What would he name it? What would it look like? Would he ever show it to Eric? If Ollie birthed their child and Eric recognized himself in the baby... would Eric begin to question Ollie?
I can’t let him know, Olivier thought, digging his fingers into his belly. If Eric knows, then the rest of the family will know. He’ll lose everyone. And Eric loved the rest of them—Dad and his mom and Cole and Aaron. He had been relying on them to help care for Jenn. Olivier couldn’t possibly take that away from him.
The last time Olivier lied to Eric, that had been ten years ago. And Eric had gone on to have a happy life.
It just meant that Eric couldn’t bear any responsibility for this child. So he wouldn’t be tied to Olivier.
“You’ve never talked about it,” Eric murmured, glancing at Olivier’s belly. “Whose—”
Yours.
“I’m tired,” Olivier blurted, leaning into Eric’s chest. “The puking took a lot out of me.”
He felt bad, changing the topic. But his limbs were heavy, and Eric was distracted. “Take the day off,” Eric said. “I’ll send you home.”
“I can’t! The shop needs me.”
“You can go home, Ollie. I’ll even drive you there.”
“But—”
Eric kissed him, sliding his soft, damp tongue into Ollie’s mouth. Olivier froze. Then he jerked away with a wince, grossed out. “Eric! I just—I smell like puke!”
“I don’t care,” Eric said. “Jenn’s done worse to me.”
“Even so! You’re not sticking your tongue into—”
Eric pressed his hand over Olivier’s mouth, silencing him. Then he glanced at the door, and Olivier realized Cole might still be standing outside.
His stomach shriveled into a cold, tight lump. “Oh, gods,” Ollie whispered, blood draining from his face. “Eric.”
Eric stroked his fingers through Olivier’s hair. “Feeling better?”
“Kind of.” Except Olivier couldn’t move. What if Cole found out? He was already suspicious of Eric.
“I’ll leave first,” Eric murmured. “Sit on the toilet for a bit. Make sure you feel okay before you step out.”
Olivier whimpered. The shop was quiet outside, and there was no way to tell if Cole had overheard.
Eric pulled him into a tight hug, kissing his neck. “It’ll be fine. Cole’s a good person.”
But neither of them knew how Cole would react to his brothers sleeping together. Cole had always been stubborn, rule-following. It was why he did so well as a firefighter.
Olivier bit his lip, squeezing Eric’s hand. “Don’t get hurt.”
Eric rolled his eyes. “We aren’t gonna fight or anything.”
He dropped a kiss on Olivier’s lips, then left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Olivier groaned, covering his face. It felt like everything would crash around him, with each new person who found out.
Outside, it was silent. Eric said, “Thanks for watching Jenn. I appreciate it.”
“Anytime.”
“Doin’ okay?” Eric asked. “I hope Uncle Cole was good to you.”
Eric was talking to Jenn. Jenn babbled, and Eric answered her in quiet murmurs. Was Cole still around?
“About Ollie,” Cole said. Ollie’s stomach twisted.
“What about him?” Eric asked warily.
“That day, when you first moved here from Highton... you smelled like carnations.”
Silence from Eric.
“You didn’t happen to meet Olivier, did you?” Cole asked.
“Does it matter?”
“Not typically.” Cole paused. “But you’ve been smelling like carnation this whole month, Eric. You never said who it was you’re seeing. And just now... Gods, in the bathroom, you—”
Cole heard. Olivier covered his face, his heart pounding.
“I?” Eric sounded challenging.
“Look, I don’t want to make false accusations,” Cole said in a lower voice. “But you and Ollie—you’re brothers.”
“Stepbrothers,” Eric said. “There’s a fine difference, but there’s one.”
Cole fell silent. Worried now, Olivier opened the bathroom door, as slowly and silently as he could. Just outside, Eric stood with Jenn in one arm, his shoulders raised defensively.
“So you’re seeing Ollie,” Cole said, like he couldn’t believe what he was saying.
“Yeah,” Eric said.
Don’t tell him, Olivier thought.
“But you’re brothers,” Cole blurted. “Like, you’re related!”
“Not by blood, Cole.” Eric narrowed his eyes.
“How the hell does that even happen?” Cole asked, disbelief clear in his eyes. “Are you forcing him against his will? Sounded like you were sticking your tongue in places you shouldn’t.”
Ollie wanted to crawl into a hole and die right there.
“I’m not forcing him into anything.” Eric scowled. “This isn’t any of your business.”
“Your omega died two months ago,” Cole muttered. “Shouldn’t you be grieving? Instead of—of... Oh, gods, Eric, please don’t tell me you really slept with him.”
Olivier closed his eyes, pressing his head against the wall. Eric didn’t answer.
“What would Alice say?” Cole asked.
“Alice is dead,” Eric snapped. “Stop talking about her.”
There was pain in his voice, anguish. But Cole ignored it. “Is Ollie just someone you sleep with until you find an actual omega?”
Olivier flinched. Knowing it, and hearing it, were two completely different things.
“Shut up,” Eric snarled, striking out at Cole.
Cole blocked the punch, his eyes flashing. Jenn began to wail, and Olivier tumbled out of the bathroom, leaping at Eric before he got into a fight with Cole.
“Eric,” Olivier said, catching Eric by the arm and dragging him back. “Stop!”
Cole glanced at him. Olivier looked away, his face burning. He couldn’t deny anything Cole had said. Instead, he pulled Eric away from their brother, smelling the whiff of his own puke on Eric’s pants.
“Please don’t fight,” Olivier begged, meeting Eric’s narrowed eyes. “Jenn will get hurt.”
Eric clenched his jaw, glancing at the wailing baby in his arms. He eyed Cole, who had retreated a couple steps, fists clenched, still ready for a brawl. Then Eric drew a deep breath, blowing it out.
“Yeah, I’m not gonna fight,” Eric said. “It’s not worth it.”
Olivier relaxed slightly. Except Cole was still watching them, and every moment that Olivier didn’t deny their relationship, he lost more of Cole’s trust in him.
He should deny it. He should turn Eric away, and pretend none of this had happened.
“Ollie’s mine,” Eric growled. “You don’t know the slightest thing about our history, Cole.”
Olivier froze, his heart sinking. “Eric, no.”
“Yes,” Eric said, meeting his eyes. Jenn wailed. “I’m not gonna run and hide forever. It’s not something you can bury, Ollie. I’m not gonna be scared of someone finding out all my life.”
Cole’s stare burned into the side of Olivier’s head. Olivier closed his eyes, his face scorching. Cole had heard. What if he told Eric’s mom? Or their dad? “I don’t want you to lose everyone,” Ollie mumbled. “Dad will disown you, wouldn’t he? And your mom...”
“What about you?” Eric asked, rubbing Jenn’s back. “Aren’t you worried about yourself?”
“I don’t feel like I’m part of the family,” Olivier said quietly. “I haven’t for a long time.”
Eric’s lips thinned into a line. Jenn was starting to quiet, and Olivier couldn’t meet Cole’s eyes.
“You’re part of the family,” Eric said bluntly.
Olivier shrugged. None of them had missed him, anyway.
Cole was still watching them, a mix of confusion and disbelief on his face. “You’re serious about this,” he said. “The both of you.”
When Cole breathed
in again, his nostrils flared—he was sniffing at Olivier. Ollie saw the moment Cole identified his honey scent. Then his gaze snapped down to Olivier’s belly.
Olivier cradled his abdomen, looking away.
“Is that...” Cole trailed off. Is that Eric’s?
“It’s my baby,” Olivier said, avoiding Eric’s eyes. “It’s got nothing to do with anyone.”
Eric’s shoulders sagged. Olivier couldn’t tell if Eric was disappointed in him for lying, or because he thought the baby wasn’t his.
“At least it isn’t Eric’s.” Cole scrutinized them. “Bad enough that you’re getting involved in this—this mess.”
Definitely why Olivier couldn’t tell Eric at all. Except... “I do love Eric, Cole. I always have. You just didn’t know it.”
Cole frowned deeper.
Eric’s gaze softened. He pulled Olivier against himself, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “And I swear I’ll do everything to protect you.”
“But Alice,” Olivier said uneasily. “Would she really...”
“She was a close friend.” Eric sighed into Olivier’s hair. “I think... I think she would’ve understood.”
“You can say that?” Cole asked incredulously.
“She was my wife and best friend.” Eric glanced at him. “I know her better than you do, Cole. I know what she would’ve said.”
Pain flashed through his eyes then. For a moment, Eric’s entire face fell, and Olivier glimpsed his grief. Eric was still hurting. He would always hurt, probably.
It wasn’t something Olivier could prevent, and he didn’t think he could ease Eric’s pain. But he pulled Eric and Jenn into a hug anyway, trying to console them as best as he could.
“I’m here,” Olivier said. “For whatever you need.”
Eric pressed his forehead to Olivier’s temple, closing his eyes. “Thanks,” he murmured. “I’ll take you up on that sometime.”
Olivier nodded, meeting Cole’s eyes over Eric’s shoulder. Maybe he could borrow Eric’s strength, and stand up for himself.
“I’m not looking for another alpha,” Olivier admitted, his nerves pulling tight. “I’ve loved Eric forever. That will never change. I’m sorry if you think worse of me, Cole. But please—don’t assume Eric manipulated me into this. I’m at fault.”
Cole frowned, his gaze flickering from Eric to Olivier. “This just seems really wrong.”
“It is wrong.” Olivier squirmed. “But it’s what my heart tells me.”
Eric pulled away, turning to meet Cole’s eyes. “For Ollie’s sake, though, and for Jenn—could you keep this to yourself? For now. If Mom and Dad are going to find out, I want it to be on my terms.”
Cole looked at them for a long moment. “Fine,” he said, watching Jenn. “But only because of Ollie and Jenn.”
“Thanks,” Olivier said, relief swelling through him.
They watched as Cole left the backroom, disappearing out through the front door. Olivier’s strength fled him then. He leaned against Eric, dread piling up in his gut. “We’re so fucked.”
“Stop swearing in front of Jenn,” Eric murmured, gathering Olivier in his other arm.
Jenn waved, cracking a small, toothy smile.
Olivier waved back, groaning. “I’m sorry. First I throw up on you, and then Cole shows up, and now I’m swearing all over the place.”
But Eric only pulled Ollie tighter against his chest. “Yeah. And you’re still my omega anyway.”
Ollie’s stomach flipped. “Why are you even saying that? You aren’t obliged to. You don’t love me, so—”
“I like you.” Eric met his eyes. “Not in the way I like Cole, but in this way.”
Then he leaned in, and kissed Ollie ever so lightly on the lips.
Olivier’s heart stumbled. “But... but you didn’t even like me.”
“Yeah, that’s changed.” Eric kissed him again, his soft lips brushing against Olivier’s. “I don’t know what happened. But I saw the way you smiled at Jenn, and—and things are different now.” Eric touched his chest with his fingertips. “Feels like my heart’s beating again. When you’re around.”
He likes me. Olivier couldn’t breathe. He’d been wishing for Eric’s affection for years. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
He stood with Eric in the backroom, his mind spinning, wondering how else things would change between them. Or whether they’d still stay the same.
“Does your stomach feel better? No more nausea?”
“I feel better, yes.” Olivier leaned into Eric’s chest, wary that this was all a messed-up dream.
Jenn grabbed a fistful of his hair.
“Jenn, no,” Eric said.
“I don’t mind,” Olivier answered. “It tells me this isn’t a dream.”
“Still.” Eric cracked a smile. “She shouldn’t turn hair-pulling into a habit.”
“Only I can, huh?”
Eric’s smile widened. Then he leaned in and kissed Olivier, deep and slow, and Olivier’s heart almost leaped out of his chest.
“So... what do you say to me and Jenn moving in?” Eric whispered. “I’m off today and tomorrow. We can start moving soon.”
Olivier held his breath, his heart tripping into a patter. “I’ll think about it,” he breathed. He couldn’t say for sure that he and Jenn would get along fine. But Eric coming to live with him, them sharing a bed? Eric right there when Ollie woke up in the mornings?
Maybe. If Olivier could convince himself that he deserved it, then maybe Eric and Jenn could move in.
15
Eric
Eric sank into the sweet heat of Olivier’s body, his breath rushing out of him.
“Was just here last night,” he panted, sliding his wrist down Ollie’s side to mark him with cedar. “You’re always so damn tight.”
Beneath him, Ollie’s spine arched, his back an expanse of sweaty skin. Olivier rolled his hips to receive Eric’s cock better. “So fuck me.”
“Taking it slow,” Eric growled.
“You’ve been taking it slow the last few nights!”
Eric slid out; Olivier shoved up at Eric, plunging Eric’s throbbing cock back into bliss. Eric’s breath shuddered out of his lungs.
He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off Olivier. At first, he’d kept his visits to twice a week, maybe three. Except after that day at Olivier’s Strings, after Olivier had accepted Jenn, something had changed.
Eric couldn’t go a single day without getting hard. Ollie in the kitchen, making omelettes? Eric wanted to bend him over the counter. Ollie at the shop, talking with his customers? Eric wanted to reach into his pants, grab Ollie and stroke him until everyone saw how thick Ollie got for him.
So Eric had been dropping by Ollie’s apartment or his shop, sometimes shoving him against the wall for a quick, hard fuck, other times tangling with Ollie in bed, slowly licking the creases of his thighs, fingering his hole until Ollie came and came, his body trembling with pleasure and exhaustion.
Right now, Ollie was on all fours beneath him, hips in the air, his thighs spread, Eric’s cock dipping languidly into his hole.
Eric pulled out entirely, cupping Ollie’s firm cheeks to spread them. Ollie’s hole lay open from how long Eric had been inside, dark and inviting. Eric swallowed hard.
He’d all but moved into Ollie’s place. There was a change of his clothes here now, and he’d been wearing Ollie’s scent on him, the telltale honey growing stronger by the day.
At six weeks, Ollie wasn’t showing yet. He’d gotten a lot hornier though, sometimes blatantly ogling Eric in public, sometimes waking Eric up in the middle of the night, fucking himself on Eric’s cock.
Eric sat back, admiring his omega spread before him. He hadn’t tired of this sight yet, and he probably never would.
“What’re you doing?” Ollie whined.
Eric rubbed his thumb over Ollie’s hole, breathing in his heady musk. “Admiring the view. Seems like you’d rather have me in here 24/7.”
He pushed his hips up at Eric, his thighs spread wide, his balls soft and vulnerable. Eric cupped his sac, squeezing it so Olivier shook and gasped, rocking into his palm.
“Want something?” Eric whispered.
Ollie angled his cock down, showing Eric its flushed, thick length, his dusky tip emerging from his foreskin. “Touch me.”
So Eric closed his fist around Ollie’s cock, stroking him hard. Ollie pulsed in his hand, his entire body spasming from the pleasure.
“E-Eric!”
“Very nice,” Eric growled.
Would be so much better if he could see Ollie’s face, too, when they did this. Maybe they needed a mirror in here. And then he could show Ollie how good he looked, being fucked like he was. The thought sent Eric’s cock pulsing.
He flipped Olivier onto his back, shoved his legs open, and plunged in deep.
Ollie gasped, taking all of him.
When Eric fucked him now, it was deep, forceful. Olivier clutched at the bed sheets, his chest heaving, his nipples hard. He was beautiful, and Eric feasted on the sight of him, his own balls pulling tight, ready to unload all his seed into Olivier.
If he could give Ollie a child... yeah, that’d be good. Eric wanted that.
So maybe it was no longer just Eric being horny.
Eric shoved the thought away. He ground his cock against Ollie’s prostate, leaning in to suck on Ollie’s throat. Olivier shuddered beneath Eric, his nails biting into Eric’s back. He was getting close again.
This time, Eric let him come. He pinched Ollie’s nipples and pumped his cock, and Ollie clenched hard around Eric, crying out as he spurted all over himself.
The sight sent Eric over the edge. He roared and buried himself deep, thinking about Ollie taking his seed, Ollie as his omega, all of Ollie as his.
For a while, they panted, Olivier flushed and sweaty against the pillows, Eric burying his face in Ollie’s neck. Ollie tangled his fingers in Eric’s hair, twirling it around his fingers.
Then Eric kissed his way down Olivier’s chest, licking the smeared come off his skin.
“Bitter,” Eric said, swallowing every drop he could find. “Mine.”
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