Chapter Five
Grayson
Grayson paced the length of his office, reaching the door, he contemplated going down to research and yanking Lochlan out forcing him to face him. Before he could open his door, he turned back around and stomped to his desk, starting the whole track over again. What good would confronting Lochlan do? It wouldn't change anything.
He clenched his hands into fists. His body was so keyed up, he needed an outlet desperately. He knew what his body wanted to do. His dick was hard. That alone was a little surprising. Grayson was more turned on then he could remember being in a long time and knew the cause was the little independent omega floors below him.
The omega who lied to him. Who was lying to him. Grayson should have had him fired after the first lie, their work was too important for that kind of subterfuge. He could no sooner banish Lochlan from his life than he could give up on his life's mission.
So where did that leave Grayson now? Turned on with no place to go.
There were services, discreet companies he could call that would send over a willing beta for him to work out his tension. The very thought curdled his stomach. He didn't want to touch and fuck any random body. He wanted Lochlan. But why? It wasn't like he could give him his knot.
Could it be that lies got him off now in his old age? His lip curled at the thought. He sunk down into his office chair and looked at his desk. The remaining pastries were still there because he hadn't quite been able to call someone to clean up. Why the hell had Lochlan shoved a few in his pocket? Was he so poor he needed the food for later? That thought didn't sit well with Grayson. Except, Lochlan didn't look malnourished. No. He looked healthy and strong, an odd combination for an omega. He looked…damn fuckable.
And Lochlan had wanted Grayson as well. If Grayson hadn't been sure by observing Lochlan's body language than his frantic ingestion of suppressors would have told him all he needed to know about how Lochlan felt. He couldn't begin to imagine where Lochlan had gotten them. They were abhorrently expensive, a fact he was actively trying to change.
Grayson growled, angry at Lochlan for doing anything that would let him walk away from him. He had no right, no…
It was as if the air had been sucked out of him. Grayson dropped to his chair with a plop as he finally started listening to himself. He sounded like an asshole.
This was exactly why he had sworn never to get involved with an omega. He hadn't even kissed Lochlan, and already his body was poisoning his mind. What he needed to do was take a page out of Lochlan's book and get to work. Except now, he couldn't stop imagining kissing Lochlan, tasting his sweet lips and feeling his confident body rub against his. Instantly, his dick was hard again.
Looking down at his lap he was simultaneously amused, curious and annoyed by the tent in his trousers. He experimentally brushed his hand over his erection and hissed at how sensitive he was even through the cloth of his pants. It wasn't like he never touched himself. He was a grown man. A grown alpha. Celibacy didn't mean zero pleasure.
But his moments of pleasure had always been scheduled. He knew that achieving sexual gratification was important to his ability to function with a single goal in mind. So, he had always scheduled in times for him to receive gratification and then went about his business. He was not in the habit of growing uncontrollably hard at work.
That was exactly what had happened now though. He caressed his tent again and nearly shot out of the chair. This would never do.
Having made up his mind, Grayson made sure his doors were locked and unzipped his pants, pulling his dick free. He grabbed it with his dominant hand and began stroking the considerable length.
His touch felt good, but now that he had started, he wanted to get it done with. He'd achieve an orgasm and then go about his business. His dick wasn't cooperating, however. His regular generic fantasies of faceless omegas did nothing for him. The harder he stroked himself, the more annoyed he became at not orgasming yet.
Frustrated, he looked at the tray of food Lochlan had left behind. The pastries were untouched, but there was also coffee, the same cup Lochlan had taken a sip from. With his left hand, Grayson reached for the cup. He sniffed it once, convincing himself he could smell Lochlan through the bitter liquid. When he put his mouth on the lip of the cup, aiming for the spot he thought Lochlan had drunk from, he swiped his tongue over the porcelain edge, bringing in the faintest taste of Lochlan. His cock exploded, torrents of creamy fluid spewing out from the end, all from a single taste.
Utterly bewildered, he looked down at the mess he had made. There was ejaculate everywhere, worse, his cock was still hard. Frustrated, Grayson cleaned up the mess he had made and then ordered another pair of pants through text from his beta assistant.
His assistant dropped them off while Grayson was in his private bathroom cleaning up.
When Grayson had re-dressed and was sure all hint of his ridiculous display had been cleaned up and put away, he straightened his tie and grabbed his tablet. Pressing the buttons, he brought up the surveillance feed in research and waited. He was surer now that there was something off about Lochlan.
This excitement that Grayson was experiencing—all centered around Lochlan--could simply be his body trying to tell his mind that there was something about the little omega that he needed to uncover. And Grayson was determined to figure out what that something was.
***
By the end of the workday, Grayson knew only one thing about Lochlan that he hadn't known before and that was that he truly seemed to care for the omegas participating in the trial. He hadn't stopped moving the entire day that Grayson watched him—and Grayson had spent the whole work day watching. He didn't just address the omegas' mental concerns, but he would meet their physical needs as well by fetching them water or massaging their shoulders. He was doing just as his job description had stated, ensuring the omegas were as comfortable as possible.
Lochlan wasn't divulging any secrets however and what had Grayson expected? For Lochlan to stop midday to meet a man in a trench coat in some dark corner?
Perhaps there wasn't anything unusual about Lochlan other than that he was a private omega who didn't like to bring his personal life to work. Maybe his attraction to Grayson had been entirely physical, an omega reacting to an alpha's pheromones.
Grayson could respect that. Disgusted with himself for wasting the entire day, he set the tablet down in his desk drawer, closed the drawer and then locked it. He squeezed his hand and felt the sharp edges of his keychain bite into his skin.
The keychain would look out of place on the set of keys of a CEO. A simple metal airplane, it was more suitable for the key ring of a young man, buying his first car.
The front propeller of the tiny airplane had snapped off years ago, but the rest of it remained intact, a memory of a boy who never got to see his dreams realized.
Grayson's mind wandered into the past, back to a boy who had been fair skinned and always smiling. With parents who were neighbors, who both gave birth on the same day at the same hospital, Grayson and Coran had been friends since before their first words. In the beginning, their pictures had shown babies of equal size, but it hadn't taken long for Grayson to outgrow his best friend. All of the pictures taken of them as toddlers had shown Grayson helping his best friend. He'd help him keep balance as he climbed onto a chair or would feed him when he became too tired. Despite being the same age, Coran had always been Grayson's to care for. All the way until he wasn't.
Grayson dropped his keys on his desk and reached for a tissue to wipe the blood from his palm. The wings had pierced his skin again. This was the inspiration Grayson had needed earlier. If only he'd allowed himself a trip to the past then maybe he wouldn't have wasted an entire day on a hunch. Now, he'd have to work into the night because finding a cure, giving every omega in the world a choice was more important than any other thing.
It had to be.