by Nora Phoenix
Without saying a word, he reached out to grab Vieno’s wrist, then yanked him close. Vieno’s startled blue eyes look up at him and his heart did a little flip flop. “Can I kiss you?” he asked, ensuring he was not using his alpha compulsion.
Vieno nodded.
For one second, his alpha protested that the smell was all wrong, but he pushed through it and kissed Vieno. The sweet omega offered little resistance as Lidon’s tongue swept his mouth, claiming him. It was like coming home, like finding a part of himself that had been missing. Fuck, he tasted so good, sweet and arousing at the same time.
It only took seconds for Lidon to get frustrated with their height difference, so he picked him up. Vieno’s arms wrapped around his neck and his legs around his waist, and oh, that was so much better already. Lidon’s hand cupped that ass possessively, his other supporting Vieno’s weight.
He walked forward to the bed, then lowered them both on it, settling himself on top. He rutted against him, his cock already leaking precum. His mouth tasted so addictive and that pliant body under his was such a fucking turn on. His alpha let out a satisfied growl into Vieno’s mouth.
Mine, mine, mine, his heartbeat pulsed through his body. He wanted to claim him all over again, knot him until he was drenched in his seed, until every pore of his body would scream Lidon’s dominance to every other man. What was it about this little omega that made him feel things he never had? Not even with Matteo, and he had loved him with all his heart.
He tore away his mouth, panting. Vieno’s lips looked moist and swollen from the kiss, a little trickle of saliva meandering from the corner of his mouth. Lidon licked it, humming with pleasure. He traced those plump, warm lips with his tongue, then made his way to his smooth jaw, nipping at his skin along the way. He teased the sensitive spot behind his ears with his tongue, eliciting the sweetest little moan from Vieno.
“You like that, huh?” he whispered.
Vieno closed his eyes and offered him his neck, a clear invitation. Lidon rubbed his stubble against it, watching with satisfaction as the skin rose into goosebumps. Fuck, he wanted to rub him all over. Kiss him. Lick him. Fucking claim him. Own him. Then do it all again, until he had nothing left to give.
His hands roamed all over the small body underneath him, touching him everywhere. Vieno’s nipples were perfect pink buds, hard and ready for his touch. He licked them, savoring the taste. Hmm, he already smelled more like Lidon, while maintaining his own tantalizing aroma.
He closed his mouth around the right nipple, then sucked. Vieno bucked, grinding his cock into Lidon’s hard body. Oh, the sounds he made when Lidon played with his nipples…they were intoxicating. Everything about the omega drew him in, reached deep inside him to trigger urges he never knew he possessed.
He gently scraped the bud with his teeth. Vieno’s hands grabbed his head and dug in with just enough force to make Lidon feel deeply wanted. He wasn’t playing this. Nobody was that good an actor. Vieno wanted him. Truly wanted him.
He gave his other nipple the same treatment, smiling when Vieno restlessly moved under him. Fuck, he was so wonderfully responsive.
“I swear, I only wanted to rub my scent all over you…maybe jack off and cover you in my cum…” His voice was deeper than it had ever been. “But I can’t seem to stop…”
“Don’t stop,” Vieno whispered. “Please, don’t stop. I…it’s okay.”
Lidon lifted his head from where he’d been kissing and licking Vieno’s stomach. “It’s okay? That sounds like you’re enduring it.”
Vieno vehemently shook his head. “No, that’s not what I meant… It’s just… Palani.”
Ice cold bands wrapped around Lidon’s heart as he pushed himself upward until he was face to face with the omega again. “What about Palani?”
Tears formed in Vieno’s eyes. “I love him. I’ve always loved him. But I want you so much, and you make my body feel things I’ve never felt before…and when you fucked me last time, it was so perfect… I’ve never felt so good as when you knotted me, and I want that again, more than anything. And I like you. You’re kind to me and you respect me… But it feels like I’m betraying him to want you so much. I’m sorry, I’m fucking it all up, aren’t I?”
He was such an idiot. Vieno’s eyes welled up as Lidon’s face tightened. He’d fucked it all up. Lidon had been open to the idea of marrying him, Vieno had felt it. And instead of doing what the gorgeous alpha wanted, Vieno had to open his stupid mouth and bring Palani up again. As if the man had needed another reminder of what he and Palani had done that morning…of what Palani meant to him. What man wanted to hear that in the first place, let alone when he was considering marriage?
Lidon rolled off him, leaving him shivering. Alone. He closed his eyes, his heart cramping painfully as a single tear slid down his cheek. The bit of hope he’d experienced when Lidon had agreed to meet with them disappeared. He had no way out now, no means of escaping Aloysius.
Then a strong hand grabbed him and pulled him close. Lidon gathered his arm around Vieno and put his head on his shoulder. Vieno tentatively put his hand on the man’s massive chest, too confused to even form coherent thoughts. What was Lidon doing? His heart racing, he waited for the alpha to speak.
“I don’t like it. Hell, my alpha hates it. At the same time I understand it, and I respect the hell out of your loyalty and your honesty. Love can’t be turned off simply because circumstances require it.”
Relief flooded Vieno and the hold he’d had on his tears broke. He snuggled closer, needing the sense of comfort and safety those strong arms brought him, and Lidon accepted it, accepted him. His other arm came around Vieno as well.
“I’m sorry,” Vieno said with a half-sob.
“I know, sweetheart. Not sure you have something to apologize for, though. You can’t help who you love.”
There was an emotional depth to his words. Was Lidon in love with someone, someone he couldn’t have for whatever reason? It filled Vieno with a mix of sadness and relief.
“No, you can’t. Believe me, I tried.”
“I’m not sure where this leaves us, though,” Lidon said a while later, after Vieno had calmed down and was enjoying the alpha’s presence. “If there’s even a possibility for an ‘us’.”
“Do you want there to be?” Vieno dared to ask.
“Marriage is not something I’ve been looking for.” He seemed to hesitate, then quietly said, “I’ve been engaged before. Matteo, my omega, passed away a few weeks before our wedding. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in a store robbery. I didn’t think I’d ever want to marry someone else.”
His words stabbed Vieno in his heart. Never in a million years had he expected Lidon to say this. “I’m sorry,” he said. The words came automatically, but then his emotions caught up. “I truly am. I had no idea, and that must have been devastating for you.”
Lidon’s arms tightened for a moment before he relaxed again. “You remind me of him. Not in your appearance, but your character. He was a pleaser. His biggest joy was to make me happy.”
That was a promise Vieno could make. “If we marry, I will do anything I can to make you happy.”
“I know you will. That’s why you remind me of him.”
“That’s also why you’re reluctant. Because I remind you of what you lost,” Vieno understood.
“Partly. I had another boyfriend a few years ago. Rodrick. I was close to asking him to marry me when I discovered he’d cheated on me. He fucked around with a mutual friend behind my back and got pregnant.”
Vieno gasped. “What…how…I would never do that to you!”
His appalled tone comforted Lidon, but he had to ask. “Not even with Palani?”
“No. I couldn’t. And he’d never allow it. He’s incredibly loyal, you know.”
He lifted his head to make eye contact and found Lidon studying him for a while, then nodding, accepting his words. “Is that why you don’t want to get married again?” Vi
eno asked, putting his head back on that safe spot.
“I’m hesitant to give up my independence, since I do love the freedom I have as a bachelor.”
Vieno frowned, trying to understand it. “But you don’t do casual sex.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Lidon sighed. “It’s…complicated.”
“Forgive me if being I’m stupid, but if it’s not for sleeping around, what do you need that freedom for? I don’t understand.”
“No, you wouldn’t and it’s not because you’re stupid. Look, if I were to marry you, I’d become responsible for taking care of you.”
“I can take care of myself,” Vieno said, then bit his lip. Could he? As hard as it was to admit, he leaned on Palani an awful lot.
“I’m sure you want to be able to take care of yourself,” Lidon said diplomatically, “But the bottom line is that you can’t. Because of biology, society, your upbringing, my instincts, and everything else, my job would be to take care of you. And that would take away my freedom.”
Yeah, he understood. Right now, Lidon could go where he wished, do what he wanted. He had no one to come home to, no one who needed him. That would change if they married, there was no denying that.
“I’m sorry?”
“You need to stop apologizing for things that aren’t your fault. You are who you are, Vieno. You don’t need to apologize for that.”
“Even for an omega, I’m kinda dependent, though,” he admitted.
He was startled when Lidon laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest. “God, you suck at selling yourself.”
Vieno’s cheeks flushed. The alpha had a point. So far, he was doing a sucky job of presenting himself in a way that would make the man want to marry him. On the contrary, he seemed to be saying and doing shit to scare him off. If he wasn’t careful, Lidon would come to the conclusion Vieno didn’t really want this.
“Sorry.” He wanted to crawl somewhere under the bed.
Lidon kissed his head, an uncharacteristic tender gesture for him. “Stop apologizing.”
“But I…”
“Stop apologizing.”
This time, Lidon’s alpha reverberated through his words and Vieno found himself responding to the authority.
“Yes, alpha.”
“I usually dislike it when people call me alpha ‘cause it feels more like an automatic gesture than true deference that I somehow earned…but I may make an exception for you.”
“Yes, alpha.”
More laughter. “You’ve finally come to that famous realization about honey being more effective than vinegar, huh?”
Yeah, a dark, quiet spot under the bed sounded good right about now. Or somewhere deep in his closet where no one could see him.
“No response?” Lidon teased him.
Vieno debated multiple answers in his head, then opted for honesty. “No. I don’t want to irritate you even more.”
“You don’t irritate me.”
“Frustrate?”
“Nope. I appreciate your honesty, Vieno. More than anything, I value complete and brutal honesty between us.”
“Oh.” He pondered that for, then said, “I think I can accommodate you. I can’t lie worth shit and I suck at pretending.”
“Hmm. So if you act like you want me, that means I should believe you?”
Vieno pushed himself off on Lidon’s chest so he could look him in the eye. “I would never lie about that. Or pretend.”
Apparently, Lidon liked what he saw on Vieno’s face. “Promise me,” he said, his voice low and deep.
“I promise.”
“Promise me you’ll never accept my sexual advances or initiate anything sexual when it’s not what you want.”
That was about the last thing Vieno expected him to say. What made Lidon ask him to make that promise? Luckily, it was something Vieno had no qualms vowing. “You have my word, alpha.”
Lidon studied him for a few seconds. “What do you need me to promise, aside from never ignoring your ‘no’? You know I’ll always respect that.”
Vieno lowered his eyes and wanted to crawl back on Lidon’s chest, but a strong hand grabbed his chin. “No, this is not the time to hide. You were thinking of something. Will you tell me?”
He could’ve ordered him. If he'd said, “tell me”, Vieno would’ve had a hard time resisting. Instead, he asked. Still, Vieno’s heart was racing. He’d never spoken about this, not even with Palani. Oh, he’d known, but they’d never said the words. But how did he bring this up? Wouldn’t it be the final straw for Lidon after all the stupid shit Vieno had said already about Palani, him being so dependent, and everything?
Lidon was patiently waiting, his eyes focused on Vieno. Even now, he didn’t use his alpha power on him, but waited till Vieno was ready. He took a deep breath, then plunged.
“Please don’t judge me for how I act during my heat.” He said it fast, then exhaled when the words were out. Okay, the first hurdle was taken.
“I’m gonna need more than that, sweetheart.”
The affectionate name gave Vieno the sense of security to find the words. “I tend to get a little…excited during my heat. More than other omegas, I gathered from research. I can come on strong.”
Lidon shook his head. “You’re still not telling me the full truth, instead hiding behind euphemisms. The brutal truth, Vieno.”
The brutal truth. Did he dare? His throat constricted as he remembered the look of derision on Aloysius’ face…the ridicule of his friends, who kept criticizing him for how he acted…and still he wanted them. Or at least, some part of him did. It was what had driven them to extremes—to see how far they could go and have Vieno still take them.
“I see a lot of fear and hurt in your eyes,” Lidon said softly, his voice warm and kind. “Was it so bad?”
Vieno nodded, unable to find words.
“Do you want me to help you say it?”
He nodded again.
“Maybe you meant to say that you get bossy during your heat?”
He sighed, then affirmed it.
“And more dominant sexually than you usually are? Or than would be expected of an omega?”
He bit his lip, his eyes confirming Lidon’s words.
“More open to sexual experimentation, perhaps, than would otherwise be the case?”
They were getting so close to the truth. Vieno’s heart was about to burst out of his chest with fear, if not for the fact that Lidon’s face was calm and kind, not showing any judgment whatsoever. It was the acceptance in his eyes that allowed him to say the words.
“During my heat, I’m a slut. I want everything, crave everything. I have no boundaries. Anything and everything turns me on. And I will do anything…anything until I’m sated.”
Lidon finally let go of his head, and Vieno collapsed on top of him. Lidon held him close. “Thank you for being honest with me, sweetheart, because I can see how difficult this was for you… Are you saying it would be different from the heat I experienced?”
“Yeah. I was too weak to initiate much then,” Vieno answered.
“Hmm.”
“I’m…” He caught himself before he finished the sentence and Lidon chuckled.
“Good catch. Tell me, why would you think I’d judge you for this?”
“Because omegas are supposed to act as virgin blushing brides. Let the strong, dominant alpha men conquer them and take them. Our job is to spread our legs whenever the alpha asks us to…”
Vieno let out a sudden squeal when Lidon rolled them over, hovering above him. God, he loved that sensation of that big body on top of his. “I’m gonna tell you a little secret, okay?”
Vieno nodded.
“I’m not your average alpha.”
Vieno couldn’t resist the quip. “You’re definitely bigger, I’d say.”
Lidon laughed, then gave him a quick kiss that felt strangely familiar. “Thank you. I assume that was a compliment.”
That, at least
he had no troubling being brutally honest about. “I love your big cock.”
That earned him another kiss, but a slower one this time, where Lidon licked every inch of his mouth until Vieno was panting, desire racing through his veins.
“Here’s the thing. I like filthy sex. It was one source of frustration between Rodrick and me before he cheated, because he was traditional and mainstream when it came to sex. I, however, like it raw and rough and filthy… I suspect you can get as slutty as you want with me and I won’t mind. The things I want to do to you…”
The words set something free inside Vieno. Palani hadn’t minded Vieno’s…excesses during heat, but this was a whole new level. It almost sounded like Lidon welcomed it, wanted it as much as Vieno did. But if that was true, then why had he been celibate for so long? “If that’s true, how did you manage to not have sex for so long?”
“You talk like I hadn’t had sex in years.”
“I assumed that…”
“I’m an alpha, sweetheart. I can’t go without sex. But fucking a random beta at a club is not the same as knotting an omega, and I’ll admit it had been a while since I’d done the latter before you.”
That made sense.
“And as you can imagine, experimenting sexually is not something that’s easy to do with a hook up. It requires a level of trust, and as a cop, I’m disinclined to trust people I don’t know.”
Vieno blinked. That, too, sounded true. Which meant that…Lidon was telling the truth. He was interested in experimenting with him, and he wouldn’t mind if Vieno got a little overexcited.
“You believe me now?”
Vieno nodded, then offered his mouth up to receive one of those toe-curling kisses, the kind that made him forget his own name. Lidon ground into him as he kissed him, smearing his precum all over Vieno, and he fucking loved it.
“Will you fuck me?” he asked.