Page 46

TACTICAL RETREAT

Blake

Pember’s dark eyebrows twitched in his sleep, and Blake wondered what he might be dreaming of.

Even pressed against his chest, hair untamed, saliva dampening his cheek, the omega was beautiful.

The soft poutiness of lips, the gentle curve of his jaw…

He was like some kind of wild, green eyed wood nymph come to steal his pennies.

And my breath.

Val’s sofa grew even more uncomfortable as the night wore on, but Blake would suffer the bad back and shoulder pains if it meant Pember would stay nestled against him for just a little longer.

The bite marks across his neck and shoulders were…

apparent, and two dark welts stuck out from under the neckline of his T-shirt.

It’d been difficult to keep a check on his desire during the night, and even now, Blake’s canines ached like fucking crazy.

His gums itched in the same irritating way that only direct and constant pressure would alleviate.

Like a fucking toddler with teething pains.

Witnessing Pember lost to pleasure—the darkness of his irises, how his lips parted around soft moans, the way his belly dipped and his back arched just before he came… Blake probably should have felt bad about the bite marks. But he didn’t.

He did, however, feel a small twinge of guilt about the sorry state of Val’s blanket and sofa cushions.

However , dry cleaners existed for a reason, and luckily for them there was one just around the corner from the police station.

Tilting forward, he kissed the small freckle on Pember’s jawline. Followed by the one on his neck. Then he ran his nose through his hair and inhaled the deeply sensual scent radiating from the top of his head.

Pember’s skin was incredibly flushed, burning almost, and the omega’s pulse quickened at his jugular, despite him being sound asleep.

Val had stirred some time ago, appearing at the top of the stairs when the sun hadn’t yet touched the horizon. Blake watched her move around the kitchen in her nightdress, clattering plates and bowls whilst Cherry nipped at her hair.

Blake had learned during her previous bouts of hysteria that approaching the old alpha too soon was a recipe for disaster.

He’d found it less distressing for everyone to keep quiet and let her come to him.

Still, perhaps it would be better with Pember there to mellow out their competing alpha scents.

“Is she awake?” Pember whispered, rubbing his face across Blake’s chest.

Blake flicked his gaze away, trying to make it look like he hadn’t just been staring at Pember like a fucking pervert.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “She’s trying to make toast.”

Pember wriggled up from beneath the blanket, letting out the warm air that their bodies had created overnight.

He slowly sat up, stretching his arms above his head, causing the hem of his T- shirt to ride up.

There was a freckle there too, right next to his belly button. Blake wanted to put his mouth on it.

“Morning, Va?—”

“Shh,” Blake said softly, covering the omega’s mouth and bringing him back down onto the sofa. “Let her come to you,” he whispered.

Pember’s mouth was hot against his palm. Unnaturally hot. But he only nodded and twisted his body, lying on top of Blake so he could watch Val from behind the arm of the chair. Blake inwardly groaned, hips pressing up into Pember’s groin and making them both shudder.

Tipping his head back, he watched the old alpha upside down.

Eventually the smell of burnt toast died away and Val shuffled over to them.

“M-morning,” Pember said, staring up at her with an apprehensive expression.

Val only narrowed her eyes and shoved two plates into their hands. “You both stink,” she said, somehow making her nose even more wrinkled. “This isn’t a brothel.”

Pember flushed, taking a huge bite of toast. He coughed, causing powdery black crumbs to shoot from his nose and mouth.

“Th-thanks for the toast,” he said, spluttering as Val walked away. “The doctor’s on his way,” he called after her.

Val frowned, baring her blunt fangs. “What do I need a doctor for? I told you, I’m dying already.”

Pember set his plate down on the coffee table and clambered off the sofa. Blake growled at the loss of his body weight but didn't stop him.

“Don’t say that,” Pember called. “Please just come and sit down, I’ll make you a cup of tea.” He tugged at her sleeve and tried to usher her over to the recliner, but she yanked her arm away.

“Oh, have off with you. I don’t need the doctor, and I don’t need a fussy little omega worrying over me. Those days are long gone”

Huffing, Pember followed her towards the back door. “But I do worry, Val. We both do.” He threw an arm out towards Blake, who was now perched on the edge of the sofa with his own plate of burnt toast. “You were out in the woods again. You were freezing cold. Blake had to put a fire on!”

Val growled, rounding on Pember. Blake jumped up, cleared the room in three steps and inserted himself between them.

“You should have left me out there!” Val shouted, making Cherry flap and squawk. “Put us all out of our misery for crying out loud!”

Wrenching open the back door, the old alpha wobbled into the garden in nothing but her nightdress.

“Val!” Pember cried, moving to follow her.

Blake somehow managed to grab both Pember and Cherry as they made a beeline for the door. “Leave her,” he said. “She’s always like this the morning after. I’ve locked the back gate. She can’t go anywhere.”

Pember groaned and covered his eyes. He turned, tugging Blake’s arms apart and pressing himself between them. He fit perfectly, like the missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle.

“I feel like I’m making things worse,” he mumbled against his chest.

Blake sighed, squeezing him. “You aren’t. Usually she’d have tried a round of fisticuffs with me by now. Toast and a minor dressing down is mild.”

“Are you sure?” he replied, rubbing his face across Blake’s T-shirt.

When he looked up, the golden-green of his eyes were blown almost black, pupils completely dilated.

Blake’s throat went dry. He hadn’t noticed it before, but now they’d moved to a different part of the house, the scent wrapping around them was unmistakable.

After a half a second of confusion, Blake’s brain kicked back into gear. “Y-yeah,” he stuttered, wetting his bottom lip with his tongue.

Pember’s eyes tracked the movement, and he sucked his own bottom lip. His hands slid up Blake’s stomach, dragging over his chest and around his neck. It made Blake’s heart skip a beat.

Pember was in heat, or would be very soon, and that made Blake’s wolf awaken with primal desire.

Cherry squawked again, and Pember seemed to catch himself for the briefest of moments. Dropping his arms, he scuttled towards the sink.

Blake followed.

It wasn’t that he wanted to stay close to Pember, it was that every fibre of his being told him he needed to.

Pember was breathing hard as he pulled a glass from the cupboard. Water sloshed out when he turned the tap up to max, drenching his hand. He chugged a whole glass. And then another. And was about to start on a third when Blake squeezed his arm.

“Easy,” he said, kissing the nape of his neck. “You’ll make yourself sick.”

Pressing himself against Pember’s back, Blake felt drunkenly irrational.

Like being separated from the omega for even a second would cause him to burst into flames.

Tugging Pember’s hips back, he ran his knuckles up his sides and over both arms. The soft skin of his triceps pebbled, and he could see Pember’s eyes drifting shut in the reflection of the window.

It felt like magic, having the omega in his arms, and Blake couldn’t stop touching him. He could not stop touching him.

Pember let out a quiet whine, the fabric of his tennis shorts bunching around his arse as he pressed back against Blake’s groin.

Blake’s chest rumbled, his hand sliding down Pember’s belly until it was between his legs.

He was hard. They both were. In fact, Blake had been hard all night and nearly all morning.

“Blake…” Pember moaned, and it was the most sensual thing he had ever heard. It took his breath away, making him shiver as he tugged his hand from between his legs and planted it on the worktop.

Dipping his head, he pressed his face into Pember’s hair. He smelled like sex, like heat, like laughter and silly conversations in the middle of the night. He smelled like his.

“Come back with me,” Blake whispered.

Pember groaned and turned his head, their cheeks sliding together. “What?”

“When the doctor arrives, will you come home with me?”

Pember huffed out a laugh. “What about work? There’s still a murderer on the loose.” His voice cracked as his hips tipped back, arse grinding against Blake’s cock.

He grinned as he bit Pember’s earlobe. “I’m sure Mark can handle it.”

There was no way in hell he’d be able to explain his absence to the inspector. They were unmated, and they were colleagues, but he was willing to try any number of different cover stories if it meant he could have Pember to himself for a couple of days.

Pember let out a breathy laugh and dropped his head again. “Are you doing that on purpose?” he whispered.

Blake planted kisses all across his shoulders, inhaling the omega’s scent. It was growing stronger by the second, sticking to his nostrils and coating his lungs. “Doing what?” he groaned back.

“Th-that. With your voice. It’s—” Pushing onto his tiptoes, Pember arched his back.

He was breathing hard, and when Blake’s hand drifted to his thigh, his fingers slipped beneath the hem of his shorts.

He palmed the curve of his arse, the pad of his thumb brushing over the slippery wetness of Pember’s slick as it dampened his underwear.