Of course he smelled like cedar. Eric had been curling up around Olivier every night, dragging his wrists down Ollie’s bare chest, burying his knot inside Ollie.
It was just incriminating, when anyone within a five-foot radius could smell the alpha he’d slept with. Even with all the scent suppressants Olivier had been spraying on himself.
He tapped on the computer, checking his inventory so he didn’t have to look at his friend.
“You’re really serious about him,” Levi whispered.
“He’s the only person I’ve ever been serious about,” Ollie whispered back.
Levi winced then. “Oh. I... didn’t know that.”
Olivier shrugged, his heart heavy. “It’s not something I can change, okay? I’ve tried. It hasn’t worked.”
The bonding marks on his neck itched. Olivier scratched at them, wishing he hadn’t glimpsed Zan yesterday, when he’d taken Jenn out of the shop for a walk. Zan had been on the other end of the street, and Olivier had taken one look at him and fled.
It had come too close to comfort, seeing his ex again. Remembering Zan’s ruthless hands on him, the pain he’d inflicted on Ollie’s body.
To think Eric believed Olivier was carrying Zan’s baby... Ollie didn’t know which part was worse. That Eric believed him, or that he had to keep lying, until Eric got tired of him and left. Seeing Eric’s face when he thought the baby wasn’t his... it broke Olivier’s heart.
You shouldn’t stay with me so long.
Olivier should’ve turned Eric down when Eric had asked to move in. Except Olivier had been weak, and he’d wanted Eric’s warmth too much to say no.
And now Eric was dropping him and Jenn off at the shop every day, picking them up every night.
“He’s about to show up, isn’t he?” Levi said dryly, glancing at the wall clock.
Olivier blushed, heading into the backroom where Jenn was babbling in the playpen. Jenn shook her rattle at him, a smile on her face. He blew a raspberry at her. Jenn giggled, climbing to her feet.
Olivier’s heart softened. He hadn’t expected how much he’d come to enjoy having Jenn around, just speaking with her, having her watch as he moved around the backroom.
“I can close shop. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“For as long as your brother keeps showing up, I’ll worry,” Levi said, looking askance at Olivier. “It’s not going to end well.”
And yet, Ollie’s stomach flipped when the bells on the front door jangled. Eric stepped into the backroom; Levi narrowed his eyes.
Eric crossed the room, crouching next to Jenn’s playpen and Ollie. He smelled like cedar, like a hint of cologne, and Ollie wanted to lean in and breathe the scents off his skin.
“Hey,” Eric rumbled, meeting Olivier’s gaze.
“Hey yourself,” Ollie said, his cock twitching. He couldn’t help it, when the sight of Eric meant they’d be tangled up in bed, Eric spreading him open, Eric’s mouth hot on his.
Twice today hadn’t been enough. Eric had fucked him in bed this morning, and he’d dropped by on his lunch break, fingering Ollie in the bathroom until he’d arched and spurted.
Levi wrinkled his nose. “Right, I’m out. I can smell your musk, Ollie. Please don’t do that to your customers.”
“I’m sorry,” Olivier said. He couldn’t help staring at Eric, though. Eric’s shirt clung to his broad chest, and his pants hugged his thick thighs when he leaned in to smile at Jenn.
The downside to loving Eric was that Olivier had no control over his desire—the sight of Eric made him hungry, made him want to drop his pants without a moment’s notice.
Eric met his eyes, his lips curving in a slow smile. “How long until you close shop?”
“Right now,” Olivier croaked, his body heating up.
Levi groaned outside the backroom. “Five minutes to nine, Ollie. Please stay decent until then.”
Olivier gave a bone-deep sigh, raking his gaze over Eric.
At least, he was on friendly terms with Levi again. It had taken Levi a few weeks to warm up to Eric, and more days for him to be comfortable with Eric dropping Ollie and Jenn off at the shop.
“I’ll be good,” Olivier said, leaning into Eric’s arm.
“That’s a pity,” Eric rumbled, squeezing Olivier’s ass with his warm, steady hand.
Olivier bit down his moan. Eric smirked and leaned in, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Then he stood and scooped Jenn out of the playpen. Jenn squealed.
“How’s my girl?” Eric asked, hugging her close. “Played good today?”
Jenn giggled, grabbing Eric’s hair with her tiny fingers. Eric blew a raspberry into Jenn’s belly, and Jenn shrieked. Olivier couldn’t help smiling.
It was a treat, watching Eric with his daughter.
Eric was soft with Olivier, but with Jenn, he was playful, his eyes crinkling when he grinned at her. Years ago, Eric had been brash and rough-housing. So this side of him... it was new. Wonderful. Eric was a great father. Someone Olivier secretly wished would stay as his alpha.
“She was good,” Olivier said, standing up. “Except for when she threw her cereal everywhere.”
Eric grinned, kissing her cheek. “Sorry. I didn’t mean for you to clean up her mess.”
“I’ll be compensated for it, right?” Olivier murmured. “Later.”
“However hard you want,” Eric growled. Ollie’s blood ran hot through his veins.
Maybe Olivier really was a slut, with how much he craved his alpha’s touch. Some days, it seemed as though he couldn’t get enough of Eric at all.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. Eric’s gaze burned dark into him, and Olivier was grateful he’d volunteered to care for Jenn. Not only because she was better than he’d expected, but also because Eric’s rewards were toe-curling, ripping his voice from his throat.
It had started after Eric moved into Olivier’s place. Eric hadn’t wanted to drop Jenn off at their parents’—he’d been wary of his mother, and the things she would say to Jenn about Olivier. So Olivier had volunteered the backroom of his shop, and Eric had set up a changing station and playpen there, and given Ollie a crash course on how to care for babies.
Levi had helped. Between Eric’s texts and Levi’s experience, Jenn’s days at Olivier’s Strings had been going well. And increasingly, Olivier had been realizing that maybe Jenn liked him, with how she grinned so wide when he smiled at her.
“She said something this afternoon,” Olivier blurted. “I was going to take a video, but she stopped.”
Eric’s eyes grew wide. “She did? What did she say?”
“Dada,” Olivier answered, holding his breath when Jenn looked over. “You did say that, didn’t you? Say ‘Dada’.”
“Dada,” Jenn answered with a smile. Eric grinned so wide that Ollie’s heart skipped a beat.
“Holy sh—C’mon, say that again,” Eric murmured, his gaze glued onto Jenn. “Say ‘Dada’.”
“Dada,” Jenn said, patting Eric’s chest.
Eric turned to Ollie, excited like a puppy. “Did you hear that? She’s gonna say ‘Daddy’ before we know it!”
“Yeah, I did—” Olivier yelped when Eric wrapped his arm around him, turning them around in a circle in the backroom. “Eric!”
Jenn squealed. Eric held Olivier and Jenn close, finally pausing. Olivier swayed, his heart thumping with how delighted Eric was.
“Now say ‘Ollie’,” Eric told Jenn. “Ol-lie.”
Olivier began to protest. “You don’t need—”
“Awwwrr,” Jenn said.
Eric sighed, but he was still smiling. “Soon, yeah? We’ll get you talking in no time. Say ‘Ol-lie’.”
Jenn cooed. Olivier squirmed. “You shouldn’t be teaching her that.”
“What, then?” Eric looked challengingly at him. “Or you... wanna be her dad too?”
Olivier’s stomach dropped. Him? As Jenn’s dad? That would be... impossible. How would Jenn accept him? How would a
nyone acknowledge him as Eric’s omega? “Th-that’s too soon to be talking about it.”
But it made his insides tingle. Him, being part of Eric’s family? Did Eric want him that much?
Olivier turned away, his cheeks warm. “You shouldn’t. It’s not right. I don’t know how any of this will work out.”
Eric sighed, his smile fading. “Aaron texted me today. Cole told him.”
That turned Ollie’s stomach into ice. Their other brother knew, too? “What? Why?”
Eric shrugged, pulling out his phone. He opened the conversation with Aaron; Olivier watched with dismay when he saw the words, What the fuck are you doing?
That was from Aaron.
Being responsible for my omega, Eric had answered.
Olivier’s our brother, Eric. Do not fuck our brother!
His stomach turning, Olivier looked away. Aaron hadn’t messaged him, but Aaron didn’t know his phone number, either. “They know we’re—we’re... sleeping together?” he asked in a small voice. He imagined his brothers’ accusing looks at him, his insides shriveling. Cole knows. Now Aaron does, too.
Eric tucked his phone away, his lips a thin line. “I guess they do.”
Olivier bit his lip. “You should tell them we aren’t involved.”
“It’s too late now, isn’t it? ‘Sides, it’s not like I’m gonna abandon you. That was never the plan.”
Olivier swallowed. “You should. You know the consequences to this.”
Eric looked away. Already, he’d stopped talking to his mother. He’d said things were tense between him and Cole, and now Aaron was in on the secret. With each day that passed, the lines on Eric’s face had been growing deeper.
“I was gonna take Jenn to the beach with them this Saturday,” Eric muttered. “I don’t know if—if they told Dad.”
Olivier winced, leaning into Eric’s arm. Even though Eric was their dad’s stepson, he’d grown up admiring Dad. Dad was strong. He worked at a mechanic’s shop to put his children through school, and Olivier couldn’t forget the times Eric had tagged along to Dad’s workplace, wanting to get his hands dirty, too.
If Dad found out what Eric had done, if Dad judged him... It would be a terrible blow.
“Maybe he doesn’t know,” Olivier said uneasily. “Or... or we could stop seeing each other.”
“No.” Eric narrowed his eyes. “I made you a promise, Ollie.”
Jenn began to cry. Eric bobbed her in his arms, stroking her back. Olivier squirmed. Somewhere in Meadowfall, Cole and Aaron were probably talking, and they were probably shaking their heads at Eric, thinking the worst of Olivier.
They know I slept with Eric.
His skin too tight, Olivier considered his options. Tell his family the truth, or lie to them. Or leave Eric, and let Eric have his family back.
“Maybe you should move back in with them,” Olivier said in a small voice. “And... and find an actual omega. Someone that isn’t me.”
Eric’s eyes flashed. He reached over and cupped Ollie’s nape, pulling Olivier so close his breath brushed Olivier’s lips. Olivier’s heart thumped.
“I’m not leaving you,” Eric growled, his eyes blurring with their proximity.
“The baby isn’t yours,” Ollie lied.
Eric flinched, but he said anyway, “I don’t care.”
“What about Alice?” Olivier asked, grasping at straws. Because that was the one thing he knew would drive Eric away.
Eric’s breath rushed out of him. “Damn it, Ollie.”
“You don’t love me,” Olivier said. “So you don’t have to stick around, you know. You should do what’s best for you. And Jenn.”
His heart cracked, saying that.
Eric looked away, not denying it. Olivier’s throat tightened; he wanted to hide away and cry where Eric couldn’t see him. After two months... He had been hoping that Eric had unlocked his buried emotions, and maybe love him again. Except Eric hadn’t, and Olivier had no right to push.
Olivier eased himself out of Eric’s grasp, his heart thudding dully. No matter what he felt for his stepbrother, Eric wasn’t meant to be his. Years ago, Ollie had a chance to accept Eric’s love. He’d squandered that chance.
“I’m heading back by myself,” Olivier said, looking at the floor. “Go home first.”
“But you don’t have a ride.”
“I’ll get Levi to drop me off.” Olivier hid his wince. He hadn’t wanted Levi to be correct about Eric.
“Ollie.” Eric stepped toward him.
“Go home,” Olivier said, backing away. “I’ll—I’ll figure things out.”
He fled the store, blinking away his tears. It wasn’t as though Eric could find a happy future with him. Eric would always be tied to their family, and his heart was always destined for someone else.
Not someone like Olivier.
18
Olivier
Jenn sat in the cart, looking expectantly up at Olivier.
“I guess it’s just me and you,” he said.
Jenn gave him a silly grin, blowing a raspberry.
Olivier couldn’t help cracking a smile. He blew a raspberry back; Jenn giggled.
It seemed that Eric’s eleven-month-old had no idea about the awkwardness that lay between her father and Olivier.
Last night, Ollie had dragged his feet going home. Levi had dropped him off at the apartment, and Olivier had looked up at the warm glow of his windows, picturing Eric with Jenn, Eric with some omega other than himself.
Eric should have known by now that Olivier was used goods. Jenn would’ve been better off with an actual omega dad, someone who could show his face around her extended family.
Depressed, Olivier had sat at the foot of the building, waiting until Eric had turned off the lights. Then he’d crept upstairs, grabbed a spare blanket, and curled up on the couch. It had taken him a long time to fall asleep.
This morning, he’d woken up in bed, the blankets pulled up to his chin, Eric’s scent surrounding him. Eric had left the apartment, and Jenn had been wailing on the baby monitor.
There’s been a burglary at work, a note had said on the bedside table. Eric’s handwriting comprised of sloping letters, each short and purposeful. Sorry about Jenn. I couldn’t find help to care for her this early. I’ve fed her and changed her diapers. She might need more when you wake.
Olivier had been miffed at that. Then he’d realized that Eric was counting on him, and it had filled him with determination.
“Awwr,” Jenn said, breaking him from his thoughts.
“I guess it’s just you and me for now,” Olivier said. “We now have eggs and some cereal. And teething cookies for you.”
Jenn babbled, turning to look when someone walked down the aisle with a jingling baby rattle. She hadn’t had any new toys since she moved in two weeks ago, had she? Olivier chewed on his lip, turning the cart out of the produce section.
The children’s department wasn’t too far away—on one table, onesies with cartoon characters were piled high. On another table, there were tiny T-shirts and dresses for toddlers. On a third table, there were socks and mittens, and tiny hats.
These clothes were too small for Jenn—they were newborn outfits, and Olivier touched the barely-showing bump of his belly, wondering when he should begin stocking up on clothes for his own. Should he let Eric see, or should he hide the clothes away so Eric wouldn’t feel obliged to help?
He paused by the mittens, fingering the soft, woolly fabric. Thought about Eric’s child in his belly, a flicker of life that he wanted to cradle and protect.
Olivier picked out a pair of tiny striped socks. They were on sale, and surely... he could afford to spend a bit on his child. The revenue at Olivier’s Strings had increased a little with Eric’s help.
So Ollie tucked the mittens next to Jenn, his heart thumping.
He was having a baby. The mittens made it a little more real.
“Bababa,” Jenn said, looking at him.
“Do you w
ant something, too?” Olivier asked with a smile. It didn’t seem fair, if he bought something for Jenn’s half-sibling without getting her anything.
So he turned the cart down the baby toy aisle, finding the rattle that Jenn had been so curious about. It was pastel green and pink, plastic, jingling with each movement.
Jenn reached out for it with both hands, eager. Olivier raised it above her head, watching as she strained for it, kicking her tiny feet.
She wasn’t his child. And yet, as he gave her the rattle and watched her toothy smile, she felt like... someone close to him. She was his niece.
Maybe that made all the difference—Jenn was Eric’s flesh and blood, too. Not just some other omega’s.
She was his alpha’s child, and in a roundabout way, she was also his.
Olivier swallowed, his heart swelling with affection.
They were almost out of the children’s department when they passed an aisle of pastel bottles—baby lotions and shampoos and body washes. Cartoon cows smiled cheerily on the lotion bottles, beckoning him to bring them home.
Olivier bit his lip. Jenn was his niece. He’d never given her a gift for her baby shower, and he should. So they turned down the aisle, Olivier eyeing the most expensive brand there—Highton’s Finest was what his stepmother had bought for her children years back.
“What do you think?” he asked Jenn. “See anything you like?”
Jenn babbled, shaking her rattle.
So Olivier set a bottle of lotion in the cart, his heart twinging at the price. Ten dollars for a small bottle. Organic ingredients, no dyes, no parabens.
“I think you’ll like this,” he murmured. With a brand Eric was familiar with... Eric would smile, wouldn’t he?
His heart skipping, Olivier turned the shopping cart down the produce aisles, showing Jenn the lemons and apples when she babbled at him.
Next to the bananas, Ollie’s phone buzzed. Was it Eric?
He held his breath, wondering if Eric was still annoyed at him for yesterday.
Where are you? Eric had texted.
Olivier made a face. That told him nothing about what Eric was feeling.
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