Chapter 41
“You think she’ll actually eat this?” Nix asks, looking at the pasta with meat sauce I’ve been cooking. Simple fare, but that’s all I can manage mid-heat. “We can barely get her to eat a cracker.”
“If she doesn’t eat it, the rest of us will. We need to keep up our strength.” After stirring the sauce once more, I turn the burner to low, then cover the pan to let it simmer down a little. “We’re all flagging.”
“Speak for yourself, old man.”
I glare at him and, on impulse, flick the spoon, sending a splatter of sauce across his face and bare chest.
He stands there with his mouth hanging open, making no move to clean himself. “I can’t believe you did that.”
I laugh, because I can’t either. Phoenix is usually the impulsive, messy one in this relationship.
He’s the playful one, the one likely to start a food fight or pull a prank.
I’ve always been more straight-laced and controlling.
But I’ve never felt as relaxed as I do right now.
Sure, I’m exhausted and starving, but multiple days lounging in bed, bonding with my packmates, and fucking my omega has me feeling calm and happy, even a little playful.
Phoenix makes a move to wipe his face with his palm, but I grab his wrist, pinning it to his side.
“Let me.” I step forward, crowding him against the counter, then I lick the sauce from his cheek, being sure to get every drop before stepping back and letting go of his wrist. “Needs more salt.”
I turn away from him, back to the stove.
“You just licked my fucking face and all you have to say is ‘needs more salt’?”
I grin at the incredulity in his tone, but don’t turn around. Instead, I add salt to the sauce and give it a good stir, replacing the lid and putting the spoon on the rest when I’m satisfied it’s balanced.
“It does. Salt is necessary not only for taste, but to replace the electrolytes we’ve all lost. You should know this, Nix. You don’t get a body like yours without understanding nutrition to a decent degree.”
When no cheeky retort comes, I finally spin to face my best friend. His jaw is dropped like a cartoon character, and he’s frozen in shock.
I cross my arms over my chest and raise a brow. “Nothing to say? Have I finally stunned you into submission?”
Phoenix’s mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water as he searches for a reply. Then his shoulders straighten, and his eyes twinkle with mischief. I like having the upper hand, so I’m not about to let him get whatever smartass response he’s finally thought of out.
“Hands on the counter, Nix,” I growl.
He gives me a cheeky grin over his shoulder as he sets his palms on the marble and wiggles his hips.
Yanking his sweatpants down, I slap his ass hard enough to produce a red palm print on his flesh.
I’ve learned a thing or two about what Nix likes in bed over the past few days, and his answering groan proves me right.
“Gotta make both sides even,” he sasses. “Hit me again, Hunt. Show me who’s in charge, professor.”
“I told you not to call me that,” I scold. “You’re such a fucking brat, you know that?”
“Oh, yeah, I know.” He curves his back to really pop his ass out. “You like it.”
Fuck, yeah, I do. But he doesn’t need to know that. It’ll just make him worse. I spank his other ass cheek twice, in quick succession. “Is that what you wanted, brat?”
“Yes, sir.” His voice is breathy and low. Damn, does that do things to me.
I part his cheeks and stare at his pretty little hole, then spit directly on it. The muscle clenches under my gaze.
“I’ve dreamt about this puckered ring ever since I first conquered it years ago. I never thought I’d feel it again.” One finger circles the tight rim.
Nix and I have kissed and touched a lot during Madi’s heat so far, but I haven’t been inside him again, not since that drunken night four years ago.
“I need to feel you.” The tip of my finger breaches his hole. “Can I fuck you, Nix?”
“What do you think I’m bent over the counter for?” He reaches back with one hand and grabs my wrist, using his grip on me to push my finger deeper. “I’ve wanted this for so long. Give it to me, Hunt. Give me everything you’ve got.”
Despite how over-used it is, my cock is rock solid. My best friend is bent over, buck naked, asking me to fuck him. This is a dream.
“Don’t move a fucking inch.” I give him one more hard spanking to let him know what I’ll do if he disobeys, then turn to grab the bottle of olive oil I already had out. Perfect.
When I spin back around, I half expect to find Nix in a different position, but for once, he’s stayed perfectly still. I run a hand up his back. “Good boy.”
He shivers, letting out a soft moan. Hand on his head, I push him down so he’s flat on the counter, cheek to the marble, arms spread.
I uncap the olive oil and slowly drizzle a generous amount along his crack. I don’t care that it’s dripping everywhere. There will be time for cleaning later. This moment is for making a mess of my best friend and showing him exactly how badly I’ve wanted him.
I coat my cock, then pour a little more on my hands.
“Come on, Hunt, the anticipation is killing me,” Nix groans. “I don’t need the prep, Caspian was just—”
My hand connects with his ass, the sound wet from the oil.
“Ow!” He jerks forward. It couldn’t have hurt any more than the other spankings I gave him, but he wasn’t expecting this one.
I don’t give him time to recover. If he really thinks he’s ready for my cock, so be it. Hands gripping his hips, I fill him all the way to my knot in one smooth movement. I pause to lean over him so my mouth is by his ear.
“I love our pack. And watching you with Caspian, Sebastian, and Madi is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. But right now, I don’t want to hear about you being with anyone else. Give me this moment, Nix. Just you, me, and decades of longing.”
“Whatever you want,” he says, breathless. “Just move.”
“Not yet.” I don’t give him the thrusts he needs, but I circle my hips just enough to change the pressure. “Tell me you’ve craved me as long as I’ve craved you.”
“Fuck, yes. Hunt, the first wet dream I ever had was about you. The first time I jerked off, it was you I thought of.”
I pull back enough to take in the view of his firm, muscular back, his round ass, my cock buried inside him.
“What did you dream about?” I massage my hand over the marks I left with my palm. “Was I fucking you like this?”
“No.” He tries to push up, but I press him back down with a hand between his shoulder blades.
“What were we doing?”
“You were just touching me. Jerking me off.”
“Like this?” I wrap a hand around his cock and slowly thrust in and out of his ass as I slide my palm up and down his shaft.
“Oh, fuck, oh, gods,” Nix moans. “That’s… yeah.”
“The first time I thought about fucking you was on that field trip we took for science senior year of high school.”
“The planetarium?”
“Yeah.” I slow down my movements, savoring every inch of him. “I caught you kissing that blonde chick. I don’t remember her name, and don’t you dare fucking say it right now.”
Phoenix chuckles, but the sound turns broken when I twist my hand, spiraling up to his crown.
“I had this image pop into my head, this vision, you could say, of grabbing you by that long mop of hair you had back then, yanking you off her lips, and stuffing your mouth full of my cock as punishment for you kissing anyone but me.”
“Fuck, I wish you’d done it.”
“Hmm, we wasted a lot of years, didn’t we?” I wish I’d told him how I felt. Even after we spent that one drunken night together, I still couldn’t work up the nerve. But all of that’s behind us. We’re here now, where we’re meant to be, together.
“I need to see you,” Nix gasps, squirming.
I pull out, and he spins around, kissing me hard. “No more regrets. No more holding back. Got it.”
He leaves me stunned and breathless after that kiss, and sprawls out on the counter, on his back, with his knees to his chest, tight hole glistening with oil.
I don’t hesitate. Pulling him to the very edge of the marble, I give him everything I’ve got, fucking him hard and fast, our eyes locked the whole time.
“I love you,” he says a second before he spills himself all over his abs.
I don’t think, I just push deeper, popping my knot into place as I fill him. I pull him up so we’re chest to chest and hold him close. He pants, heart racing against mine. His papaya and vanilla scent is everywhere, no longer a vapor just out of reach, but coating every inch of my soul.
“I love you, too,” I say, kissing him. “Always have, always will.”