by Aspen Grey
Chuck was thinking about it. I could see he was close to being on board, but he was right, we’d need Jamie too if this was going to happen. They were both fifty-fifty partners in the business, and he couldn’t make a big decision like that without her.
But I could just see it – my vision for Frank’s land. More fields, irrigation, some guys to help work it. We’d produce enough to stock their entire shelves with produce for months. I’d manage the place, Kenneth and I wouldn’t have to move and most importantly – we wouldn’t have to worry about Jasper anymore.
“Would Frank sell to us?” he asked. “If we ponied up the money – and that’s a really big if right now.”
“I’m sure he would,” I nodded. “He just wants out. Guy’s tired. I don’t think he cares who wants to invest, as long as he gets to put his feet up, ya know?”
“Mmmmm,” Chuck mused, taking a slow sip of his beer. I could see him thinking, pondering my proposal. I let him sit there a moment, while I let my eyes wander across the parking lot to the back of R7.
He was only a quick run away from me, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Kenneth was all right. It was just my natural instinct as his mate. Jasper was a real piece of work, but I doubted he’d do anything dangerous that I’d have to worry about.
He’ll be fine, I told myself again as I thought about our options. What if none of this worked? What if Jasper didn’t show, or Kenneth couldn’t get him to incriminate himself? What if Chuck and Jamie weren’t interested in buying the farm from Frank? What would we do then?
I hated feeling so powerless. I wanted to do something, but all I could do was wait – wait for my mate, the guy I was supposed to be protecting, to make our plan happen. For a second, I thought about just getting up and heading over to the bar to check up on him, but I knew I couldn’t. The whole plan hinged on making Jasper believe Kenneth had left me.
Not that that could ever happen!
“Where is Jamie anyway?” I asked Chuck, doing my best to keep my mind busy while I waited. “Shouldn’t she be helping you out tonight?”
“Eh, she’s got a date,” Chuck scoffed. “I’m sure she wished it was with you though.”
“Is the guy gay?” I laughed. Jamie was persistent as Hell and it wouldn’t surprise me if she’d managed to convince some Alpha to at least try her out.
“You know…he did have some pretty tight pants,” Chuck joked.
Suddenly, I heard shouts across the parking lot from the back of R7. I jumped to my feet and stepped across the lot, peering out through the darkness.
Sniffing the air, I searched for Kenneth or Jasper’s scents, but all I got were a few alphas and some betas, and an omega. I could just make them out in the light spilling out from the bar, and I could see that my mate wasn’t among them.
“Trouble?” Chuck asked.
“Just another bar fight,” I replied, breathing a sigh of relief. “Fuck, this has got me on edge though.”
“You think it’ll work?” he asked. “You really think Jasper would be stupid enough to incriminate himself?”
“I don’t know…” I muttered. Chuck was voicing all the doubts I had about what we were doing, but we’d committed to something and there was nothing left but to see it through. “But we’re running out of options. Seriously, talk to Jamie about investing in the farm. Please.”
“I’ll run it by her,” Chuck replied. “But I can’t make any promises.”
“I know,” I told him. “But we may be running out of options.”
18
Kenneth
There he is, I thought as the son of a bitch stepped into the bar, looking more arrogant than ever. I couldn’t help but be reminded off the assholes in the Titanic movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, and feel as though he would have fit right in with them at that stuffy dinner party they had in first class.
He was actually wearing a suit, gray with a slight sheen to it. He had a purple dress shirt, slightly more casual, tucked in with a pair of Gucci suspenders. Flaunting his money. The two guys with him were different than the ones who’d showed up at our place. They were bigger. Both of them looked like bouncers, or personal bodyguards. Alphas.
I watched as he gazed around the room, and couldn’t help but feel like I was looking at a shark, sizing up an ocean full of fish, trying to decide which ones to go after first. And then, our eyes met.
I forced myself to smile as he looked at me – sheepishly of course.
Look sad, I kept telling myself. You just left Preston! Remember?!
That was the lie and I had to live up to it. Otherwise, Jasper would see right through me and I’d blow our only chance to expose him. But my heart was already racing, and my hands were starting to sweat. An almost evil grin came over Jasper’s face as he looked at me. He motioned to his boys to wait and made his way toward me.
Stay cool! I told myself, pressing a hand against my belly where my cub was beginning to grow. This is for our future!
All I wanted was to be back at home, curled up with Preston, inhaling his scent while he stroked my hair. The world had a strange way of throwing obstacles in my path. First my parents, and now Jasper, trying to ruin the life my mate and I were trying to build together.
This has to work! I thought as Jasper stepped up in front of me.
“Well, well, well,” he mused, hands in his pockets. “Look who we have here.”
“Shut up,” I said firmly. I had to suppress my smile when I saw the look of shock in his eyes.
“What was that?”
“I said shut up and buy me a drink,” I told him, putting on my best miserable face. “I just left my man and I need some real dick. If you’ve got that then grab me a drink and sit down. If not, fuck off and let me find a real man.”
It was a bold move, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up the ruse if I had to pretend to be sad and timid the whole time. I had to go big or go home, and I certainly wasn’t leaving.
Jasper stared at me for a long while, trying to figure out whether I was being serious or not. For a moment, I thought he was about to tell me to get lost and turn around, but finally, he grinned.
“All right, buttercup,” he said with a nod, licking his lips. “What are you drinking?”
“Vodka tonic,” I told him. He was still a little hesitant, but nodded, turned and made his way back over to the bar. “You son of a bitch,” I muttered under my breath as I watched him order.
Making sure his back was turned, I grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket and opened the audio recording app I’d downloaded earlier. It allowed my phone to record even when it was locked with the screen off. I hit the big red button and set the phone on the table beside me. The less suspicious it looked, the less suspicious he’d be. At least, that was my plan.
Jasper made his way back over to the table, carrying two drinks, one for me and one for him. He sat down, handed mine to me and actually winked as he did so. I fought the urge to hurl.
“Thanks,” I told him, downing half of the glass immediately.
“Wow, look at you,” he said approvingly.
“This one doesn’t have anything in it, right?” I asked him. Jasper leaned back and held both of his hands up, as though I had him at gunpoint.
“Hey, would I do that to you?”
“I mean – you did once,” I retorted.
“Ah, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he smiled.
Shit, I thought. This isn’t going to be easy.
“So what’s going on here?” he asked me. “Where’s Preston? Your man?”
“Not my man!” I replied quickly, shaking my head as though the very thought disgusted me. “That son of a bitch can’t even take care of himself, let alone me.”
The words were like acid coming off of my tongue. I knew he couldn’t hear me, but I kept saying over and over in my mind, I don’t mean it, baby!
“Hah!” Jasper croaked. “You realize that now, do you?”
“I mean, we’re about to lose our h
ome, right?” I asked him. Everything in me wanted to spit in his face – leap forward and tear his throat out and watch him die. “Is that the kind of alpha I want to hitch my wagon to?”
“I could have told you that,” Jasper laughed. “Guy’s a scumbag. You know what he tried to do to me?”
“I heard the rumors,” I replied, growing more disgusted by the minute. “Roofie you, right? Like you did to me?”
“That’s a good one!” Jasper laughed. “You just drank too much, buttercup. That shit’s not my style.”
He was being a lot more careful than I’d anticipated. If he kept dodging questions like this, our plan wasn’t going to work.
“Just admit it,” I told him, leaning forward. “I’m a forgiving kind of guy. You don’t have to roofie me to get in my pants. I mean look at you – you’re an alpha among alphas!”
“You’re right,” he grinned. “I don’t. That’s why I didn’t.”
Fuck!
Jasper flashed another shit-eating grin my way and took a sip of whatever drink he’d ordered. It was something dark. I was growing less and less confident in our plan every second. How could I have been so stupid?
Of course Jasper wasn’t going to admit to trying to roofie me in public. Suddenly, I felt incredibly stupid with my little Smartphone app sitting there recording our conversation. No, something else had to be done, and I had to be the one to do it.
“Okay then, mister,” I said, finishing off my drink. “I forgive you – even if you won’t admit to what you did. But I can see you’re not the man for me. I’m gonna go get some air.”
“Hey, wait a second—” He tried to protest, but I was already up and out of my chair before he could react. I shoved open the door to the back and stepped outside, my heart ready to jump out of my throat.
This isn’t going to work, I thought, feeling my fangs beginning to extend. I normally was not an aggressive guy, but Jasper’s disgusting personality was really bringing it out of me.
You’re going to have to do it, I thought, running my tongue along the sharp teeth I would use to tear his jugular vein. I couldn’t take him in a fair fight, but if I could surprise him, I’d be able to strike before he knew what was happening. One quick bite would be all I’d need.
I readied myself, he’d be coming out the door behind me any second.
One quick bite…
I glanced across the parking lot toward Evening Glory. I knew Preston could smell me. I could smell him. In just a few seconds, Jasper would be outside and I’d end this once and for all.
I was right on the edge, ready to shift as the door opened behind me. But instead of Jasper, a horde of guys spilled outside, one of them carrying an omega over his head like a trophy.
“He said yes, boys!” he was shouting. “He said yes! We’re getting hitched!”
A roar came from the crowd, and I looked around quickly for Jasper, but he wasn’t with them. He was still inside, and with all the commotion, probably wasn’t coming out after me. Even if he was, it didn’t matter. I couldn’t attack him in front of all these people. It didn’t matter what our differences were.
“Shit,” I hissed, turning away from the crowd and walking across the parking lot in the direction of my mate’s sweet scent.
I felt like I was carrying a heavy metal ball in my chest. Our plan had failed. I’d failed. And now everything was going to go to Hell in a hand basket. I was pregnant, we were going to lose the farm and I had no idea what our next move could be.
19
Preston
“Hang on a second,” I said to Chuck, raising a hand for silence. I’d caught Kenneth’s scent on the breeze. I searched through the darkness until I saw him coming out of the shadows toward me. He pushed through the hole in the fence and I could tell even before he opened his mouth that things hadn’t gone according to plan.
“It’s okay, baby,” I told him as he opened his mouth to speak. I wrapped my arms around him and held him close. “I shouldn’t have put this all on your shoulders.”
Inside, I was screaming at myself for what I’d done to him. It wasn’t my mate’s job to take care of the family. I should never have let our entire plan hinge on him. Now he felt like a failure – like everything Jasper was doing to us was his fault. And I couldn’t let that happen.
“I’m sorry,” he told me, pressing his head against my chest.
“No, I’m sorry,” I replied. “I should never have put any of this on you.”
“I just – I couldn’t get him to admit it!” Kenneth hissed.
“I know,” I said, comforting him. “I know. We’ll figure something else out.”
“What?!” Kenneth cried out, tears beginning to run from his eyes. “He’s going to buy the land and drive us out! What are we going to do? I’m pregnant, Kenneth!”
He was really starting to freak out, and I felt absolutely terrible. Clutching him tight, I petted the back of his head and tried to calm him down.
This is all my fault, I thought. It’s my job to handle Jasper, not Kenneth’s.
“Just breathe, baby,” I told my mate, “I’ll take care of this. None of this is your fault.”
“Yeah, right—” he started to protest. Quickly, I held him at arm’s length in front of me and bent down so I was looking right in his eyes. The pain looking back at me was nearly enough to break my heart. But I had to stay strong. For both of us.
“This is not your fault,” I told him firmly. “It’s not your fault any more than Jasper putting something in your drink was your fault. He’s an evil son of a bitch and I’ll deal with him. Don’t you dare worry about this for another second. You hear me?”
I watched Kenneth’s expression shift as my words began to sink in. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal and something close to a smile came over him. I leaned in and kissed him, sucking his lower lip gently like I liked to do.
“You hear me?” I repeated.
“Yes,” he responded softly, letting his head fall against my chest.
“Come on, let’s get you home,” I told him, taking him by the hand. I nodded to Chuck as I lead Kenneth back over to the truck. “We’ll get your car later.”
“Have a good night,” Chuck called.
“You too, Chuck,” I called back.
I helped Kenneth into the cab, went around the other side and got in. I had to maintain my cool, but I was raging inside. Everything was telling me to head back to R7 and tear Jasper into tiny little pieces and leave him dead in the parking lot. But that just wasn’t possible. Too many people, too many goons. No – I had to figure out something else.
And I would.
I threw the truck into gear and sped out of town, roaring down the dark highway, my heart heavy but my determination high. Kenneth’s scent was fueling my resolve. He was pregnant with my child, and we were going to be a family soon. Something had to be done, and I wasn’t about to let Jasper and his family win out over mine.
By the time I was parking the truck in front of the house, all of my worries were gone. Nothing was left inside me but pure resolve – resolve to protect my family at all costs. I looked over at Kenneth, who had curled up on the seat beside me, and stroked his hair.
My love for him was like a never-ending source of energy inside me. Every time I looked at him, I found a meaning in my life I’d been lacking for the last eight years. He was the fire inside me that would never burn out, and I knew I was the luckiest man on Earth for having met him.
I got out of the truck, went around to his side and lifted him gently into my arms. I carried him up the steps and inside, brought him straight to our room and set him down on the bed.
My love was flowing like an endless river as I leaned down and kissed his neck, inhaling his scent that still hit me just as hard as the first time I’d smelled it. I lay down beside him, spooning him, and ran my hand across his body, from his chest down to his abs, then across his thighs, teasing him by barely brushing against his bulge.
Without turni
ng to me, he moaned gently and pushed back against me, pressing his firm butt against my cock which was growing beneath my pants. I needed him. I had to make love to him, be inside him.
Slowly, I began grinding against his ass, letting him feel my erection as I grew harder and harder. I slipped my hand up his shirt and stroked his abs, just light enough to tickle, causing his body to quiver. I ran my hand higher, feeling his taut chest, and gently tweaked his left nipple.
He yelped and spun around to face me, pressing his lips against mine. I kissed him deeply, opening my mouth to accept his tongue. My hands moved all over his body as though they had a mind of their own. The room was dark, and my eyes were closed. All either of us could focus on were the physical sensations between us, and the flow of love that would forever join us.
I tugged his pants down and slid my hand between his cheeks, felt the slick that was readying him for me. Just knowing he was getting wet for me turned me on, made me feel special. I’d chosen this omega, but this omega had chosen me as well. Fated mates. Complete mutual attraction. Love.
Carefully, I slid a single finger inside him, preparing him for my cock, which was thick, full and ready. He moaned, let his mouth hang open and tilted his head back. I kissed his neck, then chin and cheek and brought my lips back to his. As I kissed him, I pushed my finger deeper, pressing his body against mine.
A fierce desire was building inside me. The anger of the evening had transformed into a feeling of pure passion that reaffirmed my love for Kenneth. I wanted to devour him in every way possible. Nothing would ever tear us apart.
Before I knew it, I was on my knees above him. He reached up for my belt buckle, but I had it undone before he could. My pants were down at my knees in the blink of an eye, my hard cock standing at attention above him. He gazed up at it and smiled.
“Put it in me, baby,” he whispered. I didn’t need to be told twice.
I pressed one side of his hip and pinned him down to the bed. I moved on top of him and let my cock drape down onto his ass. Tilting my hips back, I positioned the tip against his sweet pink hole, which was slick and already opened for me.
