Chapter Thirty-Two Gideon
Gideon
Gideon cooks and sometimes cleans at Quest but more often than not, he prefers to delegate the chore at home. Finn and Rowan are washing the dinner dishes by hand, as they often do when it’s their turn. It’s romantic, and they stand as close as possible while still being able to get the task done, Rowan with his hands in hot-pink rubber gloves and Finn whispering no doubt lewd things in his ear, towel in hand. There are kisses, too, Gideon is sure, although they never let anyone see. They’ll fuck like porn stars in the nest, but kitchen kisses are just for them.
Jay has gone out to uncover the hot tub and Leo has dragged Luca upstairs to find swim trunks for everyone, much to Luca’s horror. Gideon is checking up on Quest’s evening crowd by text with Maureen, who has taken to her newest promotion of general manager with an iron will and unsurprising talent. The restaurant has been running just fine—better than fine, really, and not for the first time; Gideon wondered if maybe it was time to let go a bit more and start something new. Maureen can handle it, and Elias would make a fine head chef.
“Gideon?” Nix’s voice is soft, and he’s twisting his hands in the white sweater he’s been wearing all day. Gideon briefly wonders if he can steal it from the laundry before it gets washed. “Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?”
Grayson stands just two inches behind him, his hands resting on Nix’s waist and his nose buried in his neck. He jolts and looks like he might cry when he hears the word “alone.” “Just for a minute? I’ll go…uh, find a swimsuit. Yeah.” But he’s dragging his feet, checking over his shoulder in case their omega changes his mind. Nix just gives him a tiny wave.
Gideon pats the couch beside him. “Anything for you.” And he means it.
Nix sits; the scent of vanilla is singed around the edges and he can’t imagine what’s got his kitten all worked up. His nose twitching like a curious cat, he rubs at it with a sweater paw. Gideon thinks he might actually meow, but instead, he complains, “Ugh, I cannot get used to that.”
“The scents?”
“Hmm. Smelling myself in particular. Everyone else smells really, really, really, good.” He stares after Grayson, who—unbeknownst to Nix—is lurking at the top of the balcony. Poor Alpha looks like he’d throw himself over if Nix even looked like he might need rescuing.
“I’m glad. What did you want to talk to me about?” He’s genuinely confused about what might have their kitten smelling a bit off and needing to make sure they talked alone.
“Well, first, I’m sorry about this afternoon. I don’t know what happened except that I promise it won’t happen again. I made you upset, and you ran off before I could, uh, before I could tell you I’m sorry. Please forgive me?” His scent is full-on burnt cookies now, and Gideon can hear Grayson growling as it wafts upwards. Nix’s eye twitches, and Gideon almost laughs; he should have known their omega knew exactly where his alpha was.
Gideon offers his hand, praying he will not fuck this up. “Nix. It’s okay. Today has been really hard, yeah? Even though you know some of it now, there’s still going to be a learning curve. You didn’t hurt me or make me uncomfortable, even a little bit.”
“I’m still sorry,” he whispers, sporting a little frown that makes Gideon want to kiss it off his face.
“You don’t need to be. Come here.” Gideon lifts his arm and Nix leans in, tucking himself underneath and briefly pressing his nose to Gideon’s chest.
“Okay,” he sighs breathlessly.
“Did you need anything else?” Gideon presses his nose to the top of Nix’s head in return, taking pleasure in the small show of affection with his new mate. Aside from the… thing in the car, he’d not had the opportunity to enjoy closeness with their new mate.
“Um, it’s about me and Gray—wait, are you sniffing me?”
“Yeah, you smell really good,” Gideon says.
“Why do Weres do all that up-close sniffing? And Jamie was rubbing his face all over Rowan not thirty seconds ago.” Gideon can see the two alphas now sitting on the edge of the hot tub with their feet in, talking and pretending not to watch Nix through the glass.
“Were families, or packs, like to smell each other, and we like to smell like each other. We call it scenting. It shows others that we are cared for, where we belong, and it gives us a sense of belonging, too.”
“It makes us feel like family?” He asks curiously.
Family is the underpinning of Were society. It’s not where you come from, but who. “Exactly. Do you want to try?” Please, please let him want to try. Gideon takes off his hoodie as an added incentive, throwing it on the back of the couch. His tank top riding up a bit at his belly, as his sweats ride low. It’s satisfying to see his new mate struggle to keep his eyes on his face.
“The sniffing or the rubbing?”
Gotcha, kitten.
“Both? Do you want to try it with me? Or I can get Jay or Finn or even Gray back here.”
Looking up through his lashes, he puts a strand of hair behind his ear and licks his already-red lips. “With you? Would that be alright?”
Deadly . Jesus.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
“How do I…?” he asks, gesturing between them.
“Well, mates often do it lying down or straddling someone’s lap or from behind. The primary scent gland is in the neck on the left side, though there are also glands on each wrist. Finn told me once that they run parallel to some of the major blood vessels.” Gideon points to the spot on his neck, then each of his wrists.
“Oh, that’s cool. Is that all?” Nix shivers, eyes darting between his neck and wrists as he licks his lips.
“Well…uh.” Fuck, the other two are in the groin where the pelvis meets the upper thigh—both Finn and Jay’s favorite—or behind the knees. The rest of Gideon’s mates prefer the neck, and now that he’s thinking about it, he can’t wait to see where his kitten likes best.
Finn enters the room, clearly hearing the tail end of the conversation and failing at being nonchalant in every way. “There are a few more in the lower body as well. But I don’t think we should scent there for our first try.” Nix’s eyes go wide.
Finn puts a smaller, beige book on the coffee table next to a larger blue one, and Gideon can see that it’s about basic Were anatomy and sex education. It’s a tiny volume for such a broad topic. “This will cover some of the basics Jay told you about today. But like I said, I am happy to answer your questions.”
“Thank you, Doctor Merritt . Maybe I could scent you ?” Suddenly, Nix is a mischievous kitten with a sly smile, and Finn’s scent blooms: black currants baking in the hot sun on a summer’s day.
He’s already pulling his hoodie over his head but asks anyway, “I thought you were going to scent Gideon first?”
Nix checks with Gideon to be sure he hasn’t offended him, and Gideon is quick to shake his head because seeing the unflappable Finn flustered and sexy is one of Gideon’s favorite things, especially since Nix is already smelling like that raunchy bakery Rowan likes to talk about. “Oh please, scent our Dr. Merritt first.”
Finn shoots him a dirty look but focuses on their mate. “Okay, then, how should we do this?”
“Can you come over here? Now, down here…perfect.” Finn is on his knees so Nix can lean forward, legs open on either side of Finn’s hips. Nix’s sweater rides up the tiniest bit, baring more than is probably wise of his smooth thighs. The omega looks Finn in the eyes and gives a tiny smile. Gideon is thrilled to see his beloved nemesis like this, eyes half-closed and already squirming in anticipation.
“Okay, I’m going in.” He puts his tiny hands on Finn’s very (hot) broad shoulders so he can press his nose to the left side of the alpha’s throat. “Mmm, oh wow, that’s so good. Makes my mouth water.” He’s using a firm grip to pull Finn in, and the doctor has to put his hands on Nix’s bare thighs to keep his balance, thumbs rubbing the pale skin. Gideon can only imagine how soft they are.
Finn leans in to do the same to the new Were, and soon, the two of them are making noises of contentment and desire. The living area is starting to smell like a fruit pie: vanilla and black currant pie, to be specific.
When Nix opens his mouth to bite down, Gideon gently pinches Nix’s nose. What he hadn’t expected was for the omega to growl and bare his teeth.
“Whoa. Hey now. Nix, too much scenting can make you scent drunk, and—like booze—it can make you feel hungover. You don’t want a headache, right?”
Blink, blink . “No, I guess not. Wow, though, that’s wild. I’m sorry, Finn. Was I too much?” Finn has his eyes squeezed shut, breathing heavily, and he’s sitting back on his heels. Gideon can see the outline of an impressive erection in his sweats, and his fingers are now digging into his thighs.
With a cough, the alpha rises ungracefully to his feet and nods. “I’m good, Nix, thanks for…uh…that.” He pivots, goes out the glass door, past the curious Rowan and Jay, and walks right into the pool.
Nix jumps up in shock, and Gideon barks out a laugh. “He’s okay. He just needs a minute. What about me next?” He opens his arms and leans back into the arm of the couch so Nix can reach more easily.
“If you’re sure?” Nix handles it much better this time, running his nose up and down Gideon’s neck, sending shivers down his spine. “Oh wow. Rain, thunder, and s’good.” His words are a bit slurred, but he’s still in control.
“Well, I like vanilla and cookies and…stuff. It’ll get a bit easier every time.” His omega’s aroused scent sends Gideon’s libido to a low simmer.
“I know I sometimes smell like burnt cookies when I’m sad. Did I do something to upset Finn? I noticed his fruity scent was different when I was…scenting him. Before he had to wash it off in the pool.”
“What? No, he wasn’t washing it off in the cold pool, kitten.” He waggles his eyebrows comically and is rewarded with a giggle.
Their omega looks disbelieving. His eyes flick to where Jay is hauling a soaking-wet Finn out of the pool, his hard-on is still visible in his gray sweats, while Rowan rolls around on the pool deck in laughter. “Will I be able to smell if anyone is upset? Or happy? What about when someone is…?” Nix waggles his eyebrows, too.
Gideon laughs. “Yup, all of that and more probably, with practice.”
Like a cloud over the sun, Nix’s smile fades away. “Not that it matters for me, I guess. I was just curious.”
“What do you mean it won’t matter ‘for you?’” Gideon asks. Nix is working on getting something out and Gideon could not be more surprised when he does.
“Well, it’s mortifying. I just smell like…this, and everyone will know that I’m feeling that way .” His face is red, and he’s wringing his hands. “I want Jamie; it’s always been Jamie; there’s never been a moment in my life when it hasn’t been Jamie. And Grayson smells like the best sex ever, like I want to lick him and bite him all over. What about sweet, handsome Leo with the arms and the smile. ” He pounds a tiny fist on the couch, and the pink on his cheeks is making his freckles stand out like stars in the sky, but it’s the scent and sound of his agitation that brings the rest of the pack running on silent feet to converge on the outskirts of their conversation.
“Gah! And Luca with his sexy butt, god, and those cheeks…both sets of cheeks. Do you think about biting them? I do! And Finn, in those glasses, fuck, and did you see those shoulders? Of course, you did. And excuse me, but Rowan needs to stop wearing that tank top. Like yesterday. He’s so… beefy… and that smirk. And you, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that you are hot as fuck. So bossy .” He runs out of steam, and the last part is whispered. “And I’m…I’m just me. Why would any of you think I’m hot or whatever when y’all are all that ?”
“Nix,” Jay says. He and Rowan are standing in the doorway to the pool with soaking-wet-Finn’s shoulders covered in a towel and Jay’s arm draped over the top of it. Grayson has dragged Leo and Luca into the room with an armload of swim trunks. They all are wearing matching looks of bewilderment.
Nix looks like he’s ready to bolt in embarrassment.
Rowan frowns, spiced rum scent exuding genuine confusion. “You’re kidding, right? You cannot think that we’re not interested in you? That we don’t all imagine you without that infernal sweater?” Rowan’s face is scrunched up as he speaks as if he can’t fathom the thought that Nix truly doesn’t understand how much they all desire him.
“What? No way. That’s crazy.” Nix is looking from face to face, genuinely shocked and disbelieving.
“I’m dead serious. I don’t think there’s one person here who hasn’t jerked off to the scent of you or the look of you this week at least once. Maybe twice.” Leo raises his hand with three fingers up, and Finn covers his face entirely. “Maybe not Grayson, because he had to take hormone suppressants to just get past the thought of you without losing his mind, and Jay has been at it for almost a decade, so maybe he isn’t doing it more, but he’s definitely doing it. And Gideon, he—”
“Ya! Rowan, that’s enough secrets from you,” Jay says sharply before approaching Nix, who is frozen, just looking from blushing face to blushing face. “What Rowan is trying to say is that we think you are very, very, very attractive, inside and out. And that we are glad you feel the same. He’s right, though, when he says we are very interested in participating in whatever physical interaction you are willing to uh…participate…in.”
Nix touches Jay’s face. “You’re still attracted to me? Why haven’t you kissed me? I thought you didn’t want me like that anymore. That because of Daw— him, you thought I was…” He stops abruptly and shrugs, like whatever he’s thinking is obvious.
Gideon is on his feet, holding a red-faced, fist-clenched Grayson from putting a hole in their very nice drywall. “He’s okay, Gray. Breathe.” Everyone is in a similar, but slightly more restrained, state of anger and sadness.
Jay grabs their omega and holds him close, tears in his eyes. But not in Nix’s, as if he’s only told the truth and is surprised no one else sees it. “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not true.”
“Then why? If you don’t think I’m gross, then why? I’ve been waiting such a long time for you, Jamie. Feels like forever.”
“Baby, I just wanted to let you get settled before we–”
Gideon smiles when Nix leans in and kisses Jay hard, teeth clacking. He snorts when their leader squeaks.
“Fuck that, James. Fuck you. .wait…fuck me, like now?” He’s standing and ready to pull Jay along to somewhere with a bed, even though none of them would mind the view. The couch is leather, after all; plus, they’ve got a cleaning service on retainer with an ironclad NDA.
Grayson groans, the angry scent morphing into the sweet basil of arousal.
“Nix, I think we should wait until the doctor has checked you over, and you’ve at least been out of a coma for a bit, ya?” Jay huffs out a laugh. His ears are red and even though he’s saying the words, it’s clear to everyone but Nix that he wishes it were different.
Gideon lets a much calmer Gray move past him to the couch, where he once again sits shoulder-to-shoulder with his omega. He doesn’t envy his mate’s uncharacteristic roller coaster of emotions from the suppressants.
“If he doesn’t want to, you can count on me to—” Rowan waggles his eyebrows before snatching a swimsuit out of Luca’s hand and fleeing at Gideon’s threatening stance. He’s always happy to cause shit or get laid, but even happier to avoid the hard conversation.
Luca drops his pile of swim trunks on the coffee table so he can sit on Jay’s knee. He pulls Nix’s fingers to his mouth and kisses them softly. “We want you. Forever. But let’s have a hot tub and sleep in the nest, and we’ll be one day closer ?tomorrow, right?” He reaches over and picks out a minuscule white pair of Speedo-style swim shorts. Or, as Ro calls them, banana-hammocks. “These look like they might fit. Want help?”
Gideon offers Luca an encouraging smile. It’s a beautiful thing to see him caring for Nix in much the same way the mates care for him.
His kitten sighs a cute-as-fuck put-upon sigh, and Gideon thinks that Luca’s influence is already making itself known. “Okay, Luca. But tomorrow, we are talking about this and maybe acting some of it out. Deal? Now give me those, please.”
He steps into the tiny swimsuit and pulls it up under his sweater, then stops.
“What? Are they too tight?” Grayson is desperately rifling through the pile for something that will be a better (looser) fit and maybe not push all of his mates into their swimsuits with uncomfortable erections.
“No, but I think in the future I’ll go without.”
With that parting shot, Luca whoops, pulling Nix over the back of the couch and out the sliding doors. Nix flings the white sweater over his head as he goes like a bride throwing a bouquet. Rowan and Grayson race out the door, chasing after them like determined bridesmaids, while Finn argues it’s his sweater in the first place.
Gideon’s kittens are in the hot tub before anyone else, giggling to each other and oh, so happy.
“Gideon,” Jay whispers. He can’t take his eyes off them either.
Rowan has Grayson in a headlock as Finn scents his prize, face buried almost entirely in the sweater, easily won while the others are distracted. Luca steals small wet tongue kisses while Nix holds him by the jaw. Gideon wonders how they taste together. “Mmmm?”
“What am I going to do? He wants me to fuck him, and I cannot remember a time in my life where I didn’t want that. But the past five years have been bad, and I don’t want to hurt him.”
Gideon hands his distracted mate the yellow “banana-hammock,” one of two swimsuits still left on the table. They’re only wearing them for Nix anyway, and Gideon would much rather see his sexy, well-hung alpha in the tiny suit than himself.
“Jaybird, you’re going to do what he asks you to do, and you’re going to keep your head. It’ll work out. If you need a chaperone, though, I’ll be glad to monitor any and all plans of action. Fuck, I’d better get out there before Luca convinces Nix to take that suit off and Rowan gets catapulted into his rut three days early.”
“Wait, did you say Rowan’s rut is in three days!?”
“Yeah. But we’ll deal with it like we always do. Let’s go.” Gideon cackles and starts a quick jog into the main floor powder room off the kitchen to change, and just in time, too.
“Okay…hey, wait! Gideon, I am not wearing this! Give me those! Get back here, you sneaky shit!”