“What do you mean?”
“You know, since you used to be with them?”
“Are you asking if I’m jealous?”
“I suppose.”
“Babe, be honest. When you picture Ronan and Teal in your mind, guiding sweet little Sorcha through his heat, filling his hole, making him scream, what does it make you feel?”
“Hot.” Jax didn’t hesitate. “Horny.”
“Exactly. That’s how I feel too. I ended things with Ronan and Teal. I don’t begrudge them their happiness. Not to mention that from what Teal said, it sounds like they didn’t have a choice. He didn’t give me all the details, but I think Sorcha’s uncles put him in a bad spot, and Ronan and Teal couldn’t really do anything other than what they're doing.”
Jax huffed. “That’s what some men talk about in the beta neighborhoods, especially the beta isolationists.”
“What?”
“They say it’s disgusting the way omegas go into heat and basically become slaves to their bodies. Alphas too.”
Niall shook his head. “Dummies.”
“I wish I could tell those stodgy old men that it’s just as natural for omegas to heat as it is for betas not to.”
“Not to mention that without heats, there wouldn’t be any, you know,people.”
Jax hummed. “There is that. I never said the logic was sound. Quite the opposite.” Seriously, he added, “I hope Sorcha’s okay. And I'm grateful I was there today with you and the boys when those alphas showed up.”
“Ah, babe, I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you care about those kids the way I do.”
“How could I not?”
The betas spent an hour reading fairy tales to the boys after dinner. Niall watched from the doorway as Jax tucked them into bed. Zayne slept in the middle of the trio, bracketed on each side by his older brothers. It had been a long day, and neither man was surprised when the kids closed their eyes immediately.
But the tiny omega was at least somewhat awake, because as Jax pulled away, he whispered, “G’night, Jaxey. Love you.”
Jax startled for a moment before running a hand through Zayne’s soft curls. “Sleep well, buddy.”
After tiptoeing into the hallway, leaving the door open a crack, Jax and Niall retreated to the second bedroom.
“My heart almost burst with Zayne just now,” Niall said.
Slipping his pajama pants on, Jax looked thoughtful as he replied, “You know what’s weird is that I almost said it back. Not because of a reflex, either, but because I…actually felt it. In the moment. Felt like I love that kid.”
“That’s not weird.” Niall insisted. “It’s awesome that you and the children have taken to one another so quickly.”
Jax turned it over in his mind. Contemplating. Standing up straight, he continued, “Even right now, I have this urge to sort of camp outside their door. After today, the assholes at the aquarium. I want to protect those kids from all that nonsense.”
“Well, maybe it’s not complicated. I’ve loved those boys for years, and you love me. So you were primed to love them.”
Just as he had at the barbeque, Jax sensed his world expanding. He didn’t say it out loud but admitted to himselfthat the best way to describe how he felt about Garin, Kino, and Zayne wasfamily. How that had happened so quickly, he had no clue. It didn’t matter. It made his boyfriend happy. And it made Jax feel closer to Niall and, in a way, to Ronan and Teal as well.
Niall was right. It didn’t need to be complicated. He knew he would do anything to keep those boys safe. And that was all he needed to know.
Jax emailed his boss to say he’d be unable to travel to the Hampson Towers site for the next two weeks. He asked for understanding because he was experiencing an emergency.
A family emergency.
Chapter Twenty-Two
