Page 112 of Sugar Rush
“Yeah,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure it was exactly the ideal time for stories.
“So, like I said, back when everything happened and we had Jordy tested for the omega gene, I started researching everything I could to try and understand. I joined forums of betaparents with alpha and omega kids, and asked questions there, and read about other peoples’ experiences with it.”
I didn’t find it very hard to imagine him doing that. He’d never been the kind of parent to half-ass it or put in the minimal effort. I wasn’t sure if my mom had done anything like that for me, but she’d had enough bullshit going on that I couldn’t exactly blame her.
“And some of the stuff I read was so… Scary,” he hesitated before finally deciding on the word. “I read parents talking about when their teen or young adult omega found their alpha, everything changed between them. That alpha became their kid’s whole world, and the alphas weren’t always exactly nice or considerate, especially about keeping the parents in the know about changes in their life. I don’t mean every alpha is like that,” he tacked on hurriedly. I guess he thought I’d be offended by the critical description of alphas. I wasn’t. Most of the other alphas I knew were complete pricks. “It’s just that those are the stories that scared me. And… I’d already lost his mom.”
I’d always known that part of his hover-style of parenting, the reason he was always so worried about Jordy’s health, was because he’d already gone through the pain of losing someone that important to him. It was part of why it was so difficult to feel irritated with him when he got like that.
When I gave him a small nod, indicating for him to continue, he went on.
“And Jordy is so… single-minded,” he mused, squeezing his eyes closed and shaking his head. “When he decides he wants something, it’s all he thinks about until he gets it. I know that.”
Usually, that was a good thing, like when he decided he wanted to graduate top of his class and get accepted to his first choice college. But when it came to stuff like romance… Well, I hadn’t stood a chance in hell against him.
“It was so easy for me to imagine him as that kind of omega they talked about, that he would put his whole everything into that relationship. And I’d be left behind,” he finished.
“I wouldn’t do that,” I said. “I mean, not that I could, anyway,” I added quickly. “Jordy doesn’t, uh…” I stopped, clearing my throat. “He’s not exactly, um…”Don’t say submissive. Don’t say submissive.“He has his own mind and makes his own decisions.”
Chester nodded at my assertion of Jordy’s willfulness, and that kind patience for me was back in my eyes.
“So one day, after I’d read so many of those awful stories on those forums, I came out into the living room. And I saw you with him,” he said. “You didn’t realize I was watching you, but I was. He’d fallen asleep on the couch watching some show, and he was half hanging off, with his arm on the floor. I watched you move him up so he wouldn’t roll off, and cover him with a blanket.”
All I could think was thank god I’d never given in to the urge to kiss him or stroke his hair all those times he’d fallen asleep next to me.
“And when I saw you do that… I thought about how you were always looking out for him, and always making sure he was safe and happy. I thought about how nice it would be for Jordy to end up with someone like you. That someone like you would take care of him, and never manipulate or take advantage of him. And that someone like you would be compassionate, and understand why it would hurt me so much to have him taken away.”
Like so many other times in my life, I didn’t know what to say. But his words put this crazy feeling in my chest, a feeling I couldn’t exactly pinpoint or describe. He’d always been good to me, and I’d never felt like it was because he was trying to suck up to my mom. But to imagine this ultra strait-laced do-gooder type guy looking at someone like me and thinking about howcompassionate I could be, and how he’d want someone like me with Jordy… I wouldn’t have ever considered that.
“I’m not saying I actually thought it would be you or anything, and not so soon,” he clarified, with a somewhat sheepish grin. “I mean, I didn’t think I’d someday have a stepson that was also my son-in-law.”
I winced, my mouth twisting into a grimace despite the heartfelt, emotional moment. That definitely didn’t sound right, once he said it out loud.
“But I can’t complain about getting what I wanted for him. And I know you won’t ever disappoint him. Or me,” he added. “You never have, Kieran.”
Clearing my throat again, only because I could feel hot tears burning the back of my eyes, I just nodded.
But we stood out there for a long time after that, and he never took his hand off my shoulder.
JORDY
BEING KIERAN JAMES’ mate was perfect and lovely, and everything I could have ever asked for. The bond had affected us in interesting ways, causing small but pleasant changes in our relationship. It made it easier to communicate, because we could both intuitively sense each other’s emotions, and it helped quell a lot of Kieran’s innate anxieties about our relationship.
But it didn’t turn us into different people. He was still stubborn as a bull, embarrassed about the silliest things, and I still loved forcing those adorable little secrets out of him.
Nearly two weeks had passed since he’d bitten me, and in that time we’d become closer than ever. We’d shared secrets, not that I’d ever kept much from him, and fantasies and dreams. But there was one thing he was still perversely holding over my head, and the more I asked for it, the more pleasure he seemed to derive from keeping it from me.
A few days earlier, I’d happened to come down and notice him sitting in the living room with his back to me. When I’d silently padded over like always, and he’d known I was sneaking up on him like always, I realized he’d never been able tohearme any of those times. He’d always been scenting me, something I hadn’t even considered until recently. Which, by the way, seemed a bit like cheating, though I supposed I couldn’t entirely blame him for utilizing a genetic advantage.
Since then I’d been pushing him more and more to tell me what I smelled like, which he’d steadfastly refused. And so he’d forced me to do something that I was very, very good at;concocting a scheme to ensure that I get what I want. I’d waited for an evening where our parents would be going out together and staying out late, and now my very naughty and devious plan was so far playing out exactly as I’d hoped. And I still had one little surprise waiting in the wings to pull out when the time was just right.
“You know I could just tell you anything,” Kieran pointed out. He was trying to sound casual, like he wasn’t completely naked with his wrists tied to the iron bars of my headboard. But the husky rasp in his deep voice, and the way his cock stood straight up, straining toward me every time I stopped touching or licking it, told a different story. “You wouldn’t have any way of knowing whether I was lying or not.”
“Why don’t you try me?” I invited, slinking up from between his legs, where I’d been teasing him, so I could stare into his eyes.
The corner of his mouth perked up for just a split second before he composed his face into a neutral expression. I was surprised he’d let me tie him up, usually he was so antsy about being out of control, but our mate bond had done wonderful things for his nerves and allowed him to relax in ways I’d never seen from him before.
“Strawberries,” he said. Even if I’d believed he would give it up that easily, I could feel the tiny little twinge in my senses that indicated he wasn’t being truthful with me. He must have known it too, that he couldn’t get away with lying to me, but he thought he was toying with me the same way I was toying with him.
