"Hmph," said Zoey, clearly skeptical.
"Hey Xander," he said, "I was thinking something. You play the bass, right?"
I stared at him. "You've gotta be kidding me. There's no way I'm good enough for Ignis Lupus."
"Maybe, maybe not. But it's worth trying you out."
"You're scraping the bottom of the barrel, then," I said.
"So you'll do it?"
"I guess so. I mean, if you really need someone, I'll do it. But I'm not good at all, I'm telling you." I shook my head.
Kade just smiled at me. "I think you just might be better than you think."
How would he know that, I wondered. I hadn't touched a bass in years, so there was no way he could have heard me. He really didn't know whether or not I was an undiscovered genius or total crap.
"Good thing I got that extra bass back from Joel," he said. "We can get you started as soon as we get back home."
"No way!" I said. "I need some time to practice on my own."
Kade laughed. "Suit yourself. But I want you to be ready for your audition tomorrow. I know you'll be good enough. It just sounds like you have to prove it to yourself."
His confidence in my abilities was utterly perplexing, but I just decided to roll with it. When we got home, we were a little tired. Zoey immediately zonked out and wanted to take a nap, so we installed her in her room downstairs, while Kade and I retired upstairs, to our own bedroom.
"Looks like we have a reprieve thanks to naptime," he said, his eyes narrowed.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, plopping on the bed.
"It means this." He jumped on the bed next to me and tackled me, rolling into me so that we were snuggled together.
I pulled him close. He was just wearing a thin t-shirt, and I could feel his body easily through it; his skin was warm and soft, and his slender body was firm. He never failed to turn me on. Just a whiff of his scent on my clothes could send my lust raging through my body.
And that's what it was doing right now. I was overwhelmed with his smell, which was sweet and musky-a typical Omega scent. I pulled him even closer so that some of my weight was on him, then took his head in my hands and kissed him, immediately penetrating his tongue with my mouth and pressing my cock against his thigh.
I could feel his hardness as well and knew that I wanted to cut to the chase tonight. I pinned him down with my body and slid my hands up his shirt, loving the feeling of him melting under me, surrendering to my lust.
I broke away from the kiss and started to undress him. I wanted to see him naked. He had a smooth, porcelain chest, adorned with intricate, colorful tattoos, and slender limbs, also inked. He was a work of art with works of art on him, and I never tired of looking at his body. He was so sexy.
He moaned as I kissed his neck and started traveling down his body, leaving marks because I was sucking so hard on his skin. "God, you taste so good," I said, moaning and nipping and biting him. His cock bobbed under me, twitching and throbbing, wanting me to put my mouth on it.
That's exactly what I did. I immediately started sucking him off; he was already fully hard so I knew I could work up to a fast pace quickly. I wanted to tease him, get him to the edge, make him beg for my Alpha cock, which was thick and rock hard and ready to plunge into his ass.
Oh man, his ass. I thrust a couple of fingers into him, finding him nice and wet and ready for me. Just recognizing that fact made me even harder. I was being driven wild with lust. I couldn't hold off anymore; I had to fuck him.
"You ready for my cock?" I asked, my voice low and husky.
"Yeah," he said. "I'm always ready for your cock." He winked.
Something about that wink was the final straw. I roughly turned him over so he was on his side, then lay down next to him. I lifted up his leg with mine, spreading him wide, and found his entrance, which was pulsing and clenching, hungry to be filled. I pressed myself against it.
"You sure you're ready?" I asked.
"Yes!" he cried. "Please."
"Ooh," I said. "I think I like hearing you say please. Wanna do that for me again?" I grinned.
"Please, Xander," he said breathily. "I want your cock."
"You want it where?"
"In my ass. Now. Please." He bumped up against me, trying to push it in himself, but of course, he couldn't.
"Since you said please … " I thrust it in and we both groaned, savoring the feeling of being bonded together sexually. He felt amazing: so hot and wet and tight, squeezing my cock, practically milking it. I immediately started thrusting, sliding easily in and out thanks to his lubrication. "Ugh, you feel so good."
"You feel better," he said, grunting along with my forceful movements.
"That's right," I said. "Take my Alpha cock."
That sent a shudder up his spine. I held him tightly to me, my breath humid in his ear. I could smell his arousal and his sweat, and I breathed deep, taking in all the intricately blended scents. His body was limp and slender under my own, which was so stocky in contrast.
"Ugh, why are you so damn good at this," he said. "You light me on fire every time."
"Must be natural," I said. "Or it must be how sexy you are."
I took his cock in my hand and started pumping it, using spit every so often to keep it going smoothly. He started bucking against my hand, and we fell into a rhythm, both working up to our own orgasms. I could feel mine thundering in my belly like the shudders of a dormant volcano.
"I'm going to come if you keep that up," he said.
"Let's come together," I said.
"Okay."
My movements become more frantic. Our bodies were stuck together with sweaty skin as we approached our climaxes. "I'm almost there," I said. I could hear the strain in my voice. I was so close.
"Me too," he said. "Now … "
"Yes. Come, Omega," I said, growling in his ear.
I came hard in his ass and he came hard in my hand. We shuddered together, squeezing ourselves against each other like we were trying to become one person. I moaned softly and he whimpered as his orgasm wracked him like a storm. We rode the waves out together and eventually came down, still joined.
I slid out of him, panting heavily. "Fated mate sex," I said. "It's a damn good thing."
"Yeah. And we have the rest of our lives to look forward to this."
"I love you, Kade."
"I love you." He kissed me on my nose, then got up and put his clothes on. "I think I'm going to take a shower and then wake up Zoey and make food for her. The little monster is going to be starving, I bet."
"Good call." I lay on my bed and stretched, wondering what I should do next.
As it turned out, I spent the rest of that evening playing around with the bass. At first, I felt awkward. The instrument felt clunky in my arms, and I wasn't confident with how I held it. But the more I played, the more it all came back to me. I started to become more fluid as all the knowledge and experience I had accumulated was dredged up from the depths of my brain.
By the end of the night, I found that I wasn't half bad. I had even been able to remember some of the bass lines for the songs I used to play in my band. I was having so much fun jamming that I completely lost track of time. I didn't even hear Kade sneak into our room.
When I noticed that he was standing there, I realized that he had been listening to me for a while. "Hey!"
"Hey, yourself," he said with a giggle.
"You must have heard me."
"Yeah, I did. And you're damn good." He grinned like a cat, leaning on the doorway.
"No, I'm not. I haven't even touched this thing in years."
"You're good. Sure, you could use some practice and some polishing, but you have the technique down, and that's what matters." He crossed his arms.
I looked back down at the bass, plucking at the strings idly. "So, what do you think?"
"I think you should be in the band."
"But you haven't even listened to all the candidates Michael brought in," I said, protesting.
"I don't need to. I've listened to all I need to of your work and I want you in my band." He walked toward me and sat down next to me.
"This is nepotism," I said. "People are going to say you brought me on just because we're together."
"Well, it's my band," he said, poking my nose. "And people are not going to be upset. In fact, they're going to think it's adorable."
"Really?"
"How would you react if you knew two people in a band you liked were dating?" He crossed his arms again, as if he was brooking no argument.
"I guess it would be pretty cute," I admitted.
"There we go. I'm going to call up Michael first thing tomorrow and tell him you're my top pick. Then we're going to call up Jareo and ask if he wants to practice with us, just to test you out. And then we're going to record some damn demos, and then the damn album. Got it?"