Chapter 13
THE TOPLESS ALPHA FIGHT CLUB
Later, after Hades had bent Aaren over the counter and massaged his prostate ‘til he screamed, after Hades had deposited a load into Aaren and cleaned him up, he drove Aaren to the Wine Shack.
“I’ll be here a little earlier, but I won’t see you ‘til your lunch break,” Hades said, kissing Aaren over the center console of his car.
Aaren pouted. “Why? Will you be doing your work in the bar?”
“Naw. I’m meeting my Brothers for some training. Might not even step inside, to be honest.”
Aaren sagged and stopped himself from kicking his feet. “Do you want me to make you some food?”
“Just focus on your shift. I’ll be fine.”
The thought of Hades being so close and yet so far... “I’m going to be daydreaming about you,” Aaren blurted.
Hades’ gaze grew warm. “I’m happy to hear that. But I’d much rather you focus on your work, sweetheart. I don’t want Olson to get mad at you.” He slid his hand up Aaren’s thigh, cupping his bulge. “Want me to bring you something for your lunch?”
Aaren cheered up. “Something that’s not burgers and fries?”
“Sure. What would you like? Fancy ramen? Curry? Thai? Pasta?”
“Ramen!” Aaren wriggled. “Um, from Wy’s? With the pork bone broth. I don’t know if they’re open that late.”
“I’ll call and ask.” Hades grinned, nuzzling Aaren’s cheek. “Maybe you can think about what you’re going to buy with that card.”
“Oh!” Hades’ credit card. Aaren’s heart skipped. Now that he had seen Hades’ kitchen, he had a better idea of what he didn’t need to buy, since Hades already owned it. “Maybe some books and nice clothes?”
“Mmm. You’ll have to show me when you try the clothes on.”
Hades’ expression said those clothes wouldn’t stay on for long at all. Aaren shivered.
“Get going before my hands start wandering again,” the alpha murmured, pressing another kiss to Aaren’s lips.
Aaren returned the kiss, sneaking his hand between Hades’ legs for a quick squeeze. Then he darted out of the car, laughing when Hades swatted his ass.
“I’ll be good!” Aaren said. He almost tripped on the way to the bar’s back door. Hades cursed up a storm in the car. When Aaren finally reached the Wine Shack, he waved. “See! No injuries!”
Hades gave a thumbs up. Aaren slipped into the bar, and Hades drove off.
The Wine Shack was always quiet when Aaren began his shifts—he had to prep the ingredients so he wouldn’t be scrambling when the orders came in. He dropped his backpack in his locker and skipped out to the bar where Olson was.
“I’m here!” Aaren gave Olson a quick hug from behind.
“Someone’s perky today,” Olson said dryly. “You smell like you’ve been thoroughly claimed.”
“Oh,” Aaren said dreamily. “He claimed me so many times.”
Immediately, Olson backpedaled. “You don’t have to describe each and every time. Go! Get cooking!”
“But he made me come so many times!” Aaren said.
“You go, Aaren!” Emmy cheered from the other side of the counter. “Show him who’s boss!”
“Well, he’s the one showing me who’s boss,” Aaren replied. A helpless smile spread across his face. “He’s such a good boss. He makes sure I finish on—”
“That better be ‘on time’ and nothing else,” Olson groaned, burying his face in his hands. “You can dream about him during your break. I’m paying you to cook, buddy.”
“Oops. Okay.” Hades had told him to be good. Maybe if Aaren was extra good during his shift, Hades would reward him? Aaren wriggled, a drop of leftover come leaking out to smear around his hole. “He gave me a credit card to use.”
Olson’s eyebrows shot up. “Already?”
“Yeah, I still can’t believe it,” Aaren said.
Olson watched him shrewdly. After a while, he said, “Hades will be here later for some self-defense training for Rex. He doesn’t usually come inside, though.”
“He came inside me,” Aaren blurted. Olson facepalmed. “But yeah! He told me he would be around. Sucks that I don’t get to watch. But he said he’d see me during my lunch break.”
Olson looked up. “That makes sense, the timing matches up. Tell you what. If you’ve finished your prep, and if you don’t have any orders coming in, you can watch a little.”
Aaren gasped. “I’ll go prep all the things now.”
Olson sighed after him. “Omegas these days.”
“You were young once, too!” Aaren called back.
Freshly motivated, Aaren got a stew going and started on some mashed potatoes. He sliced up some potatoes to make fries, and made sure he had everything he needed for the salads. Orders came in from the off-peak crowd.
Just as he was coming out of his groove, he heard some voices through the kitchen doorway.
“Yeah, Isaac will be fine with me,” Olson said. “Go spend some time with your Brothers.”
Aaren’s heart skipped. Was Hades out there?
He sliced up some cucumbers. Then he poked his head out of the kitchen. “Are they doing the training thing now?”
“Give them some time to get all worked up,” Olson said. “If you wait an hour or so, they’ll be really sweaty when you peek.”
This sounded like a routine. How had Aaren never heard about Hades before?
“We’re like two dicks passing in the night,” he said. “I can’t believe Hades and I missed each other so many times.”
Olson coughed. “Two ships, Aaren. Not two dicks.”
“You’re right,” Aaren said solemnly. “Dicks have eyes. Ships have no eyes, so they completely miss each other. Mine and Hades’ have eyed each other over a crime scene.”
Olson laughed, taking Aaren by the shoulders and turning him back to the kitchen. “Back to work with you!”
Things got busy for a while. Aaren almost despaired that he wouldn’t get to see the Alpha Fight Club.
Just before his lunch break, his luck took a turn for the better.
“You get three minutes,” Olson said. “They’re in the back. Be quiet!”
Aaren squealed and washed his hands. He hurried through the bar and skidded to a stop at the back door, opening it carefully so he wouldn’t draw attention.
Training mats had been laid out over a few parking lots. Under the orange glow of the building’s floodlights, five alphas were gathered on the mats. Three watched while the remaining two wrestled with each other.
All of them were sweaty and shirtless, with broad shoulders and bulging biceps.
Aaren’s eyes almost fell out.
Hades was on the ground, one strong arm wrapped around Rex’s neck. He had both legs hooked around Rex’s waist; Rex was caught in his grip.
Arousal swooped through Aaren; he shoved his hand over his mouth, biting down a moan. If Hades did that to him, if Hades had caught Aaren with his entire body—
With a shove and a twist, Rex freed himself and rolled to his feet.
“Good job,” Hades said. He lunged at Rex again. Rex dodged and threw a punch; Hades caught Rex’s arm and threw him over his hip, so Rex landed flat on his back. “Be prepared for counter moves when you hit someone.”
It was almost like watching a martial arts movie, except all the alphas were real and one of them was his. Aaren watched as Rex righted himself and leaped at Hades. Both of them went down in a sprawl of limbs, Hades shoving Rex off and pinning him down.
Aaren shuddered; his breath hitched.
“Wow, you could do that to me in bed,” his mouth said.
The alphas glanced at him, including Hades.
Rex took the chance to escape. He pummeled Hades into the mat and straddled him victoriously; Aaren panicked for a second before realizing that Hades was fine.
Then his mind moved on to more pressing subjects: What would it be like to sit on Hades, with his legs spread around that huge alpha? What if his crotch was almost in Hades’ face?
Storm, the alpha who could make cat sounds, snickered. “I never thought an omega would be your downfall, Hades.”
Hades narrowed his eyes. “Aaren caught me off guard. I’ll be better prepared next time.”
“You smell like Aaren,” Rex said to Hades. “Lots of mating.”
Aaren’s face burned like a griddle. “Oh gods.”
Storm whistled. The other alphas gave Hades pointed looks.
“Finally found yourself an omega, huh?” Jag said.
“Not just any omega. The one I’ve been looking for.” Hades grinned. When Rex let him up, he grabbed a towel and wiped his hands, striding over to Aaren. “Hey. Is it your lunch break already?”
“Not yet. Olson gave me three minutes to ogle you guys.” Immediately after, Aaren wished he could’ve shut up. “Um. I wasn’t ogling?”
Hades snorted.
“Don’t worry, I like you best,” Aaren said.
“Good.” Hades wrapped his arm around Aaren’s waist, pulling him in for a rough kiss. “When are you taking your break?”
“Soon, I hope. I’ll text you.”
“Perfect. That’ll give me some time to clean up and get your ramen.”
Aaren’s heart lit up; he bounced a little. “Okay.”
“Gorgeous,” Hades murmured, squeezing Aaren’s hip. “Hey, have you been introduced to my Brothers?”
“I know Rex,” Aaren said. “And Storm, sometimes he comes in with Linus. And Jag, he visits with Niall.”
Storm was a younger alpha, with an older professor as his omega.
He was the one who had lived secretly in Linus’ apartment without anyone knowing, not even Linus himself.
Jag was closer to Hades’ age, and his omega, Niall, had messed-up hands.
Despite that, Niall had published several books, and he occasionally came to the Wine Shack during off-peak hours to write.
“Mm. I should come by, too.” Hades turned Aaren to face the last alpha. “This is Fury. He’s the only one who hasn’t found a mate yet. I think he’s going to want one soon, now that the rest of us have someone.”
Fury narrowed his eyes, giving Hades his middle finger. Hades smiled innocently. Aaren giggled.
“Anyway, we’ll be wrapping up soon,” Hades said. “Give me a heads-up when you’re about to break for lunch.”
“Okay.” Aaren went up on tiptoes; Hades pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. Then he squeezed Aaren’s ass and nudged him back into the bar. Storm wolf-whistled behind them.
“How was the training?” Olson asked when Aaren sidled back into the kitchen.
“Hot,” Aaren said. “But my alpha is the hottest.”
“That’s all I need to know. You do not have to elaborate,” Olson said quickly.
“But I haven’t told you about how his pants stretch around his—”
“Nope!” Olson crammed a tomato into Aaren’s mouth. “Shush!”
Aaren made a face, but he ate the tomato. “Am I taking my lunch break soon?”
“Yes. You may as well text Hades. In fifteen minutes or so?”
Aaren’s heart leaped. Now that he had seen Hades wrestling, he really wanted to ask—would Hades wrestle nakedly with Aaren during his heat?