He’s sliding halfway off Kade’s cock when Kade’s fingers curl into his thigh, pulling lightly back on him.
Stay, his fingers whisper, and Felix’s breath catches in his throat.
He had asked the exact same of Kade, that first night. And Kade had stayed. So Felix sinks back down on his alpha, pushing further so his body stretches around the beginnings of Kade’s knot, taking him inside. Kade groans. And his knot thickens, locking them together.
Kade is touching him. He isn’t pulling away with revulsion, and his hands cradle Felix’s hips, holding him close, care in his touch. Felix’s throat tightens.
After all Felix has done, this feels like forgiveness.
He looks down at the purring bike, wiping the splotches of white off its gleaming surfaces. He hadn’t meant to dirty it. None of this should have happened, but little has changed: the baby still moves in his belly, he’s still stuck in Meadowfall, and he’s still hiding secrets from his bondmate.
Kade’s palms flatten against his thighs. His nose brushes through Felix’s hair, and even though Kade hasn’t once touched his belly, he’s still holding Felix close. Felix trembles, leaning tentatively back against his alpha. Kade slides his arm across his chest, a warm, heavy weight pulling him close, and it feels a little like coming home, when Kade runs his wrists down Felix’s throat, across his collarbones, over his chest.
Mine, Kade used to say.
Felix exhales the tightness in his ribs, closing his eyes. He feels safest in Kade’s arms, and that hasn’t changed since he left.
“I shouldn’t be asking ‘Why?’, should I?” he murmurs, looking up at the star-strewn sky. How much of this can be mended?
Kade’s breath puffs through his hair. “Probably not.” He noses at Felix’s scalp, wrists brushing down his sides, then along his thighs. “Still gonna take the scent suppressant?”
Felix bites his lip, remembering the manager at the gas station, his leering smirk and invasive stare. “Yeah. For now, I guess. I’d rather not let Rick know about the... the baby.”
Kade snorts, and warm air rushes against Felix’s skin. “You shouldn’t be at that place. Work somewhere else. Paint something.”
“I’ve been painting,” Felix says, relaxing against Kade. That’s what he’s been doing at night, when he gets home early and Kade isn’t around to distract him.
“Then put them up for sale.”
“It’s not that straightforward, you know.”
Kade shrugs. “I still think you can do better. Need to improve your visibility.”
“Okay,” Felix says. He doesn’t want to think about it. All he wants to do is burrow into Kade’s arms, and forget about the world. “But I don’t want to talk about that right now.”
Kade slips his arm over his chest, holding him close. Felix sighs, leaning in to press his back against Kade. It feels as though Kade has made peace with him for the lie, and Felix feels a little more at ease, now that Kade knows he’s with child. It’s not such a big secret anymore, even if Kade doesn’t know the baby is his.
At some point, Felix will still have to move. But that point isn’t today.
35
Felix
“Did your alpha propose and say he loves the baby?” Susan says the next day, eyebrows raised. “Because that’s what you look like right now.”
“Gods, really?” Felix winces. That’s the best and worst way to describe it, because he’d love if Kade proposed to him. In another life, one where everything was perfect between them.
Right now, he’s just delighted that Kade had visited last night, that things have settled between them. It had been a relief and a flaming mess of heat, and Felix had reeled with Kade’s unending patience with him. He heaves himself over the counter and lands next to Susan.
“Oh, don’t do that.” She swats at his arm, wrinkling her nose when he grins. “Customer impressions and all that.”
“There’s no one in the store right now. But even if there were, Rick firing me is the kick I need,” Felix says, wriggling in front of her. “So I’ll finally start making the right decisions.”
Susan rolls her eyes. “And how old are you again? Twenty?”
“Thirty. Shut up.” But he grins anyway, checking the spare receipt rolls around the register, the sponge, and the barcode scanner. “Kade stayed up late with me last night.”
“Ah.” Susan shakes her head. She grins, glancing at his belly. “Things are okay now?”
“Mostly,” Felix says. Kade had followed him into the house last night and bent him over the bed, as if once on the bike wasn’t enough. And Felix had moaned himself hoarse. He clears his throat hoping his voice sounds normal now.“At least, you would hope.”
“Mostly?” Susan raises an eyebrow. “Wait... He still doesn’t know it’s his.”
Heat sweeps up his cheeks. “I’m leaving Meadowfall, okay?” Felix says. “He won’t ever find out.”
Susan sighs. “You’re an idiot, honey. That guy’s in love with you.”
He flinches. That’s what Taylor said, too, but neither of them has seen the way Kade narrows his eyes at Felix’s belly, as though he doesn’t want the child. Why would he?
“I’m not thinking about it,” he says, covering his ears. Susan rolls up a wad of tissue and tosses it at him.
The morning passes slowly. Felix chats with Susan as they tidy the shelves. Then they clean the floors, the bathroom, and it’s only after she steps out that Felix realizes he needs to pee.
He sighs, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He’s not supposed to be taking breaks, or locking customers out for a few stolen minutes. It’ll be hours until the teenage boy on the next shift appears, if he even shows at all.
Felix mutters, squirming at the pleasant ache in his ass. He’ll lock the door, put on the ‘Back in five minutes’ sign, pee, and run back.
Except a lady steps in, her brows drawn low. She smells like wheat. “Pump four,” she snaps.
Felix sets the sign down behind the counter, breathing out. “Yes, ma’am.”
She pays with her debit card, and the transaction takes forever to process. By the time Felix hands over her card and receipt, another two customers are waiting in line.
One of those days, huh? He rings their purchases up, tucks crumpled bills into the register, and the customers flow in and out of the store like a stream: a man with three cans of dog food, a boy with tubes of mints, an older lady with a tub of ice cream. Damn it!
He’s still at the register forty minutes later when Kade steps in. Felix hops between his feet, bladder full to bursting, his legs pressed together as though that’ll help. Kade raises his eyebrows.
“I have to piss,” Felix whines. “Hold the people back for me?”
“Sure,” Kade says. Felix dashes for the bathroom in the back, sighing with relief when he locks the door behind him.
When he emerges three minutes later, there’s a line at the cashier. Kade sets a stuffed elephant down on the counter. “Reserve this for me,” he says, lips pulling up in a smirk. “Be back later.”
Felix wants to laugh. The lady right behind Kade stares incredulously after him as he steps out of the store, but Felix smiles, the tension in his body washing away.
So maybe they’re back to being friends. Felix can accept that, if it means Kade will stay with him longer.
Two days later, Kade strolls in, jacket slung over his shoulder. His shirt follows the muscled contours of his chest, down to his abs. When Felix drags his gaze to Kade’s face, he finds Kade with a tiny grin.
“Found something you like?” Kade asks.
“Maybe,” Felix says, grinning back. “You might be wearing too much.”
Kade’s eyebrows crawl up his forehead. “How much should I be wearing?”
Just about nothing, Felix wants to say. Kade’s due for another visit in his bedroom, and maybe Felix will move out of Meadowfall next week instead. After he’s had enough of Kade’s hands sliding down his body.
&nbs
p; “Oh my god, you guys.” Susan strides out of the backroom. She pretends to frown at Kade, shaking a broom at him. “If you’re not buying anything, get out.”
“How much for the omega?” Kade asks, nodding at Felix.
Felix snorts, clapping a hand over his mouth.
Susan stops next to Kade, looking Felix over. “Five hundred bucks? I think that’ll be enough.”
“Susan,” Felix whines. “Five hundred? Do you think I’m cheap?”
Kade raises an eyebrow, his gaze dragging down Felix’s body, from his throat to his chest to his hips, and back up. Felix’s skin tingles. “How much is it gonna take for you to come home with me?”
Nothing at all, Felix thinks, and Susan sighs, shaking her head.
“Nothing,” Susan says. “So five hundred was already too much. I’m right, aren’t I?”
Felix groans. “I hate both of you.”
Kade glances across the counter. “You hate me, but you still reserved the elephant?”
“Because you asked so nicely,” Felix says. He can’t help smiling, though. Kade’s eyes rove over him, and Felix steps closer, reaching for his wallet. “I still have to pay you back, though.”
Kade’s smile flattens, and Susan turns away, humming to herself. “Pay for what?” Kade asks.
Felix grimaces. He’s been counting his funds, trying to make everything work, but the only way he can pay Kade off is to dip into the money he’d saved for moving. “The doctor’s fees from the other day. Remember?”
“Oh. You don’t need to,” Kade says, rolling his shoulders. “It was a gift.”
Felix glowers. “Stop doing that. I still owe you so much.”
Kade’s shoulders tense. “You need the money more. Keep it.”
“But—”
Rick waddles into the store, his beady eyes anchoring on Kade. Felix clamps his mouth shut. Crap. I forgot to check the time. I should have told Kade not to drop by.
The only time this job is pleasant is when Rick is far away from the store, his fat mouth offending somebody else. And now he’s in the store with Kade again, despite Felix’s attempts to keep them apart.
Kade turns, his eyes narrowing.
“Get to work,” Rick snaps at Felix, nodding at the register. “Don’t stand and stare.”
“He was treating me like a regular customer,” Kade growls. He steps between Felix and Rick, and Felix tenses. Kade had bristled the two times he and Rick argued; Felix can’t tell why. Did I forget something? Why would you care so much what Rick thinks?
“He’s my employee while he wears that uniform,” Rick says. He nods at Felix. “Get to work. I didn’t hire you to whore around.”
“He’s not a fucking whore,” Kade snaps, eyes flashing. His fist clenches.
Rick sneers like he’s about to attack with something dangerous. Felix holds his breath, hoping Kade will leave. But Kade stands stubbornly between Felix and Rick, and Rick says, “If he’s working for me and flirting with you, then he’s my whore, isn’t he?”
Felix looks at the register, his stomach roiling. That’s disgusting.
“Say that again,” Kade snarls, stalking over to Rick.
Rick pulls his own shoulders back, eyes glinting. “You’re a low-ranking alpha. That doesn’t mean shit. ‘Cuz even if you punch me, it’ll be worth nothing compared to, say, the mayor. Now, that guy, I’d respect.”
Kade’s eyes flash. He pulls his arm back, bicep straining at his sleeve, arm quivering with violence. He’ll hurl Rick across the room in an instant. As much as Felix wants to see that happen, he also needs his job. “Kade,” he snaps. “Stop.”
Kade freezes, glancing at Felix over his fist. Felix shakes his head minutely. No.
And Kade sucks in a deep breath, his chest heaving. He made a promise to Felix.
“That’s lower than I thought,” Rick says, smirking. “Controlled by an omega? You’re embarrassing.”
Pain darts through Kade’s eyes, too quick for Rick to notice. But Felix recognizes it like a childhood ghost. Why does that hurt you? Was it because of... me?
“Say one more word about my omega, and I’ll rip you apart,” Kade growls, his face inches from Rick’s, his teeth bared. Then he turns, keeping one eye on Rick while he storms out, leaving the store smelling like cedar and pine.
Rick watches him leave, his lips twisted in distaste. “Bastard’s all bark,” he mutters, glancing at Felix. “But he leaves you behind, doesn’t he? And then what? He thinks he’s so strong, running off like that?”
Felix forces a wide smile, adrenaline pumping through his veins. “He’s killed a few people, actually. It was all over the news some years back. Didn’t you see?”
It’s a lie, but Rick’s eyes bug out of his face. “Whatever,” he says. “He doesn’t belong in this store.”
After Rick stalks off to the backroom, Susan edges around the counter, bursting with questions. “Did Kade really?” She glances at the door. “Kill people, I mean.”
Felix shrugs, keeping an eye on the backroom door. “He came close. Some of them went to the hospital. One guy almost died, but that was from complications.”
That had been when they were younger, and Kade had attacked the school bullies viciously. They’d left him and Felix alone after, and Felix never forgets those days, back when they were still ten, shaking together in the bathroom stall, Kade’s hands bleeding.
Kade’s hurt now, somehow, because of him. And their breakup five years ago still hurts, even today.
“He’s loyal,” Susan says, a note of admiration in her voice.
“He’s mine,” Felix answers without thinking. He freezes. Susan smiles warmly at him, and he looks down at his hands, his stomach flipping. He wants Kade to be his. And Kade had claimed him in front of Rick, despite all that’s happened.
Felix looks down at his belly, smoothing his hand over their unborn child.
36
Kade
Kade pulls into the gas station the next week, sniffing carefully at the air. No bitter-wood scent, but the faintest trace of lavender lingers, and his pulse quickens. After seeing his omega days in a row, he still hasn’t had enough of Felix. Would never have enough of him, really.
In the store, he finds the counter empty. So he winds further inside, his heart kicking when he spots Felix crouched in the candy aisle.
“We’ll probably have to put a limit on the amount of candy you eat,” Felix says, tucking chocolate bars onto the shelves. He scoops more from a cardboard box, looking down. “And I know it won’t feel fair if other children eat all the chocolates they want, but I think it’ll be better for you not to have cavities.”
Kade stills, holding his breath. He hasn’t caught Felix talking to himself since learned about the baby, but to hear Felix talking like that... Kade wants to prowl closer, to protect his omega. Because Felix knows what he’s doing, doesn’t he? Even if hasn’t learned it off the internet, he’s caring for the baby on instinct.
And Kade loves him, damn it.
“But maybe you’ll get candies every so often,” Felix says. “My favorite is the chocolate wafer bites—”
“Hey,” Kade says.
Felix jumps, turning to look at him. He pales, glancing down. Kade hasn’t realized how much Felix feared him discovering the baby.
“It’s fine,” Kade says, his heart twisting. Felix shouldn’t have to be scared of him. “Talk to it if you want.”
Felix relaxes, smiling hesitantly. “You don’t mind?”
Kade shrugs. “Your child. Do what you want.”
His omega looks away, but warmth grows in his eyes. When he smiles, Kade’s breath catches in his throat. Yeah, he really needs to see Felix more often, see him smile.
“You’re early,” Felix says. “Is it already three?”
Kade glances at his phone clock. “Three-thirty, actually. Been busy?”
“Three-thirty? Wow.” Felix sighs, leaning back. “It’s been kind of crazy the whole morning—the gas prices dro
pped, so we had a flood of people coming in. It sounded like a zoo outside all day!”
“Yeah, they’re still there.” It’s not surprising that people will flock to a station with the lowest prices. They’d done the same years ago, riding around to scope out different gas stations.
“There’s a bit of a lull right now.” Felix crams the rest of the bars onto the shelf. “How about you? Done with work?”
“Yeah, mostly. Still some minor things to clean up.” Kade tucks his hands into his pockets, following Felix into the loading area. Cardboard boxes are stacked high on pallets, and a wall fan turns in a corner. “I’ll look at it again tonight.”
“Oh? No plans for later?” Felix asks, a tiny smile on his lips. “You’ve been busy the past few days.”
They’ve both been busy the past few days, Kade picking Felix up after work, sending him home, and then staying for dinner. Felix’s bed hasn’t been made in a while.
“No plans,” Kade says, his gaze clinging to Felix as he moves around the storage area. “Tell me if there’s something you can’t lift.”
Felix smiles. “I will. Thank you.”
Kade shrugs. Felix is pregnant, and he wants to help. He still hasn’t touched Felix’s belly yet, but thoughts of the baby don’t grind on his nerves as painfully as before. “About the baby.”
Felix tenses, looking over his shoulder. “What about it?”
“Does its dad know?”
Felix looks away, lip caught between his teeth. “No.”
Kade sighs, rubbing his temples. How many people has Felix been keeping secrets from? “Why not?”
“Because.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Felix thumps some boxes around, and noises echo around the storage space. “Because it’ll be difficult. He won’t want it.”
Kade bristles. How could anyone sleep with Felix and not want that child? Because he sure as hell does. “Then he’s a bastard.”
The Omega's Secret Pregnancy (Men of Meadowfall Book 1) Page 23