Page 18 of Alpha & Omega

“Mine too, now.”

He set the bottle down and lifted a framed picture of me holding Hudson, who’d been four at the time. “Aww, look at you with short hair. Is that your son?”

“Yep, that’s Hudson, light of my life.”

“He’s adorable and looks a lot like you.”

Kingston walked over to me before the book on my nightstand caught his attention. He lifted it and eyed me with a raised brow. “Romance?”

I shrugged, refusing to be embarrassed by what I loved to read. While I didn’t mind a quick fuck, I was a romantic at heart.

“Specifically male/male romance. I love them and enjoy reading about their happily ever afters. So many of these stories let go of that traditional masculinity and just embrace each other. I don’t know… I just find them special.”

Kingston set my book back down and climbed on top of me, straddling my lap and pressing a kiss to my lips. “Is that what you want? A happily ever after?”

“I do. After what I’ve gone through, I feel like I kind of deserve it. Does that sound corny?”

He kissed me again and pulled away. “Not at all. I wouldn’t mind a happily ever after myself.”

Kingston fell on the other side of me and reached for the eyebrow where I had my only scar.

“Where’d you get this? Is it weird that I like it?”

“It’s nothing exciting or sexy, I assure you. I was a kid, feeding the ducks at a park… I must have been about four or so. I fell on my face and landed on some rocks. Ended up with a few stitches there.”

“It still looks sexy.”

I chuckled. “How about yours?”

“All from skating. I don’t usually wear protective gear, especially when I was younger, unless I was in a competition where gear was required. It’s just from falling, especially when I wasn’t very skilled. I drove my foster parents nuts, having to patch me up constantly.”

“I like them… they’re a part of you and a part of your history.”

We kissed for a bit longer before I turned out the light and slid under the sheets and quilt as I scooted down the bed.

He rolled over onto his side, his back facing me. Before the disappointment could hit me, he said, “Spoon me. You like happily ever afters. I like to be held.”

I couldn’t hide my smile had I tried. I nestled behind him, wrapped my arm around his front, and folded my other arm under my head. My body was now molded against his.

He threaded our fingers together and held my hand against his chest. I pressed my nose to his back and breathed in the remnants of his cologne and arousal. It was the best smell. I could get used to being snuggled up against his warm, hard body.

It was six in the morning when I got up to take a shower, leaving Kingston alone to sleep. I was used to getting up early and making sure Hudson was fed before he left for school, and then I’d take a nap later. I probably didn’t go to bed as late as Kingston since I went home once the kitchen closed at ten at night, leaving the bar part open until midnight.

Wearing only my boxer briefs, I headed downstairs and into the kitchen. I loved this kitchen, and I had spent way too much money to fix it up. It had been too small, so I removed the dining room wall and combined the two spaces into one, giving Hudson and me a place to sit and eat together by the large front window.

I kept it in the traditional style for the aesthetics of the house, but it had all new appliances, keeping most of the original counters and cabinets intact.

Before I started cooking, I made coffee, grinding the beans myself. As it brewed, I pulled eggs, milk, yellow bell pepper, beef sausage, and gruyere cheese from the refrigerator. From the pantry, I pulled out a potato and a yellow onion.

While the sausage simmered in a cast-iron skillet, I chopped the onion, bell pepper, and potato into small pieces.

I looked up to the ceiling when I heard the floorboards creaking and the water turning on. You could hear everything in this tiny house. Smiling, I removed the cooked sausage and dumped the vegetables into the pan, sprinkling them with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. While they cooked, I grated the cheese.

A few minutes later, the old wooden stairs creaked like all the floors around here as Kingston made his way down. My stomach did those flips and turns again. It had been so long since it had done that, bringing the promise of something more meaningful into my life. I really looked forward to seeing more of Kingston.

I smiled again when strong arms reached around me, and kisses landed on my shoulder. “Morning,” he said, his voice still raspy from sleep.

“Morning.”

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