his father-in-law, after all, even if he needed to go through a human marriage ceremony to tie Jackie to him.
“Thank you, Boone.”
“You’re welcome.” Boone lifted the phone
away from his ear as he glanced down at Jackie. “Do you want to say good-bye to your father?”
Jackie nodded and took the phone. Boone just held him as the two men finished their conversation. When Jackie finally hung up and handed him the phone, there was an expression on his face Boone couldn’t decipher.
“Jackie, is everything all right?”
“Thank you.”
Boone smiled as he stroked the back of his hand down the side of Jackie’s face. “Oh, you’re more than welcome, sweetheart. I’d do anything to make you happy. That’s what it means to be mates.”
“I don’t know how my father is going to take this.”
“I suspect he’ll take it just as well as he did when you told him you were gay and that you like to wear women’s clothing.”
“I didn’t tell him I was gay.”
Boone’s gut clenched. “You didn’t—”
“He told me after I spent too much time standing at the kitchen sink watching through the window as the hot next-door neighbor worked on his backyard. He sat me down and explained about the birds and the bees, and the bees and the bees, and the birds and the birds, and so on.”
“That had to be an interesting conversation.”
“I was mortified.” Jackie’s face flushed as if he was remembering that conversation. “I didn’t watch out the window again for an entire week.”
“Just a week?”
Jackie’s eyes rounded comically. “He was really hot.”
The man just laughed when Boone growled.
“I mean it though, Boone.” Jackie’s voice had lost its amusement and become more serious. “Thank you. I didn’t realize how much I missed my father until I heard his voice.”
“Any time, mate.” Boone meant that. He couldn’t think of a single thing he wouldn’t do for Jackie.
Jackie suddenly let out a huge yawn. “Sorry.” His face flushed. “I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep.”
“That’s probably due to the mating heat. Why don’t you close your eyes and get some rest? I’ll stay here to watch over you.” At the raised eyebrow Jackie gave him, Boone chuckled. “No funny business. I promise.”
He wasn’t sure Jackie believed him until the man closed his eyes and snuggled in. Boone stretched out a bit, more than prepared to stay right where he was while Jackie slept. He gently stroked his fingers through Jackie’s long auburn hair, wishing he could do more. As much as he’d like to help Jackie relax by sucking his cock, he couldn’t. A promise was a promise.
When Jackie began to softly snore, Boone scooped the man up in his arms and carried him into the bedroom. He laid Jackie down on the bed and then pulled his shoes off. He left the rest of the man’s clothing alone.
Unfortunately.
Boone stepped out into the hallway to make a quick call into work and let them know he wasn’t going to be into the office for the day. If there was an emergency, they could call, but other than that, he was off the clock.
After hanging up, Boone walked around the house and checked all the doors and windows. He wasn’t thrilled to find three unlocked windows. He’d have to talk to Jackie about that. If someone was after the man, leaving anything unlocked just wasn’t a good idea.
Once he was all done, Boone walked back into the bedroom. Jackie was lying right where he’d left him except for his arm, which was stretched over the other side of the bed. Boone would have liked to think Jackie was searching for him, except he wasn’t delusional by any means. Jackie was probably just stretching out.
Still, fantasies were nice.
Boone slid his boots off and then stretched out on the mattress beside Jackie. He smiled when Jackie’s nose wiggled as if he was sniffing the air. Maybe he was. It made him wonder what kind of shifter Jackie was. Until Jackie shifted, there wasn’t a way to find out.
When Jackie started stretching out as if following whatever scent he was chasing, Boone grabbed his mate and carefully pulled the man into the curve of his body. Jackie’s face went to his neck, and the man settled almost immediately.
Boone knew scent was important to shifters, but sometimes he took it for granted and forgot how special it was. Especially the mate scent. Nothing would ever smell as wonderful as his mate. Dark chocolate and spice.
Boone suspected his mate was a lot like that. Sensual and decadent, yet hot tempered. Jackie wouldn’t be a pushover. Boone was pretty sure his demeanor was more like Benji when the man was pissed off. That wasn’t a bad thing, especially for the mate of the pride beta. He didn’t want a submissive mate except in the bedroom.
Boone curled his hand in Jackie’s hair and then laid his head on the pillow and closed his eyes. The warmth of Jackie’s body pressed against his, the knowledge that he held his mate in his arms, plus the exhaustion from trying to keep it together while going through the mating heat alone, was catching up with him.
Maybe if he just closed his eyes for a little while…
Boone woke to hot, wet suction around his dick. That shouldn’t have surprised him, except he’d been dressed when he fell asleep and Jackie was the only other person in the room. Just because he had to be sure, and he was desperate to see if his fantasies were playing out in real life, Boone opened his eyes and glanced down.
Hot damn, they were.
Smoky gray eyes peeked up at Boone through a fall of luxurious auburn hair. A mischievous glint in their murky depths. A flush in his cheeks. His silky hair framing his face. Rosy lips spread wide around Boone’s dick.
“Fucking beautiful.”
Boone could see Jackie’s delight at his words when the man’s eyes shone brighter and the corners of his mouth stretched as they turned up. Boone reached down to slide his fingers through Jackie’s hair, but the man did something with his tongue that made Boone’s eyes roll back in his head.
He groaned as he sank his fingers into Jackie’s hair, then fisted them as he began to hump his hips, fucking the world’s most perfect mouth. “Oh, baby, please.”
He was so not above begging.
The suction around his dick grew stronger, tighter. Boone could feel the pressure building. Boone cried out as his entire body went stiff, the throbbing in his cock shooting out. He tried to jerk Jackie out of the way, but the man just tightened his lips.
When Jackie began to swallow, Boone thought he’d died and gone to heaven. Spots appeared in his eyes as Jackie’s throat muscles massaged his aching length, as the man swallowed down all he had to give.
By the time Jackie pulled off his cock, Boone felt like a wet noodle. He had just enough strength left to untangle his fingers from Jackie’s hair and curve one hand around the side of Jackie’s face.
“Thank you, baby.”
Jackie’s face was flushed and his lips were swollen and ruby red.
He had never looked better.
“Can I claim you?”
Chapter Nine
Jackie watched Boone swallow hard, so he totally expected to be told no. It wasn’t as if the man had a submissive bone in his body, either. In the dictionary under the word “macho,” there was probably a picture of Boone Marshall.
Still, Jackie had to try. He usually preferred being on the bottom, but not always, and if there was going to be any hope for the two of them, Boone needed to understand that. He needed to be willing to give a little. Not much. Just a little.
On the other hand, if he was totally against it, Jackie didn’t think he could give Boone up. Even knowing everything he knew, and despite Jackie’s deep-seated fear of shifters, Boone was growing on him.
Jackie wasn’t sure when he’d decided he wanted Boone to keep him. He suspected it’d happened sometime in the night. He had never slept so well or felt so safe as he did being wrapped in Boone’s arms all night long.
Boone could have pressed his advantage the previous evening. Jackie wasn’t stupid. He knew he would have given in easily enough. The mere thought of Boone taking him again had made his cock hard for hours.
Jackie yelped when he
was grabbed and pulled up Boone’s body. He tried not to wince when he saw the stern expression on Boone’s face.
Was that a no?
“You want to claim me?”
Jackie bit his lip as he nodded.
“You know what will happen if you do, right?”
Uh…
“I’ve never let another man take me before, Jackie, but I’ll gladly give up my ass for my mate. You just need to know if we do this, I’m not giving you up. I’m not walking away to give you time to get used to me or pretending we’re both not neck deep in a relationship. You will be mine.”
“Yes, but will you be mine?”
“Until I take my very last breath.”
Boone seemed so serious. His eyes didn’t waver. His voice was steady and firm. Jackie ached with everything in him to believe Boone.
“I will never want another, never desire another. Mates can’t be unfaithful once they are claimed. That’s just how things work in the shifter world.”
“So, no divorce then?”
“No, baby.” Boone grinned, which was odd. “Divorce is a human word.”
“What happens if two shifters have issues?”
“They work them out, Jackie.”
Boone sounded so sincere that Jackie couldn’t help but laugh.
“Don’t humans do that?” Boone asked.
“Not without a therapist.”
“We have elders for that,” Boone said. “And omegas like my brother, Simon. They help keep the pride calm. If things get really bad, you can always go talk with Jude. He’s a Regal Elder. They’re like the highest shifter in the shifter world.”
“A Regal Elder?”
Boone nodded. “Jude is mated to Tripp. Jude’s brother, Patch, is mated to my brother Otto. They live in my home pride.”
“Your home pride?”
“The pride where I was born.”
“Oh.”
“Remember, I told you. Otto took it over after my father went to prison.”
Jackie nodded as he laid his head down on Boone’s chest. He did remember. Now. He’d kind of had a lot of other things on his mind lately.