Chapter Eighteen
For three days, they kept the same routine. Twice a day, morning and evening, Ronan would use the oil on his neck. The rest of their day was spent together, many hours passed in the training room, Ronan intent on showing him all the things he did in there. Noah wasn’t used to so much activity, but he was starting to enjoy it. He really wanted to get out into the grounds for some fresh air. Ronan had asked, but Griffin had said no. So, he made himself content with opening every window he could find until the summer breeze filled their wing of the house.
It was early evening on the fourth day, and he was lying on a mat in the training room, staring out the window while Ronan worked the oil into his skin. Noah wasn’t sure anything had changed or how he’d even know if it had. It was Ronan who seemed different. The alpha had been a little quiet during breakfast. Noah wasn’t sure if he was grumpy from being stuck inside or whether something was wrong or… the possibilities were endless really, given how little he knew the alpha.
Ronan finished putting on the oil and stomped away, coming to a sudden stop near the door.
“Is… is something wrong?” Noah asked.
“No,” Ronan answered shortly. “Stay here.”
Noah lay back down on the mat to let the oil soak in, the sun drying it quickly. Ronan still hadn’t returned, and he was getting more concerned by the minute. He retraced the alpha’s steps to the bedroom, hearing the shower running in the bathroom next door.
He hesitated only a minute before pushing the door open and stepping inside. Ronan was in the shower, his back to him, the water playing across his skin.
Noah’s mouth went dry as he took in the long line of the alpha’s body, from his rounded shoulders to his strong back, down to his ass and his powerful legs. Swallowing hard, he closed the distance between them, pausing right outside the shower door.
“Ronan?”
The alpha half-turned toward him, enough for Noah to see that something was going on.
“You shouldn’t be in here,” the alpha said, his voice a low growl.
“Are you okay?”
Ronan turned his back to him again, the movement throwing his scent in Noah’s direction. It was different to how it normally was, like someone had bottled it and concentrated it.
“Get out, Noah.”
As much as Ronan’s words made it clear the alpha wanted him gone, his body was saying the opposite. Noah could see how tense Ronan was holding himself to stop himself turning or reaching for Noah. The omega decided to make it easier for him. He shed his clothes, piece by piece, letting them fall to the floor. It was hard with his fingers shaking but he managed it. Then he climbed in behind Ronan, placing a hand on his back.
The alpha reacted much faster than Noah had anticipated and, a second later, he found himself pressed face first against the shower wall as Ronan scented him deeply.
“Alpha?” Noah ventured, certain now that he was dealing with an alpha entering a mating rut.
“Noah, you need to leave.” Ronan’s words were again at odds with his body, his hands not loosening their grip as he continued to scent Noah like his life depended on it.
“But you need me,” he replied softly.
“I can get through this alone. I have before.”
Noah managed to wriggle his way around so they were facing each other.
“But I’m here now,” he said, keeping his voice low and soothing, knowing Ronan’s senses were probably going crazy. “You don’t need to do this by yourself.”
“But you’ve never… asking you to take on a rut isn’t playing fair.”
“It’s just sex,” he countered. “The kind of sex an omega is made for.”
Ronan choked out a laugh. “I love how matter-of-fact you sound. It’s not just sex. It’s hours of it. Again, and again, and again, until… until there’s nothing left. Then days of sleep before you’re fit to even move again.”
Noah cocked his head to the side, regarding Ronan before dropping his eyes lower, taking in the alpha’s hard, pulsing cock between his legs.
“Then I guess we should get started.”
If he felt half as brave as his words that would be saying something. But he knew right then that actions were greater than words, and they were talking with their bodies, not their heads. Sinking slowly down to his knees, he leaned forward, grasping Ronan’s hips. The alpha went stock still.
“Noah, you don’t have to do this.”
“But I want to. And that’s what matters.”
He scented the alpha again, feeling almost high from the amazingly potent scent Ronan had right then. He knew to take it slow, but beyond that, it was all new territory for him. So, he started with the only other thing he knew from his and Ronan’s experiments. Kissing.
Beginning at the alpha’s left hip, he started pressing a long, slow line of kisses down toward his inner thigh. He was very aware of all that the alpha had between his legs, but it wasn’t a race. He’d get there when he got there.
Ronan widened his stance, giving him access, and swallowed a moan when Noah’s next kiss found the base of his shaft. Taking his time, Noah kissed his way along it, right to the tip which was pressed against the alpha’s lower abdomen.
Glancing up, he met Ronan’s eyes, dark with lust and need before he looked down, took a breath, opened his mouth, and took Ronan in.
“Oh, fuck, Noah.” It didn’t sound like a complaint so he didn’t pause, gradually taking more and more of the alpha into his mouth and throat.
One of Ronan’s hands found his hair, fisting it between his fingers as Noah started a rhythm of swallowing deep and pulling away. He could feel Ronan tense each time he did it, knowing the alpha was using every ounce of self-control not to start thrusting. Noah grew in confidence, finding a use for his tongue against the underside of Ronan’s shaft. That seemed to be enough to throw him over the edge.
“Noah, I’m going to come.”
The omega only held on tighter, swallowing hard for as long as he could before pulling away to take some well-deserved breaths.
Ronan took a step back to lean against the shower door. “That was… unreal. You’ve done that before?”
Noah shook his head, wiping a hand across his mouth.
“How long until you need to go again?”
Alphas had fast refractory times normally, but when they were in rut, those could easily be halved.
“Ten minutes, maybe.”
“Then we should…”
Ronan’s hands went under his arms, lifting him up onto his feet.
“You’re not ready, Noah.”
“What are you talking about?” Hadn’t they been over this?
One of Ronan’s hands snaked around to tap the nape of his neck. “This is what I’m talking about. You’re not ready to mate.”
“That doesn’t matter. I will be your mate, one day. Right now, you need an omega, and I want to do this with you.”
“What if we get to the end of the road and we can’t mate? I’ll just have used you.”
Noah groaned internally. Alphas in rut were supposed to be barely able to rationalize. Trust Ronan to be one of the clearheaded ones.
“I’m offering my help. That’s why I came in here. You can’t use someone who has offered themselves to you. For someone who supposedly straddles the line between good and evil, you’re oddly saintlike.”
Ronan snorted at that. “That’s work. This is different. This is my life. Our life, and…”
Noah reached out and hugged him, clinging to him tightly. He knew the alpha wouldn’t fail to hug him back, and there was something about being surrounded by that scent.
“You’re like a drug,” he murmured. “I can’t get enough of you.”
“Drugs rarely fall on the good side of the line,” Ronan replied. He didn’t try to loosen Noah’s grip, and already, Noah could feel the alpha’s cock stirring.
“I want you.” Noah tried to be as clear as he could. This wasn’t the time for misunderstandings.
Ronan caught his chin, tipping his face up until they were eye to eye. “That’s all well and good right now but what about…” The alpha trailed off, staring at Noah with frank curiosity. He tipped Noah’s face higher, turning it this way and that.
“What?” Noah asked.
“Your pupils are dilated.”
That meant nothing to Noah, but it seemed to spur Ronan into action. He spun him around and again Noah found himself pressed face first against the shower wall.
“Ronan?”
“You’re reacting to my scent.”
“Told you. It’s like a drug.”
Ronan’s fingers were on the nape of his neck, massaging the same spot he’d put the oil on earlier. Noah surprised himself by letting out a low moan when something Ronan did sent a wave of heated pleasure tingling across his body. His knees went weak, and it was only Ronan’s arm snaking around his waist that stopped him sinking to the floor.
“What was that?”
“The back of your neck, where you take your mating mark. It’s an erogenous zone in omegas. You’ve never reacted to it before. I thought it was damaged, gone.”
The alpha stroked a hand down along Noah’s spine, pausing at his lower back. “If this is real, if it’s a genuine response from your body, it’ll be preparing itself for mating right now.”
Ronan’s hand slipped lower, one finger dipping between his cheeks. When it pushed inside him easily, Noah gasped, longing flooding him, alongside the need to be filled. It was followed moments later by an ache of emptiness when the alpha pulled his hand away.
“This is really happening, isn’t it?”
Hands on his shoulders turned him around until they were face-to-face.
“Only if you want it,” the alpha said.
“I’ve wanted it for so long, more than anything.”
Ronan was already hard again, and Noah couldn’t resist taking him in hand, feeling the size and weight of the alpha’s cock in his grasp. It caused the other shifter to thrust against him, groaning as his eyes slid closed. Noah stroked his hand along him again before the alpha snatched his hand away, holding it to his mouth to press a kiss to the center of his palm.
“Bedroom,” the alpha said, stepping backward and drawing Noah with him. He went willingly.