Chapter Six
Pace
The smell of warm butter and toasted bread fills the kitchen.
I stand at the stove, in only a pair of briefs, pushing scrambled eggs around in a cast-iron skillet, while I savor my cup of coffee.
Jude is still dead asleep in the bedroom. His heat started to settle late last night. It’s been a wild few days of fucking, sleeping, bathing my sweet boy, then getting a few hours of sleep before doing it all over again.
I pull out a plate from one of the sleek black cabinets, then check on my new mate through our bond. The connection with Jude is so weird and wonderful at the same time. It’s a constant, low-level hum at the back of my mind, a link that’s almost impossible to describe.
While I can’t see my sweet boy’s dreams or hear his thoughts, his emotions bleed straight into me. Clear and undeniable. And right now, Jude is drowning in a sick, foggy wave of anxiety. It claws at my insides, demanding I pull him from his nightmares, but I can’t wake him up.
Not again.
He needs his sleep.
But once my sweet boy is awake and feeling better, I’m going to talk to him again. I’m going to ask about that motherfucker Bruce Sterling. I want to know exactly what that piece of shit did to my mate, so I can explain it to the asshole in detail right before I rip his throat out.
Jude deserves to live in a safe, loving world where the people who hurt him rot six feet under.
The toast pops up as I slide the eggs onto a plate.
Then I open the fridge and pour a glass of orange juice.
I’m not sure what Jude likes to drink in the mornings, but he could probably use the vitamin C.
His little body has been through a lot the last few days, and he hasn’t had anything other than water and ice chips.
I take my time buttering the toast while I imagine Bruce’s blood dripping off my fingers. The knife scrapes softly against the warm bread, and that’s when I feel it—a gentle awareness blooming in our bond as Jude wakes up.
Moving quickly, I pick up the plate and juice, then snatch a fork from the drawer, before carrying them through the open living room toward the bedroom where my mate is waiting. I push open the door, pleased to find Jude sitting in the middle of the bed, completely naked.
The morning light streams through the window behind him, highlighting his thin, perfect body. I admire the delicate lines of his ribs and the soft curve of his stomach. He has dimpled bruises on his hips, proof of just how well I rutted him.
“Good morning, omega,” I say as I sit down on the edge of the bed.
Jude’s gaze immediately drops, sweeping over the scars along my bare chest and then the sizable bulge of my limp dick in my briefs. I’m a show-er, not a grow-er, and even soft, it’s an impressive handful.
“Morning,” he mumbles softly, his eyes flicking back up to my face before he glances down at his own bare chest and cute little cock. It’s limp, lying softly against his thigh.
Then he jerks like he’s just realized he’s naked, quickly reaching for the sheet. He covers his tempting body as a shy blush colors his cheeks.
I consider commanding him to remove the sheet, just so I can keep looking at him, but I have to admit, I like that he’s shy. It’s sweet.
“I brought you breakfast,” I say, offering him the plate.
Jude looks surprised, his eyes widening. “You…you cooked? For me?”
“Yes.” I smile as he takes the plate. “I’m not a very good cook,” I admit. “But I can make a few things. Eggs, grilled cheese, steaks.”
A drift of surprised happiness filters through our bond, so pure it makes my chest ache.
“I didn’t know alphas cooked.” He picks up his fork, piercing a fluffy piece of egg. “This looks good.” He takes a bite, then pauses. His eyes float closed as he begins to chew. “This is amazing.” He lets out a low hum of pleasure before taking another, bigger bite.
Listening to him eat drives me fucking wild, and it takes everything in me not to push him onto his back and fuck him senseless, but he needs food first.
I watch him clean his plate, his movements still a little hesitant. “Drink all your juice,” I encourage gently. “You need it.” He does as he’s told, draining the glass in a few long sips. I take the empty dishes from him and set them on the bedside table.
Jude looks a little uncomfortable, his hands twisting together as he watches me carefully. I can feel through our bond that he’s gathering the courage to ask something. His anxiety spikes, a sour, nervous taste in the back of my mind.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, my voice soft. “Talk to me, omega.”
He chews his bottom lip, his gaze dropping to the sheet in his lap. “What…what are you going to do with me?” The question is so quiet I almost miss it.
I frown. “What do you mean? You’re staying here. With me.”
His shoulders hunch. “But…do you…do you regret it? Mating me?”
His question hits me like a slap.
“Regret it?” I repeat, my voice low and rougher than I mean it to be.
I catch his chin, my thumb pressing just enough to make him look at me. Not to hurt. Just to hold him steady. I need his eyes on mine.
The bond between us flutters, warm and bright, reacting to my attention. There’s a soft pulse of happiness from him when I touch him. It hits me square in the chest.
But underneath it, I still feel it.
Doubt.
Thin. Persistent. Like a bruise that hasn’t faded.
It makes something ugly rise in me.
“Omega,” I say, holding his gaze. “I don’t do anything by accident.” I stare deep into his uncertain blue eyes. “I chose you. You’re mine.”
Jude’s happiness stirs again at that, and our bond blooms, quick and hopeful. But his doubt doesn’t fully disappear.
Deep lines settle between his brows. “But you can’t know that. We’re…we’re basically strangers. You only wanted me…” He trails off, but he doesn’t have to finish. I already know what he’s trying to say.
He’s thinking that the only reason I want him is because we bonded while he was in heat.
Anger flashes hot in my chest. Not at him. But at the fucker who made him believe he’s only worth wanting for one thing.
I slide my hand from his chin to his throat, cradling the side of his neck. My thumb brushes over the edge of my mating bite. It’s dark and deep, already healing into something permanent.
It looks right on him.
“Alphas always know when they’ve met their mates,” I say, my voice leaving no room for argument.
“I knew you belonged to me the second I smelled your sweet honey scent in that alley. It wasn’t a choice, little omega.
It was fate. Finding you was the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I will spend the rest of my life making sure you know it. ”
Our bond flutters with his happiness, a sweet, warm wave, but I can still feel the doubt underneath. It makes me angry that an omega is so damaged he can’t even trust the words his mate says to him.
“What about you?” I ask. “Do you regret meeting me?”
Jude’s head jerks up, eyes wide, and our bond answers before he does.
It blooms with his obvious excitement, a brilliant, sunlit burst of emotion, but he doesn’t say anything. He just ducks his head, shy and sweet, a blush creeping up his neck.
But I know he doesn’t regret me. After all, nothing settles an omega more than a warm nest and a deep knot.
“I need to touch you.” I move forward, pushing Jude gently onto his back and covering his body with mine.
“Alpha,” he gasps, his hands flying to my shoulders. “I haven’t brushed my teeth.”
“I don’t fucking care.” Then I kiss him.
His lips are impossibly soft, and he tastes like the sweet orange juice he just drank and something uniquely, deliciously him.
“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” I murmur as I lift up to admire him.
The compliment makes him smile, a real, genuine smile that reaches his eyes. “You think I’m gorgeous?” Jude whispers, like he can’t believe it.
“Fuck, yes.” I slip the tip of my nose over his. “You’re so small and sweet.”
Jude giggles, then he whispers, "You're…really big. Everywhere." His face immediately flushes crimson red, and I can’t help but smile.
Everything about this omega is so endearing and incredibly hot.
Then, without any warning, Jude leans up and kisses me. It’s a quick, shy press of his lips against mine, but when he leans back, he looks away, like he’s embarrassed he took a kiss.
It drives me fucking wild.
I growl, low in my chest, and then I kiss him hard.
The shift is immediate. His body, soft and pliant beneath mine, melts into the mattress.
I feel his legs shift, spreading wider before they wrap around my hips, pulling me closer.
He makes a desperate, needy noise in the back of his throat as I kiss him, tasting him, sucking his tongue into my mouth.
My cock grows hard, a thick, demanding ridge pressing against his thigh through my briefs, and the sweet scent of Jude’s slick begins to fill the room, a potent perfume that promises everything I want.
I feel his little cock harden between us, a delicate, twitching pressure against my stomach.
I want to fuck him senseless, but first, I need to taste him.
Breaking the kiss, I crawl down his lithe body, my mouth leaving a wet trail down his chest and stomach. I take his cock into my mouth, swallowing him down in one smooth motion, making my omega gasp.
Jude tastes clean and sweet, with a faint, salty hint of his pre-cum. I can take all of him, his small length hitting the back of my throat easily. I hollow my cheeks, sucking him hard, my tongue swirling around the head before I lick him up from base to tip.
At the same time, I stick two fingers deep inside his tight ass. His hole is still puffy and sensitive from his heat, but it eagerly sucks my fingers in, a hot, wet grip that makes my own cock throb.
“So good,” Jude whimpers, his voice soft and breathy. “That feels…so good.” His shy praise only spurs me on.
Opening my throat, I swallow him all the way down, pushing my nose hard against his soft belly. The tip of his dick pushes into my throat, and Jude moans loudly. His fingers tangle in my hair, a desperate, grounding touch.
Then I feel it—a hot, salty pulse as my omega comes down my throat.
His whole body shakes, a violent, beautiful tremor that runs from his thighs all the way up to his shoulders. The taste of him, the feel of his body surrendering completely, makes my own cock ache, a hard, demanding throb that I can’t ignore for another second.
Unable to wait a second longer, I pop off his cock, shoving down my briefs in one rough motion.
I grip his ass hard and lift his lower body up into the air.
Then I shove my cock deep into his ass, burying myself to the hilt in one hard thrust. I’m on my knees, holding his hips in a bruising grip as I fuck him senseless, my body pistoning, driving into him again and again.
Jude’s little cock slaps against his own stomach with every thrust, leaving wet smacks of spit and cum everywhere.
The feeling is indescribable.
It’s a primal, dominant rush, a sense of absolute rightness as I take what’s mine.
My pleasure builds, a tight coil in my gut, but it’s amplified by what I feel through our bond. I can feel his pleasure, his shock, his overwhelming bliss, and it feeds my own, turning it into a roaring inferno that threatens to consume us both.
I can feel my orgasm coming, a deep, inevitable tide.
My knot starts to grow, a slow, thick pressure at the base of my shaft. It pushes hard against Jude’s opening, stretching him wider with every thrust. Then, with one final, hard shove, it pops into his ass.
The sensation is incredible, a tight, perfect lock that sends me over the edge.
I come long and hard, my cock pulsing as I empty myself into him. The feeling of my knot and my hot seed sends Jude over the edge again, and he has another smaller orgasm, his cute dick forcing out a few more pathetic drops of cum as his body milks my pulsing shaft for everything it’s worth.
Jude’s body goes completely limp beneath me, a boneless, sated weight.
Moving slowly, I lower his hips onto the bed, resting my own body over his, careful not to crush him as I wait for my knot to go down.
I kiss my mate’s face, his lips, his cheeks, feeling the calming, blissful waves rolling through our bond.
I nip playfully at his shoulder, then at our mating bite.
A primal urge to bite him again, to re-mark him, surges through me, but I don’t want to hurt him.
Instead, I kiss and lick the still-fresh mark, nuzzling against his skin.
Jude’s arms wrap around my neck, holding me tight like he’s scared I’ll vanish. He presses his cheek against mine, and I feel his hot breath against my skin. Then deep worry slips back into his mind, but he speaks before I can ask what’s wrong.
“I’m scared,” he whispers, his voice small and fragile. “I’m scared of what my father is going to do when he finds out that I’m mated.”
I lean up, resting on my elbows, and cradle his face in my hands. “He can’t hurt you anymore,” I say, my voice firm and sure. “The law is clear, Jude. You belong to me now, and there isn’t shit your father can do about it.”
His eyes start to water, and he shakes his head, his voice trembling as he tries to explain. “You don’t understand. He’s…he’s so powerful. He’ll find a way to get me back or to hurt you.”
“I’m a powerful alpha too, little omega,” I tell him, my tone leaving no room for argument. “But unlike your father, I have nothing to lose.” I lean down and press a gentle kiss to his lips.
“He’ll go to the police,” Jude argues, his voice gaining a little strength. “He’ll say you kidnapped me. Or… or worse.”
“Let him,” I say simply. “There are cameras everywhere, Jude. They’ll show me leaving a bar, and then they’ll show me entering an alley where I found an abandoned omega in distress. An omega who willingly got into my car to get out of the rain.”
Jude opens his mouth to argue, but then closes it, his mind clearly scrambling for a rebuttal, but all I can feel is a flicker of relief in our bond.
“Trust me,” I say, looking him right in the eye. “I know what I’m doing. I will protect you. Your father won’t touch you. Ever again.”