Daniel shuddered, kissing the alpha back desperately. He hadn’t thought he’d want this, that he’d enjoy this so much. This was nothing like Harrison, there was no punishing grip in his hair or on his jaw. Thorn wasn’t taking control from him.
“One more time. Do you think you can do that for me?”
Daniel nodded eagerly, reaching for Thorn’s cock.
“Eyes on me,” Thorn said firmly.
He obediently lifted his gaze, very aware of how close Thorn’s cock was to his mouth. He was about to part his lips… but Thorn hadn’t asked him to, not yet. Instead, he felt the silky soft touch of the alpha’s cock against his mouth, teasing him. He desperately wanted it, wanted to taste it, to feel it slide across his tongue.
“Please.”
His plea was rewarded as Thorn slid slowly past his lips, inch by inch. He didn’t go much deeper than the previous time, pulling back almost immediately, gliding across Daniel’s tongue.
Daniel tried to plead with him a second time, but he couldn’t get a word out, only a contented sigh as the alpha slid back in. He hummed happily and sucked on the head, hearing Thorn groan as the alpha eased out and came. Daniel could only kneel there contentedly, staring up at Thorn’s expression of ecstasy, licking the taste of the alpha from his lips.
The alpha’s hands cupped his face again, reeling him in for another kiss.
“That was amazing, Daniel. You were amazing. Was that okay? How do you feel?” He eased Daniel up and into his lap, avoiding the mess as best he could.
“Um.” Daniel blinked up at him. “That was good for you?”
He struggled to believe it. Harrison had made it clear Daniel wasn’t very good in bed. He had always had to take control, push past Daniel’s barriers. Thorn hadn’t done any of that, yet was staring at him like he’d won some great prize.
“That was beautiful, Daniel. It felt amazing. I haven’t had a release like that in a long time. I needed it. Thank you for sharing that with me.”
“Oh.” He managed a smile. “I’m glad. I thought… I’m not very good at it.”
“Whoever told you that was wrong. No one’s at their best when they’re given too much to handle.”
He was tugged to lean against Thorn’s chest.
“But the more important question is how it felt for you. Some people enjoy giving just as much as receiving, and some don’t. I, for one, love both. But if you don’t like it, we don’t have to do it again.”
“I didn’t like it before,” Daniel admitted. “But I enjoyed it a lot with you. That look on your face after… do all alphas look like that?” He’d never been brave enough to look before.
Thorn grinned. “I imagine my face looked something like yours did the other day. I’m sure most people look like that when they’re on the receiving end of a mind-blowing orgasm from a beautiful omega.”
Daniel relaxed into Thorn’s embrace with a sigh. “I like how I got to look in your eyes the whole time. And I could taste you, feel you. It was never like that before.”
Thorn’s eyes narrowed, the alpha tensing briefly.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it too. I’d never want you to do anything you didn’t want to or anything you didn’t think you’d enjoy.”
“It would have been worth it to give you pleasure,” Daniel told him. “Isn’t that what it’s all about when an alpha and omega have sex? The omega’s there to give the alpha pleasure?”
Thorn’s arms tightened around him.
“No. It’s about mutual pleasure. You give pleasure and you receive it. You really weren’t joking when you said no one had done that for you before, were you?”
“I…” Daniel felt a little silly then. “He said omegas did it for alphas, not the other way around.”
“He? Is that Sammy’s father?”
“Him, yeah.”
“Well, he’s two things. A selfish bastard, and wrong—very wrong. I’m going to prove to you just how wrong he is.”
Daniel giggled when he realized what Thorn was saying. “I think I’d like that.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Thorn decided night shifts were infinitely easier when you had someone to come home to. There was just something about arriving home after dawn to the smell of coffee in the kitchen and breakfast warming in the grill. Not to mention the soft smile on Daniel’s face. This morning was different. No smell of coffee or cooking, the kitchen was empty. Worried, he called out.
“Daniel? Sammy?”
“Hi, Thorny!”
Relieved, he tracked Sammy’s voice to the workshop. The cub was waiting for him by the door, and his little worried eyes brightened when he caught sight of him.
“Morning, buddy. Did you have a good night?”
Sammy raised his arms, and Thorn lifted him up, searching around for Daniel. He didn’t have far to look, finding the omega on the other side of the workshop, pacing back and forth.
“Daddy’s sick.”
“Don’t worry, Sammy. We’ll make him better. Daniel?”
The omega didn’t pause in his pacing, didn’t even glance in Thorn’s direction. Thorn set Sammy down on the couch, wrapping a blanket around him and patting his head. He crossed the room to Daniel, watching him closely. He couldn’t see any sign of what was wrong, except for a slight flush to his cheeks and a light sheen of sweat across his forehead.
“Daniel? Come on, talk to me. What’s going on?”
The closer he got, the more apparent the problem. Daniel’s scent gave it away.
“You’re in heat.”
Daniel shook his head, slowing his pacing but not looking at Thorn. “No, I can’t be. I’ve never had a heat. Most omegas don’t. It’s not normal.”
Thorn winced, realizing this might be his fault. Sort of.
“It is normal within a pack. Which, technically, you’ve been in for a few weeks now.”
Daniel shook his head harder. “No. I’m sick or something. It’s just a fever.”
Thorn folded his arms. “Daniel, look at me. And say that again.”
The omega’s hands clenched into fists before relaxing, and he turned toward Thorn. “It’s just a fev—”
He faltered and took a deep breath, catching Thorn’s scent as he did.
“You smell amazing.”
“Yeah, heat does funny things to omegas. And alphas. Because you smell like the nicest thing in the world right now.”
Daniel frowned disbelievingly at that. “But I’m all sweaty and gross. You can’t want to touch me.”
Thorn laughed. “If you think a little sweat is going to put me off, you’re out of your mind. But first things first. You’re in heat. Regardless of what you do about it, you’re going to be this way for a few days. Let’s get Sammy over to the packhouse. He’ll have plenty of fun and be well looked after while you’re out of sorts.” He turned to the couch. “What do you say, Sammy? Want to go play with Eric and the others?”
Sammy nodded eagerly.
“I’ll call the house, get someone to come get you.”
“He hasn’t had breakfast,” Daniel said suddenly, guilt crossing his face.
“I’ll ask them to make him something as soon as he arrives. Don’t worry.”
He made the call and packed a bag for Sammy, meeting Oliver at the front door. Daniel came out to say goodbye, hugging the cub tightly. “Be good. Daddy will be over to see you soon.”
“We’ll bring him back at dinner time,” Oliver promised. “But he can spend the night at the packhouse. How does a sleepover sound, Sammy?”
The cub didn’t look too sure about that but smiled and waved goodbye as Oliver carried him to the car.
“I guess you and I should talk,” Thorn said once they’d driven away.
“About sex?” Daniel asked innocently.
“About heats and packs and what that might mean for you.”
“You mean babies?”
“And bonding. Look, we can use condoms and have at it like rabbits, with no consequences. Or I
can give you space and let you ride it out.”
“Or…?”
“We ditch the condoms. It’ll probably mean that you end up in the same condition Oliver and Josh did after their heats: in the family way for three months, twins or maybe triplets, and bonded to me for life.”
“You mean I’d be yours, forever?”
Daniel didn’t seem horrified or worried by what Thorn was telling him, just curious.
“That’s how it works with packs.”
“Because I’m in heat? It wouldn’t happen just by having sex or getting pregnant?”
“Nope. There has to be a heat for there to be a bond. And you only get pack pregnancies from a heat. Because I’m a Sentinel, and not living right in the heart of the pack, it’ll probably be twins.”
“But it would be permanent, no one could break it?”
Thorn could see Daniel was desperate for information, for reassurance. He just wasn’t sure what the omega was worried about. Maybe winding up pregnant and abandoned by yet another mate?
“Pack bonds don’t break easily. Even the death of the spouse doesn’t always fracture a bond. It takes something terrible and drastic to break one. If we do this, there’s no going back.”
Daniel seemed satisfied with that. “And what about you? Do you want this?”
“I want it,” Thorn promised. “If you’re ready for it. If not, there’ll be other chances.”
“No.” Daniel seemed determined. “It should be now.”
“Then now it is.”
They both turned toward Thorn’s bedroom door. Far from scared or anxious, Daniel looked eager.
“Lead the way,” Thorn encouraged.
He followed the omega into the room.
Daniel hesitated just inside the door. Was he having second thoughts?
“Could we… close the curtains and turn the lights off?”
“Sure,” Thorn said, a little confused by the request. “Is the light bothering you?”
The omega shook his head shyly. “No, it’s just… I don’t like to be watched.”
“There’s only me here. And I think you’re beautiful.”
“I know but… could we, please?”
“It’s your heat,” Thorn assured him. “Your rules.”
He shut the curtains while Daniel turned off the light, leaving them in semi-darkness.
“Now what?” Daniel asked with a nervous giggle.
“That depends. Are you hungry? You didn’t have breakfast.”
“I’m hungry,” Daniel mused. “But not for food.”
He shed his T-shirt, letting it fall to the floor. His hand went to his sweatpants, watching Thorn carefully cross the room.
“Don’t,” Thorn said. “Let me.”
He walked up to Daniel and slipped around behind him, wrapping his hands around the omega’s waist.
“You are gorgeous: your skin, your eyes, your scent. Every part of you is perfect.” He kissed the back of Daniel’s neck, prompting a shiver and a moan. “I know you don’t believe me now, but one day you’ll see yourself exactly as I see you.”
He was determined to make it his mission to bolster Daniel’s self-confidence. Someone had torn it down and ripped it to shreds. Thorn would build it back up, brick by brick.
Slipping his hand under the waistband of Daniel’s pants, he nudged them down until they slipped past the omega’s knees and he could step out of them.
“Beautiful,” Thorn said again, feeling Daniel shiver at the praise. He urged the omega to the bed, a little surprised when Daniel braced himself expectantly against the edge.
“Like this?” the omega asked him, glancing at him over his shoulder.
“Not like that,” Thorn told him, lifting him into the bed properly.
He shed his own clothes, Daniel rolling over to watch him, grabbing a sheet to cover himself. Thorn climbed in after him, settling down alongside him. He grabbed Daniel’s hand which was fisted in the sheet he’d wrapped around himself. Thorn gently freed the sheet from his grip and started to unwind it.
“First things first. Turn around, put your back to me. I need to get at that beautiful neck of yours.”
Daniel did as he was told, pausing to ask a question. “Why?”
“Your mating gland. We wouldn’t get very far if we didn’t involve it in the mating, would we?”
Daniel seemed a little uncomfortable when Thorn settled a hand on the nape of his neck.
“What’s wrong, Danny?”
The omega looked pleased with the nickname, but conflicted.
“I… I thought… just the sight of your alpha is supposed to be enough. Having to be touched like that means you’re not faithful enough, that your heart isn’t true.”
Thorn was so stumped by that, he let his hand fall and just sat there in silence for a moment. There was fury in his voice when he spoke, though he muffled it as best he could.
“I don’t know what selfish bastard told you that, but there’s no truth to it. Omegas have mating glands for a reason. They’re found in the neck because that makes them easily accessed by their mate or themselves during foreplay. It’s a signal to your body to get ready to mate and to make babies.”
He softened his tone and leaned in to whisper in Daniel’s ear. “Do you want to know how I know touching it is right?”
Daniel nodded eagerly.
“Because it feels so, so good.”
The omega let out a muted whimper and obediently pressed his chin to his chest, displaying his neck to Thorn.
“That’s it, just like that. If it gets too much, just speak up or tap my arm, okay?”
“Okay.” There was the slightest tremble in Daniel’s voice, but it was anticipation, not fear. Thorn hated that he’d learned to tell the difference.
“Some omegas, they can come from this alone,” he murmured to Daniel.
He bent his head and kissed the nape of Daniel’s neck. The omega’s long sigh was music to his ears. He teased at the skin a little with his teeth. Below him, Daniel whimpered and squirmed, pushing back against him for more. Thorn used his tongue and lips, kissing and licking every inch of Daniel’s gland. He wrapped one hand around the omega’s chest to hold him in place, lavishing every bit of love and attention he could on the neglected skin of his neck. With his other hand, he teased the edges of Daniel’s gland, pressing lightly into the tissue, then deeper, prompting a hoarse cry from the omega.
Thorn could tell Daniel was close from the way his hips were arching back against him. He eased off a little, earning him a muted cry from Daniel as the omega pushed closer.
“Please, Thorn. Don’t stop.”
With a rumble of laughter, he went back to work, kissing the now reddened skin, drawing another hoarse cry from the omega’s flushed lips. He bit down lightly, sucking hard on the skin between his teeth, and Daniel arched and called out as he came, sagging back against Thorn with a sob.
Thorn quickly turned the omega toward him, cradling him against his chest.
“Shh, I’ve got you. Daniel?”
“It… it felt so good,” the omega stuttered out. “Nothing’s ever felt like that. Never. I don’t understand.”
Thorn knew Daniel wasn’t alone in feeling like that. Brax and Cole had told him that both their omega mates had said something similar.
“What you knew before, that was the lie people tell omegas so that they don’t dream of better. This is the reality. This is everything you deserve.”
“I deserve it?”
Daniel’s eyes peeked up at him, uncertain wonder filling them.
“This and so much more.”
“So I can feel that again?”
“Let’s see if we can’t do better next time.”
Daniel’s eyes widened. “There’s better?”
Thorn laughed and kissed him. “We’ve only just begun, Danny.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Daniel was still floating in hazy happiness when Thorn rolled him onto his back. He stared up at the
alpha, his gaze locked on Thorn’s dark eyes. Thorn grabbed the sheet wrapped around him and untangled him from it. Feeling his face flush, Daniel tried to pull it back, wanting the shield even in the darkness.
“Skin to skin,” Thorn rumbled. “That’s what a heat needs.”
Reluctantly, Daniel let go of his death grip on the sheet so Thorn could tug it away. Even in the gloom of their darkened room, he still felt exposed, knowing the alpha’s gaze would soon be examining every inch of him, criticizing every—
Thorn’s lips pressed against his, pushing the dark thoughts from his mind.
“You are so beautiful,” Thorn said again. “I could lie here and watch you for hours. I will, if you’ll let me.”
Daniel turned his face away, failing to hide a shudder. “You won’t want to once you see.”
Strong fingers caught his chin and turned his face back. “See what?”
“Me. All of me. I don’t measure up. That’s what he always said. If you’ve been with other omegas, you’ll know.”
Thorn’s hand cradled his face.
“I’ve been with others omegas, sure. Though it’s been a while. Every body is different, just like every face. But there’s beauty in every one.”
Daniel, who’d been on the receiving end of one too many barbs from Harrison and snickers from Jaxon, shook his head and tried to turn away. Thorn let him but curled close against his back.
“If you don’t want sex…” the alpha said softly.
“No, I do. Please.” His heat was a growing insistence, a spiraling need that had to be fulfilled. “But maybe, like this? So you wouldn’t have to look at me?”
Thorn kissed his shoulder, and then his neck, and Daniel bit back a moan at the lazy spark of pleasure that shuddered through him.
“I want to see your eyes when we make love for the first time. That would make me very happy.”
“I could use the sheet,” Daniel suggested, already knowing what the alpha would say.
“No sheet. This isn’t a casual hookup, Danny. This is a mating bond. I’m giving myself to you, and you’re giving yourself to me. There can’t be anything between us—not a sheet, not fear.”
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