Chapter 33
Boris
I watch several different emotions fly over Simon's face. I didn't want to have this conversation. I came over because I wanted to kiss him without having to think about Ira being there. Selfish, perhaps. I understand Simon having a lot of questions, though.
I think he's accepted the whole wolf-shifters-are-real thing, but maybe mates is a bigger hurdle.
Simon watches me, but I don't know what he's looking for.
"Sooo..." He blows out a breath.
"So?"
He shrugs. "I don't know."
I give him a quick grin before pulling him down for a kiss. When he opens for me and curls an arm around my neck, I want to howl in victory.
He's mine.
I deepen the kiss, allow my hands to wander, and he squirms deliciously. It makes me grin, which ruins the kiss.
Simon huffs, and my grin turns into a chuckle. "What are you huffing about, love?"
"You."
"Why?"
He shrugs.
I capture his mouth again. I want to strip him naked and lick every inch of him, but I don't know where he wants this to go.
"Want you naked." I speak low against his lips, and some tension creeps into him at my words.
Not what he'd planned then. Damn. "Or I could take you out for lunch.
There is a nice Thai place on Amber Row.
You feel like Thai?" Now I want Thai. Yup, we'll do Thai.
It might be best to slow this down anyway.
I stand, and Simon yelps as he clings to me, then it's like he realizes what he's doing and tries to put his feet down. I don't allow him. I heft him higher and start walking.
"Boris! Put me down!" He gives me a wide-eyed look.
"Why?" I like having him in my arms.
"I'm a grown man. I'm as tall as you are. I'm too heavy."
I raise an eyebrow to show how unimpressed I am. I walk with him out into the hallway without a word. He splutters for a couple of steps, then he wraps his legs around me, and I hum.
He shakes his head. "Seriously."
"I like having you in my arms. One day soon, I'll have you naked like this."
A blush paints his cheeks, and I grin. "I think I'll fuck you standing up."
He unhooks his legs. "Put me down."
I slowly allow him to slide down my body but capture his mouth in a kiss before he can move away from me. He resists at first, then he leans against me, and I growl low at the back of my throat.
His eyes pop open.
Right, no growls.
"Hop to it, love. Shoes on."
I step into my shoes and reach for the door handle.
"You're serious?"
I turn to look at him, confused. "About what?"
"About heading out to lunch."
"You don't want to?"
He shifts his weight a little. "I...eh...yeah, but...it's expensive, and I'm sure there are some leftovers we can--"
"Shoes on. We're heading out."
A few minutes later, I'm steering my car toward the city. Simon is a little fidgety in the passenger seat, and I glance at him.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
The answer came way too fast.
"Simon?"
He sighs. "I'm not comfortable with you taking care of me, of us. I mean, I'm grateful, but..."
I nod. "I'm not trying to take away your freedom." I'm trying to give him some.
"No, I know, but I've always taken care of myself. I can't...give up."
I tried to search his tone for a deeper meaning. Give up his freedom by tying himself to me? By accepting this mating? A knot forms in my gut. "We'll do everything at your pace." Fuck, I hope he won't shut me out again. I don't know if my heart can take it.
He frowns at me. "What?"
"If you're scared about what accepting this mating will mean, we'll slow down.
I never meant to pressure you. All I want is to be near you, but if you need a break, I'll accept that.
And I know I can be a bit...much. I'll try to tone it down.
Be less...dramatic." I roll my eyes at myself, but when he says nothing, I wince. Fuck.
He takes a deep breath. "I meant, I know I don't have a job right now, but I'm not comfortable living on your income. I'm not comfortable being a kept man. I need to earn my own money."
I stare at him, and it isn't until the car behind me honks, I realize I've slowed down. "Fuck." I press on the gas pedal again. "You don't want me to buy you lunch?"
He makes a frustrated sound. "I do, but I want to buy you lunch too. Not right now since I don't have any money to waste on lunch, but when I get another job."
"You want another job?"
I can tell by the silence, it wasn't the question he expected. I make sure I have my foot on the right pedal before I look at him.
"Yes, of course."
I frown but focus on the traffic again. Does he look down on people who don't have jobs? "I'm...eh...I don't think I want a job right now."
Silence.
Then he clears his throat. "How long can you go without having to work?"
I purse my lips. "Depends on my expenses."
"Yes, of course, but as it is now. How long before you have to find a job?"
I shrug. "I'm good."
"Good? For how long?"
I indicate a turn onto Amber Row, not expecting to find a place to park along the street, but hope is the last thing to die. There is none, of course, so I turned toward the parking garage near the train station.
"Boris?"
"Huh?" I glance at Simon.
"How long before you need to get a job, living in the house you do now?"
Oh. "I don't need one. We get paid from the pack every month, and I bought the house fair and square." Or the previous owner might not have called it fair and square, but Simon doesn't need to know. "No mortgage."
"No mortgage?"
"Nope." I drive into the parking garage and spot a vacant parking space almost straight away. When I've parked, I turn to look at him. He has a wrinkle between his brows and looks confused.
"What has you thinking so hard?"
He shakes his head. Should I push or not? "Simon?"
"I know you said you didn't feel like getting a job when you moved here, but...you're serious? You only work when you feel like it?"
I grin at him. "The pack covers the basics. If I want to take you to Hawaii or on a trip to Disney World, I'll need to pick up a few shifts at a restaurant. I'd rather be at home and spend time with you, though. Pick up Ira after school, do things with him, instead of rushing off to a job."
His nod is slow.
"Come on. Let's go eat. We have time before we need to pick Ira up, right?" I glance at the clock. It's only eleven. Maybe they're not open yet.
"Yeah, he finishes at two today."
"Perfect." We get out and lock the car. "Do you know if he has any homework today?"
"Not sure. He had some math he did this morning over breakfast."
"You're fine with me stealing him for a couple of hours?"
He nods, and I take his hand as we walk out on the sidewalk. At first, he looks like he wants to pull away, then he shrugs and allows me to hold him. Score!
* * * *
We wave at Simon as we drive off. Ira is grinning widely, as am I.
"Okay, I figured we'd go to the mall. They should have most of the things he listed in his Santa letter. Maybe all of them." I turn toward the city for the second time today.
"Okay."
"Do you think we should get him slime too, just in case?"
Ira rolls his eyes. "Dad doesn't like slime."
"What? Why? Who doesn't like slime?"
Ira only shakes his head, and I laugh. "You know what? We should get a Christmas tree while we're out and about."
Ira's eyes go super wide. "A Christmas tree?"
"Yes! Then we can say it's why we went out, and he doesn't need to know about the presents. We'll leave them in my car where he doesn't see them, and we can wrap them another day."
He nods.
"Normally, I go to Rutchester and chop down a tree, but I think they're selling them outside the mall. We'll strap it on top of the car."
His nods turn more vigorous. Perfect.
We park and head into the throng of people. I hate shopping, too many scents.
I grab my phone. At the top of the list are socks. I groan. "Socks."
Ira scrunches his nose.
"There is no way around it." But maybe we can find some fun gifts too.
"I guess not. Where do we find socks?"
I scan the storefronts until I find one with men's clothing. "Let's try this one." I grab his hand and weave my way through the people shuffling about. "I bet we can find mittens and a beanie there too. I don't know about winter boots. Maybe he needs to try those on."
Ira sighs.
"We could get a gift card in the shoe store, though."
"Yes, maybe that's better."
"I fear so. It's no fun to buy the wrong size." Socks I'll buy in my size. I think we have about the same.
A woman with enough perfume to choke an entire pack of wolves steps toward us the moment we step into the store. "How can I help you?" She smiles expectantly.
"Hi. My partner is super boring."
She blinks at me a few times, but no words come, so I continue.
"In his letter to Santa, he wrote he wanted socks, mittens, and a beanie.
" I roll my eyes and sigh dramatically. "We're not sure the letter will reach Rovaniemi since our son's--" I raise my and Ira's interlaced hands.
"--teacher insists on sending the letters to the North Pole.
I'm sure you see our dilemma." I give her a meaningful look.
"We need socks, mittens, and a beanie, so he doesn't get disappointed. "
She blinks a couple more times, then gives me a strangled chuckle. I look at Ira. "Did I break her?"
That has her laughing for real.
"Okay, so socks, mittens, and a beanie for Christmas?"
"Exactly."
She smiles at Ira. "Over here we have mittens and beanies."
I check my phone. "Oh, he wants a scarf too."
She nods and proceeds to show Ira what they have. I allow him to pick. Then she leads us to the socks, and I grab a few different brands.
"You want me to wrap them for you?" She gestures toward the checkout. I glance at Ira, who nods.
"Yes, please."
She smiles. Once she got over her initial shock, she's been of great help. I swipe my card when she names the total, and while she wraps the gifts, I show Ira the list. "We need a store with kitchen stuff."
"If you follow this aisle--" The shop assistant gestures in the opposite direction from where we entered. "--you'll find one on your left."
"Awesome, thank you. Then we need a heated blanket and duct tape."
She stares at me over her shoulder, and I shrug in reply. "I think we should get slime too, or at least glitter balloons, but they're not on the list."
She laughs. "I don't know where to get a heated blanket, sorry."
"Don't worry. We'll find one."
She hands over the presents, and we hurry off to the store with the kitchen appliances.
The purchases there are a lot pricier. Those Ninja blenders aren't free.
Though I pick the most expensive one, since I don't know which one he wants, so I only have myself to blame.
I don't care what it costs. Ira's eyes are wide as the cashier offers to wrap it along with the vegetable chopper--I have no idea if I got the right kind, but I grabbed one I'd have wanted--and the measuring cups.
I nudge Ira's shoulder. "Okay, heated blanket, duct tape, and gift card at the shoe shop left."
"And a Christmas tree."
"Yes, a Christmas tree. Should we bring back pizza or something for dinner?" I have my phone in my hand before I can think. I dial Simon while we wait.
"Hello?" He sounds a bit unsure.
"Hello, darling. Ira and I debated bringing back pizza for dinner. Any objections?"
"Eh...restaurant food twice in one day?"
"We'll be a bit longer, so we figured it would be easier to bring back something hot and ready to eat." I raise an eyebrow at Ira, who nods.
"Whatever you want."
"Whatever? Are you sure?" I make my voice go low and husky. "Because, babe--"
"Pizza is fine!"
I laugh. "See you in a bit. Probably an hour or a little more."
"Okay."
I want to tell him I love him, but he might not want to hear it. "Miss you."
"Bye, Boris."
* * * *