The Omega's Heart (Wilde Creek Four) (17 page)

“I had no idea kitchen cabinets could get so
gross,” she said as she turned to look down at Jeremiah.

“Me either,” he agreed, wrinkling his
nose.

She stepped off the counter and into his
arms. He kissed her and set her on the floor. “Who needs a ladder
when I have you?”

“I’m glad to be of service.”

She looked around the kitchen, which she had
decided to tackle while Jeremiah cleaned the bedroom. The room was
yellow, which happened to be her favorite color, and had cute
curtains with sunflowers on them. Although the appliances were old,
they were working, and that’s all that mattered for now. Jeremiah
promised they would upgrade the appliances once they were settled,
but cleaning was the most important thing.

Tonight they were spending their first night
in their new home, and they were trying to get as much cleaned as
they could. Since they were starting their new duties as stewards
tomorrow, this was the last night of their mating time – what
humans would consider a honeymoon.

“What?” Jeremiah asked, his hands cupping her
hips and drawing her close.

“I was just thinking that we’re kind of on
our honeymoon.”

“I suppose so. I should’ve taken you
somewhere instead of spending our time cleaning.”

“I wasn’t complaining,” she said, leaning
against him and resting her cheek on his chest.

“The kitchen looks great, sweetheart.”

“Thank you.”

They walked back to the master bedroom. It
had a full-sized bed and one nightstand, and a walk-in closet next
to the attached bathroom.

“Are you even going to fit on the bed?” she
asked as she sat down. Earlier they’d washed the mattress pad and
sheets, but they’d had to add pillows to their shopping list
because the ones that had been left behind were so old they
disintegrated in the washing machine.

“I’ll manage. We can order a bigger bed this
week.”

There was a lot to do still, but the two main
rooms in the house were clean, and that was what mattered.

“What should we do for dinner? We could go to
Luna’s again,” she suggested.

“I’ll make something. Why don’t you clean up
and I’ll meet you in the kitchen?”

“You don’t have to cook for me.”

His head tilted slightly. “Are you going to
say that every time I make a meal for you?”

“I know how you feel–”

He stepped close and went to his knees,
resting his hands on her thighs. “Honey, this isn’t like me working
for the alphas and other pack members. Anything that I do for you
is because you’re my mate and I’m crazy about you. It’s no
different for me to cook for you than for you to do it for me.”

“Are you really?”

“Really what?”

“Crazy about me?”

He grinned. “Completely.”

She returned his smile. “I’m crazy about you,
too.”

“Good. Then let me make dinner for us on the
last night of our ‘honeymoon,’ and tomorrow after work we’ll talk
about the mundane stuff like who’s in charge of laundry and
cooking.”

“Okay. But I’m telling you right now that I
don’t like cleaning toilets. It’s just… gross.”

He chuckled. “I’ll make a note of that.”

He kissed her gently and stood, giving her
one of his devastating smiles which hinted at future naughty
activities, and left. She stretched out on the bed with a sigh and
looked at the ceiling. The room smelled like wood polish, and she
peeked backward and saw the old wooden headboard was now gleaming.
Jeremiah took pride in his work. He looked at every job as if it
was important, no matter how small or seemingly
inconsequential.

The scent of cooking meat made her stomach
growl, and she got up to pull clothes out of the dresser. Saturday
evening they’d gone to the mall and shopped, because most
everything in Jeremiah’s home had been ruined by either smoke,
fire, or water. Even Stacy’s quilt and diary, the only material
things that had mattered to her, had been ruined. She knew the
important thing was that they had survived; even if she couldn’t
replace the quilt, she still had her memories, and those couldn’t
be destroyed with fire.

The bathroom was tiled in pale blue, with a
white vinyl floor patterned with blue flowers. It was spotless,
even the toilet. She smiled to herself as she turned on the faucet
in the tub. Jeremiah could definitely take over the bathroom
cleaning when they split up the chores.

As she showered, she thought about Jeremiah
saying that he was crazy about her. She was definitely nuts about
him. They’d only been together for a week, but she felt like she’d
known him forever, no matter how clichéd that sounded in her mind.
He’d accepted her, fought for her, and stood by her through some of
the harshest circumstances she’d ever endured. He was sexy and
sweet, and she loved how he was a gentleman to the core. Her
feelings for him were slowly deepening, and she knew that she was
falling in love with him. Somewhere between her wandering into his
yard on the full moon and him cleaning the toilet, he’d proven that
he was the only male for her.

By the time she walked out into the kitchen,
the sun had gone down, and Jeremiah had set the table for dinner.
Candles burned in the center of the table, and she paused and
looked at him as he stood next to a chair.

“What did you do?” she asked, walking to him
and sitting down as he pushed her chair in.

He moved to the oven and opened it, used hot
pads to remove two plates, and closed the door with his hip.

As he set the plates down and took his seat,
he said, “I thought it was appropriate for us to celebrate tonight
by candlelight. It has absolutely nothing to do with the light bulb
in the overhead light burning out and us not having any
replacements.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, and she grinned.

“You’re so romantic, Jer.” She chuckled and
leaned over for a kiss.

Their plates held steak and baked potatoes,
hers topped with shredded cheese and bacon just like she liked. A
glass bowl held creamed corn and a wicker basket held rolls.

She watched him fill up their glasses with
wine, and then they lifted them for a toast. “To the first of many,
many nights in our house,” he said.

The heat between them simmered, and she was
tempted to just forget dinner and take him back to bed, but then
his stomach growled and she couldn’t help but smile.
Dinner
first, sexy wolf mate later.

As they ate, they talked about the future.
Now that they were stewards and he wasn’t going to be anyone’s
lackey, he had a better outlook on his place in the pack, and she
was glad for it. She was excited to meet the other retired wolves
and to work side by side with her mate.

“We have to meet with Dade in the morning,
and then we’ll stop by each retiree house, and find out their
needs, and make a list of the things that need to be done and
arrange them by priority.”

“What do you think we’ll be doing?”

“Well, it depends,” he said, putting his fork
down and leaning back in his chair. “Some of the retirees are mated
and probably won’t need much from us outside of regular home and
yard maintenance. But there are some who will need a lot of help –
cleaning, repairs, grocery shopping, being driven to appointments,
and that sort of thing. Once spring comes, I’ll need to organize a
few omegas to do the yard work. If I have to mow every yard, I’ll
be doing nothing
but
mowing.”

She reached for his hand. “Don’t forget that
you’re not the only one working now. You’ve got me, and I’m not the
best at mowing but I can weed gardens and plant flowers, and I’m
not bad at grocery shopping either.”

“I’ll bet,” he said, chuckling. Then he
sobered and stared at her intently. “I know I’m not alone anymore,
Honey, and it’s the best feeling in the world.”

“Aw, Jer,” she said, tears stinging her eyes
at his sweet words.

She reached for him, and he pulled her onto
his lap, curving his strong arms around her and holding her close
as their lips pressed together and then opened, their tongues
seeking and dancing against each other. Her stomach flipped as her
whole body warmed in response to his kiss. His hands slipped under
her top, the warm, calloused fingers finding their way up her back
in a slow caress. He undid her bra and stroked his hands up and
down her back as their kiss deepened, and she felt the hard ridge
of his arousal under her hip.

He pushed her away gently and slid his hands
up under the front of her top, lifting her shirt and bra off as he
tugged them over her head. Pushing her knees until her back pressed
against his chest, he kissed her neck and cupped her breasts. Her
fingers played over his arms as he ran his palms and fingertips
over her nipples in a maddening motion, until they were hard,
sensitive points. His teeth grazed her neck and she shivered from
head to toe, her clit twitching.

He pressed one arm across her chest, cupping
her breast possessively as his other hand stroked down her stomach
to the button of her jeans. She wanted to tear both their clothes
off and ride him until dawn, but his restraining arm on her chest
wouldn’t let her move, and the gentle scrape of his teeth against
her throat made her want to let him do whatever he wanted with
her.

“Fuck, Jer,” she moaned as he unbuttoned her
jeans and lowered the zipper.

He shoved his big hand down her pants roughly
and she arched back against him. She could feel how wet she was as
he rubbed his fingers on the outside of her panties. He bit down on
her throat lightly and she groaned. She tugged at her pants,
pushing them over her hips and down her thighs. A finger slid under
her panties, brushing across her fevered skin, and he chuckled.

“So wet, sweetheart?”

“You do that to me.”

He teased her slit, his touch light as he
slid his finger down and then up, tortuously slow. His finger
pressed deeper between her lips, the tip brushing her clit in a
sweeping motion that made her hips lift. He snarled softly, curling
his finger over the fabric of her panties and tugging. She looked
down and watched his finger lengthen and a claw curl from the tip,
slicing through the fabric easily.

As quickly as his finger changed, it smoothly
shifted back to normal, and he pushed her jeans down past her knees
and then trailed his fingers up the inside of her thigh.

“You smell so good,” he said roughly,
nuzzling behind her ear.

She wiggled her legs, working her jeans down
until she could pull her legs free. She splayed her legs apart on
either side of his, her head resting against his shoulder as she
bared herself to him completely.

“You’re mine?” He cupped her pussy with his
hand, drawing her back against his erection.

“All of me, forever.”

She turned her head and met his lips as he
stroked her pussy with his fingers, swirling her heat around her
clit. A finger slipped into her channel and she groaned, sucking on
his tongue and gripping the arm that held her against his chest,
her nails digging furrows into his flesh. He pumped into her, the
heel of his palm grinding against her clit until she danced on the
edge of pleasure, and then he pulled back, softening his strokes
until the stars that lit behind her eyelids faded. Two fingers
pressed into her, slowly at first and then faster and faster, as
she lifted her hips and spread her legs further apart. She wrenched
her mouth from his and gasped his name as he pounded his fingers
into her. He stopped, fingers buried deep, his chest heaving
against her back.

She opened her mouth to protest, and then he
sank his teeth into her neck and she felt the hot press of fangs
piercing her as three fingers sank into her depths in a punishing
rhythm. He held her tightly, not letting her move as he worked her
hard, driving her swiftly back to the pinnacle of pleasure. She
gasped, wanting to beg him to let her come this time, but she
couldn’t find the ability to speak. His growl vibrated against her
back as she once more lifted her hips to his driving fingers,
closing her eyes and letting her body go. Heat coiled and twisted
inside her, until she thought she might come apart at the seams,
and then everything froze for one glorious moment and she exploded
with a sharp scream of pleasure.

Her whole body jerked, and he released his
hold on her neck with a snarl, lifted her from his lap, and draped
her over the table roughly. Her hands shot out, shoving the plates
and glasses away, knocking over the candles. The flames snuffed out
and they were bathed in darkness as her whole body twitched and
trembled from the climax that had rocked her world.

She heard a zipper lower and then Jeremiah’s
large hands spanned her waist and he plunged inside. She screamed
as a mini-tremor slipped up her spine and made her head spin. He
pulled out, slamming home again and again, and she reached her
hands out blindly for the edge of the table, gripping it hard. Her
hands curved around the edge, her nails digging into the wood, the
table creaking as he fucked her. The wood bit into her flesh as he
hammered his hips against hers, his cock driving deep and fast. He
growled again, the sound deeper and rougher as he slipped one hand
under her body and pressed his finger to her clit, beginning to
stroke the tight bud in time to his thrusts. In a heartbeat she
found herself standing on the edge of climax again.

“Jer!” she shouted as she came, her body
clutching around his cock. The smooth rhythm of his thrusts
faltered and he roared his pleasure as his cock spasmed and emptied
inside her while he rocked into her. Something cracked loudly, and
she found herself lifted and pulled away as the table shuddered and
broke. It collapsed; the sound of breaking dishes and dripping
liquid were all that could be heard over their panting breaths.

“Oops,” she chuckled, holding onto his arms,
which were wrapped around her. His cock twitched inside her pussy
and then slipped free.