Chapter Eleven

"What in the hell is in this box?" Kijani asked as he pulled it off the truck. "Feels like you packed bricks."

"Your belongings aren't exactly light either!" Jonah rubbed his lower back as he stood outside the moving truck. "I had to haul your plants inside the house."

"Plants?" Kijani gave his mate a you-poor-baby look. "Those ten-inch pots are infamous backbreakers." He walked down the ramp, thankful they were almost done. "I promise to massage your aching back later, honey bee."

"I want a back massage," Alister, Wyatt's mate, whined. "Bitches be hurtin' with all this moving crap. Do I look dressed for moving boxes in these fabulous shorts? Which I'm slaying, by the way."

"I'll rub down your entire body, butterfly." His mate winked, walking backward down the ramp while carrying one end of the couch.

"I already got you covered, foxy," Cannon said to Paris while carrying a heavy end table in each hand.

"He knows me so well." Paris chuckled.

Kijani was glad he'd been able to recruit help to move his and Jonah's things into their new home. Both of their individual houses were up for sale. After everything that had happened in Jonah's, he'd quicky posted the sign in his yard.

Then Jonah flipped off all his neighbors when they'd applauded. Kijani had wanted to arrest every last one of those assholes. It hadn't been Jonah's fault Flint was a piece of shit or that Arlo turned out to be a psychopath.

Neighbors were supposed to stick together, not relentlessly gossip about each other.

But the real drama had occurred when it was time to pack Jonah's house. It had been a miracle Kijani was able to convince his mate to part with some of his things so their new home wouldn't be cluttered.

Kijani had done his part, donating a lot of items, but Jonah had acted as if everything he owned was precious to him.

The one thing neither of them were parting with was the stuffed honey-wolf. Jonah had carried "junior" on his lap on their way to their new home, afraid it would get dirty or lost.

"Why don't you mates just grab us strong guys cold drinks and sandwiches since you guys are just standing there?" Slater said as he appeared from inside the truck with the other end of the couch.

Kijani's couch, since he and Jonah had agreed it was the most comfortable of the two. They'd kept both beds, deciding to put Jonah's in the guest bedroom.

"No you did not just say that." Paris narrowed his eyes. "I can carry heavy shit with the best of them, thank you very much. Alister is just as strong and willing. Right, Alister?" Paris looked at his bestie for confirmation.

"I think I broke a freaking nail," Alister complained as he looked at his hand. "You're paying for a manicure, Kijani."

"I vote we make the food and drinks." Jonah walked away from the truck. "Screw carrying boxes and furniture. I'm sweating my balls off out here." He looked over his shoulder at Slater and smirked. "I'm gonna make yours real special since you're such a strong man."

Slater glanced worriedly at Kijani. "You don't think he'd really mess with my food, do you?"

"After that misogynist comment, I'll help them sabotage your sandwich." Wyatt maneuvered his end of the couch through the door. "Hey, guys!" he hollered. "Make Slater's sandwich with some extra love."

"You got it," Paris called from the kitchen.

"Already on it," Jonah chimed in. "Do you want sardines or jelly on your turkey sandwich?"

"I was just joking!" Slater groaned as he and Wyatt set the couch down in the spacious living room. Then he took off toward the kitchen. "I'll make my own food!"

Kijani chuckled, knowing full well they wouldn't do anything to Slater's sandwich. But Slater didn't know that. Kijani walked into the kitchen and then frowned when he didn't see any food. "What gives? Slater's the one in trouble, not me."

"I ordered three large pizzas half an hour ago," Jonah said. "We were just messing with him."

"I'm so happy the pizza place is finally back open for business." Paris rubbed his flat stomach. "Ever since I spotted the restoration going on a month ago, I've been craving some like you wouldn't believe."

"I swear this town is out to make me fat." Alister huffed as he settled against Wyatt, who was leaning against the counter. "There're too many good places to eat."

"I'll work it off of you, butterfly." Wyatt nuzzled his mate.

"Just make sure the lube hasn't been baking in the sun," Paris said. "I was sunbathing and decided to get frisky. I'll leave it up to your imaginations where I poured that hot liquid."

Every single guy in the room covered their groin and winced.

"I really wish you hadn't told everyone in the room that story, foxy," Cannon said.

"You told me that you burned yourself while you were—"

Paris shot to his friend and slapped a hand over Alister's mouth. "Finish that sentence and I'll blab about what you were doing a few years ago when you caught your manhood in a door."

Alister's eyes widened as he nodded. Paris's hand dropped. "My lips are sealed," Alister said.

"Now I want to know." Jonah chuckled. "It can't be as bad as when Kijani—"

Kijani covered Jonah's mouth with his hand as he pulled his mate's back to his chest. Kijani didn't know what he was about to say but didn't want to find out.

"I was just going to tell him about how you got stuck behind the wheel of my car while you were naked and had to wedge your way out," Jonah mumbled from under Kijani's hand.

Wyatt and Slater burst out laughing. Kijani grinned as he removed his hand. "I was really hoping I didn't have to call the fire department to save me. Those ant-sized cars aren't built for a guy my size."

"For a moment I considered rubbing oil all over him to get him out." Jonah chuckled. "I tried to yank him out, but he weighs a ton."

Which only made Wyatt and Slater laugh harder.

"Next time he gets stuck, I want pictures." Slater held his side as he continued to laugh. He wiped a tear from his eye. "I would've loved to see the look on the firemen's faces when they showed up to extract your big ass from that tiny car."

"Don't forget naked." Wyatt fell sideways into Slater.

"It's not that damn funny," Kijani grumbled.

They looked incredulously at him then hooted with laughter again.

Kijani groaned. He wasn't going to live this down at the station.

"It's totally funny," Alister said, he and Paris laughing as well.

The doorbell rang.

"Pizza!" Paris raced from the kitchen, damn near tripping over some boxes to get to the door.

"You might want to go help him, Slater," Jonah said. "I also ordered breadsticks and a few two liters of pop."

"Will this make me even for my asshole comment?" Slater asked as he walked away.

"You might win back some brownie points," Jonah called out.

Kijani released his mate when his phone rang. It was Sheriff Harper calling him. Kijani had taken the week off so he could focus on getting two houses packed and moved.

So had Jonah.

When Arlo showed up to attack Jonah, he'd used a federal mail truck and was on the job. Since the incident five weeks ago, the new postmaster had been accommodating toward Jonah, giving him the week off even though he didn't have any vacation time left.

According to Jonah, the old postmaster had been fired after numerous reprimands for leaving while still on his shift.

George deserved to be fired. Not only could he have helped Jonah if he had been present that day, but the family stuff he'd always claimed needed handling when he ducked out was actually an extramarital affair.

Kijani knew this because he'd been on duty the day George's wife found out about her husband's cheating and tried to cut his balls off with a kitchen knife. Honestly, Kijani had been tempted to let her.

"Yeah, boss," he said when he answered the phone.

"How's the moving going?" Sheriff Harper asked.

"Why, are you offering to help unpack the millions of boxes scattered around?"

"Hardly." He chuckled. "Painting and moving are my two least favorite things."

"Aside from Slater shoving his foot into his mouth, it's going pretty smoothly." He told his boss what Slater had said to the mates.

"Ouch," Sheriff Harper replied. "I don't know Jonah personally, but Paris and Alister are pistols."

Kijani agreed. He'd been one of the officers who had shown up after some human had tried to kidnap the pair, only for Paris to kill Nigel. He'd also showed up at the ice cream hut when Paris, Alister, and Sam had confronted a guy flirting with their mates. Alister had put the human in the hospital with one solid kick to the jaw.

He'd also been involved when Cannon rescued Alister from a deviant.

The two might be small, but they both had the heart of a lion.

And so did Jonah.

"I called to let you know about Flint," Sheriff Harper said. "He's been apprehended."

"Hang on. I'm putting you on speaker," Kijani said as Paris and Slater returned to the kitchen with the food order. "Go ahead."

Everyone grew quiet as Kijani pulled Jonah to his side and curled an arm around him.

"Flint was apprehended in Florida after he attempted to rob one of those payday loan places," Sheriff Harper said. "Apparently, he grabbed an employee who was coming out of the security door that leads behind the counter and forced her back inside the room at gunpoint. Then, in the process of robbing the place, he shot one of the employees."

Jonah gasped.

"Is the employee okay?" Slater asked.

"She's recovering," Sheriff Harper said. "But it wasn't the police who stopped Flint." There was a smile in his voice. "When he tried to flee, two customers took him down, disarmed him, and kept him pinned to the floor until the police arrived."

"Heroes." Jonah gazed up at Kijani. "They come to the rescue in the darkest times and save the day."

He cupped his mate's jaw. "Always, honey bee.

"That's the truth." Paris flipped open the top pizza box. "At least you don't have to look over your shoulder anymore, Jonah."

"That's the worst feeling." Alister grabbed the paper plates.

"I just wanted to inform you guys," Sheriff Harper said. "Enjoy your new home."

"Thanks." Kijani hung up.

Everyone dug in, sitting at the kitchen table and on the counters to eat their well-earned reward.

An hour later, Kijani and Jonah had their new home to themselves.

* * * *

They worked to set up their bed, Jonah yawning a few times. He'd never worked so hard in his life and never wanted to pack two houses again.

Honestly, the packing wasn't that bad. How hard was it to wrap things and fill boxes? It was the thought of unpacking and finding places to put stuff that he wasn't looking forward to.

Maybe Jonah would invite everyone back for an unpacking party. He really liked Paris and Alister. They were a hoot.

"Today tuckered you out?" Kijani grinned, setting his tools aside. "I bet you'll sleep soundly tonight."

"The pizza did me in," Jonah teased. "Now I'm stuffed and unmotivated. All I want to do is shower and faceplant into the bed." He eyed Kijani. "And get that massage you promised me, too."

His mate gripped his shoulder and rotated it.

"Don't you dare." Jonah narrowed his eyes. "You're not about to back out of your promise by telling me you're too sore."

Even though Jonah would let him back out of it if his body was too stiff. He wasn't that selfish.

Kijani looked incredulously at him. "If you recall, I showed up at your door with a piece of metal in my gut because I didn't want to break my promise to you."

"And scared ten years off my life," Jonah argued playfully. "The sight of you bloody and naked, then shifting, is forever burned into my memory."

"I still kept my word," Kijani grumbled.

"Now who's the pouty one?" Jonah hid his smile on his way to the shower.

"But you know it's the truth," Kijani called out.

"No arguing in front of junior," Jonah replied, then smiled when he heard Kijani chuckling.

After Jonah showered, Kijani jumped in. They'd tried shower sex once over the past five weeks and decided it wasn't the best place to have it. Jonah could never get his ass high enough, and Kijani wasn't too happy about the way he'd had to contort his big body.

Though Jonah planned on putting some mileage on the hot tub outside.

He lay on his stomach in the bed, feeling the exhaustion when it kicked in. Jonah yawned just as Kijani exited the bathroom.

He wore no towel this time, striding toward the bed in all his wonderful, naked glory.

"Feel better?" Jonah's gaze greedily drank him in.

"Much." Kijani stretched, delicious muscles popping everywhere.

He grabbed the bottle of lube from one of the boxes then climbed onto the bed and straddled Jonah's legs, careful of his weight.

"Do you think we should be doing this in front of junior?" Kijani teased.

Their honey-wolf sat atop one of the boxes close to the bed.

"He's a stuffed animal, goof."

His mate chuckled. "You're the one who said he's our kid, not me."

With a frown, Jonah said, "Put him inside the box. His innocent fabric eyes don't need to see you dipping into my honeypot."

Chuckling louder, Kijani got up and set the toy outside their bedroom door before closing it and retaking his position on Jonah's legs. "What we're about to do is none of his beeswax."

"Stick to your F's and leave my bee puns alone, mister." Jonah buried his grin in his folded arms resting under his head. He had to admit that had been a good one.

The puns were quickly forgotten when Kijani's hands glided down his back, igniting a fiery trail of desire in their wake. The sensation of his strong hands kneading Jonah's muscles was pure heaven, but while his muscles loosened, his cock grew hard.

With the way Kijani straddled him, pushing Jonah's legs together with his muscular thighs, his hands gliding smoothly, Jonah was one hundred percent putty, molded and reshaped over and over again. Kijani's hands moved lower, his palms pressing in, separating Jonah's cheeks, and causing him to gasp.

A wet finger probed at his hole, testing, playing, circling Jonah's ring of muscle until Kijani's finger delved inside. Then he moved from Jonah's legs, spreading them, his finger turning into two, thrusting and making Jonah's body ache for more.

So much more than just sex. Jonah wanted a lifetime of Kijani, of sharing happy moments— motorcycle rides, fairs, waking up next to each other, and a collection of stuffed bees and wolves.

The works.

Kijani fingers left him, pulling Jonah to his hands and knees, his mate's cock taking his fingers' place. Jonah's legs were spread wide, taking every inch of Kijani's thick cock he pushed inside of him. A long, salacious groan escaped Jonah. The stretch burned but felt so damn good.

"Your honey is pure ambrosia every time I indulge in it," Kijani groaned, his hips thrusting slowly, causing shivers to erupt inside Jonah like ripples racing over water, expanding until they reached every part of his body.

Kijani moved faster, using Jonah's hips to thrust deeper, moving like a powerful, hungry wolf behind Jonah, pounding pleasure out of Jonah in ways he'd never experienced before Kijani.

Jonah screamed through his orgasm, his voice growing hoarse when Kijani sank his canines in, his soft growl tickling Jonah's shoulder.

Jonah was so lost in his pleasure, so lost in his wolf, he never wanted to be found.

As Kijani extracted his teeth, his growl deepened, his seed spilling inside Jonah with a guttural groan, his hips moving in a slower beat, his fingers flexing against Jonah's hips.

They cuddled, his mate on his back, Jonah resting on top of him sighing contently. Kijani trailed a hand lazily down Jonah's spine with a reverence that made Jonah's heart swell.

"F is for I love you." Kijani's voice was almost a whisper, his russet eyes overflowing with the sentiment.

Jonah was stunned at the declaration, and his lips parted. "That doesn't start with an F."

"No, but it's the god's honest truth, honey bee." Kijani brushed his fingers lovingly through Jonah's hair.

Kijani was truly his hero. He'd come to Jonah's rescue in his darkest times and saved the day. Never demanding and always patient. From the moment Kijani had entered his life, Jonah had felt his presence, and although he'd denied it, run from the truth, and fought against it, deep down, he knew Kijani would profoundly impact his life.

And he had in so many ways.

"I love you, too." Jonah placed a soft kiss on his mate's chest. "I just thought of another F."

Kijani's eyes sparkled with mirth. "Yeah?"

"Forever," Jonah said with a smile.

THE END