Page 41 of Alpha Heat

The room slipped sideways around him, and Xan struggled to stand even with Urho’s help. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Have I ever struck you as the kind of man who doesn’t understand himself?”

“Yes.”

Urho chuckled and touched the bruise on Xan’s cheek. “There’s my smart-mouthed boy.”

Xan leaned into Urho, letting his head rest against his chest. He felt the rapid beat of Urho’s heart against his brow. “What does this mean?”

“You promised me something today. Do you remember?”

Xan shivered despite the fire burning at his back. “Yes.”

“What did you promise?”

“That my asshole belonged to you.” Shame and desperate longing rose hot up his throat and into his cheeks, and he burned as he stood with his face buried against Urho’s shirt.

“Look at me,” Urho rasped.

Xan forced his head up and met Urho’s gaze.

“Do you intend to break that promise?”

Xan shook his head.

“Good. Because I’m going to make a promise to you now: I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I’ll protect you. You’ll never suffer under that man, whoever he is, again. And if I ever discover his name I’ll put paid his crimes.”

Xan’s head ached and his cock throbbed. He was dreaming. This was a dream. No alpha would ever want him, not this way. Not in a way that elicited promises and offered up some sort of vague future. Especially not an alpha like Urho who had all the qualities to make it easy to find an omega to contract with: wealth, looks, kindness, and reputation. The works. What could he want with Xan?

Urho went on, “I promise to fulfill your needs, Xan, so that you won’t have to seek out hurt and humiliation. Not anymore.”

Xan couldn’t breathe. Dots swirled in his vision, and Urho’s head lowered to his, slick lips opening and taking his in a hungry kiss. Urho groaned into Xan’s mouth, releasing his hold on Xan’s arm to grip his hips and tug their groins together.

Their kiss turned into a grapple as Urho began to strip Xan of his clothes. Xan, bewildered and willing to take what he could get, tried to help, but his hands mainly just got in the way. The rug before the fire became their landing place, and once they were both naked, they rocked together urgently. Pleasure grew, and grew, and grew, until Xan sobbed in need and Urho met him with an intensity that shook the quiet room. Urho’s fist around his cock, and his fingers caressing Xan’s still swollen asshole, were like fireworks of sensation; his lips on Xan’s mouth were a constant caress and his tongue an invasion. His passion promised more than Xan had ever expected.

The culmination of their hunching, gasping, sweat-slick collision came with a shuddering cry from Xan and a loud groan from Urho, as come pumped between them, filling the air with the scent of spunk. Urho clutched Xan close, kissing his hair, his cheeks, his neck, and muttering strange endearments that Xan had never heard from anyone before.

“Sweet man, sweet joy,” Urho whispered, gripping Xan’s hips and rubbing their come-covered cocks together again. “That’s my good omega.”

Xan shivered in shock, his heart still racing, as the heat from the fire warmed their bare skin. Twice in one day they’d collided this way, and he didn’t understand why, or believe it was real, or know what came next.

“I’m moving to Virona in a few days time,” Xan said finally, as the lust cooled and the silence grew unbearable.

Urho’s hand stilled where it rubbed Xan’s lower back. “Moving to Virona? Why?”

“Banished, by my father, for… Well, for this.” Xan laughed helplessly, a pearl of sadness growing in the shell of his wonder. “For not being a proper alpha. For doing things that make people talk. For the unexplainable bruises, past and present.”

At the mention of bruises, Urho lifted up and in the light of the fire perused Xan’s body, checking for additional damage done. “Did I hurt you?”

Xan shook his head. “No.” Then he took a deep breath and confessed shyly, “It was complete and utter bliss.”

Urho nuzzled him, kissed his chest, and then settled down on the carpet, tugging Xan to rest in his arms. “You can’t leave for Virona. I can’t protect you from there.”

Xan smiled bitterly. It wasn’t a declaration, but it was better than nothing. Plus he had incontrovertible evidence that Urho did want him sexually, but he supposed it would be nice to be wanted emotionally too. As a true lover, not just as a cause.

But he’d take what he could get. “You won’t need to protect me there.”Hopefully.“The man who hurts me lives here and I’ll be three long hours away from him.”

Urho growled low. “I’ll kill him if he touches you again.”