“A human, and a weak one, isn’t good enough for you.”
Elouan had heard enough. “Since when are you the expert on what’s good for me?” He didn’t manage to keep the growl out ofhis voice. No, he couldn’t growl. He wanted a conversation with a friend, not a submissive omega who agreed with everything an alpha said. “Sorry.”
Curtis’s mouth dropped open. “No, I mean—”
Elouan schooled his emotions. “I appreciate you giving me a place to live, introducing me around, and helping me find a job, but that doesn’t give you the right to dictate my life, okay? And by the way, you should’ve ripped me a new one long ago for not doing my share of the work around here. I’m sorry.”
The tight line of Curtis’s lips gave away his ire, as did the arms folded across his chest. “You’re the last hope of your court. One day you’ll return to Adrakus, and unlike me, will receive a hero's welcome. I care enough about you to want that day to be a triumph, not filled with shame because you mated with a human.”
Again with the upset over Leon marrying Curtis’s mother. The hurt must truly run deep. Elouan calmed, his alpha nature becoming protective. “I’m sorry.” He ran a hand through his hair, his fingers tangling in the uncombed strands. “I know you want what’s best for me, but what if I never go back? What if this life is all that I get? Do you honestly want me to while away the years waiting for someday?”
“But if you do go back—”
“I’ll worry about my choices when I have to. Until then,ifit comes, let me be happy, okay?”
Curtis grumbled, “Okay,” staring down at the floor.
Elouan poured the remnant of his coffee down the sink, rinsed the cup, and left it on the drainboard. Time to get out of here. Now wasn’t the time to mention moving out.
Having Jules sitting next to him in the truck felt like coming home. The cloudless sky completed the setting for a perfect day. They drove around the neighborhoods near where Jules lived, Jules pointing out promising future projects.
At last Elouan pulled into the drive of the house he’d just bought.
“Wow! Cute place,” Jules said, staring out the windshield. “It’s yours?”
“Every square inch.” Elouan had constantly visualized Jules in each room, usually naked, ever since the closing. The result left him ready to throw Jules over the nearest counter.
“You don’t mess around, do you?” Jules asked, eyes wide. He ran a hand through his hair, leaving the strands artfully tousled. “When you say you’re going to do something, you do it.”
Elouan gave Jules a meaningful, full-body appraisal. “I never mess around when I see something I want.” He sealed his mouth over Jules’s. “Hold that thought,” he said when he came up for air. No need to make out in the truck, not with an entire house waiting.
He climbed out of the driver’s seat, dashed around the truck to hold Jules’s door open, and extended a hand. “Come with me.” Anticipation ran through Elouan. Not only did he have Jules all to himself, hopefully he’d soon have answers.
Jules smiled and laced their fingers, allowing Elouan to lead him to the front door. The lock opened easily.
Jules entered, turning in a circle to take in the living room. “Nice. I love the hardwood floors.”
“They’ll look even better after I refinish them.”
Together Elouan and Jules toured the house, Elouan saving the main bedroom for last. He opened the door to show the sleeping bag he sometimes used at the lake, along with a cooler. “Sit with me. Celebrate the new house.” Elouan dropped ontothe sleeping bag, dug into the cooler, and popped the tops on two root beers.
One side of Jules's mouth quirked up. He sank gracefully onto the sleeping bag. “Congratulations. I can’t wait to be nearly neighbors. I don’t live very far away.”
Elouan had started dreaming they’d be closer than mere neighbors. He placed his drink on the floor.
Jules set his drink down and lay on his back with Elouan above him. The need to thrust his jeans-covered cock against Jules overwhelmed him. He’d only meant to show off the house and eat a picnic lunch, but being this close changed all his plans.
Particularly when Jules slanted his mouth over Elouan’s.
Elouan loved how aggressively Jules kissed him, not the least bit shy. He drew back. “I want to see you. All of you. Is that okay?”
Jules smiled. “Only if I get to see all of you.”
Elouan would love to say later that he’d performed a skilled seduction, using every bit of the expertise accumulated over the years to win his partner. In reality, they’d each shucked off their own clothes, with someone’s boot hitting the wall with a thump.
Passionate moans echoed off the walls before Elouan found himself on his back, Jules staring down at him with a feral look in his eyes, nestled between Elouan’s legs.
Elouan rocked up, pressing his erection against Jules’s impressive length, while slipping a hand between them and enveloping their shafts in a firm grip. He wrapped his calves around Jules’s, using the leverage to change the angle and increase the speed. While he never wanted their encounter to end, now that he knew what Jules felt like, what those sweaty blond curls and wide eyes looked like in the heat of passion, there’d be no going back.
