Hidden Destiny (Redwood Pack) (17 page)

He sucked in a breath.

Yes, Parker and Lexi were his family and it was time they made it official.

“But, Mom, what if we have to leave again because someone’s found us? How can this be our home if we have to leave?”

North closed his eyes, at a loss for words.

“Oh, baby.” Lexi’s voice broke as she came to the couch and sat on the other side of Parker. She wrapped her arm around him and leaned closer so she and Parker were essentially leaning on North.

North moved so he was now holding the both of them. His wolf nudged him, needing to have their scents on him and vice versa. This was his family now, and he had to make sure everyone knew that.

“Parker, we’re not going anywhere.” Lexi let out a shaky breath. “We’re here to stay. I know we haven’t done that before, and things are a little crazy right now, but we’re not leaving.”

“How can you be sure? We always leave when they find us,” Parker whispered.

“You didn’t have us behind you, Park,” North interjected. “We’re not going to let the others hurt you. No matter what happens, know that we’re here for you. We Jamensons stick together.”

“But I’m not a Jamenson,” Parker whispered.

Lexi met his gaze over Parker’s head and smiled. “No, we’re not Jamensons in name, but…”

“But you’re my family, Park. We just talked about that. Your mom and I are mates, meaning we’re going to be together for a long da— time.” He felt the blush creep up his neck. He’d have to work on not cursing he supposed. “You and your mom are a package deal.”

“So why are we still staying at our place and only visit over here?”

He felt Lexi stiffen, and he grinned. Well, it looked like the waiting period was over. “Do you want to stay with me? I didn’t want to move too fast for either of you, but I’d be…honored if you and your mother would move in with me.”

“Maybe this is something you and I should talk about privately,” Lexi said tightly.

Parker looked up at his mother. “But shouldn’t I have a say too?”

She ran a hand through her son’s hair, and North chewed on his lip. Maybe putting that out there like that hadn’t been the best idea. What did he know though? He’d never done this before, and his brothers hadn’t been in this situation before either.

Kids were complicated.

“Yes, you do. I guess we should talk about this, huh?”

“That seems prudent,” Parker said deadpan.

North threw his head back and laughed. “Where did you learn to say that?”

Parker turned and grinned at him. “I heard Aunt Mel say that to Uncle Kade. Uncle Kade said that he loved when his mate talked all smart like that.”

That sounded like his brother and his mate for sure.

“If we’re done talking vocabulary—prudent, by the way, is a great word, honey—can we talk about our plans then? Since we decided to have this conversation all together, let’s get it done.”

North wasn’t sure if Lexi was mad or scared about the way this had come about—he was guessing both—but he wasn’t going to let her run away from it.

“I’d say that we should make it official. Why should we alternate between houses when you can just stay here?”

“But this is going a little fast, don’t you think?” Lexi asked.

North shrugged. “We’re wolves. Everything moves a little fast for us.”

“And I can stay here too? With you and Mom?” Parker asked.

North ran a hand through Parker’s hair. “I’d like that a lot. I have the guest room we can make into yours.”

“But what if you have guests?”

North grinned. “Then it looks like I’ll have to build on. I had always planned on doing it anyway when I found my mate and made a family. I don’t really want to move to a bigger place since the clinic is attached, but we can make it work.”

“And Kade and Jasper would help build it, right? I think that’s what they do.”

“Yep. It helps having contractors and architects in the family. Though I do know how to do a lot of it myself. Once we have time, we can build on.” There were a few more important things to worry about first, but he’d be damned if he let go of his future to dwell on them.

Parker turned toward Lexi. “Can we move in, Mom? I want to know we can stay. Plus, I think Uncle Logan is getting all growly with Aunt Cailin and needs space.”

Out of the mouth of babes.

“Come on, Lex. We don’t want Logan to get all growly.”

Lexi narrowed her eyes. “Seriously? You’re gonna try that on me?”

Parker leaned into North, leaving him grinning. “See? Parker wants to stay. I want you to stay. No, I
need
you to stay. We can figure out everything as we go, but I think it’s time we take this next step. Plus, you’ll be closer so I can protect you.”

His wolf growled happily at that.

Lexi rolled her eyes but he could see the sheer joy on her face. “Okay, if that’s what my boys want, we’ll move in.”

Her boys.

Yeah, he liked the sound of that.

Parker leapt off the couch and whooped. “This is so cool. I can’t wait to tell Aunt Cailin.” He paused. “What about Uncle Logan though? I don’t want him to be lonely.” The kid snapped his fingers and grinned. “I know! I’ll tell Aunt Cailin that she needs to watch out for him so he isn’t so lonely.” The kid threw his arms around Lexi then North then pulled away. “I’m going to go call Aunt Cailin.” He whooped again and ran to the kitchen, presumably to get the phone.

North’s body was shaking as he tried to hold back his laughter.

“Oh God, poor Logan.”

“Hey,” North said, affronted. “Poor Logan? What about poor Cailin?”

“Those two don’t have a chance in hell with Parker playing matchmaker,” Lexi teased.

“So…” North began but stopped, not knowing what to say.

“So…” Lexi repeated. “Looks like we’re living together, which was what we sort of were doing anyway since we haven’t spent a night apart since we’ve been sleeping together so I guess this works. I just don’t want to move too fast and hurt Parker. You think this is a good idea, really? What if we’re doing the wrong thing? What if—”

North crushed his mouth to hers, effectively shutting her up. He pulled away then ran his thumb over her cheek.

“Stop worrying. We’ll make this work.”

She sucked in her lips. “If you say so.”

“I do say so.”

There was a knock on the door, and North inhaled, scenting Logan’s presence on the other side. Well, it looked as though they were breaking the news of their new living situation sooner rather than later.

“I’ll get it,” Parker called as he ran past them. It seemed the kid was already making this place his home. That suited North just fine.

Logan casually walked into the room, his brow raised. “Looks like you guys have settled things.”

“And why do you say that?” Lexi asked.

“You guys look more relaxed, and Parker just answered the door like it was his own home.”

“It is his home now,” North said, and Logan grinned.

“About time. Now I get to make the old place my bachelor pad.”

“I wouldn’t do that, Uncle Logan. I already talked to Aunt Cailin, and she promised me she’d take care of you.” Parker’s face scrunched up and looked away so he couldn’t see his uncle’s face go pale. North held back a laugh at the sight. “Though it took forever for her to say yes to that. I don’t know if she likes you. You’ll have to fix that though, okay? Because we’re all family.”

North watched Logan as he swallowed hard and gave a small nod. “I’ll work on that, buddy. In fact, let’s go get started on that now. I was going to ask if you wanted to work with me on a project for Mel and Pat. You wanna come? We’ll stop by Cailin’s on the way.”

Parker’s face brightened. “Okay. Let me get my shoes.” He froze mid-step. “Oh, can I go, Mom?”

“Sure, have fun, baby.”

Soon Lexi and North found themselves alone in the house—
their
house. “So, Lex, how do you want to celebrate our new place?”

Lexi blushed, and she shook her head. “You are in so much trouble, North Jamenson. Next time you want to make a huge decision like that, you don’t get to do it in front of Parker. If you’re going to help me raise him, then you need to learn that some parenting happens out of earshot of said kid.”

North collared her neck softly, loving the way her eyes darkened. “I’ll do better next time, I promise.”

“You better,” she rasped out.

“So, have any ideas?” he repeated, loving the small gasps coming from her throat.

“North, we should plan out all the details of the move.” Her eyes darkened as he traced her cheek down to her neck. “We…we need to make sure we have things for Parker’s room and move over my things slowly or something so I’m not taking over the bathroom or anything.”

His free hand slid down her back, cupping her ass. “You can have as many drawers as you’d like. We’ll buy more.”

“North.”

“Let me love you, my Lexi.”

She closed her eyes, her head falling back as pulled her closer.

“Okay, but I don’t like how you make me all swoony with just your touch.”

He chuckled then brought his mouth down to hers, taking her lower lip between his teeth. She stiffened for a moment before sighing. He nipped lightly then licked where his teeth had been.

“You do the same to me, love.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think we’ve ever sounded so cheesy.”

North tugged at the bottom of her shirt, and she immediately held up her arms. He pulled it over her head then went to work on her jeans.

“Well then, if we’re too cheesy, I suppose I’ll just have to fuck you hard to make up for it.”

He knelt before her, sliding her jeans down her legs, and she held on to his shoulders for balance.

“I think that idea has merit.”

He looked up at her standing in nothing but her panties and bra and grinned. “Good.”

Before she could blink, he lifted her off her feet, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. As he walked them to the bedroom, he licked and nipped along her neck. She tilted her head to the side, giving him more access.

He dropped her on the bed, and she bounced, her eyes going wide. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

“You said I was cheesy.” He stripped off his clothes then leaned over her, capturing her lips again. God, the taste of her on his tongue would never be enough.

He kissed his way down her body, taking off her bra slowly so he could watch the goose bumps rise on her flesh. He latched onto one nipple, sucking hard and biting down. When he let go, her nipples were red, wet, and perfect.

“Look at those tits,” he whispered. “Fucking amazing.”

“You’re a sweet talker for sure,” she whispered, her body arching over him.

He lavished attention on her other breast, licking the same way he had with the other, and trailed his hand down her stomach at the same time. His fingers slid deftly under her panties, and he spread her so he could rub against her clit.

Lexi moaned for him, and he let go of her breast so he could trail kisses down her stomach. The lace of her panties brushed along his skin as he pulled them down her legs, leaving her bare.

“Goddess, you’re a sight.”

She spread for him, and he grinned. “I take it you want to come?”

She raised a brow, sliding her hand along her mound. “I can take care of that myself if you have a problem with it.”

He gripped her hand then pulled it over her head. “Give me the other one.” She did quickly, and he kissed her hard in reward. “I get to make you come. Got it?”

“Only if I can do the same for you.”

“Deal. Keep your hands there. Don’t make me tie you up.”

She blushed at that so he filed that little tidbit away for later. He moved down to the edge of the bed, pulled her ass closer to his face, and lapped her up. She bucked against his face, egging him on as he fucked her with his tongue, going as deep into her pussy as he could go before licking up to her clit and biting down. His fingers dug into her soft thighs, keeping her still as she screamed his name, coming on his tongue.

She was still writhing as he stood up and pulled her to his chest. He crushed his mouth to hers, and she wrapped her arms around him. Their breathing quickened, and he pulled away, his cock aching.

“Get on your knees and grip the slats on the bottom of the headboard,” he ordered when he pulled way.

She nodded and did what she was told, leaving her ass high in the air. He gripped his shaft, roughly sliding up and down it a couple of times, needing to feel the rush before he sank into her heat.

“Ready, my Lexi?”

She looked over her shoulder and grinned. “You know it.”

He gripped her hips and thrust into her waiting pussy with one stroke. They both called out at the penetration, her inner walls still swollen from her past orgasm, and he froze, waiting for her to accommodate him.

When she pushed back against his hips, he pulled out and slammed back in, repeating the movement over and over and setting a rapid pace that left sweat rolling down his back.

“Fuck, North. Jesus, you feel good.”

“You gonna come again for me, Lexi?”

“Hell, yeah. If you work it.”

He let out a harsh laugh at her tease then moved his hands so they were on her breasts. He plucked and thrummed her nipples, rolling them into hard little points as he fucked her from behind. His balls tightened, and he knew he was close, so he pinched her nipples hard. Her pussy clenched around him as she came, and he followed right behind her.

While he filled her with his seed, he pulled her back against his chest, gripped her chin, and lowered his mouth to hers.

Finally, he let her go, resting his head against her shoulder. “Am I cheesy now?” he said on a breath.

“Only in the sexiest of ways.” She laughed so he bit her shoulder, not hard, just enough to show her who was in charge.

She wiggled her ass, and he moaned.

Okay, so she was in charge.

But she didn’t have to know that.

“Why are we going to the elders’ camp again?” Lexi asked as she stepped over a fallen log.

It had been almost two weeks since she and Parker had officially moved into North’s home—no,
their
—home, though she wasn’t used to calling it that yet. Parker seemed to be settling in nicely, considering a new home and a new move were nothing out of the ordinary to him. However, she knew her little boy wasn’t quite ready to lean on North as a father or whatever Parker wanted to call him.