by Arden Blair
Okay, that wasn’t fair. Ryan knew that there were still a few families out there who still practiced the old ways and liked to arrange every aspect of their children’s lives. Fortunately, they were few and far between. The practice of arranged marriages had fallen out of fashion a long time ago. Now only the most extreme of traditionalists still practiced it.
And apparently the Martins were one of those families.
But Toby didn’t seem that way. Certainly not after all the things they’d done last night.
Ryan narrowed his eyes. “And have Toby and Justin agreed?”
“Well, they haven’t come right out and said so,” Bailey muttered. “But they know—”
“So, there’s nothing official?” Ryan cut him off. “No date set? No engagement ring? No invitations sent out?”
Bailey shook his head. “No. Not yet, but—”
“Then my answer is still no,” Ryan said firmly. He pushed off from the hood of his truck. “Toby’s a grown omega. As far as I’m concerned, he can make his own decisions. If your son has a problem with that, Mr. Hicks, he can come and talk to me himself.”
Ryan started toward the front door of the hardware store.
“You’re making a mistake,” Roscoe called after him.
Ryan kept walking. The hell he was.
“It’s my experience that people who live outside of town, do so for a reason,” Roscoe kept going. “The deeper into the woods they live, the deeper their secrets go. Those kinds of secrets can make for some interesting reading.”
Ryan stopped cold right before stepping inside.
“Are you threatening me?” he asked over his shoulder, not bothering to turn around.
“I don’t know,” Roscoe answered slyly. “Am I?”
Ryan ground his back teeth. He hated bullies. “You don’t want to go up against me.”
Roscoe laughed. “Is that a threat?”
“Not from me,” Ryan said. He glanced back over his shoulder, giving a pointed look at Roscoe’s wheelchair—the one he was in due to his last tangle with moral superiority. “Karma seems to be doing just fine on its own.”
Ryan let out a heavy breath as he entered the hardware store. He couldn’t stop fuming as he filled his basket with the handful of supplies that he needed for the day.
No wonder Toby was a skittery little thing. Who could blame him with a family like that? It was a miracle that he’d turned out as courageous as he was. Suddenly, Ryan felt a wave of new admiration for the omega. Ryan had no idea last night just how brave the Toby had been.
“Sorry if the old guys gave you any grief this morning,” Greg said as Ryan laid his basket down on the counter.
Ryan shrugged. It was nothing he couldn’t handle. The truth was, he was more worried for Toby than for himself.
Out of habit, Ryan reached down and grabbed a newspaper from the pile by the cash register. He glanced down at the headline. For the first time in weeks, it wasn’t about the Phantom Pooper.
New Addition to the Wishing Mill Inn
Ryan smiled. So Levi and Drew had finally had their pup.
For some reason, the thought made him pull his phone out of his pocket.
I can’t wait to see you again too he texted back to Toby.
Instantly, three little dots appeared on his screen.
When?
What the hell? How about tonight?
I need to put up those trap cameras tonight.
I can help.
It’s a date.
A silly grin spread across Ryan’s face as he tucked his phone back into his pocket. It stayed there as he paid his tab. It stayed as he walked past a glowering Roscoe and Bailey on the way back to his truck. It stayed the entire drive back home.
Damn straight it was a date.
And anybody who didn’t like it could go straight to hell.
11
“I don’t know about this.” Toby bit into his lower lip. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
“It’s okay.” A thrill of excitement ran up Toby’s spine as Ryan whispered against his ear. “I know what I’m doing.”
Toby didn’t doubt that. The alpha had a lot more experience, especially with this kind of thing.
“But we’re out in the open.” Toby glanced around the empty park for what had to be the hundredth time. He still didn’t see a soul—not surprising, seeing as it was the middle of the night—but still, the same shadows that hid them could be hiding all kinds of peeping toms. “Anyone could see.”
Ryan gave a little laugh. “No one’s watching.” His voice dropped down to a dangerously sexy low. “We’re all alone out here.”
Toby stiffened. Why did the alpha have to have such a sexy voice? So deep and rich, he feared the timbre could talk him into all sorts of trouble.
“Okay,” Toby finally capitulated. “But I’m not sure it’s going to fit.”
“Don’t you worry about that,” Ryan assured him with a chuckle. “I’m the best at making big things fit in tight spots.”
Toby was suddenly grateful for the midnight darkness as a hot blush burned at his cheeks. “You’re teasing me.”
“I am.” Even though Toby wasn’t looking at Ryan’s face, he could hear the amused satisfaction in his words.
“Are you planning on keeping it up all night?” he asked.
“Hell, I plan on doing it as long as we’re together,” Ryan said casually. “Now hand me that camera so I can squeeze it into the knot in this tree.”
Toby mashed his lips together, trying to hide his smile. He wasn’t sure he was doing a great job, but he didn’t really care. The truth was he liked the way Ryan teased him. It didn’t feel mean, just fun.
Toby turned around and passed Ryan the small brown box in his hand. The alpha took it and carefully wedged it into the small opening in the tree trunk. Then he took out a few small strips of brown camouflage material and secured everything in place.
“There you go,” Ryan declared, taking a step back. “Easy. And I promise you, no one will see it.”
Toby cocked his head to the side and played his flashlight across the tree trunk. He had no trouble believing that. Inside the small notch, surrounded by camouflage that blended perfectly with the tree bark, no one would know the camera was there. Not even if they were looking for it.
Toby let out a breath. “Still, I can’t help but worry that we’re doing something wrong, putting up cameras without people knowing about it.”
Ryan shrugged. Apparently, he didn’t share Toby’s concerns. “It’s not like we’re setting them up in people’s houses. This is a public park.”
“But what if we catch someone doing something they shouldn’t?”
Ryan raised a brow. A curious glint sparkled in his eye. “Why? Was there something you were hoping to see?”
“What? No,” Toby rushed to say, but his voice shot up high.
“You are hoping we’ll catch someone,” Ryan said in mock surprise. The alpha wrapped his arm around Toby’s middle and pulled him close. “You’re naughtier than I gave you credit for.”
Toby shook his head, but didn’t try to wriggle free from Ryan’s grasp. Why would he when he was right where he wanted to be?
“That’s not true, and you know it,” Toby shot back. “You just like torturing me.”
“Oh, I’m not denying that.” Ryan wagged his eyebrows and tightened his grip. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you, my little omega, are a closet voyeur.”
Toby shrugged. He was quickly learning that it was more fun to play along. “Can you blame me? I haven’t had an opportunity to do anything but watch my whole life.”
“Not anymore,” Ryan said. “Now you can do anything you like. You can let all your deepest fantasies out. All you have to do is ask.”
Toby bit into his lower lip. He wasn’t so sure Ryan was teasing anymore. His voice had changed, fallen deeper, and there was a burning intensity in his eyes that he could feel in the dark. The same look Toby had seen last n
ight.
Ryan swallowed down hard. “Anything?” he asked.
The wicked smile on Ryan’s face grew, teeth gleaming in the dim light. “Any damn thing your little heart desires.”
There was something about the way that the alpha said the word desire that made Toby’s blood race. His cock stirred in his pants, and Ryan let out a little growl of approval.
Yeah, they definitely weren’t playing any more. There was nothing innocent about the way Ryan was holding him, nothing teasing about his scent. It had only taken a simple touch and a few seconds looking into each other’s moonlit eyes, and they were both too consumed by passion to think of anything else.
“I want you to take me back to your house,” Toby said.
Ryan’s hands slid down Toby’s back. His palms cupped his ass and squeezed hard, almost to the edge of pain…but not quite.
“That’s a long way away,” the alpha said. “You sure you can wait that long?”
Honestly, no. He wasn’t sure. Even now, his slick was beginning to pool, and he worried that it would gush down his legs like it had last night. But even that would be less embarrassing than being found taking Ryan’s knot out in the open.
He shot Ryan a look, one that said that while he might be inexperienced, he wasn’t an idiot. “I just watched you put a camera in that tree. I’m not doing anything out here.”
Ryan didn’t seem the least bit put off by the idea.
“Oh, come on. We’d have a souvenir.” He wagged his brows wolfishly. “A little something to remember the night by, if you know what I mean.”
Toby shuddered. The only thing worse than being found in naked in the park by one person would be having proof that could be passed around. For that reason alone Toby was willing to wait until he could get back to Ryan’s secluded cabin in the woods.
“I’ll take your scowl as a no,” the alpha said a moment later.
“Good call.”
“Then I guess I should get you home as quick as I can.”
Ryan said the words, but he didn’t let Toby out of his embrace. He didn’t step back or make a move to leave. Instead he just lifted his chin a notch and drew in a deep breath. A contented breath.
Toby understood why. The moment felt perfect. Here, standing in the arms of a gorgeous alpha, everything felt right. The omega relaxed as Ryan’s chest pressed against his. Rays of moonlight shimmered in the alpha’s eyes. Little crinkles creased the corners near his lashes as he smiled. Were Toby’s eyes adjusting to the dark, or was he just that attentive to Ryan’s face?
Toby lit up at the thought that he was the one making Ryan feel this way. They were attracted to each other, sure. That fact was undeniable. But more important, they seemed to like each other. They made each other laugh and smile. They made each other happy.
That had to be special. Toby had never seen this kind of connection between alphas and omegas in his own life. His parents had been mated since the moment they’d both reached maturity, but they rarely laughed or smiled. They sure as hell never played. The most he say was that they tolerated each other. Nothing more.
Toby had no idea how they managed. He didn’t think that he could.
And that was the trouble. Now that he’d tasted what was possible, Toby would never be willing to accept a pale and shallow version of a mate.
He wanted it all.
“I thought you were taking me home,” Toby prompted when after a few seconds Ryan still hadn’t moved.
The alpha looked down into his eyes, his smile widening. “Now that’s what I like. An omega who knows what he wants.”
12
Ryan did his best to keep his hands on the wheel all the way back home. A simple enough task, but it was a hell of a lot harder than it sounded, especially when there was a gorgeous omega filling the cab with the rich, sweet scent of his desire.
Hell, he’d been amazed they’d made it to the truck at all. He hadn’t been joking back in the park when he’d said he would have been happy to take Toby right there and enjoy the pictures the camera caught afterwards.
But deep down, he knew that Toby would never be comfortable with that kind of rushed and muffled sex. And the truth was, neither would he.
What he wanted was Toby all alone. With all the time in the world. No rush. No prying eyes. Just the freedom to take his time and relish the pleasures of the night ahead.
Of course, he’d have to make it home first.
“Tell me what you’re going to do to me when you have me alone,” Toby whispered against his ear.
Ryan tightened his grip on the steering wheel, so tight that the color drained from his knuckles. His cock strained against the confines of his pants.
Damn, his little omega might be innocent, but he sure was a fast learner.
“And ruin the surprise?” Ryan said back. “I don’t think so. Naughty omegas like you don’t get to know what’s coming to them.”
Toby let out a giggle, a bright sound that practically lit up the truck. “So, now I’m naughty?”
“You must be,” Ryan answered. “Good little omegas don’t make my cock this hard.”
“Is that right?” Toby said, his voice dropping down to sultry tones. “Well then, if I’m going to be called naughty, then I guess I should act the part.”
Toby cupped his palm over Ryan’s knee. He splayed his fingers out wide and slowly raked the tips up Ryan’s thigh, inch by inch, the pressure increasing the closer Toby’s hand came to Ryan’s cock. By the time Toby’s palm finally draped over his length, Ryan’s teeth were clenched tight in anticipation.
“How is it that you were a virgin before we met?” Ryan said.
A hint of pink brightened the omega’s cheeks. “What can I say,” he said. “I guess you just bring out the devil in me.”
Toby’s hand swept back and forth over the thick material of his jeans, caressing his hardness. Fingertips raked gently over his cock, again and again, until the rhythm was almost too much.
“Careful, sweetheart,” Ryan warned through clenched teeth. “If you keep this up, we won’t make it home.”
Toby eased the strength and tempo of his touch, but didn’t pull away entirely. A playful smile lit up his face.
“Better?” he asked.
Not really. Ryan had a feeling that it didn’t matter how the omega touched him. As long as the Toby was around him, he would always feel this way, swimming in desire.
Toby had a strange effect on him. He made Ryan feel ways that he’d never felt before. Heightened his emotion to extreme degrees. He wasn’t just horny; he was ravenous. He wasn’t just pleased and content; he was happy. Ryan was experienced enough to know that it wasn’t just the thrill of something new and novel. It was Toby himself.
The omega was special. It was there in his smile, in his scent, in the way that he heated Ryan’s blood with the simplest touch.
Ryan knew that the realization should have scared the hell out of him. After all, this kind of connection was exactly the thing he’d always said he wanted to avoid. But for some reason, that wasn’t true anymore. Not with Toby.
He didn’t mind that with every beat of his heart, with every stroke of the omega’s hand, Ryan could feel the connection between them growing stronger.
Ryan smiled as he took the turn onto the dirt road that led to his home. He glanced over at Toby. The omega was turned toward him in his seat, his head resting against his seat-back. The look on his face was nothing short of angelic.
“Call me that again,” he said, his fingertips still raking lazy lines over the length of Ryan’s cock.
Ryan brows pulled together. “Call you what?” For a second, he hadn’t realized that he’d called Toby anything other than his name. Then he remembered. “‘Sweetheart? ’”
Toby’s face lit up. “Yeah, that.”
“You like it when I call you ‘sweetheart’?” The answer was obvious, but he wanted to hear the answer out loud. He wanted to see Toby’s face light up again.
“No o
ne has ever called me by a pet name before,” the omega said, open delight showing on his face.
The statement shouldn’t have surprised Ryan. After all, growing up in a family of traditionalists and Roscoes, Ryan could only imagine that terms of endearment were hard to come by.
“Good.” Ryan hit the brakes as he pulled to a stop in front of his house. He switched off the ignition and swiveled in his seat to face Toby. “Because now it’s my name for you. No one else’s. You’re my sweetheart now.”
Ryan leaned across the front seat of the truck and pulled Toby in for a searing kiss. The heat that had been simmering between them the whole ride back exploded into a fireball of desire.
Ryan held tight to the back of Toby’s neck and pulled him flush against him. The feel of the little omega, the cloud of scent enveloping him, it was all too much. Ryan knew that if he didn’t go now, he wouldn’t make it inside. He’d take Toby right here in the driveway.
“Come on,” he growled, somehow finding the strength to pull back. “I need to get you in my bed.”
“No,” Toby said, shaking his head.
No? Ryan wasn’t expecting that. He immediately uncapped his hand and pulled back.
“I don’t want your bed,” Toby said. “I want to make love to you out here under the stars.”
Oh.
Ryan shifted in his seat. The image of Toby’s gorgeous body bathed in silvery moonlight made his need spike.
“And I’m here to fulfill all your desires, my little omega,” Ryan said.
He threw open the door of the truck and pulled Toby out with him. Once their feet were on solid ground, Ryan lifted the omega up, propping his back up against the metal cab. Toby wrapped his legs around his waist as they kissed long and hard.
Damn, the omega tasted as good as he smelled.
With Toby still wrapped around him, he moved to the bed of the truck, opened up, and slid them inside.