Omega Wanted: Bad Boy Mpreg Romance

by Stephan James

  “But…you said….You said Bethany wouldn’t mind! What if we, I don’t know, did stuff in secret?”

  But Mason was already shaking his head. “You think I haven’t considered that very idea? I have. But there’s no way around it. Bethany was happy to be part of the marriage of convenience. She’s a very wealthy woman now and it’s a boost to her appearance. No matter what happens now, she will always be the woman who was married to a billionaire.

  “She wouldn’t mind, but do you honestly think that in this day and age, you and I could get away with holding a secret affair? Do you remember how Romeo and Juliet ended? Badly, Ethan. Badly. They would catch us. We would be careful, but the media would still catch us. All it takes is a picture. No, all it takes is even a rumor, a shadow of a doubt, and Grey Properties is sunk. Plus…”

  I don’t like the sound of that. “Is there something else you didn’t tell me about all this?”

  “It’s my father. The inheritance.” Mason looked down at his hands, suddenly seeming to shrink in on himself. “I’m set up to fully inherit all of the properties when my father passes on. Right now, I run them. When he’s gone, I will own them. But my father is a very traditional man. I would be kicked out of the inheritance if Father ever thought I was gay. I would have to step down, and I would have to give up all the money I have made through Grey Properties. And that would ruin my image, his image, the company’s image. So many more lives are at stake than mine. So many more people depend on this than just you and me. Please, try to understand.”

  Ethan looked at Mason and realized that for once in his life, the billionaire wasn’t holding onto his emotions with tight reigns. There were tears in his eyes as he tried furiously to blink them back. His own throat was tight with despair and he couldn’t bring himself to say anything, or even to nod.

  “Ethan, I have to keep up appearances with Bethany. I have to. That’s just the way it is. I’m sorry.”

  Mason leaned in to kiss him, and Ethan let him but he couldn’t reciprocate. He felt so cold and he couldn’t speak. His heart was torn in two, and it left him without any strength at all.

  Ethan lowered his head, and didn’t say a single word the rest of their flight together. He didn’t respond at all in any way when anything was said to him, and after a little while, Mason gave up on it.

  Finally, they stood in the parking garage with their bags, about to go their separate ways.

  “I will see you back at work tomorrow, Ethan,” Mason said. He sounded like he was drowning. He sounded like Ethan felt. “I’m so sorry this couldn’t work out. I…”

  He couldn’t stand to just stand there and listen to another word. Ethan grabbed his luggage and just walked away. Mason made a choked little sound, but didn’t chase after him. And just like that, he was more alone than he had ever been in his entire life. No other rejection or disappointment ever hurt as much as this one did.

  By the time Ethan finally managed to make it home that night, he was completely numb from head to toe. His heart had been aching but now he felt nothing.

  He stumbled inside the lobby of the apartment and tripped his way up the stairs because something had happened to break down the elevator in just the few days he was gone. He kept his head down and didn’t return any of the greetings from anyone he passed, and their hurt silence followed him all the way up to his apartment.

  Once inside, he simply let his luggage fall to the side and collapsed face-down on the couch. “I’m so useless,” he moaned, face buried in the cushion. He fell in love with a married man. How stupid was that? But, he hadn’t just fallen for a married man. He fell for a newly-married man, who was fabulously wealthy and could have any guy he wanted every day of the week.

  Their relationship meant nothing. Hell, it wasn’t even a relationship. It was all one-sided, all on Ethan as he developed feelings that couldn’t be reciprocated. And in only a few days! What was wrong with him? Suddenly, the carefree life he’d been envisioning as an openly gay man, finally allowing himself to think of all the so-called feminine hobbies he could now enjoy, was further than ever. And no one knew anything about it but him and the guy he couldn’t have.

  Despair crippled him, and he stayed on the couch all night. At some point, he must have fallen asleep because when he opened his eyes next, there was vague sunlight streaming in through the kitchen window. The rays were too weak to be warm, but Ethan tilted his head towards them anyway before pushing himself to his feet. He didn’t care what time it was and didn’t even bother looking at the clock. There was no showering, no fixing the mess of his hair. He didn’t even eat, and couldn’t have forced himself to anyway. His stomach roiled with nerves. His hand shook just the slightest as he grabbed for his keys, but that was all the sign he gave of the turmoil inside.

  If Mason was going to play the emotionless game, Ethan could, too.

  He climbed in his beaten-down little car and drove to Grey Properties. However, instead of parking in the employee section, he pulled into a spot out front that was reserved for visitors and guests. That was what he was going to be when this was over, after all.

  He headed inside and the lady behind the counter glanced up at him. “Move your car,” she said icily. “I saw where you parked.”

  “I’m not moving it,” Ethan snapped. “I’ll be gone in ten minutes, so lay off me.”

  Her mouth opened slightly with surprise, and he turned his shoulder to cut her out as he waited for the elevator. It came quickly –although not exactly quick enough for his liking, what with the lady staring holes through home- and then he rode it all the way up and followed the path he had only just begun to be used to. He’d been this way only three times before, all of them in the past week, and yet it felt like such an eternity ago.

  He supposed that he was still also being affected by jet lag and that was screwing with his sense of time, but he didn’t care. He just wanted this to be over with already.

  He reached Mason’s office and barged right in. The larger man was at his desk, speaking on the phone in a monotone voice that was lacking in all his usual energy and command. He lifted his eyes to Ethan, and they were shadowed with sleeplessness.

  “Something has just come up, Mr. Caraway. I will have to call you back. Yes, I understand, but this appears to be an emergency. Thank you.”

  Mason hung up and sighed, then put his head in his hand. “I hope you interrupted me with something worthwhile, Ethan.”

  Ethan just kept standing in the doorway. His tongue was heavy and flat in his mouth. All the words he’d thought of on the way here were suddenly completely gone.

  Mason just sighed again. “Shut the door and come sit down. I have a meeting in five minutes so whatever it is, please let’s just…”

  “No!”

  “No?” Mason repeated.

  Ethan clenched his fists and couldn’t help but to tremble. “I…I quit.”

  Mason leapt up to his feet, looking stunned. His professional mask was completely gone, and he gawked. “You quit? You can’t quit.”

  “Then call it whatever you want! I quit! I resign! I’m giving you my notice that the moment I leave this building, I don’t work for you anymore…”

  “Ethan…”

  “No!” he shouted again, and whirled around to grab the door. “You led me on! You let me think something might happen when you said Bethany would understand, but nothing did happen and you’re just a liar. I quit. I can’t work with you.”

  “Ethan!” Mason called after him, but he was already running away. The billionaire’s heavy footsteps followed him, but Ethan pumped his arms and just kept on going. He had to stop in front of the elevator and wait for it, during which he was distinctly aware of Mason right behind him.

  As he stepped inside, Mason reached out and grabbed onto his wrist. “Don’t go,” he said, and there was hurt and fear in his eyes.

  Wrenching his arm away, Ethan was surprised at how easily the other man let go. And then the doors closed, and he was gone.r />
  As he stormed back out of the elevator, he spat over at the counter, “See? I said I’m leaving. You don’t have to deal with me anymore.”

  And then he jumped into his car and started driving carelessly to his apartment. He was shaking too badly and crying too hard to be able to see, or to even drive in a straight line. It was a miracle that he didn’t get in a wreck.

  Back at his apartment, he texted Luciana to ask her to come over. Then, he flopped back on his couch and thought about what a stupid decision it was that he just made. He couldn’t work for someone he loved, and who didn’t love him back, but the problem was Mason had done exactly as he said and took care of speeding up the two-week’s notice for his old floor manager job. That meant he officially no longer worked there. And now he didn’t work anywhere. He was going to have to find another job again fast if he didn’t want to end up on the streets.

  I should start right now and be ready to tell Luciana everything will be okay, he thought dully to himself, but he didn’t move an inch at all by the time she came wandering in through his door.

  “Ethan?” she said, when she saw him just lying here. Alarm filled her voice and it felt good to be cared about, if only for just a second.

  He sat up and looked into her eyes, and tried to smile. The attempt failed miserably when he noticed that she was wearing a new ring on her fingers. It was a promise ring, and only moderately expensive, but it made his stomach flip. He’d already had his decision made but still, seeing that hurt.

  Then again, he’d gone out and had sex with a guy as well while still technically being with her, so that made him just as bad, in a way.

  “Hey, Lucy,” he said.

  “Hi,” she replied warily, playing with that ring on her finger. “So, what did you want me here for?”

  “I wanted to tell you to your face that we’re done.” His misery came out forcefully, and he ran his hand through his messed-up hair. “I obviously can’t handle a relationship. You should go be with someone who can give you what you want.”

  “Okay,” Luciana shrugged. He wished she could be a little more bothered. “I mean, I was already going out and doing that anyway. So, it’s no big deal. We had fun. Right?”

  Ethan thought of his smashed plates. “Sure. Fun.” And then the next words came and he couldn’t stop them. “I think I owe you an explanation. I’m gay.”

  Again, the reaction he received definitely wasn’t the one he thought his announcements would get. “Okay,” she shrugged again. “I kind of always thought you were like, super-bi, so this is just the next step.”

  That was not how he imagined coming out would be.

  “Actually, it kinda makes a lot of sense if you think about it,” she went on. “But anyway, was that it?”

  “Uh, yeah.” Ethan nodded, surprising himself. He felt a tiny bit lighter for having done something like this, even if the circumstances were completely wrong for it. “That’s it, I guess.”

  “Great, because I have a date.” Luciana stood and pecked him on the cheek, leaving a smudge of lipstick. “Take care, okay? I’ll still be around if you need me.”

  Judging by the way that he knew she acted when things were stressful, he was pretty sure he wasn’t ever going to call on her for favors or advice. Nevertheless, he returned the sentiment and then saw her to the front door. Then, he sat down and tried to ponder on what he could possibly do now. He was too depressed to look for more work. And it wouldn’t kill him to spend a few days just living off his savings, right?

  And so for a few days, that was indeed all he did. He slept and ate takeout, and sat around staring at the TV. He showered when he remembered to, but otherwise he just sat on the couch and mimicked a vegetable.

  Very quickly, it got to be lonely. He was lonely. He missed having someone to text to who would accept all his private thoughts, who would accept him for what he was. Was there anyone out there who could love a jobless, depressed deadbeat who hardly knew how to have sex properly?

  Only one way to find out, he thought grimly, and reached out for his laptop. After a quick Google search, he was about to sign up for a dating website when he took a mental step back and really looked at it. It was for straight people. And he was not straight, or even bisexual. All interest he had in women was ingrained in him by the way he was raised, and now there was none at all.

  I’m gay as hell, actually, he thought, and couldn’t help but to start laughing at himself. So, he redid his internet search and found a handful of gay sites. There were nowhere near as many and they were all pretty small, plus they seemed mostly geared to hook-ups. Ethan didn’t want a stranger putting anything in him, but maybe there was someone else out there who was going to feel the same way. It had to be worth a shot, so he signed up for as many as he could and set about setting up his profiles and filling them with information about himself.

  A lot of the questions and categories seemed a little too personal, such as asking if he was a top or a bottom, or “what kind” of gay he was, but he did his best. These websites were engineered to make matches with other people more specific when there was more information being filled out, so it couldn’t hurt, could it?

  Nevertheless, he did his best and waited.

  While he waited, he also tried to fill out more job applications but he was tired of low-paying entry jobs in food service. The problem was that he wasn’t qualified for anything else, not even with a degree that he’d spent so much time and money on. It was a bitter cycle of not being experienced enough to work, and not being able to get work to be experienced. The frustration was practically killing him, so every time it got too bad, he went back to combing through the gay dating sites.

  No one and nothing there really struck his interest. He didn’t want someone like himself, but he didn’t want an arrogant asshole, as all the big guys seemed to be. It was frustrating, maddening, and discouraging. Yet, still he kept looking day after day for almost a whole week.

  Then, suddenly, there came a knock at the door.

  “Who is it?” Ethan called distractedly, staring at a picture of a rather nice-looking guy on the screen. Unfortunately, the rest of his profile might as well have been blank for all the personality it gave away.

  Mason had tons of personality, he thought. And in the instant before his visitor answered him, he knew that he would never find anyone as long as he kept comparing them to someone else.

  “It’s Bethany. Open up or I’ll just come in anyway.”

  Right. She has a spare key.

  “Just come in,” Ethan grumbled. He kept looking at his screen while she let herself in, but quickly shut the laptop when she sat beside him.

  “So, how are you doing?”

  “Fine,” he said shortly. “How are you?”

  “Well, that depends.”

  Ethan looked up at her. In such a short time, it was like she’d become a completely different woman. She had an all-new set of makeup and her hair was beautiful, falling down her back in perfect ringlets. Her clothes were obviously expensive as hell, despite being just a blouse and a pair of jeans. “What does it depend on? You look great.”

  “That’s one way to look at it,” Bethany said. Ethan looked a little closer and suddenly realized that while she should have been happy, she obviously wasn’t. “I mean, I have everything I want now. I have everything I could ever need. I’m in a sham marriage to a wealthy gay dude. That’s like every white girl’s dream, right?”

  Ethan let out a little huff of laughter, but he was also surprised. “You know?”

  “Of course I do. I met him through a friend’s friend, so it’s kind of confusing. But, he totally told me what was going on the whole time. I agreed to it because it sounded great. Like, I never have to work another day in my life if I don’t want to. That’s the good part.”

  “What, there’s a bad part to all that?”

  She looked at him earnestly. “The bad part is that Mason is a great guy. He came right to me and told me everything that
happened.”

  Ethan winced.

  “I love him for being honest, but I guess I can see you love him for a lot more reasons. That’s why the bad part is that as long as I get a free ride like this, my husband and the boy who loves him can never be happy. That sucks.”

  Ethan turned his head away. Obviously Mason hadn’t told her everything about the inheritance problem. “It doesn’t matter. We couldn’t be together anyway.”

  “But why not? I love you both. You’re my friend, and he’s such a nice guy beneath all that angry show-off stuff. You’re such opposites that you’d be such a cute couple. I’d divorce in a heartbeat if it will make you happy. I…”

  “Stop it!” Ethan leapt to his feet, one hand on his chest because his heart was aching so badly. “You don’t understand. I appreciate what you’re trying to do but divorcing Mason isn’t the answer. You’re…you’re making things worse. Can you just leave? Please?”

  The Bethany he knew only a few weeks ago would have insisted on staying and nagging at him until he broke down and gave in to what she wanted. But this Bethany was caught up in the middle of a love affair that she had nothing to do with, and she knew it. Silently, she nodded, stood up, and walked right out to leave him there alone with his own misery.

  Slowly, the days went by. Ethan landed a part-time job as a new floor manager at a Denny’s, which was honestly a step up. In a restaurant setting, the customers weren’t always in such a rush to get going. The pay was less and he was starting all over, but everyone who worked there was mostly high so they were all very nice to him. He’d just have to be on a budget for a little while until his paychecks started coming in again.

  He never heard from Bethany again, and he didn’t try to reach out to her. Similarly, Luciana was just gone from his life after that night. The rest of his few friends tried to keep in touch but he was so incredibly bad at it that there was no point.