Page 62 of Pack Baines

Recklessly, it’s only when she lowers the camera and grins down at the screen that I blink out of the spell she weaves around me. I switch between watching the road and her, enraptured as he bites her full lower lip as she fiddles with the dials and buttons on the fancy-looking device held delicately in her small hands, and it takes her looking over with an eyebrow raise to remind me that she asked a question.

“I’m nervous because I’ve been wanting to take you on this date since I learned about them. I’m nervous because I want this to go well. And I’m nervous because guys taking their girls on a first date is usually something to be nervous about,” I tell her, words rushed enough that they almost form one, long, winding sentence.

Silence answers me, and I cringe, only wondering briefly if I word-vomited a little too much until I hear the camera shutter once more. Rolling my eyes with a renewed grin, I shake my head and relax some more when Juno takes another photo and chuckles softly under her breath.

“You’re adorable, you know that?” she murmurs softly, right before I feel the smooth, gentle touch of her finger against my jawline. My entire body erupts with goosebumps, and I’m harshly hit with a heavy dose of Juniper’s scent that has my mouth watering and hands tightening around the steering wheel. “You have no reason to be nervous. I’m just happy to be spending time with you, Ev. To finally see that smile of yours, to joke and laugh again. No matter what we do, I’ll love it, because I’m with you, okay?”

My heart starts pounding for a whole new set of reasons, and I nod slowly as I take her hand with mine, pressing three kisses to the back of it before clutching it to my lower stomach. “Well, then, that’s that.”

“That’s that,” Juno echoes, and I catch her smiling before she turns away and faces out front, a sweet little smile on my prickly little omega.

The remainder of the drive goes by in peaceful silence, and I’m battling a grin by the time I pull into a parking lot that is only a short walk to the beach, because Juniper has been so busy meddling with her camera that she has no idea where we are yet. The sun is still sitting lazily in the sky, though it’s dropping enough to tell me we have a couple of hours left until it sets for the night, just in time for Juno to get some crazy photos that I know she’s going to love.

It’s only as I turn off the car that Juno finally lifts her head from the screen of her camera, and I’m grinning wildly as she blurts, “Oh shit, the beach?”

Laughing at the pure excitement and awe now painted beautifully over every feature of her face, I nod, “The beach, baby.”

My girl doesn’t even wait for me to explain what we’re even doing here before she’s clambering out of the car, camera in hand and a wild look of glee I’ve only seen on her face a handful of times before.

Feeling pretty proud of myself for putting that look on her face, I climb out of the car after her and rush to the trunk, collecting the basket of food and drinks I packed before leaving, hauling the blankets from the car before tucking them beneath my arm, and slinging two camping chairs onto my shoulder.

Locking the car, I head towards Juno, watching her the whole time as she stands as still as stone as she peers out at the water as it washes over the sand before retreating again. As soon as I’m near, I ask,“You ready to get your date on, sweetheart?”

Juniper damn near slays me when she turns to face me, a watery smile in place and gorgeous, pale-blue eyes filled with tears. I’m about to panic that I did something tragically wrong by bringing her here when she rasps, “This was the best date idea. Thank you.”

I disguise my breath of relief with a softened smile, my heart warming at the mushy emotion Juno rarely displays, and offer gently, “Never thank me for doing something that puts that look on your face, Blue. It was done selfishly, and I’d do it over and over again if it made you happy.”

With no warning at all, Juno surges up to press her mouth against mine, the cool press of her soft lips short circuiting my mind for all of five seconds. It’s enough that the chairs over my shoulder almost slip and fall, the basket damn near suffers a fatal collision with the ground, and the blankets almost float away when the wind hits us with a chilled caress.

The kiss ends much too soon for my liking, and I find myself chasing after another when Juno pulls back, laughing against my mouth when I capture her lips against mine once more, tightening my hold on everything while I take heady sips of her taste from her kisses and deep lungful’s of her scent mingled with the fresh, salty air of the ocean.

Only when I’ve had my fill do I release the happy omega, grinning down at her as her nose and cheeks turn pink from the cold, pale eyes no longer filled with tears but glittering with a happiness I want nothing more than to give her until the end of time.

“Come on then, sweetheart. Let’s make today a good day, huh?” I suggest, body heating more than usual when Juno bites that damned lip once more and nods. My blood heads south for winter, my cock swelling slightly beneath my jeans like a damned amateur, and I have to battle with myself in order to stop myself from dropping everything and hauling Juno back to the car to get to the after-party section of the evening.

Thankfully Juno takes pity on me, steals the blankets from under my arm, and hooks her camera bag higher on her shoulder before taking off towards the sandy shores. I’m content to follow behind her, watching as her purple hair billows around her pretty head with every gust of wind and her hips sway enticingly with every step she takes.

When she finally finds a spot, she turns with raised eyebrows in question, and I wink with a cheeky grin. “Secluded. I like it.”

Juno’s laugh is like the sunshine breaking through storm clouds, and I don’t know how my heart manages to double in size atthe sound of it, but it sure does. Everything feels better, bigger, and brighter when Juniper is near, and it hits me all over again that she’s here. She’s finally here, with me, with our pack. She’s right where she belongs after years of missing her, of hoping she’d find her way back to us. To me.

Giving in to my emotions and feelings, I lower the chairs and basket gently onto the sand before I stride toward my girl. I’m yanking her toward me the moment I’m close enough, practically mauling her with a kiss that contains everything I’ve felt over the past eight years she’s been gone. My tongue swipes against her lower lip as my hands tug her closer, one hand banding around her back in order to pin her to me, while the other cups the back of her head in order to find a better angle to devour her.

I feel the blankets fall to the sand, the soft material floating to our feet seconds before Juno’s hands sinks into the hair at the nape of my neck as she kisses me back with the same amount of force, desperation, and a bone-deep need to be near. It’s almost like we’re both reassuring one another that we’re here, together, and there’s nothing that will separate us ever again.

Time escapes me as I kiss, suck, and nip at my sweet omega, sucking in her scent like a starved alpha, my hands taking on a mind of their own as they roam over every inch they can reach. Juno’s soft sounds of pleasure and contentment fuel my movements, rocking my world as my cock stiffens until it aches. I don’t stop despite the discomfort, kissing her only until we’re forced apart with the need to breathe.

We’re both panting and breathless, cold noses brushing against one another as we each watch the other with enough emotion floating in our eyes that it’s a miracle I manage to stop myself from delving in for a repeat performance. Juno is only saved by the barking of a nearby dog that speeds past us as he chases an excellently executed throw of a lime-green tennis ball that sails over our heads not seconds before the ball of fluff follows after.

Our grins grow at the same time, and I lean in for one more peck of her lips, keeping the kiss chaste and gentle before whispering, “Tonight, you’re mine, Blue. All night, until the sun comes up in the morning.”

“I’m good with that, so long as you feed me,” she quips with a saucy look that does nothing to quell the ache my balls are suffering, my cock literally throbbing with a need to sink deep inside of her. I’m cursing myself for the accidental game of edging I’ve inflicted on myself, but I nip at her lower lip anyway and tell her, “Then I best get to it.”

With a parting kiss that has me wanting more, I pull away and hurry to erect the camping chairs before digging through the picnic bag and producing the makings for a tiny beach bonfire.

Gesturing Juno to one seat, enjoying the smile she throws in my direction as she sinks into the hunter-green chair, I pick the blankets off the loose sand and shake them both out before offering her one and taking my own seat that I’ve placed as close as I could possibly get it without it being in her lap. Once situated, I go about pulling out several Tupperware filled with snacks I knew Juno would like, from cake pops to ready salted chips. I even managed to sneak in some ready-made pancakes in there, even though I know she prefers it when I cook them fresh.

All the while, I feel Juno’s eyes on me, and I flash her a grin as soon as I’m done placing tubs on her lap and sneaking my hand into hers.

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