Page 18 of Billy and Cord (Omega Hearts #1)

Billy’s heart threatened to burst as Cord swept him into his arms right there in the doorway. The chocolate packet crinkled between them, and Billy couldn’t help the watery laugh that escaped him.

“I can’t believe it. You actually remembered the hot chocolate,” he whispered against Cord’s neck, breathing in his mate’s scent like a drowning man gasping for air.

“Told you, I couldn’t find an open shop, but I wasn’t coming home empty-handed.” Cord’s voice rumbled through Billy’s entire body. “God, I missed you so fucking much.”

Billy pulled back just enough to look at his alpha’s face, drinking in every detail - the tired lines around his eyes, the stubble darkening his jaw, the way his dark hair fell across his forehead. “Bedroom. Now.”

They stumbled down the hallway, unable to stop touching each other. Billy’s glasses went askew as Cord pressed him against the wall halfway there, kissing him like he needed Billy’s mouth to breathe.

“Missed you,” Billy gasped between kisses. “Missed you, missed you, missed you…”

“Never again,” Cord growled, lifting Billy clean off his feet. “Never leaving you for that long again, I swear.”

Billy wrapped his legs around Cord’s waist, marveling at how easily his alpha carried him the rest of the way to the bedroom.

He’d spent so many years thinking he was never good enough – believing the words of his parents.

Then, with the constant battering of his self-esteem stemming from the pictures he hadn’t been able to look away from while Cord had been away…

But Cord had come through. His mate, who’d told him he would come home to him and did.

Cord set him down gently beside the bed, hands immediately going to the hem of Billy’s sleep shirt. “Need to see you. Need to touch you. Need…”

“I know.” Billy’s fingers shook as he helped Cord strip them both. “I need it too. Need you.”

When skin finally met skin, they both groaned. Billy had thought their first time during his heat had been intense, but this - this was different. This was coming home. This was choosing each other with clear heads and full hearts.

Cord’s hands mapped every inch of him like he was memorizing Billy all over again. “You’re shaking.”

“Happy shaking,” Billy assured him, pulling Cord down for another kiss. “Promise it’s happy shaking.”

They fell onto the bed together, and Billy couldn’t get close enough. He wanted to crawl inside Cord’s skin, wanted to fuse them together so nothing could ever separate them again.

“Slow down, baby,” Cord murmured, though his own hands were just as desperate. “We’ve got all night. Got forever.”

“Don’t want slow.” Billy arched against him. “Want you to claim me again. Want everyone to know - want that asshole who sent me the pictures to know…”

Cord’s eyes flashed, and a possessive growl rumbled from his chest. “He’ll never touch you. Never come near you. I promise you that.”

“I know.” Billy traced his fingers over Cord’s jaw. “My big, bad alpha, protecting me even from miles away.”

“Always.” Cord caught his hand, pressing kisses to each fingertip. “Even when some dickhead is blocking our calls. Even when they’re testing me with bullshit scenarios. Nothing matters more than you.”

The tears came then, hot and sudden. Billy tried to turn his face away, embarrassed, but Cord wouldn’t let him.

“Hey, none of that. You’re allowed to cry.”

“It’s just…” Billy’s voice cracked. “You know my parents threw me away, and for five years I thought that was all I deserved. Thought I’d always be alone. And now you’re here, and you came back, and you…”

“I’ll always come home to you,” Cord finished for him. “You’re stuck with me now, Billy. My gorgeous, brilliant, brave omega.”

“Yours,” Billy agreed, and felt the truth of it sing through his bones.

When Cord finally pressed inside him, Billy saw stars. Not from the physical pleasure - though that was incredible - but from the emotional weight of it. This was his mate. His alpha. His choice, and Cord’s choice, and no manipulative ex or shady organization could change that.

“Love you,” Billy gasped, needing to say the words, needing Cord to know. “Love you, love you…”

“Love you, too.” Cord’s voice broke on the words. “My Billy. My mate. Mine.”

They moved together in perfect sync, bodies remembering each other from Billy’s heat but minds fully present now. Every touch was a promise, every kiss a vow. When Cord’s teeth found the claim mark on Billy’s neck, Billy sobbed with the rightness of it.

“Please,” he begged, not even sure what he was asking for.

But Cord knew. His alpha’s bite renewed their bond, sending pleasure, love, and belonging flooding through Billy’s system. This time when Billy came apart, Cord was right there with him, holding him through it, whispering praise and promises against his skin.

Afterwards, they lay tangled together, neither willing to put even an inch of space between them. The chocolate packet sat forgotten on the nightstand, and Billy couldn’t stop running his fingers through Cord’s hair.

“Thank you for leaving the light on,” Cord murmured against his shoulder.

“Always will,” Billy promised. “However long you’re gone, the light stays on until you’re home.”

“Home,” Cord repeated, like he was tasting the word. “Fuck, that sounds good.”

“Welcome home,” Billy whispered, and felt Cord’s smile against his skin.