Then, Jasper kisses me, the blood on our tongues mingling together in our mouths, sweet and salty and perfectly us as his knot inflates, locking us together. Locking his seed inside of me, begging to impregnate me.
Not yet. Maybe someday, when we’re a complete pack. When the house is complete. When the sanctuary is running smoothly.
One day, I will be the keystone to a beautiful, loving family. And it’s going to be amazing.
Chapter Twenty
There’s nothing like the smell of meat and spices cooking over an open fire.
When I found out that Ezra and Adam were coming over for dinner, I’d volunteered to cook tonight.
I love Adley’s cooking, but our Omega deserves a rest. And I’m not sure either of those fellas knows how to cook. Luckily, I’m pretty good at making campsite grub.
It didn’t take me long to head to the store and get all the ingredients I needed, then start up a controlled fire at a safe distance from the trailer. I put up my cooking tripod over the fire, hook ready at the center, and admired my handiwork for a minute before moving on.
After setting up a couple of tables and some chairs, I got to work, gloves on, chopping and slicing, seasoning, and thenfilling my cast iron Dutch oven a few ingredients at a time before hanging it over the fire by a thick chain hooked to the handles.
When I return to my prep table, there’s rustling behind me.
“I brought bowls and spoons like you asked.”
I turn to find Adley smiling brightly at me, and my chest does that little flutter thing I’m still not used to. Like something inside of me is as happy as one of the dogs to see her, and is wagging its tail with delight. Kind of like the gaggle of canines right now, as they all sit expectantly and stare up at me.
Adley’s little entourage.
“Thanks, hun.” I take the bowls from her and put them on the end of the table.
“I’ll get drinks later and bring the dog bowls out.”
Turning back to her, I take Adley’s hand and pull her into my chest. She looks up at me with those big, brown eyes, and I take her orange blossom scent deep into my lungs. This woman is absolutely everything to me. And as I claim her lips with mine, light and gentle, she hums, and it sends a thrill down my spine.
She leans back with a grin and pats my chest. “Back to work, you.”
Adley winks playfully, and I laugh as I turn back to my prep, receiving a sharp smack to the ass in return before she hustles off to the house.
Chuckling to myself, I return to chopping. Not a second later, there’s a little whine at my feet. I peer down at Danko, his little brown and black face looking up at me, eyes big and pleading.
“No raw meat for you, bud,” I tell him.
When he whines again, I look at my cutting board and at the yellow peppers I’ve chopped.
There’s no way. Right?
On the off chance I’m wrong, and it isn’t the scent of peppers making him cry, I take a larger slice in hand, bend down and offer it to the little dog. He immediately stands and swipesthe slice from my gasp, running off like he’s stolen something precious.
“You’re welcome,” I call after him, head shaking.
It takes about thirty more minutes before the guys—my pack brothers—arrive. Once they do, they get to work helping Adley bring the rest of our setup outside. Not long after that’s all ready, my chili is done, as is the small pot of plain meat and vegetables I made for the dogs and cats. For Gator and Pie, we have some sweet treats, namely carrots and apples. I go to the fence just yards from where we sit and feed them both some of their treats, saving the rest for later.
“Bro, this is so good,” Adam tells me, mouth full of chili and eyes wide, not a minute after we sit together.
“It really is,” Adley croons. “Good work, cowboy.”
I grin in spite of myself whenever she calls me that.
Jasper is humming to himself as he eats, then stops to look up at each of us, still chewing. “Oh, I’m sorry. Were we praising or devouring this delicious grub?”
After another laugh, Adley starts feeding Nikki pieces of carrot and Danko another bit of pepper.
