4. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
Cade
I wake up slowly from the most delightful dream. I was kneeling before a brunet beauty, my nose pressed to their hip while I teased my mouth against their straining cock. I swear I can still smell them despite now being awake.
I blink slowly, remembering that I’m not at home in bed but instead on a moving train. My eyes dart over to Spencer’s bed, finding it empty. Disappointment hits me square in the chest, threatening to overwhelm me if I don’t do my best to push it to the back of my mind. The scent from my dream wasn’t some random faceless hookup, it was Spencer . Gods, his scent is starting to drive me to having wet dreams like a teenager all over again but I can’t find it in myself to be upset by that.
I’ve only known Spencer for half a day but I already feel incredibly drawn to him, like a moth that continuously floats to a flame. There’s just something about him that makes me want to get to know him, to learn all his secrets, to see what faces he makes if I suck his dick in real life instead of just in my dreams.
Good thing we have a personal shower in this suite because I have a feeling I’m going to need a cold one to get my libido in check.
I sit up, stretching my arms over my head. I’m about to get up when the door of our cabin swings open.
Spencer’s eyes widen as he looks at me. “Good morning,” he says softly, holding up two cups of coffee. “I went to the dining car this morning to get us coffee. But then I had a moment of panic as I realized I didn’t even know if you liked coffee or not. I was already in line and I didn’t want to make people wait so I debated with myself on what I should do. Eventually, I just ordered two. If you hate coffee, it’s totally fine, I can just drink both. Although, I’ll probably get really hyper if I drink both as caffeine seems to hit me pretty hard.”
My chest feels like it may burst as I listen to him nervously ramble. Gods, he’s adorable .
“I love coffee. Thank you, Spencer. That was really thoughtful of you.”
Spencer hands over the coffee, waving me off. “It was nothing.”
“It wasn’t nothing to me,” I tell him softly, smiling up at him. He sits in his seat across the cabin from me. He curls up again, with his legs tucked against his chest. He’s so lanky and it really shows when he sits like that. I find it really cute. I find most things about him cute. Is this because I haven’t gotten laid in ages? Or is there just something special about Spencer? I have to admit I’m leaning towards the second.
We sit together in our room and sip our coffee, watching the window. There’s something really soothing about being in someone’s space without the need to fill said space with idle chatter. The trees blur as we pass them. A huge lake goes by and I marvel at the deer who’re sipping from the water, the birds that fly around the trees, and the stillness of it all.
It’s been so long since I’ve allowed myself a slice of peace in nature. I’m a manatee shifter but it’s been so long since I’ve actually shifted, or allowed my manatee skin to be free in a giant pool of water. He misses it, craves it even. I’ve been neglecting that side of myself by staying in the city and keeping myself constantly busy with work. Not only does my human side deserve this vacation, but so does my animal side.
I chance a glance over at Spencer. His face looks so relaxed and at peace. There’s not an ounce of tension in his body. His long fingers are wrapped around his coffee cup and I find myself staring. They’re such pretty hands. Thin fingers that are almost boney at the knuckles. I want to touch them and watch them do unthinkable things. I bet they’re incredibly dexterous, they must be if he’s using a knife regularly at his job.
Spencer looks over at me and for the first time since meeting him, I’m the one who looks away embarrassed. I feel my cheeks heat beneath my beard. I take a sip of my coffee, doing my best to look casual and aloof.
I’m fairly certain I do a piss poor job but I don’t really care. I don’t mind Spencer knowing I’m looking at him, so long as it doesn’t make him uncomfortable. Based on the little smiles and the way his eyes light up, I’d guess he’s attracted to me, same as I am to him. But I won’t know that for certain until I ask. That can wait a bit longer though. No need to scare him away so soon.
I drink the rest of my coffee and toss it into the trash by the door. Then I get up, stretching my arms over my head, groaning as my spine cracks. I sound like I’m an old man instead of 35.
Taking a few things out of my bag, I start to get ready for the day. I quickly change my shirt before pulling the braids out of my beard. I spray it with moisturizer before brushing it out and rebraiding it, this time with a different design. I add a couple charms to the end for good measure. The entire time, I can feel Spencer’s eyes on me. It’s a heady feeling. I like it. Once that’s done, I head into the bathroom to piss and change my boxers and pants.
I toss my dirty clothes into my bag before turning to Spencer. “Do you have plans for the day? I was thinking of heading up to the observation deck. Would you like to come with?”
Spencer nods. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”
He grabs a notebook from his bag and follows me out of our room.
“Hello, gentlemen,” Matthew says, bowing with a flourish that makes me smile. “While you’re out, would you mind if I popped into your room for a quick tidy? Just taking out the trash, making sure you have towels, that sort of thing?”
“Totally fine by me,” I say, turning towards Spencer.
Spencer nods along. “That would be great. Thank you, Matthew.”
Matthew tips his cute little hat to us as we continue down the hall towards the front of the train. I have to clench my hand tight and stuff it into my pocket to keep myself from reaching over and placing it on Spencer’s back as we walk. I don’t know why but I just have this sensation inside of me, wanting to reach out and touch him. It’s so unlike what I usually feel for people I’ve only just met.
It’s like there’s this long-forgotten instinct, buried deep inside of me trying to burst free.
As we climb up the stairs to the second floor, I get an eyeful of Spencer’s ass. Maybe this isn’t some instinct, maybe it’s just the fact that I’m horny for Spencer. Either way, I’m not mad about it.
We find a little two seater off by itself and gravitate towards it. We sit down, tucked together, our sides touching. Spencer is warm and sparks of pleasure race through my middle and down my arm.
“It’s so pretty up here,” Spencer breathes out, staring out the window.
I say the first thing that comes to mind. “You’re so pretty.” Spencer’s eyes snap over to me and I wince. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Just because it’s true doesn’t mean you want to hear that from me.”
Spencer’s mouth opens and closes a few times before he covers his face with his hands, trying to hide the rapid blush that’s coloring his cheeks. He’s so goddamn pretty I can barely stand it.
Finally, he comes back up for air. With a shaky breath he replies, “I wouldn’t say I don’t want to hear that from you. It’s just surprising. That’s all.”
“Why would that be surprising?”
“Because you’re you and I’m me? You’re like ridiculously hot and all sorts of confident while I’m more used to hiding. You’re perceiving me in a way that’s kinda freaking me out.” Then his eyes widen and he quickly reaches over, putting a hand on my wrist. I suck in a sharp breath as sparks race across my skin where he’s touching me. “Not that it’s bad! Only unexpected! Oh my gods, I should shut the fuck up now.”
Spencer pulls away, tucking the front of his shirt over his face. He groans in frustration and I cannot stop watching him with a mixture of amusement and interest. His rambling is so fucking adorable. I think I could listen to him talk for hours and not get bored.
“Do you believe in magic?” I ask him, trying to put his mind at ease.
“In a young girl’s heart?” I narrow my eyes at him and he snorts. “Yeah, I do. Why? Do you believe in magic?”
I look around, making sure there aren’t any passengers near us. I’m fairly certain there are other shifters on the train, but I can’t smell any up here at the moment.
“Of course I believe in magic,” I say with a grin, keeping my voice quiet so only Spencer can hear. “Otherwise, how do you explain the fact that I can sometimes change into an animal?”
Spencer leans his head closer, so close I can feel his breath against my skin. “You’re a shifter?” I nod my head and Spencer smiles. “So am I! A cat!”
“Omega?” I guess and Spencer nods his head. “Me too.”
“Is that umm, is that a problem for you? That we’re both omegas, I mean?”
“Not even a little bit.”
“Not that I’m saying we’re going to like get mated tomorrow or anything. Not that it matters because you might not even be into me. No pressure or anything. Obviously I find you attractive but that doesn’t actually have to mean anything.” Spencer snaps his mouth shut, covering his face once again.
With a warm chuckle, I take his wrist in my hand and pull it away from his face. “There you are. No hiding,” I say softly.
“Hiding is far safer.”
“That might be true. But it’s also far less fun. Plus, I like looking at your pretty face, Spencer.”
Spencer bites his bottom lip. “You think I’m pretty?”
“Very.”
“Oh,” he breathes out, looking back out the window. He tries to hide it but he’s smiling, further proving my point without even trying.
There’s a soft and tentative understanding between us after that. We spend the entire morning side by side in the observation deck. Spencer will occasionally pull out his notebook and write something down. I pull out my book and read through a few chapters.
Sometime during the morning, Spencer scoots closer until he can lay his head against my shoulder. My stomach erupts with butterflies as we snuggle together. I’m proud of him for making the first move, for taking a chance. That must have taken him all morning to find the nerve.
I give him a soft squeeze before going back to my book. Occasionally, I’ll look down, just to watch the way Spencer’s eyelashes fall, or to count the freckles that dot his nose. He falls asleep and I can’t stop watching him. How in the fuck am I so down bad for a man I just met yesterday? We were thrust together without our permission but somehow, it feels like we were meant to meet. Is that type of magic real? Or is it just a fairy tale I’m trying to project onto the situation?
Eventually, our stomachs rumble, letting us know it’s time for lunch. Reluctantly, I gently shake Spencer awake. He blinks his giant brown eyes up at me, a soft smile stretching across his lips as our eyes meet.
“Hi,” he whispers.
“Good morning, sleepy head. Are you hungry? We could head down to the dining car.”
Spencer hums, extracting himself from me and stretching. Now that I know he’s a cat shifter, the gesture makes a lot of sense. We pull away from each other, get up, and head down to the dining car.
I can’t help but think that this vacation isn’t the only thing that’s only just started. Whatever this is between us is starting out, like a brand new flower blooming. It’s refreshing and exciting, yet at the same time, it has a naive beauty to it. I want to hold my hands over it and protect it. More than anything, I want to get to know Spencer even more and see where this goes.
Lunch is BLTs with a side of chips. I get a soda while Spencer indulges and orders an orange soda float.
These feelings, at first I thought they were lust. Spencer is hot and it would be easy to assume I’d like to fuck him, just to scratch the itch. But somehow, I know it’s more than that. I don’t just want to fuck him, I want to watch him sleep again. I want to see what he’s writing in his notebook. I want to fall asleep next to him to the sound of his soft breathing.
There’s an instant connection between us, one that I can’t really wrap my brain around but instead of trying to overthink this and figure out each and every facet of my feelings, I think it would be best just to sit back and enjoy it. Enjoy my vacation, enjoy the time Spencer and I have together, and of course, enjoy Spencer himself.
After lunch, we head back to our personal cabin. Before walking in behind Spencer, I turn back to the hallway towards Matthew.
“Hey, Matthew? Do you by chance have alcohol for purchase? Maybe a sweet red?”
Matthew nods his head. “I’ve got just the thing! I’ll bring it over in a jiffy!”
“Thank you!”
Spencer is sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. He tilts his head. “What was that?”
I smile as I step into the room and close the door behind me. “I was just asking Matthew something.” I kick my shoes off and get on the floor, sitting across from Spencer. “I thought we could get to know each other better.”
“I would like that a lot.”
Matthew knocks on the door. Popping his head through the door, he gives us both a grin as he passes over the bottle of wine. Then he leaves just as quickly.
I hold the bottle up, flashing Spencer a smirk. “And I got us a little something to take the edge off while we do it.”