Another sharp blow landed, and Stefano's jaw clenched as he fought the overwhelming urge to rip away the barrier of fabric.I want to see the mark,he thought desperately.Want to see my handprint on that perfect skin.But he couldn't—not yet, not while they were still playing the role of hired security.
Leo's struggles turned vicious, and the friction against Stefano's lap made him bite back a groan. Soon he'd have Leo naked and willing across his knee; soon he'd be able to see every inch of pale skin flushing pink under his attention.
"Get your goddamn hands off me!" Leo snarled, twisting in Stefano's grip. "I'll bite your fucking face off! I'll gouge out your eyes and use them as ping-pong balls!"
"Try it," Stefano said, delivering another precise blow.
Thwack!
The sound was sharper this time, and Leo arched against his lap with a strangled cry that went straight to Stefano's cock. The thought of his handprint marking the boy beneath those jeans, claiming him in ways that would remind Leo of this moment every time he sat down, sent dark satisfaction racing through Stefano's veins.
That was the last straw. Leo twisted with surprising agility and sank his teeth into Stefano's forearm, biting down through the tactical gear.
“Fucking hell,” Stefano growled, immediate heat flooding his system at the boy’s audacity.
This was why they wanted Leo so desperately—that perfect combination of omega biology and alpha spirit that made him worth everything they’d sacrificed to obtain him. A lesser omega would have submitted immediately. A lesser omega wouldn’thave dared to bite an alpha who could snap his neck with one hand.
Stefano flipped Leo off his lap and onto the ground. The boy scrambled away on hands and knees, but Stefano was faster, tackling him into the pine needles with enough force to drive the breath from his lungs.
They rolled, Leo clawing and biting like a feral cat, until Stefano pinned him beneath his weight, capturing both wrists in one large hand and stretching them above Leo’s head. The position arched the boy’s back, emphasizing the slender lines of his body and the furious defiance in those amber eyes.
“Let me go, you psychotic bastard!” Leo panted, struggling against the hold with impressive determination. “If you think my father will let this stand, you’re even dumber than you look—and that’s saying something!”
Stefano straddled Leo’s hips, his masked face inches from the boy’s throat as he breathed in that incredible winter jasmine scent. Leo’s pulse hammered beneath his skin, visible and vulnerable against that elegant throat that begged to be marked.
His cock throbbed at the thought, so hard it was painful against his tactical pants. If his brothers weren’t here, watching, waiting, Stefano wasn’t sure he could stop himself from taking what belonged to him right here in the dirt.
“You know what would happen if I wasn't just your father's hired gun, little omega?” Stefano murmured against Leo's neck, his voice rough with barely controlled hunger.
Leo’s body went still beneath him. “I’d bite your dick off?” he gasped, but his voice carried a breathless quality that suggested his body was responding in ways his mind couldn’t process.
Instead of answering, Stefano pressed his lips to that elegant throat through his tactical mask, tasting salt and sweetness before biting down just hard enough to mark. The feel of Leo’s pulse beneath his lips sent another surge of heat straight to hiscock, making him grind unconsciously against the boy pinned beneath him.
“You sick fuck!” Leo gasped, but the curse dissolved into something that sounded almost like a moan.
Stefano pulled back to study Leo’s flushed face, noting the dilated pupils and rapid breathing that spoke of arousal the boy clearly didn’t understand. His gaze traveled downward, taking in the obvious evidence of Leo’s body’s betrayal.
“Well, well,” Stefano said, his voice dark with amusement. “That’s interesting.”
Leo’s face burned with humiliation, but the scent of his arousal was unmistakable now—winter jasmine edged with something sweeter, more primal. “It’s just biology, you psychopath. Means nothing. Now get your hands off me before I introduce your balls to my knee. I’m sure they’re microscopic, but I’ll find them eventually.”
“Are you sure about that?” Stefano asked, shifting his weight slightly so his hardness pressed against Leo’s hip. He watched the boy’s eyes widen as he felt the unmistakable evidence of Stefano’s arousal. “Because your body seems to be sending mixed signals.”
The boy’s body knew what his mind hadn’t accepted yet—that he belonged to them, that his omega biology recognized their alpha claim even if his conscious mind was still fighting it.
“If you touch me again,” Leo hissed, amber eyes blazing with fury and something else that looked dangerously like fear, “I’ll make you regret the day you were born. That’s not biology talking—that’s a fucking promise.”
Stefano studied him for a long moment, taking in the defiant tilt of Leo’s chin even while pinned and helpless. Everything about the boy was perfect—his beauty, his intelligence, his magnificent fury. Breaking that spirit would be an exquisite pleasure, one Stefano intended to savor for years to come.
He released Leo’s wrists and climbed to his feet, hauling the boy upright and throwing him over his shoulder again before he could think about running.
“This isn’t over,” Leo snarled as they began the trek back to the cottage, his fists pounding uselessly against Stefano’s back. “Not even close to over. I’m going to make you regret ever laying hands on me.”
“No,” Stefano agreed, his hand possessive on Leo’s thigh as winter jasmine flooded his senses with every step. “It’s not.”
The promise in those words carried everything Stefano couldn’t say yet—that Leo belonged to them, that his father had already agreed to their claim, that the beautiful boy fighting so desperately against what was coming had no idea how thoroughly his future had been planned.
“When my father finds out what you did?—”
