Chapter 14 Jack
Jack
Holy shit. I kissed my best friend. That thought tumbled around in my head the entire way back from North’s bakery.
I swear I was running on a high at this point, the feel of his lips still lingering on mine… and then getting hit with the scent of our omega the moment I stepped inside the house. It was everything.
I followed the sound of voices, unable to stop myself. I wanted to keep proving to Aspen that she could trust me, that I wasn’t the dick I’d been yesterday. I had a moment, but it wasn’t who I really was.
God, I hoped she believed me.
Things were complicated sometimes, but none of that was her fault. We were stepping up and facing them now, fixing it, so we could be what she needed.
She was sitting with Mom at the breakfast bar, both of them sipping tea as Mom told her stories about our family. Of course, she was right in the middle of an embarrassing one about me and Cole.
“Oh my God, I bet they were the cutest,” Aspen laughed, the sound so free that it made me smile. I loved her genuine joy. I might have worried about jealousy, but how could I when she made you feel like the only one who mattered the moment her attention was on you?
“They were. They both tried to convince me that somehow the vase just fell off on its own. Must’ve been an unstable table from an antique shop.
” Mom shook her head dramatically. “It was so hard to be mad at them. Between this one’s dimple,” she said, pointing at me, “and Cole’s ability to calmly explain like his answer was the only logical choice, I had no chance. ”
“I believe it,” Aspen said, turning and looking at me.
Relief washed through me at the sight of her smile. Maybe I hadn’t fucked everything up.
“Do you need something, son?” Mom asked, raising a brow and sipping her tea like she was enjoying the drama we were bringing to the house.
I walked over and kissed her cheek before answering. “I was looking for the omega here… but it can wait.”
“Oh, nonsense,” Mom said. “You guys are a freshly forming pack. If you need to talk, talk. You can find me later.”
“Don’t forget to dig out that old photo album for me,” Aspen reminded her.
I narrowed my eyes playfully at both of them. “You two are trouble.”
“Oh, we absolutely are,” Mom agreed. “And you’ll love every minute of it.”
She slid off the bar stool and rinsed her tea mug out.
“Now, I have to get going. Aspen dear, I look forward to shopping in a few days.”
“Me, too,” Aspen promised.
The fact that she meant it made something warm settle in my chest. I loved that she and Mom got along, both of them were important to me.
“Is everything okay?” Aspen asked once Mom walked away. Then that attention was all on me, the rest of the world seeming to fade into nothingness around us.
She had no idea how important that was to me, how much it told me this would work out.
“Actually… yes,” I said. “I spoke to North. About feelings I had for him and was always too scared to admit out loud.”
Her eyes widened, and her smile lit up. “He told me how he felt. I think he was afraid you wouldn’t. I’m so glad you said something.”
“Well, it took a harsh conversation from my brother and some hard truths, but… it seems I get in my own way a lot. And that’s going to change.”
She looked serious now. “I hope so. I think we all deserve a pack that gets along and makes sense together.”
“I couldn’t agree more, omega,” I promised. “And I’m sorry again for how I acted yesterday. It was out of character, and I won’t let it happen again.”
“I believe you,” she said softly. “We all have our moments and we will again someday. As long as there isn’t malice behind it, then we’re fine. We’ll work it out. Now, we need to let it go. I want to see what this pack can become. I came here to experience Christmas, not drama.”
“Don’t worry, omega, that starts tomorrow,” Cole said as he walked in. “I was thinking we could go cut down a Christmas tree and North wants for him and Jack to join. That way we have one of our own to decorate.”
An idea hit me then.
“You know… the guest wing is completely empty. It has room for all of us and a nest if we need one. A perfect, isolated space to get to know each other without interruptions.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Cole said, nodding. “I have a feeling you’re going to be busy tonight, so maybe we handle that tomorrow.”
How the hell did he know about tonight? The confusion must’ve shown on my face because Cole chuckled.
“I talked to North. Good for you, brother. I’m glad you finally got your head out of your ass and dealt with it. He’s been waiting on you a long time.”
Apparently, everyone but me saw that.
“So it seems,” I muttered, shaking my head. “I guess I was the only one too stubborn to be on board.”
“But you felt the same about him all these years, right?” Aspen asked.
“I did,” I admitted, biting back a smile as I remembered that kiss. Honestly, it was all I could think about, second only to kissing her.
“Judging from that cute little blush,” she teased, “I’d say it went well.”
“It did,” I said simply.
“Oh, come on,” she argued. “That’s all I get?”
“Well…” I relented. “I walked in, asked him if he really felt that way about me, he shockingly admitted it. Which is wild, because North is shy. Then I kissed him.”
She squealed and did a little dance in her chair. “That is so cute.”
I leaned in, smirking. “Cute? Is that what you’re going to say when I tell you all about the dirty things I do to our beta?”
She swallowed hard, scent blooming in the air. Oh, she definitely liked that idea.
“Are you the type to watch, Aspen?” I husked, pushing more.
“Not until now,” she breathed, “but I think I could be persuaded.”
I couldn’t stop myself from moving closer, watching her reaction, gauging if she’d let me kiss her.
She moved first. Aspen lunged forward, pressing her lips to mine with a soft moan.
“I can taste him on you,” she groaned before deepening the kiss, her tongue sweeping in greedily to taste our beta.
Before it could go any further, I broke the kiss, stepping back as I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I got things straight with Cole,” I told her. “We’re working on fixing our relationship, and I’m going to get things handled with North so all of our attention can be on you.”
She wrinkled her nose adorably. She hated that idea.
“I don’t want all the attention on me. I mean, maybe sometimes, I’m an omega after all, but you deserve your relationships too.”
Cole gave me an I told you so look, and I ignored it.
“I’m taking her out today,” Cole said. “You and North enjoy yourselves.”
“We will,” I promised, winking at her. “I can’t wait till tomorrow. Then the real courting begins.”
“Why do I feel like I should be scared?” she asked.
“Oh, you should be,” Cole teased, holding his hand out for her.
She gave me one last grin before letting him pull her out of the room.
The way she lit up with him, the way she lit up with both of us, made my chest tight in the best way. I wasn’t missing out on this pack.
I put their abandoned mugs in the sink before turning to leave, only to freeze when I saw North standing there.
His hair was damp, like he’d just showered, and his chest was heaving as if he’d run here.
“North?” I asked.
Suddenly, I felt like prey.
He didn’t say a word. He stalked toward me. There was uncertainty in his eyes, but determination, too.
Enough that he closed the distance between us without hesitation.
“I took the rest of the day off,” he said, breathless. “I can’t wait for you. I need you, Alpha. Now.”
Fuck.
“I’m yours,” I promised. I had been for a long time, I was just too stubborn to admit it to myself. Too afraid. I’d wasted years I could’ve had him.
That changed now.
I lunged forward, capturing his lips with mine and backing him toward the doorway. I broke the kiss only long enough to grab his hand and lead him toward my room.
It felt frantic, like we were teenagers again, but there was no way I could go another day without having him in some capacity.
North didn’t say anything as I led him to my room. But the moment the door closed, he was dropping to his knees, his fingers fumbling with my belt and the button of my jeans. He didn’t hesitate to yank my pants down.
My beta was desperate for me.
I was hard for him, too.
His pink tongue darted out, wetting his lips before teasing around the crown of my dick. He moaned as if he’d never had anything so perfect in his mouth.
It really did something to an alpha’s ego.
He licked his way from tip to base, then back again, his glassy eyes glancing up at me and wrecking me completely.
North wrapped his lips around me, a bit too eager and taking me too far. He gagged, his eyes watering as he pulled away, gasping for breath and trying again. I gathered the tear with my thumb, wiping it away and holding his face.
“Are you going to relax for me, Beta?” I asked, hating how tense he was, even as he was trying to swallow me again. “It's just us. We belong together, don’t we?”
“Yes,” he said around me, blinking away and pulling back long enough to take in a deep breath. He relaxed visibly under my coaxing, so fucking responsive for me.
“You feel so good,” I praised, my hips rocking forward before I could stop them. His eyes rolled back, as if I was sinking into his ass instead of his throat. Fuck, he was perfect. “Can I fuck your mouth now? That’s all I can think about.”
He nodded before his eyes fluttered shut. I gave him a second to regulate his breathing before I moved.
I didn’t rut into his mouth like I wanted, keeping my knot out. Instead, I buried my cock in his throat over and over, pulling back enough for him to suck in a breath before pushing back in. I was firm, dominant, but making sure to not overwhelm him.
We could work up to more.
He felt so fucking good, warm and hot and wet around my cock. It was only a few minutes of burying my cock in his throat when my stomach tightened, my orgasm starting to build.
“I’m going to come, tap my leg if you want me to stop.
He shook his head, eyes opening to lock onto mine. My beta wanted this as much as I did.
Then I was coming down his tight throat.
My perfect man swallowed down every damn drop. As he pulled out, his tongue swiped up any that remained, cleaning me so well.
His scent was stronger now, holding a sweeter edge of sugar to the gingerbread and nutmeg I always loved. If this was what he smelled like when he came, I knew I’d never get enough.
“On the bed, beta,” I demanded. It was adorable how he scrambled up to his feet and stripped out of his clothes, before laying on his back. His cock was hard and leaking for me. I took a moment to truly soak in the sight, stunned that anyone could want me this much.
As much as I wanted him.
God I was a fool for waiting, for holding back and afraid of ruining the friendship. I’d wasted so long. So many years I could have had him just like this.
We had gone from nothing to this so fast that I took this time to appreciate him, commit this sight to memory. It was just like our friendship started. So quick that it was hard to determine the exact moment the world shifted. We just were.
He whimpered as I finally moved closer. It was such an omega move that I had to chuckle. I’d reduced my beta down to instinct and desire, and that was a heady feeling.
“I’ve got you,” I promised before I wrapped my lips around his cock, teasing my tongue over him and reveling in his taste. Sweet, salty, and a hint of his spicy scent. It was perfect.
I teased my tongue over him again, taking his cock as deep as I could. He wasn’t in control, I was, and I set a pace that I knew would drive him crazy. It was the same level of control with a hint of desperation that I fucked his mouth with.
North’s fingers gripped my hair, holding on tight. The sharp sting of him pulling had my cock aching all over again.
I wanted this to be so good for him, putting everything I had into this blow job. I was hardly an expert, but I knew what I liked and I wasn’t afraid to listen to every sound he made, using them to drive him closer to the edge.
He cried out, unrestrained and full of bliss as he came down my throat.
Just like he did, I cleaned up every drop he gave me before crawling into bed beside him. His eyes were glassy and soft, a lazy smile on his lips. I couldn’t resist pressing my lips to his again. Our tongues danced, mixing our tastes together as our bodies came down from that high.
“I love you, Jack.” His words were so clear and confident that I knew he meant them.
My first instinct was to panic. I froze for a second, shocked, then I realized I didn’t need to be.
I’d always felt the same. He was mine from that very first day and even more so now.
“I love you, too, North.”