Rhys pulled his car up to the driveway in front of a big mansion set in the nicest part of the city. And of course it would be huge and perfect and nice--after all, Rhys had achieved what few dreamed in their lives.

Rhys took me by the hand and ushered me out of the luxury car. The caress of his thumb against the back of my hand caused all sorts of butterflies to explode in my chest.

It was a good walk from the driveway up to the front door, but I hardly registered it as I followed Rhys up the path and up each step. I admired Rhys’s ass from behind, noting how it had only improved with age.

Unfortunately, that meant Rhy noticed and gave me a sly look. “Like what you see?” He unlocked the door. Funny, for such a huge house, I would have thought Rhys would have had hired help.

“Don’t you have a butler or something?”

Rhys nodded, but his hand slipped into the pocket of his suit jacket pulling out his phone. “I gave him the night off. I gave them all the night off.”

“Why?”

Those eyes burned into my soul. “Because I wanted to make sure I had you all to myself tonight. After all these years. I wanted to make sure there were no interruptions.”

He always knew the right thing to say.

The door opened, and we were barely inside the big mansion before Rhys began kissing me, our lips searing against each other, bringing up memories that I had long buried while raising my son.

It had always been Rhys, hadn’t it? It felt perfect. Right. Like Rhys was a missing piece of the puzzle that was my life.

I knew that my heart had always belonged to him. I had been too busy burying the painful past to realize it.

The lights were dark, so I only got a sense of the size of the space, not about the man who lived here. Not about the man who had once been married and in love, yet now lived alone.

Rhys broke the kiss and stroked the side of my face. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to do that.” Rhys’s voice was slightly hoarse. “How long I waited to kiss you again.”

My eyes were huge as I watched Rhys. The alpha waited, each passing moment feeling like an eternity. I touched his cheek.

“Me, too.”

Rhys must have taken that as a sign to continue...whatever this was we were doing. Rhys kissed me again, this time longer, deeper, with more need in it than before.

“I missed you,” I confessed, breathless. “I’ve missed you so damn much.”

Rhys swallowed thickly. “I’m so sorry—”

“Don’t.” I pressed a finger to his lips. “Don’t you apologize. You did nothing wrong.”

Rhys shouldn’t—couldn’t—ruin this moment by bringing up regrets and mistakes. Not when we were so close to crossing this moment together.

I kissed him again, while Rhys cupped my bottom, bringing us so close together, there was no space between us. But it was still too far. Too much distance still spanned between us. I wrapped my legs around Rhys, deepening the kiss. I was sure Rhys could feel my erection, especially since I felt Rhys’s own hard length against me as well.

So hot.

In fact, if we didn’t do something soon, I would explode.

“I want you,” Rhys whispered, as if reading my thoughts. “I’ve wanted you for so long.”

I stopped, taking the time to study his face. Rhys seemed so unsure then, it was all I could to do hold the two of us together, not wanting this moment to slip away. “Sorry—”

“Don’t apologize again,” I commanded, glaring at him as a cheeky smile playing about Rhys face. In fact, something about the authority in my voice at that moment turned myself on. From the dark look on Rhys’s face, he was feeling the same way, too.

I hadn’t realized then that I’d been trying to fill the void in my heart that had been Rhys all these years. From painting, to raising Jake, to loving and missing Jacob. There had always been Rhys in the background.

Deep down, he was still my childhood love. Just like, deep down, I was still that awkward omega who had made horrible pancakes to impress the alpha he’d been in love with all his life.

I bit my lip, looking at Rhys. What was he thinking? Was Rhys’s mind going to the same place as mine just then?

“Wanna come up to my room?” the alpha finally asked.

We were definitely on the same page.

In answer, I kissed him again, leaning into him.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Rhys’s words came out in a breathy whisper, and I found myself being whisked up the stairs and into the bedroom, the house still dark. Dark, which I felt could keep the magic of the moment alive. Dark, so that I could pretend this was another version of Ethan Rhodes. Not the school teacher that had to work hard to make sure his son had a good start in life.

Between kisses and nips on our lips, pieces of our clothes shedding as we made our way to the room, Rhys led me into a room that was larger than my home by itself.

A large four-poster bed sat in the middle of the room.

Inviting. Ready.

Rhys gently peeled off my shirt, discarding it on the floor. “That’s the last of it.”

And so it was. How amusing that my shirt was the last thing to be removed. I stood in front of Rhys, naked as the day I was born, my cock at full mast.

Rhys watched me with half-lidded eyes, his expression unreadable. For a panicked moment, I wondered if what the alpha saw was disappointing. It had, after all, been decades since we’d been together. Been intimate. Been lovers.

No part of me was the young omega he once knew. I had years of eating food on a budget, often sacrificing quality for quantity; my breasts had performed their function beautifully for my dear sweet son, but looked worse for the wear; and my belly held all the squishiness and stretchmarks a pregnancy can leave.

Maybe my body no longer looked appealing without clothes on.

Finally, Rhys spoke, his words warming me to the core. “You’re stunning.”

He moved forward to kiss me again, with more fervor this time. I moaned against his lips as I felt Rhys’s right hand massaging my balls, paying attention to both my upper and lower half at the same time. That nearly brought me over the edge then and there. My hands made fists in Rhys’s hair as I arched back. “Oh my god, Rhys.”

My hands snaked down to focus on his cock as well, but I noticed he was still wearing his trousers. I quirked an eyebrow, trying to look as sexy as I could as I gestured to the offending article of clothing. “These need to come off.”

Rhys grinned. “Help me, then.”

Well, all right.

My hands were shaking so badly, I thought I was going to ruin those expensive trousers. Rhys helped guide them to unbuttoning the top button and sliding the zipper down, and the expensive silk fell to the floor.

Rhys was hard as well, and my memories didn’t serve his cock justice. Even in the dim light, I could see precum glistening. Ready for me. Looking delicious.

Rhys smirked. “Better?”

“Better,” I said, before dropping to my knees as I took Rhys in my hand, giving him a good, long stroke. The alpha hissed through his teeth, as if all the sensations were too much for him at once.

“Oh, Ethan.”

The slight hoarseness in Rhys’s voice drove me on, and I took Rhys in my mouth, savoring the sweet taste of the precum and the velvety length of his shaft. A groan escaped, and I couldn’t tell if it was from me or from Rhys.

It didn’t matter, because as I started licking and sucking, Rhys’s hips started to move with the rhythm, driving the tip to the back of my throat. Luckily, I could take him.

All of him.

I started stroking my own cock with the rhythm, more to get a sense for how Rhys was enjoying it and if it pleased him as much as it did me. Rhys’s breath kept hitching in his throat, and he started to say something, but I worked faster, almost teasing the alpha to climax.

“Ethan.”

I closed my eyes, relishing the way Rhys said my name. We both weren’t going to last very long at this rate.

Just before I thought I would burst, Rhys drew away and pulled me to my feet. “I want my knot in your ass now. Fill me, alpha.” His voice was rough, almost a growl as he pushed me onto the bed.

That was so hot.

“Yes,” I agreed. I kissed Rhys quickly as the alpha reached over to the nightstand and produced a bottle of lube.

We’d been together before, so this shouldn’t have been as exciting as it was.

But still, my stomach was doing somersaults at the thought of Rhys inside me. Filling me up. Completing me in the ways that only first loves can.

I stroked myself as I watched Rhys squeeze a liberal amount of lube onto his palm and rub it on where I knew his knot would grow. So big. So thick. I bit my bottom lip in anticipation, something that Rhys noticed with a wry smile.

“Soon, omega mine.”

Omega mine.

I was about to be reclaimed by Rhys in more ways than one. I’d been wanting to do this for so long. I felt Rhys’s cock at my entrance, pushing his way, yet meeting resistance. I thumbed the tip of my own cock, feeling my own precum at the top.

Rhys leaned over me and nuzzled my lips. “Relax,” he breathed, before pushing himself all the way in.

I let out a hoarse cry, tears pricking at the corners of my vision, not in pain, but because it had been too damn long since I had felt this.

And Rhys understood as well.

“Is that good?” Rhys kissed my shoulder, trailing up to my lips while joining with my hand to help me remember how to please myself. I moaned at the contact, and Rhys kissed me again.

“Uh huh,” I said back, my voice somewhat strangled.

Rhys started moving, increasing his rhythm against my sweaty body. I grasped at his back with my free hand, holding on for dear life, and we were both loving it.

Inspiration sparked in my mind, of a painting that I would have to compose later, our bodies both the canvas and the medium, and Rhys’s hands searing strokes into my mind.

“Rhys,” I cried. “Rhys! I can’t hold on much longer—”

Rhys didn’t slow down. Instead, he covered my mouth with his own, completely together, our entwined souls a work of art. I came, crying out Rhys’s name against his lips as my cum spurted, covering both our stomachs. Rhys came a moment later, expending his seed into me with a cry.

Omega mine. Our lovemaking was a work of art.

I looked up at Rhys through the damp clumps of my hair, his knot still connecting us, filling me so perfectly.

“Did you enjoy that?” Rhys asked with a crooked grin. He touched his forehead to mine, chuckling, as our bodies were still connected.

I smiled at him, tracing the line of his jaw with a finger. Instead of answering, I just kissed him again.

Let tonight be what it was. Two former lovers remembering what it was like to be in their arms.

Tomorrow may be different. Tomorrow would bring back my insecurities, Rhys back to his job, and more.

Tomorrow would be different.

And for now, I just wanted to stay in this moment forever.

Embarrassment returned to me the next morning.

I woke up alone in a huge, strange bed, blinking up at the ceiling with the memories of the night before running through my head. The sheets were tangled up around my legs, evidence of our activities last night, but where was Rhys?

The sound of running water from the bathroom answered that question, and I laid my head back against the pillow and sighed. I combed a hand through my hair, my body singing with the memory of the way I felt in Rhys’s arms.

Those old insecurities ate at my sexy self-confidence from last night. Surely, Rhys would have realized by this point that I wasn’t the spry young chicken from our teenage years.

Sex with Rhys was amazing.

But facing his disappointment this morning would be devastating. After all, could we really pick up where we left off? I had spent the last twenty years building a life myself. Could Rhys’s life really assimilate with mine? With his company and this big house and all the baggage we shared together?

It was insane.

“Oh, Jacob, what do I do?” I passed a hand over my face with a sigh.

“Is Jacob Jake’s alpha-father?”

I turned my head to see Rhys standing in the doorway of the bathroom, a white terry cloth towel slung around his narrow hips. Steam billowed out from behind him, and the room filled up with the distinct scent of Rhys. Man, I could breathe that in every day.

What was more, Rhys was just as handsome and perfect this morning as he was last night.

“Yes,” I said softly. “Jacob was a good man.”

Rhys nodded. “If Jake is anything to go by, he was.”

I pulled the sheets up to my chest in an almost protective gesture. A gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Rhys.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” I nodded absently, trying to figure out how to put my thoughts into words. “Yes, I just…”

Rhys sat at the edge of the bed, and the mattress compressed under his weight. “What is it?”

I swallowed thickly, willing myself to speak. Because, after all, speaking my mind was a part of the new and improved Ethan, right? Then again, the insecure version of me was what I always defaulted to. Finally, I just settled on. “Do you regret last night?”

A shadow passed over Rhys’s face. “Why, do you?” His voice was soft, careful. Measured. Some may have even thought it was dangerous.

“No. No.” I shook my head vigorously, feeling the blush creep into my cheeks. “No, it’s that…” Rhys put a hand over mine, and that somehow took the edge off this moment. I let out a breath. “It’s just… surely you’re thinking you made a mistake?” Rhys only raised an eyebrow, which caused me to ramble on even further. “You’re the owner of this huge tech company, and I’m a nobody. No one remembers me.”

“I remember you, Ethan.”

Those four words echoed in my mind as I stared agape at the alpha. What he had said was simple, and to anyone else, those words would have been mundane. Too simple. Not enough to convey the wealth of emotions that swelled in my chest in response.

Remember me.

I remember you.

I cleared his throat. “Why?” And I could think of tons of reasons why. I had been Rhys’s first love. First lover. First of a lot of firsts. And I could think of many more reasons why not.

No one believed in true love anymore. Except Rhys looked like he believed.

Rhys caressed the side of my face, causing my cheek to tremble in response. “Because,” he replied simply.

Our eyes met, and I sighed and leaned into his palm. Words were nice and all. Intent and following through was something else altogether.

“You don’t believe me?”

In response to Rhys’s question, I shook my head softly, closing my eyes to avoid Rhys’s harsh expression. When the silence stretched on too long without bridging that distance, I opened my eyes to watch Rhys. The alpha’s expression was hard, as if considering possibilities and answers. If Rhys hadn’t been disappointed before, surely he was now.

“We are moving too quickly, huh?” he murmured under his breath. “After all these years… We’re moving too quickly.”

“It’s not that,” I said, although I didn’t feel conviction behind my voice. Maybe it was too fast. After not being with a man for years, I suddenly fell into bed with the first one that made me feel sexy?

Rhys snickered softly. “You’re a bad liar, Ethan. You always have been.” He patted my hand as he averted his gaze, his expression full of reflection. “I understand. I really do. We’ve both been on our different paths. But…” And he turned back to me. “You’ll see.”

And damn, if that alpha didn’t look sexy.

I leaned forward. “Thank you.”

Rhys kissed his forehead. “You’ll see, omega mine. I remember you. And so will everyone else.”