“What about the pack you came from? What did your omega do?”
Keaton shook his head. “We didn’t have an omega. They are rare, which is why everyone started running at you. If allowed, they would have tried to force you to submit. The omega should choose the alpha, not the other way around. But alpha wolves don’t realize it or they think they can change an omega’s mind. Their hormones get the better of them when they catch scent of an omega. You are going to have to be on your guard from now on.”
Lifting his arm, Remi sniffed. “Do I still smell funny?”
Keaton rolled his eyes. “No, and you couldn’t smell yourself even if you did. Or more to the point, the smell wouldn’t have the same effect on you it does others. Your scent changed when Jake claimed you. Or rather when you allowed Jake to claim you.”
Allowed? “If I hadn’t wanted Jake, my scent wouldn’t have changed?”
Keaton faced Remi with the potato held out in one hand and the knife in the other. “Right. And to keep your scent normal, where no one realizes you’re an omega, he’ll have to reclaim you every so often.”
“Well, thankfully he’s my mate, huh?”
“I’ve never heard of an omega whose alpha was also his mate.” Keaton scrunched his face in thought. “Well no, that’s not true, John Carter mentioned a couple when Chay and I got together. But I don’t know them personally.”
Pita jumped, snagged the potato out of Keaton’s hand and took off running.
“Son of a bitch. Pita, you little shit, you are in so much trouble.” Keaton started after the puppy, stopping at the kitchen door when he heard the dog door open and close. Running over to the window, Keaton stood on tiptoe and peeked outside. “Oh. That dog is dead.”
Remi chuckled, studying the bowl. It had potato slices in it in all different sizes. “Hey, Bit. Why didn’t you cut these with a slicer?”
“A slicer?” Coming back to the sink, Keaton picked up his knife and another spud.
“Yeah, it’s a little circular grid thing, cuts it into squares.”
Still cutting, Keaton looked at him. “How the hell do you know so much about cooking?”
Remi shrugged. “We take turns cooking dinner at the firehouse. What are you making to go with the fries?”
“Hamburgers.”
“Ham—” Remi shook his head. “Thought you were tired of burgers and pizza.”
“I am,” Keaton grumbled. “But those are the only two things I know how to make. I have to start somewhere.”
After chopping his potato into chunks, Remi added them to the bowl. “Where’s Chay?”
Keaton shook his head and turned to look at Remi. “The offi— Ow. Fuck.” The knife clattered to the sink, followed by the thud of the potato. Blood welled up on his palm.
Remi snagged Keaton’s wrist. “Let me see.” Pulling it under the running water, he used his thumb to rub the blood off. Grabbing the dishtowel over Keaton’s shoulder, Remi removed Keaton’s hand from the water, intent on putting pressure on it, but there wasn’t a cut. What the fuck? He brought Keaton’s arm up, convinced he was seeing things wrong. “Where did it go?”
Keaton tugged his hand free, looking at it. His brows drew together. “I know I cut it. You saw the blood too, right? I mean we heal fast, but not instantly. That is just fucking— Oh my God! That’s it, that is your gift. You’re a healer.”
The phone rang.
Keaton’s mouth dropped open while he stared at Remi. Then he reached around Remi and got the cordless off the counter. “Hello?” He continued to talk, but Remi tuned it out.
What was going on? Last night after he’d touched the guys, they’d started feeling better. Dago had been favoring his ribs. Remi had been positive from seeing them they were broken, at least one or two of them. But almost immediately Dago had been less sore and barely bruised. Remi had looked again and realized he’d made a mistake, but now…
“Remi, that was Rhys. He told me to tell you that Sterling—”
Oh my God. Sterling. Remi started for the door, digging in his pocket for his keys. Goddamn, what if he was hurt? Why hadn’t Remi waited until his phone was charged before coming here?
“Remi, wait.” Catching his arm, Keaton halted him. “Jake was there and went to get Sterling.”
Sterling
is okay. He’s with Jake.
Jake won’t let anyone hurt him.
Remi kept repeating it to himself, trying to calm his racing heart. “Mind if I use your phone?”
Keaton handed it to him. “Here.”
He dialed Jake’s cell phone.
Jake answered it on the first ring. “He’s fine. We’re on the way to your apartment.”
Remi heard Sterling laughing in the background. Oh fuck
.
Smacking the kitchen counter with his fist, Remi let out the breath he’d been holding.
* * *
“He hit Mom because I went to Hell’s Kitchen to have a few drinks?” Remi asked, only half believing what he’d heard, and leaned back on his couch. Dirk was a psychopath. Why did his mom put up with that? Why did she subject Sterling to it?
Nodding, Sterling reclined on his hands in the middle of Remi’s living room floor. “He asked her what you were up to and why you were hanging out at a dive like that. That’s how the whole thing started, then he started going on about how worthless she was.” Sterling darted a glance at Jake then back to Remi before looking down, embarrassed.
Jake bent forward on the couch, resting his forearms on his knees. “How did he know you went to the bar?”
Remi shrugged. That he didn’t want to think about. He was going to have to be more careful. He’d been sure no one at the bar would know him. He’d been wrong.
Chapter Twelve
“Sterling is right. You’re more like a father to him.”
Remi blinked. Father? He’d never thought about it, but he supposed he was, more than Dirk ever was to either of them. He hadn’t purposely tried to do that, it just sort of came natural.
Shrugging, he finished covering Sterling and looked across the bed at Jake. “He said that?”
Jake brushed the hair off Sterling’s forehead and grinned. “Yeah, he did. He’s right, too, you take very good care of him.” He jerked his head to the side, indicating the door. “Come on.”
Remi closed the door behind them and followed Jake into the living room. “Thanks for getting him away from that mess.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I would have gone and gotten him regardless.” Jake cleared away the plates from the coffee table where they’d eaten dinner and took them to the kitchen.
Remi smiled. That much was true. Jake seemed to make a habit of protecting those weaker than him. Grabbing the empty coke and beer cans, Remi trailed behind his mate. “Well, thank you anyway. You helped me take his mind off Dirk and my mom fighting.”
“I didn’t actually
let
him kick my ass at video games for his amusement.”
“Yeah, the kid is a shark. I never actually
let
him beat me either.” After tossing the cans in the trash, Remi turned, intent on helping Jake wash dishes, but he got sidetracked by the breadth of Jake’s shoulders. He appeared so damn big in Remi’s tiny kitchen. God, it was sexy how big he was, how powerful. It felt great to finally give in to his attraction.
Remi trailed his fingers across Jake’s back, feeling the muscles tense and relax under the black T-shirt. He laid his cheek between Jake’s shoulder blades and wrapped his arms around Jake’s waist. He inhaled deeply, taking in his mate’s soft, musky scent.
“Jesus, Remi, don’t start that yet.”
“Start what, I was just—”
“Moaning and nuzzling?”
He’d moaned? Remi grinned and let go. “Yeah.” He got a dishtowel and dried the plates as Jake handed them to him, then put them in the cabinet. When he put the last plate away, Jake drew him close, kissing him.
Remi’s brain melted. How could he have ever fought this? The connection between them felt as natural as breathing.
Without breaking their kiss, Jake maneuvered them toward the living room. With his hands on Remi’s ass, he walked backward, pulling Remi along. They ended up bumping into the kitchen counter and the wall and an end table before they broke apart laughing.
From the end of the couch Jake retrieved the throw-over saddlebags he’d brought in off his motorcycle. “Get your ass in the bedroom before we kill each other or demolish the furniture.”
“You started it that time.” Remi jumped out of the way of the swat aimed at his butt and hightailed it into the bedroom. He loved the sexy growl Jake got when he was playing.
Sitting in his computer chair, Remi took off his shoes and socks, while Jake closed the door and sat on the edge of the bed to do the same.
After Jake got his boots off, he opened the motorcycle side bags he’d brought in with him. He set his cell phone on the nightstand and laid the bags next to the bed. “Come here.”
Remi walked over to the bed and started to kneel, but Jake stopped him, pulling Remi to stand between his legs. Slowly, Jake unbuttoned Remi’s blue shirt. “You really do want this, don’t you?”
“Yes.” Oh God, yes. He’d been longing for Jake the entire day. Over and over he replayed last night at the pack meeting in his head. The way Jake had taken him, demanding Remi give in, made him hard just thinking about it.
Jake pushed Remi’s shirt off his shoulders, then lifted Remi’s undershirt and kissed the skin he’d bared. “Take it off.”
As Remi grabbed the hem and pulled the undershirt up, Jake’s tongue traced the center line of his abdomen.
Hissing out a breath, Remi lifted the shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor. His abs tensed at the soft tickle of Jake’s tongue and his heart raced in anticipation. He wanted Jake so badly. His cock was already hard, straining at the material of his black jockstrap and jeans.
Jake looked up at Remi, reaching for his pants. “You will tell me if you want me to stop.”
Whether it was the command or the voice, Remi didn’t know, but it made his insides flutter. “Yes, sir.”
Making a low purring sound of approval, Jake smiled. He set to work on Remi’s pants, leaving Remi in only his jock, then leaned forward, covering Remi’s erection with his mouth. The heat of his lips seared through the cotton as he mouthed the length of Remi’s cock.
“Oh fuck…sir.” Remi drove his hips forward without thought. Jake’s touch felt incredible.
Jake hooked his fingers through the elastic waistband and tugged the jock off. “Lay down on the bed, pup.”
Remi hurried and did as he was told, watching as Jake stripped.
Jake had an amazing body. He was a big man to begin with but he had to work out or something in order to get that kind of muscle tone. He wasn’t sinewy like Remi. Jake’s chest, arms and thighs were thick, more dense. His abs were defined, but not overly. Black hair covered the area above his cock, under his arms and on his legs, but there was very little on his chest, attesting—along with the striking tanned skin—to his Apache heritage. His cock was wide, long and cut. Remi’s mouth watered just looking at it.
Fuck,
he couldn’t believe he’d had that huge thing in his ass.
Right before Remi’s eyes, the thick prick started getting hard, reaching for him.
“Goddamn, the way you look at me.” Jake’s voice was nearly a growl.
Remi licked his lips.
Straddling his hips, Jake lowered himself on top of Remi, giving him no choice but to spread his legs and accommodate Jake’s body. Once they were face to face, he bent forward and touched his finger to Remi’s lip. “Not a sound, pup.” Sliding his finger across Remi’s chin and over his neck, Jake caressed the spot he’d bitten last night.
Remi nodded as Jake made his way down his body.
“Put your hands over your head and don’t move or say a word until I tell you.” Jake licked a long line from Remi’s throat to his nipple. The air blowing over the wet trail raised chill bumps on his skin, but it felt good.
Jake circled one nipple, then the other, before meeting Remi’s gaze and continuing toward Remi’s cock. Their legs tangled together and Jake’s prick brushed across Remi’s thigh. It could have been the only thing in the room for all the attention Remi gave it.
Jake’s mouth hovered above his dick, so close Remi could feel the warm breath fan over him. His thigh muscles flexed and his cock twitched, anticipating the moist heat on his prick. It didn’t come. Instead, Jake nudged Remi’s thighs wide and licked the inside of his thigh all the way to his foot. After trailing his tongue around Remi’s anklebone and over his arch, he released the leg and started back up the other one. He took forever dragging it out, tormenting Remi.
Evil bastard.
Jake was trying to kill him, Remi was convinced of it.
By the time Jake got to his hipbone, Remi’s eyes had shifted and his fangs had lengthened.
“Mmm… You smell good, pup.” Jake buried his nose against Remi’s balls.
Remi bit his lip to keep from whimpering. A fine sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead and chest. His hands clenched and unclenched, wanting to reach for Jake and beg him to suck his cock. His legs shook with the effort to remain still and quiet.
Finally, Jake lapped at his balls, but before Remi could even enjoy it, he stopped. Leaning over the edge of the bed, he dug around, through his saddlebags Remi assumed, looking for something. “I brought something for you.” He held up a length of chain for Remi to see. With his canine vision, Remi couldn’t tell whether it was gold or silver, but it was definitely metal. It had an odd oval thing at each end. They resembled misshapen peace signs, like a kind of—