Chapter 6 #2
He nods and disappears under the covers entirely, and I move to the kitchen, grabbing two bottles of water. As I pass the window, rain sluicing down the panes, I see movement outside.
My eyes narrow as I stop and peer out into the distance. Could be the Howlers. My hand moves to the lock on the door, securing it. They shouldn’t mess with me, not here. But maybe they smell my omega and want to cause trouble.
I stare outside, trying to see if I can see any more movement. But with the wind and the rain, it’s hard to tell if I was just imagining things.
A whine from the bedroom draws me toward my omega, who is no longer under the covers, but on top of them, his ass up, presenting it to me.
I set the water down by the side of the bed and crawl up between his legs.
“Needy?” I ask, and he nods.
“I hate this. I do. But yes. So needy right now.”
I don’t hesitate, just slot my cock at his hole and push in. His back arches up; his skin is dewy, a sheen of more than just sweat lining it. I lean forward and lick up his spine as I fuck into him. Our skin slaps, our moans mingling as I take him.
His face presses into the sheets below him, his mouth opening and closing as he gasps for breath.
I take him harder, his body shifting up the bed with each thrust forward. He comes twice, each time his hole strangling my cock. It’s fucking heaven, the way I want to die. Inside him, smelling the sweet scent of him.
By the time I roar, my knot filling his slippery hole, he’s up against the headboard, his cheek pressed against the wood, his hands twisted in the sheets he pulled from the corners of the bed.
I lean forward, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him against my chest, the two of us settling onto our sides as we catch our breath.
“Why was that even better than the last time?” he asks, his throat rasping.
“That was all you,” I say. “You smelled…more this time. Like leather and musk mixed with your heat.”
“Oh gods, that sounds terrible.”
I inhale deeply and rub my face against his neck.
“Trust me. I like it.”
He’s silent for a long while, his fingertip drawing a shape on the back of my hand.
“Vince didn’t like it.”
My body stiffens. I don’t know who he is, but the fact that this fucker made Arbor feel bad about himself makes the wolf inside of me growl.
“Vince is a dick.”
Arbor laughs and then presses his face into the crumpled sheets beneath his cheek.
“Yeah, but he’s not wrong. It’s overwhelming. I know it’s not necessarily bad, but…well…I’m not fully omega.”
“I had a feeling.”
He waits a moment and then adds, “I cannot believe I’m going to tell you this. I blame the heat, but…I’m part fae on my dad’s side.”
“Hm, that makes sense. Your smell, your glowing skin.”
“Yeah.”
I move my hand across his chest to his thumping heart. I hold it there, letting it feel that strong organ.
“No wonder you’re so beautiful. I’ve never met a fae before, but I’ve heard they’re beautiful.”
He sniffles, and I drag my hand up to his neck, touching it gently. I don’t think he’s given compliments often.
“Do you ever see your dad’s side of the family?”
“No, I’ve never met them. My parents aren’t alive anymore.
It used to be forbidden for fae and your kind to mate.
My mother was an orphaned omega, and I guess my father fell for her hard.
He left the fae to be with her and eventually came to resent her—and me—for it.
I think the bitterness and resentment got to them.
They turned to drugs and self-destructive behavior. It ultimately took their lives.”
“Shit, Arbor. That’s terrible.”
“Yeah, I know it’s not like that anymore, or at least it’s not supposed to be. People are much more accepting.”
“As they should be,” I say, touching his chest.
He sighs and then looks away, obviously not going to give me anything more. But I want it. I want to know everything about him.
“Come on. Don’t clam up on me now.”
“I don’t want to open up. This is just sex…a heat…”
My chest constricts at the cold way he says it, but something belies his words. The way he leans into me, so I counter his bluff.
“It’s more than that, and you know it. Now, tell me more. Tell me all of it.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“You do.”
Arbor glances away and then sighs loudly. “Well, have you heard of the Isles of Shoals? That’s where most of the fae are now.”
“Will you ever go there? See if you can find some family?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know. Part of me just wants to find my own way.”
I stare at him, the way his eyes flick to mine and then around the room.
“I get it. Thank you for telling me about that. About your parents.”
“Yeah, I don’t tell many people. It’s kind of something I try to ignore. I grew up in foster care. Moved around a lot. It’s kind of traumatizing when I look back on it. On what I went through.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It is what it is. I was a bit of a trickster growing up, played a lot of pranks, and I became out of control once my parents passed. The foster families didn’t like it. It’s no wonder they sent me packing.”
I’m silent for a moment, trying to put myself in his shoes, to think of what it would be like not to have anyone to call home. Not to have brothers or a dad.
“My mom passed.” It’s an offering since he opened up even when he bristled against it. “It was a long time ago.”
“I’m sorry, too, then. It sucks to not have your mother in your life.”
“Yeah. She was a good one.”
“I don’t think my parents were good ones, to be honest. My mother tried at least. But it wasn’t enough. Not enough to keep her with me. I just wish I had someone in my life.”
I run my hands up and down his spine. “Maybe you should try to find them, your fae family. It’s always good to know that there’s someone out there who’s related to you.”
“Is it?”
“It is.”
“You probably believe that because you have good relatives, a good family.”
I hesitate and then sigh. “I do.”
We’re silent for a bit, and then Arbor says, “The fae are reclusive by choice. We know we’re different, and we know the shifters don’t like us.
Our magic. How we look. How our scent is too strong for your enhanced senses.
I know times are changing, but not enough for the fae to risk leaving their islands to settle among everyone else.
And despite being the product of something once forbidden, I’ve tried to make my own way.
I’ve tried to cling to the omega side of me out here to help me assimilate, but it’s hard.
I know I don’t really fit into either world.
So, thank you for saying I’m beautiful.”
“You are, in more ways than one.”
He sniffles and swipes at his eyes.
“I’m sorry, I’m just overly tired. This doesn’t mean anything.”
“Of course it does. Can I ask you a question?”
“Mhm.”
“Do you have any magic?”
“No, just the scents, and the glowing skin. Nothing exciting. I can’t, like, change my appearance or set things on fire. I’m very boring.”
I tuck that bit of information away. “Not boring at all. Now get some rest.”
“Hmph. But I’m thirsty. You’re making all the water leave me through my eyeballs.”
I huff a laugh and reach over, grabbing a bottle of water and sharing it with him. When it’s empty, he leans back, my knot still tying me to him as he cuddles against my chest.
“Vince thought I was beautiful, too, at first. But it gets old. I promise you that.”
I say nothing, just scent his neck again, marking him as mine. He can think whatever he wants. If he lets me, I’m going to prove him wrong.