by Julia Talbot
“I will. It’s amazing.” He made a mental note to call and cancel the hotel.
“If you need me, this is my private line. Please call.”
“Thank you.” He took the card before stuffing all of his office items back in his bag. He headed out to the car, finding Sebastian pacing.
“Are you ready? Where do you want to start? I assume you want to do groceries in the morning?”
He paused, glad he hadn’t hit the button on canceling the hotel. “I do. That way we don’t have to worry about cold storage.”
“Good deal. You need a… Target?” Poor confused, angry lover.
“Target is good.” He slipped his hand into Sebastian’s. “I assume you didn’t talk. I need to doctor your face.”
“We didn’t talk a lot, no. He was being a dick.” Sebastian held on.
“That sucks.” He went up on tiptoe to give a kiss. “Everyone kinda smelled you on me. So I gave us away.”
“I’m not interested in hiding you.”
“Well, I did have that moment of panic that you weren’t out, but you nixed that.” Thank God. He would have lost it if he’d ruined Sebastian’s family life.
“I’m not a liar, Jaxon. We’re leaving now.”
“I never thought you were a liar. I just don’t always understand family dynamics. Been a while since I had any.”
“No. I meant….” Sebastian sighed. “Please, Jaxon. I hurt. Let’s go.”
“Of course, babe. Hey.” He took one more kiss. “I’m with you. No matter what.” He would drive. Sebastian just looked worn.
“No matter what?” Sebastian searched his eyes.
“I swear it.” Mate bonds sorta overrode anything else. Boom.
Sebastian didn’t say anything else; he just handed over the keys. Jaxon took them, then got Sebastian in the car and set the GPS for the nearest Target. He would get first aid supplies, clothes, books, and movies. They needed a little bit of everything.
Tomorrow they’d buy the food. He had plans. Sebastian had loved his lasagna. He wanted to get to the heart through the belly.
They zoomed through the Target, and by halfway through Sebastian was beginning to relax. Jaxon loved making Sebastian laugh, and the bargain bins were great for that.
They bought Halloween lights and Christmas lights and ridiculous cheesy art supplies. Jaxon got pants and sweaters and more socks and a pair of decent hiking boots. Sebastian picked out more pillows and a couple of huge fuzzy blankets.
“Snuggling?” He bumped hips with Sebastian, teasing.
“Yes. Grooming. Snuggling. Napping. All the things.”
“Mmm. And then there will be pot roast and carrot cake.”
“I like carrot cake. I like cream cheese icing.”
“I thought you might like that idea.” Jaxon remembered shit. They’d gorged on carrot cake in Dallas, and he thought Sebastian would have gone back again.
“You’re good to me. What did you want to do for supper?”
“I was going to ask you where you like to go.” Jaxon would eat anything yummy.
“Cork. We should get reservations. I could eat the whole menu.”
“I can do that.” He would call using his hands-free when they got back to the car.
“Good. Good deal. Thank you.”
“No problem.” He reached over to touch Sebastian’s arm.
“How’s my face look?”
“Sore.”
“Yeah.” He knew that. Poor baby. Ron had made his point pretty damn hard. “Are…? Do you want to talk about it yet?”
“No.”
“Fair enough.” He didn’t want to push, even if he was burning to know what had been said.
“I will, but right now I’m angry.”
“I’m sorry.” He hated that Sebastian was so unhappy. “What’s your favorite snack?”
“Onion rings.” That was immediate. “I like Chex Mix too.”
Check, Funyuns and Chex Mix for the hotel. Then he would make real Chex Mix at home. “I love onion rings, but I also like fried cheese.”
“Uhn.” Oh, that was a great sound.
“I’ll put it on the menu.” Jaxon chortled, rubbing his hands together.
“You like the kitchen.” It wasn’t a question or a complaint.
“I do. God, you have the best equipment.” His tiny home had a dorm fridge and a camp stove.
“Tomorrow you can get some stores. Stuff you can’t get up in Estes.”
“Totally. I just wanted to get hotel snacks here, and I need to know what you like. Besides coffee.”
“Olives. Li’l Smokies. Cheese. Oh, I love cheese.”
“Me too!” He loved it all, cheddar to brie.
“I knew I liked you.”
“Right?” He wanted so badly to hold Sebastian’s hand, but this was still Target…. Well, Target could be pretty friendly. “What’s your position on fondue?”
“I like it with beer.”
“Yeah?” Huh. He had to try that. “So, like a saltier cheese?”
“Cheddar and mustard. It’s so yummy.”
He would add that to his list. He veered off to the small appliances. Fondue pot.
Oh, waffle iron. Rice cooker. Sebastian’s kitchen was woefully short of unitaskers. He got a griddle for the stove, and a couple of pots of different sizes. Sebastian had a lovely set of Calphalon pans, but sauce pots he didn’t have such a great collection of.
Sebastian wandered with him, a fond look on his face and a warm song beginning to flow between them again. They picked out snacks, and Sebastian got a bizarre rainbow donkey piñata just because, apparently.
Goofball puppy. Jaxon adored him.
Right before they left the party supplies, Sebastian took a hard, hungry kiss, surprising him.
He beamed up at his lover. “What was that for?”
“Because I wanted to.”
“I like that reason. It’s one of the best.”
“I think so.” Oh, happy wolf was a better wolf.
“Definitely.” He tilted his head. “Should we fill your piñata with candy?”
“We could. Good candy. For Halloween.”
“I like it!” That would be hilarious. Build a roaring fire. Do naked piñata.
Sebastian smiled for him, and he felt that deep down.
This was helping. Making the day better.
That was his job, right? To make things right for his wolf. He couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do more.
SEBASTIAN SAT on the bed, trying his damnedest to let the afternoon go. He hated this shit, hated the disappointment in Ron’s eyes. He stared at the clock. Three in the morning. He didn’t want to wake Jaxon, but they were at a hotel. Where was he gonna go?
He tried to focus on work, on his tablet, but his head hurt and his eyes wouldn’t focus.
His cheek throbbed where Ron had marked him. He was a werewolf. He healed quickly, but an Alpha mark would stay with him for a while.
Finally he sighed and moved to the floor, beginning to do push-ups, one after another.
Ron didn’t seem to know what had happened that night, and when he started asking questions about the felines that had attacked them, the Alpha had shut down.
“I don’t remember, kiddo” was all he’d said, but the set of that jaw, the way Ron wouldn’t meet his eyes….
He fucking hated being lied to. He hated being pushed to do things he wasn’t meant to. Hell, he hated that Ron was putting everyone around both of them in danger by claiming he had no idea what was going on.
His muscles began to burn, and he kept pushing, kept going. Fuck this shit. Fuck Ron and the pack and everything else. He wasn’t a puppy, after all. He wasn’t here to be fucked with.
The bedside light by the bed came on. “Babe?”
“Down here,” he panted, sweat pouring from him.
“What are you doing?” Jaxon stuck his head down over the side of the bed. Red hair stood up all over when he glanced up. Kind of adorable.
“Working out.” Being mad.
“Hmm. I could sit on your butt.”
“I will beat you.” He didn’t mean it. Hell, he couldn’t stop his grin.
“What? You might as well really work.” Jaxon winked, which was kinda bizarre at the angles they were at.
“I’m working!” He pumped a little faster.
“You are? Why? I mean, we could be playing. You’re making me horny.”
His rhythm hiccuped. “Am I?”
“Yep.” Jaxon rolled over, face upside down now. “I mean, if you’re really upset, I get that can kill the mood. You could talk about it, though. I would listen.”
“I’d rather fuck and sleep.” He didn’t know that talking would fix anything.
“Well, here I am.” Jaxon flipped back up, then hopped off the bed. “You smell good.”
He pushed himself up on shaky arms. “That’s important.”
“It is.” Jaxon wrapped around him, somehow holding him up and rubbing on him. “Do you want a shower? It might be nice since you worked so hard.”
“Yeah. I’m sweaty. You coming?”
“I totally am.” Jaxon bounced along in front of him, singing a tuneless little song, and got the water going once they got to the bathroom.
They left the lights off, the steam making things look otherworldly.
There were no words, really. Just touching. Soothing. Jaxon massaged his sore muscles, making him grunt as the tension released.
He could feel the approval in his mind, the warm rush of arousal. Jaxon was all over him, but it was sweet, warm like honey, not white-hot.
Jaxon pushed two clever fingers inside him, stroking him deep and steady and demanding his attention. He moaned, feeling invaded but loved at the same time. He spread, leaning against the shower wall with his forearms, Jaxon working him in and out.
The constant song made him shudder, made him shake, and he didn’t hide from it. Instead he took it in, letting Jaxon make him feel stronger. Better. The care was what he needed.
Yes. We make each other strong. The words echoed inside him.
We do. He panted, resting his head on his arm, moving with Jaxon’s touch.
Needy wolf. So hungry. I want you.
Take me, then.
Jaxon’s low chuckle was all the warning he got before his lover was muscling up behind him, wet cock prodding him, pressing deep.
“Oh fuck.” He arched, his body bowing to take every single inch.
“Yes. Fucking. Now.” Jaxon slid back, then pushed in again, giving him no time to breathe. His body stretched, accepting Jaxon as he panted, keening softly. Jaxon stroked his back, the song between them swelling to epic proportions.
Sebastian’s hands slid on the tile, and he had to trust Jaxon to have him, hold him close.
I won’t let you fall. Jaxon had surprising strength, good balance.
The water poured around him, pounding on his skin like Jaxon was pounding into his body. Everything else fled in the face of this. Everything. There was nothing but sensation.
That’s it. Let it go. Let everything go. I have you. The constant song made his eyes cross.
Jaxon gave and gave, slamming into him, hands like iron on his hips. That hard little body made Sebastian a little crazy.
“Mine.” Jaxon bit his shoulder, the sting making his eyes fly open.
“Yes!” Just as Jaxon was his now. It went both ways.
Jaxon pounded him, harder and harder, slamming them together. The water was still steaming hot, just really rushing down, and he groaned, his body swaying.
Fuck, he was so hard, aching in the pit of his stomach. He wasn’t sure how much he could handle, how much more he could take before he just lost it.
He knew that Jaxon would give him enough, wouldn’t leave him hanging. “So right.”
“Sebastian.” Jaxon raked short nails across his hip.
“Please.” Oh fuck. More. He needed more.
“I know. I got you.” He heard it in his head as well as out loud, and he nodded as Jaxon reached down to grip his cock. The angle changed, and Jaxon hit his sweet spot deep inside.
He howled, electricity slamming through him, his world going pear-shaped. His eyes crossed, his body sawing back and forth with the force of Jaxon’s thrusts.
Need. The thought echoed between them as he shot, seed pumping from him.
Jaxon held him steady, kept him going, and he felt an answering flood of heat within him, Jaxon barking out his pleasure.
Sebastian slumped against the tile, the world spinning.
“Oh.” Jaxon’s low sound was long, drawn-out, and reverent.
Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
Jaxon massaged his lower back when he stood up, keeping his muscles from protesting. Taking care again.
“Come to bed. You’re so sleepy.”
Jaxon was right. He was melting. He’d worked his body to the point of exhaustion. All he could do was pant until Jaxon levered him up, then hauled him to bed with one arm around his waist. Towels appeared ten seconds later, Jaxon drying him well.
Then he was poured into the sheets, Jaxon coming down on top of him, covering him easily.
“Warm.” He wrapped his arms around Jaxon, holding on tight.
“Mmhmm. Rest, now. I have you.”
Sebastian nodded. Right. Rest. They would face the rest of the shit he had to do tomorrow.
JAXON LOADED the last of the groceries into the fridge and the pantry before marking off items on his prep list. He wanted to make a carrot cake today, and maybe a nice stew. He had about four hours until supper, as they’d gotten up early and hit the road, just stopping at the Whole Foods and Starbucks.
He nodded his satisfaction. Okay, chopping and browning, ho!
Sebastian came in to sit, looking so fine in jeans and flannel, hair down and loose in a shaggy fall. “You want company?”
“I do.” He had to touch that hair, carding it through his fingers. “How you doing?”
“Glad to be home. I chopped more wood.” Sebastian pushed into his touch. “More fun than conference calls.”
“I bet.” He needed to get on the horn and set up telecommutes. As much as Sebastian bitched, those were better than having to leave home. “Stew?”
“I like stew.” Oh, Sebastian liked food. He knew it.
“Cool deal. Sit with me while I chop.” He grabbed a cutting board and a knife.
“Okay. You want a cup of anything? I need coffee.”
“I’d take a half coffee, half hot chocolate.”
“Cool.” Sebastian moved in the kitchen easily, the tension eased back to a low, gentle buzz. They danced around each other, never missing a chance to touch.
Jaxon waited until Sebastian to settle before he finally asked. “So, what did Ron say?”
“That he was tired of me not fulfilling my role. That he didn’t want to leave the pack to anyone else.”
“Did you know you were supposed to take over?” He had a feeling not. He’d bet Ron had never thought about it until the attack.
“No. Not until he started talking about it after the attack.” That was definite. Sure.
“Then you’re gonna have to help him figure out something else.” He chopped carrots. “Did he tell you what happened?”
“He says he doesn’t remember. He’s lying.” Now that was surprising and direct as hell.
Jaxon nodded slowly. “I would bet he is.” He met Sebastian’s gaze. “What do you think happened?”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t feel random, though. Not at all.”
“Nope.” Jaxon chewed his lower lip. “I mean, not after what happened with us and the car and all.” He didn’t want to voice too many suspicions yet, but yeah.
Sebastian handed him his drink and then went to make his own. “Someone has a beef, and it has to be a big one.”
“Sounds like it. Any rumors floating around about who? Did you ask Alan?”
“Alan and I are trying to work it out. I hadn’t ev
en hit on the cat angle.”
“You think it’s territorial?” He raised his eyebrows. “Would they take on a pack the size of yours?”
“Who would? We’re fair, we do good business, and we’re good stewards.”
Jaxon frowned, attacking a potato. “Then maybe it’s personal and Ron is protecting someone.”
“Maybe. Who? Who wouldn’t he just tell me about?”
“I don’t know.” That was true. By all accounts, including Alan’s and Tyrone’s, no one was closer to Ron than Sebastian.
“I mean, I….” Sebastian slammed his hand down on the counter. “Goddammit.”
“Hey.” He set the knife aside before taking that hand in his. “We’ll figure this out.”
“Why can’t I fix this?” Those pretty eyes were glowing.
“Because you don’t have all the information.” That was the one clear thing about this whole situation.
He must have said the right thing, because the fire banked and Sebastian relaxed.
Jaxon chopped celery, then onion. “So first we need to ferret out whatever Ron is hiding.”
“Right. I’ll add that to my list.” Sebastian plopped down. “I’ll get Alan to help.”
“He’s good. I got to meet a good many of his staff. There are a few I think I can make inroads with.” Sometimes people spoke more freely to strangers, educating them.
“Working your way into the pack, hmm?”
“I’m a fox. We adapt.” He gave Sebastian a broad wink, hoping his assimilation wasn’t a bad thing.
“You do. It’s amazing.”
Well then, that felt good. He beamed, because usually, well, never before had he gone from employee to someone close to his primary, and it felt good that Sebastian saw him. That someone got him.
That someone wanted to get him.
He got the meat browning, then began shredding carrots.
“Do you like that? Cooking?”
“I do. It’s kind of zen. And I love feeding you.” Providing for his mate gave him a huge sense of pride.
Sebastian stole a piece of carrot, nibbling. “I’m going to invite Alan up, I think. Bring him in on what we’re thinking.”
“Sure.” He liked Alan, and the man needed to be in on whatever Sebastian decided to do. Jaxon really thought Alan could take on the corporate side of things.