by Alana Timms
****
Noah
Given that Approval wasn’t a sure thing, Noah decided to hang on to the lease for his apartment. Somewhere to come back to in the event that things went belly up in East District. All he packed were his clothing, books, and electronics. Joshua, who’d come over to verify that he was taking the leap, grabbed a couple of the suitcases.
“You don’t think this is all too soon? Moving in with Trent and all.”
Noah shrugged with a nonchalance he didn’t feel. Living and working with Trent, being with him almost twenty-four seven, wanting him but knowing the omega was too sunk in Zach to notice anybody else, it would be refined torture. But it would only be for six weeks, tops. He could bear anything for six weeks.
“It’s temporary,” he told Joshua, picking up the last two suitcases.
They stowed the luggage into a van he’d hired for the purpose. Couple more trips to bring the boxes, and he was all set. Seemed so easy to pick up his life and move. Too easy.
Joshua lightly punched his shoulder. “Well, don’t be a stranger.”
“Just try keeping me away.”
He didn’t expect the tightness that gripped his throat as he left West District behind. It had been his home all his life. And no matter how angry he’d been that his parents had lied to him by omission, they’d done the best they could by him. His human parents had wanted him. They had chosen him. His latent parents, whoever they were, had been the ones who’d abandoned him. They’d rejected him, and so had every co-op in East District. None had wanted to adopt an alpha who would grow up to screw up the lines of succession.
So the humans took him home and loved him. And out of love for and loyalty to them, he’d waited until his dad was gone and his mom lost to dementia before starting to search for himself; praying he’d not meet with rejection this time around.
He stopped at the grocery store in Logan’s Reach. Knowing Trent, he probably hadn’t had the time or the inclination to top up on the minimal food he’d bought after the picnic. He pulled up outside Trent’s house. The windows were dark. Thursday evening; Trent would be at work, and wasn’t expecting him until tomorrow. Noah hoped he would be a nice surprise. The spare key was where Trent had said it would be under the coarse welcome mat.
Trent had been busy. The stack of boxes from his former life were far reduced. Only two had survived the cull and now occupied a corner of the dining room. Noah placed his own four boxes in another corner. He’d need some kind of workstation. A temporary one. He brought the suitcases into the living room, unpacked the groceries, and marinated a couple of steaks.
The house already felt lived in compared to when he first came here. The plants, though. He turned on the coffee pot and filled a jug with water, generously feeding the first of the sad plants. A mug of coffee later, all the plants were watered, and Noah couldn’t put off getting his bags unpacked any longer.
He wheeled two of his bags to the bedroom. As he opened the door, light from the hallway sliced through the dark room and fell on Trent, fast asleep in his bed. Noah took a small step back, frowning. Why was Trent home? And in his bed?
More puzzling, why were Noah’s instincts howling for him to climb in next to Trent?
He didn’t know if that was a good idea, but standing there like a creep watching Trent sleep was even less palatable. He closed the door and made his way through the dark to sit on the edge of the bed, listening to the peaceful sound of Trent’s breathing as he took his shoes and glasses off.
Trent needed him. Not the fake alpha, but him. It was the only explanation he could come up with for Trent seeking him out in his absence.
And if Trent needed him, let’s face it, he would be there. Because his feelings of protectiveness toward this hurting omega had never been fake. He pulled back the covers and lay down. Folded his arms under his head since Trent had both his pillows; one under his head and the other clasped against him.
Noah must have fallen asleep, because he woke to Trent’s face in his armpit. Breathing him in, long inhalations accompanied by these little mewls of bliss. Noah’s gut clenched with desire. His blood stampeded south, filling his cock to full hardness. He was damn sure Trent was still asleep and not aware of what he was doing, or with whom.
Though aching, Noah inched away. He wasn’t going to be that guy. The kind to exploit a semi-conscious omega.
****
Trent
Noah’s scent dragged him up from the depth of the best sleep of his life. It infiltrated his senses, got him craving for more. He followed it to the source, sliding across the bed until his face was in Noah’s pit. Should’ve been gross, maybe. But no part of the salty-spice and the warmth grossed him out. It got him hard, was what it did. He breathed it in, letting it fill him so that his body was heavy with wanting, his skin hot with the same. But then Noah moved, depriving him.
Murmuring his displeasure, he closed the gap Noah had created.
Noah moved again, dammit.
This time, Trent threw a leg over Noah and climbed onto him to make him stay put. “Noah,” he said, seeking Noah’s collarbone with his fingers, pressing his nose to it. “Alphas don’t run away from omegas.”
Noah moved so fast he’d flipped Trent onto his back between one breath and the next, his weight pinning Trent to the mattress. “Who’s running?” he asked before kissing Trent hard and unrestrained.
And maybe this was what Trent had wanted all along, not the careful approach like he would break, but this all-out domination. He parted his lips as Noah licked at the seam of his mouth. Hitched a breath as Noah’s tongue rubbed against his, insistent. Here he was at last, his sexy professor with the pyro powers, and Trent welcomed him, spreading his legs so Noah could sink between his thighs. Another hitched breath at the hard press of Noah’s erection against his.
Trent’s phone buzzed on the nightstand. He swept it to the floor.
“Might be important,” Noah said, his voice roughened by lust.
Trent rolled his hips, rubbing up against Noah, because that was important too.
“Fuck,” Noah groaned.
He kissed the side of Trent’s neck, a sucking kind of kiss bordering on a hickey. A spasm went through Trent, rigid with pleasure as his abs contracted and a spurt of precum dampened his shorts. He reached down to take a hold of his dick, but Noah gripped his wrist and held it against the mattress, his other hand pushing Trent’s t-shirt up to leave his torso bare for more of those sucking almost-hickeys.
“Your mouth,” said Trent. He slid a hand into Noah’s hair, arching up to that hot mouth as Noah left a wet trail from nipple to navel.
The phone buzzed again.
“Want to get that?” asked Noah.
“No.” Trent raised his head to look at Noah. Too dark to see much more than his shape. “Next time we’re…” He faltered when Noah reached in through the flap in his boxers and closed a fist around him. “We’re turning the lamp on next time.”
“Turn it on now.”
He did, flailing his arm, and in the soft glow, looked down to see his thighs splayed wide by Noah’s broad shoulders. Noah’s eyes turned so deep brown they were almost black, his reddened lips poised above the slick mushroom head of Trent’s erection poking through the flap of his boxers.
Trent slammed his head back onto the pillow. Noah’s hot, capable mouth swallowed him to the root, throat working around him. Sweating, base of his spine sparking, all Trent could say was, “Noah…fuck, Noah.”
He still had a hand in Noah’s hair, but Noah set the pace. Noah decided how long Trent would pant, tossed around by pleasure. Noah decided when Trent would come, increasing his tempo and sealing his lips tight, palming Trent’s balls.
Trent bucked his hips once, involuntary, as his orgasm hit. He dug his fingers in the mattress and rode the devastating pleasure, Noah staying on him till the last drop.
His phone buzzed.
He tugged at Noah. “Come up here. Please.” And when Noah did, Tr
ent latched on, chasing the taste of himself in Noah’s mouth.
But now Noah’s phone rang.
Noah broke away, shattering Trent’s immediate plans of getting Noah’s belt unbuckled and returning the favor. Noah raised a finger, indicating he needed one second, and grabbed his phone from the nightstand.
“This better be a matter of life…oh. Alpha. Sorry, I didn’t realize it was…” Noah lapsed into silent nodding. “Now?” He threw Trent a startled look. “No, no, now’s fine. We’ll be there in fifteen.”
Trent was already out of bed, pulling his stained t-shirt off. “What’s going on?”
“Alpha Logan’s at Pegasus.”
Trent’s pulse tripped. “He’s never been. Not even on opening night.”
“Well, he’s there now.”
Trent checked his missed calls. They were all from Alpha. “We need to go!”
He would have liked a shower but made do with a wet rag. Felt kind of bad for Noah and his unwavering boner.
“New car?” he asked, sliding in.
“I hired it to move my things.”
Trent drummed his fingers on his knee. Pegasus was more than fifteen minutes away. First he ignored Alpha’s calls, and now they’d be later than promised. “I’ve been meaning to buy a car.”
“Yeah, you mentioned it. We could look around tomorrow afternoon.”
“If we’re still alive after Alpha’s done with us.”
Noah laughed lightly. “He really scares you, huh?”
“You’ve got to at least wonder how he’s in such good shape. He was three when the Truce was enacted. Makes him—”
“A hundred and seven. Maybe he drinks vampire blood for breakfast,” said Noah.
Trent shuddered, surprised to see Noah was still sporting a boner despite their less than erotic conversation. He jerked his thumb in the direction of Noah’s lap. “You can’t go in there like that.”
The corner of Noah’s mouth kicked up into a half smile. “You mean walk into Pegasus advertising my virility? Oh, I think I can.”
“Alphas,” said Trent with a shake of his head. “Keep your hands on the wheel.”
“Uhm, driving. It’s kind of a prerequisite.”
Trent unbuckled his seatbelt and twisted around in his seat. He unbuckled Noah’s belt like he’d been wanting to do and slipped the buttons on the fly of his jeans.
“Trent,” Noah began with a thread of warning.
“On the wheel.”
And he ducked down, at the same time reaching into Noah’s shorts to release him. The guy was packing. Like, damn. Good thing Trent had awesome hand to mouth coordination. He made it quick, working in the tight space. Savoring the heavy feel of Noah on his tongue, that salty-bitter rush of precum.
Above him, Noah breathed hard, the steering wheel creaking under his stranglehold.
It wasn’t long before the first spurt hit Trent’s tongue. He stayed on Noah, swallowing, loving the deep sounds he drew from his alpha.
One final lick, and he sat up, wiping a hand across his mouth. They were in the parking lot behind Pegasus.
Breathing steady again, Noah buttoned his fly. “Good but unlawful. We’re not doing that again.”
What was the problem? They’d go in smelling like each other, which worked great for their paired-up act. Throw Alpha Logan off the scent, pun intended. “Whatever you say, Alpha.”
Noah went still, his eyes so filled with longing that the air rushed out of Trent’s lungs. They sat snared in the moment, Trent not knowing what to do with this glimpse of Noah’s vulnerability. So he did what he always did when he was uncomfortable, or scared or overawed.
He smiled, a stiff curve of lips like he was trying to bend a piece of wood without splintering it.
Noah shoved his door open. “Let’s go,” he said, curt. He was halfway across the parking lot before Trent had jumped out of the car.
Noah pointed the key fob at the car without breaking his stride, only stopping to wait for Trent just before the bar doors.
“Try not to smile at Alpha,” said Noah, his hand on the door handle. “You’re terrible at fake smiling. He’ll see right through this little charade.”
They’d agreed to this little charade. Therefore, why the aggravation? “We could pretend we’ve had a fight. That won’t be hard to fake.”
Noah pushed the door open, and they stepped into the bubble of chatter and music and hops-scented air. Alpha Logan sat at a central table with a throng around him. His security detail were among the crowd, but his two sons were missing. Not surprising. They performed as few duties as they could get away with.
Alpha shooed everybody away and waved him and Noah over. Trent didn’t miss the way the old wolf scrutinized them as they approached, cogs turning. Showing Alpha anything except exactly how he felt would be a mistake.
“Trent. Noah.” Alpha nodded at each of them. “Take a seat.”
They did, Trent positioning himself with his shoulders slightly turned away from Noah. Because he needed some distance and was showing it. Trying to figure out whether they’d had fake sex back at his place. And whether his jaw was aching from giving Noah a fake blow job. Seemed to him that he and Noah had left fake way behind and were exploring something new and confusing.
Alpha kicked off with, “What kind of ship are you running here, boys? Both licensees off the premises. Staff unable to reach you. Got to say I’m disappointed. Noah, I expect better from someone standing in for my grandson.”
“Yes, sir.”
Alpha Logan then stared at Trent until he was fit to squirm. “What’s this about Noah being your household alpha? I thought you were gaga over Zach.”
Trent gave in to the urge to squirm. “Zach’s made it clear we’re just friends.”
“So you fall straight onto this one’s dick?”
Noah exhaled harshly. “Excuse me, Alpha—”
“Not excused. I’m speaking now. Raised in a barn, were you?” Alpha Logan leaned into Noah’s space. “I want to see some manners from you, son. Nobody gets Approved for Logan’s Reach without knowing how to conduct themselves.”
Trent held his breath, hoping Noah wouldn’t contradict or disrespect Alpha in any way.
Without taking his eyes off Noah, Alpha said, “Answer me, Trent.”
“Zach’s been my de facto alpha since we were kids. I love him for it. But he doesn’t want me. Noah does. And I feel the same. I like him.”
Alpha sat back, taking his gaze off Noah to look at Trent. “Like him? That’s enough for you to pair up with him?” He sounded skeptical.
“Yes, if it’s enough for Noah.” He turned to Noah, the hope in his voice not something that could be faked. “Is it? Enough for you?”
Noah nodded, his posture rigid. “For now.”
“And I’m supposed to believe you won’t go running back to Zach the moment he lands?” asked Alpha. The scorn burned Trent. But it was better than the chill tiptoeing down his spine at the flash in Alpha’s eyes. The eerie glow—there, then gone. “You have five seconds to recant this ridiculous story. After that, there will be no forgiveness should I come to discover that you’re lying to me, your Supreme Alpha.” He grasped Trent’s chin between thumb and forefinger and bored his gaze into Trent’s. “One…”
Trent tried to hold his nerve, but his hands were shaking. How had it come to this? Fixing Rusty Nails for Noah one moment, fighting for his place in the co-op the next. He’d never make it as a lone latent. Couldn’t imagine living anywhere but Logan’s Reach.
“…two…”
The omega community center loomed in his mind. The runaways. He’d be like them but cast away. He couldn’t do that to himself. He lowered his gaze, no longer able to sustain the force of Alpha’s stare.
“…three…”
Oh, god. He couldn’t do it to himself. But he couldn’t do it to Noah either, throw him under the bus. Reject him after all the kindness he’d shown. He’d had the best sleep of his life because of Noah. No sc
ent calmed his mind and made him feel safe like Noah’s, not even Zach’s.
“…four…”
He and Zach were over. Hadn’t Zach been the one who’d ended it? And hadn’t Zach walked away from him at the airport without even a backward glance? The clues that Zach was just not into him had always been there. Trent accepted that now, was even kind of grateful to Top Dog. Zach leaving had forced him to break free of his hopeless infatuation. He was never going there again.
“…five…”
He and Zach were over. They’d never began. But he and Noah had a chance at something real. From the moment Noah had discovered that Zach had left, he’d been supportive, giving him a shoulder to cry on, literally. Noah had held his hand out. And now Trent held his hand out to Noah, relieved when he took it. They held on to each other tight, waiting for Alpha’s verdict.
“Very well.” Alpha Logan released his hold on Trent’s chin. To Noah he said, “Congratulations, you’re Approved. I give you six months of living together as a pairing.” He included Trent in his glance. “After that, I expect an invitation to your official ceremony. Yeah, double congratulations, you’re getting married.”
Alpha rose and headed for the doors, beckoning to his security.
****
Noah
Longest five seconds of his life. He’d resigned himself to returning to West District before he’d even unpacked his bags. He gave Trent’s hand a squeeze, still trying to process what had just happened. What Trent had done for him.
“I’m going with the theory that Pop has vampire blood for breakfast.” Trent’s voice shook, his palm clammy. “Did you see his eyes flash?”
He laughed, a tad shaky himself. They were paired up. They were getting married. The idea blew his mind. He sought Trent’s gaze. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Maybe I want to,” Trent said, fierce.