Mated.

I was mated.

Me.

As Parker lay on me, connected to me in the most beautiful way possible, I focused on staying awake and savoring the moment. Anyone seeing us, wrecked, our eyes lidded and cum oozing between our chests, would probably not have described us or any of this as beautiful, but it was.

His knot in me, connecting us together finally, after all these years. And this time, connecting us forever. We were mated. I still couldn’t wrap my head around that. It it felt so incredibly right, perfect, as if this time was created for it. Maybe we had needed those years apart to grow into the men we needed to be.

Sure, I still had some growing to do, or regression, possibly. Somehow, I had allowed myself to fall back into my parents’ omega expectations too easily, the ones I had fought from the get go. My confidence had been bolstered by the strong alpha who declared me his in the most important way—through his actions. I made a silent commitment to us both that I was going to get my license to practice law here, even if it meant taking a new bar or fighting my old firm that took the word of alphas over an omega for no other reason other than it fit the stereotype they bought in to. Shit, even I had started to fall into believing it.

“Am I squishing you?” Parker mumbled against my skin.

The intimacy of hearing him speak so comfortably made me shiver, and it was all I could do not to ask him to say it again. I hadn’t seen him like this since before the accident, so relaxed that he just truly was, without all of the over thinking.

“You’re perfect right where you are.” The thought of us contorting our bodies so he could be behind me left a bitter taste in my mouth. There were times where that would be perfect and natural, but right now, feeling his breath on my face and his weight on me was everything. “Go to sleep, love.” I reached up and caressed his face gently.

“Trying to savor this moment.” His eyes betrayed him as they stayed closed longer and longer with each blink.

“Me too.” I allowed my eyes to flutter closed and stay that way. “But I'm losing the battle.”

“So we both sleep?” he asked after an extended pause. He was going to be sleeping within minutes no matter what.

“Deal.”

He nuzzled into my neck, kissing his mark on my skin.

“Love you,” I whispered in his ear as he allowed his head to rest in the crux of my neck.

“Love you,” he echoed before giving in to slumber.

I laid there listening to his breath until I too, gave in.

When I awoke, nestled into his chest, his arms wrapped around me tightly as his light snoring filled my ears, all I could do was feel. Feel the joy of knowing we had a new start, the love I always held for this man no longer buried deep in an act of self-preservation, and hope for our future, one we had officially cast together. Life. Was. Good.

The call to use the facility became too strong for me to ignore and I attempted to sneak out from under his arm, but that resulted with me landing in a sprawl on the floor and Parker wide awake.

“Miles? You all right?” He bound off the bed, landing at my side just in time to hear me belting out in laughter.

“All but my ego.”

“Did I kick you?” Somehow he missed the memo that laughing meant no assaults, even those of his slumber, had occurred.

“No.” I stood up to show him I was truly fine. “I was trying to be stealthy but it didn’t quite work.”

“I see that.” He climbed up from the floor and I didn’t even pretend not to ogle him. He was now mine, after all. He just shook his head in mirth. “Kind of reminds me of that time we went to the—“

He didn’t need to continue for me to know where he was going with that story. A guy tries to give one surreptitious public blow job under a table just once, and he never lives it down. The fact that I managed to knock over the entire table before I even got to his button was completely irrelevant.

“Unnecessary trips down memory lane are postponed until further notice,” I scolded. I imagined we were going to spend many nights doing just that, and I looked forward to them, especially the ones that didn’t include me breaking an entire set of silverware during the dinner rush.

His phone began to ring.

“Looks like that is my cue to take care of business while you answer that. Love you, alpha.” I was already halfway to the bathroom, having waited much longer than I should’ve.

“Say that again when you come back,” he called, not even pretending to get his phone.

“I plan to say it often,” I said over my shoulder with a wink, imagining all the best times to call him alpha, the majority of them dirty. “Now answer that damn phone.”

I shut the door behind me just as I heard him answer with a curt, frustrated, “What?”