Chapter 28
Alex
“Idon’t think anything else will fit in the SUV,” Hudson says with a wide grin.
I throw my arm around him as Des pushes an overflowing cart through Nesters. Just because he won’t be experiencing another heat for a while doesn’t mean he won’t want as much comfort as possible.
My eyes dart to his flat abs. Within a few months, a bump will appear as our child grows.
I want that baby to be biologically mine so badly, but it really won’t matter to me. The three of us agreed a decade ago we would never request a paternity test. This child is mine, regardless of who technically fathered it.
Tightening my hold around Hudson, I hug him against my side and lower my cheek to nuzzle it against the top of his head.
Whether they realize it or not, this omega is mine, too. We all fell for him the moment he stepped out of that beat-up sedan. The attraction and affection have only grown during the weekends we’ve been able to spend with him, gotten to know him better.
Pretty sure I’m falling in love with him.
We told him we didn’t expect him to remain in our lives or the child’s life after, but I’d do damn near anything to convince him to be part of Pack Anders.
I don’t think buying him pretty stuff and cars will be enough, though it’s definitely a start. It’s one way to show him we want him permanently.
Oh, there hasn’t been an official discussion, but I can feel the way they feel about him every time they so much as look in his direction.
Can he feel that? Can he feel how deeply he’s digging himself into the very fiber of our being? Can he feel how deeply I’m falling for him, or see the hearts in Desmond’s eyes every time they lock gazes?
Or does he simply think it’s all excitement over being parents?
Don’t get me wrong – there’s a shitload of excitement. Finally. Twelve years later and we’re finally getting the family we’ve always dreamed of and it’s all because this beautiful omega decided to seek an alpha to aid him through his heat cycle.
Mason turns around, his lips parted as though prepared to say something, but kind of slows to a stop. He hides his inner softness well, but Hudson cracks his shell wide open.
Okay, yeah. That sounded gross, but that’s not how I meant it. All I’m saying is I can see the same heart eyes on him I see on Desmond nearly daily as he watches the way I snuggle Hudson closer to my side while we follow Des and the cart.
After a second of simply staring, Mason shakes his head as though getting his thoughts back in order and smiles. “You hungry? Want to stop for lunch on our way home and give Amy a day off?”
It’s already her day off since it’s Sunday, but she’s been doting on Hudson damn near nonstop since we walked through the door and gave her the news. The fridge and pantry are beyond stocked and there are containers of leftovers from all the food she’s been cooking.
His hand drops to his stomach. “Yeah, I could eat.”
Two sets of alpha eyes drop to his belly. We’re imagining the same future.
Desmond has moved ahead, making his way toward the registers, completely oblivious to the little moment we’re having back here.
Mason takes a step closer, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Hudson’s forehead, lingering there a moment before straightening to his full height again.
“Your choice. What are you in the mood for? Any cravings?”
There’s a flare of heat, affection, confusion, and…sadness in the bond. I frown down at Hudson, confused about the last emotion, but there’s a soft smile on his face.
“Isn’t it early for cravings?”
“They can start as early as the first few weeks,” Desmond says. He’s stopped and is leaning against his cart and waits for us to catch up.
“No. No cravings. But a greasy burger sounds good.”
“Hm. Is that healthy?” Mason says, a slight frown pulling his brows together.
“If my omega wants a burger, he’s getting a burger,” I say, pulling Hudson tighter to my side.
His head tilts back and he stares up at me with wide eyes and his lips parted in surprise.
Have I ever called him mine outside of his heat? Surely during his cycle, my alpha instincts would have taken shotgun and my mouth would have spewed all kinds of crazy shit.
Doesn’t matter. I meant every word. And I mean them now.
If he’s expecting me to take them back, he’ll be waiting a while. Obviously, any part of his life with us in the future is completely up to him, but since deciding exactly what I want, I’m going to do everything I can to convince him to stay.
Even if that takes some subliminal messaging and shit. Not that I believe in all that, but it can’t hurt.
That shocked expression slowly bleeds into an almost shy smile, and I can feel an explosion of joy and surprise through the bond.
With him looking up at me with those pretty honey brown eyes and those pillowy lips…I can’t help myself. And I don’t give a damn that we’re in public.
I dip my head and press my lips to his, savoring in the softness and inhaling deep when perfume bursts from him in a cloud of warmth and sweetness.
Touching my tongue to the seam of his lips, I release a soft purr when he opens for me.
The kiss is short, nearly chaste, but my heart feels as though it’ll burst from my chest.
Arousal. Love. Affection. Desperation.
So many emotions coming from so many directions and I absorb them all.
Problem with this short, somewhat chaste kiss is my dick is now hard and not positioned in the greatest direction behind my jeans. Taking a quick glance around, I reach down and adjust my shaft so it doesn’t feel as though all the blood flow has been cut off.
The smile Hudson gives me after watching is both knowing and full of heat.
Would it be bad to fuck him in the back of the SUV?
Eh. Probably won’t be enough room after a day full of shopping.
Besides, Mason already promised him lunch. I’ll simply carry him up to bed when we get home and kiss and lick every inch of his body before fucking him into the mattress.
Ooh. What are the chances I can talk Mason and Des into joining? There’s been very little action with the omega since his heat passed. What better way to bond and allow Hudson to soak up our pheromones than feeding him our cum…in whatever form that comes whether his mouth or ass?
Shopping done. Lunch eaten. New car delivered.
Now? Now it’s time to smother my omega in affection.
I.e. It’s time to make my omega come.
Oh, I didn’t bother mentioning my plans to him or my mates, but I haven’t been able to get images of him naked out of my head nor have I been able to will my boner down since he perfumed in the middle of Nesters.
First, of course, we need to carry all this crap in. I could always ask the guards to help, but the mere thought of another alpha near Hudson sends a hot ripple of possessive rage coursing through my veins.
I don’t like that sensation. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt so possessive over another human being.
Even after Mason, Des, and I decided we were fully committed to each other and bonded as a pack, I was open to the idea there might come a day when one or all three of us chose to add an omega or beta to our family.
But with Hudson? I think it’s a mixture of possessiveness and protectiveness. I don’t like the thought of someone coming near him when he’s carrying our child.
He’s so much smaller than any alpha, even with his toned body. And as much as he would hate to hear me say it, he’s fragile right now.
Okay, I know. I’m fully aware his pregnant body isn’t that fragile. He’s barely a few weeks along.
Doesn’t matter. I would wrap him in bubble wrap if I thought he’d go along with it.
By the time the three of us – three of us alphas because I waved Hudson away and told him to jump in the shower – haul everything in and deliver some items to the laundry room, some to Hudson’s room, and the rest to the nest, my knot is throbbing to my heartbeat.
I cannot get my libido under control.
Something in Hudson’s scent has changed, and I know it has to do with his pregnancy hormones. It’s sweeter, smokier, and I’m convinced it’s holding a touch of each of his alphas’ signatures.
It’s like somehow his body has absorbed pieces of us until he smells downright fuckable.
I’m proud of myself for holding out this long today.
Also ashamed. We abandoned him emotionally without meaning to.
No wonder he’s been feeling rejected; Mason bonded him, we fucked him full of cum, then went back to life as normal, sleeping together while leaving him alone night after night.
The night we left work early to spend some time with Hudson, he’d been sprawled on the couch wearing a pair of black, silk boxers. He looked downright edible.
I’m pretty sure he’d been attempting to seduce us, then the conversation had changed as I noticed his elevated temperature. Everything changed after that.
Maybe I can convince him to slip into those boxers again, stretch out on the couch like he was when I’d walked in. Except this time, I’ll lower to my knees, drag his boxers down his legs, and slide my mouth over his cock until it hits the back of my throat.