Emerson smiled to himself. “I think you might have that the wrong way around.”
Dash didn’t respond.
Emerson tilted his face up and found himfinallyfast asleep.
When his knot deflated, he carefully withdrew from Dash and gently laid the man on his side. After discarding the condom, he curled up behind him and drifted off the sleep—awaiting the next wave of heat with anticipation.
25
Dash barely remembered climbing atop Emerson, but that’s where he found himself the next time he awoke—locked together by the alpha’s knot once again with a sheen of sweat covering them both. He stared down into Emerson’s handsome face, his heart skipping a beat as he gasped for air. How could he be so far gone that he didn’t even remember having sex?
Thank heavens it was with Emerson.
That thought gave him pause. Not because it was wrong, but because of the instinctual trust he felt for the man. At his most defenseless… he’d only wanted Emerson there.
He’d never even dreamed of wanting to share a heat with someone. Now he couldn’t imagine being alone without Emerson there.
Dash’s gaze slowly moved to Emerson’s. Satisfaction shone in the alpha’s eyes. A small, gratified smile and hooded eyes told Dash most of what he needed to know. Yet he examined closer, looking for the telltale signs of judgment—or anger—or disappointment, but he saw none of those.
“Are you okay?” Emerson asked, his voice gentle, massaging Dash’s hips where he’d just been holding tight.
“I’m fine,”Dash replied, dragging his gaze off the man who was peeling away his armor, layer by layer. “I, ah…”
He allowed the words to trail off, emotion making his throat tighten. The thought of Emerson walking away once he learned the full story made it harder to breathe. Tears threatened, and he fucking hated that. The surge of hormones from his heats always sent him into an emotional tailspin. It left him feeling overwhelmed and incapable of controlling himself, no matter how hard he’d worked to find level footing over the last few years.
Thankfully, Emerson wasn’t pushing for answers. Oblivious, Emerson tenderly brushed Dash’s sweaty bangs back like it was his one and only job. Dash watched his alpha at work, diligent and attentive.
“I suppose you deserve that explanation now.”
Emerson’s gaze slowly slid to his. He didn’t speak for a beat, running his thumb just under Dash’s lower lip first. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have questions…”
Dash tore his gaze from the earnestness in Emerson’s stare. Instead, he eyed his mate’s chest, focusing on a small cluster of freckles at the base of his neck. They reminded him of a constellation. Which one, he couldn’t remember. Tracing a fingertip over the tiny dots, he collected his thoughts and tried to put some order to the chaos of his mind. Emerson’s skin was warm and that warmth leached into him. The steady beat of his alpha’s heart pulsed under his fingertip.
The steady pulse of the knot was even more profound.
What if he gets me pregnant?
Panic struck at that thought, but through the hazy memory of the night before, he thought he recalled a condom appearing. Hopefully that was the case.
Seconds ticked by—yet Emersonstilldidn’t prod, even though Dash sensed a keen eye on him.
“I grew up assumed to be an alpha. I was one of the tallest and strongest in almost every one of my classes.Well,until I started skipping grades, that is. Either way, I was big for my age. I was only ten when my knot appeared and all of the questions were supposedly answered. I was alpha. Top of the food chain.” He paused, allowing himself a breath to hold back the tide. “Yet something in my head knew I wasn’t. I could never put what I felt into words, it was just this general feeling that my body was wrong somehow. That being an alpha was wrong. I wasn’t interested in the things other alphas were, but for the longest time, I attributed that to the boys being older than me. I’d get there one day. I pushed myself to excel at all the things alphas weresupposedto excel at.”
“I felt much the same way—though I’m not the grade-skipping genius you are,” Emerson said, offering a soft smile. “As puberty grew closer, I struggled to understand the things my friends did or wanted. I felt wrong, too.”
“Puberty. That was the absolute worst. Fortunately, I was enrolled in Woodside, so I didn’t have omegas to contend with at the same time. Except the occasional mixers or joint events with Belle Haven.”
Emerson whistled. “Woodside? We hated the snobs who went there. But then, youarea McCreary.”
“My papawas a McCreary who’d been exiled from the family for mating my father, thank you very much. I earned a scholarship on my own merit and skill.”
Emerson grinned.“Egghead.”
Dash fought a smile. “Can’t win with you, can I? Either I’m a snob or an egghead.”
Emerson pressed a soft kiss to Dash’s lips. “You’remyegghead. I’d take that any day over a snob.”
Dash fought another smile, sliding his fingertip down to another cluster of freckles. Silence took hold, and he pretendedfor a minute that Emerson wasn’t hanging on to his every word, waiting for an explanation he full well deserved.
