It was all small movements as we rocked together. I lowered my head to the back of Jim’s neck, grasping the thin muscle there between my lips. Tasting the glands, sugar-sweet. Resting my teeth on the soft skin.
The tiniest bit of pressure would be enough. My head swam with the sensation.
I’d never wanted to be bonded. All my life, I’d seen my father be a slave to his pheromones, unable to turn away from the urges they sparked in him.
Or maybe it was that I’d never wanted to be beholden to a bond. Powerless in the face of my own pheromones, unable to stop and say, here and no further.
I stopped.
Jim stopped with me, and together, we knelt on the forest floor and breathed.
We breathed through the swirling mass of pheromones that surrounded us. Listened to the way the birds sang in the trees, the rustle of leaves in the wind, the far-off sound of water against the shore.
The ragged sound of Jim’s breathing below me, the sweat cooling on my clammy skin.
I closed my eyes, moved my teeth away from Jim’s neck, and kissed him instead.
I wasn’t beholden to my body. I wasn’t under anyone’s influence.
“Tel me you want this,” I whispered into his skin.
Except for Jim.
“Yes,” said Jim. He didn’t sound broken, or wrecked, or anything but absolutely sure and terrified and so, so ready for whatever was about to come. “God, yes, please, Zach—”
I bit, feeling the soft give of his skin as my teeth clamped down. Jim cried out, spasming around me as he orgasmed. I held on for dear life, and I didn’t intend to ever let go.
“I need an energy bar.”
“No way, man, those are mine,” said Jim. He yanked the treasure chest away from me. I laughed and lunged for them, and we tousled for a few minutes before I kissed him.
Not that he let go of the chest.
“Oh, come on,” I complained, crawling off him and reaching for my shirt. “I did a lot of work today. I’m hungry.”
“Finders keepers,” said Jim smugly, munching on one of the bars.
The sun was just touching the tops of the trees when we were finally ready to dress again. We’d made love at least three more times before we had to concede that Jim’s flash heat had finally passed.
And then we’d had to make love one more time, just to make sure.
I sat back on my haunches and grinned at him so long that he began to look suspicious.
“What?”
“Well,” I said smugly. “You said it, I didn’t.”
“Said what?”
“Finders keepers,” I repeated. “I found you. I keep you.”
Jim rolled his eyes, but he still reached back and touched the bonding mark, still tender. It looked pretty bad – but Jim had assured me it didn’t hurt much at all. I knew that it wouldn’t look so horrific for very long. “That was terrible.”
The good thing about Jim reaching for his mark – it left the treasure chest wide open, and I managed to pull it out of his grip easily. “And what’s yours is mine, so….”
“Give those back!” he yelped as he sprang at me.
The sun was behind the trees when we were finally ready to dress again. The energy bars were gone, too, as well as all the Gatorade and the half a dozen gallon jugs of water I’d found next to a nearby tree. I didn’t want to think about who had brought them by, but I’d probably be giving her a raise before the end of the summer.
For a lot of reasons, really.
“I don’t know what to think about Reba,” Jim confessed, no doubt suspecting the same person I did. “Or you. It’s kind of irresponsible of both of you, letting her sneaking over to the omega camp all the time.”
“What she said is true though,” I said. “She’s really not attracted to omegas. She stood right next to you when neither Cammy nor I could get within arm’s length, and it didn’t bother her in the slightest.”
Jim glanced at me. We were heading back to where he’d stashed the canoe now. I wondered what excuse Reba had given to Bob. “I think Justine really likes her, though,” he said.
“Does she get jealous like I did?”
“No,” admitted Jim. “It’s weird. I don’t get it. You thought I slept with Reba once, and you went ballistic. Justine knows Reba is sleeping with every other counselor in the camp – and she doesn’t seem that worried.”
I shrugged. “That’s their business. Maybe that’s how they roll.”
“Maybe,” said Jim doubtfully. I grabbed his hand and pulled him back, flush to me.
“I’m not sharing you,” I said firmly. “And I’m not going to be shared. That’s not what this is.”
“Good,” said Jim. He reached up to kiss me.
The sun was shining on the other side of the world when we finally got dressed again. Luckily, we found the canoe without much trouble. With two of us, it was pretty easy to pull it back into the lake.
We’d paddled out some twenty feet when we had our first good look at Camp Alpha-by-the-Lake.
“Um, is one of your cabins on fire?”
I groaned, but peered at the flames. “Bonfire. Must be Reba’s idea of welcoming me home.”
“Hail the conquering hero?”
“Something like that,” I said wryly. “I’ll take you home first.”
“Oh no,” said Jim firmly, and he stuck in paddle in the water to bring the canoe to a halt. “You can’t go to Camp Lake Omega, and I’m a bonded mate now, I’m not going alone.”
“Jim—”
“Your cabin or bust, mister. Anyway, the camp is dark as night, no way I’m going over there to face the wrath of Bob.”
I wasn’t sure I blamed him, so I turned the canoe on to Alpha-By-the-Lake. “Fine. Have it your way. I’m installing better locks on the doors and windows, though.”
“Yeah, yeah, live up your protective nature, whatever. Take me to a bed.”
“On the double.”
The closer we got to Alpha-By-the-Lake, though – the more we could see of the party on the shore. There was the one large bonfire, of course – but a lot of smaller ones around it, too. The music drifted over the water, and the talking and laughter too. It seemed to be a hell of a celebration.
And a lot… larger than I would have expected.
“Oh, God,” said Jim suddenly from behind me. I could feel the drag increase on the canoe.
“Just Zach is fine.”
“Shut up! My parents are over there!”
I’m an alpha. Alphas do not feel fear.
All the same, my heart stopped, my skin went clammy, and I nearly dropped the paddle into the lake. “What?”
“On the dock, the couple with their feet hanging over the edge? I would know my mom’s laughter anywhere.”
“So much for Reba not telling Bob,” I said dryly.
“Oh, God,” groaned Jim. “Zach… that’s why Lake Omega is dark. They’re all over there.”
“No, can’t be, that’s ridicu….”
But my voice trailed off as I looked at the party, and realized it was true.
It wasn’t just that there were too many people at Alpha-By-the-Lake. It was that about half of them wore the blue shirts of Lake Omega.
“What the actual fuck,” I said, staring at the party on the beach. I knew exactly what had happened – both Reba and Bob had been trying to convince me for years that total separation of the camps was ridiculous, and that we should be allowing more interaction between the campers, especially the younger ones for whom pheromones weren’t going to have the same impact.
I left the camp alone for one afternoon, and came back to a rebellion.
I was just beginning to contemplate the many ways I could eviscerate Reba when I heard the laughter – loud and full and full of life. It was the kind of laughter that made a person want to join in, the kind that delighted in itself.
A lot like Jim’s, really.
“You know,” I said slowly, “it doesn’t sound to me like your mo
ther is that upset.”
“It’s an act,” said Jim stubbornly. “Let’s go back. The woods were nice. There are hardly any bears.”
And then I spied it – across the lake, halfway between the two camps on the opposite shore… a light.
“This way,” I said, and I started paddling for the light.
The light turned out to be a lantern, hung up on the end of a tiny dock, barely big enough for our canoe. Sitting under the lantern, cross-legged and grinning like she’d invented the world herself, was Reba.
“I know you’re behind the party on the beach,” I called out to her sternly. Somehow, that didn’t dampen her grin.
“Justine bet you’d go to Lake Omega,” she said smugly as we approached. “So thanks for winning me an extra fifty dollars.”
Jim groaned. “I never even thought of that.”
“I’m beginning to wonder about this gambling addiction of yours,” I told Reba sternly.
“Whatever. I bet you won’t make fun when I tell you that about twenty feet into the woods here, there’s a very sweet little cabin with an extremely comfortable queen-sized bed, all made up and waiting for you.”
The canoe rocked suddenly as Jim stood up. “Bed?”
“What’s a cabin doing—?” I started, and then began to laugh. “Reba, are you giving us your love nest?”
“Lending,” Reba corrected me as she helped Jim out of the canoe. “I’ll want it back. Whole new crop of counselors next year.”
“I wondered where you were going,” said Jim.
“I’m wondering how this got here,” I said, a bit suspicious.
“Justine’s very handy with a hammer,” said Reba as she led the way up the dock and into the woods. “You’re welcome for the distraction on the beach, by the way.”
“Yeah, about that,” said Jim. “Is my mom really there?”
“Lovely lady,” said Reba in a cheerful, conversational tone. “Your dad has terrible taste in baseball teams, though.”
Jim groaned. “Why are they here?”
“Bob called them when you went missing. I don’t think they’re mad, if that helps. But your mom did tell me to make sure you know to show up for breakfast.”
Jim groaned. I squeezed his hand, hopefully as comforting as I could manage – but I wasn’t sure of it until he squeezed back.
Any further discussion was halted when we reached the cabin. I could tell that Jim liked it from first sight – he caught his breath and his eyes went wide, and even his scent changed a little bit in a very pleasing, comforting way. It didn’t look like much on the outside, and it was so small that I wasn’t entirely sure I could stand up without hitting my head on something. Its best feature – well, its only feature – was the bed, which really was made up with more pillows and blankets than I would have thought prudent in the summertime. Then again, the cabin didn’t look like it’d stand in a three-mile-an-hour wind, let alone a good summer thunderstorm. The blankets were probably dual purpose.
“Justine and I figured you probably wanted a night to yourselves,” said Reba. “Anyway, I better get back to the party before I’m missed. There’s snacks under the bed. Just don’t leave crumbs. Night, boys.”
Reba gave me a two-fingered salute with a saucy wink, and closed the door gently behind her.
The cabin was quiet for a long moment; Jim ran his hands over the sparse furniture, taking it all in, feeling it out for comfort and safety. The same as any omega in estrus, I realized, and I stayed back to watch him, hands in my pockets, careful to remain still.
It seemed to be forever before he finally turned to look at me. I could see his eyes shining as he chuckled to himself.
“This isn’t exactly where I thought I’d end the day when I woke up this morning.”
“Suppose not,” I agreed.
“I’m glad, though,” he said, looking right at me. My heart thudded in my chest when he took a faltering, nervous breath. “Are…. Are you?”
I didn’t even have to think about it.
Mine. He was mine.
And that thought… didn’t scare the hell out of me at all.
It actually felt pretty good.
It must have shown on my face, because Jim’s smile was brighter than any bonfire on a beach. He reached his hand out to me. I could see the bondbite clearly, peeking out from under his collar. “So. You know what we haven’t done in bed yet?”
Any other day, I might have felt a surge of lust for that statement, particularly given the way I could see the bed behind Jim.
After a full day of love-making in the woods, though….
“Jim—”
“Sleep,” said Jim, grinning. “We haven’t slept together yet.”
I loved this man. I would love him until the end of my days.
I took his hand and led the way.
“I can’t think of anything I’d like more.”
Epilogue
Jim
When I woke up, the sun was shining, the bed was warm, and there was a heavy arm over my chest from where my bedmate spooned me snugly.
Forget all those ‘mega lit conventions where the omega doesn’t know where they are when they wake up. I knew exactly where I was, and who was holding me so tightly. Joy bubbled up in my chest, and I had to squeeze Zach’s arm to keep myself from squealing in excitement. Even then, I couldn’t help but make the tiny little squeal that slipped out.
It must have woken Zach anyway, because he snuffled his nose into my neck with a grumbling moan. “Too early, go back to sleep.”
“I thought camp counselors were up with the sun.” Go back to sleep? As if I was going to waste a single second of this!
Zach just groaned and nuzzled closer. “Waking up means going back to work, Romeo. Means you to the omega camp, and me to the alpha camp. Means not seeing you for I don’t know how long.”
“Oh,” I said, deflating a little bit. Just because we were bonded now – assuming the bond stuck – didn’t mean it was exactly safe for me to follow him back to Camp Alpha-by-the-Lake. Safer, sure. But even so – I had responsibilities at Camp Lake Omega, and I didn’t really want to abandon them. Not to mention my parents, who were surely going to want explanations I wasn’t sure I wanted to give. “Totally not morning. Nightingales by the dozen.”
Zach’s chuckles sent waves of delicious vibrations through my skin. I shifted on the mattress, rolling over so that I could face him. He still smelled all woodsy and rough and sweaty. When he nosed at my bond bite, it sent a zing of pleasure straight to my cock, which I pressed up against him.
“Hmm,” he murmured, and he left a lingering kiss on my skin. I felt him go still. “Jim…”
There was doubt in his voice.
“Please don’t regret it,” I said, before he could voice his worries. “I’m happy. Honest.”
“You say that now.”
“And I’ll say it in twenty years, too.” I rested my hands on his neck and pulled back to look him in the eyes. “I love you. I am so, so lucky that you found me. I can’t imagine being bonded to anyone else.”
Zach smiled and leaned in to kiss me gently. “You’re wrong. I’m the lucky one.”
He ran his hand down my back, still kissing my lips with soft butterfly kisses. I could feel the heat under them, but for now, it remained a quiet smolder.
“What do you want to do?” asked Zach between kisses. “The rest of the summer, I mean.”
“Hmm.” I slid my hands down from his face to rest on his bare chest. “Honestly?”
“Yes.”
“I… I don’t want to quit,” I confessed. “I told Bob I’d be able to stay most of the summer, and we’re only a third of the way through. My heat isn’t supposed to hit until the last week, so it’s not like I was going to finish the whole time, but… this is way less than I promised, if I leave now.”
Zach’s hands tightened a little at the mention of my estrus, but loosened almost immediately. “I wonder if the flash heat will alter that.”
>
“It might delay my full estrus a little. It’s hard to say.”
He nodded. “I can’t exactly leave the camp the last week. That’s when we’re usually our busiest.”
My heart twisted a little. “You mean…”
His kiss was reassuring. “We’ll just have to hope your heat is delayed.”
My heart twisted the other way ‘round. “You’d… you’d want to spend it with me?”
Zach growled low in his chest – and this time, the kiss was reassuring not in terms of gentleness but in terms of Zach very clearly laying his claim on me. “You’re mine. Yes. I want to spend your heats with you.”
“Oh,” I said, relieved.
“Idiot,” said Zach fondly. He nipped at my bond bite. It felt delicious, all tickly and bright.
“You don’t mind?”
“You finishing the summer? Of course not. We’ll have to work out sleeping arrangements – I don’t want to spend every night away from you anymore, but neither of us can really sleep at each other’s camps.”
“Hey now.” I pushed back from Zach and fixed him a look. “I’ve done just fine coming over to your camp every other night.”
I hadn’t seen the stern, unmovable expression on Zach’s face very often, but I sure saw it then. He looked like granite. “No,” he said, so simply and finite that I seriously doubted there was much to make him change his mind. “Besides, we’ve got this cabin right here.”
“Reba—”
“Done for the summer, anyway,” said Zach. “No more sneaking into my camp, Jim. I’ll meet you halfway.”
“’Bout time,” I teased him, before he kissed me again. He smiled as he kissed – and maybe I should have been a little bit pleased that he was willing to meet me for once.
I couldn’t help but think in the back of my head though: That’s what you think, buddy.
It was a couple more hours before we had to admit it was daylight. When we walked out to the lake, my canoe was still waiting for us. The camps on either side of the lake looked to be wide awake, with campers and counselors going about their day.
“Guess I’m hiking it back,” said Zach grimly.
Camp Lake Omega Page 12
