Because Erin was right.
It’ll all be over soon.
Chapter Fourteen: Nix
Nix hears and smells the person in his room long before he speaks—he knows it’s Jamie, trying to be unobtrusive and considerate. But the room is still dim, the fall sunshine not yet around to the side of the house to break through the white curtains. Nix is still cozy in his nest, which reminds him that Jamie would have had to leave it in the first place in order to be coming back.
Nix’s wolf does not like that at all, so Jamie can get back in and snuggle, or bugger off.
Huh. Maybe he’s feeling a bit ornery today—like an itch under his skin that won’t go away. He shifts in his nest, suddenly too warm, then too cold, but he doesn’t have time to dwell on it because Jamie is—
“Nix. Hey.” There’s the sharp scent of pine and soft lips on his forehead. “Baby-boy, we’re headed to the new PR company for the day to get some stuff settled. Can you let me see your pretty eyes?”
Nix does not want to open his eyes. He is rolled up in the green velour blanket in his nest, the purple mocha-scented one wrapped around his head like a bath towel covering his hair. He probably looks ridiculous, but it’s better than when he’d had the pink one over his face entirely—until Jamie pulled it off, citing possible asphyxiation,blah, blah, blah.
So now when he opens his eyes, he sees said mate: his dimple and his tiny freckles across his perfect nose.
So he growls, as Jamie is too perfect for this early.
“Hey, there he is. So pretty. We’re going now, and Gray is taking Rowan to the office so they can get an idea of what they might like for the mountainhouse. It’s not far, and if he feels badly, he’ll be back ASAP.” Jamie runs a finger down Nix’s nose and across his lips, pulling the lower one down so he can rub his finger over the wet insides.
Nix wants a kiss, so he puckers up, making smooching noises until Jamie agrees with a grin. “Okay, okay. Here. Kisses, then you answer me, so I know you’re really awake. Gideon says you have a date in the gym in an hour, and then Finn will be back after lunch.”
Nix flings off his blanket wardrobe and throws himself into Jamie’s arms. It’s only because of his quick reflexes that they both don’t end up on the floor. “I hear you, Alpha. How long will you be gone?”
He presses his lips to Jamie’s, so no answer is forthcoming—as Nix is sure no one can answer with a tongue in their mouth that isn’t their own. His alpha tastes like matcha and cinnamon.
With an extra hard suck on his mate’s tongue, he finds the courage to ask slyly, “Is that a cinnamon bun or Leo?”
Since yesterday’s meltdown, he’s felt both more fragile and freer. It’s a weird dichotomy.
Fragile, because he’s not just barreling ahead and letting his horny omega run the show—wildly sweeping away any reservations he has about being physical or vulnerable and trading on his sexuality.
But also freer, for, well, the same reasons.
Freer, because he can actually see for himself the way Jamie’s breath catches and how his pupils dilate. He can feel the red-hot bond in his chest, the pulses around his heart glowing with pure love and passion—both emotions directed at him.
Where before he had wondered if it had been the bond, now—if he’s watching—he can get the reassurance he needs that his mates are genuine.
So yeah, both fragile and freeing, and he gives in a bit to some soft flirting.
He can tell that Jamie is still being cautious, and that’s okay, too. They’ll get there.
“Well,Daddy? Were there cinnamon buns or Leo-buns?”
He settles his bum on Jamie’s lap, and if he’s not careful, Jamie might need new jeans. Nix likes this position—giving a bit of a grind so hecan feel Jamie hardening in his denim.
When he’d pulled Jamie up the stairs after Erin’s call last night, he’d stripped them both of their party clothes and pulled his alpha into bed, where Nix insisted Jamie lie flat on his back while Nix laid his head in the center of his chest and pulled the nest around them.
His alpha had been very complimentary, and it had gone a long way to soothing him into an exhausted rest.
It seemed only fair—since Jamie had gotten out of the nest without permission—that Nix be a bit off, right? Only fair if he’d ignored him when he’d returned, smelling fresh from the shower, all sexy and perfect and shit. Only fair that he’d flirt a little, just to be sure Jamie still wants him.
Ugh. He’s a work in progress. Like Luca says: it’s twenty steps forward and ten back.
Jamie just grabs Nix by the bum and, with no regard for the condition of his jeans, sticks his nose in where his bond bite sits—perfectly healed and beautiful—nipping and licking at the skin. With a growl, he stands up and tosses Nix onto the bed with a silly roar.
Guess that’s a yes to the last part.
