by Lisa Oliver
Rex couldn’t help the little thrill that went through him, knowing his wee mate was permanently marked. “I would have thought that was perfectly obvious,” he said, his confidence growing. No one could come between a mating, not even a grumpy bear. “The omega wolf is my true mate. I claimed him.”
“I see, it’s going to be like that, is it?” The chair handles creaked under Gregor’s grip. “And you discussed all this with him, the mating with Devyn I mean. He gave you permission to claim him, during that conversation you had before you bit him?”
Sometimes being a shifter sucked donkey balls. Rex knew there’d be no point in lying. “My wolf didn’t see the need to ask permission. Our animal halves are all about instincts and Devyn is my mate.”
“My animal’s instincts are to tear your head from your shoulders,” Gregor said with a show of teeth. “Notice, I’m not doing it.”
“Yes. Well.” Rex didn’t know how to respond to that. It was true, he and his wolf side usually worked well in any situation, and some of what Tony said had some truth to it. In a way, it had been easier to let his wolf take control and claim the sweet omega, than to stop and talk about it first. “I think the important thing is where we go from here, and by we, I mean me and Devyn.”
Gregor arched an eyebrow. “An alpha with plans. Do go on.”
I seriously need to think before I engage my mouth. Rex didn’t have any plans beyond sinking his cock into Devyn’s sweet ass. It’d been all he’d been thinking about all morning, which was why the damn taxes still weren’t done, which in turn was why he was being interrogated by a bear, instead of wooing his mate with his seduction skills. “Well, we’ll have to talk about living arrangements of course. I’ll want him to live with me. Tony, my brother, and I share a house….”
“Which is wheelchair friendly of course,” Gregor interrupted.
“Er… not exactly, no.” Rex thought about the stairs up to his large sweeping porch, the narrow hallways, the step into the shower. He swallowed hard. “Not yet. And then there’s the working aspect. I assume Devyn will keep on working….”
“He owns his own business. He’s hardly going to give that up to sit at home and wait for you to come in at all hours.”
“Yes, of course, I know that.” Rex was floundering. He worked up to sixteen hours most days. His working hours were Sloane’s biggest complaint. Finding time to spend with his mate was going to be difficult enough without Devyn working too. “Look, shouldn’t this be something me and Devyn discuss between ourselves?”
“I imagine it’s the things most sensible people talk about before they stick their teeth into them.” The edge of a growl was back in Gregor’s voice. Rex had had enough.
“You know how shifters are – sniff and fuck first, fucking work out the details later. Meeting a mate is the most overwhelming, gut punching, cock hardening experience any shifter can have. Until you’ve actually felt any of those things yourself….”
“Oh, but I have.” Was that an actual smile on the bear’s face? “But unlike you, I have a strong sense of responsibility. I plan on talking things through with my mate first, and I won’t be making half-assed assumptions about what my mate might or might not want to do in our lives. I’ll ask him, talk to him, cooperate with him. We’ll work together the way a mated pair should work together.”
“You know who your mate is, and you haven’t claimed him yet? Is this because of Devyn?” This could be my opportunity to get some alone time with that sweet little wolf. Rex fidgeted in his chair at the thought.
“Considering I only scented him ten minutes ago, no, this has nothing to do with Devyn, specifically. And you can get that gleam out of your eyes too, young alpha. Devyn is the sweetest, nicest, most accommodating man on the planet. He will bend over backwards to meet your needs, and if you think I’m going to let you run roughshod over his, think again.”
Gregor stood, his bulk overshadowing Rex’s desk. “There’s nothing in the rules that says you can’t live with him in his custom built house that caters for his chair and his needs. He will want to keep working because woodworking is his passion, and no one with a half a brain would stop him doing that. Which means you, alpha, have to start thinking about how you’ll change your life around to meet your mate’s needs. That’s what a sensible, responsible, and caring alpha does for his omega mate.”
“And if I don’t agree? I am the alpha in this relationship, not Devyn.” Fuck. Rex eyed the stapler. He might need it to keep his trap shut. But there was something about Gregor’s possessiveness over his mate that was really riling his wolf up.
“Then be prepared to break his heart, and when you’re done breaking his heart, I’ll tear your body into so many pieces, no one will ever find them all. This is the only warning you’ll get, and you’d better believe it because I mean every word.”
The threat was true. There wasn’t a hint of deception in Gregor’s tone. But despite his gruff exterior, Rex was compelled to ask, “you really care about him, don’t you?”
“I raised him when your father left him for dead. Yes,” Gregor must have seen the shock on Rex’s face, “I do know who you are and where you come from. I imagine the Fates had young Devyn born into your pack, in the hopes you, as the alpha heir would protect him when the time came. An alpha and omega couple is the strongest leadership pairing a pack can have. But your father put paid to the Fates’ plan, and dropped that young baby in my path instead. Now you’ve got a second chance to make things right for him. To make that young man’s life the happiest he’s ever been. Which you can start this afternoon – he’s at the shop.”
Smoothing his tee-shirt which was so tight it wouldn’t dare wrinkle, Gregor moved towards the door.
“Er… are you going to be at the shop too?” Rex didn’t need an audience for any groveling plans he might make.
“I doubt it.” Gregor threw him a wink. “I imagine I’ll be getting to know my mate while I’m helping him run the bar. Part of being mated is showing how flexible and helpful you can be to your partner.”
Realization dawned. “Your new mate is my brother?” Tony was going to be over the moon about that.
“Fate does move in mysterious ways and it’s the only positive thing that’s come out of this meeting so far. I’ll admit to being quietly pleased at how things worked out. For one thing, it means I can keep an eye on you with my extremely innocent ward.” Gregor tilted his head slightly and Rex nodded. He got the message.
“Fair enough.” It was Gregor’s time to nod. “I suggest you get your ass over there. Leaving him last night after biting him was not the sort of behavior that man deserves, and it’d better be the last time you do something shitty like that.”
And we’re back to the warnings again, although as the door closed behind Gregor’s retreating back, Rex knew getting out of that meeting with his head intact was a bonus. He looked down at the half filled out tax forms, and then across at the large bunch of flowers Tony ordered for him that morning. Just the memory of Devyn’s scent made him hard.
Fuck the taxes. Grabbing his jacket, Rex strode through the bar, noting Tony and Gregor already looked cozy behind the counter. I want that for myself, he thought as he climbed into his truck. I want love, attention, someone to work by my side instead of going through life alone. Fuck it, I want Devyn.
And if a tiny voice in the back of his head warned his father was not going to be impressed with evidence of Rex’s sexuality, Rex ignored it. Having a mate by his side was far better than anything his father might or might not have to offer him.
Chapter Eight
Devyn sighed as he heard the bell on the shop door ring again. With Gregor still out, probably reading the riot act to Rex, something that made Devyn feel sick just thinking about, he was trying to focus on his latest piece. But apparently, a Friday afternoon was the perfect time for shopping, and he’d been backwards and forwards between the workshop and the retail side for what seemed like forever. Okay, it’d only been an h
our, but it felt like forever.
“Oh, it’s you, Jake.” Devyn pushed himself into the shop, pasting on his professional smile at the well-buffed human currently stalking around his displays. “Were you looking for another piece for your new house?”
“Something like that.” Jake’s smile was as wide as his opened arms. “Devyn, darling, you’re looking better than ever.”
Devyn looked down at his stained fingers and the marks on his tee-shirt. The merman carving was finally finished, and he’d been trying to get the last coat of stain on before it went out. “I think you need glasses,” he said, looking back up, forcing a chuckle to show he was joking. “What brings you all the way out here to my humble store?”
“Can’t a man just drop in to say hi to an old friend?”
The friend aspect was pushing things a bit, in Devyn’s opinion. Jake came onto him almost daily while he was working on a chest of drawers the human had commissioned. Devyn kept saying no. It wasn’t that Jake was a hugely well-known porn star that put him off – everyone had to make use of their god given talents somehow. It was the way Jake didn’t seem to understand the meaning of the word no that made him uncomfortable, along with the weird fascination he had with Devyn’s deformed legs.
But he is a customer. Devyn widened his smile. “Of course, it’s good to see you. How’s things been going? Have you been starring in any new movies lately?”
“Meh,” Jake waved off his success. “It all gets a bit same old, same old, to be honest. If you’ve plugged one ass or mouth, you’ve plugged them all.”
Devyn hoped he’d never become as jaded about sex as the young porn star had. But then just thinking about Rex’s naked body and parts of him reacted accordingly. I’m not likely to ever get bored with that body under my hands. “I wouldn’t know what that was like,” he said quickly, folding his hands in his lap. “Come on, tell me why a big star like you has nothing better to do on a Friday afternoon than visit woodcarvers?”
“I actually came to talk to you about something else.” Striding over, Jake pulled a chair away from a bespoke dining set Devyn had made, straddling it. The clunk of the chain on his jeans against the wood made Devyn wince, but Jake didn’t notice.
“I’ve been talking to my producer about you. Remember I told you about Sam Polk? He’s made all the big movies in our genre.”
Devyn vaguely remembered the name from Jake’s previous conversations with him and nodded. He wasn’t an avid porn watcher, although he did have a few sites he visited out of curiosity more than anything else. Watching people fake moan, and grunt did nothing for him. His dreams consisted of loving kisses, hands gently removing clothing as though the body on offer was a gift. The sort of thing he hoped he might have with Rex if the guy survived his encounter with Gregor and came back.
“… apparently it’s the next big thing. You’d be perfect for it.” Jake was saying excitedly.
“I’m sorry, what?” Devyn pulled his mind into the present. “I missed that. What’s the next big thing?”
“Gay disabled porn actors.” Devyn got an uncomfortable feeling in his gut. “There’s this guy, oh, I can’t remember his name, but he’s in a chair, just like you, and he’s just starred in his first gay porno movie. It wasn’t through us, Sam would have done a lot better job, but fans are going wild over it.”
“Yeah, and, what has that got to do with me?” Devyn had a pretty good idea. People saw his chair before they even considered he might be a person with ideas of his own.
“You’ve got twisted legs, but your dick works, right?” Jake didn’t wait for him to answer. “It’s not as though you have to do anything, right, but Sam, you know Sam, he’s got all these out of it ideas. Camera shots, angles, you in a sex swing. There could be one-on-one scenes, group gang bang scenes, there’s so much that can be done with you. He can’t stop talking about it since I sold him the idea.”
“You told him I wanted to be in a porn film?” Devyn swallowed hard against the bile rising in his throat. “How could you do that? You don’t know anything about me.”
“Puh…lease,” Jake scoffed, waving his hand in Devyn’s direction. “It’s not as though guys are queued up outside your door to screw you. They can’t even see your ass and while your face might be cute, if you can’t show your assets then you’re not getting any.”
Devyn felt his anger and his wolf rise. After being dismissed by both his mate and his guardian, he was not going to let some jumped up human put him down. “I have a career, in case you hadn’t noticed. I’ve made a success of my life, and if a man comes sniffing around my ass, he’d better make sure he’s worthy of ME.” He slapped his chest making Jake jump.
“I am not some freak in a chair you can exploit. My lack of feet doesn’t define who I am. I’m not some fucking toy assholes like you and your precious Sam can exploit for your personal gain. Who’d be making the money out of this deal? Me, or you and fucking Sam? You reckon you had to sell him the idea – did it ever cross your mind to ask me first? Ask me if I wanted to be exploited for your profit?”
Devyn could see the answer on Jake’s face. “Just because I’m in a fucking chair, does not give you the right to try and exploit me. Should there be more disabled guys in gay porn? Hell yes, but it should be their personal choice to star in one, just like it was for you or anyone else who chooses porn as a career. My answer to your half-baked proposal is hell to the tenth power NO.”
“Hey, it’s free sex on tap,” Jake said weakly, clearly taken aback by Devyn’s anger. “You’ve got to admit it’s not as though you get offers from anyone else. All gay guys like sex.”
“My sex life is none of your concern,” Devyn’s heart was beating so fast he was surprised it wasn’t jumping out of his chest. “But unlike you who defines his success by the number of men he’s fucked, I’ve got more in my life than that. When I have sex,” not if, he thought, “when I have sex it will be with someone who doesn’t see me as a hole to fill, or a freak to fill a fetish. It’ll be with someone who sees past my chair and my stumpy legs, and values me as a person. Not a disabled person, or a cripple, or any of the other terms you and Sam probably came up with when you were thinking about how to promote this crap, but as a genuine person in my own right.”
“Like me for instance?” Rex’s voice stunned Devyn and Jake both. Looking over, Devyn saw Jake had left the door open which was why the bell hadn’t rung a second time. While he thought his outburst couldn’t be more humiliating, his heart calmed, his anxiety lessened, and Devyn managed a true smile this time. Who wouldn’t smile at a hunky alpha with flowers filling his arms?
“Yes, Rex, someone like you,” he managed to say. “Especially if those flowers were meant for me.”
Chapter Nine
Rex had never felt the deep-gutted instinctual rage he’d felt than when he saw his sweet mate having what appeared to be an overly friendly discussion with some slicked up, cologne-drenched human who seemed airbrushed and strangely familiar somehow. He’d never been worried about his own looks; he’d been drooled over often enough. But it was that smile Devyn gave his visitor that hit him in the gut. A smile that until now, hadn’t been directed at him.
But it wasn’t as though he could play the possessive wolf. For one thing, he didn’t know enough about the human Devyn was talking to. For another, he had left Devyn the night before and caused the poor man to bang his head on the floor. He needed to apologize for that. It’s not as though the hundred dollars’ worth of flowers in his arms would survive a rampaging wolf either.
So, Rex did something he wasn’t known for, and listened instead. He was already planning where he could hide a body, when he heard Jake’s outlandish plans. Yeah, now he knew the context Rex did recognize him. But he was so glad he’d stopped himself from stepping in when Devyn, his meek, mild, and apparently innocent omega came back fighting with a blazing verbal arsenal under his control.
Rex listened, and he and his wolf heard what Devyn was saying. For ju
st one second, Rex wished his father had been present to witness Devyn defending himself. There wasn’t a shred of weakness in his mate’s speech. But Devyn’s words gave him the clue he’d been looking for too. Devyn wanted to be seen for who he was and what he could do, instead of being limited by others’ lack of expectations about him. As Devyn let Jake have it, Rex heard it all as though Devyn was speaking to him personally, and his soul soared. Devyn was perfect for him.
And when that angelic smile finally turned on him, Rex couldn’t have been prouder. Ignoring Jake completely, he strode over, placing the flowers carefully on Devyn’s lap before leaning over, cupping the back of Devyn’s head and sealing his claim with a kiss.
Man, I should’ve stuck around last night. His lips were built for me. Rex groaned as a slender hand slipped around his neck, his aversion to his nape being fondled disappearing under the gentle caress of his mate. Hesitant, sweet as custard, as sinful as the deepest decadent chocolate, Devyn delivered the perfect kiss. It was only Jake’s “Hot damn” that made him pull back.
“Who’s your friend?” Rex was pleased he kept most of the growl out of his voice.
“Someone who was just leaving.” Devyn’s twinkling eyes never left his face. “I see Gregor didn’t rip you apart and feed the fish with you.”
“It was discussed.” Rex wasn’t going to have that conversation in front of a human. “I’m sorry I took so long to get here.”
“You’re here now.” Devyn’s chest rose and fell, his nostrils flaring slightly. Rex felt his breathing slow to match his mate’s. He wouldn’t be surprised if their hearts started beating in sync.
“Devyn, dude, why didn’t you tell me you had such a sexy fuck buddy. Hey, man, you must know who I am.” Jake leaned into view with a smirk. “Have you ever considered doing a porn flick, handsome? I’ve got connections. Damn, can you imagine a threesome between us? Or just you and me, I’m not fussy.”
