We sat by the shimmering lake in the midafternoon, the sunlight dancing, tanning our skin. Riley was stretched out in just a pair of sky-blue board shorts, his half-naked body sheened with sunscreen and sweat.

He had been still for over an hour, as I tried to look busy with a book I was barely even managing to read, and I was fairly certain that beneath his black sunglasses, his eyes were shut and he was sleeping. I had slathered his leanly muscular body in sunscreen earlier, so I was less concerned about a sunburn, and more wishing that he would wake up and realize I was actually staring at the divot between his abs, wishing I could lick away the sweat, and then lick lower, and then tear his board shorts off with my teeth and taste his sweet omega cock.

My knot was swollen just thinking about it, and I subtly adjusted myself, trying to look back at my book. I started again at the beginning of the last paragraph, but found I barely remembered what I was reading about.

I wouldn’t say I was freaking out, but, well, maybe I was. Just a little bit. Very quietly.

I couldn’t get it out of my head, get him out of my head. Everything in me was screaming for me to take Riley to bed. To claim him. To mate him. Again, and again, until I had filled him and bred him enough to satisfy the itch.

Once hadn’t been enough. I had thought that it might be, but I couldn’t get away from it. I didn’t like how it made me feel—dependent, vulnerable, all the things I tried to avoid about omegas. But I did love how it felt to be with Riley … maybe a little too much.

I was in over my head. I had to kick the habit of thinking about him so much, or we were going to end up in a much longer-term arrangement than I had originally planned for.

To tell the truth, nothing about this weekend was going as planned, and it didn’t mix well with my control issues.

I was fighting, damn it. I was fighting it as hard as I could. Sitting near him while he sunbathed wasn’t fighting quite hard enough, though. I had to get some distance between us. I set down my book and got up, nudging Riley gently.

“I’m not asleep,” he murmured, an amused smile on his soft pink lips. Soft, kissable lips.

No. This had to stop. This wasn’t even supposed to be about sex. Riley’s lips were just lips, after all. It was only that he was an omega; that was why my body was doing this, why my mind couldn’t get away from him.

So I would have to.

“Oh, good. Well. I’m going to go make the rounds with my family; are you all right here? There’s more beer in the cooler.”

Riley gave me a white-toothed grin, and I could barely make out his eyes behind his sunglasses, so I just tried not to look into them. He held up his thumb, reassuring me. “I’m great.”

So I left. I went to where my father was sitting, with Brian and his father, and took a chair.

“Chase. So nice of you to join us.”

My father looked at me suspiciously, silently reminding me not to fuck this up, for the family’s future. It was so easy for him to make me feel like shit. Even when I could have very well been doing exactly what he wanted, he was hard on me, so ready to be disappointed.

“Hey. It’s a lovely day,” I said politely, trying to tear my mind off of Riley.

Brian perked up. “This lake is amazing. Do you want a drink, Chase? You drink whiskey, right?”

I accepted a drink from Brian, only mildly returning his smile, which was too big for his face. If he hadn’t been so overeager, he might have even been attractive, but the truth was I barely even saw him.

The frustration was eating me inside. All I wanted right then, all I really wanted, was to strip Riley down to the skin and mark him, in every way I knew how.

“You and Chase should take the boat out on the lake, Brian, before the sun sets,” my father suggested.

I tried not to scowl at him. Brian didn’t deserve to be hurt just because my father was taking every opportunity to shamelessly shove us together. It would separate me even further from Riley, which I didn’t want — but I should.

“Oh, can we?” Brian begged hopefully, looking to me for permission. Like I could give him permission. I shrugged.

“Sure,” I said, glancing back at Riley. This wasn’t working. Keeping my distance from the omega was defeating the purpose of hiring him to be my boyfriend.

It was counterproductive to avoid him, but it was the only thing I could think of to keep myself from dragging Riley off and breeding him hard again.

Trapped, I got into the boat with Brian and took over driving, my mind back in my bedroom with Riley, where I had knotted the omega for the first time. It took me a few minutes of staring at the water to realize that Brian was trying to talk to me.

“Isn’t this wonderful, Chase?” He leaned in close, trying to get my attention. “It’s a beautiful boat.”

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to be rude, but I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea, either, and it seemed like it would be pretty easy to give this guy the wrong idea. In fact, it seemed like he might already have it, just because I’d gotten into a boat with him.

“It’s not that special,” I said mildly, shifting away from him uncomfortably. It was my father’s boat, after all. I hardly loved it. I certainly didn’t need to be so close to him.

“I think it’s romantic,” Brian sighed, and that was all I could take. I rolled my eyes and drove us back to shore. “What are you doing?” he said. “We haven’t been out even fifteen minutes.”

“It’ll be suppertime soon,” I said, refusing to look at him.

He wasn’t Riley — infuriating, gorgeous Riley — and that’s who I needed. I was starting to think that Riley was the only one I really needed; but the scariest part was no longer that it was Riley, who I realized was far better than any alternative could hope to be.

It was about needing anyone at all. That loss of control, how easy it would be for him to hurt me, that was what terrified me and kept me away from him.

I shouldn’t be away from him. It was counterproductive to my true goal: staying away from Brian. When had Brian started to look like a safer option?

When my feelings for Riley outweighed anything I could dream of wanting from Brian.

I couldn’t see myself marrying Brian, giving him my children, spending my life with him. I shouldn’t have been able to see Riley that way, either. But maybe I could.

I pulled the boat up to the dock and tied it off. Brian gave me one longing look, which I ignored, before jumping out of the boat and rushing over to his father.

From the glare my own father shot me, what he had to say wasn’t very kind. Which left me alone with Riley, and a lake of cool, refreshing water just beginning to be hit by the amber-pink glow of sunset.

Riley sat up in the lounge chair he’d spent most of the day in. “Is it almost dinner time?”

I nodded, avoiding his gaze. God, it would be so easy now, to just grab him and knot him and tear him apart.

“Yes. Nearly. I suppose we’ll have to head back to the house soon.”

Riley pulled off his sunglasses, smiling at me with sparkling blue eyes. “I want to swim first. Look, the sunset!”

He took my hand and pulled me over to the dock, and then jumped right into the cool, refreshing lake, splashing me. I chuckled but dove in after him, the water hitting my body like ecstasy, cooling me all over. Riley swam out into the lake, so the sunset shimmered on his head and in his eyes, and I followed, enjoying the weightlessness. I didn’t swim that often anymore.

I still kept a little distance between us. Even Riley touching my hand had been too tempting, electric. I had to be careful.

But Riley managed to get us close. He swam right up to me with a charming grin and wrapped his slender arms around my broad shoulders.

“It’s time to perform,” he murmured seductively, and kissed me, closing the distance between us. Everyone could see; everyone was watching us melt into each other beneath the glowing sun.

Moaning, I grabbed him around the middle and pulled him right against me in the water. It was a deep, passionate kiss, and damn, it felt too fucking real. It tugged at my heart, got me where I was most vulnerable.

The truth was, I craved to be close to someone. No, not just someone. To him. This one. This beautiful, perfect omega.

We sat in our room before dinner, freshly showered off from the lake. I was trying to pick out my outfit when Riley spoke from his spot on the bed.

“How did things go with Brian?” he asked, but not with the usual jealousy I would expect from an omega asking that sort of question. He just seemed mildly curious, a little amused, a little sympathetic.

I smirked over at him. Damn it, Riley was far too easy to talk to. “Oh, you know. Too eager. He thought our boat trip was romantic.”

Riley winced for my sake. “Damn. I need to step up my game.”

I shook my head. We both knew it wasn’t Riley’s fault I’d been avoiding him all day. Those were my own issues. “You’re doing well. My father is furious.”

There was a heavy silence for a moment, as I tried to select a tie that went with my suit, but Riley knew what to say. “Things have been rough with him for a while, huh? No offense, but your dad seems like a premium-grade asshole.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Abandoning my pursuit of clothing, I went to sit on the bed with him, gazing at him thoughtfully.

“Ever since my mother. She died when I was twelve.”

“Chase, I’m sorry, I didn’t know—”

I shook my head. “That’s because I hadn’t told you. The truth is, I don’t even think he loves me. He never has.

“He’s always made me feel worthless, and I don’t think … I don’t think I’d even be a very good alpha. I can’t imagine being good enough for any omega.”

It was a lot to admit, but I was expecting a little sympathy, not what I got next. Riley leaned forward, suddenly, and kissed me again, and this kiss was different.

Not only did it feel real, but it wasn’t for show. Riley was kissing me just to kiss me, as if to say, I’m here, I’m an omega, I want you.

I reached for him, pushing off the loose bathrobe that barely covered his body, and slowly caressed his shoulders and strong arms until I could take his hand. He tangled his fingers into mine as we kissed, his free hand shoving my robe off my shoulders. The kiss broke, and he started to kiss my hot skin instead, my cock swelling, knot growing as his lips trailed along my throat and collarbone.

I pushed him onto his back and climbed on top of him, gazing down into the omega’s beautiful blue eyes. This was different. We were sober, and it was the light of day, and I wanted to spend hours mapping every inch of Riley’s body.

We didn’t have hours, but we had enough time to try. I licked from his collarbone to his nipple, enjoying his mewling sigh when I suckled that soft brown nub. Admiring his fresh tan, I worked my way between his abs, licking and sucking at his skin to claim it for my own.

I made my way slowly to his aching cock, teasing him, and he pushed his hips up, begging for more attention than that. Licking along the length of his cock, I admired it, taking in every piece of him, so that hopefully I would have something to remember when he inevitably left me.

This was a one-weekend deal, and then Riley would be gone from my life. I didn’t want him gone.

Working my way between his legs, kissing his thighs, I spread his ass cheeks and teased my tongue over his tight hole. He gasped, hips twitching, thighs quivering around my head.

“Chase, please, please, stop teasing!” he begged me, breathless, his whole body shaking. I could smell it; his scent was so strong it penetrated my soul, and even though I wanted to take my time, I couldn’t deny it. I needed to knot this omega, I needed to be buried inside him once more, and the longer I tried to resist, the more overwhelming that need became.

Clearly, Riley was feeling it too. The way he desperately lifted his hips, the shimmer in his eyes, told me everything I needed to know.

I slid on top of him, and this time I looked right into his eyes as I claimed him.

“Riley,” I groaned, as I slowly began to push into him, deeper, and deeper, until my knot pressed right against his ass, ready to be buried inside. “Oh, God.”

With that same careful attention I eased my knot into him, stretching him wide. My knot got bigger and bigger inside of him, and instinct took over. Riley’s tight ass squeezing me drove me wild, but I didn’t let it happen so quickly this time; I wanted to enjoy every moment.

So it was slow, and thorough. I worked my knot in him, watching him moan and squirm, me gasping and clutching at the omega’s slender body, pulling him even closer.

Riley bucked beneath me, almost sobbing with need as my thick knot rubbed inside him, hitting all the right spots. I bred him balls-deep, my knot locking us tight together.

Together, we rocked and worked ourselves toward explosive, powerful orgasms. It seemed to go on and on as I bred him, filling him with more and more come, my knot only slowly shrinking. We clutched at each other, not wanting to be apart, and I buried my head in Riley's shoulder, refusing to move for several minutes. When my knot finally did shrink and I rolled off of him, I still kept an arm around him, and he curled close to me to take a nap, sated for now.

I watched his beautiful face as he slept, and stroked his dirty blond hair back from his face. I kissed his forehead and heard his soft sigh. Even that little noise brought me so much happiness; but there was still doubt, lingering in the back of my mind.

Deep in my heart, I felt that I could never be good enough to be a real alpha. Maybe it was how my father had treated me, or the fact that I’d barely had him around during my teenage years, but I felt like I didn’t know how. It just wasn’t in the cards. I was too dedicated to my work, too perfectionistic, too much of a control freak.

I’d never be the alpha I wanted to be; but if I could, I would want to be that man, that wolf, for Riley.

Not that it mattered. The omega didn't get attached; that was the whole point, right? He didn't want to be with me at all. He was just doing his job.

I had paid him good money not to get attached, and even if he felt what I did, he was professional enough to keep his feelings out of the picture, whether I wanted them to be there or not. He didn’t really care, because I’d paid him not to care.

The more time we spent together, the harder that was to believe. As Riley napped on my arm, his phone buzzed on the bedside table. I didn't mean to glance at it, but I did, and what I saw was disturbing.

I regretted looking, because my mind wandered to a few bizarre places, and I knew immediately I wouldn’t be brave enough to ask Riley about it. It wasn’t my place. I shouldn’t have snooped. And yet, there it was, brightly lit on the screen, imprinted on my memory.

Michael, 5:47 PM:

don't say I didn't warn you