by Jena Wade
Chief raised his brow. “You've introduced yourself to the boy, right? As his Alpha father?”
I nodded.
“Well, you can't leave, now. That's not an option.”
“I know,” I said. “But that's not to say that Kayden and I would do well living together or close to one another. I don’t have to stay in Millerstown to have a relationship with my son.” I wanted to, though I had barely admitted it to myself.
“I assume you resumed your relationship with Kayden?”
It was my turn to raise my brow.
Chief shrugged. “It’s not hard to tell when a man's gotten laid. You are more than a little uptight, Jefferies. Then one day you walked in here whistling, and I figured that wasn't because it was just a good day.”
I chucked. “Kayden and I picked up where we left off, and we left the same questions unanswered.”
“Don't you think perhaps you should answer those questions sooner rather than later? Especially since there's a child involved this time?”
I nodded. “I'm not any good at settling down.”
Derek leaned back in his chair. “You seem to be doing just fine, sticking around Millerstown.”
“That's true,” I said. “And I don't necessarily have that itch to get out of here. But what happens when I do? Am I supposed to cart my husband and son around, jet setting across the country, breaking up drug trafficking rings?”
Chief shrugged. “I doubt you'd be the only Alpha that does it.”
I shook my head. “I couldn't leave Kayden like that, sitting at home, wondering if I'm going to come back alive or what sort of wounds I'd be coming home with.”
“Shouldn't you let Kayden make that decision?”
“I suppose. But he's made a life for himself here, without me. He doesn't need me.”
Chief scoffed. “Of course, he doesn't need you. That's the exact kind of Omega that you need. One that doesn't need you.”
“What?” I said.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. “Most people just assume that our Omegas are supposed to bend to our every will and need us for every little thing. We have to bring home the bacon and all that. But that's not the kind of Omega that you'd be happy with. Kayden doesn't need you to take care of him. He can take care of himself and his son. He's proven that. But that doesn't mean he doesn't want you around. It's a choice, not a necessity.”
I mulled that over. Kayden didn’t need me to be there, he was more than capable. But I wanted him to want me around.
“Just think about it for a little while. And on a more professional note, the deputy chief position is yours if you want it. I can't keep it open for much longer, so you ought to make a decision even if that decision is to stay exactly where you are.”
“Thanks, Chief. I’ll let you know.”
“Not a problem,” he said. “Feel free to come by anytime and talk or I'll drag you in here and interrogate you until I get the answers I need.”
I chuckled. “Good luck with that.”
***
Dinners at Philip and Ollie’s house became sort of a ritual. I got invited a few nights in a row, and then it just became a thing that I did when I wasn’t on the evening or overnight shift.
Two weeks went by, and Jackson had begun talking about staying the night at my house. Apparently, his friends at school who had co-parents that didn't live together got to spend weekends with their other set of parents. Jackson wanted to do that, too. I wanted both him and Kayden to stay with me permanently. The realization hit me suddenly, and nearly caused me to stumble as I walked through the woods on a small trail that led between our two houses. Philip had showed it to me. He and Oliver had used it when they were in high school and it had remained.
I walked into the backyard and found Kayden picking up sandbox toys. Judging by the look on his face, he wasn't in the best mood.
“Hey,” I called to him as I walked over.
He looked up at me, startled. “Fuck,” he said. “Why don't you come over through the front door like a normal person instead of sneaking up on me through the woods.”
His tone held a defensiveness to it. It wasn’t unlike Kayden to be sassy, but his tone held more of a fearful quality than what I was used to.
“Philip showed it to me,” I said. “He said it was all right to use.”
“Yeah, well, be louder next time. Fuck,” he said. He tossed one of the little toy shovels he had into the toy box on the side of the sandbox.
“You want to say that to me again, boy?” I said.
His gaze snapped to mine. He looked as if he was going to challenge me, but then he let out a sigh, and looked away. “Triangle,” he said.
I dropped my sir act immediately. “What is it?” I said. “What's wrong?”
Kayden shook his head. “Nothing, I just… I'm not in the mood to play right now,” he said.
He slumped his shoulders, and his movements were slow. He seemed so… dejected.
I walked to him and pulled him in my arms. “What's going on? Where's Jackson?”
“He's inside with Ollie. They’re doing their homework right now.”
“You're making them do homework on a Friday night?”
“Yeah, Turner, I am.” His voice raised in frustration. “That’s the way it's done around here. That way we can enjoy the rest of our weekend.”
I stepped back and held up my hands in surrender. “What’s going on, Kayden? I can’t help if you don’t talk to me.”
He sighed. “Tom picked up Riley again this afternoon. He was just an asshole. I tried to send Riley home with some food for the weekend. I told Tom that it was going to go bad anyways, so he might as well take it. I just wanted him to be able to eat something, so he didn’t starve all weekend. When I went back outside after they left, I found the bag of food tossed into the yard, which means Riley’s not going to eat.”
I rubbed Kayden’s back. “I'm sorry,” I said. “Did you contact Child Protective Services?”
“They said they can't do much. If Tom’s sending food along with his kid every day, which he is now, there's not much they can do. And it's not as if I can interrogate Riley for information. That's not right. There doesn't appear to be any physical abuse. Tom just gives me the creeps.” His eyes bore into mine, hopeful. “Did you find anything?” he asked.
“I didn't find much. So, I called in a few favors and when my contacts get back with me, we’ll have more information. They're going to do some digging. I don't have access to the right kind of databases here. When I went on leave, they revoked all that access.”
“Okay,” Kayden said. “I appreciate it.”
“Not a problem,” I said. “Anything you need, anytime, I'm here for you.”
He leaned into me. “I need…” he trailed off.
“A spanking?” I said.
“Yes,” he said as he relaxed against me, trusting me to hold him up right. “I need…”
“Your Sir?”
“Yes.” He groaned. “Can we can try and make time for that?”
I nodded. “I was thinking that if you and Jackson don't have plans tomorrow, perhaps we can go to the store, pick out some furniture for his room at my house. He can have his pick of any of the upstairs rooms. Maybe the three of us could have a little sleep over tomorrow night.”
Kayden smiled. “That sounds really nice. Although, I’m not sure how much playing we can get done with Jackson there.”
“Surely, you’ve had Alphas in your—”
Kayden shook his head. “I lived in a one-bedroom apartment with my son for six years. There were no other Alphas. No playing, no casual dates. Nothing. Hell, I can only count on one hand the amount of times that Jackson has stayed the night away from me.”
I kissed his temple and hugged him against me. “You're a good dad,” I said. “And you deserve a break. This weekend, we’ll make something work. I may still have a ball gag.”
Kayden grinned. “That’s sounds wonderful.”
Kayden
“What about this one?” I asked.
Turner came up beside me and looked at the bedroom set that I had pointed out. It was in the dent and scratch section, which meant that it was highly marked down. We’d be getting a damn good set of furniture for a steal.
“No,” he said after barely looking it over.
“But there's nothing wrong with it,” I said.
Turner faced me. “Look, I appreciate you trying to save us money, but we can get him something that's on sale without any scratches or dents on it.”
Was there an us? Now was not the time to discuss it or even think about it.
“Or we could save money and just get this. He's a little boy, he's going to destroy it anyway.”
Of course, Jackson returned to my side just at that moment. “No,” he said completely calm. “I'll take very good care of it. I think it'll be cool to have a big dresser all to the myself, instead of those plastic tubs I use now.”
I groaned inwardly. Those plastic tubs had been fifty cents at the thrift shop down the street from where we lived in the city, and they had certainly served us well, but I supposed now that we had more room… And he did need a bedroom set at Turner's house. He could use a real dresser with actual drawers that opened.
“Well, then, since Turner is buying this for you, I think the two of you should work it out and decide what to get. I will happily support whatever decision you make.” Even as I cringed at the price tag. Not my circus, not my monkeys.
“Great,” Turner said, and he held out a hand to Jackson. “Let's go look at that the stuff in the sale section.”
Jackson slipped his hand into Turner's as if it was the most natural thing in the world. My heart lurched. Such a normal thing to see, a father holding his son's hand, but it was a first for me and it was amazing.
At the end of the shopping trip, we managed to get Jackson a dresser, a twin bed, and a brand-new mattress for both his bedroom at my house and Turner's. Once Turner found out that Jackson slept on a mattress we had picked up for free, he decided that Jackson needed a new one. I wasn't going to talk him out of it, nor was I going to argue with him in front of Jackson. We could have the discussion later about me being my own person who spends my own money.
We managed to load all the furniture and both mattresses into the back of Turner's pickup truck. Jackson was practically bouncing where he stood, as he watched the two of us load it up and then unload it at the house.
We grabbed a pizza along the way for dinner, so that we could put the bed together right when we got home. Turner had picked up sheets and a bed set during the week. Jackson was already for his first sleep over at Turner's house, and he didn't even bat an eye when we mentioned that I would be staying as well. Of course, he didn't know that I would be staying in Turner’s room, or at least I thought I would be.
Turner and Jackson put together the bed. Jackson hung on to Turner's every word, as he explained about the different types of screwdrivers, different sizes, and all that tool stuff. I knew my way around a basic tool set, but mostly I knew how to just make things work rather than build them correctly. I'd made do just fine, but Turner actually knew what he was doing.
“Building stuff is a lot of fun,” Jackson said as we ate dinner. “I think it would be cool to build a dog house for Hooch.”
Turner choked on his pizza. “For who?”
“Hooch,” Jackson said. “The dog that we found. No one claimed him, so Dad and Uncle Ollie said we might as well keep him.”
“Oh, really? And you've named him Hooch?” Turner said.
I tried to hide my grin, but I did not succeed.
“Yeah. Dad said Hooch is a really good name for a dog.”
Turner set his pizza down on his plate and glared at me. “He did, did he?”
“What?” I said. “You don't think it's a respectable name for a dog?”
Turner shook his head. “At least he's not a mastiff, like the actual Hooch.”
Jackson's brow furrowed. “There's another dog named Hooch?”
“Yeah,” Turner said. “Remind me to show you the movie sometime.”
“That's a little bit out of his age range, I think,” I said.
Jackson's face turned serious. “I can't watch movies that aren't appropriate for children.”
“That's understandable,” Turner said. “But I'm sure someday you'll be able to see it.”
“Okay,” Jackson said. “Just let me know when I'm old enough.”
I choked back a chuckle. My son and his unwavering respect for the rules never ceased to amaze me.
Later that night, I stood in the doorway as Turner tucked Jackson into his new bed.
“If you need anything during the night, just call out, we'll hear you. I promise. Or just come downstairs. We’re in the first room on the left at the bottom of the stairs. All right?”
“Okay,” Jackson said. “I'll be fine though. I haven't needed a nightlight in forever.”
Actually, it had only been two months, but I supposed that was a lot like forever to a six-year-old.
“Dad?” Jackson said quietly.
Both Turner and I looked at him.
“Do you think someday we could stay here permanently in Millerstown?”
“We are going to stay here, buddy. For the foreseeable future.” I didn't want to promise eternity in the small town. I couldn’t account for unforeseen circumstances of course, but I had no plans to move.
“No.” Jackson shook his head. “Here with both of you. Like how Christopher has his two dads living together. I think that seems like it would be nice.”
I sucked in a breath. Well, shit. I didn't usually stumble over my words with Jackson, and it didn't help that Turner stood so close by me. “That's something we'll have to discuss later. Okay, Jackson? What's important is that you have your two dads now. And we don't love you any less if we don't live in the same house, right? There are plenty of other families that have separated parents.”
Jackson nodded. “I know. But ideally, it'd be cool if we could all live together.”
“I know. Goodnight, buddy,” I said.
Turner stood, and kissed Jackson on the forehead. “Goodnight, Jackson. We'll see you in the morning. I’ll make us pancakes.”
“Good night, Dad.”
I went down the stairs, stood in the living room, staring out the window to the backyard. I could almost see my house through the woods, the glow of light from the back deck. It's not technically your house. It's Ollie’s, you're just living there. I pinched my eyes closed. Dammit.
“You want to talk about it?” Turner said.
“Not really.”
“Not talking about things is what got us into this mess to begin with, don't you think?” he said.
I whipped around and glared at him. “This is not a mess,” I said.
He held up his hands in surrender. “That's not what I meant and you know it. Don't be defensive right now.”
“Or what? You'll punish me?” Damn my sassiness always came out when I was on edge.
Turner crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at me.
I looked down and assumed the proper stance. Feet shoulder width apart, hands behind my back. I stared at the ground in submission to my Alpha. “Sorry, Sir,” I said.
“That's quite all right,” he said. “You've been under some stress. It's natural for you to lash out. Perhaps you need a release? Then we can talk about the serious things as adults.”
I practically moaned. “Yes sir,” I said. “That would be very helpful.” God bless my Alpha for always knowing what I needed. How had I survived the past few years without him?
Turner grabbed my hand and lead me into the bedroom. His room was simple, white walls, large king size bed against a wall, a night stand on each side.
He positioned me so my knees hit the end of the mattress. His eyes met mine, they were filled with hunger and desire. I knew my own were the same.
>
“Take off your clothes.”
I removed my socks, pants, then my shirt. Slowly, I took off my boxers. I folded each piece neatly and placed it in a pile. Turner didn’t allow stray clothing on his floor. He’d never said anything during our last encounter, but I knew it must’ve irked him.
“Climb on the bed, face down, boy.”
I turned and got on the bed. I caught sight of the restraints and flipped around to face him. Excitement got the better of me. “Are you going to use those?”
He raised a brow. “That was the plan. But if you aren’t going to listen, then I may just skip it.”
I laid on the bed on my stomach. “I’ll listen, Sir. I promise.”
Turner came around to the side of the bed. “Arms out.” He clasped each of my wrists in the arm restraints, though they weren’t tight.
“You can tighten them, I—”
“Are you questioning my methods, boy?”
“No, Sir.” Damn I was out of practice. I wanted to be good for Turner, to show him I could submit.
“I know you can take it, boy. But we are still getting used to one another again. We’ve got time to become re-acquainted. We don’t have to jump in all at once.”
I sighed, tugged on the straps so I could at least feel that I was restrained. “Yes, Sir.”
I closed my eyes and listened to my Alpha move. He opened the night stand, the snick of a lube bottle cap had me clenching my ass, knowing what was to come.
He settled behind me, pushing my legs apart. Oh how I wished he would restrain them as well. He trialed one hand down my back and I shuddered, moaning and arching my back at his touch.
“Can you keep your eyes closed, or would you like a blind fold?”
“I can keep them closed, Sir, if that is what you’d like.”
“Keep them closed, boy. Just feel.”
I relaxed, but kept the restraints taught.
Turner placed a finger at my entrance. He slipped in one finger, then two, stretching my channel. I groaned, pushing back against him. My patience needed work. I wanted all of him in me now. Each time I tried to get Turner deeper, he pulled away until I relaxed again. I held my self as still as I could, though I wanted to grind into the mattress to relieve my aching cock. Already, I knew I leaked pre-cum onto comforter.