“Both of us.” Tristan was nodding and dancing, too. “Anthony is going to say yes. You know he will.”
“He might warn Mr. Brown about you two working together,” Billy said, although his friends’ excitement was hard to ignore.
“This calls for a celebratory hot chocolate,” Cece said, hooking Tristan and Billy’s arms and steering them around so they wereheading towards their favorite coffee shop. “Tristan, you can buy them this time.”
“I’ll have a slushie if that’s all right,” Billy said, feeling his cheeks heat again. “My mate said he would be bringing me a hot chocolate in the morning.”
“Aww, isn’t young love grand,” Tristan teased. “Two hot chocolates and one raspberry slushie, coming up. We’ve all got a lot to celebrate.”
Chapter Seventeen
Cord didn’t realize just how tense he’d been until Billy’s small house came into view. Paying off the taxi driver, Cord got out, breathing in the quiet of the night air. He smiled as he noticed Billy had left the porch light on.Welcoming me home.
It had been a rough trip. Cord wasn’t the only one unhappy with what their HQ had done. If an alpha found their mate, that was meant to be celebrated, but it seemed the rescue team management hadn’t factored that ever happening with the men under their command. Cord’s was considered a “test case” – Brandon hadn’t lied about that. They were genuinely measuring the amount of time Cord could be away from his omega before he started getting edgy, and therefore, in management’s eyes, unreliable. Management was furious that Rapid had inadvertently ruined their experiment.
Cord pushed all thoughts of Rapid away. There would be charges laid, Cord would probably have to give a lengthy statement at some point, and Billy, too, most likely. Razor had asked, as he’d left the plane, if Cord was going to stay on the team, and Cord had said, “Yes, but there’d better be changes,” and left it at that. For now, all he wanted was to be with Billy.
Walking slowly up the pathway, Cord tried to be as quiet as he could. There were a few lights on in the house, but at two in the morning, he was hopeful Billy was asleep.My poor mate has had such a rough time of it.Cord’s heart ached just thinking about it.
His parting words to Brandon had been that if he ever had to see Rapid again, he would not be responsible for his actions. His commander could take that any way he liked, but Cord was determined.I’m going to have to tell Billy about it,and that wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have, but his mate deserved to know the truth.
The door opened just as he reached the porch steps. Billy poked his head out. “Were you going to just sleep on the porch until I got up? You don’t have a key yet.”
“Oh, Billy. You have no idea how pleased I am to see you.” Cord crossed the distance between them in seconds, scooping his mate into his arms and slamming the front door with his foot as he got them both inside. “Billy. Gods, Billy. I’ve missed you so much,” he said, burying his nose in the crook of his mate’s neck. “Please, please tell me we’ll be all right.”
“We will be mate. We will be.” Billy sounded tearful again, but this time they were happy tears – Cord’s wolf could tell. “But I noticed you didn’t bring me my chocolate. I stayed up for that, hoping you’d come.”
Keeping hold of Billy with one arm, Cord dug into his pocket with his other hand, pulling out a chocolate drink sachet. “Everywhere was closed, but I got you this,” he said, holding it up, chuckling at Billy’s bright eyed stare. “I’ll get you another one in the morning – a proper one this time.”
“I guess you’ll have to kiss me instead, then.” Billy tilted up his sweet face. “I missed you, too, my mate. I truly did.”
Chapter Eighteen
Billy’s heart threatened to burst as Cord swept him into his arms right there in the doorway. The chocolate packet crinkled between them, and Billy couldn’t help the watery laugh that escaped him.
“I can’t believe it. You actually remembered the hot chocolate,” he whispered against Cord’s neck, breathing in his mate’s scent like a drowning man gasping for air.
“Told you, I couldn’t find an open shop, but I wasn’t coming home empty-handed.” Cord’s voice rumbled through Billy’s entire body. “God, I missed you so fucking much.”
Billy pulled back just enough to look at his alpha’s face, drinking in every detail - the tired lines around his eyes, the stubble darkening his jaw, the way his dark hair fell across his forehead. “Bedroom. Now.”
They stumbled down the hallway, unable to stop touching each other. Billy’s glasses went askew as Cord pressed him against the wall halfway there, kissing him like he needed Billy’s mouth to breathe.
“Missed you,” Billy gasped between kisses. “Missed you, missed you, missed you…”
“Never again,” Cord growled, lifting Billy clean off his feet. “Never leaving you for that long again, I swear.”
Billy wrapped his legs around Cord’s waist, marveling at how easily his alpha carried him the rest of the way to the bedroom. He’d spent so many years thinking he was never good enough – believing the words of his parents. Then, with the constant battering of his self-esteem stemming from the pictures he hadn’t been able to look away from while Cord had been away… But Cord had come through. His mate, who’d told him he would come home to him and did.
Cord set him down gently beside the bed, hands immediately going to the hem of Billy’s sleep shirt. “Need to see you. Need to touch you. Need…”
“I know.” Billy’s fingers shook as he helped Cord strip them both. “I need it too. Need you.”
When skin finally met skin, they both groaned. Billy had thought their first time during his heat had been intense, but this - this was different. This was coming home. This was choosing each other with clear heads and full hearts.
Cord’s hands mapped every inch of him like he was memorizing Billy all over again. “You’re shaking.”
“Happy shaking,” Billy assured him, pulling Cord down for another kiss. “Promise it’s happy shaking.”
