Kell’s emotions were a boiling cauldron of acid, anxiety and anger as he followed Ronin and their escorts to the car. That morning’s testimony had been the most difficult for Kell, silently sitting there while other people spoke about him as if he wasn’t even in the room. Or worse, a child who couldn’t make his own decisions.

A killer who’d sliced his mate’s throat open with a piece of broken glass.

Ronin refused to let him see that video, and Kell didn’t want to see it. He wanted his memory of that day to return to him on its own, so he knew it was real and not influenced by tapes. Tapes that would tell Kell why he’d woken up in the hospital with bruises all over his back and pain in his rectum.

Part of him could guess, but he didn’t know. He wanted to know for himself, not be told, or to learn via video.

He also ached for Braun having to sit through his own testimony. To relive one of the worst, most traumatic events of his life and narrate it for hundreds of people. It had been worth it, in some small way, to hear Krause labeled a rapist. He’d silently cheered the same way he’d cheered when Dr. Fantine was basically told he should expect a call from the constabulary about his own inappropriate actions.

Those small victories didn’t feel like enough, not when the outcome of this trial would affect so many people he cared about.

Kell put on the hat and hoodie before they left the stairwell for the garage. They finally reached the car, and all Kell wanted to do was fall into it. Apparently, some reporters had discovered the underground lot, but they were being kept at bay by patrolmen while Kell and Ronin climbed inside. Once they were both settled, Kell reached across the console and punched Ronin in the arm with all his might.

“Ow!” Ronin turned to him with startled eyes.

“That’s for what you did to Braun. How dare you try to insinuate he killed Krause, when we both know that’s not possible?”

“Relax, little one, no one actually believes Braun did it, but I had to use the moment to give the jury reasonable doubt about that footage. The only person who can say for certain it was you is dead. But now anyone swayed to our side can use that reasonable doubt against the footage that shows Krause’s throat being slashed.”

He loved Ronin for being so careful with him, and not blurting out “the footage that shows you killing Krause.”

Kell still glared. “You couldn’t have warned me?”

“I honestly didn’t realize I was going to do it until I did it. Seeing Braun up there, getting as emotional as he did, he reminded me so much of you that I finally saw the striking resemblance.”

“We’re both overly emotional?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Ronin leaned across the console and put that calming hand on the back of Kell’s neck. “I’m doing everything possible to keep you out of prison, and that was an unplanned trick. I apologize for how it made you feel, but I’m not sorry I did it.”

Kell held his gaze and saw only truth. Ronin hadn’t been attacking Braun, he’d been trying to help their case. Hopefully, Braun would see it that way, too, and not take it personally. “You might want to call Braun and make sure he knows.”

Ronin’s mobile rang. He pulled it out of his jacket and winced. Flipped it open. “Tarek, hello.”

Uh oh.

Tarek’s angry voice was audible, if not the actual words. Ronin listened to the tirade for nearly a full minute before he interjected. “Will you please give me a moment to explain before you continue chewing my ears off? Thank you.”

Ronin gave the same explanation he’d given to Kell, with a few added details, since Tarek hadn’t been in the courtroom to see the whole production. He only had what an assumably-upset Braun had told him. When Ronin finished, Tarek didn’t speak right away.

Kell leaned in, curious.

“I guess I don’t have to kill you now,” Tarek said, his voice tinny but clear.

“Much appreciated,” Ronin replied. “My omega prefers me alive.”

“Speaking of whom, how’s he doing?”

Ronin looked at Kell, who shrugged. Kell didn’t know how he was doing, other than glad they had several days before going back into that courtroom. “He’s as well as can be expected, considering. We’re about to leave the law building, so if you’d like, I can call you back when we’re home.”

Tarek said something else Kell didn’t catch, and then Ronin hung up.

“You deserved that,” Kell said.

“Yes, I did. Let’s go home, and I’ll try to make it up to you.”

“Can I start with a long, hot bath? I need to distance myself from today and relax. I feel…gross. So many people finding out so many intensely private things. The jurors seeing me naked, being fondled by my doctor. Ugh.” Kell shook his whole body.

“Yes, I think a long, hot bath can be arranged, followed by a massage?”

“Sounds perfect.”

Kell dozed on the drive home, which seemed to take longer than usual and included a lot more turns. Ronin was being extra-cautious. In the parking garage, Ronin donned a pair of sunglasses and a jaunty black hat that looked good with his suit—his own disguise, now that his photo was being circulated on the news cycles. He looked around for a long time before he opened Kell’s door.

No one was on the elevator on the ride up, but Kell wasn’t going to let his guard down until they were safely locked away in their apartment. Too many people had already been hurt because of their association with him. They walked down their hallway side by side, Ronin’s arm draped protectively across Kell’s shoulders.

At their door, Ronin slid his key into the lock, and then froze.

Kell’s pulse jumped. “What’s wrong?”

Ronin bent down and secured the corner of something white sticking out from under their door. An envelope, labeled only with Ronin’s first name in simple, block handwriting. Kell glanced around, but they were alone.

“Should you call Tarek?” Kell whispered.

“Not yet.” Ronin opened the door, ushered Kell inside, and then turned both locks. He took off the sunglasses and hat so he could better study the envelope, using only the tips of his fingers. He turned on the kitchen’s overhead light and held it up. Kell didn’t know what he was looking for, but all Kell saw was the outline of a piece of what was probably paper.

Ronin seemed satisfied it wasn’t somehow bugged, so he carefully lifted the flap and removed a folded piece of stationary. His expression remained even as he read the note.

“Well?” Kell asked.

“It’s from Jin, the man I met at the gym,” Ronin replied. “It says I recognized you in the newspaper today. Good luck with your case. Your secret is safe. I won’t tell a soul I met you or where you live. On my own family’s lives, I swear it.”

“Do you believe him?”

“I do. He seems a genuine man who truly loves his family. And this note could have easily been an extortion note. His silence for my money.”

“But he didn’t do that.”

“No. It might still be prudent to move, though.”

Kell crossed his arms. “I like our place.”

Our place.

Ronin grinned. “I like it too. I’ll call Jenks later, inform him of the note, and get his advice on staying or relocating.”

“Okay. Bubble bath now?”

“Yes, let’s draw you a bath. And then I’ll fix you a snack to tide you over until dinner. I’m getting a bit peckish myself.”

“Oh. If you’re hungry, we can eat first.”

“Nonsense.” Ronin gathered him up for a hug. “You’ve had a hellish few weeks and you deserve to be spoiled. And I’ve got two whole days in which to spoil you.”

This could be our last chance to be together.

Kell clung to Ronin’s jacket. “I love you. That’ll never change.”

“I love you too.” Ronin kissed the top of his head. “I’m so proud of you. Sitting there with your head up, embarrassed but never defeated. I’m so proud to call you my omega.”

“My alpha.”

Ronin did his alpha thing and scooped Kell up in his arms. Kell laughed, then wrapped his own arms around Ronin’s shoulders, giving in to being pampered. Ronin carried him right into their shared bathroom.

“My I help undress you?” Ronin asked as he set Kell down on his feet.

Kell loved him even more for asking. “Yes, you may. Please.”

He removed the hat and hoodie first, giving both a careless toss out the door, before closing it. Even though they were alone, Ronin put one more lock between Kell and the outside world.

I don’t deserve this man, but I’ll love him while he wants me.

Kell’s shoes came off first, and then his socks. Belt.

“He’d wrap my own belt around my throat and choke me.”

He tried not to shiver as Ronin undid the buttons on his dress shirt, the only one he owned and the same one he’d worn every day of the trial so far. Ronin slid it off his shoulders and folded it, before placing it on the closed toilet seat. Kell tried not to think of the scars visible on his torso and back that Ronin didn’t seem to notice. He dropped little kisses on Kell’s skin as he went to his knees.

The sight of Ronin there, kneeling for Kell, sent an unexpected bolt of arousal to his groin. He’d loved having Ronin’s mouth on his erection during his heat, but Kell hadn’t gotten hard outside of a heat in over a year, not even to jerk off alone. This felt good, but it wasn’t going to become sexual.

Ronin undid the button and zipper on his slacks, then gently tugged them down and off. He folded the slacks, which went on top of the shirt, leaving Kell standing there in his underwear. Ronin had seen him naked multiple times, but something about this moment was different. It was intimate and personal, while the other times had been instinctual and born of pheromones and need.

This was so much more than heat. This was love, trust, and mutual respect. This was real, and it was everything Kell had ever wanted with a mate. And now he finally had it. With Ronin Cross, a man he’d loved since childhood. A man who’d chosen him.

“I choose you,” Kell said.

Ronin tilted his head, a curious smile quirking his lips. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, with Krause, I didn’t have a choice. I was given to him. I didn’t choose to have a life with him. But with you, Ronin Cross, I choose a life with you. You see me like no one else ever has. I choose you as my lover and my mate. As my alpha.”

He couldn’t swear to it, but Kell suspected there were tears in Ronin’s eyes before he blinked them away. “I choose you, too, my omega.” He covered Kell’s mouth with his in a firm, promising kiss. No tongue or insistence, simply their lips silently repeating what they’d already said with words.

Kell’s arousal heightened, and his dick gave a sudden, interested twitch.

Ronin didn’t remove Kell’s underwear until after he’d gotten the water started and the bubble bath poured it. The scent reminded Kell of the grass after a spring shower, comforting and calming, and he loved it. Being completely bare in front of Ronin, while Ronin remained fully dressed, made him blush, but he didn’t bother covering himself. He allowed Ronin to help him step into the water, and then accepted a rolled-up towel to put behind his neck.

The rising water was the perfect temperature. Kell let out a satisfied groan and shut his eyes, luxuriating in the heat and steam and soapy bubbles.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes with your treats,” Ronin said.

The door opened and shut. Kell drifted, picturing all the poison from today’s hearing bleeding out into the water, leaving him clean inside and out. Making him less used than he was. Clean enough for Ronin to want Kell outside the instinctive drive of heat.

Ronin returned, and Kell opened sleepy eyes. He had a glass of red wine and a small platter of food: cheese cubes, sliced dry sausage, cashews, and three of his chocolate-covered peanuts.

“Have I told you today how perfect you are?” Kell asked.

“Not today.” Ronin put the plate and glass on the tub’s wide ledge. “You look so happy like this.”

“I love baths, and it’s been ages since I’ve had one. Krause said I loved them too much.” A dark memory slithered through him like a cold slug.

Ronin played with a curl of Kell’s hair. “Tell me.”

“I used to take baths once a week as a way to find peace and solitude from him, you know? One day, Krause got mad because I fell asleep in the bath and was late for dinner. After knocking me to the ground, he went upstairs. I waited in the dining room, because I wasn’t allowed to eat dinner unless he was present.”

Phantom pain crackled across his skin. Kell sat up out of the water, slick bubbles oozing down his bare skin. “He came down and told me to follow him. We went into our master bath, and the tub was full of steaming water. He didn’t even take my clothes off, he simply shoved me into it. At first, I thought it was cold, the shock was so severe. But that’s because it was screaming hot. He let me climb back out right away, and I got those wicked hot clothes off, but he’d made his point.”

“This is your first bubble bath since?”

There was murder in Ronin’s voice, so Kell didn’t look at him. “It is. Because I know all the way to my bones that I’m safe with you, Ronin.”

“You are now and always will be.”

The warm hand on the back of his neck settled Kell’s dark emotions over the memory, and he leaned into the touch. He closed his eyes as Ronin’s fingers slowly massaged his muscles. His head tipped forward and he moaned softly. Another bolt of arousal sailed right to his dick and balls.

“Open your mouth, love.”

Kell did, then closed his lips around the chocolate-covered peanut. Chewed. Dark chocolate and the addictive flavor of a real, soil-grown peanut. They were one of the few things still sustainable in some areas, whereas most other foods were genetically engineered for safety and expediency.

“I’d buy myself a peanut farm if it made you happy,” Ronin said.

“I don’t need a farm. All I need is an alpha who loves me enough to buy this delectable treat once in a while.”

“We’ll always have them on hand.”

Kell looked at his alpha, at the love simmering in his golden eyes, the sheen of perspiration on his dark skin. He raised a dripping hand from the water and cupped Ronin’s cheek, holding him steady. “No matter how the trial goes, you saved me, Ronin Cross. You save me every single minute of every single day. You’re my hero. My alpha. My one true love. Nothing will ever change that.”

Ronin drew him up, into a sensual, powerful kiss that had Kell’s blood burning, his heart pounding, his balls tightening with need. He reached down to stroke himself and was surprised to find his dick slightly stiff. Nowhere near a full erection, or even halfway there, but it was more than he’d had in far too long. The touch, combined with the intensity of the kiss, had more blood pumping into his dick. He squeezed the head and rolled his balls, enjoying the lovely sensations that had nothing to do with heat, and everything to do with Ronin.

Time stopped mattering as they kissed, and it wasn’t until the bathwater was lukewarm that Kell broke it. Panting and desperate for more, Kell nipped Ronin’s chin. Ronin’s nostrils flared, and his gaze tracked downward to the rippling water.

“Fuck, Kell, are you touching yourself?” he asked.

“Can’t help it.”

Ronin groaned, and then reached out to unplug the tub. As the water drained, he turned on the overhead spray to rinse Kell of soap and suds. Kell stood as Ronin washed him, Ronin seeming not to notice his shirt and trousers were getting soaked in the process. Once he was clean, Ronin wrapped him in a towel and carried him into Kell’s room. His safe place.

“Time for your massage,” Ronin said. He eased Kell’s damp body onto the bed, then rolled him onto his stomach.

Belly dancing with nerves and riotous anticipation, Kell turned his head to the side and relaxed into the mattress. Ronin began with his shoulders, working knots and kinks out of those muscles, before moving on to his spine. He was gentle in spots where Kell imagined some bruising still remained from his last beating.

Krause beat me with something, but what?

Ronin respectfully bypassed his ass, moving down to massage his thighs and calves. Kell’s eyelids drooped, and he’d nearly shut them when Ronin urged him to roll onto his back. Kell did, shocked when a full-mast erection smacked against his belly. He gaped at it, then dared look at Ronin. Ronin eyed his cock with a hungry look that he quickly redirected to Kell’s legs as the massage resumed. Back up Kell’s legs, across his belly and ribs. Pecs. Shoulders. Waking up nerves with each touch of bare skin.

He shifted up the bed to massage Kell’s temples. Kell sighed long and loud, so insanely relaxed he almost couldn’t stand it, even as his dick pulsed with need. His body trusted Ronin as strongly as his heart and mind did, and his body was finally giving Kell real, non-heat pleasure. Telling him it was safe to have needs and desires of his own. Ronin would never shame him for them, and he would never violate his body.

“Suck me,” Kell whispered. “Please?”

“Goddess, yes, and with pleasure.”

Ronin settled between Kell’s spread legs and wrapped his arms around Kell’s upper thighs in a way that would have scared Kell if it had been anyone else. And holding him still was probably a good move, because Ronin took his dick right to the back of his throat, and Kell bucked. The tight, wet heat was more than Kell could stand and he shouted something. Nonsense. He was beyond words while Ronin’s mouth was on him.

“Oh!” Kell clutched at the bedspread, hips jerking, desperate to get as deep into Ronin’s throat as possible. Blow jobs during heat had not prepared him for the wonder of one during regular sex, and Kell was slowly losing his mind as Ronin bobbed up and down, using lips and tongue to drive him nuts.

He wanted to weep when Ronin pulled off completely—until Ronin lifted his cock out of the way and sucked on Kell’s balls. Each one in turn, until they’d both drawn up tight. “So close,” Kell said.

“Gimme.” Ronin took him down again and shocked Kell by swallowing. Twice, before pulling back a bit. Down, swallow, back. Repeat, until Kell was shaking and panting, and nothing mattered more than coming.

And then he was, shooting down Ronin’s throat without warning as lightning bolted down Kell’s spine. His toes curled, and he thrust. Thrust. Thrust hard, that tight throat milking him for every last drop.

Kell collapsed as everything he thought he knew about sex imploded. No one had ever done that for him before. Sure, some men had touched his cock, but mostly to hurt him. Never to make Kell feel treasured and amazing, and like he deserved to feel those things.

Ronin crawled up the bed and pressed a spit-slick kiss to his cheek. “You are gorgeous when you let go.”

“Guh.” Kell didn’t have words, so he told Ronin with a kiss, licking into his mouth, savoring the unfamiliar, musky flavor of himself.

Perfect.

Kell cuddled deeper against Ronin’s chest, his damp skin chilly now as he came off his high. Ronin practically climbed on top of him, becoming a human blanket whose own damp clothes couldn’t be all that comfortable. But neither of them moved to get up or under the covers. The moment was too sacred to break this soon. Kell inhaled Ronin’s woodsy scent, and deeper beneath it, his arousal.

Evidence of it pressed into Kell’s thigh, but Ronin didn’t rut or rock against him to relieve the problem. Kell waited for a flash of anxiety that never came. He trusted Ronin with his heart, body, and soul. “How do you want to get off?” Kell asked.

“You don’t need to worry about me. Rest.”

Determined to take care of his alpha, Kell shoved a hand between them to grope Ronin’s erection. “I want to help get you off. Please, alpha?”

Ronin raised up on one elbow to look down at him. Study him. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. What do you want? Name it.”

Intent and fire flashed in Ronin’s eyes, before disappearing. “You can use your hand, love.”

“No.” Kell pushed at Ronin’s chest until they were both sitting up, facing each other. “That wasn’t your first thought. Tell me what was.”

Ronin hung his head. “It was selfish.”

“I don’t care. We shouldn’t be embarrassed to talk about our fantasies, right? We’re bondmates and we’ll officially mate during my next heat.”

He lifted his head to look at Kell sideways, as if he was trying to appear smaller, meeker. “My first impulse was to rub off on you.”

Kell blinked. “Why was that selfish?”

“Because I don’t ever want you to think I’m using your body without regard for your feelings.”

“Don’t be an idiot.” Kell’s sharp tone snapped Ronin’s head back up. “The simple fact that you second-guessed your impulse, your body’s desire, means you aren’t using me. And maybe this one time, I want you to. You give me so much, Ronin. Take this one thing with my blessing.”

Ronin’s internal war played out in the subtle tics in his jaw and cheeks. Kell decided for him by rolling onto his belly, assuming this was the position Ronin desired. Ronin’s answering groan and quick movement told Kell his assumption was correct. His mate shucked his dress pants and shirt, leaving them to wrinkle on the floor in his haste. So different from the slow, careful way he’d undressed Kell earlier.

A drawer opened, and Ronin produced a bottle of artificial slick. “I bought it right after we talked about you potentially fucking me in the future,” Ronin said with a shy smile. “I wanted to be prepared when the mood struck.”

With Ronin gloriously naked next to him, and Kell’s own arousal still simmering below the surface, the mental image flashed so brightly that Kell gasped. Ronin bent over, presenting himself. Kell playing with his opening using his fingers. Pushing his slicked cock into Ronin’s body. Listening to Ronin pant and moan as Kell took him.

As the omega took his alpha.

“I have a feeling the mood is going to strike,” Kell said. He crooked his finger at Ronin. “But not tonight.”

Ronin rubbed the slick onto his cock, and then drizzled a small amount between Kell’s cheeks. Kell waited for panic that never came, because he knew deep down Ronin wasn’t going to fuck him. He wouldn’t change his mind mid-rut and try to push inside his body without permission.

It’s amazing what changes inside you when you find your true bondmate.

Kell had spent years second-guessing every action, every word, and every random act of kindess from Krause, looking for hidden agendas or lurking violence. He didn’t have to do that with Ronin. He could let his guard down and enjoy, without fear of Ronin hurting him.

“Find your release,” Kell said. “Alpha.”

Ronin kissed his cheek and shoulders before settling his weight on the backs of Kell’s thighs. Kell’s legs were pressed together, giving Ronin a tight channel. Ronin draped himself over Kell’s back, his cock riding his crease now. With nothing left to do except enjoy the ride, Kell sighed and sank into the bed, while Ronin did all the work.

The sheer weight of the trust Kell was bestowing upon Ronin had nearly bowled him over more than once this evening. Everything from the bubble bath to the massage, and now this gift? Unexpected. Amazing.

Priceless.

Kell showed no signs of discomfort or regret as Ronin began rocking his hips. Dragging his slick cock between Kell’s taut cheeks. Holding him down, caging him in, simply so Ronin could get off.

My beautiful omega.

Ronin closed his eyes and moved, quickening his pace as his orgasm pooled, his balls drew up. He’d been hard ever since putting Kell into the bath, so it wouldn’t be long before he climaxed. His fantasy stayed firmly in his reality: holding his omega close, rubbing off against his body, enjoying such a complex, yet simple trust from someone the world might look at and consider broken.

To Ronin, Kell was absolutely perfect.

The thought sent him over the edge, splashing semen across Kell’s back and his own chest. Sated and exhausted, Ronin smothered Kell into the mattress, his come sealing them together. They stayed that way for a while, breathing together, until Kell squirmed his discomfort.

“Need oxygen,” Kell said with a red-cheeked grin. “And probably a second bath.”

Ronin laughed and looked at the mess on his chest. “I concur. You want to rinse off first?”

“Can we share?”

He reached out to tousle Kell’s damp curls. “Absolutely, we can share.”

Kell extended a hand and wiped a smear of come off his chest. The sight of him bringing that finger to his own nose and sniffing nearly sent Ronin’s dick back to full-mast. So did Kell licking his finger clean, then smiling. “I like the taste of you.”

“Have as much as you like, little one.”

Ronin didn’t anticipate the force with which Kell shoved him onto his back, and then proceeded to lick his chest clean of every drop of his spend. The action also brought Kell’s tongue into contact with Ronin’s nipples a few times, which was doing wonders for his refraction time.

By the time they made it into the shower, they were both hard again, and they exchanged hand jobs under the hot shower spray, before retiring to Ronin’s dryer bed to cuddle and relax.

All in all, it had been an outstandingly perfect evening. And Ronin still had two full days in which to spoil his omega rotten.