Chapter 21Gavin
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
GAVIN
The sun is setting over Pine Glen and the main street is shutting down for the night when I tuck Jules against my side and lead him to my car. He wraps his arm around my waist and leans into me. This whole thing is new, unplanned in every way, but the pair of us slot together easily. I like him. It’s easy to see us falling in love, growing our family, spending a lifetime together.
“What about you? Hungry?” We had breakfast but worked straight through lunch. I probably should’ve put a pause on unpacking to feed everyone but Thane was eager to be done today so he could enjoy his first night alone. I imagine it’s a little like coming home for him.
“Yeah.” Jules presses a kiss to my shoulder. “I am a bit.”
“How about we head into the city too? Get something to eat, maybe catch a movie if anything good’s playing?” We can get him a phone, and anything else he needs that he can’t so easily get in Pine Glen. “Make a date out of it.”
“I... I’d like that.” Jules tucks his flushed face into my shoulder as his fingers dig into my side.
I drop a kiss on his hair. “Me too.” I open the passenger door and Jules pulls away. “Do you want to shower and dress up or go as we are?”
I buckle him in, making sure the strap is secure across his chest once he’s settled comfortably in the passenger seat. He tugs on his lower lip as he peers out the windshield. “I’m not sure if I have anything that’d be considered dressy.”
I comb my fingers through his hair before cupping his jaw and pulling his attention to me. “If you do want to wear something nice just raid Altair’s closet, he won’t mind. But it’s okay if we go as we are. I just thought it’d be nice to spend some time together. Get to know one another better.”
We’ve spent the last few days getting to know one another while Thane did his own thing, but there’s always more to learn. We have a lifetime to learn those things and it’s important we do. I want our union to be a pleasant one, and the more familiar I am with his likes, dislikes, and everything in between the sooner and better I can care for him in the long term.
“I’ll dress up.” Jules runs his hands down his thighs. The pants he’s wearing used to be my son’s but they’re both slender and on the shorter side, so they fit Jules well. His cheeks turn pink and he shifts in the passenger seat. “I’ve never been on a date before.”
“It’s been a long time for me. I’m happy it’s you I get to take out.” The kiss I drop on his forehead makes him grin as I step away, shut the passenger door and go around to get in the driver seat.
It isn’t a long trip home, and the house is dark and empty when we get there. I know what Baz and Altair are doing—dinner in the city. They won’t get home until late, and Altair will spend the night with Baz. Callum and Silo are doing who knows what, who knows where but they’ll turn up eventually. Hopefully Callum is no worse for wear. Silo won’t bite him too hard. Probably. If he does, Callum no doubt earned the mark.
I brush my hand down Jules’ back after I pull the front door shut behind us. “Go ahead and use Altair’s bathroom. Meet back here in thirty minutes?”
That’ll give us time to shower, dress and for me to decide where to take Jules for dinner.
“Okay.” He steps away, but pauses. “Umm—” He wraps his arms around himself and rocks back on his heels. “What should I wear? Just something nice?”
“Whatever you’re most comfortable in. I’ll wear jeans and a nice shirt.” I shove my hand into my pocket and rock back on my heels as I grin. For once, I don’t feel every one of my forty-plus years. With Jules, I feel a little younger, a little uncertain about the future. He’s brought excitement to my life that it lacked before, and I’m not upset about that. “Might dig out my leather jacket for old times’ sake.”
His smile is eager this time as he gives a soft bounce. “I’ll meet you back in thirty then.”
Jules hurries down the hallway and pauses outside of Altair’s room before he slips inside. Altair isn’t going to care if Jules borrows some of his clothes. He probably won’t even notice, considering just how many outfits he owns. I still pull my phone out and shoot him a text before I hurry to my room and quickly shower.
It takes a little more effort to find a nice pair of jeans and a shirt suitable for a date. My leather jacket is at the back of the closet, hidden behind everyday clothes I reach for out of habit more than anything these days. It still fits when I pull it on, take a peek at myself in the bathroom mirror, and fix my hair before I sit on the edge of the bed to lace my boots.
Just as I open my bedroom door, Jules is stepping out of Altair’s room.
“You clean up nice.” I snag him around the waist and drag him into my chest.
There’s a fresh pink glow to his skin. His blonde hair shines like a halo under the hallway light, fluffed around his face and shoulders. The black slacks and forest green long sleeve sweater he’s wearing suit him.
He tips his head back as he slides his hands over my sides. “Thanks. You do too.”
“Do you kiss on the first date, Mr. Strange?” I tease him as I nip at his chin.
“If it goes well, I do more than just kiss,” he whispers. It’s not a joke he would’ve made when we first met, and it makes my heart swell that he has the confidence to make it now.
I drop a kiss on his nose before I lace my hand with his and tug him towards the door. “You’re feeling sassy tonight. I like it.”
Jules’ fingers tighten around mine as we step out of the house and I pull the door shut behind us. “It’s easy to relax around you,” his voice is low and a little shaky, “but I wasn’t trying to sass you.”
I glance over. He’s chewing on his bottom lip and looking anywhere but at me. There’s tension in every line of his body and I immediately want it gone. Jules isn’t built to look like a man preparing to be struck or verbally abused. I give his hand a little shake. “Jules?” I cup his jaw and pull his gaze to me. “Not sass—sassy. Like... Altair when he’s giving Baz a hard time. It’s different.”
Not disrespectful. Not like sass can be.
“Oh.” He pauses and blows out a sharp breath. His shoulders loosen and his hand relaxes around mine. “Do you like sassy?”
“I like you,” I tell him as I boop his nose. “If that includes sassy, I’m well prepared.” I have plenty of experience with Baz, Altair and Callum. They all have a mouth on them.
He turns pink in the fading light as I open the passenger door for him the second time tonight. “I like you too, Gavin.”
I cup his face in my hands and lean down so my mouth is inches from his. “How about a kiss now and the rest later, if this date goes as well as I think it will?”
Jules surges forward; I slide my fingers into his hair and hold him against my mouth as I lick my way in. He twists his fingers in my shirt and presses against my body with a soft, needy moan. His tongue slides alongside mine—hot, wet and eager. I groan and press him against the side of the SUV as my cock thickens.
It takes real effort to pull my mouth away from his. He’s my omega and of course I want him, but I want to take him on a date first. Jules deserves that—to be wined and dined and treated like more than a convenient fuck or an accidental mate I’m simply settling for. I want him to know that our union might be a case of wrong time, right place, but when all is said and done neither of us will have any regrets.
We’re panting for breath when I press my forehead against his and comb my fingers through his soft hair. My heart is pounding, my whole body begging me to drag my mate back into the house and get lost in his body for the rest of the night. I have more self-control than that. I’m not an animal led around by my baser urges.
“Dinner. Maybe a movie. Definitely more kissing afterwards.” Maybe a little kissing at the movie theater. It’ll be dark, and if we pick the right movie, we’ll have the place to ourselves.
“Uh huh,” Jules agrees as he grinds his hard cock against mine. His eyes are glassy with desire, cheeks flushed, lips kiss-swollen; he looks more than willing to skip our date. I’m tempted, but not enough to drag him back inside.