Touch of Gray 4 - Runaway Moon Page 8

  “That’s not what I meant,” he said.

  “I know.” I bent and kissed his forehead. “But that’s where I’m going to start. Tonight, you’ll go run and play with the other kitties, and tomorrow, we’ll go home.”

  “We will?” He looked worried.

  “Yes,” I said firmly. “All of us.”

  I turned to leave, but Bastian called me back.

  “Hey, Cole.”

  “Yeah?”

  “If this is going to work, there can’t be any jealousy.”

  “What do you mean?” I looked back at him quizzically.

  “I mean, if you want to go fuck Bryce later when I’m not around, that’s okay.”

  “Um…thanks?” I shook my head and climbed down the ladder, hitting the ground with a grunt.

  I didn’t think I was quite ready to go there with Bryce, but I supposed it was nice to know I had my boyfriend’s permission if it happened.

  Chapter Ten

  When I reached the house, Pops and Cadence were just leaving.

  “We’re headed in to town for supplies,” Pops said. “Want anything?”

  “Whiskey,” I said, maybe a little too eagerly.

  “Boy, you drink too much,” he growled, with a shake of his head.

  “And you complain too much,” I shot back. “I’m gonna grab a quick shower. You got any food in the house? I’m starving.”

  “Yes,” Cadence answered. “I saved you some from dinner last night. It’s in the fridge. And Bryce is in the shower now, so you may want to yell for him to save you some hot water.”

  I thanked her as I walked into the house, and they set off, the sound of Pop’s four wheeler turning over rumbling behind me. As the running engine grew fainter, I heard the water running in the bathroom, and my heart started pounding in my ears. All I had to do was knock and tell Bryce to hurry up. Or I could join him. We’d have the house to ourselves for a while. And I had permission from my boyfriend, hell, practically encouragement.

  With a deep breath, I grabbed the doorknob and turned. It was locked. Sonofabitch. I went back to the kitchen and grabbed a small screwdriver from the junk drawer.

  It took about three seconds to pop the lock, and when I opened the door, I was hit with a wall of steam.

  “Other people need hot water, too,” I complained as I entered, shutting and relocking the door behind myself.

  “Cole, what are you doing?” Bryce asked, his tone annoyed.

  I shucked off my clothes, forcing myself not to think of what I’d do if he walked out. He was the one who wanted to take this further. I was just attempting to show him I was willing to try.

  Doubt crept in. My brain screamed that if we started something I couldn’t make myself finish, I’d lose him forever. Still, I had to try. His happiness was too important to me. He was too important to me.

  I slid the shower curtain open, and suddenly, I couldn’t move. His body was stunning, all hard lines and muscles, water sluicing down his bronzed skin, his hands on his hips drawing attention to the sharp V cut in his abs.

  “Christ, Bryce,” I breathed.

  At that moment, staring at him, I knew I’d do anything to keep him. I’d meant what I’d said the night before, and watching him watch me cemented it in my mind. He belonged to me.

  I stepped into the tub, slid my hand behind his neck and pulled his face down to kiss me. My tongue tentatively snaked out, parting his lips and tasting him. The flavor of him, the hardness of his body against mine, the heat of the water and his skin made me come undone.

  With a sharp shove, I pinned him, his height and bulk no match against the strength of my need to capture him. He reached to push me back, but I caught his hands, slamming his wrists against the wall, holding him firmly in place as I attacked his mouth, my teeth sinking into his lip until he whined into my open mouth.

  His cock grew hard against my stomach, and my ache for him became painful, my whole body seizing with lust.

  “Tell me you’ll come home,” I whispered against his mouth. “Say it.”

  “Cole,” he breathed, his chest heaving. “I’m yours. I go where you tell me.”

  “No more running,” I growled, tightening my grip on his arms. “No more hiding.”

  “I promise,” he said.

  I stepped back from him, grabbing a bar of soap and slicking up my palm with it before dropping it to the floor and wrapping my hand around our cocks. I had to go up on tiptoes to even us out, resting my head on his shoulder for balance.

  Bryce’s hand covered mine, and together, we jerked ourselves to a quick, simultaneous release. We cried out together, and my climax was so hard spots danced behind my eyes. It took me a minute to realize Bryce was holding me upright.

  “Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “That caught me off guard.”

  “So, I guess this means you’re sure?” he asked tentatively.

  “I’m sure I want to try,” I answered. “I can’t promise it will be easy or that I won’t do or say something wrong. But I want you to come home. I want the three of us to be a family again. Things aren’t the same with you gone. You were already part of my relationship with Sebastian. I just didn’t realize how much.”

  “I’m not expecting this to be a smooth transition for any of us,” Bryce admitted. He looked down at his hands and laughed. “I’m getting pruney.”

  “Okay,” I said. “You go find me some food. I’m gonna clean up then we’ll talk.”

  He kissed me, a slow, deep kiss that made my toes curl. Yeah, I could get accustomed to that pretty quickly. The only thing missing was Bastian, and we’d get him between us again soon enough.

  * * * *

  When I came out to the kitchen a few minutes later, Sebastian was standing at the stove cooking and Bryce was assembling Pops’ juice maker. I assumed this was a new addition, courtesy of his tech-slave grandson. They were chatting, casually brushing against each other as they moved around the room. I leaned against the doorjamb and watched them, smiling to myself.

  “You could help,” Bastian said, not even turning to look at me.

  “I could,” I agreed, walking in and sitting at the table where I stole the mug of coffee that had been Bryce’s. “But you two seem to have it covered.”

  Bryce rolled his eyes as he came over to refill my cup. When he walked past Bastian, he slapped his beta’s ass, and Bast jumped in surprise before swatting at Bryce with a towel.

  “So, what’s the plan for today?” Sebastian asked, sitting across from me after placing a massive platter of bacon and eggs in the center of the table.

  “Well,” I said, pulling the plate toward myself. “I’m going to eat all of this, and I guess you’re going to have to make yourself something. Then I’m going to eat the leftovers Cadence said she saved for me. I’m fucking starving.”

  Bastian rolled his eyes, grabbing a fork and eating right from the serving tray. I followed his lead, and Bryce joined in, as well. The two of them always ate ravenously, their beasts keeping their metabolisms high all the time.

  “Now what?” Bryce asked, leaning back in his chair. “Want to go for a run?”

  “Fuck you,” I groaned, rubbing my stomach.

  “We could do that, too,” Bastian suggested.

  “I’m not a machine,” I complained. “Besides, I’m too full. Anyway, aren’t you two exhausted? You’ve barely slept in days.”

  “Nah,” Bryce said, with a shrug. “The beasts keep us pretty revved up. We’ll probably sleep the whole ride home tomorrow, though.”

  “So, you’re coming home?” Bastian asked, his tone cautious.

  “Yes,” Bryce confirmed. “I love it out here, but I need to be with you two. With the pack. With my family.”

  Sebastian launched himself at Bryce, climbing onto his lap and kissing him with such ferocity I heard their teeth click on impact. Bryce wrapped his arms around Bastian and tilted his head to the side, deepening the kiss.

  Though I’d just come twice in the span o
f two hours, my cock stirred at the sight of them together. Bryce really did complete us.

  The sound of a quad rumbling followed by Pops and Cadence laughing outside broke the moment, and Bast slid back to his own chair as Bryce grabbed the platter from the table and took it to the sink to wash it. I thought it might be to hide his hard-on, but I didn’t call him on it.

  “Good morning,” Cadence chirped as she walked in. “Oh good, you ate. I was worried you wouldn’t help yourselves.”

  “Please,” Pops argued. “Every time they come up here, they make themselves at home the second they walk in the door.”

  “Why shouldn’t we?” I asked. “Just because we don’t live here anymore doesn’t mean it’s not still our home.”

  “True enough,” Pops agreed, ruffling my hair as he passed me.

  I stood and started to help Cadence put things away while Bryce and Sebastian finished cleaning up the kitchen. When everything was settled, the cats decided to run out and find the rest of the clan, check in and make sure everything was okay. Cadence said she wanted to take a nap, and I found myself alone with Pops on the porch, each of us with a bottle of beer.

  “So, now that you know you’re adopted, are you and Bryce…” Pops didn’t look at me when he spoke, and I couldn’t blame him. It was a rough topic.

  “I don’t know what’s going on there,” I admitted. “He’s…he’s important to me, Pops. Always has been.”

  “Oh, I know,” he said. He took a deep pull from his bottle. “Just don’t hurt each other.”

  “I don’t plan on it.”

  “You know that no matter what, blood or not, you’ll always be my grandson,” Pops said, his tone steady. I noticed his hand tightened around the neck of his beer though. Feelings weren’t really Pops’ strong suit, so it meant a lot that he was determined to make the point to me.

  “Yeah,” I assured him. “Of course, I know that. Blood spills as easy as water. You and Bryce and Sebastian—Cadence, too, if that’s where you’re headed—you’re my family. I don’t need DNA to know that.”

  “Right,” he said, still staring straight ahead. “You taking Bryce back with you?”

  “Yes, sir,” I answered.

  “Thank God,” he said. “That boy is driving me insane.”

  “He does that,” I agreed with a chuckle. “We’ll be out of your hair tomorrow.”

  “Good,” he gruffed. “But don’t wait so long between visits next time.”

  “We won’t,” I promised.

  I looked out at the forest, the tree house Bryce and I had built, the fire pit we used to toast marshmallows over, and realized home was wherever we were together. The cabin, the Mustang, the apartment… As long as Bryce and Sebastian were with me, I’d always be home.

  About the Author

  Dakota Rebel lives in Detroit, Michigan with her husband Mr. Rebel and two incorrigible children, Jr. Rebel and Rebel Jr. 2.0.

  Her friends are made up of the most amazing people on the planet. They not only accept her faults but often encourage them.

  She smokes more than she should, drinks less than she’d like to, and is the life of any party that ends by 9 p.m. She adores her fans like nobody’s business and encourages them all to email her at Dakota.rebel@hotmail.com.

  Dakota loves to talk to her readers and can be found at www.dakotarebel.net.

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