Page 137 of Alpha Heat

“It’s a long story. But my father and I…” Xan shook his head. “I think I might be poor before very long. Hopefully Caleb will forgive me.”

Urho blinked at him. “Well, then. Lucky for you and Caleb, I have a lot of money.”

“Let’s discuss it later.”

Urho touched the bruise again. Then he kissed it softly and moved to Xan’s mouth. The kiss intensified, and Urho’s hands slid beneath Xan’s robe, rubbing his nipples, lighting him on fire.

“Caleb needs us,” Urho whispered against Xan’s lips. “Let’s take the tray and see what we can get him to eat before the next wave hits.”

Xan panted hard as Urho pulled away, but followed him up the stairs. The wing towards Vale and Jason’s room was quiet. No doubt the little family was taking a well-earned nap.

At the door to Caleb’s room, Urho stopped him. “Are you sure he wants to see me?”

“He asked for you.”

Urho nodded, but shame haunted his eyes. “I didn’t want to leave him like that.”

“He’s Caleb. He understands.”

“Maybe he shouldn’t.” Urho huffed. “Doesn’t Caleb deserve to be put first in someone’s life? The way you’re first in mine?”

Xan’s eyes went wide, the tray he was holding suddenly heavy. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I love you and when I think about the future, you’re all that’s important to me.”

The rooms in Urho’s house in the city seemed far away now. “I want to kiss you but—” he indicated the tray in his hands.

Urho leaned close and pressed a soft kiss to Xan’s lips. “We can’t share the way we love with Caleb, but we can share our devotion and friendship with him. Let’s make Caleb our priority today. Let’s focus on him.”

Xan agreed, his heart full of respect and affection for Urho, and love for both his omega and his lover.

Caleb sat up in bed, a dazed, exhausted expression on his face, but his eyes lightened up when he spotted Urho with Xan. “That food smells dreadful,” he murmured, his voice soft and wrecked. “But I’m glad to see the two of you.” He smiled, relief and warm affection in his gaze.

“We brought marmalade,” Urho said, dipping his head.

“And alpha condoms?” Caleb asked. “For you?”

Urho nodded, cleared his throat, and said, “I’m so sorry about—”

“Stop.” Caleb held up a hand. “Just smear some marmalade on toast and feed it to me by hand as your penance. We’ll call it all forgiven.”

Urho chuckled and Xan took off his robe.

“Oh, and get naked,” Caleb said. “Because if this prickling is any indication, I’ll be losing all this lovely clarity very, very soon.”

Urho could barelyremember the last time he’d been so relieved and simultaneously worried as he’d been the moment he saw Xan’s mop of curls over his flushed cheeks in the kitchen. The bruises on his face had clenched Urho’s gut, and Xan’s tired, worn-out eyes hadn’t helped matters. But the sheer joy of seeing him again—the lift in Urho’s chest and the rush in his veins—couldn’t be denied.

The news that the bruises came from two physical altercations with two different men who were much larger than Xan plagued Urho. No doubt he’d soon demand more information about both encounters, but for now, Xan was safe, and that was what mattered most. They had an omega in heat to deal with, and Caleb deserved every ounce of their attention, affection, and focus.

Once they were alone and naked in Caleb’s room, the negotiations began. Urho was accustomed to servicing omegas in heat, but usually he simply went on instinct and the omegas were happy with that. Caleb, however, had rules.

“First,” he said, munching on the orange piece that Xan had forced into his mouth. “I don’t want this to be about ‘making love.’”

Urho’s eyebrows went up. “Come again?”

“Well, it can be about that for the two of you—in fact, that might be nice. But for me? No. I just want to be fucked and knotted to relieve the pain. I don’t want a bunch of caressing and fondling, and I definitely don’t want oral or even kissing. This isn’t about that for me.”

Urho nodded, vague confusion flitting around in his mind, but he didn’t put voice to it. This was Caleb’s heat and he should call the shots.