Chapter 38 #2
“You broke this whole thing wide open without the tools and intel available to an agent—one of the biggest cases in Black Guard history. A multi-province criminal and corruption case that might change the Palatinate as a whole. They see what you can do without them. They want you back.”
“I don’t know if I have the time and focus to do that kind of work after this baby comes.”
Jackson shrugged. “Think it over. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t. But the offer alone feels like an admission that they were wrong to force your retirement—and I hope that feels really fucking good.”
“It does,” Dash said, grinning. “I’ll think it over, but know I’m leaning towards a no.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised if that was your final answer. They don’t deserve you.” Jackson pressed his shoulder into Dash’s. “But I do.”
Dash frowned.
“Who do you think will be the station manager for the new Fort Seattle division?”
Dash grinned. “Congratu-fucking-lations.”
Jackson smiled broadly. “About time they put a man like me in charge. Of course, it’s all dependent on me getting the Red Guard in shape in time.”
“You’ll get there,” Dash said.
“No doubt.” He smiled softly. “I like this.”
“Like what?”
“This. It feels more like the way things used to be,” Jackson said. “I missed my friend, Dash. It’s good to have him back.”
Dash smiled. “It’s good to have you back, too. Especially now, knowing you’ll be based out of the province. We’ll get to see one another on occasion.”
Jackson winked before backing up two steps. “More if you take the job.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“If nothing else, you could remain a consultant and I can bug you for intel on occasion—or run tough cases past you that need a fresh eye.”
“That I can probably agree to. More? I don’t know.”
“I’ll take whatever I can get,” Jackson said, opening up the door to his Guard sedan. “Take care and tell Walker I said hello.”
“Will do.” Dash returned to where Harper was waiting on him. “Ready to head out?”
“Yes, sir,” Harper said, rounding to the driver’s door.
Dash smiled at the agent. He’d come to like the young man. He had good instincts. After he slid into the passenger side, he eyed Harper. “I hear you’re leading the next extraction.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “I am?”
Dash smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll have your back. Well, I’ll have your ear.”
“You won’t be there?”
“You’ll be fine,” Dash said. “I trust you.”
Harper smiled, starting the engine. “Is there a reason you won’t be there?”
Dash ran a hand over his swelling belly. “I’m assuming you’ve noticed some changes”
Harper’s cheeks grew red. “Yes, sir.”
“You know I’m not your boss, right? You don’t have to call me sir.”
“You’re the youngest man ever to be hired by the Black Guard, getting a nearly perfect score on their entrance exam.
Not only were you one of the first alphas, but you were also the first omega Guardsman agent in history—and their only hybrid consultant.
You’ve led over a hundred successful missions, and your capture rate is one of the highest in Guard history.
If all that doesn’t deserve the respectful title of ‘sir’, I don’t know what would. ” Harper paused. “Sir.”
Dash smiled to himself. “I don’t know if I should thank you for the ego boost or call you a kiss-ass.”
“Yes, sir,” Harper said.
Dash chuckled. “Mind dropping me off at home before you head back into the office? I’m exhausted and ready to call it a day.”
“What about our end of mission report, sir?”
Dash stretched his sore legs. “We can save it for tomorrow morning. Go home, rest up. We’ve had a long day.”
Harper smiled. “Yes, Sir.”
Emerson tossed the veggies in the pan, hoping he was doing Lucas proud.
The cooking lessons his brother had given him had helped give a little confidence, but he was still learning.
Still burning. Though, he hadn’t burned anything in at least a week.
When he heard a car door slam outside, he shut off the burner and walked to the door, swinging it open just as Dash approached.
“Hey, baby.”
“Hey,” Dash said, leaning close for a kiss.
When Emerson pulled away, he noticed a pair of Dash’s elderly neighbors walking past and frowning at them. He lifted his hand, waved, and smiled. “Evening.”
The pair sped up and didn’t respond.
“Assholes,” Emerson grumbled, ushering Dash inside.
Once the door was closed, he kissed his mate again. “Have a good day?”
“A great one. I just reunited Jaye Lachlin with his parents.”
“Seriously?” Emerson said. He dragged Dash in for a hug. “That’s wonderful news!”
Dash squeezed him tight. “For a while, I wasn’t sure we’d ever find him.”
“But you did. Because you’re amazing.” Emerson walked backwards. “I need to go finish dinner. Get comfy and come talk to me. I’ve got news of my own.”
“You can’t leave me hanging like that!”
Emerson spun and stalked towards the kitchen. “Just go get relaxed!”
After restarting the gas, Emerson finished sautéing the vegetables. By the time the noodles came out of the water and the sauce had been added to the wok, Dash appeared in pajama pants and a t-shirt, his tummy stretching the jersey material a bit.
Emerson couldn’t help himself. He crossed over to caress his mate’s expanding belly, sneaking a kiss, too. “Can you grab a couple of plates and some silverware out?”
“Got it,” Dash said.
“Want to eat at the island or dining room?”
“Living room,” Dash said. “The new season of Wickedly Ever After premiered today.”
“Oh, shit,” Emerson said. “The couch it is.”
Once they had plates, silverware, and drinks, they carried their meal to the living room and got comfy.
“What do we need to discuss?” Dash asked.
“I was offered a promotion today.”
“Oddly enough, so was I,” Dash said. “Well, a new job, that is.”
Emerson grinned. “What’s the offer?”
“No, you go first.”
“Dad’s lieutenant is retiring, and he wants me to fill the role.”
Dash grinned. “Wow. Impressive. Emerson Keller-Walker, Lieutenant Chief of the Fort Seattle Fire Department. It has a nice ring.”
Emerson smiled. “I always assumed he’d tap Harry for that position one day. Seems he’d always seen me one day taking over as chief. At least now I know why he’s always ridden me harder than Harry.”
“My only question is—I thought you were hoping to get back into the field?”
“I was, but I have a family to consider. This is better than the drudgery of investigations. At least, I think it is. I’d lead a whole battalion of firefighters.
I’d supervise the running of the Academy and be involved in the education of newbs.
I’d run logistics in larger emergencies, like explosions that destroy office buildings.
There will be a lot more excitement than reporting electrical fires to insurance companies. ”
“You seem excited. I’m happy for you.”
“I am,” Emerson said. “What’s this position you’ve been offered?”
“They’re opening a Black Guard field office here in Fort Seattle. Jackson is going to head it up and he’s asked that I stay on as a consultant after the abduction cases are completed. Help with research and intel—review the occasional tough case and offer insight.”
Emerson frowned. “They should offer you more as much as you’ve done for them.”
“Nah,” Dash said. “That ship has sailed. Plus, we have a baby on the way. I can’t be gallivanting all over the Palatinate anymore. I’m going to stick to a desk with my fingers on keys from now on. Research has always been my strong suit anyway.”
Emerson examined Dash’s face, narrowing his eyes.
“What?”
“Jackson already came to me and asked if I’d be okay with the job offer. I know they want you to handle an ops team. If that’s something you want, you should go for it. Maybe after the baby’s born, though?”
“He seriously came to my alpha and asked permission?” Dash said, rolling his eyes.
“Not permission so much as ensuring I wouldn’t get pissed by the offer and tear him a new asshole. I told him to go for it. I assumed you’d jump at the opportunity.”
“Six, seven months ago, I would have. My life is different now. My priorities have shifted. I need balance in my life, and I doubt I’d have that if I took the job. I also don’t know how much time I’d have for our child if I took it. I don’t want other people raising our kids, Em.”
“Kids? As in more than one?”
“We don’t know what comes next. We might have another down the road. If my body allows it.”
“You haven’t had this one yet,” Emerson said, smiling. “Maybe hold off decisions for more until then.”
“Nah,” Dash said, rubbing his belly. “This little boy deserves to have at least one sibling. Not seven of them, mind you, but I can handle two kids.”
Emerson gasped. “But I wanted eight, Dash.”
“Noooooo!”
Emerson roared with laughter.
Dash got up and sat on Emerson’s lap. “If you’re nice to me, we could start practicing for baby two tonight.”
“Aaaaah, we have to have baby one first.”
“I said try. Not necessarily succeed,” Dash replied. “Are you really that thick or do you not want to fuck me tonight?”
Emerson trembled. “Do we have to wait until after we eat?”
“I’m starving,” Dash said, sliding off Emerson’s lap. He reached for his plate. “And we have a show to watch.”
Emerson shook his head, lifting the remote. He opened the app, but it wouldn’t allow them to log-in.
“Damn it,” Emerson said. “I think Bayley has changed the password.”
“Oh, I’m going to kill him,” Dash said. He reached for his phone, starting a text to Bayley to ask for the credentials, but deleted it. “I’m going to get our own subscription. So there.”
A few minutes later, they turned on the first episode of Cinder’s season and ate their dinner, comfy together on the couch. Midway through the second episode, they stopped paying attention to the heat on the screen and made a little of their own.
Once they were both naked, Emerson laid Dash down on the couch, sliding between his mate’s thighs.
Dash’s hole was coated in slick. Since his pregnancy, he had produced the natural lube all the time, unlike before.
It made spontaneous sex a lot easier on the pair of them—and allowed only a little fingering to get Dash writhing and ready.
Emerson slid into his mate, thrusting gently as they kissed. On screen, Cinder danced around the ballroom, the music rising in tempo and pace. Emerson quickened his, thrusting into Dash along with the beat.
Dash moaned, locking his heels behind Emerson’s ass, keeping the strokes short and rapid. Emerson reached between them, using the same tempo to stroke his mate’s cock.
“I love you, Em,” Dash whispered against his lips. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, baby,” Emerson said, getting closer and closer to the edge.
When Dash’s body shook violently under him and wetness coated his palm, Emerson held tight to his control, wanting to ensure his mate got all the attention. His control snapped seconds later and he shattered, his knot locking them together as he came deep inside Dash.
They clung to one another in the aftermath, panting. Emerson’s heart raced, his body languid. Rolling them over, he lay under Dash and smiled up at the man. Dash rested his head on Emerson’s shoulder for a few minutes—until he sat upright, stretching his back.
“Are you okay?”
“Belly’s in the way,” Dash said. “We need to reconsider final positions from now on. I can’t lay on my stomach for more than a few minutes before I get uncomfortable.”
Emerson caressed Dash’s small stomach, never getting tired of seeing it grow. He grinned. “I sometimes can’t believe we’re going to have a baby.”
“You?” Dash asked, chuckling. “How do you think I feel with this little alien growing inside me?”
“Little alien?”
Dash shrugged. “It sometimes feels like I’ve been invaded by another lifeform.”
“Is that bad?”
Dash looked down at the swell, running both palms over it. A smile played over his lips. “Not bad.” The smile grew. “Just strange. I can’t imagine other omegas feel much different.”
“Have you asked any?”
Dash sighed. “Not really. I suppose it might help to talk to your brothers and see how they felt. Maybe hearing their experiences might make me feel less odd.”
“There’s always the group chat.”
Dash reached for his phone.
“Not when I’m inside you, please,” Emerson said, pushing Dash’s phone out of reach.
Dash scoffed. “I was only going to post the question and give them time to reply.”
“Right now, you’re mine,” Emerson said, pulling Dash down enough for a quick kiss.
“I’m always yours,” Dash replied.
Emerson grinned. “Back atcha.”