Page 128 of Broken Bonds

Shadows haunt his gaze. “My father used money as a weapon. I could’ve had anything I wanted, and all I had to do was turn myself inside out being exactly what he wanted. But what I wanted to be was happy. No matter what I did, it never would have been enough. For starters, because I’m an omega, and secondly, because I’m gay. I never gave a shit about my family’s money or status. And I’ve learned over the past few years that money and status cannot make you happy. It makes life easier in some ways, sure, but if a person is miserable inside, money won’t make them not be miserable. There aren’t enough things or money in the world to shove into an empty void in someone’s soul to make them complete.”

“I can’t argue with your logic. But until all this stuff is settled, I mean it that you have to stay here and not leave the property.”

“I told you that’s fine. But don’t ask me not to work. I’ll go stir-crazy if I sit around all day, and stir-crazy Mal isn’t fun to be around.” He sits up, yawning, then bounces a little. “I don’t think we broke your bed.”

“This time,” I snark, sitting up to kiss him again. All I want to do is keep him in bed today and make love to him, but I promised to help get the rec center ready, and I have things I need to do around here, too.

Not to mention, I have to talk to Jax.

He grins and, before I can get a hand on him, he bounces out of bed and starts gathering his clothes. “I’ll go take my shower over at my apartment.”

“Why? I want to shower with you.”

His grin widens. “No, you want to pin me against the wall and fuck me in the shower.”

“Dammit.” That’s exactly what I want to do—he really can hear my thoughts.

He laughs and blows me a kiss as he backs toward the bedroom door. “I’ll head down to the barn and help the guys. I feel guilty I’m not down there already.” Before he leaves, he pauses, his smile faltering. “Maybe we shouldn’t say anything to them about us yet.”

I sigh as I nod. “I need to talk to Jax first.”

Mal takes a step toward me. “Will we be in trouble with him for this?”

“I have a feeling whatever it is, I can handle it,” I assure him. Then I shoo him away. “Go on before I grab you and bend you over this bed and put a third load in there.”

His laughter follows him down the hall, and I hear when he lets himself out the back door.

Then I look down at myself—we were both covered with our combined mess and, yes, the sheets are a disaster.

I climb out of bed and yank all the covers off and wad them up, dropping them in a pile by the bedroom door. I’ll put them in the washer on my way out the door.

Then I head to the bathroom and in the shower I stand under water as hot as I can stand it, because everything was drying into a sticky, crusty mess, and while I want to smell like Mal, I don’t think it’d be a good idea showing up at the rec center smelling like this.

And I still need to go by Jax and Shawn’s house and shower there. Again.

I rest my forehead against the tile and close my eyes. If it wasn’t for the massive shit-show hanging over our heads with the refugees, I know I would feel…

Happy.

Contented.

Contented for the first time in my life, despite everything—and everyone—I’ve done and achieved. I’ve never felt truly content until now. And I didn’t even realize it until Mal blew into my life and then…

Yeah.

This has to be a mate bond. Right?

I grab the bar of soap and start scrubbing, from my hair all the way down to the soles of my feet. If the point of me taking a shower is to avoid smelling like Mal in public, then the last thing I need is to plant my freshly fucked and jizzed body behind the wheel of my truck, which Jax and Shawn paid to have detailed so it doesn’t smell like Mal.

That’d be like advertising it all over the place if the wrong person scented him on me.

I take ten minutes to scrub and scour, washing myself several times, including using two other kinds of body wash in addition to the bar soap, before I finally step out and grab a clean towel to dry off.

Then I need clean work clothes, because Mal’s scent will be all over the ones I had on.

Goddammit.

All I want to do is sit there and bury my face in the dirty sheets.