What would it be like, waking up with his alpha?
Squirming, Ian glanced at Brad, only to see the calm smile on Brad’s lips. That didn’t help his nerves, not the slightest bit.
13
Ian
They pulled up to a small house, one with a two-car garage and a desert landscape instead of a lawn. It was single-story, with a row of large barrel cacti beneath the living room window. Ian looked at the clean white siding on the house, the simple windows, the porch with an iron helix holding up one corner of the eaves.
“It’s not a huge place. I’ve been making payments on it,” Brad said. “But otherwise it’s mine.”
Ian glanced enviously at the house. It would be so nice to have a place he could call his own.
“Like I said, you’re welcome to move in,” Brad added.
“We are?” Gwen asked, peering up at Ian.
“Gwen!” Ian chuckled awkwardly. “I think it’s too early to decide on that. It’s… I don’t think we’re ready yet. If at all.”
Brad shrugged, but his gaze remained locked on Ian. “Tell me if you change your mind.”
He unlocked the door, throwing on the lights inside. Ian ushered Gwen in first.
The living room had been painted tan, with deep red accents on the windows and wall skirting. The couches were green, and metal floor lamps arched over them. It looked like the home of someone who had money to spare.
“Worked OT a whole bunch one year,” Brad said, following Ian’s gaze. “It paid for all the furnishing. I did the painting myself.”
“Oh.” Ian swallowed. It was ironic how Brad had his life together better than Ian did, and he was only twenty-nine.
Hesitantly, Ian followed Brad through the house. Brad led them to the kitchen first—brushed steel accents everywhere, with a matte-surface cement countertop and redwood cabinets. There was a schedule on the fridge, some magnets, some old photos.
“Put your grapes in the fridge,” Brad told Gwen. “No eating in bed.”
Gwen stuck her box of grapes in the fridge. Ian glimpsed a few items of food—eggs, trays of meat, some almond milk. “You’re lactose intolerant?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Brad said. “Can’t have cheese, either.”
“Me too,” Gwen said. Brad glanced at her in surprise.
Ian should’ve connected the dots sooner. Of course Gwen had inherited that from her other dad—it only made sense.
Embarrassed that he hadn’t figured it out earlier, Ian rubbed his arms, trailing after Brad to the laundry room. Being in Brad’s home, it seemed there was a world of things Ian still didn’t know about his alpha.
“We’re gonna get your PJs washed, and then you can wear them,” Brad told Gwen. He snapped off the tags on the new clothes. “Sensitive skin?”
Ian shook his head, so Brad dispensed some detergent into the machine, and let it run.
“Do you wanna see your room?” Brad met Gwen’s eyes.
“Uh-huh!”
Brad eased past them to the next room, flipping on the light. In the middle of the room, a mattress lay on the floor, fitted with colorful sheets.
“I found a truck one,” Brad said. “Like it?”
“It’s a rainbow truck bed!” Gwen squealed, dashing into the room. She leaped onto the bed, giggling when she bounced into the air.
“Don’t get too rough with it,” Brad said. “It’s an air mattress, so you don’t want it to pop like a balloon.”
Gwen looked warily at the mattress, stepping off it.
“It’s not that bad.” Brad sat down on one corner of the mattress. “It’s fine so long as you don’t jump on it.” He bounced lightly on the mattress, patting the spot next to him.
Gwen sat slowly next to Brad, peering down at the mattress as though it would burst beneath her.
“See? Brad said. “If you’re good to the mattress, it’ll be good to you, too.”
“Okay,” Gwen said, patting her new bed. “I’ll be good to it.”
“Atta girl.”
Brad ruffled her hair, and Gwen shied away from him. “My hair!”
“You got nice hair,” Brad said. “Like your dad.”
Ian blushed when they both looked up. He’d been enjoying himself, watching them. Didn’t know how to react to Brad’s attention on him, all warm and admiring.
“Right, so your dad and I are gonna have a talk,” Brad said. “There’s some books here, or you can watch TV in the living room. I’ll get you the PJs when they’re done drying, okay?”
Gwen nodded, padding curiously over to the bookshelves in the corner of the room.
“Some of those are from when I was growing up,” Brad said. “There’s books about rabbits and trucks, and some firefighter ones. If there’s anything you don’t know, ask your dad or me.”
“Okay.” Gwen pulled out a slim picture book, flipping it open.
“That must’ve been a well-rounded childhood education,” Ian said dryly. “Did you buy the books recently?”
“A couple of them.” Brad stood, joining Ian by the bedroom door. He slipped his arm around Ian’s waist, and pulled him out of the room.
The moment he shut the door, Brad hauled Ian against him and pressed their lips together, kissing Ian so deep his toes curled.
“She’s great,” Brad murmured against Ian’s lips. “You did great with her.”
Ian shivered, his heart thudding. It was one thing to have strangers tell him how well he’d raised Gwen, but to have Brad say that? Gwen’s other dad? That was a compliment on a whole new level, and Ian’s heart swelled.
“You’re giving me too much credit,” he mumbled, looking away.
“I’m not,” Brad growled.
Then he pinned Ian against the wall and kissed him again, all lips and teeth and tongue. Ian arched against him, sparks sizzling through his tired body. “Brad—”
“Mine.” Brad scooped Ian against himself. He stroked his palms down Ian’s back, kissed along Ian’s jaw so Ian gasped, dragging his nails down Brad’s sides. He wanted more. He knew he shouldn’t, but it was all so nice.
Brad sucked on Ian’s lower lip, dragging his teeth across it. Then he pulled away, watching Ian with that bright gleam in his eyes.
“We have some things to talk about,” Brad murmured.
Ian sighed, fighting down his whine. “I hope they’re good things.”
“They will
