When I came in, Zander was lounging on the bed, the book from last night in his hand, but he looked up as soon as I opened the door.

“How did it go?” he asked.

I shook my head and sat on the edge of the bed. “I don't know what to say to him to make him understand.”

“Maybe this is a realization he has to come to by himself.”

I sighed, frustrated. “What if it's too late by the time that happens?”

The mattress dipped under me as Zander moved on the bed until he sat by my side. “Then we'll be here for him either way.”

“We?” I asked, my heart doing a weird little leap.

“Yeah. I don't like that husband of his, either. Remember how you abandoned me in the living room with the man? I got to hear a lot more than I ever wanted to. Plenty of research material for my book.”

“I'm sorry.” I inched a little closer to him, kind of tempted to rest my head on his shoulder. After the day we'd had, I felt tired, but knowing that I wasn't alone in this made it all a little better. Zander was on my side. I exhaled as a bit of the weight of the day fell off me.

“It's fine,” Zander said, and I wasn't sure whether he was referring to the fact that I had abandoned him or that I was sitting so close to him I was nearly sitting on him. I figured maybe he meant both when he laid an arm around my shoulder. I took it as an invitation to lean on him a little, if only for tonight.

“I didn't stay in the living room for a long while anyway,” Zander continued. “I made up some flimsy excuse to get out of there as soon as I could. Told him I wasn't feeling well after the long car ride. I don't know if he bought it. I'm a terrible actor.”

“You're not a terrible actor. You did fine today. I don't think anyone doubted our marriage.” Closing my eyes for a moment, I let my head fall on his shoulder.

He ran his fingers through my hair in a soothing motion and I nearly purred. He smelled so good—like fresh ink and mountain air and Zander, and that odd heat I'd felt the day before came back, simmering just beneath my skin.

“That's because I wasn't acting much,” Zander said after another heartbeat.

Wait, what?

“You weren't?” Slowly, the sleepiness fell off me. If Zander wasn't acting, did that mean...?

I watched his Adam's apple move as he swallowed. For nearly a full minute, he said nothing, and then, “Remember what I told you all those years back when I was calling you from the phone box outside my grandma’s store? I meant that, and I never truly stopped feeling that way about you. I don’t have to pretend like I care about you.”

I sat straight so I could look at him. He grabbed my hand as if to keep me from leaving without giving him a response. Leaving wasn't what I had in mind, though. No, quite the opposite. I only needed a moment to process what I was being told. My heart was beating out of my chest and a thousand thoughts were swirling in my mind, all in different directions.

Zander gave me a small smile. “It's okay if you don't know what to say. You don't have to say anything. But I thought you should know.”

He thought I should know. I could only shake my head. He confessed his love to me so casually, like it was a fact of nature. Maybe it was. Sitting here with him felt natural. I could never really figure out where my place was in life, but right next to Zander, I felt at home. I still didn't know what to say, but I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

Kissing him felt just as natural as sitting next to him. Actually, it was even better. There was no space for awkwardness between us. We simply fit together, he and I, as if I was made for him and he for me.

We should have done this sooner, much sooner. I should have kissed him the moment I saw him at that wedding nearly two years ago. Part of me had certainly wanted to. I'd always felt drawn to him, like something was tugging at me—and now that my lips touched his, the soft tugging was replaced by a hard yanking, a need to get ever closer.

On the inside, I was burning.

Some part of my brain recognized what this was—I was finally entering my first heat—but it was more than that too. It had to be more than that. The only thought I could focus on was how much I wanted to tear Zander's clothes off him—how much I wanted Zander to tear my clothes off. The fabric covering my skin was far too hot and far too unnecessary.

“Get me out of these clothes,” I expressed the one clear thought in my head.

“Are you sure?” Zander asked as if he couldn’t quite believe his luck. I almost had to laugh. He was so cute like that. How could I resist him? The truth was that I didn’t want to. Yes, I was sure that I wanted him to get me out of my clothes.

“Absolutely sure,” I told him. I’d never been more certain of anything. There wasn’t a single cell in my being that didn’t want Zander right now.

He licked his lips and then, carefully, he started to peel me out of my shirt as if I was something precious. After a moment, though, his actions grew more determined and he pulled the rest of the fabric over my head in a quick motion. Whatever had gotten into me, it was getting to him too. I’d heard about this phenomenon, how an omega’s heat affected the alpha with them too. Something about pheromones. I hoped it was more than that, though. I saw desire in Zander’s eyes, but there was adoration too. An omega’s heat caused lust, but not affection, didn’t it? It was difficult to think. When Zander unclasped my belt, I shivered. I was burning up, and yet, his touch made me shiver. It was like some sort of fever had taken over me.

And my patience was wearing thin. As soon as my jeans came off, I ripped Zander's shirt off him and tackled him back into the sheets. More than anything, I had to get my hands on him. I had to. He groaned as he went down with me on top of him. And no sooner had his back touched the sheets did he turn us around.

I only minded his sudden bossiness until he captured my mouth with such passion that my head spun. I couldn't get enough air, but neither did I want to. I only wanted to lie here kissing Zander forever, thoughts lost to a hormone-fueled haze. But I wanted more than that, too. I wanted everything. Letting my hands travel down Zander's back to the waistband of his pants, I tugged.

Getting the cue, he leaned up a bit to fiddle with his belt and push his pants down. I helped, my hands shaking only the littlest bit as I stared at the clear bulge in his boxers. That was all for me. Involuntarily, I licked my lips, and then I pulled harder on his jeans. Nothing could happen fast enough.

Zander seemed to agree with me there. When his pants hung by his knees, he caught my lips in another kiss, pressing me back into the mattress. My hips bucked up, seeking his. His cock was hot and hard beneath the fabric of his underwear, grinding down into mine. I gasped, painfully hard myself. Need surged through me at the contact and made me dig my fingers into Zander's back as we rocked together. His lips strayed from my mouth to my neck, leaving fire in their wake. Everywhere he touched seemed to light up. I couldn't explain it to myself. I'd never experienced anything like it.

And it wasn't enough. Not yet.

“Nick,” Zander breathed my name into my ear. By the tone of his voice I knew he felt the same way. I could only respond in kind.

And then a loud moan escaped my mouth as Zander's hand slipped inside my boxers. “Damn, Zander.”

He only grinned at me. It was the sexiest grin ever, if only because it was on his face. I loved his face with all his different expressions. I'd never seen it wild with desire before. This might be my new favorite look on him. Especially knowing that I was the cause of it.

Our mouths found each other again while his fingers glided over my cock, making it difficult for me to think straight. It was almost too much. Almost. Call me greedy, but I still wanted more.

I needed him inside of me the way I'd never needed anyone inside of me before. And if it wasn't going to happen soon, I was going to explode. I certainly felt hot enough to explode.

“Zander!” I tugged on his underwear. “Fuck!” The word escaped me as he teased his fingers along the back of my balls without warning. I didn't even know I was sensitive there, but I was. Dear lord, I was.

Zander chuckled. A low sound that only made me want to kiss him again. But I couldn't let him distract me from my main goal.

When I succeeded in pulling his boxers down, he caught my eyes with an unspoken question in his gaze, and an intense kind of heat that made me shiver in anticipation. My eyes strayed to the present I had just unwrapped. Zander was well-endowed. Of course he was; he was alpha, after all, but having visual confirmation made it even harder for me to stay sane.

Curiously, I ran one finger up the length of his cock, making him exhale. He was rock hard and raring to go.

And so was I.

To show him, I smiled and took off my own boxers. And then I rolled on my stomach beneath him. Zander made an appreciative sound in the back of his throat that nearly made me laugh. How was it that I felt so comfortable around him even when I was at my most vulnerable?

Because he was my friend. All these years, that had never stopped being true. I trusted him.

The fingers that had been fondling my balls moments before played along my rim now. My breath caught as they inched closer to my hole. There was no space for thoughts in my brain now. There was only need.

Warm breath skated over my back as Zander kissed the skin there before pressing one of his fingers against my opening. I moaned as it went inside me without a hitch. I was an omega, and I was ready. I was so ready. I'd never been more ready for anything in my life.

“Fuck me,” I got out between short, shallow breaths.

Luckily, Zander didn't have to be told twice.

When he pressed inside, my body opened for him. There was a little bit of a burn, but it hardly registered above the fire already raging within me. My eyes fell shut and I moaned as Zander went in deep, sending sparks all through my body. Sex had never felt like this before. Never this all-encompassing. Never this fulfilling. Zander hadn't even started thrusting yet, and already I was on sensation overload. His scent seemed to swirl all around me too. The air was thick with it. Every time I inhaled, I was taking it into me, fanning the flames.

“Move,” I gasped when I felt like I was about to be consumed by an inferno.

Zander complied. “God, Nick. You're too much,” he said on an exhale as he started to thrust into me.

My thoughts scattered. A moment ago, I had felt on fire. Now I was drowning in sensation. In endorphins. In the feeling of absolute connection blossoming in my chest.

Nothing else existed.

Nothing else mattered.

My fingers twisted in the bed sheets. Zander's moans rang in my ears. My toes curled as he picked up the pace. His thrusts were strong, powerful, but not rough or brutal. Even as his fingers dug into my hips for something to hold onto, I could still feel that what he'd said was true.

He loved me.

And I loved him.

And maybe that was what made this experience different from all the other times I'd tried to have sex. I wasn't sure. All I knew was that I never wanted it to stop.

Not ever.

But then Zander started angling for my sweet spot and I couldn't hold back any longer. With a cry, I came without anyone even touching my cock.

Another first for me.

The sensation was so strong I nearly passed out. I was just conscious enough to feel Zander follow shortly after me, his hot seed hitting my insides.