Cameron was absolutely breathtaking when he blushed. It set off his freckles and contrasted with his hair in a way that Emory wanted to commission paintings of. When Emory blushed, it felt more like a shameful tell he needed to hide. Hecouldn’t very well blush his way through stakeholder meetings or vendor negotiations.
Cameron lifted his head, his eyes tracing over Emory’s cheeks, until his smirk turned into a softer, sweeter thing. “I’m just teasing. I didn’t mind—either the knocking me out part or the waking me up part. It felt… Gods, Emory, it felt so good.Youfeel so good.”
Emory’s lion gave a triumphant roar, and Emory couldn’t stop a toothy grin from splitting across his face. “Yeah?”
Cameron laughed softly. “Yeah.”
He shifted around, slowly rising up into a sitting position, still straddling Emory’s hips, balancing with his small hands on Emory’s ribs.
“How long does your knot usually last?”
Emory hummed in thought but was careful not to shift his hips. “It should be about done. Be careful not to move too much, though, or it will take a bit longer.”
Emory settled his hands heavily on Cameron’s legs, allowing himself a moment to appreciate how large they looked on his slim thighs. Cameron stared at Emory’s hands, placing both of his on top of Emory’s, smiling when the tips of his fingers only reached Emory’s knuckles.
“My octopus likes that you’re so much bigger than us. It makes him feel safe.”
Emory’s eyes widened, and his lion stopped preening. He sat down on his haunches and tilted his head in confusion. “I have to admit, I would not expect you to feel that way,” Emory said slowly. Cameron opened his mouth to speak, but Emory quickly added, “You or your octopus.”
Cameron dropped his chin to his chest and continued staring at their hands. “Do you remember what it was like before your dad died?”
Emory’s fingers twitched involuntarily, but he made sure to keep a loose grip on Cameron’s legs. “Of course I do. It was not all that long ago.”
“So…you remember a time before you were so clearly overworked and overstressed?”
Emory wasn’t sure where this line of questioning was coming from. It sounded like he was borrowing talking points from Christopher and Ronan. “I do, yes. Sometimes, I think that might actually contribute to my stress and overwhelm. I still remember a time when maintaining a healthy work/life balance was easy. That being said, I promise I’m going to try harder to–”
“I don’t remember a time before my biological parents hurt me,” Cameron interrupted, and Emory snapped his mouth closed.
Cameron’s fingers fidgeted, but just like Emory, he kept his grip loose. “I’ve dealt with a lot of the trauma I have from my parents, and thank the gods I truly don’t remember most of what happened. But Thomas… I remember what it was like before him. I remember what it was like to at least somewhat believe in fate. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been skeptical, but I was also a bit hopeful that maybe things could work out better for me than they did for my bio parents.”
Cameron’s palms were sweating against Emory’s hand, but he didn’t dare move, lest he scare away this admission. “Thomas…broke that in me,” Cameron continued in almost a whisper. “At least for a while. He broke a lot of things in me, but I’m slowly putting all the pieces back together and refiguring things out, like my gender and how I want to be in relationships with not just a mate but also with friends. As I do all that, I’m rediscovering some of that hope in fate again.”
He lifted his head and stared right into Emory’s eyes. “I think it may always be important for me to feel like I can take care of myself, whether that be monetarily, physically, or emotionally,but it would be nice to have a partner I can lean on. Someone who’s strong and caring and conscientious of me, and some of my more…challenging needs.”
Emory gently squeezed Cameron’s legs. “First of all, I don’t find any of your needs to be challenging. I have definitely picked up on your need for independence. I have to admit, your need to be cared for has been a little less apparent, but?—”
Emory’s knot chose that moment to release. His cock slid easily out as Cameron lifted onto his knees. Emory sat up, swiftly wrapping his arms around Cameron’s lower back to pull him into a hug.
Cameron tensed, but then just as quickly relaxed into Emory’s arms.
“But,” Emory continued. “I would love the opportunity to be that person for you. Someone you can lean on and rely on. Someone who will care for you and care about you without trying to control you.”
Cameron tilted his head up just as Emory leaned down, and they met in the middle, their lips nudging and brushing, more a caress than a kiss. “I think I’d like that,” Cameron whispered.
Emory turned his head to check the time on his alarm clock. “It’s almost midnight, and I’m not sure about you, but it’s been quite a while since I last had anything to eat or drink. I usually get a little bit of a break after knotting. Can I make us both something to eat?”
Cameron pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his lips. “That would be great.”
Emory was tempted to carry him to the kitchen, but that didn’t really align with Cameron’s declaration that he wanted someone to lean on but not control him. Instead, he lifted him out of bed, placed him carefully on his feet, and then took his hand.
He led them into the kitchen, which had a large island in the middle where Emory took most of his meals. Cameron looked hesitantly down at his naked, cum and slick-covered legs and then at the elegantly upholstered stools at the kitchen island. Emory didn’t even hesitate before patting the marble countertop. “It’s easier to clean stone than upholstery. I would be very okay with you sitting on the counter if you’d like.”
Cameron looked at him like he was joking, but when Emory just stood there, he walked up to the counter and hoisted himself up. Emory gathered sandwich fixings from the fridge and several drink options. They ended up with roast beef sandwiches with only semi-wilted lettuce and Cokes. His lion grumbled at him, displeased that they couldn’t provide more for their fated mate, but neither Emory nor his lion could cook for shit.
As they ate, Emory leaned against the counter, and Cameron leaned against his shoulder. The scene was so incredibly domestic, it almost felttooright.
“I feel like we’re sort of taking this whole relationship thing a bit out of order,” Cameron said quietly, and Emory almost laughed at how in tune their thoughts were.
