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W hile Echo disposed of the many empty pizza boxes outside, Mael slipped upstairs to shower off all the sweat, wood shavings, and dirt from the day. Echo waved to Ravage and Storm as they finished packing up their tools and gear.

“Thanks again,” Echo called out.

“Don’t mention it. See you tomorrow,” Storm said, offering a salute as he climbed behind the wheel of his heavy-duty work truck. Rav waved as they passed on the way out of the drive.

Echo smiled and waved again, watching them go. The twins had been hard to get a read on. They were much quieter than Mael’s other siblings, but they’d been polite and chatted with him while eating an ungodly amount of pizza. He’d picked up two extra pies, just in case, and only ate half of the pizza he’d ordered for himself—and there wasn’t a single piece left.

It was a tiny price to pay for new stairs, though he intended to pay every single one of them for all their hard work and the supplies. He’d said so during dinner, though all three had thoroughly ignored him.

Tilly stood waiting at the back door looking for her new best friend. She’d sat in Ravage’s lap during dinner, purring away contentedly as he’d rubbed her between the ears and along her back. She’d even spent a few minutes investigating Storm, allowing him to pet her, too. His antisocial scaredy-cat had given her near immediate seal of approval on three out of five Marino siblings she’d met.

That told him almost all he needed to know about the men.

While they were big and a bit overwhelming—the twins were almost as massive as Maelstrom—there was a quiet comfort around them. They were gentle souls, and Tilly could sense that. Echo also sensed they could be as deadly as Mael when pushed. How hard that push would need to be was the question only time could tell.

Echo entered the kitchen and noticed someone had brought Tilly’s things back down. He filled the water bowl and added a little food before remembering he’d forgotten to try Diego again. The line rang and rang—and Echo expected voicemail again—but Diego nabbed it before it had a chance to click over.

“About time. I was getting worried.”

Diego snorted. “The last time I was worried about you, I got my head bitten off—do I return the favor?”

“I’ve already apologized for that,” Echo said, sitting down on the arm of his couch. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just… out of sorts. I stared at the ceiling all night, completely unable to sleep. Like all night. I figured I’d crash at some point, but no luck so far.”

“Did I wake you now?” Echo asked.

“Nope. I’m still wide awake.”

“Have you tried some herbal tea?”

“I have. Chamomile. I also put on a boring documentary about the Civil War. I slipped out to the pharmacy this afternoon and bought some over-the-counter sleep pills. I got on my treadmill and ran three miles. I took a hot bath. Nothing’s working.”

“I know you won’t see Havoc until the weekend, but maybe I could ask Mael to set up a meet somewhere.”

“Who said anything about Havoc?” Diego growled.

Echo paused, sensing it was far more tender a topic than he’d realized. He slid down the arm and plopped on the couch. “I… assumed … he was the reason you couldn’t sleep.”

Diego was silent a moment. “I never said that.”

Echo rolled his eyes. “So why can’t you sleep?”

Silence met his question.

“I don’t know,” Diego finally muttered. “But it’s not Havoc. I’m not some teenager obsessing over a crush.”

“No, you’re a man who’s found his other half. Your first meeting didn’t go well, so I’d lay odds you’re replaying it over and over in your mind—and that’s why you can’t sleep.”

“You don’t know me as well as you think you do,” Diego replied, his tone haughty. He usually did that when he was lying.

Tilly leapt on the couch beside him and rubbed her head under Echo’s free hand.

“I know you better than anyone else,” Echo said while he gave Tilly some gentle scratches. “And I know how much of a perfectionist you can be. I also know how much you beat yourself up when you imagine you’ve screwed something important up. It stands to reason that you’re tormenting yourself with what you view as a failure.”

Diego was silent. Echo thought he heard the droning of a television in the background, so he hadn’t been hung up on.

“It was a minor misstep— at worst —not a failure,” Echo added when Diego never spoke. “You’ll get more than one chance to get things right. Give yourself a bit of grace.”

“Easier said than done,” Diego replied, all but admitting Echo was on the right track.

“Would you like me to talk to Mael… have him call Havoc? Maybe you guys could meet up. Talk. Now that his balls have had time to recover.”

“No,” Diego said. “I don’t think I’m going this weekend, either, if that’s okay. You can use my boat if you need it, but… I think seeing Havoc will only make me feel worse, not better.”

Echo frowned. “If that’s what you want… I support your decision.”

“But you disagree,” Diego said.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. I can hear it in your tone.”

Echo closed his eyes. “Look, Diego… we’re both in a really weird place right now and I can’t tell you what to do because I’m figuring it out as I go. I don’t know if we’ll find a way through all this, but the one thing I do know? The thought of not being near Mael…” He shivered. “I don’t even want to imagine it.”

“That’s exactly why I don’t want to see Havoc. I’ve never been needy or clingy and I’m not starting now.”

“Are you calling me clingy?”

“No!” Diego said. “I’m talking about me. All I’ve wanted to do since I walked away is seek him out. If I see him this weekend, it’ll only make it worse, not better. I need to keep my distance and shatter this chokehold he has on me so I can live my fucking life in peace.”

“I wish you luck on that,” Echo said.

“Keep your tone to yourself,” Diego said, a hint of humor in his. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“If you get any sleep. Night,” Echo murmured before hanging up. He glanced down at Tilly. “Diego’s a mess, Till. What’re we going to do about him?”

Tilly meowled at him before she jumped down, clearly not interested in Diego’s drama.

Echo rose and followed her to the steps. Given her imprisonment, he was a bit shocked she wanted to return to the second floor. When he arrived at the foot of his new stairs, he stopped and smiled. Even incomplete, they looked miles better than they had before. His first time up and down, he’d sped trying to get out of the way while they’d put the temporary handrail up. After swooping down to gather the paint sample brochures, he marched up slowly, taking his time to check each tread for stability. There wasn’t a single creak or groan. They were rock solid and appeared well-constructed—though he was no expert. He smiled to himself when he reached the top and gave them one last glance.

Entering the bedroom, he heard the shower still running. Echo decided to take advantage. He quickly peeled out of Mael’s sweater and rooted through his lingerie drawer. By the time Mael walked out of the bathroom with only a towel tied around his waist, he found Echo lying on the bed waiting.

Dressed in only a bra, panties, garters, and stockings.

Mael froze a few steps outside the bathroom, steam escaping behind him. “Woah.”

Echo lay on his side, one hand supporting his head. He stretched out his legs, showing off the black silk stockings. “A little birdie told me you liked stockings?” He tugged on a garter and let it snap back to his thigh. “And garters?”

A slow smile spread across Mael’s face. “I do. Especially when it’s you wearing them.”

Echo fought a smile. “I know you just got cleaned up… but I thought you might like to come over here and get messy with me.”

Mael tugged off the towel and tossed it over his shoulder. “Anytime of the day, baby.”

He walked closer and climbed onto the bed, zeroing in on Echo’s bra. In a snap, he had it unhooked and removed.

“You’ve done that before,” Echo said.

“Plenty of practice,” Mael said, his gaze fixed on Echo’s chest.

“You’ve dated a lot of women?”

Mael lifted a brow. “Let’s not have this conversation.”

Echo frowned. “Why not?”

“Echo… I’m an alpha.”

“Meaning?”

“You’re my omega. Alphas are possessive, overprotective assholes when it comes to our omegas. If you tell me about some guy who’s been with you, I’m going to lose my mind. I don’t want to be that asshole, so it’s best not to tell me about your past partners.” He toyed with one of Echo’s nipples. “It’s bad enough that the thought of another man putting his child inside you had me ready to commit murder this morning.”

Echo inwardly gasped. “Seriously?”

“Instinct is a son of a bitch sometimes,” Mael said, his brow furrowing. “I didn’t like feeling that way.”

“I’m glad you didn’t like it,” Echo said. “You shouldn’t.”

Mael didn’t reply. He slid a palm from Echo’s knee to his thigh, gliding over the silk.

“Just to clarify, I was asking about your experiences. I never mentioned mine,” Echo said.

“I didn’t want to tempt comparison,” Mael said. “But if you must know, I’ve been with my fair share of women.”

“How many men?”

Mael lowered his hand and met Echo’s gaze. “None.”

Echo blinked a few times, a slight dizzy feeling washing over him. “I’m the first man you’ve been with?”

Mael was silent a few seconds. “A few months ago, I was secure in my straightness. Then I saw you and… everything changed in an instant.”

Echo was silent for a minutes, allowing his brain a moment to mull over that.

Mael was straight. Until him.

There had been no signs of qualms, concern…

“That was a major change in how you perceived yourself,” Echo said, worried Mael might be struggling and hiding that struggle. It had only been a few weeks. He couldn’t possibly have come to terms with learning he was—whatever label he’d chosen. “I can’t imagine you’ve fully processed that yet.”

“Homosexual behaviors have always existed within the animal kingdom, be they human or not. It’s normal.”

“Animals accept that… humans often don’t.”

“Humans have fucked it all up,” Mael murmured. “Their establishments created laws that made normal human behaviors illegal or immoral, and they all bought into it like a herd of sheep. Then our ancestors had to engage with the human world and some of their bullshit rubbed off on us. Not all of it, though.”

“I agree, but it doesn’t answer the question of how you feel about suddenly learning you’re not straight.”

Mael met his gaze, silent for a few heartbeats. “At first, I denied I was attracted to you because you’re supposed to be my enemy. Using the fact you were male helped reinforce that, because that wasn’t who I knew myself to be. But as my attraction grew, the less I could deny what you made me feel. When I came to the realization you might be my mate, your gender and my orientation no longer mattered. I wanted you. Period.”

“It was that easy?”

Mael nodded.

It couldn’t have been that easy. “I’m sure the fact I’m femme helped some.”

“Could be.” Mael chuckled. “Maybe those assholes are right about there only being two genders.”

“Oh, no… do not,” Echo snapped, immediately tensing. “I’m living proof that that’s utter bullshit.”

“Hold on… I misspoke. They’re partially right. But not in terms of male or female. Toss that out the window. The two genders are masc and femme—but you can be one, both, or neither. The same for sexual orientations. Top or bottom. One, both, or neither.”

“That’s way too simple an explanation for a very complex system,” Echo replied. Gender and sexuality weren’t binary. There were so many colors to the rainbow.

“But is it?” Mael asked. “I sometimes think we’ve made something simple much too complex. I’m a masc top who’s attracted to femme bottoms. You’re a femme bottom—who I assume is attracted to masc tops.”

Echo nodded.

“We fit. We make complete sense together. There’s no real change to who I am because at my core, I haven’t changed.”

Denial. So that was his way of dealing with things. “I agree that there are times when the subject of gender and sexuality feels overly complex and it can be hard for some to navigate, but it’s not quite as simple as you’re trying to make it either.”

Mael frowned, and Echo sensed pressing might do more harm than good. If Mael’s modified binary view helped him process the massive shift to his sense of self—then maybe it was simpler to support it for the short term. Later they could expand on Mael’s theory and find a way to add some nuance to it as their relationship progressed.

“For now, we don’t have to figure out the whole complex structure that encompasses all genders and sexualities,” Echo murmured. “We only have to focus on ourselves and who we are. How we fit together.”

“That sounds a whole lot easier,” Mael murmured, smiling.

“I’m glad this was a relatively easy transition for you,” Echo said, hoping there were no regrets or second-guessing later—but what if there were? Would they fight to be together only for Mael to decide he didn’t want to be in a relationship with another man? They were fated mates, so that wouldn’t happen. Would it?

Echo pushed that out of his mind, unwilling to imagine it could happen. “And now that that’s settled…I’d prefer a little less talking and a lot more touching.”

“Hey, I was perfectly happy playing with your tiddies, but you started asking questions,” Mael said, grinning. He pinched one, milk dribbling over his fingertips. “I’ll return to my evil plans now.”

“What evil plans are those?”

Mael didn’t answer. He dove in and captured one peak between his lips, suckling it deep. Echo moaned, warmth flooding him as the milk let-down sensation came, tingling across his chest. He rolled to his back, taking Mael with him, and slid his fingers through the hair at the nape of his alpha’s head. The second he felt teeth against his flesh, his back arched, and he hugged Mael’s head closer. The small slice of pain mixed with the pleasure and made his breath catch. There was also the primal glimmer of fear mixed in.

He was prey… and his predator had caught him.

Mael bit into him, not hard enough to break the flesh, but hard enough to make his cock harden and throb. He lowered his hand, sliding it under the lacy black panties. He caressed the inches that peeked outside his slit.

When Mael switched to the other nipple, Echo gasped at the cold sensation on the abandoned one. The pleasure began again on the other side. He glanced down at the abandoned nipple, throbbing and aching for more attention. It was bright red and full… and the ring of teeth imprints surrounding it brought a shudder down his spine. Echo plumped his swollen pec, and a pearl of milk appeared at the rosy tip. He moved his hand closer, spreading the milk with his thumb as he circled the flat point.

“My gods, Echo,” Mael muttered as he released the second nipple with a pop. “Your body is incredible. You’re incredible.” He lapped up a dribble of milk sliding down Echo’s tiny breast.

Mael paused and chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Mael murmured before nibbling and licking the skin just above the nipple he’d released.

Echo closed his eyes. “Tell me…”

Mael lifted on his arms, hovering over Echo.

“That song… ‘Your Body is a Wonderland?’ I hate that fucking song, but it just popped into my head and won’t stop playing.”

Echo grinned. “My body’s a wonderland, hmm?”

“Damned straight,” Mael murmured before lowering his head for another kiss. “And I wanna learn every single inch of it.”

He took the unbitten nipple between his lips and suckled again. Echo whimpered, arching his back—but was disappointed when Mael released him again.

“Better make this one match the first one,” Mael said, watching him close. “I think someone enjoys being bitten.”

“You’d think I’d fear a predator’s bite,” Echo whispered. “But I’m aching for yours.”

Mael captured the nipple again, immediately sinking his teeth into the flesh as he held Echo’s gaze.

Echo keened. The sting made him ache all the more.

“What else can I bite?” Mael asked before nibbling on Echo’s shoulder.

Echo wasn’t sure how much time passed as Mael inspected every inch of his body from head to tiptoe, biting anything bitable. Fingers, bottom, hip bone, silk-covered toe—Echo bore Mael’s marks all over his body. Each bite added fuel to the fire, leaving Echo writhing on the bed under Mael. The slow torture was made worse by the fact he wasn’t allowed to touch himself. Every time he lowered his hand inside his panties, Mael pushed it away.

After Mael bit his inner thigh, he finally reached the part that wanted all the attention—and maybe a bite or two, as well. Mael slid the panties down an inch and captured the tip of Echo’s cock between his lips, suckling it just as intently as he had both nipples. He drew Echo to the back of his throat. It suddenly hit him that Mael had never sucked a guy off before him.

“For a blowjob newbie, you do that really, really well,” Echo murmured, moans peppering between his words.

Mael chuckled against Echo’s cock before lifting to the tip, circling his tongue over the glans, and back down. “I have a cock, and I’ve been blown. I know what I like, so I just did that in hopes it would work. Seems it did.”

Echo smiled down his body at Mael. Soon, he was moaning again once Mael swallowed him again. All the biting and nibbling added up. The torment had stretched him thin. Mael brought him to an orgasm in little time, swallowing most of the load. The few drips that escaped, Echo leaned up to lick off Mael’s chin.

When his mate kissed him, he could taste his salty sweetness.

Echo watched as Mael pressed between his thighs. He lifted his knees to his chest, giving Mael full access to his body. Mael reached between them and tested Echo’s holes, one after the other, and then stroked himself, angling into place. The head of one cock slipped into his slick-coated asshole, the second pressed through his slit and under his cock, spearing the soft, pink folds there.

Mael didn’t move his hips. He controlled his shafts, pressing them deeper until Echo’s holes were filled. Then and only then did he shift them from orca to human—hard and stiff inside Echo. Mael drove deeper, binding them as one. Echo’s gaze locked in Mael’s as they rushed toward the edge together, their bond tightening every minute, every hour… every breath, every kiss. Mael’s body quickened, taking Echo with him until they both screamed in orgasm, one following the other.

Echo lay against his mate in the aftermath, sleep enveloping him like a warm blanket. Lyrics of the song Mael mentioned played in his head and when he came to the refrain, he sung-spoke a few as he drifted off.

Mael chuckled and pressed a kiss to the top of Echo’s head. That was the last thing he remembered before sleeping soundly in his mate’s arms.