24. Elliott #3
Frowning, I looked from him to the house, simply not wanting to be away from him. “I think I have separation anxiety,” I admitted.
“I’ll come with you, then,” Jet said, and that was that.
I knocked on the front door, since I didn’t have my key.
“Elliott!” Ren cried when he saw me. Stepping back, he motioned me and Jet inside. Sniffing the air as we passed, an odd look came over his face. “You smell different, Jet.”
Jet raised a brow. “I do?”
Annoyed, I stepped between Jet and Ren. “Stop sniffing him!”
Ren’s eyes widened. “I can’t help it! He’s not on suppressants anymore, is he? And maybe being mated makes him smell differently, too.”
Pointing at the couch, I said, “Go over there. If I catch you smelling him again, being my friend isn’t going to help you.”
The others, who had been sitting in the living room playing a video game on the TV, began to cackle.
“Damn, look at El being all possessive of his man!” Zeke said.
“Never thought I’d see the day, did you?” Solomon asked.
Ignoring them, I grabbed one of the kitchen chairs and plopped it down as far away from everyone else as I could. “Sit here,” I told Jet. “And quit smirking.” It was only too obvious that he was enjoying my jealous side.
I joined the others in the living room.
“Still mad at me?” Keane asked, moving to make room for me to sit beside him.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m mad at every single person who was involved in keeping me and Jet apart yesterday.”
“Wow, I’m impressed,” Camp said, grinning. “You tell him.”
Keane glared at him.
“Keane was only trying to help, though,” Ren protested.
“Really? All I remember is he kept me from being with Jet,” I said.
I knew Keane was giving me puppy eyes, but I refused to look at him.
“I came to pack up some stuff because Jet and I are going to stay in Jackson’s camper,” I told them.
Ren looked upset. “Why are you doing that?”
“Are you seriously that na?ve?” Riku turned to his brother. “They’re mated, dummy! They want to be alone together.”
“Oh,” Ren said, fiddling with a thread in his shorts for a moment before looking up and asking in a small voice, “Everything’s different now, isn’t it?”
With an impatient groan, Riku said, “Earth to Ren; we’re free now. This is a good thing.”
“Fuck you,” Ren said, tired of his twin’s verbal abuse. Turning back to me, he said, “What I mean is, you’re mated. And we don’t have to stay here anymore, do we.”
Swallowing, I shook my head, feeling suddenly wrong-footed.
“I didn’t intend to mate Jet. I mean, I didn’t mean to do it so quickly like that. It just happened. I’m sorry that I just came back and now we aren’t going to be together. But I can’t…not be with Jet. Right now, I…just can’t.”
“We get it, El,” Camp said. “We know how it works.”
I guess they did. I’d never paid much attention when they talked about alpha/omega dynamics; but unlike me, they all looked forward to mating someone.
“The important thing is, we’re going to be able to do whatever we want to do,” Zeke said. “Maybe not right away; I don’t know how the public is going to feel about us. Jackson’s parents say there’s going to have to be some damage repair after all the bad publicity about omegas over the years.”
“I don’t think we’ll be kicked off the ranch, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Keane told Ren. “We can stay here and work.”
“But some of you will leave,” Ren said.
“I, for one, will,” Riku stated confidently. “I’m going to talk to Kris and Jermaine Gatlin about getting into the special ops alphas.”
“Ignoring the obvious fact that you are not an alpha, does the SOS even need special ops alphas anymore?“ Solomon asked.
Riku scoffed, “Of course they do! There will be plenty of jerks who refuse to give omegas their rights that the ops alphas will have to beat into submission.”
Beside me, Keane barked out a laugh. “Good gods, Riku!”
“Kris will probably follow up on getting us each an alpha if we want him to,” Zeke said. “You can ask him, Ren.”
“I know one therapist who will be sad that he can’t have you,” Riku teased, nudging his twin with his elbow.
Ren frowned. “Huh?”
“I think I got the majority of the brains when we shared a womb,” Riku said, shaking his head.
“He’s talking about Dallas,” I explained to Ren. “Haven’t you noticed that he likes you?”
Ren’s face cleared. “Oh. I like Dallas. I wouldn’t mind mating with him.”
Looking like he was ready to pull his hair out, Riku exclaimed, “He’s a beta, idiot! You can’t mate a beta!”
Ren crossed his arms over his chest. “Why can’t I?”
Dropping his head back against the back of the couch, Riku pleaded, “Someone else please explain it to him?”
Solomon, who was sitting on one of the beanbags on the floor, said, “Ren. A beta can’t satisfy an omega’s needs in bed. Period, end of story. If you were to mate Dallas, when you went into heat, you’d probably kill him.”
Ren’s mouth dropped open. “Kill him?”
Riku’s head shot up, eyes suddenly gleeful. “Yeah, bro. As in, you’d fuck him to death.”
“Stop teasing him, Reeky,“ I rebuked him.
Riku shot me the bird.
Patting Ren’s back, I said, “Dallas wouldn’t die, Ren. He wouldn’t be able to keep up with you, that’s all. And, in the end, that would damage your relationship as mates.”
“Oh.” Ren frowned as he thought it through.
Nudging me with his elbow, Keane said, “El. Can we talk a minute alone? Please?”
I looked over my shoulder at Jet, because the needy baby that I’d become worried he’d disappear while I was gone.
Jet winked at me. “Take your time. I’ll be right here when you get back.”
Reluctantly, I got up from the couch, but before following Keane, I looked around at the faces of my brothers. “Nobody touch him. I mean it.”
Their laughter followed me down the hall.
“Leave it open,” I said when Keane started to close the bedroom door.
He did, then, walking over to the bed we shared, he sat down. Warily, I sat next to him.
“Can you stop being angry with me, please?”
When I sent him a sharp look, he continued, “All I did was go over there to talk to you when Laura asked me to. I was just as determined to make sure you weren’t coerced into anything as she was.
” He poked at my lower lip, which might have been sticking out.
“I kept trying to get you to explain things to me, but you wouldn’t stop crying long enough to do it.
” Softening his tone, he said, “I understand, though. I’ve heard how difficult it is for omegas to be away from their mates at first. But I wanted to be sure.
You know I love you, El. If Jet makes you happy, I’m happy for you.
I never wanted you to be alone for the rest of your life.
Honestly, I was planning to never mate and stay with you so you wouldn’t be alone. ”
My chin started trembling as tears filled my eyes. “It just felt like everyone in that room was against me.”
“I’m never against you. I thought you knew that.”
Tears escaped my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. “I’m sorry.”
“I understand it had something to do with being newly mated. But I can’t stand for you to continue being angry with me.”
Sniffling, I looked around the room.
“Everything’s changed. We’re never going to share a bed again, or whisper to each other while the other guys sleep. I’d rather stay mad at you. That way, I won’t miss you so terribly.”
A small sob escaped my lips, and I clamped my hand over my mouth.
Hugging me, Keane stroked my hair. “It’s going to be okay. We may not do those things, but there will be other experiences to share.”
“What if we don’t live close to each other anymore?”
Keane smiled. “What if we do? You can’t get rid of me that easily, El.”
I laughed, squeezing him. “Thank you for being such a good friend.”
Wiping my tears with the backs of my hands, I said, “Help me pack, would you? Oh, and can I borrow your backpack? Mine got lost in the facility, along with all my money.”
“Well, that sucks,” Keane said, getting up to grab his backpack from a hook in the closet.
“Tell me about it. I’d saved all my goat soap money.”
“You should totally name it that. ‘Goat soap, for when you want to smell like a goat.’”
We both started laughing, and it was a while before we got down to packing my clothes and personal items.
Before I left the house, I hugged each of my brothers.
“Come visit every day,” Zeke said, squeezing me tightly.
“I will. I promise.”
By the time Jet and I pulled the four-wheeler in front of the camper, the horizon bloomed with flaming shades of red, gold, and purple.
Jackson and Carter had left a note on the counter that there was food in the small refrigerator for us, so I took out the containers and prepared two plates.
“Sorry I took so long talking to my friends,” I said, pulling up my legs to sit cross-legged on the bed while I ate.
“I enjoyed listening to all of you interact, actually. You’re like a little family,” Jet said.
I smiled. “We are. I miss them already.” I salted the chicken leg on my plate and took a bite. “Mm. I love cold chicken. I’m not kidding.” I licked my fingertips. “So good.”
When I glanced up, Jet was staring at me with that look in his eyes that I’d come to know meant that he wanted to fuck me hard. Mouth suddenly dry, I struggled to swallow my last bite of chicken.
Taking my hand, Jet brought my fingers to his mouth and gently sucked the food off each of them, his gaze never leaving mine. I stared into his dark-brown eyes with their flecks of chestnut while his hot tongue laved over my skin. Gods, he was sexy.
“Delicious,” Jet said, releasing my hand.
His gaze moved to my mouth. “I need more.” Leaning forward, he gently pressed his warm mouth to mine.
Closing my eyes, I felt him flick his tongue over my lips, followed by a soft puff of his breath before he slipped his tongue into my mouth.
A soft, needy noise escaped my throat as I abandoned my food and wrapped my arms around his neck.
We kissed for a long while, our mouths moving over each other again and again.
When Jet finally pulled back, I licked my lips and sighed before picking up my plate again.