Fixer-Upper: A Summer Romance (Vale Valley Season 3 Book 15) Read online

  By the time he pulled up to the house, King mostly had his face and his feelings in order again. He still had a lot to learn about Jonah to determine if he was someone King could trust, after all.

  Then Jonah stepped outside, his own face lighting up in a smile brighter than the sun, and King’s heart turned over happily. He was in so very much over his head, and he didn’t care.

  “Hey,” Jonah said as King came up the walk. He half-reached out, then pulled his hand back. “I was getting worried.”

  “Sorry,” King said. And he was. The tight look around Jonah’s eyes gutted him, knowing he’d been the one to put it there with his morning freak out. “I needed the morning to sort some stuff out.”

  “All sorted, then?”

  King bit his lip, not sure how to answer that. Don’t live in fear, a voice that sounded like Katarina whispered in his mind, and for once King decided to listen. He curled his hand around the back of Jonah’s neck, pulling him in for a brief, firm kiss. “I’m getting there,” he said.

  Jonah’s answering smile was totally worth it.

  The rest of the day went by in a happy haze, not that King was willing to think about exactly why that was. Not quite yet. It was enough for now that for the first time in a long time, he felt something almost like peace. And maybe more than a little joy.

  When he got home at the end of the day, Katarina was waiting for him, again in the kitchen.

  “You’re back late,” she said, smirking.

  “I had things to do to make up for being so late this morning,” King said as breezily as he could.

  “Uh-huh.” Katarina arched an eyebrow at him and sat back in her chair. “I understand the pull of a fated mate, kid. There’s no need to play it off for me.”

  King frowned at her. “I never said anything about a fated mate,” he said with as much warning as he could put in his voice.

  She held up her hands. “My mistake,” she said. “But if you did, I’d remind you that it’s kind of pointless to resist. That’s why they call it fate.”

  “Fate is just an excuse people use when they aren’t strong-willed enough to take charge of their own lives,” King said. “All the prophecies in the world can’t force one person to love another.”

  “No, that’s true,” she said. “It’s entirely up to you if you’re going to let your fated mate in enough to trust him. To love him. And to give yourself a chance to have a little of the romance you deserve.”

  “Now you sound like a greeting card,” he snarked, and immediately felt bad when he saw the hurt crossing over face. “Sorry. I’m tired and more of an asshole than usual. Thanks, cousin, for caring enough to want me to be happy. I’m just not entirely sure that someone like me gets the kind of grand love like you have. Which is fine,” he added in a rush. “If everyone got to have the love of the ages, it wouldn’t be special any more, now would it?”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works,” she said, but held the rest of her piece, waving him off to is room.

  He didn’t blame her for being a romantic. Once upon a time, King had believed like she did. The idea that there was someone out there who was such a perfect match for him the fates themselves would direct the rivers of space and time to ensure they found one another was practically in his blood, But King knew better now. Love wasn’t for everyone, and added to that, King was pretty sure the real kind of love was the kind you worked for, not the instant lust that brought two people together in the first place. Or at least, not only the lust.. No matter what his biology wanted him to believe, King knew that was what he wanted.

  And maybe, just maybe, he’d find it with Jonah. Even if Katarina would be unbearably smug about it for centuries.

  Chapter Seven

  Jonah

  They worked the rest of the week in a blur of paint, torn carpet, and the occasional stolen kisses. Jonah wasn’t sure what had happened that morning King had been so late, but whatever it was, it seemed to have unlocked a little something in the merman. King was still skittish, still prickly as hell—but whenever Jonah found himself itching to touch King in some way, to savor that charge he got whenever they were skin-to-skin even in the most innocent way, King would show up at his side like he’d felt the urge himself. And it was King initiating most of the contact, much to Jonah’s relief, brushing a hand down his arm or leaving a kiss on Jonah’s cheek. It was sweet and oddly domestic, and at the same time incredibly frustrating.

  Jonah was a little ashamed at how much masturbating he had to do at night, and how every time he did, it was King’s face he saw when he closed his eyes.

  By the time the end of the week rolled around, though, they’d managed to find a good rhythm to their work, despite the simmering distraction between them. Both back bedrooms were finished, complete with blinds on the windows, a crib for Anya and a cheap double bed for Jonah. The bathroom was clean, although there wasn’t much they could do about the cracked tile—there was only one contractor in town who could fix that, and Jonah was dreading paying whatever prices they’d be commanding thanks to the monopoly—but they’d managed to replace the fixtures so the shower was functioning. That coupled with the kitchen being mostly useable except for the doors still stacked and unpainted in the living room made the house livable just in time for Jonah to get out of the hotel and into his own territory.

  “Thank you for helping me move some of my stuff,” he said for the hundredth time as they carried boxes of clothes and toys in from the storage box he’d had delivered that afternoon. “I’m sure you have better things to be doing on a Friday evening, but I couldn’t stand the thought of another night in a stranger’s bed, you know?”

  King laughed. “Fuck yes I know what you mean,” he said, hooking his foot on the newly-installed screen door to tug it shut behind them. “I’ve been staying with my cousin for a couple weeks, and I’m dying for a place of my own. I’m a grown man with my own needs, and it’s not like I can bring a date back there.”

  Jealousy churned in Jonah’s gut, but he sternly reminded himself that he had no claim on King. Instead, he led the way back to his new bedroom and set down his box in front of the bare pine dresser he’d ordered off the internet. Like the matching bed, it wasn’t made to last, but it would do for now, at least. It was also a shitty distraction and King was staring at him the longer Jonah took to get himself together.

  “I didn’t know you’d been dating,” he finally said, fighting the urge to go over and check on Anya, asleep in the other room where she wouldn’t be disturbed by the moving noises, instead of facing the way his chest clenched at the thought. Instead he looked at King, who was giving him a fond, if exasperated look.

  “I meant you,” King said, rolling his eyes. “I was trying to say I want to take you home for an evening of adult fun that doesn’t involve changing light fixtures. No need to get jealous.”

  “Then just say so,” Jonah said, laughing a little breathlessly as the tension immediately drained out of him. “I know we haven’t really talked about what we’re doing—”

  “I’m not—I’m not ready to do that,” King rushed in. “But whatever this is, there’s no one else who I want to do whatever this with.”

  Jonah blinked at him, then shook his head. “You’re a mess,” he finally said, unable to keep from grinning.

  “Yeah.” King shrugged. Then he closed the space between them and pulled Jonah down into a kiss. “But I’m worth the effort.”

  Fuck. King tasted so good. Like a cold glass of water on a hot day. Groaning, Jonah found himself gripping King’s hips, hauling him even closer. “Yeah,” he whispered when they parted for air. “I’m pretty sure you’re definitely worth it.”

  King’s strong arms wound around Jonah’s neck, keeping him close as their kisses went a little sloppy and desperate, their tongues sliding over and over, teeth nipping at lips. Jonah’s hands slid under King’s shirt and splayed across the hot, sweat-slicked skin of his back. He wanted, in a way he’d never quite wa
nted anyone else before, and that want sent a shudder through him, forcing Jonah to pull back enough to gasp for air.

  “Please,” he said, one hand caressing up King’s spine and pressing in the space between his shoulders. “Please, King. Let me touch you.”

  King nodded, their foreheads pressed together. “Gods yes,” he said, clinging to Jonah. “Bed. Now. Before my knees give out from these kisses of yours.”

  They stumbled across the room, Jonah unwilling to stop kissing King for even a second. King always felt so right in his arms, and Jonah was dying to feel more of him. They tripped over each other’s feet, falling on the bed, King pinning Jonah to the bed with a laugh.

  “Oh, I like this,” King purred, straddling Jonah’s hips and pulling back enough to tug his shirt off, revealing a slender but well-muscled torso covered in black tattoos Jonah had barely noticed during their one swim. Then again, he’d been too focused on looking King in the eye then and not objectifying him like he could now. “I like this a whole hell of a lot.”

  “You and me both,” Jonah groaned, sliding his hands up over intricate line work of waves and Celtic knots until King rocked back, putting delicious pressure on Jonah’s aching cock. Jonah closed his eyes and helplessly arching up, craving more. He startled when he felt King’s hands on his stomach, pushing his shirt up.

  “Off,” King muttered. “Been dreaming about those abs of yours. Wanna come all over you, rub my smell in your skin.”

  “Gods,” Jonah grunted, and yanked off his shirt before scrambling at King’s fly, popping the button and yanking the zipper down so he could slide his hand in and pull his lover’s cock out in the air. “Come on, then,” he said, stroking King fast and hard. “Mark me as yours. Every shifter in town will know I’m taken. Make me smell like you’ve been fucking me for hours.”

  “Yes.” King rocked over him, riding the denim-covered length of Jonah’s cock until Jonah wasn’t sure if he’d last long enough to take care of his omega. “Would you let me? Would you let me fuck you?”

  Gods, just the thought of it had Jonah’s back bowing and a strangled whimper escaping his lips “I’d let you do anything if I get to see you come,” he growled once he had control of himself again. “Fill me up with your spunk until I’m dripping with it, if you want. Whatever you want, baby. Whatever you want.”

  That must have done it for King, because he cried out, shooting hot and wet across Jonah’s stomach in long pulses. Gasping, he leaned over Jonah and shuddered for a few heart-stopping seconds, Jonah himself so close he could almost taste it, and then King slid down, reaching into Jonah’s pants and jerking him awkwardly even as he licked his spunk off Jonah with wide stripes of his tongue.

  “Gonna smell like me for days,” King mumbled. “People will think I’ve been breeding you.”

  “Oh fuck yes,” Jonah gasped, coming so hard he saw stars. “Oh gods, King, baby, yes!”

  It took several long moments before Jonah could even open his eyes again, and when he did, it was to King curling up close to him, kissing his shoulder. The affection shouldn’t have surprised him, but it did. Pretty much any time he gained ground with King it was a surprise. And like this, with the orgasmic haze still clinging to his mind, Jonah couldn’t help wondering about it.

  “Someone really hurt you, didn’t they?” He winced when he felt every muscle in King’s body tense. “Sorry, I’m clearly out of practice with pillow talk.”

  For a small eternity, Jonah was sure King was going to get up and leave, and probably never come back again, which Jonah would have deserved for dancing blithely into the minefield that was King’s issues. But then he felt King relax marginally before he gave a hesitant nod.

  “Yeah,” King said, and before Jonah could change the subject and give them both an out, he went on. “I was a stupid kid and I still believed in happily ever afters.”

  Jonah wrapped his arms a little tighter around King, but kept his mouth shut. He might have stumbled into this conversation, but he’d be damned if he’d ruin it by opening is mouth a second time.

  “Turns out he was more interested in the status he’d have gotten from mating into my family.” King sighed. “My family is old. And powerful. And kind of a big deal to some people, although for the most part they’re the same messy bunch of jerks and clowns everyone else has, just with a few twists thrown in here and there.”

  “You were mated?” Jonah asked quietly, steering King back on track.

  King shook his head, stubble rasping softly over Jonah’s chest. “No, thank the gods. He’d asked me, and we were going to, but I think a part of me knew, even from the start, it wasn’t right. Besides, I have to be extra careful thanks to the prophecy I’ve got hanging over my head.”

  “Prophecy?” Jonah chuckled and kissed the top of King’s head. “Like you’re the son of God or something?”

  “What?” For some reason, King found that a lot funnier than Jonah meant it. He buried his face in Jonah’s chest and laughed until his shoulders shook, and Jonah was pretty sure he heard a snort. “Son of God. Oh, man. I can’t.”

  “Glad I amuse you?”

  King sat up, wiping the tears of laughter from his face. “Sorry, I just…I needed that laugh, I think.”

  “If it messes you up that much to talk about it, we can see if we both fit in the shower at the same time instead,” Jonah offered. “I want to know, but only if you’re ready to talk about it.”

  Scooting over to sit with his back against the wall, King wrapped his lean arms around his legs as he hesitated. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to talk about all of it,” he finally said. “But I guess if we’re fooling around, you deserve to know about the prophecy.”

  Foreboding prickled in his gut. “Oh?”

  “It’s no big deal,” King said, but the way his hands clutched at his denim-clad calves told a different story. “When I was born, the family seer declared that I would only mate once in all my years. Something about destiny bringing me the baby-daddy I’d love like none other. That’s all”

  Jonah pushed up on his elbows. “That’s actually kind of sweet. Knowing you’re going to find true love, I mean.”

  “I’m not so sure that’s actually a thing. True love, I mean,” King said, eyes fixed on a spot across the room, and it was just as well he wouldn’t look at Jonah. To hear King so casually deny love, when Jonah himself had been thinking how maybe that’s what they were working toward…

  “But either way,” King went on, blessedly oblivious to the way Jonah’s chest felt cracked open, “I’ve never mated. Most days I think I never will, if only to stick to the old sea hag for thinking she had a say in my love life before I’d even taken my first steps.”

  “Here’s hoping you aren’t cutting off your nose to spite your face,” Jonah said, hating how strangled his voice sounded.

  That got King’s attention. “Oh,” he said, shifting awkwardly. “I didn’t think. I thought you’d figured I wasn’t exactly a hearts and flowers kind of dude, Jonah.” He swiped a hand over his mouth. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you. Shit. Look, maybe we shouldn’t do this again. I’m not a forever and ever, and if that’s what you’re looking for…”

  “No, that’s not it,” Jonah said, even though it was. At least a little bit. “But I guess I do believe in love, you know? Or, at least in love as a thing that happens between two people who know each other really well and are both committed to being together. My dads love each other, even though it’s often been harder for them to be together in a world like the one we live in, and that’s what I’ve always hoped to find one day.”

  “The kind of love that takes in an orphaned boy and fights an entire social institution to keep the family together,” Kind murmured, and Jonah nodded.

  “That’s the kind of love that moves mountains because it’s the kind of love you work for every day.” Jonah chanced sitting next to King and gently grabbing one of King’s hands, lacing their fingers together. “I find that the more I have
to work for something, the more I value it.”

  From the way King’s grip tightened in his, Jonah knew his lover understood what he was really saying. “I can’t make promises,” King finally said after a beat. “I’d rather we just stayed friends who share the occasional friendly orgasm, if only because I like things simple. But you’re a big project kind of guy. Lots of details.”

  “Baby, I’ve known from day one I was going to have to play a long game if I wanted to even be your friend.” Jonah chuckled. “I’m pretty sure you like it that way. But if you need me to keep proving you can trust me, that I’m nothing like your ex, I can do that. All I ask is you don’t necessarily shut yourself down to the possibility of more.”

  King kissed where their fingers tangled. “I don’t really know what to say to that. I’m afraid no matter what, I’m going to hurt you.”

  “It’s always a chance someone will get hurt, even if things go nowhere,” Jonah pointed out. He kissed King’s bare shoulder, breathing deeply of his post-sex smell. “If I get hurt, I’ll deal with it.”

  “I just don’t think I’m ready to jump into dating someone,” King said, vibrating with tension. “That’s going to take more trust than a few kisses and mind-bending orgasms can earn.”

  “So we don’t date,” Jonah said. “Until you’re ready, I mean. And when you are, I’ll take you out for a nice dinner. Maybe some dancing. Then maybe a few more kisses and orgasms, if you’re interested.”

  “Hell, I’m interested in those kisses and orgasms right now,” King said, the corner of his mouth lifting. “What if we just let whatever it is be whatever it is instead of trying to put a name on it?”

  Jonah wanted to agree, if only to keep King from bolting. But at the same time, he couldn’t. I have enough secrets already. He thought uneasily about the baby sleeping in the next room, and resolved to offer what truth he could here, at least.