CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Dinner was a quiet affair. The conversation revolved around Vale’s pregnancy, Caleb and Xan’s redecorating, and the plans for the next few days. Xan’s heart leapt every time he looked across the table to see Urho staring back at him. The heat between them shimmered in the air until he could almost feel it on his skin. He wondered if the others could as well, and were just too polite to mention it.
Jason monitored Vale’s food intake like an obsessed man, and Vale looked on the verge of punching him for it more than once. “One cordial won’t harm the baby, ask Urho,” Vale huffed, sipping the dessert wine from a thimble-sized glass.
Urho tore his gaze away from Xan long enough to concur that such a small amount wouldn’t bother the baby in the least, leaving Jason little choice but to be satisfied with his answer.
Caleb asked them all to withdrawal to Xan’s library for some quiet reading and music. He’d had the record player moved out of Xan’s office, and he was having wonderful time playing the records they’d found in the library and making up new dances.
He was in the middle of teaching them one when Janus returned from his evening out at the gentlemen’s club. He came in looking freshly showered, wearing a fashionable suit, and smelling of peppermint. But that couldn’t cover up the bruise blooming on his jaw or the scent of liquor also wafting off him. He must have stopped by the bar after losing one of his wrestling matches.
“What have we here?” Janus asked before Xan could ask about his bruised face. “A party? With dancing? And I wasn’t invited? You know how I love to dance, Caleb.” He grinned flirtatiously.
Caleb pasted on a pretty smile and said, “Alas, we’re short on partners here.”
Janus smiled widely, something sloppy in it, like he was too drunk to control the muscles of his face properly. He motioned at Vale, who sat watching from the safety of the sofa. “I’d be happy to partner with this handsome omega. I don’t believe we’ve met.” He stepped forward, hand out and a wicked leer on his face, only to stop dead in his tracks when he spotted the obvious evidence of Vale’s pregnancy.
Jason, who’d been dancing with Caleb, ostensibly so that Caleb could instruct him on the new moves, but really so that Xan and Urho had an excuse to dance together, released his hold on Caleb’s waist. He came to stand between Janus and Vale.
“Janus,” he said coldly. “It’s been a long time. This is my Érosgápe, Vale Aman.” He took Vale’s hand and helped him to standing. “Vale, this is Janus Heelies, Xan’s cousin.”
“Jason, it’s been a long time.” Janus gulped and looked away from Vale toward where Caleb stood watching worriedly. “I’d heard you’d found your Érosgápe. Lucky man.”
“To say the least,” Jason said, but he sounded strained.
“Forgive me,” Caleb said, darting over. “I should have done the introductions. I was out of breath from dancing.”
“And hoping Janus would go away,” Xan said, under his breath. His rudeness was ignored. He didn’t know if he was grateful or disappointed by that.
“I see congratulations are in order,” Janus said, sweeping a hand toward Vale’s shifting, bulging stomach. All evidence of flirtation was gone from his tone and demeanor. No alpha was stupid enough to flirt with an omega who was with child, no matter how drunk he was. Especially between an Érosgápe couple—not unless he truly wanted to engage in violence with the omega’s alpha. “When will the new babe come into the world?” His tongue sounded heavy, his words a bit slurred.
“Next month if all goes well,” Jason said, still standing protectively at Vale’s side. Xan noticed that no handshake had been exchanged.
Janus nodded. “Wolf’s blessings on you both. And the babe, of course.” Then he turned to Xan and Urho. His gaze swept between them, and his brow raised knowingly.
Xan immediately released Urho’s waist, an embrace left over from where he’d been leading him through the motions of Caleb’s new dance. He stepped away and smiled tightly at Janus. “Allow me to introduce Vale and Jason’s friend, Dr. Urho Chase. He’s here to deliver the baby when the time comes, and to make sure all goes well in the interim.”
Janus’s brow cocked up even higher, but he put out a hand to Urho with a sly, still-messy smile. “Welcome to Lofton. I’m sure Caleb’s seen that you’re comfortable here. He’s making this house into quite a beautiful home.”
Caleb stiffened, and Xan crossed to him, sliding an arm around his shoulder. “Caleb makes everything better,” Xan said pointedly. Caleb lifted his chin.
Janus smirked. “The belief of all alphas! One day perhaps I’ll find someone worthy of contracting with and get to experience such pure devotion for myself. Or, even better, perhaps I’ll find my Érosgápe. I hear the sex is unbeatable.”
Jason’s jaw jumped as though he was gritting his teeth, and Vale’s expression went strained.
Urho cleared his throat, a mildly scolding sound.
Janus, of course, gave no indication that he noticed the tension in the room, or, if he did, then he rather enjoyed it. “In the meantime,” he slurred on. “I find I must shift for myself. Speaking of…” he crossed the room and poured himself a generous helping of bourbon from the liquor cabinet.
Caleb loosed a soft sound of irritation. Xan caught his eye and raised a brow, asking silently if he should stop his cousin from imbibing more. Caleb shook his head quickly, once. His blue eyes shimmered with frustration.
Janus turned around and lifted the glass in a toast. “To friendship.”
Everyone in the room merely stared at him as he drank. No echo of the toast touched anyone’s lips.
It occurred to Xan that he didn’t know if Janus had any friends. The man was always out socializing, but everyone knew there was a difference between someone to grab a drink with or talked business with, and a friend. Who would want to be friends with someone like Janus, anyway? Arrogant, smug, and self-important.
Janus swallowed the whole of his drink down, and then, rather grotesquely, wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “I’ve gotta surprise for you, cousin.”
“Yeah?” Xan asked, dread slipping down his spine.
“I’ll be out of your hair for a few weeks.” He seemed to summon some clarity of mind from somewhere. His eyes were still drink-bleary, but he spoke more clearly. “I’ve been called back to the city.”
Xan’s heart did a strange leap and fall. Janus being gone was good, fantastic, wonderful. He could spend more time with Urho without fear of being tattled on. But Janus going back to the city meant he’d be back under Father’s wing. And that meant Xan was still his father’s second choice for heir.
Xan clenched his jaw. “Why?”
“A promotion for me. I’m being assigned a new project in another city. I believe the Capital was mentioned,” Janus said with a drunken, smug smile. “Your father also wants to finalize the plans for the future of the office here in Virona.”
“I should be part of that discussion.”
“Do you really think so?” Janus cocked his head and sneered. “Your father doesn’t. He said you should stay here.” His eyes glinted meanly as he refilled his glass. “Which works out well, doesn’t it? Since, as it turns out, you have guests.” The emphasis on the word implied things that, while accurate, Xan had to reassure himself Janus had no way of truly knowing.
Urho’s arm came around Xan’s shoulder reassuringly, but he shrugged it off, not wanting to let on anything Janus might report to Father. “When will you be leaving?”
“In the morning. First thing. I admit I’m looking forward to my triumphant return to the city.” His sloppy smile was back now, and he looked to Caleb as he said, “There’s a certain, delicious omega there that I’ve been meaning to visit again. He just might be the one for me. If only he wasn’t already spoken for.”
Caleb shot him a hurt, angry look, and Janus smirked like Caleb’s reaction pleased him in some way. He tipped his glass back to drain it.
Jason and Vale sat together, still as statues on the sofa, watching in uncomfortable silence as the scene unfolded in a mess around them. Urho lingered at Xan’s back, offering reassurance with his presence, but the pleasure Xan took in that kindness didn’t even begin to rival the embarrassment of his cousin’s behavior.
“And with that, I’m off to bed.” Janus’s smile became ingratiating. “It’s been lovely making your acquaintance, Vale.” He turned to Jason. “Good to see you again, of course. We’ll be working together in the future given our companies’ contracts.”
“Oh?” Jason said stiffly. “My father and I usually work with Xan or Ray directly.”
“Xan won’t be your go-to man for long,” Janus said, wobbling a bit on his feet. “I will.” Then he met Caleb’s eye. “Looks like you chose the wrong Heelies. I’d have taken better care of you.”
“At what price?” Caleb hissed and turned his back on Janus.
The room went silent and Xan heard his pulse pounding in his ears as his fists clenched and his vision blurred red.
“But wait,” Janus added, an ugly expression twisting the handsome features of his face. “It was me who didn’t want you, wasn’t it? How could that be when you’re so very perfect?” He snarled. “Luckily for us both, my memory on those details remains cloudy.” His eyes grew inexplicably wet with unshed tears, and he spit out, “Too much liquor tonight, you see.”
Only Urho’s hand on Xan’s shoulder prevented him from attacking Janus in his rage. He growled, “Get out of my house.”
“Now, now. You know it’s your father’s house and he wants me here.”
“It’s my house!” Xan lunged for him, but Urho held him back.
“Don’t want to give your father any more reason to cut you out, do you?” Janus’s laugh was as nasty as it was oddly broken. He paused in the doorway and shot Caleb’s back a yearning look. “If you’d have just let me…”
Caleb’s shoulders stiffened.
Janus shook his head hard and turned his attention back to Xan. “I’ll give your pater your love, cousin. He misses you. Though he’s the only one.”
Then he waltzed out of the room on clumsy feet.
Xan started after him, but Jason and Urho didn’t let him follow. “I’ll murder him,” Xan gritted out, struggling against Urho’s strong grip and Jason’s solid presence before him. “Let me go. I’m going to—”
“Stop!” Caleb said, his voice quavering. “Forget Janus. He’s drunk and horrible, but not worth another moment’s thought.” His cheeks pinked as if he’d been slapped. He closed his eyes and shuddered. “He’s loathsome. How did I ever think he was charming?”
Caleb stalked toward the sofa and sank down onto it beside Vale, who took his hand. Caleb smiled kindly but tugged his hand away, rubbing between his brows and trembling slightly. “Just calm down, Xan,” Caleb whispered. “And don’t make this worse.”
Jason and Urho exchanged glances, and Xan moved to kneel beside Caleb, but stopped when Caleb shook his head. “Just give me some space. He sucks all the air from the room.”
Said room trembled with awkward, emotional silence.
“Wow,” Jason finally muttered. “It’s like he walked in with dog shit on his shoe. The reek of him lingers.”
“Is it very wrong to hope there’s an accident and he somehow falls on the tracks as the train approaches tomorrow?” Xan asked, stalking to the liquor cabinet and pouring a generous glass for himself. “He ruins everything just by existing.”
Xan loathed the multitude of hateful needles Janus had pricked him, and worse, Caleb, with in just a very few awful minutes. He loathed even more than he hadn’t taken his cousin out with a well-placed elbow to the throat. If Urho and Jason hadn’t held him back…
He’d probably be in prison for murder tomorrow.
So it was undoubtedly for the best. But still he resented that Janus still breathed in his house. Even one more night of hospitality was too much after that little show.
“He’s awful,” Vale breathed. “I hadn’t expected to like him, but that was…wolf-god.”
Jason said, “I’ve always disliked him and thought he was arrogant. But what exactly is his problem, Xan? I don’t remember him being cruel for the sake of it.”
“He didn’t used to be,” Caleb murmured, his face half-covered by his elegant hand.
“So he’s changed?” Vale asked.
Urho spit out, “It doesn’t matter how he used to be if this is how he is now. What a jackass.”
“Yes,” Vale agreed. “But perhaps that jackass has a reason—”
“Excuses for hurtful behavior is for children and deathbeds,” Urho said.
Vale rolled his eyes, and Jason looked like he might actually laugh. Xan didn’t know how he felt about Urho’s statement. He was too turned around after Janus’s interruption to their beautiful evening. He wished his cousin had never arrived and they’d continued to dance and be merry. But clearly the dancing portion of the evening was over.
“He always got under my skin,” Xan muttered irritably. “Even when we were kids. But he definitely changed for the worse several years back. It doesn’t matter. He’s sleeping off his liquor and will be gone in the morning. I couldn’t ask for more.”
“That is good news.” Jason glanced meaningfully between Urho and Xan. “That frees things up for everyone. There won’t be quite the same need for subterfuge between the two of you.”
“Exactly.” Xan should be happy that Janus was going, but darkness shifted around in his belly with the liquor. He wanted to stalk down the hall, open Janus’s door, and beat his ass. And he wanted to curl up in Urho’s lap and cry, because he was tired, and hurt, and angry.
Because his father loved that nasty piece of work more, and would leave the company to him if given even half a chance.
Xan swallowed down his feelings with another big swig of liquor.
“At least there is a new project for him, somewhere far away,” Caleb murmured. “He won’t be here much longer.”
“But we will,” Xan said.
Caleb met his eye. He sighed and his shoulders sagged. His handsome face fell. “I suppose you’re right.”
“It’s not so bad here…” Jason ventured.
“Yes, you’re making the place quite livable,” Vale agreed.
Caleb whispered, “I do like Virona. But that’s not what this is about.”
Xan took another sip from his glass, closing his eyes on the burn. Urho’s hand rested on his shoulder, squeezing lightly.
“It’s a good house,” Urho said carefully. “You could have a worthy life here, away from the interference of your family.”
Xan caught Caleb’s eye again, and they both sighed. “That’s true. But like Caleb said, it’s more complicated than that.” He rubbed his temple. “I’m happy Janus is starting on a new project in a different city, but he said he’d also be handling the final details for this office in Virona.”
“Which means Xan hasn’t made the impression on his father he’d hoped to make,” Caleb murmured. “Pass me a drink, darling. A strong one.”
“I’ll get it,” Urho said, steering Xan to the chair next to the sofa, the one closest to Caleb. He then set about getting drinks for all of them. As the night ticked into the small hours, they sat together on the sofas and chairs in the library while Xan explained his situation: his father’s threats, his pater’s removal from his life, Ray’s reassurances, and Janus’s ambitions.
“I see,” Urho said slowly as Xan finished up. “So this trip of Janus’s could be quite damaging for you.”
“He could paint Xan in all kinds of poor colors,” Caleb said, swirling his drink and kicking off his shoes to expose his glittering toenails.
“He’ll take all the credit for the success of the office in Virona,” Xan muttered.
Never mind that Xan had done most of the work, supervising the day-to-day activities, solving problems and disputes between contractors, and more, while Janus had scampered off most days to “make connections” at the gentlemen’s club, claiming that his aim was to “woo” the higher-ups in the community.
Virona wasn’t as affluent as the city, or the Capital, but it wasn’t without its aristocratic class. Xan hadn’t protested because he was happy to have Janus out from under foot, and it made it so much easier to follow Ray’s instructions to the letter, without having Janus there to question his every move.
Xan had imagined his father would appreciate his focus and diligence, see that he didn’t get distracted, but actually stuck it out and got things done. But apparently only social connections were to be rewarded. “All that matters to my father is the company,” Xan bit out. “Happiness, joy, love—all of those are ambitions for lesser types of men. The kind of man my father doesn’t respect.”
Jason murmured, “I wonder how his Érosgápe feels about that?”
“Pater is…” Xan trailed off, his throat tightening and his eyes burning. He squeezed them shut and rubbed them with his fingers.
“Xan’s pater does whatever his father says,” Caleb said gently. “It’s his way.”
“Yes, I remember,” Jason said.
Murmurs of sympathy went all around, and Xan felt young and stupid in all the ways he hated most. But when he met Urho’s gaze again, staring at him from the chair opposite, all he saw was a warm determination that gave him hope.
Urho kicked off one of his shoes to rub his foot. “Forgive me for questioning it, but are the servants loyal? If any of them are in your cousin’s employ, they might report some unseemly behavior, and—”
“Ren would never allow it,” Xan said. “He’s been with me since I left Mont Nessadare, and he hires only servants he believes in and can trust.”
“Still,” Caleb said. “There is that new kitchen boy. He’s been homesick and saving for a train ticket back to visit his pater. And while most betas are very open to any expression of sexuality, there are a few who are very strict adherents to the Holy Book of Wolf.”
“In other words?” Xan said.
“I think I’ll send that new kitchen boy home. If the cook needs more help, then we’ll get someone from the village. Someone who can go home at night so there are fewer people in the house.” Caleb smiled, but his eyes looked haunted. “It won’t do to be lax, but in our home you should feel safe. I won’t have it any other way.”
“That would be a good start,” Urho said.
Caleb sighed and his eyes went distant. “Perhaps I’ll speak with Ren. Make sure that he’s informed the others that anything that happens on the premises is to be kept absolutely to themselves, and not even shared with Janus.”
“Luckily the servants’ quarters are isolated,” Jason pointed out. “So long as you act like gentlemen during the daylight hours, then no one will be the wiser.”
“It’s unfair and ridiculous to ask you to hide,” Vale said, rubbing his stomach. Then he groaned. “My back is killing me. Urho, you’ve seen a lot of babies. Promise me he’ll be cute.”
“You’ll think you’ve never seen one cuter,” Urho said, clapping his hands against his thighs and standing up. “Let’s leave this distressing topic behind for the night. Vale, I think you should let Jason take you to your room now.”
“Yes, it’s late.” Caleb glanced toward the clock, sighing. “We should all go to bed. Tomorrow I’d planned for us to take a nice long walk on the beach, Vale, and you’ll want plenty of strength for that.”
Goodnights were exchanged all around and hand shakes given.
After Vale and Jason left the room, Caleb kissed Urho’s cheek and then Xan’s, looking them both in the eye seriously. “Janus’s room is far from you both, but I don’t trust him. Try to keep the noise down tonight, no matter how lost you get in each other. If he even suggested to your father…”
Xan nodded and drew Caleb into an embrace. “We’ll be careful. Thank you.”
“I love you, Xan,” Caleb whispered in his ear. “Enjoy yourself, but keep us safe.”
Xan nodded, and Caleb tugged away. After another kiss on Urho’s cheek, he left the room on his bare feet, carrying his shoes in his hands.
“Should you go to him? Does he need comforting?” Urho asked, his hand resting on Xan’s shoulder. The heat tingled into the muscles of Xan’s arm, and he leaned back into Urho’s strong chest.
“He would have asked. Caleb isn’t shy about what he needs from me.”
Urho turned Xan around. “What’s between him and your cousin? What was that all about?”
Xan let his head fall forward, resting it against Urho’s chest, and he took slow breaths, enjoying Urho’s strong, musky scent. “It’s his story to tell. Suffice it to say, they were friends once, with the potential for more. It hurt Caleb when it was over, but he’s moved on. Seeing Janus again, being treated that way, it opens old wounds, I think.”
“Should we both go to him?”
Xan kissed the bottom of Urho’s chin. “You’re a good man. But no. He’ll want to be alone. He’s quiet like that.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I am.”
“Then I’ll come to you in an hour,” Urho said seriously. “Be ready for me.”
Xan’s throat clicked as he swallowed. “How?”
“Clean yourself. I won’t want to wait.”
Xan’s balls tightened and he found himself immediately hard. “Yes. I’ll be ready.”
Urho nodded and turned on his heel. No handshake, no kiss, nothing but the scent of him still in the air after he’d walked away. Xan licked his lips, counted to twenty, and then followed, turning off the library lights on his way out.
“I’m nervous,” Xan said, laughing.
Urho stepped into Xan’s richly decorated room and locked the door behind them. His breath came in stutteringly as he took in Xan wearing a red bathrobe that made him look positively indecent, exposing his pale chest and highlighting his red mouth.
“Why’s that?” Urho asked, sounding as breathless as he felt. Though his stomach was flipping madly too. He’d thought so much about fucking Xan over the last few months—wanting it, dreading it, questioning it, deciding he had to have more of him—that the nearness of the moment felt overwhelming.
“Why am I nervous?” Xan asked, his voice higher pitched than usual. “I guess because it’s been so long since I’ve done this with someone who…” Xan trailed off. His pale chest grew rosy, and the color spread up his throat and into his cheeks. He tried again. “With someone who…”
Urho spoke softly. “Someone who didn’t want to hurt you?”
“Yes. I suppose so.” He sounded so uncertain that Urho’s heart ached.
“We should talk about that before we do anything more,” Urho said, though his cock was in vehement disagreement over that. He guided Xan to the wide, ornate bed with the covers already turned down. “What do you want tonight?”
“I want you to fuck me,” Xan said firmly, though he took in a flighty breath afterward that sounded like a barely suppressed giggle. “I like it rough…I think.”
“You think?”
“I don’t know if I should talk about the things I’ve done in the past,” Xan said, licking his lips anxiously. “Or the people I was with before.”
“How many were there?”
“Just two. Jason and…the other.”
“The monster.”
“The so-called monster,” Xan said, anxiety rippling in the air between them.
“There’s nothing so-called about it. Don’t forget I saw what he did to you. How he left you after…” Urho shuddered and touched Xan’s cheek gently. “I don’t ever want to see those kinds of bruises on you again. If you want me to hurt you like that—” He shook his head.
“I don’t!” Xan gripped Urho’s wrist, holding his hand against his cheek as though afraid Urho was going to pull away.
“Good.” Urho whispered, “I can lose control, the way I have before with you, but I’ll never be so rough that you’re in real pain the next day. I don’t treat my omegas like that.”
Xan blushed and looked down.
“What? Talk to me,” Urho urged.
“I like it when you call me an omega.”
He nodded. He’d figured that much out already.
“And I think I’d like it if you called me some rough things too.”
Urho raised his brows in question.
Xan swallowed hard. “Like bitch or slut or…” Xan’s ears were so red they looked painful. “Or worse things.”
Urho touched Xan’s chin. “Why? Do you not think you deserve to be cherished?”
Xan’s eyes dropped to the carpet under their feet.
“Well? Answer me.”
Xan sounded small and scared when he whispered, “I don’t know what that’s like. With Jason, it was just games. Not…” He shuddered. “I’ve never had that. I didn’t want to assume you’d give it to me. No one has ever wanted to give that to me before.”
“What about Caleb?” Urho asked gently, his heart aching for his poor boy.
Xan explained shyly how during the heat with Caleb, the sex they’d accomplished had been desperate, terrifying, and frustrating. “There was no ‘cherishing’ between us. Just tears, and pain, and fear.” He raised his eyes to Urho’s, his voice trembling. “So I don’t know if I’d like to be cherished in bed or not. I’ve never experienced that before.”
Urho tugged him close and kissed his hair, his eyelids, and his hot ears, still red with shame and embarrassment. “Let’s see if you like it. If you don’t, then we can try something else.”
“What if you don’t like it?” Xan asked with a wobbly voice as Urho pressed him back against the bed and loomed over him, taking in his red cheeks, wide eyes, and flushed chest peeking out of his bathrobe. “Fucking me, I mean. What if you don’t enjoy it? It won’t feel like with an omega. The way I’m made is different, and—”
“I’m going to like it,” Urho interrupted, sliding his hand into Xan’s robe, stroking over the smooth, almost-hairless skin he found, and then pushing the garment off Xan’s shoulders. “I’ve liked everything we’ve done so far. I don’t know why this would be any different.”
“I’m still nervous,” Xan whispered as Urho untied the knot holding his robe closed. He spread the robe open, revealing Xan’s smaller-than-average form, his thick alpha cock, and his pale skin flushing more and more with every breath.
“I’m nervous too,” Urho admitted. “But I want you and we’ve made promises. Those might not be as good as contracts, not as formal, but I don’t take them lightly.”
“Me either.”
And now he wanted so much more than just Xan’s body. He wanted to carve his way into this man’s life and heal his wounds, be his friend, his partner, and maybe, somehow, Caleb’s too, albeit in a different way. How this was all going to work, he had no clue, but it started here, in this bed, making Xan understand what it meant to feel love.
“Get comfortable. On your stomach for now.”
“My stomach?” Xan asked, but he did as he was told, tugging a pillow down to cradle his face.
Urho straddled Xan’s thighs and removed his own robe entirely, throwing it aside and letting his balls and hard dick slide over Xan’s plump ass cheeks. Xan lifted up to gaze over his shoulder. “I wanted to see you…” His eyes were hungry as he took in what he could of Urho.
“You’ll have plenty of time to see me when you turn over. Just relax. I want to check on how you’ve healed.”
Xan released an odd half-sob and dropped his head to the pillow, his muscles trembling with emotion. Urho rubbed his hands soothingly up and down Xan’s back, gently massaging his shoulders and squeezing down his arms.
“Just rest,” Urho said. “Feel me here with you.” He pushed his cock against Xan’s buttocks, and then bent low to kiss his shoulder blades, one at a time. He then kissed his way down Xan’s back, his knees digging into the soft mattress.
When he got to the place where Xan’s lower back dipped in, he heard the soft sound of Xan’s tears. “Are you all right?” he whispered against the last wet place his kisses had left on Xan’s warm skin.
“I’m scared,” Xan whispered back, his words almost obscured by the pillow he clutched.
“I won’t hurt you.”
“That’s what I’m scared of,” he said, a sob breaking free. “What if you don’t hurt me and I love it? And then what if you never want to give it to me again?”
“Oh, sweet boy,” Urho soothed, abandoning his quest to get a look at Xan’s asshole to rise up and take Xan into his arms. He turned Xan and cradled him against his chest, kissing his hair and stroking his back and arms until Xan quieted. Their hard cocks slid against each other as Urho rocked them gently in a quiet rhythm. “Let me show you,” he whispered. “I promise I’ll never take it away from you.”
“How can you know that?”
“Because I know my own heart.”
“Do you?” Xan sounded amazed.
Urho held him close, squeezed his eyes shut, and felt the rightness of their bodies fitting together. He kissed Xan’s head again. “I’m learning more of it every day. Let me show you.”
“If I let you cherish me,” Xan’s voice broke again. “You’ll never stop?”
It was a big ask, but Urho already knew the answer. “Not for as long as I live. I’ll give you this and so much more.”
“I don’t believe you,” Xan whispered, and Urho couldn’t even be offended. Xan had been so hurt in his short life—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
“Then I’ll just have to prove it to you.”
Urho kissed him then, slow and sweet, and Xan melted against him. He sobbed as Urho held and touched him. He finally calmed enough to turn onto his stomach again, lifting his hips onto a pillow so Urho could have a clear look at his asshole.
Urho’s pulse pounded as he finally spread Xan open again. There was the intoxicating whorl of hair that surrounded that tender pucker of muscle. His heart sped up alarmingly, the scent of Xan’s arousal and his own need layered over him like blankets of lust.
He leaned forward to kiss the place that had been so brutally used the last time he’d glimpsed it. Now it had healed up into a sweet, tight hole that cried out for the caress of his tongue and lips.
He closed his eyes and gave the loving touch Xan had always deserved.
“Please,” Xan whimpered as Urho’s tongue pierced him. “I can’t take this. Please hurt me or call me names. Don’t let me feel this good. Please.”
“Oh, no.” Urho pulled away from the humid crack of Xan’s ass long enough to reply. “This is how I’ll cherish you.”
Xan wept, and Urho kissed his asshole even more adoringly. He licked and loved him there until he’d worked his alpha-shaped omega into a sobbing frenzy of need, shame and fear seemingly abandoned in the pleasure. Xan rutted against the pillow under his hips, and then back against Urho’s face, crying out as he dissolved in desire.
Urho wanted to fuck him now, but he wasn’t ready for it to be over so soon. He gave Xan more of his mouth, using his fingers to work him open slowly. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he flipped Xan over and shared his most intimate flavor in a kiss. Xan groaned and gripped Urho’s hair, his body shaking so hard that Urho covered him completely, pressing him deeply into the bed to help give him solidity and comfort.
“Where’s the oil?” he rasped, lips still brushing Xan’s, breathing in the scent of his saliva and skin. Xan wouldn’t make slick. Betas and alphas didn’t. And Urho had been reminded of that as he’d eaten Xan’s ass and not been flooded by the heavenly stuff omegas made naturally. But Xan’s own taste was perfect on its own—heavy and solely his. Urho licked his lips again, loving the residual musk of Xan’s most intimate place.
“In the drawer,” Xan managed between his gasps of pleasure and half-sobs of overwrought emotion.
Urho didn’t wait for him to clarify which drawer, simply guessing that it was the bottom one in the stand next to the bed. He was right, and he brought the bottle up to lube up his cock and pour some over Xan’s saliva-wet anus.
“This is where you tell me if you want me to stop,” he said, stroking his large alpha cock.
“Don’t you dare,” Xan hissed. He lifted his legs to give Urho access. His hard cock lay glistening with precome on his belly, over a small trail of hair from his navel down to his dark bush of pubic hair. His taint was pink and led to the dark hair that surrounded his anus, which beckoned to Urho, glistening with the oil and twitching with Xan’s need.
“I want to make this good for you.”
“Just fuck me,” Xan ordered, his eyelashes wet with tears but his voice firmer than it had been since Urho had come into the room. “Now. Don’t make me wait anymore. Prove to me that you’re going to do it. You promised.”
Urho grabbed Xan’s legs and began a slow thrust inside. Xan groaned and whined, arching and pushing, his body slow to open for Urho’s thickness.
The pleasure of penetrating Xan was beyond Urho’s expectations. One of Xan’s legs rested on Urho’s shoulder, the other Urho held wide by gripping his ankle. The view was incredible: Xan’s lithe, sturdy form spread out under him, muscles jumping and trembling in anticipation and tension. A deeper ruddy flush crept up Xan’s chest and into his neck, painting his cheeks and turning his mouth an even brighter red.
“Please,” Xan whimpered. “Give me more.”
Urho’s thighs quivered and his breath came in short gasps as he held back from shoving as deep as he could into Xan’s body. The tight grip around his cockhead and the thudding of Xan’s pulse, the strain of Xan’s muscles, told Urho that Xan was struggling to accommodate his size.
He reached down and rubbed the tight rim of Xan’s flesh gripping his dick, holding himself firmly in check as Xan squirmed, trying to get Urho in deeper. “I want it all,” Xan begged, sweat popping around the his temples as he bore down and Urho sank farther in. “Give me your knot.”
Urho groaned. He wished he could answer Xan’s plea. Knotting only happened with an omega in heat, the pheromones of their pleasure and orgasm triggering it in the alpha breeding them. “You want me to breed you, little omega?”
Xan whined then, his head tossing back and forth and his hips twisting as he pressed himself onto Urho’s thick cock. “That’s right,” Urho crooned. “You look so beautiful fucking yourself on my dick. Gorgeous.”
Xan rolled his hips, taking Urho deeper and deeper with every twist and push, until he’d filled himself fully. Satisfaction crossed his face, and he stared up at Urho, his expression of challenge and surrender one that scoured Urho’s heart and soul, scrubbing him down to raw nerves and emotion.
Urho’s cock throbbed deep in the silken heat of Xan’s ass. He was less robust and gripping than an omega on the inside, but tight and alive all the same. Interior muscles rippled around Urho, and Xan’s body trembled at the effort of opening for him, of holding him inside. Urho moaned, slamming his hips forward to bring himself the final inch home.
“Yes. Fuck me,” Xan demanded, his eyes alight and wild.
“You want me to make you come?” Urho grunted. One hand still clenching Xan’s ankle, he brought his other up to lightly grasp his straining neck. “Just say yes, sweet omega, and I’ll make you come.”
“Yes!” Xan’s eyes went wide, and then he collapsed entirely, surrendering. His cock spurt pre-come on his stomach. The scent of if made Urho’s mouth water, and he squeezed Xan’s neck a little more tightly.
“Oh, fuck yes,” Xan moaned, his eyes rolling up in his head. “Fuck. Yes.”
Urho held him in place with a grip on his throat, too light to choke, but hard enough to remind Xan of who was in control, who it was cherishing him tonight. Then he fucked into him with strong, long strokes, aiming to hit Xan’s prostate.
He shuddered with pleasure as he worked, noting the differences—the absence of spongey, swollen omega glands and the constant spill of slick over his cock to smooth the way. But being in Xan, watching him fall apart with pleasure, watching him give in to his body and open for Urho’s thickness was intensely satisfying in a way being with every omega since Riki had never been.
Xan’s body convulsed with each slam home. His cock dribbled pre-come that smelled like slick, and when Urho swept some of it up into his fingers to add to the oiled place their bodies met, it acted like slick too.
“My little omega,” Urho muttered, shoving hard into Xan, rattling his teeth with the force of his thrust. “Gonna flood you with my seed and make you mine.”
“Yours,” Xan agreed, eyes dilated like he’d been drugged. Sweat slipped down the side of his flushed faced.
“Promise,” Urho growled.
“Already promised.”
Urho shuddered, his thrusts losing pace for a moment as his heart clenched. Yes, Xan had already promised his hole, but this was beyond that. This was intimacy and rough pleasure all rolled into one. He leaned down and kissed Xan hard, their teeth clacking before their lips moved together in a sensual give and take that echoed the thrust of Urho’s dick into Xan’s spasming body.
“Come for me.” Urho squeezed Xan’s throat firmly. “Shoot your hot load all over yourself while I fuck your sweet omega hole.”
Xan seemed to have only been waiting for permission, because he hunched up, thighs flexing and asshole tightening almost painfully on Urho’s cock.
Urho covered Xan’s mouth as he screamed his pleasure and his cock erupted with come. Spurts of it went everywhere—the sheets, Xan’s mess of dark curls, the headboard, and even some on the floor well beyond the bed itself.
Xan’s head slammed against the mattress as he convulsed. His pink nipples were tight and begged for attention as his straining cock tensed and released again and again, the scent of spunk rising around them like steam.
“That’s my good boy,” Urho praised him. “Give it all up for me. Such a perfect omega.”
“Please,” Xan whimpered, shaking violently in the aftermath of his pleasure. “Give me more. Take more. Remake me, please.”
Urho collapsed onto Xan’s hot, sweaty body, releasing his ankle and wrapping his arms around him tightly. Xan’s still-hard cock rammed against Urho’s stomach again and again, and the muscles of his back and thighs twitched and quivered as Urho fucked him with intense, deep strokes.
“Yes, yes,” Xan chanted. “Please, Urho. Call me your omega again.”
“My omega,” Urho muttered, the words slipping from his mouth easily. His heart echoed the sentiment irrationally and devotedly. “Mine.”
“Yes, oh fuck yes.” Xan’s ass gripped and fluttered around Urho’s cock. “I love that. I love it so much.”
Urho shuddered, a hard sort of place inside him crumbling. He bent low to kiss Xan’s neck, lick the come off his cheek, and then suckle his pointed nipples until Xan was frantic and moaning.
Xan’s heels hammered the rhythm of their rut against Urho’s plunging ass, and he crooned with pleasure. Urho buried his face, tension ramping up unbearably before shattering in pulsing, ecstatic release—a blinding, convulsing, consuming orgasm like a seizure grabbing him.
Ropes of alpha semen shot deep into Xan’s body, so much that it gushed from his hole, lubricating the final aching perfection of their connection.
“Yes,” Xan groaned, gripping him tightly.
Urho heaved and shuddered on top of his much-smaller body, sweaty and helpless in pleasure.
As the peak fell away and they were left in a tangle of wet, sweaty, come-covered limbs, they kissed, soft and intimate, for long, panting minutes.
Finally, Xan whispered, “I liked it. In case you were wondering. I liked being cherished.”
Urho’s heart ached, but with joy. “Then we’ll do it that way every time. We’ll do it like that until you get tired of it.”
Xan clung to Urho, made like he fit him perfectly. “I don’t think I will. I think when you leave again, I’m going to miss this—you—more than I’ve ever missed anything in my life.”
“Then maybe I shouldn’t leave.”
The words fell between them like something solid into a heap of jelly. The mess was the awkward silence that followed. Urho pulled his cock from Xan’s body and slid a hand down to press two fingers into Xan’s twitching hole.
Xan relaxed against him, and they breathed in the sex-scented silence of the room.
“I wish you wouldn’t. Leave, I mean,” Xan said finally. “But I don’t expect you to make promises you can’t keep.”
Urho nuzzled Xan’s nape and closed his eyes. They drifted off together without discussing it any further.
They woke several times in the night to repeat the “cherishing” of Xan’s body.
And when the sun came up, Urho was still buried deep in Xan’s ass, enjoying the convulsions of Xan’s latest orgasm around his cock and watching as his alpha-shaped omega’s face broke open with trust and pleasure.