“I can’t change who I was, but if keeping you means I have to go completely legit, I’ll do it so fast it will make your head spin.”
Chad chuckled, and Peter smiled.
“I was lying when I said I didn’t like you.” Chad put his hand on Peter’s thigh, letting it rest there.
“It’s okay,” Peter said, though it really wasn’t. The words still hurt, and they would for a long time. It was terrifying how much power Chad had over him. How easily he could destroy him.
“I don’t want to leave you.”
Peter didn’t respond, but his heart soared. He squeezed Chad tighter, burying his face in his hair and breathing in his scent.
It was long enough now that he could curl his fingers in it.
“You met my parents,” Chad said after a good twenty minutes had passed. He sounded a little hysterical. Peter put a hand on the back of his neck and massaged him until he calmed down.
“I did,” he said. “They really, really hate me.”
Chad laughed, and he didn’t deny it. Then he turned his face to look up at Peter. “Am I going to meet your parents? They live in the city, right?”
Peter groaned. His mother would approve of Chad. She hated the alphas he usually dated, men who ranked almost near him when it came to dominance, and easygoing Chad would be right up her alley.
“Maybe someday,” Peter said.
“We should have a wedding,” Chad said, surprising Peter. “And invite all our friends and family.”
Peter hoped Chad was kidding, but then he reconsidered. It might be nice to stand in front of all their friends and family and declare, proudly, that Chad now belonged to him.
And that he belonged to Chad.
If Chad were serious, Peter decided, he wouldn’t put up a fight.
***
Chapter 33
Chad stayed with his parents for another two days, and he was relieved when they didn’t try to talk him out of going back with Peter.
“So what are you going to do, if you don’t work for Tank Security?” his mother asked as they sat down for breakfast on the day he was going back. Chad shrugged.
“I don’t know. I’ll find something I guess.”
“Well, I’m not going to say I like him, but you know him better than I do. I trust you to do the right thing,” his father said.
“Thanks, Dad.” Chad knew what his dad thought the right thing was, and he was grateful that he didn’t state it outright.
After they finished eating, his mom drove him to the airport while his dad went to his cardiac health exercise group. While they were in the car, his mother got really quiet.
“Do you think he’ll do what he promised?” she asked. She sounded worried.
“I think so. He’s not the kind of guy who goes back on his word.”
“And will that make things right between you?”
Chad looked out the window, wondering how to answer. Peter had a history of violence that probably should have sent Chad running, but that wasn’t the Peter Chad knew. The Peter Chad had fallen in love with—and he was in love, despite never having said the words—was controlled, calm, and he made Chad feel safe and anchored.
Chad had always felt like he was drifting aimlessly, and while the military had given him a sense of purpose and belonging, that paled in comparison to how grounded Peter made him feel.
“I think I’m just going to have to accept Peter’s past, and trust what he says about the future.”
