Dancing Around The Cop

by Lisa Oliver

  Terry a quick peck on the cheek as well. But Terry wasn’t having

  any of that. A quick turn of Terry’s head and Zander’s lips were

  caught in the most pleasant of locks. Taking his time, Zander

  savored the taste of bacon and coffee on Terry’s tongue before

  breaking off gently.

  “Morning,” Terry said with a happy grin.

  Zander smiled, and then nodded at George, “Morning, sir.”

  “No need for this sir rubbish. Call me George,” George said. “We

  all know who the stronger wolf is in this room.”

  Nodding again, Zander smiled as a huge plate of food appeared

  from beside him. Not sure what to say in a family get together

  because it wasn’t something he was familiar with, he

  concentrated on eating – after the first mouthful he knew where

  Terry had learned to cook. Rachel’s breakfast was amazing.

  “So, Zander,” George said, after he’d swallowed a few

  mouthfuls. “Terry tells us that you’ve mentioned taking up a

  position as Alpha for your home pack, in New Haven?”

  “I’ve mentioned it,” Zander said, too engrossed in his food to

  really worry about anything his…well, his father in law, he

  supposed, was concerned about.

  “Yes, well, Terry’s mother and I were hoping you would

  reconsider, for Terry’s benefit.” Georges tone was respectful,

  but there was a tinge of warning in those words as well – words

  that had Zander paying a lot more attention.

  Putting down his knife, Zander tucked his arm around his mate,

  and looked George squarely in the eye. George wasn’t able to

  hold his gaze for very long, but Zander gave the man points for

  trying. As soon as George dropped his eyes, Zander said softly,

  “My Father did offer me the opportunity when he’d heard I’d met

  my mate. At the time I told him no, because I love my work, and

  I know Terry has built a good life for himself here as well.

  However, as a police detective, living as a human can be difficult

  for my wolf spirit, and after Terry was attacked by his ex-boss

  for the second time I might add, I found it really difficult not to

  act as a decent wolf should.”

  “We understand that Zander,” Rachel said, slipping into the seat

  beside her husband and taking George’s hand. “You’re an Alpha

  and I’m so thankful that you are strong enough to keep our son

  safe. We’ve been blessed. But a pack, for an Omega, no matter

  how strong you are, it won’t be a good life for Terry. That’s why

  we left ours.”

  “What do you mean?” Terry said, apparently quite happy to rest

  against Zander’s shoulder, but looking at his mom. “I thought

  you left your pack well before I was born. I didn’t know it was

  my fault.”

  “It wasn’t your fault, son,” George said quickly. “Besides, we

  didn’t know for sure you were an Omega until you shifted. But

  Rachel here, she sees things sometimes, and when we knew she

  was pregnant with you, she…” George trailed off and dropped his

  eyes again.

  “I had a premonition,” Rachel said, patting George’s hand. “Our

  Alpha wasn’t a good man, and he hated the thought of male

  Omegas. He didn’t treat his female ones very well either. When

  I told George that I was sure we would be giving birth to a male

  Omega, he believed me and we left. We’ve been lone wolves

  ever since and while it was hard, it was the best thing we could

  have ever done.”

  Zander thought for a moment, eating a bit more breakfast. He

  had been thinking of moving back to New Haven especially after

  he lost Sully’s friendship. The attack on Terry had just solidified

  that idea. But Sully was back in his life, and fuck, he couldn’t

  take Terry away from his successes, his friends, and the life he

  had created for himself. Terry was still young and deserved some

  happiness in the world he’d created for himself, instead of being

  buried in pack life from an early age.

  “A lot of my reasoning for leaving Houston comes from trying to

  keep Terry safe. My wolf is hampered in a human world, but it is

  more than that. I have been in Houston for ten years and it won’t

  be long before people notice that I’m not aging. We will have to

  move eventually.”

  “Tell them you’ve had a face lift in an effort to keep up with your

  younger lover,” Terry said with a cheeky smile. “That should

  keep the gossips off your back for a while.”

  Zander mock growled and snapped his teeth at his mate, pleased

  when Terry laughed. He looked up to see Rachel and George

  smiling at him.

  “I do know what packs are like, but a lot of their culture comes

  from the Alpha who leads them,” Zander said. “My Father has

  always been a fair man and has no problems with gays or

  Omegas and he has raised his pack to be the same. That said,”

  he added looking at Terry again, “My mate has just proven

  himself as the rising fashion consultant for Houston Pride Week,

  which I am hugely proud of. He has friends, and I have a job I’m

  committed to. I’d like to think we can squeeze another five, eight

  or even ten years out of this place before we have to move. I do

  promise you, that if we move to New Haven, that we will talk to

  you about it first, and I would want to take you two on a visit

  there before any permanent decisions were made. I understand

  how much you have Terry’s best interests at heart.”

  Rachel and George shared a long look, so Zander took the time

  to finish his breakfast and swig on the coffee Terry had

  thoughtfully provided.

  “I really appreciate what you have told us, Zander,” George said.

  “You don’t have to take our feelings, or Terry’s into account,

  especially when keeping Terry safe is your biggest concern. I

  would just like to ask, if you do decide to relocate to New Haven

  sometime in the future, would there be room in your pack for

  me and Rachel?”

  “Definitely,” Zander said firmly, while Terry gave a little clap and

  a jump beside him. Pulling Terry onto his lap, Zander added, “I

  can’t blame you for wanting to keep your son safe. You’ve been

  doing it his whole life, I am well aware that I’m the newcomer in

  this little family. Thanks to you my little mate is happy, confident

  in who he is and on the cusp of a huge career. He’s everything I

  could ever want in my life partner and I have you two to thank

  for it. If you ever want to move closer to us, if you need help of

  any kind, I’ll do all I can to be there for you.”

  “You don’t have to do that, love. You’re a part of our family no

  matter what happens,” Terry said, stroking Zander’s face, a

  serious frown on his face.

  “Terry, your mate is an Alpha,” George said with a laugh. “I think

  we’ve just become a mini pack.”

  Meeting George’s eyes across the top of Terry’s head, Zander

  caught the older man’s look of approval and he nodded, agreeing

  with George’s statement. No matter what life threw at them,

&nb
sp; Zander knew that he now had two more people he would be

  responsible for, whether he moved Terry to New Haven or not.

  A huge part of Terry’s sweetness, his ability to love and the way

  he embraced life, was thanks to the two other people sharing

  their table. Two people who had been keeping Terry safe since

  before his mate was born. Zander would never forget the debt

  he owed Rachel and George.

  Epilogue

  Terry slid into the end of the booth, greeting his faithful friends

  with a smile and a nod. Since Pride Week, Terry had been

  inundated with orders for one-off, special occasion gowns from

  some of Houston’s elite society. The hours were long, but the

  pay, which Richard had advised him on, was phenomenal.

  “How’s the rag trade going, Terry?” Roy asked, pushing a fancy

  pink cocktail towards him.

  “Never better,” Terry said. “You guys, what you did for me when

  I lost my job at Club Blue…I’ll never forget it.”

  “Good, you can get the next drink in,” Joel said, lifting his near

  empty glass. “Now what were we talking about?”

  “Kissing,” Charlie said. “And now, Terry’s here, perhaps he’d like

  to update us on his impressions of the perfect kiss. By the way,

  Ter, where’s your faithful shadow?”

  “Zander will be along shortly. He and Sully went with Richard to

  pick up his brother from the airport. Where’s Max?”

  Roy sat back in the booth with a small smile on his face. He was

  still seeing Richard on a regular basis, and Terry had been

  pleased to see that some of his snarky manner had been worn

  down a bit. Not that Roy was a pushover, but love looked good

  on his friend.

  “He’ll be along shortly too,” Joel said. “More meetings. I swear

  that man never has a day off lately.”

  “Blow jobs might help,” Terry said with a smirk as he took a sip

  of his drink. Sweet, full of cream and some underlying kick of

  alcohol. Just perfect.

  “I swear since you’ve been with that man of yours, you’ve

  become a right connoisseur in using bedroom tricks for

  manipulative purposes.” Charlie and Joel were laughing at him,

  but Terry knew there was an element of truth to the statement.

  Not everything he tried worked of course, but with Zander, half

  the fun was trying things out. Frequently.

  “Okay, back to kissing,” Roy said, perching his elbows on the

  table, trying to look serious and failing miserably. It might have

  had something to do with his bright blue top, with matching

  sparkly eyeshadow. “The last time we tried to discuss this, we

  were rudely interrupted, however, from what I remember,

  Charlie was in favor of dreamy lips and not too much slobber,

  Joel liked the feel of stubble on his chin, particularly Max’s lack

  of shaving, and Terry had some romantic notion about toes

  curling, passion and a spot of dominance. I’d like to add having

  strong arms to hold you while being kissed is a vital part of the

  experience. Have any of your opinions changed?”

  “I haven’t had much experience with kissing lately,” Charlie said,

  drooping a little. “But Terry’s loaned me some books and I am

  starting to see that kissing would be more than a meeting of the

  lips.”

  “I still concur that Max is by far the best kisser I’ve ever

  experienced and that’s not going to change.” Bless Joel, still so

  loyal to his man. It was lovely to see.

  “And you Terry? Your circumstances have changed the most

  since we last tabled this discussion. What do you think?”

  “I agree with all of you,” Terry said, thinking about Zander. “The

  perfect kiss has to be more than four lips smacking together.

  The feel of a strong chin against yours is precious, the softness

  or hardness of lips doesn’t matter, but the pressure they are

  used with does. It is definitely a whole body experience and if it

  doesn’t curl your toes, then you ain’t doing it right.”

  The four friends sat in silence for a moment, all probably reliving

  special moments in their lives. Roy was just about to speak again

  when two large shadows fell across the table.

  “Oh not again,” Terry said before he could stop himself. “Can’t

  we go anywhere for a quiet drink without being hassled?”

  “Not here, you can’t,” one of the strangers said. “Look at you,”

  he waved a hand dismissively over the four men. “You’re fucking

  fairies and don’t belong around decent folk.”

  “I am not going to take umbrage at your use of the word fairies,”

  Charlie said with a burst of spirit. “Clearly vocabulary is not one

  of your strong points. But we are waiting on other friends and

  have no intention of leaving until they get here.”

  “If your other friends look like you, then they ain’t welcome here

  either,” the other larger stranger said with what was supposed

  to be a menacing look. Terry thought he looked constipated and

  his friend wasn’t much better.

  “They don’t look anything like us,” Terry assured him, winking

  at Roy and leaning back in his seat. “Why don’t you look for

  yourself?” He pointed his finger behind the men, who were both

  dumb enough to look. But then the sight of four, no make that,

  five big men all looking like they were ready to kill someone was

  something worth looking at.

  Zander of course got there first. Pushing past one stranger, he

  slipped into the booth beside Terry, putting a possessive arm

  over his shoulder.

  “This man bothering you sweet cakes? Blown away by your

  beauty and personality perhaps? Didn’t you tell him you were

  taken?”

  Before Terry could say anything one of the strangers blustered,

  “You’re fucking kidding me. You’re with these faggots?”

  “We’re all together, yes,” Richard said, looking positively evil as

  he sat next to Roy, pulling the smaller man closer. “If you have

  a problem with us, then you might like to know that two of our

  party are part of Houston’s finest police force, I’m a cut throat

  lawyer that eats idiots like you before breakfast, and my brother

  over there, he’s a Marine. And while Max might work as a chef,

  he’s also a middle weight boxing champion. Now, can we get on

  with our evening, or do we need to throw the trash out first?”

  Okay, if looks could kill they would all be dead, but the two

  strangers had enough brain cells between them to know when

  they were beat, and they slinked away. Richard introduced his

  brother, known simply as Q, while Max got reacquainted with

  Joel. What Terry couldn’t understand was why Sully was looking

  at Q like he was the center attraction at a chocolate fair.

  “They’re mates, precious. Looks like Sully’s got what he was

  looking for. You should have seen Q at the airport,” Zander

  whispered, taking the opportunity to nibble his ear. Terry hoped

  his moan was quiet, but honestly the feeling was so delicious it

  was hard to keep his noises to himself.

  Fortunately, or not depen
ding on how you looked at it, Zander

  left his ear alone, settling for a hot hand on the top of his thigh,

  while he and the others around the table shared jokes, tall tales

  about work and the general nonsense that could only come from

  being with good friends.

  /~/~/~/~/

  Now he was sitting with his Omega, Zander felt contentment fall

  over him like a warm blanket. He’d been feeling that way a lot

  just lately and he knew it all came down to being with his mate.

  His wolf wasn’t as anxious and surly anymore. He and Sully were

  still good friends, but he was also finding himself more sociable

  than ever before and chatted and shared things with other work

  mates. He had a cozy home he longed to return to every minute

  he was away. And at the very heart of his perfect life was Terry.

  Thinking back over all that he’d done and thought over the past

  six months – yep, some was good and some not so much. But

  Terry had been a constant in all of it. As he looked up at Q who

  was eying Sully like he was a big tasty steak, all while thinking

  the other man wasn’t looking, Zander chuckled to himself. He

  could have danced around all he liked, lord knows he tried. But

  sooner or later, when it came to being mates, the Fates always

  played the winning hand. And as for Zander, he couldn’t be

  happier.

  The End

  Other Books By Lisa Oliver

  Cloverleah Pack

  Book 1 – The Reluctant Wolf – Kane and Shawn

  Book 2 – The Runaway Cat – Griff and Diablo

  Book 3 – When No Doesn’t Cut It – Damien and Scott

  Book 3.5 – Never Go Back – Scott and Damien’s Trip and a free

  story about Malacai and Elijah

  Book 4 – Calming the Enforcer – Troy and Anton

  Book 5 – Getting Close to the Omega – Dean and Matthew

  Book 6 – Fae For All – Jax, Aelfric and Fafnir (M/M/M)

  Book 7 – Watching Out For Fangs – (Coming Soon) – Josh’s story

  Bound and Bonded Series

  Book One – Don’t Touch

  Book Two – Topping the Dom

  Book Three – Total Submission

  Book Four – Fighting Fangs

  Book Five – No Mate of Mine

  Book 6 – Undesirable Mate (Coming Later in the Year)

  Stockton Wolves Series

  Book One – Get off My Case