Page 3 of Omega's Flight
Though I'd never quite understood that—why wouldn't a gamma or a delta be as good a mechanic as an alpha? No one had ever been able to explain it to me either, and when I'd pressed the issue as a young teen, I'd been told it wasn't something that an omega would understand. Which didn't make any sense to me either, but I'd understood the tone of voice, and gave up asking.
There I was again, heading down that path. I firmly redirected my thoughts to the Midwinter Moon celebration four days from now. I still hadn't decided what I was going to contribute to the community meal, whether I'd make a side dish out of the last of the potatoes under the sink, or if I'd splurge and make a sweet. It was tempting to indulge my sweet tooth, and the pups would enjoy helping, but we'd been offered a huge bag of potatoes a couple of months ago for practically nothing and they weren't going to last much longer. No way we could eat that many in the time they had left.
That thought pretty much made my mind up for me. So, potatoes it was. I'd have to go to the library and look for something I could do with them.
With that decided, I turned my brain off, determined to relax and enjoy the next few minutes in my little bowl of warmth.
"Papa?"
Holding back a sigh, I opened my eyes and turned my head to see Henry standing at the side of the tub.
"You're supposed to be asleep, baby."
"I'm cold. Can I sleep with you?"
"I'm not going to bed for a while. Why don't you crawl in with your sisters?"
"Ann told me to go away."
This time I did sigh. "All right, let me get out. You stay there, okay?" He nodded and I regretfully pulled the plug in the drain and said a sad mental good-bye to my cozy warm pool. I wouldn't be able to mend in his bedroom, but he could sit next to me on the couch so long as I kept the scissors on my other side. "Do you have your fluff?"
He nodded solemnly and held up the battered little bear. Fluff wasn't an entirely accurate name for it, but there was still most of a fluffy tuft of hair on its head, right between the ears, so Fluff he was.
I wrapped my blanket around me and led Henry to the living room to gather up my mending. He settled happily against my side and before I'd even gotten a dozen stitches into place, he'd gone limp and heavy, his chest rising and falling with the deep regularity of puppy sleep.
"Didn't think you'd manage to stay awake," I murmured and set my mending aside to carry him to bed. The blanket fell to the floor and the air chilled my skin, but it wouldn't take long to get him tucked into his little bed in the corner. It was even cooler in the pups' bedroom—I ran my hand around the window and grimaced, because there was a new draft coming in around its edges. The goopy stuff I'd put in around it last year must not have lasted. I'd have to see if I could get more from Degan's father in the next couple of days. He'd been the one to give it to us the last time; I hoped he still had some left.
In the meantime, I had an old tin flask that I used as a hot water bottle for the pups sometimes, or occasionally for myself, though with Degan around I didn't need it often. He was so warm all the time —unlike the flask, which got cold fast. I'd made a sort of cozy for it a couple of years ago and it seemed to hold onto the heat longer with it on, so I thought I'd fill it up for Henry. And with the power still on, I had hot water to spare for their comfort.
Degan came home while I was standing naked at the sink, the flask held under the stream of hot water.
"What's this?" he asked, but his voice had a deep rumble to it.
"Henry says he's cold. I'm trying to keep him in his own bed." I sucked in a breath as he ran the tips of his fingers over my hip and up my back.
"Good plan," he said, his breath coasting across my skin like warm summer breezes. He had a scruff of a beard at this point of the day, and it raised prickles of desire on my skin as it rasped against my ear and the side of my neck. "Is there still hot water?"
"Of course." I capped the flask blindly, my eyes closing of their own accord as his palms warmed my shoulders. I could feel his heat against my back and I shivered in anticipation. "Your towel is set out already. Do you want anything to eat when you get out?"
"No, I ate at Mom's." He slid his hands down my back and he set his teeth gently against the point of my shoulder. "Don't go to sleep on me, hm?"
"Never," I promised.
C H A P T E R 3
D egan had my legs up over his shoulders, taking his pleasure and creating mine. His hips moved faster with each passing moment, each of his thrusts sending a wave of excitement through my body until he suddenly tensed up and made a guttural noise, nearly his entire weight coming to bear against me. I felt the warmth and the heat of him inside as he swelled against my womb and almost, almost... No, I'd missed it. I'd have to deal with my arousal myself, when Degan had fallen asleep.
But before that, I made the kinds of noises he liked to hear, so he'd think I'd come after all. I often wondered how he couldn't tell the difference between my acting and my reality, but he never did. Or never said anything, anyway. Still, my mate was obviously pleased, which made me happy. He kissed me after he pulled away, slow like I liked, and then rolled out of bed to go clean himself up.
Quick. I was close to the edge, and it only took a few strokes and a finger inside me to relieve the tension Degan had created. When he came back, I was languid with the aftermath and I smiled and begged him for another kiss, which he gave me happily. "Bathroom's yours," he murmured and helped me climb out of the sheets.
I cleaned up as fast as I could and raced back to bed. "Brrr, the wind came up, I think," I said and burrowed under the covers to steal my mate's warmth.
"Ah, your feet," he complained, but he still wrapped his arm around me and loaned me the heat that always seemed to beat off his skin. "You should wrap up more, there's a bad cold or something going around. Mom said that your brother's pups have all been sick this week." He scrubbed his hands roughly over my arms to work the blood up into the skin and warm me some more. "I might have some work coming up. But if I do, I'll have to miss the full moon."
"Outside walls?" I asked in excitement. This was exceptional—hardly anyone ever got work outside around Christmas. "What will you be doing?"
He shrugged. "Construction. Frame building for a strip mall, they said. There's a few of us going. It's not cars, but it is credits."
