Chapter 11
WAKING UP
Aaren woke to the ghost of comforting arms around him, and the scent of cherrywood in his nose. Something tasted familiar in his mouth—Hades?
It wasn’t just the taste of Hades’ lips, though.
That was... That was definitely a hint of Hades’ come.
Oh. His entire body grew warm. “Mmm!”
He reached across the bed to grope for his alpha, his fingers bumping into someone.
He turned and opened his eyes eagerly.
Only to be faced with Ballus.
Aaren recoiled, relief flashing through him when he realized that Ballus was still asleep. It was okay to look disgusted right now.
Where was Hades? Had he gone home last night?
He slid out of bed carefully, finding himself dressed in his softest T-shirt and a pair of loose shorts. In the day, the house was quiet, the only sounds coming from the neighborhood; birds chirping, cars driving by, people doing their early afternoon routines.
The last thing he remembered was... the bathroom. Hades washing out Ballus’ come and filling Aaren with himself. Hades had carried Aaren to the couch; Aaren remembered drooling, thrashing with pleasure while Hades knotted him from behind.
That had been incredibly hot. He must’ve passed out then, and at some point, Hades must’ve slipped a taste of his come into Aaren’s mouth. He had found Aaren’s clothes, dressed him, and tucked him into bed.
Aaren shivered, arousal warming him from the inside. He picked up his phone.
There was a new message.
ESC
I hope you slept well.
Aaren
Mmm did you put your come in my mouth? I woke up tasting you. So hot
ESC
You’re awake?
Aaren
Just woke up from a dream, it was about you
ESC
Good boy. And yes, I scooped up some of my come with my fingers and rubbed it onto your tongue.
Aaren
That’s sooo hot. Thank you alpha
ESC
You’re welcome, sweet omega. I dreamed about you too.
You were stuck on my cock for a long while in that dream.
Aaren
Oh gods you’re going to make me wet again
ESC
Good. I’ll take care of that when I pick you up. Be ready 30 minutes earlier than yesterday if you can.
Aaren
At this rate, I’m going to be constantly turned on
ESC
Is that going to be a problem?
Aaren
Idk. Maybe dehydration
ESC
I’ll make sure you consume enough fluids.
Aaren
Only YOU can make that sound so hot
And questionable
ESC
(winking emoji)
Also, I suspect B may be down with a cold or flu. I didn’t want to leave you in the same bed as him, but I wasn’t sure where else I could put you. If possible, make him something in bulk so you don’t have to cook for him all the time? He can have leftovers for a day or two.
Aaren
Sounds good
ESC
I’ll stock up on some cold meds in case you fall sick.
Aaren
Would you take care of me if I do?
ESC
Yes.
Aaren couldn’t help the huge smile that exploded across his face. It felt as though a higher power had jizzed into his heart and filled it with sunshine and rainbows.
He made a large pot of chicken soup, and fried some chicken anyway in case Ballus was an ass when he woke up. Then he stuck a note about the freshly prepared food on Ballus’ face, and hurried out of the house before the alpha could wake up.
For the first time in a long while, Aaren felt free.
He didn’t have to face Ballus’ assholery this morning. He had woken up with Hades’ scent and taste in his body. And now he was going to see Hades again.
Aaren
I escaped!!!!!
ESC
Good boy. Be there soon.
Like before, Hades picked him up on Violet Lane. Aaren climbed into the car and leaned over the center console, his heart skipping when Hades met him halfway and kissed him on the mouth. Hades rumbled, sliding his tongue between Aaren’s lips.
“Beautiful,” Hades growled.
“We should vary the pickup points,” Aaren said breathlessly when he finally pulled away. “In case the neighbors talk.”
“Sure.” Before Hades began driving, he pressed a small plastic card into Aaren’s hand. It was still warm with his own body heat. “Here. In case you need some extra spending money. There’s a $500 monthly limit on that card. Treat yourself, buy something nice.”
Aaren stared. He turned the card around in his hands, rubbing his thumb over his name printed in silver ink. “Five hundred? A month?”
“Yes.”
“H-How did you even get this so quickly? Don’t they take forever in the mail?”
“I went to the bank yesterday.”
“To... to get me a card so I can spend $500 of your money every month?”
“Yes.” Hades’ smile was wry as he reached over, squeezing Aaren’s thigh. “I want you to have more financial freedom. Tell me if it isn’t enough.”
“Holy crap,” Aaren whispered dazedly. “Is this payment for sleeping with you?”
Hades shook his head. “No. I just wanted you to have something good in your life.”
“Wow,” Aaren mumbled, his heart beating too fast. “Y-You’re already the best thing in my life, even without this.”
Then he squeaked, embarrassed that he had admitted to it.
Hades paused at a four-way stop sign and gave him a warm, toe-curling smile.
As they made their way through Meadowfall, Aaren thought about the special ingredients he had glimpsed in stores, that he wanted to experiment with. Maybe some nicer pots and pans, maybe some pretty marbled olivewood spoons.
But he didn’t want to bring those new, expensive things into Ballus’ house, only for Ballus to treat them like trash and throw them away. “Can I... If I buy things with your card, can I store them at your house instead?”
Hades grinned. “Of course. You can even have them delivered to me, and open them when you visit.”
“Wow. Um, okay.” Aaren clutched the credit card to his chest, then tucked it carefully into his wallet. It was going into his pile of hidden things so Ballus would never find it.
A few months ago, Ballus had found Aaren’s debit card lying around.
He used it to buy clothes for himself. When Aaren discovered the charges on it, he had confronted Ballus, only for Ballus to say it was fair game.
The bank had refused to reverse the charges because it was Aaren’s alpha who had used it, and Ballus refused to return the clothes he had bought.
The policemen at the station had sneered and said it was Ballus’ right as Aaren’s alpha, and they had done nothing about the unauthorized charges.
Emmy had told Aaren later that his policeman alpha said it was wrong. He also said Varrick would straighten out the officers at his station.
Aaren never ended up pressing charges; he didn’t want his stay with Ballus to turn unpleasant. His priority was getting the year over with so he could fulfill the terms of his inheritance contract. But he had taken great care to hide his things from that point forward.
And here Hades was, trying to give him money.
“Thanks,” Aaren said, his throat tight.
Hades squeezed his leg and kept on driving.
Instead of heading straight for the Wine Shack, Hades took a detour through a neighborhood of small, tidy homes.
He pulled into the driveway of one such home, with a clover lawn and a neat little path leading up to the front door.
A few googly-eyed frogs sat next to the door; a baby frog perched on top of a large frog, holding up a sign: Home Ribbit Home.
“It’s not much,” Hades said. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to come live with me when I bought this house. But at some point in the future, I thought... I might move into a place with more room.”
He sneaked a peek at Aaren, looking hopeful and almost shy.
Ex-convict Hades, who had probably done violent things in his past.
Shy.
Because of Aaren.