Chapter Thirty-Nine
Calder
Calder locked the door after the last customer and flipped the sign in the window.
Felton’s closed at four on Sundays and he was eager to unwind.
When Zinn had asked for some time alone last night after everything that happened with the Pashuks, Calder hadn’t been too disappointed, but he hoped one day the omega would want to process those issues together.
But they had made progress. Zinn leaned on him yesterday during that impossible conversation with Wes and Assa, when he told them Calder was his alpha, and he had texted that morning to let Calder know how he was doing and about taking the pregnancy test.
Calder was overjoyed about the baby. And now that Zinn had answers about his firstborn son, a cloud had lifted from their lives.
They had so many reasons to be happy. That was why he could be patient waiting for the omega to return his love, to seek it and rely on it.
He had a lifetime to show Zinn how good they were together.
When he let himself into the house, it was silent. Jordie was at the pizzeria, but where was Ked? Checking his phone, he saw he’d missed a text. Ked was at a friend’s place running lines for the school play.
Calder closed his eyes. He should enjoy the quiet. Once the baby arrived, there would be a lot less of it. At least he hoped so. He and Zinn had not made any firm plans to move in together, although they’d discussed it. Yet another thing that needed time to fall into place.
Soft knocks on the back door brought him out of his musings. Peeking out through the kitchen window curtains, he saw Zinn on his porch.
“This is a nice surprise.”
“Well, cap, I have a present for you,” Zinn said, entering quickly. “One that couldn’t wait.”
Although Calder had expected it, he still grinned like a lunatic when Zinn slipped the positive pregnancy test into his hand.
“I’ve already told you, but this is the best news ever.”
Zinn returned his grin. “I never imagined feeling this way again. Excited about the future.”
Calder reached for him, but Zinn rocked back on his heels. “No. Let me get this out.”
Calder’s lips flattened but he nodded.
“I’ve had a lot of time to think over the past twenty-four hours, ever since I saw Ryde.
And I keep coming back to the idea that in every version of my future, you’re there.
Before this baby, even before you offered to help with my heat, you offered your friendship like a lifeline.
Whether you were the Calder who took a chance and gave me a job, the Calder who let me get to know his sons, the Calder who suggested I design cakes, or any of the other Calders who was there for me, even when I pushed you away. You were always making me feel safe.”
“It’s been my privilege, sunshine. Doing all those things for you brought me back to life as well.”
“I meant what I said last night. You’re my alpha. And in every way that counts, you have been for a long time. You’re my alpha in the way I always imagined it could be.”
“I love you.” The words popped out of Calder’s mouth without warning, straight from his inner alpha. He inhaled Zinn’s sugar maple aroma. It was mixed with something else now. His own scent. Because they’d made a baby.
Zinn ground his hands together. “Cap?”
“Hmm?”
“I love you too.”
Calder’s head snapped back. He hadn’t expected to hear those words, not yet.
And Zinn had more words.
“I love you. And I don’t want to spend any more time being afraid of trusting you or this happiness.
For the first time in my life, I can take what I want with no conditions.
No questions asked. No one telling me it’s wrong or that I’m not allowed to decide.
” Zinn hoisted himself up onto the counter, crooking his finger at Calder. “Come here, alpha.”
Calder’s knees nearly buckled at the omega’s gravelly voice. The hungry look in his eyes. He moved forward until he stood between Zinn’s spread thighs. “Here I am.”
Zinn wrapped his legs around Calder’s waist and looped his arms around his neck.
He pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the patch of skin exposed by the undone buttons of Calder’s shirt.
“I’ve never made love to anyone outside of heat,” Zinn mumbled into his chest. He looked up.
“Will you make love to me? Make me yours not because of this baby or because you want to keep me safe, but because we choose each other.”
Calder leaned down to kiss his lips softly. “Anything you want, my omega.”
He laced his fingers beneath Zinn’s ass and carried him toward the stairs. He was no longer a widower who had buried his heart with Denni, just as Zinn was no longer the omega whose parents had stolen his life. They were two men who had decided to live.
In his bedroom, Calder deposited Zinn gently on the mattress. He kicked off his shoes and removed both their shirts before kneeling in front of the omega to take off his socks and shoes.
“What do you want?” he asked.
Zinn looked half-drunk as Calder rubbed the arches of his feet. “I don’t know,” he said dazedly. “Other than you inside me.” Suddenly, he sat up straighter. “The boys are out, right?”
Calder laughed. “We have at least a few hours.”
“That’s good. So we can take our time.”
“Yes. We’ll get to the part where I’m inside you—I want that too—but I plan to enjoy this. Savor it.”
Zinn offered another lazy smile. “I never imagined anyone savoring me.”
Calder kissed Zinn’s ankle before tugging off his pants. Within moments, both of them were naked and he was back on his knees before the omega. He worshipped him with his eyes as his hands massaged his calves. Zinn fell backward onto his elbows, humming his pleasure.
As Calder paid homage to the sweet dimples behind Zinn’s knees, he had a flash of memory. Fumbling through sex with Denni. Calder had been so young, and often felt inept in the bedroom, especially the first few years.
With Zinn, it was the opposite. He was clear-headed and sure of himself, all-in from the moment he’d offered to service Zinn’s heat. And he planned to make sure his omega enjoyed every benefit of his confidence and experience.
“Your scent is so strong,” Zinn whispered. “Pine and clove like a holiday forest. It’s hitting me like a drug.”
“Those are your pregnancy hormones talking.” Calder trailed his mouth up Zinn’s chest, urging him onto his back until he was braced on his forearms above him. “Because you have a piece of me inside you.” He nosed into Zinn’s neck, scenting him urgently. His tongue lapped over the sensitive skin.
He grazed it with his teeth, then sucked down hard.
Zinn let out a wild keen and arched his spine. Their cocks brushed.
Calder licked his palm and reached between them to squeeze their shafts together. He jerked them until pre-cum leaked from their tips, making the glide smooth and effortless. Zinn placed his hand over Calder’s so they could share the rhythm.
“It’s amazing,” Zinn said, awed. “Who knew rubbing our dicks together could feel so good?”
Calder barked a laugh. He could hardly believe that this man, somehow both fierce and innocent, was in bed with him. He sensed Zinn getting close to the edge and loosened his grip.
“If you like that, perhaps you will like this.”
He had taken Zinn in his mouth a few times during his heat, but the omega had been pretty far gone.
This time, when Calder touched his tongue to the sensitive underside of Zinn’s cockhead before swallowing it, he knew Zinn felt every sensation.
The omega pushed his heels against the sheets as he groaned.
Calder worked Zinn’s shaft down his throat, nuzzling into the dark curls at his groin. He hummed and suctioned his cheeks, listening for the subtle noises and breathy sounds that told him what Zinn liked.
“I want to do this for you,” Zinn rasped.
“You will,” Calder promised around a mouthful of cock. “But right now, I just want to worship you and show you how grateful I am that we found our way to each other.”
He popped off so he could watch Zinn’s face as he moved a finger to his hole, finding the rim slick and open. He pushed in and easily added a second finger, crooking them until he hit the spot inside Zinn that had him crying out.
“You should stop,” Zinn panted. He squeezed around Calder’s fingers. “I don’t want to come too soon.”
Calder patted his thigh. “If you come, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Being pregnant makes it easier for you to have multiple orgasms in a short time frame.”
As he spoke, he realized he wasn’t sure how much Zinn even knew about his sexuality, about his own body, considering his parents’ control over him.
He didn’t seem to be one of those omegas who felt shame in pleasure—thank stars for that—but had his fathers given him this particular knowledge?
Zinn’s next words answered the question.
“I know. My parents gave me books about sex and pregnancy after I turned eighteen. But reading about it is different.”
Calder pulled his fingers free and kissed Zinn’s belly. “Just a little,” he laughed.
Shuffling down the bed, he leaned in and licked a stripe up Zinn’s crease.
The omega yelped.
“Okay?” Calder asked, concerned.
“Yes.” Zinn breathed shallowly. “I don’t think I was ready for just how okay it was.”
Calder chuckled and returned to his task. This time, he did more than lick into Zinn’s ass. He held both cheeks open and dove in with his tongue, circling the rim mercilessly before working it into the passage. Zinn’s slick tasted amazing, and he shook and shivered as Calder ate him out thoroughly.
Finally, Calder pulled away, sitting back on his haunches as his own cock screamed for attention. Zinn peered up at him. “So, non-heat sex is alright,” he said wryly.
Calder smiled before his expression dissolved into something more serious. “I’m going to be inside you now.”
“Yes.”
Zinn lay against the pillows and Calder pressed his knees to his shoulders, lining his cock up with Zinn’s hole. “I love you, my omega.” He thrust powerfully.