Behind the Eight Ball (26 page)

“You hated that he was human.”

“Yeah, but stupid me couldn’t see the differences. I hurt Kirk too by my actions that night, and I made Dolf question if he could keep me as one of his betas later. I almost lost my position through what I did, and I deserved it.”

“So that’s why you’re surprised to see Kirk here. You assumed since you acted like an ass, he would too?” Yeah, I wasn’t going to pull my punches. Heller
had
acted like an ass.

“No, it’s more of being grateful he forgave me. I mean, I knew he acted like he did, but coming here…. Words are great, but actions are what matters. It would have been seen as a slap in the face to me if he hadn’t showed.”

“Like you did to him.”

“Yes.”

I ran my hand up and down Heller’s tense arm, trying to comfort him. “You messed up, but I know why you acted the way you did. One day you need to tell
them
so they know too. But for now, let it go, hellcat. He’s here. It’s all good.”

“I do need to tell them, you’re right.”

“You will when you’re ready.” I hugged him and then opened the laundry room door. “Ready to go eat?”

“Absolutely.”

Heller

I THOUGHT
I hid my reaction at seeing Kirk from my mate, but I should’ve known better. Now that I’d calmed down, it made sense for Kirk to be here. I’d eaten breakfast with Dolf, Tal, and Kirk many times in the last several months. Kirk and I had reached a truce of sorts.

I still said things that pissed him off, and he was more than happy to call me on it. But I was trying. I
had
changed. Hell, I was mated to a human. That was definite progress. But seeing him still surprised me, mainly because it brought back how I acted.

I thought I’d been in the right back then, but now I was just ashamed. Our Alpha and the others seated themselves around the formal dining table. The meal passed pleasantly. I believed everyone had a nice time, judging by the laughter and jokes I heard. Dolf told stories of stunts we all had pulled when we were younger.

Many of the betas wished he’d left the past in the past, but it was fun watching Lawson relax and have fun. Eventually the last elder finally left. Lawson and I stood at the door waving good-bye. As Dolf and his mates left, I heard him ask Dolf if they were going to fry or smoke the turkey they had.

Suddenly Lawson ran his hands through his hair, his face going pale.

“What? What?” I jumped in front of Lawson. Had he seen something? That werewolf, maybe? I sniffed the air, and then sniffed again. There was nothing out there from what I could tell.

“Aw jeez, sorry. I didn’t mean to…. Well, now I feel like an idiot. Didn’t mean to startle you, it’s just that Thanksgiving is Thursday.”

“Okay. And?” Lawson patted me lightly on the butt, then moved me out of the way.

“Janelle, Marshell, and I always celebrate that holiday. We have for years. This will be the first year we missed it since we started celebrating that holiday.”

Lawson and I came inside, and I shut the front door. “I take it this is a big deal to you.”

Lawson flopped down in one of the overstuffed chairs in the living area. “Yeah. It was the one holiday my entire family always celebrated.”

“Really? I thought Christmas was the big human holiday.”

“Commercially I guess it is. But it’s a religious holiday, and we weren’t very religious. Thanksgiving was our big deal, and I mean Mom went all out. All my aunts and uncles came to our house and stayed for several days. There were so many of my cousins around. I always had someone to play with when we were kids.”

“It sounds like you have lots of good memories from this.”

“Oh yeah. All us kids had sleeping bags. The grownups let us have the den area. We stayed up as late as we wanted watching TV. It was like a mini vacation. As long as we didn’t get too loud, they left us alone.”

“Sounds like a kid’s dream.”

“Better believe it. Of course the downside was Mom getting up at the crack of dawn to cook. Good God did she cook. Mom fixed enough to feed an army. It was great.”

“You know, you never told me much about your family. You just said they basically disowned you for dating a black man.”

“I know. It’s just hard. I was so young and thought nothing could rock the foundation I’d had as a kid. Like I said, my parents weren’t religious, so there was none of that ‘God hates fags’ crap. They weren’t jumping up and down about me being gay, but they were more worried about what I’d be facing in life.”

“So they supported you in the beginning.”

“Yes. Mom in particular was a huge help when I first moved to New York. It’s such a big freaking place, and I felt so… small. And like a hick. Man, did I feel like a hick—a country boy lost in the concrete jungle. Then I met Marshell one night. He was slick, so slick.”

I snorted. “Not the words I’d used to describe him, but go head.”

“I’m sure, but you’ve put that behind you now, right?”

“Trying to.”

“Right. So there he was—a big, beautiful black man. We hooked up, then starting dating. All was good for a while. Until I introduced him to my parents. Shit hit the fan immediately. Mom freaked, and the things Dad said…. Not worth repeating, trust me.”

“I bet. Can you tell me their names?”

“Sure. Mom’s name is Rhonda, and my dad’s name is Justin. As far as I know, they still live in Florida. It’s been years since I talked to either of them. What about yours? You’ve never said anything about them either, just your sister.”

“Oh, they moved to a clowder based in Las Vegas right before Lynette died. We aren’t close. Never were, actually.”

“Another thing we seem to have in common,” Lawson said.

“Maybe now, yeah, but you were close to yours in the beginning. I never was. Mom—her name is Tiffany—did a lot of charity work and social events connected to several clowders around here. Name kind of fit, you know? She was all about status.”

“Ouch.”

“Dad was no better, believe me. His name is Douglas—he owned several fast food restaurants around here. He had the whole big fish in a small pond thing going on. But… he wanted to be a beta for this clowder. However, he was never offered the right to fight for the position.”

“That had to be… like a slap in the face.”

“Yes. He could’ve challenged another beta for position, but considered it an insult he wasn’t offered the chance to fight to begin with, so they moved. I was already living on my own, so I stayed.”

“He must have been pissed when he heard you got the position.”

“He wasn’t happy, that’s for sure. It might have been a bigger issue than what it was, but he’d won a beta position in the clowder he was at.”

“So it all worked out?”

“Yup. His clowder has more members and more prestige, so it’s all good. Last time I talked to either of them was several years ago too.” I sat down in the chair next to him. “So…. Thanksgiving?”

“Until Janelle and Marshell met me they hadn’t observed holidays, but it was something I couldn’t let go of. As the three of us got closer, they saw how much I needed that one tradition. Now I celebrate with my adopted family: Janelle and Marshell.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

“You do realize that it’s just two days off, right? Trying to find everything I’d need at this late date would be impossible. The shelves in the stores will be picked over. I also don’t know what they have planned, if anything. Just forget it.”

“No, no, let me think for a moment.” A thought hit me. “What did you usually fix?”

“Nothing like Mom used to do, but I cooked a turkey, did the cornbread dressing and giblet gravy, had rolls, and finally cranberry sauce. I usually did a cherry pie for dessert. Not really all that much, but I started cooking the day before. Why?”

“I might have an idea. Maybe.” I fished my cell out of my jeans. “I’m not worried about getting them over. They know how you feel about this, so they’ll come. Just give me a second, okay?”

I called Sam, hoping he’d answer. “Hello, is Sam there?”

“Speaking.”

“Hey, Sam, this is Heller.”

“Oh, hey, Heller.

“I have a question for you.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“Is your restaurant open Thanksgiving?”

“It is, yes.”

“Are you serving a traditional Thanksgiving meal?” I caught the quick intake of breath from Lawson. I glanced at him and winked.

“Oh yeah. You’d be surprised how busy we are for that. Why?”

“Excellent. Are you doing the turkey, dressing, and the cranberry deal?”

“That and several other side dishes and desserts.”

“Perfect. I have a very, very big favor to ask you.” I explained that I needed the whole deal: the turkey, dressing, cranberry, dessert, and why.

“Okay, I can handle that. Janelle was sitting across from me and heard my end of the conversation. She’s kicking herself for forgetting. She just said to tell you to tell Lawson she’s going call him in a little while, and she’s sorry.”

“I will. But tell her to hold on. I’m glad you can swing the meal, but it’s not just for us. I need to know if you can handle a meal for Dolf and his mates, our Alpha and his mate, all the betas, you, and Janelle and Marshell. So thirteen people and mostly our kind. And you know how we like to eat. We need enough to feed twenty at a minimum, I guess.”

“Twenty?
Twenty
? Aw man, Heller, do you know what you’re asking me?”

“Yeah. I’m asking for you and your mate to come to Thanksgiving dinner at my house. This means a lot to Lawson since Janelle and Marshell have been his only family for years. Now I’m hoping to add to that.”

“Well, jeez. I can’t say no to that. Let me… oh boy. Let make a few calls to see if we have people to handle the extra cooking. I’m going to have to pay more for this, and I’m passing that on to you, just so you know.”

“I can handle it.”

“Good, because it’s not going to be cheap. Let me talk to Janelle too before she takes the cell from me. I’ll call back shortly.”

“Thanks, Sam.” I hung up and found my arms full of a very happy mate.

I dropped the cell on the table next to me as Lawson cuddled close and plastered his lips against mine. As usual heat spread through me from his touch. He buried his hand in my hair and jerked my head back.

Lawson kissed down my neck, nipping at the skin. My cock went from interested to hard in seconds. I wiggled under him and he shifted until he was straddling me. He was just as hard as I was, and when he rocked against me, I whined with increasing need.

“Thank you,” he whispered against my neck.

Squirming under him, I did my best to string together words in a sentence. “But I don’t know yet if he can pull it—”

“Doesn’t matter. You tried, and for that I’m very, very grateful. So much so….” Lawson slid off me and to the floor. “I’m going to show you just
how
grateful I am.”

Lawson undid my jeans with those long fingers of his, and my mind went blank as my arousal spiked. All I wanted was to feel his hands on me. Family, phone calls, Thanksgiving, other paranormals, members of our clowder… it all faded.

“Mmm, smells like coconut in here. I love your scent.” Lawson mouthed my cloth-covered cock and my breath stuttered in my chest.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he uncovered my dick. I whined, I moaned, I begged without words for him to hurry up, to take me out, to get that hot fucking mouth of his on me. His wonderful ocean scent filled my head.

Lawson licked a path up my cock and swirled his tongue around the head. “Gonna have to be fast. He might call back at any minute.”

My eyes might have crossed. What if Sam did call? There was no way I could talk to him with Lawson’s mouth wrapped around my dick.

Lawson pulled my underwear down enough to get my balls out and rolled them. “And I may or may not continue sucking you, but you
will
answer the phone.”

Yeah, and stutter like an idiot in Sam’s ear. My head fell against the back of the chair. I was so fucked. Higher-brain functions and sucking cock didn’t go together, at least not with me. I’d probably drool all over the damn phone.

“So you better give it up fast, hellcat, before he calls.”

With that Lawson dropped his mouth over my cock. Heat. And wetness. The wet slurping sounds of him taking my cock… and sure enough, there went any higher brain function I had. He bobbed his head up and down, sucking like there was no tomorrow.

Pleasure exploded through me, and I curled my toes at the small moans from him. Clutching the chair arms, I thrust my hips. He rolled my balls and that busy tongue of his lashed at the head of my dick. Goddess, my mate knew his way around a dick. His other hand snaked up my stomach and pinched a nipple.

I yowled. Loudly.

He, the devious fucker, hummed. I snapped my head up off the back of the chair and watched him, watched him take all of me over and over. He turned those sexy gray eyes up to me, so dark with pleasure that I gulped. He rubbed one of his fingers across my hole, and that was it.

My spine tingled. I bit my lip and sweat broke out on my forehead. I was right there. If I didn’t need to come so badly, I’d probably be horrified how fast he got me at the edge, but the things he did with his mouth… I wasn’t sure some of them were even legal. My belly tightened. Just a little more and I’d come.

Just as I flooded his mouth, my cell rang.

As Lawson sucked me dry, my brain shut down. Forget thinking, all I could do was
feel
. Nothing had ever felt as good as this. I was… complete. Whole. This man before me on his knees had filled me with something I’d never thought I’d have… love. I knew then I’d give my life for him. Gasping, sweating, I watched as he rose and answered my cell, a satisfied smile on his face.

“Hello? Oh, hey, Sam. Sorry, Heller can’t come to the phone right now. Something came up. He left his cell on the table and I knew you planned to call, so I answered. Yeah? I sure will tell him. And thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.”

Wicked smile still in place, Lawson hung up.