Chapter Nineteen

Bronson

A case at work was keeping me from taking Tate to the club for a real fun daddy/little evening, but he was being so sweet about it that I didn’t let it worry me too much. Getting home at nine or even later, I knew I’d find dinner keeping warm in the oven and the loving embrace of my omega afterward for a night of lovemaking.

When I kept telling my partners about work being so absorbing, they teased me a little about wanting to stay home on my honeymoon in the evenings, and I couldn’t deny the fact that I liked being with Tate. We hadn’t delved too deeply into the daddy/little side of things, although we talked about it a great deal. I’d never needed to be little very often, but with this man, it seemed easy to be in any form that took. Big. Little. Wolf. And his wolf? Well, mine was more than smitten.

“I’m going out for a run before dinner, if it will hold a little longer?” I said one evening when I got home around ten. “If I don’t run off some of this tension, I’m going to punch a hole in the wall.”

“Case not going well?”

I shook my head. While there was litigation going on, I couldn’t get into the details, but he knew how stressed I’d been. “It will, eventually. I just hope you don’t give up on me before it does.”

“Me?” He grinned and pulled his shirt over his head. “Heck no. I’d rather go out for a run with you than go anywhere else.”

“Even the little room? I feel so bad about promising you a fun evening of play and then letting you down night after night.”

“No. It’s all right. I am happier here with you anyway.”

I eyed him. “You were so excited about playing when we visited. What’s changed?”

“Oh, nothing.” He stretched and yawned in the saddest example of looking casual I’d ever seen. “No big deal. Ready to run?” His pants dropped to the floor, and he stepped out of them. “Let’s get outside before we shift. Remember, last time? We didn’t do that, and there was nobody with opposable thumbs to open the door.”

I chuckled, remembering how we’d stood there on all fours like dogs waiting for their owners to let them out. “That was pretty silly. Seriously, though, before we go. Don’t you want to go to the club?”

“I’m getting cold standing here naked,” he bit out in a very un-Tate-like way. “Are we going or not?”

“Going, I guess.” I opened the door, waited for him to pass, and followed, closing it behind me. “We need a retinal scan that recognizes our wolves for going in and out.”

“Good idea.” He shifted and darted away down the walk. I had enough property for a good run, or we could head out into the BLM land behind the house—one of the reasons I’d bought it.

Tate’s wolf was as handsome as his human, and I let him get some distance ahead of me before shifting myself to launch into our favorite game of chase. But I couldn’t get my head completely around the fun when I was trying to figure out why all of a sudden, he didn’t want to go to the club.

Just a few days ago, he’d been laying out outfits and trying to decide what he’d wear. Talking about Mommy Selena and how the littles could earn gold stars if they behaved well or were especially good about not spilling glitter all over the place. He even wanted to bake brownies to bring in to share.

And now?

Completely lost interest?

My suspicions were all over the place. But one kept swirling back. Was his ex in the picture again? He wouldn’t be the first omega to go back to someone he had no business being with. But he was marked. He was mine. And he seemed happy about that. So how?

I lost sight of Tate’s wolf and silently cursed. He wouldn’t be going back to the man who nearly cost him his life. Putting on a burst of speed, I caught up with him and bowled him over down a gentle slope. A nip at his neck told him who was alpha. As if he didn’t know.

He was just acting weird because he didn’t want me to feel pressured to come home and take him out. That was the sweet omega I knew.