Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Kip
Not everything in the garden was rosy, and our life wasn’t perfect.
The town was still struggling financially, although the population of wolves was growing, thanks to Mase.
But the financial problems meant they could only afford to pay me so much without breaking the bank.
I understood that, I really did. Even John apologized to me, and kept promising he was keeping track of what I’d been doing so he could pay me extra later.
Mase, however, seemed happy to be near his parents even if he wasn’t living with them, and I didn’t want to drag him off to another town where he’d be alone. I also didn’t want to take the Omega away from the town, especially since Mason’s presence was making an impact, according to John.
It didn’t mean I always enjoyed it.
Then there was my work.
I had to cut back a bunch of trees, and my help called out.
My boss said it could wait, but I wasn’t willing to put off getting the job done, throwing us behind on other projects, so I figured I could do it myself.
By the time I was finished, I was completely drained and all I wanted to do was go home.
When I trudged through the door, my only real thought was to flop on the couch and nap.
“Kip!” Mase called as he rushed to the living room. He grabbed my arm and dragged me to the sofa. I was too tired to protest.
“Hey, how are you?” I asked, and even I heard the strain in my voice.
“Shut up,” he snapped. “Take off that filthy shirt and lie down. Get comfortable, because you’ll be there for a bit.”
Then he went to work on my muscles with his slender but surprisingly powerful hands.
It felt heavenly. When I finally got a good look at him, I could see the traces of dirt on his face, then noticed it under his nails.
He’d obviously been hard at work in his garden and had to be every bit as tired as I was.
“What do you think about dinner at the Applejack?” I asked him.
“I can cook. You rest here until it’s done.”
But he’d worked all day, and it wasn’t hard to see how tired he was.
When he stood, his legs were wobbly and he seemed ready to pass out.
I grabbed his wrist and held him where he was.
“The Applejack has those biscuits you like,” I reminded him, talking about their honey-glazed balls of dough that were baked to perfection.
“And we could spring for a couple orders of those chipotle chicken strips that make our mouths water.”
His stomach rumbled and he flushed. “It sounds good, but do we have the money?”
Because of the town’s financial straits, my job couldn’t pay a ton.
We were grateful the house was free, but sadly the utilities weren’t, and neither was my truck.
We did okay. I mean, it wasn’t as though we were in imminent danger of losing anything, but it also meant we weren’t able to save up for something if we wanted it.
I never told him Mom and Dad had given us some money to help during gaps where my paycheck wasn’t quite enough to pay our bills.
And yes, I know how it sounds that I had yet another secret I was keeping from him, but I knew Mase, balls to bones.
If he found out we were having issues, even minor ones, he’d insist he could get a job.
As far as I was concerned, he had a job already—growing his garden to make us some amazing tea when everything was in bloom.
“We can afford it,” I assured him, even though I’d be skipping lunch at work for the week.
“If you’re sure.”
“Go wash up and get ready,” I said, smacking him on the ass and enjoying the jiggle of those muscles.
“Keep that up and we’ll be in the bedroom,” he said, a twinkle in his eye.
“Fine, I’ll stop,” I said grudgingly, because it truly was a spectacular ass.
“You can do more when we get home.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” I teased. “I’m all kinds of horny.”
He turned and came back to where I was, then knelt in front of me.
I frowned. “Mase, you need to get—Oh my God.” I moaned as he yanked my pants to my ankles and swallowed me to the root. I put a hand on the back of his head, guiding him up and down on my shaft, loving the feeling of his throat milking my length.
Then the bastard pulled off and smirked at me. “So… dinner, or do I finish the blow job and cook us something after?”
I sat there, my cock achingly hard with his saliva dripping from it. Then his stomach rumbled again. As much as I wanted to get some more of his first-class head, I needed to take care of Mase.
It sure wasn’t easy being a Dominant.
“Go get dressed. We’ll eat, then we’ll pick this up again when we get home.”
“Sex for dessert.” His eyes sparkled. “Yum. My favorite.”
Then he was gone. A few moments later I heard the shower and Mase humming.
I stuffed my softening dick back into my pants and snapped them up again.
God, I was exhausted and tired to my bones.
But Mase wanted chicken strips and biscuits and I wasn’t about to deny him something so basic, especially since my primary job was caring for him.
He came out, all pink and clean, dressed in blue jeans, a burgundy cable knit sweater, and the tiniest tennis shoes I’d ever seen on an adult.
He was fucking adorable.
I gave him a kiss. “Let me go grab a quick shower,” I said, “then we can go.”
“Oh, if you’d let me know, I would have waited and taken one with you.”
“And it would be midnight before we got out.” I smirked. “I think your stomach would have me assassinated.”
I grabbed my shirt, rushed to the bathroom, took off my pants and socks, then stuffed everything in the laundry.
The water was still hot when I got in, which I appreciated.
It took everything in me to suppress the moan at the sensation of jets beating down on me, loosening the muscles that had tensed up since leaving the job site.
I would have to ask Mase if he’d be willing to put some liniment on my back before bed, because I was sore all over.
With the overwhelming tiredness, the aching muscles, and the fact I had to be up at four in the morning to finish the job, I seriously considered whether I could skip sex tonight.
Fuck. I was getting old. Dad would roast me when I told him, because I’d always teased him when he complained about his aches and pains.
“Need me to come scrub your back?” Mase called from beyond the bathroom door.
“No, I’m done,” I said grudgingly. If I were honest, I could have stayed under the exquisite pressure another hour or so.
“Okay, I put your clothes on the bed, and took the dirty stuff to the laundry room and dropped it in the washing machine. I’ll put it in the dryer in the morning, so you’ll have clean clothes. Also, I have some liniment for you. When I was rubbing before, your muscles were like concrete.”
As soon as I stepped out of the shower, he was there with one of our big, brown fluffy as all hell towels. He ran it over my body, drying all the spots that needed it. He did linger between my leg, and my cock tried to rise, but I was too tired and it gave up quickly.
“You know, you can tell me when you’re too tired to perform,” he said softly.
“No, I’ll be okay,” I half-lied.
“You’re going to fall asleep mid-suck.”
I figured he was probably right.
Mase took such amazing care of me, although I preferred to think it was coming from a place of love and not because he was my submissive. Even after months, I still had moments where I was uncomfortable. Like, when he said he loved me, did he love Kip or his Dominant?
Was there a difference?
“I’m going to head downstairs,” he announced. “I’ll call to tell them we’re coming in for dinner.”
“Why?”
He smirked. “We get the Omega special.” Then he chuckled. “Mostly it’s to tell the wolves in the diner I’ll be there so they don’t act differently in front of the humans.”
That made sense. I’d seen people bow or try to put their hands on Mase.
It twisted my stomach in knots, because I knew it made him unhappy to be seen as something other than who he was.
But like me, he played two different roles.
Few people approached me because I was Mase’s Dominant, but when he was out and about, the pack was forever wanting to be near him.
They’d stop and talk to him over the fence, they’d approach him when we went grocery shopping. It had to freak him out.
I finished dressing and checked myself out in the mirror. Mase had done an amazing job putting together the skintight black T that stretched over my chest, along with the blue jeans that molded to my body, where everything was on display. I felt like a slut and loved it.
No, I loved him.
Mason
We walked into the diner, and the smells had my stomach growling again. I didn’t bother to tell Kip I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, because that would earn me a very disapproving scowl.
The kind of look that was sexy as hell, but triggered my submissiveness in a heartbeat and made me want to drop to my knees at his feet.
As soon as we entered the restaurant, Jolene, both a pack member and former classmate, approached us with a wide smile.
“Mason, Kip. Good to see you both. I have a booth ready for you in the back.”
She was far different than she’d been when we were in the same classes.
Back then, like most people, she didn’t have the time of day for the lowly Omega.
The social hierarchy of high school was so much more unusual than adult life.
No one had wanted to be seen talking to someone outside their social circle or with lame-ass kids who would never be cool.
In my case, not only did I not fit in any group, but my ‘coolness’ wouldn’t exist until I found my Dominant.
And now that I had? Yeah, I still wasn’t cool.
C’est la guerre, I guess.
When the server came over, Kip’s mouth fell open. “Allison? When did you get back in town?”
“A couple weeks ago,” she said in a bright tone. “It’s really good to see you again, Kip.”
“Yeah, good to see you too.”