Chapter Fourteen Ace
It had been a few days since Matt’s first farmer’s market day, and I was happy to say that he was turning into quite the little farmer. Every morning, I heard the telltale crunch of bike tires in my driveway. Usually, he was wide awake and refreshed from the ride, but I could tell there was a little bit more than that going on. He always seemed just a little too eager to talk to me. Not that I would ever turn him down. His enthusiastic chatter filled my mornings with joy. He didn’t require an answer from me very often either, which suited me just fine. I was more than happy to listen to him. It was something he’d obviously been craving for a long time.
And, with each passing day, he got a better handle on the garden. He was already starting to make decisions on his own and he had a sharp eye for weeds. When he ran into something he hadn’t seen before or didn’t understand, he called me over, and we talked through what was going on. At one point, he found a strange green caterpillar with orange horns on the front of it and called me over. After reassuring him that it was a Swallowtail Butterfly caterpillar and not something that would poison him, we relocated it to a more suitable place and went back to caring for the plants.
Even though he spent the majority of his days at my place, we hadn’t been sexual with one another again. As much as I wanted to touch him again, I was more than happy to wait until it was on his terms. I had a feeling that our tryst the night of the full moon was not only unplanned but a bit of a shocker. The sex was great, but thinking about it afterward could lead to regret. I hoped Matt didn’t regret being with me. I knew I didn’t regret what we did. But I also knew that he was still in a delicate position, and his comfort was my number one priority. Whatever he decided was fine with me.
However, that didn’t mean I wasn’t turned on by him nearly all the time. It was hard not to be with his thick cinnamon scent, which grew stronger as he worked throughout the day. More than once, I had to try to hide my excitement. But I wasn’t the only one. There were plenty of times that Matt turned away from me when I caught him looking. And I definitely saw his hard cock snaked down the leg of his shorts more than once. In fact, I was fairly certain his shorts were getting shorter.
Without telling Sam, I’d been slipping Matt a little bit of money here and there for his help, along with some vegetables. I tried my best to make sure he had enough to eat while he was at the farm, and Sam had him covered for dinner. The first thing Matt did with his cash was get a haircut and go buy himself a few essentials in the clothing department. After that rogue wolf chewed up his stuff on the beach, he was in need of some new underwear.
But that meant Matt was now wearing shorter shorts and thin tank tops that showed off the beautiful curves and ridges of his body. He had a beautiful ass that filled out those shorts quite nicely. Not to mention, I was absolutely in love with his lithe form. He wasn’t muscular and overwrought like I was, but delicate and ropey, like a dancer. It was beautiful. And I especially liked how small he was. I’d always been partial to short kings.
It was one of these moments where I’d spaced out and was staring directly at Matt’s ass when he turned around and caught me red-handed.
“There’s uh… weed by your foot,” I said, completely unprompted.
Matt glanced down. “That’s a zinnia,” he replied.
“Is it?” I tried to pretend like I didn’t know that. I’d always been a bad liar. “My bad.”
Matt gave me a soft smile and went back to what he was doing.
“You about ready for lunch?” I asked, lifting my hat and wiping the sweat from my brow. “I’m burning up out here.”
“Sure. Just let me finish this little section.”
“I’ll go get things started.”
Leaving Matt to it, I walked back up to the house, thankful I didn’t have to hide the massive boner I was sporting. I was starting to stare a little too much lately if you asked me. It was getting obvious. Matt hadn’t said anything about it, and he kept on smiling, but I wasn’t sure if that was for my benefit or his own. All I knew was that I did not want to make him feel pressured. And that meant I needed to cool off a bit and get myself under control.
Back at the house, I tossed my hat and shirt to the side before stepping up to the spigot. I gave it a twist and the hose plumped as it filled with water. Without a second thought, I lifted the nozzle, placed it over my head, and turned it on.
I hissed loudly as the cold water struck my skin then streamed through my hair and down my body. The shock drove every other thought from my mind. The freezing water seeped into my thin shorts easily, soaking me down to the skin. Thankfully the sudden burst of cold caused my cock to retreat at last.
Once I was practically shivering, I turned the water off and hung the hose back on its hook. I shook out my hair, running my fingers through it to get it out of my face. When I turned around, I saw Matt standing there, staring at me with his jaw hanging open. One quick glance down showed me that not only was my tanned skin glistening with water, but my shorts were clinging to my cock perfectly, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. I might as well have been naked.
“Hungry?” I asked, my voice cracking.
“Uh… sure,” Matt replied, trying and failing to tear his eyes away from my cock.
A quick glance down at those tight little shorts of his told me I wasn’t the only one having issues. But I was determined not to initiate. It was going to be on his terms.
“Do you want to eat here or go out somewhere?”
Matt hesitated for a moment. “Can… can we go to the beach?”
“Pizza?”
He nodded.
“That sounds wonderful.” I looked down at myself. “Feels silly to change for the beach. But I’ll grab us some towels.”
“Okay,” he replied, his cheeks flushed red.
I made quick work of grabbing us some supplies. I tossed a few drinks in a cooler along with some ice and put them in the back of the truck. The towels were thrown in the back and within a few minutes, Matt and I were heading back to town.
A half-hour later, we were sitting beneath the shade of the trees just on the edge of the beach. The pizza box was nestled between us, and we’d already started eating in silence. A strong breeze kicked up across the lake, rustling the leaves overhead and driving massive waves against the shore. The dull roar of the lake filled our senses, giving me a deep sense of peace. I was glad Matt suggested we go to the beach. It was one of my favorite places in the entire world, and I couldn’t think of anyone better to share it with than him.
Matt had gone through a couple pieces of pizza when he sort of sat up and hugged his knees to his chest. Resting his chin on his knees, he stared out at the waves without saying a word. I couldn’t help feeling like something was off. I didn’t want to pry, but I wanted to help if I could.
“What’s up?” I asked, trying to sound casual. “What’s on your mind.”
“Nothing…” He paused for a moment. “Well, something, I guess.”
“Want to talk about it?” He glanced over at me. “I’m a pretty good listener.”
“Aren’t you tired of listening to me talk? I’ve been yacking your ear off all week.”
I shrugged. “I like listening to you.”
Matt turned back to the lake. “You don’t want to hear this. It’s just sad shit.”
I reached over, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. “I’m happy to listen to whatever you want to say. Even if you just want to get it off your chest, that’s totally fine. There’s no pressure.”
He let out a long sigh. “I… I guess I’m thinking about home. And… And what could have been.”
“That’s understandable.”
“It just feels stupid,” he said. “Like I’m torturing myself for no reason. I keep thinking about how much different everything would be if things had just been… well, different.” He paused for a long moment. “If he’d been braver.”
I felt a little tinge of jealousy, but I pushed it down. Now wasn’t the time for that sort of reaction.
“Do you want to tell me?” I asked gently. “It’s okay if you don’t. I know the wound is fresh.”
“No… I think I need to say it. If I don’t, I feel like it’s going to eat me alive from the inside out. But saying it out loud makes it real. Just like waking up in that hotel room every morning reminds me that I have no family and no pack to go home to. I tried to pretend this was just some unplanned vacation at first, but the longer this goes on, the harder it is to believe.”
I patted his shoulder again. “Take your time.”
Matt drew in a deep breath, hugging his knees tighter to his chest as he blew it out. “The reason I’m here is because… well, because I had sex with the Alpha’s son.”
That same tinge of jealousy rose up in me, but it was quickly snuffed out as several pieces of Matt’s story clicked into place. Without him speaking another word, I knew exactly how it was going to go, probably because I had a similar story.
“I really liked him,” he continued. “And he liked me. Or at least that’s what he told me. We both knew we’d get in trouble if anyone found out, so we tried to pretend like nothing was happening for a long time. But then we got to a point where neither of us could resist any more. And, well, we ended up in his bed. His parents were gone for the night, or so we thought.” He reached up, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “When his father walked in on us, he didn’t even hesitate. He told the Alpha I’d forced myself on him even though he was the one who had me pinned face down on the bed. He swore up and down that he’d never do anything like that if he hadn’t been coerced.”
My hand went to my lips, stifling a small gasp.
“And, of course, his father believed him. In fact, the Beta of the pack had to pull me away to stop me from being killed by the Alpha. I told him the truth over and over. I don’t know if he believed me, but he put some money in my pocket and gave me the address for Sam’s hotel. That was the kindest thing anyone did for me.” Matt’s voice was shaking now as the story spilled from his lips. The dam had been opened, and there was no way to close it again. “My parents barely let me take my backpack, they wouldn’t let me have my car, and they turned my phone off almost immediately. Everyone I trusted in my life turned on me the moment things got difficult. Never mind that the Alpha’s son was clearly not forced to do anything.”
My blood boiled at the thought of what this stranger had done to Matt. To my Matt.
“I barely made it here,” Matt said, his voice hitching as he wiped his eyes again. “I wasn’t sure I would.” He let out a sort of exasperated cry. “I can’t believe he did that to me! I… I thought he liked me.”
I pushed myself to my feet and came around to Matt’s side. Kneeling down in the sand, he allowed me to pull him into my arms. He leaned against my chest, the tears still flowing as he cried.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, running my fingers through his hair. “He never should’ve done that to you.”
“It’s my fault,” Matt replied. “I’m so fucking stupid.”
“No, you aren’t,” I said sternly. “He’s the stupid one for betraying someone as wonderful as you. He’ll spend the rest of his life regretting that, I guarantee it.”
“Nobody wants me. I’m nothing but trouble.”
“I want you.”
Matt suddenly looked up, his tear-streaked face red from crying.
“I mean it,” I added, anticipating his deflection. “I like having you around and I want you to stay. You’ve become a good friend and I want you around.”
“J-Just friends?” he asked, wiping his eyes.
“I’m happy with that if that’s all you want. I know you’re hurting right now and this life is all new to you. The last thing I want to do is pressure you into something you’re not ready for.”
“What about that night…”
“Sex is sex,” I replied. “If that’s something you want, we can talk about it. But I want you to be comfortable first.”
Matt nodded. “I like you,” he replied, the fear in his voice evident. “But I… I’m scared.”
“That I’ll turn on you?”
He nodded again, turning his gaze down. I reached up with my forefinger, lifting his chin so that we were eye to eye once more.
“I’m not going to do that,” I said softly. “I promise. I’ve lived your story and I’d never do that to another person.”
“Y-You have?”
I gave him a sort of sad smile. “My guy wasn’t the Alpha’s son, but he did have a wife and pups at home that I didn’t know about. Little did I know, she was best friends with the Luna of the pack. Needless to say, she made sure my ass was on the street the moment she found out. As for her husband… well, I’m not so sure she didn’t castrate him on the spot.”
Matt winced. “Fuck…”
“He didn’t try to help me or take any of the blame. He just stood there and let his wife ruin my life even though he was the one who pursued me. And the worst part is, I can’t blame her for her reaction. She had every right to be angry.”
“But you didn’t deserve it!”
I nodded. “You’re right. I didn’t. But that’s what happened. And that’s how I ended up here in Shifter Grove.” I smiled down at Matt. “If it hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have met you.” I took a deep breath. “But I don’t want you to do what I did. Don’t lock yourself away and rot for ten years because you’re afraid everyone you meet is going to turn on you. Believe me, it’s not worth it.”
Matt stared at me for a long moment. “Can… Can you kiss me?”
The smile that filled my face was involuntary. Leaning down, I pressed my lips to his, kissing him softly.
“I’m not gonna hurt you,” I said, pulling away. “And you can call it quits at any time. No pressure.”
“Okay,” Matt nodded. “Kiss me again.”
And I did.