It was the heat talking. If Elijah had been with any other alpha, he would have said the same thing. Heat made omegas want to breed. It made them want to be reckless. Silas had to be the bigger man and refuse, for Elijah’s sake. Elijah’s childhood had been stolen from him by alphas who wanted to use him—Silas wasn’t about to steal his shot at the future by knocking him up.
Elijah, wearing his boxers, tummy swollen with life…
Elijah, tracing his hands along the bump…
“You’re only saying it because you’re in heat,” Silas said. He made no move to approach, and no move to step away. If he moved now, he was afraid he’d lose control. “That’s not what you want.”
“You’rewhat I want,” Elijah said. “I told you I wanted you. I told you I wanted a family. I’ve wanted you since the second I smelled you on the air, standing outside your office door waiting to be assigned to your care. You know it, too. I’ve seen the way you look at me. Have you been thinking dirty things about me, when you’re alone?”
Silas’ lips parted, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak. Elijah hitched his thumbs into the bottom of his shirt and eased it up his stomach and chest, then pulled it over his head. Dumbfounded, Silas watched the show. The slender, pale dip of Elijah’s hips paired with his flat stomach was enough to make Silas drool. His navel was shallow, a perfect button of darkness on an otherwise smooth body. And the V leading to his groin…
“I’m so hot right now,” Elijah mumbled. He balled his shirt and dabbed it against his forehead. The flush in his cheeks worked its way down his neck. “Wanna get it out from inside of me. Help me get it out, Silas. I wanna work it out with you.”
This wasn’t happening. Silas closed his mouth and went to take a deep breath, but thought better of it. The more he breathed in Elijah’s pheromones, the harder it would be to resist him. As it was, his cock had already stirred to life. He was sure Elijah could see it.
“It’s unsafe.” Was he talking Elijah down, or was he finding excuses not to act for his own benefit?
“Iwantto make a baby.” Elijah stopped not two feet from him, the pale browns of his eyes partially hidden beneath fallen lids. “I’ve been through nine heats now, and I’ve never wanted something so bad. It’s not my body making my mind think desperate things—I want this with you. I just didn’t want to trap you in this if it’s not something you want, too.”
“Trap me?” Silas blinked, trying to clear his head. Fantasies of Elijah, pregnant and radiant from it, made thinking things through hard. “No. You’re not trapping me. But…”
It wasn’t right. It was a direct breach of contract and professionalism. It would get him fired from Stonecrest faster than anything else. The career he’d spent almost a decade studying for would be wasted.
Elijah closed the distance between them and looped his arms around Silas’ neck. Full, pouting lips tempted Silas as no lips had ever tempted him before. “Then let’s make a baby.”
Even had Silas possessed the resources to say no, he wouldn’t have meant it.
On the tips of his toes, Elijah reached up and pressed their lips together. The kiss broke down the last of Silas’ defenses, and he wrapped his arms around Elijah’s torso and tugged him close as the kiss deepened. Elijah’s tongue slipped across his lips, and when Silas opened his mouth, it boldly pushed in and caressed the length of his tongue.
Even while in heat, Elijah was aggressive for an omega. Silas loved it.
They stumbled away from the door and across the living room, destined for the bedroom.
There was no chance Silas was going to change his mind now.
The sheets were still dirty from all the rutting Silas had done into his hand. Arousal and sweat clung to the fibers, and he was sure Elijah could smell it, and knew that it was because of him. Their kiss broke, and Elijah grabbed him by the tie and pulled him onto the bed. Elijah followed him down and landed on his back, and Silas sprawled out across him.
Silas wasn’t sure which of them picked the kiss back up, but it resumed with burning intensity. Elijah strained his body upward and pressed against him, and Silas pushed himself down in response. Beneath Elijah’s jeans, he felt the outline of his cock, hard and ready.
Was he far enough along in his heat to self-lubricate? The thought of slipping in so easily lurched in Silas’ gut, and his cock throbbed. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to knot prematurely.
How had it come to this?
Gasping against each other’s lips, Elijah worked Silas’ buttons open. He loosened the tie around Silas’ neck, and their kiss broke long enough so that he could remove it. Even in the few seconds they were apart, Silas hungered for the sensation of Elijah’s lips and the taste of his tongue. Arousal hammered low in his gut and urged him to hurry the process up.
If this was just the first day of Elijah’s heat, how much more intense would it be in the days to come? The question would go unanswered. If Elijah conceived today, his heat would end prematurely, and he wouldn’t go back into heat until after the baby was born.
Theirbaby.
Silas shuddered and captured Elijah’s lips in a crushing kiss.Hisomega.Hismate.Hisfamily.
Was a job worth losing the connection he shared with Elijah? Was it worth losing his shot at happiness? Silas had been married to his career since his internship at Stonecrest during his master’s degree. All his adult life he’d been serious and professional, quick to push aside his emotions for practicalities.
Elijah summoned in him an emotion he could no longer ignore.
Piece by piece, Elijah shed their clothing. At times, the urgency of their kiss slowed them. In those moments, all they could do was kiss, and caress, and dry hump each other until the crushing need passed. Elijah’s pheromones drowned his senses and filled his head with thoughts of the future.
Tenderness. Lazy mornings spent in bed together, Elijah’s back against his chest while Silas caressed his swelling stomach. Stolen kisses over coffee. Eventually, a family.
