“Thank God they were changed; that would have hurt,” Jude laughed.
“Hey, how’s your dad?” Dakota looked over at Jude.
Jude shrugged. “He’s okay, I guess. Trying to fill his days. He’s going to be making the move to Seattle soon from Oregon.”
“Really? I didn’t know that.” Dakota sat back in surprise.
“Yeah, he said he wanted to be closer to me and the guys,” Jude grinned. “But I know the real reason.”
“Jackson moved last month,” Dakota nodded knowingly.
“Yep and he’s been showing my dad available real estate – which I find hilarious, since that’s what my dad’s job was way back when. Now he’s acting like he knows nothing about it,” Jude snickered.
Dakota’s brows pinched. “What did Jackson do for a living?”
“You don’t know?” Jude smiled broadly. Dakota shook his head and Jude grinned. “Dad doesn’t know, either. Jackson Murphy was career Navy. He’s a former SEAL just like the guys in his pack.”
Dakota’s jaw dropped. “Your dad doesn’t know that?”
Jude shook his head. “Nope. He just thinks Jackson was in the Navy as a cook.”
“Who told him that?” Dakota searched Jude’s face and smiled. “You did?”
“Yep. Can’t wait to see his face when Jackson tells him the truth.”
“You’re evil,” Dakota laughed. He sobered and turned his attention back to the football game. Hayden was shirtless, sweat rolling down his perfect torso in rivulets. Tattoos of skulls ran down his side.
“Wow, Hayden sure is muscular,” Dakota commented innocently, keeping his laughter in check as Jude basically drooled. “Isn’t he Special Forces?”
“Shhh,” Jude whispered. “They don’t exist.”
Dakota laughed. “Oh that’s right. Like the Roswell aliens.”
Jude eyed Dakota. “You believe in aliens?”
“Uh, I’m a werewolf?” Dakota raised an eyebrow.
Jude cracked up. “I think it’s amazing how much information we’ve become privy to since working for James. Of course, we’re all sworn to secrecy but still. It’s cool.”
“Well, we trusted them with our secret, so they’re trusting us.” Dakota peered in on Matty and Kane, still sleeping. “So, you want kids someday?”
“Maybe,” Jude said quietly. “I’d have to find the right person, though. Someday I hope to find my mate.”
“I think you have already.” Dakota nodded towards Hayden.
“That will never happen.” Jude crossed his arms over his chest.
“Hayden told me everything,” Dakota said sadly. “How he picked on you in school, about his parents dying, being changed into a werewolf. Everything. I know it still hurts him to think of how he treated you back then. He’s a different person, Jude. I think you know he’s tried to make it up to you.”
“I’m trying to see him as someone other than that Hayden, but it’s hard. Every time I look at him, I see the bully who shoved me into my locker.”
“Try to give him a chance, Jude. I think you’ll find that this Hayden Cox is nothing like the kid you knew.”
“Maybe,” Jude tilted his head, watching Hayden. The man was beautiful, even covered in sweat. Men and women had stopped to watch the football game and Jude’s hackles rose as one man approached Hayden after the play was over. He strained his ears to hear the conversation.
“Are you eavesdropping?” Dakota chuckled.
“No.”
“Oh? Well, I am. Hayden’s telling him thanks, but no thanks.”
“Really?” Jude turned quickly to look at Dakota. A small smile played at the other man’s lips.
“Dammit, Dakota,” Jude grumbled.
“Just admit it; you find him attractive. You always have. I’m being sincere; he really did just say that.”
“Shh, kids are coming.” Jude stood up and grabbed a handful of fliers.
As far as Dakota was concerned, this was the best part of the day, letting kids know there were places they could go, places where people actually cared about them if they found themselves without support.
They had videos of Camp Pride and handed them out to all the kids, as well as business cards listing all the outreach centers in the surrounding areas. Dakota looked over his shoulder to see Kane fidgeting.
“Jude, can you get Kane a bottle for me? It’s in the diaper bag.”
“Sure, no prob.” Jude looked through the bag and found the ready-made bottle. He picked Kane up out of the playpen and held him in his arms. The baby smiled up at him and cooed.
It was hard to believe he was holding an alpha. At some point, he would be taking orders from the child in his arms. Kane grabbed at the bottle in his hands and Jude put it in his mouth.
“It’s so hard to believe one day Kane will be ruling us.”
Dakota smiled down at his son and looked at Jude. “You look good with a kid.”
“Will you stop?” Jude chuckled.
“Hey guys, is there a bottle of water back there?”
Jude looked up and clamped his mouth shut. Hayden stood in front of the table, chest heaving, covered in sweat. Jude licked his lips.
“Sure is.” Dakota flipped open the cooler and handed Hayden the cold bottle.
Hayden leaned over Kane, running his fingers on the baby’s cheek. “Hey, little man. How ya doin’?” Hayden laughed as Kane grabbed his fingers. The baby tugged on them until they rested on Jude’s hand holding the bottle.
Hayden looked up quickly and backed up just as quickly. “Well, uh, thanks.”
Dakota watched as Hayden almost ran back to the game. He looked over at his son with a raised brow. Kane had the sight; did he see something in the future for Hayden and Jude? Dakota smiled. God, he hoped so.
~*~
By the time they left, the sun was setting and the entire group was worn out. Riley pulled into the driveway and rolled out of the seat in total exhaustion. The twins were fast asleep, as was Kane. The day had taken its toll on everyone. Sam grabbed the carrier and helped Dakota out of the car. Mateo grabbed Matty’s carrier and the diaper bag, as Riley picked up Maggie. They all dragged themselves to the front door. The house was ice cold and Riley sighed in bliss.
“So tired,” Dakota groaned, leaning against Sam.
“Me too, babe. See you guys in the morning.” Sam patted Mateo on his back.
“Yup.” Mateo walked down to the twins’ bedroom with Riley right behind him. He took Matty out of the carrier carefully and put him down in the crib. Riley put Maggie in right next to him and they curled up together.
“Look how cute they are,” Riley whispered, stifling a yawn. “I’m going to go shower.”
Mateo nodded. “Okay, I’ll lock up.”
Riley stood in the shower with the water pounding his back and shoulders. The day had taken a toll on him. He didn’t have a clue as to what he’d do if one of his children was taken from him. Wyatt and Preston had suffered incredibly and Gage had only been missing for seconds.
Riley smiled to himself. Little Wyatt was now a dad, as was Preston.
He took a long, deep breath and it caught in his chest as Mateo’s mouthwatering smell invaded the shower stall. Riley closed his eyes as hands trailed down his sides. Fingers feathered across his ass cheeks and dipped into his crack. Riley spread his legs out, as Mateo’s mouth sucked on his shoulder.
“You’ve been restraining yourself.” Riley leaned his head back to meet Mateo’s lips.
“I wanted to give you time; you were going through so much,” Mateo breathed across Riley’s lips.
“It had to have been hard on you. I know the instinct to take me has been there this whole time.”
“It has,” Mateo agreed, kissing Riley’s neck as his fingers stroked Riley’s ass lovingly. “But I love you; I can wait.”
“I can’t,” Riley growled. “Take me.”
“Riley, it’s—”
“I know what it is. You want to take me, pound
me into the fucking wall, then bite me and own me.”
“Yes.”
The growl from Mateo echoed around the bathroom and Riley’s mouth watered. His canines elongated and claws flared from his fingers.
“Fuck me, Mateo,” he demanded. “Hard.”
Mateo thrust into him and Riley’s claws broke through the tile wall. Mateo’s arms were around his upper thighs, holding him up as he pounded into him. Riley tilted his head back, letting the water slide over his neck. This was what he had needed all along; he needed Mateo to complete him in a way no one else ever would. Mateo’s fingers wrapped around his dick and Riley almost screamed as the pleasure came crashing down on him.
He came with a violent shudder, his long, drawn-out cry echoing in the bathroom. Mateo came with a roar and lodged his canines in Riley’s neck. Another violent orgasm raced through them both as the connection melded them together.
Mateo’s arms wrapped around him, pulling him back. Riley tipped his head back and licked Mateo’s bottom lip.
“Wow.”
Mateo chuckled.
“My turn,” Riley growled.
Mateo’s head spun as Riley whipped him around. His normally soft-spoken and laidback husband was quite forceful these days.
Damn. That was just sexy as all hell.
He barely had time to grab onto anything as Riley spread his ass cheeks apart and speared his ass. That tongue was replaced seconds later by Riley’s hardened cock.
“Oh Jesus!” Mateo gripped the shower wall.
“Yeah?” Riley growled against Mateo’s neck. “I’m just getting started.”
~*~
Dakota stifled a giggle as the sounds from Riley and Mateo’s bathroom filtered through the house. Kane was snuggled in between him and Sam, sleeping peacefully.
“Wow. I think they need to soundproof their room,” Sam laughed. “I’m afraid I’m finding out WAY more than I ever needed to about my Army buddies.”
Kane sighed softly and Dakota kissed his forehead.
“Are you ready to head home? I know Nadine misses Kane already.” Dakota ran his fingers through the baby’s silken hair.
Sam pulled Dakota closer to him, mindful of the baby, and kissed him.
“Yes, my mom loves having the baby around. I’m glad Riley and Mateo are going to visit with the twins. She jokes about how they make her feel young.”
Dakota searched Sam’s eyes. “You want to change her and your father, don’t you?”
“I won’t lie. The thought of losing my mom and dad hurts me. I look at all the guys who have lost their parents and I realize how lucky I am to still have both of mine.”
Dakota closed his eyes with a sigh. “You want me to contact my parents, don’t you?”
“I think if you don’t, and something happens to one of them, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. At least try to mend the fence with them. If they still won’t have any part of you – well, at least you tried.”
Dakota pulled Sam to his lips. “I love you, you know that, right?”
“I do. I love you, too.”
“We should get some rest. Another long day awaits us.”
Sam nodded, looking down at his son sleeping peacefully. “Yes, now we get to the part where we have to separate Matty and Kane.”
“Well, we know they can communicate, so hopefully it won’t be too bad. Besides, they’ll see each other very soon.”
“Yes. I can remember when we were contemplating moving to Arizona on the off chance Riley and Mateo’s child was a werewolf and they needed our help. Now that they are both changed, they can actually handle him.”
Dakota chuckled. “I’m sorry, have you not seen Matty with Mateo? Those two are exact replicas of each other.”
Sam smiled wickedly. “Oh, I know. It’s about time Esposito got a taste of his own obnoxious medicine.”
“You are so evil, babe,” Dakota laughed quietly.
“I know.” Sam grinned.
~*~
Mateo woke up to the soft sounds of music in the room. Rolling over, he eyed the clock. Two in the morning. He rolled back over to see the purple hippo staring at him blankly. He smiled and reached over to turn the volume up on the baby monitor. The sound of Cheap Trick and “The Flame” softly flowed from the small speaker.
Mateo grinned and got out of bed. He crept down the hall to the babies’ room and peeked in. Riley had both twins in his arms and was swaying back and forth to the music. Mateo leaned against the wall, just watching his husband. Riley was made to be a father. He was so loving – so patient.
“Hey,” Mateo whispered.
Riley looked up and smiled. God, that smile. Mateo crossed the room and took Riley and the twins in his arms. They swayed together, all four of them, to the music.
“Remember this song?” Riley whispered.
“Of course I do. It was the first time I kissed you.” Mateo smiled at the memory.
“It was also the night that you made love to me for the first time. Although you played it off as nothing.”
“Yeah?” Mateo grinned. “And you had a fit.”
Riley pouted. “Did not.”
“Did, too. In fact, I specifically remember you yelling at me and telling me to fuck off,” Mateo chuckled softly.
“Well, you were being an asshole.” Riley kissed Mateo’s lips.
“My specialty back then.”
“Yeah, well, I took you down with little to no effort,” Riley grinned lasciviously.
“Because you were you.” Mateo caressed Riley’s cheek. “I knew something was off that day. Now I know it was my dad’s voice telling me not to pull the trigger.” Mateo closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of his husband and kids.
After years of being alone, he had Riley and the twins. He leaned back and studied Riley’s youthful appearance.
“I’m not going to shift a lot.” Mateo looked into his husband’s eyes.
Riley nodded. “You want to work off your own abilities. I had a feeling you would.”
“Don’t get me wrong, it makes it easier with Matty, but I’ve spent most of my life perfecting my craft. Even Sam and Troy stay human on missions. Well, most of the time. The werewolf thing is cool, but it’s not going to be a huge part of my life. I’ll shift when I have to, mainly for Matty.”
“I understand.” Riley smiled up at his much taller husband. “but I’m so going to have fun with it!”
Matty yawned and stretched out between them. His eyes opened and he studied Mateo’s face slowly. Mateo leaned in and kissed the small forehead.
“You are going to have one heck of a life, little man.” Mateo brushed the hair from Matty’s brow.
“What about Maggie? I know Evangeline is working on some form of medication for the females.”
“We’ll have to wait and see. Besides,” Mateo kissed his daughter’s cheek. “We have years to figure that out.”
Mateo pulled his family close to him and sang the words softly into Riley’s ear.
“You learned the song?” Riley whispered.
“It’s our song. Of course I did.”
Riley snuggled into Mateo’s chest. “I love you, Mateo Esposito.”
“I love you, too.”
Once the twins were safely in their crib, Mateo took Riley back to bed. He rolled over on top of Riley and framed his face within his hands, kissing him softly. With all the guests in the house, they hadn’t had much one on one time. Well, except for their romp in the shower earlier.
Mateo smiled while kissing Riley.
“What are you chuckling about?” Riley breathed against his husband’s lips.
“I’m thinking about earlier. You surprised me.”
Riley bit Mateo’s bottom lip. “Oh, the shower? Yeah, something about being a werewolf makes me horny.”
Mateo laughed softly. “You’re always horny.”
“Well, look at who I’m married to.” Riley gently touched Mateo’s bottom lip with his finger. His cock hardened as Mat
eo sucked the finger in, rolling his tongue around the tip. “Don’t get me started,” Riley growled.
Mateo sucked Riley’s finger in deeper, twirling his tongue around the digit. Riley’s canines elongated and Mateo released the finger slowly.
“You were saying?” Mateo ground his cock against Riley’s.
A loud growl resounded around the room.
~*~
Dakota sat up in bed. “Oh come on, not again.”
Sam chuckled.
~*Chapter Ten*~
Mateo opened the door to Antarctica. The house was freezing, and he expected to see a polar bear at any moment. Or a penguin.
The stereo was on full blast and Riley was dancing to the music as he vacuumed the living room. Mateo had left the house early in the morning for a meeting at the FBI office with James and Derek. Somehow Lucas Cain, James’ old Bureau partner, had gone off the grid. James had called Brody Blackthorn – Lucas’ supposed boyfriend, only to hear that he also had no clue where Lucas was.
Something was off, and James didn’t like it one bit. Neither did Mateo.
The twins were growing fast. In wolf form, Matty was the size of a four-month-old puppy. Maggie was progressing as well. She would get irritated when she couldn’t grab something, or keep up with her brother, but Matty would always come back to her and wait. They’d gone to the reservation a few weeks back to see Dakota and Sam. Kane pounced on Matty the second he saw him; it was like they’d never been apart.
Mateo grinned at Riley singing and shaking his ass.
“Hello!” he shouted.
Riley turned with a huge grin.
“Hi!”
“Why is the music so loud? Where are the twins?”
“Sleeping!” Riley shouted.
“Through this?” Mateo shouted back.
“Yes! You have to get them used to a lot of noise instead of creeping around all the time. Nadine told me!”
Mateo shook his head with a chuckle and dropped his bag off by the front door. He smacked Riley’s ass on his way down the hall to the twins’ room. Peeking in, he smiled at Matty, snuggled up into Maggie. Both of them were sound asleep.
The Littlest Page 10
