Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
BARON
I pop my knuckles as I pace the hall, ready to crawl right out of my skin thanks to this feeling of doom sitting in the pit of my stomach.
Again.
I really thought this would settle down once we were all together.
I made sure Ves was good despite playing in a crime scene.
I was definitely worried he’d lost his shit, and while I still think he might be on the edge of something pretty unhinged, he’s mellowed out some.
Lennox is good. As good as he gets for now, and back on track to being more himself.
More the way he deserves to be, and he’s very open to seeing if there are options that could help him on a more regular basis.
I got him here, got us all in the same place and talking about things. Bonds are being formed, acceptance is happening. I know we’re not completely there yet, but things are going in the right direction.
Why I’m so wound up the slightest thing could make me pop is beyond me.
By all accounts, I should be happy. I should be calm. I should be enjoying everything, right down to sleeping in a bed and not driving around until I find the next safe place to park.
And while I’m extremely appreciative of that, and thrilled about packing up, I can’t shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen.
“I don’t think they’re going to like it if we check out and there’s a path worn into the floor,” Arlo says quietly with a smile as he slips out of Cali’s room. “What’s wrong?”
I shrug, “I don’t know.”
He reaches out and takes my hand, leading me to the kitchenette. “Then, let’s figure it out.”
I can’t help but smile at that.
Arlo got slapped with a pack of assholes, some of the crabbiest, moodiest men, and he’s somehow still so sweet.
Hopefully that doesn’t change the longer we’re together.
“Are you hungry?” he asks as I lean against the counter. “Ves gets hangry and I have a feeling you might be the same way.”
I am, and I love that he’s already figured it out, but… “I’m good.”
Arlo turns to me and gives me a knowing look. “You skipped breakfast, picked at lunch, and we aren’t having dinner until after the show.”
“True.”
“You need a snack.” He goes back to the fridge and pulls out a soda, some cheese, fruit, then reaches into the cupboard and grabs the cashews. “Something with protein that will hold you over until then.”
“You don’t have to feed me, Arlo. I’m a big boy, I can get myself something if I—”
“I know,” he says as he glances back at me, a blush racing up his neck. “I like the idea of being able to take care of you. All of you. It’s going to take a little time for me to figure out how to do it, it’s not like I have a lot of experience, but I want to make all of you happy.”
I step up behind him, stilling his hands before I turn him to face me. “You make us happy, little omega. You don’t have to perform any kind of service or whatever. Just you being you.”
His blush deepens and he gives me a shy smile. “But I—”
“Just you,” I say as I shake my head and lift my hand, stroking his cheek with my knuckles.
I smile as he leans into my touch, dipping my chin and brushing my lips against his before I press them firmly for our first kiss.
What a kiss it is.
Lemon cake fills my senses as I grip his neck, pushing my tongue into his mouth, tangling them as Arlo whimpers.
“Just you,” I whisper as I break the kiss and drop my forehead to his. “We’re happy because we have you, and that’s what you need to remember.”
“Okay,” he says a little breathlessly. “But maybe… maybe my love language is acts of service?”
I bark out a laugh as he giggles. “Maybe.”
“So, you should eat what I make.”
“Got a bossy streak, little omega?”
He shrugs and goes back to prepping my snack. “If you aren’t hangry, what’s bothering you?”
“I’m not sure.” I lean against the sink behind him and watch my omega work. “There’s just something nagging at me.”
“Well, it’s not one of us.”
“No.” He’s not wrong about that. It isn’t, I just don’t get why having my pack here hasn’t calmed me down.
“Cali is napping, and she’s been so excited about having you and Lennox here, I doubt it has anything to do with her.”
Once again, I tend to agree.
Talk about a kid who goes with the flow.
Her entire world has been flipped upside down ever since Arlo entered it, and she’s been understanding and accepting of everything that’s happened since.
And he’s right, she’s been excited every step of the way.
I think it’s only a matter of time before she’s asking what to call all of us aside from our names.
I’m not worried about Calista at all when it comes to all of this.
“Wait,” Arlo says as he turns around and holds out the plate. “It is her.”
I frown as I take a cube of cheddar and pop it into my mouth.
“I know exactly what’s bothering you.”
“Do tell.”
He smiles and folds his arms against his chest. “You don’t want to go to the show tonight.”
Well, he’s not wrong.
I don’t want to go, it’s not my scene in any sense of the phrase, but I’m going.
It’s Lennox’s show, his troupe, and I’ll be there to support my alpha without question.
Besides, Calista asked me to go.
That little girl grabbed my face, looked me right in the eyes, and asked me to go to the show so we could all be there together as a family. She didn’t even care that she may be bored, she is all in. How am I supposed to say no to something like that?
I didn’t, and while this is the last thing I want to do, I’m doing it for my pack, my family.
So, yeah, that might be part of my feeling of doom, but it’s not all of it.
Something Arlo clearly sees on my face.
“It’s not just that, though.” He tilts his head and looks me up and down, perfuming despite the way he’s trying to be serious. “Uhm,” Arlo stammers as he clears his throat. “Maybe it’s Ves and his case.”
“Could be,” I grin as I take a step forward. “He’s pretty stressed.”
“He is,” Arlo whispers as I close the space between us. “The new body. No ID on the last one. He’s kind of a ticking timebomb.”
I nod and slide my hands over his hips, pulling him flush against me. “Mhm.”
“You’re probably worried about that.”
“Probably.” I grab his ass and knead the taught muscle, rolling my hips against his, my omega gasping when he feels how hard my cock is. “Could be that.”
Honestly, that’s more on point.
I kept Ves from going too nutty on that beach, but I don’t think that was the end of how far he’s willing to go to solve this case.
Obsession seems to be a common trait in our pack, and there is more to come on that front.
But again, why would I feel like it’s going to be a problem tonight?
“If it’s not,” Arlo whimpers as I bury my face in his neck. “What… What else could it be?”
I don’t know, and I’m done talking about it for now.
“Maybe I’m on edge,” I whisper as I nip at his throat. “Because everyone else is getting fucked, and I’m not.” I rub my cheek against his as I slip my hands under the back of his shirt and pull it above his head. “Cali asleep?”
“Mhm.” Arlo tugs my hoodie off as soon as I drop his t-shirt to the ground. “She’s conked out with Rufus in her room.”
“Perfect.” Not that I’m not down for the four of us going at it as soon as possible, but Lennox is already with his troupe getting ready for the show, and Ves is meeting us from work.
The four of us can handle our shit later, but I’ve been fantasizing about this man since I first realized he was my scent match. I’ll take the opportunity to make him mine now without question.
Arlo eagerly pushes his shorts down his legs, revealing lean muscle and a perfect body along with his dick standing at attention and leaking a steady stream of slick.
“Undo my belt,” I growl as his hands fly to the buckle, dropping my jeans and wrapping his hand around my cock before I finish my command. “Such a good boy, aren’t you?”
I watch my omega drop to his knees and eagerly lick up my shaft, quickly taking me into his mouth as he begins to suck.
“Fuck,” I groan as I fist his hair, watching intently as he works my cock. “Such a good fucking boy, Arlo. My sweet, good little omega.”
He moans and his free hand moves to his dick, stroking himself in time with the way he’s sucking me off, and the sight has my balls drawing tight and my knot pulsing.
“Stand up,” I grunt, grinning as he does as I say with a whine. “Turn around, hands on the counter, and spread your legs.”
Again, Arlo follows my orders effortlessly and when I see his asshole dripping with slick, lemon flavored honey rolling down the back of his thighs, I growl.
“Beautiful.” I reach out and collect his slick, coating my fingers before slipping two inside his tight hole, working him slowly as my omega moans. “So fucking beautiful.”
Arlo pushes back against me, taking my fingers down to the knuckle, working himself on them until he’s picking up his pace.
“You want my cock in your ass, omega? Want me to knot your hole and make you mine?”
“Yes,” he hisses as I remove my fingers, using the abundance of slick to coat my cock. “Please, alpha. I need it.”
Without warning, I push the tip of my erection into his hole, the swollen head gliding in easily as my omega presents himself, taking more and more of my cock until I’m buried to the knot.
Fuck. “Fuck, you are so goddamn tight.”
Arlo nods and gasps as I pull back, sliding almost all the way out before I slam into him.
And that sets me off.
The feel of his ass, his perfume practically replacing all of the oxygen in the room, his slick coating my hips and thighs. It pushes me right to the edge and I start pounding into him.
“So fucking good, little omega.” I reach around and fist his dick, pumping it to match my thrusts. “You’re such a sweet boy. My good boy who wants to get knotted and bitten by his alpha, aren’t you?”
“Yes!” he cries out as my knot slips inside his hole. “Alpha, please!”
I pound into him over and over, pistoning my hips at a brutal pace, stroking his cock to the same rhythm and when I feel the first rope of his cum hit my palm, I snap.
I slam into him one final time, my knot thickening and holding us in place, my cum firing into his body as I bend and sink my teeth into the back of his shoulder and instantly feel our bond click into place.
Arlo starts to scream out his release and I quickly reach around to muffle it but when I do, my omega surprises me.
As soon as I remove my teeth, he maneuvers his body, turning around mid-orgasm while knotted on my cock, wraps his legs around my waist and pulls me close enough to bite the shit out of my chest.
“Fuck,” I growl out as I see stars, my cum spilling from his ass in a never ending climax, his spurting against my stomach as he does the same.
I can feel our bond, feel it stitching itself in my DNA, and after what feels like an eternity, I finally stop coming all over us.
“Don’t tell Ves we did that in the kitchen,” Arlo pants as he starts to laugh. “I know he’s filthy but he’s kind of a neat freak, and I’m not sure how he’ll feel about the bodily fluids by the food.”
I bark out a laugh and kiss my omega then wrap my arms around him and pull him to me.
Ves isn’t going to give a shit about that, I don’t have to ask to know, and eventually Arlo will learn that, too.
I’m a little surprised he doesn't know already, our omega would lick his slick or cum from every piece of fruit in this kitchen with a smile on his face, but then again, I guess that goes hand in hand with our chat yesterday.
It’ll take time for all of us to completely settle into our new life, and I plan on enjoying every minute of it before and after we do.