Chapter 11
“You seriously don’t enjoy the beach?” Jasper’s eyes are wide as he looks up at me, his fork caught in midair as he pauses his absolute annihilation of the cheesecake Darius dropped off a few minutes ago. “How can you live here and not at least kind of like it?”
He’s draped his suit jacket across the back of his chair and undone the top two buttons of his shirt. His smooth, pale skin disappears into the shirt, but I keep finding myself dropping my gaze to the hollow of his throat.
I want to mark him. Even knowing I can’t do that—that the only way a Beta can be bonded is through an Omega—the desire rides me hard. I force myself to focus on the conversation.
“I’ve lived here my whole life,” I explain with a shrug, taking a small bite of the chocolate cake Darius had brought me. It’s my favorite part of coming here. “I imagine it’s similar to people who live in the Rockies and detest skiing.”
He leans back, his gaze growing softer. “I’m glad I didn’t suggest the pier as a first date, then,” he says. “I imagine that would not have gone as well as the arcade bar.”
I offer a half-smile and shake my head. “Probably not,” I agree.
“So no beaches. Next you’re going to tell me you don’t like puppies or something,” he says.
“Dogs are fine.” I keep my voice dry as I set my fork on the empty plate and push it to the edge of the table. “The larger the better, though. If it jumps when it barks, I don’t consider it a dog.”
He tosses his head back as he laughs, the low lighting the restaurant uses to create a sense of intimacy highlighting his sharp cheekbones and elegant neck. An image of his throat constricting around my dick has me leaning forward and adjusting how I’m sitting before he can notice.
“I can live with that,” he says before taking the last bite of cheesecake. His gaze turns thoughtful. “What about children?”
I shake my head.
“I’d rather deal with the pier,” I say with a grimace.
He nods again. His posture is still relaxed, his eyes soft as he pushes the plate toward the edge of the table in mirror of my own. He licks his lips, and it’s all I can do to keep from purring. Even still, I scent, the unmistakeable citrus nearly overbearing in the small corner of the restaurant. His lips quirk up.
“Do I still have a rain check?” he asks after a minute.
I have cash on the table and my hand held out to him before he can say anything else. He laughs as he takes my offered hand, and I pull him into me. The kiss is deep and slow, and I groan into his mouth as I cup the back of his neck to keep him close.
Someone clears their throat, and Jasper pulls away from me. The growl rips through me before I even see the person who interrupted us. Darius stands just behind us, his arms crossed, a frown pulling on the small scar on his left cheek. His eyes are hard, his jaw clenched. He isn’t at all put off by my territorial behavior. Jasper, though, threads his fingers through mine and murmurs an apology.
“Have a good night, sir,” Jasper says.
Darius nods without moving. The air thickens between us, and not in the fun way. His lips curl back, a low growl rumbling through his chest. The smell of roses is offset by the withering tang of his anger. Heat flashes through me, the rage settling under my skin like an old friend. I take a step away from my date, matching the other Alpha’s snarl.
“Dominic,” Jasper whispers, his voice a soothing balm to the white hot fury whipping my chest.
I force a deep breath, and Jasper squeezes my hand. I allow him to pull me through the restaurant, not dropping my gaze from Darius until we’ve passed Sarah where she still stands near the entrance. Jasper offers her a soft goodbye, his hand tightening on mine in a universal request for silence.
Once the night air—clean and fresh and just this side of cool—hits me, I suck in a hard, fast breath. Goosebumps race up my arm from where Jasper trails his touch, his hand still laced with my own.
“You all right?” he asks. He’s so calm, it sets me back on my heels. Did he spend his down time dealing with touchy, enraged Alphas? God knows the Council doesn’t teach Betas anything—despite it probably being in everyone’s best interest if they had at least a passing understanding of how to handle Alphas… and probably Omegas, too.
I shove the thought back before I make an even larger ass of myself tonight.
Accidenti.
“Sí, sto bene,” I mutter.
Jasper raises an eyebrow and squeezes my hand again. “You sure?”
I tilt my head, focusing on him instead of the cool night that’s settled in while we were dining.
“Parli Italiano?”
He shakes his head and his cheeks darken with a fast rising blush. “Not really. Just studied enough classical music to have a passing understanding. You go much faster, and I won’t know anything.”
The young man that had taken the car comes up to us, the keys in his outstretched hand.
“Here you are, sir,” he says.
I hand him a larger bill than necessary as I murmur my thanks. Jasper tightens his hold on my hand, and I smile as I guide him to the car, opening the passenger door for him. He raises that eyebrow again but doesn’t say anything as I round the car and slide into my own seat. There’s no way in hell I’m going to take him in my car. At least not in this particular parking lot. I have everything I’d need stashed in the glove box, but beds—along with couches, chairs, and counters—are much more comfortable than the cramped back seat.
The vision of Jasper bent over my kitchen counter is enough to have my dick hard and aching. Citrus overwhelms the small car, overriding the suppressor, but I do my best to ignore it. My hard-on is more difficult to ignore, but I manage for the sake of the evening. Jasper’s throat moves with his swallow, and he messes with a thin chain around his neck.
My carefully crafted plan is thrown out the window the moment he grabs my thigh, his thumb tracing the outer edge of my knee. The touch shouldn’t be so consuming, but it’s like dousing a fire in gasoline. I grunt and turn at the next light, following the darkened road on the far side of my father’s estate. Jasper doesn’t say anything, but his grip tightens, and he shifts in his seat, his other hand adjusting his own dick. I pull to the side of the twisting road when I spot the double willow trees that mark the beginning of my own land.
“Think you can fit up here?” Jasper asks, chuckling. His voice is breathless, though, a thread of heat weaving through it. “Or should we just accept defeat and move to the back?”
“Adjust the seat,” I order before getting out of the car and walking around the front to his side.
I keep my steps measured. Even with the suppressors, those primitive instincts ride me hard on occasion. And this is one of those occasions. The need to have Jasper’s skin under my tongue is almost enough to have the haze of a rut fogging my mind. I bite the inside of my cheek to clear it before opening his door.
With the seat adjusted as far back as it will go, there’s just enough room for me to kneel between his spread legs.
Jasper laughs and runs his hands through my hair. “How did you actually manage that?”
I raise an eyebrow and smirk. “Highly motivated,” I mutter.
“Fair enough,” he says. He buries his hands in my hair and pulls me toward him, his lips demanding against my own. I press into him and run my hands down his chest, undoing the buttons of his shirt as I go. His skin is smooth and flawless, and I don’t restrain the urge to mark him, pulling small bits of his skin between my teeth until they bruise.
“May I go higher?”
Jasper nods.
I run my lips across his collar bone, smirking against his skin as he shudders out a breath. He arches up into me when I bite down, bruising the skin just beside the hollow of his throat. I undo the button of his slacks but then pause, waiting for him to signal he’s fine with moving forward. Rain check or not, I want to make sure he’s as into this as I am. He arches into me, pressing the hard line of his cock into my palm.
I chuckle as I undo the zipper and pull his length out, stroking him from root to tip and back. His cock is as flawless as the rest of him, and my mouth fucking waters. He bites out a curse as my lips surround his head and I run my thumb over the thick vein running the underside. Citrus overwhelms the car, so thick I’m practically choking on it, but it doesn’t irritate me nearly as much as typical. I relax my throat and take Jasper deeper, locking my gaze with his.
His cheeks are flushed a gorgeous red, his hands twisting into my hair and his feet moving along the floor, like he’s trying to stay still but can’t quite manage. He arches up, forcing himself deeper, groaning when I don’t resist him. I let my hands roam as my mouth continues to work him into a frenzy, the calluses of my fingers catching on the smooth, soft skin of his abs before trailing down his hip bones.
“Shit,” he mutters. “Dominic.”
It’s all the warning I need. He tightens his hold, trying to pull me away, but I take him deeper still, swallowing around his head, forcing him to the back of my throat. His strangled, half-breath groan is my reward. Then his cock twitches against my tongue, and I’m met with the salty tang of his cum.
“Holy hell,” he mutters, thrusting into me as the last waves of his orgasm ripple through him.
He pulls me up his body, not bothering to even tuck himself away, and then his tongue is twisting with mine.
“My turn,” he says against my lips, a giddy sort of promise lacing the words, and I smirk.
The vibrating of my phone cuts us off before we can decide how to switch positions.
“Cazzo,” I say. He releases me, and I sit back on my heels.
It’s nearly midnight. The only people that call this late are family—and people who need me to clean up after them.
My father’s information fills this screen. I tap out a quick text and then stash my phone again.
“Work?” he asks, his gaze full of understanding.
When I nod, he blows out a breath. “I can call a ride share if you need.”
I cut him off with a kiss. “It’ll keep long enough for me to take you home.”
He trails his hands down my chest, tracing the buttons of my shirt. His kiss is slower than mine, deep and sensual. It has my dick aching, practically weeping from knowing it won’t get any attention tonight. My father calling this late only means one thing: something went sideways.
“I want another rain check,” Jasper whispers against his mouth. “I hate leaving the scales uneven.”
I can’t help but laugh. “All right, Tesoro.”
The endearment slips out, and a questioning look crosses his face, but I ignore it, opting instead to help him get his dick put away and his shirt mostly fixed. Once he’s resettled, I move back to my own seat.
“And not in a car next time,” he says.
My cock twitches, and I run my hand up his thigh. “Sounds good to me.”