His Dominant Omega (4 page)

After standing around for ten minutes, Josef picked up a hammer and started to help. He’d worked construction for Devon’s dad when he was in high school, and he still helped out when the occasion called for it. So hard labor wasn’t something new to him, and it helped keep his mind off a sweaty, smiling Cole.

Cole reminded him of Aiden. Both men were attending school to become a psychologist, and Josef had to admit, like Aiden, Cole had a way about him that made a person want to empty out his soul and talk about his problems. It wasn’t that Cole pried or anything, he just listened, and sometimes that’s all it took.

Around eleven o’clock the mechanic from the auto body shop called and said Cole’s truck was finished and ready to be picked up. Not wanting to give up on the chance to spend time with Cole, he asked the man to deliver it to Cole’s apartment and said that he’d come by and pay for the work and pick up the key.

Josef left with the excuse that he had to go to a meeting and that he’d be back later. He hurried to town and paid the bill then drove by Cole’s apartment to make sure the truck had been delivered safely. Not that it would matter if the truck got side swiped. It’d probably make the hunk of junk look better.

Devon called when he was heading back and asked him to go look at the sidewalk in front of The Early Bean Café. The owner, Margie, had called saying that Shane stumbled while sweeping in front of the café and Viktor wanted the whole thing replaced. Shane was Viktor’s mate, and he knew his friend was being overprotective, but it didn’t matter. Josef turned his truck around and parked in front of the shop.

“Hey,” Shane called out to him.
“Hey, Shane.” Josef walked around his truck to inspect the sidewalk. It wasn’t terribly bad, but all the salt that had been thrown on the ground this past winter had caused some damage.
“You know…” Josef looked over at Shane and smiled. “I thought cats were supposed to be agile.” He started to laugh when Shane flipped him off. “I was just kidding.” He held up his hands in selfdefense.
“Asshole,” Shane said but had a smile splitting across his face. “I swear you wolves must have an inferiority complex. Like I tell Viktor, I don’t think tigers are better. I know we are.” Shane snapped his fingers and did a little dance. “How do you like that?”
Josef shook his head. “You got me, tiger.”
“Funny.” Shane punched him lightly in the arm. “So about this sidewalk. I know Viktor is overreacting, but I’d hate for Margie to take a spill,” he said quietly, not wanting the woman in question to hear them.
“I agree. If anything happened to her, who would make the chocolate fudge cake I love so much?”
Josef got to work writing up an estimate. He cut the price in half because telling Margie that they were doing it for free wouldn’t fly with the woman. She was very independent, and Josef respected that, but it still didn’t mean he couldn’t cut her a deal.
After a cup of coffee and a piece of his favorite chocolate cake he headed back to Cole. They were finishing up on hanging the Sheetrock when he pulled up out front. He stepped out of the truck and stumbled on his feet.
Cole wasn’t wearing his shirt, and his hair stood up in all directions from combing his hands through it. His laughter carried through the open door, and Josef’s heart skipped a beat. He just stood there staring, unable to move.
“Josef?” the object of his affection hollered out to him. “You okay?”
Josef shook himself awake and plastered a smile on his face. Once again he’d been caught looking just a little too long. “I’m great.”
The rest of the day went along with easy conversation. Cole was a funny guy. He cracked the lamest jokes, but they were cute how he delivered them. Josef’s cheeks ached from smiling so much.
Cole liked to use his hands when he talked, and he looked so animated. He also liked to touch. More than once Josef dropped his tools when the searing touch of the other man landed on his arm. Josef was relieved when Dave finally called work for the day. Any more time spent with Cole in his half-dressed and sweat-covered condition, Josef would be on his knees pulling out Cole’s cock to feast on.
He just needed to get the other man home safe and sound without jumping him. Josef thought that might be something more easily said than done.

Josef pulled up to Cole’s apartment and parked in front. He didn’t turn off the engine. He didn’t want Cole to think he expected anything for driving him home or for fixing his truck.

“Well, thanks again for my truck and for driving me around today,” Cole said. He turned in his seat, and Josef gazed into his vibrant emerald eyes.

“It was no problem.” Josef waved off his praise. “I enjoyed it.” “You enjoyed it?” Cole tilted his head, and Josef feared the man could see right into his brain and read all the dirty thoughts he was having.
“Um…yeah,” was the only intelligent thing he could muster to say, and that was better than nodding or pointing.
Cole’s smile fell from his lips, and he scooted a little closer to Josef. Josef held his breath when Cole reached out his hand and ran a finger down the side of his face. His eyes blinked shut at the soft contact.
“I enjoyed it, too.” Cole’s whispered words met his ears just seconds before his lips touched Josef’s.
Josef slowly started to move his lips against Cole’s. The world seemed to stop. Cole’s tongue eagerly pushed at his mouth, wanting entrance, and Josef wasn’t one to refuse such a simple request.
All too soon Cole pulled away. “Shit. I didn’t mean for that to happen.” Cole wiped his hand across his lips.
Josef coughed to clear his throat. “It’s okay, really.” He wanted to calm Cole down. If Cole got too worked up, there wouldn’t be another kiss following that one.
“No, it’s not.” Cole laughed without humor. “You’re my boss, and I’m also not looking for a boyfriend right now.” He blew out a hard breath. “Let’s just forget this ever happened.”
Ouch!
Cole’s cold statement was like a punch to the nose. He thought the kiss was earth shattering. Fireworks exploded behind his eyes at the first brush of lips against lips. The way Cole was into the kiss there was no way he could have faked that. Cole pursued him, not the other way around, and now the man wanted to pretend like it never happened.
“Sure,” was all he could say in response.
Cole smiled at him one more time then got out of the truck. Josef pulled back onto the main road and got stopped by the next stop light. He rubbed at the pain in his chest. That one kiss was enough for Josef to realize he wanted more. But Cole shut that down. He said he wasn’t looking for a boyfriend.
A car horn blared behind him, and he looked up to see the light had turned green. He looked in his rearview mirror and waved an apology to the woman behind him. Motion in the mirror caught his attention, and he pulled off to the side of the road.
He watched as two very large and very handsome men approached Cole. Cole must have known them and took off running in their direction and jumped into one of the men’s open arms. The other man came around to hug Cole from behind. It was a like human sandwich with Cole in the middle.
What the fuck!
Josef ground his teeth together. His pulse pounded at his temples. Now he saw how it was. It wasn’t that Cole didn’t want to date. It was just Josef he didn’t want to date. And to pile on top of an already shitty situation, Cole apparently was dating someone else. No, check that. Two someone else’s.
Josef checked for oncoming traffic and spun his tires as he raced down the road. He didn’t care if Cole saw him or not. He was hurt, and he needed to put as much distance between him and the other man as possible.
He felt like such an idiot. It had only been two days. Why was he so affected by this one man?
His phone started to ring as he pulled into the driveway. He looked down and saw Jensen’s number flashing across the screen. A grin curved his lips. Jensen might not be the man he wanted to be with but he sure as hell would help take his mind off of Cole.

Cole got out of Josef’s truck feeling like an idiot. He let himself give into his desires and kissed him. It was stupid of him to do, but after working alongside the man all day he had so much pent-up aggression that he had to unleash. Granted he didn’t mean to release it all over Josef’s mouth, but Cole wasn’t perfect. Josef was his mate, so it helped him not feel as guilty or slutty for throwing himself at his boss but it still wasn’t fair to Josef. He could see that the other man desired him, and if Cole wasn’t going to claim his mate, then he had no business leading him on. He wasn’t saying he’d never claim Josef, just not right now. He needed time to figure out his fucked-up life.

A familiar high-pitched whistle had him spinning on his heels. Cole’s brooding mood quickly shifted to elation.
“Hey, little brother, whatcha doing?”
The sight of his brothers was a welcome one. He hadn’t seen them in two weeks, and with no phone he hadn’t been able to call them. That had been the excuse he told himself but the truth was he didn’t want them to pressure him into coming back home. He loved his brothers more than life itself, but they abided by all their father’s crazy rules, and that just wasn’t the life Cole wanted to live anymore.
“Josh, Jake.” Without thinking twice about it, he ran straight into Josh’s open arms. They hugged him tight, and he could feel their brotherly bond seep into his skin. They’d always been close, and when one was feeling down the other two would rally around the other until he felt better. Just like what his brothers were doing for him right now.
“I’ve missed you two so much,” Cole admitted when his brothers finally released their death grip. He was happy to see his brothers, no doubt about it, but if they came to him it had to be for a good reason. They knew why he left and understood. They would have left with him if they thought their dad wouldn’t have dragged them all back. Josh and Jake wanted Cole to have a chance at life without the iron rule of their father. “But I have to ask.” Cole raised an eyebrow as he scrutinized his brother’s uneasy body language. “Why are you here?”
“To see you, squirt,” Jake said with a smile. His lips began to twitch, giving away his nervous tick. Cole knew instantly this wasn’t a “we came to visit just because we missed you” visit.
“Yeah, nice try.” Cole crossed his arms over his chest. “What else you got?”
“Asshole.” Josh punched Jake in the arm, and Cole flinched at the hard impact the sound made. “You’ve always been too observant, little brother.”
“Well I’ve learned from the best,” Cole said. “So what gives?” Cole pressed.
Josh looked to Jake then back to him. “You tell him.”
“No, you tell him.” Jake shoved Josh, and the next thing Cole knew his brothers were wrestling on the ground.
“Stop it,” Cole hissed as he looked around to make sure they hadn’t attracted an audience. He helped his two Neanderthal brothers to their feet then headed up the front steps. “Let’s take this inside.”
Once they were in his apartment, Cole grabbed some sodas and brought them out to his brothers. Cole took a long pull from the frosty can and wished it were a beer. From the nervous glances his brothers kept shooting each other he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what they had to say. He quirked his eyebrows at his brothers and waved his hand in a circular motion wanting them to get on with it. “So?”
“We hate to come to you with this,” Josh answered. “And it wasn’t dad who sent us. He’s still pretty pissed at you for leaving.”
Cole rolled his eyes. No surprise there. Cole knew his father thought he was being disrespectful by not following his orders and being the perfect little omega he was supposed to be. Most omegas were passive, and for the most part Cole was, but he was sick and tired of all the hate his father spewed everywhere and of him not wanting Cole to live a life outside of the pack. He totally understood his father’s anger over their mother’s death, but not all humans were bad. Just like not all wolves were bad.
“Shocker,” Cole said in mock horror.
“There’s a new pack that has taken residence in our territory. Father has asked them to move on, but the guy won’t budge. He keeps hinting around that he’s going to challenge father for his rank as alpha, but father laughed it off. Says not to worry about it because he isn’t.”
Cole nodded his head. That sounded just like his father not bothering himself with threats from people he considered beneath him. “So what’s the problem? If father isn’t worried, why are you two?”
“Because we found a dead wolf today on pack lands,” Jake said. “Its throat had been ripped out.”
“Dear God!” Cole didn’t mean to raise his voice, but that was serious.
“Don’t panic,” Josh was quick to reassure. “It wasn’t a shifter. It was an actual wolf-wolf.”
Cole wanted to flick both his brothers on the head. They could have opened with that tidbit of information. “So what? A dead wolf is hardly anything to lose your shit over.” Cole shrugged his shoulders. “It could have been hunters or even a wolf attack. What makes you think it was this new pack in town?”
“Because, smartass.” Josh set his soda can down and leaned forward. He fished a blood-stained note from his pocket then tossed it at Cole. “This was shoved in the poor animal’s mouth.”
Cole flattened out the crumbled piece of paper. In block-styled handwriting was a note to his father.
I thought I’d give you a taste of what’s to come. You’re next, Alpha!
He reread the short note over and over again. It was clearly a threat directed at his father. He couldn’t comprehend why his dick of a dad hadn’t taken this sick fuck out yet.
“What has Father said about this?” He looked to Josh then to Jake.
“Nothing. He thinks it’s an empty threat,” Josh answered.
“Right.” Cole slowly nodded his head. “Because no one would dare mess with the fearsome Randal Weathers.”
All his life he grew up thinking his father was larger than life, and after his mother died that image skewed into something different.
His father thought himself indestructible. The pack and even he and his brothers lived in fear of their alpha.
It was quiet. They all sat there, not saying a word, and Cole had to wonder again why his brothers came looking for him? If his father didn’t want him back, then why did Josh and Jake waste their time? No doubt they were going to get their asses handed to them by their father when he found out.
“Not that I’m not happy to see you guys, because I am”—Cole relaxed back on his chair and crossed one leg over the other—“but why exactly are you here?”
“Josh and I”—Cole watched as Jake looked nervously over to Josh—“were hoping you would come back and maybe talk with this other alpha. Use your freaky gift to get him to see reason.”
“What happens if it doesn’t work?” He sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees and stared between his two brothers. His gift didn’t work on their father and from what his father had told him when Cole was just a child most alpha’s were immune to his gift. “You both know my gift doesn’t affect alphas. And not all wolves or even humans are susceptible to my ability.”
“If it doesn’t work, we’ll kill that fucker,” Josh said bluntly with no emotion behind his tone.
Cole could only stare at his brother. It was a long shot that might get them all killed. He didn’t know squat about this other wolf and his pack members. Cole and his brothers could walk right into an ambush.
Not wanting to discuss it anymore with his brothers, Cole said he’d think about it. He had started a life in Silver Creek and couldn’t just pick up and leave town for a few days. He had a job that counted on him, and he had bills to pay.
“That’s all we can ask for, little brother.” Jake gave him a genuine smile.
“So when do you guys have to go back?” It might have been pack business that brought his brothers to him, but he was glad they were here nonetheless.
“Not until morning. Dad went hunting with a few of the pack members, so he won’t be back until late tomorrow evening.”
Not surprising once again to Cole. In the eye of possible danger his father would go hunting. Typical.
“You two can stay here tonight if you want,” Cole offered.
“We appreciate that,” Josh said as he relaxed back. “So what can we do for fun around here?” Josh wiggled his eyebrows, and Cole knew exactly what his brother had in mind, and truth be told he needed something to help take his mind off of Josef.