Chapter 26 #2
“I meant it when I said that if anyone has to take them again, it’ll be me.” He didn’t relish the idea of it, as sick as Jack had got. He wouldn’t let Jack go through it again.
Jack smiled at him fondly. “There won’t be the need.”
“I’ll have your promise that if there is, you’ll let me take them,” Beckett said firmly. “Right here and now, Jack. You promise me.”
Jack didn’t like that one bit. “I promise,” he said with extreme reluctance. “And now I’ll make extra sure that it won’t happen again.”
“Fancy that,” Beckett marvelled, well pleased.
That earned him a look. Beckett grinned.
Down by the water’s edge, Arden was up to mid-calf in the sea, slogging his way through the waves. Beckett and Jack, up in the dunes, kept pace with him.
You could tell from Arden’s body language that he had no idea of how they watched him.
Probably thought the two of them were up here gazing into each other’s eyes or some such nonsense, like they weren’t both hotly aware of their omega prancing about, turning his smiling face to the sun, vibrating with energy.
“D’you have to go back today?” Beckett said suddenly.
“I do. There’s a case I need to sit in on, and it’s not one I can get Nolan to do for me or pass on to another Council member.”
“Nolan sent some papers for you. Stuff to sign, other stuff to read. Oh, and Lord Crewe’s being a pain about something.”
Jack sighed. “Of course he is. Thank you.”
They watched Arden for another quiet moment. “Reckon I’d better go back to Sevennis with you,” Beckett said abruptly.
“Oh? You don’t want to stay here with Arden?”
“I do. Give it three hours before I have your husband bouncing on my cock, though.”
“How crass you are sometimes. Are you trying to shock me?”
“Nah. Don’t see no need to beat around the bush, is all.”
“Hmm. I’d have thought you’d be more than eager to have him bouncing on it.”
“I am that. Only, I think the next time he gets fucked, should be by you.”
“I’m not interested into going into this with a scorecard, Beckett.”
“Me neither. Just, I think that’s what Arden needs. Don’t you?”
Jack was silent for a moment, contemplative as he watched his husband prance about in the waves, kicking a fine spray up with each over-exaggerated step he took. “Yes,” he said.
“All right, then. It’s settled. I’ll come back to Sevennis with you. And soon as you can get yourself some personal time, we’ll both come back to Arden, and see about getting him to pop your cherry.”
He’d been poking at Jack with that smart-arsed comment, but Jack didn’t take the bait. Instead, he said, “You have to be there, Beckett.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. I don’t…” They’d reached the midpoint of the long curve of sand, and Jack stopped. “There’s a good reason I never married him until now.”
“You on about that romantic little idea of him keeping bees in a cottage somewhere again?”
“It is romantic,” Jack said in a complaining tone, though his eyes gleamed with amusement. “I don’t know why the pair of you are so resistant to the idea. Mocking, even.”
“Shared it with him, did you? How’d he take it?”
“About as seriously as you.” Jack laughed.
Arden’s head came up immediately and he looked over. Jack blew him a kiss. Arden pretended to catch it in one hand, pressed the hand to his cheek, and then pretended to swoon.
If Beckett was peculiar enough to pretend to catch a kiss like that, he’d have grabbed his dick, not pressed it to his cheek. His cheek. Arden hadn’t even pressed it to his mouth. “Gods, he’s sweet.”
“He always has been,” Jack said. “My little dreamer.”
“You’re worried about it, aren’t you? Fucking him?”
“I am. Romantic bee-keeping aside, I’ve worried about hurting him—frightening him—even before he presented.
I always knew he wasn’t going to be an alpha.
Look at him.” Arden was back to his prancing, kicking up water and waving his arms about.
The sun touched his hair, brightening it to copper.
You didn’t have to be built big and raw-boned to be an alpha.
Most were. “I’ve no experience with omegas because of him, and I can bring no experience of omegas to be with him. I need you there, Beckett.”
Something fierce rolled over, deep inside. “You don’t want a little one-on-one with him?”
Jack looked pensive. “I’m not sure I’ll ever trust myself to be alone with him like that.”
Beckett sent him a startled look.
Jack smiled tightly. “My love, even with you, I am holding back.”
Beckett thought of wrestling with Jack. Of being tossed about in bed, writhing in his arms, battling for dominance and tossing him in turn with equal enthusiasm.
Sometimes it was so fierce they couldn’t even kiss properly, everything devolving to biting, to gripping flesh with teeth and hands.
He loved it. Loved it. Rising to meet the challenge Jack threw down, each of them feeding off the passion of it, winding higher, getting rougher… there was nothing like it.
He thought of Arden with Jack like that, and his stomach curdled.
Jack saw it. “Yes. My thoughts exactly. I would temper myself for him to the best of my ability. I wouldn’t hurt Arden for the world. But the problem is, Beckett, he’d let me go too far. You wouldn’t.”
“Yeah. No, I fucking wouldn’t.”
“I don’t know if I’ll be any good at being with an omega. I don’t know if I have that flexibility in me, to meet an omega partner’s needs. You do. You were wonderful with him. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful as how you were together.”
And that, for some reason, ahead of all the compliments both flowery and sexual that he’d ever had from Jack, was the compliment to make Beckett blush.
Jack made a dark sound of satisfaction. “Yes,” he said, voice low and rough.
“How you held him, commanding and firm. How you let him writhe in your grip, keeping him safe while taunting him to push for more. How you used your body to coax him out. I’ve thought of it many, many times.
I want to see it a thousand more. I’d like to watch you take him for me. Again and again. Take him with me.”
“All right,” he said, wholly inadequate, but come on. Like he had any blood to spare for niceties when his cock was this fucking hard.
“Maybe,” Jack said musingly, “Arden would like to watch us together.”
“Think it’s a fair bet he would,” Beckett said. “Not sure he’d be able to keep his hands to himself, though.”
“No?”
Beckett shook his head. “He’s a toucher. I’d like to see him squirm about it.”
“As would I.”
Beckett adjusted himself in his breeches. “How long did you say you were going to be stuck in Sevennis?”
Jack blew out a breath. “I’d estimate about a week.”
He could handle waiting a week. Just. If he took a turn at the pump in the stable yard and doused himself with cold water two, three times a day, maybe.
Jack lifted his chin, directing Beckett’s gaze across the sands. Arden was making his way towards them, cheeks pink from all that odd flailing around he’d been doing.
Beckett cocked his head. “Think he needs some attention?” he asked Jack.
“What a good idea.”
Beckett stripped out of his coat. Shit. That wind was cold.
“Hold this for me?” he said.
“Happily.”
Beckett handed his coat over, winked at Jack, and ran for Arden with a whoop.
Arden went rigid, let out a startled laugh, and darted away.
He was fast, yes. Beckett’s legs were longer, though, and he’d—
Arden zigged left.
Any minute, Beckett would catch—
Arden dummied right, continued left, and began to swing around in an arc towards Jack.
Fuck, he was fast when he had space to run.
“Come back here,” Beckett bellowed.
Arden turned to skip backwards a few steps. He shook his head, smiling. It was a little nervous, and he checked in on Jack’s expression, but he was game.
“I’ll catch you eventually,” Beckett called. “May as well give in now!”
“You’re not fast enough!” Arden shouted.
All unaware that Jack had dropped Beckett’s coat, shrugged off his own, and was coming up behind Arden.
“Come here and say that,” Beckett said, stopping.
Arden assessed the distance between them, then strode a bold few steps closer. “You’re not fast enough!”
“Hmm.” Beckett put his hands on his hips. “Maybe you’re right.”
Arden tossed his hair out of his eyes.
Beckett must have given it away, because Arden suddenly looked over his shoulder and caught sight of Jack.
“Oh no!” he gasped in delight, and that was all the distraction Beckett needed. He put on a burst of speed, snagged Arden around the waist, and snatched him clean off the ground.
“Got you,” he said in triumph.
Arden laughed down at Beckett. “Cheater!”
“Winner,” Beckett said, letting Arden slide down to the sand, arching over him.
“I can’t believe you teamed up against me,” Arden complained to Jack.
“Get used to it,” Jack said. Beckett turned Arden in his arms, putting his back to Beckett’s chest. Jack leaned down and dropped a kiss on Arden’s smiling mouth. He then lifted up, dropped a matching kiss on Beckett’s smiling mouth, and sauntered off.
Arden twisted to look up into Beckett’s face, eyes wide. “Oh,” he said.
That was a happy oh. That was an intrigued oh.
Beckett snatched him up again, strode down to the water’s edge, and nearly got his ears pierced when he threatened to toss Arden into the shallow surf.