He didn’t want to. The cherrywood felt like a gift.
But he didn’t want to get into trouble with Ballus, either.
When he had tucked away all evidence of Hades’ visit, he sat back down on the couch, rewinding Mansion MD so he could start his evening the way he had planned. Except his thoughts kept drifting back to Hades; Hades’ hands all over him, his breath hot on Aaren’s ear, his fingers sliding over Aaren’s sensitive parts.
His cock had felt big when it brushed against Aaren’s asscheek, back when Hades had bent him over the sink.
Suddenly, it wasn’t enough to sit on the couch by his lonesome. Aaren squirmed and rummaged in the closet where he had hidden his blanket, pulling out his biggest toy. Then he pushed down his pants and crammed the dildo into his still-wet hole, moaning when it filled him with pleasure.
This. This was how Hades would feel inside him. Big and overwhelming, bringing him to the edge almost immediately.
He pretended that it was Hades inside him, working his cock in and out. Hades holding him and pounding deep. His own arms weren’t quite strong enough; his thrusts weren’t as rough as he imagined Hades’ would be. Those thick muscles, that strong body? Hades would pin him and fuck him through the bed, and Aaren would beg him for more. Hades would knot him, and he would pump so much come inside Aaren, maybe something would take.
Aaren screamed into his blanket, coming hard.
When he regained his senses, he cleaned up and crawled into bed. It didn’t smell great.
He fell asleep wishing he was surrounded by the scent of cherrywood.
4
A SECRET CAR RIDE
“Why doesit smell funny in here?” Ballus growled.
Aaren froze, ice shooting down his spine. “Funny? In what way?”
He lowered the shirt he’d wrapped around his mouth and nose, sniffing for traces of cherrywood.
The scent of skunk hit his nose.
Askunk,of all things.
He was so relieved that he almost laughed. “That... smells like skunk.”
Hades’ scent had taken a while to fade last night; Aaren had left the windows open while he slept so fresh air could get into the house. Except the exhaust fan must’ve brought in a skunk’s stench. And Aaren had not noticed, because he had wrapped last night’s shirt around his face when he woke up, trying to catch the last bits of Hades’ scent.
“Skunk?” Ballus narrowed his eyes. “Seriously? I told you to shut the fucking windows when you sleep. What if someone breaks in? They’d take my TV and computer!”
Aaren scowled. “What about me? They could hurt me too.”
Ballus scoffed. “You? They’d leave you alone. You’re ugly and not that valuable. Of course, if you tried to stop them and they beat you, it would serve you right for leaving the windows open.”
Aaren stiffened. He knew he should be used to this by now; he knew it didn’t matter what Ballus thought of him. He was going to leave this alpha once he had fulfilled Gran’s inheritance contract.
But a small, vulnerable part of him hurt anyway.
“Why can’t you be a nicer alpha?” he growled.
“Nicer? I’m plenty nice. Do you see anyone else queueing up to be your alpha?” Ballus looked around pointedly.
Aaren gritted his teeth. There was Hades, but Hades wasn’t here right now. Actually, how could he be sure that Hades would respond to his calls or texts? He had only known that alpha for two hours. What if Hades didn’t keep his word?
All the same, Aaren wanted to believe that Hades would punch a burglar to keep him safe.
“Whatever,” Ballus said, dropping his dirty plate in the kitchen sink for Aaren to wash. “Get on the bed and raise your ass.”
At least Aaren didn’t mind this part of their relationship. Sex was a transaction; he used Ballus, and Ballus used him. Both of them got off and there was no more exchange of intimacy.
