by Aiden Bates
Cody laughed. “You have such a way with words, Austin. Yes, I’m fine. I was just hoping to put in an order for wine.”
Austin blinked. “Email? Like usual?”
Cody froze. “I was afraid you’d lose Internet or power?”
“Underground cables, both.” Austin crossed his arms across his chest. “Did Jamie call you?”
Cody slumped his shoulders. “When’s the last time anyone got anything by you, huh?”
“I could tell you stories. But then you might think you could get something by me and keep trying.” Austin sighed. “I’m going to have to sit him down and have a long talk with him. I really don’t want you to be stuck here, man. It’s a nice shop, really, but it’s not a great place to have to spend a night or two.”
“You don’t really think they’re going to shut down the roads, do you?” Cody turned his head to look outside the shop. “Oh.”
Outside, an SUV had skidded and wiped out, landing across both lanes. Horns started to honk as motorists got frustrated and panicked.
“Most of those people’ve been born and raised on these streets, you’d think they knew how to drive in the winter. Four-wheel drive doesn’t help you without good tires and a brain in your head.” Austin stuck his sign on the door and locked it. “You’re not locked in, but I don’t want people to risk themselves to come in.” He pulled down the shutters and grabbed his laptop to update the website.
“Well, at least let me walk you home.” Cody grabbed for his jacket. “I left my car there anyway.”
Austin hesitated. He should stay in the shop, just in case. “We’ve probably got time. Did you bring a change of clothes? You’re going to get covered in snow.”
Cody nodded, blushing a little, and Austin smirked. He filled his bag with bread, cheese, and wine, locked up the rest of the shop, set the alarm, and led Cody back to his house.
The walk normally took four minutes. With the storm the way it was, it took twenty. They climbed the back stairs and let themselves into the kitchen, stomping the snow off in the little entryway before stepping fully inside. Cody grabbed his bag out of his car before coming inside and that was okay. “I didn’t pack this expecting anything,” Cody told Austin when he came into the kitchen. “I was just concerned about getting trapped somewhere—if I got stuck in traffic, like in the Blizzard of ‘78 or something.”
Austin laughed as he put the cheese in the refrigerator. “It’s okay, Cody. I wasn’t going to accuse you of anything. Let’s both change into something a little less cold and damp, shall we? I’ve got some sweats you can use. You can save your clean and dry stuff for when we’ve been rescued.”
Cody cleared his throat. “Probably not the worst idea you’ve ever had.”
Austin showed Cody to a guest room and bathroom, and brought him some nice and clean sweats before hitting the shower himself. Cody looked a little pale at the sight of the guest room, but he didn’t say anything. What had he expected? They weren’t lovers, they weren’t a couple, they were just two people. Austin had to observe the proprieties.
If Cody chose to sleep in a different bed, one with a nice, tall, warm omega in it, that would be a different story. At least Austin wouldn’t feel like he’d forced him.
They met back up in the kitchen a little while later, warmer and a little less awkward. At least, Austin felt a little less awkward. He wasn’t sure that there was a protocol for a one-night stand that one wanted to be one’s alpha coming by to defend one from other alphas. “So,” he said, when Cody appeared. “The back TV room has the most comfortable couches, along with a fireplace.”
Cody drew his eyebrows together. “Is a fireplace a great idea when there’s this much wind?”
“Good point.” Austin sighed and led the way. “The couches are comfortable, though. Can I get you anything?”
“I’m good.” Cody sat down on one of the couches. Austin took the seat on the other end of the couch. It wasn’t so far that it was standoffish, but it was far enough that he wasn’t throwing himself at Cody. “So how’ve you been?”
“Okay. Same old, same old. You know how it is. What sob story did Jamie use to get you to come out?” Austin bit down on his lip.
Cody shifted so that he was facing Austin. “It wasn’t just Jamie. I mean yeah, Jamie’s the one who called and said you were going to stay in the shop with those two charmers around, but I spoke with Larry Wilde yesterday. Your lawyer.”
Austin grabbed a nearby throw and drew it around himself. “Really? Was it about Kirby’s visit?” He didn’t want to talk about Kirby, or about Larry, but he didn’t feel like he had a choice. Maybe if he talked about them, he would be so turned off that he wouldn’t want to put his hands on Cody.
“Sort of. He was worried about your safety too. Showed me the website of that group Adrian’s involved with.” Cody shivered with his whole body. “Nasty pieces of work, I’ve got to say. How did you manage to be the only one in all of your family not to get caught up in all of that crap?”
Austin blushed and tucked his hair behind his ear. “I don’t know. Maybe because I was the only omega, I was the only one who was going to be negatively affected by it I guess. I mean that whole ‘eternal submission’ thing was a real turnoff, but it doesn’t bother people who aren’t being forced to submit eternally.”
“It bothers the crap out of me.” Cody shivered again. “I so wanted to bleach my brain just after looking at their landing page.”
Austin wrinkled his nose. “Don’t you kind of win in that scenario?”
“Not really. I’m a free choice kind of guy.” He shrugged. “If that kind of life is what an omega wants, truly wants, I’m not going to stop them.” He swallowed. “I was going to claim an omega once. He wound up changing his mind. I still get holiday cards sometimes.”
“Oh.” Austin covered his mouth. “That must be hard for you.”
“Sometimes. But I’d rather he was with someone else than unhappy. I don’t get wanting your omega to be unhappy, just so you can assert your dominance or whatever. Or just being indifferent.” Cody squirmed a little. “I don’t know. The whole thing just made me super uncomfortable, their whole mindset.”
Austin was sure he must be glowing. He relaxed, leaning a little closer to Cody, and smiled. “It’s good to know that there’s at least one decent alpha still out there.”
Cody chuckled softly. “Well, now’s the part where I’m supposed to tell you that there are lots of decent alphas out there and the right one will come along eventually, you just have to wait for him, but I don’t really want to do that.”
Austin looked into Cody’s wide gray eyes. “You don’t?”
“Nope.”
Austin leaned over and touched his lips to Cody’s. Cody wrapped his arms around him and shifted their positions, so he was holding Austin and blocking Austin’s body from the air with his own. Austin was completely warm and safe, cocooned by Cody’s magnificent presence. When Cody’s tongue pressed against Austin’s lips, Austin opened up without a moment’s hesitation.
Cody ran a hand along Austin’s flank, making him shiver. He couldn’t get enough of the feeling of having Cody’s big, strong hands on him. He’d loved it before, and he’d finally resigned himself to never feeling it again. Cody’s hand fit onto the globe of his ass like it was made to cup him there, to grasp him and hold him and warm him up better than any fire could.
Cody pulled back, much to Austin’s disappointment. “Do you actually want this?” Cody whispered.
Austin blinked. “Yes,” he said. “I want this, and I want you.” He laughed and stuck his hands up under Cody’s shirt.
Cody buried his face in Austin’s neck and took a deep breath. “I’ve got to be sure. I don’t know how well I can distance myself again.”
So Cody had been distancing himself on purpose? Why? “Come on, big guy.” He pushed himself up to his feet. “Let’s head upstairs.”
“Don’t want to get the couch all dirty?” Cody rose to his
feet, a telltale bulge marking the front of his sweats.
Austin winked and tossed his head. “Don’t have stashes of lube and condoms all over the house.” He took Cody’s hand. “I don’t know what kind of omega you take me for.”
“Mine,” Cody told him, in a soft voice, and kissed him.
***
They headed upstairs and lay down in Austin’s giant bed. Austin grabbed the lube and the condoms, and just when he put them on the bed the lights went out.
Cody looked around at the darkened room. They still had a little bit of light, but not much. “Should we call someone?”
“Nah.” Austin stripped his sweats off and slid into bed. “It happens sometimes in bad storms. Someone probably skidded out and hit a transformer or something further up the line. They’ll have power up when they can, and we don’t really need the lights on right now.” He stroked the sheets beside him, a shadowy hand against the dark sheet. “Do we?”
“Much as I like to look at you, I think we can probably find a way to survive without it.” Cody’s mouth watered at the scent of his omega. He peeled off his borrowed clothing and got into the bed beside Austin.
Austin was on him in a second, his lithe and light body climbing on top of Cody to demand kisses. Cody obliged. He would always oblige. He loved that Austin wasn’t afraid to ask for what he wanted. He wasn’t too caught up in an omega’s “proper place” to reach out and grab when he was feeling affectionate. Austin’s slender fingers stroked along Cody’s body, long lines of desire leaving trails of heat everywhere they touched.
Cody grinned and flipped them. He couldn’t believe that he had another chance. Austin had told him that he wanted him. Austin hadn’t minded when Cody packed an overnight bag. Austin had let Cody call him his omega, even though that was kind of a loaded term for him these days. Maybe they were being snowed in, and maybe their other problems were still going to be out there when they were finished, but they had a chance at something real.
He pinned Austin’s arms to the bed, not forcefully but enough to get his point across. He mouthed along Austin’s jawline, and he was gratified to see Austin turn his head to give him more access to his neck. Cody wasn’t going to claim him, not then anyway, but it was good to know that Austin liked attention to his neck.
He moved his mouth down, nibbling along Austin’s prominent collarbone. Austin rocked his hips against him ever so slightly. He probably didn’t even know he was doing it. His hardness rubbed against Cody’s cock, drawing sighs from both of them that made Cody want the storm to never end.
He wrapped one of his big, strong hands around both of them and jerked, gently, for a few minutes. He didn’t want to finish them both off. They had a lot of time on their hands, and it would be a shame to finish early. All that he wanted to do was tease, enhance the experience a little bit for both of them.
It certainly worked. Austin looked up at him with shining hazel eyes, jaw slack with desire and admiration. Cody couldn’t see the flush of arousal on his cheeks, spreading out onto his upper chest, but he knew that it was there. He’d seen it before, the last time they’d been together, and he could feel the heat radiating from his mate’s skin.
A stray thought passed through his head that he probably ought not to be thinking of Austin as his mate, not yet anyway, but he ignored it. There was time enough to have that discussion later. That moment was a time for need and for heat. All he knew was the encompassing scent of sun-warmed grapes and the increasing irritation of the high thread-count sheets against his skin. Philosophy could wait for later.
Austin parted his legs and rocked his hips a few times. “I want you,” he growled. “Get me ready.”
Cody kissed him while reaching for the lube on the nightstand. “Bossy.”
“The boss.” Cody could feel Austin’s grin against his own lips.
Cody laughed as he started to open Austin up. He relished every sound that his partner made as Cody launched into the process. It was an incredible thing, to feel Austin relaxing and coming apart to accept him. Austin’s sighs and little groans made a perfect melody against the howling winds outside. The lube was cool on Cody’s fingers, but it heated up quick between both of their bodies.
Cody grabbed a condom from the strip and put it on. He’d only just slicked himself up and put it on when Austin tensed underneath him. Before Cody had time to wonder what had just happened, Austin flipped them again and straddled Cody’s hips. He lined himself up with Cody’s cock and sank down, so slowly that Cody wanted to scream.
Once Cody was fully seated, Austin waited. A few beads of sweat dripped down from his face onto Cody’s bare chest, where Austin’s hands braced him. Cody barely noticed. He was engulfed in tight pressure and incredible heat. There weren’t words to describe the feeling.
Then Austin moved. He circled his hips slowly at first before building up a faster rhythm. Cody put his hands on Austin’s hips and held on. At first he just wanted to help guide Austin, but as the rhythm picked up and Austin kept moving Cody had to give in to his instincts. He was an alpha. He couldn’t just hold still and let the omega do all of the work during sex. He met Austin’s rocking hips with deep, powerful thrusts that drew loud cries of pleasure from his omega.
It only took a few tugs to send Austin over the edge. He came shuddering over Cody’s fist, body clenching around him. Cody wasn’t done yet and kept up his pace for another few minutes before he spilled into the condom. Then he helped Austin to dismount and ran into the bathroom before his energy could give out entirely.
He came back to bed with a warm washcloth to clean them both up, and took Austin into his arms. Austin was all but boneless at his side, warm and cuddly and oh so willing to be wrapped up and held tight. “You’re incredible.” Cody kissed him on the top of his head, and wondered how such a tall man managed to make himself small enough that Cody could do that.
“Mmm.” Austin’s voice was sleepy and sated. There wasn’t enough light in here to see by, but Cody could imagine his omega’s eyes closed with a little smile on his beautiful face. It wasn’t that much of a fantasy; Cody could feel the smile against his flesh. “You bring it out in me.” He squirmed a little. “I find myself wanting to make you happy, just because. Is that weird?”
Cody chuckled softly. “No.” Inside, his heart leaped in his chest, joining with choirs of angels in hymns of praise. He could think of Austin as his. It was okay. Austin’s instincts all pointed that way. They were perfect for one another anyway. They were both driven, professional men. Cody didn’t want some subservient omega who wasn’t going to move a muscle without his alpha’s permission, and Austin would cut someone who tried to turn him into that kind of omega.
He couldn’t say that. Not yet. His beautiful and perfect omega wasn’t ready to hear the words “claim” or “mate,” even if his subconscious might be thinking it. “It’s not weird at all, Austin,” he said, continuing his thought. “I mean obviously I kind of like it. And I feel the same way. I want to please you. And I’m finding myself pretty motivated to keep you safe.”
“Mmm.” Austin almost sounded like a cat. “Well I’m feeling pretty safe so far.” His arms tightened around Cody. “Rest now. Talk after.”
As much as Cody wanted to iron out details of their nascent relationship right then, he knew his mate was right. They were still coming down from their post-orgasmic high and that they shouldn’t address any topic more serious than “was it good for you?”
They dozed for about an hour. Cody woke up when Austin pressed a light kiss to his cheek and slipped out from under his arm. The room had gotten even darker. “What’s up? What’s wrong?”
“I figure that the stuff in the fridge will go bad soon enough.” Cody heard the sound of fabric rustling and saw an Austin-shaped shadow pulling on a pair of sweats. Whether or not it was the pair he’d been wearing before they’d hopped into bed together was another story entirely. “I’ll stick it out in the snow until the power comes back on.” He paused ju
st for a second, and Cody could hear the smile in his lover’s voice. “Plus, sex always makes me kind of hungry. I thought maybe we could snack?”
Cody laughed and rolled out of bed. “Let’s do it. You’ll have to lead the way. It’s too dark in here for me to navigate unfamiliar territory.”
“No worries.” Austin fumbled around in a drawer for a minute. Cody heard the strike of a match and saw a lick of flame, and then a candle cast its light over the room. “That should help. I’ve been here long enough that I don’t usually need ‘em, but you might.”
“Do you lose power out here in Skaneateles all that often?” Cody helped pull things out of the fridge. There wasn’t a lot in there that needed to be stuck out in the snow. Austin had some cheese and a bit of cream. He had some butter and a few vegetables. He didn’t seem to keep a whole lot of perishable food around.
“Not really. Like I told you back at the shop, most of the wires are underground. It does happen sometimes, though, so it’s good to be prepared.” He put the perishables out into the snow right in front of the back door, but pulled out a package of brie and brought it back. He hesitated, and went back to stick some wine into the snow too. “That’s something that does carry over from Texas. You have to be prepared for any kind of weather up here. You know they get tornadoes here?”
“For real?” Cody sat down at the table. He didn’t feel right, rummaging through Austin’s things in the dark.
Austin grabbed plates, knives, and wine glasses. “Yeah. They don’t happen on a regular basis, but they are a thing and you have to be prepared. That’s on top of the blizzards, and the lake effect snow, and the monsoon-type rain, and the stifling humidity.”
Cody chuckled. “I’ve been here for three years. I’ve lived through most of that.”
“True.” Austin set out the place settings and the food, and then he returned with a few more candles. “There. Now we can pretend we’re in Paris or something.”