Chapter Fourteen
Gatlin
We left so fast, we forgot his phone and under normal circumstances, I would have suggested picking it up the next morning, but parents could not leave the sitter with no way to reach them.
And it might be awkward to say they could call my phone at any time all night to get their son, so our raging libidos would have to cool their jets.
We parked in the twenty-four-minute zone directly in front of the club and Shaw raced inside and came out panting, device held triumphantly in the air. As soon as he was in his seat, I leaned across and buckled his belt, stealing a kiss in the process.
“I know it’s trite, but my place or yours?” I asked, approaching the corner where we’d have to turn one way or the other.
“I don’t care,” he said. “Which is closer?”
“Mine.” I went left. The car was full of scents.
My omega’s natural one, the enhanced pheromones pouring off us both, aftershave, a hint of leather from the bench…
All of it going right to my head and making it nearly impossible to think logically.
My wolf was going wild inside me, wanting out, wanting to meet Shaw’s beast but wanting the mating completed even more.
How were we going to get both of those things done?
“My wolf is wild,” Shaw said. “He’s about to lose it. Or, rather, I am closer to losing control of him than I have been since I was a kid.”
“Mine, too. Omega, I want you, but maybe we need to give them a minute. They’ve been waiting a long time.”
“He wants us to mate, but also wants out.”
“We’re almost home.” We’d been apart far too long, and every moment since I saw him here, the sense of urgency to be together had grown.
Would my home be ours soon? “Maybe we can manage both of those needs.” Because neither was really a want.
Our wolves had been denied their mates for years, something that would have been very difficult for them, or at least so mine claimed.
And why wouldn’t it? I’d been half alive since that morning when I came back to find him gone.
“How?”
I parked in the garage and hit the remote to close the door behind us. “This way, through the kitchen.”
Shaw didn’t argue or ask any questions, just followed me in through the connecting door and to the sliding-glass panels on the opposite side of the room. He looked through them and gasped. “You have a big yard.”
“With a high fence and no other houses on either side with a second floor overlooking the place. It was one of the reasons I bought the place. There are times when my wolf just wants to be in his fur outside, which can be a challenge in the city.”
“It sure can.” He pushed the door open and stepped outside. “Where should I leave my clothes?”
“On the bench inside the door. I’m thinking we might not need them right away after we get back.”
A slow smile lifted his lips before intensity tightened them again.
“I’m sure we won’t.” This time, there was no slow undressing by anyone; my mate was naked and on the back patio in seconds while I rushed to follow.
Before I could say anything else, he was shifting, his musculature changing, fur sprouting and bones molding into place.
It was like a dance with him, unlike how I’d always felt mine, awkward and just short of painful.
Like my human body protested the change.
My mate’s fur was thick, gray, and lush, and if I hadn’t already been in mine, I’d have wanted to feel it under my palms, but there would be time for that. Later. After satisfying our initial needs. After mating.
The wolves trotted around the yard, pausing to sniff one another and bump noses. Determined to hang back and let them have their time, I was shocked to feel the shift coming over me in only a few moments.
Mate! he demanded, slipping into the shadows within me. Of course.
Maybe I would have a moment to touch the other wolf? No, my omega had also shifted back into his two-legged form, cock stiff and jutting out in front of him. And it was just as well. If my cock got any harder, it would snap off.
“Are you cold?” I asked him, willing to forgo my bed to save time.
“No. I’m burning hot.” But his shivers made me worry. Could be lust, but if all went well, we’d be sweating soon, a great way to catch a chill. “I need you.” He moved toward the lounge chair, breath coming from his lips in faint smoke. “Now.”
I scooped him up before he could lie down and ruin all chance of making love in a warm, comfortable place.
Glad I’d left the door open in our rush, I carried him inside, although I did manage to close it behind us.
My dads were big on not heating up the whole outdoors, and the lesson had stuck.
I wanted him cozy and not to have to come down again to deal with it later.
In the spirit, I paused by the fridge. “Grab a couple bottles of water, omega.”
No need to be dehydrated. Some of my friends teased that I was more of a daddy than an alpha, always trying to take care of people. But I didn’t see the difference. Except that an alpha usually had others to care for besides their own omega, pack alphas at least.
He clung to my neck as I climbed the stairs, pressing kisses to my throat and shoulders. “Careful, omega, if you don’t want me to rail you right here on a most-uncomfortable step.”
“Anywhere, alpha.”
In the bedroom, I planted myself on the edge of the mattress and arranged him facedown over my lap. “I promised you a spanking, mate.”
“I’m going to come all over your thighs,” he groaned.
“Good.” I lifted my hand and brought it down across both cheeks with a sharp crack.