Page 27

“That makes sense. If you don’t mind me asking, when was your last heat before we met?”

“I don’t know. Guessing maybe…a year ago?”

A low, disapproving growl rumbled out of me, and I took his hand in mine, squeezing gently. “You’re supposed to take breaks from suppressants every few months to have your heat.”

“I’m also supposed to be an upstanding citizen. Look how well that’s going.” He chuckled, genuine humour lighting his beautiful eyes. “Why all the questions? This isn’t how I thought this conversation would go.”

“You don’t look after yourself,” I stated simply. “In the short time I’ve known you, you’ve constantly denied your needs as an omega, and frankly, it’s put you in some rough situations.”

“If telling me how badly I run my life is your way of apologising, you’re doing great.”

“An alpha’s job is to care for their mate. You’ve had to hide and deny who you are for so long, I think acceptance scares you. That it’ll somehow strip you of who you are. Am I close?”

“You better have a point soon,” he gritted out through a tightly clenched jaw.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes,’” I muttered, rubbing a thumb back and forth over his knuckles. “Trystan, I don’t want you because you’re an omega. I want you because you’remine, just as much as I am yours. If you were a beta or another alpha, or even if I was an omega, it wouldn’t change anything for me.”

Trystan’s throat bobbed as I spoke, but he stayed silent. The only indication that he was listening was his hand slowly squeezing mine a little harder with each word.

“I never intended to try changing who you are. My only goal is to keep you safe, which you don’t make easy, by the way.”

Laughter bubbled out of him for a moment, along with a tear he could no longer hold back. He still refused to look at me. I reached up with the hand holding onto him and circled my arm around him, pulling him close. He didn’t fight me. Didn’t yell or glare. He just curled into me, resting his head on my shoulder and allowing me to hold him.

Vetiver continued to emanate from him as his soft curls tickled my jaw. Each inhale of his essence expanded throughout my chest, relaxing my shoulders and solidifying my resolve.

“Even if you reject me as your alpha, I’ll continue to protect you in any way that I can for as long as I am on this earth,” I promised, pressing my lips against his temple, then leaned close to look into his teary green eyes. “It’s okay if you decide you don’t want this, but it won’t change the fact that I am yours and you are mine. My omega. My mate. I’m all in if you’ll accept me.”

Tension lingered in the air, thick and constricting around my throat as I waited for Trystan to say something. Anything.Please.

His hand released mine, and for a moment, all I could feel was the cool, empty air where he used to be. Relief surged through my veins as warmth enveloped my thighs, and a weight settled on me. Long fingers slid through my hair, gripping the strands to tilt my head and forcing me to gaze up at the omega straddling me.

He leaned down to me, his lips hovering a hair’s breadth above mine. “You won’t be able to bribe your way into my flat with pancakes every time you piss me off, you know.”

“Won’t need to. I’m never letting you walk away from me again.”

Running my hands up his thighs, I held his hips, my heart pounding as I patiently waited for him to make the first move. The moment he closed the miniscule gap between us, my chest swelled, and my alpha roared triumphantly. Our mouths movedin tandem, tasting and memorising each other more with each addictive movement.

“This really wasn’t how I thought the conversation would go.” Trystan chuckled breathlessly. “I half-expected you’d throw me over your shoulder, slap me on the arse, and tell me not to run off again.”

“I’d be happy to do that if it’d make you feel better.”

He purred in my lap, every bit the content omega as he peppered soft kisses across my jaw and down to my collar. Pausing for a moment, he breathed against my skin, inhaling my scent and steadily relaxing against me.

“I’m still not totally comfortable with all this omega stuff,” he admitted in a small voice. “I’m barely used to heats, and I’ve had those for years.”

“That’s okay.” I ran a hand up and down his bare back, enjoying the way he shivered in the embrace. “We can figure all of this out as we go. The important thing is that you’ll tell me if something is too much.”

“I can do that,” he promised, licking over my lower lip and pulling me into another toe-curling kiss.

Running a hand through his hair, I added, “And on your next heat, no running. You let me take care of you, understand?”

He leaned back out of my reach with a smirk, playing thoughtful as he arched his back and let his tantalising nipple piercings twinkle in the light. “You saying I have to retire the knotted dildo?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoffed, yanking him back and playfully swatting his arse. “I love to use toys on you. I can picture you now, bound and desperate, dripping with slick, while you try to take a knot at both ends.”

Heat pooled low at the thought, and I felt Trystan grow hard against me. As I ran my thumb over his bottom lip, he wrappedhis lips around it and sucked. The sensation travelled straight to my rapidly hardening cock.

Pressing down on his tongue, I asked, “Do you like the sound of that, love?”