Man to Man [Wolf Creek Pack 3] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) (21 page)

Donovan sent the alpha a small smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take Jim home and put him to bed.”

“Tomorrow we need to discuss what happened with the Shasta Pack in more detail. I’ve spoken with Alpha Reece, and he and his mate are coming in the morning to brief me. I’d appreciate it if you and Jim could join us. The more I know, the better I am able to protect my pack.”

“We’ll be here.”

Donovan’s heart ached when he walked into the kitchen and found Jim talking softly with his mother. He didn’t know what they were discussing, but they both stopped talking when he walked in.

“Is everything okay?”

“Not really.” Jim chuckled sadly. “But I suppose it will be in time.”

“Jim—”

“No, it’s okay, Donovan. I knew this would happen. I let my hopes get up for a little while, and now I have to deal with the letdown. It’ll blow over.”

“Jeez, Jim, your father didn’t say we were out of the running, just that everyone needed a chance to put in their bid. It’s only fair.”

“It’s not fair,” Jim snapped. “Carrie and Joey are not possessions to be auctioned off. They are living breathing little children that need a good home. I thought we might be able to provide that, but apparently I was wrong.”

Donovan’s jaw dropped open when Jim spun around and stormed out of the house through the back door. He felt disconcerted when he glanced over at Maryann. “I…uh…”

“Give him some time, Donovan. He just needs to blow off some steam. Jim has always felt things a little more than the rest of us, and I am sure once he gets this all off his chest, he’ll be fine.”

“I’d better go after him.”

Donovan leaned over and kissed each of the kids on their foreheads and then hurried out the door after Jim. He knew he wouldn’t have a chance in hell of catching his mate when he discovered a pile of clothes piled by the side of the house. Jim was long gone.

Well, shit.

Donovan walked back into the house, stopping at the kitchen counter to lean against it. Maryann was spoon-feeding Carrie at the breakfast nook. Joey sat in his highchair, attempting to eat pancakes with a fork but mostly using his fingers.

Donovan chuckled when he saw the mess Joey was making. He had to give it to the little guy. He was trying. He just seemed to have a bit of confusion as to where exactly his mouth was. Most of the syrup on his pancakes was all over his face.

“He’ll be back when he’s ready, Donovan,” Maryann said.

“I know. I just hate for him to have to go through this alone.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, James would disappear for days on end when he got upset in the past. You’re mated now. I believe he’ll be back in just a little while. He just has to realize that he has someone there for him when he becomes upset.”

“We haven’t been mated that long, Maryann.”

“It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been mated, Donovan. James needs you. It won’t take him long to realize that, and then he will come home to you.”

“I hope you’re right.” Gods, he prayed that Maryann was right. Just knowing that Jim was in pain and out there on his own made Donovan want to scream with outrage. He hurt, too, but he wanted the arms of his mate to comfort him. He didn’t want to do this alone.

“Why don’t you borrow my car and head home? That’s probably where Jim will head when he comes to his senses. My keys are on the hook by the backdoor.”

“You don’t think I should wait here?” Donovan asked. He worried that Jim would return here and find him gone. How would that make his mate feel? Donovan knew it would make him feel even worse.

Maryann glanced over at Donovan. “No, Donovan, I think he will head wherever you are. Here, home, it doesn’t matter. James will find you. And I think you two need to be alone right now.”

Donovan couldn’t agree more. Jim was upset with his father, and with good reason. But Alpha Nash also had good reasons. It was a no-win situation for everyone. Only time would tell what the outcome would be.

“All right,” Donovan said as he pushed away from the counter and went to grab the keys hanging on a hook by the backdoor. “If Jim returns here, let him know I’m at home waiting for him?”

Maryann smiled. “Of course.”

“We’ll be back in the morning. Alpha Reece and his mate are driving in, and your husband wants us here to discuss what happened at Shasta Pack. And—” Donovan’s eyes strayed to the two youngsters sitting at the table.

“And you want to see the children,” Maryann finished for him.

“Yeah.”

“They’ll be here in the morning. I promise.”

“I hate leaving them, though. They were so scared.”

Maryann smiled. “I’ve been doing this for a very long time, Donovan. I’m sure I can keep two little ones happy until tomorrow morning.”

Jim shut the door as quietly as he could and walked into the house. The kitchen light was on, but the rest of the house seemed as dark as possible with the curtains pulled and none of the outside sunshine shining in.

It was early in the morning, and Jim knew they were due at his father’s house in another few hours. He just needed a little time to come to terms with having all of his dreams crash to the ground.

Ultimately, Jim understood exactly what his father was saying, and the possibility of him and Donovan getting the kids wasn’t totally gone. It was just in a coma right now. Until it had been established beyond doubt that Carrie and Joey had no living relatives, they couldn’t be put up for adoption within the pack.

After that, everyone that had an interest had the right to apply to be their parents. It was only fair, and it was right. Jim knew that after running and running until his paws ached. He had finally dropped to the ground miles from home and just laid there and thought things over.

It was only when he figured out that the ache in his chest came not from the possibility of losing the kids, but from not having his mate with him, that Jim had started home. He wanted the children, but he needed Donovan.

So, here he was, standing at the bottom of the stairs that led up to his bedroom, and hoping that his mate didn’t turn him away for being such a complete asshole. He would deserve it for leaving Donovan like he did, and he knew it.

Donovan was his rock, his port in a storm. He was the one thing in this world that belonged totally to Jim. And Jim would be an even bigger fool if he didn’t march his tired ass upstairs and tell Donovan that he was the center of Jim’s world.

It was great plan—if he could get his legs to work.

Jim was scared stiff. Donovan had professed his love on several occasions, and Jim believed his mate’s feelings were real. He gloried in the three little words Donovan had spoken. But he was also afraid that his own feelings would be so overwhelming that he would look like an idiot.

Logically, Jim knew it was stupid to feel that way. Donovan would never make fun of him, and Jim had already pretty much told the man how he felt. Still, it scared him to think that one person meant so much to him. If Donovan ever changed his mind or something happened to take Donovan away from him, Jim didn’t think he would survive it. Maybe that was what kept him rooted to the floor at the bottom of the stairs. He was terrified.

He was also afraid that if he didn’t tell Donovan how he felt, he would lose the man anyway. Donovan deserved to know how much Jim cared for him. And that was the only thing that got Jim’s legs moving.

He slowly climbed the stairs and then made his way down the hallway to his bedroom. The door was open, and the lamp on the nightstand was on as if Donovan had been waiting for Jim’s return. That, more than anything, proved to Jim that he had made the right decision to share his feelings with his mate. Donovan was waiting for him to come home.

Jim walked over to his side of the bed and lifted the covers, climbing into his side of the bed. He dropped the covers and scooted closer to Donovan, not totally sure of his reception. He had kind of left Donovan in the lurch.

When Donovan’s hand moved back toward him and landed on his hip, encouraging him to move closer, Jim blew out a relieved breath and cuddled up to Donovan’s back. He buried his face in Donovan’s sweet-smelling hair and just inhaled as deeply as he could. The rugged scent of his mate filled his senses, calming the raging storm inside of him.

“How was your run, babe?” Donovan whispered into the quite of the bedroom.

“It was good, but I missed you.” Jim closed his eyes in gratitude when Donovan’s hand tightened on his hip.

“I missed you, too, Jim.”

Jim opened his eyes and pulled his face out of Donovan’s hair when the man rolled onto his back to look up at him. He shivered with some undefined emotion when Donovan stroked his hand down Jim’s cheek.

“Did you get everything worked out?”

“No, not really. But it did give me time to think about what’s important to me.”

“And what did you discover?”

Jim gathered up his courage as best as he could and looked Donovan straight in the eyes. “I discovered that no matter what happens, good or bad, I have you in my life. And, at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.” Jim thought he detected a slight twinkling in one of Donovan’s eyes, but it might have been the light in the room. “I also discovered something else.”

“Oh yeah?” Donovan whispered huskily. “What’s that?”

“I’ve known for a while that I loved you, but somewhere out in the early morning hours as I was resting after running myself ragged, I discovered that letting you know how I feel was more important than anything else.”

“Jim.” That suspicious twinkle in Donovan’s eye grew, forming itself into a tear that slid down Donovan’s cheek. “I never thought you’d actually say it.”

“Neither did I, to tell you the truth.” Jim chuckled nervously. “I was too scared. I thought that if I gave words to my feelings, it would make them real, and then I would be more vulnerable.”

“And now?”

Jim started to smile, and once he started, he couldn’t seem to stop. His previous morose mood seemed to have flipped totally around, and all of a sudden he felt like he could conquer the world.

“And now I know that my strength comes from the love I have for you and the love you have for me. We’re stronger together than we are apart.”

“Yes.”

“And no matter what happens with Carrie and Joey, we have each other, and that’s more than a lot of people have.”

“Yes,” Donovan whispered again.

“And if I don’t get to fuck you in the next five minutes, I’m pretty sure my dick is going to fall off from lack of attention.”

“Well, we can’t have that.” Donovan grinned wickedly. “Grab the lube, babe.”

Jim eagerly rolled to the side of the bed and grabbed the lube. Whatever air he had in his lungs got stuck in his throat when he turned around and found Donovan kneeling on his hands and knees, his ass stuck out into the air.

“Damn!”

“Stop staring and get to work, Nash. You have an ass to fuck.”

“Yes, sir.” Jim chuckled as he quickly moved around behind Donovan. As much as he wanted to fuck the man, and he did a lot, the sight of Donovan’s tight little ass right in front of him was enough to make him stop and start staring again.

Had anyone ever had such a perfect ass?

“Jim!”

“I’m working on it.” Jim tore his eyes away from Donovan’s gorgeous ass and poured some of the lube onto his fingers. He poured just a bit extra to be on the careful side. He dropped the bottle of lube onto the bed beside him and then moved closer to Donovan.

Donovan jerked at the first touch of Jim’s fingers. Jim quickly glanced up at him only to hear Donovan’s small chuckle.

“Cold,” Donovan said.

“Not to worry, babe. It will warm up soon enough.” If Jim had anything to say about it, Donovan would be burning hot in the next few minutes. He stroked his fingers between Donovan’s ass cheeks, just barely grazing his pink little hole. He wanted to spread the lube around a little bit before he really got to work.

“Jim, you’re killing me her—oh, hell!” Donovan shivered as Jim pushed his finger into the man’s puckered entrance. His finger sank in right up to the knuckle, almost sucked in by some unseen force.

“You like that, don’t you?” Jim asked as he moved his finger in and out of Donovan’s tight grip. He loved the way Donovan’s ass pulsed around his finger. He knew from experience that the same little ring of muscles would pulse around his cock in just the same way, and he anticipated it with a growing hunger.

When Jim knew that Donovan had been stretched enough to receive another finger, he pulled his finger out until the tip brushed over the outer ring. And then he pushed in with two fingers. Donovan groaned and pushed his ass out even farther than it was. He was begging for more, and Jim knew it.

“How does that feel, mate?”

“Good.”

Donovan’s hoarse reply made Jim smile. Having been on the receiving end of Donovan’s fingers, he knew just how the man was feeling at the moment.

“Maybe we should look into getting some new toys to play with.” Jim had never owned sex toys before in his life, but the thought of fucking Donovan with a dildo made his cock jerk. “Would you like that, love? Would you like me to fuck you with a dildo?”