Chapter 16
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
GLENN
I drive us back home, Arbor’s eyes watering a little too much for him to see clearly, but I don’t mind doing it. I like taking care of Arbor.
But as I drive, I have a lot on my mind. Red fucking with Skye, the way Arbor shrank in on himself when Jex told him he couldn’t take part in the town hall meeting…
I didn’t like it at all.
I don’t like them at all.
His hand curled around mine as we pulled out of the dirt drive, and it hasn’t left since. I set my truck keys in the cupholder and shot Forest a text to let him know where I was going. He hasn’t responded, but I know he’ll be just fine. He seems to be in his element up there.
Arbor, however, feels completely out of sorts. I can feel it somewhere deep inside me. Is it the spring water we shared? Is it something we did in that cave?
Either way, his mood is affecting me. Is this what being mated feels like? A fraction, even?
Fuck, it’s intense, whatever it is.
I stop at a fast-food restaurant and grab us something to eat and drink, making sure Arbor eats what he can. I can tell he’s upset, not only from his muted scent of peppercorn and citrus, but I know his mind is processing everything in real time.
There are moments on the drive when he just blurts everything out and times when he’s completely silent, mulling over what happened again and again. He likes to ruminate on things.
It makes me like him even more.
“I mean, I always knew I wasn’t their favorite, but to hear it…it hurt my feelings.”
“That would hurt mine too,” I reply.
“Yeah. Assholes. It’s not like I meant to be born this way. It’s just who I am.”
“And you’re perfect the way you are.”
“Shut up,” Arbor says, but he swipes at his eyes, and his scent changes slightly, warm and deep. Erotic. “You’re making my eyes leak.”
“Wouldn’t want that.”
He makes a face at me, and I squeeze his hand.
“I know why I was really hired as superintendent,” he says quietly, and I peer over at him for a moment.
“Because you are qualified?”
“No, because I’m part fae, and the company wanted me for optics. They thought it would look good if a fae was managing the site, to appease any lingering protestors over the building on the supposed sacred land.”
“But you’re good at your job.”
He sighs and squeezes his eyes shut. “But it feels like I didn’t earn it. It sometimes feels like I’m never going to be good enough.”
“You are good enough. You fucking earned that job. I promise. Jericho wouldn’t put just anyone on site like that.”
He groans after a long moment. “How much longer do we have?”
“An hour.”
“An hour seems like an eternity. I’m really trying to behave myself, but when you talk so nicely to me, I’m getting all sorts of ideas.”
“Since when have you ever behaved like you should?” I ask, and he scowls at me.
“I am the pinnacle of professionalism, just so you know, Mr. Barrett.”
“That you are, Mr. Wren. Especially when I have you bent over the desk with my tongue up your ass.”
I can sense the shift in the mood, the way his scent subtly shifts. He has been trying his best to behave himself, but right now, it seems he’s let the tether loose.
“If you don’t stop talking like that, I may lean over and do things to you.”
“I wouldn’t be opposed,” I reply, and Arbor huffs.
“The water makes it more intense. I think you’d crash, and we’d both die.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “We wouldn’t want that. No more sex talk until we get back to my place.”
Arbor adjusts himself and sighs. “Yes, no more. How should we distract ourselves, then? An hour is a long time. Do you want to speculate about Red and what he got himself into?”
“Not really. Couldn’t give two shits about the man, especially since he hurt Skye. I hope he gets what’s coming to him.”
“Yeah, he always was an odd one,” Arbor says, leaning his head against the headrest and turning to look at me. “I think I may have seen him with the fae, though. The night you stopped me from going to Pit Stop. I felt some kind of recognition, but I don’t know. I can’t be sure.”
“And it’s not your problem to deal with. Just because Red got caught up with a fae doesn’t mean you have to get involved. This has nothing to do with you.”
“I feel like it does.”
“It doesn’t. They wouldn’t even let you into the damn town hall. They can fuck off and deal with this alone.”
The anger in my voice has him sniffling again, and I can almost feel the wave of lust and desire moving through him. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“I usually am.”
Arbor rolls his eyes, but I can feel the affection squeeze at my heart. “How about this? Why don’t you tell me about your family? I want to hear more about them.”
“Told you most of it. And like I said, it’s boring. My life is predictable and beige.”
“I want to hear all the stories you can think of.”
And so I tell him for the rest of the drive home. Stories about my parents, my siblings, and the occasional shenanigans we got into. Specifically, the one time I blew up a tool chest and ended up with a piece of it lodged in my shoulder.
“Gods, what were you thinking?” he asks, his eyes wide, but his lips twitching.
“I wasn’t. I was a teen.”
“Your parents must have been horrified.”
“My mom was. My dad gave me a high-five before rushing me to the ER.”
“Of course he did. I swear, you alphas are terrible.”
I pull down the road that leads to my place. “Might be terrible, but you still want me.”
Arbor shifts in his seat. “How can you tell?”
I reach over and tug the pendant from his shirt. It falls against the fabric, and he strokes it.
“Take it off. I want to smell you.”
His cheeks flame, but he does as I ask, placing it in his pocket as we come to a stop near my house. The werewolf trio is suspiciously absent, but I see a piece of paper fluttering against my door.
“What’s that, you think?” Arbor asks as I push the door open, pissed that I have to exit the car just when his scent was getting good.
“Let’s go see.”
I wait for him to move up next to me and clasp his hand, guiding him up the steps.
He pulls the paper from the door and reads it.
“Thanks for hosting us, but we found a new place to hang for a bit. Took one of the cats. Come by and see us at Buttered Blessings. They have the best cheese.”
Arbor meets my stare. “Poor Eudora. Should we go rescue her?”
“No. From what you told me about her, she seems able to handle this on her own.”
Arbor laughs, and I pull him into me, pressing my lips to his, tasting sweet vanilla and thick honey on his tongue.
He moans against me, his cock thickening.
“You know what we should do?” Arbor says, his voice husky.
“What?” I ask, wanting to pull him inside and impale him on me. I’ve been waiting hours for this, longer if you consider the drive up when I didn’t have him near me.
This obsession isn’t healthy, but I can’t be fucked to care.
“How about we sneak into the construction site, you wear your tool belt and…” His scent floats around me, thick and heady. I inhale.
“And?” I ask, arching my cock into his.
He groans, his hands flexing against my shoulders. “And you take me over my desk again.”
“Mm,” I hum and then kiss him again. “We can do that, but first, I want you right here. I’ve been waiting too fucking long.”
Arbor groans as I slide my hand down the back of his pants and touch his wet hole.
“How about right here?” I murmur into his ear, pushing a finger into him, making him gasp.
His moan slips from his mouth, and I cover it with my own, pushing my tongue inside of him and tasting him. Fuck, it’s exactly like vanilla ice cream. Sweet, delicious.
As I suck on his tongue, my finger swirling inside of him, his hands fumble with his zipper, wrenching his pants down.
“More,” he moans as I push a second finger into him.
His pants are now pooled around his ankles, his bare cock pressed up against me.
My fingers find his prostate, and he gasps, his cock spurting slightly.
“I need you inside me. Please,” Arbor begs.
So I give him what he wants. I spin him around, his hands falling against the porch rail, his ass arched out.
With a flick of my wrist, I yank my pants down and guide my cock into his hole. He takes me easily, and I slide home in mere seconds. Arbor’s head falls back, his mouth open in shallow pants.
“Yes. Yes. Please.”
I can feel his need buzzing inside of me, welling up, begging for more. To make him mine. We ignored it on the ride home, but I felt it. That hum of desperation, of possession.
I lick up his neck and then bite down on his shoulder, rougher than normal, leaving a mark.
“Mine,” I whisper.
“Yes! Yours!” Arbor screams as I slam into him, dragging my teeth up to his neck. I shouldn’t. I really shouldn’t, but fuck, I want to.
“Please,” Arbor begs, meeting my slamming hips with his ass. He’s so warm, tight. Slick.
That low buzz grows to a sharp ache, and I leave my lips against his neck, feeling the throb of his vein against me.
“Mark me. Fucking. Mark. Me!”
I want to. Fuck I do. But I want him to really think about it, to not be in the heat of the moment. I want him to be sure.
I lick my way up his candy-coated skin, dragging my teeth against him as I fist his cock.
He arches into it, his hips giving needy little pumps as he works himself closer to the edge.
“Glenn, please,” he begs, but I don’t give him that.
“Not yet, sweetheart,” I murmur into his ear.
Instead, I take him harder, tightening my fist, feeling his orgasm crest. My lips suck on his skin, tempting me, that magic winding so tightly inside of me I want to disregard it all and mark him now, but I don’t. I resist. We have time.
He said until after the next full moon.
There’s no rush. I want it to be perfect for him.
My release empties inside of him, and I feel his cum dripping down my fingers and onto the porch as we attempt to find our breath.
“Fuck, you didn’t mark me,” Arbor whines, and I pull out of him, turning his head slightly so I can kiss his mouth.
“I know. We have time. Let’s just enjoy it. I want you to be sure. I want your fae to be sure.”
He blinks up at me and nods. “Why are you so good?”
“An alpha always should be good to his omega.”
He sighs, and our foreheads press together.
“All right, well, I still want to go to the construction site, but I’m hungry and kind of tired.”
“Let’s go tomorrow. There’s no rush,” I tell him, and he scoffs as he pulls up his pants, rain falling from the sky once more.
“Your patience is going to be the death of me.”
I wrap him in my arms and drag him inside. “No dying. It’s not allowed.”
“Then make me happy, and I’ll try to stay alive.”
“That,” I say as I close the door behind us and lock it. “I can do.”
We have a lazy night and morning, teasing ourselves silly as that magical water bond weaves its way through us. I can’t stop touching him, and he seems to feel the same about me.
“It’s Sunday. You really want to go to work?” I ask Arbor as we lie in bed, the two of us catching our breath. He simply sits up and rolls his eyes at me, swiping at his lips, my cum still lingering there.
“It’s not work if we’re fucking. Do you really want to ruin my sexy dream?”
I nudge him with my leg and throw an arm over my face. “Wouldn’t want to get in the way of your dreams, babe.”
He crawls up between my legs and flattens himself against me.
“Well then, babe, let’s go. And bring your tool belt and maybe a hammer. Show me how it’s done. And it’s perfect because we don’t have to be quiet when no one’s there.”
“You do know security could be there,” I say, and he shuts me up with a press of his lips to mine. We kiss like that for long minutes, our cocks rallying and hard by the time he leans away.
“Can you just get up, put on some clothes, and fuck me over my desk with a tool belt on?”
I let out a laugh at how annoyed he seems.
“You know, I’d never say no to you.”
“Good. And you shouldn’t. Or I’ll write you up.”
“A very bad worker?” I ask as he slides off me and pulls on his pants.
“Yes, one who needs to be punished…or well, I want to be the one being punished, so we’ll have to work on our script.”
I let out another chuckle as I roll up and throw on some boxers.
“All right, Boss. Whatever you say.”