A Bundle of Mannies

by Lorelei M. Hart

  “You are not my staff.” He held me close. Deciding for me to stay here and negotiating the terms had not been easy for me. I didn’t want to overstep and be that houseguest who mooched with nothing in return because the paltry per diem I’d gotten wouldn’t pay for a Motel 6 much less full room and board in a beautiful home like this. When he accepted my offer, it relieved a great deal of my concerns.

  True, I still had a burned-up house that the insurance was playing not-my-responsibility on—he did it and vice versa between the two companies involved— but I had a place to stay that felt more like home than my actual home. Seth and I had at least some of our clothes. Things could have been far worse on that front.

  And then there was the manny option.

  I didn’t want to be in his employ, even though I appreciated the offer when it came up as a way to settle finances when I gave him the first check, one he had yet to cash—stubborn alpha. But being employed meant living in a way that kept us from exploring other avenues to our companionship. The taste I’d gotten on the ship didn’t sate my building desire—to the contrary, it only made it stronger. Being his employee was a no-go zone for me, and, thankfully, he agreed.

  “I know.” I nuzzled his neck and gave it a little nibble. “I made it for my friend.” I slid my palm down his arm, taking his hand in mine and leading him to the dining room where I had set up what I’d hoped he’d consider a romantic dinner for two.

  “Just a friend?” Kylos whispered in my ear, “I thought we’d decided to move past that stage.”

  “Behave, alpha, or you won’t get to taste any of my delicious cooking.” I’d made my world-famous lasagna. The world-famous part being a bit of an exaggeration, but it was well known and loved in the teacher-potluck realms.

  “When did Seth go down?” Eric was staying at a two-night intensive drama camp Marilyn had dropped hints about when we said our goodbyes. It meant not taking the mathematics class he’d been signed up for, and he’d been afraid his father would be less than excited about the idea, but after seeing the way Eric beamed on that stage, plans were quickly altered.

  “My parents returned from their trip and asked to see him.”

  Kylos froze. He was not a fan of my parents after what they’d pulled, even if it had ultimately been the catalyst for us getting together.

  “They apologized, my mom cried, my dad swore it would not happen again... I believed them and am picking him up at eight a.m. tomorrow.”

  “I feel like I got the very abbreviated version.”

  “And that you did, but as I see it, we have twelve hours before I need to go and get him, and, in that time, I would like for you to eat my amazing lasagna and regale me with praise about my fabulous cooking skills,” I sassed, holding out the chair for him.

  “And with the other hours?” His hand grazed my ass on its way to grab his napkin and place it on his lap. “What do you have planned for those, or should I begin penning some sonnets about the delicious-smelling food you prepared so I have enough material to fill the hours?”

  Oh I enjoyed playful Kylos. I enjoyed him very much.

  “I suppose that is one way to go.” The timer in the kitchen went off. “I need to get that.”

  “What is the other way?” he called to me as I stepped out of the room.

  I took the lasagna from the oven, the cheesy goodness bubbling to perfection. It had been a long time since I’d made it for anything other than a school function, and it was my first time making it for an alpha. Not an alpha…the alpha, the one I hoped to hold on to for as long as he would allow.

  “Dinner is served.” I placed the pan on the trivet I’d set out earlier. “Oh no. I forgot the salad.” I twisted to head back and grab it and found myself redirected until I was sitting on Kylos’ lap, his arms around me and his lips making a path up my neck.

  “I’m still concerned with what you had planned to do with the other hours.” His scent had me wanting to say fuck it to dinner and beg him to knot me right there. From the way his bulge pressed against my ass so deliciously, his cock was on board with that plan as well.

  “I made dinner.” I climbed off him for the slightest second so I could resettle my body facing him. “I worked really hard.” I wiggled my ass against his need. Dinner was going to wait. “Wanted to fill your mouth with something...yummy.”

  “Subtlety is not your thing, is it, omega?” He slammed his lips to mine in a hard kiss filled with so much pent-up need it took both of us a bit to catch our breaths when the kiss broke.

  “Is this okay?” I slipped my hands into his pants and began tugging his shirt free. I wanted it off.

  “Better than.” He stood, bringing me up with him. “But I feel there is a much better place for this activity.” He kissed me briefly as he kicked the chair out behind us. Strong and agile. Sexy as hell. “But if we go there—do this—I’m not sure I’ll be able to let you leave,” he confessed, already walking towards his bedroom.

  “I don’t want to leave.” I said, my legs wrapped tightly around him as I cursed our abundance of clothing.

  “So then, it is settled.”

  “This is because of the lasagna, isn’t it?” I teased as we reached the bedroom door.

  “Absolutely. Way to an alpha’s heart and all that.” He winked then settled me on the floor beside his bed. “Now, let’s get you naked.”

  “I love how you think.” I reached for his buttons and began to work them only to be thwarted by his hand on mine.

  “Did you not hear my words? I said get you naked. I seem to recall a promise of something yummy for my mouth.”

  How I didn’t come right then and there was a freaking mystery.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kylos

  I undressed Graysen like a present, peeling his shirt off then his shoes and socks, pausing to kiss his instep then reaching for his waistband. I’d waited so long for this, trying at first to be friends during the cruise and then for the first day or two here before realizing that it was pointless. He no longer worked for me, the kids loved each other...and so did we. I’d kept my love life, such that it was, totally separate from my son’s life, but Graysen and Seth were already in his life. Whether we hooked up or not, if they moved out, the boys would both be heartbroken.

  And me, too.

  I couldn’t imagine living without the man who’d come to help out with Eric’s summer schedule and taught me the way to my son’s heart.

  I drew his pants to his ankles, pausing on my knees to appreciate the scene before me. “Excellent choice in underwear.”

  He grinned down at me. “None?”

  “It’s what I’m wearing.” I skated my palms up the front of his thighs, the sprinkling of light hairs prickling against my palms. “I think we should make that our policy. Time is our friend tonight, but it won’t always be.”

  “I agree...at least at home.”

  I gave him a small push, and he landed on the mattress with a little bounce. “So the yummy part…” Closing my fist around his more-than-decent-sized cock, I gave it a squeeze. “Mmm, look at that.” I swirled my tongue around, picking up the droplet of precum. “Yes, this is what I want for dinner.” I forced myself to move slowly, although I wanted nothing more than to gobble him and then fuck him. If my dick was in charge, that would have been the move, but, instead, I worked with leisurely focus down his length and back up again, taking a bit more of him in each time until he was deep in my throat. I rarely gave blow jobs, afraid I’d been more selfish than not in casual relationships, but once upon a time, I’d wanted to please someone, and now I wanted to even more.

  I suppressed my gag reflex, listening to my omega’s breathing harshen. He dug his fingers into my shoulders and groaned. “Alpha...I’m going to...please don’t stop.”

  Stop? I sucked harder, scraping my teeth lightly over the skin and reaching underneath to massage his balls.

  “Kylos!” His hot fluid spurted into my throat, over and over, and I swallowed as fast
as I could, not wanting to miss a drop. Finally, his hands fell away, and he fell back to lie down with his ass on the edge of the mattress.

  I rose to my feet. “Omega, if you’re tired, we can do this later.” I’d die, but his needs came first.

  “If you don’t fuck me, I’ll kill you.” His voice was weak but resolute. Looked like I was going to die either way unless I sucked it up and did my duty. So hard!

  And yeah, I was so hard. I grasped his knees and pushed them to his chest then spread his slick with my other hand. I delved two fingers inside and found him ready for me. So without further delay, risking a premature mess on his belly, I thrust inside.

  “You’re so tight, omega. Tell me if I hurt you. I am so... I’ve waited forever for you.” And I meant for him, not just for sex. Being inside him was like coming home. Plunging in and withdrawing, deep and shallow I set a rhythm that not only brought me too close too fast, but his cock stirred and was close to rigid again already.

  “Yes, alpha!” he yelled, bucking his hips, fingers digging into the covers underneath him. “Yes! Please!”

  “I...won’t...last long,” I choked out, trying to slow my pace but unable to give up the incredible pleasure of his tight ass massaging my dick.

  “It’s okay,” he gasped. “Just do it. I want you to fill me with your cum. Knot me.”

  I had a one-millionth of a second pause at what it meant, knotting, then with a triumphant roar, I filled him with my cum and swelled, my body creating a knot that bound us together even while I fell forward on my elbows on either side of him to keep from dropping my entire weight on him. We were close to the same size, but he looked so vulnerable lying there. I wanted to wrap him up and take care of him forever.

  Chapter Twenty

  Graysen

  Waking up in Kylos’ arms was the absolute perfect start to the day.

  Having to leave them because the alarm was going off and I needed to get Seth so my mother could get her nails done and my father could pretend he was doing something manly in the garage when, really, he was doing whatever he could to avoid needing to spend the day with my mom sucked monkey butt.

  Good times.

  “Stay.” Kylos’ sleepy voice brushed my cheek. It might have wafted over my cock the way it responded. His was already hard and settled against my ass—a major contributing factor to the perfection that was waking up this way.

  “If but only I could,” I whined. “I would much rather be here with you, filled with your knot.”

  His hips ground into me. “There is no place I’d rather be right now than inside you.” He slid his arm off me. “I’ll go with you. At least then I won’t be missing you.”

  I tried not to read too much into that—into any of the sweet and sexy things he’d said last night during our time together.

  This lasagna is all the reason a man needs to up and marry you.

  Inside you feels like home.

  Omega, mine.

  At least then I won’t be missing you.

  Sex had a way of getting humans to say things we meant but in an exponentially significantly greater magnitude, so basically tall-taling our feelings. Putting too much credence into his words was only going to get my heart trampled on.

  “Then maybe we can grab some breakfast out?” I asked, trying to make some lemonade out of us not getting in another joining.

  “I know a place that makes pancakes shaped like dogs.” He sat up, stretching his arms out, ready to take on the world. I was far more slug-like pre-coffee.

  “Sounds as if you are excited by the prospect,” I teased as I sat up, my eyes still half closed.

  “Spending the day with two of my favorite people? Absolutely.” He climbed out of bed and padded toward the bathroom. “You know, if we share a shower, we can save some time.”

  Lies. We both knew it. Showering together would do no such thing.

  “Saving time sounds perfect.” I bounded to my feet, finally finding the inspiration to do so. “I’ll set the water.” I jogged past him, not at all sad when he reached out and gave my ass a slap along the way.

  Miraculously, we were at the car with an entire five minutes to spare.

  “I didn’t think this through entirely,” Kylos began as the GPS informed us we were three minutes away.

  “I am not going to regret what we did.” I gripped the steering wheel and focused all of my attention on not sounding as freaked-the-fuck-out as I was.

  “Whoa.” His hand settled on my thigh. “Never that, omega mine. Never that.” He gave it a little squeeze. “I was referring to me meeting your parents. We haven’t even put a formal name on what we mean to each other, and it might be awkward for you.”

  I turned the last corner until our destination. “What do we mean to each other?” I asked as we reached my parents’ driveway. Worst timing ever.

  “Everything,” Kylos whispered as the sound of my parents’ front door slammed shut, my dad on the steps, holding Seth, and my mother heading to the car with his bag. “I hope everything.”

  I turned off the ignition, leaned over to him, and kissed him on the cheek. “Everything works for me.”

  Of course, my mother took that as her cue e to load Seth’s belongings into the car. “I told you to be here by eight. I have things to do,” she scolded. I didn’t even bother to remind her she had been the one wanting him or that it was still not eight o'clock. I’d learned long ago it wasn’t worth the air.

  “Mom, this is Kylos. Kylos, Mom.” Had she even pretended to listen, I’d have elaborated. As it was, it wasn’t worth my breath.

  I got out of the car, took Seth from my father, and settled him into his seat. “There you go, little man. I missed you.” I blew raspberries on his face, loving the giggles that poured out of him in response. I shut his door, planning to feign some superficial chitchat and be on our way. My parents were already halfway inside.

  I climbed in, turned on the car, and drove to the corner before it hit me that I had no idea where we were going. “Left or right?”

  “Left and, Graysen, I was wrong.” His hand squeezed my shoulder.

  “Wrong about what?”

  “Wrong about a theory I had...one I used a lot when writing my book, actually.” He squeezed it again. “Head to South Oak.”

  I turned left, now having half a guess where he was taking us.

  “And your theory was?”

  “If you plant a potato, you get a potato. You, omega, are not a potato.”

  In the weirdest way ever, that was the best compliment I ever remembered getting.

  “And Eric is very much a potato,” I replied, hoping I got the analogy correct.

  “No, he is better than.”

  “Fries?” Seth called to us from the back, and both of us burst into laughter. Out of the mouths of babes and all that.

  “Would you like fries with your breakfast, little man?” Kylos asked.

  “Fries. Etchup.” He squealed with joy.

  “Ketchup on your fries?” I clarified, using the correct pronunciation of the word to encourage him without correcting him. He’d come so far in the last month, and I wanted to keep that momentum going.

  “Pease, Unka?” Smart little guy remembered how often the answer no came with anything ketchup related. There was not enough stain remover in the world for it to be any other way.

  “Ketchup it is.”

  “I like mayo on my fries, Seth.” Kylos’ confession was met with an ewwwww by me.

  “You’ll just have to try it and see. Change of location. Let’s circle around to Johanna’s. They make the best fries.”

  And circle around we did, although, despite his best effort, mayo on fries was still very ewwwww for me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Kylos

  Four weeks later, I still had my guests. Not that I found that to be any kind of problem. I was delighted to have them and hoped they’d stay forever. Initially, we’d had Seth in the guestroom with Graysen, but somewhere along t
here he’d found his way into Eric’s room and curled up on the floor...three nights in a row. In the interest of him not getting stepped on or catching cold, we went along with my son’s suggestion and put him in the other twin bed in there, with the addition of safety rails. Why he had chosen the floor...we had no idea. But once he’d piled the stuffies we’d retrieved from the undamaged portion of the house—luckily including Seth’s room—in the chair in the corner of Eric’s room, he seemed very happy to settle in his new digs and stay put all night.

  We, Graysen and I, were still not comfortable sleeping together until we made things permanent, so we floated along, sneaking in romance when we could. I asked him to consider putting his house on the market as soon as it was done, but it seemed like maybe having that hanging over his head, waiting for estimates and getting no answers, made him reluctant to solidify what was between us.

  At least I hoped that was the problem.

  Tension built, only partly relieved by our stolen moments alone together late at night. Finally, one morning I woke alone, as always, hugging the pillow that still held Graysen’s scent, and I’d had enough. The house was just a house, and if we were a couple, an official couple, I could step in and make things happen. He was being independent, maybe a little stubborn, and wanting that resolved before we moved forward.

  Hell, the boys already called each other, my bruvver or my brother depending on which one was speaking. It was too late to worry about hurting them if things didn’t work out. It would. I climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom to shower, running over my schedule in my mind. I had nothing for the evening. Good. I’d call a sitter—no matter that Eric was making noises about being plenty old enough to watch Seth. He was not. But he would be in not too many years. Graysen and I would go out for a nice dinner and a long talk about the future.