Page 10

Gideon has a lap full of delicious-smelling kitten, and he’s so warm to the touch. But it’s the heat in his eyes that truly warms Gideon from the inside out.

Oh, there’s a sweet smile on his angelic face and a devious glint in his eye. It’s enough to make Gideon’s belly swoop when he meets his eyes.

“Gideon, you promised you were going to cook, right?”

Ah, there’s a game afoot and far be it for Gideon to be a party pooper, especially not in games of the heart.

“I said no such thing, Kitten.”

He had, in fact, offered to make him something earlier when they were waiting for the water he’d ingested for his ultrasound to make it through to Nix’s bladder, in hopes it would put some color in his cheeks. But that’s not where the fun is—so deny it, he will.

At last count, Nix still has one or two “points” up on Gideon in whatever this teasing game is called.

So far, it goes like this: Nix plays siren, brats hard, and Gideon reins him in. Usually alone in Gideon’s space—or sometimes, for “bigger” exhibitionist displays, over his knee in the living room, making a spectacle just like Nix wants.

Turns out, all of Nix’s newly discovered kinks dovetail perfectly with the pack’s, fitting together like the perfect puzzle.

There hasn’t exactly been a big “show and tell” with spreadsheets or PowerPoints; it’s just come organically, through opportunity and casual discussion .

Nix is coming at it with a huge learning curve, and he’d implied he wasn’t up for it all at once. Gideon heartily respects and encourages safe, sane, and consensual practices, and that includes good mental health.

But now, Gideon isn’t sure what Nix wants from him this time. Luckily, he doesn’t have anywhere else to be—just time to figure it out.

Even if this is exactly where he’s always wanted to be.

Gideon refuses to let any of the guilt and shame he feels over having been absent when his family needed him distract him from his beautiful, saucy brat.

Nix’s ass cheeks fit perfectly in his hands, and—if he’s not mistaken, which he rarely is about these things—they already feel plusher to Gideon’s ass-connoisseur hands, so he squeezes for added confirmation…yup.

A frisson of anticipation shoots straight to his dick, because a juicy ass means more jiggle—and Gideon loves jiggle. If only Jay would be down for some impact play, Gideon could check something off his sexual bucket list.

For now, though, he’ll be more than satisfied with his current handful.

“I heard you had a smart mouth today,” he says, just to feel Nix moan softly and clench his thighs around Gideon’s hips.

“How would you know?” Nix snarks, and Gideon can see the tiniest tip of his very pink tongue between his teeth.

Gideon squeezes again, this time pulling those peachy cheeks apart. “Kitten, smart mouths get spanks. Do you want to say you’re sorry and try again?”

Knowing full well the answer is a resounding no, he doesn’t expect his kitten to raise the stakes.

“What do you care? You haven’t been here to worry about my smart mouth or teach me better, anyway,” Nix purrs, and then flicks Gideon’s nose with his fingers.

Gideon’s wolf roars in his chest, wanting to throw his sexy mate to the couch and bite the back of his saucy little neck and then fuck into him until he begs Gideon to let him touch his dick so he can come.

He can hear Leo mutter something under his breath after Nix’s sass.

“Gid. ”

The slight warning in Jay’s tone doesn’t go unnoticed, but Gideon raises his hand to both acknowledge him and to stop anything further.

This is their game, and his kitten knows exactly what he’s doing.

Although he’s not wrong.

He’s already spoken to Luca about it and apologized for being absent in the name of protecting them, even if he hadn’t entirely done as the man in the park had asked.

Gideon’s hand still tingles from turning his juicy ass a delightful shade of pink for his tone and the volume, which seemed to be exactly what his soulmate had been looking for.

Maybe that’s what kitten is after, too.

But just in case…

“Last chance, Kitten.”

Nix’s eyes flash blue, he throws back his head and laughs, long throat showing off his enigmas’ bites.

Gideon is so spellbound by how magical Nix is that he is one beat too slow to hear kitten taunt:

“You’d have to catch me first.”

With the challenge issued, Gideon watches his troublemaker disappear out the side door into the snow. He can’t stop his fangs from dropping, or his wolf forcing him to his feet.

But this isn’t his soulmate, and Grayson has just figured out he should have been listening to his wolf all this time; Gideon wants to respect that, even though Nix issued the challenge to him.

“Gray?” he grits out, and the millisecond Grayson’s chin drops in a slight nod, Gideon lets his wolf free.

His bare feet fly over the light dusting of snow, but Gideon welcomes the bite of pain.

Nix is already cackling, just beyond the retaining wall, and by the time Gideon catches sight of him, he’s nearly in the trees.

“Come on, alpha. You’re too slow,” he crows, his giggle floating to Gideon on the wind.

It’s the impetus he needs to put on a burst of speed. Nix may be a “super” Were, but Gideon is smart—and his wolf lives for the chase .

The closer he gets, the louder Nix’s giggles become as his omega swerves back and forth, muttering, “Zig-zag, zig-zag, Nixie, bob and weave, bob and weave.”

He looks foolish running back and forth between the trees, and it makes Gideon laugh; helps him get his wolf back from the edge of no return.

Nix hears his joy because he checks over his shoulder, eyes wide, when he sees Gideon has caught up. He gives a high-pitched shriek and darts behind a tree.

Gideon can still see his hands gripping the trunk, and his sweater is bright against the dark wood. He stops, though, and crosses his arms.

“I can see you, Kitten.”

“What? No. Nixie is well hidden. Nothing to see here,” Nix giggles.

Gideon huffs and takes a single, silent step forward, trying to keep a serious face and tone.

“Nix Rena, come here, please.”

Peeking around the tree, Nix sees that Gideon is closer, and squeaks again. Those damn squeaks make Gideon’s wolf go wild.

“Kitten. Come on now. If you come out, I will just give you ten spanks. One for each time you were rude to me today.”

Gideon creeps right up to the opposite side of the tree on silent feet. Nix is thinking so hard about how many times he’d been rude—obviously on purpose—that he doesn’t suspect Gideon is right there.

“Ten?! I was only rude…five.”

He steps out from behind the tree to call Gideon on his poor estimate—shrieks in surprise, spins on his heel, and gets two steps before Gideon has him around the waist.

“Nooooooo. That’s cheating. You were sneaky. No fair.”

Nix’s squeal and wiggles are even more incendiary when Gideon smells his omega’s aroused musky-vanilla slick.

“Be still,” he commands.

It only makes Nix push harder until his cold, bare toes catch Gideon hard in the shin.

“That is it. ”

Gideon sits in the wet dirt, putting him over his knee. He yanks Nix’s pants down to his knees, so he can run icy hands up his silky smooth thighs.

“No! Holy fuck, your hands are cold.”

“Color, Kitten,” Gideon drawls, barely able to hold back his anticipation.

Nix prefers the color system and says he doesn’t have a safe word because he’s always safe with Gideon.

That’s not how it works, but Gideon isn’t in the mood for that conversation now, and it’s unlikely Nix will listen any more now than he did the last twenty times.

The color system has worked well so far, and Gideon has made sure that his kitten can call out “red” or even “yellow” unprompted if anything changes.

“Fuck you,” Nix growls, so Gideon pinches the inside of his smooth thigh.

“Ow. Sorry! I meant to say fuck you, Gideon.”

Nix scrambles on his hands and toes to get off Gideon’s lap.

“Oh no, you don’t. Color, or I stop.”

Nix freezes and then lies still on Gideon’s lap. Resting before his next surge of brattiness, no doubt. There’s never just one.

He’s not surprised when Nix’s body tenses again, and he mutters, “Green. Now fucking give me five.”

The first spanking is loud in the quiet of the glade, and Nix bucks his hips forward in surprise. Gideon guesses kitten was waiting for him to argue about the number.

He rubs his hand over the soft skin and moans under his breath. There is slick between Nix’s cheeks and coating the inside of his thighs, making Gideon’s mouth water, and he has to catch the drool when he opens his mouth to speak.

“You’ll take as many as I give you. Then you’ll say sorry and maybe—if you’re good—I’ll teach you something new today.”

“Fine.” It’s sassy, and Gideon has to add three more spanks in a row on the juiciest part of Nix’s ass, right where the cheek meets his thigh. The flesh jiggles and bounces, and Gideon is mesmerized by the lift and fall every time.

“Fuck, Kitten. Your cute little ass is a thing of beauty.” Two more in succession, and he hears Nix’s breath catch and feels his hard little dick poking into his thigh.

“Fuck you,” Nix snarks.

Smack. Smack. Smack . They’re easy spanks, just enough to hear the sound and for his omega’s ass to be a pretty shade of pink. Enough to warm his cheeks and make that slick run.

“So mouthy.”

“I’m m-mouthy because you are n-never here.” Nix shivers then, and his words stutter out with the cold.

Gideon realizes suddenly that it is freaking winter, and he has Nix’s bare ass out and it’s snowing now. Large white snowflakes are melting on his hot pink ass.

Fuck.

He’s quick to stand and put Nix over his shoulder like a sack of flour. He pauses, briefly reconsidering the position.

“Is this okay for our babies?”

“Yes, thank you,” he murmurs sweetly, as he slides his cold hands down into the backs of Gideon’s pants. They are so cold on his ass that he barely holds back his high-pitched yelp.

“But also, fuck you.”