by Aiden Bates
Ty made a face, but it was Ben who answered. "It was."
"You know him?"
"We've met." Irritation crept into Ben's voice and Ty couldn't blame him. Of course he knew Hartmann. Hartmann had just interrupted his date by addressing him as Alpha, for crying out loud. Irritation was probably the least destructive response. "Can we maybe just get the check?"
"Of course, sir." The waiter scurried off.
Ben didn't say much as they paid the bill and Ty felt a knot of unease wrap around his stomach. He didn't know what to expect now. Ben's scent, and his presence, still drove him a little wild. So did the way he'd coolly faced Hartmann down. It was hard to read Ben, though, and Ty would absolutely understand if Ben's mood had evaporated.
They left the restaurant and headed back toward their building on J Street. Everything in Ben was tense. His back was tense, his neck was tense, his eyes scanned the crowd constantly and his hands never loosened from the fists at his side. Never, that was, until they got up the stairs into their own hallway. "I don't suppose you want to come in?" he asked, turning to Ty.
Ty nodded and stepped forward, crossing the threshold to Ben's apartment.
He'd never been in here before. In a lot of ways this place was a mirror to his own space. The layout was the same, probably to save the builders money on materials for things like drains and pipes and stuff. Other than that, the two spaces couldn't have been more different. Ben had things, for starters. He had framed things on his wall, sports memorabilia and artwork and even a picture of his family. He had a few books, and some knickknacks. He had DVDs, and plenty of real furniture and not futons and loft-type spaces.
Ben closed the door behind them. "Can I get you anything?"
Ty moistened his lips and shook his head. Would he be too pathetic if he dropped to his knees right there in the living room? "I'm okay with whatever you're having."
Ben cleared his throat. It sounded a little nervous to Ty's ears. "Look, I don't want to pressure you or anything, I mean especially after Hartmann's little stunt. And I know we've only really known one another for a week, but, um, all I really want is you."
Ty didn't think twice about stripping his shirt off. He dropped it onto the couch even as he stepped out of his shoes. "Yours," he told Ben, arms out to his sides.
Ben's eyes darkened and he stepped forward. "Are you sure about this?"
"I've barely been able to keep my hands to myself since we kissed." Ty lowered his eyes and looked up at Ben through his lashes. "I'm probably just weak, but yes, I'm sure."
Ben wrapped a rough hand around the back of Ty's head, tangling his fingers in Ty's long hair, and pulled him gently forward. "Nothing weak about it," he said, and kissed him.
Sometimes Ty truly thought he was taking things too fast with Ben. Sometimes he hated himself for being so weak as to want to sleep with the guy who'd been at the center of the worst time in his life, even f he knew now that it hadn't been Ben's fault. When he kissed Ben, he couldn't feel badly about what they did together. No, this was good. This was all good. While Ty had always enjoyed sex, once he'd figured everything out of course, he'd never responded this easily to any other partner whether alpha or beta. His whole body relaxed as Ben ran his hand over Ty's tattooed flesh. His back arched in pleasure as Ben's callused fingers toyed with his nipple and played with the metal barbell he kept there.
He helped Ben off with his clothes, because it wasn't fair for Ben to keep his on, and shucked his pants like they offended him. Right now, they did. Ben just grinned and shook his head. "We should move this into the bedroom."
"Anywhere you want." Ty wasn't kidding, either. He'd have let Ben have him on the pitcher's mound at the stadium downtown if he wanted. At least he would right now. When the haze of need cleared from his brain he might rethink that, but right now he just wanted Ben in any way the alpha would have him.
Ben guided him into the bedroom. Ty barely got over to the bed before he had to taste him, couldn't resist the demands of his urges anymore. He dropped to his knees and rubbed Ben's hard cock against his cheek a few times, getting used to the scent and the feel of it, before taking it into his mouth and bobbing his head like his life depended on it.
Ben just grabbed onto Ty's hair and held on. He didn't pull, and he didn't force. He seemed to be just holding on because he needed to steady himself, and Ty liked that. He gave an appreciative little hum, which made Ben tilt his head back and groan in pleasure.
After only a few moments, Ben eased him off. "Hey. You're incredible, but I'm not going to last if you keep that up and I need to be inside you or I'm going to explode."
Ty pouted his disappointment for a second, but he couldn't exactly complain. He wanted Ben too. He glided to his feet, so close that he could feel Ben's body heat, and kissed the alpha. "How do you want me?" he whispered into Ben's ear.
Ben leaned into him. "Any way you want, baby," he promised. "But first we've got to get you ready." He grabbed lube and a condom out of the nightstand and urged Ty onto his back, on the bed.
Ben approached prep like it was art. Ty was already pretty relaxed, but Ben took his time. He was good at it too. Some of the guys that Ty had been with rushed through it, but Ben made it good. He was all but begging by the time that Ben gave him a savage, wolfish smile, pulled him to the end of the bed, and pressed into him with short little thrusts.
He settled Ty's feet up on his shoulders, grabbed a pillow to stuff under his back, and let him adjust for a moment. Then he thrust for real, and as much as Ty wanted to keep his hands on all of those acres of Ben's tan skin all he could do was fist them in the sheets and let go.
He'd never felt so strongly reminded that he was an omega; not in any good ways, anyway. This was why people advised against suppressants. Ben fit him like he'd been made just for Ty, perfectly designed for Ty's body. He knew, without having touched him below the waist ever before, exactly how to make him moan and beg and even scream. While his unusual-for-him eagerness for Ben had bothered him earlier, now it seemed so right and so natural that he couldn't understand what all of the fuss had been about before. It was good. It was natural. It was right.
Now he understood why people wanted claims.
He came with a cry that he strangled on his own fist at the last moment, clenching enough that Ben lost the vigorous rhythm he'd set up and followed after a moment. He paused, holding himself up over Ty for a moment as the sweat dripped down onto him. Then he pulled out, gently, and went to dispose of the condom.
When he came back, he brought a clean, damp washcloth to clean Ty up and helped him into the bed. "Stay?" he asked, with a little smile that seemed downright shy to Ty.
"As long as you want me to." Ty snuggled up close to Ben, wanting to be wrapped up in his alpha's scent. The euphoria of orgasm still hadn't faded.
"The whole night?"
"If that's what you want." Ty tilted his head to kiss Ben.
He knew that he shouldn't get attached. He'd been burned before. Hell, he'd been burned by Ben before, even if his reasons were the best in the world. He knew that he shouldn't be thinking of the future right now, but living in the moment. And he knew that he shouldn't be thinking about the men who'd come before right now, but remembering those minor disasters could only help him to stop hoping and just enjoy.
Viktor had been the harshest one. They'd been together for six months after undergrad, but he'd broken it off when he wanted to go start a family with a "good" omega. When Ty told him off, he'd just laughed. "Oh come on, any omega who isn't mated at twenty isn't going to be. Get over yourself and accept it."
He'd been cruel, but he had been right. No other alpha had even come close, before or since, to wanting something permanent, and Ty had learned to stop thinking about it as an option. The fact that those thoughts had come back now, with Ben, was dangerous. They could only hurt him. He needed to focus on the now and enjoy every minute that they had.
And tonight had been a pretty spectacular moment. Ben might
have the richest single omega in San Diego County chasing after him, but he'd chosen Ty. Even if it wasn't forever, it was for now, and for now felt damn good. He was determined to enjoy it while he had it.
***
Ty stayed the night, and Ben was pretty sure that life didn't get better than waking up with the world's most perfect omega in his arms. Ben convinced Ty to stick around the whole day on Saturday, and they didn't make it very far out of the bedroom. Ben made a mental note to be ashamed about that, just as soon as he got around to it. After all, it wasn't like they were staying in to avoid Hartmann. They genuinely didn't want to leave, and avoiding Hartmann was a bonus.
He couldn't avoid the thought of Hartmann entirely, so as they were eating breakfast on Sunday he brought it up. He figured that was the best time. Ty insisted that he had to do some schoolwork, although he was willing to get together in the evening. Talking about the developer now would give them both time to digest whatever they needed to after the Hartmann talk and still come back and have fun. "Do you think it was a coincidence that Hartmann found us on Friday night?"
Ty paused, hand halfway to his mouth, and then he shook his head. "Nah."
Ben shuddered. "I was afraid you were going to say that. How would he find out where I live, though? It's not like I've been here long enough for the phone book to update."
Ty snickered. "Phone book? Who uses that, these days? The guy can hire people to find whatever he wants. He'd have gotten one of his flunkies to track you down." He glared out the window. "After that he probably just hung out and waited until we left the building."
"That's super creepy." Ben thought about pushing his food away, but reconsidered. He'd never pushed food away in his life, he wasn't about to start now. "I'm not okay with that."
"Unfortunately, you need more evidence of stalking than him simply showing up when we were eating on the patio in a public place in order to press charges." Ty sounded like he knew this from experience, and considering his line of work and study he probably did.
"What, you mean like dropping by the shop, demanding that I drop everything I'm working on, and giving me expensive ties?" Ben pushed his eggs around on the plate.
"That's pretty good evidence. More would work better." He bit his lip. "There haven't been a lot of successful prosecutions of omegas stalking alphas, unfortunately. Not in California." He set his fork down. "Does he seriously make you that uncomfortable? Do you feel unsafe?"
"I don't know. I didn't. Then he showed up when we were having dinner and now I'm kind of worried about leaving the apartment." Ben sighed and rolled his head around, stretching his neck. "I'm being ridiculous. It's not like a guy like him's going to risk his reputation chasing after a guy like me, trying to hurt me."
Ty shrugged. "I'm hardly an objective party. He's trying to shut down my agency, so I have literally nothing good to say about him. I can tell you this, though. Richard Hartmann has never been told no, in his entire life, and had it stick. It's not something he understands. The guy tried to get the city to eminent domain Gray House a bunch of times, and now that they've refused he's file a lawsuit trying to force them to do it. No isn't an end for him, it's a starting point." He shook his head and looked down. "From his point of view, he's got a lot to offer. I mean he's filthy rich and you'd never have to work again."
"Okay but he smells like a funeral home." Ben wrinkled his nose and grabbed at Ty's hand. "Plus, I wouldn't want an omega who only saw me as a boy toy, you know? He strikes me that way. I want to be your partner, not the help."
Ty grinned at that, blinding and dazzling, and came around the table to straddle Ben. They forgot about their breakfast, and Ty got a later start on his schoolwork than he probably wanted, but they both left the conversation about Hartmann with a better mindset than they otherwise would have.
Of course, when Monday came around, Hartmann showed up at lunchtime and invited Ben to lunch with him. Ben wasn't comfortable with that, but he saw the way that the receptionists were watching and he sighed. "Okay," he said, "but just lunch, over at the diner across the way."
Hartmann lifted his eyebrows, and he seemed to be trying to hide a curl in his lip. "Does the diner have salad, I wonder? I suppose we'll find out. Come, Alpha. Let's go. We have things to discuss."
Ben trudged out the door, following the insistent omega. Hartmann paid someone to leave a booth before their order was taken, actually paid someone, and they slid into the seat. "So." Ben toyed with the edge of his napkin. "You wanted to talk about something?"
"Of course." Hartmann smiled, showing a mouth full of rotten teeth, and picked up a menu. "But first, let's order. It's been ages since I've eaten someplace like this. Oh good, they do have salad."
The waitress approached and took their orders, and then Hartmann sighed. "Really, Alpha? That street rat?"
Ben's hackles rose. "I've known that street rat for ten years, since we lived in Sandusky. His name is Ty. He's important to me."
Hartmann looked down for a moment, lips pursed. "My apologies," he said, back stiffening. "I had no idea that he meant that much to you. I notice that you haven't claimed him, of course."
"Not yet." Ben tried to smile, to keep this conversation as friendly as he could. "It's… well, it's complicated. He's a good man."
Hartmann leaned forward. "I'm sure you remember him that way, but Alpha, listen. No one connected with that awful place is good. Even if they started out good going in, that place takes any goodness or innocence and strips it right off of them. Believe me, you're better off washing your hands of it and him."
Ben managed a little smile. Why would Hartmann say something like that? He didn't like the guy, but it wasn't like Hartmann was some kind of James Bond villain. He was a very successful developer. He had to have some good instincts. "He mentioned that you've been trying to get the city to eminent domain the place."
"Well that's their job, isn't it? To remove eyesores?" Hartmann rolled his eyes and took a sip of his water. "I mean, I'm sure you're not interested in real estate, but I don't mind telling you that I've bought up the space on either side of that outdated monstrosity. That neighborhood is poised to just explode, you know? And sure, people are buying some of the condos — your firm is putting up the building on the right side — but I'm not getting the prices I want for them. I could double the prices if there wasn't a damn homeless shelter next door, you know? No one wants to move their family into a place where their kids won't be safe coming home from school."
Ben bit the inside of his cheek and toyed with his fork. "Hasn't it been there for a long time, though?"
Hartmann waved a hand. "Over a hundred years, but so many things were acceptable then that aren't now. They used to send kids out to the mines, did you know that? Once kids were old enough to be put to work, they'd send them out to mining towns in Arizona or Nevada. I'm sure you're not naive enough to think that the omegas stayed at home, learning to cook and sew."
Ben couldn't help the shock of ice water than ran through his veins. "It was a different time," he said, and his voice sounded strangled even to him. "I mean people weren't even supposed to admit omegas existed back then, you know?"
Hartmann acknowledged this with a nod of his head. "I just don't think that an organization that has ties to that kind of an unsavory past has any business still existing." His eyes narrowed. "I'm sure you can ask your street rat about it the next time you see him."
Ben bit back a snarl about the insult. The reminder about his firm's link to Hartmann hadn't gone unnoticed. "I'll do that. Thanks." He forced himself to calm down. "So how was the thing at your country club?"
Hartmann blushed. "Oh. It was kind of dull. It would have been more interesting with you there, but I understand you couldn't be. I like an alpha who honors his commitments. It's sexy." His hand crept forward. "Look, it's no secret that I like you, Alpha. I think we're very compatible."
Ben had never been so glad to see a waitress in his life, and that included the time he'd run out of
money and gone three days without food before getting paid that one time a couple of months after he first left Sandusky. "That's flattering. I'm honored, I truly am. But the thing is, I'm not sure that it's a great idea for us to get involved."
Hartmann sniffed. "Why not? It seems like a perfectly reasonable idea to me."
"Well, for starters, you do a lot of work with my company. That makes it look bad, see, especially if you do any kind of government contracting, which I suspect that you must." Ben tried not to wince. He didn't know if Hartmann did any government contracting. He didn't care. He just wanted Hartmann to back off. "And even if not, I'm not sure the union wouldn't have a lot of very bad things to say about it."
Hartmann scoffed, shaking his head. "Why would the union have anything at all to say about who an alpha takes?"
"Because again, it looks bad. It looks like either the firm is only being given the jobs because of my sexual services, which the union generally disapproves of, or like I'm keeping my job not because of my skill but because of who I'm involved with. And that, I know, the union would get involved with. Saw it happen when I was back in Florida and let me tell you, things got very ugly for everyone involved."