“Morning,” JT murmured, catching Alec unawares and wrapping his arms around him from behind.

“You should have knocked,” Alec warned, a smile threatening to break his mold before he could complete his censuring remark. “I could have been naked in here.”

JT chuckled, the deep, honeyed sound rocked through Alec, devastating his senses and sharpening his awareness of the alpha’s bulging erection pressed to his back. He rocked forward, pressing Alec closer to his French window, his chest brushing the cold glass, the winter scape sparkling under the bright blast of the afternoon sun. “You should have been naked in here.”

“And make it easy for you? No chance.” Alec turned his head, catching JT’s grin and returned it. He loved their banter. His chest warmed and his body tingled to life…like he’d been dead before and now, for the first time he was breathing, and actually living, and all while in the alpha’s arms.

Pushing back against him, rubbing his ass over his thick cock, Alec breathed, “Maybe later.”

“No. Now.” JT thrust forward again, bringing Alec flat to the window, his hands already tugging down Alec’s jeans. “I need you,” he said, his voice rough with need. And far be it from Alec to hamper him from getting what he wanted, but the last twelve days had taught him something since their very first night together, of sorts.

For one, Alec remained a virgin. And secondly, it was getting harder to keep JT from taking him fully, claiming his aching, squeezing hole, and spraying his cum against his womb—filling him with the child that would unlock his late father’s two-hundred-million fortune after their wedding tomorrow.

Still, shoring up the strength, Alec wriggled in JT’s embrace until the alpha gave him enough wiggle room to whirl and face him. He had a head and then some on him, and Alec craned his head up to meet his eyes. Smoothing his palms over his tensing pecs, Alec said, “I can’t. Not now.”

“Why not?” JT’s nostrils fanned, his nose studs catching the glint of white light of the day. “You want me, too.”

Yeah, well. Alec wasn’t going to deny the hard-on he sported, or his throbbing glans, his pre-cum leaking onto his thigh from JT’s teasing. Maybe a quickie would be the best solution, but they were running late for their prior plans. And as much as Alec would love to say “fuck it” and mount the alpha, he also wanted JT to formally meet his other family.

“Lunch with my half-brothers, remember?”

“Unfortunately, I do now.” JT stepped back, his possessive grip falling off Alec’s hips, leaving the omega bereft of his sturdy support for a moment. But he tucked Alec to his side then, grunting, “Later then.”

“Later,” Alec echoed the promise, his hand massaging JT’s thick cock over his suit pants.

The alpha groaned, his glower heated by his leashed desire. “If you don’t want me to haul you to that bed of yours, then you’ll move your hand, little one.”

Alec smiled up at him, giving him one last squeeze and then lifting his hand from him. If they were going to last through this luncheon with Drew and Zander, then they didn’t need to pile on the insatiable lust that had made up most of their schedule for the past near two weeks.

They were meeting at some fancy restaurant. Alec had to check his phone, for the single message from Zander. He’d heard of the wedding, naturally. Once Alec shared it with his mother, he reached out to high school peers he hadn’t heard of since he’d graduated three years ago. But the right people had the right big mouths that spread the word.

Zander wasn’t too happy to be catching the news of Alec’s trading vows with some unknown alpha in a gossip rag brought to his attention by his personal assistant. Drew hadn’t been any happier…or so Zander mentioned in the long message. Seriously, how many characters had he fitted in there? And how was it that he remained so stiff via text?

At first he’d considered ignoring the invite. But then he woke from a nightmare wherein Drew and Zander showed up and stopped the officiant from pronouncing Alec and JT lawfully wedded husbands and mates.

Even though he agreed to show, it didn’t cool Alec’s nerves one bit. Alec settled a hand over JT’s chest, calmed by the steady heartbeat under his palm. He could do this. He wasn’t alone in facing them this time. And he had no doubt that if he grew uncomfortable, JT would pitch in and see that he escaped the cringe-worthy awkwardness of the family meeting.

Alec drove, JT silent on the drive. It didn’t settle his anxiety. He wanted their easy flirting back, but he also didn’t want to poke the hungering beast in the alpha. Fiddling with the radio, he found incessant pop music to fill the empty space. The songs flashed back to back, with no ads. Must be for the lunch rush crowd.

Once they reached downtown Pittsburgh, Alec slowed in traffic. They were caught up, and if it weren’t for JT’s catching a parking garage that wasn’t full, he might have circled the block around the restaurant. “Thanks,” Alec said, sighing.

“I work on a site near here. Well, another site. I switch between various jobs.” JT wrapped his arm around Alec’s shoulders, drawing him closer. “Is this too much?”

Alec warmed, his wide, stupid smile hurting his cheeks. “No,” he said.

JT nodded. “So, these brothers of yours—”

“Half,” Alec stressed. He wanted very little to do with them. It wasn’t a wonder they were related on their father’s side. Like dear old dad, his older alpha half-brothers had remained pleasantly absent until they couldn’t deny Alec’s mother any longer, or her so-called “bastard” son.

Alec curled his lip on the insult. He had been the shadowed male heir. The son who wasn’t supposed to exist. The one they wanted so desperately to forget, until now. Until he proved a threat to their security in the millions his father had left behind.

“Anything I should be prepared for?” JT asked, adding, “Anything that you haven’t gone over already, that is.”

“Nope.” Alec shook his head. “Just remember to think twice about what you say…and do. Drew is hot-tempered, so he’ll attack openly. Zander is more level-headed; he might be the one to watch for, honestly.”

“Easy-peasy,” JT drawled.

“Easy-peasy,” Alec whispered, believing the opposite despite trying to go into this with a positive mindset.

Drew and Zander were waiting on them.

They weren’t alone, too. Drew had brought along his alpha detective husband, Jason. Zander was beside his own mate, a young omega who introduced himself as Lachlan. Zander hadn’t been too keen on inserting Alec into his life. Oddly, Drew hadn’t been too bad on opening his doors to Alec—even if he was still a jerk.

Seeing Jason’s friendly face eased Alec up. The detective nodded, smiling brightly. “How’s it going?”

Lachlan, too, ignored his handshake and stepped forward with outstretched arms. “It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you, Alec. I’ve heard so much about you from Zander.”

Alec politely smiled. “I didn’t think my brother talked about me,” he said.

Lachlan cupped Alec’s hands, squeezing them. “He does! Trust me.”

That was the problem: Alec didn’t trust any of them…except for Jason, who’d proved he couldn’t care less about being one step closer to being a millionaire several times over, or having Alec standing in the way of that impressive wealth.

“Now we can order,” Drew muttered over the scraping of the chairs as Alec and JT pulled up seats to the table. The waiter had to have heard him. Zipping over to them, his notepad and pen readied, he went around the table taking orders from the three couples.

Alec hadn’t thought of himself as a couple now, but JT’s hand under the table settled over his thigh and squeezed, injecting comfort into the distressing situation. All he had to do was survive his half-brothers for an hour—that was how long he expected this lunch would take, not that he would know. Having never been invited to one, he floundered with what to do, and what to say.

Lucky for him, Lachlan and Jason kicked off the group into a topic about the weather.

“I hear there’s another blizzard headed this way,” Lachlan informed the table. “It’s pounding us early this year.”

Drew snorted. “Wonderful word choice.”

Jason grinned, loping his arm over Drew’s shoulders. “Pounding sounds about right.” Drew returned the smile, his scowl melting like snow on a hot day. There one moment, gone the next, he transformed into someone else with his husband. How the two alphas got along, Alec only wondered. Somehow, he guessed, it had to do with their being mates. Nothing but a mate bond could be so strong.

“Speaking of weather, they’re predicting rain tomorrow. Lots of it, too.” Zander sat forward, his arms perched on the table, his gaze tracking from Alec to JT and back again. “They do say it’s a good omen when it rains on a wedding day.”

Alec tensed.

JT squeezed his leg, his big, calloused palm rubbing him, fueling the simmering spark in his lower belly, and distracting him from the anxiety bubbling in his gut.

Lachlan touched Zander’s upper arm, his fingers pale and slender. Zander jerked his head to the side, and he visibly eased at Lachlan’s small, but perceptible headshake. Zander waited to speak again until after the waiter delivered their lunches.

“JT, is it?” Zander stilled his stabbing at his salad, long enough to eye JT across the table. And he full well knew his name by now. Although Alec would be the first to admit he knew very little of his older half-brothers, he did know that Zander was a control freak. He would have memorized any and all details in his search of JT, and in particular, the biker alpha’s connection to Alec.

So, Alec immediately stiffened in preparation of the blow of Zander’s question. “I couldn’t help but wonder, don’t you think this is all happening a bit too fast? You two barely have gotten to know each other.”

JT had lifted his hand off of Alec to pick up his burger. He studied it, long and hard, before snapping that dissecting gaze to Zander. “Oh, we know each other.”

Alec’s body warmed at his alpha lover’s inference.

No one at the table missed it.

Jason chuckled. Lachlan fidgeted in his seat, but his smile wiggled at the corners, threatening laughter. Only Drew and Zander remained unimpressed.

Drew scoffed. “That’s hardly enough to legally bind yourselves with. I didn’t marry every guy who fucked right,” he lowered his voice at the crude word. They were in a respectable bistro, and one that the men likely frequented.

Zander still looked over the table, ensuring no strange looks were cast their way before he scolded Drew. “Mind your language.” To JT and Alec, he said, “Neither of you should be rushing into this. It’s a lifetime commitment; one both Lachlan and I can attest to,” he paused to draw the slighter Lachlan closer, “and I’m sure Jason and Drew reinforce.”

“We’re ready,” was all JT said, clearing his mouth with a long gulp of water. He swiped his mouth with the back of his hand, ignoring the plentiful napkins near him. Alec had put the biker in the thousand-dollar suit, but it hadn’t changed him. JT wasn’t another shark in a suit like Zander and Drew. “And we’re actually on our way to another appointment.”

JT pushed out of his seat; Alec clumsily following his signal. Only he was held back by his half-brothers.

“We won’t show up,” Zander said, his eyes serious, his mouth long and drawn, and set in displeasure. “You’re on your own with this. We’re not going to support this crazy endeavor of yours.”

Alec chose not to respond. JT’s stride had carried him to the exit, and they were riding home together—also he wasn’t wanted here, that much was obvious. Drew and Zander didn’t bother saying goodbye, so their spouses had to say farewell in their stead, which was embarrassing.

It had Alec wondering why he couldn’t be related to Lachlan and Jason instead. The saddest part was Alec had anticipated this happening. He hadn’t even bothered to set aside the last-minute, but super pricey wedding invites for them.

Not that he was alone in this.

JT held out his hand outside the bistro. “Home then?” his voice gruff from the annoyance furrowing his brows, curling his mouth down. Zander and Drew sure had a way of pissing people off.

And Alec was washing his hands clean of their drama. Starting a new chapter. With this man crushing him close to his side. Even if it was a contract, JT was more supportive than Drew and Zander ever were.

“Yeah,” Alec said, nodding, smiling. “Home.”