“Thank you,” he said to the alpha.
“Don’t even mention it. You’re family.” Jax’s cheeks flushed at his words even as the night air blew a chill over him. He crossed his arms and shivered. Did Ronin mean that because Wildwood treated everyone like family or because of Ryder?
Before he could dwell on it, his wolf bristled and the hairs on his arms stood on end. Jax glanced around him, then shivered again. What was that saying about someone walking over your grave? For a brief second, he’d felt like he was being watched. He looked around but saw nothing.
You’re just being paranoid because you miss Ryder and Tabby. Get home to them.
He slipped into the car and belted himself in.
“Ready?” Finn asked.
Jax nodded. It wasn’t until he was safely in the estate, away from town, that he felt better. But even then, when he got out of the car, he looked around before hurrying over to the door. Before he could even fetch his keys, Ryder threw it open. Jax smiled because either the alpha had been keeping an eye out for him or his brothers had called him, probably because Ryder asked them to. Either way, Jax liked that someone cared that much about him. It was a first because his mom had died giving birth to him and his pack had never given a crap about him.
Ryder was holding Tabby in his arms. It was a sweet sight to come home to. Jax walked over and carefully removed Tabby from Ryder’s arms. She moved and shifted position, her nose burrowing into his body, but she didn’t open her eyes.
“How did it go?” Ryder asked.
“Thank you for tonight. It was nice, and I had a good time, but …” His words trailed off. How could he tell Ryder that he’d enjoyed it but never wanted to do a night out alone again?
“But?”
“It really was nice,” Jax said. “I loved hanging with the guys, but I actually would rather have been home.”
Ryder tilted his head. There was a smile on his lips. “Home?”
Jax knew his face must be turning a thousand shades of red. He had just called Ryder’s house home. And he didn’t even want to take it back. “I guess it’s come to feel like that to me.” Jax chuckled lightly. “But, the fact of the matter is, yes … I would have rather been here with you and Tabby.” He shrugged. “Take it how you want to take it. It’s the absolute truth.”
Jax walked over to the crib in the corner of the room and put Tabby down. It hadn’t escaped his notice that there was evidence of Tabby in every room.
He turned around and found Ryder still standing at the entrance to the living room.
He took a step towards him. “I had fun, but I missed you guys. And I’m happy to be back.”
Ryder’s lips curved in a small smile, and he nodded. “I’m glad you had fun, but even though I enjoyed staying home with Tabby, I really would have liked it if you were here, too.” The alpha spoke with a matter-of-fact tone to his voice. But his eyes never left Jax.
“Yeah?” Jax studied Ryder, really looked at him. And he realized the alpha always did his best to keep as much space between them as he could. He always had his hands in his pocket, or he was holding Tabby or his phone. Like he was trying to keep his hands busy. Could it be? He took another step towards Ryder.
“I missed you,” Jax admitted in a soft voice.
Ryder’s body froze, and his hands clenched at his sides.
“You did?”
Jax nodded. “Yeah. I like when it’s just us. Especially when we watch movies together.” It was one of the few times Ryder was close enough for him to lean into.
“We could watch a movie now,” Ryder suggested.
Jax shook his head. He wasn’t sure where this bravery was coming from. Or maybe he was finally listening to his wolf.
“Oh, okay,” Ryder said. “I’m sure you must be tired.”
When he was finally in front of Ryder, Jax stood on his tiptoes and wrapped his fingers around the back of Ryder’s neck, all the while praying he hadn’t misread the situation. When Ryder didn’t fight him and actually lowered his head to Jax, sealing their lips together, his heart jumped. The kiss started out slow and searching until Jax leaned into Ryder’s body and his arms went around his waist, lifting him off the floor. The kiss turned fierce and Jax sighed into it. Finally.
Jax didn’t want to back away from Ryder. He wanted to move their relationship to the next level. He wanted Ryder.Thisalpha made Jax feel safe. Ryder was patient and kind and so gorgeous with that dark hair, and piercing grey eyes. Jax hadn’t known what it was like to want someone, especially when it wasn’t driven by his heat until he met Ryder.
He jumped up and wrapped his legs around Ryder’s waist. Ryder’s hands tightened around him, and he deepened the kiss. Ryder slipped his fingers up into Jax’s hair and pulled back. “Goddess, you’re beautiful.”
Jax smiled. When Anton had said those words, it had made his skin crawl because he knew what would follow. But hearing Ryder say it was different. The reverence in his voice was unmistakable.
