Chapter Nine
Tripp
They made it home in record time. The angle of the steering wheel pretty much had his cock driving the car. His BMW had gone from automatic to stick shift in the blink of an eye.
“So, why don’t you have a car?” Tripp drummed his fingers on the steering wheel to make idle talk.
“Work is a few blocks from where I live, and it’s an added expense. Car payment, repairs, upkeep, parking, gas, insurance, tags—all for some convenience. Uber, buses, and those zippy micro rental cars together only run me about a third of that.”
“Smart.” Tripp took a calming breath and squeezed the leather rim of the steering wheel.
“So… It was you, huh?” Dray got right to the point.
“I looked for you. I got sick after… When I came back, you were gone. That’s in the footage, too. I begged anyone around for your number.”
“Did you know I was in heat?” Dray glanced out the window and slouched in the seat.
“No. All I remember was those pretty tattoos and how good you smelled.” Tripp sighed as the guilt knotted up in his stomach.
“You were flirting with me and still asking your friend for that footage and looking for—” Dray leaned away from him, but Tripp had to focus on the road; his entire world was in that car.
“Yeah! I was. I did a stupid, awful thing. I won’t excuse it. I knew I had something click for you then, and then when I met you again, it clicked, and I didn’t recognize you.” Tripp huffed. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t fix this, but what’s done is done. Do you love me?” Dray kept his head turned, and the soft rasp in his voice told Tripp he verged on tears.
“I love you. I’d have loved you with a baby or without. I was chasing those glowing scales in my mind like Alice and her rabbit. It was Cinderella, only I was too drunk to remember anything. I didn’t take advantage of you, did I?”
“Trust me, I have no doubt as to the state of our consent. But how the fuck do you not know what heat smells like?” Tripp sighed in exasperation. “Didn’t you get the birds and bees talk? Didn’t you—”
“I’ve never been allowed near an omega! I’ve smelled female heat, and it didn’t make me feel that way. The scent was almost kind of a turnoff.” Tripp shuddered. “Cloying, sweet, and bitter.”
Dray sat up at that, face wrinkled. “How often did you, you know, get it on with your lady?”
“I dunno, not that often. Sex isn’t important to me.” Tripp’s cheeks burned.
“You got soft a lot while trying, huh?” Dray’s snide comment made Tripp’s shoulders pinch.
“Didn’t have any trouble with you even with whisky dick.” The low grumble earned a sniff of laughter from Dray.
“Because you’re gay. You’re hardwired for omegas.
What kind of sex ed did you get? Alphas run the gamut for interest; about half are bi, and the rest are either or, straight or totally only into omegas.
You, sir, are a gay alpha.” Dray threw his hands up and grumbled under his breath about lackluster parenting skills.
“Hey, it’s not like my father knew. He’s a beta.” Tripp’s cheeks burned in admission of it. His father liked to act alpha, wore cologne to mask his scent, but a beta was all he’d ever be.
Dray remained silent for a mile or so as they neared Tripp’s apartment. “So… Holy shit. Didn’t the council put you through the education course, then?”
Tripp knew the council offered education to alphas and omegas born from betas, but his parents had declined on his behalf because he’d already had an arrangement with Shelby at that time.
“Are your parents even okay with you being with an omega?” Dray’s hesitant voice squeaked a little.
“Eh. He said as long as they’re a snake.
But I’d be with you even if you were a hippo, not going to lie.
” Tripp shook his head. “My dad’s opinion doesn’t matter.
I held him so high for so long, riding on all the things I could do that would get me written out of the will, but I’m fairly certain I’ll have more money than him in a few years. ”
Dray coughed. “What? He owns a country club!”
“And? My company’s valuation is almost that much. But speaking of country clubs… My parents are there every other evening, almost. Want to meet them tonight?” Tripp snorted, and Dray balked.
“I’d have to put on some long-sleeve shirts, some coverup on my hands… I can take out most of my piercings…” Dray had his camouflage down to a science.
“But that’s not who you are?” Tripp heaved a long sigh. “If they don’t like you, then they’re not worth my time. Actually? You know what?”
Tripp dialed a number on his dashboard with a few button presses. The phone rang three times before a voice answered, the sound of milling voices and glasses clinking in the background. A gruff voice said, “Hello?”
“Hey, Dad. Got a moment?” Tripp took a deep breath and settled into his seat as he pulled into his apartment’s garage.
“I do. What’s going on? Shelby come crawling back?” His father grumbled, and Tripp hesitated.
“Why?”
“Ahh, her family’s bankrupt now and Marshal was hoping the marriage would bail him out. Fat chance. Also, that new boyfriend of hers is a sleazebag. Honestly, dodged a bullet.” Not an apology from Tripp’s father, but he’d take it.
“Ew. Anyways, you somewhere where you can sit down? I have some big things to talk about.” Tripp sighed as his father moved out of the noise and huffed as if he were sitting down.
“What now? That video you sent me? It cleared your name. It’s all on that tart now.” Tripp’s father grumbled, and something clinked in the background like ice in a glass.
“Well… I met someone.” Tripp hesitated as his father’s breath halted.
“An omega?”
“Yes.” Tripp ground his teeth audibly.
“Are they at least a snake?” A hiss caught in his father’s throat.
“Yes.” Tripp gestured at the console as if to say, “see!”
“What kind?” That had his father’s attention, bright and glorious.
“An indigo snake.” Tripp parked his car in a stall as Dray stared at the console with unease written all over his face.
“Boy, of all the snakes. Phew. Okay. When are we going to meet them?” His father had a little joy in his voice that would come crashing down.
“Well, as soon as you’d like. I can come by the club later this evening. But that’s not the big news.” Tripp buried that anxiety deep as his father grumbled for him to continue. “Dray and I met by chance and had a fling several months ago, and he’s pregnant.”
Silence stretched. His father’s chair creaked in the background as his glass clinked down on the desk—all familiar sounds. “How far along are they?”
“Five months,” Tripp said with confidence.
“For fuck’s sake, bring them over already to meet. We’ve got a wedding to plan. I don’t want bastard grandkids. You’re standing up for that boy, you got me?” The stern tone in his voice made Dray raise a brow.
“They’re…” Tripp searched for the right words. When it became clear he was failing, Dray spoke up.
“Sir, it’s nice to hear you. I’m Dray Lackson, and Tripp is my true mate.
It’s been a grueling few months, but Tripp has treated me very well.
I think he’s wanting to tell you that, by trade, I am a tattoo artist, and I look the part of it.
” Dray sighed, resting a hand on his belly as if he were finally allowing himself to see it as a good thing.
“So, you’re all tatted up? You put any of that ink on my son?” Not a reaction from Tripp’s father he anticipated.
“Absolutely, sir, and yes, I did. I offered to cover up when I came to meet you, so you—” Dray halted when his father spoke over the omega.
Tripp waited for the screaming to start—anger and judgment, threats to disinherit. But still, he whispered next to Dray—“His name is Ian.”
But what came next was a shock. “I got this old army regiment tattoo on my shoulder that’s gone to shit. You want to take a crack at cleaning it up?”
“For my mate’s father? I’ll only charge you double.” The cheekiness in Dray’s voice made his father laugh hard.
“Wait, you have a tattoo?” Tripp blanched, and his father grunted.
“I had a life before you were born, little shit. Also, bring the boy by. People are just going to talk if they talk and assume he’s some celebrity.” Tripp could imagine his father waving his hand.
“We’re at my apartment getting cleaned up. We’ll be by.” Tripp half choked.
“Good. I won’t tell Joyce. Let it be a surprise.
Your mother’s been so upset about your breakup that she thought she’d have to wait ages for a grandbaby.
” His father sniffed. “Alright. You’ve disappointed me, but at least you’re doing right, now.
” His father hung up, and Tripp blinked at the car’s dash with surprise.
“Holy fuck.” Tripp mouthed the word.
“I’m a likeable guy. I don’t have clothes to change into, but a shower would be nice.” Dray shrugged. “Unless shower was code for—”
“It’s code for shower.” Tripp’s heart had jumped so high in his throat that he gave himself involuntary CPR when he swallowed.
Dray reached over and rested a single finger on the tip of Tripp’s burgeoning erection. “I don’t have clothes with me… So, they’re coming off if we mess around.”
“Are we messing around?” Tripp’s breath shuddered as Dray sent off a quick text.
Dray leaned across the center console and whispered into Tripp’s ear. “I desperately need to come.”
Tripp sighed in absolute relief. “Thank the gods.”