Page 23 of Alpha Dragon’s Mating Contract (Babies For Broken Dads #3)

WALREN GOES INTO HEAT

Walren dragged his feet into the mansion, his eyelids heavy. “I’m so exhausted.”

“Same, sweetheart. Same.” Raptor shuffled in behind him, carrying Zebbie in his car seat.

Their day had gone to hell.

After Larei and the shattered glass window, after the credit card systems had gone down and Raptor’s server said they couldn’t do their evening shift, the power had gone out for a bit.

Raptor had to unearth his emergency power generators to keep everything running. Then, they had run out of mushrooms, and Raptor had to send a cook out to buy more, while he appeased impatient customers about the delay.

To make things worse, some of Raptor’s paperwork had floated into Zebbie’s playpen in the office. Zebbie had set them all on fire.

Then Zebbie had pooped, and used it to paint everything he could reach.

They’d had to call in Uriel for the second time that day, for a cleaning and disinfecting spell.

Walren had never been so embarrassed in his life.

To make up for it, he and Mathlin had volunteered to split the missing server’s workload between them. Just that they had greatly underestimated how much energy the job required—being constantly alert, being nice to patrons, smiling at everyone... It had drained his energy levels to zero.

Right now, he didn’t think he could climb the stairs.

“Here,” Raptor said, holding up the car seat. “Grab Zebs.”

Walren scooped Zebbie into his arms. Then Raptor swept him off his feet and carried him upstairs.

Walren didn’t even squeak. He snuggled into Raptor’s warm, solid chest and let his eyelids droop. “So tired.”

“Me too.” Raptor brought them to Walren’s room.

Zebbie was already asleep. When Raptor set Walren on his feet, Walren gently laid his son in the crib.

“Zebbie’s good?” Raptor asked.

“Uh huh.”

“Good.” Raptor swept him off his feet again. Instead of depositing Walren in his own bed, Raptor brought Walren to the room at the end of the hallway.

“I can’t jerk you off right now,” Walren mumbled when Raptor deposited him on the edge of his bed. “I don’t think I can move.”

In fact, he had the strangest feeling that he was forgetting something.

Raptor dropped a kiss on top of his head. “That’s not what I have in mind, anyway.”

He began to undress Walren, his fingers warm and sure through Walren’s thin clothes. Then he undressed himself and carried Walren to the bathroom.

Raptor didn’t set Walren down on the cool marble floor. Instead, he kept Walren cradled against his chest, using his other hand to turn on the rain shower in the tub. When he was satisfied with its temperature, Raptor gently placed Walren in the tub, and climbed in after him.

They sat side by side, their legs stretched out in front of them. Warm water pattered all over their bodies and wet their hair gently, like a light shower instead of a downpour.

It was... comforting.

“Are you going to wash me?” Walren asked curiously.

“Mmm.” Raptor slouched against the side of the tub and closed his eyes. “Not right now. Gods, I’m done with today.”

“Same here.” Walren sighed and leaned back, letting the warm water gently wash away his dried sweat.

“I do this sometimes on long days,” Raptor said quietly. “Just sit in the dark with a gentle rain shower and nothing bothering me.”

“I’m really enjoying it,” Walren whispered. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

“Of course.” The alpha hummed and wriggled his toes.

It was all so quiet and calm, a whole other side to Raptor that Walren hadn’t seen before. Kind of like earlier, when Raptor had cooed over Zebbie.

“Oh!” Raptor said suddenly. “I forgot to show you this.”

He tapped a few buttons on a side panel.

The lights dimmed to near darkness. Above, the ceiling turned a deep navy blue, speckled with tiny pinpricks of light, like stars. The nozzles for the rain shower had been cleverly hidden in the ceiling, so all Walren could see was the star-dotted sky.

“This is amazing,” he breathed.

“Yeah?” There was a smile in Raptor’s voice. “It was something I loved to do—having outdoor baths under the stars.”

“Why didn’t you build a bathtub in the backyard?” Walren asked.

“Well. I used to have one there, before the city grew to what it is now. Don’t get me wrong; I love that we have all kinds of shops within easy reach these days, but the light pollution makes it impossible to see the stars in the sky.

” Raptor sounded wistful. “I’ve put some constellations on the ceiling, though. ”

Walren looked more closely at the speckles of light. “I recognize Orion’s Belt and the Big Dipper.”

Raptor waited for a bit. “That’s it?” he asked, sounding incredulous. “That’s all you recognize?”

“I haven’t spent hundreds of years looking at the night sky!” Walren huffed.

The alpha laughed quietly. “Alright. Let me show you a few.”

He leaned in so their heads almost bumped, pointing at the ceiling.

“Do you see that crooked J? It looks like an S.” He traced it with his finger.

“That’s the Scorpius constellation. What’s really cool about Scorpius, aside from the scorpion thing, is that whenever Scorpius is around, you can be sure Sagittarius is nearby. ”

“What’s so special about Sagittarius?”

Raptor smiled. “Sagittarius contains the center of the Milky Way.”

“That... is a lot to wrap my brain around,” Walren said.

“Mm. Think about it for a bit.” Raptor pulled away slightly, then seemed to change his mind.

Because he sounded closer.

A strong arm slipped behind Walren and pulled him closer yet, until Raptor’s body was a long, hot line against his own.

Walren was suddenly aware of Raptor, of the muscles on Raptor’s body, the grooves of his abs, and the thick length between his legs.

He gulped, his throat dry. “Can you... see in the dark? Not the constellations, I mean.”

“Not particularly well. Why?”

Raptor couldn’t see the blush on Walren’s cheeks, then. Or the way Walren’s gaze stroked up and down his body, lingering on all the parts he didn’t dare ogle in broad daylight.

Parts like Raptor’s lush pecs, his flat, wide nipples, the lines of his abs and the trail of hair leading south.

That was a dangerous path to follow.

Walren yanked his gaze further down to Raptor’s thighs, savoring the way they were twice as thick as his own, all hard muscle and power.

But his gaze sneaked up on its own, to Raptor’s cock resting against his inner thigh, intimidating without even being hard.

“Sooo,” Raptor drawled, his voice a low, toe-curling purr in Walren’s ear. “Whatcha lookin’ at, sweetheart?”

“Um.” Walren followed the curve of Raptor’s cock, feasting his gaze on the thick vein running down its length. His tip was wide and blunt, and it looked so innocent and velvety. Just waiting for touch.

Raptor brushed his lips against Walren’s ear, his breath hot on Walren’s damp skin. “You know that it’s not pitch black in here, right? Just really dark? I can still see what you’re looking at.”

Oh gods! Walren froze, his cheeks burning. “Um! I was looking at—at sausage!”

Raptor laughed, his chest rumbling.

Walren buried his face in his hands.

With his eyes closed, his body felt... different. Only now did he notice the sluggish heat moving through his veins. The excess of saliva in his mouth, the slight ache in his teeth. His lower belly was warm, and... Was his hole damp?

Had his limbs been this heavy earlier? Walren couldn’t remember.

All he knew was that Raptor’s presence stoked something warm inside him; it intensified the ache in his body.

Something feather-light touched his nipple.

Walren jerked, his cock twitching as pleasure shot down his nerves.

“Sensitive,” Raptor rumbled, his mouth curving into a satisfied smile. “What about the other one?”

Before Walren could think about it, Raptor touched his other nipple, making him jerk again.

“Ohhh. How lovely.”

“You’ve touched me there before,” Walren blurted.

“Not while I’m out of rut. I have a clearer mind right now.” Raptor drew swirls on Walren’s chest, first circling his nipples, then spreading out from his sternum, to his collarbones. He trailed his fingertips up Walren’s throat, stroking his pulse point. Walren gulped. “I wonder...”

Raptor cupped Walren’s jaw lightly, his thumb leaving tingles as it stroked Walren’s mouth. Then he pressed down on Walren’s lower lip, opening him up.

“So soft,” Raptor purred, pushing his thumb into Walren’s mouth. He withdrew his thumb slightly, then pushed it back in, slowly fucking Walren with it.

Walren’s body grew hotter, his senses locking onto that in-and-out slide of Raptor’s thumb.

“Walry-babe,” the alpha growled, sinking his thumb deeper. “So soft inside. So hot. Always so ready for me.”

A moan slipped out of Walren’s mouth. He blushed the next second, embarrassed.

Raptor growled, squeezing Walren’s hip with his other hand. Then he leaned in and nibbled on Walren’s jaw, his open mouth trailing down Walren’s neck, closing over his skin and sucking.

Walren made a helpless sound.

“Good?” Raptor whispered against his throat.

“S-so good,” Walren whimpered, daring to reach up and grab Raptor’s shoulder. Raptor began sucking on his neck, hot hungry tugs between sinful nips of his teeth. “Suck my thumb, sweetheart.”

Walren sucked. Raptor’s breath hitched. For a moment, Walren thought the alpha might go into rut.

But Raptor didn’t.

Walren fought off his disappointment, his body aching, his cock stiff and desperate for touch.

“R-Raptor,” Walren whined, his legs spreading.

“So gorgeous, babe.” Raptor withdrew his thumb, rubbing Walren’s lips with it. “You did so well. You’ll suck my cock just as good, won’t you?”