“Yes,” Jayne uttered. His hand tightened in Caleb’s hair, and he pushed against the two knots stretching him. “So good. So, so, so good.”
Unable to speak, Caleb wrapped Jayne in his embrace and held him close. Additional weight anchored his thighs to the bed as Everett slouched and settled. It didn’t matter. Caleb didn’t plan on going anywhere.
“You were perfect,” Jayne said. It was unclear if he was speaking to Caleb or Everett, but it didn’t matter—to Caleb, he spoke to them both. “This… this is how heats are supposed to be.”
A snarky reply lurked on the tip of Caleb’s tongue, but he was silenced by the tie. In retrospect, he was glad for it. With Jayne in his arms and Everett bound to him, what Jayne said was true, and he didn’t want to spoil the moment with his sarcasm. Thiswashow Jayne’s heat was supposed to be.
There. Hearts full.
With them.
43
Caleb
There wasn’t enough coffee in the world to prepare Caleb for what six o’clock in the morning looked like. Slumped over the kitchen island, head resting on his crossed arms, he watched from beneath dragging eyelids as Jayne flitted back and forth across the kitchen. Everett leaned on the counter across the room, Parker in his arms. He looked good holding a baby, Caleb decided. Cute. Fatherly. As far as Caleb could tell, Parker seemed to benefit from Everett in much the same way—having a second dad was a good look on him. Having a third would probably look even better.
“You’re sure you don’t mind driving?” Jayne asked as he zipped by Everett. “I can call an Uber.”
Everett shook his head. “No need—I’m happy to help you out.”
Jayne disappeared from Caleb’s field of vision, but it didn’t take much to deduce where he’d disappeared to. There was a rubbery pop as the pressure seal on the fridge disengaged, and a second later, the fridge motor kicked on. Caleb closed his eyes, but sleep lurked in the darkness, and he hastened to open them again. Both of his eyelids stuck, and they opened sluggishly and at different times. Everett snorted. Caleb pulled his hand out from the crook of his elbow and shot him the bird.
“You sure?” Jayne closed the fridge. By the sounds of it, several packaged goods hit the counter.
Everett’s grin grew, his eyes on Caleb. “Yep.”
“It’s not too early?”
The air outside Caleb’s crossed arms was cold. He tucked his hand back into the crook of his elbow and readjusted the position of his head, determined to be comfortable. Why were Everett and Jayne so insistent on talking? At this time of day, it should have been illegal.
Parker, who didn’t fear the justice system, laughed and babbled.
Were there baby jails? Caleb narrowed his eyes, doing his best not to acknowledge that a literal baby was better at mornings than him. Was Jayne slipping coffee into his bottle? Mixing caffeine into his mash? Before Caleb could investigate what exactly was in Parker’s breakfast, Everett distracted him by replying to Jayne with the biggest load of bullshit Caleb had ever heard. “Nope, it’s not too early.”
Caleb fixed Everett with a withering gaze. It wasmuchtoo early. With Jayne in heat, despite the blockers reducing the intensity, he’d been spending the last few days in their bed, and it meant that they were routinely up until all hours of the morning either taking turns fucking Jayne, or fucking him together. Last night, they’d had all of four hours’ sleep before the alarm had gone off.
It had been worth it—especially since Jayne had discovered that the slats on the headboard were perfectly suited for securing Caleb’s wrists—but fuck if Caleb wasn’t tired. He and Everett would have still been sleeping if Jayne’s beloved Biernackimobile hadn’t been in the shop. Neither of them were willing to let Jayne arrange for alternate transportation to get into work while he was in heat. Blockers did a fantastic job of eliminating most of the pheromones that drove alphas wild, but in tight quarters, lingering hints still remained.
It wasn’t a risk any of them were willing to take, so despite their late night, they’d woken up early to make sure Jayne got to work without incident.
“And Parker’s going to be okay?” There was a stiff, nervous quality to Jayne’s voice, like he wanted to believe that everything would be fine, but couldn’t bring himself to trust his own judgment. Caleb didn’t blame him. It was the first time that Jayne had elected not to leave Parker in Alex’s care while he went to work, and in his mind, Caleb was sure there were a million worst-case scenarios unfolding. “He’s not going to be a bother? I could still call Gwynn and Alex. Matthew’s home all day with Emily and Violet, so we could stop by even if they’ve already left for work.”
Caleb picked his recently repositioned head up from the table. “Parker’s going to be better than okay. Today, he’s going to get his first taste of the Alcrest lifestyle.”
Everett snickered. “By that, Caleb means all-day naps, ice cream for lunch, and no socially respectable clothes, ever. Only pajamas.”
“I resent that.” Caleb glared at Everett, channeling his best fake outrage. “It also means at least one trip to the gym. I guess today that means the play gym, but I’m willing to make that sacrifice. If I don’t get to skip leg day, neither does Parker. By the time Jayne gets home from work, Parker won’t only know how to walk, but how to press… shit, how much does he weigh?”
Silence stretched for so long, Caleb thought Jayne wouldn’t answer. Then Jayne sighed, and an answer followed. “Almost eighteen pounds.”
“Then he’ll be pressing at least forty when you come back.” Caleb rubbed his eyes, then yawned. “Forty seems like a reasonable goal.”
“That’s great. Just make sure he stretches before you strap him into the leg press.” Jayne kissed the back of Caleb’s head, then went back to fussing with the items he’d laid out on the counter. “And no ice cream.”
Caleb slumped onto the island dramatically, returning to the cocoon he’d made with his arms. “You’re not the boss of me,” he muttered, not loud enough for Jayne to hear.
“Also, I know you’re sassing me right now.” The snap of plastic and the glide of a kitchen drawer punctuated Jayne’s statement. “Don’t make me have Shep spy on you. And don’t try to pad his wallet in exchange for silence. You know that he’d accept whatever bribe you offered, then rat you out regardless.”
