Page 7

Tenzin

“H ey, did you fix everything between you three?” Jonas asked me, quietly in the locker room after practice.

“I think so,” I told him as I pulled on my shirt. “I’m heading there now. Today I’m going to make them lunch.”

Clark was excused from practice for a few days on account of his ribs. Now out of the hospital, Gwen pretty much just wanted to be cuddled on the couch, while we watched movies–or rather, we watched movies and she used us as a bed.

“Good to hear. They’re great people, Tens.” Jonas turned to his locker.

“I know.” I was grateful they’d forgiven me so wholeheartedly.

“Oh, here. Verity made these for Gwen. Can’t forget.” Jonas handed me a pretty paper sack that was filled with ladybugs on sticks, wrapped in sparkly clear wrap and tied with bows.

I took it from him. “Thank you.”

After I finished changing, I left the training center, checking to see if my groceries were on their way.

“Perfect timing,” the front desk lady told me as I walked in. “Your grocery order was dropped off.”

“Thank you.” I grabbed the bag and went upstairs to my apartment.

I started cooking one of the few things I knew how to make. Taking a picture, I sent it to my sister, since her omega, Cash, was the one who taught me.

My phone rang—Zaya.

“Yes, Sister Dear?” I asked, putting it on speaker as I put the biscuits in the oven.

“You like them so much you’re cooking for them?” She laughed.

I started browning the sausage for the gravy. “I’ve cooked for Gwen before. But, yes. Gwen’s back from the hospital, but not eating much. I wanted to make something comforting.”

“Is everything okay, besides them? You’ve been distracted even before their accident,” she pried, using her big-sister ability to know that there was more to it.

It was time to tell her.

“Morgan’s pregnant with twins. One is mine.” I focused on breaking the sausage up into little pieces as I stirred.

“Oh fuck,” she breathed.

“Yep.” I gave her the short version as I added flour to the browned sausage, then stirred in the milk.

“You got a second test, right? A third? This isn’t manipulation, she’s actually pregnant with your baby?” she asked, worry heavy in her voice.

I gave the sausage a poke. “I did. He’s mine.”

“You’re going to be a dad. Wow. Are you okay?”

A sigh escaped my lips. “I’m working on it. I don’t know where the lines are between civil and cordial. How much do I want them to know about my life? But then, if I’m involved with their baby, they have the right to know certain things. It’s so easy to want to fall back into telling Jacen everything. But…”

The whole thing with Gwen at the hospital and Jacen calling had rattled me a little. I’d wanted to tell him about the accident. About them. But should I? Did I need to?

“That’s a lot to work though, and I’m proud of you. Yeah, you probably don’t want to be besties with them anymore. Being cordial would be helpful for co-parenting, though being civil is better than hostile,” she told me.

“True.” The parenting books all said variations of the same. “I have more work to do.”

“Being a parent is hard work. But hey, the kids will be so excited to have a cousin–and I’m glad you’re trying to figure it out, in a way that works for both you and your kid. You’ll be no good as a dad if you resent him,” Zaya told me.

“I know. That’s why I didn’t tell anyone while I got things sorted. I’m so grateful Clark and Gwen are okay with it.” I added sage and red pepper.

She chuckled. “Invite me to the wedding?”

“It’ll be a bit, as we sort out our careers and teams, and how to balance everything, especially a baby. But I think they’re the ones.” One thing I worried about was how close we’d need to keep Gwen to us once we bonded. Would she react like an omega, who rarely did well when separated from their alpha for more than a few days? Or more like a beta who’d be fine for longer stretches.

“I love that for you. Well, I’ve got to go. But talk to you soon. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Send my love to everyone else.” I ended the call. Grabbing the salt and pepper, I finished seasoning the gravy.

I tasted it. Perfect.

The timer went off, and I took the biscuits out of the oven, then set them onto the counter. I placed a lid on the pan and put the hot biscuits in a container, nearly dropping them.

Texting Clark I was on the way, I stuffed my phone in my pocket. I carefully grabbed everything and went across the hall, along with the bag of treats from Verity. Clark stood there with the door open.

Shirtless, wearing only some grey sweatpants. Mmmm. That didn’t get old.

“Hey.” Clark shot me a big smile. “Let me get that.” He grabbed the biscuits, and we went inside.

I looked over at Gwen, who was asleep on the couch, in an enormous pile of blankets and plushies, which included the one from the fair and some from the hospital.

“We’ll wake her up in a moment. What did you make?” Clark set the biscuits on the counter.

“Biscuits and gravy.” I put the gravy next to it.

“Marry me.” Clark froze. “I mean…”

Oh, how I wanted to kiss the startled expression off his cute face.

I pulled him to me and kissed the top of his head instead. “It’s easier for me to take the steps to be with her. It’s not you, it’s me. I… I liked him. Jacen. But I never made a move on him, because he had a pack and I got no indication that he wanted to be anything other than my best friend. So when he hooked up with my girlfriend…”

“Oh. I won’t be like that. Promise,” Clark breathed.

I stroked his hair. “I know. I’m working on it. Because I do want this.”

Being a father wasn’t the only thing I spoke to my therapist about.

“I do, too. I get it. It’s hard to date again after having your heart broken. I like it when you hold me,” he confessed.

My arms tightened around him. “I like this, too. How did everything go after I left for practice?”

I’d spent the night here with them, though the bed was a bit short and crowded.

Clark looked over at the couch. “She’s exhausted and cranky–and that sister of hers, the one who doesn’t like her outfits, sent her clothes. Gwen barely ate her eggs and toast. I even put the jam on it my mom sent to us and normally she’s eating that out of the jar with a spoon.”

“Concussions are no fun, it’ll take time.” I leaned my head on top of his.

I looked over as Gwen took a picture of us, still on the couch, wrapped in blankets. She giggled.

“Hi, Firecracker. I made food. Are we eating on the couch or at the table?” I asked her.

“Couch. Did you make that salmon with the sauce?” She didn’t sit up.

“Something my sister’s omega taught me.” I made us plates.

Clark got us drinks and made a plate for himself and we crowded onto the couch, her between us.

“Next movie?” Clark got the remote. “Gweny, are you okay with this one? We can fast forward through the bit where the Scorpion gets kidnapped if it’s a trigger? Or we can skip the movie entirely.”

“I’ve seen this one. I’ll be okay. Mmmm, this smells delicious. Thank you.” She gave me a kiss.

“So good.” Clark made an expression, as he swallowed, that made me a little jealous of the biscuit.

The movie started. Gwen needed a lot of rest, so we’d decided to watch the Defender League movies in order together, since I hadn’t seen most of them.

I polished my biscuits and gravy off and was about to get more when I noticed Gwen had barely touched her food.

“Precious, don’t you like them? Can I make you something else? Maybe some rice?” I’d get her anything she wanted as long as she ate it.

“I like them, it’s just a lot of work. Why do I feel like this?” Her eyes teared.

“Hey, it’s okay.” I pulled her close to me. “Here.” I took her fork and scooped some biscuit and gravy onto it.

She opened her mouth like a baby bird and I fed her as I held her.

“Mmmm.” Gwen swallowed the bite. “There’s sage in the gravy.”

“There is. Both the biscuits and gravy are made from scratch.” I got another forkful.

“I like how the gravy has a kick of spice. It might even be better than Ma’s, but we can never tell her that,” Clark praised.

“Never.” I fed Gwen another little bite. That was quite a compliment, considering I’d had some of his Ma’s spicy pickles and jam. She’d sent over a care package and well wishes for their speedy recovery.

“There you go, what a good girl.” Clark leaned over and kissed her.

“Yes, finish all your food and you’ll get a reward,” I told her, kissing her cheek as I fed her another bite.

As the movie played, I fed her bits of food. With each bite, we praised her and Clark peppered her face with kisses. I could smell her arousal every time we told her what a good girl she was.

That soothed the alpha inside me, who enjoyed being able to feed and care for her. It reassured me that I could. That I deserved them.

Her licking gravy off her lips also went straight to my cock. Maybe later. Right now, this was about caring for her. While she’d come from my reward, it didn’t involve my dick.

“Last bite.” I scraped up the last bit of biscuit and gravy and fed it to her. She swallowed it down, delight on her face.

“Look at you, such a good girl for eating all of your lunch.” Clark snuggled her into him and kissed her forehead.

“It was a wonderful lunch. Thank you.” She beamed at me, cuddling further into Clark, who adjusted the blankets over her.

“You’re welcome. Would you like more?” I hadn’t given her that much.

She shook her head. “I’m okay. But if there are any biscuits left, I might like one later with the jam Clark’s mom made.”

“We can do that,” I assured, taking everyone’s dishes to the kitchen and getting myself a little more. I remembered the treats and grabbed three of the ladybugs on sticks.

“Is that my reward? Verity made me ladybug cake pops?” Gwen’s face lit up.

“She did, but it’s not your reward, just dessert.” I had something different in mind.

She and Clark ate their desserts, and I finished my food. I took my cake pop and unwrapped it.

“This is maybe a bite of cake.” I eyed the adorable confection.

“True. But still delicious,” Gwen told me.

The chocolate cake exploded over my tongue. It was sweet and decadent, but not too much.

“I see the appeal.” I put the stick onto my plate on the coffee table.

“So what’s my reward?” Gwen lounged on Clark, her feet on my lap, blankets strewn over us. Snowball had been on her cat tree but left to explore elsewhere.

“Mmmm, I have some ideas.” My hand went under the blanket and trailed up her bare thigh. She only wore a T-shirt. I’d keep the blanket on her so that she didn’t get a chill.

The sweet scent of her arousal flared the room. Clark paused the movie.

“Does our sweet girl need her reward now? Oh, you’re going to look beautiful taking whatever he gives you,” Clark told her. He repositioned himself, so he leaned against the arm of the giant couch, her between his legs.

“Oh yes, I’ll take my reward like a good girl,” she sighed, lying against Clark’s shirtless chest.

My fingers found her panties and tugged them off. I tossed them onto the video game chair. Diving under the blanket, I gave her pussy a long lick.

“Oooh, that kind of reward,” she sighed, gushing a little. “Yes, reward me, Alpha.”

“Happily,” I mumbled into her pussy as I circled her clit with my tongue. Her scent intensified, as did Clark’s, as he started putting out pheromones.

With the blanket over my head, I couldn’t tell what they were doing, but it sounded like they were kissing. I slid two fingers inside her and started to thrust.

“Tens,” she gasped.

Using my tongue, I wrote how much I loved her, on her clit. Each one of her sweet little gasps fed that alpha need I had to care for her. Love her. One of my hands moved up her torso. Fingers entwined mine. Large fingers.

Yes, I needed to care and love him too–and I needed to work a little harder at it. While he might be okay with me putting her first for now, I’d need to make a move, eventually. Even while he was waiting, I shouldn’t neglect him.

No. Never again.

“Come for him, Sweetness,” Clark directed. “Show him what a good girl you are and fall apart in my arms as he wrecks you.”

Squeezing his fingers, I added a third inside Gwen, the pace intensifying as I nipped her clit.

Her body bucked. Letting go of Clark’s fingers, I held her hip in place, as her scent changed in that way it did right before she came. I nipped her clit again, my fingers pulsating inside her. Gwen’s pussy squeezed, and she trembled, an orgasm shooting through her.

“Mmmm, such a good girl, coming for her alphas,” Clark cooed.

“So good, but I think you need to come again,” I told her, not stopping, as I gave her another long lick.

“Please?” It was almost a whine.

Yes, my precious one needed to come again. My hard cock and inflated knot rubbed against my jeans, wanting to know why we weren’t buried inside of her. But this was about her. If she asked for it, I’d give it to her. But I think right now she just needed this.

We could have her again later.

“That’s it, come for me again,” I crooned into her pussy as I added another finger.

“That feels so good.” Her breath shook as her fingers tangled in my hair.

“We like making you feel good,” Clark told her, his hand resting on top of mine.

What would his hands feel like running over my body, as I made him feel good? I rolled her clit with my tongue as my fingers continued to move inside her.

“I feel so good, Alphas,” she panted, her hips moving, as her grip on my hair tightened.

“Yes, pull my hair,” I gasped, increasing my pace.

“Tens,” she cried as her body spasmed around my fingers.

“That’s a good girl, I love the way you look when you come,” Clark told her.

Easing my fingers out of her, I sat up, making sure the blanket covered her still, so she didn’t get cold.

“Me, too. Such a good girl,” I praised. Her cheeks were flushed with pleasure, and she smelled content.

Good.

Clark’s face nuzzled her neck, and she giggled, eyes half lidded.

I licked my fingers.

Clark’s eyes focused on me, heat searing me as if he had laser beams, like one of his super heroes. “Is she delicious?”

Without a second thought, I leaned in and kissed him, my hand curling around the back of his head. His lips met mine, kissing them clean of her essence.

“I like this view,” Gwen said sleepily, making a happy noise.

“Oh, she does taste good,” Clark breathed. Before I could break off the kiss, his lips met mine again, hungry and exploring.

My heart thumped in my ears as I tried to relax and enjoy the moment and not worry that it was too much too fast.

His arms tightened around me and his kiss stopped, but didn’t entirely break off, as if he heard my thoughts.

“I love how she tastes on you.” Clark’s forehead tipped to mine.

“I love you tasting her on me.” I ran my hand through his hair. “Maybe I can taste her on you.”

“Gweny, do you want me to taste you?” Clark asked, our heads still touching as his hand cupped my face.

Silence.

“Gwen?” I moved back, so I could look at her.

Eyes closed, she curled into Clark, sleeping.

“You tired her out,” Clark laughed. “Later then. Should we watch the rest of the movie? I have some beers. Also, I started some of that queso dip she likes in the crock pot. It should be ready.”

Leaning in, I kissed his forehead. A promise. I enjoyed those kisses and eventually would like to see where they go. My thumb stroked his cheek. “That sounds perfect.”