Ryder … Jax sighed. Yeah, he wasn’t going to think about him now. Of course, that was shot to hell when he peeked his head in the door and saw Ryder was already there, rocking Tabby back to sleep. Crooning softly at her. His lips curved at the touching scene in front of him.
Goddess, this alpha … Was he even real?
“Don’t cry, sweetheart. I’ve got you. You’re going to be just fine.” Ryder spoke in a gentle and soothing tone, and it made Jax’s heart melt even more. Warmth filled him as he leaned against the doorframe and just watched the encounter.
They had been living with Ryder for nearly two months now. Six months after Jax had given birth to Tabby, he’d developed a blood clot in his abdomen. The pain had been severe enough he’d felt like crawling in a corner and dying. He’d thought it would pass and would probably have ignored it if not for Ryder. The alpha used to stop by daily for a visit, and the moment he’d seen the pain written all over Jax’s face, he’d swooped in.
And Jax was so glad he had. He’d overheard Ryder say to Alpha Rick that he was terrified of what could have happened if Jax hadn’t gotten treated when he did. He would definitely have died. Whenever he thought about it, thought about leaving his daughter an orphan … It stole his breath away.
Ryder had rushed him into surgery and had been able to remove the clot. And thankfully, it wasn’t cancer. Being a shifter protected us from a lot but not that. Still then came the recovery.
There was a part of him that was surprised by the fact that Ryder had moved him into his home … Although well, maybe not really.Because your wolf has been clawing to be close to him from the moment you laid eyes on him.
What surprised Jax more was that it had been two months, and here he was … still in Ryder’s home.
Every time he’d even brought up the possibility of moving back with his friends, Ryder would say it was imperative Jax had someone with him at all times. Not that he thought it was necessary since he felt great. But still he’d willingly accepted the offer to stay because Jax believed Ryder and he were fated mates. Not just Ryder, his wolf too. And even when he wasn’t ready for everything that meant, he still wanted to stay close to him.
When he was recovering, Ryder’s scent and proximity had helped with the pain. And now … Well, Jax wasn’t willing to look too closely at the why.
Not yet.
But at times like this, when he saw Ryder holding his daughter, when the alpha peeked into his room and pulled the blanket over him tighter, made sure there was breakfast waiting in the oven on days he had to go to work or found some excuse to come home every day for lunch, that dream he’d buried because it’d been too painful to hope, came back to life.
Tabby cooed and laughed, and he smiled. They seemed to get along.
He loved how comfortable Ryder was around his baby girl. Since he’d gotten better he could count on one hand the number of times he’d beaten Ryder to Tabby’s room in the middle of the night. He knew that Ryder loved Tabby. The alpha was also always looking for reasons to be around him, not that he was complaining.
He knew the alpha wanted him. Recently, he could scent his arousal. But he hadn’t made a move.
For a second, Jax had doubted it. Wondered if maybe he was too much of damaged goods for Ryder, but his friends had set him straight. Devon, especially. Ryder definitely wanted to mate with him. Yet, he never made a move to actually make it happen. At first, he was happy about that. When he was pregnant, Wildwood had felt like just another place he didn’t belong and he simply couldn’t focus on it.
Then after his baby girl was born, he was just trying to be a good papa and keep up with a newborn. And then he fell ill … Through it all, Ryder had stayed close. And never once had he tried to make Jax feel uncomfortable or pressed him for anything. He’d just been a constant, steady presence. But now … Jax was losing hope Ryder would ever do anything about it.
But then something like this happened, and Jax saw them as a family and reminded himself to be patient. Ryder had been patient with him, too.
The alpha was great to Tabby, that was a fact, and the connection they had already formed was undeniable, even if Tabby was only a baby. Sometimes Ryder was the only one that could soothe his daughter.
Did it make him a horrible person, though, for being jealous of his daughter from time to time? For wishing Ryder would work that hard to have a connection with him. Now that he was ready, it was all Jax truly wanted.
Ryder looked his way and smiled. He didn’t mind being caught spying, not that he thought Ryder hadn’t sensed him the moment he appeared at the door.
He always knew when Ryder entered a room, and he had a feeling the same could be said for the doc.
Jax smiled back. Now, if only Ryder would make the next move.
Chapter Two
Ryder
He knew the moment Jax was close by. His wolf sat up at attention. Although, since his omega had been living with him in his home, his scent filling the place, his wolf was always at attention.
That’s not the only thing at attention.Ryder ignored that voice. He refused to rush his mate. Just having him close by was good enough.
He turned to face his mate, and like always, Ryder’s breath caught as he took Jax in. He only had his lounge pants on, which was huge for Jax. As proud as he was that his mate was comfortable enough around him to walk around shirtless, Ryder’s mouth watered at having all that skin on display.
All he wanted to do was kiss every inch of his mate. Scars and all.
He swallowed to catch his breath. Even as his eyes lingered, he finally met Jax’s gaze and felt his cheeks heat for staring. “You should get back to bed.” His voice sounded scratchy even to his own ears, so he cleared his throat again. “Tabby is doing just fine.” He smiled down at the little girl in his arms. “It’s late. No need for both of us to be awake.”
